When Worlds Collide

by Lon35hadow


Fugitives and Revolutions

Luna's head was throbbing. The last thing she remembered was jumping through the portal with Lone, though she had blacked out before they arrived, so she had no idea where she and the others had landed, but she knew it was daytime, as her eyes hurt from the light coming through her eyelids.

After what felt like an hour, she opened her eyes and saw that she was in a forest, though she wasn't certain if it was the Everfree.

"Luna, are you okay?" she heard her beloved, Lone, beside her.

"Yes, my love," she replied, "though I wish my head wasn't throbbing."

"It happens whenever you go through one of Nightengale's portals for the first time," Lone said, reaching a hoof down to help Luna get up.

She took it and got up, though she was noticeably unsteady on her hooves. "I would not recommend it, then," she said.

"You and me both," Lone said, chuckling.

"So, where are the others?"

"They landed in a circle around us. You were the second to wake up. As for where we are, I'd say the Everfree."

"How can you tell?"

"Two reasons," Lone said. "The first is that Nightengale would send any VIPs to the supposedly most dangerous place in the country they're in. The second is that I occasionally spend time here as a sort of get away from my duty, and given how much I have to do, it's usually a week every two months."

"But why," Luna asked. "The Everfree is the most dangerous place in Equestria."

Lone chuckled. "Only for those who haven't spent much time here."

"Well, it seems that is all I'm getting out of you."

"For now," he said, shrugging, "I'll explain it once the others are awake."

"And how long do you believe it will take," Luna asked.

"I'd say another ten minutes, give or take five."

"So," the night alicorn asked, "what should we do in the meantime?"

"I was thinking we could just sit, and enjoy each others company."

"Agreed," Luna said, smiling.

The two sat down, simply enjoying each others company for fifteen minutes before they heard Chrysalis groggily say, "That is why I prefer my own portals." The two looked over and saw her getting up, a hoof rubbing her head.

"Her first time through Nightengale's portals?" Luna asked, a sly grin on her face.

Lone chuckled a little, getting up as he did. "Yeah, it is."

"Oh, shut it, Lone," the changeling said. "You probably reacted the same way."

"Actually," Lone said, "I didn't." He shrugged. "I vomited instead."

Both mares, if that was the term for female changelings, laughed, while Lone showed no reaction to this.

"And why is it you told us that," Chrysalis said, "it leaves room open for insults."

Lone shrugged again. "I honestly don't care about it. I couldn't help, and I see no shame in it, and even if I could have helped, I still wouldn't care."

"Really," Luna asked, a little surprised.

"Yeah. If I cared about every little thing, I would not be here right now."

"And that would be a pity," Luna replied, a small, sly grin on her face.

"That it would be, my sweet moon." His reply and the nickname made Luna giggle a little.

"Ohhh, my head," Rainbow said, indicating she was the next to wake up.

The three of them waited until she was awake fully before filling her in on where they were, and she was a little freaked out as to their location. After that, the others woke up in intervals of five to seven minutes, with John and the others waking up first, then the ponies and Chrysalis' daughters.

After filling them in on where they were, which freaked out all but John and the others, Lone asked Ken, "Ken, you said that your ship dropped mini-armories?"

"Yeah," the Spartan replied, "Why?"

"Can you track them?"

"Ken shook his head. "No. Maruco tried that when we first came down, but he couldn't pick up the signals."

"Then how," Chrysalis said, getting everyone's attention, "are we supposed to find them so you can get weapons?"

"I think I have an idea," Lone said, "but no one freak out if it works, got it?"

"How will we know if it works," Kasumi said.

"You'll know," Lone said before lighting his horn. A green aura surrounded his throat. It faded a few seconds later. He then took a deep breath, then howled like a werewolf under a full moon that was as loud as a jet.

It was another three minutes before Zaeed said, "Yeah, I don't think it fuckin' wor-"

He was cut off as the bushes just in front of Lone rustled, and a single timberwolf stepped out. This timberwolf was noticeably different from others, as it was as tall as Lone and Luna, it's eyes were, instead of the usual green, were a brick-like shade of red, much like the red highlights on Ken's armor and Lone's mane, and the bark that made up the body was a cyan blue, which said it had been magically altered.

Though it was obvious they wanted to, Metamorph, Chitinia, and the ponies were able to not panic, while those from the Spear visibly tensed up, but no one went for a weapon.

