> X-COM: Operation Phoenix
>  by Architect Ironturtle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Whatever I Was Expecting, This Isn't it
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ow!" I hissed and stuck my finger in my mouth, staring down in shock at the plasma conduit that had just burned my hand. The thing is, it shouldn't have been able to do that. The booth was inside, air-conditioned, and out of direct sunlight. If anything, it should have been cold to the touch. 

"NO, WAIT-" POP. I spun around towards the noise, and rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things. Carl, my best bud of five years who had been eyeing a satchel on the other end of the shop, had just disappeared, along with the bag! The merchant who owned the stall was pinching his brow, looking for all the world like he wanted to scream his rage at the heavens, and Carl was probably why. I wasn't the only one staring, either. A couple of other people were in here as well, mostly cosplayers like myself, and every single one was gaping at him. 

The shopkeeper glared at us. "What are you looking at?" he snapped. I quickly turned around, keeping my face carefully blank as my thoughts raced. I noticed one girl in a pink costume quietly slip out of the booth out of the corner of my eye, but I was too caught up in my own thoughts to register it. I couldn't process what I had seen. People didn't just vanish, right? RIGHT? A news article I'd read recently sprang to mind, one about cosplayers doing just that at cons all over the country. If this guy was responsible... I looked back down at the plasma rifle. Picking it up, I shoved the barrel into a nearby garbage can that had been filled to overflowing and squeezed the trigger. A bolt of green light flew from the tip, melting the discarded fliers, empty drink cans, and other junk to a crisp.

"Hey, kid, you gonna buy that or what?" I jumped, turning to face the shopkeeper, who had snuck up behind me while I was messing around. "I haven't got all day, you know."

I scrambled for an answer before settling on being vague "I'm not sure yet,"I said finally, "Give me a moment." He grunted, and went to bother one of his other customers. 

I considered my options. If I bought this gun, I would probably get sent wherever all the other cosplayers had ended up. Since none of them had ever returned, it was either a really good place, a really bad one, or so far away that returning was impossible. Wherever I went, I wouldn't/couldn't come back, so it was a one-way trip. I listed my connections to this world in my head.

My family was dead, caught in a car crash earlier this year. I winced as the pain of that loss struck again with a vengance. Part of the reason Carl had dragged me here was to get me out of the house, and away from my usual moping ground. Which reminded me that he was gone too, having fallen down the same rabbit hole as everyone else. I sighed. No friends, no family, a dead-end job, no romantic interests, I didn't really have anything tying me down here. Even my cat had passed on a few months ago. All things considered, it might just be worth it. I only had one thing to check first. "Where am I going to end up?" I asked him.

He blinked, then smiled slowly. "In a world of endless opportunity," he answered smoothly. I should have known he'd say something like that. 

"Red pill or blue pill, huh?" I quipped. He just grinned.

I choose. Wherever it was, it was better than staying here, with the constant wars, failing economy, and soul devouring laws and taxes. Here, I'm nothing, just a regular guy living a regular life. However, I'm also a damn good X-COM commander, of the, "I don't lose a mission, ever," variety. If that can be the foundation for a new life in a new place, my chances are already looking up.

"I'll take the set," I said, indicating to the other X-COM weaponry sitting on the table. 

The merchant started, then let out a pleasantly surprised laugh. "All of them it is, then." he replied, "However, you'll have to pick just one for yourself. If you don't have a baseline to attach to, it causes... complications. You're friend may have gotten lucky, but you probably won't."

"It figures," I answered, using my sarcasm as a shield against the unsettling knowledge that this guy knew me as well as he did, "He always had all the luck." I stumbled over to the table, reeling mentally. What he'd just said implied I'd be getting a lot more than a fancy gun if I took his offer. In particular, I might get a class. X-COM had four of them, each with its own little quirks and skills. The implications-I shut down that train of thought and saved it for later. If I let it consume me now, I probably end up gibbering in a padded cell somewhere.

I placed the plasma rifle beside its counterparts, which laid out on the table in front of me, and stepped back to think. One was long and thin, striped with green along its length. This was built for the Sniper, a soldier who got more dangerous the farther his targets were away from him. However, he was weak at close quarters, and without a meat shield, that's where'd I be most of the time. The next was huge, so large I was pretty sure I'd have trouble lifting it, let alone using properly. The Heavy used this weapon, which hit like a truck but was difficult to aim. The third was smaller, square and blocky, and tinted orange instead of green. The alloy cannon, favorite weapon of the Assault. They were masters of close quarters combat, but suffered heavily at any kind of distance. Finally, I could pick the Support, who used a straight plasma rifle. Supports were the weakest of the classes, being the easiest to burst down and dealing the least damage. To compensate, they had a ton of survival tricks, and were capable of outlasting even an assault if allowed to heal themselves.

I looked down at the Psi Armor I was wearing, and the fake plasma pistol strapped to my hip. In game, this suit was only wearable by a Psionic soldier, one with special mental powers. If I got those powers, then the obvious choice was a support, the soldier that suffered the least from sacrificing his attack. Even if I didn't get any of those tricks, the best option was still clear. Survivability trumps everything else. I picked the rifle back up and fished out my wallet.

"A wise choice," said the merchant, as I handed over the money. "Don't worry about the other guns. When you need them, they'll find you." I didn't get a chance to reply before the ground opened up underneath me, sucking me down a black tube peppered with what appeared to be stars.

After the portal had closed, The Merchant turned to a skinny kid who had witnessed the entire thing and said, "See anything you like?" The kid mutely pointed at a nearby Queen of Blades action figure and held out a fistful of cash.


????????


I rolled as I hit the hard ground, bringing my gun up in a smooth panning motion that I most certainly hadn't known how to do a few seconds earlier. I saw nothing. At all. It was pitch black, with the only sources of light coming from the gun in my hand and the one on my hip. My armor felt both smoother and heavier, shifting around me more easily despite the added weight. After my eyes had adjusted, I determined I was in a cave of some kind, deep enough underground that no light from the surface could find me. After determining I was in no immediate danger, I decided to do the most practical thing in the universe: I took an inventory. Assuming I could figure out how.

"Um, access soldier profile?" I asked after I sat down, feeling more than a little silly. My stupidity was rewarded with a touch screen appearing about two feet in front of me. It read:

Colonel "Crackshot" William Bishop
Missions: 0
Kills: 0
HP: 9+6
Defense:0+10
Will:100+20
Aim:90

Abilities
Psi-Abilities
Loadout

...Ok, then, I thought, I guess I have Psi powers. I've got no idea how to use them, but sweet. I tapped the abilities button out of curiosity, and got hit with a very nasty surprise. "All right, who assigned my skills?" I snarked at the empty tunnel. I'd been looking forward to that part. "At least I've got the good ones," I grumbled, scrolling down the list.


Abilities:
Smoke Grenade
Sprinter
Field Medic
Revive
Dense Smoke
Deep Pockets
Savior
Mindfray
Psi Panic
Mind Control
Rift

I raised my eyebrow at the last item on the list. Normally X-COM wouldn't have access to that ability, but hey, a free skill is a free skill. I backed out and switched to the loadout screen. The Psi Armor, Plasma Rifle, and Plasma Pistol were all as I expected, no surprises. However, my two inventory slots were filled with a med-kit and an arc thrower. The first was awesome, since it meshed with most of my abilities. The later, though, would be pretty useless without somewhere to take a live capture. All in all, it was pretty standard stuff for a high-end support.

"Um, back button?" The screen kept blocking my field of view. "Close profile?" That did it. I stood and stretched, popping most of my joints and getting a feel for the new suit along the way. It was extremely comfortable, considering what it was meant for, and I wrote a mental thank you note to the Engineering department before I remembered they didn't exist. I was just about to try lifting a rock with my mind when I was interrupted by a distinct, loud, high-pitched scream coming from my right. Since I had a ton of cool new toys to try out, and pretty much nothing else to do, I headed towards the noise, pick my way along the ground so I didn't stumble over anything. As I got closer, the tunnel brightened, until I could see the walls were made of brown sandstone, and that the ground was smooth and dry. Some idle part of my brain noted that this cave must be dead, and the rest of it told it to shut up.

I rounded the corner, and froze. The scream had come from what appeared to be a small, light pink pony that had been cornered by a trio of Sectoids. Now, this was just all kinds of confusing. I wasn't an MLP fan, far from it, so it made no sense for me to get sent to that world unless-Carl, you lucky bastard, I thought. I hope you're enjoying this, wherever you are.

With that taken care of, I could focus on the scene in front of me. The cavern was lit by a hole in the ceiling, and while sunlight wasn't streaming down directly I could still see pretty well. Given what I'd heard from my obsessed friend, ponies were generally good, and I knew for a fact that Sectoids were bad news, no matter where you found them, so my course of action was pretty clear.

As all this raced through my mind, the pony attacked. She quickly conjured up a beam from her horn that blew one of the Sectoids off its feet, surprising both them and me. They recovered more quickly, though, the one on the right taking aim while the other one amplified him. I took aim as well, pointing my gun at the leftmost Sectoid. A small screen popped up, telling me my hit chance was 90%, and crit was 60%, since the target wasn't in cover. I decided I liked those odds, and pulled the trigger. While normally killing something would have given me qualms, these were Sectoids: shooting them wasn't anything I hadn't done hundreds of times before, and they would return the favor if they got the chance. My bolt struck true, reducing the alien to a glowing pile of ash. I watched in satisfaction as the neural link threads warped back to the other sectoid and killed it too, then had to suppress the urge to vomit after the smell hit. I was suddenly glad that video games didn't come with odor synthesizers, and quickly pictured a forest to keep the contents of my stomach where they belonged.  The pony wasn't so lucky, and the cavern was now the proud owner of a brand new pile of green slime.

I approached slowly, carefully not pointing my weapon at her as I closed to just within two meters or so. I stopped there, and waited, perfectly content to simply get my first real look at a pony. Up close, I was about twice her height, and I could see she had these enormous purple eyes. They were, like, three times the size of my own. I'd always thought their eyes were creepy, and it was worse in real life. At least it made reading her expressions really easy. She was clearly scared and on the verge of outright panic, although I couldn't tell whether that fear was of me or the aftereffects of almost becoming an Ethereal experiment. I just stood there, acting as non-threatening as possible. After she calmed down a little and realized I wasn't going to attack her, she opened her mouth and-

-whinnied at me in a soothing tone. I stared at her for a moment, then slipped my fingers under my glasses and pinched the brow of my nose.  Just my luck, I thought, I'll bet Carl doesn't have to deal with this. I didn't have any way to bridge a language gap, not at the moment, so I was pretty much stuck...or maybe I wasn't, as a very crazy idea had just entered my head. I turned and focused on a nearby rock. After digging around in my subconscious, and half a dozen false starts or so, I finally managed to access my Psi power, sending the stone tumbling across the ground with a clatter. The whinnies stopped, and I turned to see the pony whipping her head between me and the rock, clearly unable to believe what she was seeing. 

