"Nothing Else Comes Close"
- Project Aces
Prologue
Canterlot, Equestria
It had been fifteen years. Fifteen years since the last resistance ended. Fifteen years since the last enemies had been ponified. Fifteen years of peace.
That was what confused Twilight. There were no more Dragons, Griffons, Changelings, or any other violent races left to cause trouble. All other major nations and their populations had been converted and absorbed into Equestria. The only reports of violence that came were from an occasional manticore or timberwolf, but these were considered to just be nature and not worth the time of conversion. So why did her teacher and the ruler of the land call to speak with her on the matter of another possible threat?
She continued to ponder these thoughts as she navigated her way through the vast castle. It was a perfect day out; the sun shining and cool breeze was in the air. Birds sang their songs in the castle garden whilst flying through a cloudless sky. But this had become the normal day in Equestria; except for the days when rain was needed.
Continuing her way towards the meeting room where the princess waited for her, she was joined by her five friends, the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony; though she was too deep in her thoughts to notice until Rainbow spoke up and brought her back to reality.
“Hey Twilight, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” came the blunt response from the unicorn.
“Ok, well what’s this meeting about anyway?” Rainbow asked.
“I’m uh, not sure,” Twilight replied, trying to stop the curious Pegasus.
“Ah know you’re lyin,” said Applejack, with a disapproving look on her face. “Why is the Princess callin’ us?”
“Yea, it’s interrupting my napping time,” Rainbow joked.
“Alright,” Twilight sighed. “She told me it had something to do with a possible threat to Equestria, but that’s all I she told me.”
Her friends faces all went to a display of worry; save for Rainbow Dash. Finally reaching the meeting room, Dash spoke up again.
“Don’t worry Twi! Whatever it is, I can handle it!” she boasted as they trotted in.
“Are you sure about that, Rainbow Dash?” came a voice from the other end of the room. Turning their heads they saw their leader, Celestia, and her sister, Luna, both with serious looks on their faces.
“Positive Princess! Whatever it is, I won’t let it hurt my friends!” Rainbow said.
“We hope that thou are right, for this is challenge unlike any other,” Luna replied.
“Lulu, we aren’t addressing a crowd. You may speak normally,” Celestia responded in a slightly irritated tone. She was still trying to break her sister’s habit.
“Oh, yes. My bad Tia,” the princess of the night responded, blushing slightly from the embarrassment.
“What does she mean?” asked Twilight.
“Do you remember the trans-dimensional spell you discovered a few weeks back?” the sun goddess asked.
“Yea, it allowed you to see other worlds and even go to them,” she replied.
“Well, while I was studying some of these worlds, I came across one that was horrific. Its population consists of tall, bipedal creatures called humans. They do not have magic and cannot fly naturally, but seem to be far ahead of us in technological terms. They also seem to all think differently; having various forms of government, economies, and religion. But what is bad is that they are constantly going to war with each other, with their wars lasting for years and leaving thousands or millions dead!”
Everypony in the room had a look of pure shock on their faces. The only war that they had seen, if you could call it a war, lasted a couple of hours and ended with a few seriously injured griffons. In fact, Dash had been the only one of the six to actually take part in it; shooting down five enemies.
The war had started when the Griffon Kingdom, the first nation that was destined to be converted, refused to comply and attempted to fight back. The Equestrians; however, had created a new technology before the fight, missiles and machine guns.
The missiles themselves where really just small, powerful fireworks that were held underneath a Pegasus by a sort of belt; the belt itself being a buckled onto the flyer and the missiles where harnessed to the bottom of the belt. When the missile was released, magic would guide it to its target.
Though they had yet to discover bullets, the Equestrians had found ways to propel multiple small daggers at very fast speed. Held inside a small, metal “gun” that was really nothing more than one short tube feeding a belt of daggers into another, longer tube that served as the barrel. The gun was also placed on the belt, being in the middle in between the missiles. The daggers also used magic; using it for propellant rather that gunpowder or machinery.
When these, the griffons were defeated and the rest of the world demoralized. Most surrendered peacefully, with a few having to be taken by force. With the entire world united into one species, a lasting peace was found.
Still, the act of one member of a civilized species taking the life of another was scary. Though it was the thought that it took place on a daily basis and on such a massive scale was what really scared them.
“W-why are you telling us this princess?” asked Twilight, fear present in her voice.
“After much thought, I have decided to teleport this world to theirs. Once there we will convert their species into our and stop their bickering. I am sure that most will willingly agree to it; but if not, we must take it by force to secure the safety of the land.”
The familiar look of shock returned now, greater than ever. Luna pulled her sister aside quickly to speak in private.
“Sister, are you sure about this? It may just be in their nature, such as the manticores. Should we really do this?” she asked.
“Yes sister I am sure. No civilized species should be allowed to kill itself off. I will not allow it. They must become like us to truly see,” Celestia stated.
“But-“
“No Luna! My decision is final!” Celestia nearly shouted authority in her voice. Luna retreated to a corner in the room, hurt and silently crying. She had been left out of the decision again. Though it happened often, she could never get over it.
“My little ponies, prepare yourselves. I know you have faced challenges in the past, but this will be unlike any other,” Celestia encouraged. Everypony left out of the room except for Rainbow whom Celestia had asked for a word with.
“Princess, you said the humans couldn’t fly?” asked Rainbow.
“Correct, but I must warn you. One of their technological developments is some kind of large metal bird called an airplane. The humans fly these birds and the birds seem to be quite deadly. I must warn you Rainbow, this will be an especially difficult challenge for you,” The princess warned.
“Ok princess, I’ll be careful,” replied Rainbow before taking flying out of the room, through the castle, and into the sky.
“I wonder how hard it would be to shoot one of those birds down,” Rainbow thought. “Probably not too hard; I mean, those humans can’t even fly naturally!"
She landed on a cloud and continued thinking. . “Besides, I’m the fastest flier in Equestria! Not to mention I’ll have the Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts backing me up, and all the other pegasi. We’ll rule the skies in ten seconds flat!”
She relaxed, laid back on the cloud, and dozed off. But it wouldn’t be that easy, not with this world. For this world contained the best fliers of any world. She would soon find out what an ace was.