"What the hell?" Maruco asked in disbelief.

Lone's horn lit up again, with both his throat and the timberwolf's throat being surrounded by a green aura. Chrysalis then walked up the the wooden canine. She bowed her head, as if in respect, and said, "Hello, Oak."

What happened next caught all but Lone and Chrysalis to jump in surprise.

"And hello to you too, Chrysalis," Oak said, his voice surprisingly soft, considering he was a creature made of wood. "And to you as well, Lone."

. . .
Meanwhile- Earth orbit, aboard UNSC Infinity

Three humans, one wearing a white, immaculate dress uniform, his shoulder patches indicating his rank of Admiral, his dress hat on the table he and the others sitting at, which revealed a bald head on a wrinkled face, the second man wearing a gun gray uniform with the shoulder pads being slightly lighter and bearing the insignia of a Captain, with brown hair and a face that showed age, but nothing extreme, both due to his young age and the few times he had been in cryosleep, with the third, a woman, wore an almost midnight black uniform, which was the same shade as her hair, were meeting to discuss the status of the Spear.

"I don't care about their skill, Hood," the woman said, "their ship disappeared just after ONI sensors in that area picked up an anomaly that doesn't match Forerunner tech. Not even the chief's luck could save him from that."

"Are you sure of that, Osman?" Hood asked. "He survived a havoc nuke, and the firing of a Halo installation."

"Yes," Osman said. "There is no other reason to think otherwise."

"ONI said the same back in 2553. What do you think, Captain Lasky?"

"Well, sir," Lasky said, "in all honesty, they have survived worse, or at least chief has, and we have no idea what the privateer's survived, but I'd still bet that if anyone survived that, it would be chief. Plus, he and the others have only been missing for a little over a week. Other ships have turned up after a year of us thinking they were lost with all hands."

"True," Osman said,"but those ships going missing didn't correlate with an anomaly like this."

"Then we will just have to wait a while before we can conclude anything, won't we," Hood said.

"I suppose so," Osman sighed.

"Then I think it's time we went back to our respective ships."

"Agreed," Osman said, getting up to leave, as well as Lasky, who snapped off a crisp salute to both admirals before leaving. Hood was the last to leave. Before he did though, he said, "Artemis, let me know if she contacts me."

"You got it, Terrence," Artemis said before Hood left the room to go back to his ship.

. . .
Everfree forest

As the surprise of the talking timberwolf began to go down, it was Celestia who said, "I have seen many works of magic, used for good and evil. . . . But I have never seen a spell that allows one to speak another's language if one is a wild animal."

"Agreed, sister," Luna said, her face, like the others, one of disbelief.

"If I was an animal," Oak said, "then why am I not attacking you. I have only two natural desires: to mate and feed, and I already have a mate, so why am I not trying to eat you?" None could come up with an answer, while Lone and Chrysalis had large, shit-eating grins on their faces.

Just like how you and Lightning first reacted, Lone said over the telepathic link.

No. We were worse. At least they aren't trying to kill him, she replied in a mirth filled mental tone.

They both shared a laugh over this before Oak continued. "The reason why is because, though most of my kind are indeed animals, I am the exception. If you are wondering how I met Lone, it was a few years back. I was hunting for food when I heard the hunting cries of a pack, as I was what you would call an exile. I made my way there to find Lone, who was injured, by which I mean a bloody cut across his barrel that was long but shallow, surrounded by five other wolves. I had originally considered leaving him there, but then I saw his lack of a cutie mark, and there is an old legend among the timberwolves that speaks of one like him, and I knew he had something to do with it, so I jumped in front of him, and we were able to kill the wolves together."

"When is it he gave you the ability to speak?" Celestia asked.

"Not often, as he used it on me when I had intel to give others, like now. And I know you are curious to my changes. Lone cast an identification spell on me that made me unique. An unintended side effect of it, though, is that I can cast that spell, and only that spell on other timberwolves. I spread the word of him to others, and those who believed me joined my own pack, and they take orders only from me and Lone."

"So you're an Alpha?" Metamorpha asked, still retaining her love of knowledge.

"I suppose so," Oak said, chuckling, which sounded, appropriately, like sticks coming together, "though if you ask the rest of my pack, they will say Lone is the Alpha, with me being his second."

"And you're supposed to help us get to the goddamn weapons how?" Zaeed asked.