With the trial run finished, I  knelt in front her to bring us eye to eye, murmuring softly as I powered up my Psi. If I could pull a translation out of her head, or plant one there instead, this whole interaction would go a lot more smoothly. Unfortunately, I was only partially successful. Making the mental connection was actually to be the easy part, since she turned to have just as must Psi potential as I did. Then came the backlash. Our minds latched onto each other like two snakes on the same mouse, and I collapsed as a thousand foreign thoughts invaded my brain. The last thing I remembered was a pained female voice screaming, "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

I was only able to respond, "I DON'T KNOW HOW!" before the darkness claimed me.


88888888


"Mommy, when's Dad going to be home?" A small filly asked as she walked through my torso. I ignored this breach in logic completely, instead opting to look around the room. Given the slightly surrealist quality of my surroundings, I was pretty sure this was a dream, or a memory of some kind. As such, I could only be an observer, although I had no clue what I would see. I my eyes wandered back to the filly, and I realized with a start that she was the same pony those Sectoids had attacked in the-future? Would be attacking? I hate time travel.

"He said next week, Stars, now stop asking, this is the third time today," chided an older mare. She had a light pink coat that matched her daughter's, although her mane was pitch black to her daughter's purple and green. She was wearing an apron, and had some sort of mark on her rear that looked like a crossed spoon and fork.

"But I want him to come back now!" Stars whined, sticking her lower lip out in a pout.

"Starlight, you know what his job is like. Guards go where they're needed, and right now, he's needed on the frontier. He'll be back next week, just be patient. Now go wash up, dinner's ready."

Please...

We were outside now, on a cobblestone road surrounded by grass, and ponies were everywhere, talking, dancing, playing, you name it. At least, I thought they were. The farther away something was from Starlight, the blurrier it became, until it faded away completely after 10 meters or so. Directly in front of us was a stone platform holding a golden crescent on a pole. The stage was lined with what could only be guards, as they were the only ones wearing armor. Starlight herself was perched on the back of a large male with a grey coat that stood out in stark contrast to his purple hair: his flank mark looked like a halberd crossed over a shield. Looking more closely, I could see Starlight was slightly larger than before, though it was hard to tell exactly how much because she was bouncing with excitement.

"Settle down, Stars," her mom said chuckling, "you can the stage see just fine up there."

Her father joined in, saying, "Where do you get all this energy, Twinkles? We've been up all night."

"I wanna see the Princess," Starlight chirped, then, "OhmyCelestia, theresheis,theresheis!"

I looked up just in time to watch a pearly white pony, far larger than the others, step up to the front of the stage. She smiled down at us, then spread her massive wings. With only a few flaps, she was in the air, and her horn was glowing, and-the sun was rising with her!? I'd heard that these ponies could do stuff that, but seeing it in person... That was another matter entirely. It was nothing short of awe-inspiring, and while it may not have made me want to bow down and worship, it did instantly earn my respect. That couldn't have been easy, cartoon physics or not. Turning to look at Starlight, I could tell she felt the same things I did, only even stronger. Then that awe changed, flipping to something else entirely in the space of a few seconds. I couldn't read the ponies that well just yet, but I was pretty sure it was determination.

"I'm going to be the Princess's student!" She declared proudly. Her parents chuckled and gave each other a knowing look.

It hurts...

We in a crowded market in what appeared to be a late medieval city, minus the dirt and smell. We were surrounded by a moderately large herd of ponies, and although some were just passing through, most were looking forward, towards a large wooden platform. Starlight had grown again, and while her mother was here, her father was nowhere in sight, and Starlight didn't look pleased about it.

"He said he'd be here," Starlight griped, "Why can't he be here?" She stomped her hoof on the cobblestones in frustration.

"He told us why in his last letter, Stars," Her mom answered, "A situation came up in Ponyville and he had to go take care of it."

"But he promised!" protested Starlight.

"I know, sweetie," her mom answered, giving her a nuzzle, which I guessed translated to something like a cross between a hug and a kiss. "But sometimes we can't keep our promises. It's not his fault."

Starlight sighed, "I know, I know. Now what's taking so long? Where are the humans?" That got my attention. This place shouldn't have humans, at least, not that we know of. So what did she mean?

Before the words had even finished leaving her mouth, the curtain on the platform opened, and what I could only assume was the pony version of a used car salesman strutted out. He mustache and cheap suit enhanced the look, but what really sold it was his wide, cheesy smile. He stepped up to a small podium, and shouted out  to the crowd, "Welcome, everypony, to the human auction house." ...what? "We sell only the best, and don't let anypony tell you otherwise! I'm Quick Buck, and boy-howdy have we got a treat for you today." The curtains were yanked back, and I had to pinch myself to keep from sniping the salespony between the eyes on the spot. Over a dozen humans walked out, all bound in chains, although some also had muzzles. Not a single one was wearing clothes, and I quickly turned away before I saw something I shouldn't have.

Starlight was speaking, but I too distracted to catch it, although I did hear her mother's reply, "Yes, sweetie, take your pick. We promised you'd get your very own human if you made it into Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns, and here we are. Which one do you like?" I noted the name in a daze, and filed it away for later. This was sick. Humans were being treated like slaves, no worse, livestock, and none of the ponies cared in the slightest? Not acceptable! I vowed Starlight would not be getting a pleasant greeting when I was done with this acid trip.

The rest of the auction proceeded much as auctions do, and we left halfway through after Starlight had bought a young woman. I noticed several discrepancies in the humans's behavior along the way, though. They didn't act at all like sentient creatures, instead lashing out or sulking moodily like some tiger in a zoo. When I looked into Zoe's eyes (that was the name they had chosen) they were empty, dead. If any spark of sapience had existed in there, it was long gone. Weird.

Make it stop...

I spun in place, trying to pinpoint who had spoken, but came up blank. The new setting was a hallway, and a fancy one too. The entire thing just screamed wealth, and the ceilings were massive even for me. Starlight had grown again, and was pointed down the hall behind me, glaring at something. I turned, and saw the Princess from before chatting amiably with a purple unicorn filly. Starlight grumbled to herself as she turned and stormed off, and despite her words being pretty much inaudible, I still understood her perfectly somehow.

"Why do I even bother? I work my flank off for years to get noticed, and this upstart just waltz's right in, casts a few spells, and steals my prize away from me without so much as a broken sweat? She even got her cutie first! It's not fair!" I winced at the childish phrasing, but frankly had to agree. Zoe cooed and reached down to rub her shoulders, but Starlight shrugged her off and kept walking, the human walking awkwardly behind her.

Why are you doing this?

Starlight was breaking things. We were standing in a cross between a gym and a shooting range, and Starlight was taking her anger out on a variety of targets and practice dummies. I looked on in growing apprehension as the pile grew higher and her attacks became more creative. The targets hit the ground burned, frozen, melted, turned into candy, smashed in half, crumbled to dust, shredded, you name it, she used it. I didn't like the thought of being on the receiving end of any of that.

I heard a frightened squeak behind us, and turned to see Zoe cowering before the destruction Starlight had caused. Looking back at her, I watched Starlight's expression soften, and she walked over to nuzzle her...I guess pet worked best there, but it was a difficult concept to wrap my mind around.

Starlight's voice snapped me out of my musing, as she was venting her exasperation on what might be the only one available to listen. "I don't get it, Zoe. I've worked so hard, and yet everything keeps going to Twilight! First being Princess Celestia's personal student, then she got her cutie mark before mine, and a magic one too! Wielder of the Element of Magic, defeater of Discord, and now she's getting coronated tomorrow! Is everything I do doomed to be stuck under her shadow?" Zoe just murmured, stroking her mane gently. (Since when do I know horse terminology?) "It all started with that cutie mark," Starlight griped, looking down at her flank, which was now adorned with a purple star and two teal wisps. "Hers is oh so special because it represents magic. Well, mine does too! Just not all magic. I'm still not sure exactly what caused me to get it, but I'll figure it out eventually, right?" Zoe chewed on a strand of her hair, and Starlight pulled it away, giggling.

I told you...

"I've got it!" Starlight proclaimed, looking up from the book she was reading. Zoe looked at her curiously, uncomprehending. "A pony's special talent is connected to their cutie mark, right? Well, what if I stole Twilight's? Then I'd have her talent, and whatever it is that makes her to special! It's brilliant!" Zoe blinked, chewing idly on her finger. "But I can't just take it, that would get me blacklisted by all of Equestria. No, I'll have to be more subtle than that." She grinned evilly, and I suddenly wondered just how good-natured this pony actually was.

Get. Out. Of.

Starlight was running through a brown stone cave, her horn lighting the way for her. Behind her I could hear an anguished scream accompanied by the sound of a plasma pistol. Given the tears that were falling freely from her face, I was pretty sure Zoe hadn't made it. The thought saddened me, but not as much as it should have. She skidded around a corner, and came to a dead stop. Three Sectoids were in front of her, and they advanced, forcing her back against the wall. She conjured a bolt and threw it, sending one of the aliens flying, but it wasn't enough. The others took aim, but before they could fire, green death lanced out of the darkness behind them, dropping both where they stood. Then I watched as I stepped out of the shadows, green fumes still dripping off the barrel of my rifle. When I just stood there, instead of attacking her, Starlight calmed down enough to speak.

"Hey, there big guy, what are you doing down here?" I paused, pinched the bridge of my nose, then ignored her as I stared a nearby rock. "You look like you belong to someone, but I don't recognize that symbol," She said, pointing at my X-COM patch. "And what kind of pony arms a human anyway? Not the smart ones, I can assure you!" The rock moved, rolling a couple of times before it stopped. Starlight's mouth fell open. "But, how-" she sputtered. I crouched down and moved towards her, but before the scene could play out, the voice finally made itself known, and it wasn't happy.

My. HEAD!

Blackness.
> PANIC MODE!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke to the sound of galloping hooves. As I groaned and sat up, I saw Starlight Glimmer (how did I know her last name?) running in circles around the small cave, hysterical panic flowing off of her in waves. It took everything I had to not start panicking with her, especially after she noticed I was up, and ran over to start shaking me.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" she screamed, rattling me around like the soda you're about to give to your nemesis. "You were in my head, and I was in your head, and your favorite chocolate is salty, and you have a scar behind your ear from when you rode two scooters at once, and I know your name is William, but your dad calls you Willy, no matter how much you ask him to stop, or asked him, rather, since he's dead, and that's so sad, and you're from a place where I'm in a tv show, and only humans live there, and they're all smart, and I don't, no can't know any of this! Or shouldn't know any of-WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?"

