Equestria has flourished under the care of the Alicorns for years but when they recive a vister from a world far far away things start to change. A hidden history is revealed and a new adventure far beyond the borders of Equestria begins
A surprise attack and hasty warp lands a guardian and his ghost on a strange planet inhabited by beings long believed to be creatures of myth. Interestingly enough they have more in common then anyone would believe and with the ever encroaching darkness it is good to find friends to face it with.
The Age of the Alicorns is believed by many to be a myth. There has been almost no evidence found that points to the world once being ruled by the all powerful race. Only the existence of Luna and myself have given historians and theorists any indication that such an era might have existed. We have been asked many a time if such a time ever was. Our reply is always the same. "We do not know. The only Alicorns we had ever met that were older than us were our parents, and they never mentioned ruling the world."
I dislike lying to my little ponies.
Unlike other empires, ours did not fall to a greater force, illness or corruption from within. The Alicorns of that era chose to end their reign themselves. Some may think it crazy to end one's own empire, but what they did was believed to be the best choice, at the time. It has now come time to tell what I know, so let us start at the beginning.
It all started during the very early years of ponykind. We had just recently stopped living as nomadic herds and begun building permanent structures upon the land. Life was simple back then. All of that changed however when IT came. I have only other name I found connected with this being of great power was the Visitor. Named for the fact that it visited this world from beyond. It is unknown as to why the Visitor appeared. Did our magic, even in it's infantile state, draw it to our world; or was it simply lonely and in need of friends? I did not know, but what I did know was that, within years of it's appearance, ponies everywhere flourished. What was once small pockets of settlements, strewn across the land, grew to become the most advanced civilization of that era. Great technological advancements were made that have not been seen to this day.
Our civilization was not the only thing that grew, the ponies themselves did as well. Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth Ponies; they had long ago set aside their differences to reach the heights they could not reach by themselves. A new race had been born, one that combined the abilities of all three pony races: the Alicorn. The majestic race of beings that eventually became the only type of pony to exist.
We did not stop there. The knowledge to control every aspect of our world laid at our hooves, and so we took it. We could control when and what weather would be like in any area of any size, we could terraform the ground into any shape we desired, we could even control the sun and moon, if we wished to. The age of the Alicorns came to be. Fortunately, we were not selfish with our power. We not only kept the balance of the world in check, we secretly became guardians to the non-pony races. We silently helped other races, pushing them to better themselves without even knowing it was us assisting them.
We were this world's light, and with the Visitor to guide us, we could bring this planet to a level of harmony never thought possible. Unfortunately, it did not come to pass. For, the greater the light shines, the bigger the shadow becomes.
They came out of the darkness from a place that is now called Tartarus. Monsters of the land that once hunted ponies--before the arrival of the Visitor--returned, and in great numbers. We thought them all but gone. However, they had simply gone into hiding.
At first it was easy to defend ourselves against them, only having a few casualties here or there. It all changed when our own kind turned against us. There is no knowledge as to why we were betrayed; it could have been that some tried to control these creatures, like we did everything else, but instead became corrupted themselves. Another theory is that some Alicorns just wanted to watch the world burn, and this was their chance.
War. War on a scale that our race had not seen in hundreds of years encompassed the land, and eventually, the world. My story is already long enough, so I will spare all who listen the details I uncovered about this timeframe. We, the guardians of the light, finally won the war after many years of fighting and death. Needless to say, the cost was great. Many dead, the landscape ruined, even the sun and moon could no longer move on their own. We could rebuild, and, besides the celestial orbs, we could fix the damage that had been brought to this world in time. And so we began; we made land fertile again, we moved the sun and moon when it needed to change from day into night and night into day, we even returned to guiding the non-pony civilizations that had been lucky enough to survive the war; but, during this, the Alicorns and the Visitor came to realize something: we had developed far too quickly. Things and concepts that would take centuries to learn, we did it in decades. We left all other nations in the dust in our quest to empower ourselves. We thought ourselves benevolent gods, yet we had almost destroyed this world.
We were not ready to be granted the Visitors gifts. It had come too early in our species’ development, and while we are grateful for It's involvement with our growth, it seems that it was the wrong move at the wrong time. So we came up with a solution, one that both our leaders and the Visitor agreed to. We would disassemble our own empire and restart from a much lower level, without the Visitor.
We destroyed all of our technology and erased all of our records. cities and towns were flattened, some ruins were left to the elements, a few of them still exists today, but there is no concrete proof that Alicorns built them. Lastly, we needed to change ourselves, back into the forms our ancestors once had. The majority of the population pick one out of the three races that predated Alicorns. Surprisingly, a small group decided to become something different, now-a-days, we call them bat ponies, or Thestrals, if one wanted to be politically correct. Others were not so keen on their choice, but given that they were ponies that had once sided with dark forces, we did not go against their wishes. It was thought that it would separate us more from the traitors. The final stage was separation and memory manipulation. Earth Ponies, Pegasi and Unicorns were separated into three tribes, each for their own race. The three races were once at odds with each other, now they must be once again. The memory manipulation made many wary. Some even took to the stars before they permanently lost their ability to do so. The others, however, agreed that it must be done in order to truly restart. Memories were sealed and new ones were put in their place, removing anything relating to our Alicorn past.
Even with the restart of ponykind, we could not just leave them without some form of protection measurements in place, and there was still the problem with the sun and moon. Thus, a very small group of ponies remained as Alicorns, to watch over our kind in secret. My grandparents were among the first generation of watchers; my parents, the second. In time it would be my father who secretly taught unicorns how to move the sun and my mother who did the same with the moon. They did this to gauge the power of the unicorns, and because, at the time, Luna and I were too young to take over for them. We did take over guardianship not to long before Discord showed up, and when we did, Luna and I made a decision. We would no longer watch from a distance. We would instead stand by our ponies. That is how Luna and I became Princesses of Equestria. Together we would bring true harmony to our ponies and maybe even the rest of the world.
I was not alive when the Visitor was here, but I had hoped that one day it would return and together with the races of this world we could enter a brighter future for all.
A single Jumpship cruised along it's orbit around the planetlike mass that was Pluto. It's owner, now finished with the mission he had set out for laid in the cockpit relaxing. He was what the people of the last city of Earth called a Guardian. A protector of the human race and a testament of strength against all who wish to snuff out the Light. Nox-23 was his name. A very odd name for a human but for him, an Exo it fit perfectly. His is a race of a self-aware race of machines once built to protect their creators in a war fought long ago. Since his reboot he, like all other Exo retained no memory of their original functions. This did not bother him however for being a Guardian was satisfying enough. What did bother him was the nick in helmet that he was currently looking at. Had he not ducked when he did there would be one less Exo walking around.
Nox-23 took one long last look at Pluto. "Damn glad to be off that planet. Let's hope we don't need to come back here for a long long time." The Exo said out loud seemingly to no one.
"Actually Pluto is not a planet due to it's unusual obit. More oval shaped then circular obits of real planets." the voice of the Traveler given floating ball called a Ghost replied. Nox-23 could not see his Ghost but he could imagine it looking at him with it's insightful eye.
It took a moment of Noz-23 to say anything. He was lost in his memory trying to find any additional information about what his Ghost had just said. There was nothing. Had he forgotten it along with his original functions or did he ever had it. There was however, no time to dive into the past, not when he was needed in the present. "Really? Interesting but unless there is a huge stash of Glimmer, weapons, or armor hidden somewhere then I think i'll stay away for a bit."
He could hear his Ghost sigh. Nox-23 rolled his eyes, maybe his Ghost should try and fight off hordes of Fallen while trying to run away from the communication array that is about to blow up. When his invisible partner spoke up again it wasn't about the mission like he thought but of another matter. "Speaking of Glimmer, we have more then enough to by a new ship. Now before you say anything yes I know that this ship can caterer to all our spacey needs but, well how shall I say this, it's old real old and sooner or later it isn't going to able to make jumps without something breaking every time sooo what do you say about getting a better, newer ship?"
"No."
Nox-23 didn't even take more then a second to answer. This jumpship had been the first he ever owned and it had gotten him out of quite a few pickles. Besides the ship had yet to have any big mechanical trouble so why fix something that isn't broken.
Nox-23 readied his argument knowing full well his Ghost was going to complain. Suddenly the ship's HUD lit up with warning lights and alarms. "Oh no. Fallen ship coming out of a jump right behind us. We ne-" The Ghost's voice died off just as Nox-23 felt the ship shake violently as a torpedo exploded nearby.
"We need to get out of here! Make a jump."
"Where?" Nox-23's Ghost asked through the sounds of explosions and gut turning evasion maneuvers.
"ANYWHERE!! Just get us out of here."
The Ghost didn't need to be told twice. "Ok! Random course entered.....Jump Drive ready...Jump insinuated. Everything became a blur in the eyes of Nox-23. He felt himself push back into the seat as the ship as it entered the fastest speed known to man. Nox-23's vision returned to normal just as the inertia dampeners kicked in. "Well that is more then enough excitement for one day." Nox-23's Ghost spoke up after several moments of silence.
Even as a machine not needing to breath Nox-23 found a way to let out a sigh of relief. "Well we are definitely not going back to Pluto now. Are we in the clear?"
Dropping out of the Spacejump was his answer. They had arrived at some sort of solar system, Nox-23 could already see a green and blue orb with a moon hanging beside it just outside his starboard viewport. "were are we." He asked barely realizing that he had said something.
"I don't really know. You did say random course but from what I can pick up from the sensors is that this solar system has two planets and one moon...make that One and a half planets. here let me show you." The HUD changed to show Nox-23 a diagram of the solar system before zooming into the before mentioned planet or what was left of it. The Planet itself was a dull brown color with a chuck of it's mass missing. Small pieces of rock and matter floated around it unable to escape it's gravity. "Don't know what caused that and let's hope we don't find out. The ghost said warily. "But on the brighter side the planet with the moon is inhabitable through I can't get much more, something is interfering with our sensors."
Nox-23 stared at the screen, fascinated at the fact he had found such a planet. He wondered what kind of life was living on there. were they intelligent. How advance were they and what did they look like...did they look like humans are something else. The voice of his Ghost brought him out of his thoughts. "Ah oh, we have a problem."
"What's the matter now." Nox-23 groaned, returning his attention to the ship.
"We took damage in several sections of the ship before the jump and it's coming back to bite us. I need to land before we can fix it.' The ship dipped toward the direction of the planet and it's moon.
"I assume we can't make another jump." Nox-23 asked calmly, putting his helmet back on.
"We can if you what the ship to tear itself apart killing us both which I don't recommend. I'm plotting a course for the moon. hopefully there's no moon monsters waiting for us."
"If there is then I got a lot of small presents I can give them." Nox-23 retorted wishing he could grin. Unfortunately for Nox-23 and his Ghost, it was at the moment they reach the moon's orbit that thing turned to the unbelievable. The Ghost notice it first but it was too surprised to say anything to the now shocked Nox-23. The moon was moving and at a speed the no sphere of rock had business going. "Shit that can't be possible! Ghost?"
"I-I'm at a loss for words. this phenomenon should be impossible. Oh my, the sun! The sun is moving too. Nox-23 could see it to and as much as his mechanical brain told him that it couldn't happen he could not deny what he was seeing.
He however, could not allow himself to be over come by shock. In one second gone was the surprised Exo and in it's place was a focused Guardian. Quickly he garbed the controls and set his sites for the planet. The sun wasn't a problem, while it was coming around to the side of the planet he was on the burning ball of plasma would be way behind him. The problem he did face was the moon and more specifically the moon's gravity. The moon's gravity and speed would rip them apart. "Ghost give me a new destination. Presumably on the one thing this isn't moving."
Instantly a course trajectory appeared on the HUD. "I set our destination in the Northeast on one of the larger continents. There'll be sno-" Ghost's voice cut out and before Nox-23 could even form word he felt a strange wave of energy pass through him. He couldn't really describe it. It just felt like his body had taken a plunge into cold water yet at the same time he felt like he was standing under a warm spring sun. "I... ah don't know what that was but whatever that was sensors are now picking up everything we couldn't before... including life signs." Ghost voice returned a bit more excited then when it left.
The ship jerked as it left the moon's gravity. Nox-23 paid little attention to it. Instead he checked the HUD for life signs near the would be landing sight. There were none for hundreds of miles. Good no underdeveloped cultures will witness his visit to their beautiful world. The space around the ship caught on fire as it penetrated the atmosphere. The ship's rattling intensified and warning signs popped up everywhere ranging from fire hazards to hull breaches. Finally the most fearful warning came to Nox-23 by none other then his Ghost. "I'm guess I should tell you now that there is a good chance that we might explode... no pressure though."
"WHAT!!!!!"
It was a bright early morning in the Crystal Empire. Most ponies were just waking up to the sun's rays. Others however would just sleep onward to recuperate from last night's festivities. The reason for the festivities? The three year anniversary of the Crystal Empire's return. The festival was a huge success in part thanks to the help of the former Element Bearers and Equestrian princesses. In fact three of the princess were among the awoken. All standing on the Crystal Castle's Grand balcony.
Twilight Sparkle was breathing heavily and sweating profusely all the while looking up to the sky. Her senior Princesses watched her with smiles on their faces. Trotting over to her former student Celestia placed a wing over the exhausted Alicorn. "You did great today Twilight. You moved the moon a little to fast but you'll get use to it in due time."
The purple mare smiled back at her once upon a time teacher and friend. The appearance of a glass of water levitating within a indigo aura in front of her face made her jerk a little but with a glace at Luna who nodded in return she took the drink. She gulped it down in a very un-princess like manner but she did not care. Luna and Celestia smiled slightly at the younger Alicorns actions. When the mare was done she started wiped away excess water from her muzzle. Twilight stopped halfway recalling that she was in the presence of two other ponies. She turn to face them with a sheepish smile on her face. "Sorry I-I guess I was a little thirsty. And thank you Luna."
Luna gave a short nod. 'You are welcome Twilight. I remember when I first started moving the moon. It was quite tiring at first but with practice it should get easier."
Twilight yet out a sigh of relief before sitting down on her haunches. "when you told me you wanted to teach me how to move the sun and moon on my own power I thought it would be impossible."
"Any single Alicorn has the power to move the sun and moon. It is much easier when your talent is such but not impossible. Both you and Cadance have the magic within you to do so but neither of you have needed to dig down so deep into your wellspring before so the magic within it's depths act like a room filled with stale air. But keep the door open enough and it will recycle with the fresh air, your more frequently used amount of magic and eventually it will become easy to call upon it....Do you understand what I am saying.?" Luna asked
Twilight rubbed her chin in thought before answering. " I think so, and I do understand that both Cadance and I need to get a dive deeper into our magical resources so we can take up moving the sun and moon in case of an emergency where two of you can't. Through I got to emit that I'm a bit surprise that I have more magic then I thought I had....Now that I think about it where is Cadance anyway?"
The two sister gave a short glace at each other before commenting. "Cadance has... some personal matter to attended to for awhile." Seeing Twilight's face worried glance Luna added to her sister's words. "Do not worry Twilight it is nothing bad...though I suggest waiting for her to bring it up before taking any action."
Twilight wasn't completely convinced, sure she trusted the other Princess but why would they be hiding something. She did however learned that everyone even friends have things that they don't want to share. She wouldn't encroach on Cadence's privacy on a simple curiosity especially if the other two Princesses didn't want her to . Twilight finally nodded in agreement only to fell something odd. It started small at first but soon it expanded. It was reaching out, extending, churning and then... her stomach grumbled.
Twilight's cheeks immediately redden. She gaze at the older princesses hoping they did not hear... they did. Celestia held a hoof over her mouth stiffing a giggle. Luna turned her face away but Twilight could still see the smirk from the corner of Luna's mouth.
"It sounds like somepony is hungry. Go on and get some breakfast we will come by later." Celestia said still trying to keep from giggling. Twilight didn't need to be told twice. She rushed from the balcony giving her senior Princesses quick goodbyes before disappearing altogether.
Luna watch her go and waited till she was sure Twilight was gone before she turned to address her older sister. "Did you feel it too?"
Celestia did not answer her sister immediately. Instead she set her sights to the sky, scanning it in the hopes of seeing something. "Yes, I had to block Twilight from sensing it too."
Luna trotted closer to her sister. Her steps filled with excitement. "Do- do you think it's from the Visitor? Has he returned." Luna's eyes widen with wonder. She remembered the tells of the Visitor and the many things accomplished during that Era. She, as well as Celestia had been engrossed of the tales of old involving the Visitor when they were young. Now that enthusiasm was returning.
Celestia shared her sister's enthusiasm. Did this mean the Visitor thought them ready? If so she could finally end her years of lying and withholding the truth from her ponies... Still something wasn't quite right. Celestia thought it very possible that the Visitor would send a message but with all it's power wouldn't it be able to search them out among all the other creatures living on the planet. Luna seemed to shared her thoughts.
"If that is a message from the Visitor wouldn't it be seeking us out or an Alicorn at least....unless it's just a signal to meet somewhere."
Celestia shook her head. "No it is to be a message. that is what mom and dad told us." Her gaze descended to the floor as she contemplated what to do next. Her sister waited patiently allowing her older sibling to make the decision on what to do. It took only a few minutes for Celestia to decide the next course of action. "I will take several of our guards and investigate the location it is heading to. Let us hope that it is truly something from the visitor and not something malaises."
"I'm surprised you haven't said anything about freezing your butt off if you were human."
Nox-23 facepalmed listening to his Ghost trying to make wisecracks as the two of them worked on fixing the ship. They had been lucky. Just after breaking through the atmosphere the ship's engines started to falter. It was through skill and persistence that Nox-23 was able land the ship safely. The cold winter weather did little to hinder Nox-23 and his Ghost as they went about fixing the ship. Several sections of the ship need major repairs before the ship could fly again while others could wait till the could return to a hanger. It was a miracle that between the two of them that they knew how to get the ship back in working order. Unfortunately even with their knowledge the repairs were still taking quite some time to complete, hence the Ghost's attempts to lighten the mood.
Nox-23 stopped what he was doing to stare at his Ghost floating right besides him. "Why would I say something like that?"
The Ghost wavered in the air a bit before answering. "well I expected that it was something you would say. You have on occasion compared yourself to a human...Do you have something against humans? or a complex of sorts?"
Nox-23 Stared blankly back at his Ghost. This conversation was going to a path that he did not want it to take. It was by pure luck that any required response was halted by the one who had started it. " As much as I hate to say it, we need to rap this up for now. I detected a heavy blizzard coming in." The ghost rose into the sky looking off into the distance.
The Exo followed the gaze of his floating ball-shaped friend. The sky looked no different then when he landed. Very grey and very cloudy. Nevertheless he knew to trust what his Ghost says. Returning his focus to the ship. It was still a long way away from being repaired. Working through a snowstorm would hinder any work he would try to get done. "Ghost, help me clean up before the storm hits."
His ghost turned away from the clouds can came up right next to him. "Of course partner."
It took five minutes for the two of them to clean up and cover the exposed areas of the ship. They were just in time too, the blizzard arrived just was they finished. Snow, hail and icy wind rained down upon Nox-23. Even with his mechanical body he was feeling the chill of the weather against his body. "Ok, bringing you aboard." The voice of his Ghost sounded in his head. A second later he was engulfed in a slivery light before it faded away into nothing.
Nox-23 reappeared inside the ship glad to be out of the blizzard. "Finally! It took you long enough to transport me inside. what took you so long." he grumbled, shaking off loose snow.
"Sorry I had to run a diagnostic program to check on the ship... It took longer then I thought it would."
Nox-23 just shook his head in response before tilting his head up to look at the ceiling. Several minutes passed by while Nox-23 stared at the ceiling of the cockpit. "Hey, Ghost what do we do know?"
"Sleep I guess."
The answer surprised Nox-23. He broke off his ceiling watching to stare blankly at the space in front of him. "Sleep? are you serious?"
"yes." the Ghost answered pensively "The blizzard won't pass us for another few hours so you might was well go into sleep mode. Besides it could do you some good with everything that has happened today. I'm thinking of sleeping too, and don't worry I'll the sensors on just ion case something is out there."
Nox-23 could help laughing inwardly. Indeed he had been busy in the last few hours. His ghost's words did have merit. Exo's maybe machines but even they needed to lay down and recharge their energy every once and a while. Nox-23 leaded back into his seat and closed his eyes. Soon enough the guardian was asleep, unaware of the changes he would soon bring.
Exos don't dream, how could they when they were just machines. Nox-23 always wondered what it would like to dream. What would he dream of, who would he dream of. Whatever it might be it would be better then the dark nothingness before him. On the other hand why did he care about dreams, It was a human thing wasn't it. Wasn't it? "Nox, wake up. I need you to wake up now." A voice cut through the darkness. It sounded urgent and full of worry, and most of all it sounded like his Ghost.
Nox-23 opened his eyes to find his Ghost materialized right in front of him. "we're in trouble." it stated, before Nox-23 could say anything.
Nox-23 found the means it imamate a groan. "what else is new...So what is it this time? Some snow beast heading for the ship?" Nox-23 barely moved an inch while he spoke. Even with his Ghost hovering nervously in front of him he felt no fear as to what may come.
"No, it more of the we have been discovered somehow and I can now detect thousands of life signs just a few miles away type of trouble." Nox-23 jumped upon hearing their status and for the first time since he woke up he looked out the viewports. Instead of seeing snow and cloudy skies there was green grass and the sky was clear with the sun shining brightly. In the distance he could see buildings with a tower in the middle, What's' more was they all seemed to be made out of very glossy material. The sun's reflection off of the buildings would have blinded Nox-23 if not for the ship's viewports being shaded. The longer he stared the more he began to notice something else. The city was getting closer by the minute.
"How are we moving?" Nox-23 to a glance at the HUD for answers only to be find them confusing.
"As you can see nine life signs below the ship and are somehow generating some sort of energy that is holding the ship."
"any ideas on what we should do?"
"Wait for now, we need to get a better hold of the situation." The Ghost movements halted for second. "A life sign is approaching from the sky."
Instead of looking at the HUD to conformed what Ghost had said Nox-23 looked to the sky through the viewports. It took little time to spot a dark blue mass flying toward them. The shape soon looked recognizable to him however what he recognized it as completely obfuscated him. "Is that a horse?" His Ghost asked, taking the words right out of his mouth. Indeed it was a horse, a flying, horned horse coming toward them. The two occupants turned slowly to face each other, flabbergasted at what they were seeing. "Well looks like we now know what the locals look like."
Shortly after spotting the flying horse it landed a few feet away and started totting into the direction of the ship. As it did this more details became known to Nox-23. The horse had teal eyes, a constantly flowing mane with tiny white dots inside of the dark purplish-blue mass of hair. There was also black patches of fur on it's flanks and something white in the middle. He could not tell what it was from the angle he was in.
The horse stopped short, eyeing the ship with interest. Then it spoke. "sister? is the thing that we sensed." It said with a feminine voice. Nox-23 and his Ghost were so stunned that they almost didn't catch the second voice.
"Yes Luna, though I do not have a clue on what it is." A moment later the owner of the voice appeared from beneath the ship. This one was taller then the other one and was almost completely white. her mane was as wavy as the other on but with four different colors including pink, a cloudy blue, light green and sea green. On the flank was what might be a picture of a sun. The white horse trotted closer to the dark blue one where then continued their conversation in whispers.
Nox-23 withdrew from watching the two and refocused his attention on his Ghost. "Are they really speaking in our language? What are the chances of that.
Ghost stared blankly out the viewport, only the rotating prongs on it's body move. "No they aren't speaking our language...I'm translating as they speak. I didn't even know I had their language in my database until they spoke.
The surprises just kept coming didn't they. "What??? you don't have the languages of the races we fight against how do you know the language of some sentient race of horses that hasn't even traveled to space yet."
The ghost faced Nox-23 but it's eye wouldn't met his. "Like I said I-I just don't know. It's like some sort of secret program activated without me knowing about it beforehand. The only one who can tell you the answer is the Traveler."
"Captain Armor!" the voice of the white horse draws the Nox-23 and the Ghost's attention back to the outside. Another horse appears but this one is smaller, more pony sized. It was white like the big one but had a two tone blue mane. Surprisingly it wore some sort of purple armor. Also it only had a horn making it a unicorn. The unicorn saluted the two horses before stand at attention or at lest what would be at attention for a four legged creature.
"I want you to get Twilight and Cadance and bring them here. Have your stallions lower this... thing to the ground and set up a perimeter around it. The white horse ordered.
The unicorn bowed then turned around "Alright you heard her highness put the thing down." It said in a masculine voice. Sure enough the ship slowly lowered down and as it did more equine like creatures appeared backing way from the ship as they somehow lowered it without even touching it. Nox-23 notice among the group of equines there were eight not including the to big ones and the one wearing purple armor. Four of them were unicorns, all white with blonde manes, practically identical. Nox-23 noticed a light bluefish aura around their horns. The other four did not have horns but instead they had wings. Three of them looked the same as the unicorns the other one was a light grey with a white mane, All of them wore golden armor.
Once the ship was down on the ground the blue mane unicorn about-faced an began to run to the city. It stopped just before passing the two Horses. Once again he bowed. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you going to do. "
The white horse gave the unicorn a soft smile. "We will watch the thing along side your stallions. My sister and I are very curious on what it is." The unicorn nodded the returned to his duty of running off to the city.
Nox-23 and his Ghost waited quietly for the unicorn to return, during which he ran over a system check on the ship to see what functions were still operational. It was a precautionary action just incase things went south. After just over thirty minutes of waiting the familiar shape of the white unicorn was visible along with two more small equine. One was purple with dark blue mane with a purple and pink highlight and purple eyes. the other one was pink with a mane similar to the big white horse in that it had multiple colors. It's mane only had three colors, blonde, dark pink and purple this had purple eyes as well. The new arrivals also had both horns and wings.
Both of the new equines trotted up to the big ones all the while staring at the ship with awe. "Princess, wha-what is that thing" the purple one asked. the voice was feminine in nature. the pink one said nothing but edged it's way closer to the unicorn. The unicorn responded by moving a hoof to reach around the pink one's shoulders in a tight embrace. Those two must have a deeper relationship then the others Nox-23 concluded.
The white horse smiled softly. "we are not sure but with it's arrive Luna and I have come to a decision to reveal to you, Cadance and your brother something that we have kept secret from everypony." The white horse then frowned. A frown filled with guilt and sadness. "A secret that I am tired of keeping."
The purple one's mouth opened and closed like she was about to speak but in the end no words escaped her mouth. The pink equine wasn't so silent. "Celestia, If what you are about to tell us has been a secret for so long why tell us now. I mean there has to be a reason for it to be a secret in the first place and for so long. Something that could be a danger to us?"
"What my sister and I have kept from our little ponies isn't the danger you are thinking of." The dark blue horse stepped forward and with her movement Nox-23 could see the image on her flank. A crescent moon. "What we hide is knowledge, knowledge of if the past that was forgotten for the good of ponykind.
The purple... pony, that was what they were called Nox-23 realized, looked almost star stuck when the words knowledge was brought up. The pony's dazzled state became on of confusion as the full message of the moon horse sunk in. "What would have to happen to make it necessary for ponies to forget about it." The purple pony's ears drooped and her head tilted to the side as she raised an brow. Nox-23 did not know why but a single word came to him to describe what he just saw 'cute'.
This time it was the white horse that spoke. "that my friend is what I am about to tell you."
The three ponies shared a look with each other before sitting down on their hind legs waiting for the two large horses to being. the dark blue horse glances around to make sure none of the other ponies are near before nodding to the white one. "How do I begin..." the white horse signed. "You all know of the rumored Age of The Alicorns?" It received nods from the three ponies. "The rumors are true, there was such a age."
Out of three ponies the purple one was the most expressive. It's mouth practically dropped to the ground as it gapped at what the white horse told her. If Nox-23 or his ghost weren't interested before they were now. Alicorns? what were Alicorns. Nox-23 had an epiphany, The four horn and wings equines must be Alicorns. It just felt right to call them that.
"Princess Celeis-Celestia the greatest historical minds have searched for any clues for the existence of an Alicorn empire only to come up with nothing concrete and you just answered that age old question in a blink of an eye."
"yes, yes I guess I just did. But Twilight, The Alicorns that stayed to watch over the world made sure that only evidence of their rise and fall would be through their descendants."
"Descendants?" the unicorn's ears perked up. "You don't mean..."
"Yes. Luna and I are the third generation of Guardians for this world. When we were old enough our parents took us to a hidden location. there we found the history starting with the arrival of a being we called the Visitor, A small moon like being that appeared before us for reasons that I do not know. But from is written it's arrival helped us advance to a greater society that is known to be the Alicorn empire."
Nox-23 sat in stunned silence. they way they talked about a visitor and it's description it could be no other then the Traveler they spoke of. Nox-23 almost missed the pink Alicorn talking due to is bewilderment.
"It sounds so great...but if the empire was so great why did it fall."
The white Alicorn opened her mouth to answer but was stopped by a hoof on her shoulder. It was the Blue Alicorn, giving her a pat. The white on nodded and the blue Alicorn took up the mantle of speaker. "To answer your Question Princess Cadance. War. War happened between our kind." The two smaller Alicorns gasped as the unicorn's eyes widen. "It will take to long to explain everything so I will give you a shorten version. Our race practiced harmony and with the light of the Visitor guiding us we wished to eventually spread it. They did not expect creatures that took refuge in Tartarus to attack in force. One thing lead to another an then we had some of our own kind turn against us for power. Those who sided with the light won but at great cost. With the power the wielded they almost destroyed the planet. The decision was made, the Visitor left and almost all of the Alicorns became one of the three pony races and their memories of anything Alicorn erased and replaced while a set number remained to watch over them and wait for the Visitor to return when we are believe to be ready to receive it's guidance again."
Silence, absolute silence. Sure the tale was lacking in description but what was said as enough for everyone to understand the implications. Eventually the silent atmosphere was broken by the purple Alicorn. "Princess Luna, Princess Celestia...this...this is just astonishing...more then astonishing but I have to ask, why are you telling us this now?"
Both of the larger Alicorns looked toward the ship. "We believe it was time to pass on this knowledge as for the same reason as teaching the both of you how to move the sun and moon and as co-rulers of Equestria you have every right to know ." The white horse paused, looking at the unicorn "and by extension, the spouse of one of said co-ruler." Once again the White horse turned it's attention to the ship "It is also because the light of the Visitor we spoke of...I can feel it inside this thing. I can only thing that it is related to it somehow. If it is the Visitor might be coming back and I want the fou-five of us to be ready for when it comes."
"Well you are certainty right in thinking we are related to the Visitor or the Traveler as we call It."
Nox-23 jumped from his seat at his Ghost's proclamation. "What are you doing!"
"We need to talk to them. A race of creatures that has been in contact with the Traveler and with powers we have yet to understand...we could use their help." Nox-23 remained quite, He wasn't to sure on involving another race with the war no matter what side they would be on, but he couldn't deny his Ghost's words. They needed help and to pardon the phase they should not look a gift horse in the mouth.
"...Um hello?" A voice came from outside."
"Oops, sorry I was talking to my partner." The Ghost said. All five of the Equine were staring at the ship in awe. 'Partner' the unicorn mouthed, it's eyes darted back and forth searching for something. "Oh sorry, this isn't how first contact should go. Hold on a sec I will transfer us outside now.
The ponies were unsure what to think upon hearing a voice coming from the thing. They gave each other glances of worry and confusion. What made it more confusion was when the thing failed to speak again. Being the brave Royal guard that he was Shining armor spoke up. The response came shortly after. 'partner? This thing has a partner?' Shining Armor thought as he eyes darted around in an attempt to find this 'partner' . Barely a second later the voice spoke again and spoke of a transfer outside. None of the five ponies really knew what it meant by that but whatever it was they were going to find out soon enough.
Out of no where a slivery light engulfed a small area near the ship. A second later it was gone and in it's place were two figures. One was small and hovering in the are yet there was no evidence of magic to making it happen. The small figure looked like a ball with a blue moving eye in the middle, several pyramid shaped prongs stunk out from it's body, rotating every so often. The other figure was much bigger, it was a little taller the Celestia not including her horn. It seemed to be decked out In some kind of orange armor from head to toe. It stood on two legs like a Minotaur but did not bend the same way. The bigger figure turned it's head to his partner who seemed to give him a nod or at least what looked like one. The big one raised it's other two limbs which where also Minotaur like. The hands grabbed it's helmet an lifted it off.
What was beneath the helmet brought the ponies to a new level of awe. The head was not made of flesh of any kind but of some kind of metal. Most of the head was metallic black but with a red plate on the forehead. the eyes were two balls of purple light within it's eye sockets. The mouth area of it's face had to gaps with what could be described as lips meet in the middle. For a few moments the two groups stared at each other. This of course drew the other guards attention. their weapons readied for the first sign of trouble.
A few more moments of blank stares were exchange before Princess Celestia made the first move. She walked slowly toward the Exo. Nox-23 clenched his fist but did nothing more and then... Princess Celestia curtsied. "Hello. I am Princess Celestia and I welcome you to Equestria."
That simple greeting broke the ice. Nox-23 unclenched his fist and gave the Princess a slight bow. I'm called Nox-23 and this..." Nox-23 motioned to his hovering companion. "...Is my Ghost."
"your ghost? If ghost did exist how can you have a ghost if you are still alive?" Twilight blurted out.
Twilight wasn't the only one curious about what Nox-23 had said. A few raised eyebrows were evident enough. "Oh I'm not that type of ghost. We are just called that, I and others like me are act as... personal secretaries...no that doesn't sound right...oh I'm his sidekick, I take care of everything that Nox-23 can't like item transfers, hacking, upgrades and a few other things.
The eyebrows did not lower instead Nox-23 and his Ghost believe they went higher. "I assume this 'hacking' you speak of is not the kind Is not the kind I am thinking of." Princess Celestia said.
"No it's not." Nox-23 replied, shaking his head,
Before the line of conversation could continue The moon Princess stepped forth along side her sister. "I apologize for the interruption but are you a massager from the Visitor?"
"...Um and you are?" Nox-23 asked.
The princess's eyes widen in realization. "Forgive me." she bowed. "I am Princess Luna and younger sister to Princess Celestia. Using a foreleg Princess Luna pointed to her other comrades and named them off. "This is Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess Cadance and her husband Captain Shining Armor." Cadance and Twilight gave a short wave while Shining saluted.
"Hello everyone." the Ghost said, flying closer to the ponies. "and to answer your Question Princess Luna, not exactly."
"Explain."
"The we call the Traveler, your Visitor has been dormant for the last few centuries following the war with the Darkness."
Twilight gasped "War..."
"Yes." the Ghost replied somberly. "A war that lead to the Collapse. The Traveler defended us from the darkness but at a great cost and If the darkness returns now we may not survive. That is why I must ask, can you help us?"
While the others gave the two looks of pity and sorrow Princess Luna was giving them critical gaze. "And in what form are you asking us to help you in?"
This time Nox-23 spoke up. "Understanding. You...ponies have an abilities we haven't seen before. We detected an unknown energy reading that appears to come from your kind. We are hopping that if we could understand how that works we could use it ourselves. Also if you have anything material was that you can give us it would be appreciated. My Ghost and I will make it worth your time."
"Yea, were aren't going to ask you to join the fight against the forces of darkness that would wrong us to uplift you like that. And as my partner said I am sure we can give you something in return." The Ghost added in.
During the time the two offworlders were pleading their case Twilight made her way up next to her former teacher. Catching the sight of her former student Celestia turned her head slightly. The purple mare raised her head up as high as she could and whispered. "Are they talking about magic?"
Celestia nodded. 'I believe so." She turned her attention back to the two visitors. "I believe we can come to an agreement on an exchange of sorts but let us move to somewhere more comfortable if every...everyone agrees. Words and nods of agreement were the responses she received with Luna being the last one to respond. "alright let us move to the castle then." She turned to face Shining. "Captain, Please inform the guards. Make any orders you deem necessary."
Shining armor saluted then called out to his stallions. Out of the corner of her eye Celestia could see Twilight and Cadance approach Nox-23 and his Ghost with Twilight not doubt wanting to learn more about the bipedal visitor. Celestia smiled in amusement however her amusement end by the voice of her sister. "Are you sure about this? They come from a dangerous place."
Celestia smiled again but this time it was softer and directed to Luna. "Yes we can't promote harmony and friendship yet turn away from those who need help. Besides we can learn from each other maybe even find a way to help the Visitor."
"...I guess you are right sister but I can't help worrying what is on the horizon. If were are not careful we may find ourselves in a predicament that we won't be able to solve."
Nox-23 stood at the edge of the Crystal Palace's balcony. He was leaning against the railing looking up at the stars. It had been hours since he first made contact with the ponies and boy had the day been exciting. When he and his Ghost entered the city they were given curious glances and awed stares. It must have been because he was with the Princess that they eventually relaxed and acted like nothing was out of the ordinary...or at least when it came to the adults. The kids or foals as Twilight had told him, would gather around watching him as he made idle conversation with the Princesses. I couldn't help feeling a bit weird to be able to walk around place filled with non-humanoid and not get attacked.
Once at the Palace he was greeted by five more ponies all of whom were close friends of Princess Twilight. There was Applejack the orange blonde mane apple farmer. Rarity the white furred dressmaker with fabulous purple mane and tail. Pinkie Pie the pink party/baker pony who's uncanny ability to pull party favors out of nowhere would make Ghost want to have a jaw only so he could drop it. Rainbow Dash the cyan, Rainbow mane speedster and self-proclaimed fastest flyer in Equestria. Lastly there was Fluttershy the shy yellow pony with a pink mane.
It was then that the flood of questions came, all ranging from the mundane to the weird. He recalled with mirth the one about why his mouth glowed blue when he spoke.
It took three hours to satisfy the curious mares. The three older Princess were long gone but the time Q & A was finished. The did have duties to attend to. Shining Armor stayed but kept out of the way of the mares...he was a smart stallion.
Eventually dinner came around and while Nox-23 nor his Ghost needed to eat they joined the others at the dinning table. It was at said dinning table that he met Spike, Twilight's assistant and adopted little brother. For Nox-23 and Ghost one could not show them a dragon and not think they wouldn't have any questions to ask. Thus history, culture, and much more was revealed to the two Earthborn adventurers.
Now here he was taking it all in. Under the starry sky. He focused on the moon, if not for it's sudden movement he would have never met this kind creatures. Though it was still hard to believe that they could be move by the very Princesses he had met.
"It's not like you to be staring off into space even when were are flying in it." NOx-23 didn't need to turn around to know that it was his Ghost.
"It's not like you to go off on your own." he shot back.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see the Ghost float up next to him. "touché...I was at the library. Princess Twilight took me there when I said I would like to learn more about this world. Quite the scholar that one is."
Nox-23 finally turned his head to look at his Ghost who did the same. "A library? I guess that means that you can translate their written language as well?"
"For the most part." The Ghost replied. "The translation isn't completely accurate since the program I'm translating it with is technically ancient. I guess were are lucky that their language didn't change to much since their restart."
Several minutes of silence passed before the Ghost spoke again. "there is something I find quite peculiar though."
"Oh and what is that.?" Nox-23 said taking the bait.
"I've been looking over the biologics of the three main pony races and what I found struck me as odd. I noticed that each class of Guardian share some similarities with one of each race. Titians are like the Earth ponies. They are both every strong and have plenty of endurance. Hunters may not be able to fly but they as well as the Pegasus are the most agile of their respected groups. Warlocks and Unicorns... well the Warlocks super abilities seem a lot like offensively focused magic." Ghost explained, thought not quite use to using the term 'magic' I such away.
Nox-23 nodded in agreement. "Yes, I do see the connects and it might be worth looking into but for now let us focus on the task at hand. We have a ship to repair and negotiations to handle and that is enough for me for now." He stared at his Ghost and the Ghost stare back both conveying a silent understanding.
