Chapter 1: The Invitation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTH6QFoR1tU

The bomb caught the convoy halfway down the city's main road, flinging vehicles upwards towards the night sky atop a hellish pyre of flame and debris. The shock wave knocked down lamp posts and echoed off buildings, creating a wave of shattered glass and twisted metal.

"Looks like they took the bait," Chris said into his headset as he shut off the remote control tablet he had been driving the convoy with. From his position on the low roof of a nearby comic book store, he scanned the dark street with his ARHUD glasses in low-light image enhancing mode, registering motion about a seventy five feet ahead and to the right. He zoomed in and saw a man with a rocket launcher leaning out of a second story window. Bringing his rifle up to his shoulder, he placed the red dot directly over the man's head and pulled the trigger. At the same moment, an explosion several streets away caused him to flinch. His bullets pinged off the brickwork near the man with the launcher, who swung in his direction.

"Damn it." Chris quickly re-sighted and fired again, catching the man in the neck. Blood fountained up as the man fell backwards into the room, clutching his throat. The red word “GRENADE” flashed across Chris's vision as the ARHUD interface highlighted a small metal sphere flying through the air towards him from another location. Almost without thinking Chris crouched and sprang off the roof towards the thrower, the flex-metal muscles of his exoskeleton suit flinging him through the air in a graceful arc. At the apex of his trajectory, he aimed his carbine and sent a controlled pulse of bullets ripping through the terrorist.

“Two targets neutralized.”

Gravel crunched and metal pinged as Chris landed heavily on his alloy-clad feet, the grenade exploding on the roof behind him in a shock-wave of fire and debris.

The sound of a revving engine followed almost immediately, and Chris jumped again, up and over the roof of a car as it attempted to run him over. He landed roughly on the asphalt, sparks erupting from his metal exo as he slid several feet. He quickly swung around and brought his rifle to bear, squeezing the trigger and aiming through the rear window into the driver's seat. The bullets stitched through the thin metal of the roof and the car suddenly veered off course. It weaved wildly and accelerated, then slammed into the side of a building, the engine coughing to a stop. Chris reloaded and sprinted up to verify the status of the operators. He approached the tail of the car and crept up the passenger side, weapon at the ready. He could see through the window that the driver was unmoving, his arm hanging out the window at an unnatural angle and dripping blood onto the street. The passenger shifted as he approached, attempting to swivel towards him. Without hesitation Chris fired again, knocking the passenger sideways in a mist of blood. The rifle he had been struggling with thumped onto the floor.

Chris regarded the dead men coldly and spoke into his headset. “Enemy vehicle disabled. Two targets neutralized.”

A large echoing explosion sounded from farther away, followed by silence.

His comlink came alive again, Sanchez's voice coming through in low tones. “Two additional targets eliminated, vehicle destroyed. Anyone got a bead on the other tangoes?"

A burst of distant gunfire drifted on the night air.

"They're down," McAllister responded. "Walked right into me. Never knew what hit 'em."

“This is Command. Numbers match, verify identities of deceased, hand over to local jurisdiction. Tag ‘em and let the cops bag em.”

“Acknowledged.” Staying alert, Chris unclipped the DNA scanner from his pack and pushed it against the terrorist, holding it in position until it glowed green. He repeated the procedure with the driver and, after a short walk, the grenade chucker as well. “DNA prints uploaded. Ready for extraction.”

Why hasn't this terminated yet?

Chris waited uncomfortably in the street, scanning the night for any further activity. As he looked around, a shot rang out from the rooftop across the way. Pitching forward, Chris reflexively reached up to hold the tattered remains of his throat together. On the roof, a circus clown holding a giant cartoonish sniper rifle hooted and jeered. His oversize red shoes made honking and farting noises as he danced a jig in glee.

“Very funny, guys,” Chris's ghost said, rolling his eyes and shaking his head as he stood over his own dying self.
Chris's body sank to the ground, the breath gurgling weakly out of his torn neck, his eyes going glassy as he fell face forward into a pool of his own blood. He twitched once more, then lay still in the dust and smoke. On the roof, circus calliope music played gaily and the clown pointed merrily, dancing and laughing as if it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen.

"Oh you guys are just freakin' hilarious."

***

The town faded to black, the clown's mocking voice hissed into static. Then the words “FATALITIES 1, MISSION SUCCESS. SIMULATION TERMINATED”. blinked across his vision while the warehouse lights came on. Chris reached up and pulled the virtual reality goggles off his face and scratched his ear, turning to the sound of chattering voices. Hamilton, McAllister, and Sanchez walked up to him.

Chris snorted. “I love the little surprise you added just for me.”

"Hey man, just trying to keep things interesting," Clarence McAllister chuckled. "You shoulda seen the look on your face when you got bodied out of nowhere by that clown. Priceless!" His friends knew better than to call him Clarence. He was huge joker, but he hated his first name, and did not take kindly to those foolish enough to use it on him.

Chris laughed. "Yeah I'll admit, that was the last thing I expected to happen."

"If you expected it, that would have ruined the surprise." Miguel Sanchez added. Nobody called him Miguel. As far back as anyone could remember, he had always been just Sanchez. It felt uncomfortable to call him by his first name now.

"I didn't see a single bad guy the entire time, I feel cheated," David Hamilton complained. "I just sat there and listened to you jokers have all the fun." Like McAllister, he was not overly fond of his first name, although he would tolerate being called "Dave" by special people, or on special occasions.

"Hey, you win some, you lose some. The program doesn't follow the exact same path every time you know," Christopher Lance said dismissively. Unlike the others, he preferred to be called "Chris." It seemed odd at first for the squad leader to be the only one called by his first name, but it reminded him that he was no longer in the military. It was a powerful feeling to be in charge of his own life, and one he never tired of.

Together they headed across the warehouse, past the featureless facades of buildings, and into the locker room.

"You gain some weight?" McAllister asked, slapping at Sanchez with a towel.

"No, you goon, I get plenty of exercise just making sure you don't stick your finger in a wall socket or put your head in a plastic bag."

They returned their virtual reality gear to the wall cabinets, then pulled their duty weapons from the biometrically sealed lockers and put them on.

"Man, I can't believe we get paid to do this," Chris chuckled, sliding his Glock into a drop-down leg holster.

"For real. Except sometimes it can get pretty rough just sitting around waiting for something to happen. When's the last time we actually had to respond to a real security incident?" Hamilton said.

They all thought about it. "Uh, there was that one woman who claimed to be The Goddess Reincarnated and showed up naked at the front gate waving a dildo and demanding the subservience of all males," Sanchez finally suggested.

"Yeah, well, she WAS a liberal arts major. And she left quickly after we told her the police would lock her up in a place where she couldn't log onto Tumblr," Hamilton replied.

They stood around quietly for a few more moments.

"Well, can't complain. We get a damn good paycheck, it's actually a pretty quiet job, and we get to train in the simulator as much as we want," McAllister said after the silence had stretched on for more than enough time. "But sometimes, I do wish we could have a little excitement."

Just then, Chris received a text message.

- Jeffrey Peterson: Hey, Chris. Come to my office ASAP, will you? Bring the team. I need to discuss something with all of you.
- Christopher Lance: Roger that. On the way.

He looked up at the others. "Hold that thought, guys. The boss wants to talk to us, right now."

***

Chris and his team stood in Jeff's office, having stopped only to ditch their exo suits.

"Thank you for coming, gentlemen."

Jeffrey Peterson was the original founder and owner of Protean Cybernetics Corporation. Years ago in the military, he had been Chris's commander during a deployment. They had struck it off hesitantly, in the reserved and uncomfortable fashion that colors friendship between officers and enlisted. But years later, when he had reached out to Chris with a job offer in the civilian sector, Chris had agreed eagerly. Since then, ProteC had grown into the world's premiere producer of advanced limb and organ replacement technologies, worth many billions of dollars. Jeff was now one of the richest men on the planet.

He leaned back in his chair comfortably. "I got these chairs in here for a reason guys, go ahead and sit down, all this standing is making me weirded out."

"Thank you, sir," Chris said. They sat down in the soft leather chairs.

"I know you're all wondering why I brought you here. Well, the truth is, I have a lot of security personnel on this installation and others, many of them veterans who held Top Secret clearances with the U.S. Government in the past. However, I like your guts, Chris."

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Your attitude. You want to see new things. You want to go places beyond the realm of a tidy paycheck twice a month and a house in the suburbs. You all do."

He leaned abruptly forward on his desk, grinning and steepling his fingers. "So what do you say?"

Chris looked at Jeff in confusion. "I don't... what?"

"Quit being so dense. Do you guys wanna have a good fucking time?"

"I guess that depends on what your definition of a good time is?"

Jeff chuckled. "When you gather up some of the world's best quantum physicists, engineers, mathematicians, doctors, and more, then offer them a blank check to chase their dreams, well, things happen. Oftentimes useless things, sometimes weird things. But once in awhile something amazing happens. Something that changes all the rules. And I am offering you four a chance to be a part of this one."

McAllister couldn't keep quiet any longer. "Are you wanting to do some kind of medical experiments on us? Use us for guinea pigs?"

Jeff stared at him, then leaned back and laughed heartily. "Ha! No! I want to take you guys with me to be my lead security team at a semi-secret overseas location. The man formerly in charge had unexpected family issues, and he has since departed that location for an easier job here in the States. Seriously, I think you guys will like it, and since none of you has a family to deal with, there's nothing to worry about."

Chris looked at his three teammates, and saw three massive grins. "When do we begin, sir?"

Jeff smiled broadly. "Excellent then! I need you all to sign here." He slid a four sheets of paper towards them.

"What is this?" Chris asked, reading it over.

"Standard nondisclosure agreement. What I am about to share with you is highly sensitive. I need your agreement not to repeat it to anyone without clearance before we can continue this conversation."

Chris shrugged and scrawled his signature. Together they slid the four sheets back across the massive desk to Jeff, who whisked them away into a drawer.

"Thank you. Now I can tell you the real fun."

Jeff swept his hand over the desk, and a small gyroscopic device lifted into the air above it, spinning with a soft humming noise. "I've just enabled a privacy field. It should disrupt any electronic monitoring devices as well as shield our voices until I switch it off."

Chris and the others looked at each other, but didn't say anything.

Jeff smiled from behind his desk. "As you are no doubt aware, ProteC has grown into one of the largest businesses in the world, and as such, has branched into areas of science that reach far wider than medical technology."

He cracked his knuckles.

"And now, one of the most advanced and ambitious projects ever created by humans is nearing completion."

"You have a starship?" Hamilton asked.

Jeff frowned. "No, that would be really cool, but no. And now you've kind of ruined my pitch, because what we have isn't as cool as that. All we have is a teleporter."

Hamilton stared for a moment, then smirked. "Ha, good one. You had me for a second there."

"I'm serious. We are building a large teleportation gate. And we will be testing it very soon."

"You're serious. He's serious." Hamilton fell back limply in his chair. "Serious."

Jeff sat back, staring with satisfaction at four open mouths. "Ya'll look funny as hell all slack jawed like that. Welcome to Project Oblivion. We're flying out tomorrow. Bag your shit up and see you at zero six hundred hours on the airstrip. Don't worry, I've got another squad ready to take your place here. Oh, and bring some shorts and stuff. It's a jungle out there. Literally. We're headed to a research installation in Ecuador that's been working on this project for some years now." Jeff rubbed his hands together. "It's gonna be a blast, just you guys wait!"

McAllister found his voice. "Oh hell no. You want me to go through some damn transporter machine? I saw The Fly, I know how this works!"

Jeff gaped for a moment, then laughed. "Not at all, I just want you guys there literally to provide security and make sure nobody pulls some crap. No human is going through for a long time yet. There's a lot of testing to be done before we determine whether that is even safe or not."

"Oh. Well that's different then," McAllister said, relieved.

"Oh and, no talking about this outside of a secured area," Jeff added. "I'd rather not have to fight off every idiot or greedy lunatic who wants to get their hands on this equipment."

Chapter 2: A New Beginning

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The ride aboard the ProteC high speed transport plane was uneventful enough, although surprising. Chris had not expected Jeff to fly with them, let alone wearing the casual cargo pants, pistol, boots, and polo shirt of a ProteC Security member.

"Don't you have a full size executive jet with leather seats and a Jacuzzi or something?" Chris had asked.

"Of course. But I only use it for showing off when I need to impress somebody," Jeff had replied. "This little plane is a lot faster anyway. And yes, I notice you are curious about my outfit. I actually don't like wearing suits unless I have to. And I love steel toed boots."

Jeff's easy-going, humorous attitude was a natural catalyst for Chris's team, and the jokes and stories kept them entertained, making the flight seem far shorter than it actually was.

It was still morning when they landed on the coastline at the ProteC facility's on-campus air strip.

"How does it work with us having these pistols? Isn't this a foreign country?" Chris said.

Jeff laughed. "I do what I want. And I strongly advise everyone on this installation to carry a personal weapon at all times, even if they don't like to. There's more than just rabbits out in the jungle, and our fence line is often not respected by the wildlife."

The door opened with a blast of heat and humidity, and they exited to the tarmac and got into a waiting van with ProteC stenciled on the side.

"You see why I said bring some shorts!" Jeff exclaimed gleefully. "It's hot as all get out down here!"

"Friggin nice man," Sanchez said. "I love the heat."

"It's like Hell," Hamilton said, less enthusiastically.

"You'll learn to love it. So here we are, ProteC Ecuador," Jeff continued. "This installation is off the map. Not many people know it's here at all. We do on occasion supply services to the local government, with the agreement that they pretty much do not interfere with us for any reason. On this installation, I am basically a king."

McAllister chuckled. "That doesn't sound like such a bad thing."

Jeff's voice became more serious. "Well, it also means that maintaining security is a major concern. We have a large contingent of personnel, and enough hardware, including armored vehicles, to declare war on a small nation... and win. There are technologies here that we very much do not want to fall into the wrong hands."

"So what exactly did you want us to do?" Chris asked.

"I want you to take charge of contingency response security. I want you to be the guy who organizes forces to take on an immediate threat. I have managers down here, I have squads, I have armaments and munitions. But I want you guys to take command as lead squad. I need some leaders who think about whacking the enemy, not just paperwork and economics. So day to day, you'll have full access to poke around the armory, vehicle depot, and other places, asking questions and making sure things look up to snuff. And when the shit hits the fan, you guys are gonna tell the others what they need to do to protect this facility."

The van stopped outside of an enormous building that looked like a giant hotel. Jeff opened the door with evident pride. "Our stop, guys. Check this place out." He disembarked and the others followed him out into the blazing sun, blocked to an extent by the overhead awning the van had parked under. They grabbed their bags and walked under towards the glass double doors that led into the towering building.

As the doors opened, Chris was greeted by the view of a large waterfall. The interior looked like a fancy resort hotel, complete with an indoor park atrium, pond, waterfall, and numerous levels leading up to a massive skylight that bathed the interior in natural sun.

McAllister gaped. "Wow. Swanky."

Jeff grinned. "I know right? With the vast amount of money this company has gathered through the years, I refuse to allow my employees to live in poor conditions. Muzzle not the ox that treads the grain, etc etc. Especially out here. Building this place cost a lot less than in America. It's encouraged me to put a lot of research facilities in... ahem, less fortunate countries. But really, I'm not kidding. Standard of living in ProteC facilities is excellent. Even the janitorial staff here has private apartments."

He pointed downwards.

"The research facilities are mostly several hundred feet below the ground, for safety and security."

"The Project is down there, then?" Chris asked.

"Oh, not at all. The full scale version of Project Oblivion had to be on the surface, something to do with resonant frequencies causing system failure inside a closed space. Dr. Hardy and his team know more about that part than I do. I'll take you to meet Dr. Hardy soon."

"Fascinating. Who is Dr. Hardy?"

"Garry Hardy is the lead physicist at this facility. He leads Project Oblivion as well as several other smaller projects and about a million of his own experiments."

"Sounds like an interesting guy."

"He's been here for many years. He's... well, you'll see. But first we're gonna get you guys hooked up with a place to crash."

Jeff led them to the reception counter in the lobby.

McAllister looked around in awe. "This place seriously kicks ass."

The counter was nestled next to a path under a large tree, a waterfall behind it and a bridge over an in-floor stream nearby.

"Need four rooms, please," Jeff said to the smartly dressed counter attendant. "Also AR glasses and wristbands issued."

"Certainly Mr. Peterson." She reached behind the counter, then placed a box of black wristbands and wraparound transparent glasses on it.

Chris picked up the wristband and strapped it to his left wrist. It came on with a glow of holographics. He then placed the glasses over his eyes. They immediately activated a brief personalization program, after which context-sensitive information appeared. He looked the attendant, who now had a name tag floating near her head. So did Jeff. So did the rest of his team as they put on bands and glasses. Everywhere he looked, helpful data floated in his vision, connected to objects.

The attendant smiled. "Your rooms are ready, your bands will grant access. Please wear your band at any time you leave your room. It contains access codes and identification data that will both allow you to open doors or use equipment you are authorized to use. It will also confirm your identity to security systems in the event of an emergency." She paused. "And in the event of an emergency, you definitely want the security system to recognize you. It is programmed to utilize defenses up to and including lethal force."

Chris thanked the girl at the counter, and gave Jeff a thumbs-up. "Nice setup. You're definitely going to have to tell me more about the security system."

"Well, we have automated gun turrets in some areas, as well as drones and land-based robotics, many with mounted weapons."

Sanchez whistled. "I'm impressed."

Jeff spoke a dramatic voice. "We spared NO expense."

"Do you have a T-Rex?"

"I wish. Wouldn't that be a blast?" Jeff sighed in mock sadness. "Instead, all I've got is a lot of cutting-edge research programs, robots, a lot of money, private islands... Life is so hard sometimes."

"Yeah, sure sounds like it."

They both laughed.

"Let's take the elevator." Jeff pressed the button on a glass elevator, and stepped inside. As it rose up to his floor, they got a good view of the entire massive central courtyard. The sunlight filtering in through the transparent roof illuminated the trees and waterways in it as if it were a hidden grotto.

"It's like rising above a forest," Hamilton observed.

"Yep, but this is just the lodging. Research section isn't so... flamboyant."

The elevator stopped on one of the upper floors and they disembarked.. The hall had doors to rooms on one side, and a railing opening to the courtyard on the other. The sound of the waterfalls below was a pleasant murmur as they walked along the open hallway.

"All your rooms are in a row here. Door locks are coded to your wrist band or biometrics," Jeff said, waving at the first door. A holographic interface appeared. "Put your hand on that."

Chris tapped the green circle, and the door unlocked. He opened it and the lights came on in the room beyond as he entered. Jeff pointed the other three men down the hall. "Grab any of those rooms. Order doesn't matter." Jeff followed Chris into his room while the other three men went to drop their gear.

The living room beyond the outer door was medium size, featuring couch facing a large screen, a small kitchen separated by a counter, a door leading to a bedroom, another leading to a bathroom, and a sliding door opening onto a balcony on the exterior of the building.

"Well what do you think?" Jeff asked Chris.

"Nice. Very nice indeed. I wish I had worked here years ago. You should see some of the places I've stayed while on the road!"

"Ha. Well, remember the time we were in Afghanistan with NATO?"

"How could I forget. I remember trying to sleep while the smoke from the garbage burn pit blew over our tent until we all gagged."

"Thems were the days, eh?"

"You're telling me! Nothing like the feeling of waking up with a mouthful of sand!"

"Well," Jeff swept his arms around. "I can't offer you a mouthful of sand, but I imagine you can make do with this."

"Thanks. You know, I'm really glad for this opportunity. Really glad to be here."

"And I'm glad you're here." Jeff clapped him on the back. "Want to meet the main guy on Project Oblivion?"

"You're damn right I do!"

***

Jeff led Chris's team to a double door at the end of the courtyard in the lodging building. The sign above read "LOWER LEVEL ACCESS - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY."

"The research facility is this way."

"It's in the same building as lodging?"

"Well, sort of. See, since the primary purpose of this facility is research, it makes sense for the living personnel accommodations to be close to the labs and other facilities. It's not technically IN this building, but rather spread out below it. And under others as well. There's a tunnel system connecting the underground facilities. On the surface we have some fabrication and production buildings, mostly robotic. Scan your hand at the gate."

Chris reached out towards a glowing panel on the metal turnstile blocking the hallway in front of him. It glowed for a moment, scanning his hand and checking his wrist band. Then it beeped and he pushed through the turnstile. It locked immediately after he passed through in such a way that only one person could be admitted at a time. Jeff scanned through right behind him and they waited for the others, then proceeded down the hallway mostly empty hallway, their footsteps echoing off the coated white concrete. Small cleaning robots skittered along close to the floor, looking for dirt and deftly avoided them as they walked. Soon they arrived at another door, leading to a room containing multiple elevators.

Jeff pressed the button for one. "By the way, none of these elevators or doors work if you don't have a wristband. And again, the defense systems will try to identify you biometrically in an emergency, but keep your wristband on. You don't want to take chances with these machines, trust me."

"Have you had any... accidents?"

"There have been accidents, yes. Fatalities even. This is an industrial facility. But so far, none related to the security system. During orientation, we let everyone get a good view of a security drone test fire exercise. I have yet to see anyone do anything to sample their response capabilities."

The elevator arrived, and they stepped in. Chris saw the options for several underground floors as Jeff selected one from the interface. His stomach lurched as the elevator took off down the shaft. Jeff turned to face him and leaned comfortably against the elevator wall.

"Down the rabbit hole we go. Dr. Hardy's lab is below us. He does the somewhat less hazardous experiments here. We have several large underground facilities located away from housing where the really dangerous stuff is tested."

The elevator doors opened, and Jeff led them down another concrete hallway, lit from overhead and continued on for an indeterminate distance with metal doors embedded in the wall at intervals. As they looked around, the AR glasses placed signs on the doors.

As they approached one of the doors set in the wall, Jeff turned to the others. "This is his lab. No doubt he is engaged in serious last-minute calculations with his staff before we test the Gate." Jeff pressed a button and the door slid open quietly.

A large room spread out before them, filled with tables and test equipment. None of it was being used at the moment because the entire research staff was sitting near the front of the room before a big screen watching "Night of the Living Dead."

"Sure looks like hard work to me. Where do I sign up for this gig?" McAllister commented.

"Ah! Greetings!" A tall man in a lab coat got up off the lab stool he had been sitting on and walked over. He looked to be in his late thirties, his manner confident and his expression open and cheerful.

"Hello Doctor," Jeff replied. "I was just telling these guys how hard you work."

"When you love your job, it's like play all the time," Dr. Hardy replied, unperturbed. "Does anyone want popcorn?"

"Maybe later. Actually, sure. That sounds good," Jeff replied.

"Salt and butter?" Dr. Hardy asked as he scooped a popcorn from a bowl on one of the lab tables.

"Is there any other way?" Jeff replied.

The doctor returned quickly with several cups of popcorn and passed them out.

"I must say, this place is a bit different from what I had envisioned," Chris commented as he put the white puffy crunchiness into his mouth.

"We work in a cave with no windows," Dr. Hardy replied. "I try to keep my staff as happy as possible."

"Speaking of which," Jeff said, "Would you care to tell these gentlemen here about what you and your staff do when you aren't sitting around watching movies?"

"I assume you're talking about Project Oblivion."

Chris set his popcorn down on a nearby counter. "Yes indeed. We are here to oversee security."

Dr. Hardy folded his arms.

"Well, to tell the truth, the name of Project Oblivion is a description of what we are doing."

Sanchez grunted. "Oblivion. Nothingness. Emptiness. Not what I'd call a good advertisement for a product, unless it's a laxative maybe."

"I'd think in that case a name like Project Evacuation would be a better choice," McAllister commented in a thoughtful tone. "Or maybe Project Whirlpool."

Dr. Hardy waved his hand dismissively. "Oh fine. Evidently the meaning isn't as obvious as I'd thought. I'm a doctor, not a lawyer, my people skills are somewhat lacking, okay?"

"I think Project Oblivion sounds pretty damn cool," Hamilton said.

"Ah! A man of good taste!" Dr. Hardy gave a thumbs-up. "Anyway, where was I? Ah yes. Geometry teaches us that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. In actuality, the truth is that the shortest distance between two points is irrelevant because you are already there. Our universe is a point singularity. Within, it contains what our limited science believes to be infinite three dimensional space. However, on the outside, it has no dimensions."

Chris looked puzzled. "No dimensions? How can an object like that exist at all?"

Dr. Hardy smiled indulgently. "That's where the name Project Oblivion comes from. The fact that our universe should not exist when externally it takes up no dimensions. As for how we are here inside a zero-dimensional object, I don't understand it myself. If anyone tells you that they DO understand it, they are probably lying. Regardless, the point I am trying to make is that every part of space is constantly in contact with every other part on higher dimensional planes."

Chris started to open his mouth, but Dr. Hardy held up a hand again. "We do not have to fully understand every principle in nature in order to use it. All we are trying to do is find exploits that work. Hell, we don't fully understand how light works, yet we see with it every day!"

Chris nodded "And build light emitting devices too. Good point. Let's continue."

"Okay. So. Anyway. What our device does is create a sympathetic spacial anomaly at two remote locations. When the anomalies synchronize, they become essentially the same area of space-time. Once this is accomplished, we have a teleportation gateway. Objects pass from one location across the anomaly and arrive at the destination."

Hamilton bit his lip. "So it's like a transporter from Star Trek?"

Dr. Hardy paused. "Well, it's a little more like a really fancy Stargate."

"And you can actually transport objects with it? Not just a beam of photons or some crap?"

Dr. Hardy laughed.

"Why yes we can. See this pen here?" He pulled a ball-point pen from his pocket and held it up. "This thing has gone across my lab more than once."

McAllister chuckled. "You mean to tell me if I stuck my manhood in that thing, I could technically claim to have the longest dick on Earth?"

Dr. Hardy narrowed his eyes. "You can claim whatever you want, the ladies are still gonna be disappointed by your immaturity."

Before McAllister could think of a reply, Chris interjected. "I distinctly remember Jeff saying that being in an enclosed space caused some problem with the technology."

"True enough," Dr. Hardy agreed. "But only with a larger size gate. The small ones we used down here work when surrounded by water spray tanks. It's no joke. This is real enough. And we are ready to move on to the next phase. Up till now, the largest thing we have teleported is a mouse."

"Uh, did it live?"

Dr. Hardy smiled broadly. "See for yourself!" He thumbed at a cage behind him. Sure enough, there was a mouse merrily running on a wheel.

"He's been through oh, fifty or sixty times. None the worse for wear." He got up and dropped a treat in the glass mouse cage. "We have the large device ready for testing, now."

"How big is it?" Hamilton wondered.

Dr. Hardy turned around. "Large enough to drive a semi truck through. It connects to another gate on Isla del Lamento, several hundred miles offshore."

"I don't think I can believe it until I see it."

"You will." Jeff said. "I'm taking you guys to the Oblivion Gate now."

Chapter 3: The Gate

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The heat attacked them as they walked from the air-conditioned building into the parking lot.

"Good thing these glasses block the sun," Chris said. "It's super bright out here."

"A perfect day for this. You'll see why," Jeff agreed.

"I can't wait."

They approached a parked van. Jeff opened the driver's door and got in, Chris joining him on the passenger side. The other three piled into the back.

The vehicle was pleasant inside, contrasting sharply with the heat of the day.

"It's already cool. It's not running, though?" Sanchez wondered. "I had expected a heat wave."

"This is an electric vehicle, charged by our power grid. Our deep-core geothermic generators provide power to both the entire ProteC facility and the nearby town, at no charge to them. We provide many useful things that the locals would never have access to without us. It never hurts to have allies in the local community."

Chris was amazed. "How much energy do you have available?"

Jeff glanced at him for moment.

"We have enough to power half of America without noticing the drain."

Chris made several choked gasping noises.

"Dimensional physics experiments tend to pull enormous amounts of current." Jeff touched the controls, and the car accelerated silently forward. "And tomorrow, we will use almost all of it when we power up the full size Gate for the first time."

They looked out the windows while the car cruised through the ProteC complex, passing factories, industrial facilities, and other buildings. The streets and sidewalks were clean and tree-lined, an artistic blend of beauty and functionality. Robots were cutting grass and picking up trash.

"This place is amazing."

Jeff smiled and chuckled. “You haven't seen anything yet."

The car took a turn, and drove down a side street towards a gate in a large metal fence. As they approached the gate, an armed guard robot rolled smoothly out of the gate shack to meet them.

Jeff rolled down the window and stared into the robot's imaging sensors. "Escorting four."

"Identity confirmed, Mr. Peterson. It scanned the car interior momentarily, and Chris had the distinct feeling it was seeing more than a human eye could. It returned its expressionless gaze to Jeff. "Confirm four guests. All secure?"

"All secure."

The robot nodded curtly and backed away from the car, standing guard as the gate rumbled open.

"That reminds me, I have to get your security credentials transferred down here," Jeff said. "Security control can update your access privileges. We'll head over there after we take a look around out here." He drove the car through the gate and uphill into a thickly jungled area. The road continued for some time, heavy foliage on both blocking most of the view.

After a brief period, the road crested and they could see there was some kind of valley beyond. Jeff drove off into the trees on a narrower access road and soon stopped the car by a small open air building.

"Let's get out, and you guys take a minute to look at the view."
They exited the van and followed Jeff into the building and up a flight of concrete stairs. At the top was a gazebo, and Jeff made a sweeping gesture with his arm as he led them towards the viewing area. "Welcome to Gateway Valley."

Chris stepped forward and looked down.

He gasped.

There were numerous waterfalls and streams running down from the edges of the valley, too many to count at a glance. The rushing waters produced mists in some areas, and sparkled in the sunlight in others. There were numerous tall hill-like formations, each with large springs sending more water splashing down their steeply stepped rocky slopes. In the center of the valley was a lake with several large metal bridges and pathways running along the surface to an immense device in the center. Numerous trees and lush vegetation grew throughout the landscape.

The machine was huge, from this distance it was difficult to tell how big it actually was, but the geodesic dome at the center dwarfed the trees around it. Through the transparent dome could be seen what appeared to be a set of immense rings slowly rotating inside each other. It appeared that half of the dome was below the surface of the water, like a gigantic golf ball set in a pond.

Hamilton stared, his mouth hanging slightly open at the impressive sight.

"Daaaaannnnng," McAllister said.

Sanchez let loose a long whistle.

Jeff chuckled. "It's a lot to take in, eh? Wait till you see it up close!"

Chris tore his eyes away from the spectacular view. "Oh yeah."

Jeff headed them back to the van. "I'm gonna give you guys the quick tour. Got a lot to do to get you inprocessed before tomorrow!"

He turned the van back onto the main road and drove down into the valley along a winding route. The trees grew sparser after the crest of the hill, and the road wove between rock outcroppings and over small bridges, tracking around the waterfalls that covered the area. Birds called to each other from the vegetation, and the sun was brighter thanks to the sparser tree canopy. After several minutes, the road gave way to a metal bridge over water, and the dome housing the Oblivion Gate towered before them.

Jeff drove the van across the bridge to the geodesic dome, and parked on a platform at the base of it.

"Okay, it's designed so we could drive all the way inside, but there's no point since the control room is right here."

Chris stepped out the passenger door and looked around. "This place is gorgeous," he said across the hood to Jeff, who grinned and gave a thumbs-up.

They walked past several other ProteC vans towards the large open door in the dome. The robots guarding it scanned them as they approached, but did not interfere. "Good afternoon Mr. Peterson," one said. Jeff waved.

"It's just a machine, right?" Sanchez asked. "Does it care if you respond?"

"You're right, of course," Jeff replied. "But one day, I believe they may be more than that. It never hurts to show respect. Notice how, even though they are all the same model, only one of them greeted me?"

"Hmmm. Now that you mention it, that is interesting."

"Most likely a product of some randomization subroutine running, or a deliberate system to keep ten robots from saying the exact same thing at the exact same time. But one day, it will be more than that, and we will be forced, as a species, to change our view of what it means to be alive." Jeff swung his arms to the side. "And here we are. Welcome to the Oblivion Gate, gentlemen!"

Chris and the others gaped at the scene spread out before them. The interior of the dome was several stories tall, reaching far above their heads. Filling up most of the area was a pad surrounded by enormous rotating rings that spun on varying axis below and around the pad, creating a confusing, weaving pattern that changed constantly. To their right was a smaller raised building inside the dome, covered in windows.

"That's the control room," Jeff pointed at the raised building. Men in ProteC coveralls were carrying equipment and cabling up the stairs in a bustle of activity. "They're making last minute adjustments for tomorrow." He pointed out the numerous security personnel holding rifles and keeping a watchful eye over the proceedings. "This is a sensitive operation, but tomorrow will be the biggest day of all, and you guys are gonna be in here on the job too."

"It looks to be fairly well secured already," McAllister said, noncommittally.

"And yet here we are," Hamilton added, the slightest tinge of suspicion in his voice.

Chris sighed and turned to Jeff. "I really appreciate your bringing us here. But something has been nagging me this entire time. Why did you need us?"

Jeff stared. "What do you mean?"

"This place. It's locked down like a fortress. Yet you still brought us here. And no offense boss, I know we are pretty good at what we do, but we are NOT your best."

Jeff smiled. "THIS is why I brought you here."

"What?"

Jeff smiled wider. "This right here. See how you're confronting me right now?"

Chris wrinkled his forehead. "I still don't see what you're getting at."

"I wanted people who weren't afraid to talk to me like a man. I deal with a lot of people, very good people. Brave people. But most of them would never, ever ask me the question you just asked, no matter what I told them to do. I don't want a yes-man, Chris. And you guys, if a wee bit unorthodox, are anything but yes-men." Jeff waved his arm. "There is a lot going on here, and I want someone I can trust. I don't want someone who is afraid to point out problems, who will agree with anything I do no matter how badly thought out it is. I know you guys better than you think I do."

"Fair enough," Chris said. "That makes sense to me, I guess."

"And one more thing," Jeff added. "As with any science project, there is a slim chance something, ah, unexpected, could happen."

"What does THAT mean?" Sanchez asked, eyes narrowed.

Jeff grinned. "I have no idea. We won't know until it happens. Or nothing could happen, which is what I expect." He looked at the other four men, then frowned as his stomach growled loudly. "Soooooo, uh, who wants some lunch?"

Chapter 4: Epoch

View Online

"In position," Chris said into his headset. He looked around the room again. ProteC security personnel stood at intervals around the perimeter of the Gate room holding rifles, most eyeing the huge rotating rings at the center.

"I like this new gear," McAllister commented, thumping his tactical vest. "Really shows off my broad chest and shoulders."

Hamilton rolled his eyes. "I'm sure that makes a huge difference in the big scheme of things."

"You've no idea. Think, an enemy comes up, sees a big burly guy like me holding this big-ass rifle, he's gonna think twice about messing with us."

Hamilton opened his mouth, then thought about it for a moment. He looked McAllister up and down. "You do have a point," he said, eventually.

McAllister grinned. "Posing is half of deterrence."

Sanchez grunted. "You're smarter than you look, McAllister."

"Keep it down a little, guys. This is kind of a big deal," Chris interjected. "I'd like to have a little peace and quiet to reflect upon the deeper meanings for humanity." He was greeted by a chorus of rude grunts and noises from the other three, but they grew quieter.

A voice came from behind them. "What's up, gents!"

They turned to greet Jeff and Dr. Hardy. Chris nodded, keeping one hand on his tactically slung rifle. "Morning, Boss."

Jeff looked around the room, evidently pleased. "Security looks good. Again, I don't expect anything dangerous to happen. But with an experiment of this magnitude, a little extra insurance is a wise precaution."

"This could change everything," Hamilton said, looking upwards at the softly humming rings as they rotated majestically. "Everything."

"Yes, indeed it could," Dr. Hardy replied. "Time to make history."

"By the way," Chris asked, "Who is running the remote gate?"

"An old friend of mine, Spencer Boyd. There's a crew of over a hundred on the island, including security. Spencer is going to be in the control room, though. Don't worry, he's got a handle on things out there for sure." He paused for a moment. "And I just got a message from him that they're waiting on us." Jeff grinned. "Game faces on! We'll be up and running within minutes." He turned to Dr. Hardy. "Ready, Doc?"

"Yeah, well, in a few minutes. I gotta go up to the control room and make sure nobody dropped anything valuable."

Jeff nodded. "Hold the fort, fellows." He gave them a thumbs-up and headed for the control room stairs with Dr. Hardy.

Chris watched them go, then turned back to the others and shrugged. "Uh, I guess we just stand here and make sure nobody does anything stupid."

Several minutes passed. The rings swirled sedately, creating small intermittent breezes inside the closed dome. The perpetual hum was low and distant, almost imperceptible. Chris shifted his three point sling slightly, keeping his rifle muzzle pointed safely at the ground.

Jeff's voice came over the intercom. "All personnel. Standby for final countdown, starting at T minus one minute."

A warning klaxon sounded, and numbers appeared on holographic projections around the room, counting backwards from 60.

Jeff's voice continued over the loudspeakers. "Main power in thirty seconds. Clear the ring perimeter."

Chris looked around the room, and saw the security personnel giving a thumbs up to show the area was clear. He looked back towards the control room and nodded, giving Jeff a thumbs up. In the window Jeff responded with a similar gesture, and a digital female computer voice took over the announcements.

"Main power online in ten seconds," the computer stated calmly. "Five. Four. Three. Two. One. System is live."

There was a huge clank as enormous relays slammed closed somewhere underground. Powerful lights came on in the ceiling, aimed towards the Gate pad.

"Activating Gate in ten seconds."

"Five."

"Four."

"Three."

"Two."

"One. Initiate Phase One."

A deep thrumming sound emanated from below. It grew louder, seeming to come from the Earth, or the air itself, like a distant thunderstorm. As it rose, there was a flash from the rings. Bolts of electricity began leaping between them, and a glow rose from their pale surfaces as they rotated faster, flashing and crackling.

"Standby for live feed from Gate Two."

Chris's HUD glowed to life. It was an image of the exact same thing happening on the island two hundred miles away. He nudged the image off to the corner of his visor and continued to watch the gate in front of him. The rings swiftly increased velocity, the bolts of electricity becoming a plasma field surrounding the center of the room.

"Initiating Phase Two."

The rings glowed translucently as they spun in a blur, whirling around in a seemingly random dance. Inside them, the empty space had the flickering look of air over a hot road in summer. Glowing orbs appeared and vanished. Space itself warped and flexed, distorting Chris's view of the room beyond. The rings looked like glass now, totally transparent, pure energy spinning at such speed that it looked as if a giant crystal ball floated liquidly in the air before them. Even though the speed of the rings was unimaginably fast, there was only the slightest breeze from them, as if they had become immaterial.

"Initiating Phase Three."

Nothing changed.

"Seeking connection."

"Retrying connection."

Chris glanced at the remote feed from the other Gate far out on the island. Oddly enough, it appeared in the HUD monitor that Gate 2 was already connected. Then the feed disconnected into blackness.
He looked back towards the control room questioningly.

***

On the monitor in the control room, Spencer peered at Jeff from the Gate 2, miles away across the ocean. "It looks like we are connecting on this end," his voice came over the speakers.

Jeff frowned and looked at the display bank in front of him. "I'm showing a phase mismatch here. Are you certain it is not a malfunction?"

"No, it is definitely activa-"

A brilliant flash came from the remote monitor. The camera watching the remote gate blinked out and was replaced with a NO SIGNAL error message.

Jeff's eyes snapped back to the other monitor, seeing snow and static instead of Spencer.

"What the hell?"

"Sir, there's been some kind of an EMP surge at the remote facility, coming from Gate. All their commlinks are knocked out. The island has gone dark."

"Get the backup system online!" Jeff said, and flipped up an older LCD monitor, plugging several cables into it. He turned it on to a black screen. "Is the fiber link up?"

"Yes. There's no signal yet. Wait. There it is!"

The screen flickered, then steadied.

Spencer's face appeared. "We've got a situation here. Hold on a moment." In the remote view, Spencer stood up, yelling something unintelligible. Red warning lights blazed and the overhead lighting was flickering randomly.

"Spencer? What in the hell is going on in there?"

He sat and talked quickly to Jeff. "Something overloaded. Half the lights are out. We've lost the primary controls."

Sparks and smoke started fountaining out of the equipment behind him.

"Abort! Shut it down!"

Spencer was standing up and shouting again. Incoherent voices replied, and the connection became intermittent and pixellated.

Jeff stood as well.

"Oh hell. Shut ours down too! Abort the connection!"

A technician pressed some buttons, and then looked back at him. "Sir, we can't. We've latched on, and the gate is holding."

"Holding? Well power it down."

The technician slapped some more buttons, and then frowned. "It's not responding, sir. The controls are shut down, but the gate is still active."

Dr. Hardy stepped up and looked out the window and into the heart of Gate 1. The other side of the room seemed to stretch and distort, as if it were rushing away. A wave of white noise rose to crescendo, and a powerful gust of wind blew out of the center of the gate. Immediately after the blast of air, all fell silent. The rings had vanished completely, phased out of continuity with the local space-time. An enormous glowing bubble like a giant water drop suspended in a zero gravity field floated and distorted eerily in the center of the now silent machine.

Dr. Hardy glanced back at Jeff. "The anomaly should collapse if the main power is cut."

He leaned in to look at the power feed panels. "It is showing zero input power at the trunk lines. However, the anomaly is still active. It appears to have become self-sustaining."

Spencer's voice crackled from the commlink. "Jeff? Jeff!"

Jeff leaned down. "Spencer? what's goin-"

Spencer interrupted him. "Something is coming through our gate! Someth... Oh, what in the... What the HELL is that?"

Spencer leaned forward. "Jeff! Something's in the gate room! I don't know what the hell it is but it's big and it's..." He was interrupted by the sound of sustained gunfire. "There's another. And another. We're under attack!

More gunfire, and distant screams.

"Oh shit. We're getting overrun."

Spencer stood up again, and this time Jeff could clearly make out what he was saying.

"Evacuate! Evacuate the island! Send every combat robot into the gate room and evacuate!"

Spencer leaned down to the camera again as technicians rushed past him. "We're getting out of here, the guns aren't stopping them. Some kind of force fields. I've never seen anything like it. I've sounded an evacuation alert to get all personnel off the island, and-"

Suddenly there was the crash of shattering glass, and one of the technicians flew screaming past Spencer and slammed into the wall with a wet slap. His neck bent at an absurd angle and blood sprayed as his head flattened and deformed, crushed like a rotten tomato dropped from a skyscraper. His body crumpled to the ground, twitching slightly.

Spencer looked up at something behind the camera, and his face drained of all color. The room was silent except for the hissing spatter of sparking equipment and the buzz of flickering ceiling lights. Spencer's eyes continued to stare past the camera, and Jeff could see the sanity draining from his mind.

"Spencer! What do you see? Spencer!"

Spencer smiled, and it was the horrifyingly empty grimace of a man with a broken mind. He giggled and trailed his fingers across his mouth. "Ehehehehe! Ehehehehehe!

A tentacle reached into the field of view, the end of it looking like a giant pair of ant mandibles with an insectoid head above them, the eyes flicking back and forth.

Jeff bellowed. "Snap out of it! Get out of there!"

The suddenly crazed man burbled and laughed while the insectile claws reached for him, caressed his hair gently, then slowly drifted underneath his chin.

Spencer's eyes were feverish with madness, and he chortled and shook, smiling and babbling like a child.

The claw lifted his chin up gently, and the eyes on it gazed into his, curious, inhuman, and cold as ice.

Then suddenly it snipped his head almost completely off.

A thin flap of skin at the back of his neck kept his head connected as it flopped backwards, his tortured eyes aware and awake until finally they dropped out of sight behind his back. A geyser of blood rushed from his torso, and the tentacle slammed down the hole of Spencer's neck and into his body, thrashing around wildly like a roto-rooter in a clogged drain. The sound was nauseating as bone, sinew, and internal organs flew in chunks out of the neck hole.

More tentacles leapt eagerly into the field of view.

The backup commlink unit was knocked over and crushed in the chaos, and the screen went blank.

NO SIGNAL.

Jeff fell back, gasping for breath, his eyes wide in abject horror. He tried to speak but nothing came out.

Then the flickering light from the active anomaly of Oblivion Gate One caught his attention and broke the spell.

"SOMEBODY TURN THAT DAMN THING OFF RIGHT NOW!"

***

An hour later, the gate was still active.

Jeff stared at it from the control room, glowing and shifting beyond the rows of armed men, robots, and vehicles that waited vigilantly for something to breach the surface. He sighed heavily. All attempts to close it so far had failed, but they still had not been attacked by anything.

"In the shadow of the gods, men are but insects, and we must tread softly, lest the great ones by chance lower their gaze, and be offended by our presence," he mused quietly to himself.

"Sir?" One of the technicians going over the gate control circuitry looked at him quizzically.

"Never mind, tis naught but the passing thoughts of a tired mind."

The man nodded and returned to work.

Jeff's headset beeped softly.

"Go ahead."

"Sir, this is security control. We have confirmation that a boat has escaped from the island."

Jeff inhaled sharply. "Survivors?"

"It would appear so, however we believe their communications equipment may be damaged, as they do not respond to radio hails. They are headed towards us at a high rate of speed."

"Keep an eye on that boat's travel. Set up a security contingent on the docks in preparation for arrival. Bring gun trucks. Have medical teams standing by, but remember this may be a hostile action."

"Understood."

"And get me some drone coverage on the island. I want to know if anything tries to leave."

"Sir, about the drone. We already have one en route, however there are some highly unusual weather patterns forming in the immediate vicinity of the island that will prevent direct aerial coverage."

"Do you have a visual?"

"Standby."

An image of the island appeared on his AR goggles. A heavy, low cloud was forming over the land. It was still far off, but it appeared to be swirling in a circular motion.

"Is that a tornado?"

"If it is, it's huge. And stationary, the cloud has not moved from it's current position since we acquired visual contact. And we can see no apparent funnel."

"Get as close as you can. Keep me appraised."

"Affirmative, sir."

Jeff looked back at the light of the Gate, and tapped his fingers on the edge of the console in front of him absently. "Can't wait for that boat to arrive," he mumbled to himself. "By then it may be too late." He made a decision.

"Chris!"

"Yeah Jeff?" Chris replied through the headset.

"Bring your team in here, we need to talk. Put another team in charge of the gate room for now."

"Roger that."

***

"So you see what must be done." Jeff leaned back in his chair, looking at the security squad over his folded fingers.

"I'll be honest. I don't care for this idea at all. It sounds like a suicide mission. We haven't even tested the gate," Chris replied.

Dr. Hardy folded his arms. "We are prepping a robot right now to check the far side. It's risky, yes. But I'm afraid, after seeing what happened at Gate 2, we have little choice."

"I still don't like it."

Jeff sighed. "Believe me, I would rather be going through with you, but I have responsibility here. I have to begin organizing a response to what happened out there immediately. I don't have the luxury of doing whatever I want these days."

Chris leaned forward slightly in his own chair. "We are not the most qualified operatives you have to be the first exploration team into unknown territory."

Jeff looked at the four of them silently, then spoke. "I know. Were you going up against any form of human enemy, you would be correct, and I would choose a team of prior special forces personnel. However, I think we can both agree that we are not facing humans. We are facing something completely unknown."

He paused. "I chose you because you are a bunch of nerds."

Chris scowled. "You're pulling my leg."

"Not at all. I chose you not simply because you are all adept at using firearms, but because Hamilton likes survival horror games. You've read a lot science fiction, Chris. Sanchez likes military science fiction also. And McAllister is a lazy, sneaky bastard and adept at cheating the system, even in the simulator."

"Why thank you," McAllister said, sweetly.

"Oh, the honor is entirely mine. You're a smart man McAllister, when you choose to use it. That's why I haven't fired you for not showing up to all those meetings that somehow logged you as present anyway."

Chris shot him the evil eye, and McAllister tried unsuccessfully to look as innocent as possible.

Jeff looked at Chris. "The benefit here is that all your minds are accustomed to comprehending and analyzing things that go beyond the realm of normal, day-to-day life."

Chris and his team said nothing,

Jeff continued. "None of us knows what you guys will see over there. None of us knows... if you will survive. However, I believe that you have a better chance of surviving than the average operator, and you are better prepared to interpret what you see than most."

Chris exhaled noisily. "Well. That is... not what I had expected. But I see where you are coming from."

They both glanced at the large monitor, which was displaying a live feed from the active gate, surrounded by a growing crowd of heavily-armed men, robots, and vehicles.

Jeff spoke again. "We may have little time. Something could come through that gate at any moment, and we have no idea what is on the other side. You and your team have to depart immediately."

Chris sighed, and looked at the other three. They replied with silent nods. "Got it. Let us grab the guns and the gear."

Jeff reached out and put a hand on Chris's shoulder. "Thank you. And watch your asses, all of you. I've already..." Jeff paused, and swallowed hard. "I've already lost one friend today. I don't need to lose any of you guys also."

McAllister grunted. "Why don't you just give us one of the armored trucks? We'll drive on through and if anyone starts any crap we'll light them up."

Jeff frowned. "Once opened, the Oblivion Gate's spatial anomaly expands slowly to maximum size. It will be several hours yet before we can send anything larger than a human through, and a full-size vehicle theoretically will not be feasible for at least several days."

"Well that sucks."

"Yes it does. And we can't really wait that long to see what happens."

"Then let's arm up and roll out."

Chapter 5: Through the Looking Glass

View Online

"Control, Alpha Team, radio check."

"Alpha Team, Control, Lima Charley."

Chris adjusted his throat mic slightly and turned toward the active Gateway, surrounded by heavy security bots and armed men, several wearing exo suits like his own.

The four-legged robotic probe stood nearby. Two men in lab coats were making final adjustments. It twitched slightly, responding to test commands. One man nodded and stood up, the other shook his head and reached back in with a screwdriver.

Chris glanced back at his team. Sanchez was checking the magazines for his rifle one last time, pushing down on the bullets inside before sliding them back into his tac vest. Hamilton and McAllister both stared at the gate, their rifles aimed at the floor. Noticing his gaze, McAllister made eye contact and grinned. “Gonna be one for the history books."

Chris smiled a little. "It will be at that."

Jeff's voice rang out over the loudspeaker system. ”Robotic probe is ready and standing by. Prepare for insertion."

As the scientists walked away from the robot, it stepped towards the gateway, metal legs smacking the ground rhythmically.

All eyes were on the massive gate now, and the doglike robot striding towards it. The bubble-like surface of the Gateway's perimeter anomaly stretched and pulsed with otherworldly energy currents, distorting the image of whatever world lay beyond.
The machine stopped on the extreme edge of the anomaly. There was no sound from any of the personnel present in the dome, the background rushing of the endless waterfalls filling the dome in the expectant silence. The robot stood perfectly still for a moment, then an arm unfolded and extended out towards the anomaly field.

A video feed activated on the monitors around the area, directly from a camera on the end of the robot's arm. As it pressed against the field, the anomaly gave inward slightly, like a water balloon being poked with a hesitant finger. Then the arm slowly slid past the surface.

The video feed became a confused kaleidoscope of colors and shapes that continued until the robotic arm was pulled back out, unharmed.

"Enable autonomous mode."

The robot shook itself and refolded the manipulators, moving freely as if it had suddenly awoken from a trance.

"Begin survey."

The robot walked into the anomaly bubble and vanished from sight.

"Signal lost."

A countdown timer began on the monitors, starting at ten minutes.

People shuffled around and started talking amongst each other in low tones.

Chris spoke into his headset "Dr. Hardy? Were we supposed to lose contact with the probe like that?"

"Ah, what? Oh, yes, well... that is why we put the probe in autonomous mode. I had hoped our communications would penetrate the Gateway, but it appears there is more interference than anticipated. Anyway, the probe should be running environmental tests now, and return right around the end of the countdown."

"Roger that." Chris waited, gripping his rifle.

As the countdown neared zero, the room became quiet again.

Zero came and went.

Several seconds later, the probe came through in a graceful arc, landing on its now-muddy feet. It was oblivious to the numerous eyes and weapons tracking it as it came to rest.

Dr. Hardy came over the loudspeaker. "Signal restored. Probe reports no nuclear, biological, or chemical contamination. Atmospheric readings Earth-normal. Gravity Earth-normal. Downloading recorded video feed now... Wait for it... aaaaaand here we go!"

The monitors flickered and displayed a crystal-clear video of a forest. The view bounced around as the probe walked a short distance from the gate, then stabilized and stopped moving as it began testing the environment.

McAllister grunted. "Well, that looks simple enough."

Chris squinted at the monitor. "I expected... Well, I don't know what I expected. But not an ordinary forest."

Sanchez scratched his stubbled chin. "Hey man, it just LOOKS ordinary from here. For all we know, those trees could be man-eating plants."

Hamilton scowled. "Or they could be just trees."

Nothing else happened in the remaining minutes of the video. The probe robot finished running tests, walked back to the gate bubble which appeared to be hanging in empty air in the middle of a clearing, and leapt through.

The recording ended.

Jeff spoke. "Off-world site indicates no obvious threats. Your team is cleared for departure."

"Affirmative." Chris gestured towards the gate. "Alright, let's do this."

With a soft whine of exo servos, the four men strode towards the gate.

"You know, this feels odd doesn't it?" Hamilton said as they walked onto the large extendable bridge that crossed the ring gap and reached to the center platform.

"Say what?" Chris replied.

"This area. This is right where the rings were spinning earlier before they disappeared. I mean, they're still here, aren't they? Just out of phase with us."

"Yeah, that... that's true." Chris noticed the faintest shimmer in the air, but felt nothing as he stepped through after only the briefest hesitation. They continued to the pad four abreast, and spread out slightly, standing in front of the shifting, flowing spatial anomaly bubble.

The room got quiet again as Chris reached out and gingerly touched the field. It gave slightly, and he pushed until his hand slid in, the bubble engulfing it up to the elbow. He pulled back, and his hand slid out. He waggled his fingers around, then turned halfway back towards the others.

"Feels like water or something. Okay, I'll go first. Send the robot back in as a courier once we're through."

Jeff's voice came across the headset again. "Good luck, Team Alpha. Get back here at the first sign of trouble."

"Roger wilco." Chris took a deep breath, and walked into the bubble.

For a moment, the universe spun around him, and he felt as if he had fallen into a dizzying pool of color and light. Almost instantly it was over, and he slipped and staggered forward a few steps on wet grass.

He steadied himself and immediately scanned his surroundings. His head swiveled back and forth rapidly, his rifle at the ready.

He was standing in a brightly lit grassy clearing, with dark, heavy forests all around the perimeter. He glanced up, seeing a crystal blue sky with no clouds and the sun high in it. Butterflies flitted about the small meadow, and there were scattered dandelions poking through the lush grass.

Behind him, he heard the other three coming through.

Sanchez immediately took up a spot on his left, McAllister on the right, and Hamilton began checking around the Gate.

"Well that's one small step for me, and one gigantic manly dong swinging over this virgin planet," McAllister said, grinning evilly. "Please tell me those are the first words spoken by a human on this world."

Chris groaned audibly as he realized it was true. "Congratulations, McAllister. You've just forever ruined a truly historic moment. How does it feel?"

"Pretty damn good, man." McAllister said, shamelessly. He swung his head around. "Uh, this looks like Earth. Tell me I didn't waste my witty comments on the Ozarks or something."

"Birds, there are birds," Sanchez added.

Chris looked up again. There was Indeed a small flock of songbirds soaring above the meadow.

"They look ordinary enough. Is it possible we are still on Earth?"

McAllister tapped his HUD controls for a moment. "GPS reports no satellites found, coordinates unknown."

"Interesting. Keep your eyes open."

Chris keyed up his comms. "Control? Do you copy? Jeff? Dr. Hardy? Anyone?" The channel remained silent. He looked at Hamilton. "Well, we haven't been attacked yet. Let's have a look around."

At that moment, the probe followed them through the gate.

Hamilton raised one finger. "Just a moment." He leaned over and spoke quietly to the robot.

"I just ordered it to return to the Gate as fast as possible if anything... goes wrong. There is no GPS, but it has ways of remembering how to get back here. The other side will need to see whatever happens to us."

Chris grimaced. "An unpleasant thought, but a good idea nonetheless. Actually, that makes me think. Wireless comms aren't working, but could we perhaps try having the probe drag a wire or fiber link through the gate and see if we can communicate over it?"

Hamilton looked thoughtful. "It's certainly worth a try. I wish I'd thought of that."

"Give the probe the message and send it back through, they can start working on it while we investigate further."

Hamilton spoke to the robot again. Then he stood and gave Chris a thumbs up while it trotted back through the gate.

Sanchez spoke up. "I see a path leading into the forest over here. It's pretty dark in there."

The other three came up behind him and peered ahead. The path was several feet wide, beaten dirt.

Sanchez pointed. "It looks better maintained than an animal trail. Look, the branch on that tree. It's been cut in the past."

Hamilton squinted. "A blade, like a machete?"

McAllister kept glancing behind them. "I'm planting a tracking beacon here." He pulled a small device out of his pocket, unfolded it into a short pole, and stabbed into the earth with a whir of his exo servos. "Beacon is online, I see it in my HUD. Everyone else got it?"

There were several grunts of agreement.

Chris pointed toward the path again. "I think we need to find out where that goes."

There was a sudden noise at the gate; the robot had returned.

An audio message played across their headsets. "Glad to see you guys are okay. We have technicians building a wired communications relay system now. It should be ready inside a few hours. Proceed however you think is best, you are on the far side of that gate, not me. We are going to send a second team through shortly to cover the gate area."

On cue, another four-man team appeared from the gateway.

Chris waved and keyed up his communicator. "Comm check."

One of the newcomers gave a thumbs up. "Lima Charley!"

"We're gonna go check things out."

"Go ahead, we'll secure the perimeter and keep an eye on things here."
Chris turned back to his team.

"Well, we didn't come here to do nothing. Let's take the path and see where it goes."

Scanning their surroundings, the four men began walking down the path, the dirt soft under their steel-toed combat boots. Almost immediately after they entered the trees, it became rapidly darker. By the time they had gone thirty or forty feet, the light had reduced to a gloomy dusk.

Chris squinted. "Some thick tree cover here."

Miguel's eyes darted around. "Keep an eye on the ground too. Could be snakes. Or something."

Hamilton chimed in. "Not a big fan of the 'or something' myself. And it feels like it isn't even daytime in here."

The sound of night insects and crickets grew thicker as they continued forward for a long distance. Unseen things moved through the brush, but the few moving things they had seen all looked normal for any Earth forest.

Hamilton paused, squinting into the gloom. "Guys, I saw a rabbit. I'm pretty sure this is Earth."

Chris stopped too. "It may look like Earth, but we are on the other side of the gate. This may not be our Earth. It may be a different time. It could be anything. We have to be careful."

Sanchez agreed. "And even on Earth, this place could be dangerous. We don't know where we are. Those things we saw on the video. They may be from here. By the way, how far have we come?"

"About a mile. Look up ahead. I think that's a wider road," McAllister said.

They began walking forward again.

Even though they kept a sharp eye behind, they did not notice a large, dark form trailing them silently in the shadows.

***

It was over an hour later of walking under the looming trees before they saw a notable variation in the scenery.

"Look." Hamilton pointed.

By the side of the road, a large red flower glowed and danced in the breeze. Only there was no breeze. The air was perfectly still.

"The hell is that? Hang on, I'll check it out." Sanchez stepped off the road and into the brush, heading carefully towards the strange flower.

Chris called out to him. "Careful, there might be something in the bushes."

"Yeah, I don't see anything yet though." He was about ten feet away, stepping carefully and peering into the bushes, when something rustled in the grass. "Uh oh. Looks like some kind of a green snake here, after all." He tried to step back and stumbled over a vine that had wrapped itself around his foot.

"What the-"

He kicked at it, and it tightened, abruptly yanking him off his feet and hauling him towards the bushes.

"GET OFF ME!"

He grabbed the root of a tree with his left hand as he slid past, and hung on. The strength of the vine gradually increased, and his fingers started to slip. He tried to use his free hand to swing the rifle around and take a shot, but was unable to do so without shooting himself in the leg.

The vine jerked again, and he dropped the rifle and grabbed the root with both hands.

Sanchez had just enough time to see Chris, Hamilton, and McAllister chasing after him before the root tore loose and he was sliding through the underbrush again, his rifle sling dragging the weapon along behind him.

Chris ran harder as Sanchez vanished into the undergrowth. As he approached, he looked for an attacker in the bushes. He saw nothing, and a second later he was being yanked sideways by an iron grip around his own ankles. He hit the ground hard, his gun landing in the dirt. He held onto the rifle, but was soon sufficiently tangled in the bushes that he could not get it at aimed at a remotely useful angle. He was dragged along at some speed in the same direction as Sanchez.

McAllister went down too, but Hamilton pulled a machete from his belt, swinging it swiftly down and severing the vine that held him. A misty spray of blood shot from the vine, and an animalistic howl of pain erupted from somewhere out of sign in the forest as the "vine" curled up and snaked away hastily.

Hamilton helped McAllister up and he drew his own machete, then they rushed towards the bushes, this time watching the ground carefully for any additional tendrils.

McAllister pointed. "I see a way through!" Machete in hand, he leapt over the smaller underbrush and after a few moments of pushing his way through plants he entered a small clearing.

The smell of death hit him like a wave, flipping his stomach and making him grimace involuntarily.

The first thing visible were piles of bones and partially dissolved animal carcasses. Deer and rabbit skeletons lay next to fragments of things that were beyond recognition. Flies buzzed in a great cloud over the scattered, rotting remains.

The second thing he saw was vine-like tendrils reaching down from overhead, several of them heading back towards the road. He looked up to see where they were coming from, and his eyes widened in horror.

"Oh hell."

Behind him he heard Hamilton cursing under his breath.

Suspended from the trees overhead were several objects that looked like a Venus flytrap with leaves the size of a twin bed. Each one was connected to an equally large potato body, with multiple long hooked legs holding it to the tree. Two eye stalks with compound eyes like basketballs swung from one end of each potato on long stalks. They were covered with slime, and some were moving in slow, sloth-like motions. The creatures were almost invisible with their drab-colored bodies until they opened their rosily colored traps.

As they watched, one of the creatures opened and the slimy half-digested corpse of a bear fell to the ground with a wet plop. The creature's tentacle unfurled after it, dropping towards the clearing.

"Where the hell are..."

McAllister trailed off as Chris and Sanchez slid into view on their backs, connected to two of the tentacles. They were being reeled in with considerable speed.

There was only time to act. Without a word Hamilton and McAllister ran over to the others. As they approached with machetes at the ready, the ground suddenly came alive with more tentacles and ensnared them both.

Struggling in vain, the four men were dragged roughly towards the slavering trap monsters.

"Shit!" McAllister bellowed, trying fruitlessly to swing the machete below his feet. He swung again and again, narrowly missing his own legs but unable to make contact with the tendril.

As the thrashing men began the unpleasant vertical journey into the trees and certain, agonizing death, a hooded figure rushed into the clearing and threw a bottle high into the leafy tree canopy.

There was a brilliant flash and a shock wave of energy.

The creatures in the tree let out an unearthly squeal of pain and frustration. The tentacles holding the four men released instantly, and the entire clearing became a waving nightmare snake pit of thrashing tentacles and disturbed bones clattering together.

Several of the disoriented monsters fell shrieking from the tree onto the ground with a noisy splat, moving feebly while pools of blood spread around them.

A strongly accented female voice rang out.

"Hurry! The distraction will not be long, and when their wits they compose, we must be gone!"

Chris and the others required no further incentive. Picking themselves up off the ground and grabbing their weapons, they rushed towards the seemingly inhuman four-legged figure.

As they approached it, it reached up with one of its front hooves and pushed the hood back.

The head of a creature much like a zebra appeared from underneath. Large gold earrings hung from her decidedly feminine face. Her hair was pushed up in a black and white Mohawk, and a series of golden rings hung around her neck. She was breathing heavily as she regarded them with large, intelligent blue eyes.

Chris took it in stride and continued towards her, but then he plowed into Hamilton, who was staggering slightly.

