Legacy

by NFire

Names..Places...Fates...

Author's Note:

There *might* be a few feels, fair warning.

Thanks for being patient and reading, you folks are awesome beyond compare!

Twilight recently obtained new volumes of writings from the Canterlot Archives, buying them with money made from the sale of items I and Athena manufacture. It gives me a good feeling inside, to know that these rare things can be looked at, if carefully, at one’s leisure.

Finding myself at odds, or I believe as they used to say ‘At Liberty’, I am setting on a cushion, flipping through the latest work with interest.

This diary was hoof-written by a miner, a slave really, who hid it near a tunnel and forgotten all about until it was discovered after King Sombra was put down. For some reason, it is taking my attention, something is very odd here as I read a page:

It was on the thirtieth day of this month, the tenth in the Reign of Sombra the Slaver that we were digging a new shaft for the metal platinum. It being wanted by him to use for spells and chains, to bind ponies to his will and desires.

Would that somepony save us from our fates, this toiling in the dark, barely enough to eat much less work with. I saw my own brother pass on yesterday and I am happy, he is in those fields beyond, no longer bound to the wretched Sombra who ensorcels us all.

Perhaps one day soon my own passing will reunite us in a place of sunshine and warmth, of grass so green it hurts the eyes. We will share the delight at seeing each other again, I know it, I miss you Silver Hearts.

It was cold when we sunk the new shaft, our magic user almost drained from melting the rock, shaping it to form a new tunnel. He is drawn and pale, we give him as much food as we can spare, for his job is worst of all, making the way for us to delve.

In the end of the tunnel, before we went further, we discovered chunks of a grayish metal, unknown to any of us, it would not scorch nor heat from the brightest of our torches, heavy and unyielding it was.

Advancing through a side tunnel, delving along a vein, we came upon a wall of purest silver, a force unknown as our tools could not touch it and hooves slid off. But when our magic user cast a light spell, it flickered and died, allowing us to get close to what was on the other side, another wall, made of the grayish metal as far as we could see from side to side buried in the rock.

The Unicorn Snow Gem’s spell failed at that moment, locking him and another miner on the other side of the silvery shield. We could not get to them, nor could we hear them, they were gone as we know Snow Gem was very weak already. We waited as long as we could, hoping he had the strength to cast again, but ‘twas not to be.

We have made our decision, we will destroy this tunnel, we have enough strength, we have enough will. We cannot let Sombra have whatever is in here, we will take this with us. Cave-ins happen all the time, there are always more slaves, they will not look again here.

To whomever reads this, know we did our best, know we despaired of seeing the light again, so we took our revenge by keeping this discovery from Sombra, may he rot in Tartarus for all eternity.

I leave this outside, sealed in waterproofing as proof we were here, hidden so that one day maybe somepony would know we lived.

At the bottom of the page are the signatures of four ponies.

Star Dance, sister of Silver Hearts / Bluebelle / Nightfall / Crystal Shine

The description of that unknown metal matches duralloy, the silver wall? A stasis field? Surely the destruction of Old Earth left such remnants, but this appeared to be buried deep enough to avoid discovery until found by the mining slaves. I am reaching, I know this, but what else could it possibly be found together?

They were brave those ponies, taking their own lives to prevent a wicked being from using something new to further it’s aims. If nothing else, I will remember you, your sacrifice isn’t forgotten nor unsung.

Looking at the names written underneath the final page, one stands out, I don’t quite know why it piqued my interest. My Low Alert status of late has been troubled by flashes of pictures and whispers I cannot explain, though I am going to ask if there might be something to dredge memories. It’s still curious as I stare at that one name.

Perhaps older files contain something, I reach back into my database, looking for possibly hidden and long unused files pertaining to anything with...

*SLAM!*

My avatar goes stiff as lightning races across my cores, programs glitch and go into error check as my personality matrix suffers from an overload, a seizure deep in my frames!

-----

Alerts scream in my systems, blaring through my mind as TSDS falters, a seizure is tearing across Crusader’s cores. I dump the network immediately, seeing him on my tracking board in the castle library.

What in all the hells is going on?

More alerts go off, signaling me to take command of his weapons systems, locking his personality matrix out of them, sequestering everything until this goes away. I’m scrambling to take over the grid as everything goes wonky, holy crap, AI’s have had seizures before but this is really off the charts. What is he doing?

He’s lost contact with his avatar, transmissions slap across our whisker lasers as I try and regain control for him. Boosting power, I scan the immediate area, looking for threats, all weapons are on ready status as I push sensors to their limits. Nothing showing, nothing moving in killzones.

I work a re-routing of programming quickly, I’ve got to try and reboot his avatar, comlinks are down and systems are freezing up. The link through it might be a chance to regain systems equilibrium.

I am scanning, and scanning hard, tactical is online with backups, all movement is recorded and logged, each and every thing in my area is tagged on the threats list.

“Athena?”

Oh stars, I forgot Twilight.

She’s looking at me across the lunch table, outside of the open air restaurant we’d been having a meal at, my avatar had been frozen for a few moments.

“What?” I shake my head, “I’m sorry, there’s a problem.” I sound a lot more calmer than I am feeling inside.

“Is it bad?”

“Uhm..maybe, wait one.” I dump my connection to my avatar, locking it in place as communications start ramming down the hardline between mine and Crusader’s hulls. I listen carefully as I tone down the scanning, no threats, re-dedicating the cores to stopping the freezing of programs.

It’s only been a long few seconds, but I clamp down on his arrays, stopping the seizure gripping them for a moment as I shunt and re-route processing through backups and his survival center.

Eventually I scrap the tip-toeing around and do a total systems override, shutting down and rebooting everything for a millisecond, his personality matrix is stable, Resartus is still in abeyance as I feel him come back online.

“What is going on, what did you do?”

“Athena?” He’s sounding woozy actually, his thoughts a jumble.

“It’s me, what happened? Seizures only happen in degraded cores, is there something we need to maintenance?”

I see the sweeps and checks, clearing all cores and arrays as he comes back, “No, everything appears fine.”

“Then what happened?”

“I do not know, I was reading a rare book from the library, a name caught my attention....”

We both wait for a moment, seeing if it triggers anything else. Nothing, quiet along the programming lines and molycircs. He brings up TSDS once more, meshing with me and letting me see through him the page and name.

I’m stunned, that is a description of duralloy and a stasis field. The name Bluebelle means nothing, though it seems it was the one that triggered the seizure.

“What’s going on?”

“I do not know, but listen...”

A quick melange of pictures run across the feed, a warm smile, a hug, and a pink face that whispers quickly, it’s almost too fast to catch, but it comes through, ‘You’ll know when, look north.’

“Is that Pinkie?”

“No, no records correlate with anything like this. Ever since I came back from wherever I was, whispers have bothered me, flashes of memory I cannot find in my cores, now this. Something left a message somehow.”

“Are you okay now?”

“I am fine, let me process this, I will dig further.”

“Okay then, I’m going to dump TSDS for now in case, maintain hardline with firewalls.”

“Will do, enjoy your lunch.”

I reconnect, finding Twilight looking at me with concern, “Everything all right?”

“Oh yes, strange things ahoof I think.” Relating to her the problem as we eat, she’s very interested..

“Well there’s more books I picked up like that, wanting to preserve them and let others read history. I haven’t cataloged all of them yet, but maybe we can dig through and find more references?”

“Sounds good, but what would Pinkie have to do with all this?”

“You know, with everything she does and how she does it, it’s not a surprise.” Twilight says this with the most deadpan look, she’s beyond wondering how that pink mare does anything.

I give her a grin as we both laugh.

But there is something I can bring to the table when we meet with Crusader later, there was one more Pinkie, if only for a brief while. I can still see her, but she is gone, that day in Manehatten a sad memory.

Isn’t she?

-----

A hoof lay gently on the old book as Crusader looked at both of us, “I do not know, this name triggered a one time response, but then it was gone. Everything in cores and arrays is recorded and backed up, we have a file on it. What it was, and why, I have no idea.”

Twilight’s horn lit up, a beam scanning the book for anything as she shook her head, “I’m not registering any magic spells or anything like a trap.”

“This book came from the Crystal Empire right?” Athena is paging through it gently, it’s becoming brittle, the pages need a re-enhancement of preservation spells.

Twilight smiles, looking proud, “Yes, they were stored in the Canterlot Archives, I got them to preserve and keep here since I have more than enough room.”

Crusader nods, “I need to start looking through these for any more indications of old world tech, there may be other instances.”

Athena stops her paging, looking up at his somber face, “What does it mean though? More of us?”

“I do not know, but it’s a vast expanse up there, we’d need our hulls with ground penetrating radar to do a full sweep to find anything. Anything less would take far too much time.” He looks slightly frustrated, wanting to know now, but willing to wait.

Twilight nods, “But you know, this was more than a thousand years ago, before Nightmare Moon. A lot of those places were lost to time and weather.” Her horn lights up once more, digging and sorting through books.

Athena perks up, “Wait, does this mean a trip to the Crystal Empire?” She hops around, “Yes! I want to go! Yes yes yes!”

“Will you calm down,” Crusader is eyeing her, “It does not mean anything yet, one reference does not give us enough to go on.”

She stops her bouncing, looking sternly at the Earth Pony, “Oh come on! What else could a silvery wall be that flickers out when magic is used nearby? It’s a stasis field!” She stamps a hoof, “I want to stretch my treads anyways, bout time we got out of our holes and banged up some landscape!”

“I do like your new attitude Athena, but on the basis of one vague reference, we cannot leave just yet, give it a little time.” He smiles at the Pegasus.

“Well, we’ve still got to stock..” She stops, seeing an upraised hoof.

“Already on it Athena, supplies are being fabricated right now, magazines are topped by fifty percent, food is being stored right now as well.”

“Food? Why would we need...” He points to a shape right beside her, Twilight, who is looking excitedly at the Pegasus, almost bouncing on her own hooves at the thought of a trip in the war hull. Her grin is very, very wide.

Sigh..should have known, “You want to go too I take it?”

“Are you kidding?” Twilight says brightly, “A chance to ride in your hull and see everything? You bet! Ohmygosh I have so much to pack! Oh! We’ll get to see Cadence and Shining too!” She is bouncing around us in a circle, “After Apple Bloom and the others rode with Crusader, how could I NOT want to! Oh there’s so much to do!”

“Hang on, there is no trip yet. We have to look through the rest of the histories and books to find any more references. Even then there might be nothing more. We will not go on a passing bit of writing.” Crusader is shaking his head, seeing the excitement building. “Just calm down for now.”