So, apparently hooves can grip. Good to know. I tried to come up with a response, but she was shaking me so hard I couldn't focus well enough to think of something to say. So, I went on instinct, and reached out Psionically to rub a spot at the base of her horn, one that I somehow knew her mother used to calm her down whenever she got like this. She let go instantly, clutching at her head in a way that signaled that it was working. I kept it up for a few seconds, then stopped, letting her catch her breath.

"How did you know how to do that?" she asked, panting slightly. Now that I could actually concentrate, I noticed she wasn't actually speaking English, but rather, her whinnies now sounded like it in my head. Weird, but ignorable as long as I wasn't paying too much attention, which I proceeded to do immediately. 

"I'm, not, sure," I said slowly, trying to stand and finding my balance wasn't quite up to the challenge yet. Apparently, speaking at all was the wrong thing to do, because her ears went flat against her head (sign of fear and anger?), and she skittered back a few steps, almost stumbling over one of the Sectoid corpses along the way.

"No, I must be hearing things, human sounds don't make words, they never make words." She repeated this to herself several times, her pupils shrinking to pinpricks (seriously, how does that work?), and each time it sounded more like a denial, until she broke down completely and curled up in a corner, shaking all over. I could sense her emotions were something of a cross between a roller coaster and a hurricane, and that she'd probably pass out unless I did something.

I tried to stand again, and when that didn't work, crawled over to her side and started rubbing her shoulders. She always got stiff shoulders when she was upset, and her dad did this to help calm her down. She flinched away at first, but I was patient, and my fingers were dexterous, and eventually she relaxed into my grip, her shudders subsiding as I kneaded her muscles.

"I'm not entirely sure what happened," I began, but had to stop to focus on the rubbing when she tensed up at my words. After she'd calmed down a bit, I continued, "I was trying to bridge the language gap by tapping into our verbal processors, but my inexperience meant I went a lot deeper than I wanted tp. We can understand each other now, sure, but I ended up with a ton of extra information. I know a lot of, things, maybe everything. Maybe your entire life story," she froze,  "but I can't get it at right now." she relaxed. " Not all of it at least. I'm pretty sure you know mine too, although I'm not sure how much you can see." 

She quivered, then answered, "You were born 19 years ago, on April 1st, 1995. You have, no, had a stable family relationship growing up. Your Mom and Dad were happily married for 25 years, and had four children. You're the oldest, and had two sisters and a brother, ages 16, 12, and 14, respectively. You lived in a suburban house on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia, and didn't move at all until you left home upon coming of age. Two months ago, your family went on a road trip to celebrate your parents 25th anniversary. You couldn't make it because of work, and you felt guilty about that, but not very. You don't know what happened for certain, but it involved three failed break sets among three different semi-trucks, and the resulting pileup smashed the family van to a pulp. There-," her voice caught, "There wasn't even enough left to bury." That did it. Starlight started crying, and I did too. I gave up on rubbing her shoulders and just hugged her, this tiny pony I barely knew, and yet also knew better than anyone else in existence, as our tears soaked the parched, sandy ground. 

I don't know long we sat there, just giving voice to our sorrows, but we probably would have stayed put quite a while longer if another Sectoid hadn't wandered out of the passage.  It spun around towards us and started to back into cover as I reached for my gun, which lay back where I'd fallen the first time, but Starlight wasn't having it.

"I told you, Mr Sectoid," She purred, low and soft and oh so dangerous, "I don't like being interrupted. Now I have to make you go away." She grunted, and sent the Sectoid flying down the tunnel with her magic (how did I know it was called that?). I heard a squeal followed by the loud splatter of something meaty hitting something hard, then nothing. I gulped, staring down at her, the pile of smashed targets jumping to the front of my mind. She giggled, quite a change from her mood a few seconds ago, and said, "Don't worry, Willy, I'm not going to blow you up. Not unless you make me mad." I nodded hastily, carefully ignoring the annoying pet name and wondering just how she'd known what I was thinking. 

She froze, her expression morphing to one of horror. After a moment, I felt a nudge inside my head, and Starlight's voice, but not her mouth, said, "Can you hear me?"

"Eyep," I answered. For a while, nothing happened, then Starlight let out a string of swear words while her apparent mental link to me ran away screaming. She didn't like this development, one, little, bit, and wanted me out. Out. OUT! She tried to sever the connection, but instead we both fell over clutching our heads in an attempt to sooth the pain.

"Well, that didn't work," I complained, pushing myself back up to a sitting position. "Guess we're stuck with each other."

"Oh, joy," she replied, climbing to her hooves, "I've got a talking ape from another dimension in my head. One where..." She trailed off, eyes shrinking and ears twitching. "Care to explain why My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic matches my world so well?" I groaned in response, but before I could actually answer, she said, "Nevermind, I already know. I guess it makes sense that the subjects of a tv show exist somewhere out in the multiverse, but it doesn't explain the inconsistencies. I'd ask where all the humans are, but you don't have an explanation either. That's annoying."

I stared at her in surprise. "You're taking this remarkably well," I said slowly.

"I think I've run out of panic for today," She answered testily, brushing a bit of sand from her hoof. "I just can't freak out anymore. If you want more hysterics, come back tomorrow." I chuckled despite myself. "Although I have to wonder why this Merchant is doing this. What's the point again?"

"What are you asking me for? You know I don't know."

"Sorry," she said, snorting, "force of habit." 

"Right. So, what are you doing..." It was my turn to trail off in horror. "You're planning on creating a cult based around taking ponies's talents away as a way to allow you to steal Twilight's without anyone being the wiser? That's sick! Clever, but still sick. You know a cutie mark (my masculinity died a little just saying the word) is more than a flank tattoo, it's an external manifestation of a pony's personality! Taking it away is like stealing my love of video games!"

I felt a stab of guilt over our link before she buried it under a mound of rage. She opened her mouth to start on an angry tirade, but I cut her off, saying, "I already know why you're doing this, and frankly, it's a pretty good reason. However, stealing Twilight's cutie mark won't get you out from under her shadow. You'll still be in it, only even deeper because you've given up what makes you you and replaced it with what makes Twilight Twilight. If you really want to stand alone, you'll have to do something that she hasn't. Something new." I glanced at her side, smirking evilly, "And I think I know where you can start."

Starlight contorted herself to look and her flank, and gaped in surprise. Her cutie mark had changed, ever so slightly. The entire image was now outlined in purple energy, the same energy that appeared whenever I used my Psi gifts. "Tell me, what do you think will happen when you mix magic with Psi energy?" Her mind raced, flashing through dozens of equations and symbols I didn't recognize, before finally settling on a number, one that knocked her hind hooves out from under her as she sat hard on the floor, mouth open, eyes shining. Her elation flowed over me like the warm surf on a Florida beach, and I knew I'd pulled her off the path of self destruction, even if only by a step.

The next thing I knew, I was upside down, held up by one foot encased in her magic. However, it was also being lifted by her Psi, as indicated by her glowing purple eyes (which I found less creepy the longer I spent around them) and the dark purple streaks circling her teal magic aura. I gave her my best deadpan stare, or at least as close to one as I could get from my reversed vantage point. "Very funny, Stars, now put me down." She did so, giggling all the while. I groped around on the ground for my glasses, and wiped the sand off them before sticking them back on my face.

We sat there for a bit, having run out of things to say. Finally, she asked, "So, now what?"

"I don't know about you," I said, "But I've got two things that need doing. First of all, I need to figure out what is up with the humans around here. Basically, why they're stupid, and whether that's a problem that should be fixed, or if it's natural and should be left alone. Second, I need to prepare for the alien invasion that's to come." I sent her a mental profile of all the enemies X-COM would face, and she blanched, ears folding back against her head. I understood why completely: Sectoids were the smallest and weakest enemies we would face, and they alone had killed Zoe and almost gotten her too. "The thing is, I can't do that by myself. Sure, I've got the best gear available and some fancy mental powers, but I'm only one soldier. X-COM is a team project, and I'm going to need researchers, engineers, pilots, squad-mates, funding, supplies, and everything else that goes into fighting a guerrilla war against a vastly superior enemy. If you want, you can come with me. I won't be able to guarantee your safety, but you'll be able to study your new Psi powers to your hearts content." I didn't say that I didn't want to go into this alone, and that the idea of us parting ways gave me a bizarre sense of melancholy. I didn't have too.

She walked up to me and bumped me in the chest with her muzzle, smiling softly (it was strange how many expressions we shared). "Stop getting all serious on me, Willy. You're in my head, and I'm in yours, and I don't think that's going to change anytime soon. We might as well get to know each other properly if we're stuck doing it improperly regardless."

I smiled and rubbed her ears, which made her legs wobble and eyes close and a waterfall of ecstasy slap me in the face. Note to self, scratching pony ears is a really good idea. "Thanks Stars," I said grinning, "Now, how do I put this. I, Commander William Bishop, hereby recruit Starlight Glimmer to the Equestria branch of X-COM." Starlight looked at me confusion. "Just say yes," I told her over the link, "I want to see what happens."

She cocked her head at me like I'd just grown feathers, but said, "Um, Ok. I accept?" A touch screen popped up in front of her, one which read:

Squaddie Starlight Glimmer has just earned a promotion. New ability, run and gun. 
Missions: 1
Kills: 2
HP: 6
Defense: 0
Will: 50
Aim: 70

Standby to receive weapon.

"Wait, what?" CLONK. "Ow! Where'd this thing come from?" I grinned, dismissing the soldier profile with a thought before I picked up the alloy cannon and offered it to her with a bow. She stared down at it, then then took it from me with her magic and checked the sights. "So," she said, "That's what he meant when he said the others would find you as you needed them."

I nodded, still grinning. "Ms. Glimmer," I said cordially, "Would you care to show me to the exit? We can't really get anything done down here."

She nodded absently and starting walking, still absorbed in examining her new toy. I retrieved my own gun and followed her, whistling softly as I kept an eye out for more aliens. Maybe this place wouldn't be so bad after all.
> Alien Abductions: Mission Name, Falling Star
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Archmage glared down at his chessboard, his face a perfect allegory for displeasure. With a burst of his magic he conjured up two new pieces, neither white nor black, but purple, and placed them on the edge of the board, then glared some more. One was a bishop in the shape of a unicorn, levitating a plasma pistol with her magic. The other was a knight, a human crouched behind a wall and lashing out with Psi energy. The Archmage leaned in close to the pieces and studied them carefully. He really didn't like the idea of anything messing with his plans, especially stuff even more unforeseeable than himself, but maybe he could turn this to his advantage. He shoved one of his pieces forward to threaten a  rook, a black pawn that warped into a Sectoid as it moved, then smiled self-satisfactorily.


