In the morning that preceded, the humming of the Mother Goose aircraft in the castle grounds drew attention to a few passersby. Several crew members were working around the clock, tuning up the wheeled vehicles strapped down to the cargo bay’s floor. The large multi-wheeled truck had its rear trunk covered with a dark green canvas shielding. The small buggy next to it was outfitted with a heavy vulcan rifle mounted on the top of the roll cage. The buggy’s wheels had heavy treads, which enabled it to grip most surfaces. The rugged suspension allowed it to travel across treacherous terrain.
One of the members sat in the driver’s seat of the buggy. The electric starter hummed to life, and current from the crystal flowed from the junction box to the motor housing. The belts that kept the buggy anchored were removed, and the motor drummed quietly, sending the buggy forward and onto the ramp. The buggy rolled onto the grass of the castle grounds, and parked beside the walkway. The driver slapped the bar of the roll cage next to her. “Workin’ like a charm!”
The sound of the truck’s electric starter roared, almost sounding like a real diesel engine. The motor itself was much quieter, and a silent drumming caused the truck to move forward a few feet. They were moving both vehicles into deployment position in the cargo bay, in preparation for scouting the object that landed near the township of Ponyville overnight.
When the truck was strapped into position, the buggy backed itself up to the ramp, and slowly inched its way to its designated deployment spot next to the truck. It was significantly larger and longer than the buggy—able to carry two of the same buggies within its trunk. The cab of the truck could comfortably seat several crew members at any given time, including the driver.
Otan stood next to the door of the driver’s seat to the truck. The driver, a Shadowcon engineer, stuck his head out to converse with Otan.
“How’s that thing working for ya, Darren?”
“It’s functioning perfectly, sir—purring like a kitten!”
“Good to hear!” Otan gave the driver the thumbs up. “I’m gonna go get the commander. Make sure everything is nice and tidy when I come back.” He gently bumped the door with a clenched fist, as he turned around and proceeded to walk out of the cargo bay.
“Sure thing!”
~~~~~~
The morning sun shot through the open window next to Asura’s bed. He opened his eyes lazily to find himself straddled between his sheets and Luna. She was sound asleep, and she had her forehooves wrapped around his chest. She nestled her head alongside his, fondling her muzzle against his cheek. From what he could tell, she was incredibly happy; her wide grin stretching from either side of her nostrils.
On occasion, he heard her exhaling with a relaxing groan. It coaxed him to close his eyes again. He still heard her voiced rummaging through his mind, though it did not seem incredulously awkward. Instead, he found it welcoming, and allowed her to prod her way through his memories. He felt lethargic in her grasp, unable to get himself up from her soothing presence. At the same time, his mind rambled on about the day’s events that would unfold. There was a task that needed to be done, and it had to be done sooner than later.
At that moment, he felt Luna’s head lifting off of him. Her turquoise eyes, glazed with indolence, peered onto his. She continued to smile.
“Good morrow,” she said, weakly. “How is min sleepy star child?”
Asura yawned, stretching his arms across the bed. “Great. I feel… strangely energized.” His mind cleared up, and he felt the swirling energies around him take hold. It continued to haunt him that his stone was nowhere to be seen, yet he could still feel its presence. It felt like it was coming from the other side of the wall, in Celestia's room.
Luna chortled, and leaned her head down. She planted a tender kiss on his lips, in which he gratefully accepted. There was a knock on the door. They both tore away from their kiss, and Luna shimmied herself off of Asura, laying herself flat on the bed next to him.
Asura stared at the door. “Yes?”
Cadence’s voice beckoned through. “Asura, it’s me—Cadence.”
“What is it?”
“Your friend, Otan, is requesting your presence in Celestia’s room.”
“I’ll be right there.” Asura sat up and dropped his feet to the linen floor. He stood up carefully, expecting the pain to return to him like last time. Surprisingly, there was no pinprick or sudden stimulation of any sort of pain within his body. Luna sat up on the bed and rubbed his shoulders moderately. He was not used to this kind of attention, yet somehow Luna managed to hit her stride with him. She knew what pleased him, thanks in part to her dream walking—prodding through his mind like a string woven into fabric.