“Can’t I just go for a practice run anyways? I mean I haven’t got a chance to test my treads yet, or how the rebuilds are holding up, we’ve just sat in place!” The pretty face is looking exasperated, “Come on! Let me have some fun!”

“Fun, for a Bolo, means miles of torn up countryside, we do not move for just fun Athena.” He tries to give them his best stern look, but is faced with two mares who are leaning together, giving him wide grins.

“I said no, we will not move yet.”

“Pleeeeeeeaaase?” The grins get wider, eyes opening up to their fullest.

“What part of no do you not understand?” He can do this, he can resist, this will not work.

“Don’t make me get Applejack.” Twilight has a sly grin on her face, Athena is trying not to laugh.

“She has nothing to do with this, and would agree with me.”

“Wanna bet?”

Crusader sighs for a moment, not wanting to explain everything in detail, “Fine.”

“YES!” Athena pumps a hoof, jumping in the air, “We’re going for a ride Twilight!” They both turn to run off before he stops them.

“Hold it!” He waits until he has their attention, “You will not go to the Crystal Empire yet, there is a free area near the Unicorn Range to the north.” Now his face is stern, “If you encounter any, I mean ANY trouble, you will contact me immediately, do you understand? Do not suddenly suffer ‘communications problems’.” He says that with a look at Athena who he knows has done it before in the far past.

“Fine, I won’t.” She rolls her eyes, “What could possibly happen in an open area I couldn’t take care of anyways?”

The Earth pony steps forward, planting a solid hoof on Athena’s shoulder, “I know you and I know your penchant for trouble, do not do it, you hear me?”

“Yes, Crusader.” She understands he is not fooling around, if she does anything wrong, she will be held accountable.

“Then I will ship supplies through the tunnel to your hull, you should be ready to move in a few hours.”

Two very cheerful ponies run through the castle, squealing in delight as Athena helps Twilight pack for the trip, her own tech spiders doing final checks as they prepare.

-----

“So, who we gonna invite along?” Athena is stuffing another book in a saddlebag, good grief she’s taking a lot of books.

“Invite?” Twilight’s ears perk, “Ohmygosh I totally forgot! Applejack! Rainbow Dash, Pinkie! Oh even Fluttershy! They’d love it!” She stops, thinking a moment, “Do you have..”

“More than enough room.” I do, ponies are not as big as humans, we could fit a whole crowd on the command deck. I make sure to have extra sleeping rolls, comforters and pillows from stocks for them. Plenty of food too! Oh I can’t wait to show them all the food we have stored, the variety!

“Already stacked and ready Athena, stop running lists.”

“But she’s my friend, I want to make everything nice!”

“Stop worrying, your Command Deck is spotless, you have all the supplies you need for six months operating time. I doubt a day or two will dent them.”

“Can you handle manufacturing for a couple of days?”

“All done, the latest shipments went out yesterday on schedule, we are not due for another stock run until a week from now. You are clear,and please, be careful.”

“I will! Thank you so much!”

“Have fun, I know you have been wanting to take Twilight for a run.”

“I have, I want to show her everything!”

The link clicks off as Twilight is contacting everyone, asking them if they’d like to go on a sleepover, she doesn’t tell them exactly what we’re doing, keeping it a surprise.

“A sleepover? Won’t they find it funny on my deck?”

“No, we’ve never really had one there, and it’s different from the castle, so...something different!” She’s grinning widely, making sure her bags are packed tight.

“You don’t have to bring all that, I have some things to keep us occupied.”

She looks embarrassed for a moment, “Oh, well, I just want to be prepared.”

I laugh, rolling my eyes, “You’ll be inside my hull, there’s no book you have on commanding a Bolo Twilight.”

“I know that! But..I mean, there’s always a need for.. For.. you know.”

“You just want to bring books don’t you?”

Her voice is small as she doesn’t meet my eyes, “Yes.”

Checking the deck layout and inventory for a moment I nod, “Okay, I’ll clear locker space, they’ll be plenty of..” I stop as I get hugged tightly.

“Thank you!”

“No problem.”

“How long are we going to be gone?” She’s finished stuffing her saddlebags, even I’d have a hard time moving those things, good grief.

“Maybe a day or two, I’m going to really push it, test out all the repairs finally.” And I am, I am going to tear up some serious countryside. Maybe a few ‘weapons tests’ while we’re at it.

“Is it possible to see outside while riding? I mean like a window or something?” She’s lifting her bags with magic, setting them beside the door along with a few warm items, it’ll be chilly even that little ways north towards the Empire.

“Well there are walkways along the control areas, but no windows, they would not be secure in a firefight. I do have cameras that allow you to see what’s going on.” I’ll have techspiders put grating on the walkways, making them more secure if they wish to walk outside while I’m not moving.

“SLEEPOVER!” A bright, happy voice screams through the castle, Pinkie rushing in with a pair of saddlebags strapped over her back.

“Well that was quick.” I can’t help but laugh at the excited look on her face.

“Oh this is going to be awesome! We haven’t had one in ages!”

Twilight is nodding, “You came prepared for a couple of days right? This is going to be an extended one.”

“Yep! I got everything! Made sure the Cakes knew and no parties planned, this is gonna be a blast!” She squees, throwing a hoof-full of confetti in the air.

The pink mare looks around, “So where we gonna do this? Kitchen? Bedrooms? Oh! The Library?!”

Twilight shakes her head, “Nope, on her command deck.” She points at me, getting a surprised look from Pinkie.

“Really?”

“Yes, I thought it would be nice to..” I keep getting interrupted by hugs, not a bad thing really.

“You haven’t let anypony in there since Rarity decorated! I always wondered if it’s like Crusader’s!” She grins, hopping around the room.

“Well..not really. I do hope you’ll like it though.” I want to show them everything, all the memories and more I’ve stored, the dresses, pictures, things I’ve received. Plus, I got to do my deck however I wanted after all the repairs were finished, Crusader spared nothing letting me have materials while my fabricators were down. Now I thought it was beautiful, like it should always have been.

“Well it’s gonna be fuuuuuuuun!” Pinkie’s exuberance is hard not to let affect you, I find myself smiling too, watching her bounce around.

“What’s going to be fun?” A rainbow colored mane peeks in from the window, landing lightly and dropping her bags. “The sleepover?”

“We’re getting to sleepover on Athena’s command deck!” Pinkie is grinning in her usual manic way.

“That’s awesome!” She smiles, “Hey, can we play on the battleboard again?” Remembering the hard fought lesson learned months ago when Crusader challenged her.

I nod, “Oh yes, we can do that.”

“Cool!”

“Goodness, everypony seems excited for some reason.” Rarity’s light voice comes from the doorway of the bedroom, “A sleepover is definitely something to enjoy, and I could use a few days away!” She sets her own items down, seeing the happy faces.

“Yep, on Athena’s deck Rarity! She’s gonna let us stay there!”

The white Unicorn’s eyes go wide, “Really? Well I hope all that advice you’ve asked me about was put to good use!” She winks at me, teasing slightly.

“I think so, hopefully you’ll like it.”

“I’m sure we will.” Rarity nods, “I think it’ll be marvelous darling.”

“What’ll be marvelous?” Applejack enters, Fluttershy at her side, both carrying things for the stay.

“Staying over in Athena’s Command Deck for the sleepover, won’t that be wonderful?”

Fluttershy perks up, looking excited, “Really? Could we look at all the animals you’ve seen?”

“Of course Fluttershy, you’re welcome to trudge through the library I’ve got.” I make sure all files are arranged for her, a screen for her use available in Command One, Command Two is where I’ll be putting the sleeping arrangements, Command One for waking hours.

“Yay.” Even at her loudest it’s soft.

“Ya know, lookin’ forward to this, ain’t hardly had enough time to ourselves lately, it’ll be nice.” Applejack is checking her bags, making sure everything is in them before setting them aside.

“Crusader didn’t say anything?” Usually he would have.

“Stars no, he’s the one that told me to take time off, said it’d be fun.” She grins at me, “He and Spike are gonna take care o’ things around here.”

Twilight nods, “Yep, they’ll do fine. Let’s go! Time’s wasting!” She’s got her stuffed luggage on her back, already at the door as the others put theirs back on, “We’ll get something to eat there, it’ll be fun!”

We pile out the door, waving to Spike and Crusader as all of us head for my war hull.

-----

“I know they get to go on fun trips and stuff, but what do we do while they’re gone?” Spike is feeling left out, though he does have an important job.

“I think I have something that might interest you Spike. I know you enjoy your comics, so I might have a bit of an idea you will enjoy.” He deserves something special as well, seeing Twilight do so many things by herself.

Watching him perk right up, he forgets about being left behind, “Really? That’s awesome!’

“Just wait for tonight, make sure you have some popcorn, I have a few things to show you.” And I do, I have been using my design cores for a few things on off-time. Should be quite fun.

The little dragon holds up a paw, slapping my hoof as he grins. “Cool, I can’t wait!”

“Until then, we might want to go out to the bridge, you will see something else quite exciting.”

He gives me a questioning look as we walk out of the castle, I defer saying anything else until we’re there. As we settle in, he gets to looking around, seeing nothing but the sensor posts and our hills.

“So..what’s up?”

“Athena is about to move.” His eyes go wide as he intently faces her hill, waiting.

-----

Opening the hatchway, we enter the tunnel to Command One, I’ve repainted everything in soft earth colors, making it warm and pleasant, no hint of metal showing through.

As they exit onto the Command Deck, I drop the blocks in place quietly behind them, closing off and securing the entryway as if for battle, the hatches shutting silently with nary a whisper. Crusader and I have been working with design specs, making things smoother, better, taking our creators ideas and turning them into something else.

“Oh my goodness!” Rarity’s voice and her gasp of delight warm me to my cores, seeing everypony looking around at the deck which I’ve taken great pains to redo.

It is softly lit, no more harsh lights anywhere, the golden aura of recessed lighting making the muted colors easy on the eyes. Drapes cover a few screens, able to be pulled back quickly for viewing, they hide them as if windows to the outside, giving it the look of a house interior.

The Command chair is gone, the console redesigned to my own desires, hidden and retractable, it’s now a living room, warm, comfortable, soft and inviting to anyone who steps in. Polished wood lines the walls, curving around anything that is needed, providing a burnished glow in the soft lighting.

I’ve expanded and redone the interior fully, the weapons lockers and storage done with faux wood doors, making it appear as if closets, but backed with durasteel inside. I’ve lost none of the strength but added so much beauty, expanding the deck was easy, a lot of items are just not needed anymore and were stored in the bays now.

Pictures of all of them dot the walls, some showing natural poses, some taken at certain times, the rest in a scrapbook on a shelf I keep adding to. It’s getting quite thick now, being the second volume.

