You know, earlier, I really do think I managed to jinx myself. Okay so while I'm repairing my ship with Sparks, we get some damn good news so okay it wasn't a totally bad day. Then that purple princess Twilight and her friends come along to chat, great, I'm making friends, day is even better.... then the shit hit the fan. Of all things to come out and surprise us all today, it had to be goddamn Hive. HIVE! ON THIS WORLD! ALREADY! If I didn't know better I'd say Crota has his eye on this place.... but he's dead isn't he.... I mean.... how couldn't he be....? If I jinxed myself again I'm gonna jump off a bridge.
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Beep beep beep beep beep beep!
"Ugh... five more minutes mom... " Richard groaned.
Of course he yelped when he got a zap in the shoulder. "GAH okay I'm up I'm up, don't bring out the tazer mom! Oh..... ugh, thanks for ruining my nap fuckface," he groaned at Spectre.
"Get your head out of your ass, we got problems."
"Like what?" Richard said, suddenly intrigued.
"Like a distress call from Tiberius' ghost not thirty minutes after we send the message that we're on our way!"
He listened to the playback as Spectre played it. "This is Titan Tiberius' Ghost, Sparks! Richard, I hope you're double timing it cause we need backup here! We got HIVE crawling up our asses already! If they're already here then you can bet the Fallen are here too and the Vex and Cabal aren't far off! We got some help from the locals and.... whoa.... okay that's unexpected.... ANYWAY GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE! It's likely gonna get worse! If you don't hurry you'll likely be finding a dead ghost and alot of corpses! Sparks out!"
"Well..." Richard started, ".....Fuck..... Spectre, can we shave a few hours off the journey?"
"I'm better than that, I shaved off half a day."
"Better than nothing," Richard snarked. "Wake me when we get there alright? I don't want beauty sleep to get in the way of keeping another Guardian alive."
"Don't rest too easy.... Don't wanna have to pull your half alive ass out of jump ship wreckage," the ghost said.
"Awwww, you do care."
"Fuck off and go to sleep," Spectre snapped.
Richard was all too happy to oblige.
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Equestria, Equis. February 19th, 1100 hours
I watched intensely as the foliage really started to get rustled up. Next to me, Twilight ignited her horn. On my other side, Windbreaker unsheathed what looked like specially designed wing blades and prepared to take flight. I gave a resigned sigh and prepared for the worst..... and the worst came. Not one, not two, but three Blades of Crota made their debut on this world alongside swarms of thralls.... and to my dismay, some of them were cursed.
"Don't get close to the glowing ones," I explained to my companions, "They explode."
Their expressions as a result were ones of shocked disgust and fear. The middle Blade raised his sword and roared, signalling the charge.... and all hell broke loose.
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Rainbow flew as fast as she could. Probably flew faster than she had in her entire life! (exageration, she needs a sonic rainboom to do that) Her friends were in danger, SHE was in danger, the whole world was in danger. She made it to what looked like the command tent.
"HEY!" she yelled, getting the attention of the Royal Guard garrison's commanding officer.
"What the! Hey this is a restricted...!" the commander started before realizing who it was, "Oh... Ms. Rainbow Dash. What seems to be the problem?"
"Alright first, drop the "Ms." thing, it makes me sound old. Second, MONSTERS ATTACKING! Twilight, Sergeant Windbreaker, our new alien friend, they're at the forest edge! Trying to fight them off! THEY'RE GONNA GET KILLED!"
The Commander grimaced. "Lieutenant!"
Another stallion in armor, a grey unicorn, stepped in. "Lieutenant Magelight, gather the others and prepare for battle DOUBLE TIME! We have an incursion at the edge of the Everfree." The stallion saluted and departed.
"Rainbow Dash, where are the rest of your friends?" the commander asked.
"Getting everypony else in town to safety sir," she explained.
The commander nodded in approval. "Good, you can call me Shieldbreaker by the way," the earth pony stallion said. "Now, I believe we have a battle to attend."
"I'm coming with you," the brash pegasus immediately blurted out.
"I'm afraid that's out of the...." he was interrupted.
"LOOK PAL! THAT'S MY FRIEND OUT THERE! I'M GOING OUT THERE!"
Shieldbreaker was taken aback..... his response died out and he simply nodded..... He didn't want to suffer the wrath of Loyalty it seemed. Outside, the troops could be heard gathering. He made his way outside with Rainbow Dash to organize the troops and initiate a counter attack.
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"MACHINE GUN AMMO OUT!" I yelled, switching to my shotgun. One Blade of Crota was down. Twilight and Windbreaker were hammering another with lightning and magic bolts. I was keeping the last one, and the thralls, off of my companions while they finished the guy off (easier said than done). I growled in frustration.
"Fist of Havoc ready," I heard Sparks say.
That was all I needed to hear. Cry Havoc. BOOM! Another Blade of Crota vaporized along with a cluster of thralls... though one of those cursed thralls were a bit TOO close for comfort, dropping my shields some.