"Simple," Oak said. "My pack is surrounding it, keeping other packs and various other animals from coming near. Fortunately, another side effect of the spell is that those affected by it are immune to cockatrice stares, and we combine into a timberwolf as tall as the castle in Ponyville."

"Jesus," Lily said. "That's impressive and slightly terrifying."

"Agreed," Ken said.

"Yes, and I just remembered, Lone," Oak said, turning to said stallion. "A day ago, two of my pack-mates found five fillies on the edge of the forest being chased by older ponies. They were able to scare them off, and we have the fillies with us, but we're not certain what to do with them."

Lone brought a hoof up to his chin to think for half a minute before saying, "I'll decide once we get there. Do you know why the fillies were being chased?"

Nodding, Oak replied, "If what my pack-mates said was true, it was because three of them unintentionally destroyed a few buildings, while the other two went against the usual 'Equality' stuff that goes with towns under the Brotherhood's control. More specifically, insulting and bullying the other three, and they are still doing it, just not as much as they did to begin with. It seems they at least can guess as to something going on."

Those descriptions sound familiar, Lone thought. "The three wouldn't happen to be missing their cutie marks, and the other two having a tiara and spoon for cutie marks, would they?"

"Yes," Oak said. "Why?"

Sighing, Lone said, "Because the three without a cutie mark would be the CMC, while the other two are the town's local bullies. I'll admit, I'm curious why they weren't affected by the Brotherhood, but I'm certain they aren't taking this as serious as needed. Plus, I think Applejack and Chitinia want to talk with their sisters, or pony sister, in Chitinia's case, about coming near the forest."

"Indeed," Chitinia said.

"Darn tootin'" Applejack said.

"In that case, lead the way, Oak," Lone said.

Oak nodded and said, "Follow me," before turning back the way he came and walking into the forest, with the others behind.

A few hours later

The unusual group was nearing the armory sites, if the sounds of timberwolves around them with occasional glimpses of brick red eyes were any indication.

"I didn't think we had arrived this far from them," Garrus aid.

"You and me both, G," Maruco said.

They continued to walk for a few more minutes before they came to a clearing, which was large. The mini-armories, together, took up about half of the space. All of them were white octagon shaped structures with a window running across the middle horizontally, and four entrances, one on each of the longer sides. (Think the large 4-way pieces from impact.)

As they neared, they heard a small filly say, "Oh, oh, maybe we can try to tame one of them!"

"Are y'all sure 'bout that, Scoots?" A second asked. "That seems stupid, even for us."

"And not to mention dangerous," a third said.

"They were doing that this morning," Oak said. "Different suggestions, but it was still the same point."

"Great," Lone said sarcastically.

"Did you guys here that," Sweetie Belle asked.

"Yeah. What do you think it was," Scootaloo said.

"Whatever it is, Ah'm certain the timberwolves will stop it."

"That is a sentence I never thought I'd hear," a fourth filly that the ponies and changelings from Ponyville recognized as Diamond Tiara said.

"True," a fifth that was Silver Spoon said.

"Actually," Lone said, turning a corner to see the fillies with the others coming in behind him, "they would, as I asked them to."

"And who are you," Diamond Tiara asked, sounding pissed, "to foalnap us?"

"Do you want the long list, or the short?"

"All of them," she said, grinning, sure he had no legitimate reason.

"One: The alpha of the pack that saved your flanks from those that were chasing you. Two: A pony who knows spells to remove Cutie marks," this one got a scared look from Diamond, "Three: A pony who knows what's going on, and fourth: Somepony who doesn't care about what spoiled brats like you think. And the last one would be a pony that the princesses have put in charge of protecting them, so do you still feel confident that you or your daddy can stop me from talking back and down to you, when you have done worse."

Grinning, he also added, "And I'm also a blank flank, so I can say that I personally feel insulted when you make fun of us, with 'us' being any blank flanks, so unless you want me to make you one, I suggest you shut your mouth to me, and apologize to the CMC, and Pinkie Promise you won't insult or bully them, or anypony, ever again. Is that clear?"

"Do you have any proof?"she asked.

Pompous daughter of a- Lone thought before lighting his horn and using it where the fillies cutie mark was.What he was really doing was pulling on the skin and coat in those areas to make it feel like he was removing her cutie mark, The look on her face was one pf terror for a second once she realized what he was doing, or, rather, bluffing about, until he stopped. "Now, unless you want me to actually make you a blank flank, I suggest you do as I said."