There will be busy days ahead.
Things To Come...
NOOOOOOO!!! "Please Shining, I..." "It's the Fallen!!"
"Twilight! Your...your..." "I want to come with you."
Three days had passed since Nox-23 arrived in Equestria. Negotiations had started the second day and ended the same day as well. Right away both parties agreed that weapon technology was off the table. The exchanges they did agree on were material goods, medical advancements and blueprints for tech that would be develop when the time was right.
Nox-23’s current objective was much different. He was finishing repairs on his ship. Along with his Ghost, there was one more who was with them. One Princess Twilight Sparkle.
There had been days before the Princess had been helpful with the repairs. She may not have completely understood the mechanics, but that didn't stop her from assisting Nox-23 by using her magic to remove and replace parts, as well as use the tools in places that would be awkward or hard to get to. Now, however, the job only required one creature to handle it.
Quietly, Nox-23 worked on adjusting the right thruster components. Every once and a while he would stop due to a strange feeling passing through him. Such feeling remained unidentified ‘till he could hear soft breathing coming from just behind his right side.
"You know, it is very unprincess-like to be creeping up next to someone working on something vital and who has no more replacement parts for said something."
Nox-23 slowly turned his head to get a better look at the young princess. For her part, Twilight was being cute without intentionally trying to be cute. Her ears were drooped and head lowered all the while looking up at him with big pleading eyes. "I-I know, I just wanted to see what you were doing. I can't really see from back there." Twilight pointed back to a spot not too far away.
"Twilight..." Nox-23 said in a monotone voice. "Why are you so interested in this? This technology is way to advance for even a smart gir- mare like you to understand. heck, even I don't understand all of it! I'm just following what Ghost tells me to do."
Twilight sheepishly looked away. Sure he was right but that didn't stop her from wanting to learn something even if it is not related.
"...Twilight."
"Yes?"
“Some space, please." The exo looked at her with the best pleading look his metal face could muster.
"Oh right, sorry." Twilight backed peddled several inches away from Nox-23. Personally, Nox-23 wanted some more room, but for the love and tolerance for these small equine, he would let it go. Thinking the whole episode was over and done with, he return to his work, only to hear his Ghost appear beside him.
"I think she likes you," it spoke out loud.
Instantly Twilight's eyes widened and her jaw went slack. "wha- nnooo. I-I- Nox is a friend, but I’m not attracted to him… I-I don't mean he’s bad looking… I- well, I don't even know what the standards of beauty for Exo’s are! Besides, I prefer somepony, well, more pony-like," Twilight stammered.
The Ghost chuckled while Nox-23 rolled his eyes. ‘So much like humans, these ponies were.’ He went back to finishing his task, while Twilight scolded his Ghost for the mean joke.
All of a sudden, the sky became unnaturally dark. Twilight looked up, trying to pinpoint where the shade was coming from. She had only seen the sky do this once before--when she battled Tirek and it turned blood red, not a darker shade of blue. Nox-23 and his Ghost, on the other hand, had seen this before. Something was dropping out of a jump. All eyes shifted toward a point in the sky that was becoming distorted. Within seconds of the distortion, a large ship appeared. This, too, did Nox-23 and the Ghost know. It was...
"Fallen"
Twilight's head shot up to look at the Ghost. "Fallen? Wait, you mean ‘Fallen’ as in the aliens that atta-" she suddenly paused, her eyes shrunk in realization. "Oh no, my friends!" Twilight’s horn light up with magic.
Having seen it thousands of times, Nox-23 knew what he was doing, "wait, Stop! It's too dangero-" The purple mare disappeared before he could finish.
The Ghost disappeared from sight as well, but his voice indicated that he had only linked with the interface of Nox’s neural pathways. "She'll be fine. Twilight knows how to protect herself. However, not everypony in the city can. We need to go, now!" His Ghost was right, so, for the first time since arriving on this planet, Nox-23 took a weapon into his hands. His auto rifle, Doctor Nope. A second later his helmet appeared on his head. Without any further hesitation, Nox-23 took off toward the Crystal city, and the battle that had just begun.
Twilight's Teleportation brought her to the edge of the city. It would be smarter and safer to teleport again, and, this time, to the castle. But she feared for her friends and the civilians who were out and about. Her spell may be a quick way of transportation, allowing her to cross distances in seconds, but the Fallen ship was no slowpoke. It was already closing in on the city's left side when Twilight arrived. Twilight took to the air, all the while watching the ship.
She watched as two orb like structures with cylinders attached to them rotate in their position underneath the front end of the ship. One more second of silence passed before all of Tartarus broke out.
The orbs fired into the city.
Nox-23 cursed as he saw the ship fire at the city. He had no doubt that there was already casualties. He could only hope that he could keep it low.
Twilight almost lost the ability to keep herself in the air as she watch in horror as the Fallen ship brought destruction on the peaceful city. Already, she heard screams of agony and death bellowing forth. Fire and smoke rose from the area, and all Twilight could do was stare. She watched silently as the ship began dropping bipedal creatures--nothing like Nox--and small hovering machines onto the ground. The ship then continued onward, eventually dropping more creatures, thankfully it's orbs didn't fire again.
Out of pure luck, Twilight saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see one of the bipedal creatures, one with four arms, lift up a smaller cylinder, aiming it at her. On instinct, Twilight dove just as a beam of light shot through the air toward where she had been.
She flew low to the ground, passing panicked ponies running for their lives. Her eyes watered as tears trickled down her muzzle. She couldn't do anything. She was a princess, a leader of Equestria and she was useless. She was scared.
It didn’t take long for Nox-23 to find his first victim, once he had entered the city. A lone Vandal stood in the middle of the road, looking for ponies to shoot. Unfortunately for him, he had his back toward the Guardian. Two shots to the back of the head and the Vandal fell to the ground, never knowing what hit him. Only giving himself a second to confirm the kill, Nox-23 ran forward, keeping an eye on his helmet's radar for more enemies.
Coming up to a side of a building, Nox-23 jumped onto the wall, then again using his jump boost to propel him onto the roof. It was not the tallest of buildings, but it did give him quite a view. It is there that he saw the Fallen ship, already reaching the opposite end of the city. There was nothing he could to the ship, so he tried to refocus his attention on other possible threats.
To his surprise, just as he was about to face away he saw several beams of blue light hit the Fallen ship. Most merely scratched the surface; however, a few found their way to the ship's thrusters causing them to explode. Unable to keep flying, the Fallen vessel descended rapidly, crashing just outside the city border.
"Wow, magic sure packs a punch," Ghost commented, quite surprised.
Nox-23 nodded in agreement. "Yes, but we can't slack off just because it seems like they are handling it. We… we’re probably the ones who brought the Fallen here. The Ponies need our help, and I want to repay them for their kindness." The Ghost made no reply, for there was no need. It agreed with him completely and Nox-23 knew it. There was something that bothered the Ghost, though. Something about the attack was off, but, before it could ponder more on it, screams were heard not far from their location.
Wasting not another moment, Nox-23 leaped off the building and into the fray.
Twilight Sparkle was, once again, on the ground. The fiery pain of being shot at had weighed so heavily on her mind that she landed on the ground hoping it would make her less of a target. She ran, she ran past the buildings, past the Crystal ponies, not even stopping to answer their questions on what was happening. All she wanted to do was run to safety, run to the Castle, to where her brother can protect her. She was on the homestretch now. The masses of ponies behind her. All she had to do is take a few more steps and- "Twilight?"
She stopped. She had to stop. The voice was familiar. If it had been anypony else, she would have continued on. Instead, she turned her head. "Mom? Dad?"
There were her parents, running up to her with worry in their eyes. "Mom, Dad wh-what are you doing here?" Twilight looked past her parents, alert for any danger.
Twilight's mother turned her head toward her husband, prompting him to answer. "Well, sweetie, when The Princess Celestia and Luna returned to Canterlot yesterday, they told us that Princess Cadance wanted us to come here. So we took the morning train, and… what's going on, here… and what was that thing flying over the city?"
Before Twilight could answer, another voice yelled from the Castle's entrance. "Mom, Dad, Twily, what are you doing over there? You need to come inside right now!" All three looked to see Shining Armor, along with several guards with spears, standing in the doorway.
Twilight turned back to her folks. "Come on, I'll explain on the way, but we need to do what Shining says." All three of them galloped to Shining. As a general rule, if the Captain of the royal guard tells you to do something, you do that thing.
Twilight and her parents entered the door and started up the stairs, soon to be followed by Shining and two of the many guards. Trotting up the stairs at a quick pace, Twilight's mom, Twilight Velvet, spoke up. "Okay, what's the deal? Are we under attack, or something? There are ponies out there that need help." Twilight lowered her head shamefully, which went unnoticed by her peers.
"From what Nox-23 told us about his enemies, I think these are the Fallen," Shining answered.
"Nox-23? Fallen?" Night Light, Twilight and Shining Armor’s father, replied confusedly.
This time, Twilight answered. "Nox-23 is someone who came from a different world. He, and many like him, have been fighting to save their kind against evil beings… the Fallen is one of the species they’re fighting right now."
The older family members look at each other then back at Twilight. "Is this ‘Nox-23’ the bipedal creature that has been in the news recently?" Twilight nodded somberly.
Finally reaching the top of the stairs, the group was greeted by none other than Princess Cadance. Some of Twilight's joy returned upon seeing her favorite--and only--sister-in-law. Said sister-in-law rushed forward at the sight of her family. She hugged parents-in-laws first, sharing a few words then to her husband, who was somewhat reluctant to show too much affection in front of his subordinates, before she reached Twilight, enveloping her into a tight hug.
Twilight truly wished that they could stay like this a little longer, but, alas, all good things must come to an end. They separated, and as they did, Twilight remembered something that the fear had made her forget. Her eyes shrunk to the size of pin needles and her ears flipped back to the sides of her head. "My friends! I forgot to look for my friends! They could still be out there in danger… or… or worse."
Before she could do anything, Cadance put a hoof to her chest and smiled. “They are ok," she said sweetly. "They were all near the castle when the ship appeared and they came here, hoping to find you here was well."
“Where are they now?"
Candace turned her head, motioning down the hallway to the door leading to the throne room. "They are in the secret room underneath the throne. Let’s go and meet up with them.”
Seeing that his wife was done talking, Shining headed down the hallway with everypony else in tow. By the looks of it, they were almost to safety and soon that would be true.
Unfortunately it just wasn't meant to be.
Moments after Shining had crossed an intersection in the hallway, a small oddly shaped object was thrown... right in front of Twilight's parents. The two peered at it in confusion and Shining turned his head around at the sound of the object hitting the floor. A second of silence passed before Twilight's world was turned upside down.
The object exploded in a brilliant light. Three bodies were thrown from there position as the rest stared in horror. The bodies fell with a deafening thud. In a instance Cadance was by her husband’s side, shaking him with a hoof. Whether she flew or teleported, nopony knew. Tears began to stream down her face. "Please, Shining, wake up. I-I-I don't want our foal to grow up without a father. Please, Please wake up." she cried.
Twilight Sparkle did not register what Cadance was doing or saying, neither did she register the Guards running past her. All she did was stare at the to burnt forms that were her mother and Father. She stared at their bodies as if willing them to move again. They did not. They could not. And they never would again. Twilight blinked once and then she screamed.
“NOOOOOOOOO!!!”
Her parents were dead. Her parents were dead. Her parents were dead and she couldn't do anything. She was useless when the Fallen first attacked and she was useless now. Twilight barely realized that two Fallen had entered the hallway. Both had only two arms and what looked like a Mohawks. One turn to face Cadance and Shining armor, raising it's weapon. The other faced the oncoming guards.
One of the guards threw a spear at the Fallen facing the couple. The spear penetrated the chest killing the Fallen before it could do anything. The other guard also threw his spear in an attempt to take down the remaining enemy. His spear, however, missed as the Fallen ducked. As it ducked away, it raised it's gun and fired at the guards. One of the shots found it's way to the head of the guard that attacked it. The second guard was lucky enough to get away with merely a nick to the foreleg.
Flinching slightly at the wound the guard leaped at the fallen, causing both of them to fall to the floor. The two of them struggled, trying to get the advantage over the other.
Twilight watched in silence, unable to do anything. The sounds of voices, none of them Equish, were coming from down the hallway, and they were getting louder. There was going to be more death. More innocent ponies were going to die. Cadance, the guard, her friends; all of them were going to die… unless… unless she did something. She was too scared, too frightened to do anything before, and, if she remained so, lives would be lost. Lives she could save. These Fa- monsters, it's their fault. they brought destruction and death. They needed to pay, and it was up to Twilight to do so. It was up to her to save her ponies.
Twilight demanded her body to move... so it did.
Conviction had come just in time, too. The fallen had just found a way to pry itself from the guard, kicking him away and reaching for it's weapon. Several more Fallen entered the hallway, some with four limbs, as well as some with two. They all focused on the guard, readying their weapons. The guard shrunk away the best he could. He knew it was all over.
All of a sudden, a large beam of purple light shot out toward the Fallen, knocking them back and onto the floor. Before even one of them could recover, their bodies were subjected to a great increase in gravity. Some called out in pain as their bodies were crushed.
The guard was taken by surprised by the sudden change. He swerved his head around to find the source. Princess Cadance was still next to Shining Armor crying her eyes out, oblivious to what had just happened. On the other side of him stood a mare that took him a second more than it should have for him to recognize, her horn still glowing with magical light.
She turned to face him and spoke in an authoritative tone that he had not heard from her before. "Get a Medic...Now!"
Nox-23 found the screaming to be coming from none other than a group of Crystal ponies. They were surrounded on all sides by the Fallen. Nox-23 was drawn to anger as he realized that the Fallen were making a sport out of shooting at the ponies. Some of the Dregs would fire a shot or two, purposely missing just to get their victims to scream again. Some still alive carrying wounds, some had been shot outright, and some were not so lucky. Nox-23 saw a foal, no older than ten, trying to reach his mother, only to be held back by another pony. All the while, three Captains watched from afar.
The Guardian had seen enough. Running as fast as he could, he charged at the nearest Fallen. The thudding of his boots were picked up by the Fallen's ears and it turned around, only to be shot in the face by Nox-23’s Doctor Nope. The death of one of their own drew the other Fallen's attention like a moth to a flame. Six Fallen stood between him and the ponies, but not for long.
The closest Fallen, a Dreg, opted to rush with knife in hand. As it got in range, it pulled back it's arm, now ready to strike. But Nox-23 was quicker to the punch… literally. With one power infused punch Nox-23 sent the Dreg flying as it disintegrated into nothing. The next two Fallen, also Dregs, were a bit more cautious of the Guardian, choosing their guns over melee weapons.
They fired shots at Nox-23, who was able to dodge the strong-but-slow bullets. Determining that he was close enough, Nox-23 switched out his auto rifle for The Comedian, his shotgun. He fire into the chest of the Fallen, killing it instantly. The other Dreg started backpedaling in an attempt to get away. It's efforts were futile.
The last of the group were two Vandals and one Dreg. Unfortunately for them, they were in close proximity to each other. One flick of the wrist and a grenade was thrown into the group of three. Once it hit the ground, it exploded. killing the Dreg instantly. The Vandals, being a bit tougher, survived the initial blast, but just barely. The two slinked away from the grenade as it let out a pale purple light, which would damage any who came near it. Nox-23 simply switched back to his auto rifle and finished the job his grenade started.
With the path clear to the ponies, Nox-23 quickly looked around for cover that the Equines could us. There was nothing on the streets that would provide adequate protection, seeing as any nearby buildings would be a death trap, so instead of continuing to look for cover, Nox-23 deiced to make his own. His body glowed a light purple as he readied his super ability. Once he was mere few feet away from the frightened ponies Nox-23 squatted, pounding the ground with his fists, releasing his Super. Instantly, a dark purple barrier formed around the Guardian.
Getting up he yelled. "Get into the barrier, now!” The ponies did not move at first, unsure if they could trust this biped. However, when one of the Fallen fired at the Guardian, only for the shots to stop at the barriers edge, they realized the inside the barrier was the safest place to be. They rushed forth, into the barrier. Nox-23, not wanting to get stampeded, jumped into the air. as he did, he counted the number of Ponies. He came to the number eleven. Fewer ponies than he wished there to be. Now--with the ponies inside the barrier--Nox-23 would be able to take out the Fallen without the Ponies getting hit. He only hoped he could finish in time--before the barrier disappeared.
Quickly, Nox-23 sidestep out of the way of a Captains' fire. Feeling that it would take too long to take out the Captains--who all had personal shields. He went for a much simpler and easier route. In a flash, Nox-23 switched out his rifle for his rocket launcher: the Hezen Vengeance. He proceeded to fire it at the Captains. All three tried to dodge, but it was for not. The following explosion encompassed them all, burning away their shields and their flesh.
Nox-23 did not pay much attention to the result of his attack. Instead, he turned his focus toward who would be his next target. Based off his helmet's radar, there was an enemy to his right. Once again, he switched back to his auto rifle.
Seeing a glow of light on top of a near by building Nox-23 jumped into the air, barely dodging a sniper round. He could feel the shot brush pass his left leg. Nox-23 made sure to return the gift in full. Two bodies landed on the ground, only one was a dead. The Vandal and it's executioner. Several other Fallen made themselves known to Nox-23 from the same side as the newly departed Vandal. All of them tried to avenge the death of their comrades. All of them failed.
Just as he was reloading, his helmet picked up a Fallen. A Fallen that was to close for comfort. Nox-23 swore as he turned around. He hadn't thought that there would be cloaked Fallen here. Just as he completed turning around, the Vandal jumped at him. The attack missed, however, thanks to a new addition to the Vandal's body.
A spear sticking out of it's head.
A brief moment to look around identified the owner of the spear. An orange Pegasus with blue hair, and he was not alone. Several more pegasi--along with a number of Crystal guards--appeared. Apparently, they had taken care of the Fallen in the area that Nox-23 was putting off for last.
The orange Pegasus landed in front of Nox-23 and saluted. "Lieutenant Flash Sentry of the Crystal Guard, reporting for duty!"
"Greetings, Lieutenant. I just saved a string of civvies. Will your squad be able to evacuate them?"
Flash nodded. He turned to his stallions and pointed at the ponies in the barrier. Without the need of words, the guards understood the command and rushed off to the barrier and it's occupants, who looked at the armored ponies with mixed expressions of weariness and relief.
Flash turned back to Nox-23 and spoke. "My squad was sent out to find you. We need your help."
"What can I do for you?"
Once again, Flash turned away from Nox-23, but this time to point in the direction the Fallen ship had crashed in. “We are currently pushing back the enemy, but we’re meeting heavy resistance. We’re having most trouble with some flying metal constructs. They’re small and have some kind of projectile weapon on the underside."
"Shanks. they are called shanks." Nox-23 corrected him.
" Right.. well the shanks' metal bodies are hard to pierce with our weapons. Unicorns are able to take them down, but he have very few in the Empire. From what I heard you have the weapons to deal with these foes." Flash paused for a moment to observe his surroundings. "And by the looks of it, you do. So, will you help?"
Nox-23 rose his gun into the air, pointing it to the sky. "Show me the way."
six hours had passed since Spike and the girls were told to hide in the secret area underneath the throne room. They, along with some of the castle staff, had waited patiently; or, at least, most of them were. Spike watched Rainbow Dash hover in the air above all of them. She, thanks to her position in the Wonderbolts had been ordered to guard everypony else, with a small group of Crystal Guards. Spike could tell that she was forcing herself from flying off to find Twilight. Shining had told them that he would find her and bring her back, but as time passed they became more and more worried. At one point Fluttershy began to cry in fear that something had happen to their friend. It had taken both Rarity and Applejack to calm her down. Pinkie Pie was handling it the best way she could by doing what she did best, cheering ponies up. She would find ways to amuse the castle staff with tricks and jokes, but even she would glance upward every now and then.
Everypony, and dragon, jumped at the sound of voices coming from high above. A second later the ceiling that was the throne disappeared like magic. One of the Guards gulped loudly as he readied his spear.
A second pass, then two, then a third. It had been ten seconds before a voice called out to the ponies below. "It's safe! You can all come up!" Sighs of relief spread across the room. In a flash, Rainbow shot upward, leaving the rest to climb the stairs.
A few minutes and a good exercise later, the rest of the girls and spike reached the top. There, in front of them, hovered Rainbow Dash, forelegs crossed over her chest, and a look of irritation on her face. "Took you long enough. Come on, these guys-" Rainbow paused to point at the two guards waiting by the stairs for the rest of the ponies to come up. "-told me where Twilight was. We need to see her. Now!"
Strength renewed by the curiosity of their friend's condition, the group of six ran out of the room. "Where is she, Rainbow?" Spike ask as the they ran down the hallway.
"She’s under the castle, were the Crystal Heart is. That’s where they are gathering... bodies. A pulse of horror passed through four of the ponies and Spike, making them stop In their tracks. Rainbow Dash quickly notice them and realized what she had said. Rainbow raised her forelegs and waved them frantically. "wait, no. Twilight is alive, the guard said as much."
"Rainbow, dear, please don't scare us like that. For a second there I...ne-nevermind. Rarity shook her head to rid herself of the bad thoughts in he mind.
"All right, let’s not go thinkin’ too deeply ‘bout it, right now. Whatever reason Twi’ is there for, Ah know that she’s gonna need us." Spike and the mares agreed with Applejack and continued onward, even doing their best not to pay any attention to the scorch marks on the floor or the strange new red paint in the main hallway.
Once they had stepped outside the five young mares and baby dragon were greeted with the most dreary of sights. sheet-covered bodies lined the ground. Numerous ponies were scattered about, some crying over the body of a lost one, others wandered about, soon to find out if there would be a joyful reunion or a funeral in their future. One such colt lay on top of a cloth, yelling for his mother to wake up.
None of the mares could stop themselves from crying not even Rainbow Dash. Spike, with tear streaked eyes, found two Guards nearby. The Unicorn guard was rubbing the back of his Pegasus companion who was just staring at the ground silently. Seeing nopony else, Spike walk up to them. "Excuse me, but do you know where Princess Twilight is?"
The Unicorn stared at spike for a moment before answering. "She...she’s over there, by the Crystal Heart." The Guard pointed at a figure sitting with her back towards them. A brown blanket covered her features. Spike took off toward the figure, not even taking a moment to call his friends. Only when he started hearing hoofbeats running behind him did he realize that they were following him.
Finally they reach the figure who seemed to be staring down at two sheet covered bodies in front of her. "Twi?" Spike spoke up. The head turned, revealing a purple face that belonged to none other than Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic and Princess of Friendship. The five ponies and one dragon relaxed just a bit from seeing that their friend was alive, seemingly unharmed.
"They killed my Parents." Everypony gasped, "One of those monsters threw something at them... and it exploded."
"what about you brother? What about Shining Armor?" The baby dragon asked.
"He's alive. Thank the Heavens, he's alive. He was wounded in the explosion, but we are able to get him medical treatment. Cadance is with him now." Twilight turned her head away, looking at her parent's bodies once again. Her friends shared concerned glances before trotting closer to Twilight, forming a semicircle around her. Spike walked right up to her and placed a claw on her shoulder. "I-I killed them. I killed those monsters."
"Twilight, it's alright, Ah, for one, won't blame ya for takin’ a life, especially if it saved somepony's life. Ain't that right girls?" The other mares spoke murmurs of agreement.
Spike looked back at them and smiled. "See, Twilight we're here for you. We won't hate you for ki- for stopping something that was hurting ponies. You had no other choice."
Twilight's head snapped around so fast it made everyone jump. "That’s not it. I-I didn't stop there. Before I was so scared of them, I just ran here; but after they attacked, after they killed my parents, I just...I don't know. I killed the Fallen that got into the Castle, and I waited till medical help came to take care of Shiny, but after that I went out and killed more of them. I joined the Guards and fought back, taking out anything that attacked us. Even now, after it's all over, I don't feel a ping of regret or remorse for taking their lives. In fact, I'm happy. Happy they’re dead. Happy that I saved lives by taking theirs away."
They fall into silence, not one spoke a word. Instead, they moved closer to Twilight, and when they were finally right up next to her they, hugged her. They hugged her as much as they could, expressing their undying love for their friend.
They broke apart, only when a voice spoke from behind them. "I'm sorry."
There behind them was Nox-23 and his Ghost. “Wh-what are you sorry for? You did nothing wrong." Twilight said, rubbing away tears that had formed.
"As much as it is unusual, the Fallen followed us here. They don't normally do that, so I thought this place was safe, and for that, I'm sorry. We're sorry." The Ghost dipped down to the pony's eye level.
Twilight shook her head. "No, it's not your fault. Like you said it's unusual for them to do what they did. You guys had no way of knowing. I can't blame you for something you had no knowledge of, and besides, I heard you were a big help fighting them off. You could have run off, but you didn't. You risked your lives to save us, and that makes you good in my book."
Nox-23 was surprised, once again, by these ponies and their capacity to forgive. Or, at least, the ones that he had thought would hate him for sure, now. He averted his gaze, finding a spot of crystal concrete to look at. "Still, I think it is best that we leave as soon as possible. Shouldn't take any more than one or two days to finish repairs. Hopefully, it will prevent any more Fallen from coming here."
Twilight Sparkle also found a part of the ground interesting, but only for a few seconds, before raising her head up to meet Nox-23’s gaze, looking determined about something. "Nox-23, can I ask you for something?" The EXO nodded, knowing that he should return the favor for letting him stay as long as he had. Slowly, Twilight rose off of her haunches, causing the blanket to fall off of her.
"I want you to take me with you."
The first response was a surprised gasp by none other than Rarity. She was not, however, gasping at Twilight's request, as many would think. She had gasped at something else. Something that not even a pony who didn't have her eye for detail could miss. "T-Twilight you-your hair...it's white." It was true. For, no longer did her mane or tail have the beautiful dark blue, pink and purple that she had since birth. In it's place were three shades of white, and at that moment, the Sun lowered itself toward the horizon, it's golden rays reached the young princess, giving her hair a silvery glow.
There are two rooms in Canterlot Castle that are rarely used. One of them is the dungeon. Built when the castle was first constructed, it was used for criminals caught on castle grounds or for the very disobedient guard. Now, it is a room filled with empty cells, only to see visitors when it was time for the monthly maintenance. The second room was none other than the war room, a place many were glad hadn't been used for hundreds of years. Yet, after the attack by the Fallen, it would finally see use.
The room itself was circular in nature with a large round heavy oak table in the middle. The walls were covered by all sorts of maps depicting several locations, including other countries. A number of cushions had been placed around the table to give the room's occupants some comfort in such a dreary place.
The ponies who had gathered inside were considered to be of the highest within their field of work. From agriculture to astronomy and everything in-between. This council of ponies had been called on by none other than the Royal Sisters to handle the aftermath of the attack and to figure out the next course of action.
"I, Princess Celestia of Equestria, requested the gathering of this council in response to the attack on the Crystal Empire and Canterlot. My sister, Princess Luna, will commence with roll call." Celestia turned to her sister, who sat next to her. Replying with a nod, Luna lifted up a sheet of paper with her magic and begun to call out names.
"Princess Cadance."
An amethyst colored Crystal pony answered. "Absent. I, Crystal Clear, will act as her proxy."
"Prince Blueblood."
"Absent. Still too afraid to come out of his home," an elder white unicorn stallion with greyed blonde hair answered. The following eye roll some of the council members gave was ignored.
"Prince Blue Cross, head director of Equestria Medical."
“Present." The Same elder unicorn answered.
"Green Glade, Head of Cantorlot's agriculture department."
"Present" A Yellow Earth Pony mare with a green spiked mane replied.
"Shooting Star, Grand Astronomer."
A black Pegasus mare with a powder blue mane jumped slightly at her name being called. "Pre-Present." She stammered out.
"Gear Box, Representative of the Engineering core."
A brown Earth Pony stallion with a short reddish orange mane paused from cleaning his glass and looked up. "Present" he said before placing his glasses back on.
"Fancy Pants, Minister of Foreign Affairs."
The white, monocle wearing stallion Spoke. "Present."
"Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guards.
An old red Unicorn stallion with a mane turned white from age answered. "'Absent. Former Captain Stronghold standing in his place.
"Princess Twilight, Head of the Friendship Council.”
"Absent."
"Princess Luna. Present"
“Princess Celestia."
"Present."
Once again, Princess Celestia spoke up to the gathered ponies. "Now that role call is over, we shall get down to business." Celestia's regal face darkened as she continued to speak. " Captain Stronghold, do you have damage reports?"
The old stallion nodded. "Yes, your Highness." Stronghold cleared his throat stoically observing the other ponies in the room before recalling the report from memory. " Several structures in both Canterlot and the Crystal Empire have been damaged or destroyed by the Fallen forces. It is believed that it will take at least four months to complete repairs. Most of the damage was caused by the drop ship in the Empire and by what I have been informed is called a spider walker in Canterlot. The total number of casualties is 243." The former Captain paused for a moment to let the number sink in. The most notable reaction came from Blue Cross, who lowered his head as if he had failed an important task. "131 of those deaths were Guards, the remaining 112 were civilians."
The gathered ponies shuffled uneasily hearing the death toll. Only the Princesses, Blue Cross and Stronghold stood still. Green Glade slammed her hooves on the table, surprising the others. A hoof lifted up and pointed at the old veteran "How can you be so... so emotionless about this?" she cried.
Stronghold remained stoic. "As much as I hate what happen, there is nothing I can do about it but learn from it. Getting all emotional will help nopony."
"He is right, Green Glade. We can all mourn for the lives taken, but we can not do it here. Ponies are counting on use to lead them after this tragedy. We must be strong for them." Green Glade sat back down, her argument weakened by Princess Celestia's short speech.
A brown hoof raised in the air indicating that it's owner wanted to speak. When all the attention was drawn to him, Gear Box finally spoke. "This maaayyy be a bit too soon, but I want to announce the engineering core's request to study the spider walker and the dropships."
"And why do you want to do that?" Luna asked.
"Well, there is a lot we can learn from these things. It would also help Equestria develop a means to combat these Fallen. We fought them off, but look at the cost. If we are attacked again how many more lives will be lost? It was Princess Celestia who destroyed the Spider Walker and Luna the drop ship. The Unicorns in the Empire got lucky. We can't rely on luck and powers of an Alicorn." Gear Box answered.
Luna and Celestia shared a look between each other before addressing the issue. "We will discuss this in more depth at another time. but for now, let us continue with the next matter of business." Gear Box's body slumped at Luna's words, but made no attempt to press the issue.
"Fancy Pants, do any of the other countries know about the attack."
Fancy shook his head slowly. "Not yet, though, in due time, they will considering that the residents of their embassies bore witness to it. I have already started drawing up letters to address any concerns they may have."
Celestia nodded in approval. Here focus then turned to Shooting Star. "Have you or any other astronomers spotted anything in the skies."
Once again, Shooting Star jumped at the sound of her name. "I-uh, no. Neither skilled or amateur astronomers have seen anything, and if Princess Luna can’t- well, I don't think there are anymore out there." Celestia looked at Shooting star with a concerned expression. Shooting Star noticed it and turned her head away. "I'm sorry, it just... Night Light was a good friend. To hear he passed. I just..."
"I understand." Celestia intervened. One death is heartbreaking, so many is devastating."
The room passed into silence for a moment. It was disturbed by the voice of Green Glade. "What about this Nox-23 character. Can he be trusted? How do we know he didn't bring them here on purpose."
The princess were slightly surprised by the mare's questioning. It was, however, answered immediately. "Yes, Green Glade. He is trustworthy. Me and my sister determined that during the time we were with him." Celestia answered.
"I have been told by the doctors and nurses that I sent to Crystal Empire that some of their patients spoke of a biped named Nox-23 who save their lives by risking his own. I may not know of his past, but his actions have convince me that he has no ill intentions," Blue Cross added.
Green Glade nodded once, accepting what the three of them had told her.
Celestia glanced around the room, seeing if anypony else had concerns. None were forthcoming. "Alright, if there are no more questions, we shall continue on to the next topic on our list."
"No Twilly you can't go it's too dangerous!" Shining Armor yelled. The Captain of the Guard, and Prince by marriage, was not happy. He had woken a day ago in the hospital and learned that his mother and father were dead and his sister now had a permanent change in hair color. He had requested to be left alone that day to mourn. Returning the next day with his wife and Nox-23, Twilight had just explained to him that she was going to leave with the Guardian.
"Shining, I need to do this. Nox-23 told me there are more of them out there, along with other creatures of Darkness. Every... everyone from where he comes from are fighting against them. I want to be a part of the fight. I want to help them, and then maybe they can help us. Besides, I just can't stand around going about my day knowing what's happening."
Shining lifted himself up from the hospital bed to confront his sister, only for Cadance to gently push him back down. "Cadance, talk to her, tell her how dangerous this is. She needs to stay here."
Candace turned her gaze away from her husband. "Maybe... maybe you should let her do it."
Shining's jaw dropped, even his wife was against him. Taking his eyes off his wife, he looked passed Twilight, at the foot of the bed, toward Nox-23, who was leaning on the wall next to the door. "You... You’re the one who put her up to this. You did or said something to convince my little sister to go with."
"Hey, she was the one to come to me about it. I didn't do anything." Nox-23 lifted his hands defensively.
"Yet you’re letting her go with you," Shining countered.
"Where is Twilight going?" A new arrival spoke upon entering the room. To everypony's surprise, it was none other than Princess Celestia.
"Finally, someone with some sense." Celestias eyebrow rose at Shining's outburst, but let the wounded stallion continue. "Twilight wants to go with Nox-23 and fight against those aliens! Please, you have to convince her not to go."
Celestia's attention turned to the Purple Princess. Her heart dropped a bit at the sight of the white mane. "Is it true?" asked the alabaster princess. Twilight nodded, looking up pleadingly at Celestia. "Is it for revenge?"
Twilight jerked backwards, hitting her rump against the bed. "N-no...well, maybe a little." Her head drifted to the floor, but stopped. As her head rose she had an expression of unbreakable determination. "I may want to get back at those monsters, but there is more to it than that. The Guardians and the Traveler need help. The stakes are high and the danger is great, but have we ever stopped ourselves from helping others just because we may get injured or… or die? No, we haven't." Twilight turned her head slightly and smiled at Nox-23. "Nox-23 is my friend, and, if there is one thing to take from my lessons of friendship it's ‘always be there for them’. He was there for us, why can't I be there for him? Besides, Celestia, you want the Traveler to return, right? Right now, it can't, and I don't want to just wait around hoping that someone else can heal it. That is why I want to be the first to step forward and bring our worlds together to stop a threat and fix something that has been there for both our worlds."
A very deep and warm smile spread across Celestia's face. Before anypony knew what happened, Twilight Sparkle found herself in the White Alicorns’ embrace. "I am so proud of you."
As quietly as she could-hoping not to disturb the special moment-Cadance leaned down to her husband's ear. "Four to one, it looks like she's going.” Shining Armor only grumbled in reply.
When the two ponies finally separated, Nox-23 was the first to speak up. "As much as I like it here, we need to leave soon. Go say goodbye to your friends and pack things that you want to bring, we will meet at my ship in a few hours."
"Right, I'll start now." Twilight trotted out of the room before pausing and poking her head back in. Shiny, Cadance; congratulations. I'll be back to give you a proper goodbye before I go." Once her piece was said, she once again trotted away from sight, not seeing the blushes on both her brother and sister-in-law's faces.
Shining shifted in his bed in order to sit up more. "Okay, I understand that she is the only one going with you Nox-23, but why. Wouldn't her friends be allowed to come too?"
Incapable of frowning, Nox-23 lowered his head a bit before bringing it back up to address Shining. "Normally, they would; but there are different factors playing against us. One is that my ship is too small. It could fit a pony, but six... it would be too crowded. Also all her friends are busy with the relief efforts. Rarity and Pinkie Pie are taking care of orphans of those who died in the attack. Fluttershy has volunteered to become a temporary nurse. Rainbow is on duty with the Wonderbolts, and Applejack is helping by supplying food to everyo-everypony working on relief efforts. Spike is too young to go, so he’s staying with Rarity." Nox-23 let the information sink in before asking his own question. "Can Twilight's mane turn back to normal. I mean, it's possible through magic, right?"
The mood of the room changed from relatively good to depression in an instant.
"No, there isn't" Celestia answered. " There are illusion spells that can make her mane and tail look normal again, but it would constantly put a drain to her spellspring. Her condition is very rare. So far only six cases including hers has been recorded in history and, because of it, nopony has developed a spell to reverse it. In time, somepony might find a way, but as of right now, we have more important things to do."
Nox-23 nodded in agreement. "I hope she’s ok with it."
"My little sister will be ok. It looks like she has already gotten use to it... or she’s ignoring it." Shining Armor's eyes narrowed at Nox-23 "I can't be there to protect her, so YOU need to keep her safe. Promise me that you will keep her safe, even at the cost of your own life."
"SHINING!!" Cadance gasped.
Nox-23 raised a hand in front of him to stop Cadance from saying more. "It's okay, I understand. Shining Armor, I promise to keep Twilight safe so that she can return to you unharmed. She's my friend, and I don't let friends die."
Satisfied with Nox-23’s proclamation, Shining armor relaxed into his bed. He did, however, cringe slightly once noticing his wife glaring at him. Nox-23 was quite amused by the two love birds, but he needed to go. He was about to make his leave, but noticed Princess Celestia walking towards him.
Her soft smile could not fully conceal her worry. "While my captain may have been a bit... tactless with his words; I, too, wish for you to protect Twilight. She is like a daughter to me."
Nox-23 nodded. "Of course, Your Highness."
The goodbyes between friends were both sweet and sad. Rainbow Dash was the only one not teary eyed out of the six mares and one dragon, and even then her tough mare act was taking a hard it. Eventually, the hugs and friendly nuzzles ended and Twilight was left alone with Nox-23 and his Ghost.
The three of them made their way to the castle's garden, walking in silence the whole way. Twilight was in deep thought, wondering what kinds of things and people she would see and if she brought enough paper in her saddle bags. Nox-23 was thinking about how he was going to deal with the possible reaction to Twilight from the other Guardians and workers of the tower. the Ghost... well, it was keeping to itself while calling the ship to come by and pick them up.
"Alright, this place is as good as any," the Ghost spoke. Nox-23 stood still, as well as Twilight, albeit with a confused expression on her face.
"What do you mean?"
The Ghost rotated itself to look at Twilight, then it looked to the sky. "I'm transmating us to the ship. I wanted to do it in a more private setting, that's why I asked for us to come here," it answered.
Twilight was even more confused than before. 'transmating? Neither Nox-23 or his Ghost mention such a thing. breaking the word down, trans means across or beyond. Mating is...' Twilight sudden realized what it could mean. "Wait, is that how you got out of your ship?"
"Yep," the Ghost replied just before all three of them were engulfed in a silvery light.
It took Twilight a moment to realize that she was no longer standing on dirt and grass, but on metal. In fact, she was surrounded by metal on all sides. "So, what's it like to be the first pony to step inside a Spaceship?" The Ghost said interrupting Twilights observations.
Twilight turned to see Nox-23 and Ghost standing next to a chair. "oh, well... I really don't know what to say. Though, the transmat felt like a teleportation spell, but slightly different."
Nox-23 wished he could smile because he knew what will cause Twilight's jaw to drop. The robot took a seat in the pilot's chair and motioned Twilight to come up beside him. She raised a brow but moved next to him. "Take a look out the viewports. We are about to break orbit."
Twilight watched as the blue sky around become darker and darker. Soon, tiny lights started appearing. Very quickly did Twilight recognized familiar constellations. Her eyes widened as they became clear in the now black background that was space. While she looked out the right most viewport she did not see Nox-23 and his Ghost glance at each other. Nox-23 nodded and turned the ship to the left. "Twilight, look through the left one." Nox-23 said, hiding his mirth.