He sighed in relief, as Luna continued massaging his shoulders. She dragged her hooves across his back, carefully twirling her hooves around on his pale skin. She came across a soft spot, and Asura moaned in satisfaction as she rubbed her hooves on his lower back. She giggled at the thought of crippling him to the ground at the mere touch of her hooves.
Luna pulled her hooves away from him, his skin yearning for more of her soothing fondling. He grasped the mahogany shirt that was on the oak desk next to the bed and he slipped it on with methodical precision. Luna was surprised at how well he did so without effort. She had seen other ponies wear clothes before, but it seemed like it’d be a challenge for them to change into their outfits.
Luna stepped off of the bed and followed him to the door. As he opened it, he caught sight of Cassandra passing by.
Cassandra turned around to notice, and she smiled. “Morning, sir.”
Asura saluted. “Top of the morning to you, corporal,” he sighed deeply, smelling the delicious baked good from the room next door.
“We’re about to start our briefing in Celestia’s quarters. Atlas GHQ is online with us.”
“Oh, right,” he snapped. “I almost forgot about that.” A quaint smiled followed. “Be right there.”
“Yes, sir.”
~~~~~~
Warm pastries and several tea pots were set cleverly on the table in the middle of Celestia’s room. In front of the fireplace, the wireframe atlas hovered complacently above the watch. Twilight and her friends sat nearest to the balcony, along with the princesses, Cadence, and Shining Armor closest to the fireplace. Discord stood between the princesses, eying the rotating globe precariously. Several of the royal guards, including Luna’s night guards, sat firmly beside the princesses and the captain.
“You know, I’ve always wondered how they’re able to accomplish something like this,” Discord pondered. “Being the lord of chaos, you’d think that I’d know just about everything there is to know about our world.”
“They seem to know how to use such ‘technology,’ as they put it,” Shining Armor replied.
Discord continued to lay eyes on the sphere. Asura walked into the room, and all of the Harmony crew saluted to his presence, including Randan and, oddly, Shining Armor.
“At ease,” Asura said, calmly. At those words, the crew set their hands to their sides. Some sat down on the couch, while others continued to stand. Randan joined Asura next to the atlas.
“Good morning, everyone,” Randan spoke. “I hope everyone, and everypony, had a good night’s rest, despite the recent events that took place last night.”
There were a few murmurs amongst the crowd. “As you all may be aware, HSAT One had identified a falling object that crashed south of our position near the residence known as Ponyville, as indicated by the princesses. Both Skyhawk drones were re-tasked to identify any remnants of the wreckage after impact.”
A large screen appeared in front of the sphere, between Randan and Asura. “The fragments left behind the impact appeared to have belonged to a vessel released by an aggressor flagship. We are now aware of their looming presence, and Atlas GHQ has begun preparations for early-warning defensive measures.”
Asura stood forth, taking the floor. “As it stands currently, we are not entirely certain whether the wreckage left behind any survivors, or if it was just a blank shot out to intimidate us. In light of that, we will carry out an investigation of the crash site to determine if there are survivors. If there are any, they will be taken into custody and interrogated by our Civil Defense services and the Equestrian Council.” He looked over to the princesses, who nodded in response.
“If, for any reason, the situation proves to be dangerous, if the survivors respond with any form of hostility towards our forces, we will retaliate in earnest until the situation is brought under control. This will, primarily, be a search and seizure mission, but we will be fully armed in case of an emergency.”
Asura stepped back to allow Randan to speak. “At this time, Harmony MG-1 will be deployed from its current station on Canterlot grounds to the outskirts of Ponyville.” He placed both hands on the globe and motioned them apart to allow the map to zoom in on the town. He pointed out the grass fields nearest to the crater. “We will land the Harmony to deploy the Buzzard and Entourage carrier within the Harmony’s cargo bay. The Buzzard will serve as our heavy artillery defensive counter measure if we encounter stiff opposition. We do not expect fierce resistance, since the crash should leave most of the shuttle’s occupants disoriented; however, in the off chance that we do, we will have some counter measure against them.”
