Everyone froze as the Krillitane walked closer. “I should be impressed,” he said. “The idea of a simple pony from this backwater planet figuring out our intentions is no small wonder.”
“Who are you calling ‘backwater’?” Vinyl returned. Octavia stepped in front of her before she could continue.
“But that does raise a few interesting questions,” the Krillitane continued. “Namely, how could a mere pony come to that conclusion when he has no reason to even know who we are?” He paused. “Unless you aren’t what you appear.” Turner stayed silent.
Octavia decided to speak up. “Who are you? And why are you here?”
The Krillitane chuckled. “Straight and to the point. I admire you. As you may have guessed by now, we are the Krillitanes. And I am the acting head for our special operations troops. You may call me Commander Bras. As for our purpose, we are merely carrying out the great Krillitane objective: to make ourselves the ultimate life forms in the universe.”
“By taking what doesn’t belong to you?” Bon Bon argued. “I’m not even fond of plastic surgery. Why would you do… that?” She pointed to Bras, indicating his mismatched body.
“The Krillitane race aspires to become as close to gods as possible,” Bras replied. “What sort of creature, do you think, would be the greatest in all of reality?” He paused to let the ponies think about it. When they didn’t bother thinking of an answer, he continued, “One who is able to do everything. We seek to become that creature.”
“Ah, yes,” Turner said, nearly startling everyone, “the god complex. I’ve seen many individuals and even entire species fall prey to it. My own people have a bit of it in themselves on their worst days.”
Bras smiled. “And which people would those be?”
“I’ll probably tell you later,” Turner said with a dismissive wave. “I’m more interested in talking about your tactics. I admit, it’s been a long time since I’ve even seen a Krillitane. By the way, how exactly were you able to blend into the shadows so well? No wait, let me guess: the Hemtoliors, right? From the dark planet of Hemtol? Lovely place, really,” he added to the girls, “perpetual night but the peace and beauty are practically unparalleled.
“Where was I? Oh, right! Like I said, I haven’t seen much of your kind as of late, but I’m pretty sure the standard method of Krillitane invasion and assimilation is just that: invasion, then assimilation. You all seem to have skipped the invasion part and just went right to the assimilation. Either your tactics have changed, or there’s something else forcing you to take a new approach.”
Bras just scoffed. “You’re a smart pony, Mr.…”
“Just call me Time Turner,” Turner said.
“Yes, Mr. Turner, you are quite intelligent,” Bras continued. “So perhaps you could come up with a suitable answer. Why would we try to assimilate ourselves instead of just taking over right now?”
“Because Celestia would kick your sorry flanks to the other end of space!” Vinyl nearly shouted.
“Shouldn’t we include Princess Luna in that?” Lyra added. “I mean, we were there when she… appeared.”
Octavia sighed, “Is this really the time to be discussing this?”
“Actually,” Turner said, “they may have a point.”
“Exactly!” Vinyl said proudly. That pride quickly wore off, though, as she continued with, “Um, what point?”
“Even if it wasn’t the princesses,” Turner thought out, “mounting a full-scale invasion would draw in several ponies willing to defend their homes. And that would include several unicorns with powerful spells, pegasi that could weaponize the weather, and earth pony strength that would be ideal in a hooffight. But by sending their special ops to act in secret…”
Bras interrupted him. “…We create an advance force that will subvert and weaken your planet’s defenses just enough for when the true invasion begins.”
Turner smirked. “You’re afraid. The very idea of confronting a species who have almost direct control over magic makes you quiver in fear. Even with your bids for creating a ‘perfect’ species, you don’t even want to come in guns blazing because they might slaughter you in the bargain.”
“Turner,” Derpy whispered, “are you sure you want to say that to him?”
“Maybe we are taking the cautious approach,” Bras conceded. “But I have nothing to fear from six ponies.”
“Well you should,” Vinyl said. “Even with all the stuff you’ve got in that jigsaw puzzle you call a body, we still outnumber you six to one!”
Bras’ laugh was quiet, though still louder than a chuckle, like he honestly found Vinyl’s outburst funny. “How quickly you seem to forget. I’ve been watching you since you opened that unicorn’s cell, covered in complete darkness. And I believe I have used the word ‘we’ several times by now.” Everyone realized what Bras was implying. Vinyl shifted her light around the darkness until she looked up.
