Equestria was miles away from LV426. But space seemed empty, endless and dangerous. An empty starfield, no plants insight, no suns, just empty, but there was stars in the distance, suddenly they got block out by metal spires, followed by a mountain of steel.
A ship, it was an ugly ship. Battered, overused, parts repaired that should have been replaced. The ship was too tough and valuable to be scrap. Its line was awkward and its engines were oversized. It moved quietly, but quick, it was a massive military transport ship, a floating scrap heap, weightless monument to war; it shouldered its way brutally through the mysterious region called hyersleep. Like its pony cargo, it was functional.
A sun rose out of nowhere, as if it was hiding behind the planet. The suns shine at the ship, brightening it up, revealing the battle scars and the dent of where the ship got hit. The name on the side of the ship was also revealed, the letters were big and bold, C.M.E-(Celestial Marines of Equestria)-Zecora.
Inside the ship there was no movement, nothing, only noise from the hyperdrive engines. There was an empty corridor, seemingly miles long, but still no movement. The cargo bay was an enormous chamber, cavernous and dark. In the far end of the cargo bay, there were two orbit-to-surface shuttles. Drop-ships both look the same as each other, but difference was the emblem on the side of the ships. One had Celestia’s cutie mark, while the other had Luna’s. There was even other machinery in the cargo bay as well as...cranes, and loading equipment.
Across the cargo bay there was the armoury. On the walls inside the armoury were all sorts of armament as two rows of M-41A pulse rifles along with M-240 flamethrowers were stored. Next to the two rows of weapon stored two long lockers, which held an M-56 smart-gun.
Alongside the armoury was the locker room. The lockers were closed and neat looking, some locker had dents in the doors, due to being punched in by somepony. The locker even had the crews name on each locker.
Inside the bridge of the ship, it was dark with a little light shining through the window. As the sun was raising high from out behind the planet, its shine became brighter. The seats and the computers where all dusty, the dust sparkled and glittered the in the air. A sudden high-pitched came from one of the computers as it was starting up. On the computer screen lists of words shot across the screen as it was registering the time of the ship being in space. Within a sudden second an alarm activated as a sequence of lights turned on.
The whole ship then lighted up like a Christmas tree, in the hyersleep vault the lights slowly turned on. The whole room was pale white and sterile, a computer activated, listing the name of the crew for the ship.
MASTER SERGEANT ZECORA: UNIT LEADER
CORPORAL APPLEJACK: B-TEAM LEADER
CORPORAL LYRA HEARTSTINGS: MED-TECH
PFC PINKIE PIE: COM-TECH
PFC RAINBOW DASH: ‘SMART-GUN’ OPERATOR
PRIVATE RENEGADE THUNDER: ‘SMART-GUN’ OPERATOR
PRIVATE FLUTTERSHY: TROOPER
PRIVATE BON-BON: TROOPER
PRIVATE DERPY HOOVES: TROOPER
CORPORAL SPITFIRE: DROP-SHIP PILOT
PFC SORAIN: DROP-SHIP CREW CHIEF
LIEUTENANT RARITY: COMMANDING OFFICER
SYM BISHOP: TECH-SURPORT
V.I.P TWILIGHT SPARKLE: SCIENTIST
V.I.P FILTHY RICH: CIVILIAN
The capsules in the hyersleep chamber were all wet from the frost of the condensation, as they were keeping the ponies alive and in a frozen stasis. Trickles of water run down the side of the capsule as the hyersleep vault was warming up. The row of capsules then began to open. Everypony started to move slowly as they all were waking up.
Twilight opened her eyes and sat herself up; she looked to her left and saw Rarity and Filthy Rich. Rarity was wearing a white gown with a pink furry lining; she was even wearing a sleeping eyeshade that said, “Shh I’m sleeping.” She then looked to right and saw the troopers, wearing green shorts and dog tags.
Groans echo across the chamber as the troopers started to get up and out of their capsules, “Arrgh. I’m getting too old this shit.” groaned Sorain as he pulled himself up.