Asura cleared his throat. “Keep in mind that we do need to keep the civilians of the town in check. We cannot let them get in to harm’s way. If we discover any injuries, we will have a medical team respond immediately following containment of any breakouts.”
Randan scanned the crowds diligently. “Are there any questions or outstanding concerns from anyone?”
No hands or hooves rose from either crowd.
“Good. Effective immediately, we will carry out Combat Patrol Initiative C-117— we will conduct a search and seizure campaign of any surviving aggressor individuals, where they will be brought under the light of the sun.” With a single wave through the globe, the wireframe sphere flickered out of existence and let the fireplace come into view once more. Asura knelt down and picked up the watch, who then strapped it firmly to his arm.
“Dismissed.”
~~~~~~
“This is Atlas GHQ. All available units; Initiative C-117 is now in effect. Mission is deemed under codename, ‘Operation: Iron Horse.’”
Cassandra manned the communications panel in the Harmony vessel. “Copy, Atlas. This is Harmony MG-1. We are beginning final pre-flight checks.”
Outside, Asura stood at the foot of the ramp leading up into the cargo bay. The impeller units of the vessel hummed quietly, letting a modest amount of air flow through its manifolds to the turbine barrels. Celestia and Luna stood next to their chariot, making sure that the guards were properly mounted to their harnesses.
Rainbow Dash had already sped her way towards Ponyville, while Twilight and her remaining friends tagged along with Asura and his crew. Discord took one step onto the metallic platform with his dragon foot, hesitant if the ramp would take hold of his form or if he would simply crumple it into a wad of scrap. Shining Armor trotted his way up the ramp, followed by a procession of guards behind him. Cadence stood next to Shining Armor, hugging herself close to him, as if she were to anticipate a rough flight on the oversized ‘chariot.’
Asura took a few steps up the ramp. He noticed the tall draconequus standing still as stone, and turned himself around to come face to face with the creature. “Is there something wrong?” Asura asked.
Discord looked at Asura with an uncertain gaze. “I’m not overly fond of stepping on to unknown territory. I would’ve preferred Celestia’s carriage had I been given the chance.”
“Well, it wouldn’t do you any good to have one foot off the ground,” Asura said, shrugging at the creature’s hesitance.
“I think I can manage. After all, I’m quite used to standing on one foot. You see, I do so all the time, although I guess you could say that I’m standing on two feet, but that’s just how Celestia sees me.” Discord took another step up—this time, his confidence grew. The ramp held up to his weight without any effort or strain.
Asura raised an eyebrow. “I don’t believe I’ve introduced myself to you. My name is Asura.” He held his hand out Discord.
He stifled his augmented nose. “I’m Discord, the lord of chaos.” He felt Twilight’s eyes burrow into his skull. “Ahem… ‘reformed’ lord of chaos.” He held out his lion paw, and shook hands with Asura. “It’s my pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Asura.”
The humming of the impellers above became more noticeable. The air around the vessel began to whip around and drown out all other sounds around them. Promptly, Asura waved his hands to get the rest of the crew on board. On his cue, the princess’ chariot elevated itself off of the ground, with the pegasus guards powering through the skies. The ramp lifted off the ground slightly until it came flush with the rest of the cargo bay floor.
Within moments, the grass field began to move away from view, as the vessel hovered off of the ground. The strong currents produced by the turbines flattened the grass underneath and even caused a few bystanders to topple over from the sheer force of the artificial winds. The grass field gradually became smaller and smaller, until the castle structures themselves became small as well. The vessel had been given enough clearance off of the elevated ground to move forward towards their destination.
Asura felt the aircraft tip forward slightly. The grounds of Canterlot began to move away from them at a slow rate. The operators knew that the rear door was open, so they did not maneuver the vessel into full flight. Slowly but surely, the Harmony vessel made its way across the skies toward Ponyville.
~~~~~~
Spike shut the front door of Twilight’s house behind him and began to run at full speed towards the southern edge of town. He saw Rainbow Dash fly by the side of the house earlier, and decided to go see what she was up to. While he was running through town, other ponies trotted their way towards the Everfree Forest as well, equally curious of the ruckus that had occurred the following night. Spike noticed Celestia’s chariot in the skies, and made a sharp dash through the thickening crowds.