Lyra gulped. “That’s a lot of bat ponies,” she whispered. The whole ceiling was practically covered with Krillitanes; if the situation weren’t so serious, some of them might have laughed at the fact that, like the bats they resembled most, they were hanging upside down. The Krillitanes were glaring at them, their faces filled with murderous intent.
“While I would love to continue this conversation,” Bras said, “I have a world to conquer, and you all are just in the way.”
“Girls, run!” Turner shouted. Everyone quickly went back the way they came. They were followed by the sounds of wings flapping and hooves galloping. The ponies in the cells barely reacted aside from simply looking up.
The six ponies ran out of the dungeons and past the computer lab into the tunnel path. As they were coming upon the entrance where the path split, Turner stopped and turned toward the advancing Krillitanes.
“Turner!” Bon Bon called out. “What are you doing?”
“Waiting for the right moment,” he replied. He held up the sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the horde. The Krillitanes were almost on top of him when he turned it on. The resulting noise caused the Krillitanes to stop (the ones in midair fell) and reel in agony.
“That’s the problem with bat ears, isn’t it?” Turner yelled over the noise. “You can hear things all too well.” He watched them continue to reel. “Oh, that’s right, you can’t hear me right now. Be seeing you, then.” He turned and ran out the exit, keeping the still active sonic pointed into the tunnel. “Come on, girls, allons-y.” He pointed to the tunnel on the far side. Everyone ran in and Turner switched the sonic off before following them.
Like the previous tunnel, there was a light at the end. Nothing needed to be said as they all continued running. They all knew Turner’s distraction wouldn’t last for very long, and they wanted to put as much distance between them and the Krillitanes as possible.
They entered the chamber and were greeted almost immediately by a voice saying, “What the hay?!” They turned and saw an earth pony mare. Her coat was a cross between light blue and grey and her purple mane was curled up in a bun. Her cutie mark was a spoon and fork crossed over each other. She was backed up against a counter topped with various fruits and vegetables.
“Wait a minute,” she said. She relaxed a bit and moved toward them. “Octavia?”
“Silverware!” Octavia responded.
“Do you know her?” Turner asked.
“She’s a cook at a café in Canterlot,” Octavia answered. “I make it a point to go there whenever I’m in the area doing a performance.” She turned back to Silverware. “What happened to you?”
“I… I don’t really know,” Silverware admitted. “One minute, I have an egg roll in the fryer almost ready to serve, and the next, I’m waking up in here in front of a bunch of… things! You’ve seen them, right?”
“Seen, heard, and especially smelled,” Vinyl replied. “Not looking forward to taste.”
“But why are you in here instead of the dungeon?” Derpy asked.
“I guess they’re just terrible in the kitchen,” Silverware said. “These things are rude and completely without respect, but they do keep their prisoners in good condition. I guess that’s why I was kidnapped; I’m already under consideration for best cook in Canterlot. Those things just want me to make food for the ponies they capture. Simple dishes, at any rate; the most I can manage right now is a semi-gourmet salad.
“And despite their attitude, they’ve been cooperative with my requests and gathering ingredients for me. The only condition is that I have to flavor it with this stuff.” She turned to the counter and picked up a bottle of what looked like vegetable oil.
“What is it?” Lyra asked. She used her magic to bring the bottle closer.
“I’m not sure,” Silverware replied. “I gave it a little taste test, though, and seeing as I’m not dead yet, I assume it’s safe for consumption. It has a unique flavor to it, but in a not-so-bad way. Although, if what I’ve seen and experienced is any indication, I think it makes ponies sleepy. That taste test was just enough to make my own eyelids feel droopy. And I can guess you saw the others. I would have stopped, but I didn’t want to find out what happens if you cross those things.”
“Do you know what this is, Turner?” Lyra asked. She floated the bottle closer to the stallion.
“Could you open it?” he asked. The stopper lifted itself off the bottle. Turner thanked Lyra and sniffed the contents. After that, he held the sonic screwdriver into the bottle. “Just offhoof, I’d say this is Krillitane oil.”
“And this is different from Equestrian oil how?” Vinyl asked.
