Invasion of Equestria

by Yamazaki

The Opportunity

“Why should we leave?” Asked Fluttershy, looking up towards Twilight Sparkle with another wave of tears brewing in her eyes.

“There's-there's...” Twilight Sparkle said urgently as she tried to find the appropriate words to use, “I think we're being followed.”

“Followed, Twilight?” Pinkie Pie, although saddened by the day's events she seemed to have her enthusiastic and inquisitive personality marginally intact.

“Yeah. I think so.”

“By who?”

Twilight Sparkle was about to speak but was knocked to the floor before an agonizing burning sensation rippled across her back. Flames were all around but everything was silent. Slices and chippings of wood, fragments of bricks and pieces of ceiling plaster cluttered the air space all around her. The complete chaos continued as she heard the whirl of wings and deep, mechanical voices. She didn't hesitate to use her power to gain control of the situation anymore; effortlessly stopping any fragments of Fluttershy's cottage from hitting her by momentarily freezing them in mid air. What she had previously thought to be dust all around her now turned out to be smoke, she strained herself not to panic, shaking her wings frantically before realizing that everything was completely silent. Twilight Sparkle stood up straight, looking quickly from left to right to gain a better understanding of the situation.

Without any warning, she heard an ominous deep nasal male voice say, “Twilight...Sparkle,” putting a lot of emphasis on the 'i's in her name. Only, she wasn't sure whether the voice was coming from. It sounded almost as though it was coming from inside her own head. She was too alarmed even say anything, even after becoming confident, and able, to kill whatever threatened her and her friends' survival. Instead, she stood, wide-eyed and motionless until the voice continued, “it's nice that we have some time alone together, while your, um...companions?” The voice said, as though asking a question, “are...obscured,” it was clear to Twilight Sparkle that whoever was speaking was choosing his words extremely carefully. As she looked around she could see that the smoke and flames were not still but instead they were moving extremely slowly. Time was slowed down to an almost stand-still. Yet, as she moved her hooves in front of her face she could tell that it was not the case for her. Now more aware of the situation, she asked, a little aggressively, “show yourself! Who are you?”

The scenery around her flickered and twisted and contracted as someone, a non-pony carrying a briefcase materialized in front of her. Twilight Sparkle gasped; she was looking at the same species she had encountered in Canterlot High. “I suppose it is nicer to discuss with you face-to-face, Ms. Sparkle,” he said casually. The same deep nasal voice echoed around her head.

“Yes, it is. Now answer my question, please; who are you?” Twilight Sparkle wasted no time getting to the point, while still trying her best to maintain a level of politeness, even in such a confusing situation.

He took a deep breath in. As he opened his mouth, Twilight Sparkle observed his teeth that had a hint of yellow in them, his formal suit and deep green eyes, “I do not believe...that is relevant, Ms. Sparkle” he continued to speak slowly and casually. To which Twilight Sparkle found horribly condescending. Twilight closed her eyes and strained in an attempt to restore time to it's previous speed. Her horn glowed a dim yellow, as she and groaned, but to no effect. All the while, the human (or at least, she was almost certain he was a human) in front of her held a sly smile across his face. “I'm afraid I have...jammed your horn, Ms. Sparkle.”

“What do you mean it's 'jammed'? Not much can be stronger than alicorn's magic, and you're...”

“...just a mere human?” He chuckled, clearly enjoying his monologue, aggravating Twilight Sparkle even more, “Princess Celestia might tell you otherwise.” She hated his calm, smug attitude and the way he talked slowly, as though he just loved the feel of forming words in his mouth. He would drag out 's's and from pauses in the middle of sentences for no apparent reason. But what annoyed her most was the fact that he clearly knew a lot more than he was letting on. She sighed, feeling defeated by his somehow superior power and knowledge.

While trying to talk as civilised and sophisticated as she could, asking , “what do you mean by 'Princess Celestia telling you otherwise'?”