He spotted Mayor Mare towards the front of the assembly. He dashed right past her, and quickly made his way through the open fields and over the bridge to where Rainbow Dash hovered herself. She was feet from the lip of the crater, which was surprisingly smaller than she had anticipated.
“Rainbow Dash!” he exclaimed, heaving heavily in exhaust from his mad sprint. “Is… everything… alright? What happened? Where’s Twilight?”
Rainbow Dash turned around and hugged Spike with a gorgeous smile. “Well, am I happy to see you again!” She propped him down from her bubbly embrace. “Twilight should be here any moment. We seem to be put in a sticky situation. I don’t know what this dent in the field is all about, but our new arrivals should be able to tell.”
Spike stroked a claw on his cheek. “New arrivals?”
“Yeah. Didn’t Twilight tell you about them?”
“Not really…” he shrugged. He noticed a single metallic winged formation perched on the ground upon stilted legs. “Is that what you’re referring to?”
Rainbow Dash spotted the drone that Spike pointed out. “Well, that is one of them, but the others should be arriving here soon.” She saw the chariot land just a fair distance away from them. The princesses promptly hopped off and were quick to approach Spike and Rainbow.
“Princess Celestia,” Spike said, cheerfully. “Princess Luna. Am I glad to see you two.”
“I’m glad to see you’re okay, Spike,” Celestia said, gleaming happily.
Luna walked past them, acknowledging Spike’s presence. She carefully scanned the edge of the crater and saw the bits of metal the drones analyzed on the sides of the excavated dirt. She looked over to her right to see one of the drones perched on the ground. She made her way towards it, keeping her regal stance. The drone’s gimbals followed her approach.
“Hath thou seen anything of unusual happenstance between last night and now?” she asked.
The voice of the drone crackled. “Negative. I have not received any indication of unusual activity prior to your arrival.”
Spike scratched his head. “What is that…?”
Celestia knelt her head close towards Spike. “We have new guests in Equestria. Has Twilight not spoken of them to you yet?”
“...No.”
“I think that’s them right there,” Rainbow Dash pointed out the odd shape of the starship Harmony in the distance. It was barely out of sight, but the sun’s reflection on the metal airframe gave it enough visibility to be picked out from a distance.
“Good eye, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia praised.
The shape of the aircraft became more profound as it inched its way closer. The sound of its turbines became apparent, and the onlookers of Ponyville turned around to get a good look of the vessel. Its white body and wings gleamed seamlessly in the sun’s light, and the tip of its nose was covered in black padding—its edges slightly charred from countless deployments into various planetary descents.
When the aircraft got closer to the ground, it picked up a modest amount of dust from the jet wash. Trees swayed violently as it passed over the edge of the Everfree, orienting itself to drop off its cargo. Within a few minutes, the aircraft lowered itself onto the open grass field with plenty of room to maneuver. It was much more spacious than the Canterlot grounds.
The bay door lowered itself to the ground once the aircraft touched down. The impeller units remained active, and the vehicles parked inside moved their way out, rolling down the ramp and guiding themselves just beyond the edges of the vessel on the field. Afterwards, Asura and his crew stepped off of the ramp and onto the field, followed by Twilight and her friends. Shining Armor, Cadence, and a procession of royal guards followed suit, with Discord trailing behind. Once the group was a fair distance away, the Harmony lifted off of the ground and hovered in the air, close to the town.
Cassandra’s voice broke through Asura’s watch. “Harmony MG-1 to commander; we’ll be providing close air support while your team investigates the crash zone.”
“Copy, Harmony,” Asura replied. “Make sure to keep your missiles on their mark when the need arises. We only have limited supplies.”
“Roger.”
Asura and his crew approached the princesses. He noticed the small purple dragon next to Celestia. The dragon stared back at him with widened eyes, and its mouth drooped in awe.
Celestia smiled. “You came just in time.”
Asura nodded. Spike shook his head madly, attempting to set his thoughts straight. The being, dubbed Asura, that stood before him was, strikingly, modest and polite. “Uhh…” he spoke, trying to find words to put through his mouth. “Hi there, mister…”
Asura grinned at the sight of the talking dragon. “Hello to you, little one.”