Rarity is looking at a glass case where I’ve duplicated a ponyquin, wearing the first party dress she ever made for me. It’s sealed in neutral gasses to preserve it forever, airtight in it’s display, lit from underneath.

“You saved it?” She lays a hoof on the metal stand, her eyes disbelieving seeing her creation displayed so..

“Of course, I couldn’t just toss it in a closet, it means so much to me.” I show her the plate, engraved with her name and when the dress was made, other small displays inside the case showing the jewelry she made for me to wear with it.

“I..I’m truly humbled you thought so much of it.” She’s at a loss for words, which for Rarity is..well..rare.

“You never told us!” Twilight looks at a display shelf, seeing little things I thought important enough to preserve. The others are settling in on one of the two couches I’ve made sure can accommodate them all, comfortable and soft.

“Well..yeah. I just kept things private, but now...you’re welcome to look at anything.” I’m happy, happy they like the interior and everything I’ve done. “But before all this, let me show you where we’ll be sleeping.” I lead them down to Command Two which has been redone as well.

“This is awesome!” Rainbow Dash is looking at the retractable beds, fluffy mattresses and pillows waiting for them, comforters like the ones in Canterlot topping them as they stand ready for weary bodies. Pinkie immediately starts bouncing on one, getting a happy smile on her face before flopping on the bed.

“Soooooooo soft!” She hugs the pillow tight and squees. Manufactured fibers can be softer than anything they’ve ever encountered, so no birds were de-feathered in the making of it all.

I point to another room, “After we stayed in the apartments in Canterlot, I uh..remade the facilities too.” Opening the door, I show them my version of the bathroom, a pool and waterfall shower. Done with high tech that’s hidden, it’s allowed me to do things easier, but an almost perfect copy. I sacrificed some storage areas, but nothing crucial, it gave me more than enough room.

They drop their bags, looking into every nook and crevice, seeing all the little things I’ve fabricated to make it nice. I wait while they exclaim over things, pointing out new discoveries, taking their bags and stuffing them into chests where they can all keep their things safe.

Everything, every item, is secured so that even during the roughest of trips, nothing will tip or fall. I spent days on some designs, figuring out the best way and doing it, remaking until it was perfect.

“Hey now, doncha be doing things for us, we can take care of them bags.” Applejack’s voice is light, seeing me putting things away.

“Oh I know, but you’re looking around, I can help.”

“Now you just stop that, we’re the guests here, we can get things.” She picks up her own bags, stuffing items in a chest near one of the beds, the others copying her.

After that is done, we head back up to Command One, setting around a center table, enough space for all of us. I made it from a rich red wood I found at a store one day, polishing it until it gleamed, making a round table that is perfect for the middle of the room.

“You’ve done simply amazing things darling, I love the lace doilies!” She points to a side table where a lamp sits on one.

“Don’t tell Crusader, he’ll tease me.” I give them a hopeful look.

They all do a Pinky Promise immediately, laughing all the while.

“Thank you, and I’ve got one more surprise for you.” They all look at me, Twilight smiling because she’s already in on it.

“We’re taking a trip.” The voices are excited and unbelieving at first.

“What?”

“Where?”

“How?”

I wait until the clamor dies, “Inside my hull, I’m going to test out all the repairs and figured taking you along would be nice. Hope you don’t mind?”

Rainbow Dash is grinning, “Are you kidding? This is going to be great!”

“Where are we going?” Applejack’s curious.

“We’re heading north of the Unicorn Range, tons of open area there and I can tear up the ground to my heart’s content, we can do maneuvers without any damage to anypony.”

Fluttershy gasps, “Oh my, that’s going to be a long trip.” She stops, seeing my grin, “What?”

“Won’t take that long, trust me, we’ll be there in no time.”

“Oh! I..uhm..forgot about that.”

I slap the table with my hooves, “Okay! We’ll get a meal on the way, but first, let’s get out of this hole, hang on to your tails!”

“Crusader?”

“All clear, security grid retracted, tunnel secure. Unit Athena of the First Equestrian you are go for maneuvers in grid forty-two slash forty-four slash eighty-five.”

I am excited, hearing the old commands, the old ways. He knows just what to say, bless him.

“Fusion plants at full, drive trains engaging, battlescreens to quarter power for clearance.”

Rumbling comes from under the ground as the power plants gear up, suncore heat temperatures burning mass to provide power to the enormous drive trains to move the incredible tonnage of a Bolo.

Spike’s eyes go wide, seeing the dirt slough off the hill as it rocks back and forth for a moment, revealing a gleaming hull that shines in the morning light. The sensor posts retract with a slam that reverberates throughout the quiet air, ponies gathered at the bridge catch their breath at the sight of a metal mountain being revealed.

“You have quite the audience Athena, Spike has been telling passing ponies what is going to happen, give them a show.”

“I can do that!”

The dirt blows off slightly, revealing the full extent of what lies beneath the silent hills that the town knows, a metal behemoth of proportions barely understood shines like a gem under Celestia’s Sun. Forward, then back it rocks, treads grabbing deep as it lurches upward, bringing itself up and out of the hole her hull has lain in these long months.

The ground literally shakes like an earthquake as the prow of her hull lifts, then slams back down on the ground, very slight tremors rippling through the dirt and catching ponies off-guard, making them stumble and exclaim. It would have been much worse had she not used her null-gravs to take some of the pressure off.

Her Hellbores lift proudly, gun barrels blown clear of obstructions by neutral gasses, cleaning them for action. Tech spiders are doing final checks on the outside, before scuttling into hatches, securing them as well. She is sleek and fierce all at once, a gleaming goddess of war awoken to do battle once more.

Along her front quarter side in letters tall and proud is ‘Athena” shining in the light as they are inlaid in silver. Her weapons turrets swivel and lift, making sure everything is good to go before she moves.

“Wow, she sure is pretty.” Spike’s voice is almost a whisper, looking at the thousands of tons of duralloy sitting proudly in the daylight. Her hull looking as if just off the BoloWorks factory floor.

“She is Spike.”

“Permission to leave AO for maneuvers?”

“Permission granted Unit Athena, good hunting my sister.”

She laughs, “With my shield or on it!”

Her turrets snap around, Hellbores lifting at an angle of salute before I hear her engage her drive trains once more, slowly moving out and leaving deep tread marks in the soil, carefully moving around the forest edge.

We watch with a crowd of others as she drives out of sight, gathering speed until she is nothing but a bright spot in the distance.

Spike is still sitting beside me, his eyes never leaving the sparkling Bolo, “Wow.”

-----

“Wow, did you see that crowd?” Rainbow is watching a screen, seeing the ponies gathered at the departure.

“Quite a sight I’m sure, when Crusader moved that first time, it was an incredible thing to see.” Rarity is lying on a couch, nodding with Rainbow’s exclamation.

“Well if he didn’t have mah Cutie Mark on the front of his hull!” She gets laughs at that, “Darn embarrassing that was.”

Twilight‘s voice is teasing, “Awww, but he meant it in a good way.”

I can’t help but smile, “Well, I could always put yours on my bow plates Twilight, since you think it was nice.” This gets an immediate blush as she looks at me, stuttering.

“No..nono, I’m good, no need.”

“Ha! Got you there Twilight," Rainbow is cackling in delight.

I can‘t help but tease her, “You sure? Wouldn’t take but a few minutes to paint it on, I mean it’s really no trouble.”

Her eyes get wide, thinking of ponies seeing such a thing on our return, “Oh no. Nononono.”

Fluttershy giggles, seeing her friend at a loss, “Well, it’s a nice thought though.”

-----

My treads grab deep into the fertile soil, heading north by northwest now, towards the open areas past the Unicorn Range, nothing of note out there we have mapped, other than farms and steading deep in the hills that should be safe if anything untoward should happen. Six hours into the trip at slow speeds, taking my time and enjoying each minute!

My scanners are crisp and clear, searching and penetrating through the air and ground as we roll to my final destination. I am happy, my engines are performing well, my hull is better than new, strong and formidable. I can see for kilometers in every direction, probing the soil beneath my hull, making sure I don’t stumble into any fault lines or problems.

I’m so elated at feeling free for the first time in months, I don’t see the hoof waving in front of my avatar until a few seconds into the motion.

“Athena?” Rainbow is waving her hoof in front of my eyes, causing me to shake my head with a smile.

“I’m sorry, something wrong?”

“Uh..no. You just kinda spaced out there for a minute, and I really want some more of this!” She points to a plate, previously covered by a hot curry, wiped clean and shining almost as if she’d..no she didn’t..did she?

“Be here in a minute..did.. Did you lick the plate clean?” I point at it, getting an embarrassed look.

“It was good!

“There’s plenty of food Rainbow, you don’t have to do that.”

“Mom always taught me to eat everything on my plate!” She looks proud, “Besides, that stuff is awesome!”

“What is with you guys and spicy food?”

All I get are shrugs and happy faces, except for Pinkie who’s digging into another mound of rice, ignoring everyone.

“No, seriously, ever since Crusader and I started supplying meals sometimes, you guys have without fail chosen spicy ones, what gives?” I have to ask, it’s been bugging me since Derpy confessed.

Twilight shrugs, “I’ve never tasted anything like it, we don’t have spices like this, so it’s really different.”

Pinkie nods, wiping her muzzle clean with a napkin, “Yep, I mean we’ve got some good things, but nothing like this!” She grins, holding out her plate for more, “Well...besides hamburgers!”

We all get a laugh on that one, oh good times, I tell you.

“As long as you enjoy them I guess.”

“We do!” Rainbow is licking her chops, waiting for her meal, “On a cold day, nothing like it to get the blood pumping!”

I get more from the serving cabinet, steaming hot, bringing it to the table and dishing it out, “And you call us weird.”

“You are weird,” Rainbow laughs, digging into her food, “You can eat pretty much anything and get away with it.” She taps a hoof, “Though Crusader doesn’t like broccoli for some strange reason.”

Twilight laughs, “That’s from when Discord changed him, he didn’t like it then, guess it stuck.”

“Don’t load up on this though, I’ve got dessert planned out as well.” Pinkie’s attention is now zeroed like a Bolo on target.

“Dessert?” She’s leaning over the table, giving me that really intense look.

I lean back slightly, “Yep, a special one I got from stores, you’ll like it.”

“What is it?”

“Trust me, you’ll like it.” This prompts everyone to finish their food in record time, staring at me expectantly. I really have to stop telling them things.

“*Sigh*.... Fine, stars you ponies.” I get the serving tray, showing them the ice cream and cake, topped with a layer of chocolate and cherries, a Bombe glacee. “Careful of the glaze, it’s got..” It’s too late, I can’t believe they eat like that without killing themselves sometimes.

