//------------------------------//
// The Offense (Plus Crossover Hype!) 
// Story: My Son, My Soldier, My Hero 
// by That_Random_Pony 
//------------------------------//

The Iikro hated the toxic and hazy air of the Arthanian homeworld. It oversaw the factory productions of ships to travel the stars, augmenting Loki'irian styles and technology to improve the crude starships. Vehicles were being improved, weapons were upgraded, armor was advancing. The Alphas had the capacity to quickly adapt, thanks to their Signa-infused blood. It was proving to be an obstacle with the soldiers, who were more feral than their fully-conscious counterparts. There was no attempt to augment weapons for the scouts. At best, making them armor would give them a chance to take more warriors with them. 

It was a glorious feeling, using their technology to advance their own enemy. A quiet growl resounded from his right, and he turned to see one of his top Alphas. "The hordes are massing in solar systems close to the Ashla. We could launch waves by the next lunar revolution and weaken them."

"No... they know this body and its memories are accessible to me. They are preparing for an assault. Waves will not breach their defenses." The Alpha snarled, but didn't dare cross the supernatural being. "Even as an Alpha, you are all impatient for blood. Would you rather see red or black when the battle is over?"

"So long as blood spills the horde and I will be content." His retort earned a sharp jab to the head, sending him across the sandy plains and into a parked fighter. Blood trickled out from where the ship's wing had pierced its arm. 

"Are you content?" The Alpha struggled to get up, but the Iikro's hand gripped its throat and held it up. "The blood of my creator's enemies will drown those who have not bled. Their bodies will be consumed by this horde or from the cannons of these ships. But we will be the ones standing on their bodies; plunging this existence into anarchy. That is what will make me content, therefore it will make you content." The Iikro slammed it into the side of the ship and let go of its grip. "Understand?"

The Alpha grunted in pain, then spat out a glob of black blood. "Yes... sire."

The Iikro turned with a smirk and started towards the factories. There would be much more to prepare for an assault of the planet. With the scale of the attack, there wasn't a doubt his host's race would throw out any prior restrictions in order to ready for a fight. And with their handicap, thanks to his ambush, they would need to stretch out. None of them were cold enough to leave the planet to fend for itself. Every city and nation would have Loki'irian defenses. As much as the Arthanians wanted to start barreling in now, the Iikro wanted to use the mind of the master tactician. And then the League was another issue, one it would have to deal with carefully. 

It's head popped up as an energy washed over him. It felt... unnatural... distorted... corrupt. The corruption branched out into delicious anger and hatred... and it was familiar. Just feeling this being's power made the Iikro involuntarily quiver in fear. This energy demanded submission... obedience... order... but where was it coming from?

And who could wield that sort of power?

Its question would go unanswered, as it vanished almost instantly. No lingering trails, nor any indication the energy had ever passed. The Iikro swallowed as it looked down from the smog filled sky. Alphas that had been working were looking to the sky in awe and fear, puzzled like their master. With a loud shot of energy firing into the air, the Iikro roared out to his underlings to go back to their posts. Some obeyed, while others waited for an explanation. It could see the terror and hesitance in them, the urge to rebel rising in their half-Loki'irian hearts. He needed to keep them in place, or kill them and breed more unruly Alphas.

A bright flash of red followed the Iikro's change, its power flexing to assert its authority. They understood its reasons and bowed before taking off to their positions. The Iikro reached out to the stars, searching for the source of its fear, but came up empty. It was as if the energy had blinked out of existence. Or died. But what could kill something that powerful.

It matters not... it couldn't be him... so what could it be?


As it searched, it could feel another energy lurking. No... it was looking for that same energy. This one wasn't whole, however. This being wasn't physically there... but it had the mental capacity to search with hi.

Impossible... I pierced his heart myself.

Millions of light years away, the energy receded to its owner. His thoughts swirled as his own theory of the energy's owner surfaced, and it scared him. He felt traces of the Iikro stalking him, and it only caused him to smile.

Mentally. Being comatose does things to a Loki'irian at total peace in the mind.











????? 




"Twiiiiiiliiiiiight." The unicorn ducked beneath a dark beam as she took a turn in the cavern she was in. "Remember your brother's wedding? These caves look so similar. Why run? I can see everything you do."

She smirked through her panting as she went deeper into the catacombs of Canterlot. Taking a sharp turn, she fired a bolt of magic at the ceiling to start the collapse. Her body ached but she couldn't stop, her legs burning with exhaustion as she sprinted her way into the next tunnel. Even the monster chasing her would need time to break through those pieces of rock. She stumbled into the wall and collapsed, gasping for breath and dry heaving several times. A small shock of pain coursed through her horn and made her clutch the sensitive appendage. Her fingers ran over the metallic enhancer, reminding her why it was she was in this state.