No one paid any attention to his comment, since it was well known (or at least widely rumoured) that Sorain had enlisted it when he was a foal. However, nopony joked about his maturity or lack of it when they were plummeting towards the surface of a new world in the PFC-directed drop-ship.
Spitfire looked straight at Sorain and groaned back at him, “You’re only twenty-five. You aren’t that old, you bastard.” She got out of her capsule and stretched.
Renegade was rolling himself out of his capsule next to Sorain’s. He’s was young as Sorain, but different to all the rest of the ponies. He was a hybrid, half zebra and half pegasi. His mane and tail was same as Sorain, but his colour was different. The colour of his mane and tail was a dark blue along with a glowing electric blue. His fur colour was the same colour as his mane, and his stripes were the same electric blue colour. He had a nasty scar on the left side of his eye and one on the right side of his face, curling his lip into a sneer. “They ain’t payin’ us enough for this,” he mumbled.
Rainbow Dash stretched and looked at Renegade, “not enough to have to wake up to your face, Renegade.”
Renegade smiled and looked at Rainbow Dash, “Fuck you too.”
“You wish,” replied Rainbow Dash in a cheeky tone.
Renegade eyed the occupants of another recently opened capsule. “Hey AJ...you look like how I feel.” He then rolled out of the capsule and started to do thirty push-ups.
Applejack just shook her head with a smile and snorts good-naturedly. She then gets out from the capsule and walks over to the
lockers, and opens the door. She puts on her cameo trouser and a green shirt.
Twilight scans the room as she looks at the ponies shuffling past her to the bank of the lockers. Though they did not look like powerpoines, but they were lean and hardened...tough, capable, and jaded, they were the Celestial marines of Princess Celestia and
Luna. Zecora moved down the row of freezers, as she rhymed her order to the ponies.
Pinkie pressed one of her hind legs to the floor and turned completely blue; she pulled her leg back into the capsule and started to shiver, “FREEZING!” Said Pinkie, as she was shivering in the capsule and wanting to go back to sleep.
Zecora cock an eyebrow as she looked at the pathetic pony in the capsule. She shook her head as walk up to the freezing pony, and she spoke in a rhyming tone.
Pinkie looked at the zebra and said in a cheeky tone while smiling, “Can you get me some slippers?” the pink pony gazed at the zebra.
Zecora lean in with an evil look. She suddenly felt taunted, but scared as Pinkie quickly moved to the lockers.
Twilight walk past through the lockers and the troopers, she felts isolated as her friends were talking to her no more, well some of her friends. When she looked at Rainbow Dash and could feel the tension on her gaze. Rarity was next to Twilight comforting her, as she was placing her officer uniform on. The other ponies were wearing combat trouser and green t-shirt. Renegade and Rainbow Dash was wearing black combat trouser along with a black vest.
While in the locker room Rainbow Dash was doing some press-up to get her muscle going, as she was pulling herself up then down. Filthy Rich decided to ask her a question. “My dear Rainbow Dash...have you even been mistaken as a colt.”
Rainbow Dash pulled herself up and turned to face the Earth-pony, “no. Have you?” with that said, his questionable smile faded from his face, and turned around to the mess hall. Everypony was laughing in surprise as Rainbow Dash handled his ass to him. She watched him fade into the mess hall, and turned to give Renegade a brohoof.
Renegade gripped his hoof with hers and smiled, “you’re just too bad.” She then slaps him around the face and smiled back as she broke with a vicious laughter.
*** *** ***
In the mess hall the troopers assemble at one long table in centre of the room, while Rarity, Filthy Rich, and Twilight sat at another table. Everypony was nursing at the coffee, tea, water or spritz and eating the food. Sorain bit down on an apple and started to chew.
His face suddenly turned horrified as the taste of the apple changed, like it was rooting in his mouth. “Ahh man, what type of shit is this” he spoke while still eating the apple.