Twilight did as she was told. A moment later her jaw dropped comically to the floor. Before her was her planet, her home. She could she oceans, seas and landmass with Equestria being the most recognizable. The lovely continent stood out against the seas on both sides of it's form. "No one... no one has ever seen our planet like this before... well, maybe Nightmare Moon, but still... It's so beautiful." She turned her head to Nox-23, and he, her. Twilight was grinning ear to ear.
The next thing Nox-23 knew was that there was a purple furry creature hugging him awkwardly in his chair. "Thank you. thank you Nox. I will never forget this moment for the rest of my life." She hugged him tighter.
Nox-23 was unsure how to react. This was the first time anyone, or anybeing, has hugged him. He was smart enough not to ask his Ghost for advice, for it would ruin the moment. Eventually he returned the hug, hoping it was the right thing to do. When Twilight nuzzled his neck he knew he had done the right thing.
Normally it would take just over twenty minutes to get to Earth by jump. The Ghost, however, thought it would be better to go at a slower jump speed. The repairs were making it flight worthy, but Nox-23’s partner didn't want to push it without taking it to a real engineer. Instead, it would take them an hour to reach Earth. During the time traveling Twilight had fallen asleep, the excitement of few past days had finally drained away. Nox-23 and his Ghost remained silent to let the pony rest.
At some point during the journey through space, the pony awoke to find herself, not in her comfy bed, but on the hard, metal floor of Nox-23’s jumpship.
"Are we there yet?" the young pony asked with a yawn.
The Ghost turned around, witnessing the Alicorn getting up onto her hooves. "Actually, we just got out of the jump. Come here and see for yourself.”
Rubbing sleep from her eyes, Twilight once again took her spot next to the pilot's seat. One look out the viewport and her sleepiness was gone. "It- It almost looks like my planet."
"Indeed, but what I found more surprising was that both our worlds have the same animals. The chances for such a thing to occur is so low that I did not think it possible, yet here we are talking with a 'magical' pony which just so happens to look like equines from Earth." The Ghost replied.
Twilight narrowed her eyes. "You make it sound like you don't believe in magic."
The Ghost floated back a few inches defectively. "No...I didn't mean it like that. Beside, with the things Nox and I have seen and done, I'm not sure what to believe anymore." Twilight raised an eyebrow but did little else.
"Now, now, children; we're about to reach orbit. Ghost, can you contact Holiday and tell her the condition of the ship?" The Ghost responded by expanding it's pyramid like prongs in a blue light. Twilight watched intently, filing away some questions for later.
It took a few seconds before the Ghost spoke again. "Holiday is busy, but I got one of the her mechanic Frames instead, patching you through.”
"This is Megas-XLR26, how can I help you, Guardian?" a robotic voice asked.
"I was attacked by the Fallen a week ago and my ship received damage. I did basic repairs, but I want an experienced mechanic to take a look at it and make sure everything is alright."
"Certainly, Guardian; we will get right on it as soon as you dock." With nothing more needed to be said, the Ghost closed communications.
Nox-23 looked over to Twilight and she did the same. "Ready to meet the people of Earth?" The Purple Alicorn nodded nervously. "Good, cause it's going to be completely different from what you know." Twilight gulped.
Finally reaching the dock the Ghost transmated the three of them just outside the ship as it landed next to them. A second later, the ground underneath the ship dropped taking the ship with it. Twilight jumped back, surprised at how fast it lowered.
Nox-23 laughed. "It's alright, Twilight. The lift just took it down to the hangar where the mechanics will look at it. Now let's head upstairs, and from there we will head to the Speaker's location. He would want to see you." Twilight eyed the lift curiously for a few more seconds before following Nox-23 to the stairs.
Upon reaching the top of the stairs Twilight took a good hard look at her surroundings. to the left was a small walkway leading to some more stairs to the right she could see a group of people surrounding a male with pale skin. The man seem to be in deep conversation with the group. On the opposite side of the platform was a droid standing behind a table. Behind it she could see weapons in all sorts of shape and sizes. There were stairs leading down to someplace and stairs leading up to another platform.
"Top platform is where Amanda Holiday, the shipwright, is. she fixes up and sells ships. The droid is called Roni 55-30 and he is the Vanguard quartermaster. on the other side is Arach Jalaal, head of Dead Orbit, one of the big three clans here in the tower. and while you might not see it from here, there is another set of stairs leading up to a small lounge. That is where you would find Lakshmi-2, head of Future War Cult, another one of the big three. Downstairs is the bar." Nox-23 explained to the bright eyed pony.
Twilight gaze up to Nox-23 with a wondrous expression of interest, "What are clans...I mean I know what clans are, but I want to know what they mean to the people here. Is that pale guy with the shiny eyes, Arach? An Awaken that you told me about... and-"
Before Twilight could go on Nox-23 motioned with his head to stop. Luckily for him, she did. "Okay, I'll explain, but you need to stop asking questions so you can hear me." Twilight blushed, embarrassed by her actions, but remained focused on Nox-23 as he began to explain. "Clans are groups of people that come together with certain goals in mind. Those goals depend on the ones who make the clan. Some clans become popular like Dead Orbit who have grown into a big organization that even sells gear and weapons. Requirements to join the clan are made up by it's members, but most just let you in by request."
Twilight nodded sagely, absorbing the information. "I see...two more questions, if I can?" When Nox-23 did nothing to reject her request she continued on. "Ok, first, are you part of a clan, and second, where does that lead?" Twilight pointed to the stairs leading away from the walkway.
"I was, once, but things didn't work out, so it disbanded. and second..." Once again Nox-23 wished he could smile. "It leads to a place full of discovery for you, my furry little friend."
Nox-23 stepped forward and Twilight followed, neither of them noticed Arach Jalaal or his followers staring at them awestruck.
The stairs lead to another hallway in which they walked through. Reaching the end, Twilight started to hear voices from beyond the exit.
"-coming back today." "How many Strange Coins do you have?"
"-Not much, just waiting for Syfis to return."
"BOOM, HEADSHOT!" "Want to join Femme fatale?"
"-bar and get drunk."
Twilight stopped just short of the exit. Her heart was beating faster than normal. She, the only Equestrian on Earth, was about to meet Nox-23’s people. She needed to calm down. It wouldn't do her any good to get too excited.
Nox-23’s Ghost noticed the pony's hesitation right away. "Losing our nerve, are we?"
Twilight's ears swerved back. What?! No! It’s just a really big moment me. Wasn't it the same for you when you found out that my species had a connection to the Traveler?"
"You have a point," the Ghost admitted.
"Don't worry, we'll be here for you all the away." Nox-23 patted Twilight’s head before walking beyond the exit, his Ghost right by his side. Twilight raised a hoof to her chest and breathed in. A second later, she breathed out, her hoof following the direction of her breath. Now a little calmer, Twilight when to join her companions.
In an instant she was introduced to new sights and smells. So many people were walking around. Exos, Humans and Awoken, All walking and talking, not noticing the little band of friends.
Nox-23 glanced down to the equine, who was busy taking in the sights. If she truly wish to stay, he would need to give her a tour of the tower. There was a lot more people here than he had expected. Originally, he planned to get Twilight to the Speaker, then find out what to do from there.
"WHAT IS THAT?!" Well, that plan was a bust.
When someone yells 'what is that?' people tend to subconsciously look at what has been pointed out. Thus, Twilight Sparkle, Alicorn Princess of Equestria, was now in full view of at least three dozen Guardians.
"Is that a pony?" "Animals aren't allowed here...wh-a horn and wings?"
"Looks kind of cute."
"Looks weird if you ask me."
Some of them started to advance toward the group wishing to observe the mystery that was Twilight. Panicking, Twilight backpedaled away from the oncoming crowd of Strangers. Nox-23 backed up as well, but more slowly. People in the crowd seem to be yelling questions which got lost in the sounds of everyone else doing the same thing.
"Nox, where is this place you wanted to take me to." Twilight said loud enough for Nox-23 to hear.
"It's on the other side of the door is straight ahead.” Nox-23 pointed. "Why?"
In a flash; Nox-23, Twilight and his Ghost disappeared from view. The next second they reappeared on the other side. Nox-23 and the Ghost felt strange, but otherwise ok. "Teleport spell?" the Ghost asked.
"Yes." Looking back, the crowd seem completely confused as to where they went. Some were stating that Titans can't blink while others started to look around trying the find the trio. The three took off, escaping the view of the crowd. "Why are there so many?"
"It must be because the Seclusion Zone on Mars was broken barely a month ago. " The Ghost flew ahead. "I just sent a message to the Speaker. He will meet us at his spire."
A short run through the corridor lead them to the eastern tower section and the Speaker's location. A figure clothed in white robes and mask stood infront of the Spire. A Ghost floated next to him. The Speaker noticed the three right away, but waited patiently for them to get closer. The Speaker's head tilted forward a bit as if he was focusing on Twilight more than Nox-23 as Twilight and Nox-23 slowed down to a walk.
Once they were close enough, the Speaker spoke. "I heard you have something important to talk to me about. I am guessing it involve this Equine." The speaker's voice was gentle yet stern.
Nox-23 was about to speak when Twilight beat him to the punch. "I am Princess Twilight Sparkle and I would like to help you and your people."
The Speaker was silent for a time. His mask hid his expression, but he was most likely surprised by the talking Equine. Eventually the speaker found his voice. "I see. Though, I do not wish to look a gift horse in the mouth, I must ask why you wish to do this."
This time Nox-23 spoke before Twilight could even open her mouth. "She helped us fight off the Fallen that followed me to their world. besides, their kind had been in contact with the Traveler. Even before us. I am sure she can be of great help in the long run."
The Speaker looked at Twilight with more interest. "Is that so?"
"Yes. It led our kind into a golden age; but, due to unforeseen events, my ancestors decided to restart our culture, and the Traveler agreed to leave and return when we were ready."
The speaker studied the mare. "Very well. But I expect you to help her." He said to Nox-23
"That's a given."
Suddenly the Speaker's ghost, who had been silent the whole time, flew down until it was just above Twilight's head. It then circled around her slowly. Twilight followed it with her eyes, unsure as to how she should react. Once it was finished with whatever it was doing, it returned to the Speaker's side.
"I have a question." the Speaker's Ghost announced. "does your species go into heat?"
The purple mare instantly became a red mare. She slowly backed away from the Speaker and his Ghost, all the while looking toward the ground. Nox-23 face-palmed and his Ghost shook itself side to side.
“What, it is a serious question. She is very much like the equines of Earth. It would be problematic if she were to go into heat on a battlefield. Both for her and those with her."
Nox-23's Ghost flew closer to his counterpart. "It is highly insensitive to talk about such things... but to answer your question, yes, they do; but, thanks to years of evolution, they are not as mentally affected as they were hundreds of thousands years ago. Basically, they will know they are in heat and feel the changes, but other than that, they act the same as if they were not."
"If we were, there would be a much bigger pony population," Twilight murmured.
The speaker held up his hand to settle down the others. "I think we shall move away from this topic. I will make an announcement about our new ally and I would like you all to be there. While I get things ready, I think it is best to get Twilight her armor. She will need it and it will provide cover for her currently exposed body. Many of the people here are respectable, but there are some shady characters that may take advantage of her."
Twilight's tail hugged her rump tightly as she heard those words. She carefully looked around to see if anyone was watching her. To her relief, there were no voyeurs.
"Take Twilight to Eva." The Speaker then looked down at the young mare. "Eva Levante is the Tower's outfitter. If anyone can help put together armor that can fit on a body such as yours, it would be her. Now I must go, I will see you at Tower Watch for the announcement.” Having nothing else to say, the Speaker and his Ghost returned to the spire.
The three of them watched him leave before turning to each other. "So, where is this outfitter that we need to meet." Twilight asked.
The Ghost shot in-between the two of them.
"Not far, follow me." True to it's word, the Outfitter's location was a simple hop, skip and a jump from where they were. Armor, shaders and cloth lined the dead-end corridor, and at the end was an old woman. She smiled sweetly at the trio.
"what can I do for you, Guardian." She paused for a second to take in the sight of the curious little pony. "And you brought a little friend, how nice."
At the word of 'little friend' Twilight's ears perked up. She stopped and tilted her head to one side. Nox-23 had to avert his gaze to keep himself from blurting out the word cute. "Um, you are Eva Levante, right? I'm Twilight Sparkle, I was told by the Speaker that you can help me." Twilight finally said.
A moment passed and Eva's smile grew bigger. "Alright, dearie, what are you looking for? Anything in particular?" From there the two females entered a conversation that Nox-23 could not follow. He simply stood there, stunned.
"Wait, wait, wait." he said grabbing, the girls attention, both of whom raised an eyebrow. "aren't you surprised by Twilight's appearance, or ability to talk?"
The old woman giggled. "Dear, when you have lived as long as me, you tend not to be surprised by every new creature that comes your way." Nox-23 fell silent as the girls continued talking. Eventually, their discussion came to a close. "Alright, Twilight, I think I know what to do; if you don't mind waiting, I will contact a friend and have him bring over the materials I need."
"Can I wait here with you?" the Alicorn asked politely. The woman nodded with a smile.
Nox-23, having long since recovered from his surprise of Eva’s lack thereof, realized that while Twilight was getting armor she also needed weapons, and he just happened to have a few in his vault. "Hey, Twilight, I'm going to get a few thing; I'll be back shortly." The mare responded with an “ok” while taking a book out from her saddlebag. From the short time he had been with her he knew that pulling her away from a source of information would be hard, so he gave Eva a wave goodbye and left for Tower Watch.
As he walked away his Ghost disappeared in a flash of light, but it's voice indicated that it was still there. "So, where are we going?"
"rearrange my weapon inventory and take some out of the vault for Twilight to use." Nox-23 explained, turning a corner. He quickly passed two humans talking to each other. His mind went back to their arrival. Those who saw Twilight would have seen him to. He looked down at himself. There wasn't much he could do to change his appearance to hide himself. The one thing he could do... "Ghost, I'd like to change my shader; I'm thinking Thunderdevil."
"Why do you wa-...oh, I get it. Okay, changing shader now." Nox-23 watched as his armor changed to a sliver color. Now he was ready.
Slowly, he exited the corridor. Looking around, he could see some people looking around cautiously, but most had returned to going about their day. Quickly and quietly, Nox-23 walked toward the Vaults.
"Hey!" someone called out. Nox-23 froze. Had someone recognized him? He turned to see a male human with blonde hair walking to him. "were you here when that weird creature showed up?"
"...uh, no?"
The man sighed. "Damn, I wanted to see if anyone else could tell me about it. oh well, thanks any way." The man turned and left, most likely looking for another person to ask.
Nox-23 took up a slight jog in hopes it would make people think he was busy with something. He finally reached the vault terminal and opened it. The terminal instantly recognized who it's user was and brought him to his belongings. First order business was to remove all the weapons he didn't really use. Once that was done he searched through the list of weapons he wanted to give to Twilight to borrow. For a primary weapon he decided he would like her to have his Shadow Price and Crusader I. Special weapons would be his Ice Breaker and 77 Wizard. lastly, he took out his Swarm as the Heavy. Nox-23 also brought out his Truth, but for himself.
Done with the transaction, he logged off and stepped away from the Vaults. "You know, we could give her Super Good Advice."
Nox-23 blinked. "wait I thought you hated SGA. Wait, you aren't trying to pass it off on her, are you?"
"Yeah, I still dislike it, but I'm not trying to pass it over to Twilight. Either way, it would need to be stored in our ship's storage since she doesn't have one, or a Ghost to perform a weapon switch on the field if she had something else in use. And, ok, I admit that having a talking gun can be of some help to her."
Nox-23 thought upon it, but could not really decide whether to do it or not. In the end, he would wait and see how Twilight handled the other weapons. Before heading back, Nox-23 took a look around at the shops, buying what he needed and what he would eventually want. What's more is that, now that he had a biological creature with him, he needed to get sustenence. Luckily, his Ghost made the orders for food. An apartment was also needed for Twilight; and, once again, the Ghost proved to be of help. It had gotten one that was close by the Tower and was made for Guardian use, the rent wasn't bad, either. Once that was done, the two of them headed back to the Outfitter.
In just a few minutes Nox-23 and his Ghost reached their destination, but something was off. Eva was standing outside of her little makeshift shop. Spotting them, she waved them closer. "Where's Twilight." Nox-23 asked when they got close enough.
The woman smiled and pointed to her shop where a large piece of cloth was being held up by a purple aura. "Twilight, you can drop it." Eva called out.
In an instant the cloth dropped, revealing a purple armored pony. Twilight blushed a little under Nox-23’s stare. Even his Ghost appeared to be looking at her in awe, the front bottom triangle comically falling open like a jaw.
Eva leaned over to Nox-23 and spoke in a low tone. "From what she told me about herself, I pegged her for a Warlock. However, the clothing that Warlocks wear just doesn't look right on her, so I did without; and I have to say, it looks better that way. And don't worry about exposure to the elements with her hooves and wings. she has specially made boots for when she needs them, and armor pads will enclose her wings, if need be. I have a Tengu Operant VII that is still being modified for her longer face and horn, but it should be ready in a day or so.
Twilight scraped a hoof on the ground as she lowered her head. peering up through her white mane she asked "Wh-what do you think?"
"It looks good on you." the Ghost replied.
Nox-23's eyes slowly drifted over to where the Ghost was floating before returning to Twilight. "I think he means you look stunning."
The Ghost jolted backwards. It's eye shifted between Twilight, Eva and Nox-23. "That is not at all what I meant.… Well, not to say she doesn't, but… stop putting words into my mouth!”
Nox-23 stared blankly at it. "You’re a floating ball of metal and energy... you don't have a mouth."
The Ghost floated away from the three of them. Eva and Twilight were giggling and Nox-23 was doing his best not to. "You guys are just-" The Ghost suddenly stopped. "The Speaker wants us to meet him on the top steps of Tower Watch." It said in a more serious tone.
Twilight and Nox-23 met each other's gaze. Nervously, Twilight nodded at him, then turned to face Eva. "Thank you for making me the armor and giving me that Provincial Royal shader."
The Outfitter nodded. “You’re welcome Twilight, please come by If you ever get the chance."
Nox-23 was definitely surprised, Eva had modified armor to fit the pony and had given it to her with a Provincial Royal Shader equipped to it. "You gave her all that for free?"
The women nodded. "Yes. I know it is a bit extensive, but as she told me about herself, her friends, and your arrival I came to the decision to give her these things for free, as she and her countrymen have done it for you. Besides, while the Glimmer is nice to have sometimes, it is even nicer to help out someone-or somepony-who needs it. Now go, your friends are waiting for you."
Turning away from Eva, Nox-23 found that Twilight and his Ghost were already at the corridor entry looking back at them. "Thanks" he called out to the woman as he left to rejoin the others.
Throughout the Tower, Guardians received a message that the Speaker had something important to say. Any who could attend found a spot to listen to what the man had to say. In the Tower many people gathered at the Tower's Watch looking up to the Speaker on the top stoop, waiting for him to... well, speak. Some spoke in hushed voices about the possibility that this announcement was about the creature that showed up earlier. Others simply wanted to get it over with, so they can return to what they wanted to do.
Finally, the man in white spoke. "We have been fighting this battle against the Darkness for a very long time. Many sacrifices have been made to keep the rest of us safe. In all this time we have fought the minions of darkness alone. That is about to change." The Speaker tuned slightly to the right and held out his hand. In the silence the sound of hooves clopping against pavement could be heard. Gasps could be heard, as well, as a small armored pony with wings and a horn stepped into view.
Twilight took a deep breath and opened her mouth. "Greetings, People of Earth. I am Twilight Sparkle and I come from the land of Equestria. A week ago, a Guardian landed on our planet. It was then that I learned that our ancestors once followed the Traveler's light as well. Unfortunately, we were also attacked by the Fallen. The Guardian who landed on our world stayed and help my kind fight off the Fallen. He did so at the risk of his own life. After the battle I realized that this is what all of you go through almost every single day, while we ponies live unaware of your struggles. In my country, we believe in the power that comes from friendship. So that is why I am here, I am to extend a hoof in friendship and help you take back what the darkness has stolen from you."
Twilight was met with silence. No one spoke and no one moved. She began to fear that she had not reached them. As she was just about to slink away, someone began to clap, shortly followed by more. In a short few seconds, everyone was clapping, yelling or fist pumping. Twilight could not hold back a smile.
A hand touched her withers making her look up to who it was attached to. It just so happened to be the Speaker. "I can finish it from here, why don't you rejoin your friend?” With an affirmative nod, Twilight trotted off to Nox-23, who was leaning up against the wall.
"So, what do we do from here?' she asked, smile still on her face.
Nox-23 removed himself from the wall and crouched down to Twilight's level. "Now, we teach you how to be a Guardian." Nox-23 once again wished he could smile.
The Ghost received word not long after the speech that the ship had been fixed of any lingering problems. The material that had been gathered in Equestria had also been sent out to be analyzed. It did not take more than an hour for them to return to the ship and set off for the Cosmodome. The Cosmodome was chosen as the place to teach Twilight because it was a relatively safe spot; the fallen around the area are, to our knowledge, not prepared to fight even a guardian of Twilights experience. Once again, Nox-23 did not go full speed-which would have made the trip much faster. Instead, he held back opting to teach the new pony Guardian about the weapons that they used to protect their people.
"Okay, I think I know all the weapon types and I understand how arc, solar and void work, so what’s this thing about quality, rating and upgrades." Twilight rubbed her chin.
"All weapons and armor are given a quality rating base on how good they are and how hard it is to find them." the Ghost answered. "The rating goes from Common to Uncommon to Rare then to Legendary and, finally, Exotic. Now, all gear above a common rating can be customized to increase it’s functionality. Higher rated gear is usually more upgradable than those of a lower rating. Unless given to you by someone, they are most likely not upgraded at all. In the simplest of words, upgrades are tweaks that can be made to you gear to give you better chances at winning a fight."
"Usually it is better to get used to each upgrade before you go on to the next one. It also costs material and glimmer to upgrade," Nox-23 added in, looking over his shoulder. "...Twilight?" The mare turned her attention to the Exo. "Are you sure you want to learn to fight? You will need to kill things and, from what I see, not many besides the Guards seem to be willing to end a life."
The cockpit was silent for a while, but eventually Twilight replied. "I... I'm not sure if I could fight someone to the death, but... but those creatures, all I see are monsters. Monsters that need to be destroyed. Just teach me how to fight and I'll take it from there."
The rest of the trip was quiet. Only when they reached the Steppes was the silence broken by the Ghost announcing their arrival to Twilight. One Trasmat later and the three of them touched the ground.
The first thing Twilight noticed was the tundra like environment, second was the cold wind brushing against her exposed fur. She was thankful the armor was keeping her warm. The landscape was a mix of rusted buildings and local vegetation and Twilight was almost too caught up in her observations to notice Nox-23 handing her his Crusader I. Twilight looked at the weapon, then up at Nox-23 before taking the weapon in to her magic.
Nox-23’s Ghost disappeared from view just as the two begun to walk. "I detect Fallen In the valley not too far from here. let's start there." Both Twilight and Nox-23 nodded, taking up a slow jog to the location.
Getting close to the small valley between the Steppes and Mothyards, Nox-23 held out his hand in front of Twilight to stop her from walking past him. "We sneak up and see what they are doing, then we hit them. You ready?"
"Yes," Twilight replied with a serious tone. The scout rifle was raised, ready to fire.
Nox-23 crouched, slowly walking up to the edge of the cliff, peering over it he saw six Fallen making their way up the other side. He looked over to Twilight who was staring intently at them, her gun levitating next to her. "Twilight." The mare's ears twitched and rotated toward Nox-23 "maneuver you gun till you are looking down the scope." Twilight obeyed. The gun levitated in front of her. "See the red dot? that is where your bullet is going to end up. Aim for the head. Besides the Vex, our enemies fall easier if you shoot their helmets off." Nox-23 raised his Doctor Nope up till he too was looking down the scope. "I'm going for the leader."
"I'm aiming at the last one." Twilight replied coldly.
"Alright, fire at will and continue till there are none left."
Nox-23 got gunfire as a reply. The head of the Last Dreg walking up the cliff exploded. Firing his own gun, Nox-23 took out the leader. The surviving Dreg turned to the two Guardians and opened fire. Thanks to the distance between them, Nox-23 and Twilight were able to dodge the oncoming fire with ease and counter with their own firearms. Nox-23 dropped two with a headshot to one and a body shot to the other. Twilight killed the last two with head shots. When the Fallen collapsed, Glimmer and a green orb appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
"Looks like you can bypass recoil issues thanks to that levitation spell. Not bad." The Ghost said bringing a smile to Twilight's face. "For a beginner." The smile disappeared, replaced by a scowl directed in Nox-23’s general direction. This did not last long however as Twilight's curiosity about the strange orb became stronger then har desire to get back at the Ghost.
Twilight lifted a hoof and pointed at the object. "What is that?" She asked Nox-23."
"Let's head over there and I'll explain." Nox-23 walked a distance away from the cliff. Once he was far enough away he began running forward, jumping a he reached the cliff. Instead of falling straight down his body floated toward the other side of the valley. Twilight raised an eyebrow but it was quickly replaced with an amused expression. Her already glowing horn flashed brighter as she teleported to the other side. She waited for Nox-23 to reach her all the while wearing a grin on her face. Nox-23 landed short but nothing a power walk couldn't fix. As Nox-23 got close to the green orb it disappeared in a flash of light. Twilight's eyes widened. Her head darted from side to side in hope to find the orb. she even lifted up a foreleg and looked underneath herself. Finally, she returned her gaze back to Nox-23 who clearly seem to know what happened.
Nox-23 chuckled at the pony's reaction. "That, Twilight, was an Engram."
"En... engram?"
"Yes, it is a piece of gear that has been condensed into an orb for storage. Our enemies tend to scavenge from time to time, and when they do find something it becomes an orb before it is transported into what we consider to be a personal storage system that the enemy has on them. If your luckily enough, killing them sends a shock through that system causing Glimmer and orbs to... pop out. From there, a Ghost can teleport Orbs that the Guardian finds into their ship's storage. Then it is up to the Guardian to decide what to do with it.”
"Some orbs are encrypted to keep people from using it. In that case, we take it to the Tower to be decrypted." The Ghost added.
Twilight nodded along with the explanation. "I think I understand what you’re saying, but I’m curious on how it works." She rubbed her chin.
Nox-23 and his Ghost gave each other a sideward glance. 'I'll let Ghost tell you later. Right now, we head into the Mothyards."
Twilight stared at the Mothyards. Dozens of vehicles, that she later learned were called planes, littered the ground. Ruined machinery of an age long passed. It was sad to see so many just dumped here to rust away into nothingness. She shook her head knowing that she needed to focus. A pony could be killed if they aren't paying attention. What's more was Nox-23 was already walking on, though he seemed to be cautious about something. Twilight readied her scout rifle and trotted toward him.
Nox-23 stopped and stared down at what laid before him. The dead body of a Vandal, not too far away, more bodies of Fallen laid on the ground. The Exo barely noticed his Pony friend come up besides him. "What happened here?" Twilight spoke the words he was thinking. He squatted down and touched the body, It still had a bit of warmth to it.
"What ever happened wasn't too long ago. the body is still warm."
"I detect a lot of activity in the Skywatch." The Ghost piped in. "The big building with the large dish type thing on top." It explained to a confused alicorn.
Twilight looked at the building in the distance. "I'm guessing we are going there next?" Nox-23 nodded. "Alright, I'll teleport us there." Before Nox-23 could reply, he found himself at the entrance of the Skywatch building.
"Wow, it would have taken us a few minutes, even with a Sparrow, to get here. I must admit that your magic comes in handy; though I have to ask, how does it work?" The Ghost inquired, appearing next to Twilight.
Twilight smiled proudly, not only because of the praise but also because she was the one explaining something this time. "Once I see a place I can cast the spell that teleports me to the location, and as long as I remember what it looks like I can teleport to it if I'm within a certain range. I just recently was able to teleport long distances, but anything of a greater distance will be harder to do."
"uh, guys, I don't mean to be rude but we have some activity to investigate and I want to get there as soon as possible." Nox-23 stood near the entrance with his arms crossed in front of his chest.
Twilight blushed in embarrassment and the Ghost disappeared from view. "r-right, sorry." Twilight cantered up to Nox-23 before the two of them headed in. Running through the building, the two of them came across nothing but dead Fallen. Dregs, Shanks, Vandals and even a few captains. There were more than Nox-23 thought there should be in such a place. Closing in on the exit, gunfire could be heard; which only spurred them to run faster. They reached the exit and looked out into the open, just to see a dreg running at them. Even before they could raise their weapons, a single gunshot was heard and the Fallen fell to the ground, dead.
Nox-23 and Twilight slowly raised their heads till they spotted a the shooter on top of a shed. For the looks of the armor it was a female Hunter. She held a sniper rifle up to her helmet. upon seeing the two Guardians, she lowered her gun, staring at them as she cocked her head to the side. Twilight did the same. The Hunter's head straighten up, she propped her sniper rifle up against her leg. Both of her hands raised up onto her helmet, taking it off and revealing a human woman with shoulder length red hair.
"You look cuter than what they described."
Twilight blinked, then blinked again. "Wha?" was all she could say. Nox-23 looked down at the surprised mare, but said nothing, mostly because he wanted to see where this went.
The woman laughed jumping off the shed and walking up to the little pony. Twilight raised a leg, unsure of what to do. The woman crouched down in front of her and held out a hand. "I'm Roxanne, but you can call me Roxy for short."
Twilight looked down at the hand, then back up to Roxy's face. Hesitating just a bit, she extended her hoof and shook with Roxy's hand.
The woman stood up and turned her gaze to Nox-23 for a few seconds before looking back at Twilight. "So, big tall and metal here is your guide?"
"Name's Nox-23." The Exo held out his own hand. Roxy took it in a second.
"Pleasure to meet you. I hope you’re keeping our little visitor safe?"
Nox-23 nodded and was about to verbally comment, but was stopped by a voice from beyond. "Roxy? where are you?"
The woman in question looked back. "Be there in a sec!" she called back. "come on, you two," she motioned with her head. "Might as well see the aftermath." She jogged off, leaving the two partners a bit confused, but willing to follow.
They reached a large clearing, or what could be considered one even though the ground itself was littered with stuff. Glimmer, blue and green engrams, as well as bodies of both Fallen and Hive. Several Guardians were massing around, gathering whatever they wanted. Roxy had blinked ahead to the others. Oddly there were two Guardians standing separate from the others, not participating in the looting of goods.
"What happened here." Both Nox-23 and Twilight asked at the same time.
The two Guardians turned to face Nox-23 and Twilight. They were both male. one was a Exo and the other, a human. Nox-23 recognized the armor the Exo was wearing as titan armor. Lillyrian type 3 gauntlets, Firebreaker type 2 chest piece. Lillyrian type 1 boots and a Lillyrian type 0 helmet and a Mark of Command waistband. The Exo had white eyes and a red mouth and rectangular ear plates stuck out of his head. The human was a Warlock, notably wearing a Burgundy trench coat and a dark blue armband with what looked like a dragon on it. The man had dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a pale complexion; almost like an Awoken.
"A battle between Hive and Fallen. We came to kill the survivors and reap the benefits,” The Exo answered sternly.
"Ya, we Guardians can't resist good booty." The human added in smiling kindly at Twilight.
Nodding in understanding, Nox-23 took a quick glance at the other Guardians, who were finishing up. "You guys already finished looting?" The Exo gave a single nod and the human... was preoccupied shaking Twilight's hoof.
"My name is Ohmei and this here is Chrysto-12, I’m guessing you are Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight nodded. "yes I am, nice to meet you." She smiled back. Twilight raised a hoof to present her Exo companion. "This is my friend Nox-23. He is the one helping me learn how to become a Guardian."
Nox-23 gave the two humanoid Guardians a quick salute. Chrysto-12 held out his hand Nox-23 did the same and the two men shook hands. Nox-23 repeated the Process with Ohmei. Suddenly, Nox-23 came up with an idea. "Hey, what would the two-"
"FUCK YOU! I have had enough of your shit!" a male voice yelled. All four of them turned to see a black colored Exo hunter walk away from the group. The Exo had red eyes and mouth and devil like horns on his head. The Exo Hunter passed them barely giving them a glace.
Roxy started to run after him but stopped. "Winter, where are you going?"
"To take a walk, what else does it look like," Winter yelled without looking back.
Roxy sighed before noticing the four Guardians watching the whole thing. Turning her frown upside down she moved to them. "I see you two have met the quiet ones."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Quiet ones? Chrysto-12, maybe, but Ohmei has been talking to me just fine." She turned to see Ohmei shy away with a slight blush of embarrassment.
Roxy gave the warlock a mischievous grin. "So, what do you plan to do now?"
"Actually, I was going to ask if these two men would like to join Twilight and me for some patrolling around the Cosmodrome." Chrysto-12 raised his head in interest while Ohmei seemed surprised by the idea. Twilight just smiled, happy at the prospect of meeting more people.
Roxy's smile faltered. "Damn, I was hoping you guys were heading back to the tower. I need to head back to see my clan leader. Oh well, I guess I'll see you later then." Roxy's smile returned in full force. She called out for her Ghost to 'bring the ship around,' and when it arrived she waved goodbye more so to Twilight in particular then anyone else.
The three humanoid figures and one pony watched the ship fly off into the distance. "OK, that was odd-and probably a waste of time-but I digress," Nox-23's Ghost commented. "Ok, we Ghosts will link up a fire team communication." Just as he said it two More Ghost appeared.
It took the Ghosts only a few seconds to work their magic. Before they disappeared the two new Ghosts took a gander at Twilight before turning to each other. "I'll stay with her," Nox-23's Ghost stated. Satisfied with whatever matter Ghost was referring to, the Ghosts of Chrysto-12 and Ohmei disappeared from sight. Nox-23's Ghost floated down till it was hovering just above Twilight's left shoulder. It's actions left the four larger figures in a bit of confusion.
"What was that about?" Ohmei was the first to vocalize his lack of understanding.
The Ghost was happy to resolve that. "Since Twilight here doesn't have a Ghost or a helmet's common link, I will act has her means for long distance communications." The Ghost paused." If that is alright with you, Nox?"
The Exo nodded. "Yes; in fact, why don't you bring out the Ice Breaker for Twilight." In silent agreement the Ghost materialized the weapon in front of the pony, who grabbed it in her magic instantly.
Twilight examined it for a moment before coming to a conclusion to what type it was. "This is a sniper rifle... you want me to learn how to snipe?"
"A skilled Guardian learns to be proficient with every weapon, even if they prefer to use certain types over The others." The previously silent Chrysto-12 commented.
Twilight had to agree with him there. She didn't get to where she was now with just one or two spells that she used frequently, it was no different here. There was another completely unrelated problem however. "Um, what do I do with this." She waved the scout rifle around.
"Oh" was all that was said by Nox-23. His Ghost on the other hand knew what to do. The gun disappeared, returning to storage. "Twilight, there is one bit of information I forgot to mention." Twilight looked up to Nox-23 in curiosity, ready to receive said information. "Your armor has a built in System that magnetizes your weapons to it."
Quickly but quietly, Twilight lifted the weapon up and over, placing it on her back in between her wings. Once her magic grip on it was released the sniper rifle stayed where it was. "... You know, I was wondering how your shotgun was hanging off your back, I just forgot to ask with everything that has happened."
A moment of silence passed over them "And now for our next trick..." Ohmei said breaking the silence and the odd mood that had befallen them.
"Where to next?" Chrysto-12 asked.
"How about the mothyards. It’s clear of enemies so it wouldn't be a bad place to set up targets for Twilight to shoot," Ohmei suggested with a shrug.
Chrysto-12 and Nox-23 nodded. "I was teaching her with live targets, but I don't see a problem with that. Sniping is a bit different, so it would be a good idea to practice with it first. What do you say, Twilight?"
The three Guardians found the once happy mare to have taken a sulking expression. The three of them looked down at her, obfuscated. Ohmei, being the only one with eyebrows, lifted one at her action.
Taking the incentive, he squatted down to her height and put a hand on her shoulder. "What's the matter?" The mares eyes began to water. There weren't tears of sadness, but tears of joy.
"Thank you. Thank you for helping me. It's nice to meet people like you who are willing to help out of the blue."
At that moment Ohmei did something that no one else had done since her arrival on the planet. He gave her a hug.
"Hey, we Guardians need to stick together." He pointed a finger back to Chrysto-12. "Chrysto here saved my life when I was being revived by my Ghost. Thanks to him, only my right leg suffered any lasting damage." Ohmei's words surprised Twilight. Both mare and Exo looked down at the man's legs. Standing back up, the two of them finally notice something was off. His right leg was shorter the his left. While it wasn't a crippling deformation, but Ohmei would no doubt walk with a limp.
Ohmei got to his feet and patted his right leg. "Don't worry, 'sir limps-a-lot' won't hold you back."
Nox-23 was skeptical, but thinking further into it Ohmei wouldn't have been able survive as a Guardian if his deformity affected his ability to move. His thoughts on the matter were dropped when the voice of one of the Ghost spoke up. "I don't want to be rude or anything, but I think we have been here long enough. If we are going to the Mothyards, then we should go now."
The Exo, human, and pony focused their attention on Nox-23; he was the fireteam leader, after all. "Let's go." Nox-23 about-faced and began to walk to the direction in which he came. his three team members following right behind him.
Traversing the complex took only a few minutes. They even became relaxed enough to have some small talk between each other though Chrysto-12 spoke the least out of the four with simple sentences at most and one or two word response at least. Finally they reached the exit, still chatting along the way.
Out of the building and into the great outdoors Twilight absentmindedly took a glance into the sky. She was about to turn back to the conversation she was having when she noticed something in the distance that didn't fit in with the rest of the world. She stopped walking, focusing on what she was looking at. Nox-23 and the others noticed that she had stopped and followed her gaze to what she was watching. The object, still coming closer, became more familiar. Eventually a sound emitting from the object was heard, a sound that made Twilight's skin crawl and eyes shrink. It was the sound of the drop ship that attacked Equestria.
"Skiff incoming. I detect Excavation equipment on board." Twilight hardly notice the Ghost speaking. The memories of that day were coming back to her. The screaming, the violence... the death. No! Twilight shook her head violently. She shouldn't be scared anymore and she wasn't alone. She returned to her senses just in time to hear Nox-23 call to her.
"Twilight, stay here and cover us with the Ice Breaker." Nox-23 then took off down a pathway to the side catching up to Chrysto-12 and Ohmei, who had gone ahead.
Twilight levitated the Sniper Rifle off her back and held it in front of her. "How does this one work?"
“Aim with it like you did with the Scout Rifle, it has only six shots but it's ammo supply recharges on it's own so no need to reload. You can see how many shots you have by look at the bar below the scope." The Ghost spoke rapidly. Twilight lifted the scope to her eye. she jerked back immediately and blinked. "Powerful scope, isn't it?" Twilight just nodded in reply.
Through the scope Twilight could see Nox-23, Chrysto-12 and Ohmei taking cover behind a rusted crate, readying themselves. The skiff slowed down in a clearing a distance away from the three humanoid Guardians. As it hovered over the ground, four fin-like objects appeared on the ground. A fifth object appeared in the air, a beam of light shined from it. A moment later, several Dreg and one orb like thing descended to the ground. "Servitor" Twilight heard the Ghost call it.
The Fallen spread out around the excavation site, ready to defend it. They, however, weren't ready enough to deal with a sniper. Twilight picked one of the Dregs and fired. The force of the bullet exploded the head and threw the body backwards. The other Fallen looked toward the direction that Twilight was in. One of them stupidly fired it's weapon, even though the shot had no chance of reaching her before it fizzed out.