"Twilight?! Twi, speak to me!" 

She pressed a button on her wrist communicator, still taking shallow breaths. "I'm here... I'm here, Cadence," she heaved, her arms falling to the sides.

"What's happening?! I can feel the Iikro's power from here!"

"He... he found out." She took a deep breath to calm her frantic pattern before she fainted. Or threw up. "He... he knows what we've been doing. All of it. He has all of our research and journals."

There was silence for some time, and once she felt she could breathe normally, she started walking.

"Cadence, you have to get somewhere safe. Somewhere no pony can find you," Twilight said. She lit her horn to give herself a better view of where she was going. "Can you do that?"

"Maybe... I could go into the Icelands. It's unmapped and nearly impossible to maneuver through. I'm leaving now."

"Good. Hurry, and make sure no one sees you." As her mind winded down from her panic and adrenaline fueled high, she felt anxiety push its way to the front of her mind. "Cadence... you know what he did to Rainbow... please, be careful."

She waited for a response, wondering if a guard or servant had heard her. Twilight gasped as her foot broke through the ground, nearly swallowing her whole leg. She managed to pull herself free, then looked into the opening. With a flash of magic, she saw another cave system... but this one looked as if somepony had been living in it. Hundreds of years ago, at the very least. She teleported herself down into the cavern, using a spell to cement a rock into her entrance. 

There was a bed and countless other household items. A stove, pots, ingredients (horribly outdated), a bookshelf filled to the brim, dressers and tables, and even some primitive science equipment. She wandered over to the bookshelf and randomly chose one of its items, flipping through with curiosity guiding her. The words were in old Equish... but there was something about it that she didn't understand. Each sentence was falsely made to hide the true wording, which was every other word. Once she realized who's work she was reading, her eyes widened.

She was in a secret lab made by Star Swirled the Bearded. 

While it was thrilling to think she'd stumbled upon a priceless discovery, her situation took priority. She rose her wrist to her mouth and pressed the communicator.

"Cadence, are you almost out?" she whispered. A few seconds went by. Then a minute, which turned into two. "Cadence? Cadence..... Cadence....."

Her eyes watered slightly, and her lips quivered as she fell to the ground. Her voice wouldn't come to her, not at the moment. She pulled the communicator off and held it up with both hands, seething and crying all at once. Slowly, she moved it closer, then pressed the button.

"...if you hurt her... I promise... you'll regret it." There was a moment of static, but it subsided into silence again.

"I told you what would happen, Twilight," he calmly reminded her. "I thought you wanted to help this world. After what the Arthanians did, I wanted order and peace. I thought you saw that. I thought you of all people would see that."

"I saw a broken man lose his mind when his friends were right there for him," Twilight retorted, her voice breaking as she fought the urge to sob. "You lost her... and I lost some of my closest friends... and my brother... you weren't the only one."

"I know that, but I want to make sure that can never happen again!" he roared, something breaking in the background. "I wanted everyone and every nation to be able to live in peace! Without discrimination or class! Without differences in skills and social classes! I want to fix this world to become the epitome of peace!"

"And you killed Rainbow!" Twilight screamed, her tears falling as she clutched the communicator. "You were killing people, minotaurs, griffins, anyone who didn't roll over and obey! You wanted us to submit to you out of fear! What would she say if she saw this? She's up there looking at you turn into a monster!"

"I AM BRINGING PEACE," he shouted. His energy was pulsating from his growing anger, and she cowered at the vastness of it. "SHE ISN'T HERE TO SEE THIS BECAUSE SHE'S DEAD. WE'LL NEVER KNOW, AND I NEVER WANT ANYONE TO FEEL WHAT I FELT!"

Twilight wiped her tears from her cheeks, flicking the communicator back on. "She wouldn't want this," she whispered, "She would have wanted you and her to go on... that's all any of us would have wanted. Fluttershy... Pinkie... Rarity... please... just stop this... please."

There wasn't a response, but she waited patiently. She held it close and waited for the response she knew was coming.

"If the Iikro doesn't find you, the Signa will. If they don't, the Alphas will. I'll hunt you down myself if I have to, Twilight. So keep running. And sleep with an eye open."

She heard the sound of the opposite microphone being crushed, and then silence enveloped her once more.

"I'm going to help you... I promise... I promised them I'd make you see what you've become... even if it means beating you, you're going to get woken up. I promise... I promise."