//------------------------------// // Preparations // Story: Titanfall: New Horizons // by Necrogen Lord //------------------------------// Twilight and her friends spent the rest of the day recovering from their encounter with the Humans by trying to comprehend their position in the safety of Fluttershy's abode. Tried. With little to no warning to their arrival and the threat of the Hydra coming from equal warning, along with the pressure of being interrogated by Celestia's guard upon the Human's departure, to say they were under pressure would be like laying that Discord can get a bit out of hoof. They were all inside Fluttershy's cottage trying to recollect what had transpired and began to compare notes on what they should expect, along with what they should plan out in the near future. Pinkie being the first one to talk about it, as usual. "So, do you think they'll have bigger flying things, or do you think that they'll come down with more people, ready to party their flanks off!? OOH! Maybe we should see if they left any kind of invitation to their big ship thingie, or maybe some kind of teleporter that can beam us up to their ship, or if they left some notes on what they eat! You think they'll be able o digest cake? * Gasp * What if they CAN'T EAT CAKE!?!?!? THAT WOULD BE THE WORST THING EVAAAAAARR!!!!!!" Twilight came up to the pink mare to try and calm her. "Pinkie, relax. I'm sure they'll just be here to ask for some samples for their whole fuel situation before anything else. We can ask them later what they can eat, and see where to go from there. For now, let's just let the Royal Planners handle things, okay?" "But, but, but!!!" "Pinkie." She let out a sigh of defeat and nodded to Twilight before returning to her seat on the couch. Next to her was a recovering Rainbow Dash, with her wings in splits and casts, some of which showed the alien bandaging from earlier. Applejack, next to her, turned to Twilight after eying said bandages for some time. "Twi, do ya think they'll be as nice as the ones we saw earlier?" Twilight nodded slowly after some seconds of consideration and smiled faintly. "I hope so. Joshua did say that he was their leader, but I'm not sure if he meant for their entirety or just that team. I know that he wouldn't give names unless he was sure, though. It's a lot like any other leader would do, give a name so the next meeting wouldn't feel too rushed. He's probably sitting up there, right now, thinking of what he'll bring up at the meeting, or what kind of knowledge his kind will share." \\\\\\////// "So, are the Titans going to be ready to kick some ass by Drop-Time?" Joshua asked the technician. "It's a bit hazy right now sir, but we have a custom Atlas ready for drop on your command." They looked over to the green and orange beast of a weapon in the launch tube as it held onto it's XO-16 Chaingun, along with the slight boxy bulge underneath the gun, signifying the extended clip upgrade to the weapon. "What's it got in terms of ordnance and defenses?" "Well, sir, it's got a single-fire cluster missile with a fast-reload upgrade, and a particle-field defensive attachment, all equipped with a damage-boost core and an accelerated attachment for the core, as well." "Good. That means precise, contained blows and a faster boost time on the field. Well done." With that, the Titan was loaded into the lower bay, along with the Drop-Pods readied for exo-atmospheric insertion, and Crows awaiting weaponization for the imminent war. \\\\\\////// "Twilight is right, darling," started Rarity, "we can be sure that with the gentlecolts they are, they'll be here on time and possibly willing to start a trade with our cultures. Maybe even a little dash of Rarity originals, here and there." Twilight shook her head and chuckled slightly at her friend's interpretation of the situation at hoof, but decided it best to let her cope this way. She shifted her gaze to Fluttershy, who had been quieter than usual, and saw her there with a blank stare. "Fluttershy?" At that, her senses kicked her to reality and forced her to join in Twilight's question. "Oh, um, yes, Twilight?" "What's wrong? Aren't you excited? This is First Contact! Why do you seem so... distant?" "I was, um... just... remembering the Hydra and that... it... how it didn't even try to listen to reason... and that they..." at that, Fluttershy began to tear up and cry, and was then comforted by Twilight and Rarity going to her side. "Darling, please, just try to explain. Is it that they... killed it?" She nodded shakily and quickly, then Twilight moved in. "Fluttershy, please, it was going to eat us, and even you couldn't talk to it. They saved us by doing what needed to be done. It may not have been the preferred way, but we're here because they had to and did so." "T-T-Twilight, I k-know that, but... w-what about how f-fast they k-k-killed it? Those things they h-had?" she sniffled. Twilight felt like a train hit her. The weapons they were using were beyond advanced. They had no magical discharge or back-firing of any kind, and when they made contact with