Applejack looked at Sorain, “it a red apple. Eat it up, it’s good for you.”
Renegade sat down next to Applejack and laid down a tray that held a pyramid of green apples, everypony looked at him and thought, ‘Are you going to do the apple eating contest again.’ He looked at Sorain while eating an apple, “hey, what the op?”
Sorain shrugged his shoulders, then leaned in. “it’s probably a rescue mission. Meaning there’s going to be some juicy mares, which are waiting to be rescued from their virginity.” Sorain and Renegade then smiled and broke into a laughter as they brohoof each other, while other just shook their head and rolled their eye, as they had heard them said that multiple times before.
Spitfire made a show of looking disappointed, “great, that lets me out.” she said, as she sat next to Applejack throwing a sugar cube a Sorain.
Applejack looks at Rarity and Twilight and notice that they were the end table, she the leans and whispered to others. “Looks like the new lieutenants too good to eat with us grunts.”
Rainbow Dash looks over her shoulder and glances, “yeah they both probably have the cornbread stuck up their asses.”
Renegade raised an eye brow, and leaned into Rainbow Dash, “I thought you, Twilight, and Rarity were good friends?”
Rainbow Dash turned to look at Renegade in his eyes, “well let’s just say the elements was broken,” she then pointed at Applejack with a smile, “because of this bitch right here was having a dream of our friendship ending. It seemed to have come true.”
Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash with a cocked up eyebrow, “who are you calling a bitch?” Rainbow Dash just shrugged her shoulders and just looked at her plainly while eating her breakfast.
Across the room, at the other table, Rarity sat with her only friend Twilight; on the over side was Filthy Rich. Twilight looked over at the other table and noticed that Bishop was holding a knife, while stabbing it side to side across his hoof with Sorain’s. Renegade was holding him down while bishop was moving the knife to the left then the right. His eyes widen as bishop was moving faster and faster at every stab at the table. He then suddenly stops and gave the knife to Sorain, “thank you,” said Bishop as he turned and walked to other table with twilight and rarity.
Sorian looked at the others, as they were laughing at his reaction, “That wasn’t funny man.” hesitated Sorain.
Spitfire continued to laugh, as she was trying to find her words, “Well...if it wasn’t funny for you...but it sure hell was funny to us.”
Bishop placed his tray on the table and sat next Filthy Rich; he raised his hoof, as he saw white line of liquid running down hoof. Twilight looked and noticed that he was different, not as different with Renegade, but different as he is not a pony. She looked at Rarity and Filthy Rich. “You never said anything about an android being here, why not?” asked Twilight as she had a bad experience with one before.
Filthy Rich looked at Rarity for a second then looked back at the worried purple unicorn, “it didn’t occur to me. It’s been the policy from Princess Celestia herself to have a synthetic on board.”
Bishop looked at Filthy Rich, “I would prefer the term ‘artificial pony’ myself.” He then looked at Twilight and spoke softly, “is there a problem?”
Rarity then suddenly remembered what happened to Twilight at the arcane of science. “I remember now, a synthetic malfunctioned, when she was at the arcane of science. Some deaths were involved.”
Bishops eyes widen, “I’m shocked. Was it an older model?”
“It was a cyerdyne system, prototype number, 120-A/2,” replied Rarity.
Bishop turns to Twilight, very conciliatory, “Well that explains it. The A/2’s prototype was always a little twitchy. That could never happen now with our behavioural inhibitors. It is impossible for me to harm or, by omission of action, allow to be harmed a pony.” he smiled and lifted the tray, “more cornbread.”
Twilight knocks the tray out of his hoof, halfway across the room; everypony looked as they saw Twilight stand up from the table. “Just stay away from me, Bishop! You got that straight?” she then walked out of the mess hall.
Lyra looked at Bon-Bon, and whispered, “Looks like she doesn’t like the cornbread either.”