Too terrified of the bluff, Diamond did as he said, earning him slightly terrified and disturbed looks from the ponies, while also getting a look of awe from the CMC.

One it was done, he said, "Now that that's out of the way, I think you three have some explaining to do to some ponies." He then moved to the side so the CMC could get a view of those immediately behind him, which included Applejack, Rainbow, still wearing the anti-flight jacket, and Chitinia, who was in her changeling form.

"Sis," Applebloom asked in surprise, "what are y'all doing here? And why do you have changelings with ya?"

"It's along story, Applebloom."

"Rainbow," Scootaloo said, "why are you wearing that jacket?"

"Long story," Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.

"And why does one of the changelings look like Rarity?" Sweetie asked.

"Because I am Rarity," Chitinia asked, though the response it got was not positive.

"No you aren't. My sister hates changelings."

Oh, the irony in that, Chrysalis thought.

Agreed Lone thought before saying, "We'll tell the three of you later. For now, just don't touch anything that may lead to a lost limb, which is just about everything in those containers."

"Right," Applebloom said, slight fear in her voice before she and the other members of the CMC, as well as Diamond and Silver Spoon, the former looking like she had seen a ghost, a mutilated manticore, and just about everything else a filly her age shouldn't be exposed to, the more bloody of which Lone had lived first hand, or hoof, in this case.

As they left, Celestia spoke up. "And why did you terrorize one of my subjects?"

"A: They are no longer your subjects. By now, the Brotherhood has most likely taken control of Canterlot, as well as the throne, which means you've been overthrown. B: If it had been you, she would have done what you said, yes, but you wouldn't be willing to enact punishment of her due to her age. Sometimes," Lone said, getting in her face, "you have to act like a monster to prevent monsters. The spell was a bluff. The only one who could do that was Tirek, as well as unicorn I once met who called herself Starlight Glimmer, but she actually used it to cause pain as she did it. Needless to say, she's no longer an issue. I could have come up with a spell like that if I wanted, but I didn't."

He backed away from all of them and, facing them, said, "Whether we like it or not, we're enemies of the state. Terrorists. Renegades, Fugitives. That won't make me stop fighting though. Sometimes, those that change the world for the better are those who break the laws, and I will do so, or die trying. I know none of you though this is how your life would go, but this is where we are. There are two paths open to all of us: One leads to us fighting, possibly dying, but can change this world for the better. The second leads to ensured survival, but at the cost of our freedom, as we are threats to the Brotherhood, and they will imprison us should we surrender, and the world staying as is."

He took on a faint, green glow here, though only the Element bearers and the former princesses could see it, and even then, barely, and said, in a voice that rivaled that of the Royal Canterlot Voice, "I CHOOSE TO FIGHT, TO OUST THE BROTHERHOOD, AND TO ENSURE NO OTHERS SUFFER HIS RULE! I'M NOT ASKING YOU TO JOIN ME, NOR AM I ORDERING THOSE OF YOU IN LONE TEAM, TO JOIN. SOMETIMES, YOU DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO ENSURE A BETTER FUTURE, EVEN IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING! THE BEST HEROES ARE THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO FIGHT. WHO'S WITH ME!?

"We stand with you," Oak said, many of his pack behind him.

"As do my hive and I," Chrysalis said.

"I'm the Element of loyalty," Rainbow said, "Do you need to ask?"

"And me," Metamorpha said. "I'd rather die trying to help then live as a prisoner."

"As do I," Chitinia said.

Raising his arms to his side, Ken said, "You know we're with you."

"Fuckin' right we are," Zaeed said.

"And me," Pinkie said, bringing her party cannon out, "time for some fun!"

"Ah, shoot, Ah don't see why not," Applejack said.

"And me," Fluttershy whispered, though she nodded to make sure the message got through.

All eyes turned to the ex-princesses. Luna was the next to respond by saying, "And I, as as well."

"But Luna, why?" Celestia asked while everyone was watching, "Do you want to become known as Nightmare Moon again? You'll have to kill. Kill!! Is that what you wish?"

"I would rather take the active, if not proactive, road to helping the ponies, dear sister, even if they do not want it," Luna said. "He is right. If we do nothing, then we will be hunted and eventually captured. At least fighting will show we are not willing to allow this to happen. I expected you to be the first to agree with him. Do you not care for the ponies?"

