//------------------------------// // Act 1 Part 9 - Preparation // Story: I Against I, Me Against You // by Flynt Coal //------------------------------// To: The Director of Project Freelancer From: The Chairman of the UNSC Oversight Sub-Committee Dear Director, While I appreciate your willingness to cooperate throughout our investigation, do not make the mistake in thinking that this new alien we are dealing with is the only reason we are conducting it. There have been a number of discrepancies within your program that I would like to address. For example, there’s the recent theft of the experimental F-42 Exoatmospheric Stealth Fighter that was granted to your program. Now that I’ve had the opportunity to interview several members of your staff, I’ve discovered that the most likely culprit is something or someone your people keep referring to as “The Meta.” I would very much like to know what this “Meta” is and what relation—if any—it has to Project Freelancer. As I’ve said to you in the past: high-level military assets are granted as a privilege, not as a right. That is why I’d like to know where exactly you think the Meta might have gone with your ship… Between growing up on her family’s chicken farm to her past year training with the guard, Sunny Side was no stranger to waking up early. It was thus that the white mare sat at her family’s kitchen table with a content smile on her face as she sipped her coffee and nibbled on a piece of toast. The early morning sun was just filling the simple, homely kitchen, illuminating every mahogany shelf and family heirloom in a soft orange light. Of course, another contributor to her good mood was that she was back home after three years away. She couldn’t believe the odds: Her first deployment with her squad was right in her own home town of Dodge City! If that alien ship hadn’t crashed so close to her family’s farm, she might not have been able to sleep in her own bed until she was finished with her tour! Sunny’s father—Iron Side—sat across from her. The brown coated stallion with a silver-gray mane had his own cup of coffee on the table in front of him that he occasionally sipped from as he read the morning paper. Sunny really looked up to her dad. Iron had worked so hard raising Sunny and her sister Bright Side alone while managing the farm... and admittedly, it was his stories from his own time in the Guard that inspired Sunny to join herself. Sunny had missed both her dad and her little sister during her years away. And her mom of course, but that was no different than every other year since she passed away. As Sunny finished off her toast, a sky-blue blur raced into the kitchen. The little filly with a bright yellow mane just like Sunny’s own had her saddlebags already packed and ready for school. Bright Side got her older sister’s attention with a couple of light jabs at her cutie mark (a frying pan with two boiling eggs). Sunny looked down at the adorable blue bundle beside her and smiled. “Are you takin’ me to school today, Big Sis?” Bright Side asked. Sunny wasn’t on duty again until 0900, so she’d have plenty of time. “Sure, squirt! You pack all your bags?” Bright Side gave a wide grin and nodded. “You do all your homework?” Another nod. “Even the long division?” Bright Side scrunched her tiny face into a grimace like she’d just been offered spinach, then returned to smiling and nodding without missing a beat. Across the table, Iron Side gave an amused chuckle as he looked lovingly at his girls. “Then let me get my armor on and we can go, okay?” Sunny Side said before finishing her breakfast and downing her remaining coffee. As Sunny got up from the table, Iron Side put his paper down. “I can’t tell you what a treat it’s been havin’ you back, Sunny,” he said. “I hope you plan on coming back for a while once you’ve finished your time in the Guard.” “Are you kidding? I love this old place!” Sure, Sunny found being a Guard to be a very rewarding experience, but she loved working with the chickens on the farm more than anything. It was her special talent, after all. Sunny Side went up to her room followed by Bright Side, who looked on in childlike wonder as Sunny began applying her golden guard's armor piece-by-piece. "You gonna kill any monsters today?" Bright asked. "Maybe!" Sunny said, grinning playfully as she fastened the straps of the main piece of her armor under her belly. "What about ponies?" "Probably not!" Sunny laughed. "Ants?" "Hey Bright, back up a bit," Sunny said. Her little sister took a couple of steps back. "Little more..." Bright Side stepped backwards until she passed the entrance to the bedroom. Sunny then swiftly shut the door in front of the foal, resulting in an indignant and slightly muffled "Hey!" as Sunny finished putting on her armor. Once Sunny emerged from her room fully suited up, Bright Side promptly stuck her tongue out. As a disciplined mare of the Royal Guard and a symbol