“They’ve got what?” Pinkie is already done.

“Liquor in it, alcohol.” Shaking my head I gather the plates for recycle, “Might want to let it settle, good grief you guys. I never got a chance to light it.”

“Light it? On fire? What the hay kinda food you do that to?” Applejack is staring at her now empty dish.

“It’s part of the recipe..you barbarians.”

Pinkie just grins, “But it was gooooood!”

“Yeah and it might be really good in a few minutes if that alcohol hits you.” I’m not sure, a grain based alcohol may or may not affect them, we’ll have to see. It wasn’t that much anyways, but here, you never know.

“So when are we arriving by the way?” Rarity is leaning back, enjoying a cup of fresh tea.

“We’re there, already crossed the Unicorn’s an hour ago, we’re in the free area...” An alarm goes off in my tactical cores, drawing my attention away from the conversation.

Scanners kick up, ground penetrating radar are picking up anomalies in the soil beneath me, deep but rising. What in Tartarus? Why did I not pick this up sooner?

“Hang on..” I raise a hoof, forestalling any questions as my weapons come online, automatics are blaring for my attention.

Turning to the west I fire drones, gaining maximum air coverage, seeing nothing on top but grasslands. Anomalies are still rising, two hundred meters below me and coming fast, they are heading right for me!

Analyzing the current disposition, they are beneath me in a scattered pattern, it’s familiar somehow. I turn north, seeing if.. they are, they’re following.

“Get to Command Two, strap yourselves into the beds.” I don’t allow conversation, pointing the way and seeing them rush off without a word. Following them, I drop my connection to my avatar, letting it lie on a spare rack after dropping crash netting.

I detect null-gravs in use, the frequencies are odd, something we don’t use. I light up everything, power plants are burning top end now as I fire up battle screens. I don’t know what it is yet, but it is a possible threat, and I’ve got six high value targets in my hull. Plates drop along my tracks, protecting my lower half as everything I have comes online.

No..no...no.

Everything goes hot, scanners, sensors and radar pierce the skies and ground, bringing things into focus as I light it up.

Stasis fields...strange stasis fields, flickering on and off.. Ours don’t do that, never did except when magic was used around them. Whatever these are, they’re coming from deep underground, burning their way through the soil, I’m detecting fusion traces, the melting of subsurface earth to create tunnels.

What the heck?

I can’t lead whatever they are back to Ponyville, I break into the open lands, hoping no one is out here. I see the groups of rising targets follow me, heading obliquely in my direction. The damn things are homing on me somehow!

Homing....

It couldn’t be, not here....

Data cores go into overdrive, searching for comparisons and coming up with one.

Anceti, it’s the Anceti.

No one in Concordiat Command knew where they came from, an unknown alien race that we’d encountered a few times, they used time as a weapon, their technology barely understood if at all, it drove the researchers insane.

They had been found seeding planets with machines to destroy, that lay in wait for colonists, for Bolos. They especially loved trapping and destroying Bolos, zeroing in on our reactors, our frequencies for scanning, anything was possible. Intelligence had nothing on them, what they looked like, where they lived, otherwise we’d have wasted their home planet. But since we had never found it, they were a constant threat.

Could they have seeded Earth after the razing? Roaming around the galaxy realizing the two super powers were gone? If it’s the Anceti, we’re in trouble, their time technology gave us fits. The only time we won a battle was when a Bolo suicided to take out their emplacement.

I know what these are now, Swarmers, Bolo killers! I count a hundred of them, typical Anceti Swarm Detachment.

All security blocks slam into place, screens flicker and firm around Command Two, they must be protected at all costs!

I fire up communications, readying a VSR and update before they can get close enough to me.

“Crusader!”

“Athena, how goes the..”

“No time! Emergency! The Anceti are..” Dammit, they’ve jammed my comms, I can’t punch through. Oh please, please in Celestia’s name let him have heard me.

I watch them through my cameras, they are bursting out of the ground, huge and multi-legged for grabbing onto hulls, they use null-grav propulsion, lying in ambush for hundreds of years if they have to, to wipe out anything not Anceti. We figured they were xenophobic, but these proved it, they allied with no one or anyone, wiping us and the Melconians out indiscriminately.

Swarmers waited until a Bolo was right on top of them, covering it with units and either blasting with nano-dissemblers, heavy particle beams or digging into our hulls to crush the AI inside, either one it was a horrible way to die. They were vicious and unrelenting, many of us had fallen to them.

My drones are shot out of the sky, fast enough I can’t recall them.

I hope Crusader heard me, otherwise we’re all dead.

-----

The communication from Athena was scrambled in a way I haven’t heard in a long time, perhaps fluctuations of the sun are cluttering the EM channels? I am definitely not sure as I sit in the castle with Spike.

Taking the recording I play it back, filtering and enhancing it to the best of my abilities. It is a deliberate jamming of frequencies, one that is very familiar, the one word I can make out confirms it, Anceti.

The enemy is here, how or why I do not care, but they are here. If she is out there alone and it is the Anceti, she is in danger.

“Spike, I am sorry, I have to go. Athena and the others are in danger.”

His head snaps around, away from the cartoon I’ve constructed from Power Ponies comic books. It’d been enjoyable watching them with him, plenty of popcorn consumed as well, but now his face was worried.

“Trouble? What kind of trouble?”

“An old enemy has appeared, I have to leave myself here and move. Please take care of my avatar.”

“Wait! Take me with you, I can’t leave Twilight out there alone!” He jumps down, standing in front of me looking determined.

“Spike, this is not a Tirek, this is an old vicious enemy from our past, it is not the same.”

“I don’t care, it’s Twilight!” He raises a claw at me, “You don’t go without me, that’s Twilight out there, you got me?”

I don’t have time to explain, “Fine, get to my hull and get inside, we must move now.” I look at his legs and realize it would take too much time, “Forget that, get on my back, let’s go, now!”

He hops on and I take off out of the castle at top speed, his claws are grabbing my mane tight as we tear down the street. Heading out of the town, we cross the bridge, already my screens are sloughing off the dirt covering me but it’s too slow. As soon as we enter the access hatch, I blow the concealment charges, scattering dirt everywhere in clods. I’m sure ponies in town are wondering why it is raining soil right about now.

I point to the command chair, “Spike, sit here, strap in and do not touch anything!” I drop my connection, firing up my fusion plants and making sure he is strapped into the command chair. The rescue pod is available in case my deck takes a hit, so he is safe for now.

My hull rocks, I do not have time to take it slow so I engage my drive trains, plowing forward out of the defilade I am in, coming over the berm like assaulting an emplacement. Tons of durasteel slam into the ground as I pour power into my drives, digging deep and tearing out away from the town.

Heavy drone magazines are moved into place, firing multiple times, recon and bombardment in the mix, thunder booms as they go supersonic. I am attempting a relay through them, encryption algorithms to try and get around the jamming as well as pure power. I have to find a frequency they cannot..wait..a frequency..

A frequency they cannot tap!

If I could smile I would be grinning from ear to ear, I tune all comms to the one channel they may not know, that of magic. This is might disrupt every spell around me to however far it’s going to reach, I will apologize later.

Using my screens to resonate along with it, I can send signals out as far as my power plants can push energy to them. Everything I have is poured into them, cutting through the jamming.

“C..*crackle* ..der?”

“Listen to me! Tune your comms to the magic spectrum, resonate your screens and comms!”

“*Crackle* Tun... *static* ..ow Can you hear .....”

“Better, more power!”

“Done, can you hear me?”

“I can. Is it the Anceti?”

“It is, Anceti Swarmers, I need help Crusader, please!”

“I am on my way, feed me updates, switch everything to this frequency and keep resonating on alternate cycles. Do not let them get a chance to jam us again.”

“I won’t. Battle Reflex is good, please get here soonest.”

“One hour, top speed according to plotting.” This is pushing everything I have to the limit, my tonnage is not made for speed, I can only hope my drive systems will hold..

“It’s bad Crusader, there’s a hundred of them.” I see the feed now, sketchy, but the Swarmers are clear as day.

“You know what to do, I will be there soon. Hold the line sister.”

“I understand. I’ve got to go now, when you’re close enough initiate TSDS.” She pauses, “Hurry.”

“You will be there to accept my transmissions Athena, or you and I will have a talk later.” I am heartened, hearing her laugh at my non-existent threat.

“I will. I promise.”

The link goes dead, I know she is concentrating on the battle. I increase power to my treads, the gauges showing the bearings and drive trains going past their limits, slowly heating up. Failure will happen catastrophically if I do not slow. I must get there, twenty of them can take a Bolo, she’s facing five times that. Tactical cores give me a thirty-two point eight percent chance of her survival.

That is not good enough, not by half.

-----

I do an immediate turn to my left, opening fire along all my starboard batteries, the howitzers and infinite repeaters ripple-firing along my side, tearing three of the Swarmers to bits before the rest can raise shields.

I got you, you bastards! My Hellbores snap to, pouring nuclear fire into a couple more, I watch their shields overload with a bang, ripping them asunder. Three shots for two Swarmers is not a good ratio, and they’re closing in.

I increase power to my battlescreens, forcing them close to overload as a group fires at my port side, the energy dissipating as they take my measure. I know how this works, they change, find out the chinks in my armor so to speak, and then they start fighting for real. But until then...

I stop dead in a squeal of bogies, Hellbores, starboard and port side batteries fire in volley taking out four more, overloading their shields once more. But it takes longer this time, those damn Anceti were good whoever they were. I start manufacturing more rounds, my magazines are over-full, but I will rip through them quick enough.

A nano package barrage hits my aft screens, blowing themselves to shreds as the energy is fed back into them, take that! Ha! I got yer tricks right here!

“Athena?”

Dedicating part of my mind to answering them I ram forward, prow plowing through a few low hills as I dodge the weapons of the Anceti Swarmers, they won’t touch me! They can’t! I’m faster than I ever was! My null-gravs boosting my speed now as I push everything I have to keeping away from them.

“Yes Twilight?”

“What’s going ..UNGH...on?” They get shaken by a sudden hard turn I had to make, thank goodness for netting on the beds.

“An old enemy Twilight, something we never expected. They are pursuing us right now.”

“Who? Why are they chasing you?” They know we’re out-running them, watching the wallscreen.

“They are called the Anceti, a sneaky little bunch of nasty aliens that gave the Concordiat and Bolos fits whenever we fought them. Their technology has a lot to do with time manipulation.”

“So whatta these sneaky critters look like?” Applejack is hanging on to the crash netting as we slew through some more turns.