“Spike!” Twilight shouted. Before Asura could even blink, he saw a streak of violet tackle the little dragon to the ground next to the group. Twilight hugged Spike tightly, smiling and giggling while tickling him at the same time. “Oh, I’m so happy you’re okay!”
Spike laughed alongside Twilight. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you Twilight.”
“Oh, me too. I’ve wanted to tell you all about these new arrivals, but I was so caught up with them and the princesses.”
“Heh heh, it’s alright, Twilight. I can understand that a princess’s duty always takes priority.”
Twilight chuckled. “Oh, I’m lucky and always happy to have you as my ‘humble’ assistant!”
Putting the bubbly moment aside, Asura addressed himself to Celestia. “Shall we go take a look?”
“Be my guest,” Celestia held her hoof out to the crater. To their surprise, it wasn’t as big as they thought it’d be. Asura motioned a few of his crew to escort him and Celestia to the edge, and Shining Armor did the same with his guards.
Peering over the edge, Asura noticed the strange mound of dirt that was, loosely, piled up in the center of the crater. There were only a few large metal shards to be seen, which comprised of most of the pod that landed at this spot. He expected to see more—he expected to find multiple individual capsules. Instead, the entirety of the shuttle’s remains was perfectly centered about the dirt mound. It’d be a chore just to get the large individual pieces into the back of the Entourage carrier.
~~~~~~
Underneath the soft, moist dirt, the Rygolith Scorpion burrowed its way through the ground, leaving behind moist mulch as it tunneled its way underneath the gathering. It picked up the various movements of footfalls above, and it made careful calculations—preparing its first strike.
‘Time to make my first mark.’
The scorpion angled itself upward and rocketed itself towards the surface—poised for its first surprise attack upon the unsuspecting gathering.
~~~~~~
A few of the crew held their rifles toward the center of the mound, with the royal guards pointing their spears in a similar manner. Asura and Shining Armor made their way to the center of the crater. Asura tapped his fist on the metal siding of the broken capsule. The sound resonated lightly in the air.
The ground beneath them shook. It was a strange reaction. ‘Survivors, possibly?’
Asura and Shining Armor looked at each other and decided to vacate the crater promptly. Another shockwave shook the ground—this time, the ground slightly heaved in the middle of the group.
“Hold your ground!” one of the soldiers shouted.
“Oh, the poor critters,” Fluttershy said, shivering in fright.
The rest of the soldiers shouted amongst one another, pointing their rifles at the elevated grass mound. In a split second, the ground behind them exploded, sending a cloud of dirt into the air and spraying clumps of grass and rocks upon the group. The crew members and the Equestrians spread themselves away from the spray of dirt.
In a few moments, the dust cleared to reveal the hulking Rygolith behemoth.
“SKORPION!!!” one of the soldiers shouted, and opened fire on the beast. The rifle’s gunfire dominated the air, and the Rygolith let loose a shrill howl. Bullets ricocheted off of its metal scales. The royal guards surrounded the princesses, who were shocked in fright by the appearance of the beast.
The scorpion’s pincers revolved at a rapid speed, and a light field surrounded the front end of it. Bullets bounced off of the field, closing its distance to the dispersing crew.
Asura, in a snap decision, tackled Celestia down into the lip of the crater, followed suit by Shining Armor diving in with his guards that soon trailed behind in panic. A blast of energy flew over the lip of the crater, originating from the Rygolith. Asura covered his head, and dust from the concussion wave covered them in a light film. When the dust settled, he quickly got up on both feet.
“Stay here!” he shouted, and took out his handgun. Approaching the edge of the crater, he saw the scorpion advancing toward his comrades in the distance. They were still pelting the beast with gunfire.
Celestia shook wildly, peering her head above Luna’s backside and getting a good look of Asura before he disappeared beyond the edge. The deafening pattering of gunfire ringed through her ears, momentarily swallowed out by the Rygolith’s intimidating scream. Shining Armor hunched over her, hugging her in a protective embrace.
