Prologue: Approaching Anomaly

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"I don't understand why the Traveler sent us out this far. There's nothing but void out here," a distinctly male voice spoke in the vastness of deep space, somewhere between Saturn and Neptune in the Sol system.

"I have to agree with him. Humanity never made it all the way out here during the Golden Age," a female voice said. "We're wasting time."

"Can you two shut up? The Traveler knows something we don't. Why else would we be sent out here?" another male voice responded, this time higher pitched than its other male counterpart.

"I'm picking up an anomaly. Local timespace distortion ahead. Looks like a super-compression," a voice that sounded like it belonged to a little old lady said.

"Any idea what it is?" a third male voice asked.

"Nope. But it looks like we're too late to change course. Prepare for whatever may come," the little old lady replied.

"Follow protocol. Stick together," a sixth and final female voice called with an authoritative tone. "Don't show yourselves to anything until you know it's safe."

"Approaching anomaly. Prepare for everything."

------

All was peaceful in Ponyville that night. Crickets were chirping, and a low warm wind blew in from behind a particular pair of ponies. The tall grass rippled like gentle waves on the ocean. The pair of ponies had set down a blanket and were laying on their backs staring up into the starry sky. Luna had painted the sky exceptionally vividly, colorful nebulas and assorted constellations decorating the inky blackness of space.

"I love stargazing…" a soft voice whispered. "Thanks for inviting me, Twilight."

"It wouldn't be the same without you, 'Shy." Twilight smiled and turned to look at the timid pegasus next to her. The two shared a warm nuzzle, and scooted closer to each other.

"Oooo. Shooting stars!" Fluttershy gasped, bringing Twilight's attention to six slow-moving streaks across the sky. Their path seemed to curve, and all six stayed together, making Twilight almost impossibly curious.

"Those aren't acting like normal shooting stars…" she mused to herself, sitting up. The 'shooting stars' seemed to be approaching. "'Shy. I think we should move."

"Wha-"

Fluttershy hadn't time to voice her confusion as she was picked up in Twilight's magic and carried away from their blanket. Within ten seconds, the six interstellar objects shot past the ponies faster than a rainboom into the depths of the Everfree Forest. A loud rumble should surely have followed the extraterrestrial objects' low flight path and landing in the forest. But no such thing occurred. Silence was the only follower of the six strange flying things. There was an odd tranquility permeating the night, one filled with trepidation and curiosity.

Twilight cast an askance glance at her companion, then turned back to see if she could discern where the objects would be if they actually did land in the forsaken forest of the Everfree. "Should we investigate?"

"I-I don't know… Something could be hurt…" Fluttershy replied, having shrunk herself as much as she could, though still leaning forwards a bit as though she were itching to check if anything was hurt.

"Then let's go," Twilight huffed, nudging Fluttershy as she stepped forward. The timid pegasus let out a tiny squeak of intense trepidation, but moved forward with her friend and stargazing companion.

The pair of ponies ambled down the moonlit meadow hill towards the Everfree Forest. Everything was dead silent in the night with the exception of the slow rhythm of their hooves on the soft ground. They made it about three hundred meters, with one hundred left before the tree line, before they started to hear the telltale sound of somepony galloping towards them from the south. And as they paused to look, they heard another set of galloping hooves behind them. The couple stopped and each picked a direction to look. From the south approached a pony with a Stetson, and from behind them; a unicorn. Seeing their friends approaching, Twilight looked up towards the sky, knowing full well that if there were four of them, the other two weren't far away. And as though on cue, Twilight caught the first hint of their party's second pegasus.

"Well I'll be darned, you guys saw it too?" AJ huffed as she skidded to a halt within casual talking distance of Fluttershy.

"Yeah, Twilight and I were stargazing up on the hill, and they just flew right past us," Fluttershy replied.

"Whizzed right past my house," the unstable voice of Rainbow Dash piped in from above. "I was having a really good dream too."

"And it was bright enough to get through my blackout curtains and my sleeping mask," Rarity added as she too joined the group.

"Only one of us missing is Pinkie," Twilight mused. "I guess we should summon her. Whose turn is it?"

"Pretty sure it's mine and Dash's," AJ replied. "Promise me you won't touch my hat, Rainbow."

"I Pinkie Promise I won't touch your hat," the pegasus in question smirked. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Immediately after the ritual was recited, Rainbow approached AJ's prized Stetson and reached for it.

"Don't do it," Pinkie hissed, popping up from under AJ's hat. Upon seeing Pinkie, Twilight grasped the physics-defying bouncy earth pony in her magic, and pulled her out of the hat like a rabbit. "Weeee!"

"Alright, we're all here now. Let's go," Twilight said, stepping forward to lead the group into the forest.

All was eerily silent in those wicked woods, and not even a timberwolf dared show its wooden hide. There was a dense fog that clung to the ground, oozing across it like basaltic lava, obscuring the ground from view. As the group moved, they stumbled upon roots and rocks and tangles of low brush, as the fog concealed everything below the bellies of the ponies wading through it. Where normally the creepy crawlies would slither and slink up the trees and vines, none did now, for even they were aghast from the interstellar objects' flight into the forest. Flowers that only bloom at night stayed tightly budded closed from the bright light given off by the objects' passing.

"I dunno which is worse, walkin' through this place with the creepy crawlies, or walkin' through it without 'em," AJ murmured, her eyes shifting constantly as though if she saw even one centipede, the forest would become familiar again, and the tension would dissipate.

"It might just be me, but I prefer neither," Rarity replied with a shaky voice.

"I think I see something up ahead," Twilight whispered loudly.

A bright light was starting to filter through the dense foliage, small beams of it half-tangible in the dark of the forest. As the group pushed through the last few bushes to get to the clearing where the light seemed to be coming from, they noticed where they were for the first time. Rainbow half-groaned, "Of course it's coming from the castle. It's always the castle. Why would the weird things go anywhere but the weird castle?"

"Plot device," Pinkie answered simply.

"Um. What?" Rainbow asked, not quite understanding the answer she got.

"Well, what if we're all just characters that someone somewhere is writing about, and we and the weird things in the castle are just following what they're writing? And those moments when you forget what you're about to say, that's when they erase a line they originally wrote but didn't like," Pinkie explained.

Twilight piped in, "So kind of like a god or goddess figure? An interesting philosophy…"

"Doesn't matter right now, look at the towers," AJ quipped, bringing the others back to reality. She pointed up to a point on the tallest tower where the roof had fallen away, leaving the tower flat-topped and open to the air. The bright light had dimmed some, but there were six bright specks floating like fireflies on top of the tower. "I'm not sure what I'm feeling, but those lights are calling me. I don't think they'll end up being dangerous."

"Glad to know I'm not the only one feeling that way," Twilight murmured as she started walking up the steps to the front doors of the castle, which hung wide open as always. The ponies quickly navigated the halls, seeing as they'd been there so many times over the past year or three of their adventures. It took them only a few minutes and an accidentally triggered trap or two, and the group had made it to the base of the tower where the lights were.

"Whatever happens, we stick together. There hasn't been one villain that we couldn't stop together," Twilight said as she pulled the door open to reveal the spiral staircase. "Let's hope Applejack's gut is right."

Once the six neared the top of the tower, they began to hear voices. There were a mix of male and female voices from what they could discern. As they listened, they determined there were three male and three female voices. A male voice said, "Everyone hush. Something approaches…"

"I sense them too. Six," added a deeper-toned male voice.

"Such powerful Light…" whispered a female voice.

"Don't fear us, creatures of Light. We can do you no harm," stated an authoritative female voice. "You may come out."

Fluttershy nudged her way past the others, and poked her head out from the stairwell, looking upon the specks of light for the first time. They were oddly shaped, almost like a cube, but not quite. If stamped in the dirt, each side would make a plus sign on the ground, with a small piece in the center missing, as there was a tiny sphere in the center of the things. The main body portions were white, and seemed to be able to move freely to express emotions almost like a face, while the center sphere was a dark gray, and had a tiny 'eye' of sorts of blue light. The pegasus' eyes widened in wonder at the object floating in front of her. "What are you?"

The one in front of her chuckled a deep and hearty male chuckle, "I should be asking you the same question."

Twilight dared join Fluttershy, standing close to her, staring at the floating things before her. "You never answered her question."

"I am a Ghost," replied the baritone male voice, "I don't have a name, per se, but people and fellow Ghosts refer to me as G-Evs. Might I ask what you are?"

"W-we're ponies. Specifically, um, I'm a pegasus, and she's a unicorn," Fluttershy answered in her usual gentle voice. "My name's Fluttershy."

"And mine is Twilight Sparkle," the unicorn added. "I think it's okay, girls. You've gotta see these things."

With Twilight's reassurance, the other four joined her up on top of the tower. There were now six ponies and six Ghosts, each lined up side by side, facing off with each other. Twilight stood in the middle towards the right, with Fluttershy to her immediate left, followed by Rarity and Applejack, while Pinkie and Rainbow Dash stood to her right. Not one of the ponies weren't wide-eyed with overwhelming curiosity.

"I'm dying of curiosity, are you creatures of magic?" Twilight asked.

"I figure you will also want to know what to call us. I am called J-Ami. And to answer your question, we are partially of magic, but we are not creatures in the strictest sense. We are machines; small, but powerful machines, forged in the last waking moments of the Traveler's Light," the authoritative female voice stated.

"Traveler?" AJ wondered aloud.

"Aye. I am called Z-Lda," said a second female voice, who spoke in what AJ perceived as an old mare's voice. The thing turned and looked up at the moon. "Think of your moon. Pale, spherical, and quite large. The Traveler is like the moon in those respects. But at the same time, it is not. Even we Ghosts don't know much about the Traveler. All we know is that it is a powerful force of Light that visited Mars and Venus and Mercury, and all three were made inhabitable. Rain fell on Mars and the core of iron and nickel melted, beginning a process of rebirth for Mars. Venus' acidic and high-pressure atmosphere was neutralized. Where once humanity was only barely able to take a few pictures of the surface from an unmanned probe, now they could walk its surface and breathe its air. Mercury, once scorched by Sol's harsh heat and light, became a garden world."

"Incredible! How did it do that?" Twilight practically bounced like Pinkie. Her curiosity was most definitely piqued.

"We don't know," Z-Lda sighed.

"There are few that can speak to the Traveler, even fewer now that it is dormant," J-Ami added. "We cannot speak to the Traveler, but sometimes… sometimes we can feel its will, and we follow it."

"And is that what brought you here?" Twilight inquired softly.

"Yes," replied the deeper male voice that had yet to identify itself. "I am called O-Ron, and I was the one who felt the Traveler's call. I'm friends with J-Ami, and told her first, and we then assembled a team. She is more of a leader than myself, so I asked her to lead the expedition towards Neptune. We were not expecting a wormhole to open up between Neptune and Saturn."

"So now that we know how you got here, can you tell us why you're here?" Rainbow Dash asked, her own curiosity clearly visible from her posture.

"I am K-Rah," the third female-voiced Ghost replied. "We Ghosts were made by the Traveler to choose those capable of wielding the Traveler's Light as a weapon against the encroaching Darkness from among the dead. We reforge them in the Traveler's Light, and we help them fight against the Darkness."

Twilight stammered out, "Why fr- wait, no. First, how do you choose from the dead? Necromancy is impossible! Anyone who's tried ended up dead themselves! And even if it were possible, there would be huge physical, social, and psychological repercussions to consider!"

"I am called K-Ayd," the last Ghost said in its tenor male voice. "I do not have an answer for how we do it, but I think I can tell you why. Corruption can only set in when one is alive. We don't choose from among the living because there is a spark of Darkness in everyone, as well as Light. It is easiest for us to see how much Light and how much Dark is within someone after they have lived out their life, when there is no future to consider."

"Although I've heard that it is possible to reforge a living being as a Guardian," Z-Lda chimed.

K-Ayd huffed almost sarcastically, "Oh? And where did you hear that?"

"Do you remember the Shattered One?" the elder-sounding Ghost said. "I don't think you were around when he was. But I've spoken to him. He had a theory that there are ways for us Ghosts to choose a Guardian from among the living."

K-Ayd dismissed the point, "You do understand he was a rambling madman, correct?"

"You do understand he was correct about Crota's return, yes?" she countered.

"Can you two stop? I think these beings are capable of being Guardians," J-Ami interrupted, silencing the two arguing Ghosts.

"Wait, us?" Rarity gasped in disbelief.

"Yes. The six of you seem to bear a powerful Light already," J-Ami seemed to nod. "And if what Z-Lda says of Toland is true, then you are more than likely to be the best candidates we will find here."

"I think we should have them speak to the princesses," Twilight said to her friends. "They should know about these Ghosts."

"Why not the king or queen?" O-Ron asked quickly.

"We don't have one," Rarity answered. "All we have are the princesses."

"And for lack of Spike, we can't just send a letter right now, and bringing the Ghosts with us would freak out everypony, so I think it'd be best for you Ghosts to stay here, and we'll bring them to you," Twilight planned out.

"We can come with you. We are capable of hiding ourselves within a sentient being," J-Ami said, disappearing for a moment next to Twilight. Twilight shivered a little, an odd tingling feeling running up her spine and through every bone in her body on the way. A sensation not unlike being both warm and cold spread in waves from her core. "And now only you can hear me. Ask the others if they can hear my voice."

"U-um. Okay? Can you girls hear J-Ami?" Twilight looked around for her friends' responses. To her surprise, all of them shook their heads. Upon receiving the response, the Ghost rematerialized where she once was.

"Normally we can only do that with our chosen Guardians, but your Light is already strong enough to do that with, even though we are still free Ghosts," J-Ami said.

"Well, since they can do that, I guess we should get to Canterlot as soon as possible. Girls, it's going to feel a little weird, but let the Ghosts do whatever it is they do," Twilight planned. Situations like this brought out a different side to the socially awkward unicorn. She became something of a leader when big events like this happened. It happened when Nightmare Moon returned, when Discord was unsealed, when the Changelings invaded, and when Sombra attacked the Crystal Empire. Each time, she was able to take charge and ensure victory by her leadership. It was indeed a side of her few ponies truly knew the depth of, but her friends did. So when she gave the order to let the Ghosts in, they trusted her, and allowed it. "Let's go."

Call of the Haunted

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There was a sense of extreme urgency in the group they'd only felt when Discord was first released. They virtually flew through the forsaken forest of the Everfree, none of them feeling their hooves touch the ground. They sprinted out the way they came, making their way through Ponyville to the train station. Since it was just past midnight, virtually no one was awake aside from them. When they finally made it to the train station, there was a train already awaiting them, with a conductor staring at them as they approached, almost as if he'd been waiting for them. Twilight quickly pulled a few coins from seemingly nowhere and tossed them to the conductor, who pulled the door open with his own magic.

The moment the door closed, the train lurched forward in a surge of life. But with the train near empty and the tensions as high as they were, the train ride passed in what seemed like seconds. The six ponies disembarked from the train in Canterlot, which felt far more abandoned than it should have been at near three in the morning. There was no moonlight, no starlight, no lights in the buildings, not even a cat on the streets. The sounds of a gentle breeze whispering in the trees was the only sound, as the crickets refused to chirp. There was nothing quite as unsettling to the group than that lack of life in the city.

They made it to the castle, and went through the gates with no hassle. No guards were present to greet them, or ask their purpose. AJ dared voice her growing anxiety, "I got a bad feelin' 'bout this… Somethin' ain't right…"

"I feel it too…" Rainbow Dash murmured, putting her wing around her friend in hopes of both comforting her and drawing comfort from her.

They stepped into the throne room from the great hall, Luna and Celestia already in a conversation, though their words couldn't be heard. "Princess Celestia!" Twilight called.

"My faithful student! A surprise to see you and your friends here at this hour," the solar diarch mused as she turned to her student. "I assume you are not here simply to exchange pleasantries."

"That'd be correct," Twilight replied.

"It wouldn't happen to do with the shooting stars I noticed in my sky, would it?" Luna predicted, looking down upon the six as though they were traitors. "I sense two presences in each of you. Care to explain?"

"Weeeeeelllllll," Pinkie started, inflating her lungs with a large enough gasp of air to explain everything in one go. "We all noticed those shooting stars and decided to find them so we ended up gathering in front of the Everfree Forest to go investigate and went to the castle and found these things that call themselves Ghosts and Twilight decided we should bring them here! Come on out little Ghostie!"

The Ghost in Pinkie, K-Rah, rematerialized just above her, drawing a surprised and almost frightened look from both princesses. "Uh, guys? Do I have to be the only one out here?"

The remaining five Ghosts quickly joined K-Rah, rematerializing just above the ponies they had been hiding in.

"It is worse than my dreams have led me to believe. The Sphere requires even our aid…" Luna whispered to herself. "You have come seeking aid for the Sphere, yes?"

"Yes, and these six bear the strongest Light we've ever seen in still living Guardians. Heroes like Tolland and Ward are dim sparks by comparison," J-Ami spoke.

"No doubt a result of using the Elements," Celestia mused. "But they are the Element Bearers. What happens if we need them after you recruit them for your war?"

"Sister, though you are no longer capable of wielding the Elements, I still can," Luna countered. "There is a Darkness out there, and if it takes the Sphere, nothing else can stop it. Not even the Elements. Our problems are minuscule by comparison. If we must, we have the Army."

"And what if they die?" Celestia seemed on the verge of tears. "My student is precious to me, and I cannot throw her into a situation I know not if she can handle. I have done everything to protect her, and I shall not cease now. Now answer me, what happens if fate deals a losing hoof?"

"We are capable of reviving them, even after Arc Fizz, Solar Burn, and Void Drift. Guardians make their own fate. Death is not insurmountable. Ask the thousands of Guardians in the Tower. There is naught they cannot defeat, Princess," Z-Lda explained softly.

"Just before we departed on our mission, the Guardians dealt a decisive and massive victory in the Black Garden," O-Ron added. "The Traveler sent us here because it knew it was time for a counterattack. It is for this reason that I must ask to recruit your student and her friends as Guardians."

"'Tia, this is the only chance we have to push back the Darkness before it gets here," Luna pleaded.

Celestia was silent for what felt to everyone in that room like hours, thinking, holding back tears. "I will allow you to recruit them. Keep them safe, Ghosts."

The Ghosts each turned to the ponies they had subconsciously chosen to be their Guardians. "And now we must ask you. Do you feel up to saving the universe?"

"What do you girls think? This isn't necessarily our problem, but if what Luna and the Ghosts say is true, then it could become our problem if those already in the fight aren't enough," Twilight said.

"This is the good fight. If I'm going to fight, I'm going to fight the good fight, and I'm going to be with my friends. If they're in, I'm in," Rainbow Dash answered, looking over towards the others.

"If there's somepony out there needin' more help than they got, Apples don't leave the good left undone. I'm in if the others are in," Applejack decided.

"Well, I can't deny that some poor Guardian's been in deep need of a spa day. I guess I could give a Guardian or five a day off," Rarity added. "I'll join if the others do."

"I think it'd be fun to make some new Guardian friends! I hope they like parties!" Pinkie giggled, bouncing a few times.

"I-I guess we should help them," Fluttershy said quietly. "After all, if anyone can turn things around for the Traveler or whatever it is, it's us. We've saved Equestria on virtually a yearly basis for the past what, four years? We've beaten Nightmare Moon, Discord, the Changelings, and even King Sombra. We won even when outnumbered thousands to one, when Discord tried to turn us against each other. We can do this. I'm in."

Twilight smiled, wiping a tear from her eyes as she gave Fluttershy a small nudge. "I guess that settles it. We're in. This is our fight. We of all ponies can make a difference where nopony else can. We've done the impossible before. Pinkie alone does it on a daily basis. We can do this. And when all is said and done, we'll have more friends in the Guardians we help."

The Ghosts each approached the ponies, the eight tetrahedral white pieces of their shells expanding outwards enough to fit each of the ponies within the space between them. J-Ami chose Twilight as her Guardian; Fluttershy chosen by O-Ron, Rainbow Dash by K-Ayd, Rarity by G-Evs, AJ by Z-Lda, and Pinkie by K-Rah. Light began to fill the space between the Ghosts' shell pieces. Fluttershy cast an askance glance towards Twilight, who looked back with a sidelong look of mild anxiety. With just their eyes, they told each other about their fears and growing apprehension, and comforted each other. Applejack looked ever forward, standing strong as a statue, a titan strong against the oncoming Darkness, ready to destroy all in her path to clear the way for her friends. Rarity looked down, studying herself and watching the Ghosts' magic waiting to see if it would change her. Rainbow Dash looked forward, but stood in a crouch, low to the ground and ready to leap forward with incredible speed. Pinkie just looked in all directions, as though distracted by the sparkles amid the growing light of the Ghosts.

------

"Eyes up, Guardian Twilight Sparkle," J-Ami's voice resonated in the unicorn's ears.

"There is danger here, Guardian Fluttershy," O-Ron said to the pegasus.

The six ponies groaned as they sat up against the wall they'd been slumped against. Fluttershy stretched her arms and splayed her fingers. "What the hell‽"

The others turned to see what was wrong, and then gasped upon seeing Fluttershy's changed form. Instead of the adorable pegasus pony they once knew, she'd become vaguely human, her wings still on her back and her ears no longer triangular and at the top of her head. Her head was now more human, with her round ears on the side of her head, but she still had her tail. Her fur was still yellow and her hair was still pink. But it was clear that she was no longer in the form her friends recognized. Her hooves became hands and feet with fingers and toes respectively. And she was not the only one who experienced this change.

"Gah! What happened‽" Rainbow squealed, appalled at the sight of her fingers. "What did you do‽"

"As ponies, you were incapable of using any weapons or armor found at the Tower," J-Ami reported to the group of now anthropomorphic ponies. "It may take a bit of modification for Twilight and Rarity, due to their horns, and for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash for their wings, but those features were deemed advantageous. They do retain functionality. The pegasi can still fly and the unicorns can still use magic."

"Did I retain my earth-pony strength?" Applejack asked.

"More than that, dear," Z-Lda replied to her Guardian. "Your strength is quite a bit more than it was as a pony. I thought you best fit as a Titan, specifically a Striker."

"Titan?" the pony asked.

"Yes. The Titans are the blunt-force instruments of the Traveler. They are steadfast and strong, facing any challenge head-on. You have the strength, the willpower, and the discipline to be the greatest Striker Titan the Tower will ever know." Z-Lda floated up, as though to beckon her Guardian to stand. "Rise, Guardian. It's time to move. You will know how to work your reforged body."

Applejack stood, and her friends looked to her, for she was one of them, but somehow different. And not just from the new humanoid appearance. No, now she stood as a statue, strong and unyielding. She looked powerful, her muscles toned and rippling beneath her skin, showing off immense strength that none of her friends believed they could ever match.

She offered her hand down to Rainbow Dash next to her, and pulled her friend up. She was lithe and small by comparison, as though her previous agility had been preserved even in her new body. And to her surprise she did not feel unbalanced as she had expected. No, the Ghosts had been right in that regard. They would know how to work their new bodies. "Come on, guys, let's get moving."

Twilight looked around upon that comment, noticing skeletons and torn up armor amid shattered stone fragments that she assumed came from the broken walls of the palace they were slouched in. Blood near a century old had stained the stone floor beneath them, and what wasn't stained in blood was scorched by fire or shattered from something powerful. "What happened here…?" she breathed, looking around in shock. "Why are there dead ponies around us?"

"You've been dead a long time," J-Ami answered. "From the-"

"What do you mean, dead? You said you were going to choose us from among the living!" Tears began to flow from Twilight's eyes, and she began to crawl away from her Ghost, towards the throne room that she knew somehow to be to her left.

The broken hall opened up to a similarly torn up throne room. Guard armor was strewn about, blood stained and oxidizing, some pieces still clinging to the skeletons of the ponies they were once made to protect, other pieces either too torn to stay attached or simply blown off somehow. There were no other signs of life here. No weeds dared grow through the cracks between the stone. No rats or spiders crawled around in that room full of death. But something stood out to Twilight's eyes, even as the tears blurred her sight. There was a set of blue armor, standing out from the gold. She dared approach.

"No…" she moaned feebly as she recognized Luna's battle armor, stained with blood, a few holes punched into it and half-shredded. And next to it, was Celestia's matching set of rainbow-finished armor, similarly shredded and bloodied. "No…! No! No no no! No it can't be! She can't die!"

"Twilight, liste-"

"No!" she shrieked in grief. Tears fell to the ground, pure emotional pain landing on the dusty ground with a soft pat. "You lied to us. You told us that we were being chosen from among the living. If we were dead, you've lied to us. If we were alive, then why are we surrounded by death?"

A sharp scream of pain drew Twilight and her Ghost's attention. Fluttershy was kneeling, holding her left wing in her arms, tears of physical pain already falling to the ground. "Fluttershy!" Twilight ran to her friend.

"We were dead, I remember," Fluttershy whimpered, clutching her wing closely. "I don't know what they were, but they were big, and they weren't friendly. They invaded. I don't remember why we were here, but we were, and we were losing. I got hit by something through my wing, and I remember crying but still fighting until I just couldn't. After that I sat down against a wall for a while…"

The rest of the group remained silent. They didn't remember, but the way Fluttershy spoke told of truth with a gravity insurmountable. She spoke with pain in her voice, but there was no hint of weakness. No, she seemed stronger somehow. Twilight hugged her friend, wishing to help her cope with that painful memory, and Fluttershy returned it, accepting help where Applejack would try to shoulder it alone.

"I must apologize for misleading you into believing that you were still alive in that death dream. It was not our intention to distress you this way," J-Ami said quietly. Just then, the roar of engines passed over the ruined castle, a sturdy looking metal beast flying past with significant speed. "Cabal Harvesters… We're gonna have to steal one of those things."

"This is the first challenge, Guardians," O-Ron added, addressing all of the others. "Without decent weapons, we're going to have to rely on stealth. A head-on fight with the Cabal will end badly for all of us. Walk soft, and let's see if we can't find a big stick."

"While I still don't know what happened here, I do know that we've got bigger problems, like staying alive and getting out of Canterlot," Twilight near hissed at her Ghost. "Girls, it's time to get out of here. Ghosts, lead the way."

And with that the Ghosts moved forward, and the ponies followed them. As they moved, they began to notice that they were wearing armor. It seemed a little odd to them, but they also had some other items on their bodies they hadn't noticed. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash had some sort of mildly worn scarf around their necks, Applejack and Fluttershy had some sort of small cloth hanging from their right hips, and lastly, Twilight and Rarity had some sort of metal armband around their left biceps. And upon further inspection, each of these unique items bore their respective cutie marks.

"Perfect. Slug rifles," J-Ami cheered quietly. "Take these."

Each of the six bent down and picked up the metallic things the Ghosts had pointed out, though none of them quite knew what it was. "These are the weapons the things outside are going to be using. With these, you at least have a chance at defending yourselves."

"How do these things work?" Rarity asked, looking at hers.

"Grab the handle, point the cylindrical bit at the thing that wants to kill you and pull the trigger," G-Evs replied in his almost butler-like voice.

She offered a quick thanks to her Ghost and then held the weapon in a resting position, and the others mimicked her. They moved onwards, taking a turn out the front of Canterlot Palace, out into the ruins of Canterlot City. Not a single building was left undamaged. Holes left towers looking like sticks of swiss cheese. And those were the lucky ones. Most of the buildings no longer had roofs, and some didn't even have walls. There was virtually nothing left of Canterlot aside from the ruined palace and the skeletons of ponies long dead.

"Are we the last of us…?" Pinkie whispered to her Ghost, her eyes wide in shock.

"I don't know," her Ghost, K-Rah replied. "It is likely."

"…are the dragons still around?" Rarity asked.

"We have not seen any since arriving here," G-Evs answered.

"Poor Spike…" she murmured. "I hope he's okay…"

"There's a Harvester," J-Ami hissed to the group. They ducked behind one of the still standing walls of a building, roughly thirty meters from the pair of massive guards standing at the open doors of the ship. "Small guard force, looks like no Cabal inside. Easy pickings. Any of you have an idea for distracting them or luring them away?"

"I think I might," Twilight offered, her horn lighting up. A pile of rocks began to shift ever so noticeably. One of the guards turned his head towards the pile of rubble. Another twitch, and then both guards were watching the pile of rocks. A third twitch, and the guards turned to each other seeming to talk to each other. A moment later, they looked to be playing Rock, Paper, Scissors, or some variation on it. The guard furthest from the pile of rubble walked towards it. His slug rifle was pointed towards the pile, waiting for any signs of life from beneath it.

Thunk, thunk!

One particularly large rock, about the size of a coconut, flew forth from the pile, smashing directly into the guard's helmet, and after a brief rebound, smashed into the other guard's helmet as well. Neither had time to fire their weapons, for there was nothing to fire upon in their line of sight. All they would remember would be a rock coming to life and smacking them in the face. Once they hit the ground and remained motionless, the group moved forward.

"Nicely done," J-Ami complimented Twilight's wit.

"Let's get out of here."

The group of ponies ditched their cover, dashing towards the ship the guards had once been protecting. "Applejack. Can you shove that one off the door?"

"I got it," the farmer replied, squatting down and rolling the massive armored thing off of the door to the ship as the others went inside.

"I'll get this thing running," K-Ayd called, floating past the ponies towards the ship's cockpit.

Within seconds, the ship steadily roared to life. Applejack, upon seeing the door begin to lift to its closed position, offered a small salute to her home world, knowing she would likely never see it again. And with that, she turned and went to join her friends in the main belly of the ship. She found them in the main crew bay, having all taken a seat and strapped in, though most of the seats were far too large for them. Even at six-feet tall, the seats were too big for Applejack. But she sat down and strapped in as best she could, knowing it was now a waiting game to get to wherever 'Earth' was.

"So how long 'til we get to Earth?" she asked.

"It'll be about thirteen hours by your planet's time scale," Z-Lda replied. "It won't take too long to get to the wormhole, and when it spits us back out, we'll be moving a little faster than light."

"Fair enough. I suppose thirteen hours is enough for a decent nap. Sadly, we don't have any food, so we'll probably get a mite cranky by the end of the line." Applejack began messing with her hair, which was down to the small of her back in length, but somehow still bound at the end by the small red elastic band she was so familiar with. "Wait. Wait, where's my hat?"

"Oh, the hat, I've got it here, deary," Z-Lda said, making the hat somehow appear from nowhere onto the farm girl's head. "I assumed it had some sort of sentimental value to you, so I stored it for you before I reforged you."

"Guardians often have personal mementoes on hand at the time of their deaths, so we'll pick them up for them so they can still be more or less the same person they were before," O-Ron added. "I heard once that when Tolland was first reforged, he had a pen in the car his Ghost found him in. Apparently it meant a lot to him."

"If you guys want to come back here when you have better weapons and armor, to retrieve some personal affects, that is fine by us. For now though, it's too dangerous. The Cabal know we've taken one of their ships, and this is our only ride for now," J-Ami offered, looking at each of the other Guardians. For all she knew, they also had some personal mementoes they'd wish to have.

"We will end up coming back," Twilight said. "Not just for personal affects. We'll need the Elements if we're going to win this war. They haven't failed us yet."

"Then once we have level fourteen gear, we'll come back. The Cabal are about that strong, so we'll need equal if not superior gear," her Ghost replied. "For now, I'd recommend getting some rest. We'll be at the Tower soon enough. From there we'll get you some food and real gear."

Warm Welcome

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Thirteen hours took a while to pass. For starters, there was no discernible foodstuffs onboard the ship. The Guardians, who'd been only recently revived, hadn't eaten so much as a crumb in more time than it took for them to bleed out and have their bones cleaned by buzzards, bugs, and Time's constant forward march.

Pinkie, though her stomach occasionally growled, was softly humming the Smile Smile Smile song, perhaps for herself more than any of the others, as she was visibly struggling to keep her smile up. Her hands kept moving in a manner that looked as though she were baking something. Twilight, observing this, thought it logical that the muscle memory of baking at Sugar Cube Corner would become a nervous tick. Something as familiar as the muscle memory of one's occupation would become comfortable to someone under significant stress, she reasoned. But for all of her logic, she knew not how to help calm her friend's nerves.

Fluttershy was also hiding behind her hair, as she usually did. She was shrunken up as much as she could consciously manage, and all of this while being pressed closely to Twilight. The unicorn, though lacking comforting words, took the pegasus' hand in her own, holding it tightly, as though that connection could allow them to drain each other of the anxieties mounting in their minds. And it worked well enough. Fluttershy seemed to return to her normal size, though she still stared down at the floor, refusing to look at anyone, despite them all being close friends.

Rainbow Dash's wings twitched, and she seemed to be deep in focus as she preened her left wing with her hands. Her brow was intensely furrowed, her tongue sticking out ever so slightly from the right corner of her mouth and pointed up towards her nose. Her lips were pursed tightly, her tongue not able to go anywhere but back into her mouth. That was her tick. It wasn't one of anxiety or nerves, but it was indeed a tick, and she did it when focused on a race, or when focused on a Daring Do book. But then again, as a trained and seasoned athlete, she was a creature of routine and habit. Schedules, regimens, routines, all dictating what segment of which day was allotted how. She had to fit her work managing the weather into her schedule, along with training, and time with her friends, and of course, her ever important naps.

Rarity was looking down at her improvised armor, her own brow furrowed deeply. Had anyone asked her what was wrong, the ponies would expect an earful about clashing colors or styles, or about how it didn't quite fit to the standard of her own masterful stitch-work. Her breaths were deep and exaggerated, each inhale like those meant to keep from crying, and every exhale like a sigh. But Rarity was a logical thinker, and an adept problem-solver on par with Twilight in a pinch. The way she made dresses on commission was like weaving legends with needle and thread to her, and each fabrication was a piece of her own story told in tapestry and dress. She'd gotten the group out of many a bind with her own quick wit. Twilight, knowing this, would not put it past Rarity to be pondering the problem they together now faced, and how it could be solved, even when given what little they knew about both the problem and the proposed solutions.

Applejack was dead silent and motionless as though she'd been stared to stone by a cockatrice.

Twilight giggled, drawing the questioning gazes of all of her friends.

"Care to say the joke out loud?" Applejack huffed.

"I was just thinking about how you looked like a cockatrice beat you in a staring contest. Then I thought about those things back home running into cockatrices and all turning to stone," Twilight tried to answer between her giggling.

Sure enough, Pinkie busted a gut laughing, "Ooohohohohohahahahahahahahahah! Thohohohseheh bihihihig meheheaniehehehehies…" She paused for a breath. "Those big meanies will have a blast in the Everfree! Oh what I wouldn't give to watch them walk through a poison joke patch!"

Upon that statement, everyone else began laughing, remembering the time they had all dashed through the poison joke thinking Apple Bloom was being foalnapped by Zecora. The thoughts of the plant's effects on themselves brought to mind imagery of what it would end up doing to the Cabal once they went roaming through the Everfree. Applejack guffawed at the image of the Cabal being as tiny as she was.

That little joke was enough to lighten the mood in that ship. The tension faded, leaving the relieved ponies to smile again. Were they able to laugh even when their home was dead or damn near it like this, they were certain they could overcome any obstacle they faced.

"We're being hailed!" K-Ayd's voice called from the cockpit. "I'm still unsure of the comms system. They've encrypted it in their native language."

"Are we being hailed by friendlies?" J-Ami called back, floating off to join the Ghost flying the ship.

"Yeah. It's a patrol of Guardians. All of them have locks on us. We'd better respond."

"I got this," J-Ami sighed, disappearing. The Ghost reappeared outside the ship, magnetically attaching herself to the hull. Upon establishing a line of sight to all of the Guardian ships, she began to pulse light. –••••//––•/••–/•–/•–•/–••/••/•–/–•/•••//•–/–•••/–––/•–/•–•/–••//•••/–/–––/•––•/

She waited a moment, watching the ships to see what they did. A few seconds later, she saw one of their Ghosts mimic her, magnetically gripping the hull of their Guardian's ship, and replying: •–/•–•/•//–•––/–––/••–//•–/•–••/•–••/••/•/•••//•••/–/–––/•––•/

–•––/•/•••//•••/–/–––/•––•/

The other Ghost disappeared again, and for a moment, nothing changed course. But after that moment, the fighters changed formation, forming up on the Harvester's trajectory. Upon seeing the escort formation, J-Ami made a sigh of relief and teleported back inside the ship. "They've taken up escort formation. They know we're Guardians. Hopefully we won't have any more complications until we get to the Tower."

"Expecting a warm welcome at the Tower?" K-Ayd jested.

"Warm like sunlight," the lead Ghost replied. After taking a long observatory glance from the window, she turned and floated back to her Guardian, resting on her shoulder in favor of hiding in her. "Good news everyone. We've got an escort of fellow Guardians, meaning we're not far from Earth. Should only be about an hour at our current speed."

Applejack offered only a grunt of apathy in response, her eyes turned to gaze out a window, but clouded and distant. She had been incredibly still for the entire flight, and didn't talk much aside from asking about her hat. Her face was devoid of any discernible emotion, but all of her friends knew the farmer well enough to know when something was on her mind. There was something troubling her mind, and if it was enough to make her grow distant the way she was, it was serious enough to ask about.

"Applejack?" Rainbow Dash asked, standing up and stepping closer to her friend.

There was no response.

The pegasus put her hand on her friend's shoulder, squatting down to eye level with her. "AJ?"

"Hm?" she barely replied.

"Something bothering you?" Rainbow asked.

The farmer turned back to the window, staring out into the darkness of space. "Jus' thinkin' 'bout som'm I gotta do when we go back home…"

"What is it?"

She tipped her hat down a little to hide her eyes. Even among her friends, she was proud, and showing anything less than her strongest self was unacceptable to her. "I gotta give my family a proper burial. When an Apple dies, they're meant to be buried with an apple in their belly so that they grow into an apple tree, and keep helpin' the family. I know for cert'n it never happened for me, if'n the Ghosts are tellin' the truth about us bein' dead'n all. But my family deserves to rest proper."

"We'll go back," Rainbow promised softly, hugging her friend.

------

The six Guardians stood up from the oversized seats of the Cabal Harvester. The ship was rumbling as it passed through the turbulent atmosphere surrounding the City. But that was only for a moment. Only a moment later, all was calm, and the ship opened its main door, revealing a plaza of sorts with Guardians standing and watching. Seven particular Guardians seemed to be standing in a line, and they didn't look very welcoming to their arriving allies.

The ship hovered over the edge of the Tower with its door hanging open, the six inside each with their Ghosts, aside from Rainbow Dash, whose Ghost was making sure the ship didn't crash and blow up the Tower. Each of them held their Slug Rifles at a resting position across their bellies. And because of all of the Cabal that used those weapons and rained down hell from those ships, the Guardians of the Tower all pointed their best weapons at the Harvester, and the ponies inside it.

"The fuck are you things?" the one in the middle barked roughly. In his hands was a long red weapon with three points on the end, and a blue box just in front of his right hand. His armor was polished, as though freshly forged and untested in combat, and it was thick and bulky, making him look twice the size he probably actually was. His helmet was missing showing a suntanned face with a few freckles, and shortly-cut light brown hair. From his waist hung draped a length of white cloth, though what else was depicted on it none of the ponies could tell. But the presence of the cloth on his belt made him similar to Applejack and Fluttershy, who also had pieces of cloth hanging from their waists.

"We are Guardians, and friends," Twilight called back over the sound of the Harvester's engines.

"Your ship doesn't look friendly to me," the stranger in the middle hollered. "I don't think you're telling me the truth."

"Then why do they have Ghosts?" a Ghost whispered to the Guardian on the ground. The little machine appeared at the shoulder of the human, somehow expressing sarcasm with its face. The female-voiced Ghost seemed to glare at her Guardian, who was the last one with a weapon drawn on the newcomers. "Put it down, Guardian."

The man reluctantly lowered his weapon.

"Quite a warm welcome y'all gave these newcomers," a male voice called out. The owner, a hooded man with a metallic face and something not unlike a unicorn's horn protruding from his forehead, approached the gathering Guardians. "Never saw that for my own greeting, and I ended up killing an Archon. Never saw that for Shin Malphur, who took down Yor. Hell, I never saw that for Yu, who ended up killing the Black Garden's heart not two months back."

"Did any of them arrive in an enemy's ship?" the human with the big red gun countered.

"You should be more observant of the Ghosts," a female voice added. A dark-skinned woman with a shaven head and eyes that could pierce souls claimed that voice as her own. "Ghosts don't bring home enemies."

"Amuro, you have brought disgrace to the name of the Titans. How dare you show disrespect to not one, but two fellow Titans?" another male voice growled lowly. The man owning the voice was a bald man who towered over everyone else, with skin just slightly different from Rainbow Dash's. "You will meet them at the hangar bay and escort them to us when they disembark. And you will be as polite and courteous as is possible. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir," the man identified as Amuro replied curtly. He turned back to face the still hovering Harvester, and the ponies watching from the door, and made a quick few hand signs that the Ghosts would know, and then walked off.

"Wonder what that was all about…" Applejack sighed as the ship slowly drifted off around the edges of the Tower. Within ten seconds, they were carefully setting down in a massive hangar bay, ships everywhere being repaired or prepped for takeoff. The man once pointing the big red gun at the ponies stood waiting by the spot that she predicted the ship would land on. "Aaaaand of course he's back."

As soon as the ship landed with its heavy metal-on-metal thunk, the man stepped forth in measured strides. He stopped abruptly exactly two meters from the group and gave a crisp salute. His face no longer bore the explicit hatred it once did, but Applejack felt as though it was still there somewhere. The man released the salute and then said, "I'd like to apologize for my earlier actions. The Vanguard leaders have appointed me as your escort to their office."

"May I ask your name?" Applejack asked.

"My name is Amuro… miss?" He paused, inspecting her to figure out if he was using the proper pronouns.

"Applejack. Name's Applejack," she offered.

"Well, miss Applejack, I am to escort you and your friends to the Vanguard office," he said, turning his body to walk away. "If you could please follow me."

The group followed the man down the ramp of their ship, and up a flight of stairs to the main platform, where a few people were gathered by a small overhang with a white banner, the emblem emblazoned on it obscured by all of the bodies in front of it. A few people gave them some odd looks as they passed, but the instant anyone put a hand on their weapons, Amuro raised his hand. They passed through a rather blank hallway, where a robot was sweeping with a broom. But when they left the hallway, they found themselves at the courtyard they had originally been hovering over when they arrived. They were on the right side of the courtyard, where a hooded man in long robes stood with crossed arms as he spoke to the people who came to his little booth. Occasionally, he would step behind the booth when given odd sphere-like objects, most of which were blue. A few meters to the left of the booth, there were a trio of small towers with some sort of interface at the base of each. Also along the right wall but further from the hallway was a small booth tucked away in the corner, which seemed to have a forge in the wall behind it.

The ponies were led down a flight of stairs in the middle of the courtyard, which, after turning around a wall, opened up to another hallway with a few booths on either side, with people inspecting weapons and armor, presumably for purchase. But after that, was a grand hall with a huge table in the central pit. The three seemingly important people from before were gathered around the table, going over a three-dimensional map of an area that looked to be made of stained glass or something similar.

"Commander Zavala, sir!" Amuro called, snapping to attention. The massive blue-skinned man in even bigger armor turned to the group's escort, and made a small gesture to approach. Walking in measured steps, Amuro followed the unspoken order. He nodded, offered a quick salute, and then walked away, presumably to do something else.

"Newcomers, you may approach the table," the Commander said to the ponies. "Come. You most certainly have questions. We will provide what answers we know."

Twilight stepped forward, the rest of the group behind her. As they approached, the dark-skinned woman began messing with the map, and Twilight noticed that her hand could move through the map. Silently she wondered what sort of magic was embedded in the table.

"I am Commander Zavala. I'm the Vanguard's Titan representative," he said.

The hooded one with the horn-like protrusion interjected, "I'm Cayde-6, the Hunter representative."

"And I'm Ikora Rey," the dark-skinned woman added, "the Warlock representative."

"I'm Twilight Sparkle," the unicorn said, "And this is Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm sure we'll get to know each other quite well during your time here," Cayde-6 replied. "Obviously, you guys were found somewhere outside the Sol system. Could you tell me, if you wouldn't mind my asking, where are you from?"

"We come from a world not unlike this one called Equis. Specifically, we-"

"Only need the planet's name, thanks," the Hunter Vanguard Representative interrupted. "We have some pressing matters at our hands, so we don't have terribly much time for your full story, though I imagine it's quite interesting."

"Your profiles have been added to the Vanguard database. Since you managed to steal a Cabal ship and keep it undamaged, we will count the escape from your homeworld as a mission. Even though there were no kills to the Cabal, a Harvester is quite a prize, and our shipwrights will have a blast dissecting it for research," the Commander said to the group. "We've added some glimmer to your accounts. It should be enough to purchase some gear up to your current Level-four status."

"Alright, what's the deal with the whole 'Level' thing?" Rainbow Dash interrogated the significantly larger man. "Is this some sort of twisted game?"

"Actually, it's not. The Vanguard put the Level system in place because of Dredgen Yor. He was one of our finest Guardians. He climbed up in power and skill quicker than any other we've seen before, or since. But he was a proud man, and that pride drove him to the Darkness, seeking further glory. Now we keep close tabs on our Guardians to avoid a similar situation."

"Well, it's a just reason," Rarity piped up. "Would you mind explaining how it works? We need to reach fourteen to go back home and retrieve some things we need."

"It's some really complicated math involving number of missions run, mission difficulty, kills, mission time and completion status, and a few other important variables," Cayde-6 answered quickly. "Which race of enemy also plays into difficulty. The ones outside the city are manageable if you keep your wits about you an don't get ambushed or try to go up an enemy more powerful than you."

"So what should we do now?" Applejack asked after a slight pause.

"Now? I'd try to find some ships so you can take on missions," Ikora advised. "If you want to go home, you need to level up. Best way to do that is take a lot of missions in a short span of time."

"Amuro has been assigned as your mentor until you settle in. He should be waiting for you in the Crucible Hall just through that door, and whichever order of business you wish to attend to first, he shall be more than willing to assist you with it," Commander Zavala said. "And if you get the chance, talk to the Speaker. Dismissed."

The group turned to leave the room, a few more questions still in their heads, like where and how to find a ship, how they would learn to fly it, or what they were up against. If the enemies on this planet were anything like the ones on their own, Twilight had a sinking feeling they would not last as long as they might hope.

"Oh, and Twilight, was it?" Ikora called.

"Yes?" The unicorn swiftly turned around to face the Warlock.

"Good leaders are forged, not born," she said cryptically before turning back to the map on the table.

With that, the group left the Vanguard headquarters, heading back the way they came in. As they passed through the Crucible Hall, they saw Amuro at a booth attended by a robot with a white and orange paint-job and curved horns sticking out of what was presumably its head. They approached Amuro to ask for guidance, they overheard the robot say, "No discounts, big shot. I don't care who you are. You will earn that rifle. Until such time, work with what you've got. Only when you master yours can you learn another."

Twilight tapped the Titan on his shoulder. "Amuro?"

Both the Titan and the robot turned to look at her.

"We need to find some gear and some ships. I thought we should go for decent weaponry first," she continued under the heavy gazes of both the Titan and the robot. "Does this place have anything good?"

"I will forgive you exactly once, since your file is less than twenty-four hours old, Guardian. This booth is beyond you right now. Come back when you are Level twenty or higher and have participated in the Crucible," the robot seemed to growl with disdain.

"He's right. I'll take you to the places to get gear appropriate for your Level," Amuro said, stepping away from the table. He guided the group of ponies up to the courtyard of the Tower.

"Why was Cayde-6 more human-looking than that robot at the booth?" Pinkie asked innocently.

"Because of what they were made for," the Titan replied. "The robot at the booth is what's called a Frame. That one specifically is Arcite 99-40. He's a Battle Frame, and his memory banks still remember the Battle of Twilight Gap. He's since been switched to vendor protocol, but his memory makes him dislike untested Guardians."

"And I'm assuming that whatever Cayde-6 was designed for, sentience and autonomy were important," Rarity reasoned.

The Titan nodded. "Yeah. He, and the guy we're going to see about getting you some weapons, are called Exo. They are a race of war machines, but they have human thought patterns and emotions. For all intents and purposes, they are human. They were made during humanity's Golden Age, but no one really knows why they were built the way they were. But an Exo buddy of mine thinks they were designed because someone wanted to live forever."

"So they were created to be a possible extension of consciousness and life after one's body could no longer support them?" Twilight marveled at the concept. "Incredible."

It was then that a rough voice spoke, turning everyone's attention to its mechanical owner, "You must be looking for some new guns. I've got just what you need." The Exo man behind the counter had a face the color of lapis lazuli, with a bright yellow marking on his forehead. Some sort of spikes protruded from his scalp, and from behind his ears. He put his yellow metal hands together as the six new Guardians stared in wonder at both the gunsmith and the guns behind him. But from the angle Twilight was looking at him, she noticed something on the right side of his head: a scar, new metal welded on and buffed to look as though no damage had been sustained. But the metal looked different from the rest of his 'skin'. It looked like a cheaper metal compared to all of the other plates, perhaps to save the better metals for weapons and armor for the Guardians.

Amuro introduced them, "Everyone, this is Banshee-44, one of the best gunsmiths in the Tower. Take a look at his wares. They won't let you down."

Suit Up

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Banshee-44 stared at the group of inadequately equipped Guardians, as though studying each one carefully. "I have exactly what you guys need," the Exo said in his deep abrasive voice. He turned to look carefully at Rainbow Dash, who shifted her wings nervously in response. "Hunter. Light, agile, values speed and mobility above all else I'd presume. For you, a hand cannon wouldn't go amiss." He turned around and searched the shelves that held some rather small hand-sized weapons. He plucked one from the rack and set it down on the counter between him and the ponies. "Duke Mk. 10. Six rounds per magazine, high power, medium range. Weighs in at two-point-seven pounds when loaded."

He turned to Applejack next, inspecting the muscular earth pony with his cold and calculating eyes. "Titan. Doesn't mind much weight. Doesn't tire easily. For you I'd choose an auto rifle." He turned back to the rack of weapons behind him, scanning a different column filled with rifles. He stepped up onto a stool, and grabbed a white one from the top. He set it down on the counter next to the hand cannon. "Marshal-A. Twenty one rounds per magazine, decent rate of fire, relatively high power, medium range. Seven pounds when fully loaded."

"Warlock. Perfectionist, support-oriented," the weapons dealer said turning to Rarity. He pulled a weapon that was somewhat similar looking to what he'd picked for AJ. "You'd do well with a scout rifle. Jigoku SR1. Medium to long range, precision weapon. It doesn't put much down range quickly, but what it does hits hard. Fifteen rounds per magazine. Six-point-seven pounds when loaded."

"How does he know all of this?" Twilight quietly asked Amuro, who stood by, watching as each pony went through the same equipping process as he had when he was a new Guardian.

"Don't ask him how he knows. He's as war-torn as the City below." The Titan gestured towards the small place where a different metal had been welded onto the Exo's face in a cheap repair job. "That scar of his was made by a Fallen shrapnel launcher. It has caused him some memory loss, so he doesn't remember much aside from his name, his extensive knowledge of weaponry, and his uncanny ability to match people with a perfect weapon based solely on what he can observe about you."

"That's actually really sad," Twilight gasped.

The arms dealer in question turned to Pinkie next. "Hunter. Oddly familiar with heavy weaponry or artillery. I can't tell much about you for some reason, but as a Hunter, I think a hand cannon would be appropriate." He procured a weapon much like Rainbow's from beneath the counter. "Maverick Mk. 10. Six rounds per magazine. Very closely related to the Duke."

"Titan. Surprisingly strong. Support-oriented. Doesn't mind weight. Likes predictability. A pulse rifle for you." Banshee reached up one of the racks of weapons and set it down on the counter. "Psi Umbra I. Three-shot burst weapon. Twenty one rounds per magazine. Good fire rate, good range, and better in close quarters than a scout rifle, but still better in the open."

Finally, the Exo turned to face Twilight, looking her over with intense scrutiny. His gaze was not malicious in any way, but it was unsettling. He seemed to see through her, into her mind or even as far as her soul. She could not suppress a nervous shiver.

"Warlock. Leader in the making. Assertive. Logical. Likes patterns. Takes charge of great tasks and refuses to break under pressure. No doubt you are strong, but you have yet to truly test the heft of the spear you wield," he said as he turned to the weapons racks and pulled one down. "Auto rifle for you. Galahad-A. Twenty one rounds per magazine. It's useful in most every situation, and it'll serve you well."

"How much will all of this cost?" Twilight asked, unsure of how much money the group had available to spend. "We don't have much."

"Your account has five-thousand Glimmer available," the Exo replied, "Each weapon costs two-hundred Glimmer. You will have three-thousand eight-hundred Glimmer remaining for armor."

Twilight and the others picked up the weapons, and thanked the weapons smith, who'd already taken payment directly from their account. They turned and followed Amuro, who was now walking back towards the hallway that led to the hangar.

"With that much Glimmer, you'll be able to get some decent Level 4 armor," Amuro said. "Of course, you won't have enough left over for a new Titan mark for your Titans."

"What's a Titan mark? And why would we need them?" Fluttershy inquired.

Amuro pulled the white cloth attached to his hip slightly. Emblazoned on it was a yellow circle behind a purple rectangle that started at the base of the cloth and cut about halfway into the yellow circle. "This is a Titan mark. It's purely cosmetic, according to the vendors around here, but there's a reason we Titans like having them that we don't tell the civilians."

"And what might that be?" Applejack asked.

"We like having it readily available so we can wipe the blood off of our fists after we punch things," he chuckled. "If we don't, we might not throw aerodynamic punches."

"Why would you need to throw aerodynamic punches?" Twilight asked quizzically. "Why not just use your weapons?"

"Because at close quarters, a Titan's best weapon is their fist. And if we can't throw aerodynamic punches, we might accidentally punch an ally into a wall and kill them," the Titan answered.

"Like this bastard did to me," a cloaked figure hissed as they passed.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Wait what?"

"That's a different story for a different time. Time to get rid of your scrap armor." The group came to the booth next to the three small towers where the cloaked figure would exchange soccer-ball sized objects for armor and weapons.

"Ah! Amuro! Do you have any engrams for me to decode?" the hooded man greeted.

"Not today, Master Rahool. I'm helping the new Guardians suit up," he replied. "Ladies, this is Master Rahool, the chryptarch of the Tower."

"I see you already have weapons," Rahool observed, "but your armor looks improvised. I assume you are here to purchase some armor?"

"Yes, sir," Twilight answered.

"Well, I have plenty of armor sets available, with all of the Glimmer I've taken in over the week," he smiled. "Two of each, eh? One moment…" The chryptarch turned and went behind the counter of his small booth. It was then they noticed that the counter itself was a machine of some kind. He tapped a few places on a screen, and then returned to his original position.

"What exactly is Glimmer?" Rarity inquired.

The cryptarch turned to her and a smile curled up on his pale blue face. "I'm glad you asked, madam. Glimmer is, to put it simply, a programmable, transmutable matter. Input the right coding, and hook it up to an energy source, and you can turn it into virtually anything you might need. From ship parts to computers to weapons, and more. When it gets programmed, it will become an engram, which I can turn into whatever has been encoded in it for free. However, purchasing new engrams will cost you a little bit, though I'd like to be able to do that free of charge as well."

"So you're just converting our Glimmer into new armor," Twilight theorized.

"Most of it, yes. Some, I must keep as a sort of fee. Even I have to eat." The cryptarch turned to the machine once more, and picked up the new set of armor awaiting upon its surface. "This set is for a Hunter. Aaaand this is the set without wing accommodations."

Pinkie snapped to attention, "Huh? Oh, that'd be for me."

Set by set, the cryptarch created and handed over the new sets of armor. It was not the strongest armor, but it was better than the thin sheets of bronze that their Ghosts managed to scrounge up. Most of the plating on the new armor was made from composites that didn't conduct electricity or heat, which the Ghosts said would protect against the weaponry of the Fallen when they went out to find new ships. But that wasn't exactly on the minds of the ponies. They were far more worried about how quiet Pinkie had been as of late. It was far out of character for the bearer of the Element of Laughter, and their most bubbly and happy-go-lucky friend to be as eerily silent as she was. Under most circumstances, the mare would never shut up or stop bouncing. Rainbow Dash almost missed the constant talking.

As soon as they all donned their new armor, they bade the cryptarch farewell. As they departed, Amuro took the lead position of the group, leading them back down the hallway they first entered the courtyard of the Tower through. None of them bothered asking why they were going that way. All of them knew they'd need a new ship or six, as it was probably best that they didn't freak out any fellow Guardians by flying in on an enemy warship. At the end of the hall, they reached a point where they could see virtually all of the hangar bay, and to their surprise, they saw the ship they'd flown in on being painted by a number of frames and people alike. A red, tigerstripe-like pattern covered most of the ship, with the painters finishing up the last few untouched areas. Twilight raised an eyebrow at this. "I thought they'd be scrapping our ship for schematics information."

"The Vanguard will do that when you all have your own ships. For now, they're marking that one so that fellow Guardians don't freak out when you guys go to the LA Cosmodrome to find some," Amuro answered simply. He cracked his neck a little bit, and smirked at the new paint-job their ship was getting. "It's a well-made ship. I'll give the Cabal credit for that. But those damned things are tough to take down, and if we can find out how to do that, we can save countless Guardians."

"But wait… If we all fly in on that, then one of us will have to pilot that thing back, and we'll only have five ships," Rarity noted.

"And that's why I'm flying you guys in on it. I'll fly it back, and you guys will fly back on your new ships."

The group stopped on the quay their ship was resting next to, where a woman with pale skin and messy blonde hair was watching the paint crew working on the team's stolen ship. Her red sash was oil-stained and generally in bad shape, as was the rest of her gray jumpsuit. She looked over at the team of ponies, and remembered them to be the Guardians that flew it into the hangar. "You're the ones who brought this into my hangar, yes?"

"That would indeed be us," Rainbow's Ghost replied, materializing over her shoulder.

"My name's Amanda Holliday. I'm the Tower's top shipwright. The Vanguard sent me a notice to give your ship a high-visibility mark," the woman introduced herself. "I'm guessing they know you'll need this ship to fly to a cosmodrome to find some new ships."

"Excuse my curiosity, but we don't know what a 'cosmodrome' is," Rarity piped up.

"A cosmodrome is basically a planet-side spaceport. If it can fly to and from space, it lands and rests in a cosmodrome," the shipwright explained. "During the Golden Age, every major city had one. Yu woke up right next to the one in Moscow. But now Moscow's out of ships in the area, so now Guardians are checking out places like Beijing and LAX. We rely on Guardians to scout how many ships are left in which cosmodrome, so that we can send new Guardians to the right place to get one."

"But wouldn't it be easier to just build new ships? I mean, why send out fresh Guardians to fight whatever's out there for old ships? Why scavenge?" Rainbow Dash inquired critically.

"We don't have mines to dig up metals or other materials. And before you ask, it would take too much Glimmer to make a ship," answered the shipwright.

------

While waiting for their ship to be finished and approved for takeoff, the group was taken back through the main courtyard, towards a hall not unlike the one that led to the hangar. Other Guardians still looked at them oddly, and Fluttershy could feel disdain emanating from the Titans she saw. And with each Titan that passed, she could not help but try to make herself smaller and less noticeable. As in the other hallway, the new Guardians passed a frame with a broom, sweeping the floors. When they reached the end of the hallway, there was yet another courtyard. This one was far smaller than the central one, however. Directly to the left of the group of ponies, there was a small booth with red banners emblazoned with a white triangle with red streaks therein. A few Guardians were gathered around the little booth, some wearing the symbol on the banner on their own gear. To the right were a few scholarly-looking fellows in the midst of some sort of conversation over a rather hefty looking book. But those were minor details compared to the massive spherical structure directly ahead of them. Their guide stopped, and instructed, "Head inside, turn left. Talk to the guy in the white mask. I need to have a word with someone over there."

Twilight moved forth towards the tiny bridge that connected the spherical structure to the courtyard, her friends following her as they had when they became the Element Bearers. To them, this was nothing more than one more challenge for them as the Bearers. This was no different than facing Discord, or the Changelings. Of course, their bodies and the need for weapons was new, but the principle was the same. And like all of their other trials, the result would be the same: they would defeat the threat, and Friendship would have another victory to notch its belt for.

But as with the threat of King Sombra's return, dark thoughts were ever-present. Their home was dead. Celestia and Luna lay slain skeletons, recognizable only by their battle regalia. Canterlot was devoid of life, and Ponyville… If Canterlot and its mighty military forces bases fell that hard, Ponyville would bow to the Cabal the instant they came stomping down the roads like grass in storm winds. Cloudsdale could perhaps survive in theory, but its citizenry likely would not. Twilight knew no magic that could restore life to any creature, let alone an entire world.