"Ze... Zecora???"

The zebra's eyes widened in surprise.

"My name you speak! But time is short, go now or the future is bleak!"

Hamilton looked dazed. "This is a dream."

Chris shook him. "Pull it together man, or it's about to become a damn nightmare."

He gave him a push towards the road, and together they poised to rush back through the bushes.

Then they saw it, creeping quietly toward them and blocking their escape to the road.

The creature was similar to the others, but at least ten feet tall and walking freely on the ground with four clawed legs. It had two other longer legs in front with evil-looking scythes on the end of them. This one had no flytrap on its back, instead carrying what appeared to be a large egg sac, and a smaller mouth-like sphincter opening underneath the eye stalks. It was obvious that this creature did not hang quietly from a tree. This was a hunter, and left little doubt that it could move with speed.

It regarded them coldly, light reflecting from the facets of gigantic compound eyes.

Chris didn't have to be told to know what he was looking at. "Brood mother."

His horrified whisper met silence as the others looked towards the beast.

One more of the tree-larva monsters fell a short distance away, exploding on impact with a squelching sound.

The brood mother let out a hiss like a steam locomotive.

Zecora spoke softly.

"I have no tricks for a monster like this one! And it will certainly kill us if we turn and run!"

"Well, lets hope our guns are enough."

Chris, Hamilton, McAllister, and Sanchez stepped forward, shouldering their rifles.

The monster hissed and crouched to spring.

Suddenly, a male voice came from the road behind the monster.

"Hey ugly!"

The creature's eye stalks swiveled back, distracted.

"Catch!"

A metal sphere flew through the air, landing on the ground in front of the monster.

The creature squawked with rage and snatched the canister up, then shoved it into the sphincter-mouth.

There was an expectant silence while it sucked on the object thoughtfully.

Then it exploded in a fireball.

Guts sprayed in every direction, leaving steaming chunks of foul matter hanging from the trees and bushes.

"Jeez, didn't your mama ever teach you not to take candy from strangers? Oh, and I'm out of grenades, so you guys had better get your wits about you before something else happens," the voice from the road commented matter-of-factly.

Chapter 6: A Walk in the Woods

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Chris and his squad crashed through the underbrush and crunched onto the gravel. As they entered the road, Chris saw another horse-like creature waiting for them impatiently.

He stopped to stare. The being in front of him was about four feet tall. It was mostly black, with extremely large blue eyes and a mane with blue and purple streaks in it. It had what appeared to be a tactical vest on, but the overall most prominent feature was the black horn sticking out from its forehead.

"Unicorn," Chris said, stupidly.

Hamilton spoke up, sounding oddly cheerful, given the circumstances. "Uh, actually, I think he has wings."

The creature shook his head and spoke. "Uh, yeah I do."

Two large black wings unfolded from his side, then refolded neatly, becoming almost invisible again.

"Alicorn," Hamilton said, almost reverently.

"Yes, I'm an Alicorn. If you don't mind my asking, what are you?"

Chris brushed his hand through his hair. "Um, we are, ah, people. Humans. Oh, and was that you who threw the grenade? Thank you, you saved our butts."

The Alicorn looked a little embarrassed. "Yeah, no problem. But it won't happen again. Not because I don't wanna help, just, that was my last grenade and all..."

He paused, for a long moment, then both Chris and the Alicorn spoke unison. "Can you tell me where I am?"

There was a brief awkward silence, then Zecora answered their mutual question.

"This road on which we stand,
Runs through Everfree Forest lands."
She waved a hoof forward along the road, pointing ahead.
"Going that direction for a short way,
We will reach Ponyville and the light of day."

A rustling sound came from the bushes at the edge of the road behind Zecora.

"Incoming!"

Several gunshots rang out, and a squeal from one of the things back in the clearing registered a hit.

Chris looked to see who had fired, and the Alicorn had what looked like two Glock handguns suspended in the air in front of him, held by fields of blue energy. His horn was glowing in the same color, surrounded by rippling magic. He continued to watch the bushes nervously.

"I think it might be a good idea if we went to whatever place the lady was just talking about, or like, anywhere but here. I don't want to wait around and see what comes out of the bushes next."

"I couldn't agree more. Lets get out of here." Chris waved at the others and they walked down the road, he and the Alicorn side by side in the lead.

McAllister waved his hand for Zecora to pass him. "After you ma'am, I will cover the rear."

Zecora nodded her thanks and fell into the group ahead of McAllister. As they followed the road, Chris called the Gate crew on his headset and warned them about the creatures in the forest, suggesting they bring through additional defense resources and keep an eye on the treeline.

"We have encountered friendlies as well. Don't shoot anything that looks like a horse. Got it?" He listened to the reply, then he spoke to the Alicorn again.

"So, I'm Chris. What's your name?"

"I'm Marky. If you don't mind my asking, where are you guys from? I've never seen anything like you before, outside of a zoo." He shook his head. "I'm sorry that came out all wrong. I mean, you look like... primates..." He closed his eyes briefly, put a hoof to his head and sighed. "Sorry again, I'm really on a roll right now aren't I?"

Chris chuckled. "Don't worry about it. After what you did for us back there, you can call me a tree-swinging ape and I won't take offense."

Marky grimaced. "Uh, I think I just did. Twice."

They both laughed.

Behind them, Hamilton was excitedly talking at Zecora. "You said Ponyville! Really? Ponyville?"

Zecora opened her mouth to answer, but Hamilton kept right on asking more questions, his excitement growing by the second.

"You're really Zecora aren't you? Are you real? Is any of this real? I think I may have lost my mind and this is all just a hallucination!"

He popped himself on the head with his hand a few times. Before he could begin babbling again, McAllister cut in. "Excuse me ma'am, but, where did you come from? I appreciate your saving us and all, but I am wondering how you found us."

Zecora tossed her head at him.

"A trip to Ponyville I began to make,
I saw the light flicker from the Gate.
I entered the woods on the far side of the clearing,
I saw you just as you were leaving."

"You followed us?"

Zecora nodded.
"Four strange armed creatures stalking the woods,
I used as much caution as I possibly could.
I did not know what you came here seeking,
So I listened to your conversation while I was sneaking."

McAllister nodded. "I see. A wise tactical move. And thank you again for saving us. I thought we were all going to die horribly, and you came in and changed all that. I won't forget it."

Hamilton, who had seemingly calmed down enough to actually listen, joined in. "I won't forget it either. You are every bit as amazing as I always imagined you would be."

Zecora looked at him curiously.

"You seem familiar with this world and I,
Yet how can this be?
Surely I've never before laid eye,
On a creature of your kind.
Pray tell me, why?"

McAllister joined in. "Yeah seriously dude, what the hell is up with that?"

Hamilton blinked. "Oh, my bad. Yeah, I can see how that would be a bit, well... Creepy."

He looked thoughtful. "Uh, where I come from... you are, kind of famous."

Zecora and McAllister just stared at him.

"Uh, heard of My Little Pony?"

Zecora shook her head.

"Well, I'm a fan of it and-"

McAllister interrupted him with a crude laugh. "You're a damn Brony aren't you? Ha! That little-girl rainbow pony crap? What are you, six?"

Hamilton flushed. "Hey man, look around you, it's paying off isn't it?"

It was McAllister's turn to look thoughtful. "Touche."

"And you see how bad-ass they are. If it wasn't for that 'little girl pony crap' we'd all be gargling some screwed-up monster's stomach acid right now."

"You're right. I'm sorry I said that."

Hamilton kept right on going. "In fact, these exos did nothing to save us, but these ponies did!"

McAllister spread his hands. "Dude, I said I was sorry. Calm down."

Zecora, who had been listening to the exchange with evident interest, interjected.

"This My Little Pony of which you speak,
My curiosity I can scarce contain.
Greater knowledge I seek,
But our composure we must maintain!

Sanchez gestured at them. "Chill out guys, we literally aren't out of the woods yet, and we don't need to be distracted by pointless bickering. Zecora, My Little Pony is a TV show where we come from. I don't know too much about it myself, but you do look like something I've seen from it on the shelf at Wal-Mart."

Zecora looked confused, and Sanchez quickly spoke again. "Wal-Mart is a store. We buy things there."

Zecora nodded hesitantly.

Hamilton nodded and chimed in again, speaking more slowly. “Okay, I think I can explain this better if I start from the beginning. On Earth, we have this thing called television..."

The conversation continued for some time as they walked through the dark forest. McAllister scanned the trees suspiciously, looking behind often for anything lurking in the shadows. The minutes dropped behind, with Hamilton droning on and Zecora nodding at intervals.

"So you see," Hamilton said, "Hasbro has been making popular shows and toys for, oh, I don't even know how many years..."

He was interrupted by Chris calling out from the front.

"Town up ahead!"

Chapter 7: Aliens Among Us

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The four humans and two ponies paused on a hill at the edge of the Everfree Forest and looked out over the valley sprawled out below them.

Numerous thatch-roofed houses and buildings nestled among hills and streams flowing through a luxuriously green valley surrounded by looming mountain peaks. Ponies could be seen moving about, although further details were difficult to see at their distance. Farther off, up in the mountains above and behind the town, a great city hung out over a huge drop from the largest peak. Waterfalls fell from the lower portions of the city as if it was a huge fountain.

Marky broke the silence. "What a quaint looking place."

Hamilton gasped. "It's even more beautiful than I imagined."

Chris squinted, trying to see the distant ponies better. "You know, in all the excitement I kind of forgot to ask. How friendly are the, uh, townspeople, with outsiders?"

Hamilton smiled and started to speak, but Chris cut him off. "I realize that you think you know a lot about this place, but look around you. This is an alien world, quite possibly an alien universe. It may differ greatly from what you expect in ways that could prove dangerous. Remember our little adventure in the woods."

Hamilton's face sobered. "I understand. I'm sorry, I am a bit overwhelmed."

Chris briefly put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. I want your input, your knowledge is valuable. But we have got to be careful." He looked at Zecora, who nodded.

"I understand your doubt,
But you may set yourself at ease,
The ponies hereabout,
Are friendly and easy to please."

Marky waved a hoof. "Looks pretty relaxed to me. Let's check it out huh?"

They pushed on, walking down the dirt path leading to town. After a short distance it became smoother and more traveled.

"Holy crap! It's a flying pony!" Sanchez pointed at a barely visible dot in the sky.

Marky grunted. "What do you think I am?"

Sanchez looked at him. "Huh?"

Marky fanned his wings up. "These wings, bro. They aren't just for show, they actually work you know."

Sanchez blinked. "I, uh... I didn't think about it."

Marky chuckled good-naturedly and refolded his wings.

"Well why are you walking this whole way then?" Sanchez asked.

"Because it would be kind of rude if all you guys were walking and I just took off flying around like a pigeon or something. Besides, walking is a lot more relaxing for me."

"Well yes, I do see how it would be rather difficult to hold a conversation in that case too."

At that moment a pink pony with wildly frizzy hair came bouncing towards them from the town, carrying a box of something on her back. It was a wonder the box did not fall off.

Chris stopped. "What in the...?"

"Hi Zecora! Hi strange black Alicorn! Hi freaky deaky aliens!"

"Good day to you Pinkie Pie!
Are those cupcakes I spy?"

"Hmm, they could be!"

The pink pony kept coming until she was right in Marky's face. "Hmmm, I don't recall seeing YOU around here before."

Marky smiled widely and went to speak, but Pinkie was already giving Chris the once-over, her eyes narrow with suspicion. "What kind of a freaky half-robot alien are you? Huh?"

"Well, uh, I'm a human, and I'm not half robot, this is my exoskeleton."

"Oh, well that explains everything then!" Pinkie's enormous smile returned instantly.

Chris continued. "We came here-"

Pinkie interrupted, talking so fast her words were almost indiscernible. "You came here through a gateway from your world and went exploring because you had no idea what to expect and almost got killed but Zecora saved you and now she is taking you here to see Princess Twilight because you need our help with something really bad that happened in your world!"

She looked sad for a moment as she realized what she had just said. "Something really, really bad."

Chris reeled. "How did you..."

Pinkie smiled again. "Just a guess." She immediately started hopping away. "Follow me!"

"I, hag, uh, what?" Chris choked. "I have no idea what she's talking about!"

Marky pushed Chris with his hoof. "Let's see where she's taking us."

McAllister spoke up too. "She said a Princess. I imagine if anyone could help us, that would be the place to start."

Pinkie was surprisingly fast, but she stopped and turned around. "Come on you guys, I've got cupcakes here!"

"Now she's speaking my language," Sanchez muttered, walking towards her.

The group followed her into town. Before long, they were attracting quite a bit of attention. Curious ponies of all colors and types collected around them, but stayed at a respectful distance. Some had unicorn horns, some flew on wings, and some had neither, like Pinkie Pie.

"Unicorns, Earth ponies, and Pegasus." Hamilton pointed them out to the others.

Marky was the only Alicorn present, and there were quite a few stares aimed his direction.

One of the shop doors nearby opened as they passed, and a pure white unicorn with purple hair came out.

"I simply must find myself some more gems and... My goodness, what is going on out here?"

She looked at the crowd in amazement.

Pinkie Pie beckoned to her. "Hey, Rarity! Come here and meet the aliens!"

Rarity's eyes grew big when she saw the humans, and she came towards them for a better look. "Whatever are you? And those clothes! I have never seen anything like it!"

"Uh, hello there, I'm Chris. We are..."

"Headed to Twilight's house!" Pinkie squealed.

Rarity was still amazed. "Metal clothes? What is this?"

Chris flexed his arm. "It's an exoskeletal suit. It's not exactly clothes, it... makes us better, faster, stronger."

McAllister rolled his eyes at Chris's choice of words. 'Harder."

Rarity's curiosity grew. "A magic suit?"

"Well actually, it's electronic."

"Robot suit!" Pinkie Pie said, helpfully.

"Robots are AWESOME!" a voice from above called.

Chris looked up just in time to see a blue streak plow into Marky and knock him over sideways. "OW! GET OFF!"

"Oops! Sorry!"

The blue Pegasus who had just wiped Marky out jumped up and began brushing herself off.

Marky, still laying on the ground, opened one eye and looked at her appreciatively. "Orrrr you could get back on again...?"

Chris poked him with his foot.

"Ow. What? I was just kidding!"

Rarity sniffed. "Nice of you to 'drop in', Rainbow Dash."

"Hey, it would have been an AWESOME landing if that guy hadn't got in the way!"

Marky scrambled to his feet and spread his wings, checking for broken bones and making sure his pistols were still in their holsters.

"Oh man! I didn't notice you were an Alicorn!"

"That matters?"

"Well, Alicorns are always important ponies. Aren't you important?"

Marky blinked. "I... don't know how to answer that? I mean I guess I did sort of an important job before, but eh, I've never been rich or anything."

Rainbow Dash looked at the humans. "And what are they? Some kind of dragons? They got funny-looking claws. And where's the scales?"

"Humans," Chris said patiently for the hundredth time. "We come from far away. And we're not dragons."

"Is that some kind of gun on your back? Cool! Can I hold it?"

Chris rotated his body so that the rifle slung on his back was facing away from Rainbow Dash.

"Uh, maybe later? It's dangerous."

"I live for danger," Rainbow Dash said, narrowing her eyes.

Just then, an orange pony wearing a cowboy hat approached the crowd, dragging a cart. "Hey there everypony! What's going on?"

Too many ponies answered at once.

"Alien!"

"Alicorn!"

"Robot!"

"They got claws!"

"Soft claws!"

She looked confused. "Say what naow?" She pulled a little closer and saw the four humans. "Well, ain't you a different bunch!"

Hamilton stopped staring at Rainbow Dash and looked at her. "Applejack! It's you! Did you bring pies?"

Applejack looked taken aback. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"No... Just, someone mentioned your name, or something..." Hamilton smiled artificially, then mumbled under his breath. "I have GOT to stop doing that."

Applejack surveyed the crowd, sensing a business opportunity. "Actually I do have pies here..." She opened her stand and began selling pies.

A festive atmosphere grew as nearby shop owners joined in. Before long, pies, drinks, popcorn, and other snacks were being sold, bought, and consumed. Ponies sat on benches around the street and at cafe tables, chattering excitedly.

Pinkie took a moment and talked briefly with Rainbow Dash, who flew off over the rooftops at high velocity. She then turned around and spoke to the others. "Guys, we can wait here. Rainbow Dash went to go and find Twilight." Pinkie Pie gleefully led them over to a nearby cafe table, and the group pushed a few tables together.

Chris, Marky, Zecora and the others sat down, with Rarity and Applejack joining them at the extended table. Chris picked up a menu, and frowned slightly. "What are bits?"

"The local currency," Hamilton said. "And be careful what you eat here. These ponies are vegetarians, and I'm not sure what a hayburger would do to a human stomach."

"Duly noted. We don't have any local currency anyway, so I guess that's out."

Rarity leaned in. "Don't worry darling, I'll buy."

"Thank you, but..." Chris trailed off, watching a gray cross-eyed flying mare get her head stuck in a mailbox across the street. "What the...?"

"What is it?" Rarity and the other ponies looked across the street, seeming not to notice the pony jammed in the mailbox as she struggled to pull her head free. Eventually it came loose with a pop, dropping her on her rear. She got up, seemingly unperturbed, and blundered down to the next mailbox, this time getting her forehoof stuck in the slot while trying to deliver a letter.

Chris shrugged dismissively. "Nothing, I guess."

The waiter approached, a well-dressed stallion carrying a notepad. "What can I get for you?"

After a short discussion, everyone ordered vanilla milkshakes. Rarity ordered three extras for Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. "They should arrive any time now."

Sure enough, just as the waiter was bringing the milkshakes, Rainbow Dash glided down, followed by a yellow Pegasus and a purple Alicorn. "Found em both!"

"This is PRINCESS Twilight Sparkle!" Pinkie said grandly. "THE PURPLE ONE," she added in a stage-whisper. "THE YELLOW ONE IS FLUTTERSHY."

Twilight Sparkle stepped forward. "Well hello there everypon- Oh my!"

The Alicorn was evidently startled by the sight of the humans, who had stood at Pinkie's introduction. They towered over even the tallest of the ponies.

"I have never seen... of course, you are most welcome!" Twilight said, nervously. Then she hissed at Rainbow Dash. "You didn't tell me they were... well... visitors, like this! I don't even have my crown."

"I TOLD you they were aliens!" Rainbow Dash said.

"But I didn't expect... Oh, my."

Chris smiled, equally nervously. "Thank you, uh, Your Highness, we are most honored to be in your, ah, illustrious presence."

Princess Twilight winced slightly, but returned the greeting after a moment's hesitation. "Greetings to you, fair stranger, what brings you hence to our green lands?"

Applejack grimaced. "Uh, why are you guys talkin like that? It sounds awkward as all hay."

Chris made a wry expression. "Well to be truthful, I've never met a princess before. I don't really know what to do around, um, royalty."

Twilight laughed and the tension went out of her body. "Well that's a relief. Just talk to me like you would any of the others here. I am a working princess, no special favors for me."

Rarity waved a hoof. "How about we try again, over the milkshakes this time?"

"That sounds great to me," Twilight said as she and Fluttershy sat down. "So, what's going on?"

Chapter 8: Around Town

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It took some time for the newcomers to fully explain their story to Twilight, even with Zecora's help.

Eventually, Twilight listened gravely while Chris and Marky recounted the incident with the monsters in the forest. "This could be a problem. Zecora, the creatures in the forest, have you seen anything like them before?"

Zecora shook her head.

"Many things have I encountered in Everfree Forest,
But the monsters are something weird.
An invader from elsewhere I've guessed,
Dangerous creatures to be feared."

Twilight rested her elbows on the table and placed her chin on her hooves thoughtfully. "I need to inform Princess Celestia of this. Your arrival here alone is unprecedented, and these things in the forest need to be dealt with before somepony gets hurt."

"Oh dear, did anypony try talking to them?" Fluttershy asked in her soft, gentle voice.

"Well it was kind of hard to have a nice conversation with the hungry monsters while we were hanging upside down on a rope ride to painful death," McAllister said sarcastically.

Fluttershy cringed visibly at his mocking tone.

Hamilton scowled and kicked McAllister in the shin, hard. "Be nice to her, you jerk. She's very sensitive!"

"Ow!" McAllister rubbed his shin and looked at Fluttershy. "I'm sorry."

"Oh... Oh... it's okay."

Twilight was deep in thought and was not paying attention their antics. "Judging from what I've heard, I don't know if there is any talking to be done to these things. Everfree Forest is not the most hospitable of environments, and from what you told me, they are turning it into a lunch buffet." She looked around. "Can I get the bill? We need to go to to the police station."

Rarity waved her hoof. "I'm taking care of it Twilight!"

The cafe owner came out behind the waiter. "Welcome to all of you!" He took the bill and tore it into pieces. "On the house today. You've brought me more business than I've had in a week!" He waved his hoof around, indicating the jam packed tables.

After thanking the owner, they hurried to the station, where Twilight organized a roadblock. "Tell your officers not to let anypony go down that road until I authorize it. There is some kind of monster infestation. Hold on a moment. Could one of you guys please describe the things to them?"

Marky leaned over and gave the dispatch officer a detailed description of the creatures in the forest. "Remember, watch where you step, stay on the road, the tentacles hide in grass!"

After Marky was finished, Twilight spoke again. "And could you please send an emergency message to Princess Celestia asking her to come to my castle?"

As they left the police station, Twilight sighed. "Usually I would have Spike send a message, but he's out buying groceries. I hope it arrives quickly."

"Who is Spike?" Marky asked.

"Oh, he's my... assistant. He's a dragon."

"A dragon? A fire breathing dragon?"

"Well yes. He breathes fire. Sometimes. Most dragons do."

"A tame dragon."

"Tame? I don't think that's a very appropriate word at all. He's a close friend of mine. For many years."

"I'm sorry," Marky said. "Where I come from, we don't have dragons at all."

"Well, it's also true that not all dragons are like Spike. Most of the dragons here can be quite dangerous. Oh and that's my house." She gestured with her hoof.

A gigantic purple and blue crystalline tree rose from the ground, towering over the other buildings in the area. Cradled by it, or perhaps part of it, was a beautiful purple castle, glittering in the sunlight.

Marky and the humans gaped upwards at the building suspended high above their heads.

"Wow. That's pretty amazing," Marky said. "How on earth did you build it? It looks like... Crystal."

"I didn't. It sort of... grew here."

The newcomers stared at Twilight.

"I had a smaller house once. A library inside a tree." She sounded wistful. "There was a... a battle. It... It was... destroyed." The note of sadness in her voice was unmistakable. She shook it off and smiled brightly. "Well, want to see the inside?" She led them towards the large door at the base of the crystal castle, and then up to the spacious main floor.

Marky looked around the massive entry hallway and whistled. "How big IS this place?"

"Big enough that I was almost afraid to live here at first," Twilight answered softly. "But my friends here helped me get over that. For the most part." She looked left and right, then called out. "Spike! Spike?! Are you home?" Her voice echoed through the unseen halls and rooms.

A small figure popped out of a door and came trotting down the massive hallway towards them. "Hi Twilight! What's going o- Sweet Celestia!" The little purple dragon skidded to a stop at the sight of the humans.

"It's alright Spike, they're new friends."

He recovered quickly. "Oh, er, well, nice to meet you guys then. Ohhh, hi Rarity! Say, I was just making dinner. I can make a little more for everyone. Do you like grilled eggplant and mozzarella sandwiches?"

"We really don't want to be an imposition," Chris started, but was interrupted by Marky's stomach growling. "Then again, eggplant and mozzarella sounds delicious."

"I expect Celestia will get here soon. We may as well have a bite while we wait," Twilight replied. "And I'm actually glad for the company."

"Princess Celestia is...? AEURGH!" Spike belched a flame. A scroll materialized from it and dropped into his claw. He unwrapped it and ran his eyes over the writing. "Celestia says she'll be here in twenty minutes. I'll go finish dinner." He trotted off and left the humans and Marky staring after him.

McAllister shrugged. "A miniature talking dragon who burps mail. Why not? It isn't any weirder than anything else I've seen today."

Twilight giggled at that, and led the group down the hall into her dining room.

The room was large, and even though the table and chairs in it were grandly sized, they did not fill even a quarter of the space.

"Please make yourselves comfortable!" Twilight gestured towards the chairs around the table. She hesitated. "Uh, those... what did you call them? She waved her hoof helplessly. "The armor suit things..."

"Oh, the exo suits." Chris waved his hand at the metal frame he was wearing.

"Yes, thank you, the exo suits. I forgot the name, we don't have things like that around here." Twilight gestured at them. "It looks a bit uncomfortable. If it's okay, you can take them off. I promise you will be safe here. Well, at least as safe as all of us are."

The other three looked at Chris for confirmation, who nodded. "It'll save us battery power. I'm at about 60% now."

The four men put their exo suits in standby mode and activated the release mechanisms. The suits detached, stepped back, and partially folded themselves on the floor in the corner of the dining room while the Equestrians watched with rapt interest.

There followed several moments of stretching and scratching from the humans, since the suits tended to block some areas of skin from being easily reached when worn. The Equestrians watched this with equal interest.

"Those suits are really cool." Rainbow Dash looked impressed.

McAllister snorted. "Well they are until you've worn them for a few hours, anyway. My back is sweating and I have itches in inappropriate spots."

"I know that feeling!" Rainbow Dash cackled. "I was wearing the Wonderbolts flight suit once in the summer, and I got all sweaty and wet and itchy right in my-"

"They could use a bit of color," Rarity interrupted hastily, eyeing suits. "Perhaps a few gemstones?"

Applejack dragged her away. "That there is some advanced military technology sweetheart, not a fashion accessory!'

"Oh, well yes I see how that might not be entirely appropriate." Rarity glanced at Rainbow Dash. "Unlike some ponies, I am able to grasp the concept of what is appropriate."

Rainbow Dash looked at her blankly while crudely scratching the base of her tail with a hoof.. "Eh, what are you getting on about?"

Marky was grinning like a Cheshire cat. "I could have listened a little longer."

Rarity sighed resignedly. "Oh never mind. Anyway, I'm going to go help Spike with dinner." She went back out into the hallway and her hoofsteps faded towards the kitchen.

"Can I try one on?" Pinkie Pie leapt towards the exo suits.

"NO!" said the humans in unison.

"They are designed for us, not you," Chris added. "It could injure you severely."

"Awww, no fun. I don't want to be injured." Pinkie Pie hopped towards a chair.

Fluttershy moved towards the table, and noticed a teapot sitting on a cart with cups, saucers, and other accessories.

"Ohhh, how about a nice cup of tea?" she breathed. She walked to the cart while the others sat down around the table. She placed a cup on a saucer, dropped a teabag in it, and lifted the pot happily. Then her face fell. "Oh dear, it's cold." She set it back down.

Twilight looked at the pot, and her horn glowed, projecting a magic field around it. The pot began steaming and boiling almost immediately. She then poured hot water into Fluttershy's cup.

Fluttershy smiled. "Thank you, Twilight."

The humans stared.

"How did you do that?" Sanchez asked.

Twilight grinned at him. "Magic." She tapped her horn.

"Can you do other things also?"

Twilight smiled wider. "I know many spells, magic is my specialty!"

Sanchez folded his hands. "Is it different from telekinesis?"

She leaned back in her chair thoughtfully. "Yes, there is a difference. When I pick something up, it's like I just reach out for it. When I use an actual spell, I am shaping and weaving the magic into a pattern. It's hard to explain if you have never used magic before... Have you ever used magic before?"

Sanchez shook his head. "We don't have magic where I come from."

A chorus of gasps came from the Equestrians.

"No magic? Twilight was aghast. "Although, I imagine having those digits, you don't need it as much."

Sanchez lifted his hand and waggled his fingers around. "You're right. And we build machines that can assist us with heavier work."

"We do as well. Just many of them involve magic in one way or another."

A moment of silence followed, then Zecora took a sip of tea and closed her eyes, murmuring softly to herself.

"From a world so far, distant lands beyond,
Bringing machines that move as if they live,
Strangers henceforth are to share a bond,
And unto each other assistance give."

She did not reopen her eyes immediately, and was thus unaware of the attention she had drawn around the table.

After a few quiet seconds, Twilight glanced at the clock, then got up from her chair. "I should go meet Celestia. You guys can wait here, I'll be back shortly."

She exited the room and went down the grand hallway towards her open air patio.

Chapter 9: Sunlight

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Twilight stood on her veranda and gazed out across Ponyville. The sun hung low in the sky, soon it would be dark. She breathed deeply, the late afternoon air a salve to the growing anxiety in her heart.

Equestria had been visited by many creatures since the time she had come to Ponyville, both friend and foe. But this time, she felt, things were different. Even though they were friendly, these humans marked a change, something fundamental was being forever altered. She couldn't quite put a hoof on it, but a shudder ran up her spine as she she stood alone on the large platform so high in the air.

The silent shadow of a creeping, unseen evil cast across the land made her shiver inside, and sparked the seeds of a fear she had never felt before.

The sound of soft wing beats approaching broke her trance.

"Twilight. Are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost."
Twilight smiled and turned to Celestia's softly powerful voice. "Celestia! Thank you for coming so quickly."

Princess Celestia stepped gently towards Twilight, folding her great white wings as she walked. Her glittering, multicolored pastel mane streamed from her elegantly formed head, a self-luminescent flow accentuated perfectly by the golden highlights of her hoofshoes and neck-piece.

"I departed as soon as I received your message, Twilight. What is amiss? I feel your tension from here."

"A serious problem. We have visitors from another world."

Celestia's eyes narrowed, and her nostrils flared slightly. "Are they of hostile intent?"

"No, I don't think so. But there are other things out there that seem to be very dangerous. Well, the visitors are in the dining room, it might be best if they helped explain."

"Indeed." Celestia nodded, and followed Twilight inside the castle.

The distance down the hallways was not long, and they traversed the path in seconds. Celestia started to ask a question as they approached the door. "Twilight, when you said visitors from another world, did you mean..."

They passed into Twilight's dining room, and Celestia's eyes bugged out when she saw the humans and their gear talking animatedly with the Equestrians around the large table.

Twilight cleared her throat. "Allow me to present Princess Celestia."

The humans stood up quickly at Twilight's announcement. Marky scrambled to his feet as well.

"A pleasure to meet you, Princess." Chris stepped forward and bowed, unsure of what else to do. "My name is Christopher Lance."

Celestia blinked and recovered her composure instantly.

"A pleasure to meet you as well." She also performed a slight bow, acknowledging them courteously while maintaining her habitual bearing as primary Princess of Equestria. "I have heard you traveled from a distant land."

"Well that is true enough, in a way." Chris took a moment to introduce the other strangers, including Marky.

Celestia looked quizzically at Marky. She took a breath to ask another question just as Spike and Rarity appeared in the doorway, pushing a cart with plates and a large serving tray on top. The tray was piled high with golden brown triangle-cut sandwiches.

"Food coming through!" Spike called out enthusiastically. "Oh, I'm sorry Princess Celestia, I didn't see you there!"

Celestia gracefully sidestepped the barreling cart and got a strong whiff of the hot sandwiches. The smell was savory and enticing, and it reminded her of the uneaten dinner she had left behind to answer Twilight's emergency message. Her stomach growled a little.

Spike smiled up at her. "I heard you were coming and I, er, WE made extra. Rarity helped me." He purred a little on Rarity's name.

"Thank you Spike. And Rarity." Celestia's gratefulness sounded more eager than she had intended, but nopony seemed to notice. "Well, perhaps we should sit down before it gets cold? And maybe you can share your tale as we eat."

Twilight and Celestia sat next to each other, and Rarity set the plates out. Soon there were sandwiches all around.

"Thith ith a prethy amathing sandwith," McAllister said, his mouth partially full.

"Have some manners!" Hamilton hissed. "Stop eating like a hors... um, like an animal."
Rainbow Dash was cramming her food into her mouth like there was no tomorrow. "E an't eat like a orse I etin like orse!" she choked out while chewing vigorously.

"Rainbow Dash! Where are YOUR manners???" Rarity huffed, appalled.

Rainbow Dash stopped chomping her second sandwich and gasped for breath. "I was hungry!"

"Me too!" McAllister joined in.

Celestia laughed like a tinkling bell. "You ponies never fail to bring a smile to my face." Her demeanor became serious as she looked at the humans. "But I really must hear the full story of how you got here."

Chris leaned forward in his chair. "Without going too much into the details, we created a rupture between our world and, somewhere else..." He proceeded to tell her their story, with a few interjections from the others at the table.

When he finished, Chris sat back in his chair. "And that's the gist of it."

Celestia took a napkin and daintily brushed some crumbs from her mouth, then she leaned back in her chair as well. "I believe we should go and assess the situation in Everfree Forest as soon as possible." She looked out the window. "It's getting dark, and I don't like the thought of those police officers standing out there by themselves tonight. I am going to organize a strike force from the Equestrian military at Canterlot. I don't think we should wait until morning."

"You're going now?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, I believe I can return to Canterlot and be back with forces within the hour. We can meet at the police blockade." Celestia glanced at Marky. "I am also interested in your story. Hopefully we may talk more about it later. I'm sure you understand that I must deal with this issue at hand first."

Marky nodded and smiled. "It does not impact the current situation. Anytime you want, I am willing to tell you anything you ask."

"Thank you. Well then, I must leave now. I shall return soon," Celestia said, as she stood up.

The group walked with Celestia to the castle balcony, where she leapt off into the night sky and flew towards the distant castle up on the mountain.

"Now that's MY kind of princess," Marky said softly, watching her fly.

Twilight eyeballed him curiously.

"I, uh, mean, not that you aren't a great princess. I mean, you are definitely my kind of princess too..." Marky dragged a hoof across his face. "That didn't come out the way I wanted."

Twilight laughed amiably. "I'm flattered."

Sanchez glanced at his watch. "She said about an hour."

Just then, Chris's HUD popped up a message notification. "Hold on a sec guys, getting comm traffic." He acknowledged and saw a text message.

Jeffrey Peterson: Hard line transmitter setup complete, recommend send text, transfer rate sucks. I'm still Earth-side. Dropped a fiber optic line through the Gate but still have heavy packet loss. Doc Hardy and comm team working on it.

Chris made a spreading motion in the air, and a holographic keyboard appeared, projected from his wristband. He typed a message back.

- Christopher Lance: We have encountered a sentient species. Seem very friendly. Negotiating assistance.

A few moments passed, then another message popped up.

- Jeffrey Peterson: Send a picture!
- Christopher Lance: Hold on a few minutes.

Chris pulled a tablet phone out of his pocket and looked around the balcony at all the ponies and humans talking to each other. Apparently the excitement of making new friends surpassed the solemnity of the circumstances, because there was nothing but smiling and joking coming from everyone present. Smiling himself, he held up the phone.

"Uh, guys? Can we get a group photo?"

"Sure why not?"

Everyone started clustering together at one end of the balcony. Chris tried to join the laughing group, and realized he couldn't stretch his arm far enough out to get all of them in the frame, no matter how close they squashed together.

"Who would have thought I'd be wishing for a selfie stick on humanity's first real off-world mission?" he quipped.

"Well technically the moon landing was humanity's first off-world..." McAllister began.

"Shut up, spoilsport," Chris said with a grin.

"I can take the photo!" Spike grabbed the phone and started walking away.

"Let me take it," Twilight said, tugging on the phone with her telekinesis. "Come get in the picture, Spike!"

Spike let the phone go in midair, then squeezed up in front and smiled.

Twilight spun it around in front of them, squinting with concentration while trying to line the photo up. "Where do I press this thing..."

The flash went off.

"Oh! I see. Ooops. Okay, everyone say "First Contact!"

The group squished closer together and smiled widely while Twilight snapped the picture.

Chapter 10: Cleaning Crew

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The gaggle of Equestrians and humans waited at the police barricade for well past the hour Celestia had mentioned. Darkness gradually fell, and the the two Ponyville police officers scanned the edge of the forest with flashlights while McAllister and Sanchez stood watch alongside them, rifles in hand.

"I wonder what is holding her up, she's never late," Twilight said, worry coloring her voice. "The last time she didn't show on time, she had been kidnapped."

"I'm sure it must just be taking longer to organize the task force than she had anticipated," Hamilton said comfortingly. "I'm not sure how she would be able to mobilize them so quickly anyway."

Twilight waved a hoof. "There are always troops in garrison at Canterlot. It's the capital city of Equestria after all, and it has been attacked more than once."

Chris's ears pricked up. "Attacked?"

"Yes, as peaceful as we are, sometimes there are those who don't want peace and want to take things that we won't willingly give. There are dark places in Equestrian history, as there are dark places in the world. From time to time we have fought. We don't like to, but sometimes, it is the last resort."

Chris stroked his chin. "Judging from what I've seen, it would take a great deal of effort to instigate hostility with your people."

Twilight smiled. "We Equestrians do make an effort to extend friendship and hospitality to all."

"Hey guys, I see them!" Rainbow Dash called down from above, where she had been hovering on lookout.

The others looked in the direction her hoof was pointing.

Hamilton squinted into the night. "Your eyes are pretty good Rainbow Dash, I see nothing but dark clouds. Oh wait, I see them now."

A group of flying Pegasus appeared, each carrying a Unicorn or Earth pony. Celestia flew in the lead.

McAllister and Sanchez turned around to watch. "Well ain't that a sight."

"Angels on the wing," Sanchez replied, wonderingly. "They're beautiful."

Celestia really did look like an angel as glided towards them and landed, her gold-shod hooves touching the ground as gently as a falling leaf, majestic wings reaching to the stars behind her crowned head. The Pegasus squadron landed softly behind her, placing their non-flying partners on the ground. They immediately scattered and began setting up equipment.

"I apologize for the delay," Celestia said as she walked towards the police barricade. "I have been informed of unusual events from other areas in Equestria."

There were several questions at once. Celestia held up a hoof. "There have been incursions. Dangerous, unusual creatures have appeared around the Crystal Empire. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor dealt with them, but they discovered a rupture in space through which monsters are emerging. Shining Armor sealed it temporarily with a modified containment spell."

Chris scratched his chin. "Has this sort of thing happened in Equestria before?"

Celestia shook her head. "We have had dealings with other worlds before, but not like this. It is as if parts of the universe are torn."

"I wonder if the gate created instabilities through multiple dimensions," Sanchez said thoughtfully. "Our even coming here was not supposed to happen. Who knows what else is happening."

Chris looked serious. "If so, the Gate experiment may have put your world in terrible danger."

Celestia looked at him, and a small smile came to her face. "Life is dangerous. Your people didn't intend to cause us any trouble. And meeting new people is often a risk. Not to mention there's nothing we can do to change it now, so we should move onward together to find a solution. Besides, we can't be sure. The problem with your equipment, and the ruptures in our universe, may both be due to something else."

"Well now I don't know about that, but at the moment hadn't we better do something about these things in the forest?" Applejack gestured at the dark sky. "It's been hours. We don't know what could be going on in there."

"Applejack's right. We've been waiting too long already!" Rainbow Dash bounced around in the air with excitement. "All this standing around is making me bored, too."

As they spoke, a green Unicorn female with an aquamarine mane approached. On her flank was the image of an atom. "Princess Celestia, we are ready to proceed."

Celestia nodded at her. "Thank you, Emerald." Celestia gestured to the others. "Meet our new friends. Everypony, this is Emerald Resonance, she is an agent from the Canterlot Advanced Sciences Division."

Emerald smiled, and her pleasant voice was excited. "Hello everypony, I've been waiting a long time for something like this to happen. I mean, I didn't WANT anything bad to happen to Equestria, but I studied and trained so hard, then I didn't do anything for such a long..." She trailed off. "Um, I'm sorry that was a little off topic. Again, I'm an agent from CASD, and I'm here to help oversee this response task force."

McAllister leaned over and whispered in Hamilton's ear. "Do they always say that? Everypony?"

Hamilton chuckled. "Yeah well... It's kind of their thing, so generally yes."

McAllister looked thoughtful. "Everypony... everypony... Ha. That's kind of fun to say."

Chris took a step forward and put his right hand out. "Pleased to meet you, Emerald Resonance. I'm Chris."

Emerald looked a bit bashful as she hesitantly reached her right hoof out and shook his hand. "You're a, uh, 'human?' You're quite... unique." Her hoof stayed in his hand a few moments longer than was strictly necessary as she leaned forward and inspected the powered exo suit connected to his body and arms. "This armor you wear is fascinating. And please call me Emmy."

Chris moved his arm around after she pulled her hoof back, demonstrating the suit's flexibility. "It's something that the company I work for provided me with. It boosts our strength and abilities."

Emmy was openly impressed. "That's so cool. I've never seen anything like it before." She tossed her mane, then looked at the others. "Very cool." Her gaze traveled, sizing them up. She stopped when she got to Marky. "A black Alicorn?" Her eyes widened. "The only black and blue Alicorn I've seen is Princess Luna. And I'm not sure I've ever seen a male Alicorn." She frowned at her own words. "I'm sorry, that sounded rather rude."

Marky smiled and laughed. "Not at all, it's okay. And I'm not from around here, either."

"Not from around here?" Emmy's confusion was evident. "But-"

One of the Equestrian soldiers tapped her on the shoulder and whispered in her ear. She turned back to Celestia and the others. "Well, it's time. Are we all ready to do this?"

Princess Celestia glanced at the humans, who nodded and hefted their rifles.

Chris grinned. "I was born ready."

Chapter 11: The Purge

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTIBJu0_f8Q

Chris made a call back to the gate team, informing them of the current situation and letting them know there would be some gunfire and other unusual activity.

"Be ready, what we do down here may inadvertently flush things towards you. Take up defensive positions and be ready to fight, just in case. But do me a favor and try not to shoot us, okay?" He finished speaking and watched while Celestia organized the Equestrian troops into small teams and had each perform a head count.

She addressed her leaders. "Make sure you keep an eye on the ponies in your group. We don't want anypony lost in the forest, or worse. We will perform another overall head count afterwards to make sure everypony comes back out safely." She turned to the police officers. "Please keep this road blocked until our return."

"Yes, Princess."

Celestia looked at Emmy, Twilight and her friends. "You should all come with me in the lead, to keep an eye out for anything unusual. With our combined experience, we should be able to spot a trap before we walk into it."

Celestia, Twilight, Zecora, and Chris positioned themselves at the front of the pack. The humans activated bright lights on their headsets and firearms. Marky switched on a light in his gear. The unicorns cast beams of light from their magic horns. Soon they were moving down the road at the head of the formation, cones of light scanning the road and tree line for any sign of the invaders.

By unspoken agreement, their talking was minimal and in low tones. Even Pinkie was uncharacteristically quiet, her narrowed eyes scanning the trees closely. With the only sound the crunching of gravel under hooves and boots, they continued on for some distance at a cautious pace.

Hamilton whispered to Celestia. "Didn't you used to live in Everfree Forest with Luna?"

Celestia nodded. "Yes, we did. Our old castle is still out there."

"By the way, where is Luna?"

"She is coordinating from our castle in Canterlot. With myself being down here, somepony needs to be there, especially now. There is, frankly, a lot going on."

Chris signaled a halt. "Guys? I think I see something." He pointed.

Sure enough, several dimly glowing flowers bobbled near the edge of the road ahead.

"Yep, that's one of them." Sanchez checked his gun reflexively. "I'd remember that damn flower anywhere. Watch where you step."

They approached slowly, checking the underbrush for tentacles. It was difficult to see in the tangled plants, even with the numerous beams of brilliant light.

"Should be right in the underbrush... Yeah, there."

Green tentacles twitched slightly, stealthily laying in wait along the ground.

Celestia waved her hoof at a team of Equestrians. Several Earth ponies stepped forward, carrying something on their backs.

Chris squinted. "What are those things?"

Emmy smiled up at him. "Just watch. You're gonna enjoy this."

"Torch 'em," the squad leader ordered his soldiers. Several large jets of flame billowed out of the devices, scorching the grass and the tendrils hidden in it. The response was immediate. Shrieks and wailing came from the trees off the road, and tentacles lashed about in panic. The ponies swept the flamethrowers back and forth, igniting the underbrush and causing the trees to burst into flame.

"I see you are taking no chances," Chris commented calmly, watching the growing inferno with satisfaction.

Several unicorns moved forward and cast ice cloud spells to put out the fire, and they moved forward carefully off the road and towards the clearing.

Fluttershy shrank back. "Um, I'm just going to stay here... I don't want to go into those awful, dark woods."

Celestia followed the flamethrower brigade. "Twilight, can you please stay here and keep a watch on our rear?"

Rainbow Dash chuckled mischievously. "Heh, phrasing!"

Hamilton shook his head disapprovingly. "Who taught you to say that?"

McAllister stifled a laugh.

"Oh, I mighta known it would be you."

Leaving Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy behind along with some Equestrian military forces to cover the road, they methodically pushed into the woods.

"No way you are leaving me behind while you guys are lighting everything on fire!" Rainbow Dash said as she followed them in. "I have GOT to see this."

"Fine, but be careful, you're unarmed." Chris said.

"I may be un-ARMED, but I am HOOFED!" Rainbow Dash performed a rapid succession of air punches and kicks. "Awww yeah! Who wants some?"

Chris cocked his head at her display, and Rainbow Dash eyed his rifle covetously.

"So, I still want to see that gun," she said.

"Uh, okay fine. I'll show you how to use one later on, okay?"

Rainbow Dash squinted at him suspiciously. "Promise?"

"Fine, I promise."

"Awwww yeeeeaahh! That's gonna be the coolest!"

"Maybe, if you can figure out how to pull the trigger without any fingers."

Rainbow Dash puffed her chest out. "Oh, I can ALWAYS find a way to do things and... Oh my GOSH what is that SMELL?"

Sanchez wrinkled his nose. "I'd say we're getting close to the spot."

The smell of death had worsened greatly as they stepped through the trees. Several ponies made retching noises. Rainbow Dash scrunched her face up in disapproval.

"It only gets better fellas!" Marky said sarcastically, then gagged himself. "Oh, yum. Did anyone bring some Vick's VapoRub?"

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash asked, her face all scrunched up.

"Never mind." Marky drew his pistols and turned the weapon lights and lasers on, treading carefully into the brush. "Fee fi fo fum... Hey guys, there's a few up there in the tree canopy. Look out below!" His pistols popped, and two screeching monsters fell to the ground with a sickly splat.

They were promptly incinerated the by the Equestrian military flamethrowers.

Chris fired a few shots, knocking some more hanging creatures out of the trees, then clapped Marky on the shoulder. "Nothing like a good bonfire cookout, eh?"

Marky wrinkled his muzzle at the noxious fumes rising from the well crisped corpses. "They don't smell nearly as appetizing as a nice marshmallow s'more though."

Chris scanned the trees with his rifle for a moment. "What was that about s'mores?"

"I was trying to be funny. You know, like, we're cooking them like marshmallows over a campfire or something"

"Oh. Uh, sorry I was looking up in the trees."

"It's okay. It was a piss-poor joke anyway. Oh look. TIMBER!" Marky shot up into the trees, and another dark form fell out.

"Now THAT was pretty funny," Chris said with a chuckle. "And we seem to be mopping them up like nobody's business. These Equestrians are nothing to be trifled with."

"Agreed. I'm impressed."

Flames, frost, and bullets cleared the way through a forest of shrieking monsters as they pushed on into the clearing, which was now thoroughly carpeted in animal skeletons and decaying animal matter.
Egg sacks hung low from the trees. The Equestrians moved in, and the flamethrowers ignited everything. Trees, foliage, and silky egg sacks burned to a crisp. Some of the eggs dropped writhing larvae onto the ground in flames.

A powerful hiss from came from the woods, like a steam engine.

"Uh oh," Rainbow dash said. "That doesn't sound so good."

"BROODMOTHER!" Chris yelled as a dark form crashed through the trees.

Lights and weapons turned towards the enormous, armored creature. It froze in the beams, mouth working like a lobster.

"I don't think she's going to be happy about what we did to her babies," Marky commented matter-of-factly. "And judging from the amount of egg sacks we just incinerated, I'd say there may be more than one angry mommy."

As if on cue, multiple long hisses came from the woods around as more of the giant insect-like creatures came into view.

"The flamethrowers won't even slow them down. Look how thick their armor is," Emmy said nervously. She looked at Celestia. "Can you deal with them, Princess?"

"Step aside, please." Celestia moved forward and made a sweeping motion with her great wings, while the Equestrian military moved out of her way. She walked confidently toward the hideous creatures, and gazed into the cold malice of their insectoid compound eyes, seeing only hatred and hunger looking back at her.

The foul beings hissed in unison, then charged Celestia as a pack, mandibles clacking with greed.

Celestia instantly reared up and spread her wings, her horn glowing like a yellow beacon in the night, reaching towards the sky.

Chris held his hand up to block some of the overpowering light, and squinted to see what happened next.

Celestia came down to earth hard and fired an immense blast of magical energy from the tip of her horn, the wide beam lancing out into the night like a fire hose spraying plasma, bright as the sun.

Everything in front of her burned. The bushes and undergrowth incinerated instantly, and the monstrous insect-things in front of her glowed and exploded, meat and slime burning in the vortex of Celestia's searing power.

The attack faded, leaving more fires behind it and a path of scorched earth that stretched on for at least a hundred yards, populated by blasted tree stumps and steaming pieces of the monsters.

Celestia stood still for a moment, then staggered to the side and almost fell. Sanchez and Hamilton rushed forward to her aid.

"Are you okay?"

She blinked and steadied herself, putting a hoof to her head.

"Yes, thank you. I just overexerted myself a bit. I don't think I can do that again for awhile."

"That was the COOLEST thing I have seen in days!" Rainbow Dash was thrilled. "I am SO glad I came along!"

"What the hell was that?" Marky was shocked. "I've never seen anything like that in my life. How is she so powerful?"

"Duh, she's a PRINCESS," Rainbow Dash said. "And she's an Alicorn Princess, to boot."

Marky sighed resignedly. "I see I have a lot to learn."

Emmy patted him on the shoulder. "Life is all about learning, my friend. Just between us, I've never actually seen anything quite like that, either."

The Equestrian military troops moved in and finished mopping up the stragglers with flamethrowers.

Chris answered a call from the gate. "Yeah, that was us. We engaged the creatures from earlier. Nope, everything is okay, they used... uh, an energy weapon. Yeah, a lot of smoke. Flamethrowers too. No, fires are not a problem. Situation is under control. More to follow."

He hung up and approached Celestia as the Pegasus troops took to the skies to perform recon on the area, checking for any additional monsters the ground troops had missed.

"That was a lot more than were here earlier," he commented. "I'd say there were ten or so at tops before, and we only saw one brood mother."

"By the amount of waste bio-matter here, I'd say they were eating and multiplying at a high rate," Emmy added.

"You mean the dead animals?"

Emmy gulped a little. "Yes. The remains, while fragrant, haven't decayed much, meaning they have all been dropped here fairly recently. Judging by the number of creatures we just dealt with, I'd say they reproduce and grow very quickly."

"Probably a good thing we came back and wiped them out."

Emmy nodded. "Yes, I would say so. Who knows how many of them there would have been by morning."

They both watched as one of the Pegasus soldiers landed and approached.

"Princess Celestia!"

She turned towards him. "Yes? Have we eliminated all the invaders?"

He saluted her. "I believe so Princess, however we have also located something unusual not far from here."

Celestia's eyes narrowed. "Unusual?"

"Yes Princess. It's, a hole of some kind. In the air. It's nearby, we can walk there."

Celestia nodded. "Please show us."

They followed the Pegasus as he picked his way through the forest.

After several minutes of pushing through the low shrubs, they arrived at another clearing. This one had an odd glow to it, as if foxfire were illuminating the trees. Several other Pegasus stood on the far side, along with a few flamethrower ponies.

"You can only see it from this side," said the Pegasus. He guided them around towards the other group. As they moved around the edge of the clearing, they stepped into the flickering glow.

"What in the hell is that?" Sanchez said.

In the center of the clearing was a shimmering, pulsing tear in the fabric of space. It shifted and glowed, giving off colors that neither the humans nor the Equestrians had ever seen before.

Chris put a hand to his head. "It hurts to look at it."

"Yes, try to not look directly into," their guide said. "Also, I wouldn't get too close, I think that's where the monsters came from." He pointed a hoof at a burned area around the rift. "Some larvae dropped out. We roasted them."

Celestia stared directly at the rift for a moment, then turned her eyes away and closed them with a slight groan. "That is indeed uncomfortable." She opened her eyes again. "And I sense no magic here, but I see what looks like magic before me."

As they watched, a larval form fell through the crack. It was like the hatchlings they had incinerated in the clearing. The Equestrians moved forward and shot a jet of flame onto it, burning it to a crisp.

Emmy looked at the rift, and quickly away again. She turned to Chris. "You said your people had created a gateway?"

"Yes. That is how we got here."

"And that gateway malfunctioned?"

"Yes... that is also part of how we got here. We never knew this place existed before."

Emmy sat on her haunches and stared up at the stars silently for a bit.

"Your technology is not based on magic." her voice was soft, and she kept looking at the sky. "The rift here is not magic..."

She glanced back at Chris. "I wonder how your gate malfunction caused the appearance of this hole in space?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't design the gate. I think our scientists back home would have a better chance of figuring it out."

McAllister picked up a rock. "Has anyone tried this?"

"Tried what?" Chris asked.

"Throwing a rock through it."

"I don't know if that's a good idea. In fact, it's probably a terrible idea. But screw it, I'm curious to see what happens too."

Emmy and Celestia didn't say anything, but watched as McAllister hurled the rock at the crack.

He missed.

"Well that was anticlimactic."

He tried again, and missed again.

"Oh come on!" Rainbow Dash said. She picked up a rock herself and hurled it at the rift. There was a slight flash as the rock vanished. Nothing else happened.

McAllister shrugged and dropped the rock he was picking up. "I woulda got it this time!"

For a while they stood around, waiting to see if anything would come of the rock. Eventually another larvae fell out and was promptly roasted by the Equestrians.

Celestia sighed. "Well we aren't accomplishing anything further here, and it's getting late." She looked at the rift. "Obviously it's not a good idea to leave that thing open, but I don't think I can close it."
She moved a little closer to the rift, and aimed her horn at it. A beam of yellow magical energy came out and contacted the surface, with no effect.

"As I expected... My magic has no effect." She leaned forward again. This time, her horn glowed and an interlaced orb of magic came into being around the hole. It formed a transparent yellow globe around the rift that remained after Celestia's horn stopped glowing. "I've placed a containment spell. It will keep anything from passing through that hole for some time." She turned back to the Pegasus. "Have a small camp set up here, with some guards to keep an eye on things. Use Pegasus guards. If anything seems dangerous, have them fly out of here at top speed and report back to Canterlot."

"Yes Princess."

Celestia turned towards the rift again. "As for that thing... I know someone who may be able to help. I will return to Canterlot and contact him. But for now, let us return to the road." She led the way back through the forest.

Soon they had reached their waiting friends and given them a quick rundown of events.

"Well, we can't accomplish much more tonight," Twilight said. "Anypony who wishes to is welcome to stay the night at my house. I have extra rooms. A lot of extra rooms." Her voice was slightly wistful.

Chris looked at his team and shrugged. "That's a really kind offer, Twilight. I think we may just take you up on it."

Hamilton looked in the direction of the Gate. "What about the guys down there?"

"I will send some of the soldiers down there," Celestia said. "It's not every day they get to engage in activities like this, they will be happy for the change."

Chris called up the gate again. "Yeah, we are spending the night. What? No, not a camp. No, a castle. Yes. YES. A CASTLE. Uh huh. Yes, it's nice. What? It belongs to a princess. Yes, an alien princess. I'm not answering that you asshole, she's standing right here! Oh, by the way, there are some friendly troops inbound to help with the gate, they should be there shortly. No, they are not human, they look like little horses. They're cool, you'll see. What? Seriously? Okay fine, I'll pass it on." Chris disconnected his call and looked up.

"Well, what did they want?" Celestia asked.

"They wanted to know if your guys can bring some snacks on the way over to the Gate."

Chapter 12: Guardian

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After bidding her friends goodnight, Celestia soared through the night sky, the lights of Ponyville falling behind her as she pumped her great wings towards the growing glow of Canterlot Castle. She flew at a moderate pace, giving herself a little time to think over the day's many events as she traveled.

"I have to speak to Luna. And... to him," she muttered to herself. "If anyone would know about this, it would be him."

Soon she alighted on the balcony of Canterlot Castle, folding her wings and pausing a brief moment to look back at the lights of Ponyville down below. No doubt the humans were currently preparing for bed in Twilight's castle. The town glowed softly, a single shining jewel in the miles of dark wilderness around. Usually the sight was comforting and relaxing to her, but tonight, the town appeared remote and vulnerable. She swallowed hard at the sudden lump in her throat and blinked, turning away from the night and walking towards her throne room. Her soft, measured hoofsteps echoed slightly through the vast, high-vaulted hallways of the royal castle.

Princess Luna waited for her on the dais. She looked up as Celestia entered the room, concern on her elegant features.

"Dear sister, is all well?"

Luna's huge blue eyes coordinated flawlessly with the varying shades of midnight blue that colored her body and sparkling mane. On her flank, the mark of the crescent moon reiterated her status as Princess of the Night.

"Good evening, Luna. I am fine, however much has taken place today and tonight which merits serious discussion."

"This has to do with the numerous odd reports I have received today, does it not?"

"After the things I have seen, I am certain it does indeed." Celestia seated herself in the throne next to her sister with a small sigh. "Tis a long tale, and I fear we are only just beginning to turn the pages of this story."

***

"Alien creatures from another world?" Luna was moderately surprised. "It is not as if this is unheard of in Equestria. But still, it is not something that happens every day, either."

"They are different," Celestia emphasized. "They are warriors. Gritty. Determined. Yet they do not strike me as warlike. They are without a doubt a technologically advanced species, however, in many ways, much like ourselves."

Luna looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. "These humans. They have recklessly jeopardized our safety, and the safety of Equestria. Their technology has torn a hole through an unknown number of worlds, and now terrifying, hungry creatures are coming through unbidden onto our home soil." She lowered her head and her eyes bored into Celestia's. "And they dare come to us professing friendship, and asking our help? And you, you agreed to help them?"

Celestia nodded, unflinching, her eyes locked with her sister's.

Luna smiled gently. "I expected nothing less from you. This is why I love you, dear sister. You are the most kind and generous pony I know. Go, help them. Help us all. I will remain here and coordinate the defense of Equestria for as long as it takes you to find a solution."

"Thank you for your confidence, but I feel this will be a difficult task. I shall summon Discord and explain the situation. His power differs greatly from our magic, and with his cunning wit, he may discover an answer that has hitherto escaped us."

"Yes, the true limits of Discord's power are unknown. I agree. It is even possible that he could repair the damage on his own, but there is only one way to find out."

"Indeed. Well then. Let us perform the summoning spell."

The sisters stood together and their horns glowed, unleashing a vortex of magical energy that swirled before them on the floor of the throne room.

With a flash, a high-backed chair appeared, facing away from them.

"Well I dare say, this is a rare surprise." The familiar sarcastic voice came from the other side of the chair. The occupant leaned over the arm of the chair and looked back at them, a book dangling carelessly from his paw.

The title was visible for a moment. "John Dies at the End - David Wong."

"Celestia my dear, so good to see you again!" said the newcomer, somehow making the simple statement sound both humorously insulting and friendly at the same time. "And the ever-so-serious Luna! This is indeed a pleasure."

The book and chair disappeared, leaving Discord standing in all his haphazard glory. His snakish, dragon-like body was bizarrely mismatched. One paw looked like a lion's, the other looked like perhaps a griffon. Like so many things with Discord, it was impossible to tell where the reality ended and the joke began.

His smile was like a Cheshire cat as he reached up swiftly and popped his own horn off, which instantly transformed into a bouquet of flowers in his hand. A new horn sprouted up on his head, as if he had never removed it.

He offered the bouquet of flowers to Celestia with an exaggerated bow.

Luna interjected. "Discord. This is serious."

The flowers turned into a bouquet of yellow frownie faces.

"Oh Luna, why must you be such a wet blanket? No 'how are you Discord?' No 'Care for tea and crumpets Discord?' Of course if I wanted tea and crumpets..."

Discord snapped his fingers, and suddenly he was wearing a butler's outfit, a tray of tea and crumpets balanced on one hand, and a single rose in the other.

"Da da dum de dum! And how may I be of service to two such charming Princesses?"

He waved the rose about gracefully, then placed it in his mouth and began dancing ballet.

Celestia raised her voice ever so slightly to be heard above his enthusiastically hummed music. "Discord, please! Equestria needs your help!"

He paused, returning to his normal appearance.

"Hmmm. Equestria needs my help. But, do YOU need my help?"

His eyes grew impossibly large and glittered innocently.

Celestia sighed audibly. "Yes, yes I do. Now can you please be serious?"

"Oh all right. But later, tea and crumpets yes?"

He coiled up on beanbag chair that appeared from thin air.

"I am listening MOST intently."

Celestia looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Although, your power may be insufficient to assist us in this matter."

This time, the surprise in Discord's eyes looked genuine.

"Me? Not powerful enough? Whatever do you mean?"

"Well Discord, that is a long story..."

***

After watching Celestia depart, Chris walked alongside Twilight Sparkle as she returned to her castle in Ponyville. The return trip was uneventful, up until Chris's HUD started blinking a 15% Remaining Battery warning for his exo suit.

"Twilight?"

She glanced back. "What's up?"

"You don't happen to have electrical outlets in your castle, do you? We need to charge our equipment."

"Wha... oh, yeah, sure. No problem." She smiled and kept walking ahead of them.

"Interesting," Sanchez muttered.

"What's that?" Chris asked.

"This place. They have so many similarities to Earth that don't make a lot of sense."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, let's take Ponyville for instance. The buildings and houses there are quite similar to Earth, including handles on pans, door knobs, toilets, broomsticks... Yet, with these Equestrians not having hands at all, doesn't it strike you as odd that the ergonomics of everyday use items seem to reflect our own human physical traits, not theirs? What is the use of putting a handle on something when there are no hands to grasp it?"

"Well, sometimes we pick things up in our mouths, especially Earth or Pegasus ponies," Emmy added.

"Well I guess that could explain some of it." Chris pondered briefly. "Marky?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I take a look at one of your guns for a moment?"

"Uh... yeah sure." His horn glowed as he pulled one of his pistols and dropped the magazine, then pulled the slide back and caught the round as it ejected, suspending all the parts telekinetically in the air.

The pistol floated over to Chris and dropped into his outstretched hand.

Chris looked into the chamber to make sure it was clear, then he inspected the pistol. "Marky? This is a Glock."

"Yes, one of the most popular pistols in my country."

"Marky? What country are you from?"

"I'm from The United States of America."

Chris stopped walking and squinted at him. "You're joking."

Marky halted as well. "Why would I be joking?"

"Because we're from America too."

It was Marky's turn to look skeptical. "What? But how is that possible? Wait. Look at this." Marky pulled out his wallet and removed a card. On the card was printed a red, white, and blue flag.

Chris held Marky's pistol with one hand and took the card with the other, peering closely at it. "The similarities are obvious. But that's not any American flag I've ever seen."

"Looks a lot like a Betsy Ross flag," Sanchez agreed.

"Alternate universe," Hamilton chimed in, looking over their shoulders. "It's pretty obvious. Look at where we are right now." He waved his hand at the forest.

"Look at this pistol," Chris held it up. "It's a Glock. Made in Austria. It's printed right on it. It looks EXACTLY like mine." He pointed at his thigh holster. "Marky, don't you think it's odd that your pistol has a grip designed for human hands and you don't have hands at all?"

Marky frowned. "It does fit your hand very well indeed, but it's also comfortable for me to use." He looked at Chris closely, as if seeing him for the first time. "And yet, there are many things I have seen which I think would fit your anatomy quite well. It is not something I ever gave much thought to before. Your species is alien, but you seem strangely familiar to me. In fact, we have legends of intelligent two-legged monkey creatures..." He trailed off. "No offense."

"None taken. I find it fascinating."

They stared at each other in the dark for a moment.