of the strength and dignity of Equestria, the most logical action was for Sunny to respond in kind. The two siblings trotted back downstairs, their conflict having escalated to a variety of silly faces by the time they were back in the kitchen, where Iron Side looked on with amusement. Sunny had the decency to look thoroughly embarrassed under her father's gaze, returning to the very picture of stoicism befitting a guardspony. Despite Sunny's earlier display, her father looked at his daughter with the pride of a stallion who had worn the same regal armor himself once. It made her feel good to think that her family was proud of her and Sunny had no intentions of ever letting them down. Soon Sunny and Bright Side made their way to the front door of the humble farm house, and Iron Side got up to see them off. “Bye, Daddy!” Bright Side latched onto her father’s foreleg and squeezed tight. “Bye, angel.” Iron Side patted his baby girl on the head with his other hoof before she let go. He then looked up at his other baby girl. “Uh, see ya!” Sunny said. Iron Side gave an amused smile. One that Sunny knew well and had grown to both love and hate. “Still won’t say goodbye to me, huh?” Sunny tilted her head back and forth. “I never really liked goodbyes. They just seem so pointless.” Regardless, the mare in armor then approached her father and gave him a nuzzle. “After all, you’ll see me again….”   Driving along with Church and Caboose for a few hours, Twilight Sparkle was able to catch a little bit of precious sleep. It was shortly after waking up that she caught the first glimpse of the wind power facility in the distance as their Warthog crested a hill. The early morning light reflected off of the round metal turbine that towered over the tropical forest, making it appear to glow like a distant beacon. Indeed, the structure seemed to be calling to Twilight, the knowledge that it would bring her one step closer to home awakening her senses. She turned to look over her shoulder and saw Washington was still following on his ATV. “Mom. Mom!” Caboose’s funny, high-pitched voice came in from his position on the rear mounted gun. “Mom! Mooooooooooom! Mum!” Twilight turned to Church in the driver’s seat. “Is he talking to me?” Church just shrugged. “Well, he’s not talking to me!” Twilight uneasily looked back at the Blue on the back of their jeep. “Yes, Caboose?” “Are we there yet?” Twilight sighed. “No, Caboose. But we’re almost there.” Twilight turned to look out the front windshield of the Warthog and then quickly looked back over her shoulder at Caboose. “Um… you do know I’m not your mother, right?” “I know! But since we’re on a family road trip and Church is like the father that I look up to and want to be like when I grow up, you are like the mother who’s really nice and gives me cookies.” Twilight said nothing. She merely returned to staring at the road ahead. Church said nothing either and Twilight had the feeling they were both thinking the same really awkward thing. “Dad. Dad! Daaaaaaad!” Church growled. “Shut the fuck up or I’m turning this car around!” In short order they reached the coast, and a twenty minute drive along the sandy beach later they were greeted by a sign that said “UNSC Wind Power Facility: Zanzibar.” It wasn’t long afterwards that they reached the outer wall of the facility… and the local Blue Team’s encampment. The group of about six Blue soldiers that were gathered around a Warthog and a few supply crates turned to look at the new arrivals with curiosity as Church brought their own Warthog to a stop. Twilight looked up at the stone fortress wall that protected the power facility beyond. The wall was brown and decaying, with parts of it collapsed near the top. It was at least twice as tall as the concrete walls of High Ground, and over the top of it Twilight could see the massive metal turbine steadily spinning. “Aw, sweet! Are you guys reinforcements?” someone asked in a deep and kind of goofy voice. Twilight returned her attention to the Blue soldiers before the wall and saw one of them walking toward their vehicle. The man was wearing blue armor like the others, but with white detail on his helmet and shoulder pads. Additionally, the emblem of a red rose adorned one of his shoulders. “I’m the captain of this squad: Reynard Vaez…” he then added, “Junior.” “Captain Vaez. I’m Agent Washington.” Wash pulled up on his ATV and dismounted. Church and Caboose got out of their vehicle as well, and Twilight decided to follow suit. “Aw, sweet! We got a Freelancer?” Reynard then looked down at Twilight. “And a… purple horse? Cool?” “Sorry to disappoint you, soldier. But we’re here on business from Command.” Wash stated. “Welp, that’s unfortunate. The Reds here have really been pushing our shit in lately!” Washington turned toward Church as Reynard noticeably deflated. “Is this the right place?” “Yeah, but there weren’t any Reds or Blues here last