"COME ON YOU FUCKERS, SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND AND KISS YOUR ASSES GOODBYE!" Twilight’s head jerked back at the voice of Ohmei yelling so loud that she could hear him clearly from where she was. She was more surprised by the colorful words he used. She may have lived in a peaceful world, but even she wasn't naïve enough not to know a curse word when she heard one. She returned to the scope to see Ohmei welding a machine gun, mowing down the enemy. Nox-23 with his Doctor Nope and Chrysto-12 with a Galahad B had teamed up to take down the Servitor. They had split, running in different directions. One of them would shoot the Metal orb till it turned to fire an explosive energy blast at them. The shooter would run and the other one would start firing. Soon the Servitor was showing cracks in the metal surface. Even with the three of them handling the enemy forces on their own, Twilight couldn't slouch now. She lined up the crosshairs with the Servitors eye and fired. An exploding Servitor was the result.
Twilight lowered the Ice Breaker. There were no more Fallen, and by the looks of it the excavation equipment was self-destructing for some reason, but it was a good thing nonetheless. There was something off, however. The three Guardians were looking up at up to her location. Confused, Twilight peered through the Scope of her weapon to get a better look at their faces. They were looking in her direction, that much was true, but based on the angle of their heads and eyes they were looking farther up, above the Building. Twilight turned away from her sniper rifle hoping that the Ghost could relay her question of what they were looking at. There was no need to. A loud humming sound reached her ears making them twitch from the vibration the sound was giving off. There was no doubt about it, It was another Skiff. That’s when Twilight realized that the humming was being doubled. There were two Skiffs passing over the Building.
"Two Skiffs at once? That hasn't happened before." Just as the Ghost said it, the Two Skiffs came into view for Twilight. She looked down to see her fireteam running into the planes for cover. The Two Skiffs passed over them, ignoring them completely. One of the Skiffs stopped just passed one of the ruined airplane. The other Skiff continued on for several yards before it too stopped. Unfortunately for Twilight, the crew and equipment they were dropping was done behind the cover of the large rusted machinery.
"Twilight, Nox-23 needs us to move up on top of the airplane where the Fallen landed by."
"Right." Twilight immediately used teleport spell to bring both her and the Ghost to the requested location. Chrysto-12 and Ohmei were already there firing upon the Fallen crew While Nox-23 was making a run for the one further away. Without need for instruction Twilight sprawled out on the metal surface.
"You missed, you stupid bastard." Ohmei yelled, jumping away from a Dreg trying to shank him. The moment his feet touched the ground he was in the air again, but this time his body glowed with a purple light. He swept his hand in front of him, producing a dark purple orb that flew to the enemy. On contact, it exploded, killing the Fallen. The purple light expanded and stayed. What ever it was, none of the remaining Fallen wanted to go near it. Two Vandals with swords even stopped short and backed away from it. Their lives were still forfeited by Twilight's sniper, though. Chrysto-12 was doing well on his own. mowing down Vandals, Shanks and Dreg with ease with his Tamerlane B. The Fallen were nearly wiped out. But something strange caught Twilight's eye. There appeared to be several distortions of space on ground level, and they were moving to her teammates.
"Look out!" Twilight yelled, firing at the distortion closest to her new friends. The bullet hit something solid. A second later, a dead blade-wielding Vandal fell to the ground. Twilight did not hesitate to shift her gun and fire again at another distortion, giving her a the same result. Now, with hidden enemies appearing before them, the two Guardians on the ground became even more aware of their surroundings. Chrysto-12 spotted another invisible enemy coming toward him. Firing at it with his machine gun. The Fallen twirled out of the away with only a few grazes. Those few grazes, however, were just enough to drop its invisibility, giving Twilight the chance to get a head shot. She took it.
The final Fallen collapsed on the ground. Twilight watched as the equipment self-destructed once again. She let out a sigh. It wasn't until now that she had realized that the excitement of the day had tired her out. "Nox-23 needs help." Chrysto-12 called out. Twilight Froze for a second before she shot her gaze to where Nox-23 was. Cheysto-12 was right; Nox-23 needed help, and a lot of it.
Twilight could see three shielded Captains and several Vandals going after Nox-23. He had just fired at one of the Captains with his shotgun, taking down it's shield. Instead of firing again, he backpedaled away, trying to reload his gun at the same time. Twilight looked at her gun. it had only recharged one bullet. "Ghost, I need another gun…. An... auto rifle."
Seeing the number of bullet in the Ice Breaker, the Ghost complied. It took the sniper away and gave her the Shadow Price. The moment it was in her magic, Twilight teleported closer to the battle zone. Immediately, she began firing at the enemy. She was able to take down a sword-wielding Vandal before she caught the attention of the other Fallen.
Now with Comedian fully reloaded, Nox-23 killed the unshielded captain. Nox-23 pumped the shotgun and fired again taking out another shield. Twilight saw her chance and fired on it. Gaining a quick moment she took a glance at Nox-23. He seem alright though he was favoring his left leg a bit.
A bullet flying above her head and killing a Vandal brought her back to her task. "Gotcha Bitch!" Ohmei yelled from behind her before several more shot where heard. She ran forward, firing along the way. With a click, the Shadow Price stopped firing. the magazine was empty. One of the blade-wielding Vandals saw this and decided to take the advantage by running up to her. instead of reloading, like the Ghost was telling her to do, she waited till it was almost on top of her. It jumped, swinging it's sword down at her. The blade never reached her. The vandal was caught in her levitation. A second later she sent it flying backwards. causing it to crash into another Fallen. She finished up by firing a magic bolt at the recovering enemies. The bolt hit the Vandal in the chest and exploded outward, taking the two Fallen down.
The Ghost looked at the explosion, then at Twilight. "How did you do that."
Twilight levitated a new magazine into it's slot, hesitating slightly at the Ghost's question. "Well I change the spell a bit so when the bolt hit a surface the energy would explode outward. I.. uh, got the inspiration from when you were talking about grenades and stuff. I got it right... rig- Nox, behind you!"
While the four of them had been focused on the large group of Fallen, none of them had noticed the last of the Captains sneak in behind Nox-23. It had gotten close enough for it's gun to deal a fatal blow to the Exo. Nox-23 jumped in the air, activating his glide. The Captain fired it's weapon at the escaping Guardian. most of the bullets missed, but one got Nox-23 in the right side of his torso. He let out a yelp of pain as he descended.
Twilight fired her rifle; Chrysto-12, who had been running, stopped next to Twilight and started firing his Galahad, and Ohmei, his sniper. The captain gracefully dodged out of the way and behind one of the fin objects. Nox-23 continued to retreat, albeit slower than before. Twilight readied a teleport spell to take her behind the Fallen, but a sudden roaring stopped her. Out of the blue a figure riding what she had been described to her as a Sparrow flew passed Nox-23 and toward the Captain. It leaped off the Sparrow and started glowing a light blue. Two blades formed in it's hands as it darted forward. The Captain fired at it but miss every shot. The figure reached the Fallen, slashing at it with a blade destroying the shield. The figure twirled in the air kicking the Fallen in the chest, staggering it. There was a second twirl but instead of kicking it again the figure stabbed it through the head.
The figure held the blade inside of the dead Fallen's head for few seconds before removing it. The blue aura disappeared as well as the blades in it's hands. The body of the Captain fell to the ground with a thump, a blue engram popped out from it.
Now that it had stopped moving, Twilight and the others were able to get a good look at it. Twilight gasped as she recognized it wearing Hunter armor, it was a Guardian. Her interests however shifted to Nox-23. She ran toward him as he walked slowly to the newcomer. "Nox! Nox! your hurt!" Nox-23 turned to face Twilight. "We need to get you to a hospital or something." She spoke frantically.
"Whoa, whoa; Twilight, it's ok. I'm okay. My body will fix itself in a short time. All Guardians are able to heal at a fast rate, thanks to the Ghost's. When a Guardian his hurt, they remotely activate a system that injects a substance that helps heal wounds faster. It isn't perfect, however. To many wounds, or a fatal hit, and it won't work."
"It is as he says." The newcomer said without looking at them, finding the blue engram more interesting. By the voice and build of the Guardian it was a male.
Twilight eyed Nox-23 warily, afraid that he would collapse at any second. Her right ear rotated back at the sound of footsteps behind her. Seeing Nox-23’s lack of reaction she could only assume it was Ohmei and Chrysto-12. "Thank you for the help, Winter." Twilight blinked. Not only was it Chrysto-12 who spoke, but that name belonged to the disgruntled Exo from before.
Winter watched the engram disappear, teleported by his Ghost before commenting. "I saw trouble, decided to help."
"And I'm glad you did. My name is Nox-23 and this here is Twilight."
"Hello." Twilight added with a hoof wave.
Winter nodded in return. "Service Tag B449 Winter." Winter's Ghost appeared by his right shoulder. "If there is nothing else I am leaving." He was met with silence, and though Twilight was at the edge of saying something, words never left her mouth. In a flash he transmated as a ship passed overhead. The four team members watched the ship fly off to the distance.
Nox-23 was the first to break out of the stupor. He looked down at Twilight. Somewhere deep in his mind he found it amusing to see her so intrigued. Watching her, he could see a small line of sweat around her neck. Her ears weren't as perky as they were earlier and her tail was drooping more than It should. The sun was now setting as well. Despite the near miss, the day had been productive; and while he, and probably the other Guardians, could continue all into the night, he doubted they would. “Alright guys, I think I'm calling it quits for now, how about you two?"
Twilight raised a brow at him but didn't argue. Chrysto-12 and Ohmei looked at each other, then to Nox-23 and Twilight.
"I'm going back as well." Chrysto-12 answered.
Ohmei broke eye contact with Nox-23, looked down at the ground instead. "I...uh... I'm going to stay for a bit longer and, you know... patrol a bit more." Ohmei seemed a bit nervous. He was hiding something; but what, Nox-23 did not know.
"Well, thanks for everything; I'm sure Twilight enjoyed having you with us as well," Nox-23’s Ghost piped up, reminding them that it and Twilight were still there.
Twilight nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, thank you again, and I hope I can see the two of you again soon." She tapped a hoof on her muzzle, looking up at Ohmei. "though I want to ask... Why were you cursing so much?"
Ohmei's pale cheeks reddened. "I... I'm sorry." His whole body slumped. "It’s just a habit of mine whenever I'm fighting or angry..."
Ohmei felt a hoof on his leg. Raising his head slightly, he could see Twilight patting his leg and smiling up at him. "It's okay everyone has their quirks. If you were to talk to my friend back home they would tell you that I tend to zone out when I'm reading. Kind of hard for them to get my attention sometimes." She laughed bashfully, getting Ohmei to smile a little.
"Twilight, it's time to go." Nox-23 called out. Twilight stepped away from Ohmei and trotted over to her partner. Nox-23 looked back at the other two. "If you ever need some help, just give me a call."
"Same to you," Chrysto-12 replied with Ohmei nodding in agreement.
Nox-23 looked to his Ghost, ready to give the command to go to orbit. "Already on it," The Ghost spoke before he did. The Exo and Pony gave one last wave to their new friends before the world around them changed from grass, snow and ruins to metal, lights and space.
Twilight laid down on the floor. "Today was interesting... tiring, but interesting."
Nox-23 let a laugh escape his mouth. "That’s good to hear. You did very good today. You will be a full-fledged Guardian in no time." Busy piloting the ship, Nox-23 didn't see the blush that invaded Twilight's face. "Ghost got us an apartment to live in so you have a nice place to sleep. We need to go to the tower first, since that is where we need to land the ship."
"An apartment... uh, thanks, Ghost; I don't know what to say."
"You could say I'm the most bestest Ghost in the world and you'll never want to be without me." It only got an eye roll as a response. "No? Well, it was with a try."
An hour later Nox-23, his Ghost and Twilight transmatted into Tower Watch. It was relatively empty for being early in the night. Twilight was looking around in confusion. "Hey Nox, why did we come out here and not the hanger like before?"
"Actually, this is where we usually transmit to. We just decided to bring you to the hanger the first time since we didn't know how everyone would react to you, or how you would react being dropped off right in front of everyone," The Ghost answered instead.
The Alicorn blinked a few times. "Oh... tha-"
"He's in the bar right now?" A man yelled, interrupting whatever Twilight was about to say. The three of them looked over to where the voice came from. Walking out of the Hall of Guardians were two figures; one was an Awoken male with blue skin and raven black hair, the other was a male human with brown hair and eyes, and a scar across his cheek.
"Yeah, the makeshift one near the hanger. He’s entertaining a bunch of fans." the human replied.
The Awoken bit his lip. "Damn, I need to make sure my girlfriend doesn't know that the Duelist is back." The Awoken sprinted away from his friend before anything else was said. The human shook his head in bemusement with how his friend reacted. A moment later he want rushing off as well to catch up with the Awoken.
Twilight couldn't help tilting her head in confusion, like she had been doing since she got to Earth. She turned to Nox-23 and his Ghost for answers. She stopped before she even opened her mouth. An Exo may not be able to make many facial expressions due to the whole “not having muscle and skin” thing, but every once in a while, if one was able to look at an Exo in just the right way, they would be able to see it; an expression that spoke of the Exo's feelings. For Twilight, it was a gleam in Nox-23 eye. A gleam she had not seen before. She stiffened a little as he turned to face her, his eyes wandering down to hers.
"Hey Twilight?"
"Yeah?"
"Want to meet a legend?"
Twilight Sparkle hung close to Nox-23 as they walked through the hanger. She had said yes, seeing how much Nox-23 wanted to show her this person. she didn't know what to expect, Nox-23 told her nothing more than to 'wait and see' and the Ghost gave nothing away. Quietly, they walked down the stairs that Twilight had spotted when she first entered the Tower. At the bottom was a man working on a Frame behind a table. He gave them a glance but returned to his work without a single word. Twilight drew her eyes from the man towards Nox-23. The Exo kept walking, eyes forward, looking past a short hallway to the light. Voices could be heard as well.
The two of them walked down the hallway, the voices getting clearer with each step. Eventually they reached the so called bar. To the right were two couches parallel to each other, set up by a heater. Toward the back of the room was a stand where an Exo female was giving a bottle of something to a customer. To the left were two couches and one chair with a table in the middle. Just pass it was a large map on the wall. Twilight was barely able to make out what was on the paper, thanks to a large group of people surrounding the left side. Some were sitting, a lot were standing, and there were even two girls sitting on the armrests of the chair. They all were focused on someone sitting in the chair talking to all of them.
"... and there he was, hands on the turret's controls, moving back and forth, trying to spot me, while I just danced behind him. Heck, I even did the worm which, if you didn't know does make a bit of sound when you do it on concrete. He didn't even look back! After I broke out a few more dance moves I shot him in the back and won the match." The voice from the chair spoke, retelling an event from his past. The crowd loved it, resulting in giggles, grins and snickers.
"Wow, you were so skilled," one of the girls on the armrest said, giving the person in the seat dreamy eyes.
"People keep telling me that, but right now there are two that I want to say hello to." The girl on the armrest closets to Twilight and Nox-23 leaned back. A hooded and armored head popped into view. "Hello, Nox-23 and Ms. Sparkle. why don't you join me?" The head once again retreated back to the chair. "If you guys don't mind, I would like to talk to my old friend and his partner alone."
Moans spread across the crowd, but the people dispersed. Nox-23 and Twilight stepped aside to let them pass. A few wandering eyes made their way to Twilight, but the movement of the whole group kept them from staring too long. The last to leave were the armrest girls, each bending over to give nox-23’s 'legend' a kiss and a hug. When they too had left, the sitting figure waved his hand for Nox-23 and Twilight to take a seat. The two of them did so, with both of them sitting on the couch to the left of the figure. Nox-23 sat at the end of the couch close to the figure while Twilight laid down next to him.
Now with a clear sight of him, Nox-23 took a good look at the male Hunter in the chair. The armor he wore was the familiar Dustwalker set that Nox-23 had seen him in when they first met, with the exception of the Hunter version of the Crest of Alpha Lupi; all of it in the colors of the Superblack shader. Though Nox and Twilight couldn’t see it from their sitting position next to the hunter, Nox knew that he wore the Strength of the Pack cloak, though the white fabric was traded for a more stealthy black, which also blended with the rest of his armor.
"I know a lot of people who really like my looks, but I didn't take you to be one of them," the Hunter spoke with mirth.
Nox-23 realized he had been staring. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Twilight giving him a questionable look. he shook his head. "No, I just haven't seen you in a while, is all."
The Hunter chuckled. "Sure, that’s what it is. People want me, Nox-23. You don't need to hide your feelings."
"Um, excuse me." The humanoids stopped to look at Twilight. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but who are you? Nox-23 hasn't told me anything."
The Hunter looked back at Nox-23. "Nox," he faked a whine, "that isn't nice." No-23 rolled his eyes. "Ms. Sparkle, I am Jeremy, also known as the Duelist to some. Thanks to my skills and my incredibly good looks, I was noticed by the Vanguard, joining the ranks of legends like the Titan twins, Leroy and Jenkins, or the Warlock warrior, Desmond. Me and Nox-23 met in the Crucible." The complete confusion on Twilight's face caused Jeremy to continue with his explanation; or, rather, his Ghost.
"The Crucible is where Guardian's go to test their merit against each other in a controlled environment, and the reason he brings it up is because Jeremy loves to brag." The hunter scoffed at this.
Twilight was half listening to the newly appeared Ghost. From what Twilight saw of the Ghosts, they were mostly the same in looks and voice, but this one was different. This Ghost spoke with a female voice. "You're a female?"
A moment of silence passed over the group. It was quickly broken by Jeremy laughing and Nox-23 chuckling loudly. "Brilliant deduction, Watson." Jeremy got in between his laughter.
Jeremy's Ghost shook her body in disbelief. "Ignore them, they're boys," the Female Ghost said to the semi-confused Alicorn. "And yes, I am Female. Just because we Ghosts all have the same functions does not mean we, ourselves, are all the same. Some identify as female, others male, and there are those who do not identify as either, no matter what they sound like. Jeremy and I have come across Ghost who have taken names as well."
"Oh, ok.. I'm sorry, I just... you’re the first female Ghost I have seen." Twilight rubbed the back of her head.
"You're not the first to react the same way. Nox-23 was like that, too," Nox-23’s Ghost finally spoke up. It then floated up to Jeremy's Ghost. "It is nice to see you again. Keeping Jeremy safe must be a full-time job."
"Don't you know it?"
"Sure do."
The laughter of the two humanoid Guardians quieted down. "Hey, we aren't that bad," Jeremy complained jokingly.
His Ghost just stared at him. "I think we have gotten too far off topic. Jeremy and Nox-23 were on opposing teams.”
"We lost, of course. But after the match, Jeremy came over and told Nox-23 that he had some decent skills; from there Jeremy gave Nox-23 some tips, as well as joining his fireteam for some joint missions.
Twilight didn't like the idea of Guardians fighting each other, though she was somewhat curious as to how they did so without causing serious injury. "Isn't that dangerous?"
"You may think so, but it is actually quite safe...relatively speaking." Nox-23's Ghost took up the role of teacher once again. "Areas designated to Crucible battles have modifiers place upon them. Crucible modifiers effect weapons and abilities of our Guardians, it keeps teammates from hurting each other an as well as keeping rival Guardians from truly killing each other, though the pain is still there so it is as they say 'No pain no game'. What's more is that participating Guardians sort of have a damage limit place on them. If a Guardian is hit too many times in a certain amount of time they are 'killed,' and, depending on the type of match, they are transported to another location to start again."
Even with the Ghost explaining how safe it was, Twilight was still not into the whole idea. She understood that different cultures have different rights and rituals, but was this unnecessary. Jeremy noticed her turmoil and decided to change the topic altogether. "So, Ms. Twilight, I was wondering; how's life on your home world?
The Question generally surprised her, almost enough to make her sit up. "you are really interested in my world?" The Hunter nodded. “Where should I start?" she asked herself more than anyone else.
"Well, why don't you tell me about your life. I'm sure that would be better than starting at something random."
Twilight nodded in understanding. "Okay... well I guess I should start at my foalhood. When I was a young filly in Canterlot, I..."
Many hours passed by as Twilight told the Guardians about her life. She told them as much as she could; the Good, the Bad, and the Pinkie Pie. Both Jeremy and Nox-23 were drawn in by her and her friends adventures. They were somewhat surprised how most of the more important events ended with somepony learning an important lesson. Eventually, the tales of her past ended, leading to the present.
"...So your telling me that while this Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have longevity that gives them thousands of years of life, You and your sister-in-law, who are also Alicorns, do not?" Jeremy asked.
Twilight nodded. "Yes, I actually ended up not sleeping the night I became an Alicorn since I was afraid I was going to outlive so many other ponies. Lucky Celestia noticed my worried state and calmed me down. She and Luna were born Alicorns, so they had a long life span from the start, but since Cadance and I were born as one of the other three races we don't have that longevity. Becoming an Alicorn will gives us a few more years, but not enough to outlive our friends and family by centuries. Celestia also told me that there is a spell that could increase the longevity of non-born Alicorns, but it is up to me and Cadance if we wanted to cast it."
"Have you thought of casting it?" This time Nox-23 asked.
The Alicorn mare shook her head. "I don't think I want to live that long. I... I just... unless I need to, I’d rather not."
Sometimes biological creatures were confusing. Most of them want to live for as long as possible, taking any opportunity to do so; while there were those who had said opportunity but do not want to take it. For Exo's like him, things were different. He would live until he was destroyed, that was all there was to it.
”Nox?" Nox-23 snapped out of his thoughts to find himself being stared at. The empty feeling next to him told him Twilight was no longer there.
"Where's-"
"Told her to get herself a few drinks and to let me talk to you alone for a bit," Jeremy interrupted.
Looking past the Hunter, Nox-23 could see Twilight receiving a glass of something from the bartender. "You got her to try alcohol?"
Jeremy tilted his head. "Yea, she must have been thirsty from all that talking, so I suggest it. She took to the idea, and I her to have the bartender put it on my bill, so no problems there... Unless there is something missing and I just did something I will regret."
"No, you didn't. From the information I gathered, Equestria does have alcohol, but it isn't as big as it is here, they’re are more into salt drinks, which tend to lead to the same result," Nox-23’s Ghost answered.
Jeremy nodded his head in understanding before focusing on Nox-23. "You wouldn't have to ask if you had been paying attention... is something up?"
Nox-23 shook his head. "No, just thinking. Anyway, you wanted to talk to me."
Jeremy shrugged, "Just wanted to know how you were doing, especially when you’re acting guard for our little Princess over there." The two of them took a quick peek to find Twilight levitating a glass cup over to the other set of couches were a human male with light skin, buzzed black hair and gray eyes sat.
"So far so good," Nox-23 said bring the conversation back to them.
"At least for now. It's going to be a headache eventually," his Ghost added in.
The two Guardians and female Ghost looked at it somewhat obfuscated as to what it was referring too. Jeremy's Ghost nominated herself to ask the obvious question. "What do you mean?"
The Ghost sighed. "First, let me say that I am glad to have Twilight with us. Another Guardian is one more person to fight the darkness; but, with that said, there is one small problem with having her with us. Sooner or later we will run out of storage space on the ship. Same thing with Glimmer. Technically, she can just us our guns, but that is also a problem if Nox-23 needs a weapon that she took or vice versa. It would be much better if she got a ship of her own. Then she could store weapons she needs on it. It would increase the diversity in weapons and weapon abilities. It also wouldn't hurt for her to learn how to pilot a ship."
"That would make it easier. I guess we are going to buy that new ship." Nox-23 leaned back on the couch putting his arms on the armrest and back.
any plans Nox-23 was forming in his head ended when he heard the Hunter chuckle. "I think I can help you out with that."
Nox-23 raised his hand to stop Jeremy from going on. "No, it's alright. I have enough glim-"
"I wasn't talking about money. I was talking about actually getting a ship."
Nox-23 took his arms off the couch, placing one on his chin. "go on."
"I was informed by a friend that one of his partners found a location that is suppose to contain blueprints for jumpships. And, as we all know, ships from blueprints are free. So how about I set you up with this partner of theirs and you go retrieve those prints. I doubt they would mind you taking one or two for yourself."
"That would save us money."
Nox-23 fully agreed with his Ghost. It would be easier to buy a ship; but compared to the adventure and training for Twilight, and the number of ship blueprints that could be added to the Guardian's arsenal... well, it sounded a heck of a lot better. "Alright, send me the info tomorrow. Right now I want to relax.” Jeremy nodded in agreement. After a few minutes of silence and watching, Twilight grab another glass and Nox-23 remembered something he wanted to ask. "You know, I am surprised you Gave Twilight your real name right off the bat. You didn't tell me ‘till the third time we met up."
Jeremy couldn't help laughing a bit. "Yeah, it was fun having you call me Tim Box, but to answer your question, I look at her and just feel like I can trust her, and from her past tales I think I made the right choice."
"You also haven't hit on her yet, which is a first."
Jeremy raised his hand in the air, looking like he was offended. "What? Me? What makes you think I would hit on a girl? I'm just a humble Guardian." His Ghost rolled her eye and Nox-32 gave him a blank stare. "Okay, okay. But seriously, I don't go chasing every skirt I see; and to do so to Twilight not even a day after she got here isn't exactly a good way to show her the good of Humanity."
"You’re going to eventually, though, aren't you?" Nox-23 folded his arms over his chest.
"I'll never tell," Jeremy answered mischievously.
The two of them continued to talk for a while longer, trading stories and jokes. Eventually it was time for Nox-23 and Twilight to leave. The two Guardians rose from there seats and shook hands. "It was good to see you again, Nox-23."
"Likewise... Twilight, it's time to go." Two purple furry ears peeked up from a couch. A second later a purple head with a white mane breached the top of the couch as well. The head turned around spotting Nox-23 as the exo waved his hand toward himself, telling her to come. Slowly, the head disappeared from the top of the couch only to reappear at the side of it with a body attached. She took a quick look behind her to the man she had been sitting across from and waved her hoof. The man didn't speak, but the Ghost floating by his shoulder did, though it's voice was too low for either Jeremy or Nox-23 to hear.
Twilight made her way over them. Her body swayed a little, but she was able to keep on her hooves without any problems. Getting close to them, she raised her head up to Nox-23. Her eyes were glossy but the intelligence behind them was still there.
“How much did you drink?" Jeremy inquired.
"About nine glasses... why?"
Jeremy visibly jerked back from her answer. "Nine? Nine full glasses. That’s a bit much, isn't it."
Twilight smiled and shook her head. "No, not your alcohol. I can't be completely sure without testing, but I believe that the amount of alcohol you put into your drinks is less than we put into ours. If Applejack or Rainbow were here, they would be able to drink just as many and not feel buzzed... which I am, by the way."
Nox-23’s Ghost lowered itself to her level, giving her a once over. Twilight stepped back a bit as it came very close to her face. "Well, you do seem to be functioning pretty well despite the amount you have running through your body. I honestly thought we would be witnessing a very drunk pony, considering you don't seem the type to drink."
"PSHH. Yeah, well, maybe if I hadn't run tests on my tolerance levels a few years ago, I might have kept going; but since I calculated it, I know how many drinks I can... drink before getting hammered. I actually went over that limit with your drinks since the effects I thought would kick in didn't come around where I projected so I drank a little more."
"Alright, alright, I need to go pay the bartender now before she gets mad. I'll see you around Nox, Ms. Twilight." The hunter waved goodbye and left for the bartender, his Ghost right behind him.
Nox-23 watched him go for a few second before returning his sight to where Twilight was. She, however, was not where he last saw her. Instead, she was already making her way to the door. A little jogging and he was right by her side once again. "You okay?"
"Yeah... I'm more tired than drunk right now, so I just want to go to bed," Twilight answered without slowing down or stopping. "I tried talking with the guy I was sitting by. Couldn't get much out of him besides his name, Taine Sabri. His Ghost did talk to me, so it wasn't a completely one sided conversation."
"That's good. Also, I might want to mention it now. Jeremy knows someone who has found ship Blueprints. If we are lucky then we might be able to get you one. He is going to send me the info tomorrow."
Twilight halted, looking up at Nox-23 with a half-buzzed-half-curious expression. "You're going to get me a ship and teach me to pilot it?"
"We both will teach you," the Ghost jumped in before Nox-23 could answer. A moment of quiet passed over them. All of a sudden, Twilight grabbed Nox-23 arm and rushed up the stairs, all the while pulling him along.
"Twilight, what-"
"The sooner we get to the apartment the sooner I can get to bed thus the sooner it will be to tomorrow," Twilight interrupted, practically dragging Nox-23 along with her.
The Ghost held back for a moment to shake it's body. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring that up," the Ghost sighed before chasing after his companions into the night.
New Guardian: Twilight Sparkle Subclass: Adapt Melee: Levitation Toss- Throws enemies away from user. Bigger targets are harder to move but can be staggered if actual toss does not work.
Grenades:
Magic Pulse Grenade- Created from altering a magic bolt spell, this grenade is fired like the aforementioned bolt spell but when it comes in contact with a surface the energy will expand outwards causing damage to any enemy personal in the effective range.
Trap Grenade- When grenade is thrown onto a surface it will transform into a magical circle that will glow every once and a while. If stepped on a torrent of energy will spring from the grenade engulfing anyone nearby.
Magic Missile Grenade- Five seconds after the grenade is thrown the grenade itself will explode into a fury of mini magic bolts that will then target the enemy and surrounding area.
Super:
Overclocked- When A Guardian activates Overclocked their magic spell's power greatly increases.
Jump ability:
Humanoid Guardians will be able to glide right away. For pony guardians The teleportation spell will be the first jump ability they learn. Wink is normally the second ability learned. Teleporting is considered a better ability compared to wink due to the longer distance that it can achieve.
Finished editing the chapter. A couple things: The term is LMG. Large Machine Gun. Not MLG. Major League Gaming. And what's the rule on exotic weapons? Soren has the Last Word, too? Just wondering!
Twilight Sparkle laid comfortably in the bed of the new apartment. The sun had risen over an hour and while she normally was up-and-at-’em by now, she was still asleep, blissfully unaware that Nox-23 was peeking into the room from the doorway. While it may seem like he was being creepy, he was actually just checking up on her. Thankfully she seemed to have settled in quite nicely. Nox-23 watched her for a few more seconds before closing the door behind him and leaving.
The kitchen was his next destination. A short walk down the small hallway he reached it, his Ghost already there waiting for him. He had a very important mission ahead of him. The needed armor and weapon was laid out before him. It took him mere moments to put on the armor and to grab the weapon. He turned to his Ghost raising his weapon--the spatula--up.
"I'm ready."
The first body part on Twilight to wake was her nose. A heavenly scent found it's way into her nasal cavity. The aroma reached her olfactory receptors and then to her brain. Once it reached the synapses they started firing, waking other parts of her mind. Her eyes fluttered open as she continued to sniff the air. Slowly, she crawled out of bed, rubbing her eye as she followed the smell out of her room.
Twilight sauntered down the hall. She could hear something sizzling on the stove. "It doesn't look like I burnt it, so I think it's good." A voice she recognized as Nox-23 spoke out.
"Well the only thing we can do now is let her eat it. I did download Equestrian medical books, so if she starts to turn blue in the face or vomiting I'll be here to save her from certain death by your cooking."
The smell and curiosity drove Twilight forward into the kitchen. As she entered she witnessed Nox-23 in an apron holding a frying pan in one hand and a specula in the other, walking to a small table in the middle of the room. His Ghost floated besides him. "What's going on here?"
Nox-23 and his Ghost halted, the specula hovered over the frying pan. Nox-23 blinked, Twilight blinked, Ghost blinked. "Um, making breakfast for you." Nox-23 replied. The Exo resumed moving the specula into the frying pan bringing it out again a moment later with an omelet. Twilight's eyes widened. Her stomach made her desire for food known to the world in the form of a deep and boisterous grumble. Twilight's face turned beat red and the floor became much more interesting than the rest of the room.
Nox-23 chuckled at the embarrassed mare. "Looks like your stomach has made the choice for you. Grab a seat and a fork and dig in. I just hope I cooked it well enough, never prepared food before on... the rather obvious account that neither Ghost or I eat."
Twilight quietly hoisted herself up on to the chair. picking up a fork that had already been placed on the table, she used it to cut a piece of the omelet. A moment later it was in her mouth. She chewed on it a few moments, then swallowed. "Well?" Out of her peripheral vision, she could see Nox-23 leaning forward with the what would be the best pleading look his face could give."
"It's good."
"Yes!" Nox-23 yelled out a little too loud, earning a perplexed look from both Twilight and his Ghost. Thankfully, he was saved from the awkward silence by a knock on the door. "I’ll get that." Nox-23 fled from the room.
Twilight and the Ghost watched him go. "He forgot to take off the apron, didn't he?" Twilight inquired.
"Yep."
Nox-23 made his way to the door mulling over his previous action. Opening the door revealed to him a sight that made him question the level of functionality of his optical sensors. On the other side was a tall male. this man looked like he was in his fifties. his whole body was slender, giving him a snake like appearance. He had a white goatee but black hair that was slicked back. A pair of bright brown eyes looked back at him. What he was wearing was even stranger. On the top his head was a brown hat with the word FEDUPS written on the front, the button-up shirt he wore was also brown. His pants were... very unusual. It looked like the pants were shorts the same color as the rest of the outfit, but with two different leggings sewed on. The left leg was tan and the right was green. "Delivery for Twilight Sparkle." The man spoke mirthfully. A second later he held up two packages wrapped in brown paper.
"...What?"
The man just continue to smile. "These packages contain very important items for the little pony princess. I'm just here to deliver them like I was asked." The man then shoved the packages into Nox-23’s chest, causing him to grab it by reflex. Nox-23 was caught by surprise by the weight of the packages. He looked down at them, examining them curiously. "'Well, I have done what I came here to do. Better go before people expect more from me. Toodles." Nox-23 raised his head to asked the strange man questions but found himself looked at thin air. The odd man had just disappeared.
A quick glance down both sides of the hallway confirmed that Nox-23 was alone. His Ghost floated up next to him. "Who was it."
"I... I don't know. He gave me these two then left. Wait, Ghost scan these packages, tell me if they’re dangerous."
The Ghost responded immediately shining a blue light out of it's eye. A moment later it stopped. "It's clear... and actually something we need- or should I say Twilight needs. Nox-23, let's head back in. We need to give those to Twilight.” Even though slightly confused by his own Ghost Nox-23 did not turn down the request and stepped away from the door before closing it tactfully with a foot.
Returning to the kitchen, Nox-23 spotted Twilight washing her plate. She was standing on her back legs, front legs on the counter as she used her magic to hold the plate underneath the faucet. An ear twitch informed Nox-23 that she had noticed his reentry "Who was at the do-" She stopped, catching sight of the package carrying Exo.
The mare's eyes followed the Guardian as he walked to the table setting the packages down on it. "Some oddly dressed person delivered these saying they were for you. Ghost cleared them, so they are safe to open.” Twilight turned her sights the Ghost with a raised eyebrow.
"Open them. I'm sure you are going to like them.” The Ghost said sagely.
Eyebrow still raised, Twilight walked to the table using her magic to levitate the two items to meet her partway. She ripped the paper away from the first package revealing a box. She opened the box and peered inside. An expression of puzzlement morphed into one of surprised interest. A helmet was lifted out of the box.
Nox-23 may not be knowledgeable with all the armor worn by Guardians, but he could definitely tell that it was the modified helmet Eva had spoken of. It's face section was elongated to fit Twilight's head in it and on top was a cone shape protrusion for her horn. Twilight was grinning happily as she examined the final piece of her armor set. The moment passed once she recalled the second package seated next to her. Quickly, she repeated the process of opening the package and this time the item within drove Twilight to squeal. It was glorious, it was beautiful, IT WAS BOOKS.
She reached forth, wanted to feel the book in her hooves. She froze, she could read the title, why? Because it as in equestrian. She levitated the stack of books in the air so she could read the titles of all of them.
"Equestrian books?" The Ghost vocalized it's thoughts. "And ones that I have not seen before. Nox-23, who gave you these?"
Nox-23 relayed the description of the strange man to the Ghost and Twilight. "this... delivery man doesn't match anyone on record nor is there a company by the name of FEDUPS. What's more is that I just got a massage from Eva telling me that the helmet was taken and a note saying that the helmet is being delivered. Who is this guy?"
"I think I know."
The Ghost and Exo lowered their sight down to their purple companion. The Ghost raised it's top prong "You do?"
Twilight nodded. "From what Nox-23 said about him he sounds a lot like Discord."
Nox-23 blinked. The name didn't help him at all, but from the looks of it his Ghost did. "You mean the Spirit of Chaos?" Twilight replied with a nod. "But isn't he suppose to be a... what was it... draconequus"
Twilight stared blankly at the floating A.I. "He is a very powerful magical creature who can do things that make your head spin... literally."
"Touché."
"Wait." Nox-23 spoke up. "If this Discord is powerful enough to travel from your planet to ours without a ship, could we not ask for his help to fight against the Darkness?" The Ghost tilted to the left side. It had not considered that thought.
Twilight frowned and the hope that had been drained away from Nox-23 and his Ghost. "unfortunately, as much as Discord likes to spread chaos, and being our friend, he is a pacifist. He may scare you, prank you, and even do some things that may seem harmful but he will never raise a paw, claw or any other limb against another living creature." Twilight let loose a defeated sigh. "I’ve actually asked before and he answered that there can be no chaos if everything is destroyed, and he won't live for that." A moment of silence passed. "Well, I should put on my armor. We need to get going, right?" Nox-23 and his Ghost nodded. With there nothing more to discuss, Twilight exited the room vai teleport leaving her roommates to wait for her.
The Tower was as busy as it had been the day before. Tower staff and Guardians roamed about attending to their errands. Twilight's entry into the main hub of the Tower drew more than a few pairs of eyes, but with the large Exo Titan beside her, watching ever so carefully, none made the move to greet her or bombard her with questions.
Twilight seemingly did not notice the rise and fall of the public's interest. She instead was reading the book that hovering in front of her face. "wow you're really into that book." The Ghost commented. Twilight made no reply beyond turning a page. The Ghost looked over to its partner. "She's really into that book. I'm surprised she hasn't run into anything yet.”
Nox-23 nodded in agreeance. "What is she reading, anyway. So far. only you and her know Equestrian."
"With titles like Understanding Dark Magic and Arcana Manifesto I think they are about spells."
"High level and even some controversial spells." Finally Twilight spoke, lowering her book. "There Is a book on war tactics and strategies, too; but I haven't gotten to it yet. If I didn't know any better, I would say these books come from the rumored Secret Archive."
Nox-23 would have risen a brow if he had one. "Secret Archive?"
Twilight nodded half-heartedly. "Yes, a secret location that holds books too dangerous for the public, but shouldn't be destroyed. I'm grateful that Celestia and Luna trust me enough to give me these. It will take some time but I will learn these spells... anyway, aren't we meeting someone.
"Yes, someone by the name of Erin Vaspor." The Ghost replied.
"Well then this is convenient" Two heads and one body turned toward the direction of the voice. Walking toward them was a female hunter, completely armored up. The most noticeable and recognizable armor she wore was the Lucky Raspberry chest piece and Venom of Ikaheka cloak. "I was waiting for you to show up," she spoke with a hint of agitation.
"I'm sorry, there wasn't an exact time giving, so we thought we were arriving at a decent time." Twilight offered as her apology.
The female Hunter glanced down at the little pony. She held her hand up to her head then shook it. "Look, it's not a big deal. I'm just a little pissed off that my friend Cait ended up going off to help someone else in a Crucible match instead joining our fireteam."
Nox-23 nodded in understanding. he too had been part of a plan to get together with a team that ended up falling apart. "I'm sorry about your plans falling through, but we can still do it with just us three, right?" Nox-23 watched the young mare plead to the Hunter.