"Guys? Are you okay?" Twilight and her friends had noticed they were leaving the others behind, and were looking back at the group halted in the road. "We should stick together. Everfree is dangerous at night."

"She's right," Chris said. He handed Marky's gun back, and Marky loaded it, racked the slide, and holstered it. Then Marky yawned widely. "I'm getting pretty tired, this has been a long day."

"Don't start doing that crap," McAllister said, stifling a yawn himself. "Let's hurry up before we end up sleeping face-down on a nice, soft gravel road."

They hurried to catch up with Twilight.

***

Twilight Sparkle sat in the crystal map room of her castle long after all her new friends, both pony and human, had retired for the evening. Near her sat a lavender unicorn with a puffy purple and teal mane. There had been a time not long past when this particular unicorn had been a relentless enemy, but the decision to embrace friendship had healed the vengeful angst of a wounded heart.

"Starlight Glimmer, I need your help."

"You said it was important, Twilight. I would do anything for you. I'm sorry I was out earlier. I didn't hear anything about all this until I got back."

"It's not your fault. It's not like this was planned out or something. Did you have a good trip?"

"Yes, thank you. I brought you back some cherries by the way." Glimmer's words were rushed, and her voice had an edge of impatience. She sighed. "Twilight, please tell me what's going on, I'm worried, Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but there is a strong possibility that tomorrow I may have to leave for another world on a dangerous mission. The others will go too."

"Then I'm coming with you, of course."

"I would like that very much, I wish we could take you along. But I have to ask you to take my place here. I need you to protect Ponyville in our absence from the dark forces leaking into our world. Your power rivals mine. If anypony can do it, you can."

Starlight Glimmer gasped. "But I... I..."

"Spike will help you, he's not happy about being left behind, but as my assistant he knows more about Ponyville than anypony else. Also Big Mac, if you need it. He's wiser than you might think, he just doesn't like to talk much."

"That's not what I mean. I... Oh Twilight, if anything happens to you guys..."

"Then you'll be here to watch over Ponyville, at least for a while."

"Like that went so well last time I was in charge of a town."

"You've changed a lot. You can do this."

"I wish I believed in myself as much as you believe in me. And you guys are my only friends. You wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't serious. I can't just sit here while you go get yourselves killed!"

"Princess Celestia will be going with us. I assure you we have no intentions of getting killed, I said dangerous, not a suicide mission. And I think you have more friends here than you realize."

"Oh, she's going too?" Starlight Glimmer sighed and seemed to relax slightly. "If anypony can keep you safe, she can. So tell me Twilight, what's the full story?"

Fifteen minutes later Twilight Sparkle finished recounting the day's events.

Starlight Glimmer, who had listened with rapt attention, stared at her with big eyes.

"Wow. I don't think I'd believe it if it wasn't you telling me. It's... Fantastic. Can I meet these two-legged aliens? These humans?"

Twilight smiled. "Sure. Just come to breakfast tomorrow. They're all in bed right now, as far as I know. It's been a rough evening for everypony. But I think you're going to like them."

"Thanks Twilight. For trusting me. More than I trust myself." She stood suddenly and hugged Twilight. "You're the best friend I've ever had."

Twilight hugged her back.

"And to think... to think I actually wanted to kill you..." Starlight Glimmer sniffled.

"It's in the past," Twilight said patiently, patting her friend on the back. "You are a different, better pony now."

"I don't deserve any of your friendship. And it still scares me when I think how close I came to never experiencing... to being lonely forever...to never..."

Glimmer chuffed, and Twilight felt small, cool drops landing on her neck and back.

"Hey now, it's okay, everything turned out well in the end right?"

Glimmer pulled back. "Sorry. I never used to do anything like this," she said, wiping her eyes. "I never cried this way."

"I don't remember you smiling much either."

"I was afraid, so I buried all my feelings in anger. Anger kept me going for years, but deep underneath I was so sad and hopeless."

Twilight said nothing, letting her get it off her chest.

Glimmer continued. "Hatred seemed filling at first, a good, hot substitute to fill the cold, empty hole of loneliness that was in my chest, but soon it became a terrible, consuming burden that I couldn't let go. It weighed me down like lead and burned me up inside like fire."

She sat silent for a moment. Then she looked into Twilight's eyes. "Thank you for giving me a chance, Twilight. For showing me what it feels like to be free. You... Saved my...life..."

She started sniffling again.

Twilight reached out and put a hoof on her shoulder. "And this is why I believe you can protect this town. Because you really are a new pony, a strong pony I can trust."

"I... I'm not strong. I'm crying like a b... baby," Glimmer said, then she hiccuped. It made her giggle, and that made Twilight smile. Soon they were both laughing, between her hiccups.

"I'm glad we became friends," Twilight said. "Thank you, Glims. For giving me a chance, too."

"Stop it Twilight, you're gonna make me cry again."

Twilight yawned widely. "Oh my. Excuse me."

"It's late!" Glimmer said. "We have to be up early."

"We should get some sleep, I didn't realize how late it's gotten!" Twilight stood, stretching her legs and wings with a squeaky moan.

"Twilight? I'll do my best. For you and Ponyville."

"Thank you, Glims. I know you will."

"And Twilight? Don't stay up all night reading."

Twilight laughed. "I think I'll barely make it through a shower. Goodnight, see you in the morning!"

"Goodnight, Twilight!"

Starlight Glimmer watched Twilight leave the room, and then she walked toward the library.

Protecting Ponyville was a big responsibility, and it would be a good idea to look a few things up before going to bed.

"Just a quick brush-up," she told herself softly. "Only take a few minutes."

Chapter 13: Good Morning Equestria

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Chris awoke to the delicious smell of cooking pancakes. He yawned and looked around the dimly lit room, feeling oddly at peace in the unfamiliar surroundings. The morning sun was blazing a line into his room from the small gap between the closed curtains, and he could hear birds chirping outside. He sat up in the large bed and pushed back the luxurious purple comforter, then swung his feet off and stood up to walk to the bathroom, being careful not to trip over the pile of gear, clothes, and rifle standing next to the head of the bed. He found himself smiling as he washed his hands afterwards and headed to the window, where he drew back the curtains and squinted momentarily into the blinding flood of warm sunlight.

As his eyes adjusted, the beautiful view came into focus. Pastel mountains loomed above, and the quaintly inviting town of Ponyville spread out below his raised vantage point in Twilight's castle. He stood for a moment transfixed, the assault on his senses and emotions overwhelming him. Multicolored ponies moved about doing their morning business. He saw ponies pulling baker's carts and open storefronts selling vegetables. The aura was industrious and wholesome, and for a moment he felt the overwhelming urge to simply walk through the streets, breathing the fresh air and greeting the friendly natives.

A knock at the door startled him out of his thoughts. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his naked waist as he hurried over to answer.

McAllister stood in the hallway, wearing his pants and T-shirt. He had his pistol strapped on his leg and his rifle slung on his back. No professional would leave their firearms unattended in the bedroom, not even for breakfast.

"Wakey wakey eggs and bakey!"

Chris groaned. "What's up?"

McAllister grinned. "Everyone but you. And there's pancakes and eggs. I would hurry, because every minute you take is another minute I'll have to attack those pancakes, and I leave no survivors. Nice loincloth, by the way."

"Well, I had considered answering the door in the buff, since it appears that 90% of the time the folks around here don't wear clothing, but I don't have a layer of fur to cover my modesty."

McAllister snickered. "Well, if I were to parade around without my clothes on, it would take more than a layer of fur to keep me from turning heads!"

Chris shook his head. "I never should have said anything. You always push it too far."

"That's what SHE said!" McAllister laughed loudly at his own joke.

"Go stuff a pancake in it," Chris said cheerfully.

"Oh I intend to," McAllister replied, raising his voice slightly as the door closed in his face.

Chris went back to put his clothes on, finding that they had been washed and neatly folded at some time during the night. He unplugged his exo suit but left it folded on the floor after glancing at the battery indicator, which showed a full charge.

Two minutes later he was briskly walking down the hallway to the dining room, his slung rifle rubbing against his back through his t-shirt as he went.

As he entered the dining room he saw Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Spike dishing out large stacks of delicious-looking pancakes. Big bottles of various flavors and shades of syrup sat around, as well as trays of butter.

Emmy saw him, smiled, and patted an empty chair next to her. He walked towards it.

Twilight looked up at him as he approached. "Good morning! Did you have a good night?"

"Good morning, Twilight. It was great. I feel great. Thank you for letting us stay here."

Twilight smiled widely. "I'm happy to have guests. This castle can feel quite large and empty sometimes." She spread her forehooves in a wide gesture. "Having everypony here together is a wonderful thing!"

"Theshe bwabwa paffwah aff weeefiouf, foo."

Twilight stared at McAllister. "What?"

Pinkie laughed. "You need more to drink!" She seized a pitcher of milk from nearby on the large table, disappeared into empty air, and reappeared from behind him, hanging off his chair and refilling his mug. "Okay, now say it again!"

McAllister nodded and lifted the mug in thanks, gulped the milk, and took a gasping breath. "These pancakes are delicious, too!"

"Wompy pomfy shompf," Rainbow Dash added helpfully, her eyes slightly bugged out from lack of oxygen. Pinkie poured her a mug of creamy milk as well, which she slurped greedily. "Thanks Pinkie. I was trying to say I love your pancakes."

"Oheee! Thank you!" Pinkie was overtly happy.
"See how much easier it is to speak when your mouth isn't horribly crammed?" Rarity sniffed.

"I was hungry!," McAllister and Rainbow Dash exclaimed in unison.

"I was meaning to ask about the sausages," Sanchez interjected. "They taste pretty good. What are they?"

"Actually they're soysages!" Spike said. "I buy them downtown. They're made out of soy, wheat, and lot of other stuff."

Sanchez munched thoughtfully on the succulent greasy brown cylinder. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

"Certainly better than any of our packed rations," McAllister agreed before shoving another forkful of syrup-covered pancake into his mouth. He glanced to the side, and his eyes widened. Pinkie Pie had a stack of pancakes at least twelve inches tall. She eliminated half the stack in a single bite.

McAllister choked a little. "Wow Pinkie. I thought I ate impressively, but you're giving me an inferiority complex."

"Good morning everypony!"

All eyes swiveled to see Celestia standing in the doorway. The humans immediately began trying to get to their feet.

"Please keep your seats. Might I join you?"

"But of course Princess Celestia!" Twilight sounded slightly nervous, as she always was in the presence of her former mentor. "You are always welcome in my house."

"Thank you, Twilight." Celestia approached an empty chair and seated herself. Almost immediately a plate was passed to her with breakfast on it.

Celestia beamed her kindly smile. "Thank you. I'm famished." She lifted a fork towards her mouth.

"Princess Celestia! Who did you talk to last night?"

Celestia paused, the fork inches from her. "Well, I-"

"Princess Celestia! Did you see anything when you flew to Canterlot last night?"

"Well, I-"

"Princess Celestia! Did you-"

"Stop it you guys! Rarity squawked. "Let her eat first! She's hungry!"

Celestia giggled a bit. "I know you all are very curious. But I don't have many more answers now, anyway. I'm sorry."

She ate her pancake while the others thought about it. After a short time, she paused again, "I do, however, have a friend who has agreed to help us."

Twilight looked up at her. "Is it...?"

"Discord."

Twilight nodded. "I thought so."

"He is the most powerful ally we have access to. We will meet him at the clearing in Everfree Forest after breakfast. By the way, these pancakes are delicious."

"Hello everypony!" All eyes again went to the door. This time, Fluttershy stood in it. "I'm sorry I'm late. I had to feed my animals."

"Welcome Fluttershy," Celestia smiled. "We are just eating breakfast before traveling to meet Discord in Everfree Forest."

"Oh my. Discord is coming?"

"Yes now eat some pancakes and try this strawberry sauce!" Pinkie said, throwing a plate in front of an empty chair. Hamilton, sitting next to the empty chair, patted the seat and smiled.

"Oh, okay. Pinkie's pancakes are always amazing." Fluttershy trotted lightly to the chair and sat down. Two seconds later, Starlight Glimmer staggered in the door.

"H... hi,er, good morning, everypony."

The routine was clear at this point. Everyone hooted back in unison.

"Morning!"

"Good!"

"Down!"

"Sit!"

"Pancakes!"

Starlight Glimmer looked confused. "What? Oh my. You must be the aliens I heard about."

Twilight Sparkle introduced her to the humans.

"You come from another world," Glimmer said wistfully. "Tell me, what is it like?"

"It's similar to yours in some ways," Hamilton said. "Very different in others."

McAllister gave a thumbs up. "The pancakes are better here, for starters. And the milk. And the syrup." He reached out and put his arms around Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. "And the company! No offense to you fine gentlemen, but these ladies beat hanging out with you smelly apes all day."

Pinkie Pie giggled with her hoof over her muzzle. Rainbow Dash missed a forkful of pancake that had been headed to her mouth and dropped it down her chest instead. "What the hay!"

McAllister laughed insolently. "Looks like you made a little mess there. Want a bib?"

"Oh gee, couldn't be because some overgrown clownish monkey suddenly grabbed me in the middle of breakfast!" Rainbow Dash said, trying hard to keep a straight face.

McAllister put on a blatantly artificial hurt expression as he solemnly handed her a napkin. "Clownish monkey? How cruel! I demand you at least call me a clownish gorilla!"

Rainbow Dash's self control broke and they both laughed heartily.

Rarity sighed. "I give up. They're so uncouth."

Celestia smiled, amused at their banter. "I'm glad they are getting along so well, though."

"It's a good feeling," Glimmer said. "I can feel it here, the friendship." She smiled groggily.

Twilight peered at her in concern. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm just tired. Remember when I told you not to stay up too late? I didn't keep my own advice. I was reading some books in the library, and the time got away from me." She yawned widely.

"You should rest a bit," Spike said. "Don't worry. I've already taken care of everything for this morning. Big Mac is organizing a posse to check out some reports of disturbances this afternoon, though. We may need your help then."

"Thanks, I'll take a nap as soon as everypony heads out, and we'll do whatever needs to be done this afternoon," Glimmer replied. "Thank you for helping, Spike. I'm still a bit nervous about all this."

"No problem, I'll do anything I can to make your life easier."

"You'll be fine darling," Rarity encouraged. "Twilight told us the plan. You'll be perfect."

"By the way, Luna will be contacting you later this day," Celestia said. "She had a busy night. There has been much activity, and she will be taking my place while I am, ah, traveling." She looked around the table. "I apologize for cutting this short, but Discord will be waiting for us. We should depart soon."

Several minutes later, after the breakfast had finished and the humans had put on their exo suits, they collected at the base of Twilight's castle. The four men stood nearby with Marky and Emmy, watching awkwardly as a teary-eyed Starlight Glimmer bid her friends farewell from the center of a group hug.

"Don't worry. We'll be back." Twilight squeezed her. "Keep the lights on for us."

"I'll hold this place together with my bare hooves if I have to. You had better stay safe and come back home soon," Glimmer sniffed, her eyes wet. "All of you!"

"This is making me feel like we're going to our own funerals," Sanchez said in a low voice.

"Hopefully that is not the case," Emmy answered dryly. "It would make for an embarrassing first mission, if so."

Chris chuckled. "You're starting to sound like me."

Emmy looked up at him with a crooked grin. "Thanks... I think."

Chapter 14: End of the Rope

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The morning was still young when they came in sight of the forest's edge. Although the sun shone down cheerfully on Ponyville, a dark, churning cloud hung low over Everfree. As the group approached, they could see the roadway heading off into the eerie gloom.

Rarity squinted at the sky apprehensively. "This is odd."

"It has been reported around almost every disturbance of this type across Equestria," Celestia explained. "The spontaneous formation of heavy, localized storm clouds above the area of the breach. Even the Wonderbolts cannot fly through them. They carry a heavy magical energy charge that will strike out at anything approaching from the air."

"I don't like it. It's... foreboding."

"Never fear, I am here!" Discord swooped down out of nowhere, waving cheerily at the heavy black storm clouds swirling over Everfree. "Don't be turned off by a few puffy little clouds, you have the spirit of chaos on your side!"

"I don't know, I have a really bad feeling about this," Fluttershy whimpered.

"Have you no faith in my abilities?" Discord put on an exaggeratedly hurt expression.

"I do, but-"

"Then let's proceed! I wish to be done in time for a tea party with your beautiful yellow self and the charming Princess Celestia here."

"Oh, okay. Tea does sound nice..."

"I should have this difficulty solved in no time."

Together they moved down the dirt road towards the clearing with the rift, the gloom deepening as they traveled under the cloud cover. After some time, they neared the heavily trampled brush that marked the location of the military encampment. Although only a few minutes had passed, it was as dark as late evening.

"If we do much more of this back-and-forth between Ponyville and the Gate, we are going to need to bring over some vehicles or something," Sanchez grumbled. "Even with the exos, we aren't quite as fast as these Equestrians without transportation."

"It is a bit of a hike. Some four wheelers would be perfect," Chris replied. "I'll have to see if I can get my hands on a few, if it's okay with our hosts."

"What's that? Twilight asked.

Sanchez turned to her. "Vehicles. We humans aren't quite as efficient at traveling on foot, er, hoof, as you ponies are."

"You need us to provide vehicles? I don't know if we have anything here in Ponyville..."

"No, we were wondering if it is OK to bring some small ones of our own to this side."

Twilight nodded. "Sure, I don't see why not."

Chris sent Jeff a message, and waited a few moments for a reply. Then he turned to Celestia. "Is the road safe right now?" he asked her.

"It should be, the Equestrian military has been patrolling it all the way up to the gate."

"Sanchez, McAllister, do you guys want to keep heading back up to the gate and pick up some off-roaders? Jeff says he will have some ready at the outpost by the time you get there."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun."

Rainbow Dash and Applejack conferred for a moment. "We'll go too," Rainbow Dash volunteered. "It's safer if we go with you."

"Even better!" McAllister grinned. "Well, the sooner we get going, the sooner we'll be back." He began walking, Sanchez and Applejack beside him.

Rarity looked at them as they headed down the road. "Be careful! There may be more things in the woods!"

"Don't worry, they've got ME with them! What could POSSIBLY go wrong?" Rainbow Dash puffed her chest out proudly and struck a heroic pose.

"I shudder to imagine," Rarity said under her breath.

"Huh? Hey wait for me!" Rainbow Dash suddenly noticed she was being left behind and darted after the others.

"We'll be finished by the time they get back here," Discord said confidently while they moved through the brush towards the clearing.

"Discord, I don't mean to insult you, but you haven't seen what we're dealing with." Emmy stared up at him, her expression serious. "I'm glad you're confident, but I wish I could say I shared that confidence. There is evil in that clearing."

"Bah. So serious. Just look at your long, droopy face and frowny eyes. What a party pooper. Don't be such a worry wart. Just let Big Daddy Discord make all the scary monsters go away!"

Emmy sighed and dragged a hoof down her face in frustration. "I give up."

"She's right, Discord," Celestia said. "You are indeed very powerful, and self-confidence is good. But you should take this more seriously."

"Serious just isn't my thing, dear. I am much more a fan of clever humor and witty banter. What the-"

They had just entered the clearing, and the pulsing glow of the rift swirled before them, illuminating the trees and surroundings with flashes of unnameable color.

Discord's mouth dropped and he stared for a moment, but he recovered quickly.

"Tha... That's all? Pish. I thought you had an actual challenge for me."

"This is just one of many around Equestria, Discord," Twilight said. "Things have been coming out and attacking ponies and animals. As of now, the known locations are temporarily under control with containment spells like the one Princess Celestia placed here." She waved at the glowing yellow orb surrounding the rift. "That keeps the monsters from coming out, at least for now. But we don't have the power or knowledge to close it for good. That's what we're hoping you can help us do."

Discord puffed his chest out. "Of course I can."

Pinkie Pie looked at him. "You're not the tiniest bit scared of the creepy, dangerous monster portal to another universe that none of us know anything about except that horrible things come out of it?"

"Nope, not the tiniest bit."

"Even though it may suck you in and you'll get lost forever and never find your way back, or something might come out and eat you up?"

"N... not scary at all."

Pinkie smiled. "You're super brave or super crazy or both! I'm glad you're here to help!"

"Thank you, I guess...?" Discord said uncertainly.

"Can you look at it?." Celestia cut in. "I cannot even do that for long."

Discord peered at it momentarily, then glanced away and squeezed his eyes shut, placing his hand on his forehead.

"Discord? Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked.

"Oh yes, I am perfectly fine. Excellent. Strapping in my youth. This will not be much of a problem at all. Let's get it over with in time for lunch."

"What do you plan to do?" Emmy asked.

"Well, I will go and take a look and see what is on the other side, first."

Emmy's face screwed up in horror. "THAT's your plan?"

"Relax, I am not a pony. I am practically immortal. I have walked this world since before..."

"Yes, yes, but have you ever seen something like THAT before?"

"Well,, no... but I don't see how it could be much different. It looks chaotic. And I simply ADORE chaos."

Emmy frowned and shook her head. "I don't like this at all."

"I'm starting to not like it either," Twilight agreed.

"Oh not you too! Doesn't ANYPONY here have some confidence in me?"

"I do!" said Pinkie Pie. "You're crazy! I love crazy!"

"Anypony BESIDES Pinkie Pie?"

Nopony answered.

Eventually Fluttershy broke the silence. "I guess I do," she mumbled, almost inaudibly.

Another awkward silence followed.

"Off the topic, but has anyone tried shoving, I don 't know, a camera on a stick through or something?" Chris asked after a while.

"We have not tried such a thing yet, the containment field prevents access to or from the rift," the Equestrian officer in charge answered, walking towards them. He saluted. "Welcome Princesses. And guests."

Celestia saluted back. "Has there been any change?"

He lowered his salute after she dropped hers. "Negative, ma'am. All is as you left it last night, with the exception of this cloud formation overhead."

They both glanced upward at the swirling clouds briefly.

"The center point is certainly above the rift, no question about that."

The officer looked back down at Chris. "We can try the camera on a stick thing. We took pictures of the rift, there's a camera over there. And sticks."

"And a rope, please," Chris added.

Ten minutes later, they had an Equestrian camera, the stick, and a fair amount of heavy rope.

Chris looked at the camera and frowned. "Uh, this thing uses film. I don't think that helps us here. How can we see what's on the other side if we have to wait for it to develop?"

"How about your communication thingy?" Twilight asked.

"Hmm." Chris pulled out his mobile phone tablet. "I don't much like the idea of putting the information encrypted on this thing into a potential enemy portal. What if something on the other side found a way to use it against us?"

Hamilton was digging through his pack. "I thought... Ah here it is!"

He held up a simple digital camera. "This oughta do it!"

"Perfect. Hand it over please."

Hamilton hesitated. "I, uh, had wanted to take some photos with our new friends and stuff... Can you try not to break it?"

Chris snatched the camera away. "I don't know, ask the rift to be gentle or something dude. This is kind of important." He taped the camera onto the end of the stick and handed it to Discord. "It's in video mode. Before you shove it through, we'll turn it on and see what's on the other side."

"Very well. Celestia dear, can you please desummon the containment field?

"Hold on a sec," Chris said. He held up the rope. "Tie this around your waist. Just in case."

"A rope? Around my waist? What kind of a joke is this? You think I will need to get reeled in like some errant fish?" Discord grumbled, but he immediately tied the rope securely around his waist nonetheless.

"Not at all. You are rather like an early deep sea explorer. They had a retrieval line hooked to their diving suits, back in the day."

"Ridiculous. But if it makes you feel better, I shall wear it," Discord said, seemingly overlooking that fact that he already was doing exactly that.

The other end of the rope was tied around a tree at the edge of the clearing, and limited slack was left for Discord to move around.
He hefted the camera. "Let's try this again."

Equestrian soldiers with flamethrowers stepped forward and took up positions a few feet to either side of Discord. Marky and the humans held their weapons at low ready position, prepared to instantly engage any threats.

Celestia stepped forward alongside Discord. "Are you ready?"

"As soon as I turn this thing on." He pressed the button. "Aaaand... now I'm ready. Desummon the field please."

He walked towards the rift. Celestia's horn glowed as she cast the reversal spell, and suddenly the crack in space stood alone under the glowering sky, casting bizarre dances of light and color across the onlookers.

Determinedly, Discord approached the floating crevice. As he neared it, sounds tickled the edge of his hearing. Voices whispered, distant screams, or perhaps simply the echoes of energy and alien physics bleeding through time and space.

He hesitated a moment, the kaleidoscopic pulse of indescribable colors pressing painfully against his mind. An oppressive fear grew inside him, almost as if the pure extract of terror was leaking through from whatever horrible dimension existed on the other side. This place was not right. It was not a place where anything sane was supposed to be. It was all he could do to keep from running away right there.

"I have to do this, or one of them will have to," he whispered to himself shakily, "And they are not as strong as I am against magic and chaos." He thrust the camera forward into the opening. From the side, it looked as if the end of the stick was simply gone. From Discord's point of view, it was like pushing the stick into a gelatinous mass. The camera faded from view as he pushed the stick in. He swiveled it around for good measure, as far as he could, then pulled it out after twenty seconds or so. The camera looked completely untouched.

"Well, that's that." He walked back to the others, taking on a jaunty, confident stride through sheer force of will. As he went, one of the guards suddenly yelled "CONTACT!" and fired a stream of flame onto one of the larvae monsters as it dropped onto the ground.

Discord paused to watch the monster burn. "How interesting." He then finished walking back to the group, and held the camera out to Chris. "Let's see if it worked?"

Hamilton shouldered past Chris, took the camera and pressed some buttons, then frowned. "It's all just garbage. Colors, nonsense, and static. Nothing useful on this clip at all." He turned the camera off and put it away. "Now what?"

"Now, I'm going to take a look myself," Discord said.

Emmy scowled. "Seriously not liking this idea."

"Well, the CAMERA came back in one piece."

"The camera isn't a living, ah, entity...?"

"I'm the spirit of chaos! If anything, those monsters should be afraid of ME!"

Emmy looked unimpressed. "More like a spirit of recklessness."

"He is more powerful than any of us," Celestia commented.

"Enough of this nonsense. I'm doing this. Right now."

"Maybe you shouldn't do it after all?" Fluttershy suggested.

"Back in time for tea." Discord began walking back towards the gate.

Celestia followed after him. "Discord?"

He stopped, and she came up to him, out of earshot of the others. "Why are you in such a hurry to do this? Don't let your pride force you into a rash decision. You don't have to do this. Tell them I made you stop."

Discord looked at her. "Celestia. You asked me to do this, and rightly so. I am the most powerful being around here."

Celestia's eyes bored into his. "Are you so sure? I remember once Tirek drained your powers, and you were helpless."

"I made the mistake of trusting him."

"And maybe today you're making the mistake of trusting your own powers too much!"

Discord sighed. "Just between you and I. If you ever tell anypony else I said these words to you, I will laugh and pretend I have no idea what you are talking about."

Celestia said nothing, but was surprised at the sudden seriousness in his voice. Had Discord EVER been serious before in his life? She hadn't thought he was even capable of such a thing.

He looked into her eyes for a moment. "I'm absolutely terrified right now," he said softly. "But I think I have to do this."

Celestia's eyes widened. She had not expected to hear that. "But... you..."

He continued. "Somepony has to do this. I'm the toughest, and I'm frightened. Nothing makes me afraid. Being turned to stone made me angry, but it didn't make me afraid. So this is important. I am positive it would be certain death for any of you or your friends to try what I'm about to attempt. This problem isn't going to go away on it's own. You came to me for help, and I'm going to try to help you."

Celestia opened her mouth, but Discord started again.

"I betrayed you all, before. I still feel guilty about that. You've always been good to me, Celestia, and even as I've disrespected you and Twilight, I've always secretly admired you both."

"Discord, you don't have to prove anything to me or anypony else."

"Oh, but I have to prove it to me. I've been a jerk for so long, I have to convince myself that I actually care enough about my friends to take a real risk, for once in my life."

Suddenly, Celestia reached out and gave him a hug. When she released him, Discord looked at her in surprise.

"You know, it's not very often that somepony else has ever given me a hug. It's usually more of a me-hanging-off-them-while-they-look-uncomfortable kind of thing."

Celestia smiled awkwardly. "Thank you, Discord. Please be careful."

"Danger's my middle name, baybee. Or it would be, if I had a last name."

He turned back towards the others and waved, noticing that the humans and some ponies had collected at his rope and were holding it, feeding it out as he moved.

"No time like the present for men to act as men," Discord mumbled to himself as he stalked resolutely towards the rift, feeling Celestia's eyes on his back.

As he neared it, the sense of fear was like a physical barrier pushing him back. He kept swallowing at the panic rising inside, his arms loose and throbbing with adrenaline.

"Just colors. Just a magic portal. Nothing to be afraid of," he lied to himself, and didn't believe a word of it.

Tendrils of light drifted towards him, seemingly eager for his touch. Indecipherable voices cooed and whispered, a promise of incomprehensible suffering.

He reached out, and touched the core of the rift with his paw. It squished like jelly, giving with pressure, absorbing him, dissolving to nothingness. NO!

But when jerked his paw back, his arm was whole.

"This is going nowhere. I'll just have to take a look, then. I hope I don't get one of those nasty monsters right on my face. That would be most unpleasant."

Pushing down the overwhelming fear, he put his snout up to the opening, and pushed, his head vanishing inside it.
From the side, it looked eerily as if he'd just been beheaded. The eerie reflective light swept across Discord's seemingly headless body as he peered into the rift.
After a few moments, his voice was audibly amplified, coming from the rift through some bizarre trick of physics.

"Oh no. Oh please, no. I can't see this..."

The light seemed to grip him and suddenly the clearing was filled with his screaming, a sound of hopeless, unrelenting horror like the agonized howl of a wild animal being eaten alive, his forearms waving around as if he was trying to pull his head out of a trap. Energy from the rift flowed over him and created a swirling vortex, trying to suck his body in.

"PULL HIM OUT!" Chris bellowed. He leaned back, pulling on the rope with the others, the servos of his and Hamilton's exo suits whining with the strain.

"DISCORD!" Fluttershy screamed. She tried to rush to the rift to aid him, but Twilight threw a stasis field around her in midair, trapping her in place.

"It's too dangerous Fluttershy! It's too powerful! You would be torn apart!"

"LET ME GO! LET ME HELP HIM! HE'S MY FRIEND!"

"I'm sorry Fluttershy. He's my friend too. And I can't let you go."

Fluttershy strained and fought, but she couldn't get free. Her eyes flashed with anger, and she growled. "I hate you, Twilight."

Twilight flinched, the words hurting like a physical slap in the face. Her eyes teared up, but she didn't release Fluttershy. "I... I'm sorry. I'm really sorry," she whispered haltingly, her vision suddenly blurry, holding the struggling Fluttershy tightly in stasis. "So sorry."

The eldritch light held Discord for an endless moment, and he screamed without breathing, the terror flowing from him almost liquid, whatever vision he saw tearing into his mind like an exposed blender blade mutilating a watermelon. The humans and Equestrians pulled hard on the strong rope, grunting and shouting, muscle and machine at their limits, pulling with such force that it was amazing Discord was not torn in half.

They gained an inch, and then another inch, fighting tooth and glove to extricate him.

Suddenly the light vanished back into the breach, and Discord, freed, fell back forcefully.

This gave Celestia the opening she had been hoping for, and she immediately sprang forward, casting a containment sphere around the glowing rift, temporarily sealing it off as Discord was dragged to safety with the rope around his waist. He was still screaming, thrashing around as if he was on fire. The ponies rushed forward and tried to hold him, but he was immensely powerful and seemingly unaware of the severe blows he dealt with his whipping body as he slammed them violently into the air. When he stopped moving it was abrupt, as if all his energy was gone. He dropped to the ground and lay almost unmoving in the dirt.

"Discord? Discord!"

Celestia was standing over him on one side, her face a mix of fear, concern, and guilt. Twilight had finally released Fluttershy, and she stood on the other side, tears running down her face.

Discord looked up at them with eyes that saw nothing but the burned afterimage of indescribable horrors from another world.

He whispered. "I saw."

Celestia crouched down and picked his head up gently in her front hooves, holding him to her breast.

Fluttershy knelt on the other side, her face wracked with worry, water brimming in her eyes as she shook silently.

"What did you see?" Celestia whispered.

Discord's staring eyes widened sightlessly, and with great effort he grasped her shoulders, pulling himself forward to whisper into her ear.

"I saw so much. So much. Too much. Too much for me. Too much for anypony."

A tremor ran through his body and he choked up, his eyes bugging out of his head as some indescribably horrific memory replayed.

"Oh my." Fluttershy put a hoof on his forehead and he relaxed somewhat, breathing again in shallow gasps.

Celestia glanced at the rift. "I have to look myself. I have to understand."

With a tremendous effort, Discord focused his eyes on her. "NO! You would die or go mad! Never go near it! You don't belong. I... I... didn't... I don't..."

His focus faded, his eyes glazed over, and he fell back to mumbling. "And I thought I was a god of chaos. But that.. that was... Real chaos. Evil chaos. So much evil. I thought... Inside-out. They were all inside-out. If they catch your soul, it's where you go. No. Inside-out. No! It tried to touch me! Make it go away! Please!"
His mumbling became completely incoherent and soon he fell silent, all expression leaving his pale face as his grip on her shoulders weakened and he sank back into her forehooves.

"Discord? Discord!" She shook him with her hooves.

He whispered, barely more than the softest sigh of breath escaping dying lungs. "Echoes in the darkness. Echoes... in the... darkness." His eyes closed and he collapsed, dangling limply in her grasp as one already dead.

Fluttershy looked around in a panic, her eyes wild. "Help! Somepony! Help! He needs a doctor! Now!"

The medic ponies, who had been standing frozen in shock, leapt into action at the sound of her voice. They rushed over, carrying a medical bag and other gear.

"-he's alive!"

"Barely!"

"Get him in the cart!"

"Didn't train to deal with... whatever he is."

"Shut your hole and get him on a stretcher, we'll take him to Ponyville Hospital!"

They ran to Discord with a stretcher, calling orders to each other and hurriedly bringing him to the back of one of the military supply wagons. Equestrian soldiers and the humans jumped up into the cart and pitched cargo onto the ground to make room.

As soon as it was clear, the medics slid the stretcher into the cart. Celestia and Fluttershy boarded with him.

"Ma'am, respectfully, you ladies can stay, but please keep out of the way," one of the medics told Celestia hurriedly. "Your friends, however, must find other transportation."

Twilight stood in the grass, watching as they took positions.

Fluttershy looked back out of the wagon, her eyes wet and frightened. For a moment it appeared she wanted to say something, then she turned away as the vehicle started rolling.

"We'll follow you!" Twilight called after them as the cart took off down the road, two galloping stallions in front pulling it at high speed towards town. She turned away and stood for a moment, thinking, staring down the road.

Headlights appeared from the direction of the gate. Three small wheeled vehicles sped towards her on the road and skidded to a stop on the rocks and dirt.

Two of the vehicles were driven by McAllister and Sanchez, the other appeared to be driving itself behind them.

"Aww man that's fun!" Rainbow Dash whooped from beside McAllister on the bench seat, her forehooves on the dashboard.

"Hell yeah." McAllister grinned.

Sanchez rolled past them with Applejack riding passenger next to him, then pulled up next to Twilight. The vehicle had a compartment with two bench seats in front and a cargo bed in the rear. It had John Deere Gator written on the side, and Twilight saw it had some kind of cage bars over the passenger area, featuring a windshield and a roof but no doors.

Applejack swung herself out the side and approached Twilight, noting her friend's drawn expression. "Are you okay sugar cube? You don't look so good. Where's Princess Celestia? And Fluttershy?"

"Things went badly, Applejack. Really badly. Discord is seriously injured, maybe even dying. Celestia and Fluttershy are on the way to the Ponyville Hospital with him right now."

"Oh no."

"Yeah." Twilight looked at the offroaders, and at Chris. "Can you follow them on those?"

"For sure. Let's mount up. We can give you rides."

"Thank you."

Chris jumped in the third Gator and tapped the console, switching it from Autofollow to Manual Control. Emmy slid into the front seat next to him. "Is it okay if I sit here?"

"Of course."

Marky and Hamilton hopped into the back seat. Once everyone was aboard, the three vehicles took off down the road towards Ponyville, accelerating rapidly through the gloomy forest.

Chapter 15: Coma

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Discord had already been rushed into Ponyville Hospital by the time the three Gators slid to a halt outside.

The humans and Equestrians piled off and headed for the front door. Inside, the atmosphere was tense as Fluttershy and Celestia greeted them in the lobby.

"He's in the ICU," Fluttershy said, her face taut with worry. "The doctors told us to wait out here."

Twilight sat next to Fluttershy. Hamilton sat next to her on the other side.

Time ticked by for a bit in silence. Fluttershy kept glancing at Twilight out of the corner of her eyes.

Finally she spoke. "Twilight?" Her voice was husky.

"Hey, Fluttershy. Are you okay?"

She looked up, her eyes moist again. "No, not really, and that's partly my own fault. Twilight, I'm really sorry about what I said to you in the clearing. I knew you were only trying to help, but I was so... I mean, It was a terrible thing to say. I don't hate you. I could never. Please forgive me."

Twilight reached out and gave Fluttershy a hug. "I know. It was a terrible moment for all of us. Especially for you. You're closer to Discord than any of us."

Fluttershy sniffled and touched her eye with her hoof. "Thank you Twilight. I just... I just hope he'll be okay."

"The hospital will do everything they can for him, and so will we."

Soon after, the doctor came out. "We have moved him to a bed. If you will follow me..." The lab-coated pony hesitated. "I may have to ask some of you to wait in the hallway. I don't know if there's enough room for all of you."

They stood quickly, and he led them through several hallways into a medium sized ward, noticeably empty of other patients.

"With Discord's powers and, uh, colorful history, we want to keep him separate if there is any possibility of his awakening in a disturbed mental state. We can find nothing wrong with him physically. We have taken X-rays of his head and neck region, but it appears normal, even given how little we know of his anatomy."

Celestia looked at Discord's still, pale form on the hospital bed. Fluttershy sat on a chair next to him, and gently placed her hoof on his motionless claw.

"It's hard to tell what's going on," the head doctor continued. "His vitals appear to be quite different from our own. We have never had a creature like him under our care before. We don't even know what is normal for him." The doctor gestured at the nurses in attendance. "Right now we've got him on a simple saline hydration IV. As for other drugs or treatments, well, we don't know if something might kill him outright. Look at this over here." He pointed at the EEG machine, its wire leads taped onto Discord's forehead. "According to the machine, he is conscious right now. But he is completely unresponsive, and his body is behaving as if he were comatose. This situation is beyond our scope. We need somepony who specializes in magic."

Zecora moved closer to Discord, reaching put a hoof to touch his forehead. She closed her eyes for a moment. After a few seconds, Celestia noticed they were breathing in unison, Zecora matching the slow, shallow rise and fall of his chest. After a moment she stepped back.

"Neither dragon nor pony resides within,
His chaotic spirit is trapped inside,
He cannot feel our presence,
Yet still his essence,
Awaits release to be united again."
Rainbow dash cocked her head. "Zecora? What does that mean?"
"Your quest you must complete,
Many horrors must you defeat.
Here I must remain,
His soul to sustain,
Else he will never be Discord again."

Celestia spoke to the others. "His body is stable, but his mind is injured. Zecora must remain and help him." With great effort she kept her face neutral, pangs of regret thrashing within her. It's your fault this happened. You asked him. He wouldn't refuse you. You should have known better.

Zecora nodded and put a hoof on Celestia's shoulder, pulling her aside and speaking into her ear in a low tone.

"Blame not yourself, he went willingly.
To protect his friends he took the opportunity.
Though he suffers much,
From evil's touch,
I'm sure, although he'd never say,
To protect you all, he'd give much more than he has today."

Celestia sniffed almost indiscernibly and swallowed at the lump in her throat. "Thank you, Zecora. Please help him." She turned to the doctor. "Zecora here has extensive knowledge of magically inflicted maladies and injuries. She will be your specialist."

The doctor looked at Zecora for a moment, then nodded his approval. "I've seen your work before, you have great skill in areas of medicine we do not often deal with. Very well. As this is a unique situation, we will... suspend standard protocol. We will give you laboratory space, and continue providing whatever assistance we can. If there is anything anything we can do to help, just say the word."

"Go Princess, I will do what I can,
But to bring him forth from madness edge,
You must depart soon, must drive a wedge,
Betwixt the dark abyss and the world of Man."

"Good fortune to you, Zecora," Celestia said. She stepped close to Discord's bed and whispered in his ear. "Discord. If you can hear me, we're going to find a way to help you. Zecora will stay here and take care of you for now. I'm so sorry for what happened to you."
She stood up and headed for the door. "We had best go immediately."

Zecora nodded, already absorbed in checking Discord's body and taking notes.

Fluttershy leaned over and gave Discord a kiss on his pale cheek, spoke indiscernible words quickly into his ear, then followed the rest of the group out of the hospital ward.

Outside the hospital, Celestia paused for a moment. "Are we ready to depart now?"

"I already have somepony watching my animals," Fluttershy said. "I'm ready."

"Starlight Glimmer should be set for now with Spike helping her," Twilight added.

"She's really cute," Hamilton said quietly, seemingly to himself.

McAllister, who was close enough to hear, grinned mischievously and opened his mouth, then thought better of it and pretended to cough into his hand instead.

"We should get moving." Rainbow Dash waved her hoof at the sky. "The day won't wait for us!"

Chris and Emmy swung into the front seat of their Gator. "Lets ride."

Celestia and Marky got into the back seat, sitting next to each other. Chris spun the wheel and led the two other vehicles in a convoy back towards the Oblivion Gate.

As the rocks kicked up behind them, Celestia spoke. "Marky?"

He stiffened slightly. "Yes Princess?"

"Call me Celestia, please. And relax, I'm not going to bite you."

"Sure thing, Prin- uh, Celestia, ma'am."

"Drop the ma'am please. Do you mind if I ask you some personal questions?"

"Um, no, not at all. Ask away."

"Are you a Prince?"

Marky cocked his head. "What? Why would I be a prince?"

"You are an Alicorn. Alicorns are rather uncommon. Gifted by special circumstances, if you will."

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean by 'special circumstances'."

"Well, I am, after all, a Princess of Equestria. Every Alicorn is a Princess in Equestria."

Marky blinked. "Well, where I come from, there are a lot of Alicorns, and not much special about the most of them."

"A lot?" Celestia squinted slightly.

"Yeah. Most everyone is an Alicorn, in fact. It's... ordinary. I mean, you stay after school and there are Alicorn janitors cleaning up the halls. Go to to Pattymelt King for lunch, and it's Alicorns cooking up your food. Alicorns jumping off the garbage truck to pick up your trash cans in the morning. Alicorns everywhere. Everyone is an Alicorn."

It was Celestia's turn to look surprised. "If everypony is an Alicorn, your society must be possessed of a very powerful magic!"

Marky shook his head and chuckled. "Not where I come from. Alicorns are the weakest in magic."

Celestia's confusion grew. "How can that be?"

"Well, as an Alicorn, the small amount of magic inside us is split between telekinesis and flight. It is spread thin, and as a result we are not especially strong in any one area. On the rare occasions that a foal is born lacking a horn or wings, the magic is concentrated into the one remaining skill. For instance, a Unicorn may not be strong or able to fly, but her magic is incredibly powerful compared to an ordinary Alicorn, while the weakest Pegasus can seriously outperform even the most powerful Alicorn fliers."

Celestia openly gaped at him, her royal bearing unable to cover her amazement.

Marky continued. "All the most successful ponies are single-skill. If you are born with just a horn or wings, you pretty much have a guaranteed career of your choosing, educational scholarships, the works. Everyone wants your powers working for them. And if you're lucky enough to be born with the rarest skill of all, an Earth Pony, you're an unstoppable juggernaut with immense strength and endurance that nobody else can compare to. Something about the magic being pent up in the body with no outlet, or something. I wasn't the best in biomagical science." He paused.

Celestia pointed at his upper thigh, covered by his Glock holster. "Do you conceal your cutie mark on purpose?"

Marky glanced down, thrown off by the abrupt change in subject. "My what?"

She poked her hoof at the image of the sun emblazoned upon her own creamy flank. "Your cutie mark?"

"Oh, a Brand?" He shook his head ruefully. "Only the rare Unicorns, Pegasus, or Earth ponies are Branded where I come from. Alicorns don't have sufficient magical energy to develop a Brand."

"You mean..."

"I have no mark at all. I'm not particularly special at all. I have always... OOF!"

Pinkie Pie had suddenly latched onto him, and hugged him until his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"I think you're special!" she squealed. "You're the only pathetically weak, cute boy Alicorn I've ever seen!"

"Urk! urk, urk."

She released him.

"Thank you," he gasped. "I think." He shook himself a little. "Actually, that felt kind of nice, maybe if I took a deep breath beforehand? And hey, how did you even get in this car with us? Weren't you in the car behind us?"

"Oh, I have my ways!" Pinkie Pie smiled deviously. "Teeheehee! See you soon, Marky!"

She leapt backwards out of the rapidly moving vehicle. Marky leaned out in a sudden fright, expecting to see her laying injured on the road. Instead, he saw her waving from the back seat of the Gator behind.

"How does she DO that stuff?" Marky asked, once he regained control of his hanging lower jaw. "She just appears places."

"She is special," Celestia replied. "Nopony really knows exactly how she does it. We simply accept her for who she is, as our dear, unpredictable friend."

Marky looked back at Pinkie Pie waving wildly from behind and shrugged. "Eh. Whatever." He waved back at her, and could see her toothy smile even from where he sat. He turned back to Celestia and smirked good-naturedly. "Works for me."

Chris turned his head from the front seat, where he had been chatting with Emmy while he drove. "Sorry to intrude, but we're almost to the Gate!"

Chapter 16: Welcome to Earth

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Chris steered the Gator towards the Earth gate, where he noticed both human and Equestrian guards standing watch. He waved as they approached. "Hey!"

The gate guard waved back.

Chris slowed his Gator to stop, then got out and gestured at the Equestrians waiting in the vehicle. "We're heading through to Earth."

Seeing Princess Celestia, the Equestrian guards saluted.

"Hold for a moment please," the human guard said. He typed on a small terminal, waited several seconds, then nodded. "Okay, you're cleared for entry."

Chris stepped forward. "I'll go through first, give me a few seconds, I'll be back. I want to be sure everything is okay."

"Take your time," Celestia said.

Chris smiled, then turned and stepped through the gateway.

The liquid transition came and went, and Chris was walking on the stone floor of the Earth-side gate facility. There had been numerous changes overnight. Several armored vehicles were parked at the gate perimeter, their mounted weapons aimed directly at him. Large remote-controlled combat robots stood on watch, as well as numerous armed guards sheltered in defensive fighting positions. Automated heavy defense turrets stood by, silently tracking him with their sensors.

Jeff stood nearby, neatly dressed in a suit. A group of armed guards, also wearing suits, stood behind him. He stepped forward, smiling. "Welcome back."

Chris grinned. "Nice suit. Go ahead and relax the weapons. I'll be bringing a Gator through with our new friends aboard."

"This is huge." Jeff leaned towards Chris and spoke in low tones. "I'm actually pretty nervous."

Chris grinned. "Don't worry. They're really cool. You'll see. I'll be back in a minute."

As the turrets and firearms swung politely towards the ground, Chris returned through the Gate anomaly. This go around, his timing was perfect as he walked out on the other side in a flash of light. "Just like stepping off an escalator," he said to himself. He headed over to the Gator. "Everyone ready?"

"Indeed yes," Celestia said. "What is traveling through the gate like?"

"It's a piece of cake," Chris said. He slid back into the driver's seat next to Emmy, who was smiling broadly at him. "Although I haven't driven a vehicle through," he added thoughtfully. "Maybe you all should hang on, just in case. Ready when you are, Celestia."

"I am ready."

Chris leaned out and waved at Sanchez and McAllister driving the other two Gators behind him, then drove forwards into the Gate. The vehicle rolled into the liquid distortion with slight resistance, pressing through the anomaly's surface tension. The roll cage seemed to push back the water effect, and inside the passenger compartment, no difference was felt. Light flashed around them, there was a slight sensation of falling, and then the vehicle wheels were squeaking on the coated concrete floors of the Earthside Gate dome.

"That was cool," Emmy said. "Wow."

"I know, right?" Chris drove the vehicle slowly away from the Oblivion Gate, then brought it to a halt. "All ashore who's going ashore," he called out cheerfully. His passengers disembarked.

There were several gasps of surprise and a few excited exclamations amongst the human guards as Celestia alighted gracefully from the vehicle. Several of them appeared to recognize her by name, and there was a note of expectation and awe in the air.

Celestia stood on the concrete and looked around. Her eyes got big as she took in the humans and their unfamiliar technology, and the gate mechanisms rotating slowly above her like the clockwork of a monstrous mechanical globe.

Jeff quickly walked towards her, a massive smile on his face. "Welcome to Earth, Princess Celestia. My name is Jeffrey Peterson, owner of Protean Advanced Cybernetics Technology."

Celestia regained her composure with admirable speed. "Good day sir, it is a pleasure to meet you and to visit your world. I only wish it was under better circumstances."

Jeff looked somber. "Although a great danger hangs over our head, this is truly an historic moment. This is the first time people of our world have greeted extraterrestrial visitors in friendship."

As they spoke, the other two Gators came through the Oblivion Gate, one after the other. Their passengers disembarked and formed a circle, ponies and humans intermingled. Pinkie Pie somehow managed to be the only one to fall flat on her face as she exited the vehicle. Hamilton peeled her off the ground with care, and she sprang up wildly.

"Oh! This place is so exciting!" She bounced forward energetically, openly curious about everything in sight. "What this? Oooh, what's that? What is that thing!?" She scooted towards the heavily armed hulking machines.

Marky looked at her solemnly. "I suggest you do not get to close to those devices, Pinkie Pie. They are not toys."

Pinkie looked disappointed. "Oh, okay."

The tension seemed to leak out of the room with her silly behavior.

Rarity was admiring Jeff's suit. "Such a nice outfit. I had no idea humans have such fashion sense!"

Chris looked at Jeff and shrugged. "I told you it was a nice suit. This fine lady confirms my good taste."

Marky walked towards Chris, gesturing towards the millions of dollars in weapons technology placed strategically around the room. "An impressive display of armaments. Quite interesting, many of your combat robotics are bipedal. Ours are usually quadrupeds."

Chris raised his eyebrows. "You have attack robots?"

Marky hesitated. "Yes, but I can't exactly go home to pick up armaments anymore, and I'm not an engineer who remembers how to build one, so it doesn't help much now."

Chris nodded. "Yeah, a shame. I wish I could see what your people had created."

Celestia swung a hoof around. "Mr. Peterson, allow me to introduce my friends. This is Applejack,"
" Well howdy there pardner it's a pleasure to meet you!" Applejack took off her hat and held it in her hoof while she reached out with her right. Jeff smiled and leaned over to shake her hoof.

"Rarity."

"SO pleased to make your acquaintance."

"The honor is all mine, ma'am."

"Fluttershy,"

"Oh, hello there sir. It is so very nice to meet you," Fluttershy said, almost inaudibly. She seemed to be hiding behind her own long pink mane.

Jeff squinted down at her carefully. "Charmed, I'm sure."

"Rainbow Dash,"

The winged blue Equestrian was hovering in the air above his head. She sank down to his level and dangled in the air vertically, reaching out a hoof in greeting.

"Yeah, cool to meet you, dude."

Jeff shook her hoof, a genuine smile of amusement lighting his face up. "You fly?"

The blue pony struck a pose. "Well obviously, I'm doing it right now, right in front of..."

"Rainbow Dash! Behave!" Rarity hissed.

The winged pony drooped in the air. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."

Jeff laughed. "You're right though... It was a dumb question. By the way, how fast can you fly?"

She perked up immediately, a huge smile beaming on her face. "I'm INCREDIBLY fast. You wanna see?"

"Hmm, very much, actually. But a bit later. We do have things to take care of first."

Visibly trying to hide her disappointment, Rainbow Dash flitted upwards slightly.

Celestia gestured towards Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship."

He bowed to her slightly. "Princess."

She bobbed and held up a hoof. He took it and she shook his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you," she said, smiling widely.

"Very nice," Jeff said, momentarily lost in her pearly white teeth. "You have a beautiful smile."

Twilight blushed a bit. "Well.. Thank you."

Jeff shook his head slightly. "I'm sorry, I was thinking that and it just came out."

She smiled even wider.

Celestia waved at the green unicorn standing near Chris and Marky.

"Emerald Resonance."

"Just call me Emmy, please," she said, a bit shyly.

"Oh, and this is Marky," Chris said, directing the black Alicorn towards Jeff.

"Hello," Marky said. He offered a hoof as well. "Pleased to meet you."

"And yourself as well." Jeff smiled genuinely as he shook Marky's hoof. Then he spoke louder, to all of them. "And again, welcome to Earth. If you don't mind, I would like to take all of you to our lodging facility and provide you with rooms and a site briefing on the local amenities and safety procedures."

"That sounds very educational." Princess Celestia started to return to the Gator.

"Ma'am, would you like a more comfortable conveyance?" Jeff asked, some concern in his voice. "There is a VIP bus waiting nearby."

Celestia hesitated, looking at the beautiful scenery surrounding her. "I... Ah, is it okay if we use these? I greatly enjoy the fresh air, and the view."

"If you so desire, that is not a problem." Jeff climbed into the back seat next to Celestia. Emmy scooted into the middle of the front bench, pressing up against Chris's right elbow. She waved at Marky and patted the seat next to her. He squeezed in so they were three across in the front. Chris started the engine, and led the convoy out of the Oblivion Gate dome.

Celestia and the others gazed around outside, looking at the rising tiers of green land and the myriad waterfalls cascading down it. The sound was soothing, and rainbows sparkled in the air where rays of sunlight illuminated spray mist from the cataracts.

"This place is so beautiful," Celestia said softly as they rolled along the bridge.

"I'm glad you, ah, like it," Jeff replied, momentarily fascinated by the reflection of the waterfalls in her huge, shining eyes. "I, uh, do always enjoy coming here myself."

He tore his sight away from her curious face with an effort of will and pointed out sights of interest as they traveled through the valley.

Chapter 17: Inprocessing

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The party disembarked from the Gators in front of the tallest building on the campus. Jeff led Celestia and her wide-eyed entourage through the front door and to the desk. Mouths dropped and eyes bugged as they looked around, taking in the enormous interior, the trees, the artificial waterfall, and the floors reaching up above their heads to the distant skylight.

"This is the main administrative building of the campus as well," Jeff informed them. "There is much more underground on this installation, also there are surface processing plants, warehouses, and such. Now, if you all would be so kind as to congregate in this area, I will brief you momentarily."

The Equestrians gathered around quickly while several ProteC employees approached carrying boxes.

"Ah, thank you." Jeff reached into one of the boxes, then held out a device for everyone to see. "This is a combined communicator and identification badge. It fits around your wrist like this." He held it up his hand then trailed off, looking at Celestia's hoofs awkwardly.

She blinked back at him, then smiled. "Oh I see, well, I think it will fit me fine. May I?"

"Yes, uh, here." Jeff held the band out.

Celestia took it from him telekinetically and easily wrapped it around her foreleg. It activated, and Jeff handed her a headset as well.

"This is your hands-free... uh, your audio/video interface. The wristband contains a computer that can provide you with information from both our databases and the Web over a secure network..." He trailed off again at Celestia's blank expression. "Well, just ask it questions. It will respond to your voice commands."

Celestia smiled again. "Thank you." She put on the headset as well, which included transparent glasses.

Jeff raised his voice so everyone could hear. "You will notice that the headset includes a visor. This visor serves two purposes. On one hand, er, hoof, it is made out of a blast-resistant synthetic polymer capable of deflecting a direct impact from a bullet, so it can function as high-end safety glasses. On the other, it provides your holographic Augmented Reality Heads-Up Display, or ARHUD, interface. The ARHUD will change the way you see the world, providing overlays and context-sensitive information in real time. It will require proximity to your wristband to function. Oh, and it can polarize in bright light to function as sunglasses, or to protect you from damaging, unnatural light levels as well as UV radiation."

He held up a headset. Assistants handed out wristbands and headsets to all the other Equestrians.

Jeff continued. "For your safety, please wear these wristbands at all times. They will track your location and provide you with relevant information about this facility. You can ask directions and it will guide you. Call anyone and each other, whatever. Call me up anytime of the day or night. Oh, and if you have an emergency, just call for help and Security Control will respond. Most importantly, the wristband contains a digitally imprinted token that allows security drones and systems to recognize you in the event biometrics fails. This can be the difference between being safe and being shot dead should problems arise, so again, please do not wander the grounds without wearing your band!"

Jeff watched as the Equestrians pressed their holographic wristbands and adjusted the ARHUD displays. "Any questions?"

Marky held up his wrist. "Do I need to charge it?"

"ProteC vehicles and facilities include advanced long-range pulse field inductive charging systems that keep the headsets and wristbands, as well as many other mobile devices, charged as long as you are within range, which is anywhere inside one of said buildings or vehicles, for the most part. There's a small charge icon on the upper right of your vision, as you can see right now it shows charging. The internal batteries can last up to a week in the field before running out of juice."

"I see it. That's a pretty impressive system. What's the range like?"

"Using ProteC and civilian infrastructure, it will connect most places in the world. On the rare occasion you are out of range, there's a good chance you will connect via satellite."

There was plenty of low volume chatter and headset adjusting. Holographic displays blinked on and off.

"You can also use them play music and watch movies or games, if you want," Sanchez added.

"Or read books," Hamilton added, looking pointedly at Twilight.

Her ears pricked up. "Books?"

"Yes, there are hundreds of thousands of books available on the library app."

"Library," Twilight said softly. A search function appeared floating in front of her vision, and numerous suggested titles scrolled by. "Oh my goodness. This is amazing."

"Well, this is the last time we hear from her for the duration of this trip," Rainbow Dash sighed.

"Oh no, I was just looking. I'll definitely try it more later though! Thank you, Hamilton."

"Anytime, Twilight."

She looked around. "These glasses look really cool on everypony, though. Especially you, Rainbow Dash."

"What can I say. Everything that touches me, becomes awesome."

Jeff cleared his throat. "Alright, if everyone is comfortable with their issued materials, I need you to form a line in front of the machines at the front of the room. Biometric data will be logged from each of you, including a retinal scan and a blood sample. This is required to verify your access to specific areas, and for an alternate form of recognition in addition to your bands. If anyone is unwilling to complete this process, or has a fear of needles, please let myself or an attendant know, and we will find an acceptable solution. Again, this is for your safety at this facility."

He watched as lines formed. No-one seemed to have a problem with the process. There was some delay at the first retinal scan, however. The machine didn't recognize the huge Equestrian orbs as an eye at all. It took several minutes to get the handheld scanner to accept the out-of-tolerance readings. However, once the problem was solved and the central database was updated, all the scanners functioned properly.

Marky walked towards the attendants and calmly held out his leg while they took a blood sample. He waited for a prick, but felt only slight pressure. "You're good, thank you," the human said. "Have a nice day."

He paused for a moment to watch a frustrated human trying to get a sample from Pinkie. She wouldn't stay still for a second, and it finally took two people, one gesticulating wildly, to distract her enough to finish the procedure.

Marky shook his head and smiled to himself. "What a goof. I'm glad she's here."

"Okay everyone!" Jeff said. The room grew quiet. "Follow the attendants to your lodging quarters, please. If there are any problems or special requests, feel free to bring it up and we will do our best to accommodate you!"

***

"Here is your room." Jeff showed her how to touch the holographic button to open the door, and it slid open. Celestia walked forward into the spacious area, marveling at the view through the huge windows, the luxurious furniture, and the devices scattered around.

"What do all these things do?" she asked.

"Well, this here is actually a coffee machine. And that, well you probably won't need that, it's for clothes. By the way, if you don't' know what to do with anything in here, your ARHUD can provide instructions."

He showed her how to use the interface to access information on equipment.

"Thank you, I think I get it now."

"If you don't mind, I will go check on Twilight," Jeff said. "I imagine you must be hungry. We were planning to take you all to lunch, if you would like."

"That sounds very pleasant."

"Great then, I will be back in a few minutes. Everything here is free game for you, by the way. Touch anything and everything."

"Thank you. It's lovely here."

Jeff smiled and headed to the door, giving Celestia a few minutes of privacy to look around.

The room was beautiful in a way Celestia was not used to. Instead of tapestries and gold curtains on the walls, flat panels on the walls showed various images. A holographic projection of a globe hung above the table, rotating slowly. Celestia turned slowly in a circle, taking in the unfamiliar technology.

"It's like magic that works when nopony is around," she said to herself, softly. "Fascinating."

She moved around the room, investigating. Most things were familiar to her, although obviously more advanced than the devices she was used to back in Equestria. The sink, for instance. It did not have knobs, but when she swept a hoof under it, the water came on. She noticed that her wristband reacted to the environment, offering various controls for the lights and other nearby equipment.

She was sweeping her hoof in front of one of the wall posters, watching different vibrant paintings and pictures change before her, when she felt a twinge at the edge of her consciousness.

The hair on her spine prickled.

"What the...?"

Another soft, vile touch, as if something evil somewhere in her memories stirred, wanting to be remembered, to live again.

She gasped slightly and swayed, the feeling of slimy tendrils pulling at her thoughts making her nauseous. Her eyes widened. "Oh my. Oh my."

She staggered to the couch and sat down heavily, holding her head in her forehooves and rocking forward. "What's happening to me?"

There was a beep at her door, then it opened softly.

The disorienting sensation left as quickly as it had began, and she looked up to see Jeff returning through the doorway.

His face grew concerned when he saw how she was sitting. "Celestia! Are you feeling okay?"

She smiled weakly. "I'm fine, now. I was a bit dizzy, I guess. I think I'm just a little hungry."

Jeff smiled, relieved. "Well, good. I was actually coming to ask you if you'd like to go downtown and eat some lunch."

Celestia stood. "That sounds like an excellent idea."

"If you're ready, come with me, I'll walk you to the bus."

Celestia smiled warmly. "Thank you, Jeff."

Chapter 18: New Monterrey

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As the humans and Equestrians approached the bus, the side door opened, and Jeff stood aside and gestured for Celestia to step inside. The inside was not standard. Leather chairs, a mini fridge, monitor screens, and a softly carpeted floor greeted her.

Jeff followed Celestia inside, guided her to a large armchair, then sat across from her. He looked out the window, then leaned forward. "The others will arrive shortly, it looks as if one of your companions has questions about the guard robots."

Celestia looked around the vehicle with wide eyes, taking in the posh accessories and decor. "This is very much different from the Gator," she observed.

"It's designed for important visitors," Jeff explained. "We haven't had much use for it yet since most of the programs here are still under wraps. I imagine you will be the most distinguished to ever ride in it, however."

"You flatter me," Celestia replied with a smile. "By the way, what are we going to eat?"

"Mexican food," Jeff replied, then he frowned. "You know, I just realized I forgot to ask what exactly you can eat."

"I'm not sure what you mean," Celestia replied.

Jeff looked uncomfortable. "Well, ah, you are, vegetarians, and..." He trailed off, uncertain how to continue.

Celestia chuckled. "This topic came up already, actually, when your men came to Equestria. We are aware you are omnivores. In fact, we are, to an extent, omnivores ourselves, although we do not consume the flesh of other creatures, we do enjoy fare such as milk products and eggs."

"You're okay with, um, what we eat then?"

"We have a variety of animal species in Equestria, Jeff. They do not all share our aversion to meat consumption. Applejack, for instance, has a pet dog. Fluttershy has numerous animals she associates with, including otters and bears. Twilight Sparkle has an owl. Rarity has a pet cat. As you might imagine, they cannot and do not share our primarily vegetable diet."

"So it's not a problem for you at all then?"

"None, as long as we don't have to eat it ourselves."

"Well that's a relief, then."

Voices came from outside the open door, and in a moment Twilight was climbing into the bus. She stopped, partially blocking the stairway. "This is certainly-"

"Oh, sweeeet!" Rainbow Dash darted over her and plowed into one of the leather armchairs, immediately draping herself over it as if it were a soft cloud.