time,” Church answered. “Y’know aside from… us.” “And where’s the computer?” “Oh, the Reds have a computer up in the main building,” Reynard answered. “Of course, that’s also where they keep their flag, so…” “Right, I’ll go in and have a look.” Washington walked past Reynard and started making his way along the beach to the arch in the wall that served as the entrance to the facility. “Not alone you’re not!” Church started to follow Washington, but the Freelancer turned and stopped him with a raised hand. “No, you guys should stay here. I don’t want to give the local Reds the wrong impression by bringing a bunch of Blues into their secure facility.” “Hey, if you think we’re gonna just let you run around unsupervised…” “Church!” Twilight said, staring firmly at the man in cobalt. “Let him handle this.” “Thank you,” Washington said irritably before turning back around to continue on his way. “Just be careful not to trample my…” Reynard trailed off as Washington stepped through several red flowers arranged in a patch of soil, “...roses…” Once Washington was out of sight, Church turned and glared down at Twilight. “Hey, since when were you and the Freelancer all buddy-buddy?” “Since when? Since he turned out to be the only realistic chance we have at getting to Equestria!” Twilight glared right back. “Yeah, but don’t you think you’re being a little too trusting?” Twilight groaned. “Well, maybe you’re not being trusting enough!” “Stop fighting! You’re tearing this family apart!” Caboose cried. “Caboose, the grown ups are talking,” Church said with a sigh before addressing Twilight again. “I realized something on the drive over here: I’ve heard the name ‘Washington’ before…” Church stared grimly at Twilight. “Remember when I first told you about Freelancer? About the guy who’s A.I. killed itself inside his head?” “Yeah…” Twilight nodded, unsure of where Church was going with this. At least at first. Her eyes widened as she suddenly realized what the cobalt man was getting at. “Wait, you mean he’s…?” Twilight looked back across the beach where Agent Washington disappeared beyond the stone wall. She had an uneasy feeling that something was off about the Freelancer since the moment she met him, but chalked it up to her own bad feelings about the Freelancer program as a whole. Twilight could only imagine what it must be like to experience first hand the thought process of someone so far gone they wanted to end themselves. By all rights, Washington should not have been as calm and collected as he appeared to be. Looking down at the sand below her hooves, Twilight sighed. “It’s apparent Washington knows things he’s not telling us, but I still want to trust him. We don’t have any other choice.” In spite of her words, Twilight thought of her first conversation with Washington and something he’d said that had deeply unsettled her: For your sake, I hope that the conversion failed. Otherwise, your friends back home are in a lot of trouble... “Hey, Fluttershy? My nose is really super itchy!” Pinkie said, wrinkling her snout. Apart from her head, the pink pony’s entire body was still firmly wrapped in rope. “Think you can scratch it for me? Pretty please?” Fluttershy got up off of the grass and took a couple of steps toward Pinkie Pie. Slowly she raised a hoof and cautiously brought it towards Pinkie’s face. The yellow pegasus then abruptly pulled the appendage back when the party pony chomped at it. “Ha ha ha! Almost got you that time you foolish fool!” “Really Fluttershy? That’s the sixth time he’s done that! I’d think you’d learn,” Rainbow Dash said. The athletic pegasus was currently lazing in the center of the clearing where the group had put all of their bags, using one as a pillow. Fluttershy turned to the other pegasus and looked at her pleadingly. “But what if her nose really is itchy?” Rarity looked away from the growing argument between the two friends as she found her gaze falling on the distant form of Sunset Shimmer as she cast an invisible barrier around the clearing. Their mysterious M.I. expert was currently at the far edge of the clearing they had settled in within the Whitetail Woods. The magical barrier she was creating was designed to keep in any entity that didn’t have a physical body. As soon Sunset Shimmer was briefed on the situation, the unicorn had wasted no time in placing protective enchantments on everypony present. With Omega incapable of jumping into any of them, Sunset Shimmer had next spent a long time speaking with Tex in private. Rarity wasn’t sure about the others, but she thought it seemed just a little odd that Sunset Shimmer displayed very little shock at seeing the large bipedal alien in black armor upon first entering the library. She also couldn’t help but wonder what it was they had been doing while alone. Like the others, Rarity simply assumed they were figuring out a plan together what with the two of them knowing the most about what they were dealing with. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder why the rest of them couldn’t be included in the discussion. Now they were all out in the middle of nowhere far from Ponyville, where Omega wouldn’t be able to jump into anypony else after being forced from Pinkie’s mind. According to Sunset, there would be a significant amount of time Omega could linger in his incorporeal form, but trapped in a secluded location without a body to occupy, he would fade away eventually. “Uh, Rarity?” The white unicorn in question returned her mind to the present and looked beside her at the infant drake that addressed her. “Yes, Spike?” Rarity asked, doing her best to sound at ease for him. “What’s your take on this ‘Sunset Shimmer’ pony?” “Well… I can’t say I care much for the way she just showed up and started ordering us around, but I suppose she’s been a good help so far,” Rarity carefully stated. Spike looked away, furrowing his brow. “It’s just… I don’t know. She just seems kind of shifty to me.” Rarity nodded as something occurred to her. “Yes, I can’t help but shake this feeling about her. I feel like I’ve heard the name ‘Sunset Shimmer’ before, but I can’t put a hoof on where.” “Also, I just thought of something else,” Spike said, leaning in closer to Rarity. Usually whenever he did so, it was with a look of pure infatuation. This time, his serpentine pupils held nothing but seriousness. “Remember what Twilight told us about M.I.s: They were made forbidden one thousand years ago. Don’t you think it’s strange that Princess Celestia just happened to find a pony who’s an expert on them?” Rarity’s delicate eyebrows raised. She hadn’t even considered that. Before she could comment further, the unicorn in question approached their group from the perimeter of the clearing. “Okay, the protective barrier is up. The M.I. shouldn’t be able to leave this clearing once we’ve exorcised it from your friend,” Sunset said. “Oh, it’s okay! I already exercised this morning!” Pinkie chirped. Pinkie’s eyes then immediately rolled as the mare took on a crueler tone that the others had come to know quite well. “I can’t tell whether you’re acting that way to get a few laughs or if you’re actually that stupid, and I should know! I’m literally inside your fucking head!” “Well, that’s mighty fine news and all, but how do we get O’Malley out of Pinkie’s head?” Applejack asked, ignoring the conversation between the M.I. and pony in question. The six friends nearly jumped back in surprise as a small, transparent alien figure in black armor appeared beside Sunset Shimmer. “Well, now that Sunset’s converted me into an M.I., it’s a simple matter of me going in there and routing him from the inside,” the significantly smaller and more see-through Tex said. “Wait, when did that happen?” Spike whispered to the others. Though, Rarity had a hunch. “There’s just one problem,” Tex continued, either not hearing Spike or ignoring him. “There’s no guarantee I’ll actually be able to find him once I’m in there. The last time I did this, I had help from someone who knew the guy Omega had infected pretty well.” “So the question now is: Which one of you thinks you know Pinkie Pie the best?” Sunset Shimmer asked. The four mares and baby dragon all exchanged looks before Rainbow Dash eventually spoke up. “Uh… Pinkie and I hang out a lot. I guess I’ve gotten to know her pretty well in that time.” “Good. Then come with me. We should start setting up the next part of the procedure immediately.” “Now wait just a moment, Ms. Shimmer!” Rarity said firmly as the other unicorn made to turn around in the direction of her bag. “Now, I appreciate the help you’re giving us. I really do. But I don’t care much for the way you’ve been ordering us around and asking us to put all of our faith in you when you haven’t given us any information about yourself!” Sunset Shimmer took a step toward Rarity and glared at her. “The only thing you need to know about me is that I am currently helping you and Princess Celestia as a favor. If I feel this is a waste of my time, I can just leave and let you sort this out yourselves!” “Wait, so you’re not officially working with Princess Celestia?” Spike asked. “Not for a long time…” As Sunset Shimmer turned around and began rummaging through her bags, Rarity’s eyes widened as it finally clicked. “That’s where I’ve heard your name before… I’ve seen it in countless Canterlot tabloids when I was a filly. You were Princess Celestia’s pupil before Twilight!” The others stared in silence as Sunset Shimmer stopped and slowly looked over her shoulder at Rarity. “Is that right? I thought Princess Celestia’s protégés continued to serve her for the duration of their lives,” Spike said. Sunset Shimmer hesitated. “Sometimes, the Princess and her protégé can have… disagreements on very important matters.” Without saying another word, Sunset Shimmer motioned for Rainbow Dash