"I DO! THAT IS WHY I DO NOT WISH TO FIGHT THEM!!" Celestia yelled before turning around. "Don't follow me. Any of you. You wish to cause harm to innocents, and I will not stand with you if that is the case," she said before walking away into the forest, not even Luna going after her, as much as she wanted to, as she and the others knew that Celestia was hard to sway when her mind was set.

Lone shook his head in disappointment, though he wasn't surprised. If anything, he had a little more respect for the solar alicorn for sticking with her beliefs, even when those closest to her had the exact opposite. "Can't say I'm surprised," Ken said.

"Indeed," Luna said, a small hint of sadness in her voice. "My sister is hard to sway." It was here that Luna removed her regalia, cementing that she knew her life as a princess was over, first her tiara, then the chest piece, then finally the shoes. One thing she shed that was not noticed, though, was a single tear.

"Brooding on this won't help us win," John said, going back to his professional solider attitude, "we need to arm up."

"Agreed," Lone said. As the others went to the armories to pick weapons, Lone walked over to Luna, the only one who hadn't moved. He walked up beside her, and put a comforting hoof over her shoulder. The navy blue alicorn then sobbed in her love's embrace, stopping only when she could not cry any more five minutes later, Lone staying silent, as he knew only time could help her. She then nuzzled him, saying, "If only the Brotherhood hadn't attacked, this wouldn't have happened."

"I know, Luna. You aren't the only one to have their family destroyed by them, but we can make sure you are among the last. I swear it to you, both as the leader of lone team, and as your love."

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?"

"For being here with me. It does more than you think."

"Anything for you, sweet moon," Lone said. "Come on. We don't want to let the others get all the good stuff, do we?"

This got a small but much needed chuckle from Luna. "Indeed."

Thirty minutes later

The group was at the center of the clearing in which the armories were. They had an assortment of weapons, though the Elements were slightly uneasy at wielding weapons of death. The crew of the Spear had the same weapons they had when they landed, while those from the Shepard had the equivalents of their usual weapons. One thing that had surprised every one was when one of the armories contained a pelican, though how was beyond them, though they assumed Discord was involved, as it had a note that read, "For your travels." In fact, another was found just outside the clearing, which meant they could all travel to whatever their destination was with ease.

Applejack, Rainbow, and Chitinia had told the CMC and their, for lack of better terminology, enemies what had happened in the past week, as classified was practically blown to hell and back, then shot into the sun. They didn't believe some of it, mainly the fact that Celestia cast a memory spell on her former subjects that, though it had good intentions, erased the memories of events like the invasion three years ago, but the fact that the Element of Honesty was saying this eventually convinced them. The five were, with the permission of their siblings for those applicable and the permission that Luna still had, sent through a portal to Chrysalis' hive for safety.

"So," Ken said, "where do we go first, Lone?"

"The Crystal Empire. One of my team mates there informed me of unrest there, and we need to make sure Princess Cadence and her husband, Shining Armor,a are alright, and evacuate them if possible."

"And how do you think they're going to react to Chrysalis and the others," John said.

Lone shrugged. "No idea."

"Well," Garrus said, "at least you know what intel you don't have, unlike a few people I know back home."

"I hear that," Lily said.

"Any one have questions," Lone asked. When no one said any thing, Lone turned to Oak, who had reverted to his native tongue shortly after Celestia's departure when Lone deactivated the spell . "Make sure nothing gets to the armories, Oak. We don't need the Brotherhood to have access to these weapons."

Oak nodded, then growled to the others of his pack, and they disappeared into the forest. "Let's get moving," Lone said, and the group headed to the two pelicans, splitting into two groups, with Ken in one and Lily in another, as they would be flying the pelicans. They boarded the pelicans, and, once pre-flight checks were done, lifted off, and flew to the north.

As they flew off, in the darkest corner of the multiverse, a being of immense power was watching this unfold. Though he hadn't expected Lone to cause as much trouble as he had, but he was smiling at what had happened with Celestia. He had been the one to send those nightmares to Luna to frighten her, though he hadn't expected interference. What had happened with Celestia was better then he could have hoped for. He sent a small part of his mind to the white alicorn, and left seeds of fear, doubt, and hate that he could use later. As the two groups and single alicorn went their ways, he smiled, knowing he would soon have control of this world, and those the aliens came from, yet again.