Rarity stepped delicately up to one and sniffed the armchair. "It's lovely. What is this fabric?"

Jeff opened his mouth, then he shut it again. "Uh, let's discuss that later, shall we?"

Pinkie Pie bounded up the steps, and the doors closed behind her. "Where are we going?"

"There is a town called New Monterrey about five miles away."

"What's that?"

"Well, many of the people who work here at ProteC live there. As part of ProteC's Mexican development initiative program, we hired many personnel from Mexico to help in creation and maintenance of this facility. Most of them live in New Monterrey, as well as contractors and other ProteC personnel..." he trailed off, noticing Pinkie staring at him with a frozen smile, her eyes slowly drifting apart. "Uh, sorry. There's a restaurant there."

Pinkie instantly focused back on him. "What kind of food?"

"Mexican food."

"Is it cheesy?"

"Look here, Pinkie," Twilight interjected. "Use your ARHUD. It has a ton of info in there."

Pinkie cocked her head to the side, and soon nodded. "Oh, I see. These glasses are actually useful!"

Rainbow Dash put her hoof on her face. "Pinkie, were you paying ANY attention today?"

"I'm sorry, I was hungry. I was thinking about frosting!" She drooled.

"How much sugar do you eat, Pinkie?" Sanchez asked, climbing into the bus. The team had changed clothes during the break, and he was dressed casually now, wearing just cargo pants and a polo shirt, with a Glock strapped in a drop-down holster on his leg.

Pinkie sat back in her chair and crossed her legs. "As much as I can," she replied calmly.

"Move your butt, Sanchez," McAllister growled from the stairs.

Chris leaned into the bus after them. "Jeff, do you have a moment?"

"Sure." Jeff got up and exited the bus.

Chris walked him out of earshot of the others. "I hope I'm not out of line in asking this. But may I speak candidly?"

"Of course. I welcome it."

"Boss, what you doing here? I thought this project was secret. But now you're taking them straight off campus, and parading them about downtown?"

Jeff grunted. "Secrecy? Oh, we're way past that, Chris. I've got almost a hundred people dead. Bulletproof alien monsters rampaging about on my island. I believe these Equestrians and their magical powers may be our only hope of neutralizing the problem before it grows any worse."

"Why not guide them around the facility? Show them some of our technology. Let them meet some of the personnel in a secure environment."

"Because I feel strongly from them that they need to see more than scientists and soldiers. They're very emotionally charged. Very... human, in that sense. Their first impression will be important. They need to see a slice of our life as it really is on Earth, outside of the institution. They need to see children. They need to see families, they need to see ordinary people having a good time."

"They have already promised to help us."

"Yes they have. Even from the brief time I have known them, I can see they are a kind and generous sort of people. But I believe they need to be in it for more than just a verbal promise. They need to see what they are protecting. They need to see what's at stake for us."

Chris nodded slowly. "I think you're correct. It's a bit risky, but even if their picture shows up on the Web, who would believe it's real?"

Jeff grinned. "Now you're getting it. Nobody would care how real it looks, because they're already popular fictional characters. We have little to lose, and everything to gain from making a good impression on these Equestrians. Shall we?"

Chris grinned, and together they got back on board.

Soon everyone was seated and the bus doors closed. They shifted slightly as the vehicle glided forward almost silently on its electric hub motors, cruising sedately towards the installation main entrance. The afternoon was beautiful. Applejack and Rainbow Dash peered out the window as they went through the large security gate. Marky observed the guard robots scanning retinas on drivers of cars coming in, and the humans armed with rifles watching over them. "Have you had security issues here in the past?" he asked Jeff.

"Well, when a multi-billion dollar business builds a remote facility, let's just say that it attracts the attention of unsavory individuals. We have had attempts, none successful, to penetrate our facility through force. To put it simply, we are a sovereign state inside Ecuador. We answer to no one, and there are no limitations on what we can do inside our facility... or to defend it. The few attempts made by pirates and gangs failed so miserably that it has served as a memorable example to all. In general, the, ah, undesirable elements don't come near our facility here or New Monterrey at all. ProteC doesn't take kindly to threats directed at our facilities or employees, and the world knows it."

Marky nodded. "I see."

He leaned back in his seat, a thoughtful expression on his face.

The gate passed behind them, and soon they were rushing through the jungle on the well maintained road. The trip was uneventful, small talk and a few jokes raising the spirits of everyone. Celestia, Twilight, Jeff, and Marky were discussing comparisons between magic and human technology. Chris and Emmy were sitting next to each other, watching something on Chris's phone. Rainbow Dash was snoring. Hamilton sat next to Fluttershy, and they talked in low tones. Applejack and the others looked out the window and observed the passing scenery. Within about twenty minutes they were entering the outskirts of the town.

"This is New Monterrey," Jeff said.

The sun was directly overhead, beating down and reflecting blindingly off the metal and glass of other cars. People walked on the sidewalks, many wearing hats to protect them from the sun.

"I'm not used to roads like this," Applejack said. "Even in Manehattan, there are ponies pulling wagons. Seeing traffic like this?" she pointed a hoof at the cars driving through the streets. "It's really weird."

"You'll get used to it," Hamilton replied. "Believe me, this is tame. Check out Los Angeles or New York City on your ARHUD sometime."

Jeff pointed at a single-floor building. "That's it!" A large sign reading "Pepe's Mexican Cafe" hung above the front door. "Everyone ready for some lunch?"

"It's about time! I'm starved dead!" Rainbow Dash squealed hungrily.

The bus pulled to the curbside parking and hissed to a halt. The doors opened, and McAllister got out first, followed by Sanchez, their ARHUD glasses darkening into sunglasses in response to the noon light. They stood on the sidewalk in a seemingly casual manner while they discreetly guarded the other occupants. Chris and Sanchez got off the bus next. They entered the empty restaurant and gave it a quick visual once over. "Go ahead and bring them in," Chris said to Jeff over his ARHUD.

Moments later, Jeff and the Equestrians walked through the door.

"Looks like my kind of place," Marky commented.

"Pepe! Where you at, man?" Jeff called out.

A big Mexican man came rushing out of the kitchen. "Jeff! Aha! There you are!" He screeched to a halt and his eyes bugged out of his head when he saw the ponies. "Oh goodness. You weren't pulling my leg after all!" He quickly made a sweeping bow towards Celestia and the girls. "Welcome to my humble establishment, lovely ladies!" Talking smoothly, he ushered them towards the counter.

The restaurant had a concrete floor with a long glass counter. They walked down the line, pointing out what they wanted in their burritos to the wide-eyed and excited people behind the counter.

"You can get black bean burritos, chili rellenos, cheese enchiladas, there's other stuff too," Chris said to them. "I've already called ahead told Pepe to have his staff stick with vegetarian products for Equestrians."

"But can I get a beef burrito, please?" Marky asked politely.

"You eat... meat?" Twilight was shocked. "I mean I know the humans do, but..."

"Yeah, like I said, I may look like you but I'm not Equestrian. See?" Marky opened his mouth, displaying his long, white canine teeth. "Different world, different biology. Human food is pretty much exactly what I am accustomed to eating at home. I'm not freaking you out, am I?"

"Marky, you're an interesting pony, fangs and all. It's unusual, for sure, but no, you don't freak me out."

"I'm glad to hear that. I think your burrito is ready, by the way."
"Oh, thanks." A moment later, Twilight's plate floated through the air next to her while she walked to the table. Sanchez, McAllister, and Hamilton had pushed small square tables together on the concrete floor to make a single long one.

Celestia was joining them with a plate of cheese enchiladas when two small children entered the restaurant followed by their mother. The kids took one look at the ponies and began dancing around.

"Mama! Mama! My little ponies! Mama!"

The woman peered over, and her eyes grew very wide.

"Is it costume? Costume party?" she asked in broken English, her heavy Spanish accent coloring her words.

"No ma'am," Marky answered, his beef burrito plate floating in the air next to him. "All real today."

The woman was shocked, but the children were delighted. They rushed the ponies.

Pinkie Pie was slapping a bottle of hot chili sauce over her plate. "Won't... Come... Out!"

The kids plowed into her. A huge SPLAT of hot sauce sprayed out over her entire plate. She quickly jammed a forkful in her mouth. "Ooooh! Perfect!" she drooled, tears in her eyes from the heat, and hugged the excited children. "Thank you!"

Rarity grimaced at Pinkie Pie's greedy slurping on the plate of hot sauce. "Pinkie, really. That is going to hurt a lot, well, later."

"When she goes to the bathroom!" Rainbow Dash crowed, pieces of burrito falling out of her mouth.

"Fire in yer hole!" McAllister chuckled. "Gonna have to change her name to Mud Pie!"

They both laughed until they choked on their mouthfuls of food and started coughing.

Rarity dragged a hoof over her face. "Sometimes I just... ugh."

"This is how ponies die laughing," Twilight said, glaring sternly at the two gagging jokers. "I don't want to have to perform the hind-kick maneuver on you."

"Very immature," Rarity added.

"I like mud pies," Pinkie said helpfully, licking hot sauce off her cheeks.

Celestia held a napkin over her mouth and giggled uncontrollably.

"They're right though," Emmy commented, grinning perversely. "If Pinkie Pie keeps that up, she's going to be dealing with a lava flow of volcanic proportions."

"Well if that happens, someone throw a rope over the stall and we'll pull her to safety," Chris added. "And it seems we are assembling quite an audience." He glanced at his watch. "It's actually lunchtime now. This place gets super busy."

Many more people had entered the restaurant, and they immediately came to the center table, where the crowd grew. Wide eyes and open mouths abounded, and the ponies were the center of attention for all.

Celestia smiled and waved, then was surprised to find herself signing autographs on random objects. Cellphone cameras flashed. Chris's team kept a watchful eye from where they sat, but the atmosphere was cheerful and excited. The friendly demeanor of the Equestrians made them an instant hit.

After a short time the commotion relaxed somewhat, allowing them to eat their lunches, although word seemed to be getting around because the restaurant was more full than Jeff had ever seen it before.

"This is a lot like what happened in Ponyville," Sanchez observed. "Except this time you guys are the celebrities."

"I'm glad there's some good Mexican food here." Marky poked some stray cheese strings into his mouth with a hoof, and chased it down with a deep swig of horchata. "Reminds me of home."

"You're from Mexico?" Sanchez asked.

"No, I mean, there were some good Mexican restaurants around though. It's my favorite."

Gradually plates emptied, and the meal slowed down.

McAllister leaned back and stretched. "Well I'm stuffed."

Hamilton rolled his eyes. "You shouldn't eat so much. You need to stay light on your feet."

"Relax, I'm a professional."

"Was everything satisfactory?" Pepe asked,walking up to the table.

"It was wonderful," Celestia said, smiling. "This is our first meal on your planet, by the way."

Pepe hesitated. "Might I... ask for a favor?"

"Of course."

Pepe pulled out a camera. "Can I get a photograph?"

Minutes later Pepe was smiling widely, looking at the group photograph of himself and his visitors. "It's wonderful! I must have this printed and framed! It will be on the wall the next time you visit!"

Jeff paid on the company card, and soon they were back on the bus, returning to the ProteC installation.

"Thank you for lunch," Celestia said to Jeff. "It was more fun than I have had in a long time."

"The honor is entirely mine." Jeff hesitated. "I only hope you feel as generous towards us after hearing the briefing we are headed to."

"It does not matter matter. We stand by our promises."

Chapter 19: The Video

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After arriving back at the ProteC lodging building, the humans and Equestrians took a break before their first meeting to get cleaned up.

Soon, Celestia stepped through the doorway and into the softly lit conference room. Inside, she saw a large elongated table with recessed lights overhead. Several monitors were arranged around the room, currently displaying crisp images of the jungle surrounding the installation. Seated around the table were her Equestrian friends as well as her human ones, and several additional humans she did not recognize. There was a plate full of donuts in the center of the table. Pinkie Pie had one in each hoof and there was sugar all over her face. She dragged her tongue around in a circle, sloppily cleaning her muzzle.

"Welcome!" Jeff gestured to a seat near his own. Celestia smiled slightly when she saw that Jeff had changed into more casual clothes like she had suggested on the return bus ride. He had exchanged his dapper but uncomfortable suit for the same black ProteC polo shirt and cargo pants that Chris and his team were now wearing. She moved next to him and sat gracefully on the high backed swivel chair. Twilight took the seat next to her. Jeff made a move to reach for the pitcher of ice water and a glass sitting on the table, but Celestia swiftly grabbed it with her telekinesis before he could touch it. She poured a glass and gave it to Jeff, then one for Twilight and another for herself.

Jeff drank some of the water, aware that all eyes at the table were locked on him. He carefully set the glass down, and took a deep breath. "Well, here we go. Best get started now, you need to know what we know." He pressed a button and the room lights darkened while the large monitor screens turned on. "Before I play this video, I must warn you. It's extremely graphic."

Celestia looked around the table, noting the nervous but determined faces of her friends. "We are ready."

"I am beginning playback from the moment immediately after Gate Two connected. There was some kind of EMP that blew out most of the equipment over there, and the only video we have came from a hardened command connection."

Celestia was unfamiliar with most of the terms he was using, but she nodded anyway.

"Alright then, here it goes..." Jeff started the playback of the video showing Spencer in his last moments on Earth. He didn't focus on the screens, instead watching the reaction of the Equestrians in the flickering light. When the man hurtled across the screen and splattered into the wall, the ponies gasped at the shocking violence and gore.

When Spencer looked into camera for the last time, Jeff's mouth tightened. The Equestrians made various sounds of dismay. Jeff saw Rarity with her mouth hanging open. Applejack's eyes wide, frozen in position. Rainbow Dash grimacing, gritting her teeth. Fluttershy made a brief retching noise.

Seconds later, when the wickedly clawed tentacles sliced Spencer's throat and then entered his corpse, Fluttershy looked away, gagging. She tried to get out of her chair, but before she realized it, she was spraying a stream of warm, chunky projectile vomit directly into Rarity's face, who was seated next to her.

"Eeeek!" Rarity squeaked in surprise and mortification, throwing her hooves up defensively against the unexpected assault. Unfortunately, her reflexive reaction left her mouth wide open, and suddenly she was gargling on a sour-tasting mouthful of Fluttershy's partially digested meal. Chunks of abruptly regurgitated lunch dripped off Rarity's stunned face while Fluttershy slid to the floor, vainly attempting to hold back the pulsing flow of pungent fluid with both her hooves.

Rarity looked at her own shaking, puke-covered hooves in disbelief, finally gaining full understanding of what had just happened. Her eyes widened in horror, and her stomach did a flip-flop when she realized the chunks of food in her mouth were not her own. Her body stiffened and she retched hard, leaning rigidly over the chair arm while her churning belly strained in outrage. Then she was vomiting uncontrollably onto Fluttershy's face and mane, heaving again and again, groaning gutterally and sliming her with foul-smelling, chunky ooze like a rerun from Nickelodeon's heyday.

The video ended and the room lights brightened again, illuminating the spectacle in even greater detail.

"Eeew eeew eeew!" Rarity squealed when she recovered enough to breathe, frantically trying to brush the slime off her face.

Fluttershy was sitting on her haunches next to her chair, a large puddle growing around her. She puked the last remnants of her ill-fated meal onto herself and the floor, tears running down her face.

Rarity saw her and concern for her friend finally overcame her own panic. "Fluttershy!" She quickly climbed off her chair into the disaster and moved to comfort her sobbing friend.

Jeff grabbed a stack of napkins off the table as he stood up, then quickly walked over, squatting next to them. Fluttershy's pretty yellow face was thickly covered in snot and vomit. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked lamely, and held out the stack of napkins.

Rarity snatched them quickly and began trying to wipe Fluttershy's slimy hooves and face, bravely ignoring her own matted, stinking fur and mane.

"I... I'm so sorry Rarity," Fluttershy choked out. "Th.. that movie was ho... horrible to see. And then... I... on you... I've never been so em... em... embarrassed in my entire life."

Rarity sniffled and gave Fluttershy a hug despite the slippery mess. "Oh dear. Don't worry about me, darling."

"I'm very sorry you had to see that." Jeff said hesitantly. "I really wasn't expecting anything like this to happen."

Rarity looked up at him resignedly. "Can you tell us where the bathroom is? We need to wash up a bit."

"Yes, it's right over there, go through the doors and down the hall."

"I'll show you," Hamilton volunteered.

McAllister gaped as Rarity and Hamilton guided the shaking Fluttershy between them out the door. "I have never seen anything like that happen in my entire life. Anywhere. Ever. It was like something out of The Exorcist."

"More like a puke party," Pinkie Pie commented. She had been sitting on the other side of Fluttershy the entire time, yet somehow not a single drop of the mess had touched her. She reached out and bare-hoofedly wiped a stray splatter of vomit off the table in front of her. She then grabbed another donut and began munching on it, unfazed by the noxious odor of the puddle that reached all the way under her chair. "I hope they're both okay," she added thoughtfully, licking some frosting off her nose. "A puke party is shocking the first time. And that video was super-disturbing."

Several stares bored into her, but if she noticed, she didn't show it, and no-one asked for clarification.

"Remind me not to ask her about that, ever," Chris whispered to Emmy, who smirked at him in reply.

Jeff shuddered and pressed a button on the table, and an assistant came in.

"Yes sir?"

"Can you please get this mess cleaned up?"

"Certainly sir, I will have a janitorial crew in here momentarily."

The assistant left, walking briskly.

Jeff exhaled deeply. "Pr... ah, Celestia, I believe we should take a recess before continuing."

"I think that would be a good idea, yes."

They drifted to a corner of the room together, near the window, while the janitorial crew wiped down the chairs and deep cleaned the business carpet until it looked like new again.

"That was really rough. I'm sorry," Jeff said, after a while.

"It was... extremely unpleasant," Celestia replied. "But it was what we needed to see."

"You don't have to stay. We will do everything we can to protect you and your world, even if you choose not to help us."

Celestia shook her head. "I will not leave. I sense a powerful magic here. You will need our help. Your technology is powerful and advanced... but it is designed to be used against opponents that lack magical defense."

Jeff nodded. "You are right, that's next on the agenda to discuss. But will the others be willing to stay after this?"

"I am certain that none of the others will choose to leave, not even after what you showed us. I would not force them to stay, but they are brave, and they will not abandon a friend in need."

Jeff pondered for a moment. "We must plan well. I do not want you to be hurt on our account."

They stood side by side for a bit, looking out the window, lost in thought. Eventually the door opened, and Hamilton returned. "It's gonna be awhile, guys. They both went to take showers, as you might imagine. Oh, and Dr. Hardy is on his way up to join the discussion."

"Very good, thank you." Jeff said. Silence dropped between him and Celestia again, but it did not feel awkward.
Together they waited for Fluttershy and Rarity to return.

Chapter 20: Whistle in the Dark

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After several minutes the door banged open again and Dr. Hardy barged in, carrying papers. "Sorry, that took me longer than I expected. I dropped these in the hallway and had to pick them all up again." He moved to approach the table, and dropped the stack of papers again. They scattered on the floor around him. "Crap!"

"Don't worry," Emmy said, sliding off her chair. She swept up the papers swiftly with her telekinetic field, sliding them gently back into his hands.

He blinked. "Ah, thank you so much. I've yet to get used to your magical abilities. You are all truly amazing!" Then he wrinkled his nose. "Uh, does anyone else smell something funny?"

"We showed the video. It, um, turned a few stomachs," Sanchez replied. "Trust me, you don't want to know more than that. I wish I didn't know more than that, but what has been seen cannot be unseen."

"I see," Dr. Hardy said uncertainly. "Anyway, is everyone ready? Were you waiting on my arrival?

"Sort of," Jeff replied, walking back to the table with Celestia. "But we still have a couple out of the room."

"Good, that will give me a minute to get set up."

Celestia and Jeff sat back at the table while Dr. Hardy busied himself with his notes, stacking them in piles and muttering to himself.
After several minutes, Fluttershy and Rarity returned and headed to their seats, looking much fresher. Fluttershy looked nervous, but she sat down quietly and took a deep breath.

Jeff addressed the room in general. "If everyone is ready to continue?" Nods of assent greeted him. He noted that Fluttershy and Rarity both nodded as well. "Good then. At this time, I'm handing the briefing over to our head researcher, Dr. Hardy."

"Thanks Jeff. We have received some additional information from employees who escaped the invasion of the island." Jeff touched a control and the lights dimmed again. A slideshow came up on the monitors. "Unfortunately, due to the energy pulse that went out from the gate before the attack, much of our equipment sustained damage and ceased to function properly. We have little video of anything that happened afterward."

An artist's rendition of something resembling a large spider appeared on the screen.

"According to reports, many of the enemies were protected by impenetrable force-fields. Our bullets and weapons did little to nothing against them."

He swept his hand, and an orb appeared around the spider.

"Unshielded enemies were damaged or killed by gunfire. However, enough were utilizing shielding that ProteC security could not slow their advance effectively with small arms fire, resulting in the rapid neutralization of our forces."

He clicked the slide again. Several sketches of bizarre and terrifying creatures appeared, some insectoid, some tentacled, and some completely unfamiliar.

"The enemies attacking our people were not uniform. Many different varieties were reported, most could not be adequately described by the survivors during debriefing. In fact, the mere act of trying to describe the lifeforms put some of them back into hysterics."

He left the slide up for a moment. "Although some of our people escaped by boat, over fifty are believed to be dead after the invasion. The creatures pursued to the docks, where they were held off barely long enough to launch a ship. Some of the survivors have experienced deep psychological trauma from the event, to the point where several have fallen into a catatonic state."

He glanced around the table. "It is our belief that the mere sight or presence of some of these beings has placed humans into a state of debilitating madness. As was evidenced in the first video where Spencer was driven mad and then killed by..." He trailed off for a moment, looked nervously at Jeff, who nodded impassively. Dr. Hardy swallowed and continued. "The... victim seemingly lost their sanity upon sight of the attacker."

There was a moment of silence.

"But what could do such a thing?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"In human lore, there has been talk of creatures so alien that any interaction with them is dangerous to the psyche. Creatures so fundamentally wrong that their appearance alone defies every semblance of logic and physics. Seeing them tears apart the base foundation of the brain's grasp on reality, leaving a person insane."

"That's a very scary thought," Fluttershy said softly. She put her chin on the table and folded her hooves over her eyes.

"What would you call this?" Rarity asked.

"An Eldritch Abomination," Chris interjected. "I know Lovecraftian lore.".

"A what now?" asked Applejack.

"An Eldritch Abomination is an ancient creature of immense power," Dr. Hardy explained. "I don't suppose any of you have ever read anything by H.P. Lovecraft, but he wrote stories of the concept over half a century ago. Only I'm starting to think it was more than just a concept, based up on the way the pieces of this event are coming together."

Pinkie scrunched up her face. "I'm confused. Can you say the whole thing from the start please?"

Chris took a breath. "Lovecraft was an author many years ago. He wrote stories about horrible, dark beings that held immense power. They were so far removed from humans as to be incomprehensible. They were called Eldritch Abominations, the Old Gods. The mere sight of one of these creatures could drive a human being insane."

Chris waved a hand at the twisted forms on the monitor. "That's what these things remind me of. Ghouls and lesser devils. They would be in the service of a stronger being. A being like Cthulhu."

There was a croaking noise from the table.

"Pinkie Pie, are you okay sugar cube?" Applejack's voice was concerned.

Pinkie Pie's face was a sickly green, as if she had suddenly gotten a severe stomach ache. "I.. I... I'll be okay, I just need some... water. I must have... eaten too many donuts." She tried to smile, and the effect was more disturbing than reassuring.

Rarity poured her a glass of water. "Darling, I think you need to relax a bit."

"Awww man," Rainbow Dash moaned. "You guys are dropping like flies and we haven't even started yet."

"Rainbow Dash! That's not a nice thing to say," Rarity chastised. "This is a hard time for everypony."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it that way. I'm just... worried about you guys. I mean, I'll be okay because I'm awesome, but..." Rainbow Dash sighed. "You guys are awesome too, and if something happened... I'm just worried, that's all."

Pinkie waved a hoof. "I'm okay. I'm okay." Her smile looked like a cardboard cutout, her eyes tense in a way her friends had never seen before.

"If you're okay, I'm a stallion in a top hat," Applejack said, suspiciously.

"I'll be back," Pinkie Pie said quietly. "I need to visit the bathroom."

She vanished under the table, and reappeared already at the door. She swung it open hurriedly and almost sprinted down the hallway as it swung closed behind her.

Twilight made a move to follow her friend. "Hold a moment," Dr. Hardy said, his eyes narrowed and riveted on the door Pinkie Pie had just left through. "That thing she just did. She glitched."

"That's just Pinkie Pie. She does things that don't always make sense."

"Hmmm. So she really can teleport."

"No, Unicorns teleport with our magic. Pinkie Pie does something else. It's not magic. We... honestly, we don't really think about it much. It's just something she does. We tend to take a lot of magical things for granted in Equestria."

Dr. Hardy put his thumb on his lip. "Fascinating. But I do not. Since you don't have a word for it, I'm going to say she shadowsteps."

"Shadow-what?" Applejack asked, confused.

"I'll be right back," Dr. Hardy said, headed for the door.

Twilight held out a hoof. "But..."

"Trust me. I'm a doctor."

"You're not THAT kind of doctor," Jeff said.

"I know more about psychology than you might think, and I think I need to talk to her. Alone."

"Well that's just too bad, because I'm going too," Fluttershy said, her tone of voice indicating that she would not be dissuaded.

"Oh, fine." He strode across the room, and Fluttershy followed him out.

"What's going on?" Celestia leaned over and whispered in Jeff's ear.

"I'm not sure, but it's obvious Pinkie knows something she's not telling."

"I gathered that much, which surprises me because she can barely keep a secret about anything."

Several uncomfortable minutes ticked by.

"So, this HP Lovecraft was an author?" Twilight asked finally. "Can I get his books to read? I think it may be a good idea."

"Certainly," Jeff said. "There is a reading tablet in your room, you should be able to download almost any book in the world on it if you aren't comfortable with the holographic library reader in your ARHUD. If you need any help using it just let me know."

Dr. Hardy reentered the room alone.

"Where's Pinkie and Fluttershy?" Twilight asked.

"Pinkie is collecting her thoughts. I left her and Fluttershy in the atrium by the waterfall, it seemed to calm her down to sit in the sunlight. She said she will be okay, but she wanted some time to think." He walked to the table and stood by Jeff, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "She didn't say much, but I'm sure something about my briefing upset her more than I think it should have, even under the circumstances..."

"That's not like her at all, to get so seriously agitated," Applejack mused. Her friends nodded in agreement.

"This is some pretty heavy stuff," Marky said. "Maybe it finally got to her."

Twilight grimaced. "Most of the time it's not easy to upset her, although there was that one time she kind of lost it when she got the idea that we didn't care about her anymore..."

"I don't think this is anything like that," Applejack commented. "She looked terrified to me."

Emmy tapped her hoof on the table. "I'm sorry, but I think we should continue. It's not surprising that this subject matter is getting to some of us, but we have to see it through to the end."

"She's right," Chris added. "We need to come up with a plan quickly."

Celestia closed her eyes for a moment. "I agree. But I don't see much we can do besides going out and doing our best to clean up your island."

"I've already been preparing," Jeff said, looking up from the screen he had been tapping on. "I had security here on high alert, readying weapons and vehicles. But now, I have gone a step further and redirected all non-committed security forces in this theater. They will be bringing additional armored vehicles. I have also ordered the Leviathan command ship to travel here."

"What is the Leviathan?" Celestia asked.

"It is a large prototype amphibious carrier vessel, capable of launching both landing vehicles and a limited number of VTOL aircraft. ProteC has not had much opportunity to put it to use as of yet, so this can be somewhat advantageous for us as a combat test."

"That sounds promising indeed. But what is a VTOL?"

"Ah, please excuse me and my acronyms. Military habits die hard. VTOL stands for Vertical Takeoff and Landing. We have a loadout of nimble combat quadcopters that can be launched from Leviathan. It's coming down from the United States. It should not take long to arrive. It is being loaded with a compliment of armored beam tanks as we speak."

"Quadcopters...?"

"Uh, air vehicles. That's how we humans fly. We don't have wings."

"What about weapons?" Marky asked.

Jeff frowned. "Well, to be honest, that's what I'm most worried about. The security personnel at Gate 2 were armed mostly with standard rifles, but there were heavy weapons up to light machine guns and grenade launchers available. Reportedly, these had little to no effect against larger enemies thanks to their magical shielding."

"We need to combine our talents intelligently," Celestia said. "We have to pool our resources. You have many weapons and plenty of equipment. We have the knowledge to fight enemies using magic."

Emmy spoke up. "Your weapons are primarily projectile based, correct?"

Dr. Hardy nodded. "Mostly. We do have some directed energy weapons."

Emmy rubbed her cheek thoughtfully. "Projectile weapons... Perhaps we could modify them magically to increase their effectiveness? What do you think, Twilight?"

Twilight considered for a moment. "It seems to me that the greatest problem is your inability to penetrate shields. Magic barriers are strong against physical assault."

"We have a concept called armor piercing," Chris said. "Bullets and projectiles specifically designed to go through layers of armor. Is there some way we could do the same against a magic barrier?"

Twilight narrowed her eyes slightly. "Hmmmm. That may be possible. Perhaps a modified dissipation spell applied to a crystal, embedded in the tip of your projectiles? But it would require Equestrian gemstones. The crystals you have here are not craftable by our magic."

Rarity waved a hoof. "Darling, I can find you gemstones. It's a special ability of mine, after all. I just have to go back to Everfree Forest, and I'll need some help digging them out."

"I will provide you with any assistance you need," Jeff said.

Twilight leaned forward in her chair. "I will also need help from Celestia, Emmy, and your human weapons specialists and scientists. There may be other modifications we can help with once we understand more about your technology. This won't be easy. When can we start?"

Jeff grunted thoughtfully. "Well, we can send out a party to Equestria tomorrow. I don't want it to get dark on you guys. Also, I have some equipment you can deliver while you're at it. Who wants to go with Rarity?"

Sanchez raised his hand. "I'll go with you and provide security."

"Me too." Marky raised a hoof.

"Reckon I can lend a hoof with the digging," Applejack offered.

Hamilton shrugged. "I'll help dig too. I'd like to be back Equestria side again, even if only for a short while."

Twilight thought for a moment. "I should probably go also. I can show you exactly what crystals we need."

"We'll send a Gator through tomorrow then," Jeff said. He looked around the room. "I think we should wrap this meeting up for now. We've established a plan of action, and we need to head down to Medical and get you all scanned into the computers."

"I'll get Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy," Dr. Hardy said. "But I need to get back to my lab and start on these projects."

"I'll go with you and lead them to the bioscan room," Sanchez said, rising to follow Dr. Hardy out.

"Well, on we go," Jeff said. "Next stop, Medical."

Chapter 21: Scanned

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In the diagnostic imaging lab, the med techs were obviously overjoyed to have a chance to study the Equestrians. They were equally excited to show off their system to the ponies.

"These functional quantum matrix imaging scans will help us calibrate our equipment. As of now, all our machines are set solely for humans. If anything happens to any of you while you are here, we have no way to provide medical assistance. A few minutes in this scanner for each of you will give us the ability both to create a generic baseline for your species, and to produce specific records which will greatly increase the quality of your medical service, in the, uh, unfortunate event that such a necessity arises. Just step up onto that platform please, you won't feel a thing." The med techs pointed Twilight to a raised circular pad.

She hesitated a moment, then stepped up onto it.

"The QMI scanner heads will drop momentarily. Try to relax. You can move around, but it helps to keep your motions slow and controlled. If you are overly active, the scan will take much longer to complete."

"You mentioned a generic species baseline?" Twilight asked.

The tech nodded. "Yes, by analyzing the individual scans from each Equestrian, the software will build a baseline model for your species. We have already created separate categories for Alicorn, Pegasus, unicorn, and Earth, with of course male and female of each. This goes far beyond merely taking an image. We will have detailed renditions of your musculoskeletal, circulatory, neural, and other systems, right down to the cellular level."

Twilight's eyes glazed over slightly. "That much information... How can you process it all?"

"We have multiple quantum wave computers in the facility mainframe. This doesn't begin to scratch the surface of what they can do, we've never even had them close to maximum capacity. Please stay to the center of the chamber, away from the red lines. The scan will begin momentarily."

There was a warning beep, then a transparent tube slid softly down from the ceiling around Twilight's platform. A red holographic button blinked on in front of her.

"The shield is there to protect you from injury. If at any time you feel claustrophobic or need to escape the device, press the button. The scan will end immediately and the system will retract, allowing you to exit."

Twilight nodded. "I'll be fine. Go ahead and do what you need to do."

The tech nodded and worked his controls. A set of large metal rings hissed down from the ceiling around the transparent tube, digital readouts and displays at intervals on their surfaces. They floated near each other with gaps of about a foot between them. Once they had taken up positions, they began to spin. Humming and whirring noises filled the room as the rings glided from position to position, shifting and sliding as they looked inside Twilight's body.

After a minute or so, a holographic rendition of her skeleton appeared above the console, moving as she moved. A pumping heart and blood vessels were added, then lungs and other organs. It was rather shocking when two gigantic eyeballs appeared staring out of a naked skull, yet moving around in unison with Twilight's own eyes.

"That's a bit creepy," she commented, waving her hoof and watching the bug-eyed skinless model of herself do the same.

"Ya don't look the same without yer skin on, Twilight," Applejack said uncomfortably, gaping at the lifelike three-dimensional image.

"Almost finished," the tech assured her. Muscles, flesh and her mane finally appeared in the hologram, and a complete miniature Twilight looked back at them, identical down to her purple fur. "And that's a hundred percent. Terminating scan."

The hologram of Twilight froze in position as the rings and cylinder retracted into the ceiling with a long hiss.

"Excellent. This is amazing." The technicians were entranced with Twilight's image, pointing at different areas and pressing controls.

Twilight walked curiously over to the scanner display. "Wow. I've never seen anything like this."

"Check this out." The tech pressed a few options, and separated various parts of Twilight's anatomy into an exploded diagram. "That's your brain and nervous system, here's your skeleton, there's your circulatory system. I press here, it all goes back together. Now watch this!"

The image of Twilight stood up and moved around, dancing and clapping on its two hind legs.

"But I didn't do any of those things," Twilight said. "How...?"

"The system is able to show movements that your body is capable of based upon your musculoskeletal design. Right now, it's adapting a human movement program to your unique physical build. As a result, it assumes that you wish to stand upon two legs when you move about, like we do. It will be more accurate once we have scanned all your friends and adjusted the program. Please swipe your wristband past this yellow light."

Twilight did so. Her bracelet glowed softly and emitted a small beep, and the light on the console turned green. "What was that for?"

"We've loaded a copy of your scan directly to the memory of your band. Standard procedure in case someone needs your medical records in the field and there is a network issue preventing communication with ProteC's computer systems."

"Oh. Thank you, then."

"It is not everyday I have the honor of seeing the inner workings of such a charming and unusual lady as yourself. The pleasure is entirely mine. Next please!" The tech moved away from the controls and waved Rarity towards the pad.

"Fascinating. This technology is beyond anything I've seen before." Marky watched the display while Rarity's scan completed, and Celestia walked onto the pad. "What's this, here?" He pointed at one of the holographic readouts.

"That's the genetic reference template," the tech said, glancing at it. "Remember the blood samples we took earlier? The computer has recorded a gene sequence for each of you. It's matched up with your scan to provide additional information about both you as an individual, and your species as a whole. Again, this allows our medical system to provide you with the most advanced healthcare in the world. Would you please step this way?"

Marky stepped up onto the pad and waited patiently for his own scan to complete.

Several minutes passed, and the holographic display began beeping in a way that it hadn't for any of the other scans.

"Is something wrong?" Marky asked, slightly worried.

"Hmm. Interesting," the technician said. "Your genetic code and anatomical structure are different in several ways from the other Equestrians."

"I think I forgot to mention, I'm not an Equestrian," Marky explained. "I imagine there may be some marked differences between our species, even though we look alike."

"That would account for it then," the technician said. "Your physical makeup is quite obviously different. Look at this." The man swept his hand across the holographic display and called up a second image next to Marky's. "This is Applejack. Note the extremely high bone and muscle density. To put it simply, if this pony were engaged in a tug-of-war with a tractor, I would be hesitant to place my bets on the tractor."

"Ah do a lot of work around the farm," Applejack said, evidently pleased.

"Now here is yours, Marky. The bone is lighter and thinner. Muscles not quite so tough. You couldn't pull half the load Applejack could. Even Rarity has a marginally higher strength index than you do."

Marky scowled inside the scanner. "Gee, thanks for the confidence boost. Please continue to tell all the ladies what a weakling I am."

"Sorry," the tech said absently, not sounding sorry at all. "Oh, and check this out. There are other differences to, such as these organs here, and this here. The computer is at a loss, it merely recorded their location. It has no idea what they do."

Marky sighed. "Well that makes two of us. Did I mention I got C's in biology class?"

The technician frowned and tapped a button, releasing Marky from the machine. "Well, we have your scan recorded and processed as far as we can. We should be able to provide you with sufficient medical care based upon the similarity between you and the Equestrians, but you understand that your species baseline consists of you alone. Although we will provide you with the best care we can, under the circumstances, I would recommend you avoid any serious medical emergencies."

"Story of my life," Marky said. "Nothing ever works out in my favor. Guess I'll just have to remove sustaining life-threatening injuries from my day planner."

"Can you tell me how much stronger I am than Marky?" Rainbow Dash asked, cheerfully.

"Rainbow Dash! Really now! How insensitive can you be?" Rarity was shocked.

"Aww, fine, what about comparing me to Applejack then?"

"They will do NO such thing!" Rarity said, giving a warning glare at the technician. "I would say they have done QUITE enough already."

The man raised his hands in the air supplicatively. "Just trying to do my job, ma'am!"

"Hmmph! By humiliating this fine gentleman?" She put a foreleg around Marky's neck. "Now I see why they have you working out here in a jungle!"

"I didn't mean-" the tech began, but was silenced by a single look from Rarity.

"Really, it's okay," Marky said. "It's better if we know of my shortcomings, before we end up in a life or death situation. To tell the truth, I had no idea. At home, I'm considered to be in peak physical condition."

"How does this really affect anything?" Celestia asked.

Emmy glanced back from the holographic readout she was studying alongside one of the human technicians. "Well, in general, it doesn't seem like it does. As he said, he appears to be in excellent condition. His frame just isn't as strong as an Equestrian."

"Isn't that what the humans just said?" Twilight looked slightly annoyed.

"I guess. Let me be more specific. Marky's build is more in line with the creatures here on Earth. With the thickness and strength of our skin, most objects fail to penetrate it. Marky, on the other hand, would bruise or bleed far more easily. His lighter skeleton also means an impact that would stun one of us, would potentially kill him outright, much like the humans."

"Well I'll just have to watch my step then," Marky interjected. "And don't you dare treat me with kid gloves. I'm a stallion, not an invalid. I can take care of myself."

"Don't worry Marky, we'll make sure you don't know we're watching out for you!" Pinkie said happily.

Marky rolled his eyes. "If anyone but you had said that Pinkie, I'd think I was being made fun of."

"How about ice cream?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Marky flinched at the sudden change of subject. "What?"

"I want ice cream do you like ice cream?"

"I... yeah, I guess, who doesn't?"

"Let's go get ice cream! Can we get ice cream?"

Jeff blinked. "Uh, sure. We're pretty much through for the day now anyway. Why not."

Chapter 22: Not Alone

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Several hours later, Celestia stood in the warm evening air on her penthouse balcony, looking out over the dark, alien Earth jungle. She could hear the buzzing of insects and the cries of birds and animals unseen. Out in the distance beyond the beach, she could just barely see the ocean shimmering under the moonlight. Although she was motionless, her hair flowed and sparkled as always, framing her somber expression. Insects buzzed nearby but did not approach the balcony; Jeff had mentioned something about an ultrasonic barrier that disrupted the air so their tiny wings could not navigate it if they came too close.

She looked up at the unfamiliar moon hanging on the horizon, so far out of her reach across a gulf of emptiness, and beyond it the stars, twinkling points in the vast blackness of space. This world felt vast, and for the first time in many years she felt truly small and alone. A shiver ran down her spine, at odds with the gently temperate breeze.

It had been a busy day, and she had not had sufficient time in the rush to mull over recent events. Now, sitting here alone, her unease grew by the moment.

She had fought and defeated so many enemies, most of them having great magical power and physical prowess. But this unknown antagonist was something new. Something that sent the oppressive sense of impending evil through the warm night. Something that disturbed the fabric of the world itself, something so timelessly wrong and terrifying that the mere thought of it filled her heart with icy dread.

She acknowledged her fear and refused to hide from it, pushing her chin up a little.

"I am a guardian. I am a princess. I am an Alicorn. I have the power to protect this world and mine." Her voice was a whisper, scarcely audible even to her.

She did not believe her own brave words for a moment.

But she would do her best to make them true. And she would never back down from her promise to her own ponies, or to these humans.

Even if it killed her.

Or worse.

She shivered again. A chill hung in the air around her. The night sounds faded, and where she stood felt very still.

In the depths of her mind, a voice whispered, small, almost imperceptible, but still possessing an overwhelming power.

You are nothing. You are weak. You will die in agony.

A chill in her stomach. She replied with something she had heard from the humans.

Fear not they who can destroy the body, but they who can destroy the soul.

The small voice responded.

First the body. So slowly. So much pain. A hundred years, a thousand years. Every moment a lifetime. Then the soul. Suffering beyond your worst nightmares. Alone. Forever.

She tossed her mane defiantly, and the pressure of the silence pushed back against her.

Better me than my friends.

An echo of faraway laughter, a bubbling sound as black as pitch and thick as boiling tar..

Why not both?

The balcony was gone, the moon was gone, and darkness ate her soul, sucking her consciousness downward to a place that shouldn't exist. A vision of shadows, of something that hung on the edge of the world between imagination and reality, Blackness, evil, great tentacles thousands of miles in length. A planetary monstrosity that burned her spirit, tearing at the threads of her sanity as it's image defiled her mind's eye. She screamed soundlessly, and the sight was gone so swiftly that only the nauseating impression of wrongness remained.

The intensity of the vision overwhelmed her, and she fell forwards on the balcony, her heart hammering in her chest, so hard it felt like a knife stabbing her. She retched and almost pissed herself, barely containing the urge to vomit as her stomach did somersaults inside her belly.

You are my prey.

Celestia groaned and strained, pushing hard in her mind, using all her strength to force the darkness out and slam the door behind it. The voice faded within her in a final bout of distant, taunting laughter, and she was alone, the night warm again around her as she knelt on the balcony shaking in terror.

"I won't give up," she said to the night as she forced herself to stand with an effort of will. Her legs wobbled beneath her while she wiped away a thin ribbon of blood that leaked from her nose, but her eyes were defiant. "I will never give up."

Her communicator beeped.

Jeff's voice. "Celestia? Are you alright? Do you need a medical team?"

She spoke carefully, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "Jeff. No. I... I'm okay, I don't need a medic. But we need to talk. Now."

***

It was less than a minute when her door notification chirped.

She opened the door and let Jeff in, breathing slightly harder than normal.

"Thanks for coming."

"Anytime. You know my suite is right down the hall. What's going on?"

"Can we sit down?"

They move across the room to the couch, and Celestia sat. Jeff sat nearby on the love seat, and leaned towards her.

"How did you know I was... upset?" Celestia asked.

Jeff pointed at her wristband. "Your heart rate jumped so drastically that the computer alerted me of a potential emergency. I called you immediately."

"Oh. Thank you."

Jeff leaned closer, "Are you sure you're okay? There's something..."

Celestia sighed. "Yes. Something odd happened. I think something out there threatened me."

She told him what had happened to her, leaving out the details of her replies.

He listened silently as she spoke, his hands clasped on his knees. When she finished, he leaned back in the chair. "Wow. Just wow. How are you so calm right now?"

"Calm? To be honest, just between you and I, I don't feel calm at all. I've had many years of practice making myself look calm no matter how afraid I really am. Can't you see my heart rate right now with your machine?"

"No. We don't spy on people like that. It's an invasion of privacy. The central computer just monitors for anything extreme and only notifies us if there is a potential emergency."

"Oh, I see. Well here, feel it." She extended her hoof towards him.

He hesitated a moment, then gently put his hand on her foreleg just above her intricately gold-shod hoof. He could easily feel the rapid thumping of her pulse through her short, soft fur.

"Even now," he said, looking into her eyes, and finally seeing the shadow of fear inside them.

"Yes. The feeling hasn't left me yet."

Jeff frowned. "I haven't felt anything."

"Perhaps you would not. I am a magical being, and although the others are as well, even Twilight's magic is not so powerful as mine. I must shine like a beacon to any creature that could sense such a thing."

"Hmmm." Jeff leaned back in his seat. "The next logical step would be wondering if something may come here to find you. But we are watching the island perimeter. Satellite, long-range recon drones, some unmanned subs and surface boats. If anything leaves the island, the computer will notify us. So far nothing has left. That we can see, anyway. Do you think it will attack you again like it did tonight?"

"I don't believe so. It was feeling out the territory. Next time it will be more direct."

Jeff could hear the faintest tremor in her voice. He stood.

"Just sit here for a moment, okay? I'm going to make some hot tea."

"That sounds nice."

Jeff walked to the open bar/kitchen and put some water in the electric teapot. While it heated, he got cups and saucers, still mulling over what Celestia had told him. As he prepared the tea, Celestia watched him from the couch. Even now, as she slumped uncharacteristically under the weight of her vision, she was a beautiful sight. Her enormous, expressive pink eyes were shaded with worry, and she was nervously pushing her gilded hooves together.

Jeff found that the seeing her this way filled him with not only with foreboding, but with deep anger as well. He wanted to crush the vile entity that had dared to threaten this angelic creature.

They're intelligent. The bastards will pay.

He walked back to his seat carrying the tea tray, and poured out two cups of Earl Gray with milk and sugar.

Celestia accepted one gratefully and took a sip of the steaming beverage.

"That's much better," she said, relaxing visibly. Then she gasped. "Oh dear. I should check and see if the others are okay."

"There have been no other medical anomalies like yours reported," Jeff said.

"I need to check with Twilight."

Jeff stared into space a moment. "Well she's on the group chat right now."

"The what?"

"The group chat... on your ARHUD, do you see an icon on the lower left?"

"It looks like... a word balloon?"

"Yes. Activate that."

A transparent text box unrolled at the edge of her vision.

-Twilight Sparkle has invited you to to a chat party. (6 hours ago)

"So do I just..."

-Celestia has joined the chat.
-Rainbow Dash: Welcome!
-Twilight Sparkle: Greetings!
-Celestia: Hello? Does this work?
-Marky: It certainly does. Good to see you on here.
-Celestia: This is actually kind of nice.
-Fluttershy: Isn't it though?
-Dave Hamilton: Sure is.
-Miguel Sanchez: Guys, get down to the theater. We're gonna watch Star Wars!

"You should go with them," Jeff said to her out loud. "It would help take your mind off things for awhile."

"I agree. But... I am enjoying your company right now." Her voice had the slightest tinge of need to it. The attack had left her with a dark feeling that still haunted her soul, like the aftertaste of a nightmare. "Also, doesn't what happened... change things?"

Jeff cocked his head slightly. "I don't exactly know. If the others are going to be downstairs, we can ask them if they've noticed anything. They're watching Star Wars. I guarantee you Dr. Hardy will be there. We can talk to him as well."

Celestia nodded and forced a smile, glad to not be left alone with the uneasy darkness in the pit of her stomach.. "Then let's go."

***

Dr. Hardy stood at the entrance to the first floor theater/briefing room, grinning cheerfully at the Equestrians gathered around him. "Ready to see something cool?"

"Doesn't anypony go to bed anymore?" Applejack asked.

"You can go to bed if you want to sleepy head," Rainbow Dash said. "I'm going to see something cool, and I'll just tell you how much you missed later!"

"Well now I'm not tired just yet, I reckon I'll see something just as cool as you before I turn in for the night," Applejack replied hastily.

"Good evening everypony."

"Celestia! So glad you could join us!"

"Actually," Jeff said, walking up beside Celestia, "Can we have a word with you, doc?"

"Of course. Why don't the rest of you guys get some popcorn and head inside?"

"FIRST!" Rainbow Dash squawked, gliding over to the snack counter "I LOVE popcorn."

Jeff, Celestia, and Dr. Hardy conferred in a corner in low tones.

"I don't like to keep things secret," Celestia said. "But I don't want to damage morale any more than I have to, and everypony seems so relaxed right now." She quickly outlines the recent events to Dr. Hardy.

"Hmm," he said afterwards, folding his arms over his ancient Jedi Knight II T-Shirt. "Well, I don't see how this changes anything as of now, but it does seem to confirm my theory. There is definitely something intelligent controlling the attack on our facility, and it appears it can reach out and touch us even here."

"I think it could reach out and touch me. Not just anypony," Celestia said. "My magical signature provided the target. It gave me the message, trying to frighten us. To ruin our resolve. And I shut it out. I don't believe it will be bothering us in that way again."

"Very well. For now, I would say nothing changes in my recommendations, but tomorrow for certain we must retrieve those crystals and hope we can use them to augment our weapons. Honestly, I would go want to send a team to do it now, but experience has taught me that high morale is more effective at getting things done than simply working one's people into the ground."

"Right you are," Jeff agreed. "And this is why we're all here to introduce these ponies to a classic movie. Try to relax some. I sent a lot of messages tonight. Things are being put into motion as we speak."

Despite her unease, Celestia felt a growing curiosity about the movie. "Might I have some popcorn too, please?"

Marky, carrying two, overheard her as he walked past. "Got one right here for you, ma'am!"

"Why, thank you so much!"

Together the group of humans and extraterrestrials entered the theater, popcorn and sodas in hand, hoof, and floating telekinetically in the air.

Chapter 23: Schrodinger's Pony

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"Here, catch!" Dr. Hardy tossed a squishy stress ball across the lab table to Emmy.

It stopped a few feet from her head, suspended in the air by her glowing telekinetic field.

"Fascinating. And you can feel the ball, yes?"

Emmy smiled softly, and the ball elongated as her remote grip pressure increased. "Why yes I can, it's soft... and rather fun to squeeze."

Rubbing his chin, Dr. Hardy leaned back in his swivel chair and picked up another ball. "Tactile feedback. It makes sense, yet it's almost more amazing to me than your ability to manipulate objects at a distance." He glanced at Rainbow Dash. "Can you catch a ball too?"

Rainbow Dash looked offended. "I can catch anything you throw at me!"

He chuckled and threw the ball at her, which she deftly caught between her front hooves. She chucked it back to him with a fluid motion, then he spent several seconds scrounging on the floor for it after he fumbled the catch.

He made a wry expression. "You catch better than I do, and you don't even have hands."

Rainbow Dash had the good grace not to comment, but she looked immensely pleased with herself.

"Now try with one hoof please."

Rainbow Dash frowned a little. "Well, okay, but..."

He tossed it.

She caught it, and held it deftly atop a single hoof.

Dr. Hardy looked at the perfectly balanced ball. He reached out slowly, and Rainbow Dash held her hoof up to him with the ball on it. He tugged on the ball gently, feeling some resistance.

"Can you try to keep me from taking it?"

She curled her leg tight up against her body.

"No I mean... Like, hold it out just like you were before, but try to keep me from taking it without tucking your leg back."

"Uh, okay." She held her hoof out to him again.

Dr. Hardy gently grabbed the ball and pulled on it some more. The resistance was stronger this time, as if the ball had a magnetic attraction to her hoof. He pulled hard; the ball stayed stuck. "Most fascinating. It appears that even a non-unicorn pony has some close range telekinetic ability. That would explain the ease with which you carry and manipulate delicate objects without having hands."

"I could have told you that, doc," Emmy said, tossing her mane.

"Ah well, sometimes one does not know what questions to ask until a bit of investigation has been done."

Emmy cocked her head. "That's true enough. So, what questions come to mind?"

Dr. Hardy shrugged. "Who knows? I'll let you know when I have some. Medical probably has the most, they're still running genetic simulations on your blood samples. So, How about a high ball, Dashie?"

Dr Hardy and Rainbow Dash were still tossing the ball back and forth when the door to the lab opened again, allowing Celestia and Twilight to walk in.

"Ah! Just the two lovely ladies I wanted to see!" He dropped the ball on the floor and rushed over to greet them. "Welcome to Physics Engineering! Oh, and as I've explained to these two... please be careful what you touch, some things are inherently dangerous."

Twilight spoke up. "I do have extensive research lab experience, but many of your tools are different from ours."

Dr. Hardy waved a hand. "Not to worry, it is your special expertise that I am hoping to avail myself of."

Celestia smiled. "We will be happy to provide any assistance we can."

Dr. Hardy beamed. "Excellent! Please follow me!"

Rainbow Dash looked at Emmy, shrugged, and followed behind. Emmy dropped the stress ball on the lab table and joined her.

Dr. Hardy walked towards another door in the lab, talking as he went. "I have this project I have been working on, a portable plasma emitter. Up until now I hadn't had much use for it as it is extremely difficult to control..." He trailed off as they arrived at the door, which was marked with a large sign reading "CAUTION: EXPOSED HIGH ENERGY FIELDS".

He swung his badge at the red lock panel, which beeped and turned yellow. He tapped his code into the panel.

The panel beeped again, turned green, and the door opened.

Before entering, Dr. Hardy turned around and looked at all four of them. "Please be extra careful in here, some of this equipment retains a charge even when turned off."

He then led them through into a room about a hundred feet across, with various equipment and devices lining the walls. More equipment and lab counters were dispersed throughout the room, many holding machines and mechanisms of all types.

Dr. Hardy guided them towards one of the middle tables, which contained several small tubes the size of a pen.

"Plasma emitter modules. They are harmless without a power source, which is over here."

He picked a couple up and stepped to the next table, which contained a device that looked roughly like a flashlight. Picking it up, he carried both towards an open section of the room that contained a target.

"I was trying to create a beam gun, but the discharge disperses far too quickly. Stand back please."

He lifted the device, aimed it at the target, and pressed a switch. There was a loud humming buzz, and the ponies jumped a bit when a white cone of writhing light blasted from the end of the flashlight like a fan of uncontrolled electricity. The noise increased as the lightning crackled frantically, and then it all ended abruptly with a popping sound.

Rainbow Dash was entranced. "Wow, that was cool! What did it do?"

The scent of ozone hung in the air, but target was unscathed. A thin ribbon of smoke wisped up out of the device.

"Nothing except make a light show. And that's my problem. The plasma fires out into the air like lightning from a Tesla coil, but it does not retain any kind of form, and then the device overloads."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "How can we help you with this? It looks like it has potential, but I'm afraid we do not have much knowledge of your machines."

Dr. Hardy rubbed his chin. "Well, I can't seem to control the behavior of this device with my available technology. The plasma is too chaotic without using a control chamber, and the control chamber is so heavy that it negates any kind of usefulness I gain from having such a small emitter."

Four sets of eyes continued to stare at him blankly.

He took a breath. "Yesterday, when we watched Star Wars, I got to thinking. I'm fully convinced that the whole plasma gun idea was the wrong track. So, do you think you can use your unicorn magic to shape that plasma discharge into a single beam of energy, oh, about three feet long? I believe that should eliminate the overload pulse, and be sustainable until the nanocapacitors run out of juice."

Twilight's eyes narrowed. "I think I see where this is going. You want to make a lightsaber?"

"Well, simply put, yes."

"Awwww yeah!" Rainbow Dash reared up on her hind legs and pranced about as if she were fighting, making buzzing and humming noises.

Emmy put a hoof on her shoulder. "Uh, be careful please. Dangerous equipment, remember?"

Celestia looked at the device. "Can I try it? I can attempt to modify a containment spell."

Dr. Hardy dropped the burned cartridge and slid a new one in. "Be careful where you aim it. This switch turns it on."

He held it in the air, and let go when Celestia's telekinetic field glowed around it. She held it several feet away, aiming at the target. Then she concentrated, her horn glowing brightly. A trail of sparkling magic streamed from her horn down around the emitter tube. She switched it on, and there was a sharp buzzing hiss as the glowing plasma rushed into the barrier field.

The field expanded, and the plasma beam inched out, creating a powerful yellow glow.

"It's working!" Dr. Hardy gasped.

"It's AMAZING!" Rainbow Dash added

The top of the field began to expand into an orb.

"It's... getting unstable!" Emmy squealed.

Before anyone could react, the containment field burst. The sound was like a cherry bomb going off, and the flash effect was much greater than before.

Emmy squeaked.

Rainbow Dash fell over backwards.

Smoke rose from the now-inert handle yet again, and Dr. Hardy spoke loudly over the ringing in everyone's ears. "Well, that was actually quite good for a start! Do you think we can stabilize it?"

Celestia blinked a little, the afterimage of the flash still etched on her retinas. "I... believe so. Twilight and I should be able to build a containment talisman, for such a small device it should be relatively simple."

"Excellent! Just remember, the containment field need only contain the plasma. We want anything else to pass through. The blade wouldn't serve much purpose if the containment field kept out anything you need to cut."

Twilight and Celestia both nodded. "Give us a couple hours, but we are going to need your help with your technology."

Dr. Hardy's grin widened. "Oh certainly. Want to get started now? It will be some time yet before Rarity gets back with the Equestrian gems. There's a brief meeting scheduled for after that, but we could totally work on this for awhile until then. I mean, this is going to totally kick ass!'

"I would prefer that we did not strike a donkey without good reason," Celestia said, her tone slightly worried.

"It's a figure of speech. It means it'll be really fun."

"Oh, well, I do believe you are correct, then!"

***

Several hours later, Jeff stood at the head of the table in the conference room, Celestia seated beside him. Rarity, Applejack, and the others who had gone to dig gems had finished getting cleaned up and were present also. Pinkie had gone as well, and seemed her normal self, bouncing about cheerfully.

"Thank you for retrieving the raw materials," Jeff greeted them. "And especially to you, Rarity, for heading the mission."

"My pleasure, darling," Rarity purred, happy to have had a chance to contribute.

The discussion continued for a time on potential weapons and strategy. Eventually, it circled back to The Gate itself.

"We still have no idea what caused the initial malfunction?" Jeff said.

"Actually, I think I understand what may have happened." The table grew silent at the sound of Dr. Hardy's voice. It was the first time he had spoken since they had entered the room. "I have been bouncing theories around in my head. It has to do with the design of the Oblivion Gates." He stood up, and walked to one of the large monitors, activating white board mode so he could draw on the touch screen.

"Okay. So, basic quantum theory. We know how all matter is composed of atoms on a low level."

Nods around the room from all present.

"The building blocks of atoms are protons, neutrons, and electrons." He drew a crude atom on the monitor with his finger. "Each subatomic particle is composed of smaller, quantum particles. I'm not going to list these out, because it gets confusing too quickly and it's not necessary for this explanation."

He wiped the diagram and turned back to the table.

"On a quantum level, particles no longer follow the laws of normal physics. They exist in multiple positions at the same time, or nowhere at all. They vanish from one place and appear in another instantaneously. And most of the time, we cannot be certain what position they are in without changing said position. This is called Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, and it plays merry havoc with most attempts to create a viable quantum technology."

He drew a circle on the monitor.

"So, I suppose you all remember the QMI Bioscanner? It was only yesterday, after all," he chuckled. "Anyway, the QMI stands for Quantum Matrix Imager. It's based off the Magnetic Resonance Imager, or MRI, an older device that used a powerful magnetic field to align certain rotating particles inside your body, then knocks them out of alignment and records their behavior to create a three-dimensional image of the inside of your body."

Rainbow Dash frowned. "You lost me."

Dr. Hardy sighed. "Sorry Dashie, it only gets more complicated from here on out."

"Awww man."

"Don't worry about it, this isn't your area of expertise. Anyway, what the Oblivion Gate does is create a powerful chaos energy field within the sweep rings. Rather than trying to predict the position of any quantum particles, the field forces the quantum chaos of the empty space in it's core to align, somewhat like the main magnet of the MRI."

He tapped some more buttons and a video of the Oblivion Gate's spinning nested rings appeared.

"So we create a sub-quantum resonance field at one Gate, and duplicate at the other Gate. Once a certain proximity range is attained, both sides initiate a looping resonance frequency shift that slides slightly on each repetition until the two separate areas of space-time mesh and synchronize. But, when I went over the combined data from both gates, they both linked at slightly different resonance frequencies, one very early in the frequency shift cycle. That's something we hadn't prepared for. Our entire system was geared towards creating similar conditions and then linking up. We had no mechanism in place to PREVENT a connection that didn't match coordinates. It was not designed for security, not designed to prevent hacking. It never occurred to us that anything could even possibly hijack our link. No other technology on Earth is even capable of creating a Gate, let alone interfering with the operation of one. Well, that we are aware of, anyway."

"Not in Equestria either," Celestia said. "We have teleportation and portals, but we use magic. Your approach is utterly alien to ours, and I think a great deal more complicated."

"Yet there is a portal connected to Equestria right now," Emmy added. "Despite the difference in technology."

"But it didn't seem to be connected to anything technologically on the other side. Perhaps that area of space just happened to be similar to the point connection criteria?" Hamilton said.

"Stop pretending you know what he's talking about," McAllister grumbled. "I'm more than half convinced he's just making up nonsense at this point."

Dr. Hardy held up a hand, ignoring McAllister. "My theory is that Gate 2's scan function was noticed by an extra-dimensional entity, or entities, that brute forced a link. Once it locked on and opened, it was no longer seeking a connection with the other gate. Gate 1 then continued to widen the scan range until by random chance it connected to an area in Equestrian space-time that resonated, like Hamilton suggested."

Twilight scowled. "But by that ticket, Gate 1 could have opened into a volcano... or empty space... or... or..."

"Or a supernova, or a black hole, or most likely nothing at all." Dr. Hardy finished. "You are exactly correct. It was a potentially fatal oversight. It was pure luck, providence, or perhaps the mercy of a higher power which connected us to Equestria, and you. Otherwise we may have destroyed our entire planet. The link mechanism should have utilized an encrypted signal to prevent this, but it's all uncharted territory for us. Not to mention resonance encryption would be incredibly complicated."

He wrinkled his forehead thoughtfully for a moment. "Or, given what is happening at Gate 2... our planet, or at least our species, may be destroyed yet."

Celestia frowned. "And if yours goes, the active link to Equestria..."

"Yes. The link still cannot be shut down. Although the two Gates did not link up properly, Gate 1 is locked open until Gate 2 has closed, and we cannot access the island's controls remotely remotely to shut it down. So your world would eventually be next. I'm sorry."

"We could try flooding the gate valley with ocean water," Chris suggested.

"Wouldn't do anything helpful. The gate would remain there, and it would act like a drain. All the water would go straight through to Equestria. Not to mention I have no idea how we would fill the valley with water or anything else in the first place. It's above sea level," Dr. Hardy replied.

"And for all we know, the things coming through from Gate 2 may be perfectly okay with swimming, so possibly all we would do is make it harder for ourselves to stop them," Sanchez added.

"Well the water idea is out," Chris said. "I remember in Stargate SG-1, they talked about the Egyptians burying the Stargate. Maybe we could do the same with bulldozers, or concrete or something?"

"Good luck burying an anomaly of that size with a few bulldozers. It would take an excess of effort, and I tend to imagine the power of the creatures we are going against will not see it as much of a challenge to unearth it again. And don't even suggest blowing it up. The gate anomaly would remain open. It would just make it so we couldn't shut it down."

"Well what do we do then? Just roll in there and switch the gate off?"

"Yes, actually. I believe the systems can be manually rebooted enough to perform an emergency shutdown and sever the Gate connection."

"Oh, good. I was worried there for a minute, I almost thought we weren't going to be fighting our way through swarms of hideous monsters." McAllister said sarcastically.

"Well, we are still going to have to wipe them out regardless. They're hostile, we're going to have to deal with them before anyone else gets killed."