"Yea, we could." She sighed. "But I would rather have another experienced Guardian with us to make up for having an inexperienced one like yourself." Erin rubbed the back of her helmet. "But I guess as long as you shoot and listen to orders, I guess we’ll be okay."
Erin stared and Nox-23 for a few moments before he realized that she wanted to say something. “Oh, right, you don't have to worry about Twilight we were out in the field yesterday and she handled herself very well." Out of the corner of his eye he could see Twilight looking up at him with a large smile on her face.
Satisfied with his answer, Erin turned around. "Alright, I'll take your word for it. link up with me in orbit, then we’ll head out toward our destination." She said over her shoulder. A second later she disappeared in flash of light. Nox-23 and Twilight soon followed.
Erin Vaspor sat in her ship the Quiet Content Damsel waiting silently for Nox-23 and Twilight to join her. Truthfully, she did not know what to think of the little equine. She had been there when the Speaker introduced the mare. Many were caught up in the moment, cheering for the newcomer. Erin, however, was taken in by the excitement like everyone else had. Don't get her wrong, it's nice to have an alien species that isn't out to kill you; but how much did they know about this Equestrian creature? Besides the Guardian who found them, no one had a clue about them. Then there was Twilight herself. Just looking at her Erin felt that she didn't belong, or rather, she was out of place.
"Nox-23 has linked up with us and his heading our way but... There seems to be a problem with his ship." Any further thoughts into the subject were halted by the voice of her Ghost. Curios, Erin looked to her HUD, finding Nox-23’s ship immediately, as it was the only one heading to her. It only took a few seconds to realize that there was something wrong with his trajectory. The ship was all over the place. One moment it was veering far right, the next it was veering far left. The vertical movement wasn't much better. The ship would ascend only to dip downward before ascending again.
Finally, the exo’s ship leveled out next to Erin's. The hunter waited for any more oddities, but when there were none she decided to contact Nox-23 to see what the heck was going on. "Nox, what just happened?"
"... Sorry. I was teaching Twilight how to pilot a jumpship." Came Nox-23’s reply. If anyone had the ability to see past Erin's helmet they would have seen a deadpan stare. Choosing now of all times to teach the pony did not sit well with Erin. Yes, Twilight should learn; but not when they’re about to go on an important mission. Instead of blowing up on them, she kept her calm. She refocused herself on her piloting and the Question that Nox-23 just so happened to be asking right at that moment. "So, where are these blueprints that you found? I wasn't told much past that and the contact info.
" A city in Egypt. During a patrol mission my Ghost found a database depicting a building that use to be an R&D for ships. Unfortunately there wasn't any time to go there, and since then Fallen activity has increased to the point that soloing it is a death sentence. Anything else?"
"Nope, we're good." With that, communications ended, leaving the two ships to fly silently to their destination.
Fifteen minutes later the two ships landed in an abandon stadium within what was once a beautiful city. Now, it lay in ruins. buildings in decrepit states due to long forgotten battles and the age of time. Dust everywhere, giving the city a yellowish look. It was not a pretty sight, but then again the Guardians weren't there to go sightseeing.
Once they had transmatted down, Erin immediately stretched out her arm, her Ghost appeared hovering a few inches above her hand. "Ghost, find the shortest route to the R&D building." Without waiting for a reply, Erin spoke again, but this time to the teammates behind her. "Sorry, but this is the closest we can get. There are too many Fallen elsewhere."
"I can't get up."
Confused by the reply, Erin turned her head to see what was happening. What she saw made her facepalm . Laying on her side was Twilight in her full suit of armor. On her back was an LMG. Nox-23 and his Ghost Stared down at her, unsure whether to laugh or help the poor pony.
Today was going to be a long day.
It didn't take long for Twilight to get back on her hooves, though minus one LMG. "What were you two trying to do?” Erin asked her partners.
Twilight glanced at her for a moment but looked away, face slightly red in embarrassment. Nox-23 was the one to answer instead. "Yesterday, we just had her using one gun at a time. On the way here we decided to give her a full load out... Which, as you saw, didn't work out.”
"Well, she can at least have a loadout of two weapons, so we can do that instead." Nox-23’s Ghost suggested.
"Well, if you guys are done, we need to go. Got a lot of ground to cover. Better get out your sparrows.” As if on cue, a small vehicle appeared right next to Erin. She hopped on and turned her head back to see Twilight and Nox-23, waiting for them.
Nox-23 had also summoned his Sparrow. Twilight gazed at the integrating piece of machinery until Nox-23 patted the space behind him. "There’s room for you here."
Twilight's wings sprung out in response. "I can fly, you know," she said grinning.
"I hate to damper your enthusiasm, but I have seen you fly, and while you might be able to keep up for a little bit, you’re going to be too tired to do anything when we finally get there." Twilight's grin disappeared at the word's of Nox-23’s Ghost. Her wings drooped down before folding back against her body. In her excitement she had forgotten they were on a mission with unknown dangers ahead. Defeated, she quietly got on the back of the Sparrow. However, once she got on, a new problem arose. How was she suppose to ride this thing. She was seating on her flank and all four legs tightly press against each other in order to keep her balance on the Sparrow. Luckily, Nox-23 had already solved the problem.
Nox-23 leaned forward on the Sparrow. He then raised one hand and patted the back of his shoulder. Twilight seemed to only stare at him, not sure what he was implying. "Put your hooves on my shoulders and hold on as tight as you can." Twilight hesitated for a moment, but eventually did as she was asked. Her armored body pressed up against the Exo's back as she hooked her hooves around his shoulders. The new position caused her hind legs to spread until they hung off the sides of the seat. It felt awkward to say the least, but it worked better for Twilight than the previous position. Once he felt that Twilight was secure he twisted the ignition, sending the Sparrow forward.
Twilight felt the sudden acceleration almost pry her away from Nox-23. With a half-gasp-half-scream she hugged Nox-23’s body tighter than before. It was a good thing he was an Exo or else he would have bruises where the Alicorn was holding on to him. Instead of heading straight to the exit Nox-23 begin to drive around the stadium. He did so hoping that it would help is passenger get use to riding the Sparrow. Only when Twilight's grip loosened a bit did he head off to their destination. Erin soon followed, glad that they were finally moving forward with the mission.
Twilight was having a wonderful time. It had been scary in the beginning when Nox-23 first put the Sparrow into action, but now it was enjoyable. The only regret Twilight had was that she couldn't take off her helmet. She wanted to feel the breeze in her mane, the rush of air passing her face, the sound of something coming from behind them... The sound of something behind them?
Twilight jerked her head around, looking behind them. She had heard a humming sound in the distance. The worry that had gathered in her gut was well justified. Coming up from behind them were Fallen on their own form of land vehicle. "We're being followed!" Twilight yelled.
Erin cursed out loud as she glanced back to confirm Twilight's claim. She had hoped that they wouldn't run into the enemy till much later. "Is there anything we can do?" the mare asked.
Nox-23 shook his head. "Not at the moment. Sparrows have speed over Fallen Pikes, but they-" Nox-23;s words were interrupted by a ball of blue light shooting past them. "-have built in weapons." The next moment a barrage of bullets were fired upon them. Erin and Nox-23 pushed their accelerator, giving their Sparrows the extra boost to increase the distance between them and the Fallen. The pikes continued to fire at the two Sparrows. Erin and Nox-23 began to dodge and weave in order to avoid getting hit. It was unlikely they would be able to keep it up for long.
"How many are behind us?" Erin yelled.
"Two... Pikes." Twilight answered.
Erin took a quick peek to see the position of the enemy. She reached down toward her leg and grabbed the Hand Cannon on it. It's dark greenish black color gave it a sinister look. The Thorn as it was called was not a gun anyone would want to looked down the barrel of. She raised the gun behind her and once again took a peek to aim correctly. "LOOK OUT!" Erin's Jerked around just in time to see a large pile of debris in front of her. Quickly she pulled her hand back onto the handle with the gun still in it and activated her side boosters pushing her Sparrow sideways barely avoiding the pile.
"Here let me." Twilight called out to her. Erin didn't know what the pony was talking about until she saw a purple aura surrounding the Thorn. In a somewhat confused manner, she raised the gun once again, but this time her actions were guided by the aura. Once again, her hand was outstretched behind her. The Thorn moved around slightly by Twilight's magic when suddenly-- "Fire!" Hearing Twilight yell Erin immediately pulled the trigger, allowing one bullet to leave the chamber. Faster than the human--or equine--eye, the bullet traveled through the air and straight into the throat of the Fallen Dreg riding the Pike. The Dreg let go of the Pike's handles, trying to grab it's injured throat when it suddenly ignited. With no one controlling it, the Pike pivoted into the side of a building, exploding on impact.
Right after the shot was fired Twilight once again used her magic to move the Thorn again. Just as Twilight was making the final adjustments she felt a burning sensation on her back, then came the pain. Twilight yelped, losing concentration on her magic. Hearing Twilight yelp seemingly renewed the Dreg's vigor and it's attack on the those in front of it.
"Twilight!" Nox-23 yelled. He could say no more. His attention had to be focused on dodging the hail of bullets.
"I-I'm ok." Twilight replied. Her voice was strained. The pain had subsided greatly but her mind had not gotten over the fact that she had been hit.
Nox-23 clenched the Sparrow's handles, he knew it was bound to happen. No Guardian would come away from years of fighting without a scratch. Still, it didn't make it that much easier. Now wasn't the time to worry about such matters, surviving the attack was the priority. The Pikes guns were slightly drowned out by the louder and closer sound of Erin firing her Thorn once again. None of her shots hit their mark but did succeed in driving the Dreg back.
Out of the corner of his eye Nox-23 saw something glowing from a building with a big gaping hole in the middle. The origin of the glowing light moved quickly, as if it were lighting. It sailed over the Guardians, landing next to the Pike as it passed by. the impact created by the light caused a shockwave to form. The Dreg and it's pike were caught in it destroying both in a fiery explosion. Nox-23 and Erin stopped the Sparrows, maneuvering them sideways to get a better look at what had destroyed their enemy. A single object rested in the middle of the road. Slowly, it rose; taking on the more recognizable form of an armored bipedal creature. A bipedal creature looking very much like a Titan.
The newcomer turned to face the three Guardians. Seconds passed as they stared at each other, then it spoke.
"Sup."
Erin and Nox-23 turned their heads toward each other. Twilight's head broke over the horizon that was Nox-23s back joining the baffled stares. All three of them looked back at the Titan. Twilight made the first move by jumping off the Sparrow and toward the Titan. Nox-23 and Erin soon followed, weapons drawn just incase.
"Hello, I'm Twilight. Thank you for saving our hides."
"No problem, So you're the one everyone is talking about." The Titian bowed slightly to Twilight. "I'm Soren. Just your average Titan looking for adventure. I'm Guessing those two are part of your fireteam.” He casually motioned to the two humanoids behind Twilight.
The Pony nodded. "Yes. That’s Nox-23 and Erin." Nox-23 waved at the sound of his name while Erin lazily flicked her wrist.
Soren waved back. "though, I have to ask why you’re here; this isn't exactly a hotspot even with there being so many Fallen."
"We are on a mission to retrieve blueprints of ships hidden in an R & D building in the city." Erin answered. "You up to helping us?"
The surprise on Twilight's and Nox-23’s faces were hidden by their helmet. Just a few minutes ago Erin was seemingly annoyed by their antics yet now she wanted a fourth to join. "Originally we were going to have a fourth with us, but he's occupied. with you, that spot would be filled." Erin explain, conveniently answering Twilight and Nox-23's question.
Soren nodded and Erin turned back to her Sparrow. Nox-23 and Twilight started to do so as well. "We might want to use an alternate means of getting there, though."
Erin stopped and looked back. "Why is that?"
"As I said before, the Fallen are everywhere. It wouldn't take long before another Pike patrol is on our tail again."
"Have something in mind?"
The Titan smiled even if no one could see it.
"You know... When I suggested this... I didn't think your hunter friend would leave us... in the dust like that," Soren huffed. He was breathing heavily. muscles burning from the work they were doing. He and Nox-23 were running. Running not on the ground but on the roofs of buildings. Twilight, having the gift of wings, was flying just above the two. Erin, on the other hand, had simply stated that she would scout ahead then took off in a flash.
"Well she is a Hunter. they are suppose to be fast." Nox-23 pointed out. Unlike his companions, he wasn't as affected by running long distances.
"True, though I kind of wish I had wings right now."
Feeling the envious glare from Soren, Twilight shook her head and tilted it down to look back at the Titan below her. "I'm tiring out... just as fast as you are."
"Yeah, but wings... Flying... Still cool in my book."
Twilight couldn't help smiling at his words. Surely Rainbow Dash was a better example of how cool flying could be; but being the one to impress a Guardian, even in this small way, was rewarding.
Up ahead there was a gap between the buildings, divided by the street below. The gap was too big to jump, but not for teleportation. Twilight Sparkle was already warming up her spell to cast. "Wait." Out of thin air Erin appeared, hands up and motioning the three of them to stop. Nox-23 and Soren stopped relatively easy, only taking a few more steps before standing tall once more. Twilight, on the other hoof... Once Erin had called out, Twilight immediately tried to stop along with the two Guardians. She was met with less success. Twilight turned her body, sticking her legs out in front of her and spreading her wings to catch as much air as she could. The result of her attempt was a braking noise in the air before she lost altitude fast and landed roughly on her flank. Had she not been wearing armor she would have had very sore hindquarters.
"Twilight, you ok?" Nox-23 asked. Twilight nodded while on hoof rubbed her flank.
Only when Twilight had completely recovered from her mishap and focused her attention on the Hunter did Erin speak once more. "There is a Fallen Patrol on the road below us."
"That doesn't sound bad to me." Soren proclaimed. His hand reached down to the hand cannon on his leg. “Doesn't matter how many there are, I will still have the Last Word."
"They have tanks," Erin replied deadpanned. Soren's hand paused then retracted away from his gun.
The air tensed up. "You said tanks, as in plural. how many are we talking about?" Nox-23 asked.
"Three. They haven't moved because one of them is being repaired on the spot. Some sort of leg problem. We need to find a way around them. We need a plan." Erin bent down and started drawing her finger through the dusty roof. Soren bent down closer to watch her draw a diagram of their surroundings. Neither of them noticed a silent head nodding between Nox-23 and Twilight. "-Blinking won't work either, so-" Erin and Soren's vision suddenly went dark. Fearing for the worse, the two of them reached for their primary weapon; touching them just as the world around them reappeared.
Something was different, however. Taking a look at their surroundings, they noticed they weren't in the same place as before. They were still on a roof, but on the other side of the street. "What are the two of you waiting for? let's go," Twilight called out to them. Twilight and Nox-23 were watching them as if nothing had changed at all.
"What the fuck happened?" Hunter and Titan asked at the same time.
"I just teleported us to the other side." Twilight shrugged. "Saved us some time. So, are guys ready to head onward?" She turned and left, jogging to the next building. Nox-23 followed right behind her, the two of them laughing quietly at the baffled Erin and Soren.
"Ok so you can teleport.... What else can you do?" Five minutes of jogging over rooftops before anything was said, and that’s what it was. It so happened to be Soren who broke the silence, too. He and Erin had been quietly pondering what power their little four-legged friend is hiding in that adorable form.
The mare in question smiled. "A lot, actually. So far, I have Learned exactly two hundred and thirteen spells and..." Twilight slammed a hoof on the ground. "I know! Why don't I give you all a lecture on magic after the mission? that way all your question can be answered!” She spoke with great enthusiasm, which some would describe as more along the lines of lunacy.
"What have you done?! You have doomed us all!” Nox-23's Ghost cried out in horror.
Twilight shot a hard glare at where the Ghost had just disappear. "Why you-" Twilight's retort was cut short by the sound of the ground creaking. a second later the floor underneath them gave out, sending the four of them falling into the building below.
Twilight was the first to recover from her fall. instantly, she began scouring the room. It was mostly barren. A single lantern was lit, brightening up where the hole in the roof could not. Two pairs of glowing eyes stared back at her. Twilight jumped to her hooves, ready to defend herself and her friends. The owners of the eyes did nothing, giving the pony a time to truly examine them. They both wore Titan armor and appeared to be humanoid. Both had white hair and pale yellowish skin. Their eyes were icy blue. Her ears swerved at Several groans beside her. The others picked themselves up before realizing Twilight was staring at something.
One of the Awoken lifted a hand, in it was some sort of meaty substance. "Chicken, anyone?"
"Sure." Soren walked out of the rubble, taking off his helmet and revealing his human head with brown hair and blue eyes.
"So you’re the pony everyone’s talking about these days." Twilight's attention was drawn to the twin of the man handing a piece of chicken to Soren. "You know, you’re smaller than I thought you’d be."
"I'm sorry, but who are you?"
The Awoken's eyes widened at Twilight's proclamation. "oh, sorry. "I'm Jenkins and next to me is my brother Leroy."
Twilight immediately recognized the names. "You’re famous."
"Of course it would, with the type of stunts you two do." Nox-23 guffawed.
"Hey they aren't stunts, they are tactical maneuvers." The two brothers jumped out and proudly puffed out their chests. Nox-23, Twilight and Erin rolled their eyes. Soren continued to eat his chicken. "So, what brings you out here, if you don't mind me asking?" Leroy asked.
"A mission to the R & D building," the happy and satisfied Soren answered.
Twilight’s ears perked up, an idea forming in her head. "hey, why don't the two of you join us?"
The Twins shot each other a ponderous look before turning back to address the question. Jenkins eyes, however, didn't focus on the pony. Instead, they looked passed her to the person standing behind her. "I'm sorry, but we have other plans. I'm sure you guys can handle it on your own." He smiled.
His brother raised a brow at him, but said nothing. Twilight was downtrodden by the refusal, but made no complaint. They were celebrities, after all; surely they had more important things to do.
"Soren, if you’re done, lets keep moving. the building is close," Erin finally spoke.
Soren nodded vigorously as he stumbled to get his helmet back on. Once he was done with that, the four of them left the room one by one. Nox-23 gave them a salute goodbye while Twilight waved for hers. When the sounds of footsteps faded into nothingness. Leroy leaned toward his brother. "Why did you decline. I was about to say yes."
"...because, dear brother, I believe by agreeing we would be trespassing on someone else’s territory, and we both know what that feels like."
The four teammates finally made it to R & D building, or at least near it. They were hiding inside the first floor of a long forgotten business building. In the middle of a Y intersection was their goal. Unfortunately, it seem that the Fallen had made it their goal as well. Several squads of Fallen ranging from Skanks to Captains roamed around the outside of the building.
"Well, I don't think walking in is an option. maybe we should wait and see if it dies down a bit," Soren suggested.
"No! not now. Not when we’re so close!" Erin received harsh stares from both Nox-23 and Twilight. Any louder and she would attract attention.
"W-what... why? You see how many are out there, and there’s got to be more inside. Why are these blueprints so important?"
"You wouldn't understand." Erin said with a huff. She collapsed against a pile of debris, lowering her head in defeat. Today just wasn't her day. She had hoped that it would be an easy, in easy out; but now it looked like her team was going to abort the mission, and even she wasn't dumb enough to continue on her own. She was very surprised when she felt a hoof touch her shoulder. Slowly, she raised her head to face the pony.
"Why don't you tell us, anyway. Who knows, we might surprise you on how much we understand."
The helmets prevented either one from seeing the other's facial expression, but Erin felt somewhere deep down that the pony truly cared for her wellbeing. "fine, fine," She huffed. "Look... um, have any of you wanted to be recognized for something great?" Twilight knew very well what Erin meant, but keep silent. "I... I want my name to be remembered. I'm not trying to get a big reputation like The Twins or the 'Golden Duelist,' something small is fine with me. I just want my contribution to be seen, to be real, with substance. and this; this is my attempt to do so. I know it sounds selfish, but I really want to do this. I really want to help the tower, but I want to do so while I make a name for myself."
"All righty then let's get this done before it's too late."
Erin's head shot up. "Wh-what? You still want to go?"
Twilight nodded her head. "Yes. It may not be the same thing, but I was once the prized student of my nation's ruler. There were times when I felt the need to prove myself worthy of that position, and in order to do that I needed to do something that would stand above all else. In the end the Princess reassured me that I didn't have to prove myself and that what I was doing was enough, but because of that I know how you are feeling, and we're not about to give up on you. Isn't that right, Nox?"
"Of course." The Exo glanced outside. "But we need a plan."
Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin for a few good seconds. "I... I think I have one, but we are going to need your help, Soren. Are you in?"
SInce the beginning of Erin's explanation, Soren had been keeping watch as he listened in. Originally, he had joined just for kicks and for any interesting finds. If it became too much, he would have probably bail at the earliest convenience and when his partners weren't in danger. Now he found himself going against that plan all because of an ambitious Hunter and a kind and caring pony. "Ok, you have my guns. What's the plan?" The three humanoids gathered around the Alicorn as she explained what they were going to do.
It does not matter what race, clan or Faction you belong to; Guard duty sucks. It suck especially for the Dreg roaming outside an important looking building. It hadn't been told much, but that wasn't anything new. Most of the Dregs in it's House were barely told anything. It hated that. How is it going to raise in the ranks if it was never told anything? Oh, how it dreamed of regaining it's second pair of arms. A flash of purple light and a thud on the ground caught it's attention. it looked down to see what had appeared. It was a small metal object that looked a lot like-. The Dreg never finished it's thought. The object exploded killing, any Fallen close by and blinding any who survived the worst of it.
Through the broken windows of the build he was hiding in Soren let loose a torrent of bullets from his LMG. As he took down the blinded enemies other Fallen rushed in, already firing their weapons at The Titan. At that moment Nox-23, from inside a building to the right of the R & D building, fired his Truth at the unsuspecting Fallen. Erin did the same from the left, using her Swarm.
Soren ducked down behind the window Immediately upon running out of ammo. Twilight popped up with the Ice Breaker, firing at every Fallen that came into her scope. Soren reloaded his LMG, but instead of using it again he switched to his Last Word, joining Twilight in taking down more Fallen.
Erin, having also run out of ammo, hid against the wall next to her window. "Captain and some Vandals heading your way," Nox-23 informed her over the comm link. A moment later she could hear the faint yells of the Fallen coming closer. In anticipation of their arrival, the hunter activated her Light, trading her gun for blades and sending ark energy through them. Two Vandals busted through the doorway. Erin was on them like a cat to a mouse. It took one stroke of her blade each to down them. A hail of bullets was fired at her from beyond the doorway. unable to dodge, she took the shot to her body. cringing from the pain, she became invisible. The captain that attacked her cursed in it's native tongue, starting to backpedal away from the room. It failed to escape as Erin's first strike cut through it's shield and the second one beheading it. A blue engram popped out of it's body, which Erin took. Her energy finally ran out. The knives were traded once more for guns. A moment of silence was all it took for her to realized that the silence extended to the outside. Without looking back at the corpses, Erin rushed to the stairs and to her companions.
Nox-23 and Soren stood in front of the R & D building, waiting from their last two members. None of them had gone to aid Erin for they believe that she could take care of herself. The Hunter in question walked out of the building she had been in no worse for ware. "Looks like the plan worked. For being a greenhorn, Twilight isn't that bad."
A short giggle came from above. All three raised their heads to see their fourth and only non-humanoid companion gliding down to them. "It's all clear above us. No snipers or hiding Fallen."
"Right, then let's head in."
The four of them took off, running into the building. They entered the lobby, which was devoid of Fallen. Past the Kiosk were two large staircases leading up to a second floor with two open corridors. the first floor had a single large corridor in the middle. "There is an elevator at the end of this corridor that will take us down to where we need to go," Erin's Ghost directed them. They were left unmolested as they made their way. The elevator doors were closed, but that meant nothing to an Exo. Nox-23 easily pried it open to reveal... an empty shaft. "So how do we get down? I can't see the bottom, it wouldn't be a good idea to teleport." Twilight asked, looked into the abyss below.
Soren tapped something next to her. She looked to see an old rusted ladder.
"Oh."
The three humanoids climbed down the ladder as Twilight slowly glided down besides them, ready to use magic just incase the ladder broke.
At the bottom was the broken remains of the elevator. Beyond the door, noises and voices belonged to anything other than Fallen. "Guys, I don't know about you, but I don't think it would be a good idea to fight them in such close quarters," Soren whispered. “We don't even have anywhere to go."
"It’s very unlikely we’ll get through this without taking a few hits," Nox-23 stated in a dishearten tone.
"Actually, I might have something that could help." The Titian’s and Hunter stared down at Twilight, ready to hear more. "Well, I know a spell that could help. I can place it on a grenade as you throw it... but, once I cast it, you all need to look away."
The three contemplated for a short time. Twilight had not steered them wrong, why not follow her lead once again? They set themselves up so that Erin and Soren would open the door while Nox-23 threw his magnetic grenade. The two humans watched as Nox-23 silently counted down from three to one. At one, the two of them pulled hard on the elevator doors, prying them open just enough for Nox23 to throw the grenade. As it flew through the air Twilight casted her spell. Nox-23 closed his eyes and Erin and Soren looked away. Once it had crossed the door's threshold and into the group of unsuspecting and surprised Fallen, Twilight yelled them to close it, and so they did.
There was the sound of Fallen yelling at each other, then an explosion, followed by a second one. Twilight opened the doors with her magic, allowing everyone to see the carnage. Bodies of Fallen were everywhere. most of the bodies were blackened by the explosions. There was, however, a space in the middle clear of all bodies. A few of the Fallen weakly moved, not dead--but close to it. A few shots changed that.
"Wow, Twilight, whatever your spell did really brought them in close together. Some sort of magnet spell?" Soren asked. Nox-23 and Erin turned their heads to the pony, interested in her answer.
"Actually, it's called the 'need it want it" spell.” When she was met with confused silence she regrettably explained. "It's... a spell that, once casted on a object, will cause all who see it to want it desperately."
"You've casted that spell before?"
"Let's not get into that right now. We’ve got some blueprints to secure," Twilight hastily replied. She trotted away, trying to escape the embarrassing memories of the first time she used that spell. Her escape fell short as she was followed by the rest of her team. She felt the weight of the Ice Breaker disappear, only to be replaced by something else. She lifted it off her back to see what it was it. It was the 77 Wizard. She understood immediately why Nox-23’s Ghost made the change. She looked back at Nox and he and his Ghost a nod of thanks.
"The computer that holds the data we want is a few doors down, but we need to be careful. I just tapped into the Fallen Comms and it looks like the they have a Baron," Erin's Ghost commented. If they hadn't before, the four Guardians readied their weapons. When they reached the door, Erin's Ghost flew over to the keypad besides it. "Looks like the Fallen had some time to fool around with this... no matter, I can open it. And there... we... go!” The door opened, allowing the Guardians to enter. The room inside was of decent size. Old computer equipment laid about; at the other side of the room, several Shanks and a large Baron stood by a cylindrical terminal. The sound of the door opening caught their attention. The Baron Spoke out in a surprised tone. Apparently He had not excepted them.
Twilight charge up her 77 wizard and fired at one of the Shanks. The Shank that took the full blast of the gun disintegrated. After that, the room became an all out battlefield. The Shanks and Baron opened fire at the four of them, driving them to spread out among the equipment. The baron ran after twilight, causing her to yelp before she took off running away from him. Erin fired at the baron, trying drive his attention away from twilight.
Nox-23 and Soren attacked the shanks. Their combine efforts allowed then to take down two Shanks before they counterattacked with a torrent of bullets. Several made their mark, pushing the two titans back to recover. Soren ran around a stack of towering old dusty equipment ending up to the side of the group of Shanks. Some of them, however, had calculated his actions and had already aimed their sights toward him. Undaunted by this, Soren switched from his Hand Cannon to his Fusion and slid across the floor, firing as he did so. His shots ended up hitting two of the Shanks, destroying them both. Soren was on his feet again, this time with his The Last Word in his hands. He rapidly slammed the hammer down, firing the gun faster than any other known Hand Cannon. The remaining Shanks didn't stand a chance. Nox-23 gave Soren a thumbs up before the two turned their focus to the Baron.
Twilight quickly teleported away from the Baron before he could reach her. Taking advantage of the Baron's confusion, Twilight fired her fusion rife. Unfortunately, the void type 77 Wizard did little against the Arc type shield. Erin wasn't standing idly by while this happened, though. She was firing her Thorn at the Baron as she ran over to the mare. Seeing Erin's weapon was the greater threat, the Baron backed off; prioritizing evading weapon fire over attacking. "Ghost, give me a heavy!" Twilight yelled. A moment later her fusion rife disappeared, replaced by The Swarm. She fired it in the direction the Baron was in. Erin switch to her Swarm and fired it as well. As the shield neared its end, the Baron teleported away, hiding among the equipment and waiting for his shield to regenerate. Nox-23 and Soren joined the females of their group searching for their target.
The Baron teleported to their right side. He charged them, firing his Shrapnel launcher. Twilight cringed at the feeling of a bullet grazing her. Hearing the gasp of one of her friends told her that she wasn't the only one hit. She and Erin fired their Swarms while Soren fired his Hand Cannon and Nox-23 his auto rifle. Instead of running away when his shield went out, the Baron continued to run toward them. None of the Guardians want a face full of shrapnel, so they broke off their attack. Twilight teleported to side while Erin Blinked to the other. Soren and Nox-23 jumped back. The Baron finally let up his attacked and backed off to recover. The four Guardians weren't about to let him, however. Twilight and Erin once again fired at him, this time causing him to jerk around as their bullets hit his armor. Their magazines ran out, forcing them to stopped; but as they did Soren and Nox-23 ran forth, leaping up in the air and coming down on the Baron, fists at the ready. A well coordinated punch from the two Titans sent the Baron flying, his body dissolving in a flash of purple and blue light.
The four of them turned to each other. The battle had been won and their spoils await. Wordlessly, they walked to the terminal. Erin's Ghost appeared, flying over to said terminal. It began the process of linking with the mainframe and retrieving the information within. "It's a good thing that they couldn't fit a servitor down here, or else they could have hacked it by now."
It only took a few minutes before the Ghost got the information it wanted. "Quite a lot in here. Fangs of Nyx. Birth of History. Even something called the Rope to Heaven.”
Twilight lifted an eyebrow and tilted her head. “Fang of Nyx you said?”
"Yeah... What is it?” The Hunter asked, curious in how the pony reacted.
"Well..." Twilight started with a small laugh. "Nyx is a name of a character from one of the books I read. It's kind of funny to hear the name exists in another world. Though, now that I think about it, there is a famous pegasus named Soarin."
Soren was mildly surprised. It's not every day one found out that you share a namesake with an alien.
"I think I know who is getting the Fangs of Nyx,” Nox-23's Ghost said mirthfully. The bipedal Guardians looked down at their four legged friend.
Twilight's ears perked up. "Really? You’d give me that ship?" Everyone nodded. “Yes yes yes yes yes yes." The purple mare hopped around joyously, only to stop when she heard the laughter of her companions. The floor became the most interesting thing in the world as Twilights face reddened behind her helmet.
"We should leave so we can deliver these to the tower." Erin's Ghost suggested. "Everyone else coming? " Twilight and Nox-23 nodded in unison.
"Sure, though let's trade contact info. You guys are pretty sweet to hang out with."
"OK but let's do that at the Tower." Erin replied with the other two agreeing with her. With that the four Guardians left the room chatting along the way back outside and beyond.
The almighty, devilishly handsome and insanely gifted Spirit of Chaos; Discord awoke from his bed with a big yawn. Smacking his lips he stretched. His joints squeaked like a rubber duck as he creaked them. Slowly he removed himself from his bed. He snugly placed his feet into his slippers, hoof made by Fluttershy. Yawning once again he shuffled his way to a sink that had appeared out of thin air. A snap of his fingers and a toothbrush with toothpaste on it came into existence in his hand.
He proceed to brush his teeth for several minutes. "Ah-hem". Discord stopped his brushing and looked up. There, standing sideways was Celestia staring blankly at him. "Every creature needs to sleep but I don't see why there is a need to sleep on the wall of the main hall."
Discord didn't answer right away. Instead he spit out the toothpaste saliva mix into the sink. "Oh come now Celestia. Would you rather have me sleep in the middle of the hall where I would be in the way of everypony." He finally replied slyly. The bed, sink, toothbrush and slippers disappeared in a blink of the eye. Discord floated off the wall, landing on the floor next to the Princess.
"You shouldn't be sleeping in the hall to begin with." She replied flatly. She didn't believe she needed to remind Discord how busy the day was going to be. Repairs, meetings, Court and paperwork was all Celestia could see in her future. There was however the task she had asked Discord to complete thus her main reason she had searched for discord, finding him asleep in the most unlikely of places. "Did you deliver the books?"
Discord raised a spoonful of pancake up to his mouth. "Yes, and I met that Exo that is helping her. For being an A.I. he looks quite good in an apron." Celestia was less attentive of what Discord had just said an more so attentive to the fact she was now in her pink bathrobe sitting at the dinning room table with a stack of syrupy pancakes in front of her.
She stared at the plate for a few seconds before throwing caution to the wind. She hadn't eat much for the last few days. She didn't even mind using the spoon that happen to be the only silverware given. "SO how is she?" Celestia asked before taking a bite of the sweet syrupyee goodness.
"She was asleep when I arrived but she is a strong mare I know she's fine."
"PULL UP, PULL UP, PULL UP!!!!"
"I'm Trying, I'm Trying!!"
"AHHCOO." Discord sneezed, sending bubbles out of his nose.
"Heavens bless you." Celestia said, consuming another piece of pancake.
Thank you."
The two of them continued to eat until the door to the hallway opened up letting the white, blonde manned Unicorn stallion walk in. "Oh Aunt Celestia I was wondering where you were."
"What is it Blueblood." Celestia said in a more tired tone then she would have liked to replied in.
"I-I was wondering if you knew were the acquisition forms were for the repairs to the city." Blueblood's ears flatten and he broke eye contact with Celestia. He was nervous, he had ask his Aunt for things in the past but never was it related to anything business related.
Discord raised a brow. He knew of Blueblood and his pompous character. What a change if Discord didn't know any better he would think this pony was actually a Changeling.
"The originals are on my desk... Ink Pot can help you find them." Blueblood smiled. a genuine no alterative motive smile. "But what would you want them for? You have never asked me something like this before." The smile disappeared, replaced by a blush on his cheeks.
"Well...I...Met somepon-someponies who have been waiting for supplies to arrive to their region in the city and I just though I could find out when it will get here."
Celestia gave him a soft smile. "Then, my Little Pony I will not hold you here any longer. Ink Pot was in the throne room last I saw her so you might find her there. With an quick nodded and a thank you Blueblood dashed out of the room. Celestia couldn't help smiling. She turned back to her pancakes only to stop when she saw Discord staring curiously at her. "What?"
"Ok, I can cause instantaneous changes to all sorts of matter but for him to do a 180 without my involvement... what happened?"
"My nephew has had a life changing event." The look on Discord's face told her to go on. "During the attack Blueblood became trapped within a building. A mare found and rescued him." Celestia's tone became more somber. "During the escape she was injured badly. From what I heard she can no longer use her back legs. After Blueblood came out from hiding away from the world he found her and since then as be helping her and those around her."
Discord tapped a claw on his chin. "Not the most clique thing I heard."
Celestia just rolled her eyes. "Don't you have something to do? Like visit a friend who has been worried sick about you.
The Sprit of Chaos eye's widen. "By Joe I think your right. Well It was a nice time chewing the hay with you Tia but as they say, 'time waits for no man.' and besides your day is about to get more busy" A second later Discord was going leaving Celestia slightly confused.
"Man?" Before The Princess could contemplate why Discord use that phase in such a way there was another knock at the door. "Enter."
A Royal Guard stepped into the room and bowed. "Your highness I have an urgent message from the Boarder Guards. They report that the Queen of the Changelings is there and wises to speak with you." The Guard had not been released from his bow to see the surprise look on his Princess face. the clank of the spoon against the plate however was just as good an indicator was if he saw her face.
"How much more of this scrap do we need to get." Nox-23 complained. The Exo stood among pieces of Vex scattered around the Rain Forest like land the was Venus. He and his Ghost were giving Twilight a rundown on what to expect on Venus when they received a request from Holiday asking for Vex parts. A few minutes of walking around and they found their Vex. All twenty or so of them. Obviously they had been victorious and were now celebrating by picking up any parts that Ghost deemed worthy.
"Not much more and it's not scrap."
Nox-23 stared blankly at his Ghost. "They are pieces of fallen metal enemies... they are scrap, no matter how useful they are and besides, Twilight isn't even colleting anymore."
The Mare in question was a yard away taking note of the fauna and ignoring the dismantled Vex by her feet.
With the heavy sigh the Ghost spoke dejectedly. "Ok...fine. Holiday can probably make due with what we have."
"Oh, we're done?" Twilight called out to them as she turned toward their direction, head slightly titled. When Nox-23 nodded Twilight shamefully lowered her head. "I'm sorry. I should have collected more. It's just the Fauna here is vey different then from anywhere I have been. That's not to say that patrolling isn't interesting either. I-"
Twilight's rambling stopped the moment Nox-23 hand rubbed the top of her helmet. She couldn't feel it directly but the meaning still got across. "I'm sure Ghost can give you all the information you want on anything we come across...later." Nox-23 turned to his Ghost. "Any other requests that we can take up."
The Ghost was silent for a moment with only the sound of usual clicking sound it's body would make every once and awhile. When it did reply it's voice was dipped in confusion. "There is but there is something else that I am finding quite peculiar. Not to far away I am picking up a Guardian ship on the ground. There is no distress call or anything to indicate anything wrong but still I would like to check it out. We are in Vex territory right now, who knows what they can do."
Twilight and Nox-23 looked at each other for a second then back at the Ghost. "Led the way." they said in unison.
The Ghost lead them to the Ishtar Cliffs. The closer they got to the location they were being led to less they followed the Ghost directions and more to the sound of a song. Finally Nox-23 caught sight of a Teihard War ship at the bottom of a hill. A figure was kneeling by on of it's wings it's hands reaching into it through an open panel. The armor it wore put it as a Titan. A closer look at the armor revealed that it was the Queen's Guard set. The Titan mark was a Honor of Cormorant, the one that the Speaker would give out of Motes of Light. The only thing missing on the Titan was a helmet, though because of that Nox-23 could see that the Titan was a Exo like himself.
"Excuse me!" He called out. trying to get the titan to notice them was he and Twilight walked up to him and his ship. The Exo seemed not to hear him, focusing more on working on his ship. Nox-23 felt a tug on his leg. He looked down at Twilight.
"What type of music is that. I-I don't think I have ever heard this gene before."
"It's called Metal." The Ghost informed the young mare. She defiantly hadn't heard this type of music anywhere in Equestria. She had to admit the lyrics did draw her in.
The song eventually died down allowing Nox-23 to once again tried to get the Exo attention. "One of great classics before the Golden Age. It is very hard to find stuff as great as this now a days." The Exo turned around facing the newcomers. The Exo was a male with purple skin. A bright yellow paint splotch over his left eye. The eyes themselves were red and the light produced when the Exo talked was red as well. "Legion-59 at your service."
The sudden acknowledgement surprised the two Guardians and Ghost. "Wait you knew we were here?" Twilight vocalized the question first.
Legion-59 nodded. "Yea, saw you three out of the corner of my eye. when you first enter the Cliffs.
"Then why didn't you say anything. " Nox-23 asked disapprovingly.
Legion-59's tapped his ship with the back of his hand. "When working on a piece of art you don't take your attention off of it least you might make a mistake. I had my hand in a very delicate place I rather not damage anything in there."