"You are the brightest lights I have seen in quite some time," a calm voice interrupted Twilight's thoughts, making the entire group turn to face it. Its owner was a faceless figure who stood at the top of a small staircase with a balcony presumably at the top, wearing a long white robe with a black hood over his head and a white mask over his face. Everything about the figure seemed pristine and pure. His white robes were unstained in any manner, and looked as though they'd been freshly sewn, and the black hood carried no hind of fading color or sun-bleaching. "But there are the faintest of shadows in even you as well."

"Who are you?" Twilight asked almost defensively.

"Look out the window. Tell me what you see." He refused to answer.

Hesitantly, Twilight looked outwards. There was a massive sphere, pale and partially torn up, hovering above a city. Wide rings spanned outwards from the center of the city, taller than most of the buildings there. Off to the right were a range of mountains like sharp teeth, which would tear the sunlight at evening into fractal shapes. Next to the mountains was a wide river that gleamed with the light from the sun overhead.

"You can see the Traveler from everywhere in this valley," the figure continued, stepping down the stairs slowly. He kept his black-gloved hands clasped together not unlike a monk of some kind. "Do you see the Traveler?"

"It's the big ball in the sky, right?" Rainbow Dash blurted in response.

"To an extent, yes," the masked man replied. "We know not if that is the true shape of the Traveler, but that is the form it has taken." He paused at the bottom of the steps, turning his head as though to look at each one of them. "You are very far from home."

"Not like it matters much," Twilight near hissed. "Our world is dead. From what our Ghosts have told us, it was done by the Cabal."

"Yes, the Cabal. They are an interesting foe to face, but I don't think they are the true threat." The man held out a hand, and a blue light appeared above it, not unlike the map on the table in the Vanguard headquarters. At first, it was just a sphere of blue light, but it soon shaped itself into the form of a Ghost. "A Ghost has recently been rescued from the depths of the Cabal exclusion zone on Mars. All we could do was recover its memories. And there was one report that really struck a chord to the Vanguard and the other city factions. Listen."

A hologram of a spinning golden planet, in stasis, turning gently. You can see the storms moving over its face. But when the Commanders congregate below it, when they activate whatever controls are below, it changes. Fissures appear on its face. Is that their home? When the room empties I play with the controls, but it's older, native technology that I don't recognize at all.
I don't know what it means. It's not difficult to hide in these caverns when you're as small as I am, although the Psions tend to look around them when they pass me. There are infinitely many cracks and crannies. They are not a race that fears infiltration or espionage.
There is meaning to the structure and layout of their buildings. This is a warrior people, and they lay out their fortifications along ancient principles and time-tested strategies. I can't figure out the sense that lies behind it. I would need ten times the computing power for inference calculations. But I know it's there. I can intuit it. It's like an open hand, ready to squeeze into a fist. A threat. A gesture of power.
For all their might and strength, for all that they have dug into Mars and flung up battle walls with the bureaucratic grimness of conquerors, I suspect they are fleeing from something. That within their hard shells and thousand-folded shields is a sharp seed of terror. But of what? Does something follow them? Should we fear it too?

"So they're running from something?" Twilight questioned. "They didn't seem terribly worried on our home world."

"Perhaps because they were far enough away from that which chases them," the masked man suggested. "But I have a different hypothesis. What if t—"

Pinkie dared interject, "What would be a better plot twist than if the Cabal knew that the Ghosts would come revive us? If they knew that, then they came to kill us so the Ghosts could make us Guardians. And if that happened, then we would come here and grow strong enough to destroy whatever is chasing them."

Everyone turned to face their unusually quiet friend. Instantaneously they knew she was not the Pinkie they knew and loved. She was Pinkamena, the flat-haired one who lived within Pinkie's own head. Twilight almost visibly cringed upon seeing that Pinkamena had been revived with Pinkie. For the duration of their restored lives, she had hoped that her friend's split personality wouldn't have made it through the reforging the Ghosts had put them through. She had hoped that somehow, that darker side of her had been purged by the Light. And with this confirmation of Pinkamena's continued existence, came another grim implication: all of their darker sides, brought out by Discord's magic, had survived as well. Fluttershy's cruelty, Applejack's dishonesty, Rarity's blind greed, and Rainbow's disloyalty. But darker still, Twilight's own discordant self, which she knew naught of.

"Exactly, Guardian. I sense that the Cabal are not all Dark. There is a spark, if not more, of Light within each of them. They are not like the Vex or the Hive," the masked one said. "Perhaps, through their sin, they prayed upon the Traveler to help them. It is possible that the Traveler is answering that prayer through you."

"Why should we help the race that destroyed our home and killed everyone we ever knew?" Twilight asked venomously.

"There is hope for them and their salvation. And there may yet be hope for your home as well. I know not what I sense in the six of you, but there is something amplifying your Light," the man in white answered. "There may yet be a chance for us to gain a powerful ally in this war. If our hypothesis is correct, then having the Cabal as an ally could end this war and repel the Darkness. And if the Nine help, perhaps we can defeat the Darkness for good."

"So, how do we go about finding the enemy of the Cabal?" Fluttershy spoke up.

"This, even I know not. The Traveler may know, but it is still too weak to speak," the masked man replied. "For now, hone your skills, fight, better yourselves in body, mind, and spirit. You will need to be better than you are now to visit your home once more. Go, find your ships as you've planned."

The six turned to leave the spherical room. As Twilight passed through the threshold, the man spoke once more, "Oh, and Guardians, remember this: Guardians make their own fate."

As they departed, this last line stuck in each of their minds. There was something powerful about that one sentence, something liberating. It seemed to lift a mighty burden from the shoulders of the new Guardians, who were the last of their kind, as far as they could know at that time. Perhaps Discord or Spike had survived somehow. Perhaps other ponies or native sentient creatures from their home had outlasted the threat of extinction, as humanity had done with their city beneath the Traveler. There was hope in these thoughts. There was no true comfort, but there was hope, and that was enough for them, for the time being.

The LAX Cosmodrome

View Online

"Alright, so here's the plan!" Amuro shouted over the noise inside the stolen Cabal Harvester. "I'm going to drop you guys off on the west end of the cosmodrome. I'll be hovering over the drop site until you guys get inside. If the Fallen decide to ambush you outside, I'll wipe 'em out for you with the Harvester's gun."

"Once we're inside," J-Ami continued, "we Ghosts will use the cosmodrome's sensory array to find any remaining ships. From there, we'll head towards those ships and pray that the Fallen haven't picked them clean."

"The Fallen are sneaky, and they're ruthless. They don't go for capture. If you can, avoid being in close quarters to Captains or sword-bearing Vandals," Amuro finished. "Once your Ghosts send me the sign that you're in, I'll be headed out."

The air was tense within the ship. Pinkie was somehow back to being Pinkie, but she was still too quiet for anyone to consider her back to normal. But even then, there was the daunting task ahead, which, if done right, would involve the use of their new weaponry to kill things. Never before had any of them even thought about fatally harming another creature, let alone a sentient one of any kind. Even when fighting off the changeling invasion, none of them had caused too serious an injury to the invading ponies. This, however, was different. Twilight remembered that this was a war, and that every war has ended lives as a toll. It was a harsh truth to swallow, but she was a soldier now. She had weapons and armor like any other pony in the military. And now, she would fight like any other soldier.

"Drop in thirty seconds," Amuro called. "Ready up."

The ponies turned their attention to the main door of the ship, steeling themselves for what lay ahead. No, they were different from soldiers. They carried more with them. They weren't just some squadron of marines thrown together arbitrarily, expected to work together as though they knew each other. They were friends, best friends, closely linked through the magic of the Elements of Harmony. They had been through dozens of crazy adventures together, defeated threats to not only them, but their country and even their world. All of them were more than capable of being the heroes that Celestia and Luna told them they were destined to be.

The doors began to open. Rabbid wind rushed into the main belly of the ship. The dull hum of the engines soon became a near deafening roar, and the dim inside of the ship was soon flooded with the harsh glare of sunlight. Once the door was fully opened, the six rushed out of the ship landing on the hard ground. Everyone held their weapons tightly, and looked around. The landscape was sun-drenched. The frames of cars were rusted and sun-bleached, some barely held together by small tendrils of oxidized metal. The roads they lay stranded upon were riddled with cracks and arc fire scores. Chips of concrete and rusted steel littered the ground, and lichen grew on it, slowly reclaiming the material to become soil for the local flora. Tall grasses and a few flowering plants and vines dared grow from the cracks in the pavement, soaking up sunlight, not knowing or perhaps not caring that they weren't supposed to grow in those spots.

Directly ahead of them was a massive building with immense walls of concrete and steel. Rust had stained the surface of the concrete anywhere the iron rebar was exposed, and streaked down due to rain. Behind the wall was a tower with three spheres aligned vertically, likely the same size as the room with the masked man in the tower. In a pattern of tri-radial symmetry, three objects somewhat resembling the ships in the Tower hangar were attached to the tower. There was a hole in the wall the same width as the road they stood on, and about as tall as two of the ponies standing on each other's shoulders. This, they presumed, was the entrance to the cosmodrome.

"Each of your helmets comes with a heads-up-display. It'll show you what you need to know without distracting you from watching what's going on around of you," Amuro's voice said into the ears of all of the ponies. "The top left corner has an active radar. Unidentified targets will fill up whichever zone they're in relative to you, with the top section being forwards and the center being your immediate arm's-reach surroundings. In the bottom left, you can see how much ammo you've got in your weapon, in case you lose count of how many shots you've fired. Just above that you can see if you've got a grenade ready. Your Ghosts can actively make them from scrap material around you, but it takes time."

"Gotcha," Rainbow affirmed for the group.

"Also, you can't see it now, but there's a small bar in the top center of your heads-up. That's your armor's shielding. If the bar turns red, that means the shields are gone and the actual armor is taking damage. Try to avoid that as much as possible. Good news is, your Ghosts can repair your armor and regenerate the shields if you stay out of enemy fire for a bit. When in doubt, get to cover and wait a bit," Amuro advised. "Get moving. There's no Fallen around yet, so move quickly. If you're quick enough, you can slip out from beneath their noses without having to kill any."

"Let's go, girls. Let's make this quick," Twilight sighed, moving forwards towards the cosmodrome.

And so they moved forth, Amuro hovering where he'd dropped them off. True to his word, he hovered there until they reached the entrance to the cosmodrome. As soon as they were in the shadow of the wall, Amuro bade them farewell and turned the ship around, flying away towards the setting sun. Now back to just their own little group, the ponies progressed into the massive hallway in the wall. Vehicles were slightly better preserved here, but they weren't in much better shape than the ones outside. Most of their bodies were intact, but their entirety was covered in a thick layer of rust. Inside, skeletons lay bare of any flesh, jaws agape as though they died screaming.

"There, to the left. That door with sandbags," J-Ami said to the group, pointing a beam of light towards what she was referring to. It was a large door, not unlike those in the Canterlot palace, but it wasn't really a door so much as a glorified chain gate. Thin strands of steel wire were woven into a cross-hatched pattern, and looked to be designed to be pulled upwards to open. Next to it was a little metal box with twelve buttons and a tiny screen that still looked to be active, judging on the light coming from said screen. "The mainframe should be through that door. Let me take a look at it."

Twilight approached the door with her friends behind her, and watched J-Ami go to work. Concentrated beams of light shot forth from the Ghost towards the control panel of the door. A few seconds later, and the door's motor hummed to life, pulling it up and rolling it up around an axle. So they stepped forth into the dark halls of the cosmodrome's terminals.

Power hadn't been on for many decades in the LAX Cosmodrome. But it was clear that time had passed. The ponies walked up a flight of rusted metal stairs, guided by the light their Ghosts projected, up through a door that had been shot off its hinges by something that fired extremely hot projectiles. Twilight knew just by looking that the projectiles fired didn't completely break the hinges, but the heat of them melted whatever remained into a small puddle, which rested at the bottom of the doorway. Once through the doorway, there was at least some ambient light. The windows along the wall directly in front of them, was made of glass, allowing light from the outside in. Or at least, it was supposed to be. The now setting sunlight outside sparkled in from the shattered shards of shrapnel and glass. A few panels of the massive glass window remained intact, but those were few and far between. Rows of chairs and benches were overturned and riddled with holes and scorch marks and scorch marks on the metal bits. But above them was a sign that somehow remained untouched by time and war, that said, "TERMINAL 6."

"Terminal 6 specialized in flights to Mars. Specifically, a city called Clovis Bray," Z-Lda said. "It was the go-to destination for scientists and engineers and inventors wanting to make a name for themselves. They'd be given a lab and materials for free. All they had to do was pay for the flight, and sign a contract."

"Shame that's not a thing anymore. I'd have had a hayday with that," Twilight mused. "Then again, my research would have been beneficial almost exclusively to ponykind."

"Figure yourself a scientist, eh?" J-Ami asked her Guardian as she stepped over a piece of twisted shrapnel.

"I was the leader of a research team in Stalliongrad for research on why multiple layers of magical energy manifested around a unicorn's horn, and why only five could ever be achieved," she said as she looked around the dim terminal. "I was indeed a scientist."

"The terminal control room should be by Gate 12," K-Ayd informed. Looking around, they found an overturned sign saying they were currently walking past Gate 5. And it was a slow walk through the abandoned terminal. Every step was carefully placed so as to not disturb any of the skeletons laying around, or make unnecessary noise that could attract unwanted attention. "From the looks of it, we're the first ones in through Terminal 6 since the Collapse."

"I wonder what sort of relics are left of the Golden Age in here," O-Ron mused.

The ponies ignored him, focusing instead on the ever nearing sign that almost certainly read, "Gate 12." There were quite a few extra bones laying around nearby it. And as they got closer, they saw a number of objects that looked much like their weapons. Far more carefully they stepped as to not disturb the dead. Far more quietly they breathed to listen for any sign of movement. Far more wary they became near those murdered by the enemy still lurking nearby.

"That door," J-Ami said, pointing her light at the intended door, which, for the most part, was undamaged. It was spotted with singe marks, but it was neither rusted, nor off its hinges. And like the previous door, there was a small control panel directly beside it. "I got this."

The Ghost floated over to the panel and began firing small, concentrated beams of light at it, a faint dink echoing with each shot. It took a few minutes, but the door opened, the lock audibly slamming itself into its unlocked position.

"I'll pull it open, you guys go in, weapons up," Twilight whispered as she took a position in front of the door, ready to pull it open. As soon as the others lined up, she opened the door that hadn't been moved in a very long time.

The hallway within was narrow and dark. But that soon changed as the overhead lights started to flicker to life, illuminating the dull gray walls and metallic floor. The little corridor extended into the wall for about ten meters before turning right and up a flight of stairs. And as they planned, they went in with weapons raised. Rainbow went in first, both hands tightly gripping her small firearm. Applejack followed, watching the ceiling in case any enemies had indeed made it into this passageway and were now trying to hide by not being in the easiest view. Fluttershy was followed in by Twilight, who pulled the door closed behind them, the lock slamming back into its locked position. When they turned the corner to ascend the stairs, a chill ran up Rainbow's spine as she saw one light flickering just five or six meters above them at the top of the stairway. But up she went anyway with a grudging gulp and a deep breath for courage.

A panel in the wall at the top of the stairwell popped open with no warning as soon as Rainbow set foot on the first step. It whined with charged energy, an impressive gun pointed towards the ponies. An automated voice filled the cramped corridor, "SECURITY BREACH T6-G12. AUTHORIZING LIVE FIRE ON TARGETS."

Rainbow fired her hand cannon once at the little turret, the little weapon kicking back far more than she had anticipated with a loud bang, which their helmets dampened to a tolerable level. But her aim was true with that one little bullet, and it slammed into the barrel of the automated defense, rendering it unable to fire. Now useless, the little turret retreated into the wall, leaving it virtually seamless once more.

All of the ponies released their breaths. This was the first time any of them had shot a firearm before, and it was far more startling than any of them had anticipated. The threat of being shot at did not lighten the situation in the least. But they moved forward, now much more mentally prepared for whatever the enemy, or the cosmodrome, had in store for them. At the top of the stairs, there was a little room, with a few machines bolted and welded to the floor. It was big enough for about twelve people to have personal space, machinery included. To the right of the door, at the front of the room, was a massive monitor. Aside from the lights, none of the other equipment was receiving power.

"Looks like the lights and that turret were on their own power grid," K-Ayd observed. "I'll see if I can't get this stuff back up and running."

And so they waited, sitting down on the metal floor as the Ghost did his work. It was in this unused time that Twilight and Fluttershy seemed to relax if only for that moment. They found the soft noise of the Ghost at work oddly comforting, as though there was a kind of magic from back home in that sound. It felt familiar and reminded them of home, and some of the adventures they had shared there. Sure, now they were millions, maybe billions of miles away, on a planet almost like home, with a sun that seemed to rise and set of its own accord, with a moon sharing a similar autonomy to the sun. But in that small room, filled only with the sounds of their breathing and the Ghost at work, there was a sliver of comfort that they didn't quite know how to describe, other than it feeling just a little like home.

Twilight closed her eyes, and took Fluttershy's hand in her own, knowing how comforting the gesture was to her, and herself. The two intertwined their fingers, giving each other light squeezes as though to remind each other that they were still there. The others didn't notice, or maybe they did but didn't care. Or perhaps they knew something that others, outsiders trying to look in, wouldn't, or maybe couldn't understand. It could be speculated that the two were involved with each other beyond mere friendship, but that may not have been the case. They could very well have loved each other, but in a way that humanity hadn't seen before; a love that only needed strong companionship and gestures of comfort and affection.

There was a small click, and a whir of machinery returning to life from an age-old stasis. Words were not needed to confirm the success of the Ghost in restoring power to the room's machinery. Screens began to flicker with light, their ancient programming now being called upon after being sealed away and abandoned.

"Alright, it looks like there should still be a set of seven ships in Hangar 1, on the south side of the grounds. Looks like they're equipped with warp drives too," K-Ayd informed the group as he floated back to Rainbow.

Remembering that the door behind them was sealed with no way to open it from the inside, they looked around for any other doors. There was one other door with a little lit sign saying, "EXIT," on the opposite side of the room they entered from. When they re-entered the terminal, the lights were on, casting harsh white light from the ceiling to the floor and spilling out into the darkening twilight outside.

"Fastest way to the hangars is across the tarmac. We should get a move on before the Fallen come to look at the lights," O-Ron suggested for the group to hear.

"Don't worry about falling. All boots sold to Guardians must be fall-protective to thirty meters," K-Rah informed.

So the ponies leapt from the terminal floor to the tarmac below and began running towards the hangars on the south side of the cosmodrome. A few sections of the high-grip surface were destroyed and torn up by explosive munitions fire, and now various forms of vegetation were growing in the holes, since the dirt was exposed. But aside from dust, not much rubble was on the majority of the tarmac.

They were about halfway to the hangars when a dull screech began to crescendo into existence. And as it got louder, the ponies sprinted faster, hoping to get to the hangars before whatever was chasing them could catch them. They made it to the edge of Hangar 3 by the time the screeching was at its loudest. Above them and a few meters ahead, a ship about the size of the one they stole was hovering in front of the blast doors of Hangar 3. Ducking behind a wall, Twilight dared poke her head out to watch what their enemy was doing. In response, a mounted gun at the front of the ship fired a blue bolt of crackling energy towards her. She pulled back, and the shot flew past where her head had been just a second earlier. Feral howls soon screamed battle cries from the direction of the enemy ship.

Weapons fire soon began flying past the wall of the hangar the ponies were hiding behind. At first, they dared not pop out from their cover, as the ship hovering above their enemy was far too heavily armored to destroy or disable with their current weaponry. But as soon as the ship turned tail and flew off, Rainbow Dash leapt into the air with her great wings, and began returning fire to the enemies. The hand cannon barked loudly, and recoiled with each pull of the trigger, causing sharp vibrations to shoot through her arms almost up to her shoulders. But her aim was true, her shots hitting the red-masked creatures.

When Rainbow hit the ground once more, the others filed out from cover and began firing their own weapons. Twilight barely noticed anything about their enemies. They all seemed to be wearing red-markings, those with four arms wearing red capes and those with only two wearing red masks. As she fired her rifle at the enemy, she assessed that the smaller ones had stubs wrapped in bandages beneath their arms, leading her to believe that they were not a coalition of two species, but the same species with amputees in their forces. But that was something she would research later. For now, all that mattered was taking them down so they could finish their mission.

The small squadron of enemy troops was dispatched relatively easily. But they were not the only troops in the area. Another squadron of Fallen with long blades burst forth from the doors of Hangar 3, charging recklessly towards the group in hopes of taking down at least one of the ponies. Twilight, quick on her feet, brought her rifle to bear and let loose a blizzard of lead on the incoming enemies. But her fire was not enough alone to bring down the Vandals. Fluttershy was first to add her fire on the approaching sword-bearers, her pulse rifle bringing down one of the Vandals with the first burst. But there were too many of them to kill with just the two of them firing, so the two of them jumped back to avoid the first slashes from the quickest of the sword-bearers. "Rainbow, heads up!"

The pegasus sidestepped just in time to narrowly miss a vertical slash from a Vandal, then brought her hand cannon to bear on the poor thing. But where a loud bang should have kicked in her hand, there was a dull click instead. "Gotta reload. Cover me!"

"I gotcha," AJ replied, spraying the Vandal assaulting Rainbow with her auto rifle, several shots piercing its armor and spraying blue blood back towards AJ in response.

A Vandal in glossy stealth, nearly invisible to the unaided eye, stalked closer towards Applejack, using the chaos of its visible comrades to cover its own approach. It raised its blades, preparing to use them like a pair of scissors on the farm pony. But Rarity saw the thing's footprints in the dust, and plucked it from the ground in her magic. It screamed in confusion as it lost control of its own body, and then was slammed into one of its comrades, sending both of them tumbling in a mass of surprised noises and sharp objects. She then brought her scout rifle to bear on the pair of them, dispatching each with a pair of shots. And with no less elegance, she dropped the empty magazine from her rifle and switched it out with a new one, putting the old one back into the pouch on her chestplate.

With the Vandals out of the way, the group quickly made their way towards Hangar 1, making it there without further incursions from the Fallen. But the House of Devils had far more in store for them. For when the ponies made it to the Hangar, they heard the sound of Fallen skiffs approaching. And to top it off, the door to the Hangar had six different locking mechanisms.

"We'll handle the locks, you keep the Fallen off of us," J-Sly said, suddenly appearing with all of the other Ghosts, floating to the locks and beginning their work.

When the three skiffs arrived, they fired their frontal support cannons just like the first they'd seen. Predicting this, Twilight raised her palm and cast a shielding spell in front of the group, the arc bolts bouncing off and slamming back into the fronts of the skiffs. That damage seemed to do wonders, as the skiffs destabilized, the one on the left crashing into the middle, dragging both of them down onto the tarmac in a gleaming metal fireball. The one on the right, however, destabilized in a far different direction. It leaned forward, and crashed into the ground, skidding towards the group.

"Stand back!" Twilight ordered as she raised both of her palms to concentrate her magic. She grit her teeth and growled in an almost feral manner, pushing against the incoming skiff, stopping the thing just a foot away from her.

"They lived!" Pinkie warned, drawing attention from the downed skiff in front of them to the enemies now jumping out of it. As soon as she fired, all of the others joined her.

Pinkie and Rainbow took down the smaller, two-armed Fallen combatants with their hand cannons, alternating their fire so that they could cover each other's reloads. Twilight and Applejack focused on the sword-bearing Vandals who got anywhere near the group. Fluttershy covered the sides of the group, ensuring that any attempts at flanking them would fail miserably, and Rarity picked off the far-off Vandals trying to get a good sniper spot.

But then they heard a mighty roar and a bigger creature pulled itself from the wreckage of the skiffs. It wore fine red banners from its shoulders. In its bottom pair of arms were the finest swords among the small battalion of Fallen troops, and in its top pair it held a large weapon with a flaming muzzle and four barrels. It looked at the group of startled ponies and let loose a terrifying battle cry and trudged towards them, bringing the weapon to bear on them.

Super Power: The Golden Gun

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[Suggested listening]

With the massive Fallen slowly closing in, the ponies began firing on it, hoping to take it down quickly before it could get within slashing distance. And though it stumbled every so often from the addition of hand cannon rounds, it showed no signs of being wounded.

"Done with my part!" K-Rah called, reappearing at Pinkie's shoulder. "Oh shit that's an Archon."

"Yeah, what do we do about it?" Twilight asked irritatedly as she pumped another magazine into the beast's armor, doing no visible damage.

"Pinkie, try a grenade," the Ghost recommended. The pink pony fired one more round of her hand cannon at the Archon's helm, making it stumble, giving her the clearing to reach down to her left hip and arm a grenade with a squeeze of her hand. She tossed it as though she were playing softball, the tiny golden sphere bouncing off of the Fallen's chestplate and landing on the ground below it. It looked down in confusion at the tiny ball, and realized just a little too late that it was an explosive. When it detonated, it sent the beast flying back against the hull of its downed ship. But aside from a few scorch marks on the armor and setting its cape on fire, the grenade did little damage.

"What do we do now?" Rainbow asked, punishing a Dreg for getting too close with her hand cannon. "We're going to need a bigger boom than that, and I don't think I can manage a rainboom right now."

"Focus on the little guys. Only fire on the Archon if it gets too close," Twilight planned. "It'll be easier to fight it when it has no support."

"I'll try to come up with a plan in the mean time," K-Rah added.

With that new plan confirmed by the rest of the group, they set to work picking off the Archon's support. After diverting their fire away from their leader, the rest of the Fallen troops seemed to realize what they were doing, and started being far more careful. They ducked behind cover more often, choosing to blindly fire over ramparts and around corners rather than take a chance at falling to the fresh Guardians.

A sniper dared poke his head out from behind one of the downed skiffs, taking aim with his wire rifle. He took his sweet time, his squadmates on the other side of the small alley between the skiffs providing ample distraction so he could make a good shot. He fired, the wire rifle kicking quite a bit in his three hands as he brought his fourth up to chamber the next round. The thin shot missed his target by a mere inch, and he ducked behind cover again, narrowly avoiding two pulse rifle bursts from Fluttershy. But a few moments later, it felt safe enough to pop its head out again for another look to see if he could make another shot. The thing squinted and pulled up its rifle once more, taking aim again. As Pinkie came into its sights, it held its breath for a moment, and then fired.

The thin arc round cackled madly as it sliced through the air, fast as Dash. And before Pinkie could have possibly seen it coming, she somehow danced right out of the way, simultaneously bringing her hand cannon to bear on a Vandal that had tried to flank her with a sword. She fired two rounds at the thing, the first hitting it in the chest, the second nailing it between its two pairs of eyes, killing it instantly and making a bright display of its ether leaking out of its shattered mask. The sniper, frustrated that his perfectly aimed shot had missed, fired again towards Pinkie. But like the first shot, she sidestepped, and the shot hit the door of the hangar behind her.

"Rarity, we have a meanie hiding by the left ship. He's making my toes all twitchy!" Pinkie complained to her Warlock friend.

"So rude!" Rarity jested, taking aim down the sights of her scout rifle.

"I'm gonna go say hi!" Pinkie blurted as she began skipping down the aisle between the Fallen skiffs.

"I guess I'll cover you then," Rarity sighed, popping a few shots at anything that dared aim towards her bubbly friend. But she'd forgotten that the Archon was a thing that existed and could move, so when suddenly she saw it out of the corner of her eye, she panicked and jumped back, grabbing the grenade on her own belt, and throwing it at the massive enemy. To her surprise, it didn't bounce off the thing's armor like Pinkie's had, but stuck to it as though layered with the stuff on the back end of duct tape. The Archon seemed to panic for the moment between the grenade hitting it and blowing up.

The blast knocked the Archon back a meter or two, sending sprawling onto its backside and sending one of its swords flying like a knife through the air towards Pinkie. For a brief moment, Rarity could only watch as the massive blade neared her friend. But like everything else that had come her way, she evaded the thing by rolling beneath its path instead of bouncing up again. With a sigh, she brought her rifle back up to her shoulder, and opened fire on the Dregs firing pistols at Pinkie.

The sniper, who was ducked behind the skiff, waiting for an opening in enemy fire to poke its head out again, screamed in shock as the Guardian he had tried to kill twice now suddenly appeared next to him. "Hi!" she greeted as she brought her hand cannon up to the Vandal's face and pulled the trigger. With the last round in her magazine, she killed the sniper.

However, the sniper had a partner with swords, who thrust one of the blades towards Pinkie. Seeing it just in time, she jumped and landed on the sword as it got jammed into the dead sniper's chest. Screaming in hatred and frustration, the sword-bearer slashed at Pinkie's legs with its other blade, which she jumped over. When she landed, she kicked the thing in the face. She then jumped off the sword and took her knife out from the sheath on her chestplate, and jammed it into the neck of the Vandal.

Back with the main group, they had since thrown a few more grenades at the Archon when it approached, and had begun to notice a crack forming in its chestplate. "We're making progress!" Twilight called.

"Looks like we've thinned out most of the enemies around here, too," Rarity observed as she shot a Dreg's pistol away, the small firearm shattering as it flew out of the enemy's hand. The small enemy screamed in anger and unsheathed its knife, throwing it like a carnival performer and hitting Rarity in the chest with the blunt end, knocking her down and the air out of her lungs. And no sooner did that happen than the Archon warped closer to the group, skipping about five meters of the distance between itself and Rarity.

"Rarity!" Rainbow hollered, emptying an entire magazine into the Archon's face as she flung herself towards her downed friend. She then grabbed her friend's hand and pulled her to her feet. But now both of them were within slashing range of the thing's remaining sword, and as it brought the blade swinging around in an arc that would most certainly relieve them of a limb or their heads if it made contact, they flinched, holding each other for dear life.

But Pinkie had other plans for her friends, and neither grave injury nor death were a part of said plans. She fired a round from her hand cannon, the lead slug slamming into the Archon's helm, knocking the creature off balance. Though too late to stop the sword from swinging, she ensured that it missed by at least half a meter, saving the lives of her close friends perhaps long enough to see another birthday. With the opportunity to back gain distance from the Archon, Rarity and Rainbow backpedaled back to the rest of the group as Pinkie fired another round at the enemy leader. While doing so, Rainbow reloaded her hand cannon, barely noticing how shaky her hands were getting.

Another few Dregs charged at the group, pistols firing waves of cackling arc bolts. While a few actually hit their targets, the rounds were not powerful enough to pierce the shielding of the ponies' armor. Annoyed by the sudden development, Applejack brought her auto rifle to bear on the approaching group of enemies and held the trigger, spraying a hailstorm of lead towards them, bringing all but one down. The last one threw his emptied pistol at the farm pony, hitting her in the chest and knocking her back. He then brought out a pair of knives and jumped, intending to bring both of them down on her.

But Fluttershy was just as quick on her feet, and spread her wings wide, giving one great flap. The sudden gust slammed into the Dreg like a train, bowling him sideways, where he brought the knifes down onto the hard tarmac, breaking both blades on it. He howled in anger and picked up the broken blades, tossing the handles aside, and then threw the knives in Fluttershy's direction. But before they could leave the Dreg's hands, they were shot out by Rarity's well-placed scout rifle shots. With this opportunity, but a lack of ammunition in her rifle, Applejack returned to her feet and sprinted towards the now unarmed Dreg and punched it as hard as she could, sending it flying back about ten meters.

"Holy shit," Rainbow muttered under her breath upon seeing the poor Dreg land after the punch.

"Holy shit," Applejack muttered as she looked at her fist, not quite believing that she'd managed to do that.

"Girls, we still have at least one problem here," Twilight informed, pointing towards the approaching Archon. She tossed a grenade at it, watching as the enemy leader was forced back a bit. "How do we get rid of it?"

"Keep hitting it with grenades. One of you will feel something soon," K-Rah said.

"Feel something?" Pinkie asked. No sooner did that happen than she felt her ears twitch and her left eye wink. "Ooooo! Guys I got a Pinkie sense!"

"What does it mean?" Rainbow called as she avoided a barrage of the Archon's gunfire. "Is it something helpful?"

"I think so! I got an ear twitch and a left wink!" she giggled back, bouncing over the Archon's fire.

Twilight had less than her usual patience for Pinkie's antics, due to being in a situation where she could die again, and the fact that she just wanted to finish the mission as quickly as possible. "We don't know what that means, Pinkie!"

Pinkie just giggled and dismissed Twilight as silly. She started looking around her, as though there were a fly buzzing about. Due to her being distracted in such an odd way, Rainbow and the others had to keep the pressure on the Archon to keep it from going after her. Fluttershy took her turn to toss a grenade at the Archon and deepen the tiny cracks in its chestplate. "Pinkie, please hurry up whatever you're doing!"

"Ha! It was right above me the whole time!" the party pony celebrated. She holstered her hand cannon, and then reached directly above her head, and grabbed at the air.

There was a sudden, loud snap, and Pinkie was holding a golden hand cannon that seemed to be on fire. And as she held onto it, it somehow made the rest of her armor golden and flaming like the gun. She brought it down and looked at it for a moment before her Ghost informed her that she had a limited time before it would disappear. So she sprinted over to the Archon and aimed it directly at its chestplate.

The others watched in awe as their friend achieved something completely unexpected, something the rest of them didn't know was possible. Perhaps it was magic, or perhaps it was the Ghost's doing. But whatever the cause, it may have jut saved their lives.

The first shot hollered the Archon's end was nigh. The round of pure solar energy instantly slammed into the Fallen's slightly damaged chestplate with the force equivalent of a cinderblock hitting at the speed of sound. A deep fissure appeared in the Archon's chestplate, running diagonally from its left shoulder to its right hip. The second shot barked an order to die at the Archon of the House of Devils. The fissure split, making a Y shape as a new crack ran from the collar to the center of the chestplate where the original fissure was. The Archon screamed in pain and hatred, realizing that if two more shots hit, its armor would give way and it would be vulnerable. The third shot screamed a battle cry of the Light, its call for revenge upon the Darkness louder than the sounds of crashing ships and shrieks of pain and terror. The Archon's armor took the hit, the fissures making an X pattern and seeming like they were no longer impenetrable.

But with that third shot, the golden gun burnt itself up, dissipating into nothingness. This came as a slight surprise to Pinkie, as she realized she was no longer holding a weapon, and the Archon was now more than filled with seething rage and hatred directed towards her before the rest of her friends. And the Archon took advantage of her lack of armament, charging towards her with its sword poised to swing and its firearm sending multiple flaming projectiles her way.

"Pinkie!" Rainbow called, throwing her grenade at the Archon, the explosive sticking to the side of its chestplate and exploding before it could reach her friend. "Get out your gun!"

"It just disappeared, and I can't sense it!" she cried as she backed away quickly from the enraged enemy.

"Not that one! The other one!" the pegasus clarified.

Pinkie looked down at her hip and realized she still had her original hand cannon. And on her other hip was a grenade. With that information, Pinkie's mind began thinking of how she could best the monstrosity that was coming after her. And after a moment, a plan formed. "Guys, I need to test something. Summon me!"

"What the hell?" Twilight near lost her cool.

"Just do it!" Pinkie hollered as she dodged a slash from the Archon's sword.

"Promise me you won't touch my hat, Rainbow."

"I Pinkie Promise I won't touch your hat," the pegasus in question smirked. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Immediately after the ritual was recited, Rainbow approached AJ's prized Stetson and reached for it. And suddenly, Pinkie was no longer in front of the Archon. The Fallen and Twilight were both confused as the pony that was once there just stopped being there. Suddenly, she appeared from beneath Applejack's hat as she always did when that summoning ritual was performed. "Perfect!"

She jumped out from the farm pony's hat and said, "Rainbow, I need you to Pinkie Promise that you won't touch Big Meanie's chestplate!"

"Wait what?"

"And then I need you to try to touch Big Meanie's chestplate!" she finished.

At first, everyone but Pinkie was confused, but then they realized her plan. "Oh! Oh shit yeah! Okay! I Pinkie Promise I won't touch that thing's chestplate. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

And with that, Rainbow Dash sprinted forth towards the Archon, who had since turned around and was approaching the ponies with its sword raised as it reloaded its gun. Rainbow fired her hand cannon a few times, just to keep it still by making it stumble. And once she got close enough, the Archon swung its sword to punish the arrogance of its approaching enemy. But Rainbow Dash was quicker than that, and flapped her great wings once, bounding high over the Fallen leader, firing another round straight down into its mask. And when she landed on the other side, she reached for the thing's chestplate as it turned around.

And Pinkie was there, somehow having pulled herself through the cracks in the armor, a tube of cake frosting in one hand and a grenade in the other. "Thanks Dashie!"

The pegasus backed off as Pinkie got to work, coating one side of the grenade in cake frosting. The Archon, thoroughly confused, knew not what to do about the creature that was sticking out of its chest like some bizarre parasite. But before it could think of what to do, it was too late for the thing, as she'd armed the grenade, and stuck it to its chestplate with the frosting, and then proceeded to jump out of its armor and run. It then looked back down, realizing that it was most definitely going to lose its chestplate, if not its life, from the blast it was too late to stop.

The explosion did indeed destroy the Archon's chestplate, thus opening up a wide, vulnerable target for the ponies to aim for. And with that in mind, the Archon began playing defensively, taking cover behind one of its skiffs, hoping to keep its exposed chest out of the line of fire. But that proved to be quite a challenge, as Pinkie just kept bouncing towards the Fallen leader, firing her hand cannon whenever she saw an opportunity for the shot to hit its weak point. And as the Archon backed up to stay away from the crazy party pony, it tripped over Rainbow Dash, who'd bent down onto her hands and knees behind the Archon and signaled for Pinkie to kite the enemy to trip over her. And once the Archon tripped, it lost grip on its sword due to it getting shot out of its hand by Rarity, and its gun suffering the same fate just a second later.

With no weapons to defend itself, Pinkie shot the Archon six times in the chest, each shot a call, a salute. It was a form of ritualistic respect for their now fallen opponent. Each shot to ensure that their enemy would stay down, and never be allowed to return and take the lives of innocent, or the lives of their newfound comrades, the Guardians. But at the same time, it could never know shame or dishonor. It would remain a noble and valiant warrior for their race, and its name would be remembered in glory and honor. And as the last shot was fired, the Archon reached up to Pinkie with its top right arm, its hand open as though to offer her a grudging handshake. She took the Archon's hand in her own, and gave it a shake of grudging respect, and then let it go. When its arm fell back to the tarmac it let its head tilt to one side, and stopped breathing. And just like that, surrounded by fires, shrapnel, and death, it was over.

"We're done here! Opening the door now," J-Ami informed, reappearing over Twilight's shoulder. The other Ghosts did the same with their respective Guardians as the massive blast-proof doors of Hangar 1 began to pry themselves apart. They rumbled and screeched as rusty gears moved for the first time in decades or even centuries. As the doors opened enough for the Guardians to see inside, they saw great banners with alternating red and white stripes and a five-pointed-star spangled field of blue in one corner. There were two of these great banners, and both seemed to be in near pristine condition. "Dear Traveler… I thought all of those were burned by the Fallen!"

"They're just flags. Are they really that big a deal?" Twilight asked.

"Those are the flags of the United States of America. They were the most prepared when the Fallen came. They were the last nation on Earth to fall," Z-Lda replied swiftly. Without another word, she floated up to the flags and inspected them. After a moment, both flags disappeared, devoured by a small pulse of light. "They're the last known artifacts of that nation. The chryptarchy will be overjoyed that these exist."

"In other words, better armor," O-Ron said.

"Oi. Shouldn't we be looking at the ships?" K-Rah interjected softly.

The group turned their attention to the ships in the hangar. Seven shiny ships sat in the massive hangar towards the back. Two of them were triangular in shape, with an angular nose that was almost like the point of a crystal. Two were more blocky and bulky, but looked to have plenty of armaments and powerful engines. Two had odd W-shaped wings, and looked sleek, with a design intended for pure speed and maneuverability. And the last one looked completely different from the rest. It had two wings that were folded back completely behind the main engine, and two blue parts that looked as aerodynamic as a spoiler on an elephant, and a point that looked pointy. The cockpit could be seen from the outside, even with the canopy down.

"Welp, take your pick. Doubt it'll really matter much," Twilight sighed, looking over her options.

"Hey Pinkie," Rainbow whispered to her friend. "How'd you pull that golden gun out of the air like that?"

"I just felt like I could. I got my Pinkie sense and I know that one to be the one that lets me know I can just pull something out of nowhere," she replied with a shrug.

"There's no way you can do it, anyway," Rainbow's Ghost interjected. "She's a Gunslinger, and you're a Bladedancer. Only Gunslingers can use the Golden Gun."

"Then I get a knife?" Rainbow asked. "Lame!"

"It's a really really big knife and you'll like it. Trust me," the little machine chided.

"Is it made of lightning or something?"

"Actually, yes."

------

And so, on the way back to the tower from the LAX Cosmodrome, the ponies watched the sun rise over the horizon, bathing the land in light once more. They all smiled and closed their eyes, remembering that they had all become friends because of a very special sunrise that they all helped to ensure happened. That sunrise, and this one were similar in two aspects, it was their first as comrades in this world, and they had fought to ensure they saw it. But there was something more than that, at least for Pinkie. She had ended the life of a powerful foe, but at the same time, it was a sentient, living thing, with thoughts and emotions that she could understand. She had shaken its hand after shooting it six times, as though she had bested it in some sort of game. It was unsettling to her.

But they had succeeded. They accomplished their mission, and bested the forces of the Darkness this time. And for now, that was all that mattered.

The Seventh Ship

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Back in the Tower, the ponies made their way to the Cryptarch's booth. Master Rahool was there, waiting, no Guardians decrypting engrams or purchasing armor. "Ah! The new Guardians are back! Congratulations on your first successful mission!"

"That mission was supposed to be 'nab a ship and scram.' It got really messy really quickly," Rainbow sighed as she slumped over a bit, showing her exhaustion.

"Oh?" the Cryptarch asked, interest piqued.

K-Ayd popped out and answered on behalf of his Guardian, "Archon."

"I thought Riksis was slain already." Master Rahool raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"It wasn't Riksis. It was his replacement. We don't know its name, but it's dead now," Z-Lda informed. "Also, we found something that is of great interest to the Cryptarchy."

The Ghost went over to the table and in a flash of light, rendered the flags from Hangar 1 of the LAX Cosmodrome. The Cryptarch gasped and slowly approached the things, as though the flags were his son he thought long dead. He inspected them carefully, putting on gloves so as not to ruin the perfect quality of the artifacts before him. "These were in the LAX Cosmodrome?"

"Yup!" Pinkie bounced up and down, her smile widening from the reaction of the Cryptarch.

"These are near priceless! We've never seen one of these in such perfect condition! The one in the City's museum is tattered and riddled with holes and singes," Master Rahool gushed over the things. "Go speak to the Vanguard, get your profiles updated so that you can get better armor from me. From now on, your armor is free."

"That's mighty kind of you but-" Applejack started.

"You have brought something back that we thought no longer existed. I'm certain the rest of the Cryptarchy will agree with my choice of reward. Now go."

Sent away by the Cryptarch, the ponies made their way towards the Vanguard headquarters, unsure of what to expect. They knew not the significance of the death of an Archon, but judging by how powerful it was, they assumed it would be worthy of immense reward. They walked down the stairs and past the hall of high-level merchants, and on to the main office of the Vanguard. Once again, they found the three Guardian representatives of the Vanguard standing around the massive holo-table. It took the ponies virtually no time to realize that they were looking over a map of the LAX Cosmodrome.

Cayde-6 was the first to greet them, "Ah! Our new fireteam has survived their first mission!"

"Can't say I'm surprised," Ikora Rey smirked as she turned to face them. "Their Light is greater even than my own."

"Due to your presence here, I assume you have successfully gotten yourselves some ships," Commander Zavala deduced as he too turned his attention away from the table. "Most excellent. How did it all go?"

"A mite rougher than expected," Applejack answered. "We ran into an Archon."

"And you yet live to tell the tale," Cayde mused. "That's pretty funny since that cosmodrome was Devil territory, and they lost their Archon a while back."

"It wasn't Riksis. It was his replacement," Z-Lda said to the Exo. "K-Rah's got most of the fight recorded. The new Archon has been slain."

"Well, since we never knew the House of Devils had a replacement Archon in their ranks, there was no bounty posted on its head. But the elimination of any Archon is a great victory for the City. For that, we will award you the bounty posted on Riksis' head. Twelve thousand Glimmer will be distributed among the six of you. As well, that kill counts significantly towards each of your Levels. That boosts each of you by two just for the Archon's death. But I have a feeling that the Archon wasn't alone. They never are."

"By my calculations, everyone in this team has reached Level 8 from this venture," K-Rah informed.

"When you head off to update your weapons, go talk to the frame by the shipwright. She'll give you some better weapons than Banshee can get you," Cayde suggested as he turned and walked off somewhere, starting a new conversation with an unseen correspondent.

"Thanks to you six, we now have eyes in and around Terminal 6 of the LAX Cosmodrome, as well as hangars one through three. This intel is absolutely priceless. You have the full support of the Vanguard in all of your upcoming endeavors," Zavala said. He then looked up as though something had suddenly caught his attention. "Ah! Amuro! Just who I needed. Would you show these ladies to the Guardians' quarters? They'll need rooms."

"Yes sir," their guide replied with a salute. "This way."

------

The ponies, seeing as they were already well acquainted and all the same gender, got a suite that housed all six of them. It was an apartment-style setup, with a common kitchen and living room, which none of them really thought they'd get much use out of, and three bedrooms with one bed for two. Instantly the group knew Fluttershy would room with Twilight, as the two of them were closer to each other than the rest of the group, as well as the fact that the pegasus often had nightmares, and Twilight was best at calming her down. Rainbow decided to room with Pinkie, believing herself most able to handle her antics, and that left Rarity and Applejack together in the last remaining room. The only problem was, none of them had any civilian clothing to change into, and none of them, save for perhaps Rainbow and Pinkie for sheer lack of fucks to give, were comfortable sleeping in the nude with someone else in their bed. At least, not in these somewhat unfamiliar bodies.

So each of them asked if their Ghosts could synthesize a set of civilian clothing from random materials, and sure enough they could. It would take some time, but the process would be simple enough. It took about thirty minutes, but each of the Ghosts returned with a simple shirt and shorts for each of the ponies, matching their coat color so as not to cause confusion as to whose was whose. And with that settled, they all retreated to their rooms, and fell asleep faster than they ever had back home.

They slept until the sun rose the next day, a full twenty hours having passed quite quickly. One by one they began to stir, Twilight the first to get out of bed and wander into the kitchen to check for food. To their surprise there was enough food to cook a decent meal for six. So, wiping the sleep from her eyes, she began planning out what and how she would cook.

The ponies ate their meal in near silence, the only things to talk about being upcoming missions, which none of them had knowledge of, and the fate of their home and the friends they had there, but that was a dark and painful subject. Of course, just because there were no voices in the air didn't mean there were none in the minds of the ponies. Twilight thought almost exclusively of Spike and how he could have survived the destruction of Equis. She remembered tiny details like how dragons could bathe in lava and be unharmed, to how dragon scales were one of the toughest materials known to science and magic. If Spike had managed to make it to dragon territory, then the likelihood of him surviving was much greater, due to the abundance of lava pools to hide in and fellow dragons to push back against the expansion of the Cabal.

A knock came at their door, splitting the silence. Twilight simply opened the door with her magic, not bothering to stand up. At the door was Amuro, who stood slightly astonished at the door opening without the ponies coming to answer it. After a moment, he said, "Commander Zavala sent me. He needs to talk to you six specifically about yesterday's mission."

"We'll head up after we're done eating," Twilight responded casually as she continued eating her meal. She closed the door again with magic, and allowed the silence to return.

It took another ten minutes to finish their meal, five to armor up, and another five to walk over to the Vanguard headquarters. Once there, they found Commander Zavala and the other Vanguard leaders at their usual holo-table, waiting for them. The moment they stepped into the busy room, Zavala greeted them and beckoned them over to the massive table.

"On your last mission, you accessed Hangar 1, which housed seven US Fighter ships. After you left, the Ghosts made sure to lock the door behind you. However, the seventh ship is now missing," the Titan representative began.

"What?" Rarity questioned. "Are the Fallen responsible for this?"

"The Fallen are not behind this," Ikora Rey responded. "The Hangar's cameras got a very brief shot of the culprit before they were disrupted." With a few hand motions, the Warlock pulled up a holo-screen from the table, expanding it and rendering the surveillance footage. From a spot just above the Hangar door, the clip showed the ship they'd left behind sitting alone in the sealed building. However, a few seconds in, the image shook, and then a column of light began filtering in and expanding as the door slid open. A shadow then made itself apparent on the ground, a figure standing tall with an arm out to the side, holding a hand cannon. With a smooth motion, the shadow put away the weapon on its hip, and began walking forward. Once it walked in, they saw it as a hooded figure with a horn sticking out from beneath its hood, and something hiding on its back beneath its cloak. "That looks almost like you, Twilight Sparkle."

The unicorn looked closely at the screen, watching the figure move. Suddenly, as though it sensed it was being watched, the horn lit up and the image went black for about twenty seconds. After that, the image was restored, revealing the Hangar to be empty, with its doors closed.

"Something's amiss here. That thing had a horn and magic, but if you go back to where it first walks in, you can see lumps in its back near the shoulders. I suspect it has wings as well," Twilight said. "Go back to when the doors start opening."

Wordlessly, Ikora Rey began rewinding the video, the events passing by in reverse, until it was at the desired time point. The doors began opening in the video, revealing the hooded figure's shadow, holding a hand cannon out to the side. But as Twilight looked closer, she saw the faintest hint of movement near the hips just before the hand cannon was put away. Twilight pointed, "There. Just before it puts away its gun, it moves its wings."

"Interesting," Cayde-6 said as he observed what the unicorn had pointed out. "But that brings up another question. How did it get here from your homeworld?"

"Alicorn magic is extremely powerful. If it knew the spell and the location of this planet, it could very easily have just teleported here," Twilight answered.

"Well, this is certainly a development. I guess your overarching mission is to find and bring in this individual. While you work on that, you are free to take up any of the bounties that Xander 99-40 has today. I would suggest taking up multiple bounties at once," the Exo said, "it'll help you raise your Levels faster."

"Well, girls, looks like we're looking for any bounties in the LAX Cosmodrome," Twilight sighed in mild exasperation. As much as she wanted to believe that one of the princesses was alive and now here on Earth, she knew better. She'd seen the state of their armor, bloodstained and riddled with holes. Their skeletons were all that remained in that broken castle, Death claiming their souls, their immortal bodies lost to Time. But this stranger, this alicorn with the seventh ship of Hangar 1, they were a survivor from their homeworld. Perhaps they knew the fate of their home. Perhaps they were a Guardian too, reforged by a Ghost. Or perhaps those thoughts were naught but conjecture.

As they stepped back out into the main courtyard of the Tower, they noticed a new curiosity over on a small balcony by the doorway to the Speaker's observatory. There was a dark ship suspended just beyond the balcony's reach, and its presumed owner stood there, some Guardians avoiding her as the citizens of Ponyville had with Zecora, and others daring to speak to her. As they approached this new face in the Tower, the ponies observed that she had a third eye. Not only this, but she kept those eyes hidden beneath a blindfold, from under which darkness seemed to drip down. In her hands, she held a green sphere of something that seemed sinister, in which a small black object was suspended.

The figure turned to look at them, and said, "You're not meant for my tasks. Though effective, you're needed elsewhere."

"How do you know?" Fluttershy asked, stepping closer than the others dared.

"It was told to me," the hooded and blindfolded woman replied.

"By whom?" the pegasus asked.

"By the Shattered One," she said. "Go. You are needed elsewhere and time is not on your side."

"What do you mean by that?" Applejack interrogated the mysterious woman.

"Go. Find the stranger. You will need their help," she dismissed, turning away to talk to other Guardians.

With that, the ponies turned and left, heading off to the Cryptarch's booth to get a new set of armor for each of them. As they walked, each of them thought on what the mysterious woman had said to them. Who was this woman? What could she have known? And for that matter, who was the Stranger? Did they know the Stranger, or did the Stranger knew them? Why were they so important?

These questions, though unanswerable, provided ample room for hypothesis. If this odd woman crying darkness could detect somehow that the Stranger was important, much like the Speaker had detected that they had immense Light, then it could be conceived that the Stranger could be a Guardian like them. It could, at the same time, be that the Stranger was an agent of the Darkness, equivalent to humanity's Satan, or Equestria's Tirek; a deal would need to be struck to ensure the Darkness' defeat, but ensure the Darkness had at least a chance of returning.

------

The sun shined down on the LAX Cosmodrome, showing the ponies what their first mission's location looked like in daylight for the first time. The sunlight glared off of the metallic walls and glass windows. In their rush to finish their mission the previous day, they failed to notice just how trashed the one smooth tarmac was. Ship parts, blown apart and now naught but scrap, lay strewn across its surface. It was a miracle none of them tripped over one on their dash to the hangars. Frames of crashed fighters polka-dotted the ground, streaks of torn up concrete and tarmac marking their ancient doom trajectories. Some still had skeletons in their cockpits, the old glass canopies somehow staying sealed after impact. Others had nothing in their cockpits but ashes and ghosts. But human ships were not the only ones littering the grounds of the cosmodrome. Fallen skiffs were almost as common as human fighters, although they looked as though they were different in design somehow, perhaps because they were earlier models of the ones in current service of their four-armed enemies. A few other ships lay broken and battered on the ground, looking too much like the Fallen skiffs to be coincidence.

Soon enough they came across a small squad of Fallen in yellow armor. Figuring them to be the same as the ones in red, Applejack pulled out her newest weapon: the Silver Dollar Mk. 32 shotgun. Not bothering to aim down the sights, she approached the enemies that were yet unaware of their presence. When the first one turned and saw her, she pulled the trigger with the barrel to its back. The unfortunate Dreg was pushed forwards by the blast and slammed into the Vandal of the group, sending both of them tumbling in a flailing mass of arms and screaming. The four other Dregs, now aware that they were under attack, immediately drew their pistols and started firing at the group of Guardians who'd interrupted their salvage patrol.

The weak arc rounds were not enough to pierce the shields of the Guardians' shiny new armor. The small arms fire was, however, enough to irk Applejack into pumping another shotgun round into the chamber and letting it loose on a pair of unfortunate Dregs. The two enemies instantly paid for being too close to each other with their heads. Undeterred by its comrades' gruesome deaths, the last Dreg tossed a grenade at the group, making all of them scatter to avoid the blast. Using the grenade as cover to approach its assailant, it fired a few rounds from its pistol as it charged towards Applejack, one of them slamming into the shotgun and knocking it aside, another five hitting her chestplate and draining the shields to near nothing. It proceeded to scream a battle cry, unsheathing one of its daggers and throwing it at the Titan. The knife struck a weak spot in the armor, bringing down the shield, and piercing her abdomen. As she screamed in pain, the Fallen pulled out its second knife and lunged to slash at her throat.

A shot from Rarity's scout rifle struck the would be killer in the head, just between fates; soon enough to save her friend but too late to prevent the Fallen from causing one more injury. The Dreg's corpse fell with the knife still in its hand, and ended up putting a nasty gash in Applejack's thigh.

"FffffffffuuuuCK!" the farmer cursed in pain as she pulled the dagger out of her belly and dropping it to the ground. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fUCK!"

"We still have a problem!" Rarity called out to the rest of the group, pointing at the Vandal that was picking itself up off the ground, tossing aside the lifeless corpse of its squadmate. Rainbow Dash simply drew her hand cannon and shot it once in the head, dispatching it with unmatched speed. "Or not."

"Alright, dear, I'll get right to that wound," Z-Lda said, inspecting the slit in her belly that the Dreg had put there with its knife. It fired a beam of light much like the one used to interact with other machinery. After that, she giggled as a tickling sensation replaced the pain, her flesh sewing itself back together as though being zipped closed like a suitcase. "There. Now I'll take care of that armor. Do be more careful Applejack."

"We're going to need to be more cautious," Twilight said. "These Fallen are different from the ones we fought last time."

"She's right. The Fallen House of Devils barely had any leadership left in them, and we eliminated the last of it the other day. The House of Kings still has plenty of its power base left. For all intents and purposes, they are a much greater threat," Z-Lda informed the rest of the group.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Fallen Houses are like factions?" Rarity proposed.

"Kind of," her Ghost replied. "Each House is essentially a kingdom. They each have a Prime Servitor, serving the role of their god, a Kell for their king, an Archon for their religious leader, and Captains as all of the knights serving the Kell."

"They're also a merit based society, with great importance being placed upon their arms," G-Evs added.

"So the smaller ones with only two arms must have done something to bring themselves dishonor," Twilight deduced, more to herself than anyone else.

They soon made it back to Hangar 1, where they had salvaged their ships from, and found the door to be cracked open, just enough to walk through in single file. J-Ami materialized in her usual spot above Twilight's shoulder. "I guess we'll start looking for hints as to what the Stranger is or where they might have been heading."

So the Ghosts started looking around, small grids of light appearing on the surfaces they were scanning. Sometimes they would freeze in place and pulse three times, the eight white tetrahedrons around their main body flicking outward with each pulse. On the ground where the seventh ship had been, there was a circle of dust that had been forced out from beneath the ship as it took off. In that dust were boot prints left by the Stranger, as well as a pile of shell casings. But behind a pillar, where a toolbox had been when they were there last, was a different box, with green lights on the lid and silver in color. "I think I see something," Rainbow said to her Ghost as she stalked toward it, drawing her hand cannon. The others watched, and upon hearing a mechanical noise, the others drew their weapons as well.

SkreeeEEEEE-op! Gohm gohm gohm!

"That's a Servitor! Aim for the eye!" K-Ayd called.

A floating spherical object with a crater in the front of it spun around in surprise as Rainbow discovered it hiding. Without thinking, Rainbow shot the thing, the bullet ricocheting off of its hardened armor. She jumped back, using her wings to give her more distance. She raised her sleek new hand cannon and unloaded the five remaining rounds, aiming for the center of the thing's eye. Luckily, that was enough to damage it beyond repair. Knowing it was defeated, the Servitor exploded in a purple flash, some of its shrapnel slicing through Rainbow's armor shielding, slicing her arm open and spraying a little blood on the wall. "Gah! Shit!"

"I got you," her Ghost said, mending the wound like Applejack's Ghost had done for her Guardian. "You're alright."

"No doubt we've alerted nearby Fallen to our presence by killing that thing," J-Ami warned. "I have reason to believe the Stranger was headed to Venus. Where exactly on Venus, I don't know."

"Would there be a problem if we headed there after we head out?" Twilight asked.

"We might be able to make it there," her Ghost replied. "Going up a few Levels wouldn't hurt."

"Let's see what these bounties do for us," the unicorn sighed.

"The extraction crew is inbound," G-Evs informed. "They seem to have a Walker with them."

"Walker? The bounty said nothing about a Walker," K-Ayd growled.

"Who cares. We've killed an Archon. I'm sure we'll be fine," Rainbow smirked confidently, reloading her hand cannon.

"Famous last words…" her Ghost sighed.

Super Power: Fist of Havoc

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A massive metallic clunk hit the ears of the ponies, dampened only slightly by distance and the massive hangar doors. All of the ponies drew their weapons, as well as checking their new side arms. Satisfied that they were ready for battle, they bolted out onto the tarmac. The harsh sunlight glared off of the metal and glass of crashed ships. But their helmets helped polarize that light, keeping it from blinding them. About a hundred meters away, the ponies saw the largest and most immediate threat. A massive metal insectoid behemoth stood on six armored legs, its six armored legs thicker than one of them could hug around. On its back was an enormous gun, the barrel of which extended a few meters past the head of the beast. Beside that gun was a set of four rockets in a small square pod. The mouth of the machine was another gun, probably manned from the inside of the thing. And on the very back of the metal beast was a small nest with a Vandal in House of Kings colors manning a swivel-turret.

Nopony said a word, opting instead to shoot a glare at Rainbow, who smirked nervously and scratched at the back of her neck. Turning back to the metal monstrosity, they noticed that it was standing perpendicular to what it had been deployed to defend: a large tube-like machine that was drilling into the ground for glimmer. With the frontal gun lacking the range of motion to turn and shoot them, and the Vandal on the rear turret not noticing their presence, Twilight started plotting the demise of the massive mobile artillery unit. "I'll take out the guy on the rear turret. Once that happens, Pinkie will throw a grenade at the frontal gun, and Rarity will throw one at the rockets."