"Sounds great, Doc. Please tell me things are coming along well with the weapon mods?"

"It's not so much science as it is art, it seems," Dr. Hardy replied.

"We are working on it," Celestia replied. "We will find a way to help with our magic, and I will be right there with you when the time. Don't worry."

The pure earnestness in her voice disarmed McAllister completely. "I... Uh... Thank you."

Dr. Hardy continued. "And the sooner we get done here, the faster we can get back to it." He looked at Jeff. "Do you have anything else? We need to get back to the lab as soon as possible."

"Just one more thing. The handheld cellphone units that Rarity's gem procurement team dropped off in Equestria should be online soon. Once the relay station is up and running, you should be able to talk to some of your friends," Jeff informed them. "They'll automatically add to your contact list when they come online. It'll be text-only for now, we've managed to score a small bandwidth increase but not enough to create a fully functional connection."

"Who has them?" Twilight asked.

"Well, we handed them over to the Equestrian military right before we went gem hunting," Marky told her. "They were going to drop some in Ponyville and Canterlot. Some ProteC guys went to set up a solar-powered relay antenna in the hills near Ponyville."

"Sounds great." Twilight stood up from the table. "And Dr. Hardy is right, we probably should get back to work, if everypony is ready."

"Good luck, and thank you," Jeff said.

Celestia and Emmy stood, and left the room, headed back to the laboratory. As everyone else filed out to resume various projects, Dr. Hardy called out. "Hey Pinkie Pie, can I have a word with you?"

"Absolutely!"

Chapter 24: Eat, Drink, and be Merry

View Online

It was early in the evening when the group met up for after-work dinner and a little relaxation in the club.

Jeff found Celestia at her room, and they headed downstairs together. As they approached, Chris and Emmy drifted into the hallway as well. Loud music and terrible singing boomed from inside when they approached the door, which had "Club Vox" in glowing, color-changing letters above it.

Celestia glanced questioningly at Jeff.

"Karaoke," he explained. "Good for morale or something. Not much of a singer myself."

"Neither is the dude on the mic," Chris commented, wincing.

Emmy laughed. "You don't want to hear me sing."

"What if I do?" Chris said.

"Trust me, you don't."

Jeff opened the door and held it as they entered.

The music was loud, but not deafening. Lasers and disco lights blazed over the large dance floor, and at the far end was a low stage. On the stage was a man in a T-shirt, assaulting their ears with a dreadful, catlike yowling on the microphone.

Seeing Twilight, Rarity, Marky, and the others sitting at a row of pushed - together tables, Jeff steered towards them.

"-worst thing I've ever heard," Applejack was saying as they walked up.

Sanchez grimaced. "It's pretty rough tonight alright."

"Not usually this bad," Hamilton frowned. "But tonight is something special."

"We've got to stop this," Twilight insisted.

"Go up there and ask him to take the next song!" Rainbow Dash begged. "Anything! Just make it stop!"

Twilight looked at her. "Okay, I'll do it. But only if you come up there with with me."

"Fine. My voice is awesome anyway."

"I'll go up there too," Rarity chimed in.

"We'll all go up there!" Applejack added.

"What?" Fluttershy asked nervously, trying to slip away from the table.

Applejack collared her. "Oh yes! It's gonna be fun!"

"I'd rather..."

"It's not fun without you!"

"But..."

"You really want to stay here by yourself?"

"Well actually..."

"Great! Then it's settled, right after this song we're gonna go and lasso that mic."

Fluttershy sighed resignedly. "How does this always happen to me?"

"Because you're our friend and we won't leave you out in the cold!"

Fluttershy smiled weakly. "Yes that's true."

"You'll be just fine, sugar cube!"

"Anything will be better than this," Jeff groaned.

"It's not so bad!" Pinkie Pie piped up.

The entire table stared daggers at her.

"Just think of it as torture! Right now, I'm pretending I'm a secret agent, tied up in a dungeon and being tormented for information!"

Feedback erupted from the microphone, stunning the audience momentarily. The singer plowed on regardless, weaving an unmatched tapestry of aural suffering.

Pinkie Pie scowled. "Do your worst! I'll NEVER talk!"

Everyone at the table laughed at that.

"Guys? Get ready, I think it's almost over."

As the off-key caterwauling ended, Twilight Sparkle led a charge to the stage.

The current singer raised an eyebrow at the six friends as they converged upon him. "Ponies can sing?"

"Hell yes they can!" someone yelled from the crowd.

The guy shrugged. "Well now I'm curious. See if you can sing as well as I just did! Wasn't it beautiful?"

Suppressing a shudder, Twilight put on her best fake smile, which wasn't very convincing. "It was... astonishing."

"It was very special," Rarity added, smiling demurely.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie glanced at each other. They both looked like they wanted to say something, but with visible effort they clamped their mouths shut and pasted silly, empty smiles on their faces.

"I can sing a bit more if you want!" He held the microphone up to his mouth.

"NO!" the Equestrians squealed in unison.

"I mean, ah, we wouldn't want you to to tire your amazing voice before the night is over!" Rarity added hastily.

"That's it exactly!" Twilight added, reaching eagerly for the mic.

The man beamed and held the microphone out. "You're too sweet! Have a go at it, girls!"

He stepped away cheerfully, humming out of tune to himself as Twilight took the mic gratefully and led the others onto the stage.

"So... what do we do now?"

"Just sing along, the words will be on your headset. I'll have the DJ put on something you girls know already." Sanchez walked to the DJ booth for a moment, then turned and gave them a thumbs up while a song started playing.

"Huh, Men at Work, interesting choice," McAllister commented as the six friends began singing. "I haven't ever heard this sung by so many girls at once. They're pretty darn good."

"It's like cool, fresh water on a parched throat," Hamilton added, sighing with relief.

Up on stage, Twilight and her friends swayed together.

"Do you come from the land down under?
Where women glow and men plunder?"

"You know," Jeff leaned towards Celestia. "I'm glad we can understand each other, but I was wondering to myself. How is it that you speak English?"

Celestia smiled crookedly. "Well honestly, I wish I could answer, but from my point of view, it feels like you all know how to speak Equestrian, and I've no idea how to explain any of this." She sipped her drink, .

Jeff shrugged. "Heh. I guess I see your point. None of this makes much sense, does it?" He lifted his Coke to his lips and stared at the stage, watching the six ponies effortlessly charm their audience.

"Oh by the way Celestia, I brought something for you," Hamilton said in the pause. He dug in one of his pockets and pulled a out a small white figurine. "I... I wanted you to have this. It's you."

He leaned over and set the little pony down on the table in front of her.

Celestia leaned forward curiously, looking closely at the plastic miniature of herself, complete with golden crown and soft, multicolored mane. She blinked several times, and an odd expression came over her face.

Hamilton looked worried. "I'm sorry, I didn't' mean to... I mean, I didn't think..."

Celestia looked up at him and smiled an odd, crooked smile. "No, it's... it's beautiful. Thank you." She sat back somewhat shakily. "It's just... Well, I don't know how to explain it. It's like seeing yourself in a statue from an ancient foreign temple, or in a cave painting from thousands of years ago." She paused, took a drink of her cranberry juice. "It sort of hit me hard while I was looking at that figure. You really know me. You really know us. And I never suspected a thing before I met you."

"I didn't mean to shock you."

"It's really okay. Just something that takes a little getting used to is all."

"If you don't want the pony, you don't have to take it."

"I'm honored. I'll keep it in my bedroom at Canterlot Castle after this is all over."

Hamilton smiled. "I wish I could see your castle, I've dreamed about visiting Canterlot so many times."

"Once this is all over, you're welcome to come visit anytime. I'll show you around myself."

"Thank you, but you know, already one of my dreams has come true, just talking to you."

Celestia blushed, suddenly at a loss for words. "I, uh, oh, ah... Thank you."

There was a moment of silence, broken eventually by Celestia viewing her ARHUD interface. "Oh, I just got a notification. It looks like my profile page has over one thousand followers now. Is that good?" she asked curiously.

"Your WHAT?" Chris gasped, his eyes bugging out.

"My new page on, what was that you called it Jeff? Social media?"

"Yes, Celestia, that's right."

Chris's gorged eyeballs swiveled jerkily over to Jeff as if they were rusted in the sockets. His mouth hung open so far it looked like he could catch a tennis ball inside. "What? WHAT!"

"Relax Chris, I suggested it to her."

"But this location. Everyone... The world? Here. Coming. Why?"

"She's not telling everything. Just started up a profile, put some pictures... here, have a look. And before you ask, all traffic from this facility is routed via encrypted tunneling to our gateway server in the United States, so nothing will be traced back to here."

Chris's expression was somewhere between dubious and mortified, but he nonetheless managed to look at the site Jeff tossed to his ARHUD.

PRINCESS CELESTIA
AGE: Keep Guessing!
FROM: Equestria
FOLLOWERS: 1.2K

As he watched, the number ticked up to 1.5K. "What the heck? I can see your followers increasing. I've never seen anything like it."

"Oh, Hamilton here suggested I join and make a little video post to... to... what did you call it again?"

"A Brony fan group. Has tens of thousands of members."

"Yes, thank you. So I did. And I just can't keep up at all. I make posts here and there, and most everyone seems happy."

Chris sucked his teeth. "I don't even know what to say anymore."

"Then just relax," Jeff grunted. "The Princesses here found out rather quickly about the way people communicate online, and they wanted to join in. I won't tell them no, and frankly I've decided I want to see what happens and let the future fall where it may."

Chris found himself grinning. "Well, I can truthfully say I'm enjoying how this is turning out. Some of these comments though..."

"There's a lot of arguments about how I look so realistic. Others are absolutely positive I'm the worst fake they've ever seen." She giggled.

"That's not what I meant."

"You mean the rudeness? I'm a big girl, I'm not as delicate as I might appear."

"That's not what I meant either. Like this creep here. He wrote-"

Chris was interrupted by the abrupt and rather noisy return of Twilight and her friends from the stage. Thankfully it was dinner time now, and a human female began singing sultry jazz while the lights dimmed. The enthusiastic but terrible gentleman from before had been safely blocked.

"So how were we?" Twilight asked, sliding into a chair.

"Absolutely fantastic!" Sanchez gave them a thumbs up and a big grin.

"What's for dinner?" Pinkie Pie asked. "I'm famished!"

"Whatever you want," Chris replied, absently. Then louder, "And don't forget. I'm taking you out for weapons training tomorrow."

"Oh yeah," Rainbow Dash trilled. "There's no way I'm forgetting that!"

***

Later in the night, Twilight sat alone on the edge of her bed in her penthouse suite. She touched the reading tablet nearby, considering looking at more human books, but then a message notification blinked in her ARHUD. She brought up the private message.

- Starlight Glimmer: Hello?
- Twilight Sparkle: Glims! How are you?
- Starlight Glimmer: I'm okay! Wow. This really works!
- Twilight Sparkle: Yeah it does! I guess I take it for granted already.
- Starlight Glimmer: How is everything over there?
- Twilight Sparkle: It's different. So different. But the people here are good. We've been so busy.
- Starlight Glimmer: What are you up against?
- Twilight Sparkle: We still aren't exactly sure. Something ancient, and evil. Nothing we can't handle, don't worry.
- Starlight Glimmer: I'm sorry Twilight, I worry anyway. I've seen some of the things that came out of the new portals here, some are horrible, indescribable.
- Twilight Sparkle: What's going on? Are you in trouble?
- Starlight Glimmer: No, we've handled everything. Just... If your side is the epicenter, then be ready Twilight. You're going to get the worst of it. I can't even imagine the things you are going to see... Please be careful!
- Twilight Sparkle: I'm always careful, Glims. You be careful too.
- Starlight Glimmer: Don't worry about me. I'm sorry though, I have to sleep. It's been a long day. I can barely keep my eyes open.
- Twilight Sparkle: It's okay. Go to bed. I'm going to do the same.
- Starlight Glimmer: Goodnight, Twilight.
- Twilight Sparkle: Goodnight, Glims.

Twilight closed the chat window, and stared into space for a long time before getting into bed and turning off the lights.

Chapter 25: Target Practice

View Online

Art by TheNeitherVoid

It was early morning when Chris headed to the lobby. He was a good half an hour before the meeting time. "Plenty of time to hit the cafeteria for breakfast," he muttered.

"Chris! Hey! CHRIS!" came a familiar voice. He turned around in the hallway. "Huh?"

Rainbow Dash flitted up to him. "Chris! Can you show me the guns now? I want to see the cool guns!"

"Uh... That's what we're here for Dashie. But first let's grab some food. It's going to be a long day."

"Sweet let's do this!"

"Rainbow dash?" Rarity came into the hallway behind her.

"Hi Rarity! We're going to the range."

Rarity sighed. "Yes darling, I know. That's why we're here."

"Fluttershy! We're going to go shooting!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed immediately upon seeing Fluttershy exit the elevator.

Fluttershy shrank back. "Oh, I uh... I don't like loud noises... and..."

"You can't get out of it now, you're already here."

"Well, if you put it that way..."

Chris scratched his head. "I appreciate the enthusiasm but let's take one thing at a time shall we?."

Soon after Marky, Emmy, and everypony with the exception of Princess Celestia had shown up. The only human present was Chris.

"Where are your guys at?" Marky asked.

"Some game tournament they're in," Chris said dismissively. "They said they had a lot of noobs to teabag, or something. You guys are stuck with me today."

"What about Celestia?"

"She's greeting some new volunteers from Equestria with Jeff. He said he's gonna give her one-on-one weapons training later on with the new group."

"I wonder who's coming," Rarity said.

Chris grinned. "I'm not entirely sure, but there were several names dropped. I know Lyra Heartstrings was one of them. They asked primarily for Unicorns because of your magical abilities. They're going straight into weapons training after we finish today."

"Excellent," Twilight commented. "They'll be caught up soon then."

"Right. They will be embedding with several different ProteC security teams."

Together they had a quick but companionable breakfast in the cafeteria.

Thirty minutes later the rather large group crowded into the hallway outside the underground armory.

"Now I told them to expect us here in the morning," Chris said. "But I'm willing to bet they already forgot about it." He opened the door and they went inside.

The armorer's eyes bulged. "What in the name of..."

Chris squeezed through the throng of ponies to get to the window. "Can I please get firearms issued to these Equestrians? I'm going to teach them how to shoot."

"Now? What? I mean, of course, sir. Um, here, have them swipe their wristbands. If they have access, I will issue."

Rainbow Dash was already swiping her wristband. A red light came on.

The armorer frowned uncomfortably. "Sorry... They aren't on my list."

Chris snorted. "Oh really? I requested it be updated yesterday."

The man's eyes widened. "I'm really sorry sir. I wasn't on duty yesterday. I had no idea. I don't have authority to fix the access list."

"Oh, I'll fix this right now," Chris said in a menacing tone of voice.

The man winced, expecting to get yelled at, but then Chris anticlimactically stood silently accessing his ARHUD menus for a few moments. "Another swipe please, Dashie."

Rainbow Dash swung her hoof past the scanner again. This time it lit up green.

Chris waved his hand majestically. "They have access now, my authorization. I'll just pretend this never happened."

The armor smiled and exhaled heavily, relieved. "Allrighty then. Swipe 'em and come on in. You're their escort."

"Thank you." Chris turned and spoke to all of the ponies. "Don't touch anything until I hand it to you. And then just hold it, don't do anything else with it. There's a lot of very dangerous equipment in here. Again, DO NOT TOUCH THINGS. Did you hear me Pinkie Pie?"

Pinkie Pie smiled widely. "Don't touch things! Okey dokey lokey!"

"I'm serious, Pinkie."

Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing. "No, really. I won't touch the things. Pinkie Promise!"

"Okay, I believe you. Marky, you're with me. You know your way around an armory, right?"

"When I was born the doctor smacked my ass with a cleaning rod and wiped me down with CLP. All the crying I did at that point were tears of joy."

"A man after my own heart," Chris grinned at him.

The heavy door clanked as the locking mechanism disengaged, then buzzed. Chris pulled it open and led the way into the weapons storage vault. The heavy clank of the locks reengaging was evident as it swung shut behind them.

On the inside, the door led to a short hallway. They walked down it until it opened up to a huge room, featuring gray concrete walls lined with hundreds of rifles. More shelves of rifles and submachineguns lined the floor. A little ways down, an assortment of handguns was laid out as well. There were some weapons that even Chris wasn't sure about, strange arrangements of electrical wires, pipes, and battery packs. He made a mental note to ask the armorer about them later. Off on the far wall were several other doors, one had a radiation warning sign on it and another prominently displayed High Voltage.

Chris led them to a rack of standard black rifles. "This here is the AR-15 rifle, a longtime favorite of the United States Military, and America in general."

"What's AR stand for?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Assault rifle?"

Chris chuckled. "No, but I'm glad you asked because that is a common misconception. It stands for Armalite Rifle, because the Armalite Company originally designed the AR-15."

"Can I see one now? Please?"

Chris picked one up, then drew and locked back the bolt to make sure the firing chamber was empty.

"Here you go. But remember, treat it as if it's loaded. Don't point it at anyone. Just carry it for now."

He proceeded to do the same for everyone else present. When he handed a rifle Marky, the Alicorn checked the chamber also then took a moment to admire it.

"It feels good to be holding a rifle again," he commented. "Combat optics, tactical light... laser... fore grip... The customization package on this makes it look quite different. How is it so light? And what's this cluster here on the side?"

Chris looked. "Well, there's been some updates to the mechanism in recent years. And all firearms at ProteC feature a package that links up to the ARHUD of the user, providing information such as ammo count and mechanism failure or overheat warnings. Just tap that button there to pair them."

Marky did so, observed his ARHUD, then slung the rifle around his neck, satisfied. "Very nice."

"Glad you approve," Chris said, and guided them down to the pistol section.

"You'll notice that most everyone is carrying with a sidearm around here all the time," Chris commented as he gestured at his own thigh holster. "Jeff takes security very seriously, and so should we all. This jungle is no place to be complacent. There are wild animals even on the grounds of this facility that can kill you." He reached over and picked up a large black handgun, being careful not to place his finger in the trigger guard.

"This is a Glock 21 .45 caliber pistol, same model I carry. I normally would start beginners out with something smaller, but I've seen how strong all of you are. I imagine even Fluttershy here can handle the recoil on this."

"Oh my, what's recoil?" Fluttershy asked, her voice trembling slightly. "It sounds scary."

"It's not that bad," Marky said. "Don't worry about it."

"If you say it's okay..."

"I think you'll be fine." Chris set the pistol back down and stepped to another shelf. "I'm trying to find an Equestrian-friendly belt and holster." He frowned. "This is more difficult than I anticipated."

Marky came up beside him. "Let me take a look, not trying to steal your thunder, but I'd say I have a wee bit more experience fitting holsters and gear to ponies than you have."

"Please," Chris said thankfully. "I am clueless right now."

Marky scanned the racks for a bit. "Here, give this one to Emmy." He handed a belt and holster set to Chris.

"Oh, sure, thanks." Chris went over to Emmy, who smiled up at him.

"Can you please help me put it on, Chris?" she asked. "I have no idea what I'm doing with human equipment." She pushed her flank towards him.

"Yeah, uh, no problem." He crouched down beside her and reached around her body with both arms to connect the belt. Her soft green fur was warm under his chest as he leaned against her. After he managed to buckle the belt around what seemed to be her waist, he connected the top of the thigh holster to it, then began putting the straps around her rear leg. He was struggling with the upper buckle when she twitched and gasped. He realized he had clumsily pushed his fingers between her thighs. He snatched his hand away in horror. "Oh crap."

"Wha... what are you doing?" she asked softly. Her face was a little red.

"I... I didn't mean to..."

"Didn't mean to what?"

"Well I... Uh, I was just trying to-"

"Okay all done!" Marky exclaimed loudly, stepping back to look at his work. He'd put holsters on all the other six in the time it had taken Chris to do Emmy's. Chris stood up quickly, his face feeling hot all the way down his neck. He was uncomfortably aware of Emmy's eyes still boring into him.

Marky peered at him curiously. "Are you alright Chris? You look a little red."

"This looks, like, SUPER AWESOMELY COOL," Rainbow Dash said, standing upright and tugging at her belt.

"Here, put this in it, it'll be even cooler." Thankful for the distraction, Chris handed her a Glock, and she carefully slid it into the ready holster. "Awww yeah, now that's what I call jewelry!" she said.

Chris distributed pistols to the rest of the ponies, with the exception of Marky, who already had his pair.

"I could definitely use some more ammo, however," Marky commented.

"No worries. That's the next stop." Chris handed out magazines and mag holders for the rifles and pistols, then they headed down to the ammo storage room. He pushed open the door, which had an EXPLOSIVES warning triangle on it. "Okay, lets grab some cans of 5.56 NATO, and some .45 ACP too."

Rarity tried to pick up an ammo can. "Oh my goodness! That is so heavy!"

"Allow me, ma'am." Marky picked it up with a grunt.

"My hero!" Rarity cooed.

Carrying several cans, the group followed Chris into the loadout room, where he instructed the ponies to lay their guns out on tables.

Chris and Marky moved to the front of the room. "Alright, before we shoot, time for weapon safety and familiarization training!"

The initial weapons handling and safety instruction block continued for over an hour.

"Oh my gosh. This is so BORING," Rainbow Dash lamented, straining to keep her eyes open. "I can barely stay awake!"

"Pay attention, Rainbow Dash," Twilight chided. "Safety is important. You can't wing everything. These human weapons are dangerous."

Rainbow Dash continued to grumble, but she didn't sleep.

Some time later, after Marky and Chris had taught the others everything from how to break down and reassemble their firearms to basic shooting techniques, they opened up the ammo cans.

"Okay, everyone load up your magazines!"

Once this was finished, they finally moved on to the indoor range.

"The moment everypony has been waiting for," Chris said, smiling. He gave a tug and the door opened into an immensely long concrete room, several stories tall and a few hundred yards to the end.

"Wow! It's huge!" Emmy said, her eyes big.

"Phrasing!" Marky snickered.

Chris shook his head but didn't say anything as he directed the Equestrians to firing dugouts. He pressed a button on a floor standing terminal, and the long concrete chamber ahead of them faded into a very realistic outdoor field scene. Birds flew by. Trees blew in the wind. Animals hopped and walked around. The sound of birds chirping and insects drifted realistically on the breeze.

Exclamations of surprise came from the Equestrians.

"Magic!" Twilight exclaimed. "But how?"

"No, it's not magic, there is a sophisticated multilayered holographic matrix installed here," Chris explained. "You can shoot anything out there and it will register a hit. None of it is actually real."

"Oh look at the cute bunny!" Fluttershy said. "You're not going to shoot him, are you?" Her eyes were full of concern.

Chris frowned. "On second thought..."

He pressed a couple buttons, and the fields disappeared, replaced by a blasted lunar landscape. Flying saucers whirred overhead, shining down spotlights, while hideous alien monsters popped up and down behind rock outcroppings and jumped from ledge to ledge.

"Okay, I think this is more appropriate."

"Way cooler!" Rainbow Dash agreed.

"Alright, if you look out there, you'll see some non-moving targets. I suggest you try shooting those first, when you get more comfortable, try for some of the moving ones. Make sure your ARHUD hearing protection is working, and we'll give it a go."

Chris nodded at Marky, who walked behind the practice shooters. "IS THE LINE READY?" he asked through the ARHUD voice channel.

All the ponies raised a hoof. Marky, watching the far end, raised a hoof also.

"LINE IS READY. FIRE!"

There was a slight pause while the Equestrians inserted magazines and racked slides. Then the gunshots rang out, mitigated to safe levels by the ARHUD compatible hearing protection system. Chris walked behind the line, observing their form. It was fascinating to see their hoofs laying alongside the trigger without actually touching it, but it still pulled back, and the rifle still fired.

"Not sure how I'd recommend they place their finger on the trigger at this rate..." he muttered to himself.

Fluttershy seemed afraid of the noise, but she pulled the trigger so slowly that her shots were still quite accurate. It was evident that she had listened carefully during the training. He nodded at her approvingly and moved on to Twilight, who was biting her lip in concentration but firing without hesitation. She was already a good shot.

"Good job! He gave her a thumbs up.

Twilight smiled widely and kept firing.

Chris glanced up. Marky had just finished checking Applejack and was now observing Rarity. He noticed Chris watching and gave a hoof wave, then moved on to Pinkie, who was apparently trying to find out how fast she could pull the trigger without hitting anything at all.

Chris laughed to himself. "That's gonna take some time to figure out."

He came up behind Rainbow Dash, who was enthusiastically yanking the trigger but not hitting much of anything.

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down! Take your time!"

She stopped jerking the trigger. "I can't hit anything!"

Chris climbed down into the dugout and put a hand on her hoof. "Here, put your grip here. Snug the butt stock up like this... Good. Now, when you fire, stop breathing until after you've SLOWLY squeezed the trigger."

Rainbow Dash took a breath and held it. She aimed at a target, and knocked it over with the next shot.

"Oh, thanks! That helped a lot!"

"No problem, RD." He patter her on the shoulder. "Good job! Keep it up!"

He climbed out and went to check on Emmy.

She wasn't shooting anything, and waved a hoof at him when she saw him approaching.

"It isn't working," she said, her voice full of disappointment. "It fired a couple times and then stopped."

"Let me see it." He hopped down into the dugout with her, then he took the gun from her and inspected the chamber, keeping the barrel pointed downrange.

"I see, looks like a double feed. Happens on rare occasions." He dropped the magazine and pulled the slide back, ejecting both bullets onto the ground. Then he slid the magazine back in and released the slide, chambering a round. "Try it now. Just pull the trigger."

Emmy looked hesitant. "Can you show me how?"

"Okay." He leaned in behind her and put an arm around her shoulder, guiding her hoof onto the pistol grip. Her soft shampoo-scented mane brushed against his cheek.

"Like this?"

She bent forward, pushing her flank between his spread legs.

"Uh, yeah..." His face felt hot again as he awkwardly tried to back his crotch away from contact with her rump.

"Wait! I don't know what to do!"

Chris sighed and leaned onto her again. He put his arm back around her, pushing himself against her body to steady her. "Is that better?"

"Yes, much better... Thank you."

She grinned and followed his instructions, scoring reasonably good hits.

"Not bad."

She turned her head a bit to see him, a huge smile on her face.

"This is really fun!"

Chris collected his thoughts.

"Yeah, actually... It is."

He smiled. "I had better make sure the others are okay though."

"Awww, already?" she said. "Thank you, Chris."

He was more than a little surprised at his own reluctance to climb out of the dugout.

Chapter 26: Mammals

View Online

Night was falling while Chris sat near the waterfall, running through news feeds on his ARHUD. A voice interrupted him.

"Hey Chris."

He swept his hand and cleared his vision, seeing the green Equestrian mare he'd felt a good rapport with before accidentally groping her up today. "Oh hey there Emmy. What's up?"

"Not much, really. I was down in the laboratory for awhile, but we're done working on the rifle magazine enhancement spells for tonight."

He eyeballed the Glock on her thigh. Since their successful training, all the Equestrians had been officially issued both pistols and rifles. Generally the rifles were kept in quarters inside a biometric safe for convenience, but all personnel were highly encouraged to carry the handgun at all times.

"How's the holster working out for you?" He said this before thinking about it, and mentally facepalmed himself afterwards. Why would I ask that of all things?

She smiled a little. "It's great. It's almost like I'm wearing nothing at all!" She shook her hindquarters. "See?"

"That's nice," Chris said blankly, at a loss for words.

"I'm just... looking for something to do, I guess. I.. don't really know what to do around here, though. I thought..." she hesitated, staring at his confused expression for a moment, then she dropped her gaze. "I... I guess I'll let you go back to whatever you were doing." There was sadness in her face as she turned abruptly to leave.

"Uh, Emmy?"

She froze, then looked back at him. "Yeah?"

"I'm not doing anything right now. If you want, I can show you around."

Her demeanor brightened instantly. "That would be wonderful!"

"Actually, I know a place with a very nice view, if you'd like to see it. We can get some fresh air."

"Yes, please."

Chris walked Emmy out to the parking area and got into his car. He was momentarily surprised when Emmy was able to easily slip into the passenger side in the same position as a human, rear hooves on the floorboard and back reclining against the seat. Equestrian flexibility was an amazing thing.

They both closed the doors and he activated the vehicle. A buzzer sounded.

"Buckle up, Emmy."

"Do what?"

"The belt. By your right shoulder."

"This one? What do I do with it?" She batted curiously at the buckle hanging near her head.

"Here. I'll show you. Sit back please, I'm going to have to reach across you."

"Go for it."

Chris leaned over Emmy in the passenger seat and tried to grab her seat belt. He tugged on it, but it was stuck fast.

"Uh, Emmy? I think you're sitting on it."

"Oh dear. I don't know what to do."

Awkwardly Chris tried to reach behind her. She shifted slightly, and he managed to pull on the belt, only to find it had become entangled with her tail.

"It's twisted up pretty good, Emmy."

"Can you get it free? Do I need to get out?"

"Uh, I don't think so. Just a second."

Chris wrapped both arms around her and tugged on the seat belt gently with the left, trying to extricate it from her tail with the right.

"Almost got it..."

The seat belt released suddenly, and Chris's elbow slipped off the center console. He found himself firmly gripping Emmy's smooth flank, his face on her neck, buried in her soft mane. He froze.

Her muzzle lifted a little and she inhaled sharply, sitting very still. She quivered, her body tense.

Chris quickly pulled himself back clumsily, his face on fire with embarrassment for the second time that day. He averted his eyes from her, fumbling awkwardly with the belt and the clasp next to her hip, but it slipped away again.

He shifted slightly in his seat, hoping she couldn't see his erection.

What the hell is wrong with you, man. She's not even human.

But she is really cute in her own way...

Chris mentally slapped himself. "I'm sorry about that. It was an accident."

"Sorry about what?"

"I... I... Uh, my hand..."

"It's okay, Chris," she said. "Really." She stared at his blushing face intently while she grabbed the seat belt with her hoof and buckled it the way he'd been trying to do. Finally she lowered her eyes down to the belt she had drawn across her chest. "Um, what is this thingy for?"

"Oh, ah, that. Yes. It's a safety device. It keeps you from hitting the windshield or dashboard if we crash. This vehicle can travel very fast."

"You'll have to show me later."

"For sure I will."

He turned the LED headlights on and pulled the car out of the parking spot, swinging onto the main road.

"Oh! This is fast!" Emmy exclaimed excitedly. "It's different from the bus."

Chris laughed a little. "I haven't even done anything yet."

She looked through the window as he drove towards the Oblivion Gate security line, watching the trees hum past in the deepening dusk. "This is already better than just sitting in my room."

"I'm glad you're enjoying it," Chris said, looking at her out of the corner of his eye as she peered out excitedly.

At the gate, the guard robot scanned his wristband and eyes, then hers.

It rolled back from the vehicle and waved at the opening gate. "Mr. Lance, you and Miss Emerald Resonance may enter the restricted area."

***

"Well what do you think?" Chris asked softly.

Emmy gazed down from the gazebo lookout point over the Oblivion Gate valley.

The light was fading, the distant chatter of the endless waterfalls mysterious in the late evening twilight.

"It's one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen," she said, leaning over the gazebo railing, her voice filled with awe. "That bright, domed building, that's the Gate? The one we came through?"

Chris moved beside her and leaned on the rail. "Yes. I haven't actually seen it at night before, either. You're right. It IS beautiful."

He looked at with a sideways glance, her wide, clear eyes filled with sparkling stars and wonder. It's not the only beautiful thing out here tonight.

After a bit, she moved back to sit on the bench behind them. Chris followed her, and sat down as well, nearby so they could talk. From here the gazebo roof cut into the view of the sky above them somewhat, but there was still a wonderful panorama spread out in front.

They sat in silence for a while as the sunset faded, letting the distant thunder of the waterfalls roll over them.

"You know," she said eventually, "It's been years since I really sat down and enjoyed a view like this."

"Really? Equestria seems like such a wonderful place. There must be countless natural wonders to visit."

"You're right. There are many amazing things to do and see. But I was so absorbed in my studies and training, that I rarely took time to do other things. The job Princess Celestia gave me was a great honor. I took it... take it, very seriously."

Chris nodded. "I imagine you are very good at it."

"Am I? Because I haven't really done anything particularly useful yet. I'm supposed to help protect Equestria. I'm supposed to be at the front of the charge, and I'm supposed to know what to do to save lives. But all I've done is eat pancakes and loaf around on park benches." She gestured at herself unhappily.

"Sitting here on an alien planet, surrounded by aliens. Working on plans to save our world and yours. Oh and learning to handle alien weapons."

She sighed. "You're right, Chris. I guess I am doing something. Even though it feels like I should be doing more."

"Sometimes taking a break is exactly what you need to do. Pushing yourself too hard in the downtime means you will break in the crunch time."

"And it's such a beautiful night for a little relaxation, Chris."

She leaned towards him slightly, and then she was nestled against him.

"I'm glad you took me here," she said softly.

Chris felt his heart beat rise, and he slipped his arm around her shoulders.

She snuggled herself into the crook of his arm, her head against his shoulder. Her mane smelled faintly pleasant, the after tinge of her shampoo.

"You known, Chris," she murmured. "I haven't sat like this in a long time."

Her head tilted back slightly, her muzzle suddenly very close to his mouth, her eyes partly closed. He felt her warm breath on his face, and found himself leaning towards her.

Something cracked loudly in the trees behind the gazebo.

Instantly Chris had his Glock out, the powerful beam from the light mounted below it spotlighting a very startled goofy-looking marsupial with big eyes. A green laser dot was glowing right in the middle of its forehead.

"We should probably head back," he said, clicking the light back off as the terrified little critter scampered back into the trees. "There are large predators that live here, and they come out at night. A wise man does not risk the preventable wrath of nature, armed or not. Let's go back to the car."

"You're right, as usual," she said reluctantly. "Although I feel really safe around you."

"It's okay. I'll walk you back to your room."

The drive back held a certain tension. Emmy didn't say anything, and the sadness had returned to her expression.

Chris finally spoke. "Emmy, back there, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's okay," she interrupted. "I understand. I won't do that again."

"I thought-"

"Don't worry about it."

He parked the car back at the main building, and they got out, standing for a moment in the warm night air.

"Are you hungry?" Chris asked. "We could get a snack."

"I'm not really hungry right now. I feel stupid."

"Don't say that."

"Well, I do. I should just go back to my room."

"I'll walk with you."

She glanced at him briefly. "You don't have to."

"Maybe I want to, Emmy."

She searched his face again, and there was a spark in her eye this time.

"Do you like me, Chris?"

He hesitated. "I... uh, think you're a really nice pony, but..." he trailed off, glumly.

"Ouch. I guess I asked for that. But it still stings. Let's just go inside before I embarrass myself any further."

They entered the building together and got into an elevator headed to her floor in silence.

At her door, she paused. "Thanks for a great time. It was really beautiful out there. I... I'm sorry I wasn't as good company as I should have been."

Chris stared at her. "I..." He trailed off, and they stared awkwardly at each other.

"Goodnight, Chris." She hung her head slightly and turned away, stepping into her room.

As the door closed behind her, Chris suddenly reached out and stopped it. "Wait."

"Hmm?"

He gulped. "Emmy, would you like to come to my room and watch a movie with me or something? It's just down the hall that way."

She looked up at him for a long moment, questioningly, studying his face. Then she nodded, and a little smile appeared. "Yes I would." She came back out of her room and let the door shut behind her without a backwards glance. They walked a short distance, and then Chris was scanning his own bracelet at his door. He let her enter first, then he closed the door behind her and turned back towards the room.

Emmy looked up at him, her eyes glistening. "You sure about the movie?"

"Emmy, I'm not sure about anything. But here we are."

"Alone together?"

"Yeah. And there aren't any trees with freaky animals in them here."

"Hmm, well no trees, certainly. But I wouldn't be so sure about the freaky animals." Suddenly she reared up on her hind legs, putting her hooves on his shoulders, her head almost on a level with his.

He leaned back against the door, and they stared into each other’s faces intently for a moment, his eyes widening and hers already immense, her pupils dilated and shimmering.

There was electricity in their nearness, a wall of unseen fire connecting their bodies. An eternity crackled between them in a moment as she waited for him to make the final move, trembling with anticipation, with trepidation, with desire.

Then his arms went around her, and the last barrier was shattered. He pulled her towards him, smelling the sweet hay scent of her breath as she leaned forwards.

She eagerly pushed into him until their mouths were touching. Chris kissed her back hard, crushing their bodies together while her hooves gently wrapped behind his waist. She pressed her open mouth to his, teasing him with her tongue. He ran his hands through her soft mane and down her back, feeling her firm, shapely rump as she ground herself rhythmically against his thigh.

He shifted slightly, pushing his knee between her legs, feeling a wet spot on his pants leg where her crotch rested. She flicked her tail, brushing his fingertips when he squeezed her rump. Then she stopped kissing him long enough to start pulling his shirt off. He reached up and helped, dropping it on the floor. Then he guided her to the bed, pushing her backwards on top of it and crawling over her to kiss her neck and throat. He helped her take off her weapon belt and drop it gently on the floor next to his own.

She suddenly resisted, pushing him to the side onto his back. Then she leaned over and unzipped his pants, pulling them and his underwear off to free his rock hard shaft. She immediately leaned forward and took him into her mouth.

Chris gasped as her tongue wrapped around and did something he'd never imagined to his cock, melting him with pleasure.

Emmy slurped and bobbed her head, her mouth and throat big enough to engulf his manhood all the way to his balls with ease.

Chris put his hands on her head, stroking her ears and gently pushing her down. She responded eagerly, and could feel her saliva dripping on him as he thrust himself into her warm mouth.

"Emmy, I... I..."

"Not yet!" She stopped sucking his cock immediately, and crawled up his body to straddle him, leaning in and whispering in his ear as she gently rubbed her body against him. "Chris, I want you inside me."

He didn't answer, but grabbed his dick and guided it towards her. She squatted down, and he felt her sopping wet pussy rub against the tip of his cock, and then she slid down over him, and he was lost inside her.

He squeezed her in his arms as she moaned and rocked on his iron shaft.

"I want you on top," she said, finally.

They rolled over carefully so he didn't slip out, and she spread her legs on her back while he pushed deep inside her over and over.

"Chris, I'm... ohhh!"

He kissed her on the mouth as they came together, grunting as his dick pumped spurts of hot jizz into her eagerly pulsing pussy, her legs and body shaking as she moaned with pleasure, orgasming hard until he collapsed beside her.

She snuggled against him, her head nestled in the crook of his arm. He kissed her forehead, and soon they fell asleep, cradled in each others arms and hooves.

Chapter 27: Construct Dive

View Online

Art by TheNeitherVoid

Immediately after breakfast the following morning, the entire group bussed to the simulator training facility. This time, Celestia and Jeff were with the team as well, having left the new arrivals from Ponyville with their respective human teams, which had gone very well.

The massive, windowless cube dwarfed them upon approach.
Inside, the simulator crew was standing by, and quickly proceeded to give the team a briefing.

"This is a simulated-fire exercise," the simulator controller announced. "Your firearms are special props that will behave like real weapons with proper recoil."

He held up a pair of small, lightweight glasses, like diving goggles with no transparent lenses.

"Your simulator goggles will provide a fully interactive three-dimensional environment and effects. Be aware that while the weapons are simulated, the exos and environment are real. You can sustain serious injuries from falling or physically striking one another by accident, so be aware of your surroundings and teammates at all times. Finally, in the event of a dangerous situation, say 'Time out!', or press the red lighted buttons positioned at intervals throughout the arena to freeze the program. Any questions?"

"Does it hurt to get killed?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"No it does not, however your gear will shut down and you must leave the arena as a ghost and sit in the waiting area until the next round. Visually, your corpse will remain where you went down in the simulation. You'll show up as a ghost to keep your teammates from accidentally colliding with you."

"What kind of things will we be fighting?" Hamilton asked.

"We don't actually know. The simulation has been set to generate a challenging antagonist based upon random factors. It has access to the library system and the Internet, with the caveat that it must be something unusual. It could be anything from giant insects to ghosts. Remember, this is a simulation. Using magical attacks or teleport spells could have very dangerous results and confuse the simulator, so only use the weapons you are provided and your own two, uh, or four legs, as the case may be. Oh, and be careful with your flying. There is a ceiling, even though it's several stories up. Keep the speeds low, there will be a warning in your display if you near any invisible solid objects. Any additional questions? Good, then get changed in the locker room, and let's begin."

***

It was pitch black inside the huge room when the lights cut out in preparation for the simulation to begin.

"How do we know when it starts?" Rainbow Dash asked impatiently.

"SIMULATION BEGINNING IN THREE," came a voice over the headset.

"TWO."

"ONE."

"INITITIATE."

There was a burst of static across everything that faded into a dark cityscape. Clouds raced far overhead, and lightning flashed in the distance.

The city was oddly quiet, nothing moving in the streets except trash blowing in the wind between abandoned cars.

"It looks so real," Celestia breathed. "My goodness." She stepped forward a few feet and looked at the others. "And you all look the same."

"Whats our mission?" Marky asked.

"Stay alive, kill enemies." Chris replied. "Everyone get ready, we don't know what's going to jump out at us."

"I'm pretty sure I know what's going to jump out at us." Sanchez pointed at a newspaper headline visible in a nearby trash can.

DAILY TELLTALE - FLYING SAUCERS INVADE THE EARTH!

As they read it, a droning sound came from far down the street and a single floating headlight beam approached.

"Crap. Let's get under cover."

The group rushed into the shelter of an abandoned hotel lobby, McAllister and Sanchez kicking the door down so they could enter.

The humming sound outside increased.

"What is this place?"

"What is that thing?"

"It's sooo DIRTY in here!"

"Guys, keep it down," Chris said. "We don't know what that thing outside is and..."

"I'll go find out!" Pinkie Pie bounced towards the door.

"No! Do you want to get us all killed?"

"No..."

"Then sit your pink butt back down and be quiet."

The humming sound was very loud now, and added to it was an odd scraping noise, like steel wool on concrete.

Even Pinkie Pie was nervous now. She drew and racked her shotgun, chambering a shell of 00 buckshot. After numerous failed attempts at getting her to aim a rifle properly, they had finally settled on the shotgun. She did handle the weapon safely, and she was far better at fighting up close than she was at sniping anyway, totally lacking the patience to aim properly at distant targets.

The creepy rasping noise continued.

"I don't like that sound much," Applejack whispered.

"Me either," Rainbow Dash agreed.

"Gross, I just stepped in something sticky," Rarity complained. She looked down in the dim light and saw her hoof had sunk into the rotting chest of a human corpse. She screamed.

The response was immediate. What was left of the door exploded inward as a silver orb the size of a car burst into the room. A powerful spotlight beam from below it illuminated Rarity. Flexible metal arms launched from an orifice on the side, catching her by the neck and torso. She screamed again, terrified this time, as the claws ripped her into two pieces. Her ghost appeared, a white outline glowing in the dark that stepped back quickly as entrails and pink flesh fell back to the floor in a spray of blood.

"RARITY!" her friends howled in unison, horrified.

"Shoot it!" Chris yelled.

Gunfire erupted sporadically from around the room. The claws whizzed and snapped. Rainbow Dash darted around in the air, firing randomly at the alien sphere.

Sparks glinted on the metal surface as the gunfire impacted it, doing no visible damage.

Fluttershy was lying under a table, covering her face with her hooves. She was quickly snagged, her digital body sliding away, leaving her real self as a ghost under the table. Her digital representation squealed in convincing terror while she was dragged off by the tail.

Hamilton went after her and was instantly struck down by one of the claws. His ghost shrugged and walked away. His simulated body looked down in surprise at his missing legs before another swing of the metal appendage ripped his head off. Blood fountained out of his headless torso. Seconds later, Fluttershy's squirming avatar was held upside down and gutted alive, her agonized screams ending in a whistling gurgle as blood poured out of her mouth and her shredded intestines fell to the floor.

The massacre continued unabated. The sphere whirled about, tentacles whicking back and forth in a graceful ballet of horrific death. Jeff and Celestia's rifles boomed, then both their headless bodies fell atop Applejack, who had been crawling around feebly, bleeding to death from the severed stumps of her hind legs, and leaving a long red smear on the floor behind. Pinkie Pie was slammed against a wall with alarming force, leaving a wide splatter of blood behind when her crushed body fell to the floor. Emmy was impaled by a metal rebar pole driven through her chest and into a solid concrete wall with enough force to shake the building. Chris was slammed into the ceiling up to his chest, breaking his neck with a loud pop while his cranium exploded like a watermelon under a baseball bat. Rainbow Dash's wings were violently torn off and she was swung screaming against the door frame, her back snapping as she folded in half like a sheet of origami paper and slid to the floor, twitching slightly. Marky was grabbed by his throat and used as a flail to beat McAllister and Sanchez until his head ripped off with a sickening wet tearing sound, spewing blood over their crushed remains.

Eventually the carnage was over. The entire team had been brutally exterminated in seconds. The scene was a shocking mausoleum of severed limbs, organs, shattered bones, and mutilated flesh. Blood dripped from the ceiling onto their ruined corpses. The deadly sphere began methodically picking up the organic remains and dropping them into what looked like a wood chipper on top of itself.

The crunching of bones faded into the background as a message finally blinked on their visors.

FATALITIES 100%. MISSION FAILED. SIMULATION TERMINATING.

"Hoooleeee fuck," McAllister whispered in the ensuing silence, leaning over with his hands on his knees. "What the hell just happened? I've never seen some shit like that."

"That was quite possibly the single most horrible thing I have ever seen in my entire life," Twilight agreed weakly when she and Pinkie Pie had finished vomiting on the floor. "Can't wait to see the nightmares THAT gives me."

"Usually I like a fight," Rainbow Dash added shakily. "But I think I might try to dream about pretty flowers and butterflies for the next few nights."

"Is Fluttershy okay?" Jeff asked.

"She's better off than we are," Hamilton said. "She kept her eyes closed the whole time. You can look now Fluttershy, it's all over."

Celestia walked over to Jeff and spoke to him in low tones. "Is it always like that? Because I don't think this is good for any of us. Even for training."

"No, it's not. I'm going to find out what's going on right now."

***

"What the heck just happened in there?" Jeff asked the simulator crew, angrily. "There was no possible way to beat that thing."

"We, ah, may have made a slight oversight," the crew lead replied, uncomfortably. "See, when we set up the simulation, we told the system to make the scenario challenging. Let's just say it was a little too challenging. You're correct. There was no way whatsoever that you could have won that battle with the equipment you had. In fact, I have my doubts as to whether an entire U.S. Army mechanized brigade could have beaten it."

"I'll say it was a little too challenging. My main team is traumatized now. It was worse than the Texas Chainsaw Massacre in there! You had better look over the next program before you put us through some insane crap like that again!"

"We- we will sir. I- I'm sorry about that."

"Just get it right next time. Dude, that freaked ME out and I've been through hundreds of simulations!" Jeff stalked out of the control room and back to the team.

"Okay guys, the good news is, that scenario was way overboard. So we can run another one that's a little more reasonable."

"It was my fault," Rarity said, very upset. "I got scared. I screamed. I got everyone killed and it was horrible!"

Sanchez squatted down to look her in the eyes and put a hand on her shoulder. "That's what simulator training is for. You mess up in there all you want, and learn from it so that you survive in the field."

"It was so real. It's stuck in my head now."

"That's okay, next time you'll remember what happened here and not make the same mistakes again."

"We've got another simulation loaded," the simulator technician said. "This one is actually beatable in more ways than one. It's not easy, though."

Jeff waved an arm. "Okay, positions everyone, let's take it from the top like that last nonsense never happened, okay?"

***

The static faded to a forest clearing at midday.

"Well this is better than LAST time," Twilight said. "At least it's light out."

A cool breeze teased their sun-warmed skin. Butterflies flapped about from flower to flower.

"This is more like it!" Fluttershy agreed, smiling. "I like this place!"

Just then an enormous, blood-curdling roar sounded from the forest behind them. Birds flew in terror as something enormous crashed through the trees.

"On second thought..." Fluttershy whimpered, cowering behind Rainbow Dash.

"Okay, let's try and take cover behind those rocks," Marky pointed.

They rushed for the huge boulders, and slid into the shadows just as a gigantic scaly lizard monster stalked into the clearing.

"Tyrannosaurus Rex," Sanchez breathed, reverently.

"I don't think I can talk to this one," Fluttershy whispered.

"You can't. It's a simulation, not real," Hamilton told her. "We'll have to do this the old-fashioned way."

The dinosaur stalked forward, then froze, sniffing the air suspiciously. Its breath sounded like a steam locomotive chugging slowly out of a station.

The creature cocked its head, vicious reptilian eyes looking in their direction.

Celestia narrowed her own eyes. "Do we have a plan?"

"Yeah, don't get eaten," Chris replied in low tones. "If anyone has a better plan, I'm all ears."

"If we engage it, I suggest aiming for the eyes, nose, and inside the mouth," Emmy commented. "Everything else looks like it's armored."

"Valid point. I see a possible plan developing here, but it's extremely risky."

"Go on."

"If one of us stands right here, between these rocks... And half the group stays right here, and the other goes right there, we should have a reasonably good crossfire on his eyes when he goes for the bait."

Emmy grimaced. "And who gets to be the bait?"

"I'll do it," Chris said. "It's my plan."

"If you're gonna do it, you try and chuck these grenades down his throat when he opens his mouth." Marky gave Chris two explosive frags.

"I'm gonna try to dodge at the last second. Then you guys open fire on his eyes. Hopefully I don't become dinner or get Swiss cheesed by the bullets."

"Be careful," Emmy said.

Chris laughed tensely. "This whole plan is insane. But at least we have one."

The group split into two fire teams, taking positions behind the boulders.

The T-Rex stomped around, seemingly aware of their presence but unable to pinpoint their location, until Chris stepped out into plain view.

"Hey Godzilla! I'm right here, and I'm delicious!" He made turkey noises and danced around. "Don't you just wanna sink your big, foot-long teeth into my soft, vulnerable skin?"

The T-Rex looked at him in amazement, then bellowed in rage. It charged headlong for him.

"You know, it suddenly occurs to me that he might just step on me," Chris observed to the others as the ground shook. "Ohhhhh crap."

The T-Rex rushed up at him with amazing speed, then swung its head down, mouth wide. Chris exo jumped sideways through the air and tossed the grenades at the same time. They both went into the T-Rex's mouth. "Score"! he chortled as he scrabbled on the ground. Then they fell right out again and rolled towards Chris as the T-Rex stood up and growled in frustration. "Oh crap. Take cover!" He dove behind a rock while the grenades detonated behind him. "Maybe that'll stun the T-Rex for a moment."

The bellow and feet stomping behind him were evidence that the T-Rex was not stunned, and, if anything, was in a far worse mood than previously.

He dove again as the terrible lizard's head came down for another go. "Change of plans!" Chris yelled. "RUN!"

The team scattered.

"Well, I think that went well," Jeff said, running next to Celestia. "We should do this more often."

"I have a feeling we shall be doing exactly that."

"It's heading off towards Hamilton and Fluttershy. Perhaps we can circle around and take some quality shots at the eyes?"

They stopped for a moment, trying to discern a plan of action. Rainbow Dash fluttered around the creature's head like an angry starling protecting a nest.

"Hey Marky," Jeff called on his headset comm. "Do you see how Rainbow Dash is flying around just out of reach and harassing him with the rifle? Think you can do that also?"

"I can try, but my aim is a lot better on the ground. In the air, it's pretty much spray-and-pray."

Chris cut in. "Well pray then. We need you up there if we're gonna have any chance of surviving this."

"Alright then."

They watched Marky's dark form take flight and begin circling the T-Rex's head, taking potshots while he dodged and rolled in the air.

Twilight joined as well, wings flashing as she zoomed around in loops and rolls.

"I'm going to help," Celestia said. She took off with massive wing beats and flew towards the action.

"Guys?" McAllister's voice. "There's a hell of a cliff over here. Maybe if we confuse him enough, we can get him to fall off."

"That's the plan then," Chris said, breathing hard from running. "Your plan, you're in command for now. Tell us what to do. By the way, I think he likes me again."

"Try and lead him towards the fallen tree. See it? The cliff is shortly beyond that. Fliers, pull back, let him chase Chris. Hit him hard to confuse him right before the edge of the cliff."

Celestia and the others backed off, hovering out of reach.

Chris waved his arms to get the T-Rex's full attention. He cupped his crotch and thrust his hips forward. "Come get yer meatballs! Nice and salty, just the way you like em!"

He took off running as the intensely frustrated dinosaur gave chase again. Up ahead, he could see the drop off. He ran harder, the exo boosting his strides while he jumped over a fallen tree.

The T-Rex didn't even slow but plowed right through the tree in a cloud of splinters and kept coming.

"Chris, keep running right off that cliff. Rainbow Dash, can you catch him?"

"I'm there!" Rainbow Dash stowed her rifle on her back and zoomed ahead.

"Okay, here goes." McAllister watched them approaching the drop. "Hit him now, fliers!"

Twilight, Marky, and Celestia fluttered around the charging animal, confusing its vision as it raced towards Chris. Chris charged right towards the cliff edge at top speed, seeing a drop that looked like the edge of the world. Birds circled and wheeled far below, little specks in the distance. The fall was thousands of feet. He heard Rainbow Dash's wings nearby.

Too late to hesitate now.

He launched himself out into the empty air, the exo whirring as it flung him far and high. The T-Rex did not slow at all, but charged right off the cliff after him, squealing and plunging end over end until it faded into the distant mists of the basin far below.

Chris watched as it tumbled out of sight, floating in the air with Rainbow Dash's hooves gripping his exo tightly.

"Thanks Dashie."

"Anytime! I've saved bigger ponies than you with one hoof!" she hooted gleefully. "Awww yeah! He really messed up when he messed with us!"

She flew him back to the cliff and set him down. "Now what?"

The background noises and images faded.

FATALITIES 0. MISSION SUCCESS. SIMULATION TERMINATING.

The warehouse lights came back on, and they could see that what had seemed like a huge cliff was actually a drop of about ten feet with a heavy trampoline net under it.

"Good work, McAllister," Chris said, and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Couldn't have done it without you guys."

"That's why we're a team!" Rainbow Dash added.

"And I didn't scream!" Rarity said. "I wanted to a couple times. But I didn't!"

"And I kept my eyes open," Fluttershy said, proudly.

Applejack beamed. "Everypony did a fantastic job!"

"Including the simulator techs," Jeff said, smiling. "Much better, guys. Tough, but not too tough." He gave a thumbs-up.

"Thanks, Boss," the tech's voice came over his headset, sounding relieved.

"Let's go get lunch so the next team can practice."

As they headed to the locker room they passed a team of ProteC humans in exo suits on the way out to the simulator. A green unicorn and a cream colored Earth pony walked with them, smiling ear to ear.

"Hey Lyra! Bonbon! Good luck out there."

"Hiya there Princess Twilight!" the unicorn replied. "With Bonbon here, we won't need luck."

Princess Celestia smiled and gave Bonbon a quick nod, unnoticed by the others. Bonbon smiled and nodded in reply. "Ready to do whatever it takes to protect everypony," she said softly to Celestia as they passed each other.

Chapter 28: Backstage Pass

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Evening came, and with it an unexpected buzz on Dr. Hardy's door panel.

"Pinkie?" Dr. Hardy said, holding his apartment door open. "I'm a bit surprised."

"I decided to come after all!" Pinkie chirped and bounced through the opening, smiling widely. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all. I meant it when I said come by anytime." He gestured towards the couch somewhat awkwardly. It was not often that he had guests. "Please, ah, make yourself comfortable." He closed the door behind her, and it beeped softly as it locked.

Pinkie bounced and hummed her way to the couch, moving as effortlessly as a ballerina.

He observed the pony for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face. She sprang into the air and landed like a feather on the couch, delicate and almost weightless. A moment later she sank into the cushions and purred like a cat.

"Oooohhh soooft!"

Dr. Hardy's face broke into a small smile at her casual denial of physics. Her playful antics were indeed infectious, and everything seemed brighter in her presence. He walked towards the kitchen divider counter to make some tea.

She leaned over the coffee table. "What's this thing?"

Dr. Hardy glanced up briefly. "It's a Rubik's cube. It's a kind of puzzle."

Pinkie shifted and picked up the colorful cube in her hooves. "It's all... mixedy-up. What do I do with it?"

"You can spin the small cubes, and try to make all the sides one color."

He poured some distilled water into a pot, watching as Pinkie tentatively rotated the sides of the cube.

"Hmmm."

Suddenly she began spinning the cube so fast it turned into a whirl of colors. Her hooves blurred, and the cube whirred between them, a flickering gray sphere moving so quickly that the individual features were indecipherable.

"And there and there and there there there there there!"

She dropped the cube back onto the table with a clunk, each side solidly a different color.

"It's kind of fun... I guess. But not as much fun as watching you stand there with your mouth open!"

Dr. Hardy blinked. "Pinkie, can you tell me how you did that?"

"I just made the colors match!" Pinkie smiled widely, bobbing her head.

"I can see that. You've never touched a Rubik's cube before, have you?"

"Noooope! Why do you think I asked you what it was?"

He opened his mouth to reply just as the teapot began whistling. "Um, just a moment. Do you prefer green tea, or Earl Grey?"

"Anything that's sweet!"

He pulled out two teacups and setting them on a tray next to a bowl of sugar and a small creamer pitcher full of milk He dropped two Earl Grey bags into the teacups and covered them with the hot water. Then he grabbed several red velvet cupcakes he had nicked from the cafeteria and placed them on the tray. Carrying the tray in one hand, he picked up a chair from the dinner table and brought it near the couch, positioning it near Pinkie so they could talk comfortably.

Pinkie took a look at the cupcakes and immediately engulfed one with her tongue, chewed twice and swallowed, her face filled with evident delight.

"Do you have red velvet cupcakes in Equestria?"

"We have EVERY kind of cupcake in Equestria! And more! I can make THE BEST cupcakes!"

"I'm going to have to cross over and visit sometime." He leaned back, and allowed a serious look to come over his face. "Although I am greatly enjoying your company, I must ask you some important questions."

Pinkie looked at him, and some of her brightness seemed to fade. "I know. That's why I came here. You want to ask about me. How I can do things like-"

She was gone.

"THIS, right?"

Dr. Hardy gasped as her hoof touched his shoulder from behind. He turned towards her, and chuckled nervously. "Yes. I know that a Unicorn or an Alicorn can teleport using magic, but what you do is different, isn't it? You have no magic horn."

Pinkie returned to her spot on the couch, and for the first time in days, there was a tinge of seriousness in her face. "I go around you." Her voice was lower than normal, the squeakiness gone.

"What?"

"I go. Where the things aren't. Where you aren't."

"I'm sorry, I don't exactly understand. I see when Twilight teleports, there is a flash of light. She can explain it in a way that makes sense, as much as magical madness ever makes sense. But you seem to simply disappear. And you defy gravity."

Pinkie Pie leaned forward, her mane starting to droop. "Doc? Nobody ever asks me about this. I never talk about this. It is hard to explain, and if I think about it too much, it's not fun.".

She paused for a moment, and he waited. When she spoke her voice was slow and controlled.

"I will talk about this now because it's important." She paused again, and Hardy waited. "Have you been to a live play before?"

He nodded.

"Think for a moment that you and I, and everyone, are actors on the stage. The things on the stage look real from the front, right? But, if you step back, they are actually flat. If you walk off the stage and into the shadows, you can step around the flat plants, and the flat buildings, and the people because they only see what they are supposed to see."

Gary said nothing, staring at her, his mind working.

"But on the backside, every house is flat, with boards holding it up. There are ropes and curtains to the sides, and above. And I can walk around behind the things, where I can't be seen. Off the set, on the sides of the stage, through the catwalks, through the trap doors."

"What's it like? In the wings?" Gary asked softly.

"It's... dim. Gray. Quiet, all the sounds go away, like you closed a door. And there are so many ways you could go. I can't describe that part, it's not like anything you could ever see, and if you could see it, you wouldn't understand it."

"How far can you go? Does it go to other places?"

"There are a lot of things in there, deep in the gray alleys. Things that have fallen off the stage, fallen into places where they cannot be found ever again. Forgotten things that will never be remembered. Whole cities, if you go far enough into the depths of the gray. Maybe even whole worlds, planets, stars... I don't know Doc, it's more than I can explain. But it's dangerous, there is too much, so much. If you lose sight of the now, you will almost certainly never find your way back and you will be alone forever in the forgotten places."

Dr. Hardy sat in silence for a moment, pondering. Then his gaze shifted back up to her.

"Have you ever seen anything... Alive?"

Pinkie's mane went completely limp, and a haunted look passed into her eyes, totally different from the way she had looked before. Her features were drawn, tense, a terrible memory eating her life and happiness from the inside out.

"I... I..." She was shaking like a leaf.

Dr. Hardy was surprised to find that he had goose-pimples himself. On impulse, he moved to the couch and sat next to her, wrapping his arms around her body in a defensive gesture.

She said nothing, but her trembling eased slightly.

After a moment she took a deep breath and spoke again, barely above a whisper. "The other day, in the conference room, the conversation triggered my memories of past events, things I had tried to forget. I ran. But I'm done running now."

He leaned close to hear her low tones.

"I went too far once. I was curious, brave, determined to investigate. I was stupid. I traveled far into the grayness, farther than I had ever imagined possible. In the convoluted sub-levels of eternity, I found a city I had never seen or heard of before. It was big, so big! I couldn't see the end of it. It stretched on forever, and somehow it also it curved up into the sky. It was above and below, all around, and I think it held a sun in the center, a star that pulsed feebly, a very old, dying star. And the silence! It was so quiet. It's always quiet over there, no sound. But this was different, it was an evil, brooding quiet. The quiet wanted to hurt me, the city wanted to steal my soul. It loomed over me, and in that moment I was so terrified, so alone, I cried. I remember the tears running down my muzzle, and dropping to the ground in the silence so complete, that I could hear them patter like raindrops. But I didn't know how to go back, I had made the mistake of going too far, and my fear and loneliness increased until I thought I would suffocate. And when I was there, confused and lost and falling slowly into panic, I eventually looked straight up into the sky, and there, suspended in the cosmos, I saw the worst possible thing, mind-devouring nightmare that stays with me always. When I looked up, I saw something moving out beyond the world, beyond everything, outside reality itself. It was mostly hidden in the gray, I don't know how far away. It could have been billions of miles away. Light years. But what I could see was the most horrible thing I have ever seen in my entire life, and if I even think about how it looked, my head starts to crunch up inside."

She clung to him, her unseeing eyes a million miles away, back in that otherworld city from her past, drowning in a memory that consumed her soul.

"And then I realized IT saw me too."

Tears squeezed out of her eyes, and she shivered uncontrollably.

"That was the single most terrifying moment of my life, when I saw IT, and IT saw me. I don't know what happened after that. I only remember screaming and running, my mind teetering on the edge of madness forever and ever, screaming and running in circles while IT gazed upon me and laughed in the voice of every serpent of Earth hissing at once, until suddenly I ran around a corner and into Ponyville Town Square."

She was quite for a moment, then she whispered. "It was days before the sun felt warm to me again."

They were both silent for a time, then she spoke almost inaudibly. "I remember one thing from that experience. A name."

Dr. Hardy held his breath.

"Shub-Niggurath."

Cold horror washed over him at the words. I was right. I know that cursed name.

"And Doc..." Her voice and body shook. "I couldn't tell the others. I don't know why. I couldn't... even with all this going on... I'm sorry I dumped this on you."

He forced a smile, and it came out looking grim. "What are friends for, Pinkie?"

She smiled hesitantly back at him.

"Pinkie, when you know these things, in the back of your mind... Are you just pretending to be happy every day? Is it all an act? How do you continue with this hanging over your head?"

She smiled again, more genuinely this time. "I am happy because I choose to be happy. Every day is a gift, and I will not waste it worrying about the things I cannot change! And the best feeling to push away fear, is the feeling of friendship."

Gary found himself starting to smile too, hugging her warm, fuzzy body in his arms. Suddenly he noticed that she was hugging him back.