"More hostiles coming from the forest! Shit that is alot of thralls.... ACOLYTES!" Sparks rambled.
"TWILIGHT IF YOU HAVE A SHIELD! NOW IS THE TIME!" I called out.
I got a purple dome shield appearing to my right in response, both her and the Sergeant sitting inside safely. That was my cue, and the Triple 0 came loose from its leash. A rocket, charged with the energies of the void, rushed forth, and another, and another, ravaging the enemy line first with initial detonations, then the detonations of many secondary charges. In disarray, the enemy was unprepared (and I as well, along with being shocked) for the purple wave of magical energy that shot forth and threw them all back into the forest.... almost all dead from explosions, heavy impacts, high g-forces, or precision rounds from my scout rifle that busted down what remained of that wave..... yet more screeches could be heard approaching..... Twilight and Windbreaker were panting heavily, nearly spent by the constant combat. As more enemies came into sight, I knew it wouldn't be long now. We were strongly outnumbered, and regardless of how much ammo I had or my abilities, I was only able to fire so fast and still capable of being overwhelmed by such vast numbers. It was a losing battle it seemed..... till barrages of magical energy and crossbow bolts started striking the enemy. I looked behind me to find a very surprising, but not unwelcome sight. A company of unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies fired crossbow, lightning (from clouds the pegasi pushed which I could only blanch at), and raw magic bolts from most of the unicorns (the rest holding up defensive barriers or firing special attacks like arcane lightning, fire, and ice).
"They certainly aren't defenseless..." Sparks muttered.
I could only nod in agreement as a response, words failing me at how impossible, yet how impressive this display was. THIS was a true army of light.
Thralls, Acolytes, Knights, and Wizards fell under the barrage, not expecting the raw energy or primitive bolts being hurled at them. Some crossbow bolts proved to be ineffective, but the rest, when they found marks in the eyes of an enemy or in the gaps in the enemy armor, it was a perfect counter to Thralls and Acolytes, the cursed ones exploding prematurely as a result and damaging or killing their fellows. Severely outnumbered and outgunned now, the remaining Hive forces in this particular swarm made to retreat.... and not all made it out as a prismatic blur proceeded to shoot back and forth to pummel them to a pulp.
"Guess our luck held out again huh?" Sparks chuckled.
"I wouldn't count on us being that lucky all the time buddy....." I muttered.
A clearly high ranking Earth Pony stallion made to approach me and my companions as the cause of the prismatic blur landed next to us. Rainbow Dash of course. That put my levels of shock off the charts.
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Twilight watched as Commander Shieldbreaker approached, a little nervous about how he would greet this alien. A sigh of relief escaped her lips shortly though.
"Are you the one known as Tiberius?" the commander asked the alien.
"I am."
He knew the alien's name. Good.
"Thank you for fighting so hard to protect our land." He looked around at all the dust and hive armor fragments, "Is this really all that remains of them when they fall?"
"With the Hive, yes," Sparks answered, suddenly materializing before the commander and taking him completely by surprise.
"Ah well.... ahem..." He took a moment to regain his composure, "Was this all?"
Twilight frowned when Tiberius shook his head no. "Not even close. That was likely just the tip of the spear. There are alot more Hive on their way if they aren't already on this world. No doubt, Fallen, alien creatures with four arms and a plethora of weapons, armor, and ships, have already arrived in droves somewhere on this world. They're vicious scavengers so I'd advise caution."
The Commander could only frown as the list went on.
"Next to arrive in this solar system will likely be the Vex. They can transform entire worlds into machines for their network in a matter of days. They're teleporting, possibly time traveling machines too. Finally, the warlike Cabal will arrive. They have thick metal shields, powerful high caliber guns, explosive weapons, and even psionically capable soldiers. Their armor, size, and strength are nothing to laugh at either. Oh and wait till you see the Fallen's Devil Walkers, or the Cabal's Goliath Tanks. They're difficult to fight as well. The Cabal also have mobile fortresses known as Land Tanks so this could get ugly, fast."
By then, alot of soldiers were looking VERY uneasy.
"However," Tiberius began, "This solar system, and this very world, has the attention of myself and my fellow Guardians. We won't be here to pillage and burn. We're here to help and protect. Another Guardian is already on his way, and with luck, more Guardians won't be far behind."
Some of the soldiers seemed skeptical, but others, they seemed hopeful. Still, it would be difficult to fully gain their trust.
"HOW DO WE KNOW YOU TELL THE TRUTH!?" one called out, "HOW DO WE KNOW YOU WONT INVADE US LIKE THE REST!?"
"You saw him destroying those abominations didn't you!? He's on our side!"
"That isn't a he, it's an IT! It's and alien and can't be trusted!"
"STOW THE BELLYACHING, IT ISN'T UP TO YOU!" the Commander barked at the CLEARLY fear and skepticism driven soldier, "We leave the decision of trusting this being, and it is a HE for your information judging by his voice alone, to the princesses!"
The soldier silenced himself... but remained livid....
Twilight frowned. This was going to be more difficult than she thought.