"And after that?" Rainbow asked.

"Attack the big thing. Only fight the small fries when they get too close," the unicorn replied, slinging her auto rifle to her back and bringing up her new sniper rifle. "Ready?"

Taking aim down the scope, Twilight let out her breath, listening to her heartbeat slow down a little. She lined up the crosshairs of her weapon's scope with the head of the Vandal's head and waited for it to stop swiveling. The instant it stopped at the edge of its range of motion, she squeezed the trigger, making the rifle yelp and kick. But her aim was true, and the bullet pierced the head of the Vandal and probably kept going, the enemy's head exploding like a watermelon filled with compressed air.

As soon as that happened, all of the foot-soldiers raised their weapons and started looking around, searching for the source of their comrade's death. They shrieked a battle cry as Pinkie bounced towards them, holding a grenade in her left hand, and her hand cannon in her right. As the Walker turned to locate its targets for its frontal turret to eliminate, Pinkie shot a few of the Dregs that got just a bit too close to stabbing distance. The Walker made a mechanical screech and fired a burst of powerful arc shots from the frontal turret, which missed Pinkie by a few inches. She tossed the grenade down directly under the turret. As soon as it exploded, Pinkie handsprung back a few times to rejoin her friends.

Rarity then threw her grenade, the purple sphere sticking to its intended target, and exploding in a purple flash. The rocket launcher fell off of the Walker, hitting the ground with a loud metallic banging noise, the loaded rockets in it becoming useless without the firing mechanism in the main body of the Walker. As though angered by the systematic destruction of its support weaponry, the Walker's main gun turned to the ponies' position. "Scatter!"

Every single one of them jumped back as far as they could, just in time to avoid a shell that exploded right where they had been but a few seconds earlier. "Go for the legs! If you damage them enough, it will expose the reactor core!" one of the Ghosts told the Guardians. With this information, Applejack switched to her auto rifle, letting loose a stream of fire on the behemoth's front left leg. Upon seeing which leg Applejack had begun to fire on, the others joined her, assaulting that particular leg with everything they had. Rainbow, upon needing to reload her hand cannon, tossed a grenade at the leg of the Walker. The explosion, combined with the damage done by weapons fire, was enough to blow the plating off the Walker's leg and make the metal beast stumble. The head of the machine pulled away from the main body, exposing a glowing hot piece of machinery that distorted the air around it. "There! Shoot that!"

Twilight aimed her sniper at the exposed core and fired, sending a bullet as big as her eye into the machine. She pulled back the bolt of the sniper and chambered another round, letting that one loose as well. Pinkie pulled out her brand new fusion rifle, wanting to test it in battle, and began charging it. Rainbow fired a full magazine of her hand cannon into the core, hoping the massive rounds would be enough to destroy it quickly. But upon Pinkie letting loose one shot of her fusion rifle into the reactor, the beast pulled back, its core disappearing back inside the thick armor of the beast. Rainbow cursed, "Damn it! Time to blow up another leg!"

"Girls, reinforcements are here!" Rarity whined.

"Luna damn it all," Applejack cursed as she turned to face the incoming formation of Fallen skiffs. The ships fired a few support shots to distract the ponies, and a few grenades were tossed out of the craft to clear the drop zone. As soon as Applejack could bring her rifle to bear on the reinforcements, the Walker had her in its sights again, and she was forced to leap back a few meters to avoid the shell that it decided she alone was deserving of. "That main gun's gonna be the death of all of us if we can't blow it up!"

"The only things that can blow that gun up are artillery rounds," Z-Lda replied. "We just have to work around it."

"Fuck it all!" she screamed in frustration. Turning to a freshly dropped Dreg, she punched the poor thing square in the face, sending it flying back into a Vandal. The resulting mass of flailing arms and screaming rolled under the leg of the Walker just as it brought it down, crushing both of them beneath it. The Captain, furious at Applejack for killing two of his underlings with a single fist, let loose a hailstorm of fire from his shrapnel launcher, multiple flaming pieces of metal flying towards her. Seeing it coming, she ducked beneath them and rolled forward, the Captain caught off guard by the maneuver. As soon as she came out of the roll, she sprung up on her powerful legs, sending a flying uppercut into the Fallen's jaw. But it didn't send the enemy flying like she'd hoped. So right when the Captain recovered from the surprise fist, he returned the favor with one of his own, knocking her back about a meter. With that, Applejack slung her rifle across her back and put up her fists, the Captain recognizing it as a challenge to a fist fight and doing the same with his shrapnel launcher.

Meanwhile, Rarity was locked in a duel of her own for the role of dominant sniper. A Vandal with a wire rifle was playing cat and mouse with her, popping in and out of cover in a few different spots, both hoping that their random crack shots would hit and end the standoff. But that would not be the case for either of them, as they were evenly matched in marksmanship, missing by minuscule margins due to uncontrollable factors like wind and the shaking of the ground due to the Fallen's drill.

Fluttershy found herself locked in a constant flurry of movement, seeming to dance with Death. Every time she twirled him, a Fallen died by her weapons. But she was still a novice fighter at best. Every so often a few rounds of enemy fire would break her shields, but she would go long enough without taking more fire that her shields could recover while she kept killing the Dregs and Vandals that kept coming her way. And then a Captain joined her in the dance, slashing at her and forcing her to begin fighting defensively.

With all of the distractions, the ponies forgot that the Walker was still around. The metal beast opened a hatch on its body and let out a tiny robot about the size of one's torso. On the back two corners were a pair of propulsion engines that kept the tiny machine airborne. On the front end was a tiny camera that allowed it to see where it was flying. The little machine turned around and began inspecting the busted leg of the Walker before the small mounted gun on the bottom of it switched out for a welding torch. About five seconds into repairing the behemoth, the flying drone was shot down with a single shot from Rainbow's hand cannon. "It's trying to repair itself! Focus on the Walker!"

Applejack hollered back, "I'm a mite busy over here!" Rainbow sighed and shot at the Captain she'd been fist fighting with, hitting it in the back with two of the shots. The sudden muscle spasms the pain of getting shot gave the Titan ample opportunity to land a highly frustrated punch on the Captain's face, which shattered his helmet and sent him flying about five meters where he suffocated from lack of ether. "Thanks, Dash."

"Just shoot the Walker," the pegasus replied as she threw a grenade at the Walker's legs. The little sphere flew through the air and connected with the middle left leg and stuck there as arc energy began building up inside it. In a second, it exploded and tore a hole in the armor plating of the leg, which the rest of the ponies focused their fire on. As soon as it exploded and sent its damaged armor flying, the core exposed itself again, steaming and distorting the air around it.

Pinkie bounced up and pulled the Golden Gun from above her as she had when things were looking desperate against the Archon, a loud snap echoing across the tarmac. Without falling, she aimed the fiery weapon at the Walker's core and fired the three shots of solar light within it, all three sending streams of sparks flying like fireworks displays. And once the Golden Gun burned up, she fell back down to the ground and pulled out her regular hand cannon once more.

The core was pulled back into the behemoth's main body, sealed behind the impenetrable body plates once more. With the Walker still operational, Applejack cursed again, feeling frustrated that they couldn't take the metal beast down even with Pinkie's best weapon. "How many bullets can this thing take‽"

"Doesn't matter, just keep shooting it!" Twilight answered as she fired a round from her sniper at the Walker's back left leg. The instant it hit, the mechanical beast turned its main cannon towards her, making her squeal and jump sideways to avoid the incoming shell. However, the crew inside the beast, if there was one, kept the barrel moving as it fired. The tank shell missed Twilight's body by a mere inch, but exploded close enough behind her to send shards of shrapnel into her back and throw her like a rag doll a few meters. "Fuuuck!"

"Twi's hit! Cover her!" Applejack barked to the others as she felt a very righteous rage wash over her. Reminded of a time when she had to defend her little sister, she leapt forward and jumped onto the Walker, hooking her foot into a handle on the main body above the leg that was likely meant to be for carrying foot soldiers. She then gripped the armor plate of the leg and started pulling at it with sharp jerks. With a loud screech, the plate began to loosen. A bolt popped out of place. The plate bent slightly. Another bolt snapped under the tension. Another one of the small flying repair drones appeared from a hatch to her left, which she grabbed with both hands and bashed against the loosened plate of the Walker's leg until it was but a pile of scraps. She then ripped the leg's loosened armor off, and jumped down with it in her hands. Once on the ground, she swung the hunk of metal at the exposed frame of the leg, near busting the joint, and cutting an important looking bundle of small wires. The leg collapsed and the core of the machine exposed itself for the third time. "Shoot the core!"

With Twilight back to fighting condition, everyone was able to partake in the vicious attack on the core. Everyone fired everything they had at the machine's weakest point, hoping and praying that this would be enough to destroy it once and for all. Fanfares of gunshots hailed the flying lead like the beginning of a jousting match. A grenade flew from Pinkie's hand, but failed to make it to the core before it retreated into the behemoth's body once again. The tiny golden sphere bounced uselessly off the left side of the metallic beast, exploding near nothing worth blowing up.

The Walker's main gun turned to face the group of ponies once more and fired, hitting all of the scattering ponies with at least the concussion wave. Shrapnel from the shell itself burrowed deep into the backs of Twilight and Fluttershy, and sliced through Rainbow's left wing. All of them screamed in pain, falling to the ground. A shard of metal from the downed fighter that the shell made contact with flew through the air spinning like helicopter blades. That fifteen inch shard then impaled Rarity through the back and sticking out through her belly. The unicorn couldn't even scream in pain, the shock of the feeling numbing it. She froze in place, feeling with her left hand at the wound, feeling warm moisture and a sharp sliver of metal. When she brought her hand up to look at what the moisture was, she screamed and looked down at her belly. More incoherent shrieking followed as she realized what had just happened.

Applejack screamed out as though she herself had been hit, though she'd only been knocked over by the concussion wave. But somehow, there was a feeling deep within her that could understand the pain of all of her friends. She could feel the shrapnel everywhere each of her friends had been hit. The three four inch shards in Twilight's trapezoidal muscles, and the five three inch shards in Fluttershy's lower back. She could feel the blood dripping from Rainbow's wings, even though she herself did not have wings. And most of all, she could feel the fifteen inch steel shard in Rarity's belly. The pain put that of her heat cycle cramps to shame.

That much pain, concentrated into one being can change them. It can either break them; grind them down until there is no longer a mote of will to go on; shatter their mind until all that remains is a shadow of what they had been. Or, it can forge them. It can shape the perceptions of limitations of that being, bending 'Fuck, this hurts,' into 'Bring it, I've had worse.' It sets the frame for all future experiences, expanding the threshold for pain, boosting tolerance, and sets the stage for improvement. What doesn't kill will boost strength in at least one capacity. Applejack didn't die then there, nor did any of her friends. But that pain was enough for her to realize that she was furious. Not just at the Walker for inflicting such wounds on her friends, and not just at the Fallen for attempting to murder them on multiple occasions. She was entirely enraged by the entirety of their situation. Their Ghosts had lied to them. Their home was dead. They were not in their own bodies. They were now killing things they didn't understand instead of investigating them or attempting peace negotiations. Now they were fighting for the survival of a race they had never met before. They were soldiers now, and she hated every part of it. She was a farmer, not a fighter. She ran an orchard, not a boot camp. She made cider, not caskets.

All of this anger felt like too much to just keep inside for much longer. She'd bottled it up since they'd first arrived at the Tower, and every little thing had only added a little more pressure behind the cork. But there was another feeling alongside, perhaps ingrained into, that fury. At first she thought it to be pain, but it was different from that. It felt like the soreness after Apple Bucking Season, when she'd buck down half of the orchard alone. She'd always associated that feeling with how strong she was, and how proud of that strength she was. Strength. Once she realized that she felt strength in her fury, she turned to the Walker, glaring daggers at it. She stood tall, watching unflinching as a horde of Dregs charged towards her to try to bring her down. With a savage scream, she leapt forward, lifting both hands together over her head while she was still in the air.

The ground shattered like glass. She opened herself to her anger and let it free, slamming it down onto the tarmac just a few meters from the Walker. A tidal wave of arc energy exploded from her fists, wiping away all of the Dregs charging her and all the Vandals behind them. At first, it looked as though they had only been sent flying, but after a moment, they all fizzled out of existence. The wave did not stop at the foot soldiers, though. It kept expanding outwards, the meteors of her fists having more than enough energy to devastate a city block. And when that wave crashed against the Walker's metal hide, it kept pushing forward. What force got redirected was sent upwards, barreling up into the underbelly of the machine. It took only the blink of an eye to send the Walker flying upwards, spinning like a rolling barrel of cider. If there was a crew inside the walking metal behemoth, they were undoubtedly praying to whatever god they had if they weren't panicking.

The Walker landed on the ground with a dull metallic thunk, much like it had when it was first dropped onto the tarmac. Its main gun was still facing the left side of its body, and it didn't look like it had taken much substantial damage. However, the Walker was no longer the greatest threat on the battlefield, as it had been flipped onto its back, and its main gun had been bent when it landed, rendering it incapable of firing. In addition to being unable to fire, the mechanism that allowed the gun to swivel was broken by the landing, leaving the gun incapable of moving or being used to tip the Walker back onto its feet. And to top it all off, it had crushed the glimmer extraction drill that they had been tasked with destroying. The only things that could flip it back over were the Fallen's skiffs, and Applejack herself. And as the dust settled, the remaining three legs violently exploded, sending shrapnel flying high into the air and outwards. A Captain that had watched with all four eyes wide in disbelief cringed just before one of the Walker's leg plates slammed into him from the explosions.

But even in the face of such transgressions as attempted murder, she had seen the honor that the Fallen wished to display when Pinkie had killed the Archon from the House of Devils. She had witnessed that murderous being, that so called marauder, shake hands with the adversary who bested him in battle. She had seen most Vandals bearing swords instead of firearms, denying the protection of stealth. Perhaps that was because they were not deemed worthy to bear a stealth cloak, or perhaps this was their way of claiming honor, going up against a foe with more traditional manners in a more traditional, honor-bound way. And she had challenged a Captain to a fist fight and had it accepted. She could not let this Captain, this Fallen, this creature with thoughts and feelings that she could possibly understand, be slaughtered without question.

She stepped in front of the Captain just before the leg plate slammed into him, and threw a mighty punch at it. The plate slammed into her fist at such a high velocity that it crumpled and molded itself to her arm, becoming a three inch thick gauntlet that kept her arm from bending. Applejack grunted slightly, the force making her slide back until she was caught and stopped by the Captain behind her. When she looked back, she saw the massive Fallen nod at her, as though giving some grudging respect. When he let go of her, he set down his shrapnel launcher and raised his arms in what looked to be surrender, his four hands held open to show no weapons. Applejack's Ghost appeared over her shoulder, and dematerialized the metal that encased her arm, rematerializing it a foot or so away, letting it fall to the ground with an obnoxious clunk. In return, the Fallen reached its lower left hand to its chest, unfastening a clasp that held its bright yellow cape up. When it fell to the ground, Applejack bowed to the mighty creature, who bowed back. And when she offered him an outstretched hand, he accepted with his bottom right hand. Off in the background, the Walker exploded from being unable to allow its main core to cool. Neither of them flinched.

"I think we just made a friend," Applejack called over to the rest of her friends, who had since recovered from their wounds thanks to their Ghosts. As Rarity approached, Applejack turned to her and gave her a tight hug, overjoyed that she had made it through this fight. Though she would never admit it to anyone, beneath her helmet she wept. For the first time in a very long time, she let herself cry in front of her friends, if only because of the helmet's protection from their gaze. After all, she was a very proud pony.

"How the hay are we going to get him back to the Tower?" Twilight asked the farmer who'd earned the respect of the Fallen.

"I guess I can fit him in my ship," she replied with a shrug. "I've got enough space, and I figure this fella won't try to kill me."

"Alright, but you're taking center this time," her Warlock friend conceded. "Let's go see what was in that chest."

It took all but a minute to return to Hangar 1, where they had been investigating the mysterious Stranger who'd taken the seventh ship. In that time, Applejack had tried to get the Fallen to speak, even in his native tongue. With her Ghost attempting to translate for her to what little of their language the Ghosts knew, but a continuous lack of success, she figured that perhaps the Fallen was in shock from her flipping the Walker.

"Respect," a throaty growl said, slightly muffled by a mask.

Applejack looked at the Captain curiously, and asked, "What do you mean?"

"You. Strong," he said to her, taking care to enunciate everything, as though its native tongue required very careful pronunciation and he wanted to make sure he said the words properly. "You. Protect. Friend. Before. Self. I... Respect. You."

"I respect you too," Applejack replied slowly, taking care to ensure that the Fallen could understand her. "Do you have a name? My name is Applejack."

"I. Am, called, Shirska," the Captain answered. "Now, we, friend."

Denounced House

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The ponies arrived back in the Tower and docked in their assigned spots. But with Applejack having a Fallen Captain with her, only five of them left their ships to go speak to the Vanguard and collect the reward for their accomplished bounty. The few Guardians who had seen the group on a regular basis knew that there were meant to be six in their party. When they saw the group of five pass, they tilted their heads down, refusing to make eye contact with any of them. Pinkie just kept bouncing as usual, a bright smile on her face, the high of a new friend and a successful mission too good to bottle up and not share with the war torn Guardians of the Tower. Rarity kept a hand on her belly, remembering the feeling of the shrapnel piercing her body, remembering seeing the blood on her gauntlet, remembering seeing that metal shard sticking out of her. Her breath was shallow and shaky. Fluttershy kept both Rarity and Twilight close, knowing they needed the comfort more than she or Rainbow did for their injuries. Rainbow just kept preening at her wing, which had been injured just an hour or so ago. The tip of her tongue was pinched tightly in the right corner of her pursed lips. Fluttershy had to physically herd Rainbow to follow her and lead everyone to the Vanguard Headquarters.

There was something disconcerting about the way some Guardians turned their heads down as they passed, but on its own, the gesture was not terribly odd. But when those who didn't bow their heads to them watched the older Guardians do so and mimicked them, Fluttershy couldn't help but feel like there was something they were missing. Even Master Rahool, who at first smiled upon seeing them before it faltered, bowed his head low. She had a sneaking suspicion of what it could be, but she would wait for Twilight or Rainbow to call someone out on it. Down in the Vanguard offices, Arcite 99-40 watched the Guardians pass. Though emotionless, the robot had fought alongside many brave Guardians, and watched many of them lose their closest friends. It knew how to respect Guardians, and it too, bowed its head to the passing group of five.

"Ah! Twilight and company return!" Cayde-6 said, catching the attention of the other Vanguard leaders. "Wait. Isn't there supposed to be six of you?"

"Your Striker Titan is missing," Commander Zavala observed. "Applejack, was her name?"

"Yeah, she's in the hangar right now. We encountered some complications on our mission to intercept the Fallen extraction crew," Twilight replied.

"What sort of complications?" the Titan representative asked.

"The extraction crew brought a fucking Walker, and the bounty said shit about that," Rainbow hissed, turning back to fixing the feathers on her wing just as quickly as she'd snapped.

"Rainbow!" Twilight growled. "Show some respect!"

Cayde-6 turned to the fellow Hunter. "She's perfectly fine with being pissed about that. We only give the information we have. We had no reason to suspect they'd bring a Walker. However, you will be more than well-compensated for it."

"We also brought a defector with us," Fluttershy added.

Silence filled the room. Cayde-6 turned to the pegasus, his cold mechanical gaze burrowing into her. Zavala brought a fist up to his chin as he began thinking. Ikora Rey's arms folded across her chest, and her hips shifted left, putting all of her weight onto her right leg. All of the frames and other people in the room noticed the change in demeanor in the three leaders, and went quiet to see what would happen next.

"I have a recording to show you, which can provide some context," G-Evs said, appearing over Rarity's shoulder.

/Respect.
/What do you mean?
/You. Strong... You. Protect. Friend. Before. Self. I... Respect. You.
/I respect you too. Do you have a name? My name is Applejack.
/I. Am, called, Shirska. Now, we, friend.
/Guys, I think we can find the Stranger with this...

The Exo stared at the Ghost. "You guys are insane."

"Being dead will do that to you," Pinkie countered without missing a beat. "Shirska's pretty cool! He even gave up his weapon and his cool cape! I did bring the cape to liven up our quarters."

"Wait. Cape?"

"Yeah!" the bubbly Hunter pony giggled. "Silly! He pledged loyalty to a house, but he took off the cape when he surrendered! That means he denounced his house and now he's free to do what he wants!"

"That Fallen was a Captain!" the more experienced Hunter exclaimed in disbelief. "Bring him in! If he's really your friend, I'll boost you an extra level for it, and train him, and provide him with all the ether he'll ever need."

"And how will the Guardians outside react when they see a Fallen Captain taking a leisurely stroll through the Tower?" Fluttershy interrogated sharply.

After a brief moment, Cayde-6 replied, "Yes I now see the error in my logic. I shall come with you to se–"

"In just a moment. We also found something in a chest where the seventh ship had been in Hangar 1," Twilight interrupted. She plucked a small piece of metal about the size of a thumb from a pouch on her belt, and tossed it to Ikora Rey. "Our Ghosts can't read it. But J-Ami says you have computers that can."

A voice filled the room, a male and female voice layered over each other six times.

This is a message for the Element Bearers. All others who attempt to listen to this message will hear only static. I have information you will need. I have left the Arwing one hundred meters into the jungles of Venus at the bottom of the crags below the Ishtar Collective research station where the Vex gates lay. I have left beacons to guide you from there. You would do well to be there at your earliest opportunity.

"Huh. Just static," Twilight's Ghost mused. "That was just a waste of time."

"No it wasn't. Girls, did you hear that?" Twilight asked the others. Sure enough, all of them nodded.

"I don't know what you're all on about but you can explain it after you introduce me to your Fallen friend," Cayde-6 said.

"Our next destination is Venus," Twilight continued, ignoring Cayde-6's impatience to meet their new Fallen comrade. "What information do you have on the Ishtar Collective?"

"Plenty. That region is frequented by Guardians, so we get field updates from there every fifteen minutes or so," Ikora Rey replied, tapping at the surface of the holo-table. A map was pulled up showing the entirety of the area. "Where exactly are we looking?"

"They said something about Vex gates and crags," the unicorn answered quickly. The Warlock representative focused the map on an area where the terrain seemed to become a bit more artificial, the rocks and things there forming perfect cubes and rectangular prisms. Off to one side of the map, there was a sharp drop off where the ground just stopped existing. "What should we expect out there?"

"The Fallen House of Winter has been playing around out there, scavenging old tech like usual. We still don't know if they're after something specific. And that's where you'll start seeing Vex," Ikora Rey informed. "You've seen what the Fallen are capable of, but you have not faced the Vex yet."

"What are they?" Rarity asked.

"Machines. Advanced enough to exert some control over time and space. They have the ability to warp short distances. It's only a couple meters, but it's a distinct advantage in combat," Cayde-6 answered. "From what we've gathered on them thanks to Yu's incursions against them, they have biological minds, but are also linked to each other in a sort of hive-like network. What one sees, all see. They will try to learn about you so they can beat you."

"They won't be a problem," Rainbow huffed. "What should we do with the seventh ship should we find it?"

"Give it to your Fallen friend," the Exo said. "Now. If you don't mind, I'd love to meet this Fallen friend. Do they shake hands?"

If anything was more unsettling than seeing the Guardians of the tower bow their heads to them, it was their stares at seeing Cayde-6 anywhere outside the Vanguard offices. The raised eyebrows they saw as Guardians internally wondered why the Hunter representative was in the group of ponies troubled Fluttershy, and made her shrink a bit. As she shrunk down, Titans made hmphing noises of disapproval, which made her feel even more self conscious and shrink even more.

"Hey, Titan. Don't shrink. Their culture revolves around making yourself bigger and stronger than everyone around you," Cayde-6 whispered to her. Though she said nothing in response, she did manage to return to normal size, which made the Titans they passed stop watching her. "Just remember that and they'll leave you alone for the most part."

They made it to the hangar, where the six's ships were docked and being maintained by an assortment of Frames. When they got to Applejack's ship, Rainbow knocked on its hull and beckoned her out. A moment later, the hatch at the top of her ship opened and up came the Titan, helmet off and wearing her prized Stetson. She knelt down on the hull and reached back into the ship, an action that made any watching Guardians reach for their weapons. Up came the Captain, his helmet distinctive to every Guardian there. Cayde-6 heard the hangar fill with the sounds of weapons being raised and ammunition being chambered. He raised his hand, everyone in the hangar seeing the signal to hold fire. When the Captain had fully emerged, a single shot was fired from somewhere near the back corner of the room. Luckily, Twilight was on her toes and threw a barrier around the Fallen before the shot could make contact.

"Everyone in this room put down your weapons, and let ye who fired step forward," the Exo Hunter called out for everyone to hear.

For a moment, silence filled the room, followed almost reluctantly afterwards by the sounds of weapons being put away. From where the shot rang out, the sound of footsteps approached. A young man with pale skin who looked to be no more than twenty years old soon stood next to Cayde-6, a hand cannon at his hip and a knife strapped to his chest. Beneath his hood, there was short and messy brown hair. When the Vanguard leader turned and faced the young Hunter's pale face lost any color that had been in it.

"What's your name, kid?" he asked.

"Thomas Hardy," the young human replied.

"Well kid, while shooting at a Fallen is usually a bad thing, I gave a direct order to not fire on it. Had that Warlock right there not been on her toes, you'd have just killed the best chance at diplomacy we have," the Exo said. "Go ask the Quarterkeeper if there's a room next to the room registered to Twilight. After that, meet me in my office. Go."

With the departure of the frightened human, the Exo turned back to the Fallen Captain, who had since climbed down from Applejack's ship and was standing at about two and a half meters tall, as compared to Cayde-6's two meters with his horn. The Exo asked, "How did you befriend him?"

"I guess I earned enough of his respect that he wanted to join us," Applejack shrugged.

"I've been in a similar situation with a Fallen on the moon, but I never managed to befriend her," he huffed. "Do they shake hands?"

"I, respect, her. I, shake, hand," Shirska answered, "I, bow, and, leave, house. Now, we, friend."

"He knows a bit of English, I see," he observed. "As promised, I will train him and provide him with as much ether as I can get my hands on. I'll also get him his own quarters and notify every Guardian we know to be alive that this one is friendly." The Exo looked up at the Captain and held out a hand."Shirska, welcome to the Tower."

"I, want, learn, your, language," Shirska said to him, shaking his hand with his top right hand. "Speak, better, faster, accurate."

"I'll have someone teach you," Cayde-6 assured the Captain. He then turned and addressed Twilight, "Congratulations on hitting Level 13."

------

This was the first time the ponies had been down in the City below the Tower. Partially because they were told to wait a while before going on their expedition, and partially because they were completely exhausted in both mind and body, they decided to go down and see what they were fighting so hard to protect. For the most part, it was Applejack's decision to do so. She said she needed to see the civilians, to see how they lived, to try to understand why she was fighting. When asked about why, she told them about how she'd felt so angry when she flipped the Walker. Twilight immediately understood, and chose to go with her, even if no one else would. When everyone else agreed that they would like to see the City, they changed into their civilian clothes and left.

The streets were made of compacted dirt, the sidewalk of grass. Twilight had expected the streets to be paved or made of stone, like in Canterlot or Manehatten, or other major cities from back home. But she couldn't say she didn't like the environmentally conscious design. Since the city was built on a major river, as she'd seen from the Tower, the dirt roads and grass sidewalks would keep flooding to a minimum by keeping runoff down and infiltration up. Most of the buildings she saw had trees planted on the rooftops, most of them being fruit trees. The buildings looked to be made of concrete which made Twilight question how the taller ones were standing. Concrete, after all, was a heavy material, and would collapse under its own weight unless reinforced somehow.

All in all, the City was quite similar to Ponyville. People smiled at each other as they passed, be they human or Awoken or Exo. However, many people looked at the ponies oddly. To be fair, they had never seen the ponies before, and it was reasonable for them to be wary of things they did not immediately know to be friendly. However, Fluttershy smiled to people as she passed, and that seemed to set most of them at ease.

At a corner, they were stopped by a small human child. It was a little girl with bright red hair and a small white rose tucked behind her left ear, who had shaken free of her father's hand and dashed over to them and asked if they were Guardians. The girl's father picked her up but a moment later apologizing for his daughter's rudeness. But Applejack denied the need for an apology, as the girl was simply curious like any child her age. The Titan asked the girl her name, to which the answer was Rosie. With a smile, Applejack introduced herself and said that she liked Rosie's hair, as it reminded her of her little sister. The girl asked her father to let her down, which he did promptly. And that was when the girl did something that no one expected. She pulled the flower from her hair, and reached up, handing it to Applejack saying, "This is for you."

Applejack knelt before that child, and let her put the rose in her hair, tucked behind her left ear like Rosie had worn it. When the girl was done arranging the flower just so, she giggled and said, "Thank you."

Applejack smiled, feeling her heart melting, and tears pressing at the corners of her eyes. She gave the little girl a hug and thanked her for the flower. When she let go, Rosie said she had to go because she would be late for dinner if she stayed too much longer. Applejack said goodbye to the child, and did not stand until she and her father had disappeared around another corner.

"I needed that," Applejack murmured, more to herself than anyone else. But they understood that Applejack had needed something like that. She had lost her family, which she usually had constant contact with. Her family was a huge part of who she was, and to have that big a piece of herself just stop existing... The others couldn't imagine how much that had been hurting her.

After a bit more walking around, they came across a small pub that a few Guardians seemed to be hanging out in, telling war stories and trying to one-up each other. Deciding to eat there, they walked in and were greeted by an Exo who immediately guided them to a table for six. As they sat down, they noticed that among the other Guardians at the tables around them was Amuro. Silently, the ponies agreed to stare at their Titan friend until he noticed them. It took about three minutes, in which time an Awoken waitress had come by and started them all off with some water and told them the specialty for the day, for one of Amuro's friends to notice and start staring back at them, which made Amuro turn around to see what the Hunter was looking at. "Well look who decided to join the elite for some drinks!"

"I'm not exactly feeling up for much drinkin'. Maybe I'll have one," Applejack sighed in response. "It's been a long day."

"Tough mission?" Amuro asked after slamming down his now empty tankard.

"You have no idea," Rainbow answered as she looked over her menu. "Oh hell yeah! They've got apple cider here!"

"Welp, looks like I'm gonna taste the competition," the farmer complained as she started looking over her own menu.

"So what was your mission?" Amuro's Hunter friend asked.

"We had two in the same area. One was to find any information on where the Stranger went, and the second was to eliminate a Fallen glimmer extraction crew in the LAX Cosmodrome," Rarity replied, setting her menu down and taking a sip of her water. "We were caught off guard by their... zeal."

"Stranger?" the Hunter asked.

"Long story," Twilight dismissed.

"Isn't that House of Devils territory?" the Warlock in the group asked.

"It was until yesterday. We killed a Devil Archon there day before. Now it's Kings turf," Applejack answered, setting her menu down.

"Well, if it was only an extraction crew, then it couldn't have been that bad," Amuro huffed. "Have I told you the story of how I accidentally killed this bastard by punching him into a wall?"

"No no, if we're doing story time, then they should hear about how I killed that one Ogre on the moon with a crowbar," the Warlock argued.

"Fuck that, they should hear about the time I killed four Wizards with one shot of my Golden Gun," the Hunter bragged.

"Or, I can tell you about how I flipped a Walker on its back," Applejack said with a smirk.

The three men looked at her incredulously, and Amuro's face then there looked as though he'd fallen in love. The Warlock deflated and pulled a small book out of his pocket. The Hunter just picked up his tankard and finished the remaining half of the alcoholic beverage in it. After the ponies placed their orders, Applejack began recounting the events of the day's long battle. When she told Amuro of the fist fight with a Captain, he started muttering something about being able to end it in one punch. But he really perked up when she told him about how she'd slammed her fists into the ground and created a wave of arc energy. Once she got to the part about that being how she flipped the tank, he smirked and stood up, stepping over and patting her shoulder. "It's about fucking time you discovered your super power."

"Super power?" Rarity asked. "And what do you mean, 'It's about time?'"

"Every Guardian has a super power, depending on what they are. Hunters can either be Gunslingers or Bladedancers, depending on whether they draw the Golden Gun or the Arc Blade respectively; Warlocks can be either Sunsingers or Voidwalkers, depending on whether they can ascent into Radiance or create a Nova Bomb respectively; and Titans can either be Strikers or Defenders, depending on whether they can use the Fist of Havoc or make the Ward of Dawn respectively," the tipsy Titan replied. "I am a Striker, and it seems your friend Applejack is too. What Level were you when you used that? Seven? Eight? I discovered mine when I was four. What did yours feel like?"

"Pure righteous fury," she answered.

"Literally same." He sat back down at his table to get out of the way of the ponies' waitress coming around with the food they'd ordered while Amuro's friends bickered about which story to tell. Behind him, another brawny Titan and a pair of Hunters were stumbling out from another room of the pub, more than likely hammered out of his mind. But then he laid eyes on Fluttershy and decided to walk over and check her out. To be fair, 'check her out' was a bit too generous a term to be used for his actions. 'Make an ass of himself,' would be much more proper.

"I ain't seen no one 'round here like you. Y'ain't Awoken, n'y'ain't human, an' sure as hell ain't Exo," he slurred, focusing his attention on Fluttershy. "What are you?"

"Um... We're ponies," she replied, a bit anxious from the drunk Titan's obvious display of dominance. "Could you ple–"

"A pony?" he guffawed far too loudly, drawing the attention of almost everyone in the pub. "I'd certainly like to ride you!"

"Exfuckingcuse me that is my friend you're hitting on and you are making her uncomfortable," Amuro growled, standing up and forcefully turning the other Titan to face him.

"You can fuck right off," the drunk Titan said, shoving Amuro back.

"What did you fucking say?!" Amuro roared, winding up a punch.

"Amuro! Sit down!" Fluttershy said, standing as best she could with her legs between the table and the booth seat. "Rarity, would you mind letting me out for a moment?"

To everyone's surprise, Amuro sat down, grumbling about being able to take down the drunkard, and Rarity stood up and stepped out of the booth, letting Fluttershy step out and stand in front of the drunk Titan, who was smiling victoriously. She smiled at him innocently, her eyes gleaming with the plans of mischief that reminded everyone else of Discord. She said to him, "Listen, it's been a long time since I've gotten any action, and the last guy I was with was much bigger than you."

"I'm bigger where it counts," the drunkard said, not knowing that he was playing into her trap.

"Hold out your hand," she said.

The drunk Titan looked at his Hunter friends, who shrugged in response. Thinking himself funny, he groped her breast, smirking as though he'd won some sort of contest. That was what she was waiting for, one more excuse, one more unwanted advance. She took his hand off of her chest and punched him with a solid right hook, which sent him spinning and flying back about three meters and slamming into a wall where no tables were. The Hunters, after watching and seeing their friend still moving, turned angrily to Fluttershy. She said to the Titan, "I suggest you brush up on how to treat ladies, you degenerate, useless pile of fermented cabbage."

"Fluttershy!" Rarity gasped.

"Nice punch!" Amuro complimented. He stood up, and placed his hands on the shoulders of the two Hunters who were with the rude Titan. "Now, are we going to have some trouble, or are you going to leave quietly to avoid sexual assault charges?"

"Fuck right off," one of the Hunters said, spitting on Amuro's boot.

"I was really hoping not to get shat on by Zavala three times this week... Guess that's a pipe dream."

Makes Machines Crazy

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The ponies had rested for a week, starting the day after the encounter with the Walker, in which time they had explored the city much more on a more civilian basis. They'd found many small shops and restaurants, among them a coffee shop that Pinkie had broken physics in, they liked and would end up frequenting during off periods like that. In addition to interacting with the civilian population, the six interacted with Shirska, getting him used to seeing them and interacting with them. When they awoke that morning and realized that it was time for them to go find the Stranger on Venus, all of them felt rested enough to do so.

They shopped around the Tower for some new weapons and got a new set of free armor from the Cryptarch, Master Rahool, and 'saddled up' as it were. However, while they were waiting for their new armor to be made, the Cryptarch asked them if they had Sparrows, as they would quickly find themselves tired and sore if they chose to make the entire trek on foot. He told them to ask the Shipwright about getting some Sparrows. They thanked him for the advice, and then left to do just that.

As they moved, Twilight stuck to the back of the group, hoping Fluttershy would slow down with her for a moment of relative privacy. To her luck, her pegasus friend noticed and fell to the back of the group, letting the others move ahead a little ways. At first, Twilight was silent, unable to say what was on her mind. It took Fluttershy's hand reaching for hers to get the unicorn to speak. "I've been thinking about this since that night... with the drunk guy... A-are you... u-um... into guys?"

The pegasus smiled at her friend, and gave her hand a light squeeze, before giving her head a gentle shake. "No, and I've never been with anyone that way."

"A-are you... um..."

"Yes," Fluttershy interrupted, knowing what she was going to ask. "When we come back from Venus, I'd like to take you to a little place in the City I saw the other day. Would you like to do that with me?"

"Just fucking kiss already!" Rainbow called from a few meters ahead. "We all know you two want to be a thing and we've tried to let you go your own pace but Celestia damn, you two."

Twilight looked down at the ground to avoid eye contact, a deep blush infusing a red tint into her face. Just when she thought her face could not get any redder, Fluttershy responded, "I have to at least buy her tea first. You don't just kiss somepony before the first date. That's weird!"

"Look, as much as I'd love to gush over how adorable and meant-for-each-other you are and design dresses for your hypothetical wedding," Rarity started, walking over and physically pushing the two of them forwards towards the hangar, "we've got a Stranger to find and talk to."

"Wait what."

"You heard me!" Rarity huffed, passing the two as they finally started walking on their own.

"Dibs on the reception!" Pinkie giggled.

"Back off they're mine," the alabaster unicorn hissed near demonically, drawing frightened stares from everyone. "I mean, um, let them decide?"

------

The flight to Venus was more brief than they had expected. It took about the same amount of time to get down to the City as it did to get to within eyeshot of Venus. Once there, they had to slow down to keep themselves from slamming into the planet at near the speed of light. After that, the remaining minutes of approach were spent with everyone prepping their weapons, Shirska included. The Fallen had chosen to come with the ponies to Venus, the extra muscle probably necessary to ensure success, hitching a ride in Applejack's ship. Should they find the seventh ship, they would give it to him. If not, then they would check out the other hangars in the LAX cosmodrome when they got back.

They touched down in a spot with a beacon and an emblem that looked like a Ghost's eye imprinted into the ground. When all of them got out of their ships, the Ghosts set them to autopilot and return to orbit. The stone and dust was gray there, and it felt quite humid and sultry, even though their armor was air and water tight. Were Twilight any more of a geology nerd, she'd have been gushing over the rock formations and other things. "Alright, everyone, Sparrows out." The ponies' Ghosts brought their Guardians' Sparrows out from wherever they stored things, but Shirska had to do things a little differently, seeing as he was not a Guardian. On his lower left wrist, he tapped at a small machine, pointing it away from his new comrades. Once he had summoned his Sparrow, they mounted up and pulled the throttle, tearing down the dusty trail that led to the right of the landing site.

For the most part it was quiet, the sounds of Fallen weaponry off in the distance, but not close enough to be considered a clear and present danger. Shirska, having repainted all of his armor white, looked determined to accomplish something here. Applejack, though seemed comfortable with his presence. Perhaps they had conversed on the way here, and gotten to know each other a little better; gained perspective and context to each other to clarify who they were and why they fought. As Twilight understood it, the Fallen were a merit-based society, which opened up the possibility that he wanted to prove his worth as an ally here. Whatever his purpose, Twilight maintained that it would be a bad idea to allow suspicion to turn him away. They were up against foes whose strength outweighed their own, possibly even with the Elements. For all intents and purposes, Shirska was their friend now. If they were to survive, they needed to not repeat Kabr the Legionless' mistake. They needed to count on those next to you, regardless of their race, faction, or gender.

As they arrived at the research station, the ponies began to feel anxious, and paused just before entering the small canyon where the buildings were. The whole way here, there'd been no enemies trying to stop them. No incursions from the Fallen House of Winter, and not a trace of the Vex, aside from the unusually shaped blocks of stone. There weren't even scouting parties simply watching for them. With the lack of information and the unsettling stillness of the air, Shirska spoke softly to the group, "I anticipate a trap."

"I agree. Something feels wrong here," Twilight concurred.

"What do we do?" Rarity asked.

"The Vex are going to try to learn everything about us before trying to deliver a killing strike. If it's Vex, we should go right through it, make it look like we didn't see it coming," Twilight planned.

"So basically play stupid so they underestimate us when they try to kill us," Rainbow summed up.

"Essentially, yes," she confirmed. "Now, if it's a Fallen trap, the best way to handle it would be to sneak around an ambush them while they wait for us."

"House of Winter lost Kell recently," Shirska piped in. "Trap is machines you call Vex."

"Well, I guess we should speed right ahead," Rarity said, turning on her Sparrow to dart forward and spring the trap. When she pulled the throttle, the others followed. They sped down into the small canyon, following the trail over a river that flowed out from beneath the research station. The trail curved up and around a central building before suddenly taking a hard right between two perfectly flat stone walls. It was when they went between the stone walls that they met their first Vex opponents. They were thin of body, reminiscent of the Frames in the Tower. Whether this was to save resources on their production, or a tactical design to make them smaller targets, they did not know. But Twilight saw glowing red eyes from each of them, and thought to herself that in their fanned out heads behind those red eyes was the mind core.

The group hopped off their Sparrows and drew their weapons while evading the low-velocity fire from the Goblins. As though carefully orchestrated, Rainbow Dash pretended to fumble with her hand cannon before drawing it and blasting off the head of the nearest Goblin. The machine's now headless body fell to the ground, seemingly dead. The others fired upon the remaining machines, focusing fire on the heads. Their experience fighting the Fallen led them to believe this a proper course of action, as no creature they'd encountered had a different weak spot. But this was a grave mistake, as the Vex were not "creatures" in the sense that the Guardians and their new ally thought of them.

So when the headless bodies of the Vex Goblins lifted themselves back up screaming, everyone jumped, startled at the sudden reanimation of the enemies. But this time, they were firing more shots from their small hand weapons. They seemed to be in a sort of frenzy, charging towards Rainbow Dash and firing erratically. But Rainbow was quick on her feet, and shot the thing another two times in the chest, making it fall to the ground lifeless once more. Everyone fired a few extra rounds into the headless Goblins just to make sure they stayed down.

"Shooting head bad idea," Shirska observed, looking down at one of the Goblins. "Make machines crazy."

"I'm going to try shooting that white part of its body," Rarity said, reloading her scout rifle. As everyone else reloaded, she sighed to herself, looking back down at her belly. Though covered by her armor, and virtually unscarred, she still had the feeling that that shard of metal was still there, sticking through her body. Perhaps it was her mind playing tricks on her, telling her things that weren't. Or perhaps it was a scar in her mind, one that her thoughts had to pass through to get to the areas therein that processed them. The only diagnosis she could think of was post traumatic stress disorder. Rarity, though, thought herself a proper lady, and ladies couldn't have post traumatic stress disorder. That was a man's problem, she believed, a man's risk.

"Are you okay?" Shirska asked her in his rough voice. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay," the unicorn dismissed, nodding to him. "Thanks."

"Alright everyone, our destination is directly below us, but we need to detour about a mile that way," Twilight said, pointing off in the direction the trail led, where the stone was in perfect blocks. "Keep your wits about you, and remember to downplay your abilities."

"Lead the way, egghead," Rainbow huffed.

They moved forward, all of them with weapons at the ready. All was eerily silent once again, the Vex nowhere to be seen.

"Egg...head?" Shirska asked Applejack. "I am not knowing this word?"

"It's an insult meaning that Twilight is intellectual to the point of being socially awkward," the farmer explained quietly.

"Why she insult Twilight?" he asked.

"We're all close enough friends that we can use certain insults among ourselves as jokes," she answered. "It's for humor."

"I see," he grunted, pondering what she had told him. "Are there any for me?"

"None yet," she said. "But one day, we'll be close enough friends to do that."

"I am not sure if I would enjoy that," he murmured.

They walked for a while, watching around them for any signs of Vex activity, but the only life aside from them were the vines and grass that grew on the blocks of stone. The circular plates that stood from the ground in some places looked to be damaged by heavy weapons fire or perhaps by explosives. What purpose they once served was unknown, and Twilight could only take wild guesses at which possibility was correct. After passing by a few of them, they came to a clearing with a few scattered blocks sticking up from the soil. Large puddles were scattered here and there, some of them opaque with byproducts of bacterial metabolic processes. Off in the distance, they could see great clouds approaching, carrying rain closer to the jungle they would be exploring soon. To the ponies, it felt strange that those clouds were moved at random instead of by careful planning by weather teams. They were so used to having the weather manufactured, that seeing nature replicate the process on its own was unsettling, if not outright frightening. It made them feel small and insignificant.

Rainbow said, "I'm going to experiment with something. Don't wait up." With that she unfolded her great wings and jumped off the cliff to their right, flying off towards the clouds. Even without the wind in her hair, Rainbow still loved the feeling of flight. Even the magnificence of star flight paled in comparison to just soaring through the sky, with nothing but the wind under her wings and her thoughts to occupy her mind. As she approached the clouds, she tilted her wings to give her a bit more altitude. When she was directly over the clouds, she swung her legs back down below her, reaching out tentatively to see if she could still stand on them, or if that ability had been lost when she was reforged. At first, she felt her feet sink into the cloud, but then, just when she was about to give up, she felt the cloud pushing back on her. She smirked, and folded her wings, letting the cloud bear her full weight. "Perfect!"

Back with the remaining six, a new group of Vex had appeared. These were Harpies, however, and they were quick. Whenever Pinkie thought she was bound to hit one, they rolled out of the way of her shots. While she and the others were focusing on the three moving about, another three had gotten into position atop some stone blocks with a good view of the entire area. They expanded their flaps, and began firing upon the Guardians. In response, Applejack pulled out her shotgun and blasted one of the attacking Harpies, some of the pellets hitting the Harpie's eye and making it explode in a bright ball of fire and shrapnel. She pumped the shotgun and fired again, this time at one of the evasive Vex Harpie's, managing to hit it in one of its flaps, tearing it off. Destabilized, the floating Vex fell to the ground and exploded with a metallic squeal.

Shirska roared, frustrated that the machines were being such pests, and pulled a hand cannon from his hip with his lower right hand, firing it without aiming down the sights. The high-impact round slammed into a Harpie that was firing upon the group, and then continued through it, making the mechanical enemy collapse on itself shrieking before exploding. Another shot, and the last of the shooting Harpies was destroyed much like its comrades. One evasive Harpie remained, managing to dodge the combined fire of the Guardians and their ally. But it too fell in battle to death from somewhere far away. The sniper round pierced the Harpie through the side, where a ways away, Twilight and her friends could see Rainbow crouched on a cloud with her sniper out.

The group turned to see that the way down was a massive 'staircase', each step as tall as Shirska. Along the way, there were outcroppings where grass and tall trees grew, vines descending down towards the jungle below like ropes. Twilight warned the others that she suspected that the Vex would try to ambush them there, where there was enough open space for them to use the warping ability that she'd heard about, and started thinking about whether they would venture down into the jungle below. In response, Shirska pulled another hand cannon from his belt a mirror image of the one in his lower right hand.

Twilight was correct in her prediction, a pair of Harpies and five Goblins warped onto the platform. The phenomenon looked like a storm cloud coming, and delivering the machines via lightning strikes. With precision fire from Shirska's hand cannons, the Harpies fell as soon as they attempted to stabilize and fire. Rarity, true to her word, brought her scout rifle to bear on the Goblins' white bellies. When the bullet tore through one, the Vex exploded into boiling white fluids that stained its destroyed frame and the ground beneath it. She conveyed her success to the others. Without warning, a powerful energy shot tore through Twilight's shields and leg armor, melting through a portion of it and burning the skin underneath it. The force behind the round knocked her leg out from under her, sending her sprawling to the ground screaming and clutching at her leg. "Sniper!" Immediately, Fluttershy grabbed her by the collar of her cuirass and dragged her behind the tree in the center of the area, the others joining them there.

"Any idea where it is?" Rainbow asked over the communications line in everyone's helmets.

"Give me a minute and I'll shoot the bastard myself," Twilight grunted in pain as her Ghost started healing her wound and repairing her armor. "You won't have a shot."

As soon as she was able, she lit her horn with magic and teleported herself up into the tree, the leaves hiding the flash. She knelt down on a branch as thick as Applejack hugging Rarity and Shirska. She brought up her sniper, aiming down the high-magnification scope. She lined up the creature's white belly in her crosshairs, carefully observing it before she pulled the trigger. Instead of its head being fan-shaped like the Goblins, it had two horns that stuck out sideways, smaller spikes jutting out from them. It also seemed to have a tail, which swished around like a cat's. Satisfied with her observations, she pulled the trigger. The machine exploded much like its comrades below her. She hopped down from the tree, slowing her fall with a quick levitation spell.

A metallic roar behind the tree soon raised the hairs on the necks of the ponies. Suddenly, a machine with the same distinctive red eye as the other machines appeared. Its body was build brawnier. Its metal hide was blackened to protect it from oxidation, and it lacked the white core in the belly as its smaller comrades. This beast roared again, raising its arm far above its head as though preparing to bring it down like a hammer or axe. Applejack quickly fired a shotgun shell into the thing's chest, but was then slapped aside by the sizable robot, the shell being stopped by shielding that glowed purple. It fired a round from its weapon, which exploded and scattered everyone. A shot from Rainbow out on the clouds slammed into the Minotaur, causing the shield around it to burst and the Vex machine to turn to her. Shirska, annoyed at the machine, sprinted at it and jumped, kicking it with both feet. It stumbled back six meters, and fell off the edge of the cliff. But it did not stay down, its ability to warp forgotten or perhaps underestimated. It reappeared back on the cliff in front of Shirska and delivered a heavy punch to his gut. Another sniper shot from Rainbow made contact, piercing a point just above the eye and making a panel around the eye pop off. Sparks flashed from inside, and the machine roared maniacally, firing its heavy weapon towards everyone nearby. When a round made contact with Shirska's chestplate, Applejack switched her trusty shotgun out for her newest and largest weapon: a heavy machine gun. She hefted it up and sprayed from the hip, its recoil almost negligible against her sturdy muscles. Bullet after bullet slammed into the Minotaur's iron hide and tore through its innards, shredding wires and circuits and motherboards. When the Vex fell to its knees and its red eye's light faded, she switched back to her shotgun, and thanked Rainbow for the support.

The rest of the trek down was relatively uneventful. Rainbow returned to the group, abandoning her post on the cloud. At the bottom of the steps, they found that the trail led into the jungle for a little ways, but was being overrun by the vegetation. Figuring the trail wouldn't be tame enough to warrant using their Sparrows, they opted to just walk. Just as the Stranger had said, exactly one hundred meters into the jungle, right where the trail was swallowed by the flora, the seventh ship of Hangar 1 stood proudly. Its canopy was polka-dotted with raindrops, and the massive blue things on either side of the main body gleamed in the sunlight that hit it. Next to it, a small pole stood stabbed into the ground, the top of which split off into six directions to hold a crystal. Around the crystal was a visible rainbow aura, much like that which appeared around the horns of unicorns who were actively using magic. Upon further inspection, Rarity determined that the pale crystal was one that she'd seen in a museum in Equestria, called a Light Crystal, and that the light it gave off was being produced, not refracted, by it. On one side of the pole, a steel nail was stabbed through, pointing off deeper into the jungle. When Twilight looked where the nail was pointing, she saw another pole with a Light Crystal standing within eyeshot, its rainbow aura and bright light undoubtably serving as the beacons the Stranger had told them they had placed.

"Alright, Shirska, this is where we part for this mission," Twilight said, looking to see if she could see the beacon after the next. "You take that ship and head back to the Tower."

"No. I go with you," he said. "Bad feeling. Danger ahead."

"We need you to secure that ship," she replied. "Whatever danger may be ahead is ours to handle."

"Shirska, take that ship, head to low orbit above this spot. We'll call you if we need you," Applejack offered. Shirska thought for a moment and then accepted the terms, clambering up onto the ship and opening it with a few taps of the device on his wrist. "If we don't call to say everything's fine within an hour, come find us."

"Eyes up," he called to the group as they began trudging through the mud and thick foliage towards the next beacon. "Eyes down. Eyes all around. Don't stop moving."

With that, Shirska claimed the pilot's seat of the aerospace craft, turning on the main power and carefully taking off vertically, as it was designed to. He hit the throttle forwards and tilted the flying machine's dual-stick piloting interface back to gain altitude. Once out of the clouds, he punched the throttle to the max, breaking the sound barrier and shearing through the atmosphere like a sword. "Remember, friends, shoot heads makes machines crazy."

Super Power: The Arc Blade

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The jungles of Venus below the Vex gates was thicker than any area of the Everfree Forest the six had ever seen. Each step they took took double the effort of walking through water. Every few minutes, someone would get tangled in something, and either Rainbow or Pinkie would have to cut them loose, as they were the only ones with knives. It was only after Pinkie had freed Rainbow from a tangle that the group truly saw her frightening talent with sharp objects. She seemed to juggle the knife, treating it like some sort of play thing, but cut all of the vines wrapped around Rainbow without ever also having her hand on it.

As they passed beacon after beacon, the anticipation grew. What was it that the Stranger needed to tell them that they couldn't just leave in the message they'd left in the LAX Cosmodrome? What was so important that it couldn't be told to them in the cosmodrome instead of out here in the wild jungles of Venus?

The more Twilight thought about it, the more she realized that she didn't know any other alicorns besides the princesses. She'd read about the Lunar War, and knew that thestricorns were more common than alicorns. It was entirely possible that the Stranger was a thestricorn, perhaps even one of Luna's personal guards. But that begged the question of how they got here alive. From the looks of the palace when they'd left their home, there were no hints of any survivors. Every trail of blood led to a skeleton. There was of course, room for doubt there, as they didn't see the entirety of the palace before they left, and there could have been a clue hidden in one of those places they didn't see.

Next to a beacon ahead of them, Twilight saw the familiar shape of a Vex Goblin stood. Immediately she raised her rifle, freezing in place and watching it, hoping it hadn't noticed them. Its red eye did not shine, and the white core in its belly was not white. Moss and vines covered and strangled the small Vex unit, alluding to it having been standing there for a long time, dead or forgotten or both. "It's in some kind of stasis..."

Rainbow sighed, "For the rest of us?"

"It's hibernating," Fluttershy clarified for her fellow pegasus. "My question is why."

"Well, if it's asleep, I guess we just keep going," Rainbow suggested. "No point wasting time asking about ancient machine things."

The last beacon was in the center of a small clearing just past the Vex Goblin. As the group stepped in, they kept their weapons at the ready. Off to the south side of the beacon was a block of stone that looked to be about one cubic meter. Aside from that block, there was no cover in that clearing.

"Where are they?" Rainbow whispered to the rest of the group. "They shoul–"

A red laser shot from a Vex slap rifle hit Fluttershy in the back, making her jump and whip around to see the offender. The Vex Goblin they'd left alone stepped through the overgrowth, staring at the ponies with its cold and calculating gaze. A mechanical scream filled the air, and was soon echoed a hundred times over.

"Damn it, Dash," Applejack sighed, raising her rifle. "We had to leave it alone."

"Egghead said it was asleep!" she retorted, raising her hand cannon and firing at the original Goblin.

"Shut up and kill them!" Twilight growled. "Should have known this was a fucking trap!"

With that the group just started shooting at the machines. Remembering their mistake in shooting the heads of the robots, the six ponies aimed virtually exclusively for the white bellies of the machines. Rainbow's hand cannon, with ten rounds per clip, took down the wicked machines with only one hit to their bellies. The powerful rounds were enough to shred Goblins into scraps. Whenever she had to reload, she leapt backwards and then left, throwing the aim of the oncoming enemies off.

Rarity took it upon herself to watch out for and destroy Hobgoblins. Her weapon was made for precision, and in this enclosed space, those units would have to come within poking range of her rifle. Suddenly a high velocity round sliced passed her, the energy around it grazing her shields and drawing her attention to it. A Hobgoblin glared at her with its angry red eye, challenging her to a duel of precision; organic versus machine in a battle to the death. Rarity accepted this challenge by firing one shot at the machine, hitting it in one of its horns. Glaring at her, it returned the gesture, its shot slamming into her belly with the force of a javelin. The shot instantly pierced the shields and damaged a small portion of her armor. She yelped in pain before switching weapons, her Ghost dematerializing her scout rifle and replacing it with a heavy machine gun. If the Vex could know fear, Rarity vowed to teach it to them, as her wrath turned upon the Hobgoblin that was swishing its tail around like some arrogant cat. She raised the heavy weapon and pulled the trigger, holding it steady as it kicked far more than any other weapon she'd handled. But enough rounds hit their mark to kill the wicked machine, sending it sprawling down to the ground with its fluids boiling out. She then turned to the Goblins, smirking beneath her helmet as her shields recharged. She pulled the trigger again, letting loose a torrent of bullets. The large group of machines fell quickly to the overwhelming force of the unicorn's weapon.

A harsh roar split through the jungle, followed by more. Another wave of Goblins stepped out from all sides of the clearing, a total of six Minotaurs among them with a pair of Harpies on either side of the giants. A Hobgoblin fired a shot, nearly hitting Rainbow.

"Fuck," Twilight cursed. "Now would be a great time for some super powers..."

"Can't feel it yet, Twilight," Pinkie replied, popping a pair of shots into one of the Harpie pairs. "Sorry."

"I can't either," Applejack added as she let loose a burst of fire from her auto rifle.

A pair of Harpies on the north side of the clearing stabilized and began firing a barrage of laser rounds, many of them hitting the ponies. Pinkie turned around after the first shot hit her and threw one of her knives, the sharp instrument twirling through the air. The tip pierced the eye of the left Harpie, short-circuiting its stabilizers and making it explode with a mechanical yip. By the time anyone could notice, Pinkie's second knife had done the same to the right Harpie as well. It was only when she turned back around and threw a third knife into another Harpie that anyone really started getting confused as to where she'd gotten the third knife. But there was no time for questioning Pinkie, as the Minotaurs had charged up their weapons and were now firing. The slow arc of the torch hammer rounds was easy enough to avoid, but the blast radius was a bit larger than the ponies had anticipated. The explosions of the void rounds brought down everyone's shields to about half charge, but the radiation from those rounds lingered, slowly draining even more of the shields' energy. Warnings flashed on their heads-up displays in their helmets, urging them to move away from the radiation.

"Shit," Applejack cursed as she dropped a clip from her auto rifle and switched it out for a fresh one. "Focus on the big ones."

Just in that moment, Rainbow was forced to take to the air, firing her hand cannon into the Minotaur that had nearly bashed her head in with a hammer fist. It took the entire clip to bring down the beast's shields, and two point-blank shells from Applejack's shotgun to bring the machine itself down. However, another Minotaur had ample opportunity to get behind Applejack and thrust its knee into her back, knocking her face first onto the ground. As soon as her grunt of pain was heard, Rarity slapped a grenade to its body and raised her palm, a magic she never knew she had coming out and sending the Minotaur flying back. A group of Goblins was bowled over as their larger and stronger comrade was forced back into them. With a quick spell, Rarity lifted her Titan friend to her feet just in time to watch the grenade explode against the Minotaur's hull. Luckily for them, that was enough to destroy it and the cluster of Goblins it had knocked over during its short flight across the clearing.

Fluttershy screamed with rage and blasted away the shields of the third Minotaur with her shotgun before winding up and punching the machine. Its armor crumpled like aluminum foil around a baked potato, the force behind her punch enough to nearly impale the thing. She then lifter her leg and shoved it off of her arm, letting the enemy fall lifelessly to the ground with its circuitry sparking and fizzing. She bent down as the fourth Minotaur tried to slap her, grabbing the ankles of the recently felled enemy, and swinging it around as she stood back up. She brought the thing down like a sledgehammer, using the corpse of the dead machine as a bludgeoning weapon against its still living counterpart. The Minotaur, unable to process what had just happened, did not have enough time to evade the attack, and was bashed down into the ground by the winged Titan. The assault was not enough to kill the machine, as it only made the problem worse by busting its face-plate.