"You landed your ship in enemy infested land, isn't that dangerous?" The Ghost asked.
the Exo titan shrugged. " It is for some but-" Legion-59 summoned a hand cannon to his right hand. A Merciful from what Nox-23 could tell. Legion-59 walked backward raising his weapon till it aimed at the hill across from his ship. Twilight, being the only one who really could, raised an eyebrow. A moment later a single Vex Goblin teleported into view on top of the hill. Legion fired a single shot from his gun. That single shot ended it's journey inside the Vex's Core. The Globin exploded. "-I think I can handle it..." Legion-59's voice dropped off as he eyes focused on Twilight. "You're Twilight Sparkle aren't you." Legion pointed a finger at Twilight.
"Last we checked she was unless there are any other talking ponies around here that we don't know about." Nox-23's Ghost said slyly getting a shake of the head from Twilight.
Legion-59 chuckled as he leaned against his ship. "Well what brings you here to Venus?"
"Patrol missions mostly but when Nox's Ghost detected your ship here we investigated to see why it was here."
"Well I like to tinker with my ship, learn how it works. Maybe I was a mechanic in my past life. And Venus just so happens to be my hunting ground."
Nox-23 folded his arms in front of him. "Apparently enough to land in a dangerous area and not give to shits about it."
Before Legion-59 could reply the Ghosts called out simultaneously. "Message from the Speaker to all Guardians on Venus."
There was a second of silence as the Ghosts began to broadcast the Speaker's voice. "Not to long ago, brave Guardians entered the lair of the House of Winter and defeated their Kell. Since then the House of Winter as fallen apart. Recently however, There have been reports of a massive number of Fallen and Vex in the area. It is believed that the House of Winter was something of great value within their ship. What ever it might be... we can not let the Darkness have it. I ask all Guardians on or near Venus to head to The ship find out what they are after and destroy it if need be."
Twilight and Nox-23 needn't look at each other for more the an second to recognize what the other was thinking. Next stop, Winter Stronghold. Nox-23 Sparrow materialized right besides him. He did not hesitate to jump on. The sudden weight on his back on hooves on his shoulders told him the Twilight was on the Sparrow as well. A roaring sound behind them made them look back. lifting off the ground Legion-59's Ship. Once it was a safe distance away from the ground it took off into space. At first it seem like Legion-59 had left but when the sound of another sparrow engine near to them reach their ears they instantly knew otherwise. heads turning again Nox-23 and Twilight found Legion-59 a few feet in front of them on his own Sparrow, the Helm of Saint-14 on his head.
"Let's ride!" Legion-59 said with great anticipation, ready to take down some Fallen.
The three traveled quickly on the Sparrows. The jungle quickly gave way to rocks and ruins with a few Vex here and there. The riders of the Sparrows paid them no mind and continued onward to their destination, ignoring the attempts to stop them from the Vex. Occasionally Legion-59 would look back seemingly checking that Nox-23 and Twilight were following him. After making a right turn through an oddly shaped stone structure. Legion-59 slowed down to a crawl Nox-23 followed suit.
Twilight, being out of the loop had to ask the obvious question. "Why are we stopping? Are were there yet?"
Legion-59 nodded getting off his Sparrow and walked forward. Nox-23 and Twilight did the same. upon passing a rock pillar they were treated to a battle between the Guardians and Fallen. The Guardians had taken up positions near some rock formations sticking out of the ground. to the far left of the trio. The Fallen had position themselves near and on metal walkways connecting a rock wall. The biggest of the walkways lead into a cave.
Both sides appeared to be evenly matched. What the Guardians had in quality the Fallen made up in quantity. The majority of the Fallen Forces were Shanks, Dregs and Vandals. There were however a few Captains and Servitors as well.
"Shouldn't we help them?" Twilight was as she saw a Servitor fire a large blast some Guardians only to hit a barrier a Titan popped just in time.
"Yes but we can't rush in or we will be filled with holes." Legion replied.
"Someone is contacting us...it's Roxy." The three Guardians heard Nox-23 Ghost through their helmet's comms. "I'm patching her through."
"Heya boys and mare, nice of you drop in."
"Do you need help?" Twilight asked. She raised her Shadow Price up. She wanted nothing more them to kill those monsters.
"Na we are... hold on a sec." The sound of Several shot being fire were heard through the Ghost's comm. "Yea we got it under control here. What we do need is to stop the Fallen and Vex from reaching the Ketch."
"Yes but the only path there is through the Fallen. There is to many right now to make a run for it." Legion-59 pointed out.
"Normally yes but word through the grape vine says that our mutual four legged friend happens to be very good at blinking. I'm sure I don't need to say more."
Legion-59 was confused. This Roxy person was obviously hinting at Twilight's abilities but Blinking was a short range ability, not to mention alone for personal use. Alas the only way to get his answer was from the pony herself. Turning his attention to his companions he found them in their own conversation.
"-wish they didn't call it blink though it's entirely different."
"You can't blame them. Magic is new to them. If I hadn't had seen in for myself in Equestria I wouldn't have believed it myself."
"You have a point." Twilight's horn lit as she spoke.
Legion-59 took a step toward the two about to ask them what they were planning. One blinding light later The Exo found himself along with Twilight and Nox-23 inside the cave they were trying to get into. "How did we-"
"Magic." Nox-23 and Twilight replied simultaneously. "Though I'm starting to wonder if that is going to be our Deus Ex machina for traveling." Before the thought could be taken in, Twilight began cantering deeper into the cave. "Come on, we better move before the Fallen see us." Nox-23 and Legion-59 raced after her taking her advice.
The two Exo ran through the cave trying to catch up to their Equestrian friend. A tap on his shoulder momentarily divided Nox-23 for focusing on where he was going. Without looking back he spoke. "What is it?"
"I notice Twilight is very ah... devoted to killing Fallen. I'm as much into taken them down as the next Guardian but even with just a few minutes with her I can see her she likes them less then anything else that tries to kill us."
Nox-23 debated whether or not to tell Legion. weighing his options he made his decision. "Her parents were among those killed by the Fallen when they attack her planet. Who followed me to it."
Legion-59 didn't make any sort of reply. He didn't know what to say.
The two of them final spotted Twilight and halted. Twilight herself had stopped, standing at the point where the cave opened into a large cavern. "Twilight?" Nox-23 asked gently.
Nox-23 voice snapped Twilight out of her stupor. She looked back at the Exo coming toward her before looking forward again. "It's empty in here? If the Fallen have made it this far why isn't there any here?" On cue "Shit, Shit, Shit!" someone farther up ahead yelled out. A Warlock popped into view from higher up in the cavern. Three Minotaurs teleported in firing their Torch Hammers at the Fleeing Warlock.
Legion-59 pulled out two Hand Cannons. The Chance in his Left hand and Merciful in is Right. Nox-23 pulled out his Doctor Nope and Twilight her Shadow Price. Legion and Nox-23 fired their weapons at the Vex. Twilight fired her magic pulse grenade. The first minotaur's shield was destroyed under the assault. Twilight's grenade landed near it, catching it in it's blast radius. The explosion caused the Minotaur body to send out sparks as well as make's it head explode. It however still stood. The lost of it's head only made it more dangerous. It rush forward firing it's weapon carelessly at the three Guardians. Twilight teleported while Nox-23 and Legion-59 ran away from the blasts. they did not escape completely unscathed no thanks to splash damage. The Two Exo spit up as they ran away. As the Minotaur agroed on Nox-23 Legion-59 threw a magnet grenade at the attacking Minotaur. The grenade stuck to it's arm and before the Minotaur could even react it exploded finally killing it.
While the headless Minotaur had charged the Warlock had glided away from danger. During his glide he turned around to face the other two Minotaurs. He pulled out the Truth and fired a shot at the two as they aimed their sights on the fleeing Guardians at the entrance. The Minotaurs teleported from their spot avoiding the attack entirely.
One teleported right in front of Twilight. She shrieked in surprised as it brought down it's fist upon her. Through quick thinking Twilight leaped back away. Twilight was able to avoid the fist itself but not the attack in it's entirety. The shockwave threw her small body back against the rocky wall behind her. She recovered just as The minotaur locked on to her. Nox-23 jump in right beside the Alicorn and put up a barrier. The Troch Hammer blast it harmless against the bubble. Twilight decided to take it one step farther. Her horn shot a magical light at the barrier around Nox-23 and herself. There seemed to be no change in it until another Torch Hammer blast hit it. Instead of disappearing against it the barrier bend inward at the area of impact. The Barrier continued to give till the blast was right in front of Nox-23 making the Titan step back. In a split second it shot backwards like a rubber band hitting the minotaur square in the chest.
The shield broke, leaving the staggering Minotaur open to direct attacks. Twilight ran out of the barrier. Nox-23 quickly followed not questioning the what happened... at least not yet. The two of them together brought down the Minotaur before it could correctly react. With their Minotaur down the turned to face the last one.
The Warlock once again gilded backwards away from the last Minotaur's melee attack. Legion-59 hammered away at it's shield with his Hand Cannons. The moment it's shield Disappeared the warlock glowed with a violet light. His arm pulsed with energy which he gladly released into the Minotaur, tearing it to pieces.
The battle over the four of them walked into the toward each other, meeting each other in the middle of the bottom tier of the cavern. "Well that was fun." The warlock spoke first.
Legion-59 rolled his yes underneath his helmet. "Who are you and how do you get three Minotaurs on your tail." He said in disbelief pointing at the remains of the said enemy.
"The warlock shrugged. "What can I say Minotaurs are my favorite enemy to face off against. he said in a loud sarcastic voice. "Actually I ran into them when I was leaving the cavern. Oh and the name is Zeelock." The warlock bowed.
Nox-23 looked at the Warlock from head to toe only able to identify the Voidfang Vestment that he wear. A sudden weight on his right leg broke his concentration on the warlock. He looked down to see Twilight leaning heavily on his leg. "Twilight? Are you okay?" The concern in his voice drew the other two Guardians attention to the two friends.
Twilight slowly fall back to her haunches. "Sorry. I think that last hit took more out of me then I thought." Twilight's voice was shaky and strained. Nox-23 bent down, placing a hand on her back.
"Her ability to recover is faster then a normal human but not a full fledge Guardian." Nox-23's Ghost explain to the curious Guardians watching.
"Sooo-" Zeelock tap the armored forehead with two fingers. "Are we taking five. Shall we Whip out some tea and biscuits."
Twilight shook her head vigorously. "No I'm good." Twilight tried to take a step forward but was halted by Nox-23 putting pressure on her back.
"Are you absolutely sure you are alright." Nox-23 stared sternly at Twilight through his helmet. The mare met his gaze and stared back for a moment before nodding.
"Yes, I'm sure." Her voice held no strain nor was it shaky. Instead it was full of devotion and strength.
Nox-23, satisfied stood up. "Alright Legion-59 you take point. I'll bring up the rear. Twilight stay between us and... Zeelock?" The Warlock nodded. "Um just do whatever floats your boat." The Warlock gave him a thumbs up.
Their journey through the cavern was surprisingly uneventful but as they neared the exit distant sounds of battle reach their ears. The four of them readied their weapons and raced to the outside.
Running pass a rock wall the four Guardians were introduced to the sight of their goal. A Ketch belonging to the House of Winter. The ship hovered over a large canyon. The bottom section of the Ketch was open and a ramp hung off it bridging the gap between the ship and the cliff besides it. "Wow." Twilight spurted. "That is a big ship."
"Guys! You need to see this." The owner of the voice Legion-59 stood on a jagged rock overhang. He was looking down toward the direction of the sound of fighting and waving to the rest of the team to join him. Gathering on the overhang Nox-23 Twilight and Zeelock understood what they would be facing.
Down below on the same cliff that was connected to the ship was an army of Vex and Fallen. The was, however something peculiar. Twilight Sparkle was the first to blurt it out. "The Fallen are attacking each other!"
The four Guardians had arrived in time to witness a three way battle between two Houses and the Vex. The Vex were positioned the furthest away from The Guardians. their forces were centered near a large door, using the natural rock formation as cover. One of the Fallen forces which had yellow colored armor had found their own cover near the Ketch while the other, covered in orange armor stayed near Fallen equipment positioned closer to the Guardians then the other two.
"From what I can tell It looks like what's left of the House of Winter is guarding their ship. The other House... I don't think I have seen before." Nox-23's Ghost explained to the Guardians.
The four of them watched the battle for awhile The enemy's numbers dwindle down. Normally they would have sat back till very few were left, however due to the nature of their mission, lofting around could not be afforded. "So what's the plan." Twilight looked back and forth between the others in the hopes that one of them had something.
Legion-59 had her answer. "I will go to a lower ledge and jump across, putting up a shield to draw their attention. Zeelock and Twilight will snipe them from here. Nox-23, follow me down to the ledge but wait till their numbers are lower then jump in and help clear house. When he does that I want Twilight to teleport both Zeelock and herself down and join us. any Questions?"
"Ah ha... Are you crazy they going to bum rush you down there you think you can handle that many?" Zeelock looked at the Titan curiously.
"It will be painful."
"Then wh-"
"For them."
Zeelock stared blankly at Legion-59 then turned to Twilight and Nox-23. "I like this guy, were did you find him.?"
"Just met him. lets go." Nox-23 and Legion-59 headed down the slope to the ledge below. Twilight and Zeelock watched them go as they readied their Ice Breakers.
Twilight got into position and had already chosen her victim before realizing Zeelock had paused midway crouching beside her looking down at her. "What did Legion-59 mean by you teleporting us?"
"Oh I can use a magic spell that basically works like blink but better." Twilight replied nonchalantly focusing more on the Vandal she was aiming at.
Zeelock completed his crouching. "Oh ok....wait what?" before He could get his answer the form of Legion-59 leapt across the chasm and on to the cliff below. He instantly placed up his shield, catching the attention of all the Vex and Fallen there.
"Come at me bro." Legion-59 said to himself as the Fallen closest to him ran right into the bubble firing their weapons all the while. The moment they entered the bubble was the moment they forfeited their lives. The ability of the Saint-14 helm activated, blinding all enemies who entered Legion-59's domain. The first Fallen to enter was punched to oblivion. The second one Legion-59 grabbed at the arm and swung him around, throwing him in it's brethren. But not before attaching a magnetic grenade to it. It exploded taking out several of the Fallen. After that the rest of them wised up enough not to enter the bubble and waited till it dropped. Legion-59 wasn't going to sit in his comfy little bubble. Instead he walked out of it with his LMG his Super good advice posed to fire.
meanwhile Twilight and Zeelock sniped at Fallen and Vex that were hanging back from the assault on Legion-59. Twilight went after the Fallen relentlessly. Killing a Fallen with each shot and waiting impatiently for the ammo to recharge. Zeelock on the other hand fired his sniper casually, never letting his ammo drop below 2 .
Nox-23 finally decided it was time to join the battle. He leapt into the air firing his Dr. Nope haphazardly upon the enemies. He landed on the edge just as Legion-59's bubble disappeared. Two brave Harpies flew toward Nox-23. The titian switched to his Comedian and charged the floating vex. The Harpies halted, their weapons popping out ready to fire. Nox-23 slide forward avoiding the weapon fire. As he did so he fired the shotgun point blank range of the first Harpy. It let out a mechanical scream as it was blown to bits. The second harpy met the same fate as the first before it could even attempt to escape.
A Hobgoblin teleported out of cover ready to fire on Nox-23. A single shot from an Ice Breaker from a newly teleported Twilight ended it's life. Nox-23 found another target, a goblin walking out into the open. A sudden pain in his shoulder stopped him. "NOX!" Twilight screamed. Nox-23 looked into the direction from where he was shot from. A Vandal a long distance away held up it's sniper, the building energy a tall-tell sign that it was going to fire again. Nox-23 ducked just as the shot was fired.
Twilight teleported into the sky, she though back her head with a purple light. A second later her had shot forward unleashing a beam of magic energy to the remaining House of Winter. With that taken care of Nox-23 turned back to his target. Only to find it destroyed by Zeelock and Legion-59.
A quick scan of the area revealed that they had wiped the Fallen and Vex out. "Nox!" Twilight yelled out again rushing toward him full throttle. Once she was close enough she slammed down all four of her hooves on the ground some sliding across the ground till she was right in front of Nox-23 "Are you ok. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I should have seen the Fallen hiding. how badly hurt are you. I learned a few hea- no they wouldn't work on you."
"whoa, whoa, whoa." Nox-23 waved his heads in front of him trying to calm down the erratic mare. "I said I was okay. It's not like I haven't been hit by a sniper before. It happens even when I'm in groups." Twilight had stop her mindless rambling but Nox-23 could feel the stare of the unconvinced pony through their helmets. " and besides I'm already healed anyway. quick healing remember. Close calls like this always happen we Guardians just learn to not fret over it and move on." Twilight stared at him for a few more seconds before breaking contact and sighing. Everything seem to being cooling down until Twilight jerked upright. Twilight once again was trading glances with Nox-23 before slowing turning her head to the side. Nox-23 followed to see what was the matter.
Only a few feet away stood Legion-59 and Zeelock. "Oh don't mind us, go on finish your lover's quarrel. we'll wait." Zeelcok said slyly. Legion-59 nodded sagely in agreement.
That day They leaned just how much an angry, embarrassed Alicorn can lift with her levitation spell. Nox-23, having escape the Princess's wraith watch in amusement as Legion-59 and Zeelock ran around dodging objects that were being thrown at them. "AHOY!" A feminine voice called out to the Guardians below. Twilight halted her assault on the two Guardians who were just about have their faces rearranged by a Pike. The three of them looked up to see who had interrupted/saved them. Nox-23 own vision fell open a lone figure standing on top of a overhang. It only took a second to recognized that it was Roxy.
The woman took a few steps back the ran off the over hang gliding down to them. Zeelock and Legion-59 quickly stepped out from underneath the floating Pike just in time to avoid being crushed by it as Twilight subconsciously released her magic on it. Roxy finally landed, looking around at the results of the battle. "You guys clean up pretty good."
"we aim to please." Legion-59 replied. "I guess you are done with the Fallen out front?"
Roxy nodded. "Hey the others should be here soon. I just took a running start just incase you needed me. Did you find out what They were after?"
The four teammates shook their heads. "No... we were just settling a disagreement just before you came." Zeelock coughed, interrupting Twilight though it sounded like a word pertaining to a bull's bodily function made it's way into it. "We are going to do it now.
"alright." Roxy turned around ant started to walk away from the group. Her head turned to the side as she address them again. "I'll go tell my team that everything is clear here. You guys go on and complete the mission before my guys try to take it from you." The female warlock said mirthfully then took off toward the cavern.
The four Guardians turned around to face the Ketch. It's massive size did nothing to diminish their resolve to enter it. As one they took a step forward toward their goal.
Surprisingly the ship was mostly empty besides the corpses that littered the ground. They had all died fighting against each other in the attempt to gain power over the House that was left by the death of their Kell. A few Shanks wondered about aimlessly but easily dealt with. Searching the ship brought up no physical object that appeared to be so important that the Fallen and Vex would risk themselves to obtain. This meant they were looking for was digital.
Within the throne room they found a Minotaur length console that looked promising. Legion-59's Ghost appeared out of thin air and begun hacking through The Fallen's systems. After what felt like forever the Ghost spoke. "I think I found something." The Guardians, who had been pacing about due to boredom quickly gathered around the small A.I. "I found coordinates to another Solar system, one with two planets."
"Not to sound rude or anything but what is so special about it?" Zeelock asked.
"That's what I though when I first found it but after a look into the information the Fallen have collected I can see why they would be interested. Based of their scans of the planets it is surrounded by an unknown energy but farther scans show rich mineral deposits and some unidentified materials that would be worth investigating."
The discovery of a new and potential useful solar system would be an interesting prospect to some but for Twilight and Nox-23, it was evidence that kept piling up. "d-do you know where they got this information from?" Twilight asked, her voice wavering with collage of emotions.
The Ghost took note of mare's status but answered dutifully. "It's was intercepted from a unknown House, most likely the one we saw today." Twilight's muscles tensed up. Memoires of that day returned to her as she shifted though them for some correspondence between the two. Was the armor that the Fallen wore orange. That day was such a blur to her she couldn't sure if they did or if it was her own mind making her think it was the color that she saw. Nox-23's Ghost decided to completely and fully confirm what it, it's partner and Twilight were thinking.
"Can you send me the data?" A millisecond later it was received. "It's as we thought." It was give two confused glances from the curious Guardians. "This Solar system is were Twilight comes from."
Legion-59 and Zeelock stared down at the mare in silence. Twilight looked straight back at them. "I haven't seen any of your mapping systems so I don't know what to look for but if Ghost says it is then it probably is." The mare spoke distantly, like she was only half listening to what was being said.
"You're serious?" Legion-59 asked, politely.
"Very." Nox-23 Ghost answered promptly.
"Okay, and since we are on the subject, why hasn't the Tower been given any of this information or any other information pertaining to This world of magical talking ponies." Legion-59 folded his arms over his chest. He had be curious to why there was a lack of Intel on newest ally to the Guardians. Now was his chance to get the answer. Apparently he wasn't the only one.
Twilight Sparkle turned her head up towards the Ghost. "You haven't released the information that you gathered about my world? Everything you got came from the Crystal Empire Public Library. I don't see why at least some of that information could be shared."
"I can answer that." Nox-23 stepped up next to his Ghost. "Ghost and I decided to withhold any information-" Nox-23 looked down at Twilight. "To protect you."
Twilight stared back at Nox-23 slacked-jawed but before she could respond Nox-23 once again spoke. "I hold nothing against either of you or anyone else Twilight and I many end up teaming up with but if we were to give out information about a new traversable world what do you think people well do?"
"Uh Guys."
"They would rush to it." Twilight and Legion-59 said at the same time.
"Exactly. Equestria is recovering from the attack and the other nations hadn't even been informed when Twilight and I left. Thwy aren't ready. "
"The number of traveling Guardians will catch the attention of our enemies. Who knows what would happen if they converge on the Planet." Legion-59 added in is inner thoughts.
"GUYS" Zeelock yelled jumping up and down to get the others attention. The three Guardians and two Ghosts finally took notice of their friend. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Zeelock only received blank stares. The warlock sighed. "What else were we fighting against not to long ago?"
"VEX!"
"By Joel I think they finally get it."
Twilight felt the fur on her back rise up. "Wh-why would the Vex be here. do they know about the coordinates?"
"Legion-59 shook his head. "Truthfully, who knows. I've been on Venus longer then most Guardians and even I don't know a lot about them. The could have just been trying to obtain more territory or maybe they did find out that the Fallen had something and they took interest in finding out what it was. Unfortunately, without anything to go on all we can do is wait till an opportunity to arise to find out more."
"I agree." Nox-23 spoke. "I don't know about you guys but I rather not stay here any longer then we have too." He shot a quick glance at Twilight. "Let's head home."
Several hours later Legion-59 Stood in front of a large metal door. The dank atmosphere and the strange looks from by-passers did not bother him in the slightest. He was used to it now, he had nothing to fear. The door finally opened and emerging from it was a voice. "She will see you now." Acting upon the invitation Legion-59 entered the room beyond the door.
It wasn't much different from the rest of the place. dull, grey metal floors and an view of the outside which contained nothing but broken ships against a cloudy purple background. Two guards took positions on either side of him before the began to walk down the bridge that took them from end of the room to the other. On the other side of the room were four figures. Two were Fallen welding spears the other two were Awaken one black haired, yellow eyed male and one white haired icy blue eyed female. The male stood next to his female counterpart who instead of standing like everyone else, sat casually on large throne.
When Legion-59 reached the end of the bridge he took a knee and bowed. The Female watched him with emotionlessly as he did so. "This one has knowledge that we seek. Tell us, what you know about the Alicorn that has joined the Guardians." Legion-59 nodded to the Queen then begun his report.
Two Guardians sat on a couch in the apartment owned by Nox-23 and Twilight Sparkle. One of them was Nox-23, as he was one of the residents. The other was known by many names most of them fake, others were titles like the Golden Duelist. To Nox-23 however, he was Jeremy. The two of them were showing off the great Guardian skill of watching television. A show believed to be re-mastered pre-golden age kid's show...Something Universe, If Nox-23 remembered correctly. The two of them had been watching the show since Jeremy decided to stop by. Only once did Jeremy move from the couch and that was to raid the fridge for something to drink. As time went on however Jeremy began to shift around more and more on the couch. He would look around as if waiting for something. "Something wrong?" Nox-23 finally asked.
Jeremy turned to face Nox-23. "Yea actually. Where is Twilight I expected that she would have woken up by now."
"Your Ghost isn't here either." Jeremy's Ghost added in her observation.
"Oh Twilight went for a run. Ghost is with her." He said nonchalantly. The expected reply from Jeremy did not come. Nox-23 slowly turned his head to met the blank stare of his friend. 'What?"
Jeremy majestically placed his arm against the top of the couch opening his hand and letting his head rest against it. "So. we have been here for a two hours and you didn't tell me that Twilight wasn't here?"
"You didn't ask till now. I didn't know that her location was needed to be told the exact moment you got here."
"...Touché"
Their attention returned to the T.V. only to be broken when Nox-23 spoke again. "I plan to take Twilight out into the city today." Jeremy raised an eyebrow but otherwise remain still, ready to listen. "Yesterday was a bit hard on her. I'll tell you it in detail later but the short of it is that we confirmed that the Fallen that attack her home are from an unknown House. That and some other frustrations are getting to her. I'm hoping that touring the city might help her mood."
"Jeremy shrugged and nodded his head. Sound like a good idea. Several seconds later. "can I join?"
Before Nox-23 opened his mouth to give his reply the front door opened to a stack of levitating boxes. The boxes entered the apartment and continued forward for several feet before an Equine head and a Ghost popped out from behind them. "Oh Jeremy, when did you get here?"
"About two hours ago, how are you doing?" Jeremy waved.
Twilight gave the two humanoid Guardians a bright smile. "Good. I found a few things on my walk that I think I might need."
Nox-23 looked up and down the tower of various shaped boxes. "A few things?"
The mare nodded. Yea, I don't have anything other than what I was able to bring in my saddlebag and the books Discord delivered. If I'm going to be staying here for awhile I rather not sleep in a barren room." Twilight said wittily. The Pony and Tower moved again, this time toward her room. Nox-23's Ghost however, flew over to his partner, letting out a sigh as it reached him.
Jeremy grinned slyly at the Ghost. "Looks like someone is lucky that they don't have hands."
"We were on our way back from jogging when we took a street that had a number of stores on it. What you saw is the results of a few clothing, a furniture, and a book store. Twilight used her own Glimmer, though I think she might be practically broke after that."
Jeremy couldn't keep himself from laughing. This was by far the most amusing thing that had happened this morning. "It looks like the stereotype can affect anyone no matter what race they are even alien ones." His laughter stopped abruptly when he noticed the stare his Ghost was giving him.
Ignoring the two Nox-23 removed himself from the couch and turned to face the hallway. "Twilight?"
A few seconds later the sound of a door opening was heard. "Yes?"
"What you like to tour the city with Jeremy and me?"
Out of nowhere a sound somewhat familiar to a rubber duck being squeezed came from down the hall. "YES YES YES YES YES...I mean sure." The door slammed shut only to open again immediately. "Just give me a few minutes to put on something." The door closed again but less forceful this time.
Nox-23 caught Jeremy and the two Ghost looking at him out of the corner of his eye. He slowly turned his head to them. "I have no idea what just happened. Do you?" Jeremy just shrugged.
During the few minutes they waited, the Guardians and Ghosts broke away from the gravitational pull that was the couch and had move to the front door. When the door to Twilight's room opened again they all watched as the newly clothed mare trotted out into open. Jeremy and Nox-23 could only stare at her.
Twilight wore a beautiful Purple Kimono with creamy blue flower designs placed throughout it. Two holes had been made in the back, allowing her wings to sit comfortably on top of the silk fabric. Seeing the stare from her friends Twilight raised her wings in the air and look back at her body. "So ah... does it look good?" she said nervously.
"Wow."
"Indeed."
"OK...why does the tour of the city begin at the Tower?" Twilight said, a little vexed at where they had ended up. The three of them had just stepped out of the elevator however, the moment Jeremy heard Twilight speak he halted all motion almost causing Nox-23 to run into him. Slowly Jeremy turned around. He looked down at Twilight with mock horror. Twilight returned the look with a obfuscated one of her own.
Jeremy quickly changed to staring at Nox-23 "You haven't told her yet???"
"Oh, I knew I was forgetting something." Nox-23 Facepalmed. Twilight remained quiet with one eyebrow raised. "well." Nox-23 began under the watchful eye of Jeremy. "Starting Friday a man...or what we believe to be a man called Xur comes to the tower and sells goods. Most of those goods happen to be exotic weapons and armor. Though...the only thing he accepts as payment is Strange Coins."
Twilight looked back at them while her expression turned from curiosity to confusion. "Wait, with this Xur always able to sell exotics wouldn't that make them not exotic so more?"
"When you think of it that way then yes it does make them feel less exotic. However considering that the only known ways to get an exotic is through Xur, a exotic bounty or if you are extremely lucky a strike, then the label does fit." Jeremy explained in a sagely to the young mare. "I should also mention that it is believed that The Nine the ones the Xur works for, are somehow able to makes duplications of exotic gear. Some they give to Xur to sell others the give them as a bounty."
"There are specific bounty just of exotic gear?" Twilight asked, surprised of this new information."
Jeremy nodded in confirmation "For weapons yes. and they aren't easy. For example, my Thorn among the other things i had to do i had to kill a number of very strong Hive Wizards. At least i wasn't the guy who need to find a specific Wizard that was only known to hang around a huge ass Ogre."
"Hey guys!" Nox-23 called out to grab his friends to get their attention. "If you are done with your lesson I think it is time to go." Nox-23 point at the gathering crowd staring at them. Twilight blushed in embarrassment and Jeremy simple back away acting as if nothing happened.
Twilight and Jeremy quickly joined Nox-23. The patrons of the Tower dispersed as well, though a few continued to stare as they walked away.
"Must be Twilight's Kimono?" Jeremy suggested.
Nox-23 shrugged. " If so let them look on in awe of her beauty." Twilight nearly lost her footing. She stare up at him gawking. Nox-23 acted like as if he hadn't said anything. "Anyway we need to find-" An arm found it's way around Nox-23 shoulder. Nox-23 stopped talking to see that the arm belonged to one Legion-59.
"Long time no see."
"Legion?" Twilight called out, surprised to see the Titan. The Exo waved a hello to the pony.
The moment Legion-59's eyes fell open Jeremy the Exo smiled. "It's been a long time Jeremy." The two of them fist bumped like old friends.
"The two of you know each other?" the mare asked.
The two Guardians laughed. "Know each other...we fought together several times. Whenever we team up I know that he as my back and I have his." Legion answered.
Jeremy smiled and nodded in agreement. "though..." He paused. "Why are you here? Heading to see Xur?"
Legion-59 shook his head. "Na, he doesn't have anything I want. I'm just here to get my new ship 'registered'." The Exo air quoted. "Or as I think it is, 'find out everything you can about the new ship'. You buy a ship from the Reef and everyone is all over you." Legion-59 pulled Nox-23 closer to himself then focused on Twilight and Jeremy. "Why don't you two go check out what Xur has. He is in front of the big door in Tower North. I need to talk with Nox-23 for a bit."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "It’s ok." Nox-23 reassured her. He look up at Jeremy who nodded.
"Come on Twilight. Maybe we can use your cu-I mean intelligent mind to actually get some answers from Xur. Reluctantly Twilight trotted away, looking back at Nox-23 and Legion-59 with an expression curiosity rather than fear.
"So want is it that you want to take to me about?"
Legion-59 finally let go of Nox-23. "Well I wanted to come clean to you." Legion-59 waited for Nox-23 to comment but when none was forthcoming he continued. "I pick up jobs from the Queen of the Awoken. I'm paid well, as you can see by the gear I carry."
"and how exactly does this connect to you wanting to come clean to me." Nox-23 asked warily.
" I was requested to find out about Twilight Sparkle."
"So you were spying on us." Nox-23 sneered, ready to clock the Exo in front of him.
"Whoa whoa, it's not like that." Legion-59 waved his hands defensively. It's not spying, I'm not looking for secrets to use against her, I was just ask to make observations about her. I didn't even give the Queen the information that we found in the Fallen database, just on Twilight herself."
Nox-23 halted hostility but didn't look any calmer than before. "Why would the Queen want to know about Twilight?"
Legion-59 shrugged. "I don't know why. I was just told in exact words 'Find out what you can on the Alicorn and determine if she is a threat to the Reef'. I didn't ask why. When dealing with the Queen and her brother it is not a good idea to question their motives. Outsiders like us Guardians tend to find ourselves a lot less alive if we do."
Nox-23 finally calmed down, taken a more relaxed posture with arms across his chest. "So... what did you tell her?"
"What Twilight is like, her hatred toward Fallen and the extreme unlikelihood that she is a threat to them."
Nox-23 had no means of knowing if Legion-59 was telling the truth or not but at the same time there wasn't any reason to not trust Legion-59. As long as The Reef Dwellers don't bother Twilight or him everything should be fine.
Finding Xur didn't take long considering that he mystery Vender was surrounded by Guardians. Jeremy had made a promise to himself to stick to Twilight like glue. In the sea of tall humanoids the vertically challenged pony could get lost easily. Twilight on the other hand had disconcerting though on the scene "How can anyone get through this disorganized mess. Why isn't there a line or something? A little organization can go a long way."
Jeremy Nodded quietly, making note not to tell Twilight about how bad the crowd would get at the end of Xur's stay. Thankfully they crowd was thinning out little by little. Guardians, smiling happily with their purchase or frowning, dissatisfied with the week's section, pushed themselves through the crowd and out toward the rest of the Tower. At some point during the waiting game a warm metallic hand landed on Jeremy's shoulder. "Hi Nox." He said without turning around.
Twilight did however. "Nox!" Her eyes shifted slightly to look behind the Exo to see if Legion-59 was with him. He was not. " Where is Legion-59?"
Nox-23 looked displeased at hearing Legion-59 name but it only lasted for a second. "Oh he had to meet a friend so we spit up."
"So?" Twilight asked.
"So?" Nox-23 replied, confused.
Twilight sighed and shook her head in disbelief. "So what did he want to talk to you about?"
Nox-23 broke eye contact with her and stared straight ahead. "I'll tell you later."
Twilight wasn't too happy with Nox-23 deflecting her question. She would have spoken up about it but as they were standing in a area filled with people, making a scene discouraged that idea. Once more was that they were finally getting close enough to Xur to talk to him and for Twilight to finally see him.
Xur looked very... different from anything that Twilight had seen before. His all black clothes covered almost every inch of his body. The only visible part was his face and even then there were no definable features thanks to the inky blackness that seem to cover his face. He wavered back and forth like a drunk trying to remain balanced. For a moment he stopped when his eyes fell upon Twilight. Twilight looked back at him. Into those Yellow eyes. It felt like those eyes were swallowing her up. Bidding her into the darkness. She did not notice the crowd became silent, waiting how the two would react to each other.
Twilight jumped in surprised when Xur spoke. "Greetings, I am Xur, agent of the Nine."
"Oh.. Hello I'm Twilight Sparkle." Somewhere a groan was heard from the crowd. Through whether it was because of the of the anticlimax or if they were just annoyed with how long it was taking for Twilight to do business with Xur.
"So what Exotics do you have this week my good yet mysterious man." Jeremy asked, breaking the odd atmosphere that had befallen them.
The Agent of Nine seamlessly transition to serve Jeremy leaving Twilight to watch inquisitively at their transaction. "I have 'Mask of the Third Man' 'Claws of Ahamkara' 'MIDA Multi Tool' and Exotic Chest armor engram."
Jeremy shrugged. There is nothing I need. what about you Nox-23?" Nox-23 answered with a simple shake of the head. "Twilight."
The mare nodded. "Actually yes. Xur, how are these Exotic gear made?"
Some Guardians looked at the mare knowingly. She had not been the first to ask that question. Thankfully, all of them, even the less patient Guardians held their tongue. "I do not how they are made. Only that I am to sell them." Xur answered the same way as he had many times before.
Twilight was of course not satisfied with that answer. She was downright agitated with the lack of explanation, however before she could make a remark she felt Nox-23 hand on her withers. "Let’s leave it at that for now. Don't want to keep everyone waiting." Nox-23 pointed a thumb back at the everyone waiting to get to Xur.
Several Guardians pushed past the three off duty Guardians toward Xur. Reluctantly Twilight backed away from the odd vender, following Nox-23 and Jeremy out of the crowd.
"So what's next?" Jeremy asked once they were free of the mass of Guardians. Twilight was only half listening. The lack of concrete information had left her drained of enthusiasm.
Nox-23 did not answer immediately. His eyes wandered away from Jeremy toward the City and beyond. "I think I know."
Two and a half hours later Jeremy, Nox-23 and Twilight Sparkle arrived at the farm lands on the outskirts of the city. The bus that had delivered them to their location drove off along the dirt road to it's next stop. Jeremy waved at the bus or more specifically to a dark skinned woman in the back waving back.
The countryside was beautiful, not that the city or Tower didn't have their own kind of majestic allure, but for Twilight It felt much more similar to her home then any previous place she had been too. So many familiar smells and sounds. It finally felt like the day was getting better.
Nox-23 on the other hand was grumbling to himself. It had been his decision to take a bus, of course with Jeremy just tagging along and Twilight being a moody mare who couldn't care less at the moment it wasn't that hard for that chose to be made. Unfortunately Nox-23 would come to regret that chose. The bus driver had been a dick to Twilight, calling her an animal and ordering Nox-23 to remove her and find transport that does take dirty animals. Even after they informed him of the Speaker's announcement which he apparently didn't hear about and Twilight proving her intelligence he demanded double the fair for her. The ride itself was on filled with stares and questions aimed at Twilight minus the few women that Jeremy distracted with his good looks and wonderful stories. Nox-23 was about to call the trip a bust when he saw Twilight's expression when the acres of grass, trees and various types of farmland. Twilight was beaming. Her smile alone was enough to change his mind. Nox-23 would hold his judgment, for now.
The three of them walked along the side of the dirt road that had seen more action from the weather then vehicles. On the other side of them was wooden fence baring them from the corn field the laid beyond. Ahead of them, just a few yards away was a driveway to a house and barn. Twilight stopped in front of said driveway with interest. It wasn't a apple farm but she was curious as to how similar it could be. "What to see if anyone's home?" Jeremy asked. The young mare nodded.
'knock, knock'
"..."
'knock, knock, knock'
No answer, no one seemed to be in the house. Nox-23 took the incentive to look out into the field to see if he could find anyone out there. As He did so Twilight put their heads together to figure out what they should do.
"Do you think they are at home at all?" Jeremy asked.
Twilight tapped her chin the shrugged. I don' t know. Back home at least one of the Apple family was at home or easily findable at least most of the time. But this isn't Equestria or the Apple's farm." Twilight sighed. "Nox-23? see anyone?" The Titian shook his head. "Then I guess nobody's home."
"Or they are in the barn. None of you have check there yet." Jeremy's Ghost suggested from her intangible location. Everything became dead silent. The Guardians with blood and flesh become flushed in the face. The Exo just stood like statue staring off into the distance. A moment later his head dropped with the speed of a blink strike.
Once the three of got over their embarrassment they made their way to the barn which located not to far behind the house. Jeremy was the first to notice someone was in there. "My Ghost is right, someone is in there." The barn door itself was open allowing easy entry.
The barn looked very similar to the Apple family's barn, right down to the red paint on the outside. The inside was wasn't half bad either. there was blocks of hay here and there as well as a few stalls in the back. The smell was something less desirable though, even Twilight's nose scrunched up when they first entered. "Hello?" Twilight called out.
"Just a moment." someone replied. A moment later one of the stall doors opened and a man limped out of it, a very familiar man. "Now what... can... I." The man stopped, recognizing the his visitors.
"Ohmei?"