"Pinkie?"

Her smile was very close now. How did she get in my lap?

"Pinkie what are you doing?"

"I like you, Doc," she purred, the vibration transferring to his chest where she straddled him and pressed against him. "You're nice. Being here with you makes me feel better, like everything's going to be okay."

Her head tilted back, and their mouths touched.

Her hot, sweet breath tasted like bubblegum.

Strangely enough, Dr. Hardy forgot all about the looming creature in the darkness for a while.

Chapter 29: A Knight's Weapon

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"Big news today!" Celestia and Twilight Sparkle stood near a very excited Dr. Hardy.

"Yeah, uh, it took us some time, but we were able to imbue some of Rarity's gems with a containment spell that keeps the plasma discharge controlled," Twilight said, pointing a hoof towards the metal tube lying on the table.

Dr. Hardy grinned. "I removed the glass lens and installed the Equestrian magic control gem. You're gonna love this." He motioned everyone to stand back, then picked up the plasma emitter tube and held it thoughtfully for a moment. He then shoved the tube under his arm for several seconds while he did something on his holographic wrist interface.

"Hang on a minute, I got something for this..."

The time stretched out as he fiddled around.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Sanchez asked. "And why are you wearing a bath robe?"

Dr. Hardy held up a hand. "Patience you must have, important this is! Also, this is not a bath robe, these are my Jedi robes. Now if I can just... ah, there we go!"

The lights dimmed and the Star Wars theme began to play loudly through the lab sound system. Dr. Hardy pulled the plasma emitter and held it in front of himself dramatically. With a buzzing hiss a narrow purple energy beam extended. He brandished the glowing blade, sweeping it back and forth in large arcs.

"Nice light show, DJ Pon3 would love you. But is it any good as a weapon?" Hamilton asked, arms crossed.

"Observe, young padawan." Dr. Hardy sidestepped and swung the blade swiftly at a metal pipe laying across a set of benches. It fell to the ground in two pieces amidst a shower of sparks. As the glowing metal cooled, he pressed the button again and the blade retracted rapidly.

"It... it really works." Sanchez was in shock. "I didn't really think you guys could pull it off. But it works."

"I couldn't have done it without these two fine ladies," Dr. Hardy said. "They helped me complete a project I doubted I would ever finish on my own."

Celestia smiled. "The fusion between your technology of steel and electricity, and ours of magic and crystal, brings hope to all."

"And it's damn awesome! Can I have one?" McAllister asked excitedly.

"With this prototype working I can run several off the assemblers and manually fix magic crystals in relatively short order. In the meantime, we will finish the rifle and pistol upgrades."

Twilight nodded in agreement. "We are still trying to modify our container spell to work with your weapon cartridges. Building the plasma blade has helped our understanding of how to tweak a magic spell to work here. Using this knowledge, I am sure we will figure it out quickly. But I have to take a break. My magical ability is suffering right now. Figuring out how to set up the containment crystal for the plasma blade was a lot of work."

"Uh, by the way..." Hamilton asked, "I noticed the blade was purple. Can you make it a custom color?"

"In a manner of speaking," Celestia answered. "The crystal and blade take on the color of the spell caster's aura. Purple, in this case, because Twilight cast it. If I cast it, the effect will be yellow."

"And there may be some other colors soon. Now that we've created the spell, it doesn't take a very powerful Unicorn to cast it, just a little time."

Emmy raised a hoof. "I can help! I have some mid level spell training."

Twilight looked at Celestia, who nodded assent. "She can cast this, easily. Rarity, I am sorry but this is slightly beyond your capability."

Rarity lowered her hoof looked at the floor. "I... I see..."

Dr. Hardy smiled at Rarity. "I have something that I think you can help with, if you don't mind. In fact, I believe your skills will be a great asset."

Rarity looked up quickly. "Tell me what I can do?"

"In another bay I have a team working on the beam tank lasers and a frequency oscillator system. We are experimenting with a new crystal channel circuit, but are having issues with micro-manipulation. I've heard tell of the perfect stitching on your clothing, you are said to be a master of tiny miracles. I think your telekinetic skill can be of great assistance there."

Rarity beamed. "I will do my best!"

"Excellent then! Please follow Hendricks."
Dr. Hardy motioned at one of his lab assistants, a pretty young woman with Asian features and a bright smile.

"Hi, I'm Rena Hendricks. Please come this way, Miss Rarity."

Marky leaned over to McAllister. "I'd let her lead me away any day."

McAllister licked his lips conspiratorially.

"Ask her out."

"What?"

"Ask her out. See if she wants to hang out with you."

"She's a... a human."

"Whatever man, you think she's cute, you're a cool guy, maybe you can be friends or something."

"I guess it doesn't hurt to try."

"Just go follow Rarity and ask some questions, I'm sure there'll be plenty."

McAllister patted Marky on the shoulder as he followed the girls out.

***

"Well, I'm gonna take a break also," Dr Hardy said after Twilight left the room. "We've been hitting it hard all day. Anyone want to take a walk or something?

"A walk? Would you guys like to see my animal friend?" Fluttershy asked. "I met him near the edge of the jungle."

Dr. Hardy shrugged. "I'm game. Anyone else?"

"Sure, why not," Chris agreed. "I'm feeling like a walk too."

"Yeah why not," Jeff added.

"I'm too hungry for that," McAllister said.

"I'm going to have to go with McAllister on this one," Sanchez added. "It's definitely snack time."

"Fine, be party poopers," Hamilton said jokingly.

Together the humans and Fluttershy walked through and then exited the building, and she led them across the street and into the field.

Chris, Jeff, Hamilton, and Dr. Hardy followed her across and into the jungle on a narrow path. Insect sounds and bird calls surrounded them, and the human's heads swung around nervously, except for Dr. Hardy who seemed not to have a care in the world as he gaily chatted with Fluttershy..

She trotted cheerily ahead of them, confidently leading the way further into the thick jungle.

"What about snakes?" Hamilton muttered, looking around his boots in the thick plant growth.

"Don't worry," Fluttershy said. "There are no mean snakes here right now. Okay, wait a moment!" She threw her head back and raised her voice, which was reminiscent of someone talking at restaurant volume. "Fluffy! Hello, Fluffy?"

There was silence.

Chris and Jeff shared an uncomfortable glance. Hamilton scanned the foliage, still not entirely convinced that there were no snakes waiting to chomp his shins.

Dr. Hardy just grinned.

Soon there came the sound of something large stealing through the brush, and a monstrous black jaguar sprang into view.

Before he could think, Chris had his pistol out and aimed at it. Jeff and Hamilton aimed as well.

Dr. Hardy hissed at them. "Don't shoot! Lower your weapons, just watch!"

The trio glanced at each other, and at the giant cat, who stared at them like they were a tasty group of field mice. The jaguar hissed.

"Stop that now!" Fluttershy's eyes narrowed, and her voice took on a commanding edge.

The cat immediately shifted his focus to her, and relaxed.

She put a hoof on his head, stroking him behind the ears.

His eyes closed and he purred in contentment.

Chris exhaled shakily. "He's... As tame as a kitten."

Dr. Hardy glanced at him. "Outside the range of Fluttershy's influence, it's still a deadly wild beast."

Jeff snickered. "Alright Dr. Morbias."

Dr Hardy smiled. "I'm surprised you caught that reference."

Jeff grinned back. "Forbidden Planet is a gold-plated science fiction classic."

Hamilton and Chris looked at each other.

Chris spoke first. "Uh, whenever you guys are through stroking each others nerdy nostalgia boners, we are still standing about ten feet from a hungry-looking wild jungle cat."

"I know! Isn't he beautiful?" Fluttershy said, happily petting and stroking the magnificent beast.

Dr. Hardy looked on approvingly. "Don't worry, guys. That girl is magic, alright? Oh yes. With her here, you are as safe in this jungle as you would be sleeping in your own bed."

Chris looked around again. His gun was lowered, but he had not yet returned it to the holster. He spoke in a low, thoughtful tone, thinking of the video they had seen the other day. "Provided the only thing out here is animals like this one, perhaps..."

The sun felt a little colder at his words.

***

Fluffy followed Fluttershy as they left the jungle and headed back towards the lodging facility. He seemed a bit nervous heading into the foreign, paved territory of humans, but Fluttershy's unique influence egged him on.

"Fluffy, do you want to come play with me for awhile? Fluffy?"

The jaguar calmed and followed her to the lawn of the residential building. The humans stood around on the grass, watching as Fluttershy played with Fluffy.

"Still not used to this," Chris commented. "I find I'm not worried though. It somehow seems so natural around her."

Fluttershy pranced about, and treated him like a big house cat. Oddly enough he behaved like one, purring and rolling on his back so she could rub his stomach.

Suddenly he froze, and stood up, facing back towards the jungle.

"Hello, something's wrong," Jeff said.

"Fluffy? Are you okay?" Fluttershy's voice was gently concerned.

Fluffy's ears went back, and he hissed at the jungle.

"Fluffy what is it?" Fluttershy was starting to sound truly worried. The cat took a halting step towards the jungle, as if he was being dragged towards it by an unseen force.

Fluttershy went to the cat and put a hoof on his head. The spell seemed to break at her touch, and he turned back to her, purring slightly. She stroked him under the chin as he closed his eyes and laid next to her, a bemused expression on her face. "I wonder what got into him?" she asked, puzzled.

Chris looked out towards the jungle, and for a moment he felt a strange temptation to go check it out. He rubbed a hand across his face and the feeling was gone. "Huh. Who knows. He's a wild animal after all."

He looked back at Fluttershy and the purring giant cat, and winked. "Or he WAS, until you got your hooves on him."

None of them noticed the rats and mice running up out of the nearby sewer and rushing headlong into the jungle, or the flocks of birds in the treetops falling onto the ground and joining the rush, flying low and even running on the ground in their hurry to head in the same direction.
***

Deeper in the jungle, a slimy, tentacled worm the size of a rotting skunk waited in the soggy dampness at the bottom of a ditch. Days ago it had affixed itself to the bottom of the single boat fleeing the island where Gate 2 had been overrun, and had hitched a ride with the survivors, hiding beneath the waterline in a cocoon. It had spent several days slowly creeping through the underbrush under cover of darkness, hiding during the day. Now it was ready to make its move. It waved its tentacles around, transmitting the telepathic Call that would bring the Lesser Lifeforms for it to utilize, and waited patiently for the reply. As expected, the first organized proteins to arrive were winged creatures. They eagerly rushed down and leapt upon each other in a flurry of feathers, insistent in their hurry to become a part of the Call, crawling and pressing in until the tendrils snaked through their pliable flesh and gripped their nervous tissues, causing them to tremble in pain but removing their ability to cry out. They were soon joined by numerous rodents, the pile of wet, urinating animal flesh growing larger as more species leapt onto the mound, eager to feed themselves to the enthralling power of the Call. The heat of their suffering bodies comforted the larval worm, the warmth of their blood and their life force and their agony nourished it and allowed it to become so much more. Squirming in satisfaction, It absorbed some of their proteins and nutrients, and began to excrete a slime that crept slowly over their bodies.

As the mound of trembling, whimpering animals grew, so did the chrysalis forming around them.

***

Hours later, as dusk fell, Twilight Sparkle took a break from research at the desk in her room. It wasn't so much that she was tired of the act of reading, but the subject matter was wearing deeply on her nerves. A cloak of darkness and fear seemed to wrap itself around her the longer she focused on the creatures and tales of HP Lovecraft, and the waning evening light was deepening her depression. She shifted over to the messaging function in her ARHUD and jumped into the group chat, hoping her friends could help her mood.

- Twilight Sparkle has entered the chat.
- David Hamilton: So what are you guys up to?
- Marky: Just hanging out dude. Was thinking of heading down to the range for a bit.
- David Hamilton: Yeah, maybe later on. Was gonna play some games with Fluttershy.
- Rainbow Dash: I'll go!
- Twilight Sparkle: Hey what's up guys?
- David Hamilton: Hey Twilight what's going on?
- Twilight Sparkle: Doing some research on the here.
- Applejack: I was reading an article about My Little Pony. I still just can't get over how weird that name is.
- David Hamilton: Yeah, that name was part of the reason I didn't like telling people I enjoyed the show.
- Twilight Sparkle: Yeah, hmmm.
- Twilight Sparkle: I saw something on the Web I was wondering about.
- Celestia has entered the chat.
- David Hamilton: And what might that be, Twilight?
- Twilight Sparkle: Well, what is "clop"? I'm trying to look it up...
- David Hamilton: STOP STOP STOP!
- Rainbow Dash: Stop what?
- David Hamilton: Not you Dashie, Twilight!
- David Hamilton: Twilight? Are you there?
- David Hamilton: Oh crap.
- Twilight Sparkle: ...
- David Hamilton: Twilight? Hello?
- David Hamilton: Please tell me you didn't...
- Twilight Sparkle: It is too late, Hamilton. I have seen everything.
- Celestia: Twilight? What did you see? I'm looking!
- Twilight Sparkle: STOP!
- David Hamilton: STOP!
- Celestia: ...
- Celestia: ...
- Celestia: Well, it seems we are more popular in this world than I initially realized.
- Rainbow Dash: Haha there's more of me than anypony else!
- Rarity has entered the chat.
- Rarity: Hello everypony!
- Pinkie Pie: I LOVE FINE ART ^^.
- Rarity: Oh, I do too darling! Is there an art gallery somewhere?
- Rainbow Dash: Hi Rarity! You could say that, I guess...
- Rarity: What do you mean?
- Rainbow Dash: Check out this picture.
- Rarity: Picture of what? What's going... EEEEK! That's me! EEEEEEK!
- Rarity: ...
- Rainbow Dash: ...Rarity? Are you okay?
- Rainbow Dash: Uh oh. I hope I didn't...
- Rarity: I... I'm okay. That was just a bit of a shock. Oh dear.
- Rainbow Dash: Sorry I should have warned you. Look, here's one of me. Better now?
- Rarity: Not helping! I did NOT need to see that.
- Rainbow Dash: But I look pretty awesome, right?
- Celestia: ...
- Celestia: By the way, what is "Celestia Futanari"?
- David Hamilton: For the love of all that is holy don't do it.
- Celestia: ...
- Celestia: OH. MY. GOODNESS.
- Marky: O.o
- Marky: :D :D :D :D
- Twilight Sparkle: Well it's been very entertaining, thanks guys, I have some stuff I need to get done so I'll catch you all later.

Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes and logged out of the chat. "Too much distraction and silliness, I have important research to do," she mumbled to herself, but she definitely felt better. She picked up her reading tablet again and tapped the screen to activate it, bringing up a page from one of HP Lovecraft's many terrifying writings.

She shuddered a little. The material in these stories was leaving her a little sick in the pit of her stomach. "And almost no mention of this Shub-Niggurath thing in his work, after all this." The sound of the name alone made her uncomfortable, and she instantly regretted speaking it at all, even to herself. Earlier she had pulled up some artistic renditions of the creature on the Web, but the vile images were enough to curdle the blood in her veins and she had learned little of use from them, other than that the humans really had no idea what this thing looked like, or what it could do.

"There's just not much information at all, let alone anything I can use," she despaired finally, overcome with unease. The night seemed foreboding, thanks no doubt to the subject matter she had immersed herself in for so long. She got up and checked to make sure the doors to her suite patio were locked, and drew the curtains against the staring darkness.

She took a hot shower to relax, glad for the ability to dial up the lights in her room to high brightness.

Chapter 30: The Witching Hour

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Chris suddenly sat up in the dark room, his body cold and wet from sweat. A feeling of impending doom hung over him.

He could see the outline of Emmy's body under the blankets next to him. She mumbled something in her sleep, and he put a hand on her exposed shoulder, sharing the stability of her nearness. She sighed and smiled without waking. It didn't change the ominous feeling, but it gave him strength.

Tenderly releasing her shoulder, Chris slipped the sheets back and slid his feet onto the floor, grabbing the pistol on his nightstand as he moved. The room was quiet, and he could see dimly by the small amount of light coming from window. He quickly checked the apartment's living room and bathroom, seeing nothing unusual. He then went to the patio window and pulled the curtains back.

Outside it was still the dead of night. The streetlamps and building lights illuminated the area, all the way out to the darkness of the jungle. He opened the balcony door and stepped out into the hot night air. The usual sound of night insects greeted him. He didn't notice any birds or animals making noise tonight.

The warmth of the air did not nothing to clear the chill that had taken hold of him.

"Chris?" Emmy's voice called timidly from the darkened room.

"I'm here. Out on the balcony."

He heard a rustle as she pushed the blankets off and crept out to meet him.

"What are you doing out here?"

"I had a bad feeling."

Emmy pushed against him, and he wrapped his arm around her.

"Me too," she said. "When I woke up, I was afraid for a moment I was back in my own bed in Canterlot. Alone."

Chris held her in silence for a moment. "You're still here, with me."

"I'm afraid that I'll wake up alone, and this is all a dream," Emmy sighed. "And that you'll be lost to me. That terrifies me more than anything. If this is a dream, I never want to wake up, even if it does feel like a nightmare sometimes."

Chris felt her shiver despite the warm air. He squeezed her gently, reassuringly. "I'm not going anywhere." Then he stiffened. "Did you see that?"

"See what?"

His arm still around her, he pulled her closer to the railing overlooking the jungle.

"Something in the trees. Something moving."

They peered down together, looking intently into the night.

"Do you smell that?" Emmy wrinkled her nose. "It's horrible. Like something dead."

"There!" Chris pointed.

Something had just crawled out of the forest, something fleshy and pale that coiled and uncoiled, one way then the other.

"What in the..."

There was a soft slurping sound, and then the tentacle pulled a great translucent orb from behind it out of the forest. It was bigger than a car, fifteen or twenty feet in diameter.

"Oh crap."

Chris grabbed Emmy and pulled her back from the balcony.

"Chris, what is that thing?"

"I don't know, but it shouldn't be here." He pressed his wrist communicator. "Security. Sound a general alert. Ground attack in progress. Sector two, unknown nonhuman enemy."

All over the ProteC installation, the public address system began sounding the alert klaxon, followed by an echoing voice. "INTRUDER. ALERT. SECTOR. TWO. GROUND. ASSAULT."

"Emmy, please grab me my clothes okay? I have to stay here and keep a watch on this thing until someone else gets eyes on it."

Emmy rushed into the room, and was back seconds later, Chris's clothes floating in front of her. "Thanks, honey." he got dressed as he continued to talk to the security command center. "Standby for report. One unit spotted, moving from the jungle behind Residential towards the building. Nonhuman, large slimy orb the size of a tool shed with tentacles. Time is now. No equipment seen."

"Report received. Additional security is already en route."

Chris could now see other people and some Equestrians exiting the building. Someone spotted the creature and started yelling and pointing. He could see people with rifles taking up positions. The intruder appeared to be sitting still at the edge of the tree line. No-one approached any closer.

He stepped back from the railing and finished dressing. Then he hurried back into the room, slamming the patio door behind him. He stepped into his exo suit and activated it, then slapped his hand on the weapon cabinet biometric scanner, and retrieved his rifle and Emmy's from inside it.

"Wish we had the upgrades installed," he mumbled as he chambered a round.

"I'm sorry Chris. We only just finished the design today. The assembly plant hasn't finished running them off yet." She slung her rifle along her back.

He paused for a moment. "I didn't mean anything against you, babe."

"I know." She smiled nervously. "But don't worry. I'm with you."

Chris turned around and smiled at her. "Yeah you are. And no matter what happens, that makes all this worth it to me."

He reached out and touched her cheek.

"You ready?"

She nodded, and together they exited the room and then hurried towards the stairs.

There were a lot of people yelling and running in the hallways, most of them carrying rifles. Chris and Emmy rushed down the floor, dodging around other people to sound of the klaxon and periodic voice instructions. Amber lights flashed from the ceiling like a fire alarm.

"All personnel. This is security control. Ground attack. Ground attack. Security personnel, arm yourselves and secure your zones."

Chris and Emmy slid to a stop at the first stairwell, slammed the door open, and plunged down the stairs.

Several flights later, they hit the ground floor and ran down the hallway to the nearest exit. Chris plowed the door open and rushed out first, coming up behind a staggered line of people on the sidewalk who were taking cover behind trees, vehicles, and any other objects available while aiming their weapons across the street at the creature lurking in the shadows.

He heard some snippets of conversation.

"-hasn't moved at all in some time," someone was saying.

"-looks like a rotten octopus."

"-thing has to be at least twenty feet in diameter!"

"-smells like a dirty gym shoe rammed up a dead deer's asshole!"

Chris pushed forward and saw the orb sitting on the ground about a hundred feet away, unmoving except for an occasional tentacle twitch. It looked like a gigantic beached jellyfish. His headset beeped. "Yeah?"

"This is Control. Security vehicles with mounted weapons should be on-scene in five mike."

Chris stepped forward slightly, and selected local channel, speaking to all nearby personnel through their headsets.

"Alright, hang tight, we have a backup vehicle coming in. Hold your positions until then, find what defense you can and use it."

He looked left and saw Celestia standing with the line a few yards away.

Ducking back behind the security line, he walked quickly towards her, Emmy at his side. When he got close, he saw Marky, Twilight and Rainbow Dash nearby. "You guys got down here fast," he observed.

Celestia pointed up. "We flew."

"Oh. Yeah. Any idea what we are dealing with here?" He gestured at the object across the street.

"I have never seen anything like it in my life," Celestia said, her voice strained. "But I sense great danger."

"Something's happening!" someone yelled.

Chris and the others swung their attention back to the orb's gelatinous surface. It pulsed and gyrated, as if something inside was trying to escape.

"I don't think that's just a ball. I think it's an egg. And it's about to hatch," Fluttershy said in a small, frightened voice.

Muffled howls came from inside the revolting mass, like someone screaming into a pillow.

Hamilton put a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll deal with it. Whatever it is."

"Where the hell is that armored truck?" Sanchez growled.

"Probably at the Oblivion Gate or the perimeter," Jeff said as he joined them wearing an exo and carrying a submachine gun. He was breathing heavily from his rush through the building. "It's going to take them some time to get here."

"It's opening!"

There was a wet pop, and the orb split at the top. Something scrabbled at the edge of the tear. People yelled and pointed lights at it. Several small flying drones showed up as well, and directed spotlights on the area while they hovered overhead.

The head of a raccoon popped into view as slit widened. Transparent slime oozed out of the hole and matted the animal's fur as it struggled to push out of the gelatinous mass.

"What the hell?" Marky said.

As they watched, the raccoon's body emerged, yelping and scrabbling to escape. Instead of running away, it began to lift into the air. It appeared that a large snake was holding onto its hindquarters.

A bird appeared in the hole also, flapping feebly. It appeared to be entangled with another bird.

It wasn't until the deer emerged, its body melted and fused with the birds and at least thirty rats that the realization struck, and the gasps of horror and revulsion began.

"They're... stuck... together." Fluttershy's face was beyond horror, her eyes filled with tears. Hamilton put a hand over her eyes and tried to push her back, but she swept his hand away with her hoof.

"No, I can't leave my friends. I won't leave them."

There was a final wet slap and the orb fell to the ground, split in two, giving birth to a wet, grotesque mass of struggling animals. Their agonized cries could be plainly heard now, and the echoes of torment filled the night.

Sanchez mumbled a prayer and crossed himself.

Disgusted and frightened exclamations rose from the people and Equestrians present.

Then the beasts on the ground moved in unison, and a thing rose up, created from the fused bodies of thousands of still-living forest animals.

It towered above the defenders, taller than a second story window. It was bipedal, if the two trunks of squirming animals could be called "legs". Everything on it was moving. Tentacles of snakes melted together into long lashes whipped around. Two arms constructed of animals packed together like roadkill in a cleanup truck swung menacingly.

The crazed eyes of uncountable lost creatures glinted in the night, scrutinizing the humans and Equestrians. The din of the terrified, hurting animals was incredible.

Then all the voices of every animal came together impossibly and spoke, chanting in unison.

"WITH A THOOOUSAND EYES I SEE YOU."

"WITH A THOOOUSAND EARS I HEAR YOU."

At the end of each halting, ragged sentence, the animals howled and squealed until their voices were brought under control to speak again.

"FOR A THOOOUSAND YEARS HAVE I HUNGERED."

There was a screaming pause.

Celestia stepped forward, and Jeff moved beside her, his sub machine gun held at low ready.

"VILE MONSTER, WHAT HAS BROUGHT YOU HERE?" Celestia thundered in Royal Canterlot Voice.

Jeff glanced at her momentarily, surprise and admiration evident on his face.

The creature responded.

"I HUUNGER. I HUUUUUUNGER. YOUR BODIES FEED. I COOOONSUME."

One of the tentacles swung down like a whip. It was much longer than it had initially appeared, and the thick snakes flexed powerfully, swinging the body of a large deer forward like a mace on a chain.
Humans dodged and rolled out of the way as the body of the squealing deer smashed into a car, crushing the roof in a spray of blood. The sound of the animal's bones shattering from the impact was like sticks popping in a fireplace. It bleated and flopped piteously as it was hefted back into the air for another swing.

"I CONSUUUUUUME YOU!"

With a roar, the massive composite creature lurched forward.

"Consume this!" Jeff bellowed. He raised his submachine gun and stitched a line of bullets across the creature's body. The animals composing it shrieked even louder as the bullets punctured their bodies, blood spewing thickly from their wounds.

The air was suddenly full of tracer rounds blazing in the night as the crowd let loose on the towering monstrosity.

"Watch the tentacles!" Chris yelled, then grabbed Emmy and dodged to the side as a swinging boar slammed into the ground with a fleshy whack onto the exact spot where she had been standing a moment before.

He fired into the arm as it drew back, eliciting squeals and blood spray. "How the hell can we kill this thing?"

Another tentacle rocketed towards Celestia and Jeff.

Before it could crush them, her horn glowed and a domed magical shield appeared around them. The blow crashed into it, and she visibly strained against the impact.

Hamilton and Sanchez stood on either side of Fluttershy, rifles blazing. She huddled low, mumbling to herself. "No I can't... I can't see this. I can't..."

Twilight fired a searing beam of purple energy towards the creature's torso. It blocked with the twisted bodies of half-dead bleeding animals, and retaliated with a lash blow, which Twilight blocked using her own magic shield. Several yards away, she could see a pink dome flash into existence as Trixie protected her team.

Above, Rainbow Dash dodged and rolled in the air, holding a rifle in her hooves and raining down bullets. She dropped a mag, careful not to hit anyone below in the head, and reloaded, swiftly sending more bullets downrange.

Pinkie Pie danced around the street mocking and teasing. She shadowstepped rapidly, vanishing and reappeared out of thin air at random, blowing party whistles and popping balloons. Whenever she got close, her shotgun popped as well, adding bite to her taunts. Her antics caused major distraction as the creature fruitlessly pounded the ground in an obviously enraged effort to murder her.

"You be careful now Pinkie!" Applejack called out to her as she fired her rifle over a planter. "Hey y'all, watch your fire! Don't shoot Pinkie!"

"Watch Fluttershy!" Sanchez yelled at Hamilton. "I'm moving left!" He sidestepped towards Applejack's position, firing a steady stream of bullets over the hood of a parked car as he passed behind it.
The monster changed tactics. It kept swinging the tentacles to keep them busy, then it picked up a nearby car in one of its shorter arms and cocked it back.

"Oh shit." Hamilton tried to grab Fluttershy but his hand slipped off her smooth back. As the car hurtled through the air towards them in slow motion, he realized they could either both die, or he could jump out of the way.

Or...

He pushed hard with his shoulder, his exo-amplified movement shoving her out of danger.

An instant before the car crushed him, he was knocked powerfully to the side as Marky charged into him at a gallop. They both flew to the ground, the airborne automobile barely missing them and crashing into the concrete, sliding to a screeching halt in a shower of sparks.

Marky stood over Hamilton and Fluttershy protectively, two pistols blazing as he grimaced and snarled towards their enemy.

"Th... Thanks. I owe you one," Hamilton wheezed as he picked himself up.

"Don't worry about it. Worry about killing this thing before it kills us!"

Marky lowered the smoking pistols and pulled two grenades from his gear, dropping the pins as he hurled them expertly towards the hideous effigy.

They landed on the ground next to it, and it quickly placed a couple of larger animals over the explosives. The grenades detonated underneath, shredding the two animals but doing little to no damage otherwise.

The monster made a bizarre hitching sound as the pink blood mist rose up, and Marky realized it was laughter, freakishly at odds with the struggling of the animals composing it.

"YOUR EFFFFOOOORRTS ARE FEEEEEBLE."

There was a human scream of pain as one of the defenders dodged too slowly and was partially pinned under the ragged body of an unrecognizable mammal.

Fluttershy suddenly flew into action, rushing through the air towards the fallen man. Rarity went with her, galloping with her slung rifle at her side. They both began trying to drag the injured man to safety. His left leg was crushed and severed almost completely at the knee, blood gushing onto the concrete from the terrible wound. The meaty, bleating tentacle drew back for a killing strike, but Twilight had responded as well, and she projected a force field that deflected the intended blow. Then she helped pull them to the edge of the battlefield, returning to the fight as soon as they were safe. Stained with blood, Fluttershy and Rarity knelt down, quickly putting a tourniquet on the damaged leg, trying to keep the dazed man from bleeding to death.

"Chris! I think I see something," Emmy said. "The creature isn't just MADE from the animals, it's using their flesh and blood and organs to survive. It's slowing down in the areas where it's taking the most damage. The animals are dead there, and they are unresponsive."

Chris paused, dropping the magazine from his rifle and reloading. He spoke to Emmy while keeping his eyes on the enemy. "Maybe if we concentrate our fire in one area, we can do enough damage to slow it down. How about a leg? If we hobble it, that should make it more vulnerable."

Chris called a target out on his ARHUD, marking the upper area of one of the legs. The marked zone appeared in the ARHUD of everyone present, and they responded by doing their best to shoot it in the designated spot.

Their sudden organization seemed to anger the monster. It quickly grabbed a car and put it over that area, deflecting the majority of bullets.

It then started grabbing other cars and objects, using them as shields.

"Aw crap," Chris groaned.

The unicorn horn beams were not piercing the vehicles particularly well. Neither were the bullets.

The battle took a turn for the worse as the monster ducked down behind its makeshift shield, laughing dementedly.

Chris pulled up a remaining ammo average in his ARHUD, and was not pleased to discover that reserves were falling low.

He looked around, and several people had expended all ammo on their rifles and were now shooting pistols. The storm of bullets was dropping off, and the creature stood tall before them, only minorly injured.

It dropped the cars with a demonic chuckle.

"YOU HAAAAVE AMUUUUSED ME. NOW DIIIIIE."

It stepped forward confidently, gloating already in the crushing defeat the humans and their stupid horse buddies were about to suffer.

Emmy pushed up against Chris's leg. He glanced down, seeing the fear in her eyes. He let his empty rifle fall to his side, and drew his sidearm, pointing it at the approaching behemoth with one hand while he put his other arm around Emmy protectively. He was about to give the order to fall back when there came a screech of tires and the blast of air horns.

Everyone including the monster paused to watch three huge Armored Personnel Carriers roar into the street. Turrets on the APC roofs swiveled to aim at the beast, and powerful spotlights illuminated it like the sun.

It quickly snatched up the cars again, putting them between itself and the threatening new arrivals.

Before the carriers even stopped moving, the three top-mounted GAU-19 Gatling turrets let loose with a thunderous storm of .50 caliber armor-piercing Browning machine gun rounds. Brass casings poured like a metal waterfall down the side of the trucks as they rocked on their suspensions from the recoil.

The vehicles it used as a shield exploded in flames, and the monster screamed incoherently as pieces of its blasphemous body scattered and fell.

"Feeling amused now you fucker?" Marky bellowed, shaking his hoof. "Eat it!"

The deafening bombardment continued, round after round streaking through the air, the night air shattered by the roar of a thousand angry supersonic hornets racing to shred flesh, until nothing remained of the towering monster but a pile of bleeding, shattered carcasses.

The lead inferno ceased, turrets spinning down with a whine, spotlights scanning the area carefully for any further sign of a threat.

As the smoke cleared, only the sounds of people shouting to each other and the occasional whimper from a mortally wounded animal could be heard over the sound of the idling APC engines.

Ambulances pulled up behind the APCs, ready to assist any injured personnel.

Chris scanned around, making sure his friends were okay and nobody was seriously wounded. He could see Fluttershy and Rarity helping the medics load the injured man onto a stretcher.

Taking in the mess, Chris quickly walked over to Jeff and Celestia. "Could this be a bio-hazard situation?"

Jeff frowned. "It certainly could." He glanced around at the blood splatters all over the road. "If so, I think we're all screwed, so let's just hope it's not. This facility was not designed with much above basic bio-containment in mind, certainly not mass casualties like this would bring. We need to run a pathogenic analysis, and quickly."

Chris turned to Celestia. "What we are about to do next isn't going to be pretty. Please take Fluttershy and the others inside. This is something that we humans need to do. Alone."

Celestia didn't have to ask what was about to happen. She nodded and herded the other ponies inside.

Emmy looked up at Chris. "I want to stay with you."

He put a hand on her neck. "Go inside with Celestia. I know you're tough, but I'd rather you didn't watch what happens here next. We'll be done soon."

She turned reluctantly and followed Celestia and the other Equestrians to the building.

Marky stayed, the expression on his face immediately deflecting any argument to the contrary.

After the others had gone inside, Chris, Marky, and a large group of humans donned gas masks and walked into the reeking, blood and urine-drenched field at the edge of the roadway. On the ground, still-moving animals mewled in their own feces and feebly tried to escape the dead construct they were now inextricably a part of. Their unpleasant job was to put a bullet in the head of every single doomed animal.

"You... Haven't... Won." whispered a deer, gazing malignantly out of its one remaining eye.

Marky's grim expression did not change as he shot it in the face.

Chapter 31: Aftermath

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Fluttershy huddled on the floor with her back against the wall, her forehooves wrapped around her body and her head down, pink hair covering her face.

Pinkie Pie and Rarity sat on either side, trying to comfort her.

"That was bad. Really, really bad," Fluttershy sobbed. "And I was useless. I was so useless."

Rarity put a hoof on her shoulder and spoke softly to her. "You did fine. You saved a human's life."

"And the medics said he's gonna be okay, thanks to your first aid. If y'all hadn't put the tourniquet on his leg, he woulda died before the medics arrived," Applejack said as she walked up. "One of them told me before they left!"

"Going to be okay? His leg was torn off! TORN OFF! There's no way he'll be okay ever again!" Fluttershy's moist eyes looked up from under her hair. "And all those poor animals. I can't stop seeing it. I don't want to think about it but I can't stop!"

They heard the sound of intermittent gunshots outside, and tried not to think about what it meant.

Jeff was organizing a cleanup crew with the scientists. "Take the most intact specimens to the bio lab for analysis, we should burn the rest. Get dump trucks and some front-end loaders. Establish a perimeter until we run a pathogen scan."

ProteC personnel scattered to perform various tasks, and Jeff came over to Fluttershy. "Good job out there. Your quick actions saved that man's life."

Fluttershy smiled a little, still sniffling. "Thank you."

Another gunshot came from outside, and she trembled.

Jeff crouched down in front of her. "You know, sometimes we see something terrible happen. Sometimes we have to do terrible things. But remember we didn't choose this. We didn't want this to happen. And we'll find who is responsible, and make them stop." He reached out and put a hand on Fluttershy's hoof. "You're a lot braver than you think you are. You could have turned and run, but you didn't. You stayed even though you were scared, and you and Rarity saved at least one life because of it. You should both be proud."

Some time later, after the shooting had died down, a scientist came up behind Jeff and tapped him on the shoulder.

They conferred for a moment, and then the scientist left while Jeff turned to the Equestrians. "We have initial pathogen testing results. Good news is, no known dangerous infectious agents found, and no evidence of an unknown microbe at work."

He gestured at Celestia and Emmy. "Celestia, if Twilight, and Emmy, and yourself care to join me in the lab, we have a specimen ready for dissection."

Several minutes later, after a walk to the lower medical wing, the three Equestrians and Jeff entered the roomy bio lab dissection room. Chris, Marky, and several medical scientists were standing by wearing face masks. A lumpy black body bag sat closed on the steel table under a ring of lights.

"We got a specimen, mostly in one piece," Marky said. "Carted it on down here, just waiting on you guys."

Twilight put a face mask on. "Well, let's see what we got."

One scientist, his name tag identifying him as Mizuki, unzipped the body bag, and exposed the slimy, twisted horror within.

There were several gasps and brief exclamations of disgust.

"Well, at least I think it's one. Kind of hard to tell," Marky amended. "We cut it where it was connected to the other animals."

The thing inside looked like a melted plastic children's toy. It may have been some form of deer or gazelle, but it was seamlessly fused with parts or features of other animals, the skin stretched and pulpy like that of a disfigured burn victim.

"That's horrible," Emmy said. "But it's also fascinating. The Patchwork Golem."

Celestia gagged a little behind her mask. "The smell is nauseating. But continue. We have to learn whatever we can."

Twilight pulled the bag the rest of the way down with telekinesis. "Thankfully I don't have to actually touch this thing with my hooves."

"Wish I could say the same," Chris commented. "The gloves I used weren't nearly thick enough to make me happy. In fact, I'd rather have used a stick. A very long one. By the way, is there a camera rolling?

One of the scientists nodded. "There's always a holocamera rolling in here, just like all the laboratories. It records on a loop, if we want something off it, we just save it afterwards. It overwrites monthly otherwise."

"Okay great. Well, who wants to do the honors?"

Mizuki raised a hand. "I'll do it, I've always wanted to do something like this!"

Twilight backed away readily, gesturing with her wings. "Be my guest."

Mizuki leaned in with the scalpel and began to cut into the revolting thing.

Unseen to the others, Chris's hand hovered near his pistol. When the disfigured creature remained unresponsive after being opened and having several of its organs removed, he relaxed a bit.

"-multiple organisms all fused together! Mizuki was saying. "Look, see this? This is a deer's heart. But this? This is a rat. An entire rat. And it's completely inside the deer, and their nervous systems are directly connected! Look at this!"

He poked at a fibrous tendril reaching from the back of the rat's head and connecting to the deer's backbone.

"That's some kind of an umbilical. I believe it's nerve tissue." He poked at the stretched, melted skin. "And the entire bodies, blood systems, everything... all of it is welded together. These creatures were all tacked together, while still alive, to create the monster that attacked us."

He turned to face the others.

"This thing connected the brains and bodies of multiple animals to create a single, decentralized nervous system. That's why it was so hard to kill. Each creature stayed alive on it's own, and took over a portion of the processing load. If one died, the others shared the workload. It's like a daisy-chained computer processor."

"How do you think it accomplished this?" Chris asked.

"I have no idea." Mizuki shrugged. "I can't find any kind of biological agents in the blood or tissue that could even remotely do something like this. It's as if..."

"As if a powerful, dark magic were at work," Emmy finished.
Celestia nodded. "I feel its presence, even now the remnants of the force that did this to these poor beasts taints the air with the foul tinge of death."

"It's like an evil spell, more powerful than anything I have ever seen before, dragged these creatures to do the bidding of... Something." Twilight looked unsettled. "I don't know anyone or anything that would be capable of doing this, even if they wanted to. Even Discord couldn't do something like this."

Celestia spoke again. "I believe it used animals because their minds are weaker. They do not have the level of self-awareness or resistance that a human or pony does. They were helpless to stop a force they could never understand."

Mizuki pulled at the flesh on the points where it had been connected to the main body. "Umbilical fibers here as well. Also the bones have fused at the connection points. They've combined to form a rigid skeleton."

Marky grunted. "I am willing to bet there is some central core component, some parasite or artifact that started the growth of this nightmare."

"Who knows what we are looking for though. It could have been tiny, like a catalyst," Jeff added.

"Or this may have all been caused by something else casting a spell. I don't know if we'll be able to tell," Twilight said.

Chris cracked his knuckles. "I didn't see anything obvious, and if there's something alien out there, it may be buried under several tons of decaying flesh, most likely with several .50 caliber rounds through it."

Mizuki shrugged. "Up until now, this "magic" crap never entered scientific research. Frankly, I have no understanding of how to deal with it, so I'm going to stick with what I know. I'll take a look at some samples from the fused areas under the microscope. I expect it's going to be a lot of mixed DNA and confusion on a cellular level, but if I find anything useful or especially unusual..." He paused as he realized how ridiculous that sounded. "Well okay, this entire situation is completely bizarre. But if I see anything that I believe may have caused this, I'll let you know. No need for you all to stay down here for that, it's going to take my team some time to sort through this mess. Oh, and if you DO find anything intact out there, bring it down here."

"Thank you, Doctor," Jeff said, turning around in the doorway after the others walked out. "I'll tell the cleanup crew to keep an eye out for anything odd. We are going to burn the rest of the corpses."

"Probably a good idea, before the smell gets really nasty. Well, nastier."

"Indeed." The door closed as Jeff departed.

Outside, Celestia waited for him.

Neither of them spoke, and they slowly walked down the empty underground hallway together, lost in thought while the rest of the group, talking animatedly, left them behind.

After a moment, Jeff stopped and turned to Celestia. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this."

She paused too, looking at him without speaking.

"I had wanted to bring something amazing to our world. Instead, our work brought destruction and death. And because of us, your world is in danger too. In my mind, I keep seeing Fluttershy sobbing as that beastly abomination mocked us. I keep seeing the looks on all your faces when that video played on the first day."

His voice broke and he stopped abruptly, turning away from her. When he spoke again, it was without facing her, in a carefully controlled monotone.

"I've seen good men die. I've ordered bad men killed. But for some reason, I can't forget the innocence I stole from you and your people."

The silence stretched for a long moment, then Celestia spoke softly. "A long time ago, when my sister Luna and I were young, we ruled Equestria together. She was my best friend always, and I loved her with my whole heart. When we were together, nothing could ever go wrong for us. We faced adversity, certainly. Many powerful foes terrified us. But we were never without hope, and we were never without each other."

She paused, and Jeff turned his head slightly towards her, listening.

A moment later she continued. "There came a day when my dear sister looked me in the eye, and despised me. Unbeknownst to me, her soul had been poisoned with discontent. Hatred overcame her, and she became a monstrous creature of the darkness." Celestia sniffed a little, and brushed her eye with her hoof. "Even now I hurt in my chest when I think about it, because when her soul filled with jealousy, it was me that she hated. Hated so much that she tried to kill me, right there. My own little sister."

A tear ran down her face, leaving a moist trail on her white fur.

"I was so deeply wounded in my spirit that I almost didn't defend myself. I almost let her slay me, because nothing could be worse than the terrible knife of her hatred for me, twisting in my heart, cutting my soul to pieces."

Jeff didn't move, frozen in place by her words and tone.

"But I couldn't only worry about how I felt. There was a whole country of ponies who would suffer under her reign of terror. They looked to us to protect them from evil... and now I was the only one who remained true to carry that responsibility."

A silent moment, and her breathing was slow, controlled.

"I did the only thing I could, even though it wasn't what I wanted. I fought my sister, who I loved so much. I fought her with everything I had. I never, ever wanted to hurt her. But I did hurt her. I unleashed my power upon her, and I hurt her very, very badly. Then I locked her away in a place where she was alone, in the dark. I had to, or nopony would ever have been safe from her wickedness."

Jeff turned to face her, and they looked into each others tear-filled eyes for a moment.

"For so many years after that, I smiled, I laughed, I led a prosperous land of kind ponies who have trusted me to keep them safe. But always, deep inside my soul, was the image of my dearest little sister, sobbing in the infinite, empty darkness, alone for eternity."

On impulse, Jeff reached out for her, and they embraced, two powerful leaders from very different worlds, united by the need for companionship.

"What happened?" Jeff asked quietly.

"I was lucky," Celestia said softly in his ear. "The power of love and friendship brought my sister back to me, against impossible odds. It was the single happiest day of my life."

Jeff said nothing, and she pulled back slightly to look at him.

"Yes, some of the things we have seen here are horrible. But we are strong, and stronger together. Even Fluttershy, she bends without breaking. Her tears may flow easily, but her will is iron when she is backed against the wall."

"This is different. We brought this on you. It was our-"

"No it isn't," Celestia interrupted him firmly. "It doesn't matter how it happened, and the how of it is ludicrous anyway. There's no way you could have foreseen something as bizarre as this. What matters is that we... that our worlds met. And I don't regret that, and I don't think any of us do. This is not the first time we have fought powerful enemies, and I am sure it will not be the last."

Jeff squeezed her once more. "Thank you. For being here. For being with us. For being our friends."

Celestia put on a crooked smile as he released her. It matched her mildly mussed crown and mane. Jeff realized it was the first time he'd ever seen her even slightly disheveled, and he also realized the effect was rather charming.

"Oh you know. How could we not?" She reached up and straightened her crown with both her forehooves, the gesture almost jaunty. "Friendship is, well, kind of our thing."

"I'm glad for that," he replied. "Sometimes even the boss could use a hug."

"I'm more huggable than I pretend to be," Celestia said. "A leader has to maintain a certain image, after all."

"No kidding. Let me see if I can put my stony face back on." He scowled for effect, then gave up and grinned.

They both chuckled, then headed onward down the corridor, walking side by side companionably.

***

Several hours later, Chris looked off his balcony as the last of the dump trucks departed for the burn pit with a full load of bloody dirt. It was still dark outside, and the powerful work lights from the heavy equipment lit the field below him. The tractors had scraped the animal matter off the road and out of the field, and had gone on further to take a layer of soggy, discolored topsoil to the incinerator as well.

Emmy stood next to him, watching the truck leave. Men with fire hoses began spraying the blood stains off the street, sweeping the powerful blasts of water back and forth while slowly walking forward, forcing the pink liquid ahead of them.

Emmy shivered a little against him. He put an arm around her.

"This hasn't been the best morning," she said.

"No, it hasn't. And I wish I could say things are going to get better, but I'm sure it's going to get a lot worse. I'd be lying if I said otherwise."

Emmy looked up at him. "Chris, please lie to me. I'm having a hard time right now. That thing... the more I think about it, the more afraid I am of a creature capable of creating a monster like that."

Chris squatted down and put his arms around her neck, whispering in her ear close enough to tickle her fur with his breath. "I've got a better idea. How about we take a bath?"

She smiled. "A hot one. With shampoo?"

"Of course. I'll wash your mane."

"Ohhh, I like that."

***

Above them, in one of the penthouse suites, Twilight Sparkle lay on her bed, tired but unable to sleep. She accessed the ARHUD messaging system and sent a PM to Starlight Glimmer.

- Twilight Sparkle: Hey Starlight, are you awake?
- Starlight Glimmer: Hey Twilight. Sorry it took me a minute to find my phone. Yes, I'm awake, I haven't slept well tonight. How are you?
- Twilight Sparkle: I'm okay. I can't sleep though. Rough day. Well, morning.
- Starlight Glimmer: What happened? I was worried about you for some reason. I thought you'd be sleeping so I didn't want to message you and wake you up.
- Twilight Sparkle: Some monster attacked in the middle of the night. Everypony is okay though. Well mostly. A human was injured.
- Starlight Glimmer: Oh my. We've had a few here also.
- Twilight Sparkle: How are things for you?
- Starlight Glimmer: It's been busy. There are several rifts I have to reseal every other day. We've had several monster incursions. So far we've been lucky that nopony has been seriously hurt, but we have to be ready all the time.
- Twilight Sparkle: I'm sorry Glims, I left you with too much to do.
- Starlight Glimmer: Don't worry Twilight, Spike and Big Mac are helping a lot. You'd be proud of Spike. He's taken over a lot of the heavy lifting for me. And Big Mac is now my commander for the Ponyville volunteer defense force.
- Twilight Sparkle: Volunteer defense force?
- Starlight Glimmer: The military is spread thin right now, dealing with developing situations all over Equestria. We are taking care of Ponyville ourselves.
- Twilight Sparkle: Is it getting worse?
- Starlight Glimmer: There is a slow increase in the number of rifts we are discovering. I don't know if that means we just didn't see them before, but I have a suspicion that new ones are appearing.
- Twilight Sparkle: Oh no. What's coming through them??
- Starlight Glimmer: Mostly nothing. I seal the rifts anyway to be on the safe side, but the overwhelming majority are simply there. But a few have let some nasty things through.
- Twilight Sparkle: We're working on things here. I think things are coming to a head.
- Starlight Glimmer: I know Twilight, don't worry. We can deal with whatever happens here. Focus on your mission, it's dangerous to be distracted. And I don't want anything to happen to you.
- Twilight Sparkle: Thanks Glims. You be safe too.

***

Down the hall from Twilight, Celestia and Jeff were in her penthouse suite playing chess. "Checkmate," she said, sliding her queen into position beside his king.

"Indeed. You play a hard game, milady."

Celestia rolled her eyes. "I'm suspicious of your playing. I'm more than half convinced you let me win."

Jeff's headset beeped, and he checked the message, his back straightening. "The Leviathan will be here by the end of the day."

Celestia's ears pricked forward. "I am excited to see this ship of yours."

Jeff sighed. "Speaking of which, there is something on board that I need to tell you about, Celestia."

His tone of voice worried her. "Jeff? What is it?"

"A matter of secrecy like you would not believe. Actually, we need to have a meeting."

Celestia's face was troubled as Jeff sent some messages, then turned to her. "Will you come with me? We need to do this in a secure location."

"Of course."

Chapter 32: Cold Relic

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Jeff sat in the underground secure conference room, a deadly serious expression on his face. For the first time in days, all ARHUDS and bracelets had been left outside the room and a dampening field was active to prevent sound or electronic transmission from leaving the area.

Chris, Marky, Twilight, Emmy, Dr. Hardy, and Celestia looked back at him nervously from their seats around the small conference table. Chris and Emmy sat next to each other, and Jeff momentarily wondered why they both looked a little damp. Then he dismissed the casual thought and spoke.

"There's a reason I brought only you guys in here," Jeff said. "I have a possible backup plan for our attack, should things take a turn for the worse."

The room was silent as Jeff tapped his fingers on the table. "You may not be aware, but one of the research sub-divisions of ProteC deals with marine biology. We have a small fleet of oceanic exploration vehicles, including robotic deep-sea subs and retrieval equipment."

"Huh?" Marky asked, summing up the narrow-eyed looks around the table.

Jeff held up a finger. "Give me a moment. It will make sense soon enough. Are all you ladies familiar with nuclear weapons?"

Twilight, Emmy, and Celestia all nodded. "It's the most powerful weapon possessed by your species," Twilight said. "So powerful that only governments control them."

"You're mostly right," Jeff said. "Except that I also control one, and it's arriving on Leviathan by the end of the day."

Chris, Marky, and Dr. Hardy gasped in unison.

"What the fuck? And you didn't think to tell any of us?" Chris choked out, shocked beyond all sense.

"Dude! What the hell! Dr. Hardy squawked.

"Oh man," Marky groaned. "Oh, crap."

"Let me explain, damn it!" Jeff growled. "I couldn't tell you guys. For this, we have to maintain absolute, total secrecy. That's why I've brought only you few in here. That thing out there on the island absolutely cannot know what we have in our possession."

"Who's going to tell it?" Chris said, still angry that Jeff had held out on him.

"I don't know who's going to tell, we don't know what Shub-Niggurath is capable of," Jeff said. "And it's a risk we cannot take. The future of the world is at stake here."

Chris sighed. "You have a point. But what are we going to do with it?"

"Hopefully nothing. It's our backup plan, our fail-safe. If all goes as planned with the assault, we won't ever have to use the option."

"Where did you get this thing?"

"Like I said before, we have deep-sea retrieval robotic retrieval equipment. Are you familiar with the term empty quiver?"

"Not exactly," Marky said. "And I'm pretty sure none of the ladies are either."

"An empty quiver is an American military term for the loss of a functioning nuclear weapon. Throughout history, there have been several accidents where weapons were lost by different countries, especially at sea. Some time ago a ProteC team found the well-preserved remains of a U.S. submarine on the ocean floor, and were able to retrieve a repairable warhead from aboard, which we carefully restored to operating condition."

"That's kind of a big secret to keep from us," Chris said.

Jeff looked at him and narrowed his eyes. "I never promised you there would be no secrets, Chris. And I assure you that in what I do, I have the best interests of humanity and the world at heart. For now, I would suggest you stop fighting the idea and start thinking about how we can use this to save our asses."

"Fine. I guess you're right. If we do mess up badly enough out there, I'd rather get blown to hell by a nuke anyway than become part of a Patchwork Golem."

Twilight, Emmy, and Celestia had watched the humans with wide eyes, and Jeff now looked at them. "I have to tell you for two reasons. One, I need your help modifying this weapon with your magical crystals to create an amplified effect, like Marky has mentioned. By the way, that's why you're here Marky. You are the only one who has any clue about how such a device is modified."

"A nuclear-pumped magic bomb," Marky said quietly to himself. "Fuck."

"Secondly," Jeff continued, "I am giving you all the last chance to abandon us and our world. If our mission goes badly, we may have to detonate this bomb as a last resort and pray it stops Shub-Niggurath. Just assume that everyone one of us on the island will die in that instant, because from what Marky has said in the past, a magic bomb would make a regular nuclear weapon look like a firecracker."

"Theoretically," Marky said, faintly.

Celestia tapped her forehooves together, thinking. "What say you, Twilight? Emmy?"

"I will stay no matter what," Emmy answered, unhesitatingly. "Come what may. But I cannot speak for the others."

"As will I," Twilight added. "But we must tell the others and let them make their own decisions!"

"We cannot," Celestia said quietly. "If we do so, the vile creature may learn of our plan, and mitigate against it. We must keep knowledge to the fewest possible, and as leaders, decide the future for our friends, as unpalatable as I find it."

Jeff felt a deep stab of guilt. I've done it again. I've put them in another situation where they have to make a horrible decision.

Celestia and Twilight looked into each other's eyes. "I know what I would want," Twilight said. "Exactly what I chose."

"And you believe," Celestia began,

"That they would want the same thing," Twilight finished.

Both Celestia and Twilight looked at Jeff. "Equestrians are not quitters, and we do not abandon our friends," Celestia said.

"All of us knew this would be dangerous when we volunteered to come here," Twilight added. "And I believe nothing has changed, although this is a somewhat heavy secret to carry. We stay."

"And let's just hope it doesn't come to using the doomsday weapon," Emmy suggested. "Right?"

Chris exhaled loudly. "Right, Emmy. You're right."

"Well then, we need to move quickly," Jeff said. "Marky, do you remember what magical components go in a bomb?"

Marky sighed heavily. "Uh, just give me a sec please." He put his head in his hooves, apparently concentrating. After a moment he looked up. "It's complicated, and I'm no scientist. I only remember the basics of what I read on the Web and stuff."

"That's better than what we know," Celestia said. "Help us."

"Uh, it's a magnification spell. Like, one you would use to magnify light, but generic so it amplifies the thermonuclear blast instead. And I believe you place the imbued shards around the outer perimeter of the reaction mass. They can just go inside the outer casing of the bomb. When it explodes, they disintegrate instantly, their magic mixes with the plasma and, well, it's supposed to be a much stronger explosion."

"Can we do it?" Jeff asked.

Celestia spoke softly with Twilight and Emmy, then turned to Jeff. "Well, imbuing the crystals with a spell should not take long. We can do it within a few minutes, and there will be plenty of crystals left over after the firearm modifications are completed."

"I can modify the warhead," Dr. Hardy said "And depending on the type, we can install it on one of our close-range missiles." He frowned. "Very close-range missiles. But remember what I said before. There is no guarantee a nuclear device will work. In fact, it may make things worse."

"It's a risk we will have to take if things get bad enough out there. Let us pray they do not." Jeff tapped his chin. "It will take a day or two to load the Leviathan for combat. During that time, get the warhead modified, because we need to launch our attack immediately after. I think the appearance of the Patchwork Golem was a significant event, and we need to end this before we have another such situation. By the way, what is the firearm modification status?"

"In fabrication as we speak. The ladies imbued several stacks of crystals with the spells we needed, and the magazine and barrel mods are being run off in the automated assembly plant right now."

Jeff nodded approvingly. "So then that's our fallback plan, then. If Celestia and Twilight can prepare a few crystals after we're done here, then you can be ready to install them on the missile in short order. And remember everypony, not a word of this leaves the room."

***

As the others left the conference room, Celestia noticed Marky still sitting by himself at the table, staring into space. "Marky? Is everything okay?"

Marky looked at her slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Celestia let the door close and returned to the table, sitting next to him. "You don't look fine. You can talk to me."

Marky sighed. "It's that obvious, huh?"

"You look like you feel sick to your stomach."

"I do, a bit. You know, I never told you how I got here."

"True. Is there something you want to share?"

Marky thought for a long moment, then finally took a deep breath. "I was a police officer on my home world. There was a terrorist death cult waging war against our society. They had acquired a nuclear-pumped magic bomb."

Celestia gasped. "Just like..."

"Yes. Like the device Jeff is having you create. Anyway, the lunatics had placed the device in a subway rail car, and hidden it underneath one of our largest cities. It was a huge maze, miles of dead ends and forgotten lines. Nobody believed the bomb even existed, but my team managed to find it with no assistance from our precinct or anyone else. When we finally found it, we had only minutes to spare. We were outnumbered, outgunned, our bomb expert was dead, and the rest of the squad held off the terrorists while I attempted a defusal."

"What happened?"

Marky stared at the wall. "I failed. I couldn't defuse it, I tried, but all I could do was pull wires at random. The countdown ended, and it went off. I was right there on top of it, surrounded by wires, doing no good at all. I just remember everything going white. It was like every mistake I made in my life came back on me in that one moment. It didn't hurt, physically, but the sense of hopelessness was complete. I felt my body vanish instantly. I felt myself die."

Celestia said nothing, her eyes big.

Marky continued after a moment. "I... I floated in empty whiteness for I don't know how long. But then suddenly I opened my eyes and I was laying in a pool of mud in Equestria with my hair all on end, like I'd stuck my nose in a wall socket or something."

Marky focused back on her. "The city probably died that day. A magic amplified bomb is a lot worse than anything the humans here on Earth have created so far."

He closed his eyes. "And I'll never know for sure what happened. I think the unbelievable power of that weapon may have thrust me right through into another universe, maybe because I was literally inside the machine when it went off. The others? My friends and teammates? I don't know. They may have died. They may have been thrust into other universes. And I'll never know."

His voice tremored slightly, and when he opened his eyes they were moist. 'I'll never know what happened to any of them." A tear rolled down his cheek. "I'm sorry. This just brought back a lot of memories I was trying not to think about."

Celestia reached out a hoof and touched his shoulder.

He blinked, and more liquid squeezed from his eyes even as his gaze hardened. When he spoke again, there was iron in his voice that clashed with the unwiped tears on his face. "But I'll not let it stop me. I'll not ever give up. If I've been given a second chance, I will not waste it. I will never let my failures overcome me."

He tossed his head slightly, defiantly. "Even if it kills me."

Chapter 33: Redux

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Later in the day, Jeff sent a message calling Chris's team and the Equestrians to the surgery department in the medical wing.

Jeff greeted them upon arrival. "I brought you all here so that you can see what this company was originally created to do," he explained. "On the other side of that glass is the man who was seriously injured in the fight against the Patchwork Golem. His name is Larry Parker. His left leg had to be amputated, unfortunately. He would have died if not for the emergency care Fluttershy and Rarity gave him. What you are about to see is an example of the miracles humans can create when they work together for the common good."

Jeff led them to the window of the operating theater. On the other side, the man lay sedated on an operating table, a cloth over his groin and various machines hooked to his body. Powerful lights focused on the metal table from above. Doctors and medical technicians dressed in surgical scrubs, hats, booties, face masks, and latex gloves carefully attended the equipment and the still figure on the table.

"Patient is prepared, ready to commence surgery on your order, Mr. Peterson," the lead surgeon said after a few minutes, his voice coming through speakers in the viewing lounge.

"It's all yours, Doctor."

An attendant in scrubs nodded, and pulled the cover sheet back from the stump of the man's missing leg.

Fluttershy tensed and her eyes widened, but she kept watching.

Inside the clean room, the surgeon sat down in front of a surgical control console, and began touching the screens. A scanner lowered from the ceiling and surveyed the stump.

"It's locating nerves and blood vessels, surveying tissue damage, and investigating the position of the bones," the doctor said. "It's mostly automated."

The machine beeped and the scanner rested in place momentarily, lights pulsing softly.

"Now it's going to access Parker's QMI data and decide exactly what's missing."

A holographic overlay of the man's leg appeared in the empty space on the table, and the surgeon nodded in approval. He made some adjustments on the controls, then the scanner pulled back slightly, still focusing on the action area. Another set of arms and hoses moved into place. It looks like some kind of a weapon.

"This is the core of the machine," the doctor said, almost reverently. "The beam suspension reconstructive bioprinter." He pointed at portions of the machine as he spoke. "The BSRP uses transport lasers to apply matter and tissue to the patient, rebuilding them one microscopic piece at a time. We use multiple emitters and feed types to rapidly repair severe injuries involving loss of limbs."

The Equestrians watched in amazement, his unfamiliar words making little sense, but the process holding them spellbound nonetheless.

"This here is the synthetic bone feed. This component under here supplies artificial nerve and muscle tissue. None of these materials are alive, but they will behave almost exactly like real muscle tissue once they are connected to the controller computer." The doctor sat back down, and they could see he was smiling through his mask. "Now watch this."

He pressed a button on the panel in front of him, and with a hiss of compressed air, the machine came to life. The tip of the gun-like device split into an array of mechanical fingers, each with a beam firing from it to the patient's leg stump. They whirred and moved from position to position, never resting, their busy transport lasers pulsing through the air as they wove amongst each other at incredible speed.

"It's... oddly beautiful," Twilight said, entranced by the sparkling show.

As the lights intertwined and shifted, the leg stump grew and changed colors. Instead of the red of flesh, it was the pastel gray of synthetic bone and artificial tendon and the silver of flexible synthetic muscle, with multicolored nerves threading throughout.

The lasers increased their pace, becoming a humming buzz of flickering light. They moved smoothly towards the foot of the table, the new growth of synthetics extending as they worked. Within minutes, the sleeping patient had a new shining silver leg.

"Well what do you think?" the doctor said proudly as the brilliant pulsing lasers slowed to a stop and shut down.

"It's... a... a miracle," Celestia said. "Not even our magic could do something like this."

"Will it always be silver?" Rarity said. "Is it finished?"

"Not just yet," he replied. "There is one last thing to do." He stood and stepped to the table, placing a small black box onto the upper thigh of the patient on top of a bundle of fresh nerve wires.

"Computer control unit," he explained. He held a tablet over the box, making adjustments until a green light blinked on the device, then returned to the surgery console.

He worked the controls again, and another machine lowered from the ceiling, similar to the first, but with cryogenic vapors drifting up from it.

"Can't very well leave him looking all naked like that, now can we?"

The nozzle approached the edge of the man's human flesh and began whizzing back and forth. As it went, the man's flesh extended and grew.

"We rapid cloned a suspension of living skin cells in a vat when he entered the hospital," the doctor said. "They solidify into position almost immediately upon application, creating a fresh surface layer."

Finally the applicator nozzle reached the toes and stopped.

"Voila!"

The leg was perfect, hairless and new.

"It even has toenails," Rarity said, awed.

The doctor stood. "And that's it. This leg is fused directly to his body. He will be able to both move it normally and feel with it as well as his original leg, given some time to adapt. The connections are seamless. It will take some testing after he awakes to make sure the systems function correctly and the nerves are all connected properly, but I foresee no special difficulty. It was, as far as these things go, a fairly simple operation."

"How is it powered?" Marky asked.

"The same way your headsets are powered. The control unit I placed contains a battery and wireless receiver that will charge anywhere the headsets will. There is also a plug-in charger that can be placed nearby, say in a hotel room, to recharge the unit."

"Can he dance on it?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Of course. Probably not right away, it will take him some time to get used to it. Now, if you will excuse me, we must move the patient to the recovery ward."