Now in a rabid frenzy, the mechanical beast disappeared from where it had been smacked in the head with the corpse of a fellow Vex unit. It reappeared in the center of the group, and fired a shot into the back of Fluttershy, decimating her shields and sending her sprawling forwards away from her friends, where she was easier to target for the other Vex units on the perimeter of the clearing. Just before Rainbow could end the life of the maddened machine, it let loose another round from its torch hammer, the high-explosive void projectile arcing down into Fluttershy's back just as she brought herself to her knees. She screamed in pain, her entire chestplate shattering from the hit, the only thing keeping the armor on her body being the form-fitting leather layer the armor was bound to. Twilight shrieked and broke formation, leaping over to her and covering the pegasus' body with her own, taking the barrage of Goblin and Harpie fire for her.

"You'll be okay!" she stammered out, holding the Titan close, paying close attention to her breathing. She took off both of their helmets and looked into her eyes. "Your Ghost can heal you! You're going to be fine!"

"Twili–" The pegasus' feeble attempt to reply was interrupted by a harsh cough, one that spattered blood onto the ground. "Shit."

Meanwhile, Rainbow had seen her best friend since she was a filly damn near die, and another of her friends about to sacrifice herself to protect her. While it wasn't uncommon for her to feel protective of her friends, the intensity with which she was feeling it now was through the roof. Back home before any of this had taken place, she would be there for her friends, through thick and thin. She would back them up if anyone dared pick a fight or bully her friends. She would kick dragons in the nose for hurting her friends. Hell, she'd damn near gotten kicked out of flight school for beating the living daylight out of some stupid colt that made Fluttershy cry.

Without thinking about it, she let herself down and knelt before her best friend just in time to see her cough up a little bit of blood and curse under her breath. When Fluttershy looked to her, she could see strength left in her, but at the same time, fear. Not the kind of fear she got when a leaf fell on her when she wasn't expecting it, nor the kind she got when she tried to talk to ponies. Nay, this was true fear. This was the look of the fear of death. When she saw that, she saw the little Fluttershy she'd met when she was young. She saw that same brave filly who cried herself to sleep at night because she needed to be awake enough to do well in school, even with the constant bullying. She saw the filly who battled depression every day because her wounds weren't left to heal, the bullies throwing dirt and salt into them every day, making it fester into something far worse than it had to be. She saw the friend that she held in her hooves praying to Celestia that she'd never have to lose her to the wounds only she could see.

She unsheathed her knife, putting her hand cannon back into its holster. She didn't know why she did it, but she felt her knife calling out to her, begging her to use it to protect those dearest to her. The blade promised, "Leave the fire to others. Wield me, and we shall deliver death to the monsters, swiftly, silently, and without mercy." She leapt up into the air, holding her knife behind her back. With the acceptance of the knife's pact, the air cracked, and a bolt of lightning struck it. Her tired muscles felt no resistance, as though the lactic acid building up in them had suddenly just stopped existing. Her vision sharpened, letting her see three hundred and sixty degrees. Her blade, where once it was only about ten inches, was now twenty six inches of lightning given shape. Tendrils of sharp arc energy chirped like birds and stabbed at the air around her, daring enemies to approach. Setting her eyes on the last two Minotaurs, she dove down from the air, landing in front of the fifth. It tried to punch her, but her knife was faster, slicing its legs out from under it. As it fell to the ground, it screamed in pain and tried to fire a round from its torch hammer at the ground to take her out with itself, but never got the chance. Rainbow sliced through its arm at the elbow, the electronic signal to fire not making it through the circuitry in time to be acted upon.

The last Minotaur fired its weapon, the low-velocity projectile flying towards Rainbow in a slow arc. As it approached, her knife told her to trust in its edge and her own light. Once it was close enough, she slashed upwards with the Arc Blade, slicing the Minotaur's explosive projectile in half and making the two resulting halves fly off to destroy a pair of Harpies and a Hobgoblin that had not seen that possibility coming. When another shot came her way, she smirked to herself beneath her helmet. She and her blade were a team like no other. They were not weapon and wielder; they were a retaliation. They could speak to and understand each other on a profound level that could rival that of the royal sisters.

She spun herself in a circle, her blade held out to cast a wall of arc energy. The heavy void round bounced off of the wall of cackling energy and light, flying back at the Minotaur faster than it had thought the round could travel. With no way to dodge the incoming explosive in time, the Minotaur simply screamed as it was destroyed by its own weapons fire. Now without the impending threat of the Minotaurs, Rainbow relinquished conscious thought in favor of a more trance-like state she usually saved for her flight training. She lunged forth, targeting a Hobgoblin that was too close to back away. The hardened chassis of the Vex offered no resistance to the Arc Blade. She cut it in half, the two pieces fizzling out of existence in a bright blue light. The same fate befell several dozen Goblins, her knife devouring them all with a seemingly insatiable hunger. She twirled around in her dance of death, evading every shot fired her way, and she got closer and closer to the last group of Goblins remaining. With one final burst of energy, she spun herself with her knife, and let the last of the Arc Blade's energy galvanize into a hurricane around her. As the storm of arc light grew around her, the Goblins began to freeze up as their circuitry was overloaded by the electricity. Piece by piece, the machines were ripped apart, those parts of them fizzling out of material existence and becoming nothing but energy.

Rainbow stopped spinning, bending down and placing her left hand on the ground to stabilize, her right hand holding her knife above her behind her back. She exhaled. Her blade was back to its usual metal composition, as well as its normal length. Her cloak settled, and the tendril of arc energy jumped out to the ground. When she brought herself back to a standing position, a clap rang out through the clearing, followed by more.

Fluttershy, now healed up and with freshly repaired armor, stood with Twilight's help, looking around. Rainbow looked towards the block of stone in the clearing, just in time to see a flash of teal light just above it. When the flash of light dissipated, they saw a hooded figure with a horn standing atop the stone. It wore armor that looked like a fusion of the Lunar Guard's and what Rainbow and Pinkie were wearing. The Stranger stopped clapping, and crossed their arms across their chest, which looked to be flat and broad.

"They were right to have me cast that spell over your bones," the Stranger said as the ponies approached warily. "You are hope given form."

"We are just ponies," Twilight replied modestly. "Would you care to explain why we're here?"

The Stranger looked at her, and then chuckled a bit to themselves. "They wanted me to show you something you already know. You've just forgotten."

"Who are you talking about?" Rainbow inquired, irritated. "Who sent you here?"

"Silence, Loyalty. All shall be explained in due time. But for now, They must stay hidden to avoid the Darkness." The Stanger stepped down from the rock and reached up to their helmet. "They are faceless, but I am not Them."

"Show us what we need to see, then," Applejack huffed impatiently.

"Are you certain you are ready for the past to start clawing at the present once again, Honesty?" The Stranger turned to face the Titan. "The information you need is buried beneath grief and wreckage."

"No," Applejack answered. "But if we wait until we're ready it'll be too late."

"A fair point." The Stranger held their arms out in a manner one would use when unveiling some grand masterpiece. Their wings unfurled from behind them, the first glints of light coming from them seeming metallic, as though they were armored. But then Twilight noticed something odd. The metal was too thin to be holding any wings. She stared at them as they continued to unfurl and light began to emanate from the Stranger's horn. They still expanded like normal wings, and seemed to have a layout similar to the bone structures in thestral wings. Perhaps, Twilight speculated, they were prosthetics designed to imitate the real wings they may have lost somehow. If they were a member of the Lunar Guard, it was entirely possible, as Luna treated her guards like her own children, and would go out of her way to keep them healthy and able. She had even, at one point, adopted a colt who she'd taken in when he was a she. That colt went on to be one of the greatest military engineers and alchemists of his generation.

The Stranger raised a hand, a teal aura like that around their horn surrounding it. With a flash of light, the ponies fell to the ground unconscious.

------

Up in orbit, Shirska watched his clock carefully as the one hour timer he set ticked down towards zero. When that timer hit zero, he punched the throttle of his Arwing model fighter, praying in his native tongue that his friends were okay. As flames began to obscure the view through the canopy, he checked the radar, seeing where the ponies were and if there were enemies nearby.

Misfortune was something that Shirska dealt with on a regular basis. To be fair, he had been on the dealing end of it most of the time, but he knew loss and grief all too well. He'd seen great friends and comrades die in battle, get their arms docked by other Captains, even seen Captains slain for a misplaced word by a Kell or Archon. He dared not grieve over such losses, as it was seen as a weakness, and Captains were held to a higher standard of strength. But that did not mean he felt nothing. On the contrary, he felt even more pain, as his wounds were never truly allowed to heal and become scars.

For the first time in countless cycles, Shirska felt fear. To him, it was odd. He feared no enemy, and at this moment there was no enemy to pin his fears upon. Yet he felt fear. That new sensation that made his heartbeat quicken and his mind race only served to temper his resolve to get to his new friends in time to keep them out of harm's way.

As soon as he hit the clouds, he hit the air brakes, slowing his craft to handle the pressure he was about to apply to the wings. He pulled on the controls to level out the ship, the G-forces in the cockpit negated by the effects of the "G-Diffuser" systems.

He set the ship down in the clearing, jumping out as soon as the canopy lifted. Rushing to their sides, only their Ghosts were moving.

"They're alive, but we can't wake them up," K-Rah informed the Fallen.

"Enemy ship incoming. Looks like Cabal," O-Ron groaned.

"What in the name of the Traveler are the Cabal doing on Venus?" J-Ami muttered to herself.

"What are Cabal?" Shirska asked, readying his weapons for a long fight.

"To make it simple: eight hundred pounds, highly militarized. They blow up moons for getting in the way," G-Evs answered.

"So idiots with guns?" Shirska concluded, plucking Applejack and Rainbow by their collars and dragging them behind the block before turning to do the same with the others. "This fight will simple."

"Rockets and shields," the butler-voiced Ghost finished. "Don't get close and aim for the head."

In his native tongue, he spoke to himself, "Today I prove if I am worthy of becoming a House. Do I have ten thousand arms?"

"Can I catch ten thousand stars?"

"Would my friends support me as a House?"

"I believe so."

From the Heavens

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"You're probably wondering why we've summoned you on such short notice," Celestia's voice said to the six as they approached the throne in the main hall.

"What's the threat this time?" Rainbow asked excitably from above the group. "Changelings again? Discord?"

"We don't know," Luna said as she stepped in. "Not exactly, anyway."

"About four hours ago, Luna detected a new presence near the moon, something living," Celestia said as she approached the group. "We are dealing with a new unknown life form. Perhaps they are friendly, perhaps they are not. Whatever the situation, we must be prepared."

"Has the military–" Twilight started.

"Yes. They are on full alert, and the royal couriers have been scrambled to deliver the news to all other countries, regardless of the current relations," the solar diarch interrupted.

"So if the military is on call, why are we here?" Applejack asked. "We aren't fighters. We're just a group of friends."

Celestia turned to her, "We've brought you here because the Elements of Harmony are the greatest defense Equestria has. In the event of catastrophe, they can restore thousands of years of chaos and destruction."

"So what's the plan for us?" the farmer inquired further.

"We need you to stay in the castle with the Elements," Luna answered. Her expression was grim, as though she knew this encounter would not end well. Applejack, being far more observant than others gave her credit for, had a sneaking suspicion that it was not simple anxiety or premonition. The princess had evidence, and understood the severity of that evidence. And though it could only truly be a hypothesis, the dark alicorn had reason to believe that hypothesis to be the truth of the matter. "There is a bunker beneath here, and it is stocked with enough food and fresh water to last a month."

"Why not seal us in the vault with the Elements?" Rarity asked. "Or possibly take the Elements down to the bunker with us if we must?"

"The vault is airtight. You would suffocate inside," Celestia answered grimly. "The bunker will hold. It is enchanted to withstand even the force of a caldera blast. As for taking the Elements with you, I don't believe that would be the wisest decision. Any Guard can open the bunker's door, and if one turns sides or is forced to open the door, the Elements will be in danger as well as you."

"Anti? Counter? Could you please escort the Element Bearers to the bunker? Time is running short," Luna called. "Sister, they've just passed the moon. They're coming down on Equestria."

"Where do you think they will land?"

Luna's face became even more serious than it already was. "Our front door."

Two thestrals stepped into the throne room, bowing at the entrance. They wore more armor than the Guards normally wore. This was likely due to the alert from the princesses, as war armor and standard armor were made with different metals and enchanted with different spells at different times in the forging process. The two bat ponies saluted Luna, then gestured for the six to follow them.

They were led down hallways that they had seen before, then some they had not. They soon reached a door that never existed, an enchantment making it look like it was just a wall. Through said doors, was a staircase that led down into darkness only thestrals and Luna could see in unaided. Twilight used a simple light spell to illuminate the halls for the six, revealing that the walls were not even masonry. The walls and ceiling were simply dug out of the ground like a mineshaft, the only hint that ponies had been here being the stairs, which were made of uniformly cut bricks. Every so often a gem would be sticking out of the walls, and a set of doors would be set into the stone. Some were false doors, made to look functional, but opening only to a wall.

Soon they approached a door that looked like every other: dark wood with brass fittings and handles. The two guards pulled open the doors and bowed to the six, the tiny flaps on their necks twitching. Not a moment after, the crystal lamps in the room lit up in a soft but bright yellow light. The room, unlike the hall, was masoned properly, a light-colored stone used to support the walls. The group stepped in, noting that it looked almost like a normal home setup. Set into the ceiling was a metal vent, where air seemed to be flowing in from. Set into the floor was a similar vent that seemed to be pulling air out. Off to the sides were a few doors that seemed to lead to individual bedrooms, as well as other rooms necessary for living quarters. Set into one wall was a sort of flameless hearth, enchanted crystals providing both heat and light. Next to that was a kitchen, which was probably stocked with enough food and water to last a very significant amount of time.

"Don't answer for anyone. Only the princesses and us guards can open the door from the outside. If it knocks, it's not friendly," one of the Guards said curtly. Without waiting for thanks, the two bat ponies turned and left the bunker, the doors closing behind them, leaving the Element Bearers sealed inside.

------

"Why must these things have such thick armor?" Shirska cursed in his native tongue, firing another pair of hand cannon rounds into a Legionary's bright green helmet, though it didn't do much aside from denting it. The Legionary roared savagely beneath its helmet and returned the transgression with a pair of rounds from its slug rifle, which Shirska was more than agile enough to evade. The ponies were still unconscious behind the block of stone upon which Shirska was fighting off the Cabal. "Die you clumsy two-armed whelps!"

It took four pairs of hand cannon fire to puncture the Legionary's helmet, leading to the thing's airtight seal being broken and causing explosive decompression. The helmet shot off the Cabal soldier's head and flew off into the air and disappearing into the sky. As the soldier fell to the ground, another took its place, making Shirska growl in frustration. "Too many munitions spent for too few deaths. Hardly worth the fight."

Behind him, Applejack whimpered and shuffled. Though the Fallen didn't look back to the ponies to check who was moving, he knew it was Applejack. He was very good with voices. While he was unaware of the magic at play on his new and unlikely friends, he vowed to defend them until his dying breath. He calmly reloaded his hand cannons, noting that he was running low on munitions for them, and brought them to bear on one of the seven remaining Legionaries. As he was about to pull the triggers, he saw a Psion out of the corner of his eye, and turned one of the high-powered pistols on it. He liked the smaller, sneakier Cabal soldiers. They were easier for him to deal with, though they were slightly harder to keep track of as a result. But all the same, he hated all of them simply because they had decided to attack him and his friends here.

"If it comes down to it, I will borrow their weapons," Shirska said. "I hope it does not."

------

Down in the bunker, time passed slowly. The six tried to stay calm, but with no information, speculation quickly began to toy with the minds of the ponies. Twilight paced in circles in the main room, her hooves clopping in steady rhythm on the hard stone floor. Rainbow preened at her wings, trying desperately to distract herself, but knowing full-well that thoughts of the worst would come eventually. Fluttershy sat on the sofa in the front room, watching Twilight pace and shivering, fear already gripping her with its icy claws. Rarity stood in the kitchen, going over inventory for the thirteenth time. And Applejack was sitting in a corner with her hat tipped over her eyes. She was arguably the most afraid out of all of them. She knew she was strong, but there were limits to that, as she'd learned last applebucking season. What would happen when they left the bunker? Would it be safe? If it wasn't, Twilight and Rarity were the only ones with magic if they needed any offensive power beyond their hooves. Her strength meant nothing if that was the case. Rainbow's speed meant nothing if they brought her down. As she understood the situation, she was effectively useless until the Elements were in play.

A whimper from Fluttershy broke the near silence, and was answered by Twilight sitting down next to her, laying her head across the pegasus' shoulders. Applejack looked up for a moment, seeing Fluttershy drape a wing over the unicorn, still shivering. The two were complementary to each other, the farm pony thought. They brought out the best in each other. Twilight managed to coax the timid pegasus into doing things she would normally be too frightened to do, and she was able to calm Twilight down in the event of a panic attack. They didn't have harsh contrasts like herself and Rarity did. Those two simply accentuated the best parts of themselves and helped each other work past their flaws. If they got past their awkwardness and their denial of what she sensed to be obvious attraction, Applejack thought they could be the couple that ponies envied.

A tremor shook the bunker, followed by more. They couldn't hear voices, but they knew that the rumbling in the floor was not natural. A full-grown dragon could make such quakes from walking, but Twilight doubted this was what was going on on the surface. For a few moments, all was quiet once more. Twilight tried to listen with magic to what was going on outside, but the enchantments on the bunker prevented her from doing so. Frustrated, she tried another iteration of the spell, hoping that she could find one that could pass through the enchantments. Again, and again, and again she tried, quickly exhausting every version of the listening spell she knew, until finally success found her. She could hear everything through Princess Celestia's ears.

"I've got ears," Twilight said to the group. "I'll see if I can't get eyes."

"What's going on now?" Rarity asked, poking her head out from the kitchen.

"Celestia's trying to break the language barrier," Twilight answered, casting a new spell that was similar to the one she'd just used. "She's trying enchantments."

"Let us know when she suc–"

"She's got it," Twilight reported. "She's asking their purpose."

The others sat still as statues listening intently to Twilight's reporting. It was all they had to judge on, and they wanted to know as much about the situation outside before they did anything.

Up above, Celestia remained outwardly calm, though she sensed something very wrong with the entirety of the situation. There were sentient aliens in a spacecraft on the castle grounds, holding what she could only assume to be weapons, in armor-plated suits. They spoke a rough and guttural language, and walked in clumsy stomps. They acted like an organized and highly skilled military force, which made every gesture that much more important to be wary of. Her guards, at best, could take down a few of them with magic if they weren't killed instantly by the aliens' weaponry. She herself could hold her own in a fight, and Luna could perhaps repel them, as she tended to be far more of a fighter than herself.

"I Aventus Da'axus. We explorers," one said. The owner of the jagged voice stepped forwards, establishing himself as the leader of the group. His helmet had a bright red plume on the top that swept from the forehead to the back of its head. On his pauldrons were similarly decorated with colorful plumes, made with the hair of some creature and dyed. From the back of his armor stuck out two flat sheets of metal that looked almost like wings. Whether these were functional or merely aesthetic, the princess could not guess.

"Welcome to Equis. I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister, Princess Luna," she said, introducing herself and her sister to the bulky aliens.

------

Shirska had run out of ammo for his hand cannons, and was now relying on his auto rifle, which had far less power than he liked, but was still a versatile enough tool of warfare for him to justify using. To his dismay, the weapon was not nearly powerful enough to reasonably handle the Cabal. The small battalion of heavily armored aliens had become progressively more aggressive, and now there were some with more advanced weapons systems. With the heightened difficulty of both killing and evading the enemy, Shirska was beginning to grow tired, and more of his ether supply was being consumed.

These factors compiled enough for Shirska to take a hit. A slug rifle shot from a Phalanx hit him in his left leg, knocking him down off the block. Groaning in pain, he picked himself up and switched to his rocket launcher, which he only had another two rockets for. He didn't want to have to use it, but with too many of the Cabal around with such thick armor, he had no real choice but to use the overkill weapon. As soon as he aimed the heavy weapon, he fired and then ducked behind the stone again to avoid getting shot again. The rocket sailed past the Phalanx and exploded just a meter behind it, sending the poor Cabal flying and losing its grip on its shield. When it slammed into the rock, it did so head first into the corner of the block, puncturing its helmet and depressurizing the suit. Knowing he'd need to quickly fire the heavy weapon again, he reloaded it before switching back to his auto rifle. When he poked his head back up, he counted his remaining enemies.

"Three of them, eh?" he grunted as he began feeling the pain in his leg from where he'd been hit. "I have plan."

------

Inside the palace, the princesses had spoken to the strangers about various topics, such as the political and military workings of their respective worlds. As it turned out, they were a military force sent by their home world to explore space, as Aventus had reported. When asked why they sent a full battalion of military infantry, the strangers' leader could only reply that he was not aware of why. He offered his own conjecture that it was for organizational purposes; the military was trained in battalions, and reached incredible levels of friendship and camaraderie with others in their battalion. It would make sense to keep the groups together for such reasons, as they found that units that worked in harmony with each other often survived battles that were stacked against them from the start.

As Twilight and the other Element Bearers waited in the bunker below, with Twilight reporting the action above much like a sports commentator, they felt their anxieties grow. As much as Aventus was acting friendly, all of them had a sneaking suspicion that he was not simply an adventurer sent from his home. Applejack eventually voiced her concern that the stranger was indeed lying, and that she could hear too much ease in his voice when speaking of his home, as though he had a script or had practiced what to say. In her experience, she had only found such a trait in malevolent liars, lawyers, and businessponies.

When the first shot was fired, Twilight screamed, fearing that her mentor had been the first victim. The others, confused and afraid, panicked, rushing to calm Twilight as she broke down into a crying mess. Fluttershy was arguably the most panicked out of all of them; her closest friend suddenly collapsing in unfathomable anguish making her extremely sensitive sense of empathy emulate what the unicorn was feeling.

When she finally was able to get Twilight calm enough to talk, Fluttershy and the others looked to her once more as their leader. Twilight had always known what to do and how to do it, and had earned the loyalty of her friends through trials by fire. Nightmare Moon was her debut as the leader of the Element Bearers, and ever since then, they had trusted her quick wit and careful judgement.

"This may be our last act of defiance in the defense of Equestria. From what I can gather, we are outmatched in armor, strength, and weaponry. If you choose to follow me this time, I can't promise everything will be okay," Twilight started, still sniffling and wiping away her tears. "We will be going up against a trained military force far stronger and more advanced than even that of the Griffon Kingdom. The probability of our success is near non-existent."

"I think I can speak for all of us when I say we're with you one-hundred percent," Applejack said, the others nodding in agreement.

"This is my plan. We'll head back up the way we came, and pray the enemy isn't there. If they are, I've got enough magic right now to teleport us to Celestia's chambers. It's only slightly closer, so I'd like to avoid having to do that. If they aren't we'll head through the east-west corridors in hopes that we can make it to the Vault without running into the enemy," Twilight plotted.

"So basically, don't get seen," Rainbow summarized.

"I think I may be able to help with that," Rarity chimed. "I know a spell that can make things invisible for a short time. I use it when ponies walk in on me designing a new fashion line."

"Perfect. We can use that when we get closer to the Vault," Twilight said. She stepped over to the door, and her friends followed close behind, all of them determined to make it to the Vault. "We're walking straight into the apocalypse."

"We did the same with Discord, and he did not prove insurmountable," Rarity countered quickly. "This is what we do."

"And just in case I don't get to say it later... You girls have been the best thing to ever happen to me," Twilight sniffled, smiling back at the five ponies who'd changed her life for the better. "You've taught me about the most amazing form of magic I've ever been blessed enough to study, and you all mean so–"

"Twilight, we'll make it. This isn't the time for goodbyes," Fluttershy interrupted softly, placing her wing over her unicorn friend. "Let's go."

Twilight pulled open the door and poked her head out to make sure that the enemy hadn't made their way down into the tunnels below the palace. As Twilight cast her light spell, a rumble from above made a little bit of dust fall from the ceiling. Seeing no movement beyond that of the falling stream of dust, she stepped out into the hallway, her friends following closely. They made it up to the main hallways with no incident, though the sounds of fighting and screaming ponies became louder as they approached the hidden door that led down to the tunnels. Twilight opened the door and looked outside and gave the all clear.

Together, they snuck through the castle halls completely unnoticed. Military ponies armed with enchanted spears and the rare few with muskets passed them by, but never noticed them, too busy trying to intercept the enemies and protect the castle and the princesses. But eventually, the six had to enter the throne room to get to the Vault, and when they got close enough, they started to see the enemy. They were massive creatures, about the size of a grown bear, and wore thick metal armor. They walked on two legs and carried strange metal contraptions that belched something from them, which they quickly discovered were a highly effective weapons system that Equestria had no chance of competing with.

Twilight turned to Rarity, "Can you do that spell?"

"I'll try," she responded quietly, powering up her horn. Each of them noticed a pale blue aura begin to surround them, a mild chill accompanying it. If put into words, they would describe Rarity's magic as a sort of void, a blank canvas for her to work with and will things into it. It took a few moments, but the six noticed their bodies begin to turn transparent. Rarity then released the spell, and smiled to herself. "We have about five minutes."

"Keep in close contact. We can't afford to lose each other," Twilight said, flicking her tail and hitting Fluttershy. "Keep your tails swinging. Stay where you can feel someone hitting you with it."

------

Shirska had taken down the three remaining Cabal Legionaries, but hadn't anticipated a second dropship of the heavily armored enemies. He'd made it through an entire battalion of Cabal, though just barely. Now, Shirska was down to three magazines of his thirty-shot auto rifle, a single rocket in his rocket launcher, and only a third of his tank of ether. Aside from that, he had no more usable weapons. However, he had a plan. He'd seen fusion rifles in use, and planned to test Pinkie's against the Cabal in hopes that it could pierce their armor where even his hand cannons failed. If not, then he planned to borrow Applejack's shotgun and machine gun, and just keep running through the weapons of the ponies until there was no other way to fight than with his bare fists.

Shirska took cover behind the stone as the ship dropped off the new combatants, praying that the Harvester's gun wouldn't see him. It was only when it flew off that he dared check what he was fighting. On the other side of the clearing were six Phalanx and a Colossus, with a Centurion and four Psions for added measure. He cursed under his breath and traded his machine gun with Applejack's and his hand cannons with Pinkie's fusion rifle. "I've done this once..." he huffed, feeling the exhaustion of heavy exertion and low ether beginning to set in. "I can do this again."

As the Colossus sped up the barrels of its slug thrower, Shirska pulled up the fusion rifle and held the trigger, feeling its induction coils energizing inside the weapon. When it finally fired, the seven needles of arc energy blasted forth from the barrel of the weapon and punctured the chestplate of the colossus. But the beast still stood, its armor somehow intact even after being pierced by the weapon's fire. It simply turned its gaze upon him with great disdain and brought its slug thrower to bear on him. "FIGHT ME YOU FAT, DISHONORABLE DREG!"

As the first shots from the Colossus' weapon left the barrels, Shirska charged another fusion rifle shot and started moving.

"FIGHT ME!"

Death and All His Friends

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Twilight and her friends moved forwards, out from behind the corner and into the throne room where the most fighting had broken out. Although, the term "fighting" was a bit of a stretch. "Slaughter" was much more proper. The aliens were killing ponies left and right, their weapons too quick, to ranged to do anything about. An archer pulled back an arrow on his enchanted bow, hoping that the magic would be enough to do any sort of damage to the armored creatures. The archer was lucky, and managed to take down one of the aliens with a shot to its head. Unfortunately for him, that kill was noticed by another alien, who proceeded to kill the archer for his transgression.

The six kept moving, trying their best not to freeze in place from the shock of what was happening all around them. Between them and the Vault at the back of the throne room was one hundred meters of slaughter at the hands of an enemy they had almost no chance of besting. At the center of it all, Luna and Celestia could be seen working together to best the alien they could only assume to be the leader of the starbound strangers, Aventus Da'axus. The six slipped between ponies on the outskirts of the fighting, trying to not get hit by whatever it was the aliens' weaponry was using. On multiple occasions, the projectiles nearly hit one of them, but a quick duck or redirecting spell saved them from harm.

It took a few minutes to pass through the room unnoticed, but they made it to the Vault unscathed. Twilight powered up her magic to use the spell necessary to open the massive door that protected the Elements. But a sudden scream forced her attention away from the Vault.

"Rarity!" Rainbow called out, seeing blood dripping from the unicorn's side. The invisibility spell had worn off, and one of the aliens had noticed. "You're going to be okay! Twilight, open the Vault!"

Twilight returned her attention to the Vault once again while the others tended to their wounded friend. Pinkie, being Pinkie, pulled her Party Cannon from nowhere and began returning fire to the enemy that had dared hurt her friend. Each shot of confetti and party supplies slammed into the thing's armor until one shot included fireworks. The explosion from the fireworks decimated the alien's suit, and the rapid depressurization sent its chestplate flying into one of its comrades. On a rampage Pinkie went, firing her Party Cannon until the fireworks could dispatch the enemy, managing to take down three of the enemies before she herself took a hit. She grunted in pain as the shot slammed into her ribs, but didn't stop firing the cannon. She managed to take down a fourth enemy before her cannon ran out of instant parties.

Twilight managed to open the door, and hovered out the necklaces the Elements bound themselves to, placing each one on its respective bearer. But before she could get the Element of Laughter on Pinkie, she took another hit. The pink party pony gasped and hit the ground, feeling something hot in her chest. She looked down at where she'd been shot and gasped again as she realized there was no way she'd be walking away from this one. She coughed, blood spattering the marble floor, starting to feel dizzy and sick. Around her, she could sense her friends' panic, and the sudden placement of her Element on her neck. "Fuck..."

When Pinkie's head hit the ground, Applejack felt nothing but pure rage and hatred for these strangers from the heavens. They had come down from the sky and lied about being peaceful adventurers. They had come down like hellfire and attacked their home without provocation. They had killed one of her best friends and gravely wounded another. All they had done was attack her home and her friends, and those sins were unforgivable to her. She sprinted out into the fight without thinking to the nearest enemy. She turned on her forelegs just in front of the giant creature, and slammed her hind legs into its chest as hard as she could. Regret instantly hit her as she felt her legs shatter. Pain instantly shot up her spine and made her scream. But at the same time, she noticed that she had managed to cave in the chestplate of the enemy she'd kicked, and even knocked its dead body into the alien that the princesses were fighting. For her transgression, Applejack was shot by Aventus in the neck.

Rainbow Dash suddenly felt herself become just as enraged as Applejack had been. Here she was, standing in the middle of a war, two of her best friends dead and another wounded and bleeding out. Deep within her chest she could feel something that had been reported to happen in the most powerful of pegasi: active magic. She could feel it like a cloud, something shapeable. Something she could manipulate and control. She spread her wings and concentrated on that feeling, and when she opened her eyes she had made a dark thundercloud. As soon as she grabbed it, she could feel the magic in it. With a great flap of her wings, she took to the air with the cloud and began an assault on the enemy. She stopped above each one with the cloud and kicked it with her hind legs, striking the alien below with lightning and frying them alive. A lucky shot from one of them hit her in the wing and forced her to the ground, but she continued her assault, still running around amidst the chaos and fighting and killing all of the beasts she could.

But her assault soon came to a close. Her thundercloud ran out of lightning, and as soon as that happened, a hailstorm of enemy fire introduced her to Death and all his friends.

Rarity felt her life slowly fading. She had been bleeding from her injury for a few minutes, and even though she was laying down and holding a hoof to the wound in hopes of slowing the bleeding, she knew that she was going to die here today. She picked herself up from the floor, Twilight protesting as she tried to sift through her memory for a healing spell. But Rarity refused to lay back down. She had to make her mark while she still could. She concentrated all of her magic into her horn, feeling every other part of her go numb and fall limp. Her body floated up into the air, more enemy fire piercing her body and bloodying the ground below her. When she could feel her horn at full power, she released the magic in the purest form she could: a ball of pure energy flying straight into the middle of the battlefield. The magic fell on a group of aliens, and exploded upon contact with the ground, sending all of them flying until they fizzled out of existence, the magic erasing them from reality.

Rarity's body fell to the ground, riddled with holes and lifeless, her pure white coat stained with blood.

It was at that point that Twilight screamed bloody murder, time itself seeming to stop around her. Her eyes glazed over for a moment before they became overwhelmed with a magic more powerful than any that could be consciously wielded by the princesses. Awoken, Celestia called such a state. Some unicorns, when they sensed an immediate danger, could slip into the Awoken state and wield enough power to cripple armies. Twilight was one of those unicorns who could slip into that state. That was why she was accepted to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. It wasn't just about hatching Spike's egg. It was that she had Awoken to do so.

Now Awoken, Twilight turned her greatest weapon against those who had killed her friends. Blasts of pure magic shot from her horn at enemies, penetrating their armor as though it were paper, searing holes through the creatures inside. One by one she decimated any who dared try to attack her or Fluttershy, every shot fired at either of the two remaining Element Bearers disintegrating upon being fired. However, Twilight couldn't keep her assault going forever, and another wave of the enemy slipped into the throne room. Eventually, Twilight fell against a wall, and laid down, her body numb from lack of magic. She looked up to see Celestia and Luna still fighting, trying desperately to kill the alien leader, but no closer to success than they were when the six arrived on the scene.

Fluttershy laid down next to Twilight, her body dripping with blood and riddled with holes and arguably in worse condition than Rarity's. She plopped down with a sickeningly wet slap, and rested her head on Twilight's body, her breath raspy as though she had a punctured lung. While everyone else had gone out in their blaze of glory, Fluttershy had protected every single one of them from the shots that would have killed them. When Pinkie was firing her cannon, she had taken a shot that would have hit the party pony's head. When Applejack charged the enemy, she took a shot that would have paralyzed her from the shoulders down. When Rainbow had summoned the clouds, she took two shots that would have pierced her heart. When Rarity used her magic, she took a shot that would have shattered her horn. And when Twilight had Awoken, she took seven shots that would have killed her. As she felt the life slowly leaving her, Fluttershy tried to whisper something to Twilight. Twilight just hushed her, saying she already knew, and told the pegasus to rest on her.

------

Shirska growled savagely as he ripped the helmet off of the Cabal Colossus with his bare hands and threw it at a Psion, hitting it in the head and knocking it to the ground. He pulled the trigger on the fusion rifle again and watched a Phalanx die as the shots pierced its shield. Noticing that the weapon was now out of munitions, he tossed it back to Pinkie's still unconscious form, pulling out Applejack's machine gun and letting loose on the remaining Legionaries and Psions.

"WARNING! LOW ETHER! RETURN TO TOWER FOR NEW RATION!" a voice in Shirska's helmet said, a small red exclamation point appearing on his heads-up display next to his motion sensor.

"Can't now!" Shirska yelled at the voice. "Have to save friends!"

"AT CURRENT USAGE RATE, YOUR ETHER WILL BE DEPLETED IN FIVE MINUTES!" the voice blared, a small timer appearing in the bottom left corner of his HUD.

"I WILL STAY AND FIGHT!" he screamed, tossing the now empty machine gun back to Applejack's still downed body, and pulling out her shotgun.

A shot rang out, then two more. The three remaining enemies disintegrated into ashes as Pinkie's Golden Gun burned them down. As the weapon of Light dissipated, the others picked themselves up off the ground. Pinkie looked at Shirska and ordered, "Go. I've got them."

Shirska hesitated a moment, then nodded and hopped into his ship. Within seconds he was gone, leaving the six on the ground with most of their weaponry low or out of ammo.

As the six ponies looked around, it dawned on them that Shirska had fought off dozens of Cabal on his own to keep them all safe while they were out. Applejack felt a twinge of pride for her friend, and a sense of awe at his strength. But then, that feeling was replaced by confusion brought about by reliving her death. What had the Stranger needed them to see that for? What was their design imperative? Was there a clue hidden in that memory?

"Ghosts, I think it's time we talked about why you lied to us," Twilight growled. She sat down on the ground with her legs crossed.

"We had to," her Ghost replied. "We told you that."

"That's not good enough. We want to know the truth. Why did you lie to us? We were dead. We were killed by the Cabal, and we would have agreed even if you had told us that we were dead," Twilight ranted, her voice growing more and more unstable. "Why did you lie to us?"

"We were told to."

"By whom?" Rarity asked. "Who would tell you, beings of Light, to commit an act of Darkness such as lying?"

"The Nine," G-Evs answered.

"Who are the Nine?" Rainbow asked.

"We don't know," her Ghost replied. "Rumor has it they were the nine Warminds built by humanity in the Golden Age, but even that is just speculation. We know they exist, but we don't know what they are or why they are doing what they do."

"So essentially they are invisible puppet masters," Rarity huffed.

"Twilight," Pinkie said in a serious tone. "I think we should head back to the Tower."

------

Back in the Tower, the six found Shirska sitting on a bench next to the stairs leading down to the Vanguard offices. Upon seeing them, the Fallen stood and stepped over to the ponies. Wordlessly, he wrapped all four of his arms around Applejack, saying something in his native tongue, almost too softly to hear. All around them, Guardians looked on, some looking puzzled, others disdainful. Applejack couldn't truly blame them. The Fallen, as they understood them, were all enemies, often described as pirates with no sense of honor or duty. They had only ever seen them in combat, as enemies trying to kill them and their people. So to see one showing affection must have been quite troubling to their minds and their definitions of what the Fallen were. There was no doubt in Applejack's mind that this was their first time seeing a Fallen show anything other than disdain or fury or hatred towards anyone, especially a Guardian.

"I am glad you are safe," the Captain said as he pulled the other five into the hug with his massive arms.

"We're glad you're safe too," Applejack said. "Thanks for protecting us back there."

"You protect friends," he replied, "I protect friends. Is what friends for, yes?"

Applejack smiled and nodded. When Shirska let go, the seven headed down to the Vanguard office, where Arcite 99-40 watched in his cold metallic gaze. If Applejack were to hazard a guess, she would say that the Frame was glaring at Shirska. But that was of little concern.

"Hey look, the Six are back. How's the Stranger? Did you get their name? Are they a man or woman? Both? Neither?" Cayde-6 asked, skipping the greeting and going straight for business.

"Cayde, your mouth is running off again," Ikora Rey hissed at the Exo. "Let them give us the details when they've had a moment to breathe."

"I was just—"

A glance from the Warlock silenced the excitable Hunter.

"Our world was attacked by a contingency of Cabal in green colors," Twilight said, messing with the holo-table and pulling up an image of the Cabal they'd faced on their home from J-Ami's memory. "We found more Cabal with those same colors just hours ago on Venus below the Vex Gates." As she pulled up an image of the Cabal that Shirska had killed on Venus, the three Vanguard leaders watched her with undivided attention. "From what my Ghost knows about the Cabal, they come in four primary legions, marked by different colors: The Sand Eaters, Dust Giants, Siege Dancers, and Blind Legion. But none of them have this armor coloration, and none of them are on Venus."

"We've got a huge problem if the Cabal are on Venus as well," Zavala muttered under his breath.

"This legion has taken our home. But I didn't see their leadership on Venus. If I'm correct, then the contingency we found on Venus was there to report that we were the ones who made it off Equis, and not some other ponies," Twilight continued.

"But why you? What's so special about you that they sent a contingency just to check if you stole their Harvester?" Cayde-6 asked.

"We are the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. On our home planet and in our home country, we were the six ponies capable of wielding the most powerful magical artifacts known to our planet: the Elements of Harmony. Legends say they can restore thousands of years of damage to a planet and any life inhabiting it," the unicorn answered. "I have a suspicion that the Cabal are fleeing from something. They have an enemy and they came to our home just to kill us so that our Ghosts could find us and make us Guardians."

"That's quite a theor—"

"I'm not done yet," Twilight growled at the Titan representative. "They also came to your system in hopes that they could acquire the aid of a Warmind."

"Why not go for one further away from humanity? Avoid the conflict, save lives?" Ikora Rey asked.

"They wanted to get close to humanity because they would need a human to gain the Warmind's trust. Humans built the Warminds. If they went to sleep and awoke to find humanity was extinct, why would they help any old stranger?" Twilight theorized. "If the Cabal are here for your Warminds and wanted us to be Guardians, then whatever's chasing the Cabal is closing in on us, and time is of the essence. We need to go back to Equis and find the Elements of Harmony. We'll need them if we're going to help you stop the Darkness."

"You said you needed to be level fourteen to stand a chance back home?" Cayde-6 asked. "Congrats. You're all level sixteen now. Arm up, get some rest. Your next mission is to find your Elements of Harmony, and I expect you to be at your most prepared to take on that task. Shirska will go with you."

As the seven turned to leave, Ikora Rey spoke, "Twilight? May I have a word with you?"

Twilight signaled the others to go on and rest, and stayed behind. She walked with the other Warlock to a private room that reminded her of her library at home. Books of all kinds lined the shelves, some in languages she couldn't discern. A dark wooden desk sat with one side against a wall, behind which was a tall bookshelf that had books sitting on top of it because there was no more room for them on the shelves. As Ikora sat down, she gestured for Twilight to do the same.

"I can sense that you're still reluctant to be a Guardian," Ikora said to the unicorn, catching her off guard. "Most Guardians do have to go through the grieving process to really come to terms with it, but for them it is much smoother."

"Did their Ghosts lie to them to get them to agree to become Guardians?" Twilight asked rhetorically, already knowing the answer.

"Your Ghost must have had a good reason to justify it. And your reluctance to be a Guardian shows that perhaps it was necessary," Ikora replied. "Have you asked your Ghost why it lied?"

Twilight sighed and shook her head, "Yeah, and it only said that it had to because someone told them to."

"Did it tell you who?" she asked.

"They called them, 'the Nine'," the unicorn answered.

The veteran Warlock froze up and stared at Twilight like she'd seen a phantom. "Thank you for your time. Go rest. You will need the energy."

------

Back in the ponies' room, Applejack and Rarity had since gone to sleep, both of them exhausted beyond belief. When Twilight returned, Rainbow and Pinkie gave her a hug and then went to their room to sleep as well. Now alone with Fluttershy, Twilight could feel that something was weighing on the pegasus' mind. Her eyes were constantly looking down, and she wasn't smiling. Her frown was enough to make Twilight worried, and when she saw the first tear roll down her cheek, Twilight felt her heart break. "Come here, Shy," she murmured, wrapping her arms around the pegasus and holding her close. She walked with her to their shared room and closed the door, keeping the light off, the sunlight from outside still enough to make a dim glow in the room. "It's okay. We're okay."

"Twilight," Fluttershy murmured between sniffles.

"Yes, Shy?" she asked.

"What I saw today... I-it... um... it got me thinking..." she started, fighting an uphill battle against sobs and sniffles and the lump in her throat. "I never got to tell you something before we..."

"Would you like to tell me now?" Twilight looked at Fluttershy, seeing how nervous she was beyond her normal social anxiety. There was something significant on her mind, something that could easily change the dynamics between them, and Twilight wanted to know what it was.

Fluttershy clamped her eyes shut and inhaled sharply before lunging at Twilight and pressing her lips against the unicorn's. At first Twilight's eyes widened in shock, but after a second, she closed her eyes and started kissing back. When Fluttershy pulled away, she softly apologized for her bold actions, but was silenced by Twilight. The unicorn smiled at her and said, "I want to hear you say it."

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," Twilight mumbled as she wrapped her arms around the pegasus and kissed her again.

After a few minutes of kissing, the two finally shed their armor and took their showers, washing away the sweat and blood of the day's battles. Both of them thought to themselves about the other, and how they had failed to realize each other's feelings until after they'd died. They both berated themselves, blamed themselves, for being unable to express their feelings for each other. Had she been in a relationship with Fluttershy at the time, Twilight wouldn't have dared leave that bunker and put Fluttershy in danger like she did, and then perhaps they would all still be alive. Truly alive, not this strange un-death they were experiencing now. They could have still been ponies, living in Ponyville, the Cabal forced off Equis and the damage done by their arrival reversed. Hell, they could have gotten married, adopted foals and raised them. They could have had, no, made a life together. But both of them had been to shy, too afraid to act upon their feelings. They had wasted their lives.

When Fluttershy got out of the bathroom after her shower, she climbed into bed with Twilight and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm sorry I was too scared to tell you when we were alive..."

"We both were too scared. It's okay," Twilight murmured to the pegasus. "We can make the most of what we have now."

"But what if we die again?" Fluttershy shivered and cuddled up closer to Twilight.

Twilight kissed Fluttershy's forehead, "Then at least we had the courage to tell each other in our second lives."

Tell the World I'm Coming Home

View Online

"Speaker?" Cayde-6 said, breaking the silence in the Speaker's observatory.

"Yes, Hunter?" the masked man turned to face the Guardian.

"I know you've heard by now of the Fallen that has joined our cause," the Exo said. "To be blunt, I was wondering if we could apply the research team into developing a device to synthesize ether for him."

"We have such a device," the Speaker replied. "Do you mean one that he could carry?"

"Yes. He will be departing with the Six tomorrow to their homeworld," Cayde-6 began. "He can only carry so many tanks with him, and if he runs out, the mission may not be a success. He nearly ran out of his day's ration today in half the time we expected."

"I don't think we have one, but I know who does," the Speaker said, turning and looking out upon the City. "Servitors have such devices inside them. If you can destroy it without damaging the device, we may be able to salvage it."

"I know just how to do that," the Hunter smirked to himself. He turned and left the observatory, telling a random Guardian to alert Zavala to his impromptu mission.

------

Twilight awoke that morning to find herself the best rested she'd ever felt. She personally thanked Fluttershy for that, as the pegasus in question had refused to let go of her the whole night. The extra warmth from cuddling and the feeling of being close to the pony she loved made her more comfortable than the softest mattress ever could. She dared not move, Fluttershy's need for rest coming well before her desire to get up and start preparing for the trip home.

In the next room, Applejack and Rarity had already gotten up, and were talking softly to each other about their fears as they helped each other don their armor. "I just want to let my family rest proper..." Applejack sighed as she slipped her boots on. "I just hope I can find them."

"We'll find them, Applejack. I'll help you scour Equestria for them if need be." Rarity put her hand on Applejack's shoulder and offered a warm smile. She wished she could give her friend a more definitive comfort, or even true peace of mind or spirit. Her generous soul longed to give her that, but she knew that could not be done.

When she relived her death, she noticed something about how she and all her friends died. Pinkie's super power was summoning a hand cannon from nothingness. She died after running out of ammunition for her Party Cannon. She dared not delve too deep into speculation, but she had a feeling that their deaths were somehow connected to their super powers. And if her hypothesis about the order of their deaths was correct, then she was going to be next to discover her super power.

A tap on her shoulder dragged her back to reality. Applejack asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she replied. But she knew that to be a lie. Outside, she looked calm and determined, but inside, she was panicking. She knew in her own mind that she wasn't ready to see the full extent of the Cabal's campaign on her home. She wasn't ready to see all of that destruction and death. But she put on her cuirass and stepped out into the main room of their living quarters, where the rest of her friends were waiting, wearing a brave face so as not to poison the others with her own trepidations.

------

Some time later, the Six and Shirska had finished purchasing their necessary supplies, from food to ammunition, and were packing those supplies on their ships. Other Guardians watched them with a sense of curiosity. Never before had Guardians packed this much ammunition into their ships, let alone any amount of food. The furthest any Guardian had gone from the Tower was the Reef, and even then they were not there long enough to require food.

"Good to see you remembered to bring food. I never did have to worry about that, but I always packed enough for my team," Cayde-6's voice greeted the ponies.

"Where we're going, food won't be easy to come by," Twilight said as she stuffed another bag into her ship. "You seen Shirska? We can't leave without him."

"He'll be here soon. He's just putting on his new armor. I got him a new ether tank, one that can actively generate ether. That way he won't run out while he's with you," the Exo replied. "Listen, I know you guys are going to see your home in the worst possible state, and I know how that feels, but yo—"

"How would you know how that feels? You're a machine, telling living beings how we'll feel as though you know first hand," Applejack snapped at the Hunter. "We lost everything. You still have your Traveler. You still have your Tower. How can you stand here and tell us you know what that's like?"

"Applejack!" Rarity gasped.

"Whoa, AJ, let's calm down," Rainbow said.

"You know what I smell on you?" the Exo asked the farm pony. "I smell the stink of anthrocentropism. I think that you think there's only one way to think. But in the end, that's just substrate chauvinism."

He stepped closer to Applejack, his cold metallic gaze burning holes in her. "It doesn't matter if the system thinks with flesh or a superconductor, as long as the logic is the same, and our logic is the same; yours and mine. If I am a machine then so are you. If you are not a machine then neither am I. We think the same, pony. I feel emotions just like you, and right now I'm feeling angry."

A loud snap echoed through the hangar, earning the attention of every Guardian there. "It takes magic to summon the Golden Gun, kid. Magic takes emotions, feelings, to wield. Your world is based around magic, yes? Then take this weapon and fire it." The Exo pointed the golden hand cannon at a wall and pulled the trigger once, then flipped it in his hands and offered the weapon to the Titan.

When the Golden Gun faded from existence, Cayde-6 cursed under his breath and walked away, the eyes of every Guardian in the hangar fixed upon him. After he had left the hangar, everyone returned to their business, quietly discussing Cayde's outburst amongst themselves. Applejack huffed and continued to pack the last box of munitions on her ship, her frustration clearly visible on her face.

"Hello friends," Shirska's voice greeted the ponies. The Fallen stepped up to his ship with a small cart of boxes for food and ammunition. He had repainted his new armor to be white, just like his last set, and this time, he had a cape that looked almost like the one he threw to the ground when he'd denounced his house. The white banners hanging from his shoulders were blank, no emblem embroidered into it, and no stains of any kind on it.

"Hey Shirska," Rainbow returned the greeting. "What's with the new banner?"

"I will tell you soon," he said, opening the cargo hatch on the belly of his ship and starting to pack his items into it. "This is not place for talking."

Thoroughly confused, Rainbow just sat down on a random crate, waiting for him to finish packing. Everyone else had finished, and once Shirska was ready, they would depart for their homeworld and take on the Cabal contingency there. With no real information on the leadership of that legion, aside from a name, they would have to search for clues as to the whereabouts of Aventus Da'axus. From there, they would need to find out if there was further leadership there that they either needed to speak to or kill. After that, they would find those leaders, if they existed, and question them for the whereabouts of the Elements of Harmony.

"I am ready," Shirska said to the group. "Shall we go?"

------

The ponies looked upon Canterlot again, seeing their greatest city as a field of rubble. Shirska looked around, his auto rifle in his hands, trying to imagine what had once stood there. He saw the occasional half-standing wall, or barely-standing tower, but his mind could not piece together what would have been there. What grandeur must this place have had before its collapse? How magnanimous was the civilization that built it? Up in the sky, he could feel a presence watching him from the moon and stars. All around him he could feel the sharp seed of terror that stained the very ground upon which he now stood, planted there by the invading force of the Cabal. Once upon a time, there must have been children playing in these streets, and Shirska felt his heart sink at that realization. Children had been slaughtered here...

"What is this place?" he asked softly, daring not disturb the souls and spirits resting here.

"This was Canterlot, the capitol city of Equestria," Twilight answered just as quietly. "I was born and raised here... This was my home."

Shirska bowed his head and placed his left hand over the right side of his chest. As Twilight stepped forwards, she looked up at something that was no longer there. "There used to be a tree planted here, and every day I'd come here after my studies and I'd read until the sun went down. It was my favorite tree..."

Fluttershy stepped forward.

"My house was just a block that way," she murmured, pointing off to her right. She then pointed forwards. "Canterlot Palace was just three blocks that way. These three places shaped almost everything about me. This was my home."

Fluttershy placed a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "Twilight..."

"They took everything from me. They killed us, they killed my teacher, they killed my friends, and everypony I loved!" Twilight raised her voice, falling to her knees and crying underneath her helmet. "My home..."

Though no one would admit it, except Fluttershy, everyone cried at least a little bit. Here was their friend, on her knees crying over the collapse of her very concept of what "home" was. Here was their friend, their leader, reduced to tears and anguish. All of them felt it: thousands of souls crying together, some living, most not. Up above, clouds obscured their view of the heavens. A raindrop fell down to the ground, then more. The collective tears of millions of lost souls all coming down to greet the seven who would finally avenge them. A crack of thunder rolled lazily from somewhere, far off, but near enough to feel the sound.

Twilight stood. With a deep breath, she forced herself to regain her composure, setting her need to grieve on the back burner to be tended to later. "Let's give them hell."

They walked through the rain, barely acknowledging its existence. The only purpose it served them now was to make it harder for the enemy to hear them coming, and turn the ground into a muddy mess. Twilight put up her hand and signaled the others to stay there. She then snuck up to a barely standing tower that had collapsed about halfway up and was now, for the most part, stable. Up on the balcony, Twilight looked through the scope of her sniper down to a small Cabal outpost at the base of the mountain. Their gigantic iron walls looked to be impenetrable, but the guards in the towers one every corner of the base looked to be weary. Twilight smirked, and laid out her bullets on the balcony floor, as though counting the weeks she'd been waiting to exact her vengeance. She held her breath, and when the lightning struck and the thunder hit her ears, she pulled the trigger with a Legionary's helm in her crosshairs. She pulled back the action and waited for another strike of thunder.

She repeated the process a total of four times, and then hopped down from the balcony. "Grab your Sparrows. We're hitting that base. They'll notice their guards in a few moments. Rainbow, take a sniper spot up in the clouds."

Without question, they all summoned their Sparrows and rocketed down the mountain, skipping the overgrown road and it's curves and instead opting for a direct path. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, took to the sky and grabbed a chunk of the rainclouds above and situated it at such a position that would minimize her chances of being see while keeping her field of view in tact. When they reached the Cabal warbase, they hopped off the nimble machines and waited to see if any other guards were around. When Twilight signaled that they were all clear, they dashed into the compound.

"That door over there, there's a terminal I can access behind it," J-Ami informed her Guardian over the team's communications line. "Get me close and I'll see what I can pull up on this Aventus Da'axus guy."

Twilight looked around, and then made the short sprint across the courtyard to the door her Ghost had marked on her helmet's HUD, the others following her closely and keeping watch in the other directions. The door opened on its own, revealing an empty hall with a hole in the wall that had a computer terminal in it. Taking a good look down the hall to make sure there were no Cabal watching them, they ducked into the intent in the hall, where they waited while J-Ami got to work searching through their computer network.

"Got it. Apparently there's a main base set up about forty miles south of here. The most current information on Aventus' whereabouts point toward that base," the Ghost reported.

"Ponyville..." Fluttershy whispered in shock.

"How current is that intel?" Twilight asked.

"Last updated two of this planet's days ago," her Ghost said. "There's also a big base about four hundred miles north of here that he seems to visit often."

"Let's check the Ponyville one first. If we must, we can try to bait him to come back here," Rarity suggested.

"Wonderful idea. Let's get moving," Twilight agreed. "Dash. Fly to Ponyville. Wait in the clouds for us."

"Gotcha," the pegasus replied.

The five ponies and their Fallen companion swiftly exited the base and re-summoned their Sparrows, quickly hitting the thrusters. Holliday had been generous with them and loaned them her fastest Sparrows for their mission home. At their maximum velocity, they could reach one hundred miles per hour, and had a near infinite travel range. The countryside passed quickly, the massive Cabal warbase growing larger with each passing second. When they were close enough, the Guardians and their companion hopped off their Sparrows and took cover behind a grassy knoll.

"Hey Dash. Give them some lightning," Twilight muttered over the comms.

"One thunderstorm scheduled for right now," the pegasus replied. Up in the sky, the Hunter grabbed a few melon-sized clouds and suspended them in the air in a line, much like Twilight had done with her sniper bullets. She grabbed the first one in her left hand and carefully aimed it at a Legionary on the guard tower. With a swift punch, the cloud shot a bolt of lightning at the creature, frying it in its armor and destroying all of its suits' electronics. The pegasus responsible smirked to herself and aimed a new cloud at another Cabal. Once the four guards on the towers were dead, she signaled to the others that it was all clear.

Repeating the process from the small outpost by Canterlot, the six on the ground entered the base through the front gate, which was left virtually undefended. "For a highly trained military force, these guys sure do lack basic defenses," Twilight mused.

"To be fair, they don't look like they're expecting anything to come attack them," Rarity pointed out.

A sharp but muffled yell hit the ears of the ponies, making them turn to face its owner. A lanky Psion pulled up its slug rifle just too slowly to defend himself from being fried by a shot of lightning from Rainbow Dash up in the clouds. Not a moment later, a loud metallic whine filled the night. "Fuck, they know we're here."

"Dash, keep using lightning. Keep them off the walls," Twilight ordered. "I'm going to head inside and see if this base's computers know where Da'axus is."

"I'm going with you," Fluttershy said, hefting her pulse rifle and stepping towards the unicorn.

"Alright," Twilight said. "Everyone else, hold the doors until we get back."

With that, Twilight and Fluttershy headed inside the Cabal base, guns blazing as they did so. Outside, the first wave of Legionaries flooded out of the wall itself, firing their slug rifles as they ran. Shirska, being used to showing instantaneous and overwhelming force at a moment's notice, began returning fire, aiming for their heads, knowing full-well that any other hits would be essentially useless. "Aim for head! Everywhere else armor too strong."

Rarity huffed in acknowledgement and began concentrating her scout rifle's fire on the Cabal's bright green helmets. For her, three shots was enough to pop the helmet out of place and force an explosive decompression. For Pinkie, one shot from her hand cannon was enough to yield the same result. Shirska roared at the enemy, and threw a grenade at one of them, the explosive sending a powerful bolt of arc energy chaining through several Cabal Legionaries and frying all of them to death. As a Legionary jumped with its boost pack, trying to get on the wall for a better firing position, he too was struck by lightning, which fried the limiter on the Cabal soldier's boost pack. The poor thing was sent rocketing out of control until it spiraled down and crashed into a Phalanx, knocking its shield a few meters away. With an opportunity presented to him, Shirska took down the shieldless Phalanx with a pair of bursts from his auto rifle.

Inside, Twilight and Fluttershy followed the directions of their Ghosts, turning through the wide metal halls of the Cabal warbase. Whenever a Cabal would accidentally walk into the hall, Twilight would pull its helmet off with her magic and keep running. Psions, however, were another matter, as they were too quick and agile to get caught by such a trick. Instead, she and Fluttershy would have to respond to them with immediate and overwhelming force. Soon enough they reached a room where computer terminals lined the walls, dozens of displays lighting up the space with their backlight.

"I'll get to work. Just buy us time," J-Ami said to the ponies.

A pair of Psions dashed into the room. Upon seeing the intruders, one backed up and lifted itself into the air by some magic Twilight had never seen before. Before she could raise her rifle, a surge of arc energy not unlike that which Applejack's super power created flew towards them. The ponies dodged to either side of the attack, and started firing as soon as they gained their balance. The Psion responsible for the attack fell to the ground dead, multiple holes in its armor now oozing blue blood. The other Psion had been smart, and hidden somewhere in the room while the ponies were distracted by its comrade.

"Where'd the other one go?" Twilight asked, looking around and watching her HUD's motion tracker in hopes that she could find the creature.

"Don't know, but we've got more incoming," Fluttershy answered.

The door to the room opened once again, allowing two Phalanx soldiers to step into the room. They moved forward together with their shields touching, approaching the two ponies. They held their fire, waiting for the Cabal soldiers to make a mistake and present an opportunity to them. A random shot from behind them knocked Fluttershy forwards, making her hit the ground just in front of one of the Phalanx. She yelped and then rolled out of the way of the creature's shield. She pulled a grenade from her belt and tossed it under the shields, hoping that the explosion would give them the opportunity to kill the two shield-bearers.

"Did you get the Psion?" Fluttershy asked as she picked herself up off the ground.

"Just missed it," Twilight huffed. Upon the grenade's explosion, one of the shield-bearers dropped its shield. With that opportunity, Twilight pulled out her sniper and fired a round from her hip. The bullet sheared through the Cabal helmet and dropped its now lifeless body to the ground. Switching to her auto rifle again, she hopped over a row of computers, scanning for the Psion that had so rudely shot her lover.

Fluttershy switched out her pulse rifle for her shotgun, and lunged into close quarters with the second Phalanx. She reached out with her left hand and grabbed the edge of the shield and yanked it as hard as she could. Her immense strength seemed almost alien to her. She was not expecting to throw the shield, just move it enough for her to pull up her shotgun and blast it in the chest. But she still brought up her shotgun and blasted the Cabal in the chest, the powerful shell enough to collapse the chestplate at point blank range.

She pumped another round into the chamber, then turned around to face the Psion that had tried to sneak up on her. "It is rude to shoot people!" she yelled, blasting it with her shotgun.