*** *** ***
In the cargo bay, the whole place was lightened up. The drop-ship didn’t have any missiles or ammunition; they were completely empty, even in the fuel tanks.
Everypony stood hanging around talking to each other about the mission and the planet they were going to. Renegade and Rainbow Dash were throwing punches at each other as they were flying in the air, keeping the wits about them.
Zecora step into the cargo bay and caught everyponies attention, they all snap to from their lounging among the racks of high-tech weaponry. Rarity enters with Filthy Rich and Twilight.
Rarity stop and looked at everypony before speaking, she looked and saw Rainbow Dash and Applejack whispering amongst each over. She stood up straight and cleared her throat, “At ease. I’m sorry we didn’t have time to brief you all before we left gateway but...” Rarity stops as she was interrupted by Pinkie, who was bouncing up and down.
“Sir, maim, RARITY?” Pinkie held her hoof in the air as she continued to bounce up and down.
Rarity sigh in annoyance, “yes, what is it Pinkie?”
“Is this going to be a stand-up fight, or a bug hunt, and then again it could be a PARTY!” Said Pinkie as was thinking of what the mission could be.
Everypony just shook their head, while Rarity place her hoof on her face for a second, “All we know is that there’s still no contact with the colony and that a Xenomorph may be involved.”
Lyra raised her hoof as she didn’t understand something, “I’m sorry, a what?”
Applejack leans towards Lyra, and whispered softly. “It’s a bug-hunt.” Then louder, to Rarity as she wanted to hear more of the detail of the mission, “so what are we dealing with here.”
Rarity nods to Twilight, who stood before the troops; she levitated some sets of recording disk on the table. “I’ve dictated what I know on these Xenomorph.”
She was about to walk back next Rarity, but somepony caught her attention, it was Bon-Bon. “Before we look at those disks, could you tell us what those things are? Because you’ve must had experience with those things or something.” A few other ponies agreed with Bon-Bon and they wanted to hear what Twilight knows.
She stepped followed again, to face the crowed of the pony troopers, “Okay. It’s important to understand this organism’s life cycle. It’s actually two creatures. The first form hatches from a spore...a sort of egg, and attaches itself to its victim. Then it injects an embryo, detaches and dies. It’s essentially a walking sex organ. The...” Twilight got interrupted by Pinkie Pie.
She pointed at Renegade and Sorain. “Sounds like them two.” Renegade and Sorain smiled and laughed as they thought it was true.
Twilight kept a calm and serious face as she cleared her throat, “anyway, the embryo, the second form, hosts in the victim’s body for several hours. Gestating, then it...” Twilight hesitates as tries to find the right word to speak with. “...then it...emerges. Meaning it grows rapidly...” she gets interrupted again, but it was Rainbow Dash this time.
“Look, I only need to know one thing,” Rainbow Dash coolly points her hoof, like a gun, “where they are.” she then cocks her arm, and blows away the imaginary alien.
Renegade smiles as he brohoof her, “Yo! Rainbow Dash, kick ass...”
“Anytime, anywhere,” said Rainbow Dash as she smirks at Renegade.
Twilight then step closer to Rainbow Dash...annoyed “are you finished, because I hope you’re right. I really do.” She then walks back next to Rarity and nods.
Rarity step forward one last time, “I suggest you study the disks, Twilight has been kind enough to prepare for you.” she stopped for a second, “There is also another problem. Back on Equestria the Changelings disappeared along with Queen Chrysalis. And Celestia has given us orders to find out what happed to them.”
Rainbow Dash raised her hoof, “Why is looking for changelings so important? We should be celebrating, not looking for them. And plus whats the changelings got to do with the planet.”
Rarity kept calm, “Princess Celestia thinks they’ve made a portal to that world, and have token over the colony, we have to go down there and check, along with sorting out communications.” She then stood in silents as she was finished briefing them, “are there any questions?”
Pinkie rose her hoof, “yeah, where can I find a new party canon?”