“Are you alright, princess?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
The scorpion slowly stammered its way across the field on all eight legs. Its twirling pincers became enveloped in deep violet flames. After bellowing out with another shrill scream, trails of violet energy shot out from its claws, impacting the ground near its assailants with small explosions, toppling a few of them over. Its tail swung lazily from side to side, as it inched closer to the group.
Discord backed himself away, following the retreating soldiers behind him. He held both his hands up and tweaked his head to the side. "Try this on for size!" With a simple wave of his paw, the ground in front of him curled up and rolled straight for the scorpion. It retaliated by digging its claws right through the curling grass and dirt with effortless ease. The beast cackled at Discord.
Scrunching his nose, his eagle talons became enveloped with spinning tendrils of black roots, which disappeared in the ground beneath him. Before long, the roots re-emerge, surrounding the creature in a cage of black spindling roots. He saw the beast rip apart the roots with nothing but its rotating claws, slicing their way through the thicket. More roots sprung up in their place, before getting torn down once again by the scorpion's rage.
Asura studied the beast, as the dark tendrils continued to assault it. “Buzzard! Give it everything you’ve got—right at its front door!” he shouted in his watch.
“Yes, sir!” he heard the prompt reply.
He saw the buggy in the distance maneuver itself upon a small incline of the field. He saw the flash of the vulcan pulse rifle swivel into position. In a split moment, he dove behind the bridge into the culvert, just before hitting the water below. He held on to the edge, letting his legs break through the surface of the calm river.
The sound of the pulse rifle was deafening, even from a far distance. The explosions of the rifle’s rounds caught the scorpion off guard for a moment, but quickly enveloped itself within its protective field. The force of the rounds picked the scorpion off of its legs, even with the energy field surrounding it. It flew backwards in the air, each round pushing it farther. Discord dove into the dirt after a few explosive rounds whizzed past him.
When the rifle ceased its fire, the scorpion landed on all of its legs. It covered itself in a heavier field and its claws rotated at high speeds. The energies between its claws intensified, amplifying the strength of the field in front of it. It sent the field flying forward towards the buggy.
“This is Buzzard; taking immediate evasive action!”
The field flew right through the buggy, sending it cartwheeling backwards. Miraculously, it landed back on the ground on all four wheels. The occupants held on as they were thrashed around from the vehicle's prompt landing.
Asura pulled himself out from the culvert. “Skyhawks One and Two, you have permission to engage the target! Make every shot count!”
“Yes, sir! This is Skyhawk One—fox two!”
A trail of white smoke made its way to the scorpion in a split second, erupting the ground around it in a massive fireball. The concussion wave of the blast shook the ground around the blast. Asura covered the base of his ears to protect himself from the thundering explosion. The dust surrounding the blast fell and covered the area lightly.
The scorpion walked out of the smoldering ashes with its protective field surrounding it.
“This thing just won’t give up, will it?” he growled under his breath. ‘Time for Plan B!’ He clenched his fist, and a surge of energy flowed through his body. Unexpectedly, he felt the sudden surge of the elemental energies flow right through his own. He felt the presence of the elemental guardians pass by his spirit.
‘What astounding timing. What took you folks so long?’
It wasn’t a lot of energy, but it was enough for him to be able to handle the situation. Within that moment, a streak of gold materialized on his back in blinding brilliance. His sword soon took shape, strapped on his back with a golden sheath. The bronze hilt shone in the sunlight with unparalleled luminance. He slid the sword out from its sheath and charged toward the scorpion.
Celestia poked her head just beyond the lip of the crater, with Luna following suit. They saw Asura charging the beast with a long sword in his grasp. The scorpion was prepared to fire its field at the drone high up in the sky.
Moments before firing, it heard the footsteps of an individual running up to it. It turned around to see Asura high up in the air—his sword pointing straight at it. It covered the bulk of its body with its huge claws, as the energy field dissipated. Asura landed on its claws, and he jumped onto the top of its body. The scorpion frantically clamored about, attempting to bump him off of its back. It armed its stinger to try and stab him, but every attempt was in vain, as he cleverly dodged each strike.