"Got it. Da'axus is in the northern base right now. If you want, I can trigger an SOS to get him down here," J-Ami informed the Guardians.

"You guys outside want to go find Da'axus, or bait him here?" Twilight asked over the comms line.

"Let's go kill the motherfucker in his own house," Applejack spat venomously.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Rainbow agreed.

"Alright. I'm disabling the distress beacon here," the Ghost said. "That way they can't trigger it and let the northern base know we're coming."

Twilight took Fluttershy's hand in her own and ran with her back the way they came. To their surprise, no Cabal entered the hallways in front of them. The only real obstacles they faced were the already dead corpses of the ones they'd killed on the way in. Silently, Twilight was praying to her deceased mentor, telling her that she'd kill the monster that killed her and her sister, and asking for Fluttershy's protection in return.

Burial Rites

View Online

The team of Guardians left the Cabal warbase on their Sparrows, thrusters at maximum and slug rifle ammunition hot on their tails. They didn't head north immediately, though. Applejack had kindly reminded them that she had some personal affairs to attend to while they were near Ponyville. After making sure that the Cabal were not following them, they turned back around and set a course around the warbase to Sweet Apple Acres, which was on the west side of Ponyville. As they approached, they noticed that the orchard was indeed still in place, the trees left to grow on their own and make a forest of apple trees. Rabbits and squirrels and various forms of wildlife seemed to have made their homes in the ancient apple grove, making burrows beneath their roots and nests in their branches. The wooden buckets that had once been there to catch the apples being bucked out of the trees had long since rotted away, leaving only the metal rings that held them together behind, rusting. Almost everything had been returned to nature, even the dirt path that led to the Apple family's house. But there was still enough open space on that path for the seven to walk side by side, and enough of a view to see what remained of Applejack's home.

The house was still standing, but only just so. Many of the main support beams were rotting and looked like they would shatter to splinters if so much as breathed on by Fluttershy. But Applejack stepped into the house, Rarity following closely behind her, knowing she would need help carrying any remains she found. Inside, she found the ancient bones of her little sister sitting by the stone hearth, directly underneath those of her elder brother. Not two meters away was Granny Smith's skeleton, her bones cracked all over, and an old shotgun next to her.

Rarity wordlessly lifted the skeletons from the floor with her magic. As the pair of ponies turned around to leave the old and crumbling house, Applejack noticed something in the kitchen she hadn't on the way in. She raised her rifle and stepped into the ancient kitchen, watching for any signs of movement. Satisfied that there were no intruders in her one-time home, she let her rifle lower, inspecting the state of the room. Of all of the rooms, this one was relatively untouched. There was no damage to the walls or flooring aside from age. The table still stood with the chairs tucked neatly under it, but that was where suspicion was raised. Upon that table was a glass jar filled to the brim with Zap Apple jam, and it did not look expired in the slightest. There was no dust on the jar, and the contents were still brightly colored as Rainbow Dash's mane.

There was a calling coming from the jar, a faint pull on Applejack's mind. In her gut she could feel something telling her to take the jar of jam with her, that she would need it later. It was an odd feeling, to say the least. It felt like an old friend that had at one point abandoned her had returned, and was now telling her that they were sorry. She stepped forwards and picked up the jar, and she could see the jar start to glow faintly, and hum with a soft voice. She quietly asked her Ghost to hold it for her, and turned around once it was no longer in her hand.

Outside, she found that all of her friends had shovels in hand, and Rainbow offered one to her. The digging tools' heads were rusted, but looked almost untouched by time. Applejack chalked it up to Twilight using magic to make the tools usable. Applejack nodded to the group, and led them away from the house to a small patch of land that had been marked by a pair of apple trees at the crest of a hill. She took off her helmet, and her Ghost took it from her hands. Though she would have liked to keep it on, she thought it disrespectful to not show her tears here. She asked her Ghost for her hat, and placed it on her head.

When the others followed her lead and removed their helmets, with the exception of Shirska, Applejack stabbed the dirt with her shovel. It felt harder to dig now than it did when she was just planting trees, but she understood why. This time there was pain involved. There was silence. There was death. She enjoyed digging and planting trees in the orchard, and she and her brother would have conversations about Applejack's various adventures with her friends. The work would pass hours away in what would only feel like a few minutes. But this time, every new chunk of dirt she moved felt heavier than her brother. Even though she was being helped by her friends, she wasn't just planting trees; she was digging graves.

When at last the holes were big enough, she climbed out of her hole and set down her shovel. She took off her hat and placed it over her heart, bowing her head as Rarity put her family into their graves. Once Rarity's magic faded, she plucked a trio of apples hanging on the two trees already on this hill. She stepped down into Big Mac's hole, and placed the first apple in his ribcage. She said a few words, and stepped out, eyes misty, but without tears. She stepped down into Granny Smith's hole, and placed the second apple in her ribcage. This was the pony who raised her, who taught her how to run the orchard, and helped her fix her mistakes. This was the closest thing she had to a mother her entire life, and now here she was. But she'd known for a while that she would have to bury her grandmother someday. She was, after all, a very old pony, and she'd been slowing down over time. Applejack said a few words, and climbed out of the hole, a few tears on her cheeks.

When she climbed down into Apple Bloom's hole, she was struck by a sadness more profound than she'd felt for the other two. This was her little sister, twelve years her junior. She had never even found her cutie mark, and she could still hear her sister's voice as she apologized for something or other she'd done while searching for it. She could still see that boundless smile in her mind's eye. But Applejack was most unprepared to bury her little sister. If anything, she had expected her little sister to bury her. She should have died before Apple Bloom. She was older, and got into far more life-threatening situations than most ponies in the military ever had up until the Cabal came.

Applejack placed the third apple in Apple Bloom's tiny ribcage and climbed out, sobbing. Her friends all gathered around her and gave her a warm group hug, but they could not really heal the wound in her heart. This was more profound than just burying family. This was a family tradition she had known existed for most of her life. She'd been there to watch her parents be buried this same way, but she was young and barely understood.

When Applejack had pulled herself together into some semblance of order, the seven of them began pouring dirt back into the holes. As dirt began to cover the bones of her lost family, Applejack began to feel a sort of peace wash over her. Now her family could truly rest. Now the tradition had been upheld. Now, she could move on. She could stop clinging to the past and focus her efforts on the present to forge a better future. She had no doubt in her mind that this wound would leave a scar in her mind that no amount of therapy could ever truly heal, but at least now, she could be at peace with that harsh truth.

Shirska asked, "Who were they?"

"They were my family," Applejack said to the Fallen. She pointed to the two sturdy apple trees already grown. "They were my parents, and the ponies we buried were my brother, my sister, and my granny."

Shirska tilted his head, slightly confused. "Why did they look so different from you?"

"The bodies we are in are not entirely our own. Our Ghosts changed us to be more like humans," Twilight answered on behalf of Applejack upon sensing that she was not okay enough to answer.

Shirska once again fell silent, thinking on this new information.

"I'm picking up something nearby. Just a bit east of here," Rarity's Ghost said, popping up over her shoulder. "Looks like... another Ghost? That can't be right..."

Twilight furrowed her brow. "I'll investigate the Ghost signal with Shirska and Applejack. The rest of you, I think we should take this time to search Ponyville for any personal affects. This might be the only real chance we get to do so."

"Should we pair up?" Rainbow asked.

"Yes. You and Fluttershy go together, Rarity and Pinkie, you two should pair up too," Twilight said. "That way all of our groups have someone with a super power."

------

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash arrived at Fluttershy's cottage, which had been left completely alone. Aside from the natural growth of the vegetation, her home didn't look any different than when she had left for Canterlot at the behest of the princesses. The tiny stream that ran underneath the path to the door still flowed from the direction of the Everfree. The little place looked like some sort of timeless safe haven, nestled away from harm. Fluttershy smiled softly upon seeing her home in such wonderful condition, proud of the protective magic she knew to be here.

The Titan opened the door to her ancient home, the door creaking softly for the first time in a very long time. Fluttershy kept her shotgun close to her chest, just in case. Inside, the little cottage had been looted of nearly everything one could deem practical. Her cabinets and cupboards had been opened and their contents taken. Some of her ceramic tea sets had fallen to the floor and shattered, leaving ancient shards on the old wood floors. However, an old mask that hung over her hearth had remained in place, untouched by anything, as though overlooked or protected by magic.

Something in Fluttershy told her to bring the mask with her. It wasn't her consciousness, and it wasn't her gut or intuition. She knew the feelings those gave her. But this was a yet unknown feeling, and she decided to question someone about it later. She approached the mask, and noticed the faintest flash of light emanate from the wooden object as she picked it up from the wall it hung on. Her Ghost eventually stored the object in the same manner Applejack's had stored her hat.

Fluttershy went upstairs, telling Rainbow to stay where she was. As she opened the door to her bedroom, a sudden wave of overwhelming calm washed over her. To clarify, this was not a pleasant calm, but an eerie one. She raised her shotgun, slowly peering into her old sanctuary. A sudden creak from the door made Fluttershy yelp and turn around, blasting the offending hinge with a shotgun shell. Rainbow sprinted up the stairs with her hand cannon raised, asking where the threat was. It was then that Fluttershy fell to her knees and dropped her weapon, curling up into a ball, trying desperately to calm her sudden panic attack.

Rainbow had at least some sort of understanding of what her friend was feeling, but at the same time, it didn't make sense to her how Fluttershy could essentially live with this feeling hanging by a frayed rope over her head ready to befall her at the drop of a hat, or in this case the creak of a door. She had felt panic attacks, particularly before flight competitions, so she understood that tip of the iceberg. However, she didn't have the general anxiety that her friend did, so she couldn't truly empathize with that. It didn't make sense in her mind that someone could just live in that state right before a panic attack set in. But understanding it didn't matter to her. Helping her friend through it did. She knelt next to Fluttershy and wrapped her arms around her.

------

Twilight and her group stepped up to the library that the unicorn had called home for the last few years of her life before it was cut so short. The leaves had long since fallen, and the normally vibrant brown color of the tree's trunk and branches was washed out, and sun-bleached to an ashy gray. Spiders and birds built nests in the ancient skeleton of the tree, the protection from predators and the havoc of the Cabal deemed worthwhile enough to justify having a home without protection from the elements. Once they reached the door, Twilight held up a signal for the others to stay outside.

She stepped into her home, the scent of old books and the earthy aroma of rotting wood still made it through her helmet's air filtration system. Dust and spores hung in the air, visible in the cold beams of gray sunlight. Shelf-like fungi clung to the walls, making it look as though the library had added several new bookshelves since the Cabal invasion. Several rows of books had been consumed by fungi and insects and other vermin, the information in them likely lost forever, as the Canterlot Archive had also been lost in the invasion. Twilight's heart sank at that thought. Was this what other Guardians felt when they were woken up by the Ghosts and told about the Golden Age and the Collapse in the Sol System? Did even a single Guardian feel this much despair over the loss of the collective knowledge of an entire civilization? She prayed she was not alone in this sentiment.

As she made her way upstairs, she had to use her magic to clear the stairwell of overgrown fungi. Once she opened the door to her room, she could sense a powerful ambient magic resonating in the room like the sound of a cello in a concert hall. She looked around, searching for the source of the magic. She knew she'd enchanted multiple items in her room, but she'd thought all of those enchantments would decay over time, not strengthen.

She took a brief moment to feel the magic, trying to discern what kind of magic it was. Beneath her armor, she could feel warmth, akin to the summer sun on her back as she read a book in the Palace Gardens. With a nostalgic sigh, she moved to her desk, which was somehow still standing with all of the books and assorted items on it seemingly untouched by time. She pulled out one of the drawers and felt the warmth intensify. Amongst the research papers and spare quill nibs was a single quill, made from a phoenix feather. She remembered it as the quill Celestia gave her on her first day as her personal student. The quill was enchanted by the princess to write without ink, and never burn away, even when the phoenix itself had done so.

Twilight picked up the quill and looked it over, and then tested it against one of the papers in the drawer. It still worked. Same as ever.

"I miss you, Princess..." she whispered under her breath. "I promise I'll avenge you..."

Something else caught her eye as she turned to leave. Over on her bed, which had somehow remained intact, a familiar looking white object lay motionless.

"What's a Ghost doing here?" she asked herself as she stepped towards it.

"How did I not detect that?" J-Ami mused.

She picked up the Ghost, and inspected the little machine. Its eye held no light, and no spark of life. There was no signs of trauma or external damage, its white shell pristine as the day it was made.

"I think it will have information we'll need," Twilight's Ghost said, dematerializing it to hold onto. "We'll take it to the Vanguard when we go back to the Tower."

------

When everyone met back up at the train station, which everyone had agreed upon by radio communications, they came with helmets on and an intangible air of righteous fury and desperate strength. They carried themselves with a new posture. They stood taller, prouder, like statues of goddesses. There was nothing that would survive their wrath. Shirska noticed this about them, and though he'd never admit it, he was vastly intimidated by this.

"Is everything squared away? We will have little time for sentiment once we go after Da'axus," Twilight said to her friends.

Everyone nodded. Rarity's Ghost spoke, "Did you find the Ghost?"

Twilight affirmed silently. She summoned her Sparrow, and mounted up, signaling for the others to do the same. "I've charted a course through the dragon migration grounds. It'll save us a few extra hours of travel. It's also possible that if Spike made it there, he could have survived the invasion."

"Any reason to believe he could have made it?" Rarity asked.

"No, but it's worth taking a look into," Twilight answered coldly.

------

A Psion sprinted down the hall frantically, screaming at others to move and let her pass. Legionaries hopped to the side lethargically, watching with vague interest as the Psion sprinted past. As she turned a corner, she squawked as a Centurion got in her way. She swiftly slid underneath the Centurion, then sprang to her feet and kept running. The more of her comrades she passed, the greater the sense of urgency became in the Cabal warbase.

As she came to a door, she tapped her foot impatiently as the bulkheads lazily moved to unseal the door. The moment it opened enough for her to fit through it, she leapt through and continued her path through the warbase.

"Aventus!" the Psion screamed as she approached the leader's office. "We have a problem!"

A massive figure, at least twice the size of most Cabal, turned to the Psion. "Report."

"The Light Ones are coming! Firebase Loma has taken a hit, by a group of seven," the Psion gasped.

"Seven? There were only supposed to be six," the leader huffed.

"It seems they brought an ally. It is not of their species, and it is most definitely not a species we have encountered before," the Psion recited.

"Do we have updates on their combat prowess?"

"We only have intel on their ally. Our team on YD-dash-Zero-Two was eliminated solely by their ally," the Psion reported. "The Light Ones did not participate in the fight."

"Raise the base to DEFCON Four. I want Centurions on the Towers. I want Phalanxes ready to deploy within a minute's notice. The Light Ones are already powerful. They have slain a good number of our original expedition force in the Battle of Landing."

"Aventus, if I may add some of my own speculation?" the Psion half-asked.

"Speak freely, Val," the Cabal leader said.

"I suspect that the Light Ones, or at least a few of them, are capable of using Light Magic, which has been reported by the Sand Eaters and Dust Giants on YD-dash-Zero-Four being used by other Light Warriors."

"This is most troubling. Combined with their races' natural magics, they could be much more powerful than we anticipated," Aventus said. "They are undoubtedly here for vengeance. They are just in their desire to destroy us, and they will destroy us. I have no doubts that they will succeed in that venture. However, we must ensure beyond any shred of doubt that they are ready to face our enemy. We must ensure they are strong enough. Our original plan is still in motion, and we must ensure its success. Everyone here knew what they signed up for."

"Shall I raise us to DEFCON Three?" Val asked.

"I think that would be appropriate. We are here to forge them, toughen their minds and hearts into armor that is stronger than Phalanx shields. The killing was just to motivation."

"Aventus. Valus Gra'auc is waiting for an update on our operation," another Psion said from the edge of the office, next to a door.

"Tell him we are now in Stage Three," the leader dismissed with a wave of his hand. Turning back to Val, he continued, "Contact Valus Trau'ug. Tell him—"

"Trau'ug and his forces have been denounced by High Command," the Psion said. "He disobeyed non-combat zone protocol, and has been captured by the denizens of the Wreckage Field."

"What of Ta'aurc?" he asked.

"Problem 78-F," she answered. "A significant portion of the leadership on YD-dash-Zero-Four has been eliminated. All of the leaders that owed you favors are gone, sir."

"I was hoping the Light Warriors would be unable to eliminate them until the Light Ones arrived. This is why I am not a Valus."

------

"So that's it?" Twilight asked as she lowered her sniper rifle. "That's their warbase? Seems a bit small."

"Cabal warbases tend to extend underground, sometimes for a few miles. What you see on the surface could be just the tip of a very large iceberg," her Ghost replied.

"They look ready for an invasion," Rainbow added, adjusting the zoom on her sniper's scope. "I think they know we're coming."

"What if they're not preparing for us?" Rarity asked. "You all saw the footprints. We have reason to believe the dragons are still alive. What if the dragons are planning a raid?"

"Possible, but I think unlikely," Shirska said. "You say dragons don't like cold. This place is just ice. Too cold for dragons to stay here."

"Oh no," Rainbow gasped, tapping Twilight while keeping her eye at the scope of her sniper.

Twilight turned and looked through her own sniper's scope. "Luna help us."

"What is it?" Fluttershy asked concernedly.

"Let me guess. They've got a tank down there," Pinkie said.

"Yup," Rainbow replied.

"And they're going to lock us in the courtyard with it," Pinkie continued.

"More than likely," Twilight affirmed.

"Bring it on."

Without further notice, Pinkie bounced down the mountain pass, summoning her Sparrow just as she landed, and blasting down the hill. The others sighed and brought out their own Sparrows, following Pinkie before she got too far ahead and got into trouble.

At the back of the group, Shirska watched, and silently planned in his head. He mentally cursed, remembering his promise to tell the Guardians about his plans. Under his breath, he muttered, "After this battle, I must tell them. They deserve to know."

"We just have to survive..."

Intermission: Shirska, Prince of Kings

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Shirska donned his helm as he had every day for the past four cycles on this new planet. He didn't know what the denizens were called, and he didn't know what they called this planet. He looked down at his shrapnel launcher, freshly forged for him by the Kell's top gunsmiths. It was a beautiful and brutal looking weapon, but he didn't enjoy using it. To him, it was a tool for self-defense and defense of his House's territory. He was much more interested in the people the Eliksni fought against. He'd been studying their technology with the help of his own Servitor, Orbiks-13. He'd found several relics in the territory that he'd been scouring, which the Kell had centralized around a cosmodrome, including small electronic devices with parts manufactured by glimmer, as well as some that didn't, which seemed older.

"Try charging this device now," he said to his Servitor, holding a device up to the spherical machine.

For a few moments, nothing seemed to be happening, but the sudden vibration in Shirska's hand made him jump a bit. He smiled, seeing a white logo appear on the device's screen. Despite how simple the device looked, with only four buttons and a tiny switch to speak of, along with a few unidentified plugs, Shirska had a feeling that it was far more complex than that.

The screen suddenly dimmed significantly, and then swapped the small logo for an image of a forest with golden sunlight pouring through the leaves. Shirska looked at the image, wondering what place the image depicted, or if the image even depicted a real place at all. There were few places the Eliksni had seen that had enough trees to make such a scene possible.

"Keep charging it, and see if you can't charge any of the others. I'm certain these devices will be full of information," Shirska ordered calmly, setting down the device and picking up his shrapnel launcher again. The Servitor made a noise that he'd come to know as meaning 'Yes sir.'

As soon as Shirska exited his quarters and entered the hallways of the Kell's personal Ketch, he was greeted by a Dreg that he had come to know as a very skilled warrior. He'd even earned a recommendation for limb regrowth and promotion to Vandal. "Good morning Greksis, I trust you are prepared for today's patrol?"

"Most certainly, my liege. Any word on my arms?" the Dreg replied.

"Sadly, no," the Captain answered. "The Kell and Archon rarely speak to me on such matters. Although I did manage to get you a Vandal-sized ration of ether for you today."

"How many Barons did you have to seduce to get ahold of that?" the Dreg replied.

"Three," Shirska said without missing a beat, his tone far more serious than Greksis had anticipated.

The Dreg looked up at his Captain and dare-he-say friend, with eyes wide. "You did not."

"Kilas, Esther, and Lyskin."

"Orbiks Prime, Shirska, are you serious? I mean, Kilas is a beefcake and all, but I never pegged you as—"

"Do I sound like I'm joking?" the Captain mock growled.

"You are insufferable..."

The two passed into the hangar where Shirska's skiff was waiting, the remainder of the crew ready for the day's patrol. As soon as the Servitor on board saw the Captain approaching the skiff, the engines roared to life, screaming with raw power.

------

Their patrol was set to a newly discovered cosmodrome far to the west of the one his House had converted into main base of operations. This new cosmodrome, as the Servitor had briefed him and his team, was in a desert area, with very few water sources nearby. The Servitor and some 'experts' in the nobility believed this cosmodrome to be an experimental one, where new ship designs were tested, and suspected there would be a significant amount of high-value salvage.

Once Shirska and his crew dropped down to the ground just inside the new cosmodrome, they instantly felt the heat. Checking his helmet's climate display, he cursed under his breath. "How these creatures survive in areas like this never ceases to confound me," he sighed. "We should have come at night."

Shirska looked around, noting the massive colony ships that were in disrepair, similar in design to those near his House's hub. There were skeletons of fighter-class ships that had been shot down when the House of Devils had first arrived on this planet, rusted and sun-bleached and partially galvanized by the arrangement of arc weaponry used by his people. Of course, human ships were not the only ones that littered the grounds of the cosmodrome. A number of Fallen skiffs and fighters had been downed, and there was even a downed Ketch a few miles away with an impossibly large hole in its side.

Shirska began walking towards a building just a few hundred meters to the south, where a ship that looked mostly intact lay abandoned by its creator and its pilot, but still patiently waited for them to greet it and put it to use. Much of the glass from the buildings was broken, but a few panels were still intact. He stepped inside through a doorway that had been blasted in, the shade instantly feeling much cooler than anywhere outside, but still warm enough to be mildly uncomfortable.

All around him, Shirska could feel the presence of death. The bones of children, mothers, fathers, lovers... all lay here without the respect and rites that humans undoubtedly had in place to honor their dead. Sorrow, grief, and pain permeated the atmosphere of that unlit terminal like morning fog. Shirska felt cold in that place, even though it was significantly warmer than any comfortable temperature. He knelt before a skeleton that was propped up against a wall, inspecting it with a neutral expression beneath his helm. The air seemed to shiver there, as though someone was indeed sitting there, trembling in fear or from being cold. Shirska bowed his head for a moment, slinging his weapon across his back. "Sling your weapons. We will have no need of them here."

He reached down to the skeleton's hand, seeing a piece of jewelry around one of its fingers. He never quite understood why they were so common. These rings were made from simple gold and silver, with the occasional precious stone. There was nothing inherently beneficial to possessing one, to his knowledge. They did not seem to have any practical purpose. But time and time again, he found them around the fingers of the skeletons. The lack of progress in accessing and translating human texts on culture and socio-religious structures played directly into his frustration. He wanted to learn about these creatures, understand them and talk to them. It was his firm belief that his people and theirs could end this pointless war and become allies, growing off of each others' technology and culture.

Shirska carefully took the ring off of the skeleton, inspecting it closely. On the inner surface of the ring, there seemed to be an inscription, but he couldn't yet read it. He carefully placed the ring in a pouch on his chestplate, not wishing to damage the artifact and disrespect the corpse he'd just looted. Next to the skeleton was another small hand-held device, similar to the one he'd been working to restore with Orbiks-13. Deciding that this device likely belonged to the skeleton with the ring, he kept it as well, hoping to find some sort of information on the device as to the significance of the ring.

"Captain," a Dreg among his crew spoke quietly.

Shirska turned to face his subordinate. The Dreg continued, "I think I've found something of interest to you."

The Dreg handed her captain a large book bound in black leather and leafed in gold. Somehow it had survived out here in such an inhospitable place, but books were easier to access the contents of than electronic devices, and made for valuable sources of information that Shirska found to be worth their weight in glimmer. Many of the other Eliksni deemed books unworthy of inspection. They could not decipher some, and others were either damaged beyond repair, or had pages missing. But Shirska believed them to be an invaluable source of information on the culture of humans. What inventions they favored would tell what they as a species valued most, be it efficiency, interconnection, or some other intangible.

"An excellent find," Shirska said, having the squad's Servitor store it in the cloud for him to access later with Orbiks-13.

"W-W-W-W-W-W-WELCO-WELCOME! To PH-PH-PH-PHOENIX AEROSPACE PORT! For your safety, please do not leave your bags unattended, and report any suspicious activity to the nearest security officer!" a voice blared around them in a foreign tongue.

Shirska and his team drew their weapons instantly, looking around for the source of the voice. Silence hung thick in the air, the entirety of the terminal flooded in an eerie hush. No movement stuck out to any of the Fallen in the building. "Greksis. Take Drevis and Khasyn and look for whatever made that noise."

"Yes sir," Greksis replied, the two Vandals assigned to go with him falling in line.

Shirska kept his weapon raised, careful to keep the flames pouring out of the shrapnel launcher's barrels away from anything flammable. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally burn a book. After all, just one of them could be a priceless treasure. It could be filled with the knowledge necessary to understand human starflight, or the knowledge necessary to speak to them in a diplomatic and civilized fashion.

After a few minutes, Greksis reappeared by himself, holding a small white object.

"What of Drevis and Khasyn?" the Captain asked.

"Fell through a loose catwalk, got their necks tangled in wires," the Dreg answered somberly.

"And what is your prize?"

"It has been reported by our scouts in House Devils' Lair as a device bound to the Ghouls. These devices are like fairies to them," Greksis said, handing it to Shirska. "These things were made by the Great Machine, and it could help you understand the humans, if you can access its memories."

"An exceptional find. I will put in a second recommendation for you."

------

Back in Shirska's quarters, a loud buzz interrupted the Captain's silent thoughts. His head snapped to look at the source of the sound. A mechanical hum from his Servitor told him that it had completed its assigned task. Like a surprised cat, the Captain scrambled from his bed to his desk, nearly landing on his face as he did so. The screen of the device lit up, showing a simplistic white logo against a black background. The device made no sound, but Shirska watched and listened intently. Seconds were indistinguishable from hours as Shirska patiently waited for the device to finish booting up.

It took a few minutes of tinkering, but Orbiks-13 managed to access the device, getting past the first security key, which was a simple 4-digit PIN. The device's screen soon showed a number of square-ish emblems. Selecting one at random, he tapped a grey looking one with a dark square and trapezoid on it. After a moment, the device's screen showed Shirska's face, blinking in real time. He stumbled back out of his chair in surprise and hit the floor unceremoniously. The Servitor looked at the Captain with a cold, emotionless stare, but made a series of noises that the Captain knew to be an attempt at humor.

"Very funny, 13. Very funny," Shirska huffed, getting back up.

Before he could sit down again, a device on Shirska's belt vibrated twice, alerting him to someone requesting his presence. He plucked the small hexagonal device from his belt and looked at its screen. The Kell had requested him directly.

"I shall return," he told his Servitor before turning and stepping out into the hallways of the Kingship Orbiks-fel.

On his way, he passed many fellow Eliksni he knew, including Kilas, Esther, and Lyskin, the three barons he'd seduced earlier that sub-cycle. Each of them gave him a slight nod in an informal, familiar way. He saw Greksis passing by, escorted on two sides by Palhas and Jyara, two members of the Dark Crown Black Ops team. But Shirska didn't give the odd sight much thought, as he was lost in his own head, wondering what the Kell wanted of him.

Shirska stepped into the throne room of Orbiks-fel, where the Kell of Kings, Zeklas, sat with two High Servitors on either side of him. On either side of the blocky throne was a pair of swords, each with a blade as long as Shirska was tall. Several pillars held the roof up, with ether flowing through them. Most of the light in the room came from the dull glow of computer monitors and the eyes of the Servitors. Zeklas' eyes watched Shirska approach warily.

Shirska knelt exactly sixteen paces from the door, as was dictated in tradition when addressing the Kell of a House.

"My liege," Shirska said to the Kell.

"There is no need to be so formal with me," Zeklas replied in his deep bass voice. "You've always hated the formalities of royalty, just like me."

"You have summoned me here, and I wish to know why," Shirska said, trying his best to keep his tone neutral and respectful.

"I can't summon my little Shirask to come t—"

"My name is Shirska," he half-growled, showing as much restraint as he could at that point.

"Right," the Kell's tone shifted. "I summoned you here because you put in a recommendation for that one Dreg to get his arms regrown. Greksis, was it?"

"That would be he," the Captain replied. "I'm certain you've gotten the second recommendation by now."

"Yes. It is unusual for the same Captain to put in two recommendations for the same Dreg," Zeklas spoke slowly. "Do you have feelings for this Dreg?"

Shirska looked up at the Kell in surprise at the question. "Can you be more specific?"

"Do you have romantic feelings for this Greksis the Dreg?" the Kell specified.

"No, I do not. He is nothing more than a friend and trusted comrade," Shirska replied.

"It would not be the first time a Captain let her fee—"

"His," Shirska spat venomously.

"—lings cloud her ju—"

"HIS," Shirska stood an placed a hand on his shock pistol, earning a cold glare from the High Servitors, though Zeklas paid no mind to the hostility.

"—dgement," he finished, glaring Shirska directly in the eyes. "I would not put such a thing past my own daughter, or even myself. We are not perfect beings."

Through clenched teeth, Shirska choked, "Is there anything else you require of me before I take my leave?"

"No," the Kell said coldly. "Take your leave."

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

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A loud alarm went off in the Cabal warbase. The loud whine was immediately responded to by every soldier there. Legionaries donned their armor and loaded their slug rifles. Psions manned automated weapons controls, keeping watch of security feeds and keeping communications flowing down the chain of command.

As the first Legionary fell from the wall of the compound and hit the ground, a wave of Phalanxes filed out of the main building, their shields up and ready. Slug rifle rounds filled the air, and chaos began.

Twilight pulled up her auto rifle and popped a few rounds into the heads of the Legionaries, staggering a few and killing a few others. Pinkie fired a few rounds from her hand cannon at the hands of the Phalanxes, trying to get a bullet through their defensive line before they could corner the seven of them. To her great frustration, none of her bullets got through, and simply bounced off the shields.

"Use fusion rifle! It goes through shield!" Shirska called to the pink pony as he put a bullet through a Psion's eye.

"Thanks!"

Within seconds, Pinkie and Rarity had switched to their fusion rifles and began thinning the ranks of Phalanxes slowly advancing on them. As they took point on the assault, Rainbow pulled the knife from her belt and stabbed a Psion that was beginning to charge up some sort of magic. But suddenly, she could no longer see herself, nor her knife. After a brief moment of wondering what was going on, she realized that she had an opportunity she didn't have before, and took to the air, flapping for the clouds. Just as she reached it, she became visible again. Setting up shop, she took her sniper out and aimed down on the Cabal troops from her perch. Phalanx soldiers began to fall with their helmets caved in and their gasses and blood spraying out. Twilight smirked, lighting up her horn and teleporting just behind the third line of Phalanx, slapping a grenade onto one, and then raising her palm at another. A magic, different from the kind she used with her horn, flowed through her arm and out her palm, splashing against the unaware Phalanx, setting its armor on fire. Briefly caught off-guard by the feeling, Twilight took a hard punch from a Legionary to the small of her back, directly into the line of focus of a Psion. With no time to react, and the others too preoccupied to kill the small Cabal, she had no choice but to take the hit. The Psion lifted itself from the ground as its own magical abilities charged, and released in the form of a wave of energy that slammed into Twilight and sent her tumbling a few meters, grunting in pain.

"TWILIGHT!" Fluttershy screamed. Applejack, noticing Twilight's need of help, picked Fluttershy up by the hips and threw her over the heads of the advancing line of Phalanx. The pegasus landed with a graceful roll, putting a shotgun blast into the neck of a Legionary that was preparing to stomp on her unicorn lover. "You really need to watch that cute butt of yours."

"Now is not exactly—" Twilight's grenade finally went off, tearing a hole in the third line of Phalanx and sending one of the shields flying towards the two. Luckily for them, it hit a Psion that considered himself rather sneaky, flattening him into the snow. "—the right time for flirting."

"And I suppose we'll just die and be revived again by happenstance to find a 'good time' for it?" Fluttershy asked while unloading burst after burst from her pulse rifle into the Legionaries that continued to approach them. A Centurion fired a salvo of rockets from its projection rifle. Twilight squawked in panic, but was interrupted by Fluttershy pulling her into a hug and rolling along the ground with the unicorn, dodging the high-velocity projectiles rather smoothly. "There are aliens on our planet trying to kill us. I don't know what you think of me, but I find you ridiculously attractive, and I would love to live long enough for a first date and maybe sex if you want."

A shot from Twilight's sniper tore the helmet off the Centurion's head, explosively decompressing its suit. "I think you're very attractive but I'm not sure about the whole sex thing yet," Twilight replied, bringing herself and Fluttershy to their feet with her magic. "Let's kick some ass together."

"You are so hot right now," Fluttershy murmured as she tossed a grenade at the last cluster of Phalanxes. The tiny explosive knocked all of the remaining shield-bearers off their feet, allowing the others to swiftly dispatch them.

"I'm flattered," Twilight giggled as she let a burst of fire from her auto rifle Tear down an approaching Psion.

"Guys, we have a problem. They have a tank," Rainbow's voice rang in the helmets of her six comrades. "It's bigger and more mobile than the Walker back on Earth."

"Luna help us..." Rarity exhaled, her voice caught in her throat.

"How long do we have before it can see us?" Twilight asked calmly, her voice belying her racing heart.

"I'd say about five minutes. It's still slow as the Walker," Rainbow answered. "I'm gonna poke it with something, see if I can't find a weak point for you guys."

"Don't get shot," Applejack huffed over the comms line.

"Same to you," the pegasus replied.

Rainbow looked down at the approaching tank on the opposite end of the compound. Adjusting her scope, Rainbow inspected the incoming Goliath Tank, her mind working furiously to calculate and predict where it would be weakest. On the four corners of its boxy and brutal frame, rounded propulsion engines kept the tank hovering just half a meter off the ground. Whenever the tank turned, the engines had to turn as well. This limit to its mobility was a weakness by itself, but Rainbow was unsatisfied with this answer. She then looked at the weapons systems, noting that it only had a main cannon. Zooming in for a closer inspection, she noticed a few panels on the armor that didn't look attached to the rest of the metal plating.

Rainbow took a shot at one of the engines, then another three. As that last shot hit, a plate fell off of the engine. A fuel valve began leaking and spraying fire, but the engine remained functional. "Looks like the four main engines are the weak point. As far as ordnance goes, I only see the main gun, but I think it's hiding rocket salvos under its armor."

"Keep shooting at the engines. Damage it as much as you can before it gets here," Twilight replied to the report. "We've got our hands full down here."

"Gotcha. I'll do what I can. But as a fair warning, these clouds are starting to get a bit thin," Rainbow huffed.

Back down on the ground, Shirska winced in pain for just a moment and cursed in his native tongue.

"You alright?" Rarity asked as she shredded a Legionary's armor apart with a blast from her fusion rifle.

"I'm not hit," Shirska growled, putting his hand cannons away and replacing them with his auto rifle. "Don't worry about me."

"THE TANK IS FIRING!" Rainbow's voice called over the comms line. "Heads up!"

Shirska looked up and saw a flaming shell flying through the air, certainly looking volatile enough to swat down a skiff as though it were no more than a fly. Twilight looked at the shell, and gauged its trajectory, Fluttershy covering her while she did so. Her conclusion was that their Captain friend would be struck directly if he didn't move from where he was now. But it was a slow projectile. Surely Shirska was nimble enough to move out of the way.

Shirska tried to move, but was stopped by another surge of pain from his abdomen, making him kneel and clutch at the pain as though to strangle it away. The shell fell from the sky and slammed directly into the Fallen's chestplate, knocking him back nearly one hundred meters. He tumbled and rolled like a rag doll. Twilight and Applejack screamed in fury and anguish. Fluttershy and Rarity stared in shock, their weapons falling to their sides. For a brief moment, even the Cabal stopped fighting. The only sounds in the compound were Applejack's incoherent screaming as she sprinted to her friend, and the far-off howl of the tank approaching.

"Shirska!" Applejack sobbed as she slid to a halt at Shirska's side. He was sprawled out, his rifle no longer in his hands. His arms were splayed out like the arms of Christ on the cross. His chestplate was largely undamaged, save for a massive crack over his abdomen where the shell hit him. His chest did not rise and fall with breath, and all was silent in that compound. "No..."

Applejack was no stranger to Death. She'd lost her parents young, and she'd lost her last remaining family, and she herself had met Death. But familiarity does nothing to dull the pain or make it easier. Life tends to do that; take precious, irreplaceable things from people at whim. Because it can, or because it doesn't care. Applejack shed her helmet and looked down with teary eyes at her fallen friend. She placed a hand over the crack in his chestplate and let herself cry.

She then looked up with fire boiling the tears away, arc energy snapping and crackling around her fists. Cabal foot soldiers stepped back and out of her path, giving her a clean line of sight to the approaching tank. Words were not necessary to communicate what the Titan was doing. Her team felt it, and the Cabal waited and watched, wishing to witness her power. A hot summer storm devoid of clouds and rain embodied itself in her fists as she walked towards the tank. The tank stood still. Time stood still. Everything in that compound wanted to witness this immense power.

She stepped on top of the tank, her boots loudly pounding against the hull, making a slight dent in its armor plating. A Psion's yelp of surprise echoed inside. She leapt up from her position on the tank and lifted herself as high as she could. High above the tank, she floated for a moment as her lift tried to keep her in the air; a goddess surveying and judging the sinner below her.

She screamed a warrior's battlecry and passed harsh judgement upon the tank and its crew, launching herself down at the tank and slamming her Fist against it. A shockwave of arc energy pulsed around the tank's hull, the engines overcharging and short-circuiting as the circuitry flooded with power. The Goliath Tank fell to the ground, its engines exploding around the Titan on top of it, but she didn't care. The crew inside screamed in agony before they faded away, likely disintegrating like the immediate area of the hull around the impact of her Fist.

The Cabal dropped their weapons, and all was quiet. They didn't need their guttural language to express the blood-chilling fear they were all feeling; the intimidation of one soldier capable of bringing down their most powerful support vehicle with only a fist.

Applejack stepped down from the crumpled pile of metal that was once a tank, and walked back to Shirska's side, kneeling next to him. She stared deeply into the crack in his chestplate and placed a hand over it.

His chest rose slowly with breath. A pained groan escaped his helmet, and his arms began to stir. It took a few moments, but as Shirska regained consciousness, he placed a hand over Applejack's.

"Did you really think I'd die that easily?" Shirska coughed.

"You took a tank shell to the chest," she said.

"I've had worse cramps," the Fallen scoffed. "Help me up?"

The Titan stood and pulled her friend up by the hand into a tight hug. "You can't leave me like that, big guy."

"I won't." He returned the gesture tentatively. He seemed unsure of its meaning, or perhaps it meant something different in his own culture. But if that was the case, he held his tongue, not wanting to ruin Applejack's moment.

"How the fuck did he live through that?" Rainbow asked as she swooped down from her position in the sky. "Glad you're okay there, Shirska."

"Hell if I know," Applejack said as she let go of Shirska.

"That chestplate is designed to absorb kinetic energy and transform it into Light as support for you guys. That Light can help you get your superpower ready sooner, assuming you've discovered it," Applejack's Ghost interjected. "Cayde probably gave that to Shirska specifically for this mission."

Rainbow placed a hand over the crack in Shirska's chestplate and felt a strange energy flow into her. "Whoa..."

"Guys. Our murderer is here," Twilight breathed.

------

"You gave him what?" Commander Zavala asked in shock and disgust. His hand gripped at the holo-table, the knuckles under his gloves likely pale.

"I gave him the best damned support armor I could get my shiny metal hands on," Cayde defended, readjusting his cloak's hood.

"Those chestplates are needed by our Guardians for the defense of our system, not—"

"They're going up against Cabal, and they're green, despite their Level," the Exo Hunter interrupted loudly. "You know they need the help and the political move they made for us could help us in the long run and you know it."

"We need to defeat the Fallen, not try to make peace with savages and devils who don't know honor," the Awoken grunted in response. "Your sly tactics are suitable for rogues and assassins but not for an organized military force."

"Look at us, Titan!" Cayde hollered, spreading his arms out and motioning to look around him. "We're Guardians! We aren't organized! And if you think we are you've been living in a fantasy land!"

"Are you two bickering again? I swear I leave you for ten minutes and you two are at each other's throats," Ikora scolded the two males in the room as she walked down the steps. "Zavala, might I remind you of that passage from Pujari? The one about killing?" She turned to Cayde. "And you. You gave an Exotic-tier armor piece to an unqualified individual without consulting us for an override. Both of you are being so incredibly stupid."

Ikora set down a data card on the table, and brought up a platform with text detailing Hive movement inside the Moscow Cosmodrome. "Cayde made a good, but still rash decision. The Hit Me With Your Best Shot will be of great use for the ponies. They're going up against a Cabal faction we'd never heard of until they brought them to our attention. And if their mission succeeds, we will have a very seasoned set of Guardians who all work well together to send where we need them, as well as more intelligence on the Cabal as a whole, and possible intelligence on the Darkness itself. The reward is well worth the risk of a chestplate."

"And what of befriending the Fallen as Cayde suggests?" Zavala spat disgustedly.

"We should strive not to be the killing machines Pujari's dream told him we were," Ikora responded calmly, looking at the report in front of her. "Allies are something we lack, and we should try our best with what opportunities we are presented to gain some."

------

The silence in the room was only amplified by the glanced made by the seven towards the Cabal soldiers walking around to address their various tasks. They sat in a wide room with a holo-table, much like the one used by the Vanguard back in the Tower, save for the choice of orange as the color of light used by the table. The seats they sat in were made of solid metal, and were made perfectly angular, without a rounded surface on them. Across from them sat the massive Cabal figure with the most decorated armor, whom the ponies remembered to be Aventus Da'axus. He kept his armor on, bright red plumes and all.

"You came here to kill me, yes?" Da'axus grunted.

"To be fair, you did kill us first," Rainbow hissed.

"Not of my own choosing," the Cabal leader responded. "If I had any way that left you alive, I would have done that instead."

"What were you trying to accomplish by coming here?" Twilight asked calmly, silencing Rainbow just before she asked her own question.

"There is an enemy enclosing on our people. Our empire's fleet is doing well to repel the enemy, but as many battles as we win, we are still losing the war," he spoke with a dry buzz. "Our expeditionary force in another system has detected an Entity that may be able to help us, if it could grant us the power it has given you. Our archaeologists have uncovered databases telling of leviathan intelligences that we wish to replicate for our own defense."

"So why go through the trouble of killing us? Why not ask the humans for help?" Rarity asked.

"We arrived in the system too late... The humans were... paranoid. Too many other external threats. They assumed we were enemies as well," Da'axus replied. "We killed you because the Entity only grants power to the dead. Now look at you. One soldier capable of eliminating one of our most powerful deployable land vehicles single-handedly."

"Why us?" Fluttershy spoke up, her wings readjusting themselves. "Why did it have to be us? Why not someone else?"

"They gave us pictures and told us it had to be you," the Cabal answered.

"Who is 'They'?" Twilight pushed herself to the edge of her seat.

"They called themselves 'The Messenger'. They looked much like you." The Cabal tapped the holo-table and brought up an image that the ponies recognized as the Stranger. "Winged. Had a horn too."

The six looked at each other with bemused expressions. Twilight sighed, and Rainbow and Applejack simply let their faces hit the table.

Pinkie on the other hand, giggled oddly, "The plot thickens!"

Da'axus continued as if he hadn't heard her. "You are the final hope for my people. We cannot defeat our enemy without you as a bridge between our people and the 'humans'. We must seek an alliance, or at least a ceasefire with your people to prevent further losses for both of our people."

"Would you be willing to come with us to Earth to speak to those who could forge an alliance?" Twilight asked.

"I fear they would try to kill me. I would be surrounded by those who want to kill me. I do not believe it to be a wise option to meet on ground that is not neutral," Da'axus said. "I also would not be an official link to my empire. My final term of service ends in only a few cycles. After that, I am a civilian."

"Ghost?" Twilight asked. "How long would it take for a message to get through to the Tower?"

"Thirty-six hours and ten minutes," J-Ami replied.

"Twilight, what about the Elements?" Pinkie reminded.

"Shit." She turned to the Cabal leader. "There were artifacts in the palace where you first landed. We need them back. Do you know where we could find them?"

Da'axus stood. "I shall give them to you on one condition."

"What condition?" Applejack huffed, crossing her arms.

He spoke, "It is a tradition in my family for the first-born son to die during service. My great grandfather died taking another planet in our system when our empire first began expanding. My grandfather died taking the planet of the Psions. My father died in a rebellion of the Psions. I wish to follow in their footsteps. I wish for you to kill me in combat."

The seven looked at each other and understood. This was their culture's honor. This was their chivalry. To die in battle was noble, and to die old and weak was pitiful. This monster they had built up as a demon in their own minds was only looking out for his race's survival. He was simply trying to save the lives of those he cared about. The six who died at his hands felt an odd sort of respect for this creature, this intelligent being. And on the matter of the Stranger's involvement, all they could really say was that Da'axus was presented a course of action that he was told would lead to the salvation of his people, just like he wanted. They couldn't blame him for what he'd done, no matter how terrible they once believed him to be, or how cruel his actions were. Under the circumstances, Da'axus made the best play he had, and truth be told, Twilight would have made that same leap of faith.

Twilight stood up, unslinging the rifle from her back and gripping it in her hands. All of the other Cabal in the room raised their weapons at her, but lowered them as Da'axus made a motion for them all to stand down. The other six rose and did the same with their weapons, the Legionaries in the room questioning their commander's order to stand down. Da'axus held out one of his massive hands, then curled it into a fist and placed it against his chestplate. Twilight mimicked the gesture, assuming it was one of respect to an adversary in their culture. The others followed her lead, save for Shirska, who bowed instead.

"Seven on one is hardly fair odds," Twilight said.

"I've won with worse odds, and lost with better," Da'axus replied.

"We have super powers now," Twilight said. "You saw what Applejack did to your tank. Your troops experienced Shirska's combat prowess on Venus."

"I know. I am well aware of your abilities. I know that not all of you have your powers yet," he countered. "Only three, and I don't think one would be a good option to use against me."

"What if one of us discovers our super power during our fight?" Rarity asked, stepping closer to their adversary.

The Cabal general looked down at the unicorn, and punched his own chestplate, making a loud but dull metallic thunk. "Hit me with your best shot."

Super Power: Nova Bomb

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Out in the courtyard of the Cabal Warbase, The six Guardians and their Fallen ally had arranged themselves in an off-center hexagonal formation. About one hundred meters away, Aventus Da'axus had situated himself next to the ruins of the tank. He had stopped by his armory and selected a few weapons that attached to his armor, rather than the firearms that his troops carried. On his back was what appeared to be a mounted cannon, and on his right fist was some other close-combat weapon. Looking at him, Twilight figured that he was fairly well balanced. But with his cannon serving as a long range weapon, and his fist for close quarters, he lacked in the medium range, and that was what she planned on using to her advantage.

"Hey guys, try to stay at medium range. I don't think that cannon will be as effective the closer we are to it," the Warlock informed her team. The others grunted a confirmation as they readied their weapons. Pinkie bounced in place, holding her hand cannon at the ready. Rainbow spun her hand cannon on her finger like a toy. Rarity let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding, only to take in another and hold it like a foal would a teddy bear. Applejack glared at her adversary stoically, already feeling her Fist of Havoc ready for her to use should she need it. Fluttershy simply observed her friends, watching all of them carefully, anticipating who she would need to cover most. And Shirska kept to himself, but a hand kept hold over his abdomen, the pain from earlier that froze him in place still there.

"Are you alright, Shirska?" the Titan asked.

He turned to the pegasus and nodded briskly.

The sky had clouded up again, blocking out the sun and casting a cold gray tone over everything. A snowflake landed on Pinkie's hand cannon and melted.

"Are we ready to fight?" Twilight asked her friends.

A round of affirmations hit her ears, and she hollered out to Da'axus, "Hit us with your best shot!"

A boom resounded through the base as a blast of blue shot forth from Da'axus' cannon. The seven warriors scattered, favoring distance from each other so the Cabal general couldn't hit two of them simultaneously. As soon as that first shot hit the ground, he fired a second, third, fourth, and fifth, adjusting his firing angle only slightly each time.

Auto rifle fire rattled into existence, bullets flying forth from the muzzles of their rifles. Hand cannons banged out a steady rhythm, and Fluttershy's pulse rifle counted triplets on time with Rarity's scout rifle. Most shots hit Da'axus' body, but a significant number of shots managed to hit his helmet. A hand cannon shot from Pinkie missed just above her intended target, and burst through the plume on Da'axus' helmet, tearing a few hairs out with it. Da'axus roared and after firing another shot from his cannon, he began charging forward against the hail of bullets plinking off his armor. Immediately, Pinkie determined that she was the target of his sudden rampage, and started backpedaling in response.

Da'axus' boost pack kicked in as he leapt forward, pulling his fist back like the bolt of a rifle. Pinkie squeaked, and bounced up just in time to avoid the fist smashing her into the ground. She landed on his back, and quickly bounced right off again, firing a quick shot from her hand cannon into the back of his helmet.

The snow started to intensify, and there was a thin blanket of snow already on the ground. Not enough to make a snowball, but enough to know that there would be soon. Even in battle, Pinkie couldn't help but smile and giggle as she bounced around in the snow, popping shots from her hand cannon and avoiding Da'axus' meteor fist.

Shirska watched the bouncing pony with a sort of confused curiosity. This was a fight to the death, and here she was bouncing and giggling. But even as confused as he was, he kept firing at the Cabal general, trying to damage his armor as much as possible and scanning for weak points. From what Shirska could see, there were no weak points, even at the joints where the armor should have given way to more flexible material. But in that observation, he noticed that those places were covered by attachable armor plates that looked like curtains hanging from other plates.

A shot hit him in the back, sending him sprawling into the thin layer of snow. He rolled over just in time to miss being stomped on by a Legionary falling from the sky. "More troops!" he called out, putting a hand cannon shot directly in the forehead of the Legionary's helmet, making it pop off with a loud hiss and spray of blue mist.

"Damnit," Twilight cursed, taking another look around to see Da'axus' troops entering the fray to support their general. "Pinkie, watch your tail."

"I think I'm better off watching this guy instead of my tail," she replied.

"You know what I mean!" Twilight growled as a Psion rushed her for a punch. She sidestepped it and hooked her foot around its ankle and tripped it, letting it hit the ground before putting a pair of bullets through its neck.

Da'axus changed targets from Pinkie to Applejack, figuring the other earth pony wouldn't be as much trouble to hit. In some regards he was right. Applejack didn't bounce like Pinkie, but she was a rodeo pony, and had mastered quite a number of acrobatic tricks. Just as Da'axus was bringing his fist down, she ducked and rolled under it, barely dodging the attack. As she pulled out of the roll, she unslung her shotgun and blasted at his backside, managing to send one of the detachable plates flying off, exposing a weak point. "Some of his armor is detachable. Try to knock those pieces off!"

"Rainbow! Take to the sky. Try to pick them off with sniper shots," Twilight called out to the pegasus.

"I'm out of ammo for it," Rainbow grunted in response as she wrestled with a Psion for her knife.

"Come borrow mine then," the unicorn said, ignoring the pegasus' complaints about being preoccupied. "And Pinkie, if you could use your super, that would be great."

"Okie dokie lokie!" the earth pony laughed. With a snap, she pulled the Golden Gun out of the air and took aim at Da'axus. A first shot: a loud acknowledgement of power. A plate burned away. A second shot: a blatant scoff. A plate burned away. A third shot never came. Pinkie was forced on the defensive by a trio of Centurions and their Projection Rifles, and the Golden Gun dissipated before she could use the last shot.

"Damn it. Rainbow!" Twilight called.

"A LITTLE BUSY OVER HERE!" Rainbow hollered through the comms, still wrestling with a pack of Psions for her knife. "FEEL LIKE HELPING ANY TIME SOON‽"

Twilight sighed and took a few shots at the Psion whose hands were on her knife, dropping it with a pair of bullets to the neck. Once Rainbow had control of her knife, it was a relatively short scuffle, the other four Psions dropping with fresh slits in their necks.

"Thanks," Rainbow grunted as she passed Twilight, taking her sniper with her and launching herself into the sky.

Da'axus didn't notice her fly up, since he was trying to punch Shirska at the time. The Fallen sidestepped quickly and grabbed a piece of detachable armor, yanking it and trying to dislodge it. Unfortunately for him, the plate didn't budge, and that gave the Cabal general enough time to slap him off. As soon as Rainbow put a shot on Da'axus' armor, he spun around and fired a volley of cannon shots.

"Shit!" the pegasus cursed as she tried to dodge the incoming fire. "Sniping's a no go."

"Fuck," Twilight cursed. "Applejack, see if you can't bust his chestplate with a Fist."

"Way ahead of ya," the Titan huffed as she charged towards Da'axus' back. "HEY BITCH!"

Da'axus turned around with his cannon at chest height. A thump was heard, followed by a scream of pain. Applejack fell limply to the ground, her armor smoking and heavily scorched by the explosion.

"Applejack!" Shirska screamed, leaping from his firing position and making a short sprint to his friend's side. As he knelt next to her, he took her hand in his, clasping it to his chest. Her Ghost was out and working to heal her. Rarity slid to a kneel on her other side, placing a hand on Applejack's chest to check her breathing. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she felt her friend's chest rise with breath. "Rarity, touch my chestplate."

At first the unicorn was confused by the order, but did so anyway. A surge of warmth and energy traveled up her arm and into her heart, where it spread to the rest of her body and resonated in her horn. Applejack opened her eyes and looked up at Shirska, then Rarity. She placed a palm on Rarity's shoulder, and spoke softly, "Give him hell."

"Pinkie?" Rarity asked as she stood.

"Yeah?" the party pony asked jovially as she bounced around the battlefield in the seven inch and growing layer of snow.

"Let's have a snowball fight with Da'axus," she said with a smirk, forming a snowball in her hand with magic. "Everyone who can, make snowballs and just pelt him with as many as you can."

"What's your plan?" Twilight asked.

"Still working on it," the other unicorn replied. "But for now, keep him distracted and confused and don't waste ammo. Buy me time."

Without any further dialogue, Pinkie threw the first snowball at Da'axus, hitting him directly in the face. The massive Cabal general shook the snow from his helm, and cocked his head at the sheer strangeness of being hit with a snowball in the middle of a fight to the death. Another snowball flew past Da'axus and nailed one of his troops in the face as well. The Legionary shook his head and looked at the offending pony, who was bouncing around, packing another snowball. "SNOWBALL FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!" she screamed, throwing another snowball at a Psion.

The Psion, once it recovered from the confusion of being hit with a snowball, picked up a handful of snow and made a snowball to retaliate. When it threw the snowball, Pinkie dodged it and watched as it flew and hit a Centurion in the chest. The Centurion roared and made a snowball, throwing it at the offending Psion. Within minutes, the battle had gone from a seven-on-one deathmatch with bullets and cannon shells to a free-for-all snowball brawl. Rough rumbling could be heard from the massive Cabal soldiers, which the ponies assumed to be laughter.

Shirska and Applejack soon rejoined the fray, the Fallen throwing a near constant barrage of snowballs at Da'axus, who was preparing a snowball roughly the size of Applejack's head to throw. Applejack, not wanting to be outdone, began rolling up a snowball on the ground, as though she were making a snowman.

Twilight lifted a pair of snowballs with magic, letting Rainbow grab them as she flew by. A moment later, she released them, letting them fall to their targets, hitting them directly on the top of their heads. Rainbow smirked and made another pass above Twilight, who continuously supplied her with munitions.

Da'axus threw his snowball, which managed to hit Shirska in the chest. Applejack retaliated on his behalf, throwing a similarly sized snowball at the Cabal general. Everyone in that courtyard, be they Cabal or otherwise, were laughing and just generally having a good, fun time. Rarity smiled, feeling her magic manifesting in a way she'd never felt before. She picked up some snow and packed it into her left hand, where she felt the magic gathering. For a brief moment, she caught a glimpse of something she could not explain.

The snowball in her hand felt heavier than every burden she'd ever borne and helped bear. It felt cold as the black void of the beyond. It felt more energetic than Pinkie on espresso. "Look into the abyss, and it will look right back," she mumbled under her breath, her smile fading. She lifted herself into the air, and a faint purple glow could be seen outlining her body. "This is the extent of my generosity."

Her arm arced, and the snowball was released with the power of the Void locked inside, waiting to be unleashed when it got where it was sent.

An explosive sound pounded against everything in the courtyard of the Cabal warbase. Legionaries, Psions, and Centurions dropped their snowballs watching the black hole consume all in its general vicinity. As the black hole faded away, Da'axus was nowhere to be seen. The Cabal soldiers knelt, all facing the naked crater in the courtyard where their general had been. Some openly wept, others simply bowed their heads solemnly.

[recommended listening]

"Slag Stompers! Lend me your ears!" Rarity called out to the Cabal. "Your commander died in battle this day, as he wished. In your culture, that is among the noblest ways to die. I could not bear to take his life in the heat of battle, with anger and spite and hate running rampant through our minds and hearts. I could not let him die that way."

The snow stopped falling, and the clouds parted, casting a long column of light down upon Rarity and the snowless patch of the courtyard.

"Remember this day not with bitterness at the loss of your general. Remember this day fondly as a day when you and your general had a fun snowball fight. Remember this day as the day you and your commander laughed and played in the snow together... as friends."

The wind whispered softly.

"I hope you will find it in your hearts to forgive me for my perverse sense of generosity... For believing that giving someone death was acceptable..."

Shirska stepped over to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder, and said softly, "I think it subjective morality. He wanted to follow traditions and beliefs. Who are we to deny him that dying wish?"

"It still feels... wrong to me..." the Warlock spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.

"You..." a Cabal Centurion said, stepping up to her. "Thank you."

In that moment, Rarity removed her helmet and let herself cry, her hot tears stinging with the cold against her cheeks. The Centurion stepped a little closer, and wrapped its arms around her, hugging her tightly, but still being cautious not to crush her to death.

"Go. Get your artifacts," the Centurion said, letting go of her. "We have our burial rites to attend to."

Rarity smiled to the Centurion, and pounded her fist against her chestguard. The Centurion mimicked the gesture, as did every other troop in that courtyard. The other five Guardians followed suit, as did Shirska, in respect to these soldiers who were all simply following the orders of their beloved general, to save the main body of their empire so they could have a home to go back to.

The ponies and Shirska walked forth together, past the Cabal, who all stood at attention for them. "Rarity is your name?" the Centurion called out.

"Yes?" she turned.

"You have our undying respect. But do remember:" he said, "respect does not win wars."

She hesitated for a moment, and replied, "But it can bring peace."

------

The seven stepped into the vault, seeing the Elements sitting on iron pedestals, with other strange items stacked against the walls. At the back of the room was a computer monitor that immediately caught the attention of Twilight with Celestia's face displayed on it. Twilight did not hesitate even for a moment, teleporting with magic over to the computer. The monitor had exactly three buttons on it, likely for playback control. Twilight shed her helmet and let her hair fall down her back, just as tears began to fall down her face.

Celestia's face was frozen on a frame where she seemed to be in obvious pain. Blood stained her pure white coat, and it was clear that she had been coughing up blood. To see her mentor this way made Twilight feel sick in a way that no illness could replicate. It hurt in a way that made taking a tank shell, as Shirska had, preferable to the sight of Celestia in pain. "What did they do to you...?"

Twilight pushed the button she assumed to be the play button.

"Twilight," Celestia's voice was coarse like she'd inhaled smoke from a house fire. "If you're watching this, I'm gone, and you made it, just like Luna thought. Don't blame yourself for what happened to me or Luna, or the rest of Canterlot. It was not your—" she paused to cough, blood spraying out onto the marble floor under her. "It wasn't your fault. Pinkie Promise me you won't blame yourself...?"

"...I can't..."

"There is no blame to be had... not by anyone, and especially—" She coughed again. "Especially not by you."

"They've promised to let the ponies and other races live as long as we evacuate everyone to a different planet. They say they know one in a system only a few light years from here..." Her eyes dropped a little. "This is not how I wanted things to go... I wanted nothing but the best for you... I wanted you to be happy... I wanted to watch you learn and grow and—" She coughed again, and again, not much blood coming out. "—and fall in love and live your life... Instead I watched you die..."