Borderlands, Equestria


The journey out of the mountain was surprisingly eventful. It turned out Starlight had a cart she'd abandoned a little ways back, and when we got to it, we found it guarded by four more Sectoids. I missed my opening shot against them, although Starlight's hit, and ending up taking a few plasma shots to the chest. Nothing that actually hurt me, but still, not pleasant. However, it turned out indignation was the perfect emotion for fueling a Rift. After we secured the cart, I gathered up all the Sectoid bodies and shattered weapons so we could take them with us. Starlight protested at first, but eventually admitted that we would need the bodies for later. We also found Zoe. Or, what was left of her, rather. I had to rub Star's shoulders again to keep her from breaking down, although I was certain she'd have to let it out at some point. In any case, looking for Zoe had led us right to the small scout ship the aliens were using. I had to move fast to take out the living communications unit known as the Outsider, since it used a much more powerful weapon than it's subordinates, but I was able to relax a bit after that, since I was pretty sure we'd gotten them all.

I circled the interior of the ship for a bit, just reveling in being inside an actual spacecraft for the first time. Since Star was snickering the whole while, I was pretty sure she was picking up on my emotions. Although our mutual info-dump may have given her a lot of insight into my culture and personality, it apparently didn't count as perfect mind-reading, since, as I found out a moment later, she was still able to be confused by my actions.

"Um, William, what are you doing?"  she asked as I ripped a panel off the side of the platform supporting the UFO's power source. I didn't answer right away, instead emptying my weapon into the circuitry before I reloaded. "Every ship counts, Star. I'm just making sure the aliens won't be able to come back for this one once we leave. Since this thing doesn't have any visible engines, and I don't know how to fly it, I figured messing with the power conduits and what is possibly the only place it has to hide an engine would be the best way to ground it without destroying valuable equipment." 

She considered that for a moment, then nodded. "Just like the Sectoids, huh?"

"Yep." I grunted. "Now, where did you say this cave of yours was?"

We moved on, dumping all of the bodies and most of the weapon fragments (including those from the light plasma rifle) in a cave she'd scouted earlier. While it was originally going to hold her "Cutie Mark Vault," we both agreed this would be a good use of the space until we had a better place to put the stuff.  She also had a few clothes for me to change into before we went back to "civilization," courtesy of Zoe (We had a quick funeral for her before we left. Nothing fancy, just a shallow marked grave right outside the entrance. Starlight cried and leaned against me, and I let her since she obviously needed it). They weren't anything special, just some well made pants, a collar, and a shirt with Starlight's cutie mark on it, but they did the job. My armor and gear may be sweet, but it would attract way too much unwelcome attention, that we agreed on. She stowed our gear under a tarp in the cart, except for the plasma pistol I slipped down my shirt, and led the way to the train stop: that was in the middle of nowhere, without so much as a station. I expressed my confusion over the link, and Star shrugged in response.

A hour or so later, a train pulled up, showing off the best deceleration I'd ever seen as it stopped exactly one inch away from the buffers. A brown stallion opened the door on the nearest car and looked out at us. "Where are you headed?" he asked in a no nonsense tone.

"Canterlot," I replied without thinking. We'd considered our options, and decided that the best place to start our manpower- scratch that, ponypower search would be in the nation's capital. Star stared up at me with a horrified expression, while the conductor just looked puzzled. Turning to Star, he asked, "Does this one always make noises whenever somepony talks to him?"

Star gaped for a moment, then lied, "No, not at all. I don't know what's gotten into him. Two tickets to Canterlot, please." He stared at her, non-plussed. "You want a ticket for your human?" She nodded, and fished the bits out of a pocket (when I'd wondered where she was keeping the money, that was the answer that came back). He looked at her for a moment, then shrugged, rolled his eyes, and said, "Welcome aboard. Luggage goes in the first car on the right." Starlight whistled at me, and I lifted the back of the cart as she pulled the front inside. An expression of mild surprise flickered over the stallion's face. "That's a very well trained human, Ms. Glimmer. Mind telling me how you got him to do that?"

"Oh, just a good application of the carrot and stick technique," she replied noncommittally, then had to suppress a giggle at my mental picture of her perched on my back while holding both. The stallion raised an eyebrow, but said nothing more. We carefully moved the cart into the luggage area, then stepped into the passage cars. Taking an empty booth, we relaxed, and I was able to voice the question that had been bugging me. "Why didn't the conductor understand me when I spoke?" I asked her. She thought for a moment, then replied, "I think it's because you're not speaking Equestrian. I understand your language thanks to that mental train wreck, and you understand mine just as well, but nopony else does. To them, it must just sound like more chitters and grunts."

"Ah. That makes sense, I guess," I said.

"Yeah. Also, you should be more careful, you almost tipped him off about you being smart!" She punched my arm lightly, her teasing tone clashing with the concern she was feeling.

"I promise I'll be more careful," I told her, "In addition to it sounding really painful, I can't afford to spend any time locked up in a lab. There's a war on, you know."

"I know, I know," she said, waving me off. The train shuddered, then ground into motion. "We'll be at Canterlot in a few hours, want to go get something to eat?"

My stomach gurgled at the mention of food, and I nodded eagerly. She smirked and stood up, "I guess being smarter doesn't change some things, Willy."

"You got that right, Star," I replied with a chuckle as I followed her out of the booth.


Equestrian Railway, three hours later


I had to admit, the human food was pretty tasty. Ground mush or not, it was still all natural ingredients cooked fresh that day, which put it a step above most of the processed stuff back home. Although Star had to wheedle a little to get a place for me at the table, my good manners quickly dispelled any case of nerves the waitstaff might have had. Our bellies full, we returned to the booth, where we ending up falling asleep next to other, exhausted from both the fighting and emotional trauma. When I woke as the train rounded the last curve before Canterlot came into view, I yawned, stretched, scratched Star behind the ears and made her grin in her sleep, then looked out the window. 

I had to admit, Canterlot was a pretty good looking city. The slopping white walls and gleaming golden rooftops and pillars really gave it a nice aesthetic: one that made the smoke and flashing green lights stand out all the more. Alarmed, I shook Starlight awake and pointed. She stared groggily, uncomprehending, before her eyes popped open and she came fully awake. Without so much as a word between us, we stood and headed for the baggage cab. She ripped out our stuff and I slipped into a nearby bathroom to change. As I put the suit back on, I noticed that I knew exactly how it all went together, and moved like I'd suited up a hundred times before. I also noticed that the plasma cartridge I'd expended had recharged, and the gouge from where the Sectoid had shot me had sealed itself back up. That was weird, weird enough that I made a mental note to research just what was going on once I got the chance.

We hit the ground as the train came to a stop, flying past an extremely confused looking conductor on our way out. Alien abduction pods were scattered all over the ground, but only one actual alien was in sight, a... Thin Pony? I filed that under "things to think about later" and tagged it at the same time Star did. Her shot missed, but mine struck true, causing the alien's rifle to explode and the alien itself to release a cloud of gas, confirming that we hadn't just killed some welled dressed bystander. We skirted the cloud as we made our way deeper into the city, ignoring the openly gaping occupants of the train behind us. Lives were always more important than secrecy I reasoned, and it was a sentiment Starlight shared.

We ran three blocks without encountering anything, pony or alien. All the fighting seem to be concentrated around the palace, judging from the cacophony, and we were still in the lower levels. Rounding a corner that would take us up to the next tier, we spotted an orange earth pony facing off against three Sectoids and a proper Thin Man. Before we got close enough to fire, the earth pony struck, bucking the thin man through a nearby wall, the expanding poison cloud noting its demise. Starlight sprinted up to one of the Sectoids and shot it in the face, think-shouting something about that being for Zoe. I, in turn, shot one of the other two left, leaving only one standing. It tried to take aim, but the earth pony got there first, sending it flying out of sight with a squeal.

Starlight whistled. "Nice legs, Mr. What's your name?"

The pony stared at us for a while, before he said, "Firebolt. Name's Firefolt. Now who are you, what are you holding, and what is your human wearing?"

I didn't feel like a long, drawn out explanation, and we didn't have the time for that anyway, so I conferred with Starlight, and between us, we were able to form a decent enough outline of current events and download it into his skull without incident. He freaked out at the initial contact, but calmed down a little as he realized we were answering his question. About halfway through, I also noticed he had some Psi potential. Not as much as Starlight, but still some. It explained why the aliens had tried to catch him instead of killing him, anyway.

"So, let me get this straight," Firebolt said after the info had sunk in, "These aliens are attacking us because they're looking for ponies with this,  "Psi" stuff, because they want new host bodies? Am I getting this right?" I nodded, which caused him to flatten his ears and back away from me. "Star, why is this human acting like it can understand me?"

"Because I can understand you, Spark-plug," I drawled. Before he could react, I snapped, "Freak out about the talking human later, kill aliens now. If you join up with us, you'll be able to help a lot more than you are currently. Interested?" He thought for a moment, then nodded. "Star, go on ahead and scout for us," I ordered, "I'll be along shortly." She nodded and took off uphill, moving from cover spot to cover spot. Turning back to Firebolt, I said, "Ok, buddy, I, Commander William Bishop, hereby recruit Firebolt to the Equestria branch of X-COM. Do you accept?" He nodded, which appeared to be enough. A notice scrawled across my vision, and I made another mental note to figure out where the video-game mechanics were coming from. While useful in some regards, they were annoying in others.

Squaddie Firebolt has just earned a promotion. New ability, Fire Rocket.
Missions: 1
Kills: 3
HP: 6
Defense: 0
Will: 44
Aim: 67
Standby to receive weapon.

This time I was ready, and caught the heavy plasma before it could flatten the poor pony. This weapon, unlike the last one, was heavily modified, built with a neural targeting system and designed to strap onto a pony's back. In other words, the perfect setup for a pony using a really heavy gun that they otherwise wouldn't be able to handle. It even came with a note, which read, I know normally a pony wouldn't be able to use this weapon, but since you were such a good customer, I adjusted it a little. Enjoy. The Merchant. I chuckled a little a the message, then helped Firebolt put it on, and with his permission and Star's help, brought him into the Mind Link. This one went a lot more smoothly, and I only got a rough impression of his personality instead of his entire life story. Coarse, insightful, and reliable were the words that came to mind. This time, we tried to make sure he could leave whenever he pleased, but since we were rushed we weren't completely certain it had worked. He didn't have a rocket launcher yet, but I was pretty sure we wouldn't need one right away.