to follow her as she trotted away from the group, levitating a series of gems and crystals. Private Mickhead thought about just how bad his luck was lately as he ran for his life through the dirty, expansive tunnels of Rat’s Nest. Apparently, it wasn’t enough that he nearly had a heart attack during his encounter with the strange purple horse-like alien the night before. Now, just when he was nearly finished with his patrol, he found himself being pursued by a group of three Reds in some sort of modified Warthog. He’d managed to escape the burst of three powerful rocket blasts during their initial ambush and duck into a personnel tunnel where they wouldn’t be able to reach him, but he soon found himself with no other options than to make his way back out into the main tunnels. For a while he thought he’d actually managed to lose them… until their Warthog came screeching around a corner and the Blue private found himself running for his life down the cavernous tunnel with nowhere to hide. Up ahead was a turn in the tunnel. If he could just make it around that corner he could leave their line of sight long enough to find somewhere else to hide. It was then that a loud explosion struck the ground behind him and Private Mickhead was thrown off of his feet and landed on his stomach, his ears ringing and his head spinning. A pit of despair formed in Mickhead’s heart as he tried to move and realized that this was it for him when he couldn’t. As his head started to clear and the ringing in his ears wasn’t so deafening, Mickhead pulled himself up into a sitting position and found himself looking up at three Reds standing over him in front of a parked Warthog. A man in maroon armor was aiming down the sights of his BR as a soldier in standard issue red and another in orange flanked him. “Alright, you blue bellied bastard! We can either do this the hard way or the easy way…” the man in red said in a threatening Southern accent, cocking a shotgun dramatically. “Technically, the easy way would be to do nothing and go home…” the soldier in orange armor said. “I say we do it the easy way!” “Shut up Grif!” the man in red barked. “That’s shut up Grif, Sir!” “Please don’t kill me guys, I have a family!” Private Mickhead begged. “Do you really? Statistically, one in five people who join the army are homeless with nowhere else to go,” the maroon soldier stated very matter-of-factly. “Where the hell do you get these statistics from?” the orange soldier (apparently Grif) asked. “Both of you can it! Now, if this dirty Blue wants to live he’s gonna tell us everything he knows about the Blues that recently left his squad!” the red soldier said, jabbing at Mickhead with his shotgun. “I-I don’t know anything about them!” Mickhead said desperately. “Is that right? Simmons, hit him!” “Yes sir, Sarge!” Simmons said all too enthusiastically. “Wait, not so fast Simmons!” Grif ordered. Private Mickhead was confused. The red soldier “Sarge” carried himself like he was the leader, but this Grif was also giving orders and demanding to be called “Sir.” “Grif, where do you think you get off ordering Simmons around? That’s my thing!” “Where do I get off? I get off because you went AWOL and Command made me the sergeant! I can get off whatever or wherever I want!” “So glad Donut isn’t here…” Simmons muttered. “The fact is, torture just doesn’t work as a viable source of information from prisoners,” Grif continued. “Simmons, get this guy a drink and some cookies, stat!” “Where the fuck am I supposed to find cookies? We’re in the army!” Simmons exclaimed. “Oh yeah, here,” Grif pulled out a package of chocolate chip cookies and handed it to Simmons. “This still begs the question of where you got these!” “What do you think I sold all of our team’s ammo for?” Simmons just groaned before returning his gaze to the injured Private Mickhead. “Hey man, just tell us where the new Blues in your squad went and I’ll give you these cookies.” Private Mickhead blinked. “Oh… that’s all you wanted to know? They left with a Freelancer really early this morning!” “Did they say where they went?” Mickhead shook his head. “They said they were looking for a computer. After they’d figured out where they were going, Caboose kept talking about a beach and how he wanted to ride the windmill…” “Wait a minute, are they going where I think they’re going?” Grif asked, surprise clear in his voice. “If where you think they’re going is the fiery depths of Blue Hell, then yes!” Sarge exclaimed, raising his shotgun as he tried to cock it and giving a puzzled grunt when it didn’t work before realizing, “Oh, right! Already cocked it!” “Uh… this might sound weird, but did the Blues have a small purple unicorn-ish thing with them?” Simmons asked carefully. Mickhead’s heart nearly stopped at the mention of the small purple monster. “Oh yeah, they did! And it’s the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen in my life! I don’t