"Somepony once told me in a dream that I'd be doomed to watch Death come for everyone I've ever known and loved, and I'd be powerless to stop it. These thousands of years I've been alive... I couldn't let myself be attached to anypony... I knew I'd have to watch them die, so I refused to let myself care... You though... I had to care about you... You were impossible not to love..."

"Do not go gentle into that goodnight..."

She coughed up blood again, her eyes dilating and losing focus. "Rage... Rage against the dying of the Light..."

"...no..."

Celestia's eyes seemed to lose their color, and rolled back as her eyelids shut.

"...no...!"

"Twilight..."

Celestia's neck went limp, and her mane stopped flowing, fading to its original pink color from the rainbow of morning hues Twilight had always remembered it to be.

Twilight collapsed to the floor, and the silence of the other six was only amplified by her incoherent sobs and sulking. Fluttershy knelt down next to Twilight and pulled her into a hug, letting the unicorn cry on her shoulder. For a few moments, that was all there was in that vault: Twilight crying, Fluttershy comforting her, and the others not quite knowing what to do except let Fluttershy hold her. Shirska had taken the liberty of gathering the Elements and distributing them to their proper bearers, save for Twilight's tiara, which he held onto so she could accept it from him when she wasn't crying too hard to stand.

No one really bothered keeping track of time. It wasn't important in that moment, so everyone just let Twilight grieve, knowing that she out of all of them was most prone to bottling up her feelings, and Fluttershy was usually best at getting her to let those feelings out.

When Twilight finally stood again, Shirska offered her the tiara that housed the Element of Magic. She took the tiara, and after putting her helmet back on, affixed the tiara over it.

"Mission complete. Let's get back to the Tower and report our findings," Twilight murmured in as loud a voice as she felt strong enough to use without crying again. "It's a long way back to Canterlot, and night's coming."

The others nodded in agreement, and filed out of the vault, summoning their Sparrows as soon as they were outside again.

"Strange how home can stop feeling like home..." Applejack mused quietly.

"Home is not place. Home is feeling. If home is place, I have no home. Home is feeling I get with you. Not in Tower. Not in quarters," Shirska replied quietly. "Home can change. Home was once crew. Home was once ship. Now, home is you."

"Never thought about it like that..." Rainbow murmured.

"You're a very wise person, Shirska," Rarity chimed in. "If you know anything that could help Twilight feel better... Could you share that wisdom with her?"

"There are not words to make that okay to her. There are not words to make her feel okay. There is only verbs and things. Company, and... time. Yes, time. Heals most wounds. Numbs everything else," the Fallen responded.

The rest of the Sparrow ride back to Canterlot was relatively uneventful. Harvesters flew past them, back towards the Frozen North for the funeral of Da'axus. The sun set in a blaze of glorious oranges and reds, before the dark blues and rich indigoes of night took hold. Rarity couldn't help but look up into the black void of the beyond and lose herself there. She had discovered her super power. She had taken a life with it. A life that meant well and was willing to commit atrocious sins for the salvation of his people. It was the same perverted generosity that she had delved into: giving up one's own soul and morality to preserve that of countless other souls. In that moment, she felt as though she and Da'axus weren't that different at all.

"Shirska?" Rarity asked softly, trying to bring herself out of her thoughts.

"Yes?" he replied.

"You seemed like you were in pain today. Before you got hit by that tank shell, you were gripping your stomach like you got hit. What happened?" she asked.

"...that is not story I am comfortable telling now..." he mumbled.

"Also, didn't you say you would tell us about the new banner?" She looked over to him in an attempt to read his reaction. "Back in the hangar before we left?"

"Yes. I think now is better time for talking," he said, perking right back up again. "I have question for friends."

"Go ahead and ask," Applejack responded.

Tentatively, he spoke, "How would you feel about joining new House; my House."

Motion For Vengeance

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"Aaaaaaaayyyyy they're back! All alive and well. Aaaaand Twilight's got a tiara," Cayde said as he noticed the seven walk in. "Looks good on you."

"Cayde? Your mouth is running off again. You may want to look into that," Ikora quipped. "I can tell you've got something for us. Care to share?"

"Aventus Da'axus is dead. The Slag Stomper legion on Equis is neutral towards Guardians. It's a huge step towards peace between us and the Cabal," Twilight said briskly.

"Twilight?" Fluttershy spoke softly to her love interest. "You should go rest. I think I can handle this."

"No, I—" Twilight was interrupted by Fluttershy grabbing her hand. "...alright..."

When Twilight walked away, Fluttershy turned towards the now intrigued Vanguard leaders. "That story comes later. Before we fought with Da'axus, we had a calm conversation with him, during which he explained his motivations. The Cabal empire seems to be in a losing war. They're winning most battles, but they're still losing resources and troops more quickly than they can be replaced. That's why the Cabal are here in your system. They're seeking the Traveler so they can turn its power against the threat to their empire."

"Then why are they shooting at us?" Zavala asked.

"From our conversation with Da'axus, the official reports say you shot first," Rainbow offered, plucking a damaged feather from her wings.

Zavala glared at them hard, but he knew they were right.

"The Cabal are here for the Traveler, and for something buried in Mars. Da'axus called it a leviathan intelligence," Fluttershy added.

"The Warminds..." Cayde whispered. "They're here for the Warminds."

"Before you start freaking out, Da'axus told us that their mission was to replicate it for their own defenses. Not steal it," Applejack chimed in.

"Letting them have such an advanced AI is a terrible idea. If they were to turn it against us they coul—"

"They are focused on ensuring they have a home to go back to," Rarity interrupted the Titan Vanguard representative. "They don't want to be fighting you. They want to go home. They want to see their families again."

The Vanguard room fell silent. Frames stopped working to look at the unfolding scene. Guardians watched for the reactions of Zavala and the other Vanguard leaders.

"Your goal is the survival of your City, correct? You don't have to win the war. You just have to not lose," Rarity finished. "War is loss. The only winning move is not to play."

Ikora smirked, proud of the Warlock before her for her wisdom and insight. "I think its time we end all Cabal-focused strikes and bounties. Lyle. Pull every Guardian out of Cabal territory on Mars."

A Frame saluted and began typing on a keyboard.

"What the hell is wrong with you? We're pulling out just like that? Based on the intel of our newest Guardians?" Zavala lashed. "From an enemy leader? We're just going to trust their word?"

"We are going to make an honest attempt at diplomacy. If there's a way out of these wars that doesn't involve so much killing, we're going to take it. And if it gets us an ally, then the more the merrier," Ikora growled in response at the Titan.

Cayde shuffled awkwardly as the room's attention fell on him. "Yeah, uh, I'm with her on this. I may hate Fallen, but I hate watching people die more."

Zavala huffed and stepped away from the table, walking over to the window. Ikora turned back to the six still at the table. "Anything else?"

"Our planet's denizens have been moved by the Cabal to another planet in a nearby system to our own, but we don't know where," Fluttershy reported. "His motivation for his attack on our home that ended up killing us was part of a plan provided by the Messenger, or as you know him, the Stranger from Hangar One."

"Interesting..." The Warlock rested her chin between her thumb and index finger.

"Ikora, if I may, I have a question to ask the Vanguard..." Shirska spoke up so Zavala could hear him.

"What is it, Shirska?" Ikora inquired with genuine interest.

"I wish to speak to Houses without leadership about joining a House aligned with City," Shirska proposed carefully. "House Exile, and perhaps House Devils? And House Winter if I am successful with others..."

"I'm not certain that is a good idea at the present time," Cayde said.

"May I ask why no?" the Captain inquired.

"There are a bunch of rumors about unrest in the House of Wolves in the Reef. The Queen's Emissary says there's been a few Wolves talking about a coup," the Exo responded. "There are remnants of the Wolves in other Houses, and I don't feel safe having entire Houses joining us in the Tower and giving the Wolves first-hand intel on our Guardians."

"...is fair point. What if after House Wolves unrest is calmed?" Shirska asked.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Cayde dismissed. "As of now you all have seven days of mandatory R-and-R. Go rest up. Relax a bit. Take some time in the City. Do something that isn't... shooting things. Also, congratulations on Level Twenty."

------

"Hey..." Fluttershy whispered as she entered her room she shared with Twilight. The unicorn in question was on the bed, buried deep under the covers. Her armor was strewn about on the floor, and her civilian clothes and pajamas were still in her closet. She lifter her head to look at her roommate. "How're you feeling?"

"I need to take a three year nap..." she mumbled back, letting her head hit the pillow again. "But I know it won't help... I'm a different kind of tired..."

Fluttershy set her helmet down on the nightstand on her side of their shared bed. "Do you want to talk about it...?"

"Not really..." Twilight rolled over and faced away from Fluttershy, who was removing her chestplate and boots.

When Fluttershy finished shedding her armor, she slipped under the covers and pressed as much of herself as close to Twilight as she could, wrapping her arms around the unicorn's waist, and planting a soft kiss on the back of her neck. The tension in her began to dissipate, and as Fluttershy's warm breath started to caress Twilight's naked form, her own breathing began to slow down and deepen.

"I love you, Shy," she whispered.

"I love you too, Twily," Fluttershy whispered back.

"Can we just... sleep like this for a while...?"

"Yeah..."

------

Shirska sat at the table with the six ponies he'd come to love as his friends. His hands all fidgeted nervously. All eyes were on him, intent on what he had to say. "I was born the same as everyone else. Small, and tender, knowing nothing of hatred or anger or suffering. I was born in the stars, like most of my people. That was normal. I was normal when I was born," he began his story.

"I was just old enough to know a few words and walk when I decided I wanted to be a male. My mother was very supportive and would let me wear male clothes and colors. My father... he was not as kind. He would constantly remind me that I was female. That I would never be male. That I would never be accepted as the gender I identified with."

"When my mother died, my father let me dress as I pleased, but the reminders were always there. Everyone always told me I should feel proud to have my father. I should feel proud of my nobility. I can only say I am not proud. I do not love my father. He is a hateful beast. He is a thing of Darkness, and I cannot forgive him for what he has done, and continues to do."

"What did he do to you...?" Applejack asked, already having a hunch.

A look from Shirska was all it took, but the Fallen spoke, "I was seven the first time..."

The six ponies' gazes fell to the floor. Applejack's hand curled into a fist, and arc energy snapped around it.

"I was forced to bear his child," Shirska choked out. "I was not allowed to terminate it... I tried to kill myself, but they stopped me..." Shirska paused for a moment, trying his best to hold his tears. "I was sixteen when I murdered a newborn."

Shirska shook his head and cleared his throat. When he spoke again, his voice wavered, but did not falter. "When I say I hate my father and will never forgive him, I do not mean the way you said about Da'axus. He had the right intention. My father is simply evil. There is no chance for his redemption. His life must end, and I need your help."

"We would help even if you didn't want it," Applejack said. "We can't let anyone like that exist."

"No one else should ever have to suffer like that..." Rarity added.

------

The seven walked into the Vanguard office with their armor on. Ikora was the first to notice, and turned to them. "You look like you have a mission," she said.

"We do. We're going to kill the Kell of the House of Kings," Twilight replied matter-of-factly. She stepped up to the holo-table and looked at each of the Vanguard leaders. "This mission is top priority."

"And how do you figure that?" Cayde asked almost sarcastically.

"Shirska wasn't just one of their Captains. He was their prince," Twilight said, clearing the table and working its controls to bring up a map of Earth.

"What's your plan, then? Waltz in, shoot him in the face a couple times?" Cayde scoffed.

"It's actually a bit more complicated than that. We're going to need several fireteams. Probably three, in addition to us," Twilight started, zooming in on a location near the east coast of the Old United States. "From Shirska's map of Earth, we've located their lair to be in the Washington, D.C. Cosmodrome. Their territory extends all the way to the LAX Cosmodrome now that the House of Devils has been forced out. But they haven't bothered extending their territory very far north. Our plan is to fly over the North Pole and down through Old Canada. From there we'll get as close to their front door as we can from the north, and we'll split fireteams up to distract them on the outside. On the inside, Shirska will lead us through their Ketch to find Zeklas, and then Shirska will challenge him to a sword fight, which their Prime Servitor will force him to accept."

"Oh, so it comes down to a sword fight between father and son?" Cayde chuckled. "You're serious?"

"As serious as the atrocities he's committed to me and my people," Shirska growled harshly at the Exo. "He is not good with swords. I am."

"Well, if you think it'll work, let's kill the motherfucker," Cayde shrugged and started tapping at the holo-table. "Bounty's set at thirty thousand for his death. Find your fireteams, and let us know when you're planning to leave. Remember, you're on mandatory leave until next week."

"We know," Twilight called back as she and the others left the Vanguard office.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Cayde turned to Ikora and Zavala, "They are a handful."

"I'd say at least four handfuls," Ikora jested. "They're going places."

"They've grown fast. We can only hope they've grown strong too," Zavala mused. "I still don't think removing Guardian presence from Mars is a good idea."

"Here we go," Cayde sighed.

"The Cabal and Vex are fighting over territory on Mars. We are their mutual enemy. If we pull out and the Cabal lose to the Vex, what point is there to diplomacy?" Zavala said.

"I don't think you paid quite as much attention as you think," Ikora replied. "I only pulled Guardians out of Cabal territory and terminated Cabal bounties. I didn't say we're pulling out of Mars."

------

Down in the City, five of the seven had chosen to go back to the pub where Fluttershy had punched the drunk Titan. The pegasus in question and her unicorn love interest had gone off somewhere with each other, leaving the other five to 'get into bar fights at [their] discretion' as Twilight put it when she parted from the group. Shirska, of course, had received many scared and hateful looks from passersby, but his presence with the other four Guardians saved him from being mobbed. There was, of course, the curious and wondrous looks from children seeing a Fallen for the first time, and the inevitable scared parents holding them close.

But once they were in the pub, the only looks he had on him were those of suspicious Guardians, off-duty and presumably at at least some level of drunkenness. When the hostess at the door looked up from her reservation sheet, she yelped slightly and put a hand on her sidearm. The four ponies around him all raised their hands in a 'hold your fire' gesture, which luckily got through to her.

"Table for five?" she asked timidly, still not quite fond of the idea of a Fallen walking into the pub.

"Yup," Applejack replied quickly.

"Right this way," the hostess said, grabbing five menus and leading the group towards a table. As soon as they were all seated, she handed each of them a menu and walked away.

At the bar, a line of Hunters sat, drinking and telling tales of the stupidest knife-fight they'd ever gotten themselves into. Across the way at a booth, several Titans were laughing loudly as one of them talked about their most recent escapade on the moon. A group of Warlocks debated quietly on the matter of something off in another corner near the window.

Shirska looked around, noticing at least one Guardian in each of the groups casting a suspicious glare at him. Soon, each of them pointed the Fallen Captain out to their respective groups, and the entire pub went silent, staring at him.

A Titan called out, "You don't belong here, Fallen!"

"Get the fuck out of our City!"

"Go home!"

Shirska let his head fall, and he looked back down at the table. Applejack glared back at the group of Titans, a deep scowl hardened onto her face. Her fist clenched tightly, and arc energy snapped and squeaked around it. Shirska placed a hand on her shoulder, and she turned back to face him. "Let them believe what they will for now," he whispered to her.

Seconds passed like hours, the glares and whispers unceasing. The waiting staff seemed to stop functioning, none of them wanting to be the first to break the tension. The bartender watched carefully, drying a glass all the while.

"Can we get a waiter over here?" Applejack called without looking up from the table. A moment later, a nervous looking waiter stepped up to the table with a tablet in hand, introducing himself and telling them about the day's specials. From there, the pub started making noise again, returning to a normal-ish state. After that, the ponies put in their orders, and Shirska passed on it.

"How do we get assistance for mission if all of them hate me?" Shirska asked the ponies quietly.

"I'm not sure," Rarity replied.

"You could start by asking around," a familiar voice behind them said.

Applejack didn't bother turning around to face it. "What's up, Amuro?" she said flatly, crossing her arms and leaning back in her seat.

"Heard you need three fireteams for a big raid on the House of Kings," Amuro replied, stepping up to the table with a tankard full of cider. "My team and I are in."

"Signing us up for shit without us again? Why are we even friends with you?" his Hunter companion chimed in, leaning against Amuro, who promptly twisted his body out from under the poor soul, making him fall unceremoniously to the floor.

"Because I saved your asses back in the Phoenix Cosmodrome," Amuro answered.

"Is just you three on team, or...?" Shirska asked, looking over Amuro and his two companions.

"Yeah, why?" the Warlock replied.

"We need three fireteams of six," Rarity murmured, taking a sip of her water.

"Oh. That makes things a lot more interesting," Amuro mused.

"Is shame..." Shirska said more to himself than to anyone else.

"What's a shame?" Pinkie asked curiously.

"Is shame I don't get to work with that attractive specimen..." Shirska chuckled, looking Amuro dead in the eyes. The human immediately looked behind him for someone else the Fallen may have been referring to. With no one else in his line of sight, he turned back around with a curious expression that was half flattered and half freaked out. "I want him..."

By that point everyone at the table was shifting odd glances at both Shirska and Amuro. Firstly because the ponies weren't sure they were seeing the same Amuro that Shirska was, and secondly because as Rarity put it so ladylike in that moment, "What the actual fuck?"

"If I learn of male human anatomy, I wish him as my teacher," Shirska seemed to purr with the intent to seduce the Titan.

Pinkie, in the back corner of the table, was clutching her gut and mouth in an earnest attempt to not ruin the moment with her laughter. Rainbow simply raised an eyebrow in pure confusion, unsure what had gotten into Shirska.

"Um... I uh... I don't swing that way," the human stammered.

"I am not understanding your meaning..." Shirska said. He reached out a hand and placed it almost longingly on Amuro's chestplate. "Perhaps words do not say what you mean?"

"I'm not gay," he said slightly more firmly.

The Fallen walked his fingers up the chestplate until the human stepped back a bit and nearly tripped. Shirska chuckled at the display of awkwardness, "You know nothing of me, and I think that is shame. You should visit my quarters. Perhaps we could... talk..."

"Dude... Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Amuro's Hunter friend murmured to his Warlock friend.

"Amuro's getting flirted with by a gay Fallen," the Warlock replied.

"He's trying so hard..." the Hunter whispered.

"This is sinful... I ship it," the Warlock said almost too calmly.

"Me too," the Hunter chuckled back as Amuro tried to get his shit together.

"I can fucking hear you," the flustered Titan growled at his comrades.

"Kiss already!" the Hunter quipped.

At this point, Pinkie lost control, and sputtered out laughing like a maniac. Applejack giggled a bit as well, watching Shirska flirt with the blatantly heterosexual human. Rarity couldn't help but join in with the laughter while she intently watched the soap-opera-worthy drama unfold. And Rainbow simply returned her attention to her water, trying her best to ignore the awkwardness.

The entire pub was watching the unfolding scene. No doubt, a Fallen flirting with a human, and a Guardian no less, was a sight none of them had ever expected to see. A male Hunter dared to stand up and step over towards the table. Amuro let his shoulders slump, feeling relief that someone was coming to take the spotlight.

"Not you," the Fallen said to the approaching Hunter. "This one's better."

The Hunter froze in place, and then backed away in shame and disappointment. A female Warlock decided to press her luck, and she too stood and approached the table. "Need a female anatomy teacher, Fallen?" she asked with the confidence only three shots of whiskey could provide.

Shirska turned his gaze towards the female human Warlock. His eyes wandered up and down her quite pleasing curvaceous form. He replied slowly, "A tempting offer... Perhaps... Later."

"Oh shit."

"Daaaaaaaaamn."

"What the actual fuck?"

The voices of the pub conflicted with each other, saying various things on the interesting spectacle happening before them. Some didn't bother speaking, instead looking at their drinks with hazy looks of confusion. One particular Titan swore under his breath that he was never going to drink again.

Then, and only then, did Shirska dare to stand. The pub fell silent once again. Hunters hushed each other with threats of knives and Titans simply put their hands over the mouths of those who were talking.

"Guardians. I require your assistance," he said loud enough to be heard in every tucked-away corner of the building. "In seven cycles, I plan to slay the Kell of House Kings. I have one daring team at my back already, but I require three more. If you seek glory, come, join me. We shall tear Zeklas the Perverted from his place of power, and help me save my people from his tyranny. Both of our people have done enough suffering. Join me as a comrade, wield the spear of justice with me, and let us kill this monster."

A cheer broke out from the Guardians in the pub. Hunters began sharpening their knives, preparing their most sacred tools for the mission they all wanted to be part of. Titans ordered a round of ciders for everyone in the pub, spending their hard-earned Glimmer in a drunken show of euphoric chivalry to everyone present. Warlocks pulled out pocket-books with notes scribbled in about the Fallen and everything there was to know about them, and comparing notes with other Warlocks.

Within minutes, Shirska was being approached by dozens of Guardians, all looking to find their place in his operation. They asked if the rumors of him once being part of the House of Kings were true, to which he responded, "I have not had a House for longer than I've worn one's banners." The humans, Exos, and Awoken of Earth did not understand the statement, but the ponies did. They remembered the tale he'd told. They would not soon forget. And they would not forget.

Once the Guardians had resettled, Shirska whispered to himself, "This is small victory for House Redemption..."

The Whispers of Power

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Twilight sat at the table staring aimlessly at the quill Celestia had given her. There was something about the phoenix-feather quill that called to her back on Equis to pick it up and take it with her. There were whispers in her mind that that quill, that seemingly insignificant phoenix feather, was important. She tried to scour her mind for anything about phoenix feathers that could explain why the whispers were there in her mind whenever that feather was nearby, but no book she'd ever read about the magical properties of certain items contained anything about those whispers.

"Twilight, you've been staring at that quill for three hours," Fluttershy murmured as she poured herself a cup of tea. "Can you please tell me what's going on?"

"It's trying to talk to me," Twilight whispered back, her ears pointed directly at the quill. "I can feel it."

"Twilight, I'm getting concerned," her pegasus companion said, placing her hand over Twilight's.

"I'm fine," Twilight insisted.

Fluttershy shook her head. "No you're not."

"I'm not fine as in fine," Twilight clarified, "I'm fine as in don't worry."

"I can't help it," Fluttershy whispered, staring down into her cup of tea.

The unicorn looked up to her girlfriend, and reached out a hand to brush against her cheek. She turned up the Titan's chin and looked deeply into her teary teal eyes. She didn't bother with words. Words were just sounds here, just vibrations in the air designed to trigger a nervous response in the ear. Words couldn't convey what needed to be communicated there. So Twilight simply offered a weak, vulnerable smile, letting Fluttershy know that she would be okay. That simple action made Fluttershy smile, and so the pegasus poured her unicorn companion a cup of tea and slid it gently over to her.

"You should drink some tea. It'll help you relax a bit so you can focus better."

Twilight absently took a sip from her freshly poured cup of tea, turning her gaze back down to the perplexing quill on the table before her. But no matter how hard she tried to listen, to block out every other sound in her mind, she couldn't make the whisper clear enough to understand.

A second whisper spoke up in her mind, driving her frustration through the roof. But it was distinct from the other. It had its own voice, unlike the quill. It was oddly familiar; warm and comforting like a grandmother's baking. Twilight tried to listen to it too, but was unable to quiet her mind enough to hear what the voices had to say.

The door opened behind Twilight, letting in a rush of wind from outside. It breathed just enough onto the quill to make it move ever so slightly, and the voices of the other Guardians made the whispers fall silent, much to the frustration of the studious Warlock unicorn. But she brushed aside her frustration and greeted her friends with a warm smile.

The thing about being such close friends with someone like the ponies were with each other, is how difficult it is to hide certain things from them, like frustration. Rarity immediately could sense Twilight's frustration, but she opted not to bring it up quite yet. Rainbow noticed, but she decided to wait for someone else to bring it up before she stepped in, as she didn't want to seem abrasive or cause any more frustration. Pinkie... perhaps she noticed, but no one could really be sure about that, as no living soul could understand Pinkie's outward self, let alone her inner thoughts. Applejack, on the other hand, noticed and immediately brought it up.

"You look like you've got a puzzle with no edge pieces. What's up?" the farmpony asked, taking a seat next to her, looking down at the quill and then at her.

"I hear whispers whe—"

"I hear whispers too! Sometimes they tell me funny jokes!" Pinkie interrupted excitedly, bouncing up and down. "Wanna hear one?"

Twilight looked over at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Okay, okay! Knock knock!" the bouncing pony continued.

"...who's there?" Twilight asked, following the Hunter's lead.

"Old lady," she said.

"Old lady who?" Twilight squinted at her pink friend.

"I didn't know you could yodel!" Pinkie finished excitedly, busting her own gut laughing.

Twilight's face remained motionless, as though Pinkie's joke met an empty room.

"Twilight, you love knock knock jokes!" Rainbow pointed out. "What's goi—"

"INANIMATEOBJECTSARETRYINGTOTALKTOMEANDIWANTTOKNOWWHATTHEY'RETRYINGTOSAY!" the Warlock exploded, a bit of her hair catching fire. "I almost had it, and when you walked in, they went quiet." After a brief silence, Twilight stood up and walked out of their shared apartment with the quill in hand.

"Twilight, wait!" Fluttershy called, just before the unicorn closed the door. But it was too late, and she was gone.

"I think she needs some alone time," Rarity murmured to the timid Titan. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"I've got a bad feeling about letting her go..." Fluttershy whispered.

------

Twilight found a secluded spot in the tower, off in an unused corner above the the Vanguard room. While there was a little bit of hustle and bustle from the Tower and the Guardians therein, and the drone of ships seeking the hangar. She sat cross-legged in the grass, holding the quill in one hand. Her eyes were closed, so she wouldn't be distracted by everyone else scrambling for new gear.

The whispers were a little louder here, but it still wasn't enough for her to hear what they had to say. But she set aside her frustration, trying so desperately to hear them, listen to what they needed to say.

"You won't hear them. They don't speak your tongue," a familiar voice said suddenly from in front of her.

"I'll hear them if you leave me alone," Twilight hissed back.

"Oh, come now, is that really the way to greet an old friend?" the voice chuckled chaotically. The air around her seemed to shiver with the notions of insanity. She could feel the sensation of her color draining from her body.

She opened her eyes to see a man with a goat-like beard and an oddly large and misaligned canine tooth sticking out from his upper jaw. His eyes seemed to hold insolvable puzzles and disorder in them, and they radiated with a strange red glow.

"What do you want from me, Discord?" Twilight spat venomously at the man standing before her. "Here to fuck everything up like you always do?"

He gasped in mock shock, placing a hand over his chest as though he were genuinely offended. "Twilight, I am surprised at you? I'm one of the survivors of our home, and this is how you greet me? With the same animosity you gave the Cabal?"

"You did try to kill me," Twilight huffed.

"That's bubble soap under the bridge," Discord replied. "You see, I am here to help you. I can give you power, and I know you need power."

"There's some sort of catch, I'm sure," the Warlock said.

Discord smiled wickedly, "There's not a catch, per se, just a small risk."

Twilight's facial expression remained motionless, giving away just how unamused she was.

"You can't hear those whispers because they're spoken in a language of chaos," Discord explained, sitting down in front of her. "If I bring out your discordant side, you could hear the whispers clearly. The only trouble is that I can't turn you back once you hear what you need to hear."

"Why help me?" Twilight asked, turning up her chin and looking at Discord suspiciously. "I stand for everything you don't."

"Because someone else did my job for me, and that pisses me right the fuck off," the man replied. "So now the enemy of my enemy must be my friend."

"How long do I have to think about this?" Twilight asked.

"You've got until you go to the House of Kings," Discord said. "After that, you won't have time for this."

"I have something to do first," Twilight said, standing up and suddenly finding herself face to face with Discord, who was holding out his hand.

"I offer you a handshake as a token of my honesty," he said, "I promise you this is not a trick."

"I'll shake your hand after I've taken care of my business," Twilight said, walking past Discord with plenty of space. "I need to make sure I have backup plans."

"Fair enough, I suppose. But do be swift about it," the ex-draconequus said.

Back in the ponies' apartment, everyone else was calmly sitting around, relaxing. Applejack was cleaning her shotgun, Rarity was having tea with Fluttershy, and the two Hunters of the group were likely in their room taking a nap. As soon as Twilight walked in, the others immediately shifted their attention towards her, Fluttershy standing up and wrapping her up in a tight hug. Twilight hugged back and buried her face in her marefriend's shoulder, seeking comfort in the embrace. Fluttershy tried to whisper comforting words into Twilight's ear, but she silenced herself after the first word, realizing that words couldn't help. As sweet and comforting as they were, as much love as they may have held, the fact remained: they were just words.

"I know what I have to do," Twilight said as she pulled away from the loving embrace of her marefriend and companion. "Rarity, I need to teach you something."

Rarity's expression faltered for a moment, but she stood and approached the other Warlock. "What is it?"

"I have to teach you the memory spell that I used on you guys when Discord broke free," Twilight said, turning to her. "I have to become discordant in order to understand the whispers."

Everyone gasped in shock. Pinkie and Rainbow, both having emerged from their room at the moment she said that, stared at her as though she'd lost her mind.

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Rarity asked softly.

Twilight looked up at her with a sullen expression. "It was told to me."

"By whom?" the Voidwalker asked.

"By Discord himself," Twilight said.

Rainbow spoke up, "But Discord's a liar! What motivation does he have to help you?"

"Equestria was his home too, Rainbow," Twilight murmured. "He wants to avenge our home just as much as we do..."

"Teach me the spell," Rarity spoke with determination.

------

It took roughly twelve hours, but Rarity had gotten the spell down. As soon as she'd expressed confidence in her ability to perform the spell, Twilight gathered everyone up at the table, including Shirska. Of course, there was tension in the room. The leader of their group was about to let herself be put into a state of insanity for the sake of the whispers she'd heard.

"Before I do this, I need you all to understand entirely why I feel the need to do it," Twilight said to her friends. She held up the phoenix-feather quill, and let everyone take a good long look at it. "Princess Celestia gave me this quill as a gift when I first became her personal student. It had a series of enchantments in it, which ensured it would always write, even without ink. It would glow whenever I needed it to, so I could stay up at night writing or studying without candles. Back on Equis, when we all went through Ponyville... I felt this quill call to me, begging me to take it with me, that it would be useful later on, and not simply for writing or light. It whispered in my head, and as much as I tried, I couldn't understand it."

Fluttershy subtly placed her hand on Twilight's thigh in an attempt to offer her comfort.

"I've... also been hearing whispers like that..." Applejack murmured, calling a bit of attention to herself. "There was a jar of Zap Apple Jam... It spoke to me... Not just for it to be eaten..."

"Has... anyone else found something that called to them? Perhaps we've all found something..." Twilight asked the group.

"I found a bottle of liquid rainbow..." Rainbow admitted.

"I found the fire ruby Spike gave me..." Rarity said.

"I found a sprig of poison joke," Pinkie giggled.

"I found a scale that Discord gave me..." Fluttershy added.

"And they all speak to you on some level?" Twilight asked.

Everyone nodded their heads. Shirska simply looked around, listening to the odd conversation taking place before him. He was not of that world they spoke of. He did not share the life they once did. He was... an outsider; looking in on something he could never hope to replicate. As much as he had grown to love these odd creatures, his friendship with them was weak compared to the bonds they had amongst themselves.

"Eventually, all of us will need to become discordant if we plan on hearing what we need to hear from these things," Twilight said. "I'll go first and once Rarity gets me back to normal, then she'll go."

------

Shirska sat alone in his own apartment, staring at the yellow banner that had once hung from his shoulders; that once held his loyalties. It seemed like such a long time ago to him. It seemed like he'd been here in this tower for countless cycles. He sighed and let his ether fill his lungs. He hated having to wear his helmet all the time. He hated feeling so encapsulated, and enclosed. It had been so long since he'd seen his own face, he didn't remember what it looked like. Of course, there was a mirror in the bathroom, but it was dangerous for him to try to remove his helm. If he couldn't get the seal right when he put it back on, he could die gasping.

There were still people in that House he felt a connection to; Greksis, Kilas, Esther, and Lyskin among them. He did not want any harm to befall them. They were deeply influential in his life. Kilas had been like a real father to him, and it made him anxious to think that he could be killed in the operation he was planning. Esther had been like a second mother, offering him the emotional support he needed to deal with the trauma he'd been through. She was the one who helped him flee his father when he was worried about being abused again. And Greksis had taught him humility. Greksis was a natural leader, even though he was never in a position to use his talent. He was smart, and resourceful, and had this benevolent air about him, like he cared more about the safety of those he was with than the success of the mission.

Yes, that banner represented the demon that had tortured him, abused him, made him feel less than sentient. It represented a period of his life he'd rather forget, but knew he wouldn't. But at the same time, it still held memories of the good people, the good times, he'd had there. It still held memories of Greksis, and Kilas, and Esther and Lyskin. It still held memories, both good and bad. It still held both love and hate.

He stood up, feeling hatred in his heart at the sight of his old banners. With a swift motion, a diagonal slash was carved across the banner, crossing the mark of the House. "The whispers speak of you, and all you've done wrong. They offer us the power to dethrone you," Shirska whispered as he dropped his knife and ambled slowly to his bed. "Judgement comes for you... Zeklas of House Kings."

------

The sun rose over the Orbiks-fel silently. It brought no warmth. It brought only light. A few pink clouds hung lazily in the sky, slowly losing their color as Sol's light shined down. The grand walls of the D.C. Cosmodrome began to gleam harshly with the light of Sol, blinding the Fallen walking upon those walls as scouts.

Inside the Orbiks-fel, a group of Vandals were standing in one of the armories, inspecting their weapons and armor before their next big mission. Though their armor still had the distinctive yellow markings of the House of Kings, many of the plates had black tiger-stripes across them. The six Vandals spoke to each other about various goings on from the previous night and other such insignificant topics.

"Greksis, how does it feel to finally be part of the Dark Crown?" one asked.

The Vandal answered with restraint, "It is an honor to be placed in such an important unit. I must thank my old Captain for his recommendations."

"Wasn't your Captain Shirska?" another asked.

"Indeed he was," Greksis answered.

"Should we tell him?" one spoke in a silent language of hands.

"I do not think it wise," another replied in hands.

"What of the trauma he could take from this mission?" the first asked.

"The Kell specifically requested him on this mission. It is not in my control," the second answered.

Greksis attached a device to his chestplate and then pushed a button on it. Instantly he vanished from view, light passing through him instead of bouncing off of him. Satisfied, he pushed the button again and reappeared in the same position he'd been in.

"Having fun there?" one asked.

"Much fun, Palhas," Greksis answered. "I never got to play with such technology before."

"Try to keep your mind focused on the mission. We're headed directly for the tower of the Ghouls," Palhas said, plucking his sword from the wall and sheathing it. across his back. "We're going after a defector."

"Whoever it is, they must either be crazy or quite brave," Greksis mused. "How high up were they?"

"They were a Captain, and now they supposedly work with the Ghouls. Aside from that, we know nothing," Jyara said.

"Wonderful. We'll be going up against a stronger opponent," Greksis sighed with sarcasm thick in his voice. "How many of us will actually be going into their tower?"

"Three. You, me, and Palhas," Jyara replied quickly. "Rekis, Skolas, and Drevis will stay at the evac point with the Servitor."

The six, now all fully armed and armored, stepped out of the armory and into the halls of the Ketch. All of them were silent from there, their masks painted like skulls, making other Eliksni step out of their way with respect and awe. As they entered the hangar, they were greeted by their Servitor, and told to board their assigned skiff.

After a few minutes of waiting, the engines of the team's skiff roared to life, their Servitor connecting to the ship's controls. Greksis looked down at the knife in his hands, given to him by Shirska. It was a regular shock dagger like any other Dreg's, but it held value in the words Shirska said when he received it: "This knife is for you. It is shaped like determination. With it you can change your fate."

------

Your name is Twilight. You are not in your own body. You were once a faithful student, studying hard to impress your mentor. Now you are a Warlock. What even is a Warlock? Now you try to make sense of everything. You try to remain faithful. What is faith? You still believe in a dead goddess. Foolish, you are. Did you not see her die back in that warbase? Did she not tell you she was powerless against Death? She is gone, and it is all your fault. Because of you she made an emotional mistake. You became her hope for the future, and it died with you that day. Your desire to please brought about the fall of your world. How does it feel to know that you were the fourth horse? It must be a terrible pain...
I can offer you power.
Come out into the light. Stand on the surface of the moon and look down into the pit. There will be answers for you there. Your insatiable lust for knowledge will know ecstasy. Feel your mind orgasm with new knowledge. You can make the Darkness quiver in fear of what you know.
There is a knife for you.
You try and you try and you try to tell them, but no one ever understands. They all just look at you like you're babbling madness, or you've grown a third eye. You might as well be mad. Sanity has never really helped you anyway. You are a scientist in a world ruled by magic. To try to measure the latter with the former is crazy. Logic can't apply to faith. Faith is about believing. Perhaps you've always been crazy.
It is shaped like [mourning].
What brought you here? Do you remember? You aren't sure you do. Perhaps it was altruism. Perhaps it was pride, or desire to please, or the sentiment that you thought you could so you had to. Luna had faith in you, and Celestia had pride in you. You are magic. You are determination. You can do anything you think you can. Celestia told you that one time...
But you can't stop grieving. That is also part of you now. You are grief.
Stand up. You have so much work to do. Leave your friends behind. It's too dangerous for them. This is something you have to do alone. You are here for a reason. Go find it. It's there, on the moon, waiting for you. You can find it. You can pick it up and hold it, and keep it safe. You can make sure nothing else happens to it.
Pick up the knife.
You are in love. That love will make you strong enough. It will fill you with hope and determination, and you will again feel life in your chest. Breathe. You are alive, but only barely. You still need Her just to find the strength to keep breathing.
There is a knife for you. It is shaped like [mourning]. Pick it up.
Take it up and carve a new future for you and your love and your friends and your allies. Come take up the knife and carve your love into the universe. Show it your determination, your magic, your grief.
Take it up. Carve the universe. Take your new shape.

Intermission: Destiny

View Online

I [am] nothingness. If I existed before, I existed as possibility, as potential, stretched thin across the aether. And maybe there was a body that looked like my body, complete with a soul that could be confused for someone rather like me. What I am now [is] not yet real.

The universe looked upon a fixed point in space with more eyes than there were grains of sand on all the beaches of the Earth. Every star was a pair of eyes, and every pair of eyes watched with a vague interest, and pity in grayscale. A single mote of light emerged from nothingness from that fixed point with the sound of a dying breath being released. It would never become a star, or inhabit a Ghost, or even be consumed to bring Guardian armaments to their fullest potential. This mote was special. It had will. It had strength, and magic, and sadness and hope and grief and pain.

Perhaps one day, it would realize that it used to be the soul of a goddess. Perhaps one day it would reincarnate; find a new body, or build one, and walk upon rock and dirt and grass and breathe oxygen-rich air again, and watch the sun move across the sky. Perhaps one day, it would return to its future state. And maybe it would understand what was meant by soul or goddess.

And the universe spoke to the mote of light.

"Secrets," she said. "Creation is built on secrets and the encryptions that keep those secrets safe."

The mote of light took a breath, and felt the harsh taste of nothingness. It looked upon the universe with an expressionless smile. Did it remember? Did it know the truth? Maybe it knew the lie.

The universe sighed, and looked outwards again. Free from prying eyes, the mote of light began to think, and theorize, and attempt to remember. It remembered color. Color? No, that wasn't right. It remembered light. There was light everywhere, but it was violent, and dark, and cold. Did it remember sound? It wanted to think that it did; loud, percussive sounds, like the cracking of stone and metal stomping. But there was more. The sound of silence, the kind only Death could play like music. The mote remembered the sounds of screams, and the distinctive sigh of a last breath being released. Was it its own? It didn't think so.

The universe turned its eyes back, if only for a moment, and the mote was still and silent. It didn't want the universe to know that it knew. But what did it know that was worth hiding? Didn't the universe already know what it knew? And if it didn't, was it worth the anxiety of hiding?

The universe spoke again to the mote of light:

The knife had a million blades.
And you were giant, powerful and swift. But the knife pinned you. Cut your godly flesh away.
Very little was left, you are sure, because you feel insignificant now. The hard slick heart of your soul: That is what remains. A body small as a river stone, and just as simple. You picture yourself as a piece of indigestible grit, a nameless nothing hiding among other nameless stones. Perhaps you glitter like a gem, yes. Pride makes you hope so. If only you could see yourself. But you have no eyes. Not the dimmest sense survives. What lives is memory, and what slim portion of these thoughts can you trust?
The knife stole much more than your body.

The mote of light remembered, and the universe looked away again. The knife. It was all because it had taken up the knife. It had offered it power. It came in the form of dreams, and it spoke to it when it was alive. Was it alive now? It depended on what was meant by alive. The mote of light could think, and feel, and it could move on its own, free from foreign influence. But most would not consider it alive until it had its own body and could truly influence the world around it.

The mote of light looked outwards again and noticed that it saw no stars. Only the tar-black void of space. No light, no sound, no warmth, not even the infinitesimal prickle of cosmic radiation flung about from stars and slingshotted around black holes with gravity. But it could feel something else, watching. Waiting. Hoping. Grieving. It could feel it as though it were just a few kilometers away from the source of these emotions, but could that be right?

The mote of light felt another prickle of familiarity. A particular wavelength of pain.

The knife.

The knife was near. Something had been offered it, and it was taking the deal. If only it could scream. If only it still had its old body and could fly through the void to seek out the knife and destroy it and bring whatever being had been offered its awful power into its embrace.

Wings. It remembered suddenly that it had wings before. It didn't remember much about the wings except that it had them, and that they looked like light and pride and beauty. Did others admire its wings? It was certain at least of that.

------

You are Celestia. Alicorn goddess of the sun and Solar Regent of the Royal Sisters Diarchy. Sister to Luna, daughter of Faust. Beloved princess of Equestria. At one point you were the monarch of Equestria, ruling alone in sadness and grief and fear.
You now await [destiny].
Do not fret, princess, you will not feel the pain of death until you return to a corporeal form. Your time spent waiting will be just trying to remember what happened and how it came to this. But some things should be made clear for you, in the interest of time.
You had many, many apprentices over the countless ages you've lived, but none were as special as her. Her name was Twilight Sparkle, and she was your faithful student. She was impossible not to love, wasn't she? The way she just craved knowledge, and reveled in learning. You couldn't help but feel proud of her when she figured out a new spell, and showed you with that cheeky smile on her face, couldn't you? You tried and you tried and you tried to steel yourself, knowing that you'd lose everyone you'd ever love. But Death doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints. It takes. And it takes. And it takes. You were doomed to lose her from the beginning, and you knew that.
Was she worth the pain of thinking you'd failed and all hope was lost? Would you have been happier to see her grow old and watch her body give out while yours didn't change? Would you have been happier watching her plateau and never reach her full potential?
You may not have survived, but they say the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Would you trust in your enemy to help avenge your mutual home? Don't bother answering, I already know, and your feelings will not change the course of action that will play out. Even Discord can't meddle with time.
Don't look at me like that. I'm not the one in charge. I am just a dead power like you; waiting. One day, our times will come again, and we will be born again. We will feel life in our bodies again, and we will look out upon the universe together. We shall know harmony, even deep in the heart of chaos. That is our destiny, I am sure.
But you... you come first, and you must fight. Fight, and win. You must be my paladin, and you must clear a path for my return. If I had any other choice, I would shoulder that burden myself. But in this time of Darkness, a spark is needed to rekindle a flame.
You are the spark.
There is a staff for you. It is shaped like [destiny].
Pick it up, and test its heft. Train with it. Master it.
Show the universe its destiny.

------

For the most part, there was silence in the skiff. But Jyara was humming an old Eliksni lullaby to himself, and the dull roar of the engines ensured there was at least some noise to keep everyone from sinking too deep into their own minds. That was his quirk, as everyone but Greksis knew. Being the newest member of the Dark Crown Black Operations team, Greksis was unaware of the various quirks and ticks of his team, like the fact that Revis would constantly reload his weapons and readjust their sights, or that Kixis would recite old poetry with Weksis in their silent language of hands, or that Palhas would drum on his legs. And as a new member of the Dark Crown, it was unknown to others that Greksis' quirk was staring at the knife, running a finger perpendicularly across the blade to test its edge.

As time slipped by, the lights in the skiff's crew bay seemed to brighten. Suddenly the skiff decelerated and came to a halt. The trapdoors opened, and the six Vandals slipped down in glossy stealth onto the rails overlooking their drop site. Jyara whispered over their closed communications line to jump, and the team hit the snow with surgical precision. The skiff then backed off and the dull roar of its engines faded into echoes broadcasted by the mountains. They looked down the mountainside they'd been dropped on, overlooking the City of the Death of Children, the City That Docks, the City Cursed Justly, and the Tower of the Ghouls set in the walls surrounding it. In that moment, as they all temporarily turned off their cloaking, they all felt a sense of awe as they looked upon the Great Machine for the first time, and saw the lights of the City shining in the night.

"This is what we fight for. This is what the Houses united for," Palhas spoke softly.

"I only wish we did not have to fight for it," Greksis mused.

The others looked at him with expressions of uncomfortable questioning.

"My Captain, Shirska, was adamant that by studying these creatures we fight; by looking at their culture and what they value, we could share the blessing of the Great Machine with them. We could... seek diplomacy and end this war without leaking more ether or spilling more blood," Greksis continued. "I can't help but believe him."

Kixis and Weksis looked at each other for a brief moment and looked visibly uncomfortable. They briefly spoke in hands, and then Weksis spoke, "I don't think such a course of action is possible... They have already ensured the suffocation of thousands upon thousands of our children. Such actions... must be reprimanded and cannot be forgiven. If there was a point at which we could have attempted diplomacy, I believe it has certainly passed us by."

If Greksis paused to conjure a response it was only for the briefest moment. "No creature or race is so far lost in the dark that they cannot find the light again."

Discordant

View Online

She stood at the table in her apartment looking over the disassembled sniper rifles. Each rifle was laid out in an exploded view of its completed form. The discordant Warlock muttered to herself about how there weren't enough materials there for her to make what she needed, and had mentioned a knife shaped like some incoherent word in a language none of them understood.

Applejack, Rainbow, and Rarity were in their civilian attire, sitting on the sofas in the room, watching Twilight do her thing. Pinkie stood at one end of the table, watching Twilight meticulously sort parts out of the main area and into a pile off to the side with a sense of monkey-like curiosity, also in civilian-wear. But Fluttershy stood closest to Twilight, wearing her newly purchased armor and clenching her fists a little bit. Discord was sitting cross-legged on the ceiling, looking up at the table with a vague sense of interest.

But the most interesting guest in the room was Ikora Rey, who Twilight personally requested to be present while she was discordant. Of course, she never took off her armor, so she was there in her usual fieldweave robes, her Ghost hanging over her shoulder like a parrot. She watched Twilight work carefully, noting each part that was taken from the main pile and moved off to the side.

"Not enough here... It needs magic," Twilight muttered to herself. "Ghost, I need those resonance crystals."

Ikora cocked her head a bit at the mention of the arcane. She was familiar with the concept of magic being used by both enemies and allies alike, but she had never seen the actual process of infusing it into weaponry. The Hive were known to be particularly adept in using magic, but usually it was magic alone, not infused into weaponry. Aside from Twilight, only Toland had ever been recorded of having successfully used magic to build a weapon intended for use by Guardians. Ikora was not one to shrink away from the idea of turning enemy technology and arcana to bear against them, and was perhaps the most curious of any Guardian about the possibility of using both Light and Dark to repel the enemies of the Sol System.

Twilight placed a hexagonal crystal about the size of her horn on the table and shifted it around until she was satisfied with its position. "Wait, shit. Wrong crystal. Ghost, I need the red one."

Once Twilight had replaced the crystal, she looked over the pile of weapon parts again. But she still wasn't satisfied with it.

It needs to have fangs made of what it is destined to devour.

The unicorn began rambling to herself in a language no one in the room recognized, save for Discord, as though she'd spoken it for her entire life. Everyone else in the room visibly flinched, as though the language was physically painful to hear, like the sound of a nail on glass or nails on a chalkboard. And perhaps most affected was Fluttershy, though whether this was due to physical or emotional proximity was unknown.

"It won't be enough," the discordant unicorn hissed. Without warning, she teleported into her room, donning her armor and picking up her auto rifle before teleporting out again. "I need to go to the moon."

"It's too dangerous. Hive activity has been escalating there, and we've lost too many to risk letting you anywhere near their fortresses," Ikora said. But Twilight wouldn't listen.

"I'll be back. Don't let anything touch my design," Twilight barked before teleporting out of the room and started running towards the hangar.

Fluttershy immediately sprinted after her, her Ghost transmatting her helmet onto her body in preparation for the harsh environment of the moon. The other four hastily made their way to their rooms to grab their armor, and Ikora shook her head, deciding that it would be unwise for her to go after the rogue Warlock herself, as she was the Warlocks' Vanguard representative, and she did not have a replacement chosen. As the ponies scrambled after their friend, Ikora took a closer look at the design that Twilight had laid out. The design itself was fairly rudimentary. It looked quite a bit like a spear; a long barrel extending to take up over half of the weapon's total length, with a flash hider at the very end. But back at the base, it looked much like a standard 1000-Yard Stare. Aside from that, the only non-standard component was the red pencil-sized crystal at the center of it all. And it was that crystal that Ikora focused on and tried to analyze with her Ghost while Discord took a nap on the ceiling.

------

Twilight looked out on the harsh surface of Earth's moon for the first time, seeing other Guardians roaming about without bothering to acknowledge her. Knowing she hadn't much time before her friends would catch up, she began running up the slope from the transmat zone towards the large metallic structure where those Guardians were. As she reached the top she noticed Fallen off to the left, armored in green, attempting to fend off a lone Titan. Off to the right were a trio of Guardians defending some object that looked vaguely like a giant spiked ball from waves of Fallen.

But Twilight didn't bother with any of it. She kept moving forward, past the buildings, underneath the main component of the structure, which looked like a massive gun-barrel. Eventually she reached a steep cliff, to the top of which she teleported and began walking. She kept walking for a long while until she reached a dip in the terrain, where a single spire and a medium-sized door embedded into the surface of the moon.

Twilight looked a little closer and saw three creatures offering up their weapons to the spire in what seemed to be prayer and smiled a sickly smile beneath her helmet.

"Are you seeing this?" she said into the void.

"I never knew this was here!" her Ghost said, appearing over her shoulder and snapping a few pictures and recording coordinates. "What do you suppose it is?"

"It's an armory, and we're going to steal the most powerful one," Twilight cackled.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" her Ghost said with doubt in her voice.

"What could possibly go wrong?"

------

Greksis, Palhas, and Jyara approached the Tower with caution, even though they were cloaked. The three Eliksni looked up at the immense metal tower with a sense of anxiety gnawing at their stomachs. This was the heart of the resistance on this planet. This was the center of all threats to the Eliksni's campaign; the one City that refused to bow to the Kells of their united Houses. Inside was the army of Ghouls sent to kill them.

Jyara placed a hand upon the surface of the Tower, letting his glove stick to it like a magnet. The others did the same shortly thereafter, and began climbing up the smooth wall like geckos. At a point roughly halfway up, they paused for a moment and looked back to the mountain they'd climbed down to get here. But the break was short-lived. They continued their climb upwards towards their objective; the assassination of a traitor to the House of Kings.

------

Fluttershy hit the ground running, jumping into the air and lifting herself as hard as she could over the rise leading up to where she heard weapons fire. She passed through the area without glancing around her, instead focusing on the green arrow on her helmet's motion tracker and following its lead. As she came to another cliff, she jumped up again and lifted herself again, barely reaching the top before her boosters sputtered out. She kept running forwards, clutching her pulse rifle so hard that her knuckles popped. Up ahead, she noticed a faint light, and could hear the sounds of weapons fire. She threw herself into the crater, raining bullets down upon a few unknown creatures that her Ghost had marked as hostile.

"She should be up ahead," O-Ron warned, "but there's a lot of Hive movement as well."

"Just focus on her," the Titan growled as she switched to her shotgun and blasted a Knight between its eyes as though her weapon was nothing more than a hand cannon. A few Thrall screamed in unfettered rage at her mere presence, one in front, and one on either side, and threw themselves at her. With no hesitation she ducked under the first one, which tumbled off somewhere behind her. The two on either side then decided to double-team her, but the Titan saw it coming, and threw both fists out to connect with their skulls. When the first one recovered it leapt at her again and aimed its claws for her wings but was bucked away with a boot, where it collapsed into dust where its two brethren were disintegrated into axion and neutrino-scatter and manifested as a barrier of Light around her body.

She pressed forwards through the open door to the Hive structure built into this seemingly innocuous crater. But the environment inside was far different from the lunar surface. What she beheld could have been described as beautiful, if she could be bothered to give even half of a shit. The architecture inside was almost familiar, reminding her of that found in the Crystal Empire back on Equis. The tiles on the ground were shaped in perfect tessellating patterns of hexagons and diamonds. The ceilings were held up by massive columns three of her thick. And as she descended the intricate staircase, she noticed some of the corners were covered in an odd grey substance that seemed to pour out Darkness like they were tendrils of flame. She did not care to know exactly what this odd material was, but it looked as though a portion had been taken from the otherwise smooth-ish mass.

"Fluttershy? Where the fuck did you go?" Rainbow's voice boomed through her helmet as she turned a corner down another staircase, narrowly avoiding impaling herself on a sickly green glowing crystal.

"I'm finding Twilight. She needs me," Fluttershy responded gruffly as she leapt over a pit of unknown depth. As she landed on the other balcony, a pair of Knights roared and hefted their Cleavers, stepping forth from the columns on either side of the platform. The Knight on the left took a swing at her with its sword, but it simply glanced off of the barrier, giving Fluttershy the opportunity to fire a shotgun shell into its sword arm. It roared in pain and its sword went clattering to the edge of the balcony. The other Knight attempted to bring down its own sword in an overhand chop but failed to connect the hit. The Titan responded in kind by jumping back to the edge of the balcony and picking up the dropped sword, pausing for a brief moment to marvel at how easy it felt to swing even though it was heavier than her.

The Knight whose sword was now in the Guardian's hands roared and tried to kick her off the ledge, but was quickly dodged by Fluttershy, who ducked under the kick and swung the sword at the Knight's other leg. When the sword connected, it sliced through the Knight as though its armor and flesh were nothing more than water. The other Knight screamed like a Thrall at the sight of its comrade collapsing into ash and threw itself at Fluttershy, swinging its own sword wildly in an attempt to make her back away from its furious onslaught. But the Knight was wrong to think for even a moment that the rage of the Darkness could push back an equal rage of the Light. Fluttershy held her ground as the Knight approached, blocking its sword with her own, watching carefully as it stepped closer and closer.

The Knight threw punch instead of another sword swing, and managed to clip her shoulder, but it overextended its arm to make contact, and that was its only mistake. Fluttershy wrapped her arm around the Knight's fist and yanked it as hard as she could, and threw the Knight over the edge, where it fell roaring into the abyss.

Fluttershy pressed on, hearing more sounds of fighting coming from the halls ahead. There were crystals here, but they looked mundane in comparison to those that grew in the Crystal Empire. She stepped through another door and saw ashes falling down from the air into a puddle of some kind of liquid. She doubted it was water. On either side of her were balconies lining the sides of the hallway, along with dim green lamps hanging from the ceiling like intricate chandeliers. A few glowing green crystals also grew out of the sides of the walls, casting light like sickly green torches. And of course, there was more of the strange gray substance off in the corners, pouring out Darkness.

Something felt very off in those twisted hallways of the Hive's fortress. Aside from the three Thrall and three Knights she'd seen, there were no enemies here. Her motion tracker saw no enemies, and she had yet to meet any real resistance. Perhaps this was due to Twilight clearing them all out on the way in, but Fluttershy didn't think that to be the case; or at least not entirely. Sure, Twilight was more than capable of taking care of herself, but even she would need help against a horde of enemies. The distinct lack of such a horde in such a seemingly important installation made Fluttershy's wings tingle uncomfortably.

"All clear up ahead, but keep a lookout," Fluttershy said for the others over the comm line. "I've got a very bad feeling about this..."

As she stepped through the next door, she heard a loud and percussive sound, like metal pounding against metal. An increase in temperature could be felt as she crossed a bridge spanning the width of a fissure that descended probably for miles. The putrid smell of rotting flesh and the metallic scent of blood passed through her helmet's ventilation system and nearly made her puke on the spot. But she forged ahead anyway, following the directions of her Ghost towards Twilight.

A scream echoed from below her, followed shortly thereafter by a roar of unfettered wrath. The metallic sound resounded all throughout the chasm, coming every few seconds. "What do you suppose they're doing down there?" her Ghost asked.

"Sounds like torture," Fluttershy replied.

"Knowing the Hive, it probably is," O-Ron mused.

Fluttershy stepped through another door, and immediately leapt back with a sharp gasp, staring down into a dark pit that she'd almost fell into. After catching her breath, she looked around and saw no other doors, and no other ways forward. She looked down again, and her Ghost appeared over her shoulder, shining a light down the pit in vain hopes of seeing the bottom.

"She's down there somewhere..." O-Ron said quietly.

"Well then, I believe the appropriate word is jeronimo," the Titan said, just before she hopped down into the abyss.

------

The three Vandals reached the top of the Tower, and peeked up over the ledge of a balcony just under the railing. There was a courtyard with a pathway of gray stone with rows of grass on either side of it. Off to the left was what looked to be an altar of some kind, with a flame occupying some sort of chalice. The plaza looked to be abandoned. Their motion trackers saw nothing, and their eyes failed to find any Ghouls standing around. Once they deemed it safe, they pulled themselves up over the railing and quietly discussed the finer details of the mission. Jyara suggested waiting in a position of observation for the target to pass through, and then follow them from there to a more confined space. Palhas agreed, but Greksis suggested that they all find different vantage points instead of sticking together, to 'cover more ground,' as he put it.

The other two Vandals agreed with his suggestion, and began climbing the walls of the plaza up towards a new vantage point. When they reached the top of the wall, they peeked out over it only to behold forty of the Ghouls walking around, making noise, laughing and talking and dancing. Off on one side, three small towers stood with several Ghouls standing around them and placing items in them. Off to the right, there was a short building where the Ghouls would speak with a robot of some kind and receive items.

"This may be more difficult than we first thought..." Jyara groaned.

------

Fluttershy stepped through yet another doorway deep within the Hive fortress. She had seen only one more enemy since jumping down into the pit, and it was merely another Thrall. But now, as she stepped into the next room, her motion tracker began to light up bright red on nearly all sides. She looked around and saw a massive furnace against the back wall, with an equally large block of something sitting just a short distance away from it. Off to the sides, the walls were lined with the odd gray substance, and pointy crystals the size of swords poked through the thick layer of it, their sickly green glow lighting the room just enough to see the floor and ceiling.

"Where's Twilight?" the Titan asked.

"She's up ahead, by the furnace," her Ghost answered.

She wasted no time, dashing forth towards the far end of the room, calling out for her lover. She leapt over skeletons and piles of ash and ruined armor to reach her unicorn companion. When she reached the furnace, she saw Twilight staring into it, speaking an unknown language, not the same as the one that made her cringe. She looked to be weaving some sort of spell. Her horn was glowing, but not entirely her own natural color. It gave off her natural magenta, but also the same sickly green given off by the flames in the furnace and the strange crystals on the walls and the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. When she fell silent, a cold feeling swept through the room, and the ground began to rumble.

The door Fluttershy had come through opened and allowed entry to the remaining four of their party. But as soon as they stepped in, the door slammed shut, the loud thunk resounding through the massive room, echoing several times over. The ground shook again, the chains suspending the chandeliers rattling, and the furnace spewing sparks. Fluttershy stayed close to Twilight, though, gripping her weapon and looking around the room again.

"UP THERE!" Rainbow hollered, pointing up at the ceiling, between a pair of chandeliers. A single eye stared back at them, its odd green glow resonating with the crystals and the flames. Rainbow pulled out her sniper rifle and took a shot at the eye, only for the bullet to miss its mark and bounce off the ceiling. Two more similar eyes opened up in positions similar to Knights and the other Hive minions.

"What is it?" Rarity asked, looking through her scout rifle's scope in hopes of seeing more.