In any case, once we were finished we hurried to follow Star, catching up to her just as she finished off a pair of Sectoids. I grinned as we moved forward, despite the grim circumstances. This mission was going really well, and we'd even picked up our first recruit. Then we finally made it to the palace gates, and screeched to a stop in front of no less than 10 Sectoids, 3 Thin Ponies and 3 Thin Men, mixed in with two dozens royal guards. The bodies of four more Sectoids and another dozen guards already littered the ground, and our sudden entrance had drawn the attention of both parties. Starlight let loose an expletive, and Firebolt and I agreed with the sentiment.
> They've Got Me Locked Down!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, look a flying sheep!" My attempt at distraction was an utter failure, and we did as any sane X-com soldier would when faced when such odds: turn around and run like a pansy. At least, Firebolt and I did. We had to drag Starlight to safety, and it quickly became clear why.

"We have to help them!" She shouted in my face, on the verge of panic. "My Dad's up there!"

Oh. Oh, boy. " How do you know?" asked Firebolt, "They all look the same to me." He shot wildly into the fray as we ran, killing two Sectoids and... one of the guards. We all winced as we neared the ledge, and I made a quick prediction that that little mistake was going to come back to bite us as we dropped down to the previous city level, barely avoiding the wave of plasma fire sailed over our heads. 

"He's got a unique fighting style," I answered over the link, reminding them that telepathic comms couldn't be overheard. "He's the only guard that fights with a double bladed halberd. It's how he got his cutie mark, in fact." I brought my gun up and nailed a Thin Pony as he leaped over the wall to follow us, then sidestepped to avoid the falling poison cloud as I reloaded.

"Ah," siad Firebolt. "So what do we do?" A Sectoid came around the corner, and he opened fire, spraying green death in an area around the alien, killing it and digging several smoking holes in the ground, only narrowly avoiding shooting a civilian caught in whatever that green slime/rubber stuff was they used for live captures.

I peeked over the top of the wall to take another look at the forum. After our sudden appearance, the alien's tactics had changed drastically. Instead of the close-in fighting required by the mostly melee royal guard, they had retreated behind all available cover and were laying down a deadly web of crossfire. Frankly, they should have done this from the beginning, but if they had, the city might have fallen before we even showed up. The guards had been forced to hide behind the gate to the palace, reduced to taking the occasional shot with a crossbow. Their ranged weapons just couldn't keep up with the alien tech, understandably. The few exceptions were Double Strike, Starlight's father, and the other powerful unicorn guards, who were able to send their weapons out to attack the aliens without putting themselves in danger. 

However, this change in strategy required that most of the aliens turn their backs to the rest of the city, which gave us an opportunity. With a quick thought to the others, we moved, slipping behind each cover point and flanking the trio of Thin Men hiding there. Then we struck, wiping out the entire cluster before they could react. With their attention mostly focused on the guards, we were able to repeat this two more times, taking out four more sectoids and two Thin Ponies before a swarm of Floater reinforcements showed up, forcing us to retreat or risk getting flanked ourselves.

I wondered just where the UFO(s) had set down as we fell back, considering Canterlot (stupid pun names) was a densely packed city tucked into the side of a cliff. Wide open spaces were something of a rarity, everywhere except... ah, thank you Starlight's memories. "We need to get to the palace gardens! I shouted, "Starlight, can you lead the way?"

"After my Dad is safe!" she yelled, rolling behind a piece of cover as she shot at one of the floaters. It missed her intended target, but blew his buddy's head off. Only five left, now. I squeezed a quick shot. Make that four.

"He's a guard, he can take of himself," I shot back, "Besides, we've killed most of the aliens that had pinned them down." I suppressed a shiver at the surge of gleeful blood-lust that came over the link. Star was riding a battle high, and I didn't want to be anywhere nearby when she came down off of it, not that I really had a choice in the matter. "If we can get these Floaters to follow us, the Guards can mop up the remaining aliens.

"Aye, aye, commander," she replied jokingly, and took off in a zig-zag pattern that led us around the edge of the palace wall, using all available cover along the way. The Floaters pursued us, and we picked them off one by one as they came into range. At one point I had to stop and show Firebolt how to reload, and remind him that the middle of a firefight was not the place to freak out about killing someone, but other than that we made good progress. I also made my first Mindfray kill, when I'd run out of shots and there was still one left. I got scared for my teammates, and my body did the rest, channeling the purple energy into several sharp barbs that ripped its mind apart from the inside.

As far as I could tell, I'd been given the instincts and physical training of an X-COM soldier, but none of the higher thought processes. If I tried to focus too hard on what I was doing, it would fizzle and malfunction. I filed a mental note to figure out exactly how my powers worked once we weren't in immediate danger anymore, since I was pretty sure they could do a lot more than the game ever showed, and forced myself back into the present.

"In here," Star said, catching my attention, "This is the gardener's entrance. I used to sneak out to visit Donut Joe's when I got hungry, and this was the best route." She picked the lock with her magic, then pulled the door open with a slight squeak. "After you," she gestured, bowing. I rolled my eyes and chuckled as I stepped through while Firebolt's ears splayed back at the sound. Cool,I thought as I moved into the gardener's tool shed, My laugh unnerves ponies. I can use that.

I put my back to the wall and nudged the other door open, giving me a clear view into the gardens. When no aliens showed themselves, I signaled for the others to follow and moved forward, eyes sweeping. We found the alien ships just outside the hedge maze, or what was left of them rather. They had been some of the bigger vessels, but I couldn't tell which ones as they looked like they had been dipped inside a nuclear reactor, scorching them beyond recognition. We circled each craft slowly, then checked the command decks, finding only the shattered remains of an orange crystal and several smoking computers. As we moved deeper into the gardens and left the wrecks behind, I found myself mildly disappointed. Those ships would have been extremely valuable if they were still intact, but that thought was quickly overshadowed by the question of who, or what, could have done this. Alien ships could survive hitting the ground at high speeds without denting the hull, so anything strong enough to strip said hull away along with many of the support beams must have some serious firepower.

My question got answered almost immediately in the form of a flying Mechtoid, basically a Sectoid in a suit of power armor. The Mechtoid was not flying under its own power, but had been thrown, and quite forcefully at that. The poor alien's trajectory combined with the renewed sound of fighting allowed us to track down just who had thrown it, after we had recovered from the mad scramble of an alien sailing over our heads. It had come from the middle of the hedge maze, and since none of us felt like trying to navigate it, we just cut our way through, melting the hedgerows as we went. This turned out to be a mistake.

I hit the dirt as a pillar of fire blew through the hole we'd just cut in the wall, and from the other side a voice boomed, "Come, monsters, and meet your fates at the hooves of the Royal Princesses!" 

Princesses? Plural? Oh, right, Celestia's little sister. I'd forgotten about her. I peaked through a gap in the hedge and saw two alicorns, side by side, surrounded by a ring of dead aliens, and glaring in our direction. I flattened myself out again as Celestia conjured up another fireball to throw at us, and Starlight stepped into view, shouting, "Wait, don't shoot!" The fire dissipated almost instantly as the matriarch rushed forward to meet her, only to pull up short, her eyes narrowing when she realized just what Star was holding. I groaned and buried my face in my hands, smudging my already filthy glasses, getting a quizzical glance from Firebolt, who was still out of sight.

"You'll see," I told him.


88888888


I rubbed Star's shoulders as she wailed into the cot in our cell while Firebolt tried his best to carve a circle in the floor. We'd been arrested for possible collusion with the invaders due to using some of their weapons, and had been thrown in here while the Princesses went to oversee the disaster relief efforts. Our weapons had been confiscated and left up in the throne room, and the only I was still wearing anything at all was that my armor had displayed the ability to resist removal by anyone but myself, forcing them to let me keep it. I'd considered trying to get away when we first got caught, but decided I didn't really want anything strong enough to send a Mechtoid flying chasing me,  not without a couple of snipers for backup, anyway. Besides, I still had my Psi abilities, and Starlight her magic and Firebolt his strength. We weren't defenseless, just in deep cover, so to speak.

I was pulled out of my musing by a sudden pressure on my chest. It turned out to be Star, who had abandoned the cot for not being sympathetic enough and latched onto me instead, still bawling loudly. "I-I," she stuttered, looking up at me through her tears, "I k-killed them. I killed all of them! And I enjoyed it!" Her sobs overpowered her ability to speak, and she buried her face in my chest once more. Firebolt stopped moving long enough to give us a disappointed scowl, then resumed his patrol. His thoughts were shuttered, but I was still able to pick up on his annoyance at Star. He'd killed too, and another pony at that, and we didn't see him breaking down!

I wasn't falling apart either, although I was closer to it than I appeared. Human culture and our predatory tendencies had given me a decent level of violence tolerance, but I'd never killed anything before today, not even a frog for dissection, and now I'd ended at least ten lives, all in the space of few hours. It was getting to me, enemies of all other sapient life or not, so the chance to comfort Star in her misery actually provided me with something of an outlet for my own: petting the most adorable creature I had ever met. Seriously. Best. Therapy. Ever.

The monotony dragged on until Starlight's sobbing had turned to sniffles before it was interrupted by a guard with orders to bring to the throne room. My hands were cuffed behind me before we left, probably due to my being a wild human, and I know for certain I was treated more roughly than my compatriots. We walked through an endless number of hallways, each lavishly decorated save for the odd plasma scorch mark, and I drew a constant stream of weird looks at my attire. My hopes sank as we entered the throne room. Celestia and, Luna, that's her name, were sitting on their thrones, both looking down at us with disapproval. Our weapons were directly in front of them, and guards lined the walls on all sides. The most important feature, however, was the presence of six surprisingly normal looking ponies standing to the left of the throne. Six alarmingly familiar ponies.

"Starlight Glimmer, Firebolt," Celestia began, her voice carrying the weight of an executioner's axe. "You are charged with vandalism, killing a royal guard, breaking and entering, cooperating with the creatures that attacked us, training this human to fight for you, and using dark magic as a weapon. How do you plead?"
> In The Right Hands, This Suit Might Be the Most Dangerous Thing We've Ever Developed
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Not guilty," Firebolt said snippishly, "That was an accident, not guilty, not guilty, not guilty, and how the hay am I supposed to use magic? I'm an earth pony!"

Celestia's eyes narrowed at him, and Luna shouted, "You will respect the court, knave!" 

Firebolt opened his mouth to say something stupid, since he got sarcastic when he got nervous, but I smacked the back of his head before he could dig us even deeper. Celestia stared at me contemplatively for a moment, then said, "Twilight, please present the evidence."