On its fourth strike, Asura swung his blade clean through the tail of the beast. It yelped in pain, further accelerating its trampling pace. It was desperate to get him off, but its attempts would soon prove futile. With its limp stinger hanging off the end of its tail, it attempted to use the rest of its tail as a bludgeon, swiping across itself to push him off. Still, all efforts were in vain, for as soon as it made its third swipe, Asura jumped high into the air. On his descent, he thrust the sword deep into the carapace of the Rygolith, sending it into a mad frenzy of howling pain. Its second jump flung Asura off of its back.
Asura landed on both feet, skidding a short distance on the ground several meters from the shouting scorpion. Its cries of pain roared across the field; its deep blue blood dropped out from the bottom of its wound where the sword punctured through. It tried to get a hold of the sword with its massive claws, yet it could never reach the tiny protrusion of the hilt. The beast’s outcries slowly died down, and it fell flat on the ground. Each of its heavy breaths drew out a whining moan.
Its claws could barely move around, yet it still labored its heavy breathing. Asura carefully walked around the scorpion, gauging its next moves. Celestia and Luna carefully climbed out of the crater, staring at awe of the creature that Asura had, single-handedly, brought down to its knees. Shining Armor and his guards shortly followed, and they quickly surrounded the beast—their spears pointing right at it. With stern eyes, the guards held their ground as the beast continued to twitch unnervingly.
It was still alive, and Asura made sure of it where he drove the sword into. It was a weak spot that all Rygoliths shared—the spot in their chest was where their energies were stored. Without that, they’d be left paralyzed until it would be healed.
Twilight poked her head from beyond the culvert behind Asura, followed by Spike.
A few crew members walked up next to Asura, their rifles at hand. The Eagoran next to him poked its rifle on the cheek of the Rygolith scorpion. It replied with a soft, grumbling moan. Its skull gem continued to shine brilliantly in the sunlight—it was its only source of sustenance.
“CLEAR!” the Eagoran shouted. The rest of the surrounding soldiers brought their rifles and handguns down. “Get the Entourage over here. We have a survivor.”
Celestia stood next to Asura, her hooves feet from the hulking body of the hostile Rygolith. She was still shivering in fright—her eyes were as small as golf balls. Asura faced her, standing tall in the basking sunlight. Celestia faced him in return, and he held her in a warm embrace. Her twitching died down in his presence.
“Are you alright, princess?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.”
“This is Atlas GHQ. Commander, what’s the status report?”
Asura let go of her and spoke into his watch. “Atlas, this is the commander. We have the situation under control. The scorpion is in temporary paralysis for now. We’re bringing it back to Canterlot grounds for assessment and interrogation.”
“Copy that. Damage report?”
“We’ve managed to break through without any casualties. Buzzard has sustained heavy damage, and is still in operable condition. We only have a few injuries amongst our troops. The Equestrians do not appear to be injured, although they may need follow-up attention for post-traumatic stress.”
“Copy, we’ll be dispatching a medical team to Canterlot Tower ASAP.”
“Harmony MG-1, you are cleared to land.”
“Copy that; executing landing procedures. That was one hell of a battle, sir.”
Asura took the blade out of the scorpion’s chest, warranting a silent grunt from the hulking body. He wiped off the blood with a white rag in his pocket, and returned it to his sheath. Celestia noticed the craftsmanship of the blade’s hilt; it was a remarkable display of curves and spirals that contoured perfectly with his hands. The way that the light reflected off of it captured the beauty of her sun. It made him stand out as more than just a guardian.
“Now we know why thee is known as a guardian,” Luna spoke.
“And I suppose we garnered more than just a knock?” Shining Armor said.
“This is the best of their infantry that they have, and they have more of these scorpions in their arsenal. The fact that they sent one down here to begin with concerns me.”
“As it should. We hardly even knew what to do, until you pile-drived Celestia to the ground,” Shining Armor chuckled. It also warranted a subtle snicker from Luna. Celestia blushed and coyly looked away.
“If I may speak freely, sir,” one of the guards spoke. “I thought you were going to hurt our majesty before that ‘thing’ showed us any hostility.”
“I expected that reaction, initially. It’s not something I would’ve, willfully, done at such spur-of-the-moment opportunities.”
“Well, you did save the princesses, so we owe you one for that.” The guard saluted.