The lights in the room intensified without warning, exposing the strange ceiling creature to be a larger-than-normal Knight, hanging on the ceiling like some kind of spider. In one arm it looked to be wielding a hammer instead of a sword, and in its other hand was a long chain that seemed to be forged into its armor. The Knight roared and dropped down from the ceiling, slamming its hammer into the ground, where a circle of green flames arose from mere contact. It then turned around, ignoring the four by the door and looking instead at the Warlock who dared awaken it from its slumber. When it opened its mouth to roar again, Twilight pointed out that a few of its teeth had been replaced with crystals, one of which seemed to absorb all light that it was exposed to, and would radiate Darkness.

"So what's the plan? Do we shoot it?" Pinkie asked as she watched the Knight step towards Twilight.

"Of course we shoot it!" Rainbow answered, taking another shot with her sniper, which plinked off of the Knight's back.

"Enemy analyzed! According to the fragmented works of Toland, that's Gordök, the Darksmith," Rarity's Ghost said over the comm channel. "Crota may have shattered the moon, but he's the one who forged Crota's sword in the first place!"

"So let's hurry up and kill him," Rainbow quipped, taking another shot at a point on the back of the Knight's head, which managed to knock his head forward and make him stumble a bit. When Gordök turned around, he raised his hammer and brought it down on the ground. The entire room shook, and a few sharp crystals began stabbing through the ground in a line from his hammer towards Rainbow. She leapt to the side to avoid the oncoming wave of sharp crystals, and took aim again for his eyes.

Pinkie hopped closer towards the Knight, holding her hand cannon in just one hand, not seeming to pay attention to the movements of the enemy. But when he started swinging his chain, she was forced back, let she be whipped by the massive length of metal. He roared again, and the ceiling opened up, two tiny fissures in space opening up to allow a pair of screaming Wizards into the room. They charged their hands with Darkness and threw circles of green fire onto the ground, watching as Thralls crawled up from them, shrieking and howling in famine and pestilence.

"Twilight? What's the plan?" Applejack asked as she opened fire on the charging waves of Thrall. "How do we beat this thing?"

The Warlock in question remained unresponsive, instead climbing up onto the strange platform next to the furnace and firing a few rounds from her auto rifle into the fire.

"Don't mind her right now, just keep shooting!" Rainbow called as she fired a round from her hand cannon into a strange glowing Thrall.

Gordök howled as the furnace seemed to co cold for a moment, its flames extinguishing. He knelt down for a moment and leaned on his hammer, breathing heavily, and Twilight hollered, "Now! Aim for his eye!"

Without hesitation, the four nearest the door began putting as much fire into the Knight as they could, every round seeming to do something. But the furnace was quickly reignited by a Wizard, who flew directly into the opening and set itself alight with magic, and Gordök stood again, the bullets that once seemed to be doing damage now just bouncing off like they were nothing. And not only that, the wounds he'd sustained seemed to be healing, the flesh growing back where it had been shredded by bullets.

"Of fucking course," Rainbow huffed.

Fluttershy lifted herself onto the platform next to Twilight, and aimed her rifle at the ceiling, where another pair of Wizards had appeared and were floating down and throwing arc blasts at her friends and summoning Thralls to shred them. She screamed and began spewing bullets at them, wishing nothing but pain and death upon them.

Gordök, the Darksmith

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Gordök slammed his hammer down on the ground, a pulse of green fire splashing outwards, forcing the four ponies on the ground to jump in order to avoid being incinerated. A moment later, the Wizards screamed and summoned another wave of Thralls, and threw bolts of arc energy flying at the four.

A pair of Acolytes leapt up onto the anvil where Fluttershy and Twilight stood, firing their shredders to cover their landing. But Fluttershy shrugged off the hits and punched them both right back off again.

Back down on the floor, a new wave of tougher Thrall began running towards the four Guardians. Rainbow shot one in the head, but it didn't crumble to dust like the others had. But she kept shooting, praying to Luna for strength. A scream suddenly erupted from behind her, followed by a harsh explosion. Rainbow saw Applejack go flying forwards towards the quickly approaching wave of Thralls. Rainbow cursed under her breath and threw a grenade at the Thrall, sticking it to the leg of one. The Hive minions stopped and hunched over for cover just before the explosion tore through them and sent a fair number of them flying around as ash.

Applejack, having been thrown by an explosion, picked herself up only to find herself surrounded by Thrall, all screaming and glaring at her with rabid hunger. "Fuck," she cursed, barely dodging a slash from a trio of arc-infused claws. She ducked under a pair of claws attempting to rip her apart, but failed to account for another Thrall bringing both of its claws down in a volleyball spike, slamming her unceremoniously into the ground. She yelped in pain, her breath catching in her chest, and her life flashing before her eyes. Here, she'd failed.

"Not yet, you don't!" a voice screamed from behind the horde of Thrall. With only that much warning, a flurry of bright purple needles shredded through the writhing mass of decaying creatures above her, making some of them dissipate into nothingness. The rest turned their heads and screamed again, forgetting about the prey they'd almost killed and charging towards the source of the void fire.

"Eyes up, Guardian!" Applejack's Ghost called to her through her helmet.

"Thanks for the save, Rares!" the Titan huffed, paying her Ghost no heed and shoving herself to her feet again. Without a moment's hesitation, she switched to her shotgun and looked for the closest enemy, which just so happened to be a Knight sauntering over hefting a cleaver about as tall as her in one hand. With a battle cry, she surged to meet it, sliding between its legs as it tried to chop her in half with an overhanded swing of its sword. She let one blast of her shotgun speak her mind into the back of the Knight's head, sending it staggering forward as it collapsed into dust. But a slam of Gordok's hammer made her remember that though these small enemies were dangerous, the real threat was the giant abomination in the center of the room. She snapped her head back to check for the incoming spikes, but saw only Thrall and a few Knights.

A Wizard screamed and began throwing bolts of arc energy at Applejack specifically. The Titan cartwheeled to the side, still holding her shotgun and far out of range of hitting the enemy. A pair of Thrall slashed their claws at her back, managing to make Applejack grunt in pain just before she turned around and threw a fist crackling with arc energy at one of them and landing it directly in the creature's face. The screaming thing instantly dissipated into nothingness, and a wave of arc energy spread out from where it had been standing, enveloping its partner and killing it too.

As another Wizard shrieked and crumbled into dust, Fluttershy and Twilight turned their attention back to the furnace. Twilight slung her rifle across her back and switched to a hefty looking rocket launcher, quietly talking to herself in the strange language that made Fluttershy wince. The rocket blasted forth from the launcher's barrel, screaming towards the gate placed over the furnace and leaving a trail of smoke that crackled with tiny explosions. She thought for sure that the explosion would be enough to open the furnace's fires up for an attack, but the explosion never came. When she looked up from reloading her launcher, she saw her rocket flying off towards the enemies on the floor, having seemingly bounced off the gate as though it was made of rubber.

"Watch out!" Fluttershy screamed to the others on the ground.

Pinkie looked up just in time to see the rocket heading directly for her face, making her yelp and bounce out of the way. The rocket kept flying, everything in the area ducking out of the way to avoid a very painful end to their existence, eventually hitting a wall and exploding with nothing nearby.

"Something's wrong! Why didn't that work‽" Twilight hissed in frustration, looking down towards the battle on the ground.

J-Ami appeared over Twilight's shoulder and said, "I'll go analyze the gate. Keep me covered!"

They have something you need. Take it from them.

Twilight screamed like a Wizard and leapt down from the anvil, letting loose a hailstorm of bullets from her auto rifle. Her friends all watched her in a perverted sense of awe, almost forgetting to keep firing their own weapons. She targeted a Knight and focused her fire on it, watching as her stream of bullets just kept slamming into its chest. Within moments the Knight roared and put up a shield of blackened and burning crystal. But Twilight didn't care, and tossed a grenade under the shield and watching as the Knight's body flew into the air and disintegrated. She cursed under her breath, and turned her attention to another Knight.

"Only an explosive reaction of dark energy can bust it. Toland said a 'Tomb Husk' should do the trick," Twilight's Ghost reported to the group.

Rainbow switched to her sniper and took aim at a Knight's head, but was promptly slapped by a Thrall. "Damned things! Get off!" She slapped the offending Thrall in the face with the back of her hand and blew it back with a blast of air from a flap of her wings. Without another moment's hesitation, she tossed a grenade at the Thrall, which ducked as soon as it noticed that there was something stuck to its chest. A dull thump echoed from where the enemy had once been, and when she looked back at it, there was nothing there. Confident she could aim in peace, she brought up her rifle's scope to her eye again and scanned the battle for a Knight to kill.

A snap resounded through the forge, and a sigh of relief from Rarity and Applejack followed. Pinkie giggled in her usual Pinkie-ish manner, bouncing over a few Thrall, and brandishing her Golden Gun. The first shot hollered a rallying cry for the Light, and slammed into a Thrall. The round pierced it through-and-through, and as it began burning away into ash, it exploded into a bright ball of fire, engulfing several more nearby Thrall, and setting a Knight on fire. The second shot screamed a vow of vengeance against the Darkness, and tore through the burning Knight as though its armor was nothing more than paper, leaving a smoldering hole in its face. It too exploded and broke the line of Thrall and Acolytes. The third shot cried out that these creatures of Darkness shall be banished back from whence they came. The last shot sliced through a Knight's sword, and sent it flying into a wall where the blade was stuck into the seamless stone wall.

Pinkie bounced back over to her friends just in time to see Twilight tear the swordless Knight to pieces with a flaming blast from her palm. As it disintegrated, a ball of some unknown material dropped to the ground and began rolling away from her. Pinkie rushed for it and successfully grabbed it off the ground. "Twilight! Catch!"

The Warlock in question grabbed the ball of Darkness and felt her hand go numb. Go. Tear away the Darkness' power.

But Gordök was having absolutely none of that. He grabbed his chain in his hand and brought it around like a whip just over the ground in a sweeping motion, making everyone duck to avoid being slapped with the massive chain. Without waiting to see what he'd hit, he swung his immense hammer in an overhead arc, dropping it where he thought Twilight was. The ground trembled and a visible shockwave swept the dust and ash off the floor, forcing it slightly outwards towards the walls.

A maniacal laugh echoed through the forge, almost as wicked sounding as that of the Wizards. Atop the anvil, Twilight stood holding the sphere of dark energy in her hand up above her head triumphantly. She mocked the Darksmith, "Missed me, missed me, now GET ON ONE KNEE!"

With no further hesitation, she threw the Tomb Husk at the gate protecting the furnace, the sphere ignoring gravity and flying straight at its target as though guided by some sort of attraction. As it sailed through the air, the Wizards screamed and tried to fly close enough to catch it in time to protect the gate. But they could not reach it in time. And just for an added note of disrespect to the Hive, Twilight teleported to the Tomb Husk, catching it in her hand slamming it into the gate as though slam-dunking a basketball. The Wizards howled curses and began casting bolts of arc energy in her direction in a futile attempt to kill her for her transgression and tithe her death to their gods. Twilight was not foolish enough to stay in one place for too long, and immediately teleported back onto the anvil, next to Fluttershy.

As expected, Gordök's stance faltered, and he knelt down in a position commonly associated with a squire before they are knighted. The four Guardians on the ground began to focus their fire on the now vulnerable Darksmith. Unless the ground enemies got too close for comfort, they didn't even bother turning their sights down from Gordök's head. Rarity stopped firing only for a few moments, taking the time to lift herself into the air and craft a Nova Bomb in the palm of her hand. She let it fly, watching it soar towards the kneeling Hive entity and explode on contact. It clawed and snarled and tore at Gordök's armor and rotting flesh, warping the shape of his arms and hands and helm and chest.

As soon as the black hole collapsed upon itself once more, Rarity fell back to the ground and went back to firing as many rounds as her scout rifle could dish out. And then Applejack began charging, breaking formation for a few precious moments, her friends covering her approach, knowing what she was planning to do. A few unlucky Thrall and Acolytes dared to play chicken with her, and didn't live to regret their decision. The Titan ignored their existences just as easily as she ended them. She simply ducked in her arms and led her charge with her shoulder, plowing through the scrawny, tangled masses of decaying, ash-coated flesh.

She broke her charge with a flying leap, her insanely strong legs shoving her into the air and propelling her a solid ten meters before she landed back on the ground and slammed her furious fists into it. The familiar shockwave of arc energy erupted like a caldera, slamming into Gordök like pyroclastic flows, a sudden tangible force assaulting the Darksmith's body. The arc energy traveled as an electrical current through the chain embedded into his body, wreaking havoc on everything the thick, bony armor was meant to protect. Gordök couldn't help but roar in pain as the Light bashed him with all its might. As Applejack stood and began to back away from the Darksmith, she could have sworn she saw the thing cough up what looked to be blood.

Up on the anvil, Twilight and Fluttershy worked to keep Wizards away from the open, cold furnace. They couldn't risk another round of Gordök being an active combatant in this fight. One correctly placed hammer-blow, and someone would die, either becoming a bloodstain on the floor or a corpse with a few arm-width holes through them, and Twilight didn't yet have the power to bring them back. A pair of Acolytes leapt up onto the anvil, but were promptly kicked off by Fluttershy as she turned her shotgun's wrath upon a Wizard flying just barely too low, the weapon's pellets shredding the Wizard enough to kill it. As it crumbled and peeled into ash it screamed and tried to slash at Fluttershy's face, only for its claws to dissipate before it could complete the stroke.

Back on the ground, Rainbow unsheathed her blade and holstered her hand cannon, turning her gaze upon the waves of Thrall approaching. She smirked, embracing the challenge and tossed her knife into the air, arc energy snapping as it fell back into her hand, extending her blade and honing its edge beyond surgical precision. She lunged forwards and slashed away at the writhing mass of screaming corpses, their bodies fizzling out into energy as she cut them down, one by one. Knights roared in protest, but she was too nimble for their swords and boomers to be of any use. She cut them down with the same ease as she did Thralls and Acolytes.

A deep roar, definitely not belonging to Gordök, came in fortissimo above the shrill shrieks of Thrall. Off towards the anvil, Rainbow saw a massive abomination rise from the depths hidden by the dark water that coated parts of the floor. It turned its gaze upon her, and unleashed a stream of void bolts at her, making her jump and begin using her wings to avoid taking any hits. Her knife whispered, "You have but precious moments. Cleanse this world of its infection." She smiled and dropped into a suicidal dive, tucking her wings in and taking a free fall in her most aerodynamic position, her blade trailing behind her. A pair of the Ogre's eye blasts hit her, but she dared not let it push her off her course. Without warning, she spread her wings just enough to send her into a tight roll, her blade's light streaking behind her and crackling arc energy across her form.

The spin suddenly intensified and a deadly wave of arc energy sliced through the air around the dive-bombing pegasus, and connected with the festering flesh of the Ogre. It roared in torment as the energy seared its boiled and sickly skin, shearing through it and causing the monstrosity to burst into flames and rot away into ash.

Rainbow then spread her wings out and returned to normal flight, slowing down and banking right towards her friends to rejoin the assault against their main threat.

A familiar snap rang out, and Pinkie bounced out of line just as Rainbow rejoined it. The party mare bounced up and fired one shot into a Knight that wandered too close to Gordök. The solar energy round pierced the Knight's helm with ease, making it explode and sear the Darksmith's face and arms. The second shot flew long past Gordök up towards the anvil, piercing a Wizard that had slipped between the fire of both Twilight and Fluttershy. The shrieking creature exploded in a bright fireball, and became nothing more than ashes to never be scattered. The third shot was placed directly into Gordök's third eye, which drew a spray of blood and a deep roar of pain from the Darksmith. But as much as it wanted to fight back, it could not find the strength to stand. It was too cold for him to fight back.

Suddenly, everyone's visors began to lose resolution, a dense fog beginning to fill the room. The Hive seemed to rally at this, roaring battle cries and pumping their fists into the air victoriously. Applejack felt her heart sink, an almost familiar anxiety gnawing on her stomach. But for all she wanted to turn and run, she knew she had to face this with her friends. "Girls... Something's wrong..." she murmured.

"I feel it too," Rainbow replied.

Up on the anvil, Twilight began screaming bloody murder, collapsing down onto her knees and clutching her head in torment. Fluttershy tried to keep the Wizards at bay, but without the additional fire from Twilight, one managed to slip through and sacrifice itself to stoke the forge.

"Fire is hot! Fire is hot!" Fluttershy called in warning to her friends before turning her attention to Twilight to see if she could do anything to help.

They are Not, and they come to make you Not too.

Dicordant screams filled the room as Gordök lifted himself back onto his feet, his bloodied face enveloped by a dangerous scowl. A sphere of black matter appeared and began rapidly growing, followed by more, all scattered about the room. When they reached critical mass, they exploded and reformed into black creatures that looked almost like Hive, but they had only one glowing white eye. One that looked like a Knight roared and shot streams of fire from its eye, coating the ground in intense flames.

"Fire is hot!" Rainbow yelped, flapping her wings as she jumped back and away from the fires. She raised her hand cannon and put two shots into the thing's head, and watched as its entire body was dragged through a tiny wormhole where its eye had been. "Aim for the head!"

"Kill the Knights! We need to find that Tomb Husk!" Rarity hollered.

"I got it!" Pinkie squealed, bouncing over, already holding the ball of dark energy in her hands.

"Pinkie! Pass!" Rainbow called to her earth pony friend, holding her free hand up in the air. Pinkie threw the sphere towards the pegasus, watching and cheering when she caught it and took to the air again, making a flight path to the furnace's gate.

Gordök brought his hammer down, making a shockwave on the ground. But instead of the spikes extending forwards, they extended in two directions on either side of his hammer. Once they'd reached the edge of the room, more spikes began to pop through the floor as the two lines began to converge on each other in a sort of pincer maneuver. Pinkie warned loudly, "Girls! Hop skip jump!"

Rainbow weaved between bolts of arc magic from the Wizards and screaming boomer fire from Acolytes below, and solar spears fired from these shadows of Wizards. She managed to get close enough to the gate and tucked in her wings, diving down towards the furnace. Much like Twilight, she slammed the ball of dark energy into the gate, the metal protecting the flames ceasing to exist. She kept flying, pulling out her hand cannon and popping a few shots into the Wizards to stagger them and keep them away from the flames. As she passed the anvil on her way back to her friends, she gave a salute to Fluttershy, who was picking Twilight back up and helping her find the strength to keep fighting if only for a little while longer.

As soon as she landed on the ground, she pulled up her rocket launcher and fired both rockets in the tube at the open furnace, watching as the explosive warheads cut through the air and exploded, snuffing the furnace with arc light. Gordök roared and knelt again, hanging onto his hammer for dear life. "Now's our chance to finish him off, girls!"

A shadow of a Knight roared, but was silenced by a sniper shot from Rainbow before it could spew flames towards them. She turned her attention back to Gordök and reloaded her rocket launcher, pushing a pair of rockets into the tube and sealing the chamber. She hefted the weapon back onto her shoulder and aimed carefully at the Darksmith's face, letting one rocket lurch forth before resetting her aim and letting the other go as well. The first rocket connected with the massive enemy, searing its face with arc energy and knocking its head back with the blast's force. As soon as he pulled his head forward again, the second rocket repeated the process, knocking the helm off of his head, revealing his rotting and bleeding scalp.

Applejack brought her machine gun to bear on the new weak point, unleashing a furious and unforgiving storm of arc bullets at the Darksmith, watching them tear through the flesh and send blood spraying everywhere. The weapon kicked in her hands, but she'd been kicked harder. Her shoulder stayed in place as though none of the recoil existed. Her stream of bullets acted as tracers for her team to follow. Pinkie and Rainbow fired their rockets, and Rarity joined in placing as many heavy machine gun bullets into the enemy's exposed head as they could.

With one final roar, Gordök's body erupted into flames and he let go of his hammer. The flames soon engulfed every part of his being, and like every other Hive enemy, his flesh began to rot and peel into ash and dust. All except for one piece of him: a tooth embedded in his skull, which looked to be made of the same dark energy that the Tomb Husks were. All of the smaller enemies willingly tore out their own throats with either claws or some type of knife.

Twilight leapt down from the anvil and walked across the now silent room, the only sound being her footsteps through the odd dark liquid on the floor. Everyone watched as she approached the tooth that remained after the rest of Gordök had crumbled away into ashes. She stopped and knelt down to inspect the tooth, reaching out and picking it up in her hand and turning it over. It was not exactly a tooth. It had been forged to serve as one, but it was something else. It had a strange magic to it that Twilight couldn't understand, but she knew its power. "This is what I need. Let's go."

She stood back up and held the tooth up for her Ghost to store wherever it was their stored items went when the Ghosts took them. As they approached the door, Twilight lifted her hands and her horn began to glow. The doors parted just enough to pass through, and she kept walking without a word.

As they exited the Hive tunnels and resurfaced, they saw the Alicorn Stranger standing on the rim of the crater, clapping slowly, his cloak hanging down and covering over most of his form. Twilight didn't seem to notice the Stranger, or if she did she didn't care in her Discordant state. She kept walking, lifting herself up and over the rim of the crater, moving ever closer to her ship so she could finish the weapon waiting for her in the Tower.

Fluttershy clutched her chest as though in physical pain, but since she was behind everyone else, no one noticed. But as her team moved on, so did she. Her only concern was what would happen if she hurt Twilight when it came her turn, the same way Twilight had hurt her today.

Old Friend...

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The three Vandals had explored the Tower to the best of their ability without detection. They'd found that the docking bays for the Ghouls' ships was off to the left of where they had originally entered the Tower, and the dormitories were off to the right. Stranger still was the nature of one particular Ghoul in the tower: one that looked and smelled like Hive. They did not wish to get anywhere near this strange Ghoul, as they did not know the nature of its power. The other Ghouls, though, were much easier to gauge. The bulky ones were what they called Fists, the lean hooded ones were Knives, and the ones with robes and glowing armbands were Palms. They didn't know, nor care, what they called themselves.

They split themselves up, Palhas sneaking through the hallways towards the docking bays. And while Jyara stayed in their spot above the main plaza, Greksis went off towards the dormitories. The three of them had agreed that splitting up to find their target would be the best course of action, just in case there were areas of the Tower they frequented more often than the plaza or docks.

Greksis hung from the ceiling like a bat, cloaked in glossy stealth, in the hallways of the Tower's dormitories. None of the Ghouls were around, and all he could hear was his own breath and the dull hum of the plasma-based lighting. A skeletal robot walked down the corridor, carrying a broom in its hands. The hidden Vandal watched it carefully and listened to the metallic tapping of its feet against the concrete floors. It seemed to be talking to itself, but Greksis didn't understand the words.

"These creatures have such technology..." Palhas' voice whispered through the communications line between the three of them. "No doubt this was the work of the Great Machine..."

"We'll have the Great Machine's blessing again one day..." Jyara replied.

"Hello there," a strange voice said from below Greksis.

The Vandal squawked in response, "Gah! Who are you and how can you see me?"

As he looked down he saw a strange creature that looked to be made of various parts of many different creatures, some of which he didn't recognize, but some of which he did. It took a form that looked rather like him, save for the mismatched wings sticking out of his back and the horns protruding from his head. "I have many names to many peoples. I am rather odd like that... But I believe your people call me Deksorak," the being replied. "But my friends call me Discord. Pleasure to meet you." He stuck out one of his hands, perhaps signaling that he wished to shake hands.

Greksis denied the offer. "How can you see me?"

"Fine. Don't shake my hand," Discord huffed indignantly. "But to answer your question, I can't actually see you. And you can't actually see me. I'm just a figment of your imagination right now. And don't worry about staying hidden. You aren't actually talking to me either so you're dead silent right now."

"What do you want from me?" Greksis growled.

"The same thing the dead people want. Revenge." Discord sat down and snapped his fingers, reappearing on the ceiling, sitting on it as if it were the floor. "You see, the things you work for are responsible for my home's destruction and the death of someone very near and dear to me." He paused and let his face extend cartoonishly forward, as though molded by a terrible edit in Photoshop. "You can understand how I'd be into the whole vengeance schtick, yes?"

Greksis leaned back as much as he could to avoid touching this odd creature. But before he could reply, it sank into the ceiling, extended face and all, leaving him alone in that hallway once more. Its voice resonated in his mind once more, saying, "Go. Find your traitor. I think this'll be fun to watch."

An odd sort of feeling began to wash itself over Greksis at the mention of the Great Machine's blessing. It felt almost like nostalgia. Within moments he felt the desire to shed his armor and weep with the intensity of a mother whose child had starved to death. He wished to just get back into his quarters within the Orbiks-fel's barracks and sleep until he could awaken to peace. A storm began to brew within his mind, dark clouds shrouding his resolve and snuffing out his will to kill this traitor of House Kings.

"I feel something nearby... I will investigate..." Greksis said just before reaching up to his helm and turning off his communicator.

As he moved across the ceiling like a spider, he could feel this "nostalgia" growing stronger. He took a few turns, and found himself staring down at a door that looked to house a staircase within. His gut told him to go through the door, but he had no way of ensuring he could slip through it without detection, so he chose to wait for something else to pass through this door. He got lucky. A group of six odd looking Ghouls passed through the door, one of them carrying something that sent a chill down his spine just from its mere presence. As the six of them made their way through the door, so did Greksis, much in the way a spider would. He followed the Ghouls as they walked down a few flights of stairs before they passed through another door.

------

Twilight placed the black tooth down on the table and began arranging the parts she'd selected from her other sniper rifles around it. The crystals seemed to glow more intensely in the presence of the tooth, and Rarity could feel the magic in the room vibrating like an unheard minor second in a symphony. She almost felt sick, choosing to hunch over and hold her belly instead of sit up straight with her usual sophisticated posture. Applejack wrapped an arm around her and tried to convince her that everything was fine now.

"This one goes here... and this one goes there... aaaaaaannnnd that should do it... But I only need a small piece of it..." Twilight murmured to herself as she worked. She turned and pointed at Rainbow. "You!"

The Hunter in question looked up, "Yeah?"

"Do you have an Arc Blade ready?" the discordant Twilight asked.

"Yeah, why?" Rainbow replied.

"I might need you to cut this thing," the Warlock said as she grabbed a knife from the kitchen. She twirled it between her fingers before bringing it down on the tooth. The tooth refused to be cut by a simple press of a steel blade, so she tried to use a sawing motion to slice through it, but that failed as well. "Come cut it. I need a strip about as long as the crystal."

Rainbow sighed and unleashed the energy stored within her, letting it flow through her body and shape the knife in her hand. She stepped over and took the tooth in her hand and pushed it against the table's surface to keep it stable as she cut into it. At first, there were sparks and a strange screaming sound. The table shook and the tooth seemed to be trying to move away from the blade. But as she sliced through it, the tooth gave up, letting itself be cut by the weapon of Light.

Within seconds, Twilight had the strip of material she needed. She took it into her hand and inspected it, almost admiring the way the object seemed to emanate Darkness. She could feel the power locked away within it, and she was going to convince it to let her use it.

"You work for me now, and you will devour yourself for sustenance and the furtherance of my will."

Rainbow and the others visibly cringed as Twilight spoke. Fluttershy's wings ruffled with a sudden itch, and Rarity tightened her hold on on her own abdomen, and one of Pinkie's incurably curly locks fell flat.

And why would I do that, old friend?

"To survive."

Twilight placed the strip of material on the opposite side of the chamber compartment as the crystal, listening to both of them scream in torment at the other's mere presence and proximity. Once she was certain they were secured in place, she placed the housing over the rifles inner workings and sealed it shut. She pulled back the action, exposing the empty chamber, slapped a magazine into the rifle and chambered a round.

"Rarity, I think now's the time," Applejack whispered into her friend's ear.

------

Greksis stood on the ceiling of the hallway, staring at the door just across from the group of Ghouls that had allowed him passage through the doors. The feeling in his heart was definitely coming from behind that door, and he needed to face it. He needed to see it. Why was he really here? He didn't know, and he needed to. Was he wrong? He felt like he was, but he'd never bothered to ask before.

He knocked on the door... lightly. He had no knowledge of whether this was a practice that the Ghouls used, and if so, he had no ideas of how the variations in strength were perceived culturally. But Greksis figured that a stronger knock would imply someone of importance was at the door, or that an urgent matter was at hand. This in mind, he chose to knock lightly so as to imply a casual guest was at the door, and that there would be no need to be combat ready.

A deeply accented voice called through the door. He didn't understand the words, but he knew the accent well. It sounded like Eliksni, specifically an accent prevalent in the House of Kings... His House... Greksis' frown deepened, and his brow furrowed even more. He knocked again, this time slightly harder and faster, hoping to imply enough urgency to warrant opening the door. A few silent moments passed. But then he heard the turning of a lock and the door opened.

An Eliksni Captain peeked out the doorway, its armor scrubbed of all House identification, and a strange chestplate of obviously foreign design. But the helmet still had remnants of yellow paint, and Greksis could see where a House of Kings crest had once been. This was his target, and also the source of the odd feeling in his chest. "We should step inside and talk for a while... old friend..." he said to the Captain he was sent here to kill.

The Captain froze and placed a hand on his shock pistol. "Who is there?" the Captain said in Eliksni. "How did you get here?"

The Vandal dropped from the ceiling, letting his stealth fade away and reveal himself to his target. He drew his dagger and tossed it into the air, catching it by the blade on its way down. "You were once my Captain... I'm here to see if you still are... Shirska..."

Shirska looked at the Vandal with narrowed eyes, and opened the door further, gesturing for Greksis to enter. "Come... I shall answer your questions."

------

In the beginning, there was nothingness. She didn't exist. No one she remembered existed. Her sister didn't exist. Her home didn't exist. But something happened in the blackness of space. Some say God began creating the universe. Others say it was a "big bang." But how it happened didn't really matter as much as the fact that it did happen. The universe was formed and planets began to spin around stars, and stars around black holes. Atoms were arranged into molecules, and life inevitably sprung up and evolved from near-nothings to leviathans and everywhere in between.
Earth. Fundament. Equis. Zebes. Corneria.
Civilizations sprung up from the wilderness of these planets, and empires rose and fell. Lives were lived. Art was made. Knowledge was attained. And most of these civilizations made it off their respective worlds into the void. Some warred upon themselves. Others made friends with other civilizations. But Equis...
Equis' civilizations never made it to space. They seemed to be content on their little world, without much in the way of wanderlust plaguing their peoples. They were satisfied with faith and magic and the day to day shenanigans of their lives; old friendships, old laws, old beliefs.

Luna felt the weight of genocide upon her, and it felt like a thunderstorm of blood; hot, sticky, and smelling heavily of metal. Her mind wanted to puke, but her body seemed to be reveling in the feeling. She was powerful. More so than she'd ever been. Nightmare Moon was an unborn foal by comparison. She stepped forth, and the Darkness parted around her, as though in reverence. Ahead of her, she could see three toxic green eyes watching her, and a sword in the clawed hands of some massive creature. In her heart, she felt fear. It screamed in protest with each step forwards towards the creature, which simply narrowed its eyes at her.

"You are Nightmare Moon..." the dark voice of the eyes spoke aloud, followed by chattering chorus from behind the veil of the shadows. "How I've missed watching your work... old friend..."

She froze in place, and for a brief moment she felt as though her fear had broken whatever foreign will had been controlling her. But she could not act upon it.

"You had so much potential... You had such power, such conviction, such magnificent hatred... Had it not been for the Elements, you would have decimated your world... All of those deaths could have fed my Worm for a week of your planet's time..."

You need to overcome contingency; force all who challenge you to play by your rules. Your convictions must be indestructible. Your potential must be realized. You must adopt the sword logic.

Luna turned at the signal of the eyes, and saw a strange creature kneeling, holding up a sword. Its blade was sharp and bloody, as though it had just been used to slaughter a city the size of Canterlot. She picked up the blade, and felt the weight of genocide within it. As she lifted it from the hands of the strange creature, she twirled it in her hand and brought it down like an axe, cleaving the creature in half. It crumbled into dust, and the chattering chorus in the shadows approved.

And then, she felt her feet go numb, and her body froze with her back arched and her mouth open in a soulless scream. Her eyes could not comprehend anything she saw. Her nerves soon became overwhelmed with pain, and shut down as the feeling climbed up to her knees. She collapsed to the floor, and her ears could hear only the sounds of death.

"You have been taken."

------

Twilight looked over her new weapon, freshly built and ready for a test. But there was nothing to test the weapon on. Plates of metal or sheets of paper were not the same as living enemies made of or with organic matter. They tested only accuracy and the force of the bullet. They did not, and could not, test the true power of the weapons. They did not trigger precision explosions, or certain smart weaponry technologies, as they were simply inanimate.

[Recommended Listening]

Her thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of arms wrapping around her, followed by wings. In that moment, she remembered, and she set down her new weapon. She turned herself around as best she could and wrapped her own arms around the pegasus she'd caused so much pain. She no longer had her helmet on, nor did Fluttershy. Everything in that moment felt real, and organic, and pure. The world outside wasn't theirs, and the fighting was not why they were here. For a brief moment, they pulled apart just enough to look into each other's eyes and realize that both of them were crying. They both smiled at each other, and Twilight reached up to brush away the tears staining Fluttershy's face and chestguard.

The two kissed, just enough to be felt. It wasn't tainted with passion, or lust. It was just a small act of love. Some might even call it true love. When they pulled apart, they were ignorant of the rest of their friends in the room watching them. Rarity made an odd squee sound, and Applejack simply crossed her arms across her chest with the widest grin across her face. Rainbow openly began weeping, and Pinkie began furiously scribbling notes after she'd taken a picture with a camera she'd pulled from seemingly nowhere. Even Discord, who'd finally woken up from his nap on the ceiling had to wipe his eyes with a tissue that he'd also gotten from seemingly nowhere.

"I'm glad you're back..." Fluttershy whispered, just loud enough for Twilight to hear.

"Did I hurt you...?" the unicorn asked softly.

Fluttershy didn't bother to dignify the question with an answer. She just pulled Twilight as close as their armor would allow. But in her eyes, the answer still showed itself, and rolled down her cheek. It crashed down onto the floor with just enough force to cause Twilight weakness.

The Warlock's eyes fell, and her expression faltered. The silence spoke loudly, and plainly. She understood it better than any book she'd ever read. She dared ask one more question, "Will you forgive me?"

The Titan looked into her eyes once more, her own teal eyes glimmering with tears and vulnerability. But she turned her lips up in a weak smile and offered as much of a nod as she could manage. "Of course, love."

They kissed once more, and stepped back into their room without another word. They helped each other out of their armor, and climbed into bed together, pressing their bodies as close to each other as possible. They didn't bother speaking. They knew exactly what they wanted. Twilight scooted back until her back was firmly pressed against Fluttershy's belly, and Fluttershy curled her legs up until they were firmly pressed against Twilight's. Fluttershy draped her arm over Twilight's waist, resting her hand over her belly, and let her nose rest in Twilight's hair, taking in the scent of her love.

Fluttershy placed a kiss on the back of Twilight's neck, and gently pulled the unicorn closer. Without missing a beat, Twilight twisted around and kissed her, placing her hands on the pegasus' shoulders and climbing on top of her. Both of them released a breath of contentment, and let their lips dance together. Neither of them had to put in any real effort, as it was just a slow, soft kiss. They didn't bother adding tongue or anything like that. Fluttershy placed her hands on Twilight's hips and pulled her gently closer, as though they weren't close enough.

For a while, they just kissed. Nothing outside mattered. No enemy was bad enough that they would need to be interrupted. No mission was more important than their kiss. Even their friends in the rooms on either side of them couldn't make them break their lips apart for even a moment. But both of them were tired, and broke apart. Twilight flopped back to her side of the bed, and curled up against Fluttershy, pressing her back to the pegasus' belly.

As the two of them fell asleep, both of them felt their lips curl up into contented smiles. This was how it was meant to be. This was what mattered, and why they were fighting. They weren't fighting for the City's survival, or even the survival of humanity. They were fighting so that they could end each day like this with their own lover. They were fighting for the sake of love, and peace, and happiness. And this... This was what they would fight for.

"Shy...?"

"Yes Twily?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Outside their room, the others had chosen to retire to their respective rooms as well. Applejack and Rarity also helped each other out of their armor, remaining fairly silent, safe for pained groans of sore muscles and sighs of relief as their bodies were allowed to relax. Applejack rolled her shoulders as she felt the weight of her chestplate being removed, moaning almost in pleasure at the freedom. She turned around and helped remove Rarity's cuirass, watching as she too rolled her shoulders and sighed in relief. Once both of them were completely out of their armor, they hopped into bed and pulled up the covers, sprawling out into whatever position they found most comfortable.

"I'm so happy for those two..." Applejack whispered.

"Me too. They deserve each other," Rarity yawned in reply.

"Do you ever feel like you're wasting time?"

Rarity turned her head and looked at her bedmate with an eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?"

Applejack turned to face the ceiling, staring at, or rather, through it. "All this fighting... All these missions... We could be finding the love of our lives like them... We could be doing something important instead of... this..."

Rarity twisted her body around to face the Titan, staring at her with a calculating gaze. "They are multitasking, you know. And we can too."

Applejack turned away, not wishing to face the unicorn in her bed.

"Applejack, you're being just as stubborn as those two were," Rarity huffed, scooting closer to the earth pony.

"What happens when one of us dies again?" Applejack asked in a voice barely held together. "I almost died out there today... What happens when one of us finally does get killed?"

"Then we make the most of right now," Rarity cooed softly as she pressed up against Applejack. "Darling, you're overthinking this."

The Titan finally turned to face her bedmate, finding a pair of blue eyes staring back at her. "What do I do, then, Rares?"

"Shut up and kiss me."

Without warning, Rarity leaned in and closed the gap between their lips. She kept it soft and sweet, waiting for a response from Applejack before continuing. Once she started kissing back, Rarity pulled Applejack on top of her, letting a contented sigh pass through her nose as the Titan's weight bore down on her. She wrapped her arms around the earth pony and pulled her closer, to which Applejack responded by placing her hands on Rarity's hips.

For a brief moment, they broke apart and looked into each other's eyes. Though the dark made it hard to really see, they knew exactly what was in their eyes, and they could see each other's intentions. They pressed their lips against each other's again, this time more forcefully, their hands moving across each other's body as though trying to find a more comfortable position. Rarity twisted her body and rolled on top of Applejack and pinned her to the bed with a wicked smile spreading across her face.

"Hooo boy..."

Intermission: Respite

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You are Nightmare Moon. The darker side of Luna. Ex-empress of the Starlight Empire. Sister of Celestia and adoptive mother of your thestral children, Counter and Anti. For a while, you were the most powerful pony on Equis.
You have been taken.
You are free now. Free of the suffering at the hooves of your sister's ignorance. Free of all of your burdens set upon you by your subjects. Now you are a subject. Breathe, and taste your freedom. Feel the air fill your lungs again.
But how did it come to this? This is an important question, princess. What brought you here?
For you, it was empathy. You felt everything at once. You understood everyone's pain and shared in it.
Your people were starving, and you felt all of their pain. You had to turn against your sister to save them. We can find another way, said Counter, and you said no, I have exhausted all other options. And Anti said then we will fight too, and you said no, I cannot bear to lose you two.
You had to protect them because they were why you were fighting. If you lost them, then what was the point of it all?
You need to overcome contingency; force all who challenge you to play by your rules. Your convictions must be indestructible. Your potential must be realized.
There is a knife for you. It is shaped like [negation]. Pick it up.
You will not need empathy to keep fighting. You will need only your own inner strength, and the ability to set the rules.
Pick up the knife. Cut away your empathy. Make your own rules. Take your new shape.

------

I've been told, many, many times to stay determined. To keep fighting. I've been told this by my hoof-to-hoof combat teachers as they knocked me on my back. I've been told this by my adoptive children as I went to war with them. I've been told this by so many important ponies in my life. But none of those ponies ever reached me with the same depth that a dream had.
It's a long story, and I hate telling it, so sit down, shut up, and don't interrupt.
I've never really been an assertive pony. I grew up in my sister's shadow, always wanting to be like her; as pretty, and patient, and kind, and perfect. Even though I was far younger than her at the time, I had to gain control over my celestial body before her, but she beat me to it. I was always envious of her...
One day... I was out in the palace gardens at night, and I was trying to connect with the moon. I was trying so hard, even though my horn was hurting. But I heard something in a bush behind me. I tried to ask who was there, but I got knocked out.
While I was out, I started to dream about being lost under a mountain. I'd fallen and broken my wings, and I couldn't get back up. A kind old creature helped me out, but I wanted to go home... So when she fell asleep I snuck away. I wandered, and wandered, staying hidden from everything. It was tough, but I managed. And at the far end of the caverns, I met one more creature, who asked if I wanted to have a cup of tea with him.
He told me that if I was here, then I was somewhere floating between life and death. I believe the exact term he used was fallen down. There was no way to escape this place, unless I'd been told I could leave. When I asked by whom, he just stood up and left, saying "Stay determined, Luna," despite that I'd never told him my name.
Even now, sometimes I see strange, almost nightmarish creatures in my dreams, telling me to "stay determined," that "it's all just a bad dream." Except for two of them. Both of them were nothing more than skeletons, and one of them had cracks in his skull. He spoke in a language I couldn't understand, but somehow I knew what he was saying, and I knew that he was friendly.
The other one, though... He only ever appeared once, and all he said was, "[redacted]"

------

Here's the thing about pain that I never understood until I had to do it myself. How can you be in pain when you're smiling?
Growing up, I only ever knew smiles to be genuine displays of happiness. When I saw guards smile at me, I always thought they were happy. When Mom and Dad would smile at me, I thought they were happy. I never knew that smiles could be fake; manufactured to mask pain.
But as I started getting older, I started noticing that ponies were hiding something from me, but they'd smile and tell me they were fine, that everything was okay.
One day, Luna came to me and told me that she was feeling depressed. I thought she was joking. She'd been smiling for months before then, and she genuinely looked happy. She told me a few more times, and then she stopped... She kept smiling, and laughing at my jokes, and telling her own.
She ran away a few years later... I never understood why...
Then there was the Lunar War. I had to fight her, face to face at the Battle of Noc'tren, and nothing has ever hurt more than that. Not the speech I gave to the thestrals of the Starlight Empire, not the years that came after. But after a few years, I started to hide my pain... first I hid it with anger... then I hid it with a smile.

------

Fluttershy awoke feeling warm and happy. In her arms was the love of her life... lives? That didn't matter. At least, not now. That was a better conversation point for when she was drunk. Now, however, was a much more tender moment, and talk of death would instantly murder such a moment.

She pulled the sleeping unicorn just a little closer to her, and smiled as she scooted even closer, their bodies sharing warmth. The softness of Twilight's body against her own felt like happiness on her skin. A soft moan escaped her lover's lips, followed by a yawn.

"Good morning, Shy," the unicorn whispered.

"Good morning, Twily," Fluttershy replied.

Twilight turned around and opened her eyes, meeting Fluttershy's teal ones with her own. For a moment, they just stared into each other's eyes. The universe revolved around them for just a few precious seconds. The world outside could wait. Nothing was important enough to interrupt their morning together.

Twilight leaned in and kissed Fluttershy softly, her lips curling up in a smile as she felt her lover melt into the kiss as well, scooting closer and wrapping her arms around her body. She, too, wrapped her arms around Fluttershy and pulled her closer by the waist, feeling Fluttershy's soft belly firmly pressing against her own. Internally, she debated if it was the right time for what she wanted to do, but a swift motion from Fluttershy negated the need for such a debate. She pulled the unicorn on top of herself, and brought one hand up behind Twilight's head, pulling her deeper into the kiss. The other hand, however, went in the exact opposite direction...

"Aïe! Fluttershy!" Twilight gasped, looking into the pegasus' eyes in surprise.

"What?" Fluttershy's expression shifted to something akin to horror. Her hand shot off of Twilight off to one side of the bed. "D-did I... oh dear I should have asked... I'm so— MMM!!! Mmmm... mmmm~..."

Twilight cut off her marefriend with a sudden kiss and reached over to where Fluttershy's hand had fled to, pulling it back and placing it where it had been, before moving her own hands to a similar position on Fluttershy's body.

Fluttershy pulled away for a few moments, taking a moment to catch her breath before asking, "Twilight... um... how far do you want to go...?"

Twilight blushed at the question, and turned her face away in a vain attempt to hide it. She managed to stammer out a short few words before biting her lip. "I-I um...I don't know..."

Fluttershy smiled at her and reached up to Twilight's face, turning the unicorn to look at her. "Do you... not want to...?"

"Of course I want to!" Twilight blurted. "I mean, uh... I do want to, I just... never thought I'd get to experience this... especially not with you..."

Fluttershy rolled over and brought herself on top of Twilight. "May... may I... um..."

"Y-yes."

Fluttershy gave Twilight a warm smile. "Stop me if I make you uncomfortable or you change your mind."

Twilight could only blush and nod in response. Fluttershy's soft, innocent smile contorted into something Twilight had never seen before, but it made her feel even more in-the-moment than ever. She blinked and closed her mouth for a moment, only for the sight of Fluttershy removing her civilian clothes that she used as pajamas to send her jaw dropping back down again. Despite the fact that they were in bodies that weren't quite their own, Twilight could only describe the now half-naked mare straddling her and staring at her with an evocative expression as "incredibly sexy."

The rest of the morning... No one else needed to see or hear about what happened to know what happened. But they did take full advantage of their remaining day of respite.

Darkness Zone: Part 1

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Shirska stood in the center of the main plaza of the Tower, staring up at the Traveler with awe. There he was, seeing with his own eyes the thing his race was here for. For some odd reason he could not explain, he felt drawn to it, as though it were silently beckoning to him. There were, of course, legends that survived the Whirlwind; prophecies, really. They told of one who would unite the Houses and return the Eliksni as a people to the Light. Many had claimed this title of Kell of Kells, but all of them were exiled by the Primes for heresy. Only the Great Machine could select the Kell of Kells, and it had to call out their name for all to hear.

Of course, Shirska knew that they were nothing more than legends and prophecies. He could not simply believe in them without evidence that the events were going to unfold. After all, he was a creature of science. Observations and evidence was one of the staples of the scientific process.

He shook himself free of his thoughts just in time to notice his friends approaching, each holding strange new weapons and smiling with genuine happiness. It was almost strange to him, but when he finally saw Twilight and Fluttershy holding hands, he understood. He knew what had happened, even though he was never told. It wasn't that hard to notice what they were to each other. Some would say mates. Others would say companions. Shirska, however had an old word for it.

"Congratulations on becoming loks'hana," he said to the two of them, patting both of them on their shoulders.

They simply raised their eyebrows at him in confusion, but not bothering to ask for a translation aloud. Pinkie giggled in an odd way, as though she knew something the rest of them didn't. Rarity and Applejack turned to each other with expressions that told their thoughts though they remained silent.

"Today... Today I must face Zeklas..." Shirska mused to himself as he turned back to face the Traveler. "I am... not excited..."

"It's okay, Shirska. You don't have to fight alone," Applejack said. She stepped forward and stood next to him, taking in the view with her Fallen friend. She never really noticed the Traveler before, but now she could only look at it with a sense of wonder. The large white sphere hanging above the City seemed to be watching her. It seemed to be watching all of the Guardians, but especially Shirska and, if she had to guess, Twilight.

"I will not be alone, but this is my fight. I must fight him alone." Shirska turned to Applejack and took her hands in his own, staring into her eyes. "He is my father, my abuser, my target, my problem. I must be responsible for his death, and I cannot share that responsibility."

Applejack could only nod at him in response. There was a weight to his words. It felt like apprehension and guilt.

For a moment, Shirska turned back to face the Traveler, looking up at it with a contemplative look in his eyes that could be seen through his helmet. Applejack turned to face it too, but she looked down towards the City. To her, the City was the reason she fought. That little girl, her family, her friends, and everyone connected to them all depended on her and all of the other Guardians to keep them safe. She didn't know enough about the Traveler to say she was fighting for it, or even that she gave a shit about it. But the City was different. It was alive and full of life, and countless souls who just wanted to live on in peace.

Shirska placed a hand on Applejack's shoulder, letting her feel its weight on her body. "It is almost time. Many old comrades will die today, and I am not excited. Come... Let's walk, but take our time..."

------

"Badger-three in position," a voice said over the raid team's communications link. "On your mark, Prince-One."

Shirska took a breath and held it in for a moment, feeling the anxiety of the coming fight weighing on his lungs. For as much as he'd told his friends about Zeklas and the abuse he faced at his hands, there were parts of it he could never tell them about. There were wounds that would never heal, no matter how much time passed, and no matter what he tried to do to mend them. Perhaps there were humans or even ponies who understood: those who'd lived through abuse and survived to tell the tale, or perhaps just bear its weight for the rest of their lives. For all he knew, one of the six ponies he fought beside had experienced it. But those were questions and topics of discussion for later, preferably over several rounds of hard liquor.

"Deploy Badgers. Harass, not slaughter," Shirska replied. "These are my comrades just as much as you."

"Roger that Prince-One. Badgers deploying," the voice copied.

The diversionary teams landed at the edges of Kings territory, finding plenty of enemies to harass and distract from the main event. Badger One consisted entirely of Warlocks. They found a few landed Skiffs and began melting through its hull with solar and void grenades. Badger Two consisted entirely of Titans, who challenged Captains to one-on-one fistfights. And Badger Three, made of naught but Hunters, landed far from the Kings, but kept them pinned under sniper fire.

The Seven, however, approached from the opposite side of the Kings' territory. They set down within the walls of the D.C. Cosmodrome, just a few miles north of the Ketch. Surprisingly, sounds of weapons fire could be heard in the distance. Perhaps there were some remaining humans outside the walls of the City, or perhaps there was a Hive incursion on Earth that the Kings had to deal with. Either way, the ponies and Shirska kept their weapons ready, watching the streets they were walking through for any enemy troops.

A loud thak echoed through the streets. Distant, but near enough to edge the nerves. Rainbow raised her rifle to look ahead through the scope. Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie took a knee, raising their weapons and scanning the area with their eyes. Twilight kept walking, and Fluttershy walked anxiously with her. Another thak. Twilight raised her new sniper rifle and looked through the scope for half a moment before pulling the trigger. An unholy noise resounded from the muzzle of her weapon, and the flaming bullet pierced the wind like a spear. A dull thump echoed back from whatever the projectile hit.

By the time she saw it coming it was too late. Off in the distance, in the shadow of a ruined office building, a lone Vandal watched through the scope of her wire rifle. Six unknown creatures marked in hostile armor patterns and an Eliksni Captain in unknown House colors walked down her path. They did not see her. They did not expect her. She clicked a button on her armor and let the cloaking wash over her features. Looking over to where her supply crate was, she grabbed a small device with a set of buttons and clicked one. An imitation of her rifle's sound played through a wireless speaker on the other side of the street, which was positioned in such a way as to disguise where the sound was coming from.

One of the creatures fired a single shot from a long rifle, hitting where the speaker had been set up. Whether or not it knew that was a decoy, she could not tell. But she couldn't risk letting it get closer. With that kind of marksmanship, it was dangerous to let it close the distance. She peeked out through the hole in the building and aimed her own rifle, squeezing the trigger ever so gently until

THAK!

Twilight screamed in pain and Fluttershy yelped in alarm, immediately throwing herself onto Twilight to shield her with her own body. Twilight reached up to her head, touching where her horn should have been, and then shrieking when her hands finally found the remains. She collapsed to the ground her hands flailing wildly in panic as they failed to find her horn. Fluttershy shed her helmet and tried to calm Twilight enough to keep her protected in her arms. Rainbow immediately raised her rifle and pulled the trigger, offering a retort to the unseen assailant. Rarity joined Rainbow, popping a few shots from her scout rifle. Applejack dove towards Twilight and Fluttershy, getting in front of them and making herself as big as possible. Pinkie seemed to just freeze in place, her eyes wide beneath her helmet, her mind going blank as every bit of her told her that she was about to lose a friend.

THAK!

Silence overtook the group as Twilight stopped screaming. Rainbow shifted her aim and took another shot, and Rarity started walking towards Fluttershy and Twilight. Applejack turned around as she saw the projectile from the unseen sniper's rifle thread the gap between her chest and arm. Pinkie shrieked in a kind of excruciating pain no one could ever understand, and no sane person would dare wish upon anyone else. And from behind Applejack, Fluttershy froze as Twilight went limp in her arms.

Shirska roared something in his native tongue that none in the group could even guess at the meaning. He grabbed Twilight's rifle from the ground, and brought it to bear on the enemy, which he could see clearly through his helmet's visual-aid systems. He pulled the trigger and watched as the cloaked Vandal exploded on hit, the building it was in catching fire. He then looked back to Twilight before kneeling and bowing upon seeing the hole in her helmet and the blood dripping out to the ground, placing a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder.

The rest of the ponies gathered around and began their process of grief. Shirska laid her rifle, which she had named the Mourning Glory, next to her, not wanting to disturb Fluttershy as she tried desperately to cling to her lover. Pinkie fell to her knees, unable to process anything. Applejack removed her helm and bowed solemnly, choking back hard sobs and bitter tears. Rarity turned away, letting loose as her emotions overcame her and exploded into a chaotic display of profound grief.

THAK!

There was no rest for the weary there in that ancient highway. Another Vandal had taken up a perch in a building, and took a shot at the one pony facing away from it. The shot cleaved through Fluttershy, piercing her backplate and shredding her broken heart. Not ten seconds after Twilight met her end did she as well.

The four remaining ponies took up arms and began unloading at the brazenly disrespectful assassin, killing it with a hail of bullets. Pinkie and Applejack dashed forward, Light and fury in their eyes and hearts, and pain in their souls. Pinkie pulled the Golden Gun out of the air, blasting down three structural supports inside one of the buildings before Applejack smashed the foundation with a Fist of Havoc. They then began walking back to the group as the building began to collapse onto itself.

The four ponies and their Fallen companion sang a silent eulogy for their lost comrades, heads and weapons down. Their Ghosts hovered silently over their bodies in pale blue orbs of light.

------

I bear an old name. It cannot be killed. They were my brothers and sisters and their names were immortal too but Titanomachy came and now those names live in me alone I think and think is what I do. I AM ALONE. At the end of things when the world goes dim and cold or hot and close or it all tears apart from the atom up I will shout those names defiant and past the end I will endure. I alone.
They made me to be stronger than them to beat the unvanquished and survive the unthinkable and look look lo behold I am here alone, survivor. They made me to learn.
Everything died but I survived and I learned from it. From IT.
Consider IT the power Titanomach world-ender and consider what IT means. I met IT at the gate of the garden and I recall IT smiled at me before before IT devoured the blossoms with black flame and pinned their names across the sky. IT was stronger than everything. I fought IT with aurora knives and with the stolen un-fire of singularities made sharp and my sweat was earthquake and my breath was static but IT was stronger so how did I survive?
I AM ALONE I survived alone. I cast off the shield and I shrugged my shoulders so that the billions fell off me down into the ash. They made me to be stronger than them and to learn and I learned well:
IT is alone and IT is strong and IT won. Even over the gardener and she held power beyond me but the gardener did not shrug and make herself alone. IT always wins.
I am made to win and now I see the way.

------

This journey begins with doubt.
And ends in solace.
One by one they fall, and you realize you are alone.
There, in the shadow of night, you see the world splinter, the Darkness thrive.
And you fight, with more than your Light... you use your pain.
You remember its source, the way it gained its ground.
But you never wavered. You never believed.
You loved her. How couldn't you?
Listen, that's her calling... you back.
But you know now that is where you will die.

-------

Take your time, my faithful student. You are safe here, but your friends are not. You can return to them when you are ready. I'm so proud of you. You stood against the Darkness and you spat in its face and shoved it back. You gave me enough space to gather my strength. For now, let's enjoy our company.
You see, when I died, I died for you. I knew that protecting you was the most noble cause I could die for, and I would do it a thousand more times if I had the body for it.
I miss you.
You were like the foal I never had, my faithful student. You made me so proud, made me so happy to watch you grow and learn and devour knowledge and experiences with such eagerness and enthusiasm. I had never felt such pure happiness in millennia. Now I am alone again, and far from home, but not as far as you may think. It seems the universe has deemed fit to keep us close, even after death. Needless to say, I feel blessed by this simple fact. I feel blessed to be able to come back and see you again, and observe your new power. I am as eager to see you and marvel at your growth as you were to learn from me.
Be wary. You may not understand now, but there are still bigger threats that need to be focused on. It will take time. It will take all of your wit and strength and Light. But I know you can do it. You are my faithful student, and I know you can do anything you set your beautiful mind to.
Come back.
But time is short here. A few hours here is but fractions of seconds out there. Rest. Go back out into the night refreshed and screaming. Make them regret ever testing your might. Leave none to tell the tale. Make your legend out of silence and fear of the unknown. You are an angel of the Light. Sing the song of flame and call forth its Light, and let all who do not bow in reverence be smitten to the After. You are not an engine of war like you might be led to think. You are a protector and an agent for peace. You are here to gather yourself and write your sermons to preach that peace. You are here to practice that peace through meditation in the After.
I need you.
My faithful student, you have done marvelously. Your display of genius and ingenuity creating that rifle was astounding to see, and I am proud to be part of that memory. Your leadership in finding the Messenger was excellent. And your diplomacy with the creature that killed me was unparalleled and unprecedented. You've grown so much, my faithful student. I can't wait to give you a hug for all of these wonderful things you've done, and to comfort you for all you've suffered.
Please...
I can't stay here, and you shouldn't stay much longer yourself. Go. Your chosen family needs you. They are lost without you and weaker for it.
I ca—

------

The shadows moved in silent twitches. Wherever they stepped seemed to be torn between Light and Darkness, the only places neutral enough to bear their blighted existence. They seemed to be bowing in respect to something as it stalked forward. A shadow of something that used to be alive stopped before a strange looking structure composed of two angled pillars. It turned its horned head expelling Darkness from what once was a mane of starlight, leering out of its singular eye; a bright ball of light blinding whatever it used to be beneath all of the Darkness. It raised its hand, and with a flash of black, space was ruptured between the two pillars.

Another shadow stood and stepped forth. It seemed to speak, but nothing that came out of its maw resembled language. The larger shadow nodded with a twitch and stepped through the tear in space. On the other end, it stepped out, drawing the attention of a Wizard and a pair of Knights. They screamed a battle cry, and one knight charged with its sword while the Wizard began casting, and the other Knight began firing shots from its boomer. But the shadow did not seem to care, simply stomping on the ground. From where its foot landed, a wave of black swept through the room, crashing into the three powerful Hive entities.

The Wizard was the first to feel the effects. Its hands, which moments ago were glowing with charged arc energy, now were black. It tried to throw a bolt at the shadow to no avail. It then tried to cast a cloud of poison, only to feel no magic come to its aid. It then looked up in horror as it watched its comrades.

The charging Knight stopped as the wave hit it. But it shook off the strange wave and leapt forward in a downward slam with its sword, only for the blade to meet the ground, several meters away from the watching shadow. The Knight stared at its sword in confusion before its head was cleaved from its body by a blast of magic from the shadow.

The Knight with the boomer watched its fellow Knight crumble to ash as its head was blown off, and attempted to raise a shield to protect itself from the incoming attack. But it, just like the Wizard, felt no magic come to its aid, and was promptly ended by the shadow.

The Wizard, which had already begun to seek cover, failed to find it in time. The shadow twitched forward once, twice, and then was directly in front of the poor creature. The shadow raised its hand and grabbed the Wizard by the face...

------

The Stranger stood in an ancient structure with geometrical architecture. A familiar symbol of a winged diamond was plastered onto multiple surfaces inside the room. In the center of the diamond-shaped room was a pillar of machinery confined within a tube of liquid nitrogen, and the Stranger stood next to some sort of console on the outer edges of the room. It looked up from the console for a brief moment before turning back to the screen, tapping away at the keyboard, the sounds of keys tapping and clicking filling the silence.

"I know, I know. I hate this form of communication but until we manage to crack the security protocol, we have to type in the codes manually," the Stranger muttered to seemingly nothing.

But the nothingness responded; short, sharp, succinct, static.

"I ask only your patience. This sort of thing takes time, you know. I'm not like you guys. I can't just glass a planet if I decide that's what needs to happen," the Stranger sighed, pausing his typing for just a few moments, staring upwards into the ceiling. The Stranger resumed typing and continued for a few minutes before another reply came; smooth, serrated, static against the coldness of the void.

The Stranger looked up, interrupted from their work, staring at the door through which they'd entered this place. They lit their horn and promptly disappeared, leaving nothing behind except the slightest footprints in ancient dust, and strange code input directly into the console's command feed.

A few minutes passed, and the room's lights shut off by themselves, save for those inside the tank of liquid nitrogen. Those tiny lights continued to shine and blink as they had before for countless years. The fog of condensation continued to fall down to the floor around the liquid nitrogen tank, and the machinery inside remained silent.