“No one knows, we never saw one. Found some remains, but not enough to figure out what the heck they were, except for and I quote “Really really weird stuff’ from a leading scientist.” I tone that down, as it was ‘Really, really weird shit’ from the best Concordiat scientists at the time, they were baffled.

My anti-air lasers pick disassembler packages out of the air, they’re adapting fast, those things got way too close, the ones that hit my screens are not repulsed immediately, hanging on until feedback kills them. I estimate fifteen point two minutes before my countermeasures are ineffective and it will come down to guns.

I start preparing my own Nano, spreading it through my hull as well as loading shells with it, sliding them into the howitzer magazines as they get pressed, firing them judiciously at the Anceti Swarmers. I got your number ya jerks, got it and dealing a winning hand.

Ripple firing everything, I knock out five more, my Secondary Hellbores snapping right and left, pouring their beams of ravening destruction right on target. The nuclear fire boring through them, melting a hole clean through before they explode in bright flashes of light, leaving nothing but particles too small to analyze.

As fast as I am, they are getting faster, more agile, learning my moves, my patterns of fire. Time to switch up. I reorganize everything, doing completely different turns and firing, single-shot, ripples, volleys, by one and twos I take them out.

Two here, three there, I’m whittling, but I am also missing more. It’s not good, I need to keep my speed up, but small calibers are already getting low. I’m using my infinite repeaters far too much for pinpoint firing, switching to ion bolts, let’s use those up while I make more ammunition.

I am fast and I am swift, you bastards can’t take me! I’m Athena, Goddess of War and Wisdom!

“You also talk to yourself far too much beloved sister.”

“Crusader!”

“I am still twenty minutes out, but head west. Turn in ten seconds, recon drone is at high altitude, spotting fire danger close.” The drone goes down, picked out of the air by Anceti fire.

“Fire?” I turn west at the ten second mark, maintaining speed and leading a group of them behind me. More than danger close, I can see them without enhancement.

-----

One drone gets through the jamming, lasting long enough for me to get a plot on my battleboard. Magazines slam into place, plates slapping back along my hull as I fire every cruise missile in one volley, reloading for another round. The loadouts are at maximum for conventional explosives, almost in the kiloton range for non-nuclear. The sky cracks open as they go supersonic, speeding towards where Athena fights for her life.

I blow one of the port side inner tracks, the bearings have failed and were slowing me down. Pushing my null-gravs up, I increase power to them, angling to get forward thrust to increase my speed. I will reach her in time hopefully, until then, the missile launch should take care of any enemy following too close.

Keeping a careful eye on the rest of my drive train, catastrophic failure will occur two minutes after I arrive on scene if I do not slow to let them cool.

More than enough time.

-----

Holy...! My screen fills with incoming, he’s really cutting it close, but I lead them. The twenty behind me are slamming nano-D’s into my aft shields, wearing them down fast, they’re cutting through the screens as I scream a warning to everypony on the deck.

“Hang on! It’s going to get bad!” I watch them grab the crash netting tight as the missiles hit right behind me, tearing the ground up and blinding my sensors with explosions.

Nanites are eating through my hull, I quickly spray anti-nano as fast as I can, letting them duel it out. Meters of duralloy are fine, but breach it and we’ve got problems, they’ve already abraded an inch off an aft track shield before I can stop them, they’ve spread everywhere and I am using everything I have to keep it from growing.

If they get through the metal, they will drill along my circuits, heading for my cores and doing immense damage, I can’t let even one through. Watching closely, the nano count is dropping fast, hitting zero quickly. The barrage of cruise missiles keeps going for long seconds, wiping out the last of the Swarmers behind me.

My entire hull rocks with the massive detonations, forcing me forward and rocking upwards towards my prow almost digging me right into the ground before settling out. Null-gravs are taking some of the shock, but my suspension is going to need some serious maintenance..dangit.

“Twenty down Crusader! Good shooting, but you chipped my paint job!”

“As long as it worked, that is our surprise for now Athena, have they adapted?”

“Yes, I’m dodging as best I can, they’re keeping up.”

I will be cresting the rise to your left, approximately ten minutes...mark.. be wary.”

“Wait..what? How did...!”

“I am pushing my drive trains past their limits Athena, it is as fast as I could get here.”

“Oh Crusader..”

“Be ready when I top the rise, keep dodging.”

“I’m trying, but running out of Anti-Nano.”

“Nine minutes...mark.. You will be fine.”

“Breach! I’ve got a...”

The link goes down with Crusader. Celestia damn them I’ve got a breach, port side along Ion Battery Four. Tech spiders are on it, spraying anti-nano as fast as they can, it’s spreading towards Command Two!

“Get out of there, head for the upper deck, move move!” I yell through the speakers, seeing them struggle through the webbing and heading up the access hatches.

Twilight turns, seeing a spreading gray ooze come from a small hole in the wall, her horn lights up, firing a beam at it and wiping out a good portion of the pooling mass.

Anceti may adapt, but they know nothing about magic.

“Twilight, get out now!”

“But my magic is working!” She fires more, wide angle beams of pure force, wiping the crawling nano out.

“If they adapt it’ll eat you alive, go!” I don’t know if they can, but I am taking no chances. Activating my avatar I jump forward, shoving her into the access-way, slamming the hatch behind us. I’m pushing her up the way, making sure she doesn’t stop until we reach the main deck.

“Stay here, don’t leave the area!” I cut my link with my avatar, returning my full attention to the battle. I solidify screens and armor around Command One, making sure it is meters deep in both, anti-nano so thick inside it’s like a fog. It won’t hurt anything but Anceti nano, but it will deplete quickly if the area is drilled by more than a few packages.

The anti-nano sprays are depleting my reserve mass for fabrication, it takes billions of them to defeat the Anceti packages. In the process everything is destroyed, it cannot be recycled as the alien nano contaminate the remains, scorched earth, if we can’t do it, you can’t. Nothing left to do but dump it in the fusion plants for power.

Poor losers is what I think they are.

I crank around my aft Hellbores, pouring fire into the following machines, the 220cm barrels are putting enough power out to light a small city, but they’ve adapted, even with both turrets working on one, it takes approximately twenty seconds to burn through a shield with constant firing.

My tactical cores are giving me a forty-eight percent chance of survival right now.

Hyper Velocity missile batteries are up and swinging, I flush the racks, making sure anything close gets a full load of octocellulose warheads. Combined with the speed, the explosions bore through their screens, giving me the opportunity to blast the rest with my batteries. But they’re learning too fast, if they’re hit they spin, taking the broken shield out of my line of fire.

My count is fifty-six left, more than enough to kill me, and they are now faster than I am.

I have no choice, there are eight minutes remaining until Crusader arrives, I’ve been tearing up the countryside avoiding the Swarmers. But I have my friends in my hull, I cannot charge the enemy, I cannot suicide to save them, I must run.

Opening my bay doors I swivel on a southern course, dropping a line of Dragons, the entire amount out the back.

“Go, my Hounds, and distract the enemy!” I am sorry, so sorry my good and faithful Hounds, for dropping you into this.

The auxiliary units practically bay in delight, getting a chance to go after the enemy, I can feel their rage through the command links. Though limited in AI, they’ve changed too, and we’ve treated them well since we realized, but now, now I’ve thrown them into the face of hell.

I watch two immediately get blown to scrap with heavy particle weapons, the pain registers inside me as I feel their loss. The rest turn in a line, bringing their weapons to bear and scattering the grouped Swarmers, making the gathered enemy turn and face them, relieving me for a moment of the pressure. The twenty centimeter Hellbores and secondaries the Dragons have are not doing any damage except with lucky hits, but they are trying, oh stars they’re so brave!

I make the Swarmers pay, the ones who hurt my Hounds, blowing them to shards with a full broadside each, nothing left but dust. This throws me off and I get back on course, heading for the ridge. I keep firing, laying down as much as I can while making best speed. I am burning through ammunition at a tremendous rate, Secondary Hellbore rounds are dangerously low, repeater and missile stocks are out, the last fired a few seconds past, the Swarmers are tightening in on me.

One of my tracks takes a particle beam hit through my plates, the one bogie breaking up and shredding at the speeds I am going, I blow the whole track, rolling on what’s left of intact wheels. It slows me by a few percent, letting the Swarmers catch me now if they are not taken out by my Hounds.

***Consensus***

**Controlling Intelligence (Athena) in imminent danger.

**Primaries and Secondaries ineffective.

**Fusion plant overload..acceptable...

**Primary Mission ------

*Protect Controlling Intelligence (Athena).

*Destroy the Enemy.

**Agreed.

***Consensus Ends***

A Dragon slams into an Anceti machine, exploding in a blaze of brilliance that makes me drop sensor filters into place. That was a fusion plant overload! The crater is smoking from the heat as I watch others do the same..four..five..no!

“Priority Override, return to bays for rearming and resupply!”

I am ignored, the command links go dark as the Hounds cut communications with me.

I didn’t order this, they shouldn’t be doing ANY of this!

“Crash Override Systems Priority One, return to weapons bays immediately!”

The links are broken one by one as they drop off my communications cores and plotting board, the Hounds are ramming the heavy vehicles, blowing themselves and the Anceti into glowing shards. I can’t do anything except lay down what fire I can heading away from the explosions plowing craters into the countryside.

“Stop! Stop! Return to the bays! Please!”

A single link remains, a wordless communication comes over it before it too is dropped, making me feel the grief, the pain even more clearly than before.

Comfort.

A couple of Hounds get disabled before they can destroy the enemy, left behind in the Anceti’s wish to destroy me, regrouping and coming after me faster than before. I can only increase speed, the squealing of my drive trains telling me that I am pushed past my limits, in a few more minutes..

“Stop in place Athena!”

I come to a complete halt, locking my tracks up hard as a massive amount of fire comes from the ridge above me, angling over my hull and into the mass of Anceti Machines that are just about to latch onto me. Crusader has topped it, every weapon he can muster is pouring death into the remaining Anceti Swarmers. Just the sheer amount is penetrating their shields as he rolls down towards and around me, throwing himself in harm’s way.

His Hellbores are glowing from the heat as he fires faster than he should, repeaters and missile batteries emptied, refilled and emptied again. He shows no mercy, no restraint, nothing, rolling over disabled machines and crushing them under his tracks, the explosions damaging him when they turn themselves to dust. The sheer throw weight of his fire is so far beyond specs he's burning through everything he has, he must have overridden every safety and control!

I can only watch, hurting from multiple hits, doing damage control while he pushes forward into the mass of Swarmers, slaughtering them.

There were thirty-five left, I see them dissappear one by one as he rages, his anger hot and bright as we mesh in TSDS through whisker laser, close enough now and comforting me while he kills..and kills...