The purple pony stepped forward, and I flinched away from the surge of hatred I felt from Starlight pointed in her direction. I reminded Star to control herself, since this wasn't the time for settling an old grudge. Twilight levitated a scroll in front of her face, and read, "At 3:47 P.M., Canterlot was attacked by an unknown enemy in flying metal ships and using highly advanced weaponry. The city was overrun in mere minutes, the Guard hard pressed to hold the invaders back. The defendant Starlight was seen exiting the 4:15 train upon it's arrival in the city, already armed with an alien weapon and her human wearing a suit of unknown composition and origin. They killed a pony who exploded into a cloud of green gas, a possible side affect of their weapons, then moved deeper into the city. They reappeared 10 minutes later at the entrance to the palace, Firebolt having joined them at some point in between, where they proceeded to kill four more ponies, including one of the royal guards, before vanishing again, only to reappear cutting their way through the royal hedge maze in an attempt to attack the Princesses themselves. They surrendered upon capture, and have been in a holding cell ever since. Both ponies and the human have displayed an unusual energy signature, speculated to be dark magic, although exactly what it is is unknown at this time." Twilight snapped the scroll shut and stepped back, ignoring Starlight's glare, then looked up at Celestia expectantly.

I frowned, thinking quickly. While most of the charges were false, the few that were real were bad enough to get the ponies a lengthy prison sentence, and me sent who-knows-where. However good the Princesses may be at fighting, they couldn't be in two places at the same time, and the aliens did have a tendency to attack multiple cities at once. Therefore, they needed help. Therefore, they needed me. Therefore, spending time doing anything but not fighting aliens would be time wasted. Therefore, I needed to get us out of here.

"Starlight, buy me some time," I said, closing my eyes and concentrating. "Get as many charges as you can dropped, and if I'm not ready by then, stall a little. I've still got a trick I haven't used yet. Firebolt, I'm sorry I dragged you into this."

"I should hope so," he growled, "Just make sure this plan of yours actually works."

"The evidence has been presented," Celestia said, as calm as the eye of a hurricane, "What are your statements?"

"I'll do my best," I answered, then shut up so I focus. Dampening my Psi so the energy wasn't visible was a lot harder than it sounded.

Starlight stepped up and said some things, but I was too busy working to really pay attention to what she was saying, although I did pick up on the tone. She was irate, and Celestia responded harshly. Firebolt defended her, and that seemed to make it worse. Double Strike came in at some point, and Starlight emotions went crazy after that, but still I focused. However, she got the time I needed, and I finished just before the final verdict.

"Very well, then," Celestia was saying, only barely keeping the anger out of her voice, "Since you refused to explain yourselves adequately, I find Starlight Glimmer and Firebolt guilty on the charges of human fighting, ponyslaughter, and dark magic. You are sentence to 15 years in prison, and your human will be put up for adoption after he has been rehabilitated. Take them away." With a snort of disgust, she turned to the side and began speaking quietly with Twilight while I eavesdropped shamelessly. "Twilight, I believe you would be interested in studying their weapons?" Twilight's eyes got big and her tail started twitching. Celestia smiled, taking that as a yes. "Then I leave them in your care. Let me know as soon as you find something."

Meanwhile, eight guards detached themselves from the walls and surrounded us, leading us out of the throne room and back towards the dungeons. Just as I'd hoped. I struck, and seven of the guards froze in place, while the eighth looked around in confusion. Before she could react any further, I yanked out my arch thrower and stunned the poor pegasus. While Starlight had been defending us, I had been busy, slowly but surely working my way into every mind in the room. Every non-psionic mind, at least, since I wasn't yet skilled enough to overpower someone with the gift or avoid detection if I tried to infiltrate. Normal minds are much less sensitive, after all. Mind Control may be a rather dubious power, but it was also the only way we were getting out of here without a fight. The extra time taken had made the action much more subtle than usual, allowing for more control time and fewer bands of purple psi to give us away. The only clue was the purple glow coming from our eyes, and that was mostly hidden by the glamour worked into their armor. With the guards under my control, we had our disguise, and slowly but surely made our way out to the gardener's shed. 

Twilight was waiting for us, weapons in tow, along with a pair of pants for me to change into. Magical powerhouse or not, she didn't have a drop of Psi in her, and that made her vulnerable. Once we were out of sight, I sent the guards back to their posts to wait for the Mind Control to wear off,  leaving only Star, Firebolt, Twilight, who Star was covering in fertilizer, and myself. I was halfway through changing while Firebolt and Starlight loaded our gear into a cart used to get more gardening supplies when I heard footsteps outside. They stopped just outside the door, then thumped in an odd rhythm for a few moments. Twilight twitched, and tapped her right fore-hoof against the ground. It must have been some kind of code, because the next moment a human burst through the door, slamming it into the wall.

He was tall, taller than me, and well built with long straight brown hair. His face had a nasty scar, running across his nose and leading to his right eye, which was whited out. The other eye, however, was alert, intelligent. I instantly knew this human was no animal, and reacted accordingly.

"You know, Twilight," I said amiably, as I stepped over the human curled into a ball at my feet. I knew she could hear me since she was strong enough to break my control, if only a little. "It's amazing what panic can do to a person: shortness of breath, inability to think or move. Really, it's quite useful." I poked her horn teasingly. Some part of me wondered what I was doing, but the rest was cheering me on. "Don't worry," I continued, "We'll be out of here soon enough, and if I ever see you again, it's too soon. Starlight, you ready to go?"

She didn't respond right away, mainly because she was busy staring at my chest. I looked down, and realized with some surprise that I'd grown muscles. I was in fairly decent shape before, but now I was ripped. Sweet. "Ok, that goes in the pros column," I said. 

Star rolled her eyes, found her voice, and sighed. "Let's get going," she said as she hitched herself up to the cart, which conveniently hid her cutie mark. We made our way back into the city, blending in easily with the crowd. A pony pulling a cart with a human walking alongside her was a fairly common sight, and without our equipment to make us stand out, we didn't even get a second glance. Firebolt trailed us a couple of steps back so he wouldn't seem to be part of the group, which broke the profile that would no doubt be on the search warrant for our arrest.

"Ok,", I said, eyes scanning for guards, "The next step is to get some more people, people who can research the aliens for us. We also need to get you guys some armor, asap, and that will require engineers. If you get hit now, you're pretty much dead. Starlight, which way to the royal labs?"

"They're on the second level, adjacent to the academy." she replied, "The building is connected to the palace, but isn't actually a part of it. If we want more ponies like me, that's where we need to go. Speaking of research," she continued, changing course to loop around to the right building, "Firebolt, what do you do for a living, anyway?""

"Fireworks," he replied easily, "I mix em' up and set em' off."

"Can you make one of these?" I asked, sending a rough mental sketch of a rocket+launcher and a hand grenade.

He stumbled, looking a bit queasy. "That's sick," he spat out, "I like it. But getting back on track, how are supposed to convince somepony to join us? We're crooks now."

"I think we've got some bargaining material," I said, trying not to grin as I looked at the cart.


Canterlot Castle


By the time the guards found Twilight, she was in full panic-mode, hugging the life out of her human Max and crying an endless stream of tears. She ended up collapsing before she could recount what had happened, and had to be carried to bed while Max explained the situation to Celestia.

~I'm still not sure what hit me,~ he said, his thoughts straying back to Twilight, ~When Twilight didn't come back when she said she would, I went to go find her. It took me a while, but I eventually overheard one of the maids gossiping about her carrying some strange items out to the gardens, and how she wouldn't respond to any attempt to start a conversation. That didn't sound like Twilight, so I followed her, and found myself in front of the shed. I asked if she was in there, and got a broken call for help in hoof language. Then I broke through the door and-~ he stopped, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Well?" said Celestia, doing her best to keep her impatience in check. "What did you see?"

~It was the human.~ He stated with finality. ~I think he's like me, only he's got...something else, as well. He looked me in the eye, and it was like staring into a demon's nightmare. I was so freaked out that by the time I recovered he was long gone, and Twilight was crushing me underneath her.~

The halfhearted attempt at humor fell flat, and Celestia's brow furrowed as she began to pace. "This is a most disturbing development. I'll have to think on this. Max, you should go to Twilight, I think she's going to need your support."

Max nodded, turned, and all but sprinted out of the room. He didn't know what had happened to her, but no one messed with Twilight. No. One.

Celestia, meanwhile, was kicking herself for not giving that slap in the throne room more thought. She couldn't believe she'd let another Anomaly slip past her unnoticed, and was determined to not have it happen again. With that in mind, she went to visit the only guard that might know something, the one that had been electrocuted instead of whatever had happened to the others. Celestia was determined to find the truth, and this mare could be her only lead, since the other guards were reporting memory loss.


88888888


Singularity took one last look around the lab before he locked up, marking things off on a checklist as he went. Clean glassware, check, stored samples, check. Preservation spell on the corpses, check. tables wiped, floors mopped, all good. With a self satisfied nod, he closed the door with his magic and locked it in one smooth motion. Blowing his green hair out of his eyes, he walked through the empty walls of the new Xenology department, devoted solely to studying the attackers from earlier that day. He'd stayed late examining the remains of one of the strange weapons, but still hadn't made any real progress on it. It ran on an unknown power source using an unknown material to create an unknown state of matter which it fired using an unknown force. It was equal parts frustrating and fascinating, and he couldn't wait to come back tomorrow and try again.

After leaving the lab behind him, he started on his usual route back to his apartment, ducking through side alleys in an attempt to save time. As he passed by a fork in the path, he heard a rustle to his left, followed by a clatter as a glowing green object skittered to a stop in front of him. Curious, he picked it up and inspected it, his eyes growing wider and his expression more delighted with every second. It was a working alien weapon! The find of the century! Turning to see who had thrown it, he spotted a pale unicorn mare standing beside an odd looking human. The mare spoke, her voice cool and calm, "Come walk with us if you want to learn how to build more of those."
> Interlude: Butterfly Effect
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Poor Richy's Almanac, Canterlot print

CANTERLOT UNDER FIRE!
front page article by Double Scoop

Last Monday Canterlot, Manehattan, and Baltimare were attacked simultaneously by an unknown entity fielding creatures the likes of which nopony has ever seen before. These beings stood on two legs, like a human, wielded weapons that shot green fire, and used bizarre gadgets to kidnap dozens of ponies seemingly at random. While the Princesses were able to stop the attack on Canterlot in its tracks, the Guard in both of the other cities found itself completely outgunned, although after a time the creatures left of their own accord, seemingly having gotten what they came for. The list of ponies dead or missing is still being drawn up, but early reports indicate the loss of civilian life is low, although the military had it much rougher.

When asked whether the Griffons had something to do with the attack, the Griffon ambassador in Canterlot replied, "Of course not! If we had weapons like that, everyone would know it!" He refused to comment further and shut the window in this reporter's face shortly thereafter. Based on this outcome, this reporter believes that the creatures are not affiliated with any currently known nation or political faction. 