Rarity just shook her head as she rolled her eyes, “all right. I want this to go smooth and by the numbers. I want DCS and tactical database assimilation by 0830.” a few ponies groaned as they didn’t want to do the work, “Ordnance loading, weapons strip and drop-ships prep details will have seven hours...NOW MOVE!”
All the ponies moved as they knew what they were doing. Sorain sat in the roll cage of a big power loader, a machine that resembles a skeletal mechanical elephant and was much stronger. As he exerts pressure with his hoofs against the servo-controls, the hydraulic arms moved correspondingly...but with a thousandfold increase in power. The forklift-style claws on each arm can crush with tones of pressure. The loader was supported by the squat hydraulic legs which also move correspondingly with the drivers movements.
He slid the long, reinforced arms into a bulging ordnance rack and lifted out a rack of small tactical missiles. Working with the smooth, effortless movement of his external prosthesis, he swung the load up into the drop-ship’s belly. Click and clang sounded from within as the vessel accepted the offering and automatically secured the missiles in place.
In the armoury Pinkie, Renegade and Rainbow Dash are field stripping light weapons with precise movement as the loading machines in the cargo bay. Tiny circuit boards were removed, checked, and blown clean of dust ad lint before being reinserted into sleek metal and plastic sculptures of death.
Rainbow Dash likes the feel of the guns, the weight...the authority. Her hoof move without hesitation, ‘CLANK, CLANK, CLANK,’ she swings one of the smart-guns on a work stand. She used a body brace and gyro-stabilized support arm to hold it in place. She checks the systems to see if the gun needed calibrating on the automatic targeting or just needed cleaning from the last op she went on.
Back in the cargo bay, Twilight watched the drop-ship being loaded. It was a cross between a Huey Aircobra gunship and the space shuttle. It is an orbit-to-surface troop carrier, heavily armed for close support of ground missions. She watches a four-wheeled APC, “ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIER,” being raised hydraulically into the ships belly. Twilight looks around as Lyra wheels a rack of incomprehensible equipment. “Clear please,” shouted Lyra she was moving towards her.
Twilight jumps aside, nodding apologetically. She turns and approaches Zecora and Applejack. “I feel like a fifth wheel here. Is there anything I can do?”
Zecora looked at Twilight, “my, so much work to do, so little time to do it, maybe you should look around and you’ll see it.”
Twilight looked around and saw what she could help with. She smiled as she pointed at one of the power loaders, “I can drive that loader. I’ve got a class two rating in the arcane of science, when they were building those things there.”
Zecora and Applejack looks at the power loader sitting in the corner unused, they both then looked back at Twilight and considered. Twilight walks up to the power loader and climbs in the open cage. First she straps herself in using her magic, then pulling down the safety cage down, locking it into place. She moved her hoof across the button, activating the loader. An orange light flickered as a rising whine of power came from the loader.
Twilight takes a step forward as two tons of hardened steel takes a step. She spins the wrist servo. The huge claws swings open...slide smoothly in lifting brackets on a cargo module, nearby. Twilight raised it deftly. “Where you want it?” smirked Twilight, as made Applejack and Zecora impressed.
Applejack looks at Zecora, cock an eyebrow appreciatively, she looked back at Twilight, “bay twelve please.”
On the bridge Rarity and Filthy Rich were looking at the data pad of the colony, “still nothing from the colony?” asked Filthy Rich.
Rarity shook her head and places the data pad on the decking of the bridge. “Not even a background carrier wave, dead on all channels.”
“And we’re sure about the relay satellite?” asked Filthy Rich.
“Bishop insists that he checked it out thoroughly and that it responded perfectly to every command. He ran a standard signal check along the relay back on Equestria, and we should get response in a few days.” said Rarity.
“Then the problem’s down on the surface somewhere,” replied Filthy Rich.
Rarity nodded. “Like we’ve suspected all along,” She then looked at her watch, the time hitted 0800. She suddenly tapped Bishop on the shoulder to catch his attention, “its time, tell the troops to suit up.”