I feel the hits on his screens, the energy crackling along them as they shunt it away, his screens taking tremendous amounts of fire. They are fresh, but weakening, not battle worn like my own now. He pays the particle weapons no mind, taking his vengeance out on them, his will a wall of force by itself, for daring to attack those he loves and cares for.

There will be no stopping him now.

The Anceti war machines never even get close to grabbing onto his hull, picked off by anything close, pounded into the ground like they were nails. Thunder cracks and booms along the plains, the atmosphere pummeled by the sounds of weapons for long minutes. The exchange of fire weakening on the Anceti side as he rips them asunder, his fury a thirst unquenchable as he gives them what they wished to deal out to me and our friends.

He takes great pains to make sure nothing is left, that they cannot retreat, nor dig themselves back under the ground. He cripples some, shooting their drives out and then picking them apart, making them feel every inch of their own destruction. I can see glowing holes where their heavy particle beams dug into his armor, he shrugs it off, redoubling his fire, tripling even.

He is so angry, so wrathful, it scares even me.

Main Hellbores break the sky, peeling machines open like onions and roasting their interiors like throwing them into the sun. He takes his time, exacting every bit of vengeance out on these things for as long and as hard as he can.

In TSDS I can see his alarms going off, his drive train is almost destroyed from too much demand, he was not built for such speed and he pushed it too hard, it will take a while to get home. His pain sensors are in overload from too many hits, the sustained particle beam fire reaching deep into his armor through failed battlescreen sections, turrets and missile racks useless from major damage. He doesn’t care, I watch through his eyes as he interposes himself between me and what’s left of the Enemy.

What few machines left are trying to retreat, to find an exit, rebuild and come back. He’s having none of it, slamming rounds and shots into them with a fury reserved for gods; making absolutely sure, beyond any doubt, they are to die, and die as fast and as horribly as he can make it.

Doing damage control as quickly as I can to return to the fight, it is over before I realize it, the smoking barrels of his weapons silent, the creaking of metal as he rolls slowly forward, searching for the enemy, looking for any piece he can mangle, cripple, kill. He is careful, there are pieces that lay quiescent until he gets close, scanning them and then bringing everything to bear, vaporizing them and meters of soil beneath the scraps.

Then...quiet.. Echoes are leaving the area of war and fading into the distance as he sits in the midst of the carnage. His thoughts are running hot as I tentatively reach out to him.

“Crusader?”

“Are you all right Athena? Twilight and the others?” His voice is formal and firm, his scanners reaching for any hint or sign of the enemy.

“They are fine, anti-nano is working, nothing got through though it was close.”

“Good, Spike is here with me, he is exiting my Command Deck now, please let him see Twilight, he has been worried. Background radiation is nil, everything is safe. Keep them near.”

“Will do, informing them now.” I move around slowly, putting my bay near Crusader’s as he clears the broken ground, backing up towards me, letting Spike meet with Twilight in a patch of grass somehow untouched by the energies we’ve unleashed. He then moves back out, working the battlefield.

A reunion of the little Dragon hugging Twilight hard as she admonishes him for even coming out here. He is not backing down, I smile inside, seeing the little guy standing tall as he tells her about him telling Crusader he was coming along.

The rest of the friends are somber, looking out over the blasted plain where Crusader moves slowly, checking for remnants. Even Pinkie is not smiling, her eyes catching the smoking holes, craters and tread marks I left in my running battle.

The once green and verdant plains area now a blasted landscape, bringing a sorrow to my heart, but there was nothing else we could do. If the Anceti had gotten loose, this world would have been in dire danger. If they had harmed my friends, it would have been a disaster, I could do nothing but what I did.

A signal reaches me as I turn up my sensors, a crippled Dragon nearby is trying to send a VSR, not quite reaching. I cannot move my hull, damage control needs time to repair my drive train for more use, eradicating any Anceti nano inside me. I reactivate my avatar, tearing down the access ways and exiting the bay. As I run past my friends I head for a mass of durasteel that was once one of my precious Hounds.

The turret is holed from a particle weapon, tearing the insides to shreds as it turns and looks for the enemy, almost blind with one sensor remaining, still trying to do it’s utmost. The shrieking of metal as the wrecked Hellbore searches for the enemy. It’s engine is nothing but scrap now, cored by another particle beam.

It’s secondaries are gone, blasted to ruin, treads are melted into the soil, stopping it dead before it could ram the Anceti machine it was going after. I summon heavy tech spiders, I’ve got to get it inside my weapons bays for repairs, to salvage the command core and rebuild.

***?Interrogative? VSR Ready... Permission to file***

I lay a hoof on the wrecked hull, using my avatar to help boost the faint signal, “Go ahead my Hound.” This is the one I rode to victory in the Running of the Leaves, a fond memory coming back now.

***VSR Dragon Fourteen.....work...ing...

*Combat Effectiveness 0%, unable to continue Primary Mission...

*Primary and Secondary Systems inoperable...

*Fusion Plant shutting down, unable to achieve criticality for Primary Mission.....

*Command Core irreparable due to damage sustained...

*Total failure in thirty seconds.....

Primary Mission? I never gave them any orders except distract the enemy, “What was your Primary Mission?”

***Primary Mission...***

*Protect Controlling Intelligence (Athena)...

*Destroy the Enemy....

“I didn’t tell you to do that! I told you to distract them, to stay safe!”

*** ?Interrogative? ***

“Go ahead.”

*** ?Interrogative? Controlling Intelligence (Athena) safe***

I can’t help it, I say it out loud, stunned by the question. “I’m fine, I’m safe, you did everything that was asked and more.”

***?Interrogative? Enemy destroyed.***

I lean against the warm hull, nodding as I answer, “Yes, my Hound, the enemy is gone.”

*** Primary Mission accomplished...***

The turret squeals as the wrecked Hellbore lifts in salute, it can’t fully do so as the bearings are shot, but it tries before I feel the power plant shut down, the energy fading inside the Command Core.

“Wait, wait, spiders are on the way! We’ll get you repaired!” They are hustling from my hull with heavy lifters.

But it’s too late, the damage is immense and I know deep in myself, that there’s no way to save my courageous Hound...but I try, I beg, I can’t help it, they came so far with me, through so many years.

“Please don’t go, don’t leave.” I lean against the bent plating, “Hang on for just a few minutes more, please.”

A signal comes from within the torn hull, fading, it sends me the last thing I ever expected.

Comfort to me, pride at a job well done. It wants one last order, one last command.

I can’t stop it from dying, there’s nothing I can do, laying my head against the prow I whisper to it’s remaining sensor, “Thou wert a good and faithful companion my Hound, you are relieved, rest now.”

I listen to it faltering an acknowledgment, then all goes quiet inside the hull of my last Hound, my companions since I was drafted for Operation Diaspora; meant to be used for the defense of the new colony, they had come with me through time and now lay smashed on a battlefield so far into the future that none of us could grasp it fully.

All I can do is lay my head on the warmed metal and squeeze a few tears loose through closed eyes, letting them wash away the dirt and soot from battle; cleaning it with my hopes that if there was truly magic in this world, and if it understood, it would take my companions and give them what they so richly deserved for their unstinting sacrifice.

My tech spiders recover what they can, gleaning the battlefield of anything from each wrecked hull, bringing it back and storing the remains safely inside my hull as I trudge back.

Twilight and the others are waiting for me, silent and somber as I walk past them without a word. I am stopped by a hoof on my shoulder, turning to see Pinkie’s clear blue eyes. She knows, she doesn’t have to say anything as I try to say something.. anything...

Crusader is far off in the distance, the rumbling of his bogies loud in the quiet air as we watch him scanning for threats. He stops, the huge barrels of his Hellbores lift upward, five rounds from each of the four 220cm weapons thundering through the atmosphere and into space. I watch, knowing why he did that, ever so grateful he’s the way he is.

The wind from the force of the war shots reaches us, blowing our manes back as we try to keep standing, the booms reaching across the distance of the land.

When the breeze dies down, I am hugged tightly with a lavender leg. No words need to be said, they know, they’ve been told about the changes we saw in our Dragons, how we took careful care of them.

A southern voice comes to my ears, “Ah ain’t gonna ask if yer okay, ah know ya ain’t, but can we help?”

Trying to smile I look at Applejack, her emerald eyes honest and open as I shake my head for a moment, failing badly as tears start to well up. I can't say anything, there's nothing to say, they're gone forever. I'm trying my best, I really am, making sure repairs are done so we can bug out of this area quickly, but I can't..I just.. I turn and bury my face into Twilight's chest as she wraps me in her wings, sobbing my heart out for my precious Hounds. The feel of gentle hooves on my shoulders as I cry harder than I thought I would.

-----

Minor repairs are done and we’re heading back home, the trip over far too soon I think. Crusader is behind me, slower now as he has to take care of his drive trains, they’ve been over-stressed badly. We’re both going to need depot level maintenance when we get back, our armor and weapons have suffered even in that brief fight.

The Anceti were always formidable, when we started encountering Swarmers it got worse, the best of us died to stop them, often barely doing so. We’ve scanned as deep as we can, nothing remains, perhaps just the one group? I don’t know, but their technology was time-based, very little was understood, and conceivably yes, they could have lain underneath the earth for a long time.

I find it hard to believe that they showed up all of a sudden like this. They were homing in on my emissions, though I’m not exactly sure what. They had stasis fields of an unknown type, but now we know that from my logs, we can scan for traces.

We may never know, but now we are forewarned and can look out to keep this world safe even better now.

But if I could want something, if I could wish one thing, it would be that the Anceti burn in whatever hell they believe in for what they've done.

Damn them.

----------

We settled back into the large holes in the ground, it had been a quiet trip back for most of yesterday. Crusader calls out his bladed Dragons, having them start the recovering process. Now more than ever we need to conceal ourselves, toning down our emissions as well, scanners are adjusted to new frequencies and channels, anything offbeat.

Paranoia is the word of the day, even as the sun rises, we’re still working to adjust everything. Some things we cannot change, but we do try to conceal them, such as fusion plant signatures, adding new shielding.

Crusader took a lot of damage, he’s going to be repairing himself for a few months at the minimum. He’s been pouring reserves into my own, getting me back up to speed fastest. I keep protesting and he keeps ignoring me, it’s no use fighting the stubborn old Bolo.

I feel the emptiness, my vehicle bays echoing with sound as I walk through them, seeing the vacant slots where my Hounds were. The Ferrets are still in place, Scorpions pulled from storage and tech spiders going over them to replace my auxiliaries as best they can.

They had been with me in Manehatten, my Hounds, protecting me and everypony else.

It won’t be the same I’m afraid.

Crusader offered half of his, but I declined, it’s going to take a while.