As the medical technicians bustled about shutting down equipment, Marky turned to Jeff. "Does it... cost anything?" he wondered.

"Well, this is the newest technology we have," Jeff said. "We could easily charge well over a million dollars for that procedure."

All present gasped.

"Well now," Applejack piped up, "I don't know what that is in bits-"

"Or in cupcakes!" Pinkie Pie shrilled.

"-but it sounds like a hay of a lot."

Jeff held up a hand. "Before you all get the wrong idea, I am not a fan of taking exorbitant funds from the sick and needy. Like I said, this is one of the newest, most advanced experimental system we have, currently only functional in a few of our own facilities. We have for many years provided high-quality, low-cost alternatives to millions of customers worldwide. But without revenue, we would be unable to create the wonders you have just witnessed, or anything else we do here at ProteC."

"You make a good point," Marky admitted. "But how can he ever pay for that?"

"Pay for it?" Jeff seemed shocked by the very idea. "He is my employee, wounded during the course of his duties. I will without a doubt give him the best treatment I can provide. I would never charge a penny for that. It's a benefit of working for my company. To do anything less would be... well, a despicable act."

Fluttershy smiled. "You are a good friend, Jeff."

Jeff blushed, caught somewhat off guard. "I... It... Uh... Thank you."

"By the way," Chris commented in the slightly awkward silence. "The magic weapon mods will be ready for distribution tomorrow."

Jeff nodded. "Excellent. That will coincide well with the final preparations for Leviathan. Everypony, this means we have about two days before mission launch."

"We are ready at any time," Celestia said, with more confidence than she felt.

Chapter 34: For Tomorrow We Die

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The following day, while Dr. Hardy secretly modified the warhead, the armory issued out thousands of the new magical weapon modifications to members of the attack force, Leviathan crew, and facility defense squads.

Chris was fascinated with the addons. The barrel of his rifle now had several blue rings around it, and the magazine had purple crystals embedded in it, with the gently glowing outline of a unicorn's head etched into the side. He slid a bullet out of the magazine, marveling at the shimmering purple crystal embedded in the tip. "So what is this?" he asked the armorer, indicating the softly glowing components.

The armorer looked and grunted. "That's the barrel cooling shroud. It's like a magical Peltier junction. It will absorb and disperse heat, allowing for longer sustained fire without weapon damage. It's the ideal counterpart to the modified magazines."

Chris glanced at his ARHUD as he inserted the magazine into the rifle. The ammo count switched from 0 to 100. "Holy crap. That's like putting a barrel mag on, but it weighs almost nothing."

"Some kind of magic spell they used on it. Can load a ton of ammo into a mag no bigger than a 30 rounder."

"How about carbon buildup?"

"We have the latest ultra-clean burning residue-free ammo. Should fire well over two thousand rounds before jamming becomes an issue."

Chris smiled widely. "So I can shoot glowing bullets for as long as I want. Sounds like just what I need to rain on the Devil's parade."

"Yeah, the crystal bullets are supposed to penetrate magic fields. They work, too. Yesterday Princess Celestia came down to the range and cast magic bubbles over several targets. The rifle bullets went through them like a hot knife through butter. The pistol bullets have been modified as well, make sure and grab some magazines for them also!"

Chris thanked the armorer and took the stacks of magazines and equipment. He grinned at Marky, who smiled back in a predatory fashion while he loaded the purple magazines into his pistols.

"Ready to bring the pain."

"Yeah, buddy."

***

That evening, the humans and Equestrians had an early dinner together in the cafeteria. The atmosphere was muted, the usual laughter and banter replaced with the simple desire to be near each other one last time before their early-morning auditorium briefing and departure.

"My stomach doesn't want food." Fluttershy pushed her cucumber sandwich with a sigh.

"Just pre-mission jitters," Chris said. "It's perfectly natural to be nervous before something like this."

"Because nopony knows if we're going to win, or die horribly tomorrow while the world burns!" Pinkie Pie added, cheerfully.

"Not helping," Rarity chastised.

"It's true though!" Fluttershy said. "We could all die tomorrow!"

"You could die any day," Sanchez interjected. "Tomorrow is no different. Stop looking at it as an opportunity to die, and start looking at it as an opportunity to really live. What good is being alive if you don't do the right thing when the time arises?"

"You... you're right," Fluttershy agreed.

Twilight tapped the table with her hoof. "We will win. Good always wins over evil. Life always triumphs over death!"

"How can you be so sure?"

Twilight waved her hooves towards all of them. "Because we're here, aren't we? We're alive. Every day we live is a victory."

Emmy's forehoof crept onto Chris's lap, and he took it in his hand, giving her a gentle squeeze under the table. "I don't know everything," she said aloud, addressing the table. "But I do know I would fight to keep what we have here. And I will, because that demon out there threatens everything we live for."

Celestia and Jeff looked at each other, a glance of silent approval.

Marky shrugged. "I just wanna go shoot me some monsters. Is that so wrong?"

"That's my boy!" McAllister leaned over the table and bumped fists with him.

***

Later, Celestia lay in her bed, her ARHUD on the night stand next to her, eyes wide in the dark. She had been awake for some time now, unable to relax, her mind running a mile a minute. Finally she lifted her hoof and used her holographic wristband interface to message Luna.

- Celestia: Are you busy?
- Luna: Not right now, sister. How fare you?
- Celestia: I am well, for now. Tomorrow is the day, Luna.
- Luna: Oh goodness. Do be careful. I am sure you will be fine. But still I worry!
- Celestia: I am worried too. I have had nightmares about the day that thing touched me in my mind, Luna. The memory is still with me. I do not want to admit it, but I am afraid.
- Luna: I wish I could have been there for you. I cannot feel your dreams at all in that world, or the dreams of anypony else who went with you.
- Celestia: It has such power. Such horrible power.
- Luna: I wish I could come to you, sister.
- Celestia: You cannot, Luna. If I fall, you are Equestria's one and only hope.
- Luna: Do not speak of such things. You will succeed, and you will return victorious. I have infinite confidence in you.
- Celestia: Thank you. For everything.
- Luna: You had best not say goodbye.
- Celestia: Then I shall say only that I am proud of you, and forever grateful that you are here for me. I will see you in a few day's time. We all will.
- Luna: I await your return with patience and faith. My best wishes go with you, dearest sister. Be strong. Be the strongest.

Celestia terminated the link, feeling like a filthy liar as she watched the holographic screen fade out of existence. In her mind's eye, she saw herself and her friends vanishing forever in the brilliant world-ending flash of a close proximity nuclear detonation, their failure and death her fault, their final expressions accusing as the radiation tore into her guilty soul.

"Oh Luna. I hope I was telling you the truth."

A tear dripped down her cheek as she closed her eyes.

***

Twilight also lay awake in bed as well, surrounded by her five best friends. They'd decided to have a sleepover, since none of them had wanted to spend this night alone. Somehow Hamilton had ended up there as well, and was currently passed out on the couch under a blanket, his feet hanging over a pile of the girl's weapon belts, snoring almost as loudly as Rainbow Dash. For some reason it reminded Twilight of having Spike around.

Twilight had her bracelet on the lowest brightness setting in the dark room, messaging Starlight Glimmer before she slept.

- Starlight Glimmer: Zecora says he's fading, Twilight. He's been under too long.
- Twilight Sparkle: How long does he have?
- Starlight Glimmer: She's not sure. Discord's biology is still something of a mystery to us. But she can sense his mental state. She says there's not a lot of time.
- Twilight Sparkle: If we don't succeed tomorrow I'm afraid it won't matter anyway.
- Starlight Glimmer: You will. You always do.
- Twilight Sparkle: Thanks, Glims. I have to rest, talk to you soon, okay?
- Starlight Glimmer: Goodnight, Twilight. Be safe. Please.

Twilight Sparkle clicked off the hologram and stared into the darkness, comforted by the sound of her friends breathing softly, afraid that this would be the last time they would ever be together.

***

"I'm actually worried about what happens after, too," Emmy said quietly in the darkness.

"What do you mean?" Chris replied.

"If we win, what then? We all go back through the Gate, and it gets sealed forever? I don't want that, Chris."

"You know, I hadn't thought about that. With so much going on, I've only been worried about tomorrow. But I'm sure we'll figure something out."

"I hope so. I want to be with you, but I have a duty to Equestria..."

"Don't worry about it, Emmy. Focus on one thing at a time, okay? Then we'll deal with what to do after when the time comes."

"Right."

He kissed her on the forehead, and she purred in his arms.

***

Marky was also in bed, staring at the ceiling. He'd fought many battles, arrested and killed a lot of bad ponies in his time. But this was different, not that it really mattered. He'd face it the same way he faced everything, with both pistols and gallows humor, and he'd either survive, or he'd die trying.

Rena Hendricks stirred next to him, her warm breath brushing his cheek as she snuggled closer to his body.

Well, it's not all bad around here, that's for sure.

He put his hoof around her and closed his eyes.

Chapter 35: Call to Battle

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"When is this gonna start?" Rainbow Dash shifted about impatiently in her front row seat. The theater was full of ProteC personnel and Equestrians, talking to each other in low tones and waiting for the briefing to begin.

"Relax, Dashie." McAllister leaned back in his seat beside her, stretching his legs out. "They're waiting for everypony to get here."

The conversation increased in volume as more people and ponies came in the doors and found seats.

“It sure is early," Fluttershy commented.

"It's gonna take some time to get everypony down to the docks," Hamilton explained. "Vehicles and most of the gear were loaded last night, but we want to have as much daylight as possible when we hit the island."

The room grew quiet as Celestia and Jeff strode out onto the stage and stood next to each other.

Jeff stepped forward. "Good morning, everyone, and everypony. I know we've gone over the plan for today many times in the past few days, but this is our last opportunity to make sure we are all on the same page. Immediately afterwards, we will be heading out."

He tapped his wristband controls, and the huge screen above the stage came to life. He flipped through slides as he talked.

"After boarding Leviathan, we will head directly to the island, and make landfall here. Once we have secured the beachhead, we will roll armor on the service roads until we reach the Gate, here."

A hoof went up in the audience, and Jeff pointed. "Question?"

"Why are we not simply landing at the docks?"

"Good question. The docks are not designed to unload heavily armored vehicles quickly enough, and they are farther from the gate facility. Additionally, because the enemy is intelligent, we would have to assume it has made preparations in expectation of us attempting exactly that."

Jeff looked over the audience, then continued. "Once we reach this location, the beam tanks will provide heavy fire support, allowing us to clear the Gate valley and regain control of the systems, shutting down the Gate."

A hand went up. "Yes, question," Jeff said.

"What if we can't shut down the gate?"

"We will. Next question?"

Hushed conversation began in the room. People and ponies looked at each other nervously.

"Remember, we will be right there with you. Both myself and Celestia will be operating the command vehicle." He nodded at Celestia.

She stepped forward, and the room became silent again. "We knew this would be dangerous from the beginning. I did not come here to be safe, I came here to protect our way of life, and to protect this world and ours. We have to succeed today, no matter what the cost. To fail there, is to doom all our homes to destruction, and everypony... everyone you know, to death, or worse."

The silence was absolute, every eye riveted on the stage. Jeff glanced at Celestia, then he spoke.

"None of you came here to be safe. You came here because you knew it's dangerous. You looked at your friends, and your families, and you chose to protect them. You came here to make a difference. You came here to fight the monsters, to ward off the darkness that threatens our way of life, and our very existence."

Celestia stood tall, spreading her wings behind Jeff. "We are the warriors. We are the hope. We are those who shall stand against the spawn of evil, and drive them howling back to the abyss!"

A cheer went up from the audience. "Yeah!"

"So this is it, guys," Jeff said. "Does anyone here want to back out of this mission? Last call for you to be fucking pussy!"

"Ain't no fucking pussies here!" someone yelled. The entire audience loudly agreed.

Jeff smiled. "That's what I thought!"

Celestia smiled and crackled her magic horn menacingly. "Who's ready to give Shub-Niggurath a hardcore friendship lesson?"

"OH YEAH!"

"I got a friendship lesson right here!" McAllister shouted, standing and thumping his crotch vulgarly.

Marky leapt up and shook his hoof in the air. "Time to send the welcome wagon right up its ass!" he bellowed loudly, and was answered with hoots of agreement from the entire room. The theater was in an uproar. Rainbow Dash and several other Pegasus were hovering in the air above their chairs in excitement, hollering and pumping their hooves. Even Fluttershy was in the spirit of things, although she was more reserved about it, and hadn't left her seat.

"Yay!" she squeaked, weakly. There happened to be a lull at that exact moment, and her voice rang out in the silence. She cowered in embarrassment.

"YAY!" the auditorium agreed with gusto. "LET'S DO IT!"

"FOR LOVE!"

"FOR FRIENDSHIP!"

"FOREVER!"

***

The mood held as busses picked them up from the main building and drove towards the seaport. Once they crested the final hill and began the descent towards the waterfront, they could see the powerful wharf lights illuminating an enormous and intimidating ship like nothing anyone present had ever seen before.

"Well, there she is. Behold, Leviathan." Jeff swung his arm towards the vessel.

Towering above the other ships at the deep harbor dock, the monstrous armored craft was the size of a cruise ship. Angled stories of metal plating, weapon hatches, and narrow slit windows rose up from a wide base that disappeared beneath the waterline.

"Holy hay," Applejack said in astonishment, peering out the bus window. Her mouth hung open like a barn door. "I've never seen a boat that big in my life."

"Impressive." Her voice was calm, but Celestia's large eyes showed how truly awed she was.

"Wait till you see inside," Jeff said proudly. "It's still a prototype with some kinks to work out, but for our purposes it should be enough and then some."

"I like working out kinks," McAllister said, suggestively. Everyone ignored him.

"Alright, everypony get your gear together," Jeff called as the bus hissed to a halt near one of the gangplanks. As they disembarked into a crowd of humans rushing back and forth with equipment and weapons, a ProteC security officer came up to Jeff.

"Sir, the vehicles and infantry are already loaded. Command and control staff is boarding, and we are stowing final items on board. We will be ready to leave within the hour."

"Thank you. Carry on, let us know when boarding is complete."

"Roger that." The man returned to barking instructions at the people hurrying about on the dock.

Dr. Hardy appeared out of nowhere, walking up to Jeff. He was wearing combat gear, weapons, and carrying a black case. "Everything is ready," he said to Jeff.

Jeff nodded. "What's up with the outfit?"

"I'm going with you guys."

Jeff frowned. "Oh no you don't. You're staying right here in case this doesn't go as planned."

"The fuck I am. You have all this gear and equipment that I modified. Everything is experimental. There's no way I'm letting you go into combat without me. Who's gonna figure out what to do if any of this crap acts up? And if this mission fails, I hate to break it to you, but I don't think we'll get another attempt. Shub-Niggurath is not stupid, and nobody else on Earth has the magic imbued weapons we've created."

Jeff's scowl deepened. "Fine. All or nothing. But if you get yourself killed I'm going to beat your ass."

Dr. Hardy hefted his glowing magic-modded rifle, his exo humming. "Oh, I'm more capable than you might think. And here's a present for you." He opened the case, revealing a small number of the plasma blades. "These were a lot harder to make than the weapon mods. We only have a few. Load up."

The humans grabbed the unique weapons, then prepared to board the vessel.

"We'll be heading up this ramp here." Jeff led the way up a narrower ramp that rose several floors on an incline before reaching a hatch. The metal of the ramp resounded with their hooves and boots as they walked upwards. Below, another bus halted as theirs moved away. The door opened, allowing humans and Equestrians to exit and head for different ramps.

"Vehicle crews boarding," Jeff called, after glancing down. "Come on, we're going to the control room."

Upon entering the ship, the hallways were surprisingly wide.

"It's designed to be a military vessel, but we decided to make some changes over the typical congested feel of combat ships. More room improves morale and reduces stress on the crew," Jeff said. "Plus, it's just nice. Don't you think?"

"Looks cool, like the inside of a spaceship."

"I had considered it calling it the Enterprise, but that name's still in use by the United States Navy. Plus, Leviathan sounds pretty cool, doesn't it?"

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "About 20% cooler, I'd say."

"More room is great!" Pinkie Pie squealed, bouncing up and down. "Plenty of Pinkie Space!"

"Let's not rattle the ship apart before we leave port," Applejack said, watching Pinkie's energetic antics.

"The bridge is just ahead." Jeff pointed at a large door at the top of a ramp. "Up there."

"Wow." Sanchez said when they entered the ship's control room. "Swanky."

The interior was at least two stories tall. Gigantic screens showed crystal clear images from around the ship. Rows of holographic terminals, some manned by ProteC personnel, were arranged throughout the room. On a slightly raised platform were rows of holographic pod chairs, and what was obviously a command chair behind them.

The Equestrians were wide-eyed and curious.

"Weapon system manual controls," Jeff explained, pointing at the pods. "You've trained on them in the vehicle simulator."

Rainbow Dash walked over to one of the pods and sat down without activating the interface. She gripped the inactive joystick and pushed it around. "Oh yeah. These things are fun."

"Well, it's doubtful we'll be needing them. There have been no indications of any kind of air or water based threat from the island."

Rainbow Dash looked a bit disappointed as she stood back up. "Oh well. It would have been cool though."

Jeff motioned at empty seats near the command chair. "Well, you guys can totally use the VIP chairs, though. Check out how nice these things are!" He got into the central chair and swiveled it around. "Yeah, before you ask, I totally ripped this bridge idea out of Star Trek. I told my engineers to make it so!"

"I'd make fun of your being a nerd, but to make fun of a man in command of a ship this size seems foolhardy," McAllister said cheekily. "So I won't be making any virgin jokes."

Jeff scowled and waggled a finger at McAllister. "That's it. You've brought this upon yourself, my friend. I would say I haven't been a virgin since your mother reached age of consent, but I find such childish jokes to be a thing appreciated only by simple-minded, sad little men seeking attention in all the wrong places."

"Ohhhh," Rainbow Dash winced.

"And that is why I sit here," Jeff gestured grandly towards his captain's chair. "And you stand there with your mouth hanging open, looking like a kicked puppy."

"I... I got nothing," McAllister said ruefully.

"You've been saying that your whole life, every time you look at your crotch in the mirror."

"Jeez." Rainbow Dash grimaced. "That's harsh, man. Leave him something to hold onto."

McAllister couldn't resist. "Oh, I've got PLENTY to hold on to!" he quipped, smiling broadly again. "Aye Dashie? Aye?" He nudged her shoulder with his elbow.

"Yeah, and then you woke up," Rainbow Dash growled.

"Ohhh! I want to hold on to things! What kind of things do you have?" Pinkie Pie added, bouncing around.

Jeff put his palm on his face and sighed. "Some people just never learn."

"I find it most amusing," Celestia said, seated in the chair next to him. She leaned back and crossed her legs. "Oh my. This is indeed comfortable."

"How can they be so calm?" Fluttershy asked Emmy in a whisper. "We are about to go to... To fight things. I don't even know what. I'm terrified!"

"No-one here is calm, Fluttershy," she replied quietly. "I'm sure they are afraid too. They are joking instead of cowering because it boosts their confidence and keeps them from succumbing to fear."

"I see... I think. I'm so scared I'm shaking."

"You can still stay behind, but-"

"No, no. It doesn't matter how scared I am, I won't abandon my friends."

"You're braver than you realize, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy smiled, then they both looked at Jeff as he made an announcement.

"Everypony, the loading went faster than initially expected. We're about to make final launch preparations," Jeff said.

The bridge quieted as Equestrians and humans took seats. Additional ProteC crew entered the bridge and powered up other stations, talking softly through headsets to other areas of the ship.

"Flight deck is ready."

"Hatches sealed."

"Main drive standing by for power application."

"Fusion core operating at fifteen percent load, upscaling reaction."

On one of the panels in front of Jeff, various subsystems in the schematic blinked green, and a deep, throbbing hum rose from the depths of the great ship as the engines powered up.

"Ready on your go, Captain."

"Let's get this ass kicking on the road," Jeff said. The ship slid smoothly away from the dock and veered toward the open sea.

"Oh wait a sec, I almost forgot. I got something for this!" Sanchez leaned forward and started messing around with the computer in front of his chair.

"What the hell are you doing?" Chris asked.

"Just gimme a sec..." He made a few adjustments. There was a click, and music started playing loudly over the speakers.

"Revvin' up your engine,
Listen to her howlin' roar,
Metal under tension,
Beggin you to touch and go!

"Really?" Chris asked. Then he started laughing.

They sang the chorus along with Kenny Loggins as loud as they could, and were joined by everyone else on board.

"HIGHWAY TO THE DANGER ZONE!
RIDE INTO THE DANGER ZONE!"

The Leviathan roared unhesitatingly towards the uncertain future.

Chapter 36: The Unfriendly Skies

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After several hours at high speed, Isla del Lamento came into view of the magnification cameras.

"Well that's a mess," Marky said, staring at the image on the main screen.

Parts of the island had drastically changed. Giant fungoid plants squirmed on the beach, huge tentacles waving in the air. They looked both diseased and dangerous at the same time.

"I somehow don't think we can drive through them easily," Jeff said, looking at the monitor. "Fortunately, we brought some, ah, path clearing equipment."

He leaned back in his chair. "Ready the railguns."

There was a deep clank that resounded throughout the ship, followed by the hum of hydraulic actuators as two elongated armor hatches swung open and twin fifty foot cylinders rose out of the hull on thick metal targeting pylons.

"Megacapacitors charging, projectiles autoloading, targets locked. Fire on your order, sir."

"Hit them."

There was a massive buzzing clang that shook the vessel as the twin super cooled magnetic coils energized, blasting two barrel-sized metal projectiles towards the island at sixteen times the speed of sound.

The water churned beneath the hypersonic shock wave, and seconds later parts of the beach exploded. The railguns autoloaded another set of projectiles, and ten seconds later another another part of the beach erupted in flames. Bits of burning plant matter shot skyward, leaving smoke trails that curved gently behind them.

"I don't think they expected that."

In the monitor, a flurry of activity was visible as fungoid crawlers tried to escape the beach in a panic.

"Keep whacking them."

The railguns clanked again, and more shells howled through the sound barrier and into the island, bombarding the shore with unrelenting fury.

"Just keep going until the only thing moving is smoke and fire," Jeff said calmly. "And move us in closer. We're going to land once we've beat them down enough."

Chris pointed at moving spots on the main monitor. "We've got incoming air, some kind of flying creature."

"It's safe to assume they harbor hostile intent, I imagine," Jeff said sarcastically. "Man the laser turrets. They aren't designed to lock onto organic targets."

Chris directed the others as they hurried to the defense laser control stations. He sat down and brought up the targeting interface, glancing left and right to see Twilight and Applejack doing the same.

"Good thing we went over this in the simulator," Emmy commented, tapping at the holographic buttons as her motorized chair swiveled and slid forward into the combat interface. She grabbed the joystick. "I wonder if we'll get a chance to try anything else we learned."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Chris grunted. "Are you okay with this Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy nodded as she slid into one of the combat terminals. "Those things? They aren't nice at all. They're evil monsters. And I'm pretty good at video games." She settled into her seat as the interface came to life around her. "Don't worry about me."

Pinkie Pie waved a hoof from behind her glowing holographic cocoon. "She's good at a lot of things when she puts her mind to it!"

On the exterior of the Leviathan, small circular hatches opened and slotted domes rose out, spinning to face the island as the laser batteries came to life, charging and preparing to engage the attackers.

Chris used the telescope-like laser focusing optics to zoom in on one of the flying objects, putting the image up on the large screen.

"What even are those things?" Jeff asked, his voice filled with disgust.

On the monitor was a fat greasy looking orb of diseased flesh with two wings. It was bat-like, if bats had bodies composed of nothing but slimy leaking tumors.

"That is the most revolting thing I've seen in days. Shoot it before we find out what it wants."

Chris fired, and the creature exploded in a massive fireball. He whistled. "Lasers impacts don't explode. They're flying bombs!"

"Don't let them get near us!" Rarity exclaimed.

Clouds of the creatures rose from the island and flocked towards them, flapping through the air with complete disregard for their own survival. Laser capacitors hummed and pulsed as Equestrians and humans swung joysticks and pulled triggers.

"Can this thing shoot any faster?" Rainbow Dash shouted in frustration.

Jeff tapped his console. "Powering down railguns, redirecting power from non-essential circuits to laser defense grid."

The lights dimmed.

The buzzing sound of laser capacitor batteries charging and discharging increased in frequency.

"Oh yeah that's helping!" Applejack shouted, blasting targets in a blaze of speed.

Chris risked a side glance at her. "You're pretty good."

More monsters suddenly flew up from the island, expanding the cloud even further.

"Uh, guys? Do we have anything else we can throw at them?" Marky said in an uncomfortable tone as he swiveled and fired. "Things are getting busy out there."

"I'm going to have to activate the rest of the defense grid," Jeff's hands flew on his interface. "Bringing CIWS turrets online."

"Close in weapon system?" Chris looked back at Jeff. "That should be able to target anything."

Jeff frowned. "Remember when I said Leviathan is experimental and not everything works right?"

Chris groaned audibly.

"Yup," Jeff said. "Only a couple work and we're gonna have to man them from here."

"I can help," Celestia said. "Let me try."

Jeff pointed at an unused combat interface chair. "Go grab that one. I'll patch you into one of the CIWS turrets."

Celestia hurried over and slid into the chair. She flicked switches and her holographic interface powered up.

Jeff activated an interface on his command chair and took control of one of the turrets himself.

The drawn-out buzz of depleted uranium being expelled from Gatling turrets at impossible speed joined the hum and buzz of laser capacitors.

Celestia dragged her joystick and held down the fire button, a sustained BRRAAAAAAPPPPPP echoing out over the water. A moment later, lines of flying bombs exploded.

"They're flying too close together," Sanchez commented with a laugh. "The DU rounds are taking out multiple targets! Keep it up!"

Celestia smirked, her mouth smiling but her eyes deadly. "Perfect. I can decimate their numbers with ease."

Hundreds of winged monsters went down in flames and explosions with each press of the trigger. The sound of the raging Gatling was deep and powerful even though the sealed body of the ship.

"Looks like the bastards figured it out," McAllister growled. "They're changing tactics."

The foul orbs had dispersed and begun flapping erratically, rising and dropping like frightened mosquitoes. None of them faltered in their mindless determination to reach the ship, although their bobbing approach reduced their speed.

"We're going to need additional assets," Jeff said. "You guys are doing great but there's too many of them."

He activated his communication link. "Flight deck! Ready the quadcopters for immediate combat launch! Instruct all pilots to defend the ship, but stay at a safe distance from the storm cloud covering the island." He listened for a moment, then nodded and spoke to the bridge. "We have a quadcopter without a pilot."

Rainbow Dash looked up from her console. "I can fly it, let me."

Jeff looked at her suspiciously. "You know how?"

"We both do," McAllister said. "We ran the training simulator together a lot."

"It was a ton of fun. For real, we can do it," Rainbow Dash added. "I fly better than anypony! Even in a machine."

"I'll be your gunner, Dashie." McAllister hooked a thumb at her and looked at Jeff. "No kidding. She got all the highest scores on the leader board. Wasn't satisfied with second. She's good. Best I've seen. I spent enough time cleaning my own puke out of the simulator's copilot seat to know what I'm talking about."

Rainbow Dash's chest inflated visibly.

Jeff narrowed his eyes. "You know those machines are capable of mid-air velocity changes that can severely injure or kill the occupants, right?"

"Not as long as the acceleration limiting computer interlock is active," Rainbow Dash replied, narrowing her own eyes and grinning menacingly. "It will allow me to push system performance to the edge while preventing G-LOC or death in a delicate human passenger."

Jeff sighed. "Fine, you seem to know your stuff. But be careful, this is no simulation. You screw up here, there's no second chances." He spoke to the intercom again. "Send in a couple security personnel to take over these tactical consoles. Two bridge personnel are headed to the quadcopter bay."

Soon after two ProteC security hands entered the bridge. They took over the defense control chairs, and Rainbow Dash and McAllister hurried out of the command deck to rush back through the corridors of the ship towards the hangar. Several catwalks and flights of stairs later, they were running side by side into the large hangar space. The roof armor was open and the last of the piloted quads was performing a vertical takeoff as they entered. It was much quieter than a regular helicopter, the four high speed propellers making a whining noise as their electric motors spun powerfully. The quadcopter buzzed, rising slowly under autopilot control until it cleared the bay doors, then it rocketed upwards and darted out of sight when the pilot took manual control.

"Ready Dashie?" McAllister lightly bumped her shoulder with his elbow as they approached the one remaining copter.

"Oh yeah. I'm totally ready."

They stepped between the shielded propellers and swung into the side by side cockpit. Rainbow Dash immediately started powering up the machine.

"Batteries at one hundred percent," she said. "Activating primary control systems."

There was a hum as the computer came online and the holographic interfaces surrounded them with information.

"Ammo full, missile racks loaded, ready for takeoff on your go," McAllister reported. "Let's blow some shit up."

He held up his hand to her hoof and they fist bumped over the chair arms.

"Awww yeah!"

***

Jeff watched their status go green on the main tactical console, then their navigation computer flew them out of the hangar.

Once they cleared the bay doors, Rainbow Dash gunned the powerful electric motors and the quadcopter shot away from the ship like a missile.

"Jeez those things are fast," Sanchez observed. "I'd lose my lunch if I were on board."

On the tactical display the green icon of their quad zipped forward to join the others dodging and rolling in the sky.

***

"Oh yeah!" Rainbow Dash was having more fun than she'd had in days. The nimble quad was specifically designed to perform aerial acrobatics, and it twitched and spun in the air, dodging and performing flips with ease.

McAllister grimaced. Even with the on-board targeting computer's stabilization assistance, pulling off a good shot was difficult under Rainbow Dash's enthusiastically insane piloting.

"Dashie, ease up a bit girl, I can't draw a bead."

She complied, slowing down and moving in an easy arc while he sprayed down the enemy with bullets.

The Gatling gun buzzed like a giant angry hornet and hissed as it came to rest, each trigger application spewing rounds into the enemy. Other quads were visible around them, hovering and firing into the cloud.

"Good, we're chewing them up now. We'll have the sky clear in a minute or two." McAllister glanced at the chat feed. General chatter from the other helicopters and the Leviathan gunners came over the holographic comm interface in speech-to-text format to reduce confusion.

- Christopher Lance (Leviathan): Target evading far left.
- Eddie Jones (Quad 2): On it.
- Christopher Lance (Leviathan): Looks like you got him.
- Christopher Lance (Leviathan): Watch your tail Quad 7.
- Jerry Lombar (Quad 7): Roger, thank you Leviathan, target down.
- Jeffrey Peterson (Leviathan): Their numbers are thinning. We're taking care of business. Good job all!
- Christopher Lance (Leviathan): Wait, something's happening. Watch out, incoming enemy, unknown type!

McAllister squinted out the window past the text chat. Several odd shapes had jetted up from the island at high speed. They were highlighted with a red circle and question marks on the holographic overlay.

"The hell is that?" he said aloud.

Rainbow Dash looked out the window too and frowned. "I don't know, but I don't like it."

"Magnifying." McAllister zoomed in on the creature.

It squirted up into the air and floated, then darted again, moving like a squid, with incredible speed in short bursts. Tentacles floated behind it, lazily groping in the air at each pause then streaking behind when it moved.

Rainbow Dash muttered to herself. "It looks exactly like a squid. In the air. Airsquid."

"Airsquid works. They're huge. And here they come!"

The creatures were making a beeline for the quadcopters.

- Jeffrey Peterson (Leviathan): Focusing laser fire on the newcomers.

There was a pause, and nothing happened.

- Jeffrey Peterson (Leviathan): We've got problems on Leviathan. High voltage laser grid has overloaded. Quadcopters, you are on your own for now. Can only provide CIWS Gatling support. We may be down for some time. Good luck.

"Well that's not good at all," McAllister said. "Those things look dangerous."

The CIWS Gatling guns buzzed from the Leviathan, but the Airsquids moved in a random dodging pattern and they were not in any one spot long enough for the guns to score a hit.

- Celestia (Leviathan): They move too fast! I can't hit them with this gun, the bullets take too long to travel!

The Airsquids were now close enough to discern detail, and what they could see was terrifying. The creatures had heads at the far end from their tentacles, with gaping spider-like fangs and what looked at first like compound eyes. As they got closer, McAllister realized with a shudder that the compound eyes weren't compound at all, but were actually huge clusters of mammalian eyes scanning and flicking everywhere at once. They looked almost human, down to the thick eyelashes that matted against each other and blinked randomly. As the Airsquids approached, their long tentacles reached up into pockets along the sides of their body and withdrew glowing greenish objects.

Rainbow Dash dodged, flipping the craft in a barrel roll to the side multiple times.

"MOVE MOVE MOVE! IT"S GONNA ATTACK!" she shouted, her voice coming over all the copter intercoms at once.

Her instincts were right. As they flipped, the Airsquids flung the glowing green orbs at terrific speed through the air.

The other copters reacted to her voice, flipping and jumping out of the way.

Quad 3 was too slow. Multiple direct hits from the green orbs smacked into it. For a moment nothing happened, then Quad 3's pilot came over the voice channel.

"We took a direct hit from... From... I don't know what. It looks like jelly. It's... It's melting through the window!

"Invert your copter!" Rainbow Dash yelled into the voice chat, but it was too late.

"It's on me! It's on me! GET IT OFF! IT BURNS!!!

The vehicle began listing in the air. The agonized screaming of the pilot and gunner went on for far too long, eventually ending in a coughing, gurgling sound.

Quad 3 floated in place for a short time as the guidance computer kept it in the air, then the green slime melted through the propellers and it fell towards the ocean below. It landed with a splash, and the flotation bags activated for a few seconds, before the slime ate through them as well. When they deflated, the quad sank out of sight beneath the waves.

Rainbow Dash's face was horrified. "Oh no," she whispered.

"Pull it together," McAllister said. He reached over and put a hand on her hoof. "You kept it from happening to most of us. You can do this. And to tell the truth," he said with increasing urgency as the Airsquids prepared for another volley, "we don't have time to think about it right now. Let's move!"

Rainbow Dash gave her head a quick shake and snarled. "Yeah, I got this. We're gonna show them they messed with the wrong ponies."

"Damn right they did."

She yanked the sticks vigorously and put them through another nauseating series of flips as a hailstorm of green orbs flew past.

McAllister focused on the enemy, ignoring the erratic roller-coaster like flight while he tried to line up a shot.

Chapter 37: Beachhead

View Online

On board Leviathan, Jeff stared at the tactical monitor where one of the green quadcopter icons had just turned red.

Two med status alert icons came up.

Charlie Banks - Deceased
Ramos Rolando – Deceased

As the copter sank, it switched to two words.

-SIGNAL LOST-

"Damn it."

Celestia risked a quick glance at Jeff while she jockeyed the CIWS Gatling turret from target to target. "I am very sorry."

Jeff nodded solemnly. "It was bound to happen. This a dangerous mission, we all knew that heading in."

Celestia focused on her targeting screen. "We have to win this. There is no other option."

"We will. And the bastards will pay in spades for every human or Equestrian they hurt," Jeff said, his voice cold as ice.

***

"Dashie, can you get us close to one of them? Maybe if we tease it, it''ll try to shoot us," McAllister said.

"Seriously? Why would you WANT it to shoot at us?"

"Because that is the only time they hold still for long enough that we could shoot them back. It gives me an idea."

Rainbow Dash frowned. "I guess I could, but if I mess it up, we're both dead."

"At least we'd get to die together, right?" McAllister chuckled.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sounds very romantic. Nothing I'd rather do than that."

"Seriously though. I trust your piloting. You can do this. Give me a sec to tell the others what I have in mind."

He opened the comm channel. "All pilots. We're going to try to sucker one of the Airsquids into attacking us. The moment it does, you light it up. But watch out for the others. Also, if you'd not shoot us by mistake, we'd be most grateful."

As the other pilots acknowledged and followed in a loose formation, Rainbow Dash flew directly at one of the airborne monsters. It was impossible to tell from the compound eyes what the creature was thinking, but it was most definitely aware of their presence. The light reflection in the multifaceted orbs gave them the oddly spaced-out aspect of a praying mantis.

Their quadcopter flew to within fifty feet of the monster.

"Okay, so now it should... aww crap."

Rather than reaching for green goo to throw, the creature swung the tentacles towards them and gave chase.

"Uh, this isn't exactly what I expected," Rainbow Dash said, flying the quadcopter in circles. The tentacles reached out greedily as the Airsquid pursued them relentlessly, neither gaining nor falling behind.

"It seems a lot slower moving this way," McAllister observed, looking behind them. "Keep kiting it. See if we can bring in the others too."

Rainbow Dash steered towards the other Airsquid, flying near and then angling away. Before long they had all the monsters in tow, chasing them around in circles.

"Okay, hit them now!"

Rainbow Dash hit the accelerator, blasting abruptly forward and leaving the Airsquids behind. Before they could react, the other quad copters closed in and launched volley after volley of unguided air-to-air missiles into the pack of Airsquid. Bullets ripped into their tentacles and eyes. They were so close together that when the missiles hit, it caused damage to all of them.

The Airsquids were shredded and burned to a crisp. Pieces of them rained out of the drifting cloud of smoke which marked the spot where the storm of missiles had detonated.

McAllister and Rainbow Dash stared at each other wide-eyed.

"Well, that was a lot easier than I had anticipated," McAllister said in surprise. He reached out his fist and Rainbow Dash bumped him with her hoof.

"I guess you never know until you try," she said, still in shock at the sudden change of events. "They were so big. And powerful. And scary looking. I can't believe they were so stupid."

She started laughing, and McAllister joined in.

Moments later, Jeff's voice sounded in their headsets.

"Attention on the net. The laser defense grid is back online. Skies are clear. All remaining quadocopters, return to dock on Leviathan, we will be launching the ground assault immediately."

- Clarence McAllister (Quad 9): What happened to the defense grid?
- Christopher Lance: (Leviathan): Someone put a 350 amp fuse in a 400 amp receptacle. We had a spare on board once we found the problem.
- Clarence McAllister (Quad 9): I bet whoever almost killed us all gets paid way more than I do.
- Christopher Lance (Leviathan): Probably, but are they having as much fun as you just had?
- Clarence McAllister (Quad 9): Probably not, things were pretty damn entertaining up here.

McAllister leaned back in the gunner seat and yawned. "Okay Dashie, now just try and land us in one piece."

She narrowed her eyes at him in mock outrage. "I'm an AWESOME pilot!"

"Yeah, you're pretty good. I guess."

"Don't make me do another barrel roll."

McAllister shuddered in simulated horror. "Dashie! Please! I don't want to take a shower in my own breakfast!"

They both laughed while she sped the craft back towards the ship.

***

Jeff watched the quadcopters returning to their berths on the bridge monitors.

The last one locked into place, and he leaned forward. "Bring us in for landfall."

Leviathan surged forward, lasers sweeping and blasting scattered inbound targets as she hummed into the shallow water.

***

"The bottom is coming up fast, sir."

"Reduce speed, retract rudder assembly."

There was a thunderous clank followed by a loud whirring felt through the deck panels as hydraulic cylinders collapsed and folded the retractable steering controls into the bottom of the ship. Underwater attitude jets took over directional control as the ship became a huge flat-bottom barge.

A computer voice spoke calmly.

"Shoreline impact in ten seconds. Nine. Eight."

"Brace yourselves."

Throughout the ship, people grabbed hand rails and hung on.

"Three. Two. One. Impact."

The ship jarred slightly as it ran aground at low speed..

"That wasn't so bad," Chris commented.

The computer spoke again. "Drive power rerouting. Please stand by."

"What's it doing?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"The ship isn't going to be using the water drive thrusters at this point," Jeff explained.

"Power rerouted. Standby for track extension."

"Hang onto something, just in case," Jeff said. He pressed some buttons on his touch monitor.

More clangs and whirring noises filled the ship as three sets of tank treads, each large enough to run over a train, pushed down into the sea floor, crushing rock and coral to powder.

The Leviathan rose slightly, the hydraulic rams reaching full extension and locking in place.

"Tracks locked. Drive engaged."

"Alright, here we go."

The ship helmsman activated his controls and Leviathan crawled forward into the shallow water, the immense treads rattling and crushing everything in their path, digging massive furrows in the sandy shallows.

"We'll be dropping the ramp inside of fifteen minutes, guys. Time to mount up." Jeff gestured at the lead bridge officer. "You're back in command of the ship now. I'll be headed to the command tank with Princess Celestia."

"Aye, sir. Good luck, and Godspeed to you."

"Let's go." Chris headed towards the bridge exit, and the others followed.

The vehicle bay was full of activity. Armored vehicles stood ready to depart. Humans and Equestrians rushed around, placing last second items into the hulking machines. Each APC had at least one unicorn to operate the defense shield.

Chris and his team, including Emmy and Marky, piled into one of the waiting APCs. To the right, Twilight was getting into another APC with her five friends. On the left, Trixie Lulamoon and Lyra Heartstrings were climbing into two other APCs with ProteC personnel.
" See you on the other side, Twilight!" Trixie yelled, waving a hoof. "Good luck!"

"Thanks, be safe!" Twilight replied.

"We ain't gonna let these damn monsters do shit to our little princess!" one of the humans alongside Trixie yelled, pumping his fist in the air as she walked up the ramp, . The others grunted loudly in agreement, then they climbed into their APC and the rear hatch closed with a bang.

"Looks like Trixie made some human friends," Twilight observed to Rarity as they climbed the stairs into the rear of their own vehicle. "Interesting."

Their human vehicle operator looked back from the driver's seat. Twilight walked to the front passenger seat and sat down. The front dash panel had been modified to include the core amplification crystal. With it, she could project a powerful magic defense dome around the vehicle for an extended period with only minor effort.

She nodded at the driver, and he nodded back, then spoke into his headset. "Unit Four, ready for final checks. Standing by."

***

Chris helped Emmy up into their APC, then he headed to the driver's seat, shoving his rifle into the holding bracket next to the chair. Emmy sat next to him on the passenger seat. She quickly checked the amplifier crystal. "Looks good, Chris. I'd give you a thumbs up, but..." She waved her hooves around and giggled nervously.

Chris could see she was frightened. Anyone would be in this situation. He was frightened himself, but he smiled at her anyway, and it was genuine.

"I'll give one for both of us." He stroked her mane.

Behind them, Marky and the rest of the crew was strapping in. "All secure," Sanchez reported.

Chris spoke into his headset. "Unit One, ready for final checks."

He listened as the other APCs reported in, then the heavy beam tank drivers in the rear of the hangar sounded off.

"Run final checks."

Around them, weapon turrets swiveled. Multicolored force fields appeared around each vehicle, blinking in and out of existence as the unicorns inside tested their crystals. Emmy's horn glowed slightly, and with a low hum the light greenish dome of her amplified defense shield appeared around their vehicle. Servos hummed as Sanchez tested the roof mounted weapon turret, swiveling it back and forth, up and down.

"All good."

"All personnel, this is Command," Jeff's voice cam over the comms. "We will be in the Overwatch tank. Maintain defensive formation. Survival of this vehicle is number one priority."

The individual units acknowledged.

Loud hydraulic humming and the clank of metal on metal came from behind as the beam tanks tested their turret systems. Manned only by extensively trained human crews, they did not have unicorns and magic shielding systems, but the heavy composite layered metal armor covering their wide tracked bodies made them the most durable land vehicle available to ProteC.

"We have a go on all units. Standby for landfall in forty sierra."

Chris grinned tightly. "Hang on guys, we're the vanguard."

A loud grinding hum, and the main bay door creaked open to the day, revealing the dim, melancholy light seeping through the heavy cloud cover. Most of the armored front of the Leviathan swung outwards and down, creating an opening at least fifty feet wide and thirty feet tall. The armor then unfolded into a long, heavily trussed metal bridge that sank into the shallow water below.

"Move out!"

With a roar of engines, the APCs rolled two at a time down the bridge and onto the beach. The water came almost halfway up the side of the vehicles, but they surged forward undeterred, churning through the sea with bow waves in front and foam behind.

"Leviathan, looks like we've got company. Can you take care of it?"

"We're on it."

Dark, lurking forms on the beach burst into flames before them as they rolled towards it; the laser turrets on board Leviathan were enthusiastically providing top cover.

The APCs drove onto dry sand in short order. Immediately after, the Overwatch tank rolled out with Celestia, Jeff, and Dr. Hardy aboard. The machine dwarfed the other vehicles, a ground-shaking hulk of metal and weaponry. Behind them, the slower beam tanks trundled into the water like gleaming turtles.

"Beach looks mostly clear," Chris commented. "Keep ready on the shield though Emmy, we might need it quick."

"I'm on it." Her horn glowed very slightly, and she sounded much calmer than before, leaning back in her chair with her eyes almost closed. "With this crystal amplifying my defensive ability, I can feel something coming towards the vehicle and activate the shield instantly. I don't actually have to see it. I'm keeping watch out there, right now."

"Very good. You got this." Chris steered the APC up the beach, the turret on top gunning down straggling enemies as they rolled forward, Sanchez at the internal controls. Singed chunks of organic matter crushed under the massive wheels, and the the occupants jostled about on their shock-absorbing seats.

Soon they had located the unpaved access road, and the fleet of vehicles surged forward with greater urgency, a phalanx of glittering hardware under the morning sun.

Chapter 38: Overland Rush

View Online

The assault convoy followed the access roads until they reached paved roads, then headed right for the gate. They met with little resistance, and the lead vehicles took out the sparse enemies easily with their roof turrets.

"Too damn easy," Chris growled as they led the charge.

"I agree," Emmy said.

"Wish we could see ahead," Sanchez muttered from the back compartment, swinging his holographic turret interface in a circle. "These damn trees block everything."

Chris tapped the steering wheel. "Can't get any top cover. That damn cloud makes flight impossible. Hold on a sec... Oh shit!" He slammed on the brakes, throwing the occupants forward against their harnesses. The heavy vehicle shuddered to a stop just a few feet from a glowing force field wall that had been invisible seconds before. Behind them, the convoy screeched to a halt.

"I think this explains why there is so little activity out here," Emmy commented, craning her neck to look out the side window. "It just keeps going as far as I can see in the trees."

Energy crackled across the surface of the wall, and while they watched, a bird flew into it. There was a sizzling pop and a tiny singed corpse fell to the ground in a shower of feathers.

Chris got on his ARHUD headset. "Command, we've got a problem."

***

"I do not sense any particular magic at work," Celestia said. "Could these armored trucks of yours pass through unscathed?"

"I don't think we can penetrate it in these vehicles," Jeff said, tapping his chin.

Dr. Hardy looked at a his scanning equipment. The Overwatch had an array of advanced sensors, and he had been running through them all, trying to figure out a way past the barrier. "We most certainly cannot. Even if we were unfortunate enough to push through the field, it would instantly turn our equipment, and us, into a plasma discharge explosion. But I have noticed something of interest about the force field."

"Enlighten me."

Dr. Hardy tapped a console, and brought up a holographic sine wave pattern. "See this? This is the EM frequency I'm getting from that wall."

Jeff scowled. "Yeah, okay, why is this interesting?"

"Because it's running at exactly sixty hertz."

"I'm going to squeeze your neck for you if you don't stop looking at me expectantly every time you say something incomplete."

Dr. Hardy rolled his eyes. "Fine. In pleb terms, sixty hertz is the United States power grid standard frequency for alternating current, which is exactly the same frequency we use for our power here. I believe that wall is being powered by the ProteC generator on this island."

Jeff narrowed his eyes. "I see. Can you overlay a facility schematic on the map?"

Dr. Hardy pulled up the diagram and highlighted the location of the power plant, several miles away.

"Since we don't know where this energy barrier is tied in at, it would be best to hit up the power plant control station and cut the power at the source," Jeff said. He got on his headset commlink. "Chris. New orders for your team. I'm sending coordinates to your GPS."

***

"The geothermal plant? Understood. We're on our way." Chris reversed the armored truck, then swung it in a circle and headed back the way they had come, edging past some of the convoy and then gunning it down a side road.

"Just us? What about all these other assholes?" McAllister gestured at the armored vehicles behind them.

"They want to be able to head in full force the moment we get the barrier down," Christ replied. "They aren't expecting much resistance as this facility is off the beaten path. But the moment that barrier drops, Shub-Niggurath is gonna know it. They don't want to wait around." He accelerated down the road, which had no sign of any enemies on it whatsoever.

"Be careful coming up on the facility," Emmy cautioned. "I would not be surprised if it was protected by a force field as well."

"Roger that."

The road remained clear up until they approached the plant several minutes later. Chris steered down the road, looking for anything unusual. Sanchez swiveled the turret around, scanning the jungle. Emmy leaned back in her seat, eyes almost completely closed, the crystal glowing faintly in front of her.

Suddenly her eyes popped open in terror. "CHRIS!" she yelled, her horn shining powerfully as she poured magic into the crystal defense field, then the ground erupted into a shock wave of fire, dirt, and flying rocks. The explosion rocked the rear of the APC into the air, hurling the occupants against their restraints like rag dolls. Emmy's mounted crystal shattered into a million pieces, overloaded by the intensity of the blast. To the sides, trees and plants flattened in an expanding circular spray of splinters and shredded fragments. Alarms squawked and red lights appeared on the dashboard as the heavy vehicle teetered on end, then it fell back and slammed onto the ground with a screech of tortured metal. Steam drifted up from the destroyed engine, and automated fire suppression systems triggered around the exterior of the vehicle, momentarily concealing it in a cloud of dry chemical.

For a while, the only sound inside the vehicle was warning buzzers and electrical equipment sparking.

Chris groaned. "Is everyone okay?" he coughed out, fumblingly unbuckling his seat belt. "Emmy? Emmy!"

She hung limp in her harness, eyes closed, head on her chest.

"No!" Chris's buckle let go, and he dragged himself out of his seat, reaching for her. "Emmy!"

She stirred at his touch. "Ugh. I'm okay. What happened?"

"Thank God," Chris gasped. He heard groaning in the back, and saw Marky pulling at his harness as well.

Marky wheezed. "Dude, next time you drive over a speed bump that fast, give some warning, okay?" He looked around. "Is everyone else alive?"

"I think I'm dead," McAllister said, choking.

"What's wrong?" Chris called back, worried.

"I was trying to drink when that shit happened. The water went down the wrong way."

"Whatever dude," Sanchez snarled. "Ask what happened to the bottle you were drinking from."

"What?"

"It hit me in the face, damn it."

McAllister chuckled, then started coughing again. "Now what?"

"Now get me the hell out of this chair. The belt is stuck."

After several seconds of jerking on Sanchez's belt, Marky moved closer. "Lean back. I'll cut it." A circular saw blade slid telekinetically out of one of his pouches, and he put his arm across Sanchez's chest, forcing him back in the seat. "Push your belt away from your body as far as you can."

Sanchez complied, and there was a slight whirring sound as Marky spun the disk at high speed, chewing through the nylon straps in seconds. "Thanks," he said as they fell away.

The blade disappeared back into Marky's gear. "Don't mention it." He pricked his long ears forward. "Chris? What are we doing?"

"Well we aren't going any further in this. I can see pieces of the suspension sticking out from here. We'll have to continue on foot. Sanchez, do you see anything?"

"Nothing. That explosion knocked out the roof turret power."

"Well, I guess there's nothing for it. I'm going to have to take a look." Chris hit the release button on his door, and it hissed open. He held his pistol ready as he put a boot on the step and swung himself out of the armored vehicle.

Almost instantly something flashed upwards at him from the ground, a thick snake body with a circular mouth full of spinning teeth at least twelve inches across.

He fired directly into the mouth as fast as he could pull the trigger. Blood sprayed, and it fell to the ground screeching in pain. Chris fired twice more and it lay still.

"What the hell was that!?" McAllister called from inside.

"I have no idea what it was," Chris replied. "But it's plant food now." He scanned the ground, then climbed off the truck, taking a quick glance underneath it. They were resting on edge of a sizable crater, both the front and rear wheels completely gone, as well as the engine. The only thing left of the truck was the passenger compartment, designed to protect the occupants from explosions. Even so, the power of the detonation had been incredible.

"Wow. I'm pretty sure we'd be dead if it wasn't for your magic, Emmy." Chris commented. He swung his rifle around to his chest, holding it low and ready. Keeping his back to the vehicle, he holstered his pistol and scanned the area for more enemies. "Looks clear. But it also looked clear a minute ago when I opened the door, and there was Screamin' Meemie just waiting for me." He poked the dead snake monster with his toe. "And it's hard to see with all the foliage out here around the road."

McAllister swung down next to him, then he helped Emmy out.

"Ugh. Can't see a thing through all these plants," McAllister said.

"What you didn't believe me when I said it? Try using the tactical detection system."

"Yeah, good idea."

"The what?" Marky asked.

"Object recognition ARHUD software. It uses the built-in cameras and sensors on your ARHUD to find patterns in chaotic environments that the naked eye has trouble seeing, and enhance the image. Here, let me show you."

Marky's field of view suddenly showed the white outlines of birds and other animals right through the bushes. He looked around in amazement.

"Wow. This is really cool. Do the colors mean something?"

"Green is harmless wildlife, white is unknown, yellow is potentially dangerous wildlife, and red is high likelihood of hostile contact."

"Oh you don't say?" said Marky calmly. In a flash he whipped his rifle up and fired a blast into a nearby tree. A three foot bundle of tentacles underneath a chitinous shell fell off the tree with a squelching sound and rolled around on its back, kicking feebly. As it died, the green shell changed to a vomit yellow color. "That one was a red. I would suggest everyone put their detection systems on right now. By the way, how does the system know what's hostile? I've never seen a thing like this before."

Chris looked at the ugly creature. "The software records the characteristics of each creature, as well as it's actions. If one of these has attacked any of our groups, the software will paint all future encounters as red." He looked closer at the monster. "Even better. This thing has adaptive camouflage."

"What?" Emmy asked.

"It's a chameleon," Sanchez explained. "It can change the color of it's shell to match the environment."

"How very unpleasant."

"Yeah, and if this one can do it, who knows what else is waiting out there."

"Well let's go kick their ass and find out," Chris said cheerfully. "Oh and by the way, the tactical detection software is a bit buggy at times. Please don't shoot anything human just because it paints one of us as red okay?"

"Seriously?" Marky put a hoof on his face. "This is reminding me more and more of my old job."

"Just be careful alright? There's a lot of money put into this technology, but you know, always room for improvement. I'm sure our adventure out here will assist greatly in improving the reliability of the software, anyway." Chris paused a moment to adjust his headset. "Command?"

He was greeted by silence. Then he noticed the text icon blinking in his ARHUD.

- Jeffrey Peterson: What the hell is going on there? Are you alive?
- Christopher Lance: Hang on a moment. Rebooting the voice link module.

He ran a soft reset, then spoke into the ARHUD again. "You there, Jeff?"

"Yeah. What happened? Your truck just went red."

"Well, it kinda got blown up. We're all intact though, and close enough to our destination to continue the mission."

"Damn. What got you?"

"Don't know. Something under the road, highly explosive. Emmy kept us alive. Hang on a sec."

Chris looked back. "Hey, Emmy? How did you know what was happening?"

"The crystal amplified all my abilities. I felt something in the dirt below the road, whatever it was. An organic weapon. Some kind of giant worm maybe? It had burrowed underneath and was waiting for us to drive over it so it could take us out."

"I see." He spoke to Jeff again. "Have your lead Equestrians be on the lookout for explosive worm things under the ground. Tell them to use their magic to find them."

"Understood, Celestia is passing it on now. I see your location updated on the map now. There's an access tunnel nearby. I'll give you directions."

"Roger." Chris spoke to his squad. "Saddle up team, we're gonna hoof it."

Chapter 39: Descent

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A guideline appeared in Chris's ARHUD, leading them off the road, through thick jungle underbrush, and into a ditch almost completely hidden by ferns. After sliding carefully into the ditch, they saw a cave at the end of a deep gully. The navigation line led them inside it. Through the gap was a cavern the size of an elevator, with a concrete floor and a solid steel door in front of them.

Chris tapped the panel, but it was unresponsive. "Okay, I'm gonna power it up." He pulled a small extendable cable out of his exo, pushing it into an indentation on the side if the panel. Almost instantly a hologram flickered to life. There was a brief loading bar, then a red NETWORK DISABLED warning came up. "Okay. Let's try a manual login. Jeff, do you have the hardware access code for this lock?"

"Standing by when you're ready."

"Go."

"Zero. Zero. Zero. One. Alpha. Delta. Seven. Five. November. Six. Foxtrot. Lima. Alpha. Echo." Chris tapped the keys as Jeff read them.

ADMINISTRATOR ACCESS GRANTED.

"Got it. Engaging hardware override."

The door clanked once and Chris pulled on the heavy manual release. It slowly creaked open, as thick as a submarine hatch.

He unplugged his exo and held the door open, peering beyond. The hallway beyond was silent and dark. "Jeff, it looks like we may lose comms in here. It's pretty far underground."

"Understood. We have some minor enemy action here. Be careful."

"We got this."

They entered the tunnel, and sure enough, their equipment lost network connectivity.

Sanchez pulled the heavy metal door shut. "Don't need something sneaking up behind us from the jungle," he said as he engaged the manual locks.

"We can still communicate on the local squad network," Hamilton commented as they pushed forward into the long, dark tunnel. "But we can't talk to anyone outside until we either get the facility comm relay working, or depart the premises. It's all underground from here on out."

Sanchez swept his rifle around the tunnel, and noticed the powerful light mounted on it did not penetrate very far into the thick blackness ahead. He tapped at it.. "What the hell is wrong with these things?"

"I don't think anything is wrong with them," Marky said. "Look. If I aim it nearby, it's perfectly bright. But when I aim down the hallway..." The beam reached out dimly, barely lifting the shadows looming ahead. "It seems the darkness is literally swallowing the light."

"My horn light doesn't work either," Emmy added, trying to cast a beam. "It's barely doing anything."

"This reminds me of a nightmare I had once." McAllister said softly. "What could even do such a thing?" He tried some settings on his ARHUD, then hurriedly switched back. "Jeez. The infrared night vision is even worse."

Emmy shook her head. "Unknown. I need more data. But, I would say it's fairly obvious that something isn't right in the physics of this place anymore."

Together they peered uneasily into the shadowy hall. No-one made a move to proceed.

Finally Chris grunted. "Well, I see everypony is just as eager to get jumped in the dark as I am, but we have a mission to accomplish. I'll take point."

Emmy stayed beside him. "Not without me you won't."

McAllister smirked as he stepped forward. "Follow the yellow brick road."

Emmy peered back at him. "It is a hallway, not a road. And it is neither brick nor yellow. I don't understand."

"It's from an old movie. It's a joke. Just, never mind."

"It's like being buried alive," Marky observed.

Hamilton frowned uncomfortably "Cheerful thought. Thanks for sharing. I feel much better about this now."

"Sorry."

"GPS doesn't work down here, either. No satellite or local nodes to track location. We have to use downloaded schematics." Sanchez pointed ahead. "We should reach a junction with a primary corridor in about two hundred yards."

The narrow hallway sloped down, and they followed it for some time, eventually ending in an ordinary metal door. Chris pulled on the latch and it opened easily, revealing a much larger and darker hallway beyond. They entered the hallway, and Chris let the door close, noticing the dimly lit EMERGENCY EXIT sign above it. There was a distant thrumming in the air, almost imperceptibly faint.

"Generators," Hamilton pointed at the floor. "Below us. This is a geothermal facility, built over a lava vent."

"How do you know so much about it?" McAllister asked, suspiciously.

"Well if you'd bother to actually look at the downloaded schematic in your ARHUD, it says it right there."

"Oh. Right."

They went down several flights of metal stairs, deeper into the oppressive darkness. The air felt dense, even though the ducts were still blowing fresh.

Deeper underground, they followed a concrete hallway for some distance, tracking their progress by numbered junctions and rooms. Eventually, Marky halted and motioned at them to stop. "Do you hear something?" he asked, his ears pricking around nervously. "I suddenly have a bad feeling."

"As do I," Emmy agreed. "I thought I heard something breathing."

"Maybe it's a ghost," McAllister said, chuckling. "Boooo! Or a zombie."

"Shut it, McAllister," Chris said, peering intently into the darkness ahead. "I hear something too, now."

The group quieted, playing their lights into the absorptive darkness.

A faint, ragged sigh came from the hallway ahead, as if a slice of wet, rotting bologna flapped against the face of a dying man. A horrible smell of death and rot drifted out of the darkness, and a shuffling sound reached their ears.

Emmy took a step backwards. "Uh, McAllister? When you said that about zombies..."

A horrific apparition suddenly emerged into the weak beam of their lights. A headless human form wearing a lab coat staggered toward them slowly and blindly. "Uggghhhblllloooooorrrrrrppppp," it bubbled, and they could see the ragged remains of a throat hanging in shreds from the neck hole of the torso, the exposed windpipe blowing the ribbons of skin aside slightly as the exhale completed.

Exclamations of horror came from the group.

"Guys, I don't think it can see us," Marky hissed. "Just stay out of its way."

As if on cue, two slimy stalks emerged from the neck, gooey eyes sliding to the tip like a snail. They waved about in the air obscenely, confused and moist, eliciting a new wave of disgusted outbursts from the friends.

Eventually the eyes locked onto them.

"Uuuurrvhwwwwwwweeeee!"

The whistle was excited and urgent. Faint answering hoots came from the distant darkness behind the monster.

This time when it rocked forward toward them with arms outstretched, there was no question that it was aware of their presence.

"Well at least it can't bite us," Marky said hopefully as they raised their weapons, painting green laser dots on the monster lurching towards them.

The thing stumbled slightly, and the entire stomach of the monster ripped open below the rib cage, dropping maggots and rotting organs onto the floor. The intestines unraveled and landed with a wet slap, dragging between its legs. A long, slimy trunk with a mouth at the end flopped out from somewhere above in the chest cavity and immediately began curling up in their direction. As it extended towards them and spread hungrily, they saw countless razor sharp teeth inside, rotating and dripping with slime.

"You were saying?" Chris growled as he squeezed the trigger, sending a stream of crystal-tipped bullets into the creature's chest. There was an odd noise like beating on a tin plate with a hammer.

It staggered a few steps back, the eye stalks instantly retracted into the body, and then monster kept lurching towards them.

"What the hell?"

They fired a volley together, then stepped to the side as the thing staggered right on past them. After continuing for several feet, grasping at thin air with its arms, it paused while the eye stalks reappeared and looked around in confusion. "Ugghweee? Oooorve!" Both eyes suddenly noticed them, and it started to turn.

"Shoot it again!"

They shot it in the back this time, and were rewarded with wet splats and squealing noises while the zombie fell forwards onto the floor. Green slime leaked out of the numerous bullet holes in its back as it lay still in a puddle of goo.

Chris took a step towards it. "McAllister, Sanchez, Hamilton, keep an eye out for other threats. Marky, help me check this thing out."

They crept up carefully on the downed monster. Chris kicked it, with no response. "Marky, can you roll this thing over?"

"Roger." Marky used his telekinesis to do so, and Chris played his light on it.

Emmy came between them and looked at it with equal parts curiosity and revulsion. "It's definitely a human corpse, with some kind of parasite inside."

"A parazombie?" Sanchez suggested helpfully from his position on lookout.

"Hmm. That seems an appropriate enough term. I wonder why shooting it in the chest didn't kill it, I imagine that is where the parasite in this, ah, parazombie, would be living."

"Let's cut it open and find out," Chris said.

"I'll do it," Marky offered. "Stand aside."

A saw blade came out of one of his pouches and floated down to the corpse's chest. Spinning it at high speed, Marky sawed through flesh and bone to open the chest cavity, then with a little mental effort, he cracked it wider. He performed the entire operation with telekinesis. Nobody wanted to actually touch the body.

As soon as the chest cavity was open, they could see a single plate of chitinous armor inside, thick and almost metallic in appearance. It was scored and streaked where it had deflected the numerous rounds launched at it. Underneath the heavy panel, the body of the snail-thing was punctured and ruined, the bullets fired from behind having taken the desired effect.