According to a statement released by the Royal Diarchs the evening of the attack, if anypony sees an oddly tall and thin human or pony, they are to remain out of sight and contact the authorities immediately. Is it possible that these creatures, whoever they are, have infiltrated our society? The implications are alarming, to say the least. (Article continues on page C4.)





Canterlot Royal Hospital, Recovery Wing


Corporal Keen Eye of the Royal Guard was confused. It wasn't a good confusion, like in one of her favorite Rom-Com plays, or the bad kind when she couldn't find keys to her house. It was just straight puzzlement, which was weird enough by itself. 

She was staring off into the space above the bed in the infirmary she'd found herself in upon waking up, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings. She spun the problem around in her mind as her green eyes traced the same irregular dent in the wall again and again, trying and failing to come up with an adequate explanation. After she'd come to, Celestia had paid her a visit and all but interrogated her about just what had happened earlier that day. She'd relayed what little she could, except for one tiny detail that was still bugging her, and Celestia had told her to get better as quickly as possible before heading off to do something or other, Keen didn't know and didn't particularly care at this point.

To be frank, the tidbit she'd left out of her report was the reason for her bafflement: well, that combined with one other reason. Just before the human had hit her with his strange device and everything had gone dark and sparky, he'd flinched away from her. Just a little, but it was there, like he was doing something he didn't actually want to do. The other reason was that he'd left her alive when killing her would have left much less evidence. Together, they formed the question that had been plaguing her since she'd woken up. Why did he leave me alive? she thought, as her gaze shifted to the mirror in the far corner of the room. It reflected her image back at her, revealing a pale cream mare with a neat, straight, lime green mane lying on her stomach, eyes wide, distant, and thoughtful.

This whole situation just didn't add up in her opinion, and Keen didn't like it when things didn't add up (something she'd inherited from her math geek of a father). She was a master of calculating variables, something she'd honed during countless hours of practice on the archery field predicting the change in the wind and the balance of the bow before she let fly, and she couldn't stand it when something defied her sense of reason. The human had not acted like an animal, or even the monster Celestia seemed to think he was. He'd acted... a lot like her, the first time she'd had to choose whether or not to take a life. Also, since when did humans wear glasses, and why was she the only one that found that weird?

In any case, she couldn't get any answers just lazing around in bed. As soon as she got the all clear from the doctor, which would hopefully be soon as the electrocution seemed to have worn off, she was heading out to track down his handlers and the information that fed her mind the way a good flower sandwich fed her stomach. The fact that she was supposed to be on the lookout for them anyway was just a bonus. Her wings fluttered in anticipation, and a small thread in her soul began to tug, ever so gently, towards the caverns below the city.


Twilight's Bedchamber


~I'm so glad you took your heat medication, ~ panted Max, his back pressed into the bed as Twilight sprawled on top of him. ~I can't imagine what that would have been like without it. Oh, wait, I already know.~

Twilight giggled and kissed his nose softly. "I agree," she murmured, "It's a lot more pleasant when I can control myself. Also, you let that night happen, don't forget that."

~Fair enough,~ Max signed, chuckling as he cast his thoughts back an hour or so, when Celestia had come to talk to Twilight about the other Anomaly. Just thinking the phrase felt strange to max. He'd been the only intelligent human for months, and now another one had popped out of nowhere. It was weird, not being one of a kind anymore. Max almost felt disappointed, although that emotion was smothered under a mixture of curiosity (where did he come from?), relief (finally someone who might get my references), and rage. Mostly rage, really. This other human had ******* mind-controlled his girlfriend along with over half a dozen guards, then proceeded to make fools out the entire castle by just waltzing out the back door. The whole alien invasion thing didn't help, either. After such a taxing day, he and Twilight agreed they needed to get some stress relief. Some until recently unavailable stress relief. Hence their current positions.

~Do you still need to talk about it?~ he asked, a hint of worry creeping into his voice. Twilight looked away. They both knew what "it" was referring to.

"I don't think so," she said slowly, still looking at something outside Max's field of view. "We pretty much covered everything earlier." Max nodded absently as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. To steal someone's will like that... he suppressed a shudder at the thought. Twilight remembered everything, unlike the guards, and she'd told Celestia that the human had tried to speak to her. It had come out as nonsensical chatter, but he'd still done it. Also, he seemed to be the one in charge, rather than either of the ponies. At least that's what she inferred from his body language. It made him wonder just what his deal was. Max frowned slightly as he realized he didn't actually have something to refer to the other human by, and quickly decided that from now on, he would be known as Twitchy. When he relayed this to Twilight, she giggled and nuzzled him, then stared into his eyes. "Feel up for round two?" She asked, smiling seductively.

Max grinned and nodded. However, even as they went at it again, he quite couldn't shake the feeling that the symbol on Twitchy's uniform looked familiar...
> Surprise, Supplies, and Surmise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the end, it was almost ridiculously easy to recruit Singularity. We barely had to dangle a plasma pistol and the in-game flavor text explaining it in front of his muzzle before he tried to join up. Even having to link with us telepathically didn't phase him, although we had to explain what it was first. We'd grabbed a booth in a slightly dingy tavern/pub/restaurant place off a back alley a few blocks from where'd met him, and were discussing it over a pile of hay fries. The bartender was giving me odd looks, but so far he'd just taken our money and hadn't questioned it further. Hopefully we'd be able to leave before he decided to do anything.

Star nudged me out of my thoughts and jerked her head towards the scientist, saying, "He just asked what the M.L. is. Care to explain it?

"Of course. The Mind Link," I said as Starlight translated, "Is a telepathic connection between all mutually friendly Psi users. It allows for instantaneous communication with anyone, anywhere. It isn't just written or spoken words, either: concepts, emotions, mental images, all types of thought are easily transmissible if both sides are open to the exchange. If one member of the Link is under mental attack, the others can rally to his defense, and even help him counterattack. It'll be the key to us not being exposed, as it cannot be intercepted or even detected at this point in the invasion. You could be proclaiming your allegiance over the Link at the top of your voice in a crowded room and no one would hear you, or even know that you were saying something in the first place. The reason we ask is because it will help keep you safe, and you don't have to sacrifice any of your freedom to do so. You can cut yourself off any time you like." 

Starlight finished off my speech with a charming smile, which frankly wasn't necessary, but it helped. Her charisma really helped sell him on the idea, and I mentally wiped my forehead at the close call she'd had with being a cult leader. She could have pulled it off with style, and that would be terrifying. 

Anyway, our description had Singularity literally drooling over the brainstorming sessions he could do, and after accepting it, he was even willing to go find some of his colleagues who might be interested as well. He did mention a few biologists who would want to study me more closely, saying something about having a different facial structure, but I politely turned him down, responding that it could wait until I wouldn't risk capture by staying in a lab.

In the end, all we had to do was be patient, and Celestia's research was our research. Everything they recovered or discovered would get relayed back to us, and Celestia would never be the wiser. At least, not until she knew to look for Psi energy, and that wouldn't happen until the aliens started fielding Ethereal's or Sectoid Commanders, which definitely wouldn't be anytime soon. Of course, it would work both ways, since any and all recovered weapons and bodies by X-COM would be filed back to her storerooms for analysis. 

After Singularity walked back to his house, whistling some random tune over the link and levitating my arch thrower behind him (we had no use for a live alien, but Celestia would), we finally got down to figuring out where we would stay the night. Star would had offered to put us up at her place, but, well...

"It's kind of next to my parents house, who know about us being fugitives," she shuddered at that, a weird mix of fear and rebellious glee, "So they'd know to check, and you know what would happen next. We can fetch supplies from there, but we'll need somewhere else to sleep."

"Any suggestions on where we can hide out, then?" I asked, stealing a glance around the bar, "The royal guard is going to start looking for us eventually."

"I might have a place," commented Firebolt, "Back during the Changeling invasion, there were a ton of rumors going around about a massive cave system underneath the city. If we could find an entrance, it might be what we're looking for."

"And do you have any idea where such an entrance could be found?" I queried, one eyebrow raised.

"Not a clue, except that the two younger Princesses were both in there at some point. The archives should have some maps, though." He ate the last hay fry as he spoke, earning him a glare from Star and a chuckle from me. 

"Hold up," I said, shooting him an odd look, "Would one of those younger Princesses happen to be purple?"

"Yes, Princess Twilight," he answered, "What about her?"

Twilight, Twilight, the name echoed in my head, That sounds familiar. Eh, it'll come to me.

"I was in her head earlier today for quite some time, maybe I can find my way back." The exact abilities and limits of Psi were never really touched upon in game, so what I was planning could be possible. I decided worth a try, and reached out jerkily with my Psi, wincing slightly at the feedback. It was already strained from controlling so many ponies at once this afternoon, and it hurt to use it any further. I fought past the headache using my powers so much generated and felt through the city, a bit like a blind man groping everyone he passed. I never stayed long enough in any single head to draw attention, but a few Psi-sensitive's did look around like they were being followed afterwards.

After many detours and wrong turns, I eventually made my way to the palace and slipped between the walls. As I did so, I felt my headache ease, and realized Star was taking some of the load for me. I shot her a swell of gratitude and pushed forward, bouncing from servants to guards to nobles and back again as we searched each room one by one. When we found Twilight's mind, I almost immediately wished we hadn't. She was... occupied is the best way to put it. At least it meant she wouldn't notice when I grabbed the info I needed and got out of there like my ass was on fire, Star laughing at me the entire way back.

"Got it," I said, "Are we done here?" The bartender was fiddling with something under the counter, and he was staring at me in no small amount of alarm. I pointed this out to my friends, and continued, "I think that's our cue. Let's get out of here before the guard shows up."

We stood and walked out, Starlight levitating a few bits to the cashier. The other patrons stared at us as we left, but thankfully none tried to follow us. It wouldn't have ended well for them. Firebolt hitched up to the cart holding our gear (Someone had tried to swipe it earlier and gotten a Psi-panic for their trouble), and Starlight took the lead, guiding us along a string of back alleys she used to navigate when she was a teenager. On the few occasions that we got a clear view of one of the main roads, we could see clusters of guards on patrol, at least triple the usual amount. No doubt they were looking for us. Or more aliens. Or both. Yeah, definitely both.

As we rounded the last corner before Star's place, the shadows around us warped and sprang up into a wall, one I came within two inches of slamming my nose into. I started to wonder what was going on, but my question died unformed as six ponies materialized out of the darkness: I counted two unicorns, two earth ponies, a pegasus, and a thestral, oddly enough. All were armed, heavily muscled, and sporting numerous scars. They didn't bother with saying anything, instead surging forward to take us off guard. Too bad for them you can't sneak up on a telepath. Starlight whirled around and summoned a fireball, sending it flying towards our attackers. One of the unicorns put up a shield, but I hit her with a Psi-panic that forced the mare to drop it before it could actually stop the spell.