know what compelled them to take it with them!” “Excellent! So we can kill the Blues and capture Twilight Sprinkle for Command in one swift Red stroke! Nice work, Simmons!” Sarge said as he turned around and made his way back to the Reds’ Warthog. “Thanks, sir…” Simmons said in a very quiet, neutered voice as his posture sank. Mickhead wasn’t sure why, but the mention of capturing that little purple abomination really seemed to dampen the maroon man’s spirits. As Simmons bent down to hand Mickhead the cookies he was promised, a thought suddenly occurred to the Blue. “You don’t have Equinophobia too, do you? Because I know what that shit is like!” Simmons just sighed before turning to join his comrades in their vehicle. “Yeah, sure…” A gunshot from a Battle Rifle impacted on the ground near Agent Washington’s feet as he walked past the giant turbine. There was no cover anywhere near where the Freelancer stood, limiting his options significantly. Wash quickly crouched to present a slightly smaller target and immediately raised his own Battle Rifle up in the direction of his attackers. On a metal platform about one story up the main building were three men in red armor. Two of them were aiming down at him with rifles while the third was operating a mounted chain gun. “That’s far enough, you Blue punk!” a shorter than average Red soldier with white detail on his helmet and shoulders called down. He spoke with a slightly high-pitched Jersey accent. “I’m not a Blue! I’m a Freelancer! From Command!” Washington called back. “Yeah, very funny asshole! You think we’re falling for that trick again?” Washington nearly stuttered. “This isn’t a trick! I’m on an important mission from Command! I just need to come inside to take a look at your computer terminal…” “Don’t try to use your fancy fucking logic to try to confuse me! I WENT TO PUBLIC SCHOOL MOTHERFUCKER! That means I’m immune to your smart-ass tricks!” “Yeah, you tell him, Mike!” another Red said. “SHUT UP!” Washington looked down and sighed. “What happened in my life where this is what I have to deal with?” he muttered to himself before returning his attention to the building in front of him. There was a total of five Reds on the platform connecting the main building to the turbine, two of which were on mounted turrets. Additionally, Wash spotted about four more on ground level, taking cover behind concrete barricades at every entrance. He was out gunned and the Reds were well fortified. Washington knew he wouldn’t be able to win if it came to combat. “Alright, fine! I’m leaving! Have fun with your rage and paranoia!” Washington then turned around and started walking back the way he came, ignoring the continued shouting of the angry Jersey Red soldier. This was going to make things much more complicated. Sunny Side walked through the busy-as-usual clearing, brushing past researchers and other guards as she made her way to her objective: the crashed alien ship. Sunny exchanged a few words with the unicorn (a young stallion named Chrome Shield) currently maintaining the dome shield spell. It was a known fact that the guy had a thing for her, but he was also a professional and as soon as she briefed him on her orders, he opened a hole in the shield for her to step through. Inside, Sunny saw her objective: Tome Reader was busy studying the small computer terminal on the side of the cockpit when Sunny approached and gave her a stiff salute. “Private Side reporting, m’am!” Sunny wasn’t usually this formal around Arcane Star. After the first couple of times being assigned to guard him, the head researcher had convinced her to loosen up a bit. She didn’t quite know Tome Reader that well, but apparently she and Star went way back. “Hello, Private. I take it you’ve been assigned as my escort for the day?” the older mare turned to face Sunny and adjusted her glasses. “Yes, m’am!” “No need for that, Sunny. You and Star worked together just fine without all of the tedious formalities,” Tome Reader gave what Sunny thought to be an attempt at a friendly smile, but it looked forced. She clearly had other things on her mind at present. That was when Sunny started wondering why Captain Javelin Spear had assigned her to Tome Reader instead of Arcane Star like usual. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen Arcane Star at all since arriving at the crash site that day. “Um, where is Mr. Arcane Star if you don’t mind my asking?” Sunny asked. “He received a summon from Canterlot last night. It seems one of the princesses wants to question him about his encounter with the escaped alien.” Sunny Side nodded as Tome glanced back at the ship with a concerned look on her face. “Damn shame, too. He was much better at talking to this alien construct than anypony else.” Sunny tilted her head curiously. “Is it giving you problems?” Tome Reader merely tilted her own head in the direction of the computer on the side of the ship. “See for yourself.” Sunny Side trotted past Tome reader to get a better look at the monitor where the researchers had been communicating with the onboard intelligence. Her ears folded down and a cold chill made its way down her spine at the sight of the words repeating down the screen. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. > The Great Destroyer has arrived. The end is near. “Whoa… double Rainbow Dash all the way!” Pinkie exclaimed from her position tied up in the center of the field. “Ooohhh! OOOHHH! What does it mean?!” In front of Pinkie, two Rainbow Dashs stared at each other in wonder. One of them was transparent and significantly smaller than than the other as she floated in place. Applejack trotted up to the ethereal Rainbow Dash and eyed her curiously. “I gotta admit, that’s mighty impressive!” Applejack exclaimed. “I thought it’d be… bigger,” Rainbow Dash said carefully. Applejack turned to face Sunset Shimmer. “So, is this M.I. anything like the real Rainbow Dash?” Sunset Shimmer turned to address the M.I. in question. “Rainbow Dash, how did you get your cutie mark?” A huge grin formed on the M.I. Rainbow Dash’s face as she started flapping her wings (which was unnecessary, considering her ethereal form was floating in place anyway). “It was totally awesome! Some punks were bullying Fluttershy so I challenged them to a race. Not only did I completely kick their flanks, I went so fast I created the first ever sonic rain boom!” The small transparent Rainbow Dash flew circles around Sunset Shimmer, performing little tricks in the air as she told her story before settling down again. Rainbow Dash walked up to her smaller counterpart with a happy grin of her own. “Yeah, I remember that. And you tell it like you were there! You’re pretty cool.” Rainbow Dash offered a hoof for her M.I. counterpart to bump. The little M.I. put everything she had into the hoofbump, but ended up simply passing through Rainbow. “We’ll work on that later.” “So… she really remembers everything that the real Rainbow remembers?” Fluttershy asked as she cautiously approached Sunset Shimmer, keeping her pink mane between them. Sunset Shimmer nodded. “Under normal circumstances, ponies would never make an M.I. complete with the memories of the pony it was based on. Doing so tends to create… problems. Under these circumstances, however, Rainbow’s memories are vital to navigate Pinkie’s mind.” It was then that the small spectral image of Tex appeared before Sunset Shimmer. “Yeah... on that topic, I think it’s time we got started.” Tex’s transparent image swiftly glided in front of Rainbow’s M.I. “Ready to go, kid?” M.I. Rainbow nodded before turning towards the bound Pinkie Pie. “Just hang in there, Pinks. We’ll have you back to normal in no time!” “Okie doki!” Pinkie smiled blissfully as the small visages of Rainbow Dash and Tex moved toward her and disappeared. It wasn’t long after Twilight’s talk with Church before the group saw Agent Washington making his way back across the beach toward them. His stiff posture and brisk pace indicated his meeting with the local Reds did not go well. Reynard Vaez was the first to greet him. “Hey! I told you not to trample my roses…” Captain Vaez trailed off as Washington purposefully walked past him… right through his rose garden. “Your family is dead…” “You don’t look very happy,” Twilight noted as Washington approached. “That’s because I’m not,” Washington said. “We may have a problem.” “You mean like a grammar problem? People tell me I make lots of those,” Caboose said. “Yeah, well those people would be right,” Church said. “No they doesn’t!” “Not only are the Reds really well fortified in the building we need to get into, but they’re not letting anyone in. They seem to be under the impression that any Freelancer who wants to come into their base is just a Blue in disguise,” Washington slowly looked over at Reynard as he finished his sentence. “I… don’t know what you’re talking about,” Reynard said unsteadily. “I’d never send one of my men in there disguised as a Freelancer to steal their flag… and said man would certainly never get caught doing so!” “That’s just great, now how are we supposed to get in there?” Church asked. “Why not just get Captain Vaez’s squad to help us?” Twilight suggested. “Yeah, good guy Reynard would totally help the bunch of assholes who just showed up and trampled his roses! It’s not like he has his own problems or anything,” Reynard said, before looking over at Washington. “That was sarcasm by the way. Fuck you guys!” “Alright, we’ll make you a deal: You help get us into that power facility, and in return we’ll help you get their flag,” Washington proposed. Reynard paused for a moment. “Okay, deal.” “Okay, I have to know: How does acquiring another army’s flag help you win?” Twilight asked. Reynard looked incredulously between Twilight and Church. “Is she serious?” “She’s an alien, dude. You can’t