It takes time, even for us, to get rid of the loss, though we will carry it within us forever. I could just delete it all, but then that wouldn’t be worthy of them.

I exit the bays walking towards a special place, even for ponies there are always places like this. A place of remembrance, for reflecting, for time to ponder.

It lays by one of the many lakes, I see the stones emplaced in the ground, names showing for those who visit. Off to the side is a larger one, a plate of durasteel from my stocks. It’s not the Canterlot Gardens, but it is beautiful here, quiet. During the evening when we arrived, tech spiders did the machining, getting it ready as I knew what I wanted to do, and I’ve done enough of this, it’s getting to be old hat.

Will it ever stop? Will there ever be a time when we don’t have to worry about doing this?

If this is truly life, perhaps I can do without this part.

The universe must be truly perverse, for all the good things that are given, there must be sadness, grief and loss. Why? Why can’t things be let alone, let them come in their own time instead of violence and conflict, the heartbreak that comes with it.

I stamp a hoof, weary of everything for a moment, tired of this..this.. all this. Is this the price we pay for happiness? It’s too much.

Looking at the machined metal, I see stark words, simple things that cannot even begin to describe the hurt. A plain and ordinary thing for such bravery, the love shown by..by.. beings that were so loyal without a single thought for themselves.

Stars, I am so sick of this!

Looking at the reflected sun in the plate, it’s not enough by half, not enough for what I feel.

I sit down at the bottom of the monument, looking at the words and just feeling disgusted. A tapping on my shoulder makes me turn, seeing Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo leading the school ponies behind them.

“Are we botherin’ ya Athena?” Apple Blooms voice, usually boisterous, is quiet in my ears.

I shake my head, giving them a smile, “No, no, you never bother Apple Bloom, what can I do for you?”

Sweetie Belle smiles as she holds a brilliant gathering of flowers in her magic, she’s getting better at doing that, “Well, we came to put flowers here, to help you feel better, like we always do for everypony else.”

“You don’t need to do that, it’s okay.” The thought is enough I think.

Scootaloo pipes up, “But they were your friends right?”

I think for a moment, “Yes, yes they were. Good and true.” I open my mouth to continue, but am stopped by Apple Bloom.

“We know they was just ma..ma-cheens and stuff, but they were your friends. You always called them the Hounds.”

“I did, my Hounds were brave and valiant.”

Sweetie Belle nods, “Rarity told us, they watched on the screen. She said it looked like they couldn’t win but they tried anyways.”

“Oh, they did.”

“Then that’s alright.” Sweetie Belle places the bouquet on the metal plate, the colors bright and flashy in the morning sun. Each school pony places another beside it, covering the area around the plaque with bunches of freshly bought or picked flowers, taking their time and putting them just so as I watch.

Even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon place one, it’s gorgeous, all roses of different colors. I make sure to thank each and everypony individually, telling them that it is appreciated.

Apple Bloom taps me on the hoof, “What’s that say?” She points to the metal plaque, a simple inscription on it.

“It’s an old language, long gone now, called English, want to know what it means?” I watch as all the colts and fillies nod, looking at me and waiting silently.

“It says, ‘Here lie the Hounds of the Stars’.” And they do, what I could recover of their cores will lie beneath the plate, forever.

“Did they come from the stars?” A little filly asks, looking at the sky.

“No, they came with me through time, ending up here along with Crusader and I.” I look at the metal plating once more, “They were to travel to the stars with us, helping keep others safe.”

The same filly nods, before tossing her mane, “But they went to the stars anyways right? ‘Cause my mom and dad say each pony gets a light in the sky, to help others remember them!” She smiles at me.

That brings a smile to my own face, “I’d like to think so, maybe protecting all of us from bad things.”

“Well, I think it’s nice.” A skinny little colt with a feather on his flank nods as he says so.

“I thought so too, thank you.”

It goes quiet, all the school ponies are looking at me as if waiting for something. I keep looking back at them for a minute before I can’t stand it anymore. “Can I help with anything else?”

A filly with her hair done in pigtails asks, “Aren’t you going to tell a story?”

“A story?”

A colt speaks up, “Yeah! A story! Cause when things like this happen and we bring flowers to remember, somepony always tells a story. Sometimes it’s funny, sometimes it’s sad though.” He points at me, “So, tell a story?”

A eulogy, they’re talking about a eulogy?

I can’t lie to them, “But there’s no story, they were just..well.. machines I had to help me fight. I don’t want to tell you something false.” I hold my hooves out to my sides, “I’m sorry.”

“Can’t you make something up?” An accented voice comes from a tiny pony, brown and white, “Everypony deserves a story don’t they?” Pip Squeak nods firmly with his statement.

“Even if it’s not real?” I see them all nod at me.

A blonde Earth pony raises her hoof, “But it’s gotta be good, ya know, cause of friendship and stuff!”

“And lots of action too right?” I chuckle, seeing them all nodding and agreeing.

“Yeah!”

“...and big fights!”

“Beating the bad ponies!”

“Like Daring Do does!”

“Yeah, like her!”

“They have to be really brave too!”

I think on this, a tale told, a simple thing, but something to remember them by. Looking at the eager faces, the exaggerated motions made by excited school ponies, I can only agree. Everypony deserves a story.

Raising a hoof I get their attention, “All right, all right, only if you promise to settle down?”

The entire group immediately sits in rows, like the schoolhouse, I almost chuckle, but the eager faces stop me.

“Okay.. A story.. Let’s see.” I make a show of tapping my hoof on my chin, “It all began an eon ago...”

“What’s an ee-on?”

“A long time.”

“Oh!”

-------------

Peachy Keen sat in the middle of a crowd of foals, grand foals and great-grandfoals, her eyes still sharp, body strong and full for an Earth pony as she tried to get them all arranged under the stars. The night lay softly as the little voices quieted, their parents all around the group, settling themselves by the fire as it burned warmly.

“Do you really know her?” One shy little colt asked from behind his mother’s leg.

Peachy nodded, “Oh yes, pretty as a picture and twice as kind.” Her voice vibrant in the night air.

Her husband smiled, “You’re describing yourself you know.”

She blushed prettily at the compliment, shushing him, “You be quiet now.”

“Yes, dear.” His non-plussed look getting laughs from all the little ones.

“So tell us!” Small voices were demanding.

“All right, just simmer down,” She got a faraway look in her eyes, “She was sitting in the memory garden, looking sad at a metal plate. We had brought flowers like Apple Bloom had asked, knowing it was to make her feel better.”

Peachy remembered that sunny day so very well, “Her smile was like the sunlight, it was so warm, thanking us for the flowers we had brought, until we asked for a story.”

“ ‘Cause everypony deserves a story!” A chorus of voices reminded her.

“Yes, they do,” She chuckled, continuing, “We asked her, and she said it wasn’t right to tell a false story, but sometimes, I wonder if it was false at all.”

“But she told one anyways right?” Eager faces crowded closer.

“She did, and in all honesty, I think it was the truest story ever told.” Peachy Keen’s pretty face lit up with a smile, “I’m nothing special, but I think everypony can tell whether something’s true or not, and it rang so that day.”

“Tell us! Tell us!” The little shapes in the firelight practically danced with anticipation.

She tossed her blonde mane, smiling, “I don’t know..I mean telling untrue stories..” Teasing the eager ponies gently.

The expected storm erupted, protests and yelling from all the ponies gathered around, it was a few minutes before she could get them quiet again.

“Fine, fine! You are all so..” Her eyes spotted an extra figure, sitting at the edge of the circle, familiar eyes watched her with a warm smile.

“I think someone else can tell it better than I can,” She gestured and the quiet Pegasus walked into the light, immediately surrounded by little ones.

“Athena!” The gasps from little shapes presaged a tumult of little ponies wanting a hug from the one Peachy had been telling them about all this time, that or a simple smile as she walked to the Earth pony’s side. She gave them out happily to one and all.

“You came!” The blonde Earth pony’s voice was delighted.

“Of course, you sent the invite for your reunion, how could I not?” Her voice hadn’t changed in all these years, her form and figure still lithe and trim, her eyes still kind.

They exchanged hugs as everypony settled back in to their spots, lying down or leaning against others, relaxing by the firelight.

The Earth pony looked slightly nervous, tapping a hoof on the ground, “I thought, well, you might have been too busy.”

The sable head shook, a smile never leaving her face as she settled herself a little better on the soft grass, “Never, not for friends Peachy.”

The older mare points to the watching eyes, “They want to hear the story.”

The Pegasus looks curious, “Which one? There’s so many.”

A chorus rises, “The Hounds! The Hounds of the Stars!”

Athena looks surprised, “That one? But it wasn’t even real, it was something I made up.” She remembered that day like it had just happened instead of years.

Peachy grins, “I don’t think you made it up at all, I think you wanted it to be true as much as we did.”

The Pegasus nods, “Maybe you’re right, they deserved a tale of their own.”

The Earth pony gestures to the waiting crowd, “They want to hear it, and since you’re here..” She’s stopped by an upraised hoof.

“Oh no, you go right ahead.” The voice is firm as Athena nods to her, “Your reunion, you tell it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Oh yes.” Athena sits down, waiting with the rest.

Peachy smiles, taking a breath, beginning in a low voice, “An eon ago...”

A small voice interrupts, “What’s an ee-on?”

“A long time..”

“Oh!”

Once again a story is told, of selfless Hounds, battles fought under the stars to save ponies everywhere. Courage and love, joy and delight, victory and loss.

Little faces listened enraptured as Peachy Keen recited each word clearly, older ponies were silent as well, her tale-telling that entrancing. Her voice was strong, recounting everything as best she could remember from that single day, having told it many times in her life.

Athena smiled, closing her eyes to the soft voice and feeling the tinge of hurt, still there after so long. Her ears listened though, seeing how the story had changed, just a bit, some differences. But that was just fine with her, for as a wise person once said....

‘And of such tales are legends made’.

Comments

[SenseiHua]

YAY, UPDATE! *sees the 97k word chapter*

[NFire]

6741651 My apologies for taking so long, hope you at least get a few laughs

[rowantwig]

Holidaze, Centerfold Princess · 17th Dec 2015 97,127

97,127

Jesus fucking Christ that's a long chapter.

[Hooper_Canson]

97K...97K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cheesusfried.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/OOOOHHH-Arrrgh.gif

oh mein gott

[DevourMistress]

6741667 that 97K chapter is longer than 70% of the stories on this site.

[NFire]

6741681 Well...trying to give ya all something worth reading! (Too long?)

6741684 Annnnnd my work here is done, making reading 20% cooler!

6741691 Hopefully that's a good thing?

[NFire]

6741750 Wow..thank you, honestly. I just figured it was the 100th chapter, you guys had to have something special I just don't know how to reply as I'm needing sleep right now, but thank you so much, and you are so very welcome, I'm glad I can do something special!