BOOM. The explosion scattered our attackers, leaving them dazed in a variety of positions, none of which looked comfortable. It also alerted the guards out on the street, the sound of whom was getting steadily closer. We needed to get out of sight, but there wasn't anywhere to run. We were cornered. Up, I was moving before the thought fully materialized. I didn't have a grappling hook or any fancy gene mods to use to jump onto the nearest roof, but I did have something an X-COM soldier did not: total freedom of movement. I grabbed Firebolt, Starlight, and the cart in my telekinetic grip, an otherwise impossible feat that I only achieved thanks to the adrenaline in my blood and the total focus on my goal, and sent them levitating towards the rooftops. As they floated, I climbed, leaping from a stack of crates to a windowsill, then shimmying up a drain pipe to the gutter and onto the shingled roof. I pulled us up flat against a chimney, let my friends free so they could get their footing (Hoofing? Whatever) and peered cautiously downward. The guards had arrived and while some were occupied with arresting our attackers, the rest had fanned out to catch any runners. A pegasus flew up to check the roofs, but Starlight pulled something where she mixed a Notice-Me-Not spell with a Psionic suggestion and the stallion didn't see us, his eyes passing over our hiding spot without registering our presence. Close call on that one.

I didn't know why those ponies attacked us, and we didn't get a chance to find out.  Once the guards had confirmed that there was no one else nearby, they'd taken their prisoners away and gone back to patrolling. Once we were completely certain they weren't coming back, Starlight teleported us back to the ground. "You know," she said, panting slightly from the exertion, "If you'd let me know we were hiding on the roof, I could have teleported us up there.

"Sorry," I wheezed, still getting my own breath back, "I didn't have time to think it out."

She accepted my apology with a nod, and we walked the final block to her house. It was a modest affair, two stories, white-washed walls, a couple of stray windows, with nothing that really made it stand out from its neighbors. Starlight pulled a key out of her pocket, and a slight click we let ourselves in via the back door. "Don't bother make yourself feel at home," she quipped, "We won't be sticking around long enough for that." Firebolt and I just rolled our eyes in response. After a quick conference, we split up: Firebolt went through the kitchen for food and cooking supplies while I loaded on extra clothes and tools and Starlight starting packing her belongings and camping gear, including something called "heat medication."

I almost asked her what it was, but Firebolt warned me off before I got the chance. "Trust me, you don't want to know," he stated, then rode over my protests with, "My ex told me, and now I'm telling you, you don't want to know. Drop it." I did, reluctantly. His fervor was certainly strong enough to make me think twice, if nothing else.

We met up an hour later and loaded our supplies into the cart, filling it to almost overflowing. Firebolt wanted to get some stuff from his workshop, but we'd have to empty the cart out first or risk having a spill, which would attract way too much attention. However, before we could get moving, Starlight made us stop and wait for a few minutes while she disabled a tracking beacon that had latched onto me the moment we stepped outside.

"There, now they won't follow us," she said with a smirk, dropping the detached spell onto a rat which she then sent scurrying down the alleyway. "Have fun with the guards, Lewis!" she mock called after it.

We look a long, circuitous route to the mine-shafts, stopping frequently to avoid the extra guards marching along the roads. It turned out to be just inside the city limits, tucked into an alcove to the right of the main gates. We unloaded several hundred feet inside, and Starlight offered to start making dinner while Firebolt and I retrieved the rest of his gear. That sounded good, so we moved out leaving Star to her own devices, but still in touch thanks to the Link. 

After Firebolt and I had been walking for a few minutes, he said, "So, I've been wondering: If the aliens can mind-control ponies, and you do it as well, and you both use the same tactics and weapons, then what makes you any better than the attackers?" His tone was probing and mildly accusatory, and although he wasn't actually looking at me I could almost feel his eyes boring into mine.

His question floored me, and I couldn't come up with a good answer for quite some time. It took two full stops for some guards to pass before I replied, "If the aliens had gotten control of as many ponies as I did, they would have used them as meat shields against their own allies, forcing guard to kill guard, then taken control of the Royal Sisters and leveled the castle, and then the city, from the inside out. I used the same power to escape from captivity without taking a single life or causing a single injury." When he sent me an image of a electrocuted pegasus in guard armor, I replied, "Those are designed to cause no lasting damage. She'll be fine."

"Ah. Hmm," Firebolt pulled away and shuttered his thoughts after that, probably considering my response. I was suddenly extra glad I had him on my team, since I was going to need someone to question my actions to help keep myself in check. No one's perfect, after all.

After a few more minutes, and a quick check with Star to make sure she was ok, we arrived at Firebolt's place. The first things that jumped out at me were the scorch marks, all centered around one low-slung building squished off the side of a really nice mansion. "My family's old money," Firebolt explained as we walked towards the rear gate, "They never really supported my fireworks business, but at least they tolerated it, which is more than some noble houses would ever do. Me bringing in a nice bundle with it didn't hurt, either," He pressed a combination of stones next to the secondary gate, and it swung open on well-oiled hinges, allowing us access, "Keep quiet, we don't want to wake my sisters," I nodded, and we slipped inside. "Officially, I live in an apartment of the far side of town," he continued, "But I spend all my time here. I even have a loft I sleep in most nights, whenever I'm not out doing jobs in other cities."

"Huh," I really didn't have anything to say to that. Then again, it could be because I was too busy ogling his work-space to think anything other than So cool!

It was a pyromaniacs wet-dream, to say the least. Massive barrels of raw materials were shoved up against an enormous mixing table covered in bowls, some of which were filled with a variety of powders and grinding mortars and pestles. Opposite from the table was the packing section, dominated by a worktable overflowing with empty fireworks shells waiting for their fillings. A tiny stack of finished explosives was placed to the right of it, their fuses carefully tied up and out of the way. Firebolt's tools were all neatly hanging up on hooks on the far wall, except for a few that had been dropped on the ground. He must have left in a hurry earlier today. "Here," he said, shoving a barrel towards me, "That's the saltpeter, the most important component. I'm going to go get the fuses, you stay here and load up the powders. And please do be careful, I haven't blown up a workshop yet and I don't intend to start now." I mock-saluted in response, causing him to snort and flick his ears as he turned away.

We quickly gathered everything we needed and headed back, careful to make sure his family wasn't alerted to our. Firebolt could get charcoal and sulfur fairly easily, but saltpeter was only sold to licensed professionals, which he was right up until he got involved with me. As such, we needed to take as much as possible, and we did. Oh god we did. I can still feel the strain carrying those barrels put on my spine.


Canterlot Mines


I lay back on my cushion and stared at the rough hewn ceiling of our little cave. After we'd gotten back and Starlight had finished cooking a vegetable soup of some kind ("My Mom's a professional chef, of course I know how to cook"), we'd moved deeper underground to make it harder for anyone to track us. She'd set up an alarm spell before going to bed, a basic cantrip that would collapse if poked by magic or a physical object and wake her up as it did so, and because of that , we hadn't bothered to take watches. I might as well have been, though, since I couldn't sleep, and judging from the twitches coming from Starlight's bedroll, she was having the same issue. Firebolt had no such qualms, and was currently conked out so hard he wasn't even snoring.

After rolling over one last time, Starlight gave up on sleep for the moment and scooted her stuff over to me. "Hey, you awake?" she whispered.

"Yeah," I replied, patting the spot next to me as an invitation. She took it, and sat, leaning against my side as I propped myself up on my pillow. "So," I said after the silence had stretched for a bit, "What's bothering you?"

She sighed, and I felt a surge of melancholy and regret roll off of her. "My parents," she said finally, "They must think I'm a horrible pony by now."

"Are you sure? It's takes an awful lot to-"

"I COULD FEEL THEIR RAGE!" she shouted, her voice echoed off the walls. Firebolt snorted in his sleep, and she quickly lowered the volume back to a whisper, "Dad was furious at me, and Mom wasn't far behind him. I've always tried my hardest to make them happy, but I;ve really blown it this time. They must hate me now." She started to whimper, and I rubbed her shoulders based on a reflex that wasn't quite my own, but still seemed to work. I did some quick thinking, and after parsing over what my own parents had told me about being a parent, I thought I came up with an answer.

"I don't think so," I said slowly, "Your parents may be mad at you, but they don't hate you. It takes a lot of pressure for a human to hate someone, and I mean really hate them on a personal level, and for parents it's even harder. They still love you, even when they aren't happy with you. It comes with the job. In fact, I bet they're worrying about you right now. That worry is because they love you, and don't you ever forget it."

She sniffed, and I felt her pain ease a bit, "I guess you have a point," she admitted, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," I responded, smiling softly.

"Now it's your turn, mister," she said, a sliver of a grin creeping back onto her face, "What's keeping you up?"

I didn't say anything for a long moment, trying to figure out how to put it into words. "I guess," I said after I'd thought it over, "It's all, this." I gestured to my surroundings, "This cavern, Equestria, me coming here, all of that. I'm trying to decide whether I made the right choice."

"Ah," she said, then asked, "Would it help if you told me the reason you chose to come here? I didn't exactly get a good impression from your memories."

I blew out a long gust of air as I sighed, "It's worth a shot," I replied, "Now, let's see. I guess I came because, well," a certain song began running through my head as I thought, causing Starlight to hum the notes, "I had no ties to my home planet, not anymore. If I stayed, I'd get an ordinary job a restaurant or an office somewhere, maybe get married and raise a family. My old family was, you know, and my only friend took the same road I did. Here's out here, somewhere. If I stayed, I'd have a normal life, but just that: a normal life. On the other hand, if I went, maybe I got something more. And now I'm the leader of a squad of a squad of ponies fighting off an alien invasion." I laughed sardonically at my situation. "Life doesn't get much less ordinary than this."

Starlight mouth made a small 'O' of understanding and said, "Well, I'm glad you came." She smiled at me, a warm, open smile that was a cut above her usual sarcastic smirk, "If you hadn't shown up, I'd be alien bait." She punctuated the statement with a chuckle and nuzzled my arm, but I could tell she was still nervous.

I relaxed as her words sank in, and I could feel her doing the same, "Thanks, Star," I said as I stretched out, "I needed that." I started to pull away from her to get some sleep, but she scooted closer in response to my movements and I didn't really feel like protesting it. Besides, having her next to me just felt sort of right, even though I'd only met her earlier that day. Buh, I'm too tired to think this over, I'll deal with it tomorrow.