Turner pulled out the screwdriver. “It’s actually much like regular cooking oil, except for the fact that it can be modified at the molecular level to have any number of intended effects.”
“Like tiredness and fatigue?” Octavia said.
“More specifically, a sedative that also weakens a pony’s adrenaline levels, inhibiting their fight-or-flight response.”
Everypony had almost forgotten Silverware was still in the room until she said, “Could somepony please explain what the hay you’re all talking about?”
“It’s something of a long story, Silver,” Octavia said.
“Well, I’m sure I’ll be very interested to…” Silverware trailed off midsentence and started looking upwards. Octavia noticed this and turned around suddenly, causing the others to look that way as well.
A Krillitane was hovering near the wall, staring at them. Realizing it had been discovered, it leapt at the ponies.
There was little time to plan their escape. Instead, Lyra just yelled out, “Get back!” as she threw the levitating bottle of oil at it. The oil spilled out and some of it splashed on the creature’s body. The Krillitane let out a shrill cry, like it was in pain; everyone noticed that the pain was more than it should have been for just being hit with a bottle. The confusion continued when smoke started rising from its body.
“Everyone, stay back!” Turner demanded. They all moved as far away as they could.
The surprises just kept coming with one final event: the Krillitane just exploded. Its body was engulfed in a sudden fireball. Nothing was left of it after the flame subsided.
Everyone was silent for a long while. “Um, Turner?” Derpy finally started. “Did that thing just… blow up?”
“I think it did,” Turner answered. He walked slowly toward the discarded bottle and scanned its contents with the sonic again. “This oil’s been tampered with so many times, and they’ve evolved so far beyond their original state, that it’s created… well, an adverse effect.”
“And it doesn’t seem to be too good for their skin, either,” Vinyl said obliviously.
“That must be why they needed you, Silverware,” Turner continued. “They can’t do anything with the oil themselves because it’s too risky for them.” He paused to look at the entrance to the chamber. “Does anypony notice anything… odd?”
“‘Odd’ how?” Bon Bon asked.
“I could have sworn we were chased by more than a dozen Krillitanes,” Turner clarified. “Yet that one was the only one to come after us.” Realization hit everyone’s faces. “They’re up to something, and I don’t like the odds of it being good.”
“Is there any way we can stop them?” Vinyl asked.
Turner looked at Silverware. “Do you have any more oil?”
Silverware looked surprised by Turner’s question but said, “Um, I think there’s a spare bottle in the cupboard.” Turner wasted no time looking for that bottle. When he found it, he opened it and stuck the sonic into it.
“What are you doing?” Octavia asked.
“Put simply, I’m reversing the oil so that it has the opposite effect,” Turner answered. “Whereas before the oil caused a weakening of the adrenal system, this further-modified version will give a boost of adrenaline to anypony who ingests it. It should counteract the effects of the previous oil long enough to get everypony out of here.”
“But how do we get it to them?” Bon Bon pointed out.
“Well, I assume Silverware still has another batch of salad somewhere in here.” At Turner’s words, Silverware perked up and went what looked like an icebox, pulling out a large bowl of salad.
Turner unstoppered the bottle and poured the contents into the bowl. “Mix the oil into the salad so that it covers practically everything. After that, you all can administer it to the ponies in the dungeon; even a single lettuce leaf will be enough to bring their energy back. Also, Octavia, once the salad’s ready, I want you to escort Silverware out of the cave. And one last thing; Bon Bon…” He gave the sonic screwdriver to her. “I’ve already set the sonic to open the cages. Just point it at the locks and press the buttons.”
“But where are you going?” Bon Bon asked.
“Somepony has to provide a distraction for the Krillitanes while all this is going on,” Turner pointed out.
There was a short silence until Octavia spoke. “I don’t suppose we can talk you out of this?”
“Not in the slightest,” Turner replied with a no-nonsense kind of tone.
“Just be careful,” Derpy said.
“Aren’t I always?” he said with a smile.
Derpy just gave him a smug look and said, “Well, there was the cliff, the manticore, facing Nightmare Moon alone, and, oh, let’s not forget getting chased by alien ponies.”
“Oi!” Turner exclaimed. “We all lived. And this time will be no different. You have my word.” Not waiting for any further responses, he ran back into the cave.