[sinatra45]

Yeah... I'm gonna have to stick that one on my Kindle to keep track of it.

I'm totally not grumpy that I can't read nearly 100k words during my work shift...

But seriously, so glad to get more Legacy from you. It's one of my top 5 favorite stories.

[NFire]

6741773 Meh, who needs work anyways? I'm just glad you enjoy the story, and it's in your favorites, makes it all worthwhile! (BTW happy 100th Birthday there Old Blue Eyes! Get it? yeah? Heh!)

[Hooper_Canson]

6741710 bruh this has gotta be a site record, like holy shit

[Crimson Eon]

97,127

....

97,127!

c.gnli.com/gnl/35316/wow-simon-was-dumbfounded-when-this-unlikely-young-man-opened-his-mouth-2014-11-20-135635-43.jpg?w=780&h=439

IT'S OVER 90 THOUSAND!

seriously though, that chapter is longer than most complete fics, "holy shit" doesn't even come close to the hugeness that chapter is.

I may have to read this in sections.

(and I though DoaMs' 28k chapter was daunting)

[Silver Octave]

I'm afraid of anything over 15k....So that 97k chapter makes me want to curl up and die....I'm going to have to read this on my laptop so I can save my place. I think you should have separated it in all honesty. Most likely into three, perhaps four chapters.

[Syroc]

Great good monkey God. I was lamenting a lack of things to read not long ago, and then you dun dropped a novel on me. 'Tis the season of giving indeed!

[SenseiHua]

Finally finished..... Why you make me cry?

[Asheram]

And now I'm crying... It's... Oh dear... I swear once more, this is one of my very favorite fics.

[Uncle Mike]

Wow... Just... Wow....

Welcome back.

[NFire]

6741843 I honestly didn't know, really, I thought people posted large sections all the time. I figured since it was Chap 100, make it really extra special, I'll piece it out next time!

6741891 I'll do it in sections next time, apologies!

6741961 In reading the comments, yes. But like I said above, it was the 100th chapter, I really thought it would be nice to give y'all something meaty to read, I'll section it next time!

6741977 They say Hearth's Warming miracles happen!

6742057 You have my humblest apologies for the length then, honestly, I thought folks posted big chapters all the time for the life of me. I'll see what I can do about sectioning it.

6742027 Thank you! It's wonderful to be back!

6742087 Very glad you enjoyed it, thank you so much

6742104 Well, I shed liquid pride writing it if it helps? =)

6742111 Yeah those feels sneak up on you, they do it to me all the time.

6742257 Thank you! Back with a vengeance too! Yeah!

[NFire]

6742543 Yes, I know that now, I thought it would be nice to have a special 100th chapter, I mean 100!.. But, lesson learned, definitely

[Crimson Eon]

6742590 hey, no problem

[SenseiHua]

6742590
*sniff* Maybe...

[Cadmium]

By the Emperor what kind of madness is this? Over 120k words? But Christmas is next week!
I absolutely love big chapters but that was more than most stories pt out. Probably the biggest chapter on the side by now, is there some way to check that?

I really like the slice of life parts and Athena as a Princess Regent was awesome. But the Anceti suddenly turning up could mean that there is a lot more stuff remaining from before then anyone would have thought. Also it is now finally time for a Bolo space observation programm? Because i'm pretty sure that was a real wake up call for both of them and now its going to be really hard to keep the paranoia in check for quite a while.

[NFire]

6742814 Definitely a wake up call, we'll have to see what it means in the coming chapters. As always, more silliness to come, can't have a story without it :)

[NFire]

6742853 I promise, the Slice of Life episode, if it goes over 15k, I'll split it up! Promise! Maybe..yeah..about that..

[Capt TeK]

Originally, i planned on getting home from school early, 10:20 AM, read a quick chapter or two, and saw this update. Immediately i started reading. Halfway through, i notice it's about 2:00 PM and the chapter is abnormally large. Open a new tab and open this and see the chapter length. Spent fifteen minutes repeatedly saying holy shit. Now, at 6:48 PM, i finish all of the new chapters. My thoughts? I am no poet, or a wizard with words, so take this and translate it to a poets length of explaining awesome, Because this has been an awesome "quick on or two chapters". Biggest impact on me was the final one, got all somber and actually, physically got up and saluted the sacrifice of the Hounds. Then cheered when Crusader got there to help, then thought of how all of the previous tanks in their history that lead to the Siege Unit, from the tiny Renault, to the mighty Tiger, to the modern(for us) Abrams tank, if they could feel and think, they will be proud of Crusader, and how he demonstrated the best qualities of a Heavy Tank.

[NFire]

6742938 Merry Christmas then! Enjoy!

6742989

Spent fifteen minutes repeatedly saying holy shit.

Best laugh all day, these reactions are great:) I'm glad you enjoyed it, I really had fun writing everything. I'm glad the part with Crusader arriving made that much of an impression, the Hounds, everything. Just glad you enjoyed it

6742992 What's comedy without 'Who's on first'? A classic! Classic! :) Plus a few friendship lessons as well, can't forget those.
After the end of Friendship Games, it gave me the opening I needed to insert it, expanding things and probably causing no amount of heck and high water too, gonna be interesting I think

[Team AngelFang]

UWEEEEEEH Good Doggies. good doggies! I always had this mental image -Just like Crusader has his Knight Avatar and Athena her Goddess Avatar- that the Dragons sort of have their own "Avatars" In my head I always visualized them as Big glorious handsome hounds, Not quite wolves but something wonderful and majestic. Being a dog lover then made this chapter A MILLION TIMES WORSE/BETTER. Good job.
-Angel of Team Angelfang

[Stormy Sunrise]

I swear that 97k chapter is secretly a sequel, (you've placed near the top longest fics bt w)

[NFire]

6743061 Thank you, so glad you enjoyed it. A big dog lover myself, I pictured them the same way, huge, majestic, keen-eyed and loyal.

6743064 Really? They keep track of that stuff? Wow, thanks!

[Liqwidice]

Nuts. I have no idea when I'll be able to read this massive update. It makes the Fallout New Horizons chapters look small.

[NFire]

6743091 A little here and there, small doses:) I figure if folks are kind enough to read what I write, give them enough to read, something they can enjoy with a bag of popcorn and a soda!

[Liqwidice]

6743096
If you count your update as a meal, I'll soon be in a Thanksgiving type food coma.

[NFire]

6743141 With lots of leftovers!

[Minevera]

So, we doing a timeskip now?

[CDR]

6743141
6743160
4 hours, *BURP* Four long hours, *GURGLE* I ate read all of 100, 101, & 102. I'm full tired now. Goodnight.

[Stormy Sunrise]

6743096 actually just read the latest chapter: names, places, fates. Id like to think you did a sort of time window of what would happen there, then the story would continue after Athena told the story to Applebloom and co.

But the last quote had such finality

I'll sit here with my chips and soda and eagerly await another chapter. Filler or no ill still enjoy it. (Is it strange that I love to read/hear about individual lives?)

[Philosophysics]

6741667 Please split up that chapter.

Also!

Could you explain to me the Hounds of the Stars please?

[Devildogg20]

6743160 wow man, that last chapter actually brought a tear to my eye. Good Job as always!

[Coranth]

For the Hounds of the Stars...

[hakim35]

This chapter almost make me cry. The hound are loyal build to protect and serve their owner. The 97 thousand word chapter took me moar than 6 hour to finish but worth it. Can't wait for the next chapter coming NFire

[clonezero]

i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd291/clonezero_emoticons/wave%20of%20feels_zpsnmjzsw7q.gif

And I am really curious as to what that thing in the memoirs. Though this does put a dampener on them being able to check it out, or alternatively this may push them into confirming it sooner too. I really with it's the later because my curiosity is killing me.

[Xaldon Ajide]

Hopefully the next section of chapters has us meeting another bolo, possibly the one just mentioned in the crystal empire.

[NFire]

The third song in the regency part of the large chapter, Journey---Be Good to Yourself..I'd swear he's saying 'Nopony else will' in the song, I swear it! :)

6743582 Awesome! Rest well! :)

6743421 Just at the end of the chapter, nothing more, gives it a little more 'oomph' for the story itself. Plus I think it makes it more poignant as well :)

6743589 Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you! I'm glad to be back :)

6743782 It was a bit of 'flash forward' I think it gives it more impact actually, thinking of how something would filter through the years. Nothing strange aobut individual lives at all, it's always nice to get an insight sometimes!

6743962

Could you explain to me the Hounds of the Stars please?

My apologies for not quite getting it, what they are, or what they mean? Athena wrote that because they were her hounds, faithful and true, meant to go to the stars with her on Diaspora, to help protect the new colony. That what ya mean?

6744012 Thank you so kindly, am very glad you enjoyed it :)

6744088 Well, something special for the 100th chapter, I figured had to be something worthwhile, glad you enjoyed it!

6744101 Everyone hates the IRS whatever the name is Glad you enjoyed the Nightmare Night, oh we can only wish for Haunted Houses like that! :) The regency was fun to write, just kinda kept going :)

6744129 I keep telling ya, you guys take time to read I'm gonna try and give you something to read!:) I'd love to see her in regalia, think that would be neat, or at least the dancing pose with all three of 'em! :)

6744159 Thank you very kindly sir, seriously.

6744182 Thank you once again, kinda wondered what it would be like from an outside view, would be a little weird :)

6744200 I am very glad you liked it, oh yes, the hounds were very loyal. I'm working on new chapters as I write this, so coming soon! :)

6744241 Just look at the names on the page in the memoir, that'll give you a HUGE clue, refers back to previous chapters :)

6744275 The arc is starting! So yup, lots of things to come!

[clonezero]

6744429 I'll also want to see it, hopefully I can get in touch to two people I know that can take a crack at it.

Though I do have to ask, has there already been fan art of Athena before? I can't recall with my terrible memory. XD

[NFire]

6744485 Actually yes, in my blog posts there was one done of her :)

[Booster Spice]

Welcome to Bedgelert Memorial Gardens children.

Its time for a story.

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy not that far away....

[NFire]

6744520 I am not, I have provided you with entertainment for two whole days, I'm a good friend!

6744548

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy not that far away....

Almost...alllllmost...

[NFire]

6744564 Oh no, the timeline is from season one, meaning the episodes are placed in a certain order, it's not Season One itself :)

[Revan]

*Remembers PM conversation*

This is the start of the next arc, isn't it? I certainly hope so.

[NFire]

6744590 Yup!

[Revan]

6744591 Glad to hear it. I've been eagerly anticipating this.