the Hydra, every hit seemed to rip the usually magic-proof scales of the beast. Even more, some were larger than others, and fired off a series of cracks in succession. She couldn't feel them being used at all, nor could she feel any kind of magic hitting the Hydra, it just... died. "Celestia, you're right. They had complete control over their magic weapons and hit it hard enough to kill... but they went completely unnoticed by my feel for magic." She shot a worried look to Rarity, who also realized the seriousness of the revelation, and turned to the rest. Twilight then shook her head and started. "No, they didn't hurt us, even when they had the chance. We could have just as easily been food for them like the Hydra would have done and not have even given it a second thought, yet they chose to make sure we were alright. They even gave up some medicine to help Rainbow Dash! We don't need to worry about their weapons, Fluttershy, because they're in good hooves." \\\\\\////// "Smith, God Dammit!" Joshua yelled at the Grunt as the fully-automatic carbine was ripped from his hands. "What'd I do now?" "YOU ALMOST BLEW MY DAMN HEAD OFF YOU MORON!" Juarez yelled. "Sorry, princess." "Smith, two hundred laps around the exercise room and toilet duty for three months." Joshua deadpanned. "WHAT!? WHY!?" "Because now." Joshua stated. The Grunt stormed off towards the other side of the ship as Joshua shook his head. \\\\\\////// 3 Days Later \\\\\\////// Celestia trotted back and forth between the sets of tables along the War Room in Canterlot Castle, trying to ensure the maximum security for the borders of Equestria from the Griffon invaders. She contemplated whether or not she could call in for allied support, but was stuck with excuses. The Minotaurs were already declining ahead of the question, stating that their duties to guard Tartarus' gates are more important than the war at hoof, Zebras were refusing to go to war at all, and the Changelings were still recovering after having their people finally getting laws in place for equal rights among Equestria, and were too few to make a difference, anyways. Her options were limited and the defenses were scattered at best. Luna came up behind her and sparked conversation. "Sister, the time for the 'Humans' arrival draws near. We should not try and build any more stress by undertaking the military defenses of Equestria alone. Let the Generals do their work, or at least allow me to share the burden." "Luna, I'm sorry, but if our kingdom is under attack while the aliens try to make contact with us, they may see it as an act of war against them entirely. We may be strong, you and I, as well as the Elements, but we cannot survive a war that can fall from every part of the sky at any second." Luna placed a hoof on Celestia's shoulder and tried to calm her. "Please, the Griffons would not dare to attack so soon. Not after their defeat mere hours ago." "That was because our Pegasi had matched them one to one. Had the Wonderbolts not been touring, Apploosa would have fallen to them, and from there... I can't just expect these to happen for the rest of the war, and we need to make sure that First Contact goes well, otherwise we'll be fighting two losing wars." "Sister, please." Celestia turned to see Luna's eyes in their begging mode, and melted soon after. She smiled at her sister and sighed. "Alright. Let the Generals know of this. We need to ready Ponyville for another of it's most important days." \\\\\\////// 1 Day Later \\\\\\////// Joshua stood at the bridge with his crew as they watched the Griffons balloons make their way through jagged mountains in a single-filed line below the mountain tops, avoiding any line of sight from the town near it. "Smart move, using that kind of cover," admitted the Pilot, "they're not even ready for a simple battle, let alone an invasion of this scale." The screen showed a straight downwards view of Ponyville and the mountains by the Everfree Forest, showing large amounts of color flowing through the village as First Contact neared, and approximately 50 warships inbound from the Everfree. Scans showed they had some cannons already pointed towards the town, should they be noticed, but had enough cover to not need it. The velocities of the vehicles, coupled with their size, mass, and turning abilities, had about two days left before they reached their destination. The Militia were ready six days ago. Some of the crew even recommended that they fire now, as to not allow the war-hungry Griffons anywhere near the innocent Ponies. However, Joshua was in charge now, and he said that without any evidence, orbital bombardment wouldn't bode well with the leaders of either, seeing as how they would be shooting a landmark for the Ponies, and how close it would be to their town. The plan was to wait. Wait until the Griffons were in visible range of Ponyville and they were ready to attack. Then the Militia would come in and stop the invasion, leaving a somewhat good impression on the first step to an alliance. All that was left, was the execution of Operation: Skyfall.