Asura felt a light tap on his shoulder. Rainbow Dash fluttered feet from the ground—her eyes level with his. She grabbed Asura in a tight hug, grinning widely. He could feel a slight sense of unease coursing through her. “You’re such a tough guy, saving the princess from that nasty monster!” She let go of him, letting himself catch his breath. Her grin melted away into a fierce scowl, staring at the scorpion with bitter fury. She kicked the arm of the beast as hard as she could, screaming at the top of her lungs. “YEAH! That’s what you get when you mess with us, you big, ugly monster!!”
Astounded by Rainbow’s toughness, Asura could only feel a similar emotion towards the beast, yet at the same time he felt shameful for the creature having to be at the mercy of Kor’s reign. ‘If only Kor hadn’t stepped out of his line, it would’ve been better to encounter this thing in peacetime.’
The bed of the Entourage carrier backed up next to the crater, the tailgate wide open to receive the scorpion’s paralyzed mass. Several soldiers held on to the beast in several positions to haul it into the bed of the truck. This presented a fundamental challenge, for the mass of the scorpion, with all of its armor plating, was heavy—even for a group of highly trained and athletically fit soldiers.
Asura took this opportunity to help aid in their efforts to carry the beast to its new resting spot. He clenched both of his hands together, and a swirling mass of energy enveloped the Rygolith, lightening the load pressed upon his crew. It only took them several steps to reach the tail end of the bed. From there, Asura took the reins and slid the creature the rest of the way in. Once it was in an uncompromised position, he let go of the energies and the scorpion lay slump in the back of the truck, slightly shifting its suspension down from the creature’s weight.
Without giving it a moment’s thought, he peered over from the other side of the truck to find that the Harmony vessel had already made its landing on the field further away. The Buzzard made its approach to the ramp, and stopped short. Asura spoke through his watch. “Harmony MG-1, Entourage has package in tow.”
“Copy that. We’re ready to receive the package.”
He gave the thumbs up to the driver. The truck rolled forward effortlessly, despite the heavy weight stressed upon it. Asura walked toward the Harmony vessel, with Shining Armor behind him. The rest of Twilight’s friends had made their way out from the culvert, dripping wet from the river that they had taken cover in. Pinkie Pie shivered on each of her wayward hops, with Fluttershy holding herself tightly around Pinkie. Rarity shook off her mane, studying the landscape riddled with small divots of the creature’s rampage.
Applejack managed to maintain her composure, despite being wracked with the sound of gunfire continuing to ring through her head. Her senses were torn, when she heard a familiar filly’s exclamation.
“Applejack!”
She turned around to see Applebloom running towards her at full force. “Aw, Applebloom! Ye’ alright?”
Applebloom tackled her big sister to the ground, lavishing in delight. “Ah’m alright, big sis! Wha’ happ’ned?”
“Hot air ‘n a load ‘f insecurity,” Applejack brushed the back of her neck.
“What’s that supposed t’ mean?” Applebloom asked, her cute filly voice masking her bigger sister with a big smile.
“Aw, don’t ye worry yer pony feathers one bit, li’l sis. Why aren’t ye at school?”
“We heard all th’ commotion comin’ from th’ Everfree Forest, so we came t’ see wha’ all th’ fuss was about.”
Applejack looked up to where several other ponies came out from hiding. “Doesn’t look like much is happenin’ now.” They both laughed, cuddling amongst each other happily.
Celestia walked gallantly next to Asura. “So, what do you suppose is going to happen now?”
“I don’t know. There’s no telling when they’ll be sending their next wave of attack, but I can guarantee that it’ll be soon.” He looked down on his watch to view the globe on its screen. “I still have questions that need to be answered. Something seems odd with how your parents and Starswirl were able to take part in the World-building committee.” He glanced back up to her. “Do you know of where they possibly may have been during their absences?”
Celestia shook her head. “It’s been so long since then. I hardly even remember what they may have said about any of that, if they did manage to say anything about it at all.”
“I suppose we should take a closer look at Canterlot then, to find any clues perhaps?”
“An astute idea,” Luna said. “We’d be happy to escort thee through our prestigious halls.”