The sound of silence between the Guardians was broken by the clanking of a bucket, once in Ohmei's hands, now on the ground. "Nox-23, Twilight." he sputtered. "What are you doing here?" The human warlock stared at them generally surprised to see them.
"We're giving little Twily here a tour of our fair and only City." Jeremy jumped in with his answer. earning an brow raise from Twilight.
"What are you doing here?" Twilight asked.
bending down to pick up the previous fallen bucket Ohmei answered her. "I work around the farms sometimes when I'm not out there." He pointed upwards. "It's nice to see the two of you again. I honestly didn't expect to see either of you again so soon. Who is that...with..." Ohmei hesitated as he realized who was with his to former teammates. "You’re Jeremy the Golden duelist!"
Jeremy bowed. "At your service. I'm here just as a tag along so don't mind me."
"Oh...ok." Ohmei said hesitantly. "I'm going to clean out this food bucket." He pointed behind him to a hose on the ground. Ohmei limped toward it.
"food bucket? for what." Twilight asked.
The occupant of the very stall Ohmei walked out of answered that question. A whinny, it sounded so familiar to Twilight yet... Twilight slowly step forward. Ohmei stood frozen where he was, eyes darting between the mare and the stall. Jeremy Whispered to to his Ghost. "You need to record this!! The meeting of two equine, once divided by the space between our worlds." The Ghost just rolled her eye.
The stall door had been left opened as Ohmei had attended. A rubbery bar was hooked across the door frame preventing its occupant from leaving. A large brown head poked out of the stall and immediately turned toward the incoming pony. Twilight stopped short, just a foot away from the larger animal. The Horse's ears pointed forward toward Twilight, curious at what it was sensing. It exhaled loudly into Twilight's face. The mare's head jerked back in surprise. However a second later she returned the favor.
The horse suddenly whinnied in Twilight's face then retreated back into its stall to munch on some hay. "well that's just rude." Twilight snorted. She turned away to find Nox-23 and Jeremy staring blankly at her. Behind her Ohmei scratched his head in confusion. "What?"
"What the hell just happened." Jeremy pointed to the stall.
"Horses greet each other like that...Though after that reactions can go either way. I'm surprised nothing more extreme happened."
"I'm surprised that Twilight knew what to do." Jeremy's Ghost intervened in on the conversation.
"Oh that?" Twilight pointed toward the munching horse. "Parents do that with their newborn foals so that it creates a bond and identifier between the three of them. I was a little surprised at first that he was doing it when he is most definitely not a newborn. " Twilight stated, intrigued by the discovery.
Ohmei Started washing down the inside of the feed bucket with a hose he had grabbed. "So how long do you plan on staying."
"Till the next bus comes, which is in an hour for those of us that need a reminder." Nox-23 Ghost answered promptly.
The arrive of the bus was still quite some time away as indicated by the Ghost. The single hour however wasn't enough to truly tour the countryside. The best course of action was to stay where they were. Though, Staying still and watching Ohmei work was not something a decent Guardian would do. "Would you like some help?"
At a farm there is no end to the work that can be done. If it can't be done that day it would be the next. After some convincing Ohmei let them help, splitting them up into two groups. Twilight was teamed up with Jeremy and Nox-23 with Ohmei.
Ohmei limped along as he opened the gate to the paddock. Nox-23 followed behind with the horse that they met when the first came here. "I'm I doing this right?" Nox-23 asked. was he pulled the horse into the paddock with the lead line he held.
Ohmei nodded. Yea just pull off the halter then come out and I'll we close the gate. Nox-23 nodded in compliance, pulling the halter of the horse's head. The horse, having spotted a good spot of grass ignored the Exo as he retreated. Once the gate was closed once more the two men leaned back on it.
“Heading back soon?" Ohmei asked tilting his head to Nox-23.
"Yea." Nox-23 paused for a moment as he contemplated an idea. "Do you wanted to come with?”
Ohmei head snapped toward Nox-23. For a brief moment he smiled. That smile however faded into a deep melancholy frown. "I...I'm sorry but I can't."
"Why?"
"I just can't."
Nox-23 folded his arms front of him and shook his head. oh no, I'm not taking that as an answer. Is someone bothering you, Is the owner here blackmailing you?"
Ohmei looked completely appalled at Nox-23 suggestion. "What, no Mr. Bacon isn't like that... he's just kind old man who helped me." The Warlock sighed. "I guess...I can tell you why. It's not like you wouldn't be able to find out." Ohmei lowered his head to look at the ground, unwilling or unwanting to face Nox-23 as he spoke. "Half a year ago I was in a prefecture not to far from here visiting the local pet store. I was just leaving it when I saw a man running past me with a purse in his hands. A woman yelling thief made it crystal clear that it wasn't his. I did what I thought would be right and chased after him." Ohmei let a small chuckle escape his lips. "I was able to keep up with him pretty well but I couldn't enough speed to overtake him so an idea popped into my mind. One that I will regret for forever. I used my Nova bomb."
Nox-23 stared hard at the man. "Your the one who illegally used a super in the city!"
The human guardian nodded. "I didn't hit anyone I just shot it to startle the thief. I startled more than just the thief. Property damage, injuries, panic. At least the thief was caught. I was brought before the Vanguard and charged with recklessness endangerment. I was locked away for awhile. Which was a lighter sentencing then I thought I would get. Actually The first time we met was my fourth week back into active duty. I...I before that I went back to the city. word had spread about my actions, almost everyone looks at me with hate fear or a bit of both. Mr. Bacon is one of the few that didn't, even gave me a job taking care of animals."
"Sounds like you really animals... I guess that's why you were drawn to our Equestrian friend."
Ohmei's face turned a light red. "A talking alien pony, what animal enthusiast wouldn't want to get and know her. Speaking of which." Ohmei point a finger across from them. Nox-23 turned to look at what had caught his friend's attention.
Jeremy was making his way over to them and was currently walking through a large puddle of water. Twilight Sparkle on the other hand was not walking by him or flying. Instead she was piggybacking on the hunter. Her wings were spread out to help her balance. Her hooves shifted uneasily on Jeremy's shoulders and back. Several times Twilight made half-hearted attempts to get off Jeremy's back but to no avail.
"In Soviet Russia..." Ohmei whispered to Nox-23 all the while quietly chuckling to himself.
The moment the two was passed the puddle Twilight immediately jumped off Jeremy's back. "well you don't see that everyday." Nox--23 commented mirthfully.
Jeremy shrugged. "Well as we were cleaning out the chicken coop Twilight so happen to divulge to me that her kind are going to take over the world and free all the Equine from our suppression. I for one welcome our pony overlords."
Twilight faced-hooved while Ohmei and Nox-23 laughed.
"We should get going." Jeremy's Ghost interrupted their fun.
"Thank you for letting us stay." Twilight said to Ohmei.
"It was good to see you guys again. Hope we can do this again."
"Agreed" Exo and Mare said in unison.
After saying their goodbyes Nox-23, Twilight and Jeremy left the barn traveling to the bus stop that they were dropped off at. Only a short time after they got there the bus arrived, thankfully with a more a decent driver. Seats picked out and curious passengers losing interest in Twilight, the bus began to move. As the bus traveled along the road it passed a single figure, waving at it was it went along. It was none other than Ohmei. Twilight smiled and waved back. "Hope things get better for you." Nox-23 said from behind her.
"What was that Nox?" Twilight asked her metal companion.
Nox-23 shook his head. "Oh nothing. Just talking to myself."
“Why me? I’m not normally up during this time of day anyway.”
“Because out of all the Guardians I know I know you the most.”
“Tell me, when does seeing a person at night watching the stars from your hangar bay count as knowing them. We barely even talk to each other.”
“We’ve talked more than I have with most of other Guardians. They just come to me for ships and sparrows.”
Can’t you just go alone?”
“Na ah that’s a no can do. Cayde-6 said I need a Guardian escort outside the Tower cause i'm important Tower staff. Which I can understand in some regard but it is still annoying. Anyway will you help me?”
“...”
“”service tag B449 ‘Winter’ Will you help me find Twilight Sparkle?”
Twilight and her companions walked along the green healthy grass of the a small park they had found on their tour of the city. Twilight Sparkle was on a mission here in the park. A mission of utmost importance.Her self appointed mission: To find children.
“Finding Awaken and Human kids with two grown man… yep not creepy in the slightest.” Jeremy said pensively.
Nox-23 shrugged “It’s not a big deal.”
Jeremy gave him a blank look as he tap Nox-23 shoulder with his knuckles. “that’s only because you Exo’s don’t have offspring so you may not be familiar with the term stranger danger.”
“Pony!” from the voice of a child stopped any continuation of Jeremy’s and Nox-23 conversation.
A young boy no older than 10 was running toward them, or rather Twilight. “Tavor!” A voice with a robotic ring to it called out. The boy halted to a stop. His head slowly turned toward the origin of the voice all the while looking like he had been caught with a hand in the cookie jar.
Several yards behind the boy stood a Exo surrounded chidren. A Exo they had seen before by the name of Chrysto-12
Chrysto-12 immediately noticed the three. He gave them a simple and quick nod of acknowledgement before returning his focus to the child before him. Tavor seemed to shrink under the Exo’s gaze. “I’m sorry.” Chrysto-12 continued to give the kid a stern gaze. “I shouldn’t separate from the group for any reason.” The stare remained. “Or talk to strangers without your permission.” The young boy received a pat on his head.
“Permission granted.”
Instantly Twilight was surrounded the gang of children. “Uh, what. Guys this isn’t want i meant when I said I wanted to see foals of your world. Nox? Jeremy? help!”
Ignoring the already doomed pony. Nox-23 introduced Jeremy to Chrysto-12. “...We met the day I took Twilight out into the field, though he isn’t much of a talker. Jeremy held out his hand which Chrysto-12 shook with his own.
“So what’s all this about.” Nox-23 pointed at the kids.
“Ow! don’t pull that, that’s my ear!
“Daycare. The Officials wanted an astute, level headed, and well trained person. to keep the children safe. “they got a Guardian instead.”
“My wings aren’t toys.”
A small glance at the kids and pony revealed the young ones extending Twilight’s wings and were either trying to tickle each other or wear it like a hat. “Well it seems like you know what you are doing.” jeremy motion to the kids.”and are very good at it.”
Chrysto-12 nodded. “Yes, I have done this many times. I must be going now. It was...nice to see you again. Nox-23.” Chrysto-12 then called out to the children. “Time to go!” The horde of kids detached themselves from the poor pony without complaint and immediately began to follow the Exo.
“If I ever get the idea to want to see any foals of another race remind me what happened here.” Nox-23 and Jeremy looked down at the mare who spoke. While Nox-23 was able to keep a straight face. Jeremy chuckled loudly at the mare’s condition. Twilight’s mane was disheveled badly. Some feathers on her wings were sticking out at odd angles and her Kimono was wrinkled to a great degree, almost splitting open. Boy was today turning at to be a mix bag of fun and disappointment.
“GGOOOODDD afternoon everyone! I’m your host Roger Roger and I’m here with my co-host Bender at the Last City Radio Tower with the latest news for all you Guardians out there.”
“Now for our top story today. We received word not to long ago that the major Foundries will not be able to produce any new weapons this year.”
“That’s right Roger. Why you ask? Well look no farther than the City Consensus. Earlier this year the Consensus came to an agreement to cut funding to the Foundries and instead focus on renovating the city. Tex Mechanica on the other other hand is facing a whole nother problem.”
“Yes, this is due to an attempt by two high ranking employees of Tex Mechanica trying to bribe the manager of the crucible, Lord Shaxx into promoting their weapons as the Crucible gear to have. Lord Shaxx however wasn’t too happy by their little stunt and instead has declared the ban of their weapon for several months
“in other news, The Speaker has requested that all Guardians behave in front of our four legged guest. This is to insure a possible Alliance with her kind within the future.”
“There is however no information on when that is likely to happen as there is nothing known past her Name, equine appearance and the rumor that she has the power of magic at her beck and call...
“Look at that Ass.”
Nox-23 turned to his friend, shocked anger in his eyes. “What did you say?” The Titan quickly stole a glance at Twilight. She had her back to them, talking to a florist about the edibility of flowers. “Where the hell did that comment come from. I know you're a womanizer but you have never said like something like that before.”
Jeremy replied to Nox-23’s reaction with a confused expression. “Um I’m talking about the actual animal that is pulling the carriage down there.” Jeremy pointed a donkey several yards away from Twilight.
“oh.” Nox-23 replied, quite embarrassed at himself.
“Jeremy just shrugged. “Happens to the best of us.”
The two of them watched as the donkey stopped to let off its passengers. The ears of the donkey perked up as it lifted it’s head. Something had caught it’s attention and judge by the angle it was looking into that something was Twilight. It’s nose up in the air trying to grasp Twilight’s scent.
The driver was preoccupied with chatting with his customers to realize that his animal was slowly trotting away, toward the young mare. The two Guardians gave a quick glance to each other. In that moment they were able to convey to each other what they needed to do. Nox-23 would make his way to Twilight just in case and Jeremy would watch in amusement was the event unfolded.
Log Entry 154 It has been several days since we have been given the O.K. to research the Fallen’s equipment and weapons. We have already dismantled some of the weapons as well as test out how they worked. Through these tests we have discovered that the weapons have a sort of inductor that gives the weapon’s projectiles a specialized damage type beyond the standard kinetic type that Nox-23 used. There are three known to us so far. Solar, Arc, and Void, none of which are tied to any magic. Further study is needed to understand more.
With this discovery however, one must ask. Where does magic fit in.
-Gear Box
Twilight and her two humanoid friends were reaching the end of the tour of the city, and the day itself was soon reaching its Twilight hours. Instead of taking a bus back home the three of them were walking the streets back to the apartment.
Twilight tried her best to continue on her way home but failed in doing so more times than succeeding against temptation. Thankfully Nox-23 and Jeremy were patient enough to wait for her.
“Look at this beautiful sight ruined.” A familiar voice lead the three to a familiar face.
Zeelock, smiling back at the three of them from his chair in front of a small cafe. He was not alone. sitting across from him was another man with white hair, blue eyes and light gray war paint around his eyes. Both had a cup of tea which happened to be Earl Grey, on the table that was between them.
Instead of waiting for anyone or pony to speak up about his colorful comment he completed it. “By the ugly buildings behind them.”
Zeelock was met by silent stares from unamused Guardians. “Well they can’t all be winners. The warlock shrugged.
“so how is the guardian life treating you Twilight?” the mystery man asked.
“ah... good?” Twilight answered looking at him curiously.
The man smiled at Twilight’s answer then suddenly slapped his forehead. “I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself did I. I’m Victor Smith.”
The man jumped out of his seat, hand extended toward Twilight. “Nice to meet the first alien to fight with us instead of against us. Twilight casually raised her hoof and shook it with Victor. Victor then shook Jeremy and Nox-23 hands as well.
Victor’s mouth slowly curled up in a mischievous smile. Anyone looking at him could see a small glint in his eyes. The glint of a mastermind creating a plan within his mind that could either be beneficial or disastrous to the health of the three standing before him.
“I have a proposition for the three of you. There is a big mission that the Vanguard are calling guardians on. A big one that will take us to Mars to face a threat to the Traveler. I have been asked to put a team together to head in and take out that threat. I already have two others joining me, now i just need three more.”
Without hesitation Jeremy spoke up. “I’m in.” Jeremy and Victor turned to Nox-23 next.
The Exo’s purple eyes slowly lowered down until they were met with a second pair of purple orbs.”Only if Twilight thinks she is ready for this.”
The mare took on a solemn look as she thought of her options. She could play it safe and sit out. There were plenty of other guardians who would gladly take on the mission while she could step back and do something else to contribute to the Last City. However what would others think of her. She can here to help, it is what she told everyone the day she was introduced to the world. She needed to do something worth noticing, something that would make people think of her as a great assist to the Guardians and not some straw in the haystack. She needed to say yes, No she wanted to say yes. Determination in her eyes she looked up into Victor’s blue ones. “You have Nox and me at your side.” No sooner did she saw that she was picked up off the ground and spun around like a rag doll.
“Finally ah found you little pony, you’re hard ta find in a city this big.”
“Holiday? What are you doing.” The spinning stopped and Twilight’s feet found purchase on the ground. Unfortunately She had yet to recover and ended up teetering back and forth. “Twilight are you okay?” Nox-23 asked the wobbling pony.
“Yep just need to stir the chicken and dance the song.” The others looked at each other in confusion, trying to decipher what Twilight meant, though Zeelock and slightly after Victor, started laughing.
When Twilight finally came around she found that two more people had join her and her friends. One of them was Winter, whom she briefly met in Russia. The other, however, was a short blonde haired female that she had not met before. She smelled like oil and grease and wore a sleeveless mechanic’s suit over her body, though the zipper was left just below her chest. The woman smiled at Twilight and held out her hand. “I’m Amanda Holiday, The Tower’s head mechanic and Shipwright, nice to meetcha’.”
After introductions, the they took seats and ordered of food and drinks for those among the group that could consume them.
“So why were you looking for me?” Twilight asked as she took a bit of her salad.
Holiday nodded, almost opening her mouth spitting out her food. Insead she swallowed which unfortunately she did a little too quickly resulting with her coughing. “Whoa, went down the wrong pipe there.”
“You ok?” Nox-23 asked.
“Yea, yea. now the reason why I came all this way to find you is that I wanted to ask you where you got the metals that you and your Exo friend gave us for analysis.”
“Oh you mean the Mithril and Orichalcum.” Twilight’s response was followed by Holiday spilling her drink.
While the Shipwright went about cleaning the mess Zeelock lean toward Twilight with a prepex expression. “So you are telling us that your world has mythical metals, the likes of which have only been known to exist in fantasy stories.”
Twilight blanked. “Yes, I’m actually surprised that you have heard of them before.”
“Um Nox? You didn’t happen to actually find a way into the land of make-believe instead of another planet did you?”
“Sometimes I wonder if we really did.” Nox-23’s Ghost answered.
“can we get back on topic here?” Holiday asked, now done with cleaning up. “Twilight How much more of this stuff do you have in your homeland. If we had more here we could be cranking out stronger ships and gear than ever before. Heck If this is truly Mithril and Orichalcum ah’m sure there is a ton of people who would want to get there hands on it. You could become a rich pony.”
The gathered party looked to Twilight for the information they seeked. “Well…” Twilight started off weakly “I don’t actually know how much we have on my planet. I have never really paid attention to stuff like that. Also Orichalcum and Mithril can only be found on Dragon’s Lair Island. I’m sure the name speaks for itself.”
“You gotta be kidding me. If dragons lived there then how did you mine there in the first place.” Winter asked.
“Every few years dragons all across the world come together for the great Dragon Migration. The migration itself last for about a month which is the only time ponies can mine. Once that month starts to reach it’s end the miners collapse the mine and leave.”
“And the dragons haven't caught on yet?” Jeremy’s Ghost asked.
Twilight shook her head. “Most dragons tend not to care about anything other than food, gems, and their hoards. As long as they don’t see anypony or smell any residual scent by their hoards the miners won’t have any problems.”
Amanda Holiday leaned back in her chair and sipped what was left of her drink. “You have given me some things to think about Twilight Sparkle. Unfortunately, I’ve been away from the tower too long and I rather not yelled at so I’m going to take my leave here...but hey if need something done Ship or Sparrow wise just let me know, I’ll see if I can help out.
“Um I don’t have a Sparrow.” Twilight replied sheepishly.
“Hmm? I see, well it was nice to finally met you see ya guys later.” Holiday flagged down a waiter to pay for her drink. Winter said nothing to the rest of the group and only gave them a small courtesy nod before leaving with the Shipweight.
Eventually, everyone split up to do their own thing before the day ended leaving Twilight Nox-23 and his Ghost to walk home.
Nox-23 looked down to the pony besides him. She was to focused on the looking ahead to notice. Nox-23 however saw the faint smile on her face. While the day had it’s ups and downs it was nevertheless a success in improving Twilight’s mood. He too was happy with how the day went. Nox-23 and Twilight were so caught up in their thoughts that they did not notice that a someone was watching them from afar.
The figure watched them for a little while longer then walked in the opposite direction shaking his head.
Nox-23 sat in the pilot’s seat of his ship. Twilight Sparkle flew in her own ship the “Fang of Nyx”. After training with Nox-23 and his Ghost she had learned most of the in and outs of flying through space. Though it was a good idea to have the Ghost stay with her just in case.
They weren’t the only Guardians either. Several fireteams of Guardians flew with them, all for the mission they were about embark on.
“Guardians” The voice of Zavala, Guardian Vanguard spoke to the gathered warriors of light. “Today we face a huge threat. One that can doom us all if left unchecked. Somewhere down on the planet below you the Black Heart resides. Seek it out and destroy it. And...come back safe.”
The comms went silent for only a moment. “Alright everyone you have your assignments. Begin the mission.
As one the ships broke out of their orbit and headed to the planet below. Mars.
[ hr]
Several teams of Guardians landed in the Burrens of Mars. Twilight and Nox-23 transmated right next to each other while Jeremy and Victor appeared some several yards away.
Any discussions were halts as A male Warlock jumps in front of the pack. “Alright everyone find your teams. You should already received word on your Assignments so…”
The rest was disrupted by the the sounds of Sparrows revving up. Not a second later to Sparrows shot off through the crowd nearly hitting a few people before breaking away into the dusty dunes of the planet.
“Leeroy! Jenkins!” The Warlock screamed, but it was futile, the two brothers had disappeared from sight. Other Guardians took the incentive and summoned their Sparrows as well. Soon only a few of them remained in the staging area.
Among the Guardians left behind three made their way to Twilight and her friends A Titan, a Hunter, and a Warlock. The Hunter broke away from the others waving at the group. While no one could place the armor the New Monarchy royal shader gave away what faction the hunter belonged to.
“Yo, looks like we are all here...it’s me Victor.” the Hunter said noticing confused stares he was getting.
Recognizing the voice Nox-23 spoke “So you didn’t go head like the others?”
“Victor shook his head. “Nea, as much as I wouldn’t mind going it alone. I can’t let my crew hanging. He pointed back to the Titan and Warlock coming up besides him.
“We are not your crew.” The Warlock spoke with a feminine monotone voice. Her armor refelting her reflecting her ties to Future War Cult. “Victor, the only reason I waited is because you convinced me that the extra help was worth it. I am not nor will ever be a part of your crew.” The Warlock said matter-of-factly.
‘If everyone is here can we go now. I’m missing out on the fighting.” The Titan wearing Dead Orbit colors said slamming his fists together.
Twilight looked at the Titan and Warlock then back at Victor. “I hate to be the rude one here but who are this people?”
“Ah, well here we have Syfis Lumis a so called ‘loner Warlock.’ who not such a loner.”
“Only because you keep joining me on my missions.” Syfis retorted.
“And my Titan friend here goes by the name Hex-107.”
“Well i'm Twilight and this is Nox-23 and Jeremy nice to met all of you.”
Syfis nodded her head in compliance while Hex-107 half-heartedly waved at them. “good, now We all know each other. Let’s get going already. Hex-107 said impatiently. FIve Sparrows were summoned on to the Martian landscape. As soon as he was on his Sparrow Hex-107 took off followed by Jeremy and Syfis.
As Victor, Nox-23 along with Twilight got on there Sparrows Victor laughed. “They should really start up some kind of racing event for us Guardians.”
The Trio sped off in order to caught up with their enthusiastic fireteam members. “Victor.” A disembodied voice called out to the Hunter.
“Hey, Sparky what’s up?” Victor answered his Ghost. Glancing over to Nox-23 and Twilight it looked like they too had their attention focused on something unseen.
“There has been a change of plans. “Fireteam Stem won’t be able to make it through the portal. They were ambushed by Minotaurs before they could get into the gate. They won’t be able to enter the gate. We’ve been pick to enter in their stead.”
Underneath his helmet Victor smiled. “This is going to be interesting.”
The rest of the fireteam had stopped in the Valley of the Kings Large rock formations resided on either side of them. Nox-23 and Victor slowed down to a stop right next to them. “We need to hurry.The other teams are handling the Cabal and an increasing amount of Vex.” Syfis stated. “The biggest problem for us is the Minotaurs and Hydras near the gate. There are smaller units between them and. us however They will be taken care of by Fireteam RWBY, Burnout, and Tron.”
“Twilight Can’t you teleport us right next to the Gate?” Nox-23 asked. The other Guardians not familiar with her abilities stared at her questionly.
The young mare however shook her head. “I can teleport no problem, but doing so near so many enemies would be a bad idea. First off my teleport spell isn’t subtle. I’m not just disappearing and reappearing in different locations.” Twilight paused for a moment coming to a realization of sorts. Shaking her head she continued. ‘We don’t have time for me to explain the intricate workings of a teleport spell so let me just say that the spell cause a flash of light and smoke in the affected areas as the spell accounts for the displacement of atoms within the teleport field. The Vex would be able notice this and start bombarding us with their weapons before we can safely walk through the gate. Don’t...don’t forget i can’t recover like you can.”
Nox-23 looked down at the ground. Disappointed at himself for forgetting how variable Twilight really was.
Syfis on the other hand had taken the context of what Twilight said in a different direction. “Twilight Sparkle.” Syfis said, grabbing the mare’s attention. “ Am I correct in that you are able to transfer all of us from one location to another in a single trip.?”
Twilight nodded. “I would still need to have seen the place that I’m going to in order for the spell to work. Other then that teleporting all of us would be else. Why?”
“There are several structures in front of the Gate. If you can teleport us by the side of one away from the Minotaurs and Hydras we will have a better chance of making our way to the Gate.” before anyone could put in a word in Syfis summoned her Ghost to her. “Sprite inform Fireteam RWBY to keep the area left of the structures as clear as possible. We will be dropping in behind enemy lines.”
the battle for the Gate was intensified, The fighting between the Vex and Guardians had roused the Cabal from the nearby base. The Cabal had no interest taking sides, attack both Vex and Guardians with equal prejudice.
Within the Vex held territory several stone like structures lined the path to the heavily guarded Gate. One such large structure stood alone, clear of enemies. With poof of pinkish-purple smoke and a flash of light six figures appeared ready to fight.
A Hobgoblin was first to notice the unwanted guest. Turning around it and took aim, however a sniper shot to it’s weapon bearing arm staggered it enough for it miss Twilight’s group. Victor quickly dispatched the vex before the group moved on, Unfortunately they didn’t get far as two Minotaurs and several Harpies appeared before them. Without any cover to hide behind most of the fireteam used evasive maneuvers to dodge incoming fire while return with their own. Hex-107 on the other hand ran straight to the Minotaurs, jumping over the Harpies. pulling out a shotgun the Exo fired several times at one of the large vex enemy taking down it’s shield and damaging it a little. The Minotaur’s fist shot out in an attempt to hit Hex-107. Another round of shotgun pellets ended its existence before it could connect.
The second minotaur didn’t wait to engage the Titan. It shoved the body of it’s comrade onto Hex-107. The Exo jumped back to avoid being crushed. As he did so the Minotaur fired it’s Torch Hammer at him. Hex-107 jumped away avoiding the majority of the blast but not the splash wave that came in it’s wake.
Ignoring the pain that shot through his body, Hex-107 took out his rocket launcher and fired. The rocket hit. The blast destroyed the Minotaur but also sent Hex-107 flying backwards.
Hex-107 landed on his back with “omf”. Before he could get up a hand shot out in front of him. Attached to that hand was Victor. Hex-107 glanced past him to see that the Harpies had been taken care of. Without further hesitation the Exo grabbed the extended apantiage and was pulled up by his friend.
“Watch Out.” Both Guardians turned to see a Hydra looking at them through the gap between structures. A second later it fired at them. A pink bubble appeared around them taking the hits from the Hydra’s weapon. However within three shots cracks were already spreading throughout the surface. “Get out of there, I can’t hold it much longer.” Twilight yelled. her voice strained as the magic she was casting to keep the bubble from collapsing out right.
The Exo and Human sprinted to the edge of the barrier, passing through it just before it shattered. Instead of going for cover the two Guardians ran toward the the Hydra. Hex-107 jumped into the air using his lift ability to casually evade the Hydra’s projectiles.On the ground Victor takes out his sniper and fires at the red eye of the large Vex.
The Hunter only gets three shots in before the Hydra turns on him. A Lighting Grenade, thrown by Hex-107 lands right underneath the Hydra sending jolts of electricity through its metallic frame. Unable to escape or withstand the power of the grenade the the Hydra exploded.
The victory was short lived however as more Vex teleported in. Nox-23 popped a bubble over his comrades. The momentary breather was appreciated by all.
Syfis looked at the Guardians around her who were either reloading their weapons or keeping an eye out on the incoming Vex. “ We need a plan, we won’t make it to the Gate like this.”
Victor glanced over at the Warlock “Oh, do you have something in mind?”
Syfis stared at Victor the sighed heavily “yes and...yes it involves one of you crazy Super Combo attacks.” Victor fist pumped the air.
“Twilight spared a moment to look at the two of them. “Super Combo attack.”
“YES, a super combo attack that uses Supers.” The over zealous Victor replied. Just follow our lead. Hex, time to go.”
Syfis, Victor and Hex-107 jumped up out of the safety of the bubble and onto the structure above them. ‘Well this could be good.” Jeremy said before following the three guardians. Twilight and Nox-23 just looked at each other and shrugged before the mare teleported the two to the others.
Nox-23 and Twilight immediately ducked down avoiding several slap rifle shots. Ahead of them Hex-107 jumped off the other side of the structure, his body glowing blue as he did so. A moment later he slammed down on the ground sending out a shockwave throughout the immediate area. several vex were ripped apart from the expanding wave of Arc energy. The more fortified Vex such as the Minotaurs remained functioning.
A flash of blue and Victor glowing blue with an arc blade appeared before the Vex. he dashed forward slicing up all who got in his way. Sadly Victor’s energy left him sooner than expected and in an awkward position within enemy lines. To his rescue was none other than Syfis, jumping from the structure while surrounded in purple. gather a massive amount of energy in her left hand. A quick wave of her hand and a ball of void energy shots out toward the enemy disintegrating them into nothing but leaving Victor completely unharmed.
“Thank you!!” The Hunter called out joyful. Syfis just sighed before looking for another target. While the three of them had thinned out the Vex some still remand. The three of them turned to the Gate to see that Twilight. Nox-23 and Jeremy were already in front of it, firing upon the enemy as they waited for their comrades.
Hex-107 pushed past Victor and Syfis running to the Gate. The Warlock and Hunter followed suit. Jumping, sliding, or shooting they made it to the Gate. Now all together again the six of them ran into the gate. even as their vision became warped by the energy of the Gate they did not hesitate heading into the unknown. “Good luck guys!”
The other side of the Gate was completely different from where they came in. Stone surfaces and green vegetation replaced the sandy, dry landscape. Twilight instantly turned around, hornat the ready. Her precautionary endeavor proved to be unneeded as all there was behind them was a wall of rocks.
“Where are we?” Hex-107 asked.
“We are...somewhere.” The Exo Ghost replied.
“That doesn’t help Orbs.” Hex-107 said flatly.
“No he’s right. Jeremy’s Ghost spoke. “I can’t get a read on where we are. Nor can i contact anyone . We are officially alone.”
Victor, striking a pose with a fist on his hip and the other hand pointing to the only exit spoke to his comrades. “Well then the only thing to do is to move forward and save the City from the Vex and whatever else is lurking in the dark. Onward my friends.” The Hunter leaped forward into the path ahead of them.
Syfis waved them forward. “Come on before he gets himself killed.
Surprisingly Victor hadn’t gone far. Before him were Vex yet they remained still, what's more was that with the amount of alien vegetation. “They are inactive.”
Twilight poked one in the leg. The Vex remain both emotionally and physically unmoved. “Maybe we should move on before we wake them up.” She suggested.
“Ah there is nothing here, let’s go.” Hex-107 said sternly
Not even a moment later two Goblins worked from behind their less mobile brethren. Six guardians however made quick work of them. A Minotaur teleported in bring its torch cannon to fire. A single shot escaped the muzzle. Twilight intercepted the projectile with a magic bolt from her horn. The projectile exploded mid flight. The rest of the Guardians ran forward firing their weapons at the large Vex taking it down in mere seconds.Two more Goblins appeared from a corridor from the right. Hex-107 ran at them then slid as he got close taking them both out with his shotgun. In a split second he was up on his feet.
Syfis’s hand landed on his shoulder making him turn around. “We need to stick together. We are completely in the dark here, do you not feel it?” Hex-107 tried to turn away from Syfis but she strengthened her grip on him. “Your light alone will not be enough. If we want to kill the Black Heart we do it together. I will not have anymore guardians dying on me because of stupid mistakes and foolhardy choices.” Syfis released him from her hold taking the lead from the rest of the group. “Now we go.”
“I hope he doesn’t run off again.” Nox-23 commented quietly to avoid Hex-107 from hearing.
“He won’t. This happens sometimes on missions. Hex charges ahead, Syfis eventual stops him and either tells him off or give a speech and wala he becomes a team player.”
The stone corridors eventually widen out with a moss like foliage covering more of the ground.A huge light shine from beyond. Becking them like a moth to a flame. It wasn’t until they had reached the end did they truly see where the Gate had taken them.
Before them laid a grand expanse. Above them there was no sky but rock, in front of them the ground dropped down to grassland like landscape with several large pathways cutting through the ground. In the middle a large mountain stood.
“Yeaa it’s a freaking maze.” Nox-23 declared unenthusiastically.
Victor inched forward till he was at the edge of the cliff. “So any bright ideas to get down?” The Grouped turned to look at Twilight.
“Or we can not exhaust the magical pony and head right. There is a path there that we can take.” Nox-23 Ghost stated matter-of-factly.
“Alright, we head right then.” Syfis ordered.
Queen Chrysalis sat quietly at a small round table in the middle of a grey room she had been led to. She along with two of her Honor Guard arrived at the border between Equestria and the Badlands several days ago. Since then they had been taken Fort Regine, a training base for the Royal Guard.
She had been in this room for just over an hour with nothing to do but sip on a cup of homemade ambrosia. Apparently that fat flank of a Princess likes to take her time. The sound of several metal shoed hoof steps and a quartet sounded heavier than others came closer to the door. ‘Speak of the devil.’
The door opened with four Royal guards entering first then the Princess, however it was not the Princess that Chrysalis had expected. Princess Luna waked into the room. “Queen Chrysalis, I hear you wish to speak with me.”
The dark mare and her guard made their way to the table. “I had expected your sister to meet with me not you.” The Queen answered snidely.
“She is busy at the moment.” Princess Luna replied calmly. “Whatever you were going to say to my sister you can say to me.”
The Queen shrugged. “If The Sun Princess is afraid to see me again she could just come out and say it.” Princess Luna’s eyes narrowed at the Changeling's comment. “But I digress, Very well Princess Luna It doesn’t matter which Princess I talk to however what I wish to speak to you with is of a matter that are not for the ears of our... short lived brethren. Unless you want to break another rule laid down by our predecessors.”
Princess Luna’s eye twitched as she kept herself from dropping her facade. “Lieutenant I must ask you and your stallions to leave.”
“But Your Highness It’s dangerous.” One of the Royal Guard no doubt the lieutenant spoke out, he then leered at the Guests on the other side of the table.
Princess Luna peered over to her lieutenant. “I will be fine Lieutenant. I know how to protect myself.
“You don’t have to worry your fuzzy little head over it. My own Honor Guard will be joining you outside the room as well. The Queen snidely remarked.
Teeth grinding the Lieutenant turned around. “Alright, you heard the Princess, move out on the double”. As they did so the Changelings moved to the door as well. Though one shot a worried glance at his Queen before exiting.
“Such dedicated ponies aren’t they. I wonder how they would react when you have to tell them the true extended history of the pony race.”
“I would like to know how you learned about it.”
Queen Chrysalis didn’t answer right away, instead she went to take a sip of her ambrosia. A dark blue hoof slammed down on the table making her pause. “Answer ME! You couldn’t have known about our race… unless.”
“Unless?” Queen Chrysalis smirked.
“Unless an Alicorn has taught you. But who?”
The Queen’s smirk grew. “I guess you're close enough for me to fill you in. I learned about the Visitor and the Alicorn Utopia from my mother, the Queen before me who in turn learned from her mother.”
Princess Luna’s eyes widen and the implications of the Changeling Queen was saying. “If what you say is true then you are from one of the groups left behind but...you are not a Alicorn.”
“No, what Alicorn blood I have in my veins is minuscule compared to my Changeling blood, that's what happens when your ancestors decide to genetically alter their bodies to fit their grand design.”
“I...I see. But you didn’t just come here to tell me about your lineage. “ Princess Luna stated.
The Queen shook her head. “No I didn’t I came here to make a deal.”
The Princess raised an eyebrow. What kind of deal would the Changeling Queen want and now of all times, after the attack in Equestria? Nevertheless it won't hurt to at least hear the deal. “Very well, what is this deal you speak of.”
Twilight and the Gang had finally done it the had gotten through the maze. However another problem had rear it’s ugly head. The had reached an area that had ended up a dead end or at least that was what it looked like at first.
“There are two Vex terminals here. I f another Ghost and i were to access those points we could gather more information. “ Jeremy’s Ghost explained to the hidden Guardians.
“Very well. Syfis replied. We will break up into two groups Victor, Hex-107 with me and the left. Twilight Jeremy and Nox-23 in the other head to the right. Any objection?” The five Guardians shook their head. Without another word the two groups split up and ran to their objectives.
Syfis’s group made quick time heading to the conduit, The surrounding structures provided great cover for them from the Vex, allowing them to reach the small tunnel just before the conduit without being noticed.
They were almost on top of their goal when a Harpy floated right in front of them. Vex and Guardian stared at each other for a second before the Harpy popped out it’s weapons. Victor was quicker, firing straight into it’s eye.
The destruction of the Harpy alerted the nearby Vex of the intruders. Several more Harpies appeared, firing their weapons Syfis and Victor fired back chipping away at their armor just enough for Hex-107 to fire a rocket at the group of them. A Goblin and Hobgoblin teleported in. sliding underneath the goblin’s slap rife Syfis returned fire with her fusion rifle. Hex-107 and Victor fired upon the Hobgoblin however none of them made a critical hit giving the Hobgoblin the split second it needed to put up it’s shield.
A Minotaur arrive just in time to support it’s comrade. It ran up to Syfis punching her before she could do anything. The punch sent her on to her back causing her to cry out in pain. At that moment the Hobgoblin’s shield gave out making it’s an excellent target of the Hunter and Titan.
“Here take this!” Victor yelled out as he threw a skip grenade at the Minotaur. The large Vex jerked as its body was it. Syfis fired her fusion rifle at it several time before the Minotaur.
As Syfis got up she called out to Victor. “Hurry and get you Ghost to the conduit.” The Guardian nodded, already running to their goal.
Meanwhile Twilight’s group was running across the field to their conduit. Unfortunately it was located on an elevated landscape that overlooked the rest of the area. It didn’t take long for them to be spotted.
Twilight Teleported herself and her teammates behind cover to avoid the incoming attack. “Well this is a problem.” Jeremy said, taking a quick glance over the stone cover. A Line rifle shot barely missed him as he ducked under cover again. A purple glowing orb dropped a few feet away from them.
“Grenade!” Nox-23 yelled. A purple bubble appeared around the orb just was it exploded. The bubble was destroyed in the blast but left the Guardians unharmed. Jeremy and Nox-23 looked at the young mare.
“I rather not need to do that to many more times.” Twilight huffed.
Jeremy smiled underneath his helmet. “I don’t think you need to worry about that.” His body glow a bright yellow as he jumped into the air. He fired three hot bullets each hitting a Vex, burning their body to ash in an instant.
Nox-23 and Twilight took their chance and ran out of their cover. “Cover me.” Twilight called to Nox-23. The Exo stood in front of her firing his auto rifle at the Vex. A moment later a Minotaur and goblin rose into the air and did not stop. A quick glance at Twilight and she answered. “Gravity control spell.