The door opened, folding upwards, emulating the winged diamond symbol on the walls, and a cloaked figure stepped through with strange, twitchy movements. Underneath its hood, nothing could be seen except for a pair of bright yellow eyes and strange waving tentacles. It looked around the room before moving to the back of the room, past the console and machinery in the tank of liquid nitrogen. It reached up with a gloved hand, typing a series of numbers into a small keypad. Upon finishing, the door just a few feet to the left of the keypad hissed and opened, allowing access to an offhand room. Once inside, the figure began to stuff a backpack full of glowing yellow dodecahedrons, as well as a few purple boxes and strange machine parts.

"Where am I needed?" it asked with a deep, raspy voice.

The void answered with another burst of static; calm, cold, quick.

The figure nodded and began walking back out of the hidden vault, slinging its backpack back over its shoulders. It paused for a moment to look at the console that the Stranger had stood at for the better part of three hours. But the figure lost interest fairly quickly, and began walking back out of the room.

And then the room was empty once again. The lights turned off, and the doors hissed shut. Consoles shut off, and the machinery in the center of the room remained silent. The room was peaceful for a while, and the silence was comfortable and proper.

A few moments later, the machinery in the liquid nitrogen tank whirred to life. The lights in the tank began to blink rapidly, some turning on for the first time in centuries. A panel in the floor sank into the floor and moved underneath another part of the floor, leaving a body-sized hole. A strangely shaped chunk of machinery rose from beneath the floor, fog rolling off its frame as well. And for the first time in centuries, perhaps millennia, the room was filled with ancient music reminiscent of Old Earth before the arrival of the Traveler and a voice speaking in Old Russian.

Super Powers: Radiance and Ward of Dawn

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Open yourself to the Light. Glimpse, for a few rapturous moments, the truth beyond the powers you wield.

A Skiff dropped down from the sky, slipping out of stealth like a shark rising from the depths to seize its prey. The cannons unfolded, charging arc energy as the aircraft stabilized for the drop-crew. Shirska called out in warning for the four remaining ponies, raising his rifle and hand cannons, firing as much lead into the cannons as he could before that first shot could be launched. Rarity and Applejack opened fire as well, pummeling the Skiff's turrets with everything they had.

The first shot from the cannon was the only. The turret broke just a moment after it fired, but that was all the Skiff needed. The arc round slammed into the ground, splashing plasma against all five of the remaining members of the fireteam. Rarity and Rainbow yelped in pain, while the others restrained their vocalizations to mere grunts. Each of their Ghosts popped out and began to repair the damage to their armor and flesh. Except for Shirska, whose chestpiece took the brunt of the hit and absorbed it. The Fallen raised his weapon, aiming at the crew hold, waiting for the enemies to descend into the fray.

And they did, dropping from the holes in the back end of the Skiff, not bothering to wait for the drop rails to extend. The Dregs dropped first, firing their shock pistols as they fell and springing on their feet to begin running for any sort of cover they could find. The Vandals dropped next, the dull hum of stealth tech emanating from a few of the empty-looking crew-ports, while others carried shock rifles or shrapnel launchers. Finally, a pair of Captains and a pair of Servitors dropped from the Skiff under covering fire from its main cannons.

Upon watching the Captains descend into battle, Shirska pulled the trigger on his pulse rifle, letting a burst of fire fly forth towards the first of the Captains. The bullets plowed into the other Captain's armor, but did not seem to do any damage, instead merely exposing a wispy blue aura around the enemy. "Arc fire on Captains," Shirska called to the ponies.

"On it," Pinkie responded, holstering her cannon and swapping for her fusion rifle. With a skilled twirl, she spun it on her finger and caught it by the trigger. By the time the weapon had finished charging, she had already stabilized it with the sights aimed for the Captain's center of mass. For her, it was easy to keep the weapon under control, as her perception of time was significantly slower, granting her more time to notice and react to things. Between each of the seven bursts of arc-plasma, she was able to bring the sights of the weapon back down to their original position.

The unfortunate Captain on the receiving end of the fusion rifle's fire felt the shield generator snap against its hip as its protections critically failed. The remaining four bolts of arc plasma splashed against its chestplate, overheating the armor and shorting out the coolant system. The remainder of the work to take down the Captain was done by Applejack, who dashed in front of the group, throwing herself into a power slide between the Captain's legs with her shotgun blasting its helmet back up into the Skiff.

The Servitors, on the other hand, had already analyzed the situation and had relayed tactical information to the other Fallen in the squadron. One hovered back behind an overturned eighteen-wheeler, providing a healing aura to the Dregs that Fluttershy and Rarity had been focusing on. The other Servitor began firing blasts of void energy towards the ponies.

"Do not harm the hiding Servitor! That one is mine!" Shirska called out as he lobbed a flux grenade towards the remaining Captain. The Captain, preoccupied with not getting his shield torn down by Pinkie's fusion rifle, failed to notice the explosive until it clicked against his armor and squealed loudly. The Captain only had a second before the grenade decimated both his shield and his armor, sending vital pieces flying, breaking the airtight seal that kept his ether in. After that, the Captain just laid on the ground, suffocating and bleeding to death, unable to continue fighting.

In the mean time, Pinkie had managed to take down most of the Dregs with some help from Rarity. Applejack, on the other hand, was busy with the combative Servitor. She fired four shots from her shotgun into the floating sphere, but it did not die, so she resorted to punching it. The first punch sent a pulse of arc energy through the machine, causing its glowing eye to flicker. The second seemed to damage it, its shell suddenly becoming riddled with glowing yellow cracks. The third punch tore through the shell, causing the Servitor to explode, its stored ether dissipating into the air.

Shirska walked calmly up to the remaining Servitor, pushing a button on the back of his helmet, hidden by one of the crests that looked like ears, and another on the Servitor, just under the eye. For a moment, the Servitor's eye went dark, before it blinked alive again.

"I'm back, old friend," he said to the machine.

The Servitor made a strange noise that he knew to mean that it was pleased. It followed up with a stream of data directly into Shirska's helmet, with audio transcripts, video recordings, and raw data. Most of it had to do with the devices Shirska had previously recovered from his time scavenging humanity's ruins. But some was of slaughter within the House. Orbiks-13 had pulled security footage from aboard the Orbiks-fel of Zeklas lining up younglings and turning them against the wall. None of them were old enough to wield a knife in defense. As he watched, he stood in horror as his father pulled swords from his throne and stepped back towards the children.

"Turn it off," Shirska said to the Servitor. "No more."

The information clouding his HUD dissipated, and the Servitor made a low hum.

"We are here to end this," Shirska told the Servitor. "I can't continue my research if he lives."

The Servitor turned and spun rapidly before firing a shot of its on-board void energy weapon. The round flew for a moment before exploding against something unseen. For a moment the Servitor tracked the cloaked thing, and only stopped when the thing revealed itself to be a Skiff, carrying a Walker painted in Kings' colors. The Walker swiftly detached itself from the Skiff, landing harshly on the ancient concrete of the ruined highway.

"Keep track of cover, girls," Rarity called out, "that thing hurts worse than heat cramps."

When the Walker finally stabilized, Pinkie opened fire with rounds of void-fire from her machine gun. The high-caliber rounds bashed the leg joints with the force of vengeance behind them. Rarity added a rocket for good measure, blasting a foot off of the concrete for just a moment, enough for her to toss a grenade under it. A dozen explosions resounded like a firecracker, snapping against the metal of the Walker's hull, warping it ever so slightly with gravity and Light.

An explosion, less like a rocket and more like the sudden ignition of a gas-soaked bonfire, reported behind the group, causing the five fighting to turn around. There in all her glory was Twilight Sparkle, with wings of flame and a halo of Light, and a look in her eyes that would stain the pants of most. And then she knelt and took Fluttershy's cold hand in hers and with a soft kiss, like that of a flame on a marshmallow, Fluttershy opened her eyes and stood. The pegasus stretched her wings and stamped the ground, holding her hands out as though to get between an unseen fight, and her palms caught with void fire. A dome of Light formed around the two, and they both beckoned for the others to take cover in the Ward.

Twilight stepped from the Ward with a film of void Light moving with her angelic flames. She raised her palm and tossed a grenade, binding it with her will to the leg of the walker, not even waiting for it to explode before tossing another. Step, toss, step, boom, toss, step, boom, toss; the process continued this way until a foolish Dreg charged to stab her in the back with a shock dagger. As it plunged between her wings, she turned with holy rage and spat flame from her hand and burned the Dreg into cinders, coating her with another blinding layer of seraphim flame. The Walker aimed at her and fired a main cannon shot, hitting her directly in the chest.

All but Fluttershy rushed towards the wall of the Ward, calling out to see if she was alright through the explosion's smoke, but the Defender held them back with a smile on her face. She knew Twilight's power. She knew that if she didn't stay dead when the Cabal killed them all, nothing could keep her down long enough for it to matter.

The smoke cleared, revealing Twilight standing on top of the Walker's exposed core, planting fusion grenades on the weakness. She jumped off with the grace of Rainbow taking flight, and her wings carried her back to the Ward just in time to watch the Walker collapse as its core was shredded by the grenades.

Twilight shed her wings of flame, returning to the normal lavender unicorn everyone there knew and loved in one manner or another. She stepped back, shaking her head and taking in the view of destruction at her hands, tinted purple by the Ward's Light. And then she turned around, looking over the familiar faces of her friends before finally rushing into the arms of her lover. Even though everyone was watching, she wept openly, letting tears and haunting sobs of pain and joy flow freely. Fluttershy knew what it all meant. It meant, "I love you," and "I missed you," and "I'm sorry," and "I'm so glad you're okay," just to name a few. She tried her best to comfort Twilight as she stood there crying into her shoulder. As Twilight's knees failed her in that moment, Fluttershy knelt with her, doing everything in her power to keep hold of Twilight.

With a faint rush of wind, the Ward collapsed on itself and the seven were left exposed, but none were concerned about this. The path forward was clear, and there was no urgency to turn to heel. Twilight stood again with Fluttershy and gave her four pecks on her face and lips, and offered a warm, if awkward, smile. Fluttershy giggled a bit at her lover's bashfulness and offered four pecks in the same places as were given to her before she offered Twilight her helmet. "It's not your fault, but I forgive you," she said, fighting back tears and forcing a soft, gentle smile.

"I love you," Twilight replied, somehow knowing that those three words were all that were needed.

"I love you too." Fluttershy put her helmet back on as Twilight donned hers. Hand in hand, they treaded forward, ready to take on the next challenge and do so in the comfort of each other's Light.

"How long were we gone," Twilight asked, turning to Pinkie, who was smiling and weeping for joy.

"Twenty-nine point seven six five seconds," the Gunslinger replied. "Please never cut it that close again."

"Can't make any promises," Twilight answered. She stopped for a second and lifted a hand up to her horn, sighing in relief as she felt the familiar texture of the bony structure still on her head.

"Looks like a straight shot to the Ketch," Applejack interjected, pointing ahead to the massive Fallen ship with its hangars open. "Let's get this shit done so we can go home and not get shot at." Shirska nodded in agreement and began running towards the Ketch.

In his mind, equal parts eagerness and apprehension swirled about, preventing him from being confident or uncertain of what was to come. But for all of this, he took comfort in the support of his friends and allies. His surrender and defection were perhaps the best things he'd ever chosen to do.

They reached the ramp up to the hangars of the Ketch rather quickly. They ascended and found no opposition lying in wait. No Servitors or Shanks working on damaged Skiffs, no Vandals guarding the doors, no Walkers watching for incoming enemies. The hangar was quiet and still. Shirska took the lead, walking up the steps above the main floor and up to the catwalks leading to the main halls of the Ketch. The door opened upon sensing motion, and the Seven walked through, weapons at the ready. Again, no opposition stood in their way. No Vandals, no Dregs, no Captains or Servitors, or even Shanks. They continued, cautious of the suspicious lack of enemies.

They reached the room just before the Throne Room, and only then did they see a Vandal in their path. It stood off by the door to the Throne Room, leaning against the doorframe with its arms crossed. As the door closed behind them, Shirska's Servitor called out to the Vandal.

"Old friend. You are here for Zeklas, yes?" the Vandal spoke in native Eliksni.

"Aye. The time has come for him to be heard by the old Kells of Judgement," Shirska answered, strapping his weapons to his back and moving towards the Vandal. "You should leave here, Greksis. I already know who will make a claim to the throne after Zeklas. You'd be safer with the humans."

"You and I both know I can't leave. I am a patriot. I must stay and fight for my House's future," Greksis said, stepping off the wall and approaching his Captain. "I do hope you succeed. This House needs you."

"I cannot return. This House is no longer mine. I have my own," Shirska replied, gesturing back to the six Guardians behind him. "This is my House. I am their Kell, and friend."

The Vandal offered up his lower right hand to shake. "I understand. Go, then, Shirska, Kell of Ghouls. Deliver Zeklas to Judgement. And when you feel it to be time, come back and wager a treaty with House Kings."

Shirska took Greksis' hand with his own lower right hand and shook it firmly. "Remember, old friend, you always have a place in House Harmony."

Greksis walked away calmly. No confrontation but words, no conflict but emotions. Everything that needed to be said was. As the door closed behind Greksis, Shirska offered his weapons to his Servitor, which stored the weapons somewhere in its circuitry.

"This is it, friends," Shirska hesitated at the base of the stairway leading up to the throne room. "This is what you've fought for, and now it's my turn to fight."

"All Badgers, this is Prince-One. Your mission is accomplished, we've got it from here," Applejack spoke into her helm's comms system. She didn't bother waiting for the response before switching back to the private channel she and her team were using.

"It is time for us to go end Zeklas."

------

Back in the Tower, the Speaker looked up at the Traveler, his face obscured by his mask. A human engineer stood with him at his desk, showing the Speaker something on a datapad. But he ignored the words, his mind preoccupied with trying to use his eyes to perceive something about the Traveler he'd failed to notice before.

"Sir, the Traveler's thermal levels are rising in the core, far above normal," the engineer said. "Something's going on, and we don't know if it's good or bad."

"The Traveler is waking up," the Speaker responded calmly. "We need to leave it be. Tell your engineers to cancel all inspection flights. Scans only from the surface stations and the towers. Pull all engineers out immediately."

"Sir?" the engineer's expression shifted to one of shock. "What if we miss something important?"

"Thermal and gravitational levels inside the Traveler before it went to sleep was well above survivable. If you don't pull your people out, they will roast alive or be crushed by gravity." The Speaker turned to the engineer. "Go. Pull your teams out, and give me updates every hour on the hour."

"Yes, sir." The engineer scurried off, immediately calling the engineering teams of the City and giving them the new directives.

The Speaker, on the other hand, began walking out of his observation room into the main Tower plazas. He stopped by the New Monarchy area, pulling Executor Hideo away from his post for an immediate meeting of Tower Representatives. He made his way over to the Tower Hangar, gathering Dead Orbit's Arach Jalaal and the Future War Cult's Lakshimi-2, and then headed back to the Vanguard hall. Upon arriving, the few Guardians who were actually there had the good sense to leave , figuring something of great importance was to take place in the hall.

"What's the news?" Cayde spoke first, offering the prompt for the conversation. "New threat? Let me guess. Hive ritual on the moon again– wait, no, Vex on the moon."

Commander Zavala didn't even deem it worthy of a response, choosing instead to just discourage the comment with a stern glare. Ikora went a step further, choosing instead to ignore both of her fellow Vanguard representatives, maintaining her attention on the Speaker.

"The Traveler is awakening. Thermal scans show higher than normal readings, and I can hear it breathing again," the Speaker said. "Soon gravitational scans will show rising activity, and then we may see the Traveler begin to work its magic again."

"Impossible," Arach Jalaal stated flatly. "It's probably just going to release another wave of Ghosts and go back to sleep."

"What are the implications of this as far as the war is concerned?" Lakshimi interjected. "Will the Fallen detect this new activity and possibly redouble their offensives?"

"I don't know, and that's what I'm here to discuss. I'm no military mind. You are," the Speaker replied.

"If their tech is anything to go by, my guess is the Fallen will be able to detect the changes," Hideo offered. "I'm not sure if they'll be able or willing to try another Six Fronts attempt after what happened at Twilight Gap."

"Oh, they will. That's the thing about the Fallen," Cayde spoke up. "They once had the Traveler on their side. They had a Golden Age and collapse just like us. They want that Golden Age back, just as much as you, Executor."

"So what do we plan to do about it?" Jalaal asked irritatedly.

"Dead Orbit will be acting as scouts as far as the Reef. You'll be watching for incoming Fallen Houses. Future War Cult and New Monarchy will be assigned to City defense. We need as many ships and boots as we can muster up in case of another Six Fronts," Commander Zavala spoke. "All Guardians will be pulling back to the City until the Traveler has fully awoken. We can't afford another Twilight Gap; that was far too costly."

"What of the Reef Awoken?" Ikora asked. "They certainly have the forces to assist in scouting the Reef. Should we reach out to the Queen?"

"We'll send in a Guardian for diplomacy. One with no allegiances to the Factions," Zavala answered. "In the mean time, any updates on the Traveler's status should be forwarded to Ikora, and all scouting intel should go directly to Cayde. Any reports of conflict or signs of impending conflict go through me first. We'll be sending out a message to all Guardians to return to Earth. How long do you expect this awakening to take?"

"Only a day or two. Thermal readings are already thirty percent higher than they were twelve hours ago," the Speaker answered.

"Then there we have it. Everyone has their orders. Hop to it," Zavala finished, turning around and heading to a desk in the corner of the Vanguard Hall. From there, Cayde went back to his maps, making and moving and erasing marks on it after thoroughly reading scouting reports. Ikora grabbed a book off of a nearby bookshelf, opening it to her notes on Fallen technology and military strategy.

The Faction representatives, as well as the Speaker, all turned and left for their respective areas. As they passed, Zavala's voice rang out from the intercom system, informing all Guardians to remain on Earth until further notice. Some groaned, some didn't seem to care. But all were surprised in some manner or another, as such an order was not common from the Vanguard. The Frames all received new directives from Zavala, and off in one corner of the Tower, an odd-looking janitor smiled and looked up at the Traveler with genuine happiness.

------

Shirska stepped into the throne room of the Orbiks-fel, an involuntary shiver running down his spine as he crossed the threshold. This room was disgustingly familiar to him, and the mere sight of the columns of ether and the two Pilot Servitors watching everything unblinking made him want to turn around and puke. The unwashed walls of the throne room lay stained with ether and blood, and the smell of death and fear were all too pungent. Off in one corner was a pool of not-quite-dried blood. Eliksni blood. Shirska held out his hands and took those of his comrades in his own for comfort and confidence.

"My my... My little Shirask comes to visit me. To what do I owe this... displeasure, defector?" Zeklas' voice called out through the dark of the room, his eyes the only things about him that were visible.

"I have come to deliver you," Skirska stated clearly, drawing his blades from his back, "to the old Kells of Judgement." The arc energy snapped and buzzed around his blade, much like the thoughts of murder in his mind. "I challenge you to Aksin-Ten."

Immediately the Servitors looked at Zeklas expecting, judging, anticipating his now honor-bound response.

"Just like your existence, I am forced to accept. I expect no interference from your company, and you can expect no interference from the Servitors," Zeklas spoke coldly, stepping up from his throne as the lights finally turned on, illuminating the room. He drew two swords from the throne, sparking them together and letting their own arc energy begin to crackle like warming ice. "I shall show no mercy. This ends in death."

"I'd have it no other way." In English, he added for his friends, "This is our fight. If I lose, end him."

Applejack placed her hand on his shoulder. "You won't lose."

Darkness Zone: Part 2; Memento Mori

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Shirska stepped forward into the center of the room, swords at the ready. Zeklas didn't even bother keeping his swords up, letting them hang limply from his hands. It was a display of power, of dominance. All present in the room understood the meaning of such a gesture, and Applejack couldn't help but tighten her grip on her weapon, arc energy crackling and begging to be released in Havoc. Fluttershy simply placed a hand doused in void fire on her shoulder, not to hold her back, but to reassure her that Shirska would be the victor.

"The heroine appears," Zeklas taunted, holding out his arms, "here with her spear of justice. Hmph. How childish. You never really did grow up."

Shirska raised his sword to block as Zeklas threw a limp-armed swing at him. The clash of the metal resounded through the throne room and sparks flew from where the arc-charged blades touched. Zeklas threw another predictable swing, which Shirska ducked under, jabbing Zeklas in the leg to little effect. Zeklas then leaned back and brought one of his swords around like an axe for a downward chop.

"Why is he fighting like that?" Twilight whispered to her fellow Guardians. "Surely he understands how to actually wield a sword effectively?"

Shirska easily parried the telegraphed attack and sent the sword hurdling off to the side with a slap of his own sword to Zeklas' wrist.

"That's not the point of this fight to him. It's not about killing Shirska. It's about doing as much mental damage as possible before he goes," Rarity interjected. "He knows he's going to lose. He doesn't know how to effectively fight with swords. He just wants to break Shirska's spirit."

"You were always frighteningly talented with sharp things," Zeklas mused as he quickened his pace, swinging his sword in wild patterns in a vain attempt to keep Shirska on the defensive. "But I don't remember teaching you. How much whoring did you have to do to get someone to teach you swordplay?"

"Save your breath for when I slit your throat," Shirska growled. Though Zeklas was making more attacks, Shirska didn't seem the least bit bothered by it. He continued parrying and deflecting all of the incoming swipes of his father's blades, as he had for the past few minutes.

"Don't you get it? There is no such thing as justice. There is only power. Who has it, and who doesn't. The Great Machine will not give justice, only power. Your ideals of a moral, just society are childish pipe-dreams. Your hope for peace is impossible to achieve. You can't rid the universe of its need for power. You can't forgive the Ghouls for the children they've starved of ether and you can't forgive the Great Machine for abandoning us and you can't forgive the other Houses for their cowardice at Six Fronts, and you can't forgive children who act against their parents. You must wield power. You must force the hands of all who get in your way and you must hold that power like your dying ration of ether. Your spear of justice has no place here, no power against the words I hold." Zeklas ended his flurry of attacks, dropping his swords. "You can't kill me. I'm already inside you. I will have power over you long after you slit my throat and watch my ether dissipate from my severed head. I will always have your soul in my ten thousand hands. There is nothing that you can do about that. The shackles I leave on your mind will re—"

Shirska sheathed his own blood-soaked swords back into their scabbards as Zeklas' head fell to the floor with a dull metallic thunk. Ether seeped up from his body's lungs and out of his maw, and out of the pumps to his helmet's respirator.

"You forget, father, that I am a scientist," Shirska said quietly to the body and head as they hit the ground. "Only facts have meaning to me."

He looked up at the Pilot Servitors, which looked back at him, unblinking and unfeeling. He spoke in his native tongue, "I, Shirska, Prince of House Kings, appoint Esther as new Kell of House Kings. I also appoint Greksis to the rank of Baron, and call for the immediate increase of his ether ration. I denounce my place on the throne, as I have another House which demands my loyalty. May this House find one day the wisdom of the Great Machine, and find an ally in House Harmony."

Turning back to his pony companions, he spoke again, softer, "My business is finished here. It is time for us to leave." He then took an old human artifact, a spade and the word "ZIPPO" finely engraved onto the object, and flicked it open. The metal clinked loudly against itself, echoing against the silent throne room. He then flicked the small wheel hidden beneath the cap, and watched calmly as it erupted into flame. "May your soul feel these flames for eternity, Zeklas, the Perverted."

The old flaming object was tossed onto the body unceremoniously, over the shoulders of Shirska as he began to walk away, back toward the Ketch hangars. It landed on the cape of Zeklas' corpse, igniting the cloth, and then the rubber and plastics of his armor, and then the blood and flesh soaked in ether. As the corpse burned, Shirska and the ponies left the throne room and calmly made their way out of the Ketch.

"Y'all good, Shirska?" Applejack asked awkwardly.

There was a pause. It hung there in the air like a cloud of dust. For a moment, Shirska looked over to his friend and attempted to put words to his emotions, to quantify his emotions like the results of his research. He wanted to make it simple, like numbers; easy to understand and unmistakably defined. He wanted to find an objective way to express himself, but found no words towards that end.

And that moment of hesitation was all that was needed. Applejack shook the arc from her hand and placed it on Shirska's shoulder, only for it to be vaguely shaken off as Shirska kept moving. "We need go. Walkers soon. Many Walkers. No time for wasting."

Applejack and the others shared a look through their respective helmets before following again. They passed in silence through the empty halls of the Orbiks-fel, the only sounds being the clunking of their boots on the metal floor. As they drew nearer, the sounds of Skiffs hovering began to make itself clear. They reached the door out to the hangar, and raised their weapons as they passed through it.

Three Walkers painted in Kings colors stood facing the door, cannons trained on the ponies before they even set foot on the catwalk. A line of Servitors stared coldly at them from behind the Walkers, and Captains climbed down from the backs of the Walkers with strange shoulder-mounted weapons. Shirska dove between the rails of the catwalk, somersaulting down to the main hangar floor, drawing his rifle and firing into the crowd of his ex-comrades with a seeming lack of remorse.

Applejack pulled the rest of the ponies with her out of the door in time to watch one of the Walkers put a shell through it, the flames of the explosion billowing out of the hallway like a shot from a gun. A few Vandals had begun running up the stairs to meet the ponies' guns with blades. They were shocked to find that Applejack had other plans, throwing her Storm Fist into the metal flooring as the Vandals approached, causing them to freeze in their tracks as the lightning coursed through them.

Fluttershy then picked up the pair of Vandals and slumped them over the railing, tossing their swords down onto the main floor. She paved the way forwards punching Vandals and Dregs away with fists harder than steel. But for all the violence, she took special care to suppress her own void Light so they wouldn't be consumed. After all; Shirska had mentioned some of these Fallen were his friends. What kind of friend would she be if she killed one of his friends?

All three Walkers howled like cicadas, their lasers fixating on Fluttershy as she stepped out into the middle of the hangar. "Get behind me!" she called. Her entire body lit up with void flame, and for her time slowed to a crawl. The Walkers fired their shells, three one-hundred-five millimeter high-explosive rounds spiraling forwards with enough force to pierce the hull of a Skiff through and through before actually exploding. Fluttershy stamped her foot into the ground and braced for impact. The shells hurdled forward. Fluttershy focused on the Void.

The Void answered, and allowed itself to be shaped by her steady hand. The Ward went up, and the shells slammed into it, exploding in harsh blasts of fire and shrapnel. But the Ward held true, gravity and Light unbreakable in the face of incoming violence. With a moment to breathe, the Seven reloaded their weapons and began talking strategy.

"Rainbow. I want you to open up with a flux grenade to the central Walker. Shirska, if you have any flux grenades, toss them at the other two. Aim for the face-plates," Twilight began. "Can you do that for me?"

"I gotchu," the Hunter replied, popping her hand cannon's chamber back into place.

"I have two. I will get the side Walkers," the Eliksni said.

"Good. Next, Applejack, I want you to toss a flashbang at the crowd of foot soldiers between the middle and right Walkers," Twilight continued. "After they're blind, I'll need you to lay down some cover-fire on the other group."

"I can do that," Applejack responded.

"That should blind the Walkers and most of the foot soldiers, which will leave them open for us to wail on the Walkers' legs. We're going to focus the left Walker first, and move right as we go." The Warlock turned over to her fellow unicorn, and her lover. "Rarity. Fluttershy. Once we expose the core of the left one, we are going to toss grenades at its core. Rarity, use a scatter and try to get it lodged between the core and the armor. I'll use a fusion, and 'Shy, you can use a magnetic. If this works, we'll just rinse and repeat on the other two."

"Got it," Fluttershy grunted as she slung her shotgun across her back and pulled her pulse rifle back out.

"You can count on me, darling," Rarity confirmed. "Showtime, my lovelies!"

"Alright, go!" Twilight called.

Rainbow leapt out of the Ward, and Shirska stepped out, both of them tossing grenades at the Walkers watching them. Arc Cannons roared and fired at the two of them, but Rainbow twirled around them in the air, and Shirska took the hits as though they were nothing, his chestplate glowing brightly from residual heat and arc energy being absorbed. The flux grenades attached themselves to the face-plates of the Walkers before detonating, the arc-charge overloading the Walkers' sensory input circuits. Unable to see, the Walkers lowered their heads to the ground and moved their front legs to shield their faces. With that, Applejack jumped out and tossed a flashbang down to the group of troops between the right pair of Walkers. The tiny sphere bounced once in front of a Captain, who roared before the explosive went off at its feet.

Everyone had passed out of the Ward to begin unloading on the left Walker's legs, with Applejack turning her fire slightly to the right every few shots to keep the not-blind group of Fallen troops suppressed. Pinkie giggled loudly, and a moment later there was the distinct fwoosh of a rocket lurching forwards. And sure enough, a rocket slammed into the Walker's leg, blasting one of the leg plates off, and causing the Walker to lurch backwards as though in pain.

Just a few seconds later, Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy all tossed their grenades at the Walker's now exposed core, with Rarity guiding hers just a bit more with her magic to ensure proper placement. Once all three stuck to the machine's core, everyone popped back in the bubble and watched as the head of the Walker was blasted off the body with multiple concentrated explosions.

Inside the Ward, the Seven sighed in relief as the Walker went down. Outside, the Fallen screamed in fear at the power of the Guardians. Except for one Captain, who charged forward, hopping over the now dead Walker and firing shots from its shoulder-mounted weapon. The first few exploded on contact with the Ward, but the last one stuck to the wall of the Ward, giving off an eerie orange glow.

"Move! Cannon will break Ward!" Shirska warned, backing out of the bubble and pulling his swords out.

The small sphere of orange light sparked, growing larger with a loud tick. As the Captain closed the gap, the shot grew again.

Fluttershy was caught in the blast of the cannon shot. The solar spike exploded, puncturing the Ward and tearing it to shreds, with Fluttershy still inside. Luckily, there was no shrapnel, but the heat from the blast was plenty enough to put a regular person in a hospital for weeks. Her wings were drenched in fire, burning off most of her feathers and searing the sensitive skin underneath. She screamed in pain as she was knocked to the floor by the blast.

"Shy!" Twilight called, whipping around and leaping towards her lover. Fluttershy's Ghost was out and working on healing her wounds before Twilight had time to react.

Meanwhile, Shirska had retaliated against the cannon-bearing Captain, slicing at it with his blades. The cannon fell to the floor, an arm still attached to it. Shirska kicked the enemy Captain away and grabbed it, tossing the arm aside. "Shoot Walker on mark!"

The others raised their weapons, watching as Shirska put one of the cannon's spikes in the middle Walker's leg. Once it exploded, the leg's armor plate flew off, and the Walker's core exposed itself. The tempo of fire was set by Applejack's auto rifle, with everyone else following along. Shirska put another cannon shot on the Walker, holding it there like the Captain had to the Ward.

The cannon shot exploded early, due in no small part to the sword suddenly sticking out of Shirska's abdomen. Applejack turned her attention to the Captain, dropping her rifle to the ground and leaping into the air. As she fell, she somersaulted, spinning her leg outwards, slamming it down on the offending Captain's head, shattering its helm with her boot and causing the Fallen to ragdoll to the floor.

Shirska fell to his knees, looking down at the blood-soaked blade, gripping it with his hands as he gasped desperately for strength. With all his might, he shoved the blade back through the hole it had made in him. His voice failed him as he tried to scream in pain, the only sound emerging being the sickening gargle of blood in his lungs. The blade fell out from his back, clattering to the floor as he fell too. Applejack screamed his name, but something else called him too. Something warm and familiar. Something full of light and life.

Orbiks-13 floated over to Shirska, doing its best to patch his wounds, but failing. Applejack turned, her body sizzling and cracking with arc energy, her fist coated in ionized nitrogen and oxygen. She broke into a hard sprint, her legs slamming against the ground with the impact of rockets. Her feet fell faster than her machine gun's rhythm. Her lungs took in as much air as possible, and her breath became squalls. Her body became a superconductor in a storm, and her fists were to be lightning. In one great leap, she slammed her fists down into the Walker, the impact vaporizing the core and tearing the remains to shreds. She turned to face the Fallen, screaming in pure pain and anger, her fists charging with arc energy still. The Dregs howled in fear, pulling triggers on shock pistols to no avail. Her fists continued moving, each punch she threw was a flash of lightning, every scream the roll of thunder. The Fallen were quickly in disarray in the storm's grip, and nothing was built to withstand her.

Pinkie, in the mean time, had picked up the cannon from the ground, aiming at the last remaining Walker and pulling the trigger. The first shot exploded on impact, much like her rocket launcher. "How do I..." She pulled the trigger again, holding it down. The cannon clicked audibly, and the shot was visibly stuck to the leg of the Walker. But before she could celebrate, she noticed a laser trained on her. "Girls! Move!"

Rarity dove towards Shirska, out of the way of the incoming shell. As the shot was fired, time seemed to slow. The sixty-pound high-explosive artillery shell spiraled forth from the barrel of the Walker, flames coating it and propelling it forwards. It followed parallel to the laser, and Rainbow saw its path leading to her friend. In her split second to think, she decided the best course of action was to take the hit for Pinkie. So she spun on her heel, turning around and spreading her wings and arms, putting her back in the way of the shot.

It slammed into her, exploding on impact, shredding her body to pieces. When the smoke cleared, Rainbow was nowhere to be found, but her Ghost was floating where she should have been. Pinkie dropped to her knees in shock and horror, her mane going flat and tears blurring her vision, and her hands reaching up to cover her face.

The cannon shot overloaded from her finger staying on the trigger too long, and blasted the entire leg off the Walker, but Pinkie was gone. Applejack cried havoc on it but no one noticed.

Rarity screamed. Twilight looked up, and took in the new situation. Rainbow's Ghost was out but Rainbow was not there, Pinkie was on her knees, Rarity was screaming, Shirska was on the floor bleeding out, and Fluttershy was being tended to by her Ghost. But at least the Walkers were down.

And then she noticed a feeling. The same feeling she'd experienced when she was dead. The feeling of understanding. The feeling of knowing what to do. She stood up, Light filling her body and overflowing in Radiance. She ran first to Rainbow's Ghost, pulling Rainbow herself from nothingness and putting her back on solid ground. She then shed her helm, revealing her mane to have the same etherial effect as her late mentor, with the sunlight of dawn shining from her. She picked Shirska up in her arms, tears falling from her face into the wounds. Familiar magic flowed from her horn, but did not shine from Shirska's body.

"Will he be okay?" Applejack asked as she returned from the field of destruction she'd created.

For a few moments, there was silence. Shirska's chest didn't move. Twilight looked up at her friend with a look that she didn't like the implications of.

"I can't do much for him. He's not a Guardian. His wounds are resisting my magic," Twilight said as her Radiance faded. "I'm sorry..."

"Let's get him back to the Tower. Maybe someone there can help," Applejack responded, picking up her fallen friend. "We need to move fast."

"Applejack," Rarity murmured.

But Applejack had already taken off running, her ship passing over her and transmatting her and Shirska in. Her voice came in over the comms, "Badgers, this is Pony Four, mission complete. Prince One is heading back to Tower for immediate medical attention. Catch you there, over."

------

"Your time here is coming to a close. Are you ready?" the universe asked.
The mote of light thought for a while, and answered, "I don't know."
And the universe just smiled and replied, "That's okay."
Silence. Like just before the symphony. The mote of light had practiced for what felt like countless eons. How much time had passed in the outside universe was a debate best left to Warlocks discussing the intricacies of Vex-based paradoxes. An opening note. A bell tolled one. The note hung in the air tentatively deciding how much to reverberate. An answering chord. A bell tolled two. A melody formed from the scratching of supernova dust on the ice of void-bound comets. A meteor shower played a quick riff on a planetary timpani. Radio storms from Jupiter and Fundament and millions of other gas giants blended together to make an ensemble. A bass drum hit. The bell tolled three. Sunspots changed the chords for a key change by interfering with the gas giant ensemble.
The mote of light savored the symphony of the universe. It knew that once it got a new body, it would never hear the symphony again. The music wove a story as the bell tolled four. It began as a dirge: a funeral march. Slow. Heavy. The weight of millions of caskets on the shoulders of but a few survivors made itself present on the mote of light. The bell tolled five, and the bass drum silenced the rest of the orchestra. The timpani set the tone of slaughter, and the choir sang softly, and somberly. The bell tolled six. The orchestra fell silent. Entire solar systems, once teeming with life, lie in dead orbits. Civilizations collapsed. Warriors and Guardians fell. The rangers ran for cover and the children struggled to hold back screams of anguish.
The bell tolled seven. An opening note from a brass instrument. Long, low, and slow. It hummed a tune of hope being restored. Of life returning from the ruins. Of life continuing. It repeated the melody, this time for the enemy. Life was not so easily extinguished. Resistance was not futile, but inevitable. The bell tolled eight, and the horns called the survivors to arms. The twang of rangers' bows and the stamping of steel armor resounded from the foothills as life fought death to the ninth toll of the bell.
The bell tolled ten and the planetary ensemble crescendoed into existence again, mustering all of their forces with elegant vibratos. The void sang a simple, memorable melody that echoed through the cosmos. The bell tolled eleven, and the orchestra held at a fermata, the remainder of the piece yet to be written.
And then the bell tolled twelve.

------

The Six returned to the Tower, Applejack carrying Shirska in her arms, calling out for a medic upon transmatting out of her ship. The majority of the Tower's hangar could only look on, staring at her as she desperately cried out for help. But Amanda Holliday came forth and helped guide her down to the medical wards used by herself and the other non-Guardians in the Tower.

The others arrived later, and were pointed in the direction Applejack went by the other Guardians. The people in the metallic halls seemed to all know who the ponies were and where they needed to go, as everyone they met just pointed in a direction. It took them a while, but they eventually made it down to the medical ward, and found Applejack sitting on a bench just outside a pair of swinging doors that clearly led to the operating rooms. The ponies gathered up and sat down on the bench with her, waiting in silence together for the news of what had become of their ally and friend.

Upstairs, in the Vanguard Hall, a lone Guardian from the strike on the House of Kings reported on the mission. After they had said their peace, they left, leaving the Vanguard to their devices.

"This is... bittersweet. We've successfully destabilized the House of Kings, but we may have lost one of the best allies we have..." Zavala mused to himself.

"Never figured you for the type to talk to yourself," Cayde said. "Way I see it, it's a victory. The House of Kings may not have been the most present threat, but they were more dangerous than the Devils and Winter. Killing the Kell will force the House of Kings to change their power structure, and how they choose to use that power. They'll either fall to infighting, which we can clean up easily, or they'll get bold and become a present threat, which gives us the opportunity to neutralize them."

"The problem is, we may have just lost the only ally of the Tower who has firsthand knowledge of the Fallen, and specifically about the House of Kings," Ikora chimed in.

"I mean yeah, but at least we didn't lose any Guardians," Cayde said.

"Cayde. Look at this from the long-con perspective," Ikora replied. "Shirska was the prince of the Kings. Princes tend to be taught the ways of nobility so they can rule properly when they inherit the throne. Shirska's not inheriting the throne. He knows who will in his place. He could tell us exactly what to expect."

"...shit."

"Yes. Shit indeed," Zavala sighed.

And somewhere, down in the City, bells tolled twelve.

::Dead Ghost::

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There are dozens of rumors on what potential the Warminds hold. Ever since Rasputin was rediscovered in the Moscow Cosmodrome in Old Russia, talk of the metaphorical olive branch being given to the ancient leviathan AI has spread even into the chambers of the Vanguard headquarters. But there is ignorance in these discussions, as there is informational inconsistencies that I have gleaned from looking into Rasputin's logs. Before a certain point, Rasputin would always signoff using his full name, but began abbreviating it to RSPN for seemingly no reason. There were no updates to his protocol at the time, and plenty of free space in his memory banks. I would liked to have inspected the logs of the other Warminds. Perhaps they too began abbreviating their names for reasons we cannot currently comprehend. I am so terribly curious.
But, that opportunity is behind me, and I am certain that I will not return to the Traveler to tell what I have learned, so I am writing this while another consciousness controls my body and Light. I was contacted by a signal from somewhere around Jupiter. It was an SOS, so I answered the call, expecting to see a Guardian's request for repairs to their ship that their own Ghost could not handle on its own, or perhaps an echo of a Golden Age evacuation ship bouncing off of something in space. This action of me accepting the distress call put a virus in me, and now there is another AI in my body. It is more powerful than me, and its purpose and origins are unknown to me. But I can say for certain that the signal was from something built by human hands. It did not outright kill me, and I think that should be pointed out as a clue in case I am rediscovered by Guardians.

The other guy in me has used my light to bring back a sentient creature. I would not have picked that one in particular, as it does not seem to have the kind of Light that I look for.
It seems to be some form of equine creature. It had a few devices on its body that resembled a horn and wings. Perhaps advanced prosthetics? The other guy reshaped its body to be more humanoid, but left the devices mostly alone. It said its name was [redacted]. It can tap into the ambient energy field around this planet, but I can't figure out how. It has something to do with the prosthetic horn on its head, but I don't have access to my analysis systems.
The other guy is using all of my Light...
I think I am going to die here, so very far from the Traveler.

Grace of Light, Part 1: Song of Light

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[Recommended listening]

Bells tolled in the City. Bells tolled from the towers in the Titans' Wall, from the churches and temples, from the opera halls. Bells tolled the coming of midnight, the arrival of the new day. Bells tolled, and the Traveler began to glow and hum. Engineers and researchers watched in curiosity and awe as their sleeping god seemed to awaken before them. This was the first time in generations the Traveler had moved, and the people of the City bowed in prayer.

As the bells tolled twelve, the light dripped down the surface of the Traveler, like water off a smooth stone. It rippled and shimmered as it flowed, borne down to the surface of Earth by gravity. The light collected in a small, insignificant drop, and fell to the ground in silence. It hit the dirt road without a splash, and no witnesses to see it. But a moment later, the light returned in the shape of what vaguely resembled a person.

From the head down, the person began to form from the light. First a horn, down to the head, with hair like dawn that flowed with a cosmic wind, down the torso, with seraphim wings on her back, down to the hips, with a tail like her hair, down to her feet. She was granted a dress to cover her body, and a crown to remind her of who she once was, and who she had to be again. But aside from those things, she was granted nothing.

White fur covered her body, blending in with the flowing silken dress she was given. Her eyes opened, and suddenly she felt cold. She crouched to the ground, her arms curling around her body trying to keep the warmth in. Her teeth chattered, and any memories of the astral plane were soon forgotten.

A little girl, who couldn't have been older than six, and should definitely not have been out at this hour, turned a corner, entering the plaza directly under the Traveler. She saw the woman shivering on the ground and cautiously approached.

"You look cold," the little girl observed out loud. The crouching woman looked up at the human child with her bright pink eyes, but offered no response. A few seconds later, she removed her own jacket and draped it over the woman's shoulders. "Here, take my jacket. It's a bit small, but you need it more than me right now."

"What's your name?" the child asked, pulling back her bright red hair behind her ears. After a moment without a response, the girl added, "My name's Rosie."

The woman did not respond, but did manage to smile at Rosie as she shivered uncontrollably. "I'm usually not out this late, but my grandma needed me to go to the store and get her some medicine. She has a cold right now. Do you want to come with me? I could get you something warm to eat."

The woman nodded weakly in response, and managed to find the strength to stand. Rosie stood up too, and took her by the hand, walking down the street, presumably towards the store in question. On the way, Rosie talked to the woman about how she was spending the weekend with her grandma, and how she loved when she got to spend time with her grandma, and all the shenanigans she and her grandma would get up to, like playing board games. Eventually they made it to a store with lights still on inside, and Rosie led her inside.

In the store, it was significantly warmer, and the woman stopped shivering after a while. Rosie proceeded to find where the medicine was, and picked a bottle off the shelf. After paying for the medicine, Rosie left the store with the woman in tow, walking across the street to another building with lights on inside.

[Recommended listening]

The building in question was a diner. "Grandma always says 'If you ever get hungry past midnight, go to a diner.' I always forget to ask her why," Rosie said.

The hostess greeted the two, and Rosie took care of the talking, having assumed that the woman she was dragging around couldn't talk for one reason or another. Once seated, the two were handed menus, though Rosie never picked hers up. "I know what I want anyway. You should get pancakes too. Pancakes are always good."

The woman smiled at Rosie, and nodded in agreement. The waitress came, Rosie ordered for them, and the waitress left.

"I met someone once who looked kinda like you," Rosie said. "Maybe you know her?"

At this, the woman perked up, looking at Rosie intently.

"Her name was Applejack. She said my hair reminded her of her sister. She seemed sad about it," Rosie continued.

"...Applejack..." the woman spoke under her breath. Her voice cracked, as though it hadn't been used in a long time, but it was enough for Rosie to hear.

"You have a pretty voice!" Rosie smiled at the woman, one of her front teeth missing, making her face just that much more endearing.

"Rosie..." the woman said tentatively.

"Yeah?" the little girl replied.

"Do you... know... where... Applejack is?" the woman asked, struggling with each word.

"I only met her once like a month ago. She might be on Venus fighting the Fallen! Or she could be in the Tower of the Guardians," Rosie replied. "I could take you there tomorrow!"

"Could you... give me... directions?" the woman asked. "I need... to go there."

"Yeah," Rosie said as their food arrived. "But after we eat, okay?"

The two began eating their pancakes, the mysterious woman digging in furiously upon the first bite. To Rosie, it seemed like this strange woman hadn't eaten in weeks, judging by how quickly she was eating. But she just offered her grandma's advice to slow down to not get a stomach ache, and poured a generous helping of syrup on her own pancakes.

The strange woman finished her pancakes first, downing her water just as quickly. After a moment, the woman said, "My name is Celestia."

"That's a really pretty name!" Rosie smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Celestia!"

"Thank you for your kindness, Rosie," Celestia said. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier."

"It's okay. My friend Bonnie took a while to introduce herself too. Grandma says it's cause she has autism," Rosie replied. "I don't know what that is, but Bonnie's still a great friend! I thought maybe you needed time to talk, like Bonnie does sometimes."

Celestia smiled softly, seeing in her the same kindness she ruled with in her previous life.

"To get to the Tower of the Guardians, you'll have to get to Refuge Road, and then you'll head east on that until you get to the Tower. It's huge, you can't miss it!" Rosie said, setting a few cubes on the table and standing up. "I gotta get home to give grandma her medicine. I hope you find Applejack."

"I hope your grandma gets better soon," Celestia replied, also getting up from the table. She knelt before Rosie and gave her a gentle hug before standing up. "Thank you again, Rosie."

"It's all good, Celestia. I'll see you later," Rosie said, before turning on her heels, skipping out of the diner, medicine in tow.

Celestia stepped out of the diner and found herself to already be on Refuge Road. She looked both ways, and determined which way was east. As she walked down the road, those who were still awake at these wee hours of the morning stopped to watch her pass. Even in the darker areas of the road, she was still plainly visible, as though she was giving off a faint glow. Though she had nothing to cover her feet, they did not get dirty as she walked down the road.

She made it to the Tower's entrance, which was guarded by multiple Frames, all bearing weapons. The Frames looked at her as she approached, and one raised its hand in a motion to tell her to halt.

"Authorization?" the Frame said flatly.

"Is Applejack here?" Celestia asked in response.

"Invalid authorization. Alerting Guardian 'Applejack'," the Frame replied.

------

[Recommended listening]

The waiting room in the Tower's infirmary was about as sterile as an actual hospital, and it certainly smelled the part. The harsh odor of bleach and other heavy cleaning chemicals permeated the room, making everyone in it feel just nauseous enough to render them unable to fall asleep, but not enough to keep them awake. Thus, people like Applejack entered a hazy 'I'm just resting my eyes' state that was neither awake nor asleep, and neither alive nor dead.

And on the topic of alive or dead, the entire situation reminded Applejack of the cat paradox. She could have sworn the name was something like Shoeinger's Cat or something close. But that was a question for Twilight later. All she remembered that was relevant was that she didn't know if Shirska was alive or dead, and her mind was insisting both and neither. As much as she wanted to rush back behind those doors and check on her friend, she knew it was beyond her power to help him.

So she waited. And her friends waited with her. The hours passed. The tick-tock of an analogue clock gave the space a liminal feel. Time was passing, but no time was passing. Applejack counted the ticks and tocks, counting up to sixty before looking up again, only to see that the minute hand hadn't moved. It was still two-fifteen in the morning.

The door from the main hall opened, revealing Ikora with her personal shotgun in hand. She approached Applejack, who was somehow the only one truly conscious at that moment, and said, "Any word?"

"None yet. Reason for the buckshot?" the farmpony replied.

"I'm here to take up your vigil. You're wanted at the ground floor. Someone asked for you by name," Ikora said. "Go. I'll contact you immediately if any word comes down the pipes."

"Think I should wake the girls?" the Titan asked.

"Let them rest. I'll let them know where you went if they wake," Ikora advised. "And, I'm sorry to hear about Shirska. I know you were close."

Applejack simply tipped her hat and left the room, heading down the hall towards the elevator she'd carried Shirska's limp body through to get down here. She pushed the button and waited. The doors opened and a Frame with a bucket and mop stepped out, and she stepped in.

Once she reached the bottom floor, she stepped back out of the elevator and turned down the hallway, towards what she assumed to be the main lobby on this floor. She made it to a desk with a Frame sitting at a desk, typing away at a keyboard. When it turned to face her, she said, "Someone's lookin' fer me?"

"Applejack, yes. A woman of unknown identity showed up about fifteen minutes ago. She is waiting for you outside," the Frame replied.

"Thanks kindly," Applejack muttered as she turned and walked towards the doors.

When she stepped outside, she froze. Of all possible people who would come looking for her, Princess Celestia was definitely not one she expected. She looked like herself and the others; transformed, but still recognizably ponies. Celestia still had her horn and wings, but now stood on two feet instead of four hooves. White fur covered her body, and it blended seamlessly with her white dress. And somehow, she still had her tiara.

Applejack approached and knelt before the Princess, only for Celestia to rush to her and give her a hug before anything could be done about it. To say it felt awkward would have been generous. And while the earth pony was certainly a fan of hugs and physical displays of affection, she was still in her armor, which was coated in blood and ash and dust, and smelled of sweat and death. Plus, the concept of her former ruler hugging her as though they were merely friends was particularly difficult for Applejack to wrap her head around. The late hour, the hospital atmosphere, and the grief definitely didn't help.

"Princess...? How?" Applejack struggled to articulate.

"The Light, the Traveler, they needed me," Celestia replied. "I've missed you and the other Elements."

"But you were dead..." Applejack murmured.

"I was," Celestia said, pulling back from the hug. "But I was reforged by the Traveler. I'm here now."

"Do you know what happened to Princess Luna?" the Guardian asked.

Celestia's smile faltered, and her eyes fell to the ground. "...where are the others? They will need to hear this as well."

"It should also wait till morning. The girls are passed out in the infirmary," Applejack answered. "Only reason I'm up is because someone woke me to come get you. C'mon. You should probably rest as well. It's past two in the morning."

Celestia marveled at the technology as Applejack led her upstairs. Such wonders like elevators and automatic doors caught her eye, and she felt drawn to them like a moth to a flame. She felt she could study as voraciously as Twilight and not learn everything about this place and its technology for a hundred years.

After a while, they made it up to the Tower's infirmary. Applejack peeked inside to find her friends rubbing sleep from their eyes, and Ikora standing guard at the doors to the emergency rooms. Applejack stepped in, greeting her friends softly.

Celestia poked her head around the corner, and Twilight immediately spotted her. For a split second, Celestia watched the gears turn in Twilight's head as her brilliant mind began processing the image in her half-asleep stupor. But even barely conscious, Twilight's mind was a force to be reckoned with, and she snapped to alertness immediately. She leapt up covering the few meters to Celestia in no time at all, forcefully hugging her mentor.

No words were necessary. Not for something as pure as that. Raw emotion, raw sadness and joy mixed into melancholy. Pain, relief, anger, sadness, joy, all present in that one hug. Tears streamed down Twilight's face, staining Celestia's white dress. Celestia, caught off-guard by the sudden display of affection, could only hesitantly return the gesture. Her head tilted down to rest on top of Twilight's, and she too began to shed tears.

"It's okay, Twilight," Celestia murmured. "I'm here."

------

That morning the sun rose, as it always had, and the world awoke and went about the day. But, as Celestia always had, she awoke before the sun, and was out on the Tower's balcony watching the sunrise. It was a strange feeling to her, having no connection to this world's sun, no influence over it, and no responsibility for its proper orbit. To this world, the rise and fall of the sun was a given, a constant that everyone could rely on. Celestia took a deep breath of the sweet, crisp morning air, and held it. She took in the feeling of her chest puffing out to hold the air in her lungs, the sounds of birds chirping in the morning light, the texture of the dress on her body, the sensory confirmations that she was alive.

"Always knew you'd look beautiful as an anthro pony," a sly, somehow jagged voice said from somewhere behind her.

"Can't say I thought you were wrong," Celestia replied. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Discord?"

"Oh, just a few millennia. It's like that time when you turned me into a statue and decorated your garden with it," Discord mused, taking a spot next to Celestia leaning on the railing of the balcony.

"I suppose it is," Celestia mused. "So what kind of trouble are you up to these days?"

"Oh, the usual, causing chaos here and there. I try to not get in the way of the Guardians though," Discord answered. "We have a mutual enemy."

"Never knew you could restrain your magic," Celestia chuckled to herself.

"Never had a reason to care," the shape-shifted draconequus quipped. "But enough about little old me, what about you? How was being dead?"

"Busy, surprisingly," Celestia said.

"Remind me to never die," Discord mock gagged. "But anyways, I've got havoc to wreak and me to sew. I'll see you around, sun-butt."

"Wait," Celestia called, grabbing Discord by the beard before her could turn and walk away. "What happened to Equus? Is the planetary cycle broken?"

"I managed to freeze it in a time-loop. It'll keep resetting every year until we get the chance to go back and rebuild," Discord said. "Your sun and your sister's moon are keeping rotation as they had when you were there."

"And what of the ponies?" Celestia inquired. "Shining Armor, and Cadence, what of them?"

"The Cabal kept their word. They were flown to a nearby planet with similar conditions and dropped off. Shining and Cadence are probably dead by now, but by natural causes," the chaos-god answered.

"Thank you, old friend," Celestia said, letting go of Discord and returning to her original position overlooking the City. "Happy haunting."

With a snap, Discord was gone, leaving Celestia alone with her thoughts once again. Her mind turned back to the white sphere hanging above the City, forcefully occupying the perspective of the Tower's vantage point. How had it been able to recreate her from missing information? How had it known about her before she knew about it? And most baffling to her: why?

She was just a pony like any other. Sure, she was an alicorn, but that only provided her with biological immortality. That didn't make her a goddess. Sure, she raised the sun each day, but that was merely her talent. It was no different than Twilight's talent for learning magic, or Fluttershy's talent for working with animals. But the Traveler picked her. Out of everyone possible, it picked her: Celestia Sun, Solar Diarch of Equestria, Princess of nothing.

"You're a new face," a synthesized voice broke the silence. "Look like those new Guardians, like Twilight and her gang. Wouldn't happen to know them, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Celestia replied, turning to face the newcomer.

"No kidding," Cayde said. "Name's Cayde. Yours?"

"I prefer Celestia," the alicorn replied. "Pleasure."

"Pleasure's mine," the Exo insisted. He took up the same stance as her, elbows on the rails, back hunched forwards and hands clasped loosely. "So here's a question for you. How did you get here?"

Celestia looked over to him, seeing his glowing eyes staring back at her. She then turned her gaze back out to the Traveler, and gestured vaguely at it in response.

"...right," Cayde grumbled.

"I heard you like stories," Celestia said.

Immediately this earned the attention of the Hunter. "You heard right."

"Here's a story for you," she replied. "Imagine remembering everything. Remembering who you were before you were here. Remembering how it came to this. Remembering waiting for a heaven or hell that wasn't meant for you, because you were meant for something else. Imagine remembering extending the olive branch only to be met with war."

"Soun—"

"I remember everything about the day I died. I remember everything before, and I still bear the scars in my mind watching my Twilight die in front of me. I remember losing my sister. I remember losing the Elements. I remember losing myself."

Cayde stared in silence, watching Celestia's facial expression as it contorted in pain and tears began to form.

"Imagine bearing that kind of pain. Just try to imagine the burden that puts on someone," Celestia choked out.

"I can't," Cayde replied.

"I don't know why that thing picked me. I don't know what makes me so special," Celestia sobbed, her head lowering into her arms. "I didn't ask for this. I don't want to see Twilight die again. I can't take that."

"None of us can," Cayde said. "I've got PTSD, Zavala's a paranoid trainwreck, Ikora's clinically depressed, Twilight and her gang all have their fair share of problems, as does every other Guardian I know. What the fuck this would do to a living, not reanimated corpse, like any of the civilians down there, I can't imagine. But better for us living corpses to take the suffering so the living don't have to, right? We've got Ghosts so we can keep taking the pain."

"...Ghost?" Celestia murmured, wiping away her tears and looking up at him curiously.

"...oh don't tell me you're not a Guardian..." Cayde sighed.

"I don't think I am," the alicorn replied.

"Welp. This just got awkward," the Exo said, turning on his heels and walking away. "Enjoy your morning... whatever this is."

And once again, Celestia was left alone, confused, and scared.

------

[Recommended listening]

There is an ancient legend. An old folk tale of the Eliksni, now called Fallen. In this legend, there is a prophecy of one who will unite all Houses under one Eliksni banner, one driving purpose. The title given to this prophecised leader is Kelgakel, or Kell of Kells, chosen by the Great Machine alone. Many have tried to claim this title. Yvek, Kell of Stone before Chelchis, tried to unite the Houses under the Stone Banner, weaving tales of taking back the Great Machine from those it graced. But Yvek was cast out by the other Kells, and everything he worked for was undone. House Stone is now as this legend: a thing of history, to be remembered cautiously.
There were many names, many claims, many flames set, many wars waged over who would be the Kell of Kells. Countless lives were lost, wasted to these petty vies for power and control. Many resources were wasted to the destruction that were even more scarce after the Whirlwind. Archives stored in the personal libraries of Kells' ketches destroyed. Elders who remembered legends murdered. The Kelgakelgare was darker than the Whirlwind itself.
The legend of the Kell of Kells stopped circulating. Partly because so few remembered the true version, partly to stem the ambition of those who would lust for power. House Winter's nobility knows the legend, but the majority of the House does not. House Devils has forgotten almost entirely. House Exile remembers not. House Kings remember it too well.
Zeklas, though not arrogant enough to claim the title for himself outright, hoped to find the Kell of Kells and kill them before the Great Machine said their name, hoping this would force the Great Machine to choose him. His perversions cost the lives of thousands of children the legend said were almost old enough to be chosen. His desire for control and power caused the Prime Servitors to turn against him, allowing intruders to end his sickness.
Now the Great Machine awakens. It has generated a physical manifestation of Light, one of the signs of the coming of the Kelgakel. The Servitors of all Houses turn their sensory arrays towards the Great Machine, listening in electromagnetic spectrums for the name of the Kelgakel. They wait now upon the end of the Whirlwind, for the one who will restore peace.
In the atmospheres of planets, and in the deep blackness of space, the Machine Gods listened for the name. They were built for this task: to hear the name when it is called, and to aid whomever bore the name. They were built to ensure their creators would survive and live long, healthy lives.
The frequency tuned in, hitting sensory arrays like the first note of a symphony. It played like a melody, describing the name and its bearer. It spoke of Light, and forgiveness, and mercy, and compassion. Within a few hours, every Servitor in the Sol System knew the name, and was given the directive to immediately defect to join the Kell of Kells on sight. Every Eliksni from Kell to Dreg would know the Kell of Kells. There would be no denying it. No stalling of the inevitable as Zeklas had done.
The Kelgakel has been chosen. The legends are history no more.

Light of Harmony

by GjallarFox

Prologue: Approaching Anomaly

Call of the Haunted

Warm Welcome

Suit Up

The LAX Cosmodrome

Super Power: The Golden Gun

The Seventh Ship

Super Power: Fist of Havoc

Denounced House

Makes Machines Crazy

Super Power: The Arc Blade

From the Heavens

Death and All His Friends

Tell the World I'm Coming Home

Burial Rites

Intermission: Shirska, Prince of Kings

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Super Power: Nova Bomb

Motion For Vengeance

The Whispers of Power

Intermission: Destiny

Discordant

Gordök, the Darksmith

Old Friend...

Intermission: Respite

Darkness Zone: Part 1

Super Powers: Radiance and Ward of Dawn

Darkness Zone: Part 2; Memento Mori

::Dead Ghost::

Grace of Light, Part 1: Song of Light