He grinned, “I have had Celestia at my reigns for quite some time now. Although, even she does not know the full extent of the strings I have been pulling. After all, did you honestly think that your intellect and above-average magical abilities were enough to bump you through the ranks of Equestria's aristocracy?”

Twilight Sparkle's mouth dropped open. She had had doubts, but never took them seriously. “I...well, I always thought Princess Celestia had seen my potential,” she said shakily.

“No, Ms. Sparkle. I saw your potential. I remember the exact look on your face when you thought you were able to make a baby dragon grow so tall when I had placed Celestia in a rather convenient location to notice it.” As he spoke, he shifted in and out of Twilight's view, however, no matter where she turned her head he always remained in the same corner of her eye. Her annoyance had turned into depression, at the sudden realization that everything she had been working for wasn't for the pony she always looked up to, and that someone else was there to put her at such a high status. She felt cheated.

“Aww, what's the matter?” He asked, although Twilight speculated he already knew what the matter was and decided not to answer. At the notion of Twilight Sparkle's silence, he sighed and straightened his tie, with ease thanks to having thumbs. “Now that that's out of the way,” he took a few steps closer, “I must ask...“Twilight. Sparkle. Did you actually think...you would win? Your ambition, impresses me.” His mouth twitched as images of the day's events flashed behind and in front of him, rushing silently past Twilight Sparkle.

She narrowed her eyes, asking, “Just what do you want from me?”

“I, personally, don't want anything from you, Ms. Sparkle. My employers, however, have a rather attractive...proposition they would like to put forward.”
“Oh yeah? And just what is that?”

“It's an opportunity that you must not miss,” he said casually, “it is almost time for you to embark on an assignment that will determine the course of, well, I think you know already.” Twilight Sparkle lifted an eyebrow as he continued, “But, I am afraid we must detain you until....” he turned around 180 degrees and slowly walked away from Twilight Sparkle. As he did, he began to fade away. “...that time has come,” he finished before vanishing completely. Just then, everything was gone. She no longer felt any part of her body. All she could see was green, before that too faded into nothing.

Author's Note:

Aaaand there it is! Another chapter!

I can't believe how long it's taken, I've had to deal with other stuff in my life, writers' block and losing the will to complete this but now, it's done! And it feels so good to have this chapter finished. The headcanon that some kind of 3rd party (like The G-Man) is responsible for Twilight Sparkle's successes, so it's great to finally put it all into a fanfic.

More chapters of this might be written, but for now, it's time for a hiatus.

Comments

[Unoriginal]

Lets just say your hour has come again, Ms Sparkle.

The right pony, in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world.

So, wake up, Ms Sparkle. Wake up and, smell the ashes.

[Yamazaki]

4006801 ...is probably what he would say after the hiatus!

[Unoriginal]

4006822

Indeed. I also found listening to this encourage the sadness even more.

[Yamazaki]

4006832 Awesome soundtrack there!

[Rethkir]

I decided to read this because there will be a part later on in my story when the Combine will invade Equestria, (though it's primarily a Portal fic) and I need some Half-Life related inspiration for then. This is good, but there are minor issues (mostly grammatical and the annoying use of the phrase "began to") that keep it from being exceptional. So, you could really use an editor.

There were no points for guessing who the man with the briefcase was, but I liked what he revealed to Twilight. And I found myself rushing through his dialog, when reading it should be slow. You have put ellipses and hyphens throughout his dialog to break it up to really get the effect.

For example:

"Time? It appears as if you have… all the time… in the world. Now, I… took the liberty of dis–abling your magic. You’ll get it back in good… time. But my mo–tivations are no concern… of yours. But, if you would… rather me… cut to… the chase, then… so be it."

[Yamazaki]

5011384 I personally considered overwatch to be a type of synth. Because synths are aliens that have been weaponized by The Combine, and Overwatch are humans that have been pretty much weaponized by The Combine that would put them in the same category.

[Vinyl Nexus Scratch]

5018269 Really hungry people could curb stomp equestria if you deprived them of their packets of crisps

[OlDreaddy]

Look it ends just like hl2... On a cliffhanger.