expect her to understand how it works,” Church said. “I’m not convinced you understand how it works,” Twilight argued. “Gather your squad, Captain Vaez,” Washington ordered. “If we’re going to do this, we need to come up with a plan.” Reynard Vaez nodded and turned to where a few other Blue soldiers were standing. Twilight then looked up at Washington uneasily. She could think of nothing else but the question lingering on her mind since her talk with Church. She then thought back to her cryptic conversation with Princess Luna. Why did it seem that the longer she stayed here, the more mysteries seemed to present themselves? For your sake, I hope that the conversion failed. Otherwise, your friends back home are in a lot of trouble, Wash had told her. Though, your friends are probably in trouble regardless. Assuming It has tracked the ship... Twilight couldn’t stand it anymore. She had to start getting answers. “Why are my friends in danger?” Washington looked down at her curiously. “Hmm?” “Back at Rat’s Nest, you said if that ‘Omega’ thing survived the M.I. conversion it would put ponies in danger.” Twilight tried not to let just how afraid she was show, but her slightly trembling voice betrayed her. “But I got the feeling you weren’t just talking about Omega itself.” Washington looked down at the little unicorn apprehensively. After a few moments of silence, he reluctantly spoke. “I’m not the only one who’s looking for Freelancer A.I.s. Something or someone has been systematically killing our program’s top agents and taking their A.I.s and equipment, making itself stronger with every kill.” “Really? Shit, I guess it’s a good thing we haven’t run into this thing yet, huh?” Church said. Washington just shook his head. “No. It’s not. If it’s not here, it’s somewhere… else. Somewhere it can do far more damage…” Dodge City sure was busy that afternoon. At least, that’s what little Bright Side thought as she walked through the center of town. Technically, she was supposed to be waiting at school for her Daddy to pick her up, but curiosity got the better of the light blue filly and she had to see what all of the commotion was about. Everywhere she looked, ponies were running as fast as they could, rushing into their homes and locking their doors. The sound of bells rang consistently throughout the commotion. Bright Side wondered what so many ponies were racing home to do. Some of them screamed and others still were crying, so whatever it was they had to do in their houses must not have been very fun. Then Bright Side saw the stranger. It was unlike any pony she had ever seen before, towering above on its hind legs, its forelegs hanging loosely at its sides. It was covered head to hoof (or whatever the things it stood on were called) in armor, but not the same kind that her sister wore for the Guard. The armor it wore was white, with additional mismatched parts here and there. Whatever face it might have had was covered by a helmet encompassed by a reflective gold dome. Admittedly, the sight of the stranger frightened Bright Side initially, but she was a filly who believed in the goodness inherent in every pony… or whatever the stranger was. So Bright Side took it upon herself to do the same thing she did for every new arrival to her hometown. The little filly trotted right up to the towering stranger and brightly smiled up at it. “Welcome to Dodge City!” The stranger did not so much as glance down at her. It seemed focused on something further down the rapidly emptying street. Bright Side turned around, followed its gaze, and saw about half a dozen guards galloping towards them in time with the constantly ringing bells. The filly’s ears perked up. Maybe her sister was with them! She could introduce her to the stranger! Bright Side then heard a sound like an animalistic growl, only it sounded distorted and artificial. The stranger walked past her and began a slow stride toward the squad of guards who had all stopped their charge and were staring up at the stranger with looks of awe and fear. Then she saw her Daddy. Iron Side came bolting around a corner behind the assembled guards and began looking around with frantic wide eyes. Of course, Bright Side remembered she was supposed to wait at school until he came to get her so she called out to her Daddy and gave him a little wave so he wouldn’t worry. When he looked at her, his pupils shrunk even further and his ears folded back. Bright Side really hoped her Daddy wasn’t mad at her for not waiting at school. Then she saw the stranger as it reached around to its back and pulled out a large black instrument. Whatever the device was, it had a great twisted blade attached to it. Looking at the stranger, Bright Side thought its armor was glowing a little bit. After hearing another unnatural growl, Bright Side started to doubt what she’d believed all of her young life: Perhaps all things weren’t inherently good after all.