The three of them jumped or flew up to the ground above them. Twilight flew over a line rifle shot and countered by throwing the Hobgoblin into another Vex. Jeremy threw a knife at the Hobgoblin killing it and pinning the other Vex beneath it. He then walked up to the struggling enemy and shot it dead with one of his hand cannons.
“Ghost?” Nox-23 motioned his to the conduit. The Ghost appeared and flew through the air to a spot near the all not made of stone.
Whatever it needed to do was done in a matter of seconds the Ghost returned to Nox-23 backpack.
“Syfis, were are done here what’s your progress.” Jeremy spoke through the Ghost’s comm system. “Sprite just got to the conduit. Shouldn’t be long now.”
“Hey something just activated further up.” Nox-23’s Ghost spoke out.
“Sprite noticed it too. We meet up at that location.”
All six Guardians united without much trouble. Syfis immediately had her Ghost scan the area. “Ok.” Sprite said after seconds of scanning. “It looks like we can enter the Black Garden from here. All we need is access it was a Gate Lord.”
“We don’t have a Gate Lord on hoof do we?” Twilight asked.
Syfis shook her head “No we do not but we have the next best thing. The Warlock held out a hand, within it she held a small ball like object, the eye of the Gate Lord. The Eye rose into the air. At the same time several glass objects appeared and joined the with the Gate’s Lord Eye. A beam suddenly shot out of the Eye reflecting through the glass objects before hitting the wall.
The Ground shook below the Guardians as the wall turned out to be a door opening for them. Slowly they stepped through the door to an interesting sight.
A mass of Goblins kneeling before a mass of black liquid a ball shaped form hanging in the air. The Heart of Darkness no doubt. Twilight took a step back, which was noticed by Nox-23. “Twilight are you okay?”
The mare turned her head to him. “Ye...no...i don’t know. That thing... feels wrong I don’t know how to explain it.”
Nox-23 looked back at the Heart only to realize that the Goblins were staring at them.
“Think you guys can take down a God?” One of the Ghosts asked. “I don’t think we have a choice. Syfis replied.
“Actually the door behind us is still upon so we could run away.” Jeremy added wittily “But why would we do that when we have and fight like this on our hands.” The Hunter jumped forward blinking right in front of a teleporting Vex. Quickly the he pulled out his knife stabbing it in the stomach.
More Vex came. Twilight and the others opened fire on them killing a few before they retaliated. Nox-23 stepped in front of Twilight taking a few hits ment for her.
Syfis unleashed her super onto the Vex. Twilight teleported in front of Nox-23 following up Syfis attack with a magical beam attack of her own. “Get to Cover” Syfis yelled.
The six of them split up among the pillars and platforms. “Heads up people. Big ball of evil is doing something.” Jeremy warned the rest as he destroyed Goblin closing in on him. The Heart pulsed with dark energy, focusing it to one point until it finally shot out hitting and being absorbed into one of three tall statue.
The Guardians found themselves watching it as the Statue rotated around, arms freeing themselves from the rest of the body and the grey stone texture turning black and metallic. What once was a statue a Minotaur stood.
“Death approaches.” said Jeremy
“Better skedaddle.” Victor added.
The large Vex fired it’s torch cannon up the group forcing the group back behind the pillars. “There is one of him and six of us. We attack him in groups of two. Once it’s aggroed on one group another will take their place.” Syfis relayed her plan to the other guardians. “Hex and I will be first.
The Warlock and Titan step out and fired upon the Large Vex. The Vex, now having a clear target turned to fire back. Lucky the two returned to the safety of the pillar while Jeremy and Victor took their turn. As it switched to Nox-23 and Twilight turned the Exo noticed dark clouds forming on the other side of the area. “Incoming hostiles.” he yelled.
Harpies flew out of the clouds toward the Guardians. Jeremy broke from cover ignoring Victor’s call to him. With Thorn and The Last Word in hand Jeremy rushed the harpies flying toward Syfis and Hex-107.
He fired The Last Word at one that had flown into close range. His Thorn tore into a Harpy farther away.
“Look out!” someone yelled. Jeremy instinctively jumped forward barely dodging the Large Minotaur’s weapon. A rocket found it’s way to the Minotaur disrupting its attack on the Hunter.
Jeremy’s body burned with yellow light upon entering his super. With steady hand he fired two for two Harpies and and the final one for the Minotaur. The accumulative damage it had received destroyed enough of it’s armor for the Golden Gun to be the straw that broke the camel's back. The Vex called out as the burning bullet melted it’s core into a smothering mess of metal and white liquid.
“That, my good fellows is how the game is played.” Jeremy twirled The Last World in his hand.
“Not to burst your bubble but the Heart is acting up again.” Twilight said staring at it as once again it shot a pulse into one of the two remaining statues. Dark clouds once again started forming as well. Only this time Goblins and Hobgoblins dropped in.
“Round Two, Start.” Victor called out.
Nox-23 threw a magnetic Grenade at one of the new arrivals. The unlucky Vex looked down at the new addition to it’s chest just in time to watch it explode. The Blast killed the Vex and damaged the others. A second explosion killed even more.
Twilight blinked “Ok that reminds of a conversation I had with my friends long ago.”
Nox-23 looked down at his friend. “What are you talking about?”
“No time, Hobgoblin above us!” Twilight yelled firing at. The Hobgoblin fired it’s own weapon grazing the Exo before going down. “Nox!”
‘I'm ok, we have incoming.” Nox-23 said watching another black cloud form. Nox-23 realized it would be a bad idea to let the Vex get close to their position. Twilight would no doubt be hit more times than Nox-23 would want her to be. “Twilight focus on the Minotaur I’ll take care of these guys.”
Nox-23 took off running.
On the other side Jeremy had put a pause on attacking the second large Minotaur to watch Hex-107 rip the head of a goblin and started beating it to death with it. “That shouldn’t be physically possible.” He said both in awe and amusement.
Victor shot down a Hobgoblin then turned to the other Hunter “Yea, that is what my Friend Jimmy said last time he did that.”
“ Unlike some of us here we can’t spend our time just standing around and talking.” Syfis sneered.
“They have reinforcements coming in.” Hex-107 warned, aiming his auto at the darkening cloud before him. The Hunters quickly reloaded their weapons, readying themselves to attack both Minotaur and Goblins alike.
In time The Minotaur fell to the exceedingly large amount of weapons fire that it had taken. With it destroyed and the Goblins no longer teleporting in the Guardians look toward the last Statue.
“The Heart is weakening.” One of the Ghost proclaimed.
“Well that's good to heard.” Twilight sighed with relief. The Heart gave life to it's final Guardian and like before dark clouds foretold the coming of enemy Vex.
The once high spirited Guardians fell as they saw that the help the boss received was none other then more Minotaurs.
Fortunately the number of Minotaurs now on the field were less than the Goblins and Hobgoblins on the waves before them. Hex-107 acted first firing a rocket at the Minotaur advancing toward Syfis and his location. The rocket damaged it greatly but did not destroy it. The Minotaur fired its Touch Hammer quickly before Hex-107 could finish it off. The projectile flew past the Exo slamming into Syfis throwing her from her cover. She was on her feet in an instant despite the pain in her side. At that moment she noticed the large Minotaur coming to life, with her clear in it’s sights. Three bullets from three different locations all hit the same white weak point in the Minotaur’s abdomen making it flinch.
Syfis got herself to cover quietly thanking Twilight, Jeremy and Victor for the save. Seeing Hex-107 in trouble with two minotaurs trying to pulverize him into dust. Syfis leaps into the air and with a wave of her hand a single Nova bomb is hurled at the Vex. The Minotaurs are blown apart while leaving Hex-107 completely unharmed.
“I had it handled but thank you.”
After Flinching the large mechanical enemy the first time Twilight and the two Hunter had found out that they could continually make it flinch. The smaller Minotaurs didn’t seem to like it as much as the guardians did. While Hex-107 and Syfis were able to handle the ones coming from the left. Nox-23 however was having trouble defending the right side by himself. Even with his interference the Minotaurs were making their way to Twilight and the others.
Twilight took a moment from shooting to cast a magic wall between her and the Minotaurs just in time to stop several projectiles from hit her or her friends. Cracks begin appearing on the wall not long after under the heavy bombardment of the Torch Hammer. “It won’t hold for much longer.”
“Just cast another one.” Victor replied.
Twilight looked at him like he had grown three heads. “It’s not that easy. I can’t put in in the same place and I can only do it so many times before I exhaust myself.”
“I got it.” Hex-107 called out. Running up from the left and floating over the magical wall and into a purple dome. Nox-23 was in his own bubble shield fighting off some of Vex that had made their way in. He was fighting courageously against the Minotaur, however it was a losing battle for him. Even with his barrier giving the two Guardians Armor of light it was only time till he would fall to the Minotaurs. Hex-107 wasn’t going to allow that to happen.
Hex-107 charged into one of Minotaurs. The force of Hex-107 attack staggered the Vex. Nox-23 Moved forward and shot it with a shotgun at blank range. Blasting a hole in it’s chest. The next one was quick to attack with it’s fist. Nox-23 was quicker to guard. Hex-107 fired his own shotgun at the Minotaur while it was distracted by Nox-23.
The Minotaur backed off and as it did Nox-23 closed the gap punched it left and right. He then nailed a Magnetic grenade to it’s chest and kicked it out of the bubble before it could explode.
As if synchronized, the magic wall and barrier collapsed. A Trip mine and scatter grenades were immediately thrown at the Vex. Twilight scurried away from the fight periodically shooting the large Minotaur.
Syfis was busy handling her own Minotaur leaving it to Twilight to be the only one attacking the Boss. Extending this battle any longer would be detrimental to the Guardians. Without knowing how much more it would take to shoot the enemy done so instead She took to the air.
No longer being stunlocked the large Minotaur looked up at the flying pony. Twilight swore it was staring angrily at her. The moment passed and the Minotaur raises its weapon and fires at her. Twilight dodges underneath the projectile and over the next.
In order to use the spell she was aiming for she would need a few seconds to charge it up enough to do anything. The Minotaur was doing a great job preventing her from that. The other Guardians were to busy to help her.
Twilight flew hard right to avoid another attack. She watched has the Minotaur take several seconds to turn toward her again to fire at her. Twilight’s eyes widened realization. Wasting not another moment. In a burst of speed Twilight flies over the head of the giant Minotaur. Once on the other side she repositions herself to face and started charging up her horn with magic.
The Giant Minotaur turned around but before it could do anything she released a beam of magic right into it’s chest. The beam melts through the Vex’s body making it cry out. Twilight looked over to Nox-23 and the others. The Minotaurs they were fighting had stopped attacking and instead were self-destructing. Twilight smiled. The battle was finally over.
“LOOK OUT!” Twilight looked down at Nox-23 as he yelled at her. The others were look elsewhere, at where the Giant Minotaur was. Twilight turned her head just in time to see a projectile right in front of her.
Next thing she knew was that she was on her back. Her chest hurt and felt wet. Nox-23 and the other Guardians appeared in her darling sight. NOx-23 was calling her name and Syfis was mumbling about it not being apart of the plan in a worrying manner then there was nothing.
Nox-23 had failed to keep Twilight safe. She laid in front of him dead. Syifs was walking back and forth in a trance. Jeremy, Victor and Hex-107 stood together holding a silent vigil over the mare.
“Th...With the heart gone sensors and comms are operating at normal capability. We’re inside Mars. We can leav...oh Twilight. What do we do now.” Nox-23 Ghost asked.
“We returned to the tower.” Victor replied, no longer the happy-go-lucky man he was before.
“Then what do we do with Twilight? We can’t leave her here.” Nox-23 spoke sorrowfully .
“We bring her to the Last City and either take her body back home or bury her here on Earth.” Answered Hex-107
“And what do we tell everyone. That she died a hero. To continue the fight in honor of her. ANd what am I going to tell her family and friends.” Nox-23 stated
“She died a Guardian, that is what we tell the people. As for those on her home planet… I don’t know.” Jeremy rubbed the back of his head unable to come up with anything more helpful to say.
Nox-23 looked at Jeremy in a curious manner. “Guardian.” he whispered. He suddenly stood up. “Guardian he repeated.
“What?”
“Twilight wasn’t an official Guardian. No Ghost of her own. There is a chance that we can find one to revive her.” Nox-23 explained.
Jeremy stroked his chin. “It’s possible but it isn’t guaranteed that it will work, Or even find a Ghost..”
“I know but we have to try!”
Victor nodded. “Let’s do it we have nothing else to lose.” The Hunter turned to his leader. “Hey boss you okay?”
Syfis had stopped pacing but her normal indifferent expression had not returned. “No I’m not. I’ll contact the other Guardians and tell them what happened.”
“And we will go ahead.” Nox-23 said, gently picking up Twilight’s body.
Jeremy and Victor looked at him confused. “Where to?” they asked. “To the Tower to talk to the Speaker. That is the best place to start.”
The six of them raced their way back to the Tower in their ships. No one spoke as they traveled through space. It wasn’t until they closing in on the Last City that a call through the comms broke the Silence. “Guardians, you’re coming in too quickly slow down! This is your only warning!”
“Ghost lower the speed.” Nox-23 said removing himself from the pilot’s chair.
“Uh okay. What are you doing.”
Nox-23 walked over and picked up Twilight’s body. “I’m transmatting down as soon as it is possible.”
Nox-23’s Ghost glanced that the pony form in his hands. “Alright, transmatting in 3...2..1…”
In just second the inside of the ship was replaced by Tower Watch. Nox-23 took off running earning glances from the Tower inhabitants. Ignoring them he made his way to the Speaker tower finally stopping in front of the Speaker himself within his Observatory/office.
The Speaker looked down at Twilight. Then back up to Nox-23 “She is dead.”
“I know.” Nox-23 yelled, making the Speaker flinch. “Sorry….I came here hoping you can help me find a Ghost who can bond with her.”
“I will do what I can.” he replied. He looked over to his Ghost who nodded back. “It may take some time to find a Ghost we can match with her.” The Speaker placed a hand on Nox-23 shoulder. “Please sit down and rest.”
Unable to do anything else Nox-23 did as the Speaker suggested. He laid Twilight in front of him and removed her helmet. It was strange how she looked like she was sleeping instead of...what is actually was.
“Hey.” A some called out to him from behind. The rest of the fireteam had arrived. “Any luck?” Victor.
Nox-23 shook his head. “Not yet.”
The other sat down besides Nox-23 and waited for news, good or bad. They waited for what seemed like hours before a single Ghost slowly flew into the Tower. Stopping once it noticed the group of Guardians “Oh I didn’t expect so many people.” The Ghost said in a feminine voice. The Ghost hovered to Twilight’s still form. “Will you be able to revive her?” the Speaker asked.
“I won’t know till I try. Everyone back away I need space for this.” Once everyone had clear away the Ghost sent out a blue beam into Twilight.
Twilight awoke to find herself standing up. “Where...where am I?” all around her there was nothing but darkness. ‘Hello?” She called out again. No answer was forthcoming. “I guess i'm alone in whatever place this is.” Twilight called her magic to her horn for an illumination spell only to have it fizzle out before she could cast it. “What?” Twilight touched a hoof to her horn, prodding it several times. Twilight sighed. ‘Guess I’ll have to deal…” Twilight stopped to noticed something in the distance. A flickering light.
Twilight ran to the light. It could be a trap but with nothing else in this field of darkness what was she to do. Getting closer to the light she noticed that it was hovering off the ground like a large spector. ‘Hello?” she called out again and agains she did not get an answer.
Looking around just in case she saw something she stepped toward the light. The light flickered again as if the surrounding shadows were trying to sniff it out. Twilight looked down at her hooves then back at the light. She lefted a hoof and reached out to the light.
“You’re.” The Light exploded engulfing the mare.
Twilight gasped loudly as her lungs started working again. “Twilight!” several voices yelled at her. Twilight jolted upward looking around frantically.
“Wha- where am I?”
“You are in the Tower. “ the Speaker answered.
How did I get to the tower the last thing I remember is. Twilight pupils shrunk.
Victor patted her on the head. “Looks like you figured it out. Congrats, you are officially one of us now.”
Twilight glanced up to him to see the Hunter smile at her. She was able to return a ghost of a smile to him just as she noticed a Ghost floating of to the side. Having finally being noticed The Ghost happily floated closer to the mare. Hello Twilight I guess you already know who i am.” Twilight nodded.
The Ghost chuckled. “I guess this is going to take time getting use too. Nonetheless I look forward to working with you.”
Twilight stared at her Ghost for a long moment before giving her a small smile. “As do I.”
Victor sighed with relief. “Glad that's over with. I need a drink.” He started to walk away turning back slightly to wave at Twilight. “Congrats on become a guardian even if the reason could have been a better one. Take care.”
Hex-107 gave the rest of the guardians a nod before leaving as well with Syfis following after giving a bow to them as well.
After watching them leave Twilight looked at her Ghost “Now what?”
“Now, I think you should take you learning of you Guardianship to a new level.” A new voice answered. Twilight watched as a dark skin woman with barely any hair walk up the stairs to them. She wore long robes resembling those that all Warlocks wear.
“Ikora Rey, it is nice to see here.” The Speaker greeted the Vanguard Warlock.
“It is good to be here especially since we have a celebrity in our mists.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow at that. “I don’t think I have done anything noteworthy.”
The Warlock smiled and kneeled down to be eye level with the mare. “Maybe not in the means of achievements on the field but there is something else that you have done that has made you famous. You have given us hope. Hope that we are not alone against the darkness. “
“Excuse the interruption but what do you mean by what you said about Twilight learning about Guardianship.” Nox-23 asked curiously.
Ikora stood up to address the Titan’s question. “What I meant when I said that is that Twilight needs more training. Training in which My Warlocks and I can provide.”
Nox-23 frowned the best an Exo could. “I’ve been training her to fight. I don’t see why she can’t continue with me.”
“It is because you are not a Warlock. You can only do so much to help her. You have taught her the basics and for that I thank you but now it is time for her to learn from those who are from the same class.”
“You're not making her a Hidden are you?” Jeremy asked reminding the Group that he was still there. “No.” Ikora shook her head. I do not plan to do that.”
“Oh so She's interesting enough to take her in for your special training but not enough to make her a Hidden. “ Nox-23 steamed.
The Vanguard frowned. “It’s not like that. My Hidden are a specialized force taking years to hone their skills. I’m not saying Twilight doesn’t have the skill it is just she doesn’t have what I want for a Hidden.”
Nox-23 opened his mouth. “Excuse me!” Twilight interrupted. “Shouldn’t I be the one to decide what i'm going to do?”
Both Titan and Warlock reluctantly nodded in defeat. “Good. Now I was thinking it over while the two of you were arguing and I think it would be best if I go train under Ikora.”
Ikora gave Twilight a small smile. Nox-23 on the other hand looked shock. The mare walked up to her Friend and hugged him. “Look I know we have been through a lot and I enjoy the time we spent together, however Look what happened when I left your side for a few minutes. I need to stand up on my own and not rely on others so much. Plus it gives me a chance to meet even more people and make new friends.”
Nox-23 gave Twilight a good long but gentle stare. “Alright I understand.” he said with a sigh.
“It’s not like I'm taking her away for years on end. I’m sure you are bound to see each other often.” Ikora added in.
Twilight smiled. “So you and everyone else can keep tabs on how well my training is going.
Nox-23 ruffled the hair on Twilight’s head. “Yea I would like that”.
“When do we start?” Twilight asked.
“Tomorrow but for now I want to introduce you to a few people.” Ikora answered.
Twilight turned to Nox-23. The Exo motioned with his hands to go ahead. “Go on i’ll see you back home. THe mare smiled and wave before she her Ghost and the Vanguard left.
“Soooo.” Jeremy stepped next to the slightly disheartened Nox-23 What me to grab you two a drink. Mention both Exo and Ghost.
“Neither of us drink.” the Ghost deadpanned.
“Is that so.” Jeremy tapped his chin.What about you Speaker.” ‘While I appreciate the thought I have work that must be done.” The Speaker shook his head.
“Well more for me then.” Jeremy grabbed Nox-23 by the arm pulling him along with him. Despite the Exo’s protest.
“H-hey stop I don’t drink.” Nox-23 said futually.
“Doesn’t matter.” Jeremy replied laughing the entire way.
The Warlock Ohmei dropped down on the Tower’s main Plaza. Even in the early morning it was awake with activity. “Good morning Guardian” A pedestrian said as Ohmei walked by them. The Warlock waved in passing but continued onward. Ohmei made his way to the Vanguard. Ikora Ray, Cayde-6 and Zavala. They had called him in for a mission though the details were not yet known to him.
In the Hall of Guardians stood the the three people that wanted to see him as well as two others to Ohmei surprise. “Looks like we are all here.” Cayde said glancing at Ohmei entering the hall.
“Ah yes, come join us.” Zavala motion the Guardian to come closer. “If you have not met them before these fellow Guardians are Jeremy and Legion-59. The three of you will be working together on this mission.
“And by chance what is this mission you speak of.” Legion-59 asked.
This time Ikora Ray spoke. “The three of you will be heading to Twilight Sparkle’s homeworld.”
The three guardians were quite surprised by this. “But I thought there was a decision that her planet is off limits.” Ohmei stated.
Zavala nodded. “Yes we originally came to that conclusion both the Vanguard and the rest of the City consensus have reviewed the matter and we believe it would be beneficial if we were to make an alliance with them. Your task is to see if it is possible to do so.”
“Now before you guys say anything just know that we asked Twilight’s permission and since we are here i'm sure you can guess what her answer was.” Cayde-6 added. “We chose you three because of your various skills and your prior connect to Twilight. Any questions? Good, get ready and head out, your Ghosts will have the mission details given to them shortly.
“So like you cayde.” Jeremy muttered under his breath. He turned and noticed the gloomy look on Ohmei’s face. “Something wrong.” he asked the Warlock.
Ohmei looked at the Hunter before walking away from the table. “I'm just not sure how I feel about getting another race involved with this war.”
Jeremy nodded in understanding. “I can understand that. Don’t worry, if the ponies don’t want to get involved then we won’t push them. Nevertheless we get to see where Twilight comes from. Maybe learn something embarrassing.” Jeremy laughed which in turn got Ohmei to smile.
Before leaving the table to join the others Legion felt a hand grab his arm. “There might be some sensitive information there. Make sure you run it by us before you give anything to the Queen. We rather not lose this chance of friendship to mishandling of info.” Ikora said in a dark tone.
Legion let out a small laugh. “My lips may be loose but not that loose. Don’t worry I’ll give it directly to you if want.”
Ikora nodded and let go of the Titan’s arm. “I leave you to it then.”
Twilight Looked down from her perch in the Rusted Lands. Her sniper laid next to her ready to use at a moment's notice. With her was a Frame, a Redjack as they were called. Ordered by none other than Lord Shaxx to find and maintain areas for the Crucible.
“Twilight, Dave 39-39 We flushed out the Fallen they are heading your way.” Immediately both of them had their weapons up aiming down at the pathway before them. Tracer rounds from the Redjacks weapons were first to be seen. Soon after the hoard of Fallen came into view. They were backpedaling away from Twilight’s allies trying a more defendable position. It was however a wasted effort. It took the deaths of three of their numbers before the Fallen realize that their position was compromised.
Several of the Fallen raised their weapons to fire open the two snipers. Twilight noticed one of the Fallen aiming at her charging up his weapon for a shot. Quickly she called on her magic. A slight push and the the Fallen’s aim was pushed off. The shot grazed her armor rather than a direct hit. A second later Twilight fired her own round right into the neck of the Fallen sniper.
It didn’t take long for the Redjacks to clear out the remaining enemies. Their main task completed the members of Lord Shaxx fighting force came together for their next orders.
“We are to take up defensive positions along the borders to insure that the Guardians aren't attacked during their match.” One of the Frames commended the others.
Twilight and the Guardian who had been the main force stood away from the Redjacks as they received their designated positions. The other Guardian, a Warlock by the name of Atticus turned to the mare. “We did well today. The number casualties on our side were small.”
Twilight nodded. ‘But not zero she said grimly. Atticus gently gazed at the mare. She took the death of allies hard especially those of the Frames as they had no Ghost to bring them back.
A loud but far away screeching sound, similar to nails on a chalkboard reached the Guardians. In the distance a Hive Tomb ship was spotted appearing out of nowhere.
“The Hive have been more active lately.” Atticus stated.
“Yea, but chances are they're up to something devious.”
After saying goodbye to her fellow Guardian and Redjacks Twilight departed for the Tower. The flight there was quite short for Mare, barely enough time to read any books that had somehow ended up stockpiled inside her ship.
“That’s odd.” Twilight's ears stood up at attention at her Ghost’s words.
“Barb, what is it?”
“Well there is a ship docked at the Plaza.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t standard procedure. Cyde-6 might not have cared that much but Ikora and Zavala they wouldn’t allow it. “Let’s take a closer look once we transmat down.”
Twilight trotted up to the oddly docked ship. Several people had gathered in fight of the ship talking among themselves.
“Twilight. That ship...It’s”
“Made of Hive materials.” Twilight finished for her Ghost.
Why would the Vanguard allow such a ship this close to the city. There must be a good reason but still Twilight could not put her mind at ease until she asked them directly. Twilight turned around to trot off toward the Vanguard only to stop in her tracks after only making it a few feet. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him, the purple eyed Exo Nox-23
Twilight happily galloped over to her friend. “Nox! It’s be awhile how have you been. Twilight asked as the two hugged.
“Good, sorry I haven’t been around lately. I’ve been busy with guardian duties.” Nox-23 apologized.
Twilight shook her head. Don’t be. Protecting the Sol system from darkness is a full time job.”
“Yea, but if that’s so then I want a raise.” Nox-23 replied causing Twilight to laugh.
Finding this the best time to intervene Barb spoke up. “Nox-23, before we get sidetracked do you happen to know anything about the ship over there?”
Nox-23 looked past the Ghost to see what she was referring to. “Yes, that ship belongs to a former Guardian by the name of Eris.”
“Former Guardian?”
Nox-23 nodded. Yes she has lost her Ghost. Word is that she was part of a failed raid party that tried to take back the Moon from the Hive. They had thought to have all died until now. Though her return hasn’t brought about the cheeriest of emotions. Something is happening and it appears she knows what it is.”
This mysterious Eris is definitely someone to look into. Twilight thought to herself. She looked to Nox-23, waiting patiently for her to speak. ‘Hey Nox I want to met this Eris person I’ll meet up with you and home afterward okay.”
“Um Okay.” Nox-23 replied, a little reserved that Twilight want to go off on her own. However he reminded himself that she was a grown mare who can take care of herself. “Well it’s hard to miss her. She wears dark brown clothing and gives of this foreboding vibe also she covers her eyes but they glow through the cloth...all three of them. She might not be aware of your spices existence so keep that in might when you meet her.”
Twilight took of waving a hoof at Nox telling him that she heard him. ‘Now where do I find Eris?’ Twilight thought to herself. Twilight took a moment to gather her thoughts. There has been an increase of Hive and now a former Guardian with a Hive model ship as docked. ‘It’s very likely she went to the Vanguard to speak with them. Let’s hope they are willing to help me find her.’
Running down the steps and into the hall that lead to the Vanguard. Twilight stops noticing something off from the corner of her eye. She turns to see a woman in dark ragged clothing staring at her her eyes are covered by a strip of cloth both the glow of three orbs can be seen through it. “Who and what are you?” The woman asks
“I am Twilight Sparkle and i’m a Alicorn pony from Equestria...are you Eris?”
The woman nodded. “Yes I am. How did someone like you come to the Sol system?”
Twilight rubbed the back of her head. “Um it’s a long story.”
“I have time at the moment.” Eris quickly glanced down the hall at the Vanguard. “Tell me about it.”
Twilight looked at the woman who stood calmly staring unnervingly at her. At this point Twilight realized the Eris and little interest in who she actually was, The reason why she was asking Twilight was gauge her and figure out if she could be trusted. Trust has to start somewhere. “Alright, It began when an unknown object fell in the frozen North…”
“You have been through a lot.” Eris said once Twilight had finished retelling her journey.
Twilight nodded. That...is an understatement. Actually there is something I wanted to ask you. Eris quickly motion for the mare to continue. There has been an increase in Hive activity and since you have some sort of connection to them I wanted-”
“To know what it all means. It means that Crota, their God is awakening and if he is allowed to do so he will kill us all. That is why I seek help from this tower and it’s Guardians. Unfortunately they do not trust me.
Eris looked down at Twilight, sulking. Twilight stood straight puffing out her chest. “I’ll help you.” she declared “I had a feeling the Hive are up to something and if you know how to stop it I will help you anyway I can.”
The serenity of space overlooking Twilight’s homeworld is suddenly of broken by Three ships popping out of their NLS into normal space. The people Piloting said ships happened to be Friends of Twilight and Nox-23.
Ohmei, Legion and Jeremy looked down upon the planet before them. “Data from the ship's scanner show that this planet is quite similar to Earth.” One of their Ghost stated. “This is strange. Im picking up another planet in the system on the far side of the sun.
“That is odd. I don’t think Twilight said anything about another planet in the solar system.” Ohmei stated.
“That may be so but don't forget that their technology isn’t that great they might have telescopes but not much beyond that.” Legion said.
Legion’s Ghost quickly ran calculations on the newly discovered planet. “Ah I see. I just ran a large area scan and it looks like that the planet is in a dark spot.”
“Dark spot?” Ohmei said curiously.
“Yes. given that Telescopes would be the extent of their ability to see into outer space the one method they can use to find non-reflective or bright objects in space is to spot said object passing in front of a star. If there is no star for the planet to block then it wouldn’t be discovered until the ponies would have achieved greater technology for astronomy..”
Suddenly Jeremy’s ship darted away. “Jeremy wha-”
“Let’s go check it out.”
Legion and Ohmei watched as Jeremy took off only to follow soon after given very little choice to do much else.
As they got closer to the mysterious planet a very interesting detail came to light. “What the heck happened to the planet!” Ohmei gasped. The planet was before them was brown with no atmosphere and had been broken into several large pieces all the way do to it’s core.
All three Guardians stared at the sight before them for a moment. Legion was first to notice that the ship’s scanner was picking up an active power source within the planet. “Hey guys do you see the energy signals coming from the southern hemisphere?”
“Yea just noticed that too. Nothing else on the planet so not that hard to find.” Jeremy replied. We might as well check it out.” Legion and Ohmei spoke their agreement on the matter, interested on what they would find.
The planet’s surface as completely barren, not a single trace of evidence that the surface had at any point supported life. The inside however was a different story, embedded in the the cracks within the planet was an entire network of structures. The scanning equipment however could not penetrate the structure’s walls leaving their curiosity unsatiated on what was inside. The three Guardians made their way through the gap between the planet until they reached what appeared to be a large octagon shaped gate.
“Hold on I'm getting a short range signal from the door.” One of the Ghosts says. “It’s an automotive massage requesting hangar access codes.”
“ Can you get us in?” Ohmei asked.
“Asking a Ghost if he can open a door is like asking a fish if he knows how to swim. Though they always seem to take a long time when their Guardians are being attacked. ” Jeremy replied wittily.
“hahaha.” Ohmei’s Ghost dryly laughed. “Yea I can get it open. Just give me a few minutes.
“Well i guess we just wait and hope there are no xenomorphs.” Jeremy said.
“Or Necromorphs. Legion added.
“Who knows maybe there is could be a combination of both behind the gate.”
Ohmei’s comment was met with silence. “Dude please don’t.”
The gate to the hanger started to open. “Alright door is open… guys why are all quiet. The Ghost asked.
“Oh just waiting for you.” Legion answered. The Ghost blanked but said nothing.
The inside of the Hanger was quite spacious, allowing ships to move around without much trouble or likelyhood to crash into each other. On the sides of the Hanger were three story worth of docking bays. Many bays were empty but a few were occupied.
The three guardians transmatted onto a white platform within the docking bays they had chosen to park. Guns lowered but minds alert. Legion glanced over the entire hanger noting several never before seen ships, making a list of which ones he would like to look at once he had the time.
“Okay Guardians, look for a console one of us can access the station systems from.” Jeremy’s Ghost requested. The Guardians jogged to the back of the hanger. At the end of Hanger there was a large bulkhead with windows overlooking the entire Hanger. Upon entering Hanger control the Ghosts went straight to working turning on controls and shifting through programs and data.
Thankfully the wait wasn’t long. The Ghost finished their work and returned to the their Guardian’s “backpack” “there wasn’t much there besides reports and the Hanger control but we did find out that this station’s main power was turned on a few hours ago.”
“Meaning that someone else is here.” Legion said out loud.
“Most likely. Good news I found a basic map of the place.”
Ohmei raised an eyebrow. “A map from Hanger control?”
“Technically it is an emergency evacuation plan that shows how to get here from other location to escape the station but no one said that we couldn’t use it for the opposite of evacuating.”
“Well we won’t find anything more here so we might as well find out who or what turned the power on.” Legion stated to which Jeremy and Ohmei agreed.
Using the map the three Guardians left the Hanger and headed deeper into the facility. The first couple of minutes traveling through the hallways. The lights started to flicker, the three Guardians raised their weapons. “For Thousands of years I laid dormant…” A voice called out from out of nowhere. “ Who dares disturb my...Oh hey you must be friends of Nox and Twilight.” the voice said suddenly coming from right behind Jeremy. The three humanoids spun around to see a pink pony with a fluffy pick mane and three balloons as a cutie mark. “ Hi i’m Pinkie Pie what’s your names?”
The guardians took a moment to stare at the strange pink mare. Pinkie smiled widely in return. Finally Ohmei broke the silence. “Oh I’m Ohmei and my comrades are Jeremy and Legion.
“Hiya!” Pinkie said vigorously shaking their hands. A sudden tremor broke throughout the facility. The Guardians quickly rebalance themselves preventing them from falling over.
“What the hell was that?” “Oh that’s just the gravitational control module pulling the broken pieces of the planet back closer to to the would be core to prevent us from eventually floating out into empty space.” Pinkie explained, the Guardians blinked. “Hey want to meet the others?”
Traveling through the hallways of the facility following the bubbly pink pony the fireteam of guardians arrived at a double door. A plate above said door with written text on it seemed to dictate what the room was for, however it was in the pony language. The double door slid open and Pinkle pulled all three Guardians in before their Ghost could give them the translation of the text.
The majority of the room was taken up by rows of spheres sitting in indents on the floor. Some of the spheres were larger than others but all of them could at least fit a single person or pony. Among the rows one of the spheres was hovering in space. The sphere stayed right above the indent but seem to be rotating. On the side of the room not taken up by spheres was instead taken up by ponies.
The ponies all looked from the console that they had been at to the new arrivals. “Hiya girls I found some guardians in the halls.” Pinkie cheerly announced. Immediately the ponies turned to look. “This is Jeremy, Legion and Ohmei” The Guardians preceded to wave at the ponies. Pinkie seemingly teleported next to her friends. “And this is Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Starlight Glimmer, Sunset Shimmer, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, and Rainbow Dash is in the pod.” Pinkie completed saying before collapsing on the ground gasping for breath.
Princess Celestia stepped toward the three men. “Hello Guardians. I hope everything is well in your solar system and with Twilight.” Celestia’s regal tone dropped into a more somber one at the mention of Twilight.”
The ears of the other ponies straight up waiting for news of their friend. Legion smiled “ our mutual purple friend is doing well. Been kicking ass and chewing bubble gum. While confused by how Legion wording Twilight’s friends were relieved to hear her condition.
Before anyone else Princess Luna addressed the three Humanoids We weren’t expecting Guardians. How….” With a hiss the pod that was behind them lowered to the ground an a door opened and a cyran head popped out.
“Hey what gives I asked for you guys to make it…” the new pony Rainbow Dash finally noticed the three Guardians. In a flash of rainbow light the mare appeared in front of them. “New guardians! Hey how’s Twilight? Why are you here?” Rainbow Dash fired off questions rapidly to the Guardians. “Rainbow.” Luna spoke in an unamused tone. We were just about to ask that before you interrupted us.”
“Oh...sorry.” Rainbow dropped to the ground sheepishly.
“Honesty we are surprised to see you guys here instead of Equestria.” Ohmei said.
“We are not in Equestria?” Princess Luna replied.
Ohmei shook his head. “No we’re-”
“We’re in another planet that's been smashed into pieces and is only being kept together by advanced technology that pulls the pieces back together that's why we feel the rumbling you wanted me to find out about..” Pinkie interrupted, smiling cheerfully at the Lunar Princess.
Princess Luna looked down at Pinkie and was about to open her mouth to say something be instead shook her head. She looked to the Guardians once again. “Could you answer the questions that Miss. Dash happened to ask for me. Said mare looked off to the side with a slight redness to her cheeks.
“Certainly.” Legion answered. Twilight is doing well making friends with other people, Guardians and citizens alike. Her skills in battle are a great help to us as well. As for why we are here… The Vanguard, the leaders of the Guardians and the leaders of the city wanted to know if we can possibly get an official alliance with Equestria.”
“I see.” Princess Celestia said. Princess Celestia and Her sister glanced at each other briefly before answering. “My sister and I have considered such a line of thinking however we alone do not have the right to decide. There are other creatures and kingdoms on our planet, the deserve a say in this.
Princess Luna nodded. “Yes Something like this can affect the entire world. I am sure you can understand.”
“Yea. No one wants that type of weight solely on their shoulders.” Jeremy replied.
Princess Luna offered a small smile. “Thank you for understanding. For now we will return to Equestria and contact the nations of the world. The three of you can just us if you wish.”
Jeremy, Ohmei and Legion nodded to each other. “We would love too.”
Twilight flew through the air and dived right behind a pillar of rock just as the Orge fired it’s face blast at her. “Horse meat isn’t good for you have a taste of this instead!” Zeelock a Warlock Guardian yelled as he fired his Truth at the Orge from behind. The Orge fall like a ton of bricks. No longer being suppressed. She look over to see Zeelock giving her a thumbs up unaware of the Wizard floating up behind him.
A dead Thrall flew across the room into the Wizard, stopping it before it could attack and notifying Zeelock to her presence. A titan landed next to the wizard and fired at her point blank with his Found Verdict. The Wizard dead the three Guardians looked up at the sickly green crystal glowing in the middle of the area they were in. A shadowy figure with three eyes looked down at them. “Let’s finish this before the Hive summon more of their kind here.”
the Titan said. Twilight and Zeelock joined the Titan and fired whatever the had at the crystal. The crystal, already damage from before finally gives, spinning faster and faster until it explodes.
“Well that took longer than I wanted.” Twilight said.
“What? Got some books you need to read before bedtime.” Zeelock teased.
“N-no that's not it.” Twilight pouted.
“Either way were did what we came for. What that woman wanted.” the Titan said. Twilight nodded. “Than we best leave there is nothing for us here other than bones and hive.”
The three of them transmitted out to their ships in orbit around the moon. “Thanks for the help guys.” Twilight said.
“No problem Twi. let me know if you need help again.” Zeelock replied.
“If you need muscle and a more aware Guardian let me know.” the Titan said before he and Zeelock broke off from Twilight’s ship to fly elsewhere.
Twilight, after saying her own goodbyes plotted a course back to the Last City. A radio signal was received by the ship as Twilight entered the Earth’s atmosphere. Identifying the caller as Eris she answered immediately.
“I sensed the destruction of Crota soul. The voices are quieter now...there is still more that needs to be done before we safe from the Hive.
Twilight was quite surprised by Eris’s declaration that they were not done. “What do you mean? I just destroyed his soul. Literally his very essence is gone.” “Yes but the Hive’s magic has allowed them to do things that no other species have been able to do. They even know how to escape death. Crota is in his Ascendant realm. Sooner or later he will come back. Unless we kill him there he will not be permanently gone.”