"Some kind of gastropod," Emmy said. She gagged on the nauseating stench, then spit on the floor. "Disgusting. I threw up in my mouth. Next time, try shooting there, below the rib cage, in the parasite's, ah, oral trunk, or whatever the hay it is. I don't think it can fully retract that. Or maybe the legs and kneecaps, that may slow it down. It looks like a combat knife inserted near the spine just below shoulder blade level may kill it as well. Of course shooting it in the back is the best way, if possible."

"Or maybe a plasma blade?" Chris suggested, tapping the device on his belt.

"That would probably work wonders," Emmy agreed.

Hooting and gurgling came out of the darkness again, closer this time.

Sanchez looked back at them. "Uh guys, you may want to cut this short. I think Stinky's buddies are coming to see why he's late for dinner."

"I've got a plan," McAllister said. "You got your music player handy, Sanchez?"

"Yeah, I got it. But why?"

"Give it to Emmy and Marky. Have them walk right in the center of the hallway, okay? Play something loud. Talk. Be noisy. Attract the parazombie's attention."

"And why the hell would we want to do that?" Marky asked.

"Because the rest of us will skirt along the edge of the hallway and cut them from behind while they go for you, that's why."

"Hmm. I could see that working. Okay, fine."

"I got your song all set up," Sanchez grinned. "Just press play."

***

Chris slid along the wall, his rifle hanging on its sling, the plasma blade gripped firmly in his hand, finger on the activation button. Out ahead in the hallway, he could here the horrible flapping and sighing noises of the parazombies as they wandered about. A short distance behind him, Sanchez crept with his blade at the ready too. On the other side of the hallway in the darkness, he knew McAllister and Hamilton were doing the same.

Marky began talking loudly, shining his horn as brightly as he could. "Oh man. Just walking along this hallway, in the dark. Can't see a hoof in front of my face."

Emmy joined in. "Just two ponies walking along. So delicious and vulnerable. I sure hope there's no zombies in here!"

The parazombies immediately began hooting at each other. Chris heard them shuffling forward eagerly, towards the two ponies down the hallway. Once it seemed they had all passed, he stepped out into the hallways and activated the plasma blade. Emmy had imbued this one for him, and the powerful green beam extended, humming and crackling with energy.

Marky hit the button on the music player.

"One! Nothing wrong with me. Two! Nothing wrong with me."

The four humans snuck up behind the shuffling zombies, and drew back to strike.

"Three! Something's got to give! NOW!"

They attacked, swinging the blades as fast as they could, a horde of unsuspecting parazombies shuffling in front of them, illuminated by the flickering glow of the multicolored energy weapons behind them. Pieces flew. Blood splattered. The smell of roasted rotting flesh filled the corridor.

"LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR! LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR!"

"Behind!" Hamilton yelled as they cut down the last of the zombies. Another wave approached, hands outstretched. The same trick wasn't going to work again. Chaos erupted.

Chris charged, his exo boosting his speed. Then he dropped down and slid between their legs, sweeping the blade in an arc, severing their limbs at the knees and dropping a number of the monsters to the ground where they flopped and crawled in confusion. McAllister ran at the wall and put his exo-shielded elbow out, jumping against it and scraping past the parazombies in a shower of sparks. He turned immediately and swung the blade, downing several before they could face him.

Hamilton and Sanchez stayed in front, chopping at limbs and dodging attacks.

Marky drew two saw blades from his gear and flew them into the fray, snicking off exposed eye stalks and blinding the parasites.

Emmy stayed back and watched the madness from a safe distance. "I'm just gonna wait this one out, you guys."

"LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOOOOOR!"

Marky switched off the music player.

"Good song indeed," Chris said, breathing heavily. "That went much better than expected."

"Let's just put some distance between ourselves and this mess," Emmy said, carefully not looking at the ghastly remains and trying not to breathe the nauseating odor of rotting flesh either. "I've had quite enough of this."

"I agree. Let's get the hell out of here."

The hallway was littered in limbs and soaked in blood behind them when they switched off their plasma blades and continued forward, eager to find fresh air.

Chapter 40: Heart of Darkness

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"I don't like waiting here like this," Rainbow Dash growled, swiveling the APC's gun turret to pick off another creature trying to sneak out of the jungle and into the parked convoy. Bits of flesh and blood splattered against leaves, and the creature, whatever it had been, fall back in a tangle of tentacles and soggy flesh. "I want to go help Chris and the others."

Twilight glanced up at the towering Overwatch tank, knowing that inside one of the big rocket tubes on top, the modified nuclear missile lay, waiting patiently for an opportunity she prayed would never come.

I know exactly why Jeff is keeping as many of us here as he can. We have to protect that payload at all costs.

She smiled at Rainbow Dash. "They'll be fine. I'm absolutely sure there's no danger that far away," she lied. "Just watch, the barrier will drop in no time."

Rainbow Dash grunted and fired again, the APC rocking on it's suspension as the massive turret on top snarled. "Well, it seems that we're getting more activity here by the minute. I think there's groups of them headed here from wherever else they were scattered to. Let's hope they finish before we get overrun or something."

"I'm sure it won't be long now, Dashie." Twilight leaned her head back and closed her eyes, focusing on the defense field, feeling for any incoming threats.

***

Miles away and deep underground, Chris and his team pushed forward into the bowels of the power plant, nearing the control center that would allow them to cut power to the rest of the island facilities, dealing with the occasional groups of parazombies that roamed in the darkness.

"It's just up there," Sanchez finally said. "We made it!"

The door hung open, the holographic lock system flickering an ERROR message. Chris pulled it wider, and they entered the large room beyond. When they swung their lights around, Emmy squealed in terror at what lay within.

Chris gasped. "Oh fuck me."

Hamilton gagged.

"So that's where all their heads went," Sanchez said disgustedly.

In front of them were the severed heads of at least fifty humans, suspended randomly from the ceiling by pink ropes of a slimy flesh-like substance. Exposed, pulsing arteries ran along the tissue, carrying blood to each head like some kind of horrible hanging garden.

In the middle of the room a great mass of flesh pulsed and breathed through flapping orifices, pumping oxygenated blood through the entire network. The sound was like a great pile of sleeping tigers with pneumonia, squirting and bubbling with every breath. Phlegm and green mucus juiced out and created a puddle on the floor. Bundles of nerves like a boneless spine ran out of each head and into sacks of pulsating flesh that hung from the ceiling as well. Various tendrils and cables from the control console were connected to the fleshy mess.

"It must be using human brains as a computer to run the control systems," McAllister said shakily.

"The eyes, oh Chris, the eyes!" Emmy's voice was on the edge of hysteria as she pressed her shaking body against him. She had never sounded so frightened in all the time Chris had known her.

Every head was looking at them, staring at them, eyes aware and intelligent. Mouths worked here and there, soundlessly, frantically, the dripping stubs of vertebrae and spinal tissue trembling slightly beneath.

No vocal cords to scream with.

Chris felt a deep horror in his own stomach. He wanted to scream, to vomit, to grab Emmy and run away back out of this hell into the sun and keep running until he collapsed. Anywhere but here. But he had a job to do, and friends to protect. He fought to keep his voice steady. He wanted to hold Emmy and comfort her, but he had to be ready to fight.

"Emmy. Stop looking at it. Look at me. It's going to be okay."

Not for these people though. Too late for them. I can only bring them a merciful death.

Emmy locked her eyes on his, desperate, needing him.

Lie to me. Tell me it's going to be okay, she silently begged him.

"You're a strong girl, Emmy, and we need you. Just keep an eye on the door, okay? Make sure nothing comes through it. We will take care of this."

Emmy nodded and turned her back reluctantly on the nightmarish sight.

"Marky. Do you have incendiaries?"

"Yeah. Burn this mess up?"

"You got it. I'm staying here. I'm not leaving Emmy alone."

"Good. And..." Marky leaned in and whispered to him. "If something goes wrong, you grab her and run and get the hell out of here, you understand?" Marky turned away before Chris could reply. Two grenades floated out of his pouches.

"I'm placing napalm grenades on a timer. Don't wanna be in here when these things blow."

Sanchez, Marky, Hamilton, and McAllister began carefully moving towards the thing in the center of the room. Chris watched, standing beside Emmy.

The eyes. What is it with the eyes? They're glowing!

"You have proceeded far enough, now." The voice was neither male nor female, but both, the combined voice of every head hanging in the room. Their mouths moved in unison, but no sound came out. The words were spoken directly into his mind. "Freeze."

Chris found he couldn't move, couldn't look away from the mesmerizing eyes of the disembodied head staring at him, gripping his thoughts.

"What the hell? I can't move!" Marky said. "Chris! Get out of here!"

"I can't move either, Marky." Through his peripheral vision, he could see McAllister, Hamilton, and Sanchez were frozen as well.

"Chris? What's happening?"

"Emmy! Can you move? Don't turn around!"

"I can move fine. What's going on?"

"Emmy. Don't turn around! Don't look behind you! Run, Emmy. Leave us! Don't look at the heads, they-" Suddenly he couldn't speak, his mouth and vocal cords ignoring his desires.

"Chris, Chris, I give you an inch, and you take a mile. Speaking privileges are revoked. For all of you." The voice in his head chuckled evilly. "Since Emmy isn't looking and can't hear us, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I have a surprise for her. My zombies are coming, Chris. They'll make her turn around. They'll make her mine. I won't be gentle to her, Chris. I'll make you watch as I take her head, as I devour her body. I'm going to be very, very inefficient. I'll make you watch as I take her soul, slowly and ineptly. I was in a hurry before, with these others, but I will take my time with Emmy, I will give you a good show."

Even greater fear washed over Chris.

Emmy run please run no don't what are you doing stop!

Emmy was backing up in front of him, her eyes locked on his. She couldn't see the shearing claws on the tentacles gradually extending from the pile of flesh behind, slowly creeping towards her. She didn't look left or right or behind, only at him. The evil claws slid closer, only a slight grating on the hard floor broadcasting their approach.

Those are the same kind of claws that killed Jeff's friend. Oh Emmy. How come you don't hear them coming? Please run. I can't see this.

Tears leaked out of his eyes at the thought of what was about to happen to her, as the image of those hideous claws slicing her delicate throat tortured his mind.

Softly she reared up in front of him, like she had so many times before, putting her forehooves gently on his chest. "Don't worry, I'm here." She leaned in and kissed him gently. As she did so, her mane and face blocked Chris's view of the severed head in front of him, and the paralysis spell was broken.

He grabbed her in his arms and threw himself backwards into the air, the claws snapping shut inches behind her neck with a sound like a giant pair of scissors. They landed bone-jarringly on the concrete, his exo suit taking up most of the impact, protecting his spine as he scraped to a halt on the concrete.

Before he stopped sliding, he grabbed a flash bang from his belt and flung it hard towards the far side of the room. It exploded with a blinding white light and powerful concussion. The ARHUDs on Marky, Sanchez, Hamilton, and McAllister reacted instantly to the intense light, polarizing completely to protect their eyesight, breaking their view of the severed heads that held them enthralled. Their audio headsets protected them from the majority of the stun blast as well.

They spun and ran immediately, charging towards Chris and Emmy and the door.

"Gogogogo!"

They grabbed Emmy and Chris in passing, and together they charged towards the exit. Sure enough, several parazombies were shambling towards the door, but the stampeding group of friends knocked them down like bowling pins and then dodged to the side down the hallway.

"Wait! Wait wait!" Marky rushed back to the doorway and tossed the two grenades as far as he could into opening without looking. He pulled pins and flung several other grenades for good measure.

There was a hissing, gargling, incoherent scream of sudden fear from the room as they backed away down the hallway.

"Yeah! Choke on that you piece of shit!" Marky bellowed as he galloped back to the group, enraged and violently delighted in equal measure. "That's what you get! Fuck you!'

There was an immense explosion. Liquid flame, white fireworks, and burning debris came blasting out, igniting the confused parazombies rolling about on the floor.

"Jeez Marky, what did you throw in there?" McAllister asked, gaping at the small slice of molten destruction the hallway portrayed.

Marky looked down at his pockets. "Uh, the two napalm, a frag, a thermite, and some Willy Pete, I think."

They looked at the parazombies. The fireworks had left splotches of searing white on the floors and wall radiating from the door. The zombies were covered in it, and it seemed as if they were melting. Smoke billowed up from the foul mess.

"The white phosphorous is some nasty stuff. Don't step on any of it," Marky said.

Hamilton waved his gun around, scanning the corridor. "Guys? Look. Our lights are working again. Looks like that monster in there was the source of that weird darkness."

"Listen!" Sanchez exclaimed. "The generator hum is gone. I think blowing the control room up entirely may have done the trick."

Emergency lighting activated in the hallway moments later.

Sanchez looked at the dimly flickering fixtures. "Looks like backup systems are coming online after we put that thing out of commission."

"Not much, but it beats blundering around in the dark," Marky added. "Come to think of it, didn't Dr. Hardy say something about needing power to shut the gate down?"

Sanchez shrugged. "Well, they ain't shutting anything down if they can't get to the gate. I guess they'll have to figure that out once we get there."

Hamilton tapped his headset. "Comm relays are still down. We won't get a signal till we return to the surface."

"By the way," McAllister asked, "How did you get free in there, Chris?"

Chris was sitting close to Emmy. "Actually, you have her to thank for that. If she hadn't broken the thrall, we'd probably all be... well, not in good shape."

"Thanks, Emmy. I mean it," McAllister said earnestly. "But, how did you do it?"

Emmy blushed and mumbled, averting her eyes. "I, uh... got between Chris and... The monster."

"When she blocked my view, it broke the trance," Chris added.

McAllister blinked. "How did you know to do that?"

Emmy's voice got smaller. "I... I didn't."

"Huh?"

She looked at Chris and spoke in such a low tone it was almost a whisper. "I... I thought you were going to die horribly." Her voice shook. "I heard that... that awful thing, scratching on the floor. I just wanted it to... to take us together."

Chris put his arms around her and pulled her close as her voice broke. "Oh, Emmy."

She was crying then, tears washing away the dust on her face in streams, her muzzle burrowing into his shoulder. "I was so afraid to lose you!" she sobbed.

He held her in his arms and kissed her neck. "It's okay baby, I'm right here. It's okay."

McAllister's mouth hung open like a castle drawbridge, his eyes the size of dinner plates. He unbreathingly looked at Hamilton, who was equally shocked. Sanchez, for his part, had a knowing half smile on his face, like something he'd known all along had just been confirmed.

"Uh, guys?" Marky spoke softly and gestured to them. "It's still not safe here. Help me keep an eye out. I think they need a moment to, ah, recover. A little privacy maybe?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," McAllister agreed, finding his voice with difficulty. He turned his back and kept watch on the hallway with the others. "That just... I, uh, I didn't really see that coming... Oh man."

Sanchez took the moment to check the schematic. "Guys? I see a trunk line running through an access tunnel all the way to Gate Two valley. I think we can join up with the attack force there, if we get moving. The entrance to the tunnel is not far from here."

Emmy nudged Chris. "I'm okay. Let's get out of here."

Together they stood, and jogged down the hallway, moving faster now that they could see.

Chapter 41: At the Valley of Madness

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"They've been gone for some time." Celestia's voice had a slight edge to it. She leaned forward in the passenger seat, horn glowing dimly, powering the external defense bubble while she stared at the imposing barrier of energy reaching up to the clouds in front of her.

Jeff tapped his chin, sitting next to her. "I know. Perhaps they ran into difficulty."

"Difficulty can mean many things here, none of them good."

Jeff tapped his console. "They'll be fine. We have to stick with the group in this thing. On the off chance we need the payload."

Celestia glanced towards the roof of the vehicle, well aware of the missile waiting quietly in its launcher rack. "Let's hope we do not."

"Optimism is good."

Dr. Hardy walked into the large cockpit from the rear of the massive vehicle, and sat in a chair. The cockpit alone was big enough to be the bridge of a small boat, four seats across and tall enough to stand in. "What's the situation?"

At that moment, they saw a flicker of light, and all eyes looked out the windshield. The barrier crackled and stuttered, then was gone as if it had never been.

"The situation is, get in your chair and we're rolling!" Jeff said. "All vehicles! Proceed forward with caution!" He punched the controls, and the Overwatch tank surged forward, following the smaller vehicles up the last hill before the Gate valley.

***

"Well that's fortunate," Hamilton said, eyeing the service Gator sitting at the mouth of the forty wide tunnel. "We should be there a lot faster than I thought, if this thing starts."

McAllister smiled. "Crank it up and let's see."

Hamilton jumped onto the dusty seat, and turned the vehicle on. "Yep, electric. Full battery charge. Let's do this."

"What's that huge cable thing down there?" Emmy pointed a hoof into the lower part of the tunnel, twenty feet below past a guardrail.

Chris looked down past the rail. "That's the power conduit heading to Gate 2. This entire tunnel was created to provide a direct power shunt. The Gates use an incredible amount of energy when initiating."

"I see." Emmy got into the seat next to Hamilton, and Chris squeezed in beside her.

The rest of the team piled in, and Hamilton nosed the vehicle onto the concrete service road and accelerated up the tunnel.

***

Even though it was still morning, darkness fell as the convoy drove towards the crest of the hill. The clouds spun above thickly, until a heavy dusk covered the landscape. Mist swirled near the ground, and flashes of eerie purple lightning flickered above.

Then they reached the top, and a nightmare spread before them.

"Oh shit," Jeff breathed, doubling over in a wave of nausea as the force of what he saw hit him. "Shit."

Sloping away before them was a hellish landscape of mutated plants and slimy ground. The waterfalls oozed instead of splashed, thick layers of oily filth stringing down like molasses from one fuzzy mold-infested pool to the next. The jungle had become a garden of fungi, some glowing, some breathing, some actually sliding along the ground, their gummy tentacles seeking purchase to drag their loathsome bodies along. Horrific and bizarre creatures slithered, rolled, and hopped throughout the nightmare, mouths, eyes, limbs, and organs thrashing with no logic whatsoever in their design.

But the worst of all was the unholy thing in the center, rising from the ruins of the Gate facility itself, reaching upwards into the dark, alien sky.

"The eye of the storm," Dr. Hardy whispered, holding a hand up to block his view, his voice tight with terror.

"Preserve our souls," Celestia gasped, averting her gaze.

A monstrous tangle of spongy, dark tentacles reached from the enlarged Gate anomaly, thick as tree trunks. Indescribable forms darted among them, slithering in and out like leeches. From the heart of the palpitating mass, a flexible stalk rose stories above the ground, looking out at the sky with an evil, fish-like eye the size of a water tower. An intense aura of malice emanated from it, so powerful that it inflicted physical pain upon the viewers.

Celestia tried to force her eyes back to the Thing, knowing it was only the tiniest portion of Shub-Niggurath's body, as if the creature were peeking through a keyhole into this world. Her stomach turned, and she retched, barely containing her boiling vomit. With an immense effort of will, she gulped back the sour liquid in the back of her throat and carefully peeked at the very base of the creature.

A long sphincter in the center of the tentacles bulged and belched out huge egg-like object as big as a pickup truck. It rolled to rest before uncurling into an indescribable horror with countless legs, a jumble of limbs, eyes, tentacles, and appendages with complete disregard to physics. It crawled off to join the ranks of hundreds of similar creatures that were in position around the Gate, defending their mother.

"What is it? What is that thing?" Celestia said weakly, looking away. Her head swam in circles while she shakily waved her hoof at the armored glass, the other hoof pressed against her forehead. Her voice was edged with panic.

"Shub-Niggurath. The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young. An actual, living Eldritch Abomination. Do not look at it directly. Too much exposure can cause insanity," Dr. Hardy gasped, leaning against the dashboard with his face between his arms, staring at the floor.

"All personnel," Jeff spoke into the comm relay, looking at the gauges on the dash and avoiding the view out the windshield. "Do not stare directly at the creature in the Gate. I repeat, do not look at the creature in the Gate. Doing so can cause irreparable brain damage."

"Jeff." Dr. Hardy touched his shoulder, staying low and being careful not to get a glimpse out the window.

"Yeah."

"I have an idea. I can program something really quick for the ARHUD interface to block out the image of that monster. We can't fight like this."

"Do it. And hurry. I think they're aware of our presence now."

Dr. Hardy nodded and staggered into the back of the vehicle, bringing up a holographic terminal.

"In the meantime..." Celestia pointed a hoof.

"Crap. All units, engage approaching targets!" Tracer rounds spraying from the armored trucks below him, stitching through the darkness and tearing the straggling alien creatures asunder that had noticed them and taken an interest. He glanced at the missile launch controls.

Not yet. It hasn't even seen us. I don't even think it noticed the shield is gone. But what happens when the demon god finally looks down?

***

Sanchez looked his map, and checked the numbers on a sign as they drove past. "Almost there! Couple more markers!"

The tires whirred on the road, and the electric motor hummed quietly, rushing them along the incline to the surface, the headlights illuminating their path.

"I wonder what we're going to see at the end," Emmy said nervously.

Chris adjusted his grip on his rifle. "We're gonna find out soon. This is the end of the tunnel."

Hamilton stopped the Gator at the bottom of a flight of steps leading to a door in end of the tunnel, and they climbed out.

Chris turned to help Emmy out. As he held her hoof, she looked into the shadows behind him, and her eyes grew wide. "Behind you! Zombie!"

Chris snapped his head around, registering the outstretched hands only a few feet behind his neck. With a yell he swiveled and back kicked the monster as hard as he could in the chest, bracing his arms against the Gator's frame and using the full power of his exo to hurl the creature backwards. It half flew, half stumbled back against the guard rail, then fell over backwards with a hiss, the eyes popping out in surprise as it vanished from sight. A second later, there was a heavy thump.

"Nice railing kill," McAllister commented, leaning over the guardrail to see the motionless form impaled on a piece of exposed rebar twenty feet below.

***

"I got it!" Dr. Hardy yelled from the back. "It's a simple black panel that covers the image of Shub-Niggurath in the ARHUD. I'm downloading it now. Look out the window!"

Jeff tried it, and a black outline covered Shub-Niggurath, blocking the Eldritch Abomination from view. It moved with the creature, but hid most of the disturbing features. Simply facing that direction and seeing the silhouette caused some discomfort, but without the actual mind-bending sight of the trans-dimensional monster's impossible features, it was manageable. "Much better. Is it on the network?"

"The program is now active on all ARHUD devices."

"Good work Doc. Now we have a chance."

I hope.
***

"Do you hear that?" Hamilton asked, cocking his head.

"It's gunfire from outside," Marky replied. "Get that door open fast. We have to see what's going on."

Chris grabbed the locking wheel handle and rotated it, retracting the mechanism. "Here goes nothing." He shoved the door outward into madness.

"Fuck!" Chris fell back, shielding his face. "Don't go out there!"

Emmy was on him in an instant. "Are you okay? What happened!"

He shook his head dazedly, trembling slightly. "I.. I don't know. There was something big out there, really big. Something wrong. It hurt my mind. I've never felt anything like it before."

"Guys, I've got ARHUD network service back," Hamilton said. "Some patch downloaded. I think it's safe to go outside now, Jeff is on the comms talking about it. I'm gonna take a look."

Chris nodded, hands on his temples. "Okay. Be careful."

Hamilton pushed the door open slowly, and winced. "Ugh. Something's definitely wrong out there. But the ARHUD is blocking it from view. Wait till you connect and your software updates." He looked around a little more, leaning out the door frame, then quickly pulled his head back in. "You're gonna have to see this crap for yourselves. I don't even know how to begin to describe it."

***

"We got Chris's team back!" Jeff hooted. "They just checked in!"

Outside, the armored vehicles were spreading out, trying to clear a path to the Gate. The beam tanks were rolling into position, preparing to lay down fire from multiple angles.

Dr. Hardy was not nearly as cheerful. "You see those things down there? The really ugly things? Yeah, those. Look at them closely."

Jeff and Celestia squinted, peering at the creatures Shub-Niggurath had spawned. "It's hard to tell, but I think they are turning to look at us," Celestia said, unhappily. "Does that mean-"

A horrible wave of stomach-churning sickness passed through everyone present in the entire valley. Some doubled over and vomited, others grabbed their heads. Here and there cries of pain and fear erupted.

Shub-Niggurath's evil eye had turned to the invaders.

Chapter 42: Eye of the Storm

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Once the initial shock passed, the nausea and dizziness faded into a feeling of gnawing fear, chewing deep into the guts of humans and Equestrians alike. Somehow the gunners kept firing, driving back the hideous creatures that got too close, a testament to the bravery and stubbornness of both species.

"You guys doing okay?" Jeff asked Chris over the commlink.

"Yeah, I guess. Did you feel that too?"

"Sure did. I'd say we're definitely on Big Ugly's radar now, Do you need transportation?"

"We've got a Gator."

"Alright. Carry on. Let me know if you need anything." Jeff caught Celestia's eye. "Were you able to contact Twilight?"

"Yes. She said Pinkie Pie tossed her cupcakes, but other than that, they are holding their own."

"Chris's squad is heading back They-"

A wall of sound like a living foghorn filled the valley, blasting from Shub-Niggurath. While the attack force reeled, a great voice spoke, the words dripping with disease and decay.

"HUMANS. LONG HAS IT BEEN SINCE SUCH SAVAGE CREATURES CRAWLED BENEATH THE FEET OF THE GODS. AND YOU, EQUESTRIAN FILTH. YOUR KIND DO NOT BELONG HERE. YOUR ODIOUS PRESENCE OFFENDS ME AS MUCH AS IT INTRIGUES ME."

Celestia's eyes flashed in anger. "Jeff. Can I speak to it?"

"I can patch you through to the external speaker systems. Just a moment. Okay, you're on now."

Celestia took a breath. "FOUL DEMON!" Her clear voice rang through the valley, amplified by every vehicle in the vicinity. "WE DEMAND YOUR IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWL FROM THIS PLANET, AND FROM THIS UNIVERSE!"

Shub-Niggurath emitted a second loud horn blast, sending rolling fog and globs of phlegm spraying high into the air. "YOUR DISRESPECT SHALL NOT GO UNPUNISHED, BEAST. REMEMBER YOUR WORDS AS YOUR COMPANIONS WRITHE IN AGONY. TEACH THEEEEEEM!"

Her hordes of twisted nightmare creatures shrieked and began the approach, some rolling, some walking, some floating above the scorched earth.

***

The Gator rocked with the vibration of Shub-Niggurath's deafening clarion call. Hamilton grunted and shook his head, but continued to speed across the ground, avoiding monsters.

"I guess they don't care for what Celestia said," Marky commented, rocking in his seat as the vehicle bumped along. "No accounting for taste. I thought it was beautiful."

"I find myself increasingly angered by the reference to Celestia as being a "beast"," McAllister growled. "Now if they'd said such a thing about ME, it would be true enough. But Celestia is a lady!" He scowled and gripped his rifle tightly.

"Not wanting to be a wet blanket or anything," Emmy said, pointing a hoof ahead. "But it looks like things are getting crazy down there."

The others craned their necks, and saw the black masses of Shub-Niggurath's army approaching the ProteC vehicles.

Sanchez whistled. "This is worse than I expected."

***

"Well that was rude," Fluttershy said, angrily. "That awful thing is just a big meanie!"

"I thought we had that figured out at the part where it already done killed everypony," Applejack said. Then she put a hoof to her mouth. "Sorry, Fluttershy. I'm upset is all."

"That creature thinks it can talk like that to our Princess?" Rarity's eyes narrowed. "It. Is. On."

"It's on alright," Rainbow Dash agreed, frantically swiveling her turret around. "These monsters are coming out of the woodwork!" The vehicle rocked as the shields took a battering.

Celestia's voice came over Twilight's headset. "Twilight! How long can you keep the shield up?"

Twilight, her eyes glazed in concentration, took some time to reply. "With the amplifier shard, I could hold the shield at this strength for quite some time. But I'm already sensing micro fractures. I don't know how long until the crystal shatters completely!"

***

Celestia hurriedly glanced to the side. "Jeff."

"Yes?"

"We must be swift. Your trucks are taking too much damage. The shields will not hold much longer."

"Just in time, then. The beam tanks are in position." Jeff spoke to his headset "Commence bombardment now!"

***

"Look!" Emmy gasped, her eyes bugging out.

The valley illuminated with bursts of light from the seven heavy tanks stationed on the slope. Thick accelerated plasma beams pulsed and flickered in unison, focused lightning striking out, sending incredible amounts of searing energy down into the mist and towards Shub-Niggurath.

Chris looked up, the light flickering on his solemn features. "Well, they've started. Everything rides on this." He felt a push against his thigh, and reached down to touch Emmy's hoof.

Static crackled in the air, Gatling guns snarled, humming thunder struck out to hammer the approaching horde, hiding them in a cloud of dust and steam.

Seconds passed after the volley, and Hamilton slowed the vehicle, all passengers watching the dust cloud with bated breath.

Something moved. A tentacle slid out here, a body rolled there. The enemy was continuing to advance, only minorly slowed by the powerful energy weapons. Shub-Niggurath towered above all unscathed, the magical shielding surrounding her visible in the aftermath of the plasma attack.

"Oh, shit," Marky said, his heart sinking.

***

"No effect!" Jeff looked through the windshield, sweat on his brow. "They shrugged the beam cannons off like it was nothing!"

"The truck turret guns are effective." Celestia watched the APCs, sweeping their mounted weapons back and forth, purple streaks slicing through the shielded enemies by the droves and leaving them kicking in pieces.

"They're running out of ammo. In a couple minutes, our troops are going to have to dismount and engage the enemy with small arms fire. It would have happened anyway if we tried to approach closer. See those big rocks and cracks in the ground? There isn't enough room to drive our vehicles around or over them. It's a disaster out there."

A call from Twilight distracted them as the lead APC stopped firing, and reversed backwards from the battle front. "Rainbow Dash is out of ammo! And our shield crystal just shattered! We're going to have to fight hand to hand."

Celestia's face darkened with worry while she watched vehicle after vehicle pulling back from the front line in the face of the slow but steady enemy advance. She, Jeff, and Dr. Hardy laid down cover fire as best they could from the Overwatch weapons, but the creatures kept coming, and the constant assault was reducing even their massive munition reserves to critical levels.

Dr Hardy cursed and threw his hands in the air as his guns hit zero and an Ammunition Depleted warning pulsed on his interface.

Celestia felt powerless as she watched the armored vehicles open, and Equestrians and humans leap out carrying rifles and rush for cover together.

"We are getting down to the wire," Jeff said, his face pale. He eyed the missile launch controls, his fingertips tapping the console nervously.

"It would never get through Shub-Niggurath's magic shielding," Celestia warned, reading his mind. "Not unless we can create a hole long enough to make the attack. It would be pure, meaningless suicide."

"God have mercy," Jeff whispered.

***

Marky watched everything fall apart as they approached, and for some reason all he could think about was how beautiful the girl's voices were when he had heard them sing the other night..

If this gets much worse, Jeff is going to have to use the final option. And if we die here, I'll never hear them sing again. Why does this worry me so much right now?

"If anypony can hear this," Twilight's voice went out on the open channel. "Please help! We are getting overrun!"

"Fuck it," Chris said, interrupting his thoughts. "Let's go help her." It was evident from his tone that he didn't expect to survive the next few minutes.

"Roger, we're going in to assist the Mane Six!" Hamilton shouted, sounding oddly gleeful. "Hang onto your flanks!" He swerved the Gator and barreled towards the rock where Twilight's team had set up a fighting position, and the circle of monsters closing in on it. They could see a few humans and the six Equestrian mares battling grimly for their lives, rifles blazing into the approaching mass of horror.

Hamilton swerved the Gator at the last second, skidding up beside the rock. "Did somepony order a broadside?" he yelled, aiming his rifle.

Everyone on the vehicle stood or leaned out to take aim. Five additional rifles and Marky's twin pistols tore into the approaching enemies with full metal abandon, killing several, and driving the rest temporarily into retreat.

"Thank you!" Rarity cried, relief in her voice. "You saved us!"

"For now," McAllister said darkly. "I'm afraid we may have simply delayed the inevitable.”

Marky stared at the other ponies, the sounds of the raging battle quiet in his mind as he racked his brains.

Why do I keep thinking of them singing? Why now? This doesn’t make sense.

“Hamilton,” he asked finally. “Something you said a moment ago, about helping the Mane Six. What is so special about them?”

“They’re magic,” Hamilton answered, unhesitatingly. “Friendship is Magic.”

Friendship is magic. Friendship is love. Love is magic. Love makes the heart sing.

“Makes the heart sing...” Marky pondered, oblivious to the horror and violence around him. “Sing. Sing! Of course!”

“Of course what?” Hamilton asked, perplexed. “Shouldn’t we be shooting or something?”

“Chris! Emmy!” Marky shouted. “Come here! Hurry! I know what we need to do!”

Chapter 43: Stitch in Time

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Dr. Hardy listened to Marky over his headset in a group channel with Celestia, Emmy, Chris, and Jeff. He could see him out the windshield, down below and at the front line, firing at targets between sentences.

"The beam cannons have a frequency control, right?" Marky asked.

Dr. Hardy peered at him. "Yes, they cycle through a wide range of different settings, it increases their damage to most targets."

"Can you patch a microphone in?"

"What?"

"Can you override the automated frequency control module, and patch our microphones in so that our voices modulate the beam emitters?"

Dr. Hardy frowned. "I think so, but it will require several delicate adjustments to the master control system here in the Overwatch. It's impossible outside the laboratory."

"Why is it so difficult?" Marky said, frustrated.

"Because we modified the system. There's an imbued crystal console here that remotely controls the frequency of every tank out there. We had hoped it would give them a way to penetrate the magic fields. Looks like we were wrong."

"What about Rarity? She helped them build the system, didn't she?"

Dr. Hardy exhaled heavily. "Modifying it in the field will be far more difficult than that. And if she makes a mistake, she will bring all our tanks offline, permanently. Without them we have zero ability to penetrate Shub-Niggurath's defenses. We won't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning this, Marky."

Marky's voice spoke insistently. "We aren't getting through right now." Far below, he waved a hoof at the hellish battle taking place in front of them. "It's a stalemate, and we will run out of resources first. Shub-Niggurath keeps popping out more enemies, and we are getting short on things to throw at them."

Dr. Hardy threw his hands up. "I still don't even see what you want to do!"

Emmy sighed. "I don't see it either. We are using both our technologies combined. And we are still losing."

Marky gesticulated, desperately trying to get his idea across. "We aren't getting through because the plasma beams are not enough. They combine magic and science, but we need MORE than that. We need to take direct control of our weapons or we will lose. We need to add the power of our spirits!"

"That makes no sense! We can't risk everything on this nonsense!" Dr. Hardy was about to say more, but Celestia put a hoof on his shoulder.

"I understand what he wants to do," she said gently. "I believe it's worth a try. If we keep going as we are now, we will fail."

"Make it happen," Jeff agreed. "Do whatever we need to."

"Fine. I still don't think it's a good idea. But I'll do my best," Dr. Hardy said, standing and heading out of the cockpit. "Get Rarity, bring her to the command core. And you'd better hurry. I don't know how long it's going to take for her to make the system changes."

***

Within a minute, Rainbow Dash picked up Rarity and flew her swiftly to the rear top hatch on the Overwatch tank.

Dr. Hardy hit the release button, and it opened with a hiss. Rarity slid in, her hooves landing on the metal grate flooring with a clank. "Thank you, darling! Be careful!" she called up to Rainbow Dash, who waved and unslung her rifle before zoomed back to the fight. "What can I do for you, Doctor?"

"I need your delicate skills, Rarity. There's no micro-manipulator on this vehicle, and we must reroute this circuit. Come over here and I'll show you."

The hulking machine rocked from an impact while they were moving through the back compartment. Rarity and Dr. Hardy both stumbled, grabbing for the handholds.

"Hurry, Rarity!" Celestia called urgently from the front. "A couple more hits like that and the defense crystal will shatter!"

"I'll do whatever I can, Princess!" Rarity replied, picking herself up and following Dr. Hardy to the modulator panel, which he quickly shut down and unlatched.

An alarm sounded. "Warning. Networked weapon systems efficiency reduced by sixty percent."

"Shut up." Dr. Hardy switched it off with a swipe of his hand.

Rarity used her ARHUD to magnify the tiny circuit board, holding tools ready with telekinesis. "What should I do?"

Dr. Hardy gave her directions on a schematic. "You need to sever that circuit there, then use the solder laser to connect this junction here, and then try to shunt these wires. Be careful, that part of the board is still live."

The tank shook again as she tried to comply, and a shower of sparks sprayed against her protective ARHUD visor. Rarity squeaked, yanking the tools back to keep from melting the assembly. "Another hit like that while I'm using the laser, and there won't be a circuit left to fix!"

"Think you guys could keep it steady?" Dr. Hardy bellowed towards the cockpit. "Delicate stuff going on back here, okay?"

"Doing the best we can!" Jeff answered, glaring at the "AMMUNITION DEPLETED" warnings blinking over the external weapon controls. "We will lose defense shields soon. Try to hurry."

A sharp cracking noise came from the dashboard, followed by the tinkle of tiny fragments hitting the floor.

"Well, there goes the crystal," Celestia sighed, watching the pieces fall in dismay. "I can't protect the vehicle anymore."

Jeff quickly called Chris's ground squad on his headset. "Can you bring yours and Twilight's group up here and keep them off us for a few minutes?"

"On our way."

Rarity waited impatiently, the tank shaking and rattling around her while several monsters pummeled the external armor. Soon, there came the sound of intense rifle fire outside, and the pounding ceased.

Jeff called back to Rarity. "They've got us covered for now. Try to finish quickly!

"I'm on it!" Her soldering laser hissed and zapped, moving minute fractions of an inch under her careful guidance.

***

Outside, Chris had crammed into Twilight's APC with everyone else, and they had driven quickly up the slope, piling out to clear the area. Now ponies and humans stood around the Overwatch tank, hoping Rarity's modifications would give them a chance at survival.

Chris took a deep breath and let it out slowly, monitoring the ammo counter in his ARHUD between trigger pulls. The mindless, terrifying enemies kept approaching, grinding the falling bodies of their comrades into the dirt.

"I hope Rarity can get this done quickly," Emmy said, picking off targets next to him with her rifle.

"You and me both."

Just then Jeff's voice came over their ARHUDs. "It's a go! Get to your positions! Remember everypony, you must be on top of the tank, keep your ARHUD within eight feet of the cannon."

"Roger that!"

Marky and the Mane Six scattered, each pony heading for a different beam tank.

Seven tanks, seven ponies.

Chapter 44: Song of War

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Marky jumped up atop a tank with a flip of his black wings. He shook his head and tossed his mane, watching the girls climb atop the other six tanks.

Dr. Hardy's voice came over his headset. "It's ready for control changeover on your order! Remember, you have to be near the weapon for it to work. It uses a close proximity link."

Marky inhaled deeply, closed his eyes for a moment, and nodded. "I'm sitting here right next to the cannon. Everyone is in position. Do it."

A moment later every tank powered down, the descending hum of their massive power circuits filling the valley. For a short time, the fighting stopped.

"System is rebooting. Ten seconds," Dr. Hardy's voice came. "Rarity is headed out to one of the tanks now."

Shub-Niggurath's army stopped attacking, apparently confused by the sudden shutdown of the human's primary weapons. The battlefield fell silent, for a moment that stretched into an eternity. Marky saw Rarity pop out of the Overwatch and run with amazing speed to the nearest beam tank, where she scrambled aboard.

Then the dark creatures of evil hissed in pleasure and moved forward again, eager for a quick victory now that the human's weapons were disabled

Marky quickly flipped through karaoke songs in Sanchez's player, which was linked to the primary external audio systems along with his ARHUD microphone and the microphones of the Mane Six.

"Five seconds till reboot."

"Well this will have to do." Marky clicked a song. "TUBTHUMPING" by Chumbawumba appeared in his ARHUD. "At least everyone knows this song," he muttered to himself.

The intro suddenly blasted out from the beamtank that Marky stood atop, and the lyrics scrolled up in his vision.

"The truth is, I thought it mattered.
I thought that music mattered..."

"Ohhh boy I hate karaoke..." he whispered to himself. "Here goes nothing." The first lyrics started, and he began to sing. As his voice blasting out of his tank, a dark blue beam of light fired from the cannon, the color and intensity pulsing with his rhythm.

"We'll be singing,
When we're winning,
We'll be singing..."

A yell went up from all the humans on the battlefield.

"I GET KNOCKED DOWN!"
"BUT I GET UP AGAIN!"
"YOU'RE NEVER GONNA KEEP ME DOWN!"

Twilight pumped her wings atop another tank, and began singing, her voice amplified by the external speakers of the tank.

"Pissing the night away,
Pissing the night away."

The plasma beam on her tank came alive, and this time the beam was purple. It pulsed and shifted with her voice and the rhythmic swaying of her body.

Rainbow Dash joined in from atop another tank, and the beam from hers was sky blue as her voice rang out in the darkness to join Twilight's. The demonic forces assembled in front seethed with rage and dismay. Where the beams struck, their shields crumpled and they were incinerated in bursts of melting light. Monsters ran back and forth on fire, hooting and thrashing about, trampling each other in panic.

The Voice of Shub-Niggurath spoke. "FOOLISH INSECTS! CEASE NOW, AND PERHAPS I SHALL ALLOW YOU TO LIVE AS MY SLAVES!"

This time, her words were greeted with raised middle fingers and bullets from all sides.

Four other beam tanks hummed to life. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie had joined the song, their voices triggering a wave of color that blasted down into the enemy's ranks.

"YOU'RE NEVER GONNA KEEP ME DOWN!"

The enemy was in astounding disarray. Powerful rainbow energy beams lanced through their ranks, leaving chaos and smoking craters behind. The seven pony friends danced on the tanks, singing and smiling. Wings waved and flanks shook, and an outpouring of incredible, searing energy spewed forth from the human weapons beneath them. The harmonic magic of human and Equestrian friendship had a unique effect upon the beam tanks, giving them power beyond the wildest imaginations of their creators, and decimating the assembled forces of evil.

"YOUR DISRESPECTFUL, REBELLIOUS ANTICS CEASE TO AMUSE ME. YOUR CONTINUED DEFIANCE HAS NOW ANGERED ME." Shub-Niggurath's dark voice boomed. "I SHALL NO LONGER BE GENEROUS. YOUR SOULS SHALL NOW BE CAST INTO OUTER DARKNESS FOR ALL ETERNITY."

Something happened then. Shub-Niggurath's outline glowed a vile, unknown color, and abruptly Dr. Hardy's protective program ceased to work. The awful, otherworldly sight of the towering Eldritch Abomination caused humans and ponies alike to fall to their knees, clutching their temples in agony.

Simultaneously, a new appendage snaked forth from Shub-Niggurath's tangled tentacles in a revoltingly graphic manner, as if the creature were thrusting a sexual organ into the open. An obscene groaning sound filled the air. No one had ever before seen the thing which came to be, but some instinctive memory of nightmares of cavemen trembling in caves, of ponies running panicked under a swirling green sky, provided a name.

The Blasphemy Focus raised up, a mushroom-like, leaking pole with the glowing energy of a dead universe glowing at the tip. Ruptured galaxies and the corpses of stars swirled within an impossible vortex, the sight tearing at the foundations of the human and Equestrian minds. The beam tanks fell silent as the Focus sucked energy from them, absorbing their plasma into itself.

Chris, still near the Overwatch tank, grabbed Emmy in his arms without thinking and rushed into the vehicle, slamming the door behind him, adrenaline stabbing his heart.

"YOUR DOMINION OVER THIS WORLD IS REVOKED."

A beam of non-light came from the Blasphemy Focus. It tore forward and struck Twilight's magic force field. Sweat stood out on her brow as she strained against erasure with every particle of her being. She felt her strength rapidly ebbing, her magical powers fading from overuse. Just as her protective bubble collapsed, the beam stopped. Twilight fell to her haunches, exhausted. Almost immediately it blasted forth again, striking Rainbow Dash in the side as she launched herself into Twilight at top speed.

"NO!" Twilight shrieked as she fell off the tank. She reached out a hoof powerlessly towards Rainbow Dash, and for a split second they made eye contact.

Twilight couldn't hear anything over the sudden rushing in her ears. For a moment that froze in eternity, nothing existed in the universe but her and her dying friend. The fraction of a second lasted a hundred years, and she gazed into Rainbow Dash's horrified eyes as the nothingness devoured her. Rainbow Dash's mouth moved silently, and her last words were seared into Twilight's memory, even though the sound never reached her.

I love you.

With a single, lost howl of absolute horror and pain that echoed and faded across ancient, empty centuries, Rainbow Dash was blown forcefully backwards by the immense power of the Focus and was gone before she hit the ground, leaving nothing but a steaming crater to show she had ever existed. Multicolored sparks of dust floated in the air for a moment, then winked out one by one.

Twilight lay on her back in the dirt, frozen in shock, one hoof held out futilely above her. Her breath came in short hitching gasps, her entire body twitching. Her eyes were wide with shock.

Her four remaining friends had not seen the beam score a hit. They turned towards the place where Rainbow Dash had been, immediately sensing something was wrong.

"Where is Dashie?" Rarity asked querulously.

"She... She.."

"Oh no," Rarity saw the burned spot. "Did she-" The beam struck again, this time blasting Rarity sideways. Her terrified scream vanished into the distant hellish realities of lost worlds as her body vanished into vapor, leaving nothing behind.

"NO!" Applejack sounded as if she had been stabbed. "RARITY! NO!"

"GET DOWN!" Marky bellowed. "GET BEHIND SOMETHING!" He back flipped off his tank just as the beam struck the top, and landed behind, rolling up close to stay out of line of sight from the Oblivion Gate.

The sound of his voice broke their confusion, and the four friends leapt off their tanks. Applejack crouched behind hers and glanced left and right, checking to see if the others had made it. She saw Twilight and Pinkie Pie behind their tanks.

"Where is Fluttershy?"

"HELP ME!"

Fluttershy's frightened voice came to Applejack, and she risked peeking out from her shelter.

"Oh no."

Fluttershy had managed to get tangled up in a cargo net on top of her tank. She flapped her wings and kicked fruitlessly, attracting Shub-Niggurath's attention.

"DO NOT STRUGGLE, LITTLE ONE. YOU WILL NOT FEEL FEAR FOR LONG."

Applejack realized in horror that she was too far away to do anything. "Twilight! Can you help her?"

Twilight grit her teeth and strained until her vision blurred, but it was no use. She had exhausted her magical ability and nothing was left but a worthless fizzle of light motes. Suddenly she saw movement. Pinkie Pie was running faster than she ever had before.

She shadowstepped rapidly, disappearing and reappearing at incredible speed in her desperation to reach her trapped friend. In seconds she had reached Fluttershy's tank, and she swarmed up it like a cat climbing a fence. At the top, her hooves blurred as she attacked the tangled netting.

"Pinkie sense tingling! Pinkie sense tingling!"

Fluttershy suddenly fell to the ground, and in that same instant Pinkie Pie died with a single fading squeal as the erasure beam meant for Fluttershy claimed her instead. Fluttershy lay on her back in the mud, watching as the beam tore Pinkie Pie apart, sobbing wretchedly as her heart shattered into a million pieces inside her chest. She reached upwards just like Twilight had only moments before, her hoof trembling uselessly in the air as a glittering stream of dust cascaded over her, the last remnants of Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie! Oh, Pinkie. Not you. Please. Not you."

Tears poured from her eyes like a fountain as she painfully rolled over and crawled to safety though the mud, one hoof wrapped around her stomach, pressing against the invisible wound in her soul.

"Why Pinkie? Why? I wish it was me. I wish I died instead!"

"But you didn't. And I'm glad for that." Hamilton crawled towards her out of the mist with one arm, the other held to his chest, bloody and gashed. He grimaced. "I'm sorry about Pinkie too. But we will all join her if we don't keep on. There's no time to fall apart."

He rolled up against her, scanning the direction he had come from with his rifle. "We have got to find a way to take down the Blasphemy Focus, or we're done."

Shadowy shapes crept towards them, tentacles lashing in the mist. Hamilton rested the front grip of his rifle on his knee, looked through the scope, and fired with one hand. There was a sound like a watermelon being smashed with a baseball bat, and the dying squeal of something he was glad he couldn't see.

Shub-Niggurath laughed, a wave of rot-scented air flushing outwards from her obscene body. "THE PINK ONE, THE WALKER BETWEEN WORLDS, IS GONE. HER ABILITIES TROUBLED ME, BUT NOW SHE IS GONE FOREVER, AND IT IS YOUR FAULT, LITTLE YELLOW FOOL! YOU MADE HER SUFFER. YOU MADE HER DIE! SHE HAD VALUE, AND YOU ARE NOTHING. IT IS AN EXCELLENT TRADE!" Again, Shub-Niggurath howled with demonic laughter, the sound of death and fear and lost souls begging for mercy.

Fluttershy covered her ears and shrieked. "It's true! It's TRUE!" It's MY fault! I'm worthless! I should be dead!"

Hamilton looked back at Fluttershy, and winced as reached his wounded arm back to place a hand on her shoulder. His red blood flowed freely onto her grimy yellow fur.

"There are people who need you, Fluttershy. We're getting messed up out there. See if you can help anypony."

"I.. I.." Fluttershy swallowed and blinked hard a few times, then she looked at his wound.

He needs me. They need me.

Her eyes focused and her jaw set. "Okay. But you're hurt. I'm wrapping your arm first." She pulled out her first-aid kit, her suddenly decisive movements speaking of new determination.

***

Jeff watched the command monitor as multiple SIGNAL LOST warnings came up. A sharp pang of grief gripped his chest when he saw the names listed there.

He spoke into his headset. "Can anyone confirm? Visual? I see. Shit." He shook his head and blinked hard at the water in his eyes, then looked over to Celestia, sitting at her holographic weapon interface. "Celestia."

She looked at him, her already drawn face even more worried at the tone of his voice.

"I'm so sorry. We just lost three of your friends. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie are gone."

Celestia gasped and fell limply forward in her chair, her face in her hooves. Her shoulders shook and she moaned involuntarily, a hollow, wretched sound of such sadness that it stabbed Jeff to the core. He wanted to go put his arms around her, but he knew he had to stay at the combat command interface terminal or it could cost others their lives, too.

"I'm so sorry, Celestia," he whispered, his voice breaking, forcing himself to watch his combat monitors and wiping his brimming eyes with his arm while he highlighted targets. "I'm so sorry."

***

Twilight lay in the mud, her heart shattered. "No time to cry. No time to cry." She kept repeating this mantra to herself as the tears rolled down her muzzle. "I have to be strong. I have to help the others. If I don't get up right now my other friends will die too!"

Choking back another sob, she raised her head and looked around herself, squirming in the muck. Suddenly, she noticed a gigantic spider with tentacles instead of a face skittering towards her. The hideous creature had a leg span of at least four or five feet.

Revolted and terrified, Twilight instinctively tried to blast it with a horn beam. A tiny squirt of lavender light twinkled out, glittering in the gloom. Still empty on magic, Twilight. This is how you die. Used up and alone. Cold fear flowed through her as the spider-thing chortled and scampered towards her gleefully, ready to tear open her trembling stomach, hungry to feed on her soft purple flesh and steaming entrails.

It whispered to her as it closed in, stepping gingerly as its skinny, hairy legs sank into the slimy ground, the voice like the hissing of a punctured tire leaking air. "Pohhhneeee. Sooooft, waaaaaaarm. Pohhhnnneeeeeee. Yesyesyesyesyes."

Twilight whimpered in horror, trying to press herself back from the eager monster, cornered in the mud.

What a way for a Princess to die. Eaten by a bug while cowering in filth.

Suddenly something on her hip snagged against a rock. She abruptly remembered the holster containing the modified Glock pistol that Chris had insisted she wear along with everypony else.

"I fight with magic, it's what I'm good at. I really don't need a weapon like that. It's pointless."

"Please, Twilight. Take it. Just in case."

Hope surged into her heart.

She reached down quickly with her hoof, and there it was, strapped to her hip, designed for humans but ready and willing to save her. She drew it quickly, shoved it towards the mass of eager, dripping tentacles that were now only a couple feet away, and pulled the trigger.

There was a pulsing blast. The gun rocked like a living thing, angered at the evil facing its mistress, eager to do its part to vanquish the darkness. Recoil shook her foreleg as the glowing purple magic crystal-enhanced .45 hollow-point bullet lanced out from the pistol and through the center of the looming creature.

The spider's brain flew out its ass, along with most of its internal organs.

"Heeeee?"

It reared up and felt around the bullet hole for a moment, the tentacles seemingly curious. Then it fell onto its back and its legs curled inwards in arachnoid death.

"Better to have a gun and not need it, than to need it and not have it."

"Thank you, Chris," she whispered.

Chapter 45: Pit and the Pendulum

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Back in the Overwatch command chair, Jeff held his hand up to block the oppressively painful image of Shub-Niggurath. "We're getting murdered here."

Dr. Hardy sat blankly in one of the cockpit chairs, his head in his hands. He had taken the news of the ponies deaths very hard, and had not spoken a word since he collapsed into the seat.

Jeff looked at Celestia, at his wit's end. "Any ideas?"

Celestia forced herself to think, her brain clouded by emotion, her eyes cloudy with tears. "I have go out there," she said finally, pushing her sadness and pain into the back of her mind and hiding it.

No time for tears, Celestia. There will be plenty of time later, when you cry into your pillow for hours, sorrow and loss hollowing your insides until you collapse into yourself, an empty shell of pain and misery. But save your self-torture for later.

She forced herself to sit up straight in her chair. "I am the only one who can give you a chance. Nopony else has sufficient magic to damage the Blasphemy Focus. I have to hit it full force, and I have to be close."

"Not by yourself you aren't. I'm going with you," Jeff replied.

"You don't have magic," Celestia said.

"I have this," he picked up his rifle, checked the magazine, racked the slide. "And I'll be damned if I let you go alone after all the time you and I spent training together."

"I'm going too," Chris said.

"Oh no you're not. You're in command now," Jeff said. "The tank is yours. You know what that means."

Chris and Emmy looked at each other.

The missile.

"Yeah. We understand," Chris said. He tried to force a smile, but it came out as a twisted grimace. "Watch your flanks out there."

"I shall watch his flank with utmost care," Celestia said without an ounce of humor.

Chris and Emmy watched them head for the rear hatch, then step through quickly, sealing the armored door behind them.

"We're all going to die here, aren't we?" Emmy whispered.

Chris put a hand on her warm neck. "I hope not. But I fear yes."

Emmy nuzzled his chest. "I think I'm okay with that, as long as it's with you."

***

Jeff and Celestia ran down the slope, dodging from boulder to boulder. They avoided the APCs, trying not to draw more attention to themselves than necessary as they maneuvered towards Shub-Niggurath.

On the battlefield, the humans and Equestrians were falling back in disarray, the Blasphemy Focus hanging above. Streams of unclean energy went from the Eldritch Abomination into the Focus, recharging it for another attack.

"Hurry," Celestia urged. "Let's not be caught in the open."

"Do everything you can to distract Shub-Niggurath!" Jeff heard Chris order on the command channel when he saw them getting close. "Celestia has to make it! Throw everything you have at Big Ugly! This is our only chance."

Jeff and Celestia were running past the last retreating humans and Equestrians, and onto the maze of boulders and cracked ground that surrounded Shub-Niggurath like a moat filled with nightmare creatures. Behind them, small arms fired with renewed vigor, the teams combining around the Overwatch tank for a last stand. Jeff risked a swift glance behind. Trixie and Lyra desperately blocked incoming attacks, their magic stretched to the limit. Behind their shielding, gunfire spat out, aiming solely for Shub-Niggurath now. Several rockets launched from the group. None of the attacks caused any actual damage to the huge evil entity, but without a doubt they were creating a distraction. Even so, Jeff feared any second now they would be blasted by the creature.

"Jeff! I can pop smoke on your approach!" Chris called over the headset. "Just say the word!"

"Do it!" Jeff yelled.

A hollow banging sound came from behind him, the Overwatch launching harmless smoke grenades. The canisters fell to the left and right, then several more fell farther out. In seconds, a large cloud of concealing smoke was drifting up around them, making it much more difficult to see, but also more difficult to be seen.

Several wooshing noises came from behind, and then blinding, flickering light filled the area. Chris had launched multiple illumination flares in the general direction of the monster's eye.

"Good job Chris. I think you just saved our ass-" Jeff cut off as a thick tentacle flew towards his face out of the smoke. He instinctively thrust his rifle in front to block the attack. The claw slammed into it at high velocity, throwing him backwards off his feet. As he hit the ground he rolled, his pistol skittering away and clanking down into an unseen crevasse. When he tried to get to his feet he took another blow squarely in the back of his exo that tossed him off a nearby ledge, where he fell face down onto the dirt ten feet below. His vision burst into stars and he choked as the fall knocked the wind out of him.

He grabbed for his rifle, then realized it had been sliced almost completely in half, with the scope and bolt assembly gone. Hearing noises above he looked up in a panic, but the creature above did not pursue him over the ledge.

Jeff pushed himself up from the ground and stumbled to his feet. He unhooked the rifle, now hanging uselessly off his body, and dropped it onto the ground with a clank. He then reached down and unhooked the plasma blade holstered at his thigh. As he pulled it free, he heard strong hoof beats approaching from behind. He turned just as Celestia charged up next to him, nostrils flared and shining hair streaming behind her in the smoke and dust.

She quickly knelt down and looked at him with eyes full of bravery and determination.

"Quickly, mount me. We can move faster together."

Jeff grinned a little at her choice of words, despite the blood running down his face.

Weird the things that go through your mind when you're about to die.

He dragged himself carefully onto her back and held her body with his knees as she stood.

"Take care not to fall off."

Jeff leaned forward, putting his hand on her neck and speaking to her through their headsets.

"I'll try not to. And watch your wings, let me know before you start trying to fly or something. I don't want to cut you with this thing."

"To be honest, I don't want you to either. And I do believe that flying would make us into an even bigger target than we currently are. But hold a moment. I will get us out of this pit."

She crouched and launched up, landing gracefully on top of the cracked ground. "Ready?" she asked.

Jeff pressed a button and extended the glowing purple plasma blade. Twilight's magic-imbued crystal contained the high energy field, and it hummed and vibrated menacingly when it emerged from the handle. He spun it a few times, then swung it upward, raising the brilliantly shining weapon towards the sky. "Victory or death!"

Celestia reared back, then leapt forward, and together they charged into into the final gauntlet.

Smoke and steam added to the low-lying mist already present in parts of the valley to create a nightmarish,otherworldly landscape. Otherworldly things scurried through the mist and smoke. Jeff scanned what he could see of the battlefield, keeping his left hand on Celestia's neck. He touched her there as a devilish form burst from the shadows, and she responded instantly, rearing to the side as he swung his blade down hard. The merciless plasma cleaved the attacking monster almost into two pieces. It fell to the ground in a spurt of black blood, steaming and squirming as its foul smelling internal organs fell out onto the ground.

He touched her again, and she dodged to the right, narrowly avoiding the sting of a scorpion-tailed five foot mound of flesh that had slid silently towards them like a snail. It leered at them greedily with slimy eye stalks. Jeff swung again and severed the tail and both eye stalks, continuing down to severely slice the monster's body. Celestia sprang back as it thrashed around in a blind rage, mortally wounded and spewing a geyser of yellow bile. The ground steamed and rocks bubbled where the acidic mixture splashed.

Celestia swung her hoof and a magic force blast swept the slime backwards as she pranced away from the mess. "Above!" she exclaimed.

Jeff leaned back, swinging the blade above in a backwards arc. It met the claws of a leaping airborne insect-like form in midair, inflicting heavy damage and deflecting the blow. Ichor splattered across his face as the creature fell to the side and rolled over and over on the ground.

He wiped away the thick, syrupy black body fluid with one hand, scanning for additional threats. Bullets, lasers, and magic beams scorched through the air around them as Equestrians and ProteC security fought against the creatures of darkness for the future of two worlds.

Celestia bucked, humping up under him as she braced her front hooves and lashed out forcefully with her rear legs, sending another attacker rolling away in a tangle of tentacles and barbs.

A creature like a four-foot pitcher plant crawled towards them out of the mist. It expanded, then contracted suddenly, launched a ball of slime in their direction.

The slime splashed nearby on the ground, a hissing sound rising as it ate into solid rock.

Celestia leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack, and returned fire with her .50 caliber rifle. Half the monster disappeared in a cloud of acid, and the mist immediately began to devour the other half as it flopped onto the ground, thrashing wildly.

At the same time, Jeff felt himself falling from the sudden movement. He scrabbled at her neck in a panic, unable to gain purchase. The the puddle of acid almost directly below bubbled and popped as he slid slowly off Celestia's back towards it.

"Help!"

He felt a warm force cradle him and stop his fall, lifting him gently back upright. Celestia's magic horn stopped glowing as she returned him to his seat, and she backed away from the menacing acid puddle, her golden hooves stepping with care.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yes, thanks to you," he gasped. "That was close."

"We are here," Celestia added, glancing upward. "We are at the foot of Shub-Niggurath, below the Blasphemy Focus. I must cast a spell-"

She was cut off by the sudden blast of Shub-Niggurath's horn, only meters from where they stood. She crouched down on top of Jeff, spreading her wings and ducking her head down to protect him from the gale as much as she could.

Chapter 46: Dust in the Wind

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU3GKknA_NE

The voice of Shub-Niggurah spoke. "THE TIME HAS COME. THE LIES ARE DONE. THE DREAM OF LIFE ENDS NOW!"

Expanding shock waves went out from the Blasphemy Focus, and reality rippled. Humans and ponies staggered and screamed, clutching at their heads and falling to the ground. Shub-Niggurath poured her immense power into the Blasphemy Focus, shuddering in vile pleasure while the arcane device converted the power of a demon god into the power to collapse a universe.

Up in the Overwatch cabin, Chris gasped and fell to his knees on the metal flooring inside as the wave ripped through him. He heard Dr. Hardy collapse as well, then suddenly he felt himself fading, as if his very quantum structure were trying to dissipate. He looked at Emmy, and felt a stab of horror that when he realized he could see the wall through her.

"EMMY!"

She turned to look at him, fading like a dream when the sleeper awakes. "Chris... I..."

The wave passed, and she was solid again. Her eyes closed, then she slumped forward and lay still.

Desperately, Chris fought the sudden weakness of his body and reached out to her, trying to touch her hoof in his hand. Another wave of damaged physics passed over them like an unruly ocean driven by a storm wind, and his hand was transparent as well. He felt himself disintegrating. The world faded, as if it had never existed.

It never had, had it?

"YOU ARE A LIE!"

He tried to scream, but there was no sound.

There never had been any sound.

Everything is a lie.

The true nature of the universe was just a dream away, and the dream was falling apart.

It was someone else's dream.

Chris cried non-tears for everything that never existed as his body slowly slipped into the void where someone who never lived could never die.

"I WILL DESTROY YOU. I WILL TEAR YOUR WORLD APART. I WILL PASS BEYOND. YOU WILL BE ALONE FOR ETERNITY."

Emptiness reached for him, devoured him and tore the soul he didn't have apart as it dragged him down into the abyss between realities.

He screamed soundlessly again and again, engulfed in eternal darkness where nothing could ever exist.

Except something DID exist. Something that smelled like bubblegum.

"Chris. You know what you really are."

But you're dead.

Chris focused on Pinkie Pie's tiny voice, and struggled to speak the written words that could not be spoken. "I am... nothing," he replied.

"It doesn't matter what you are. It only matters that you love. Love is real. Love makes all things real. Remember who you love!"

"I don't know what to do! I'm not here. I've never been here!"

"We need you. They all need you. I need you. You're important somehow." Even like this, her voice had an edge to it, as if she was having difficulty maintaining her composure. "I.. I can't get back without you. I came too far into the dark to find you. I am not real anymore."

(you never were)

(neither was I)

(nothing was)

"Chris!" She was so faint now, almost imperceptible, but the overwhelming horror she had fought to keep in check would be denied no more. "I see it now! It's changing everything! You have to fight it! Chris! Fight it! It's pulling me down! I don't want to go there. I'm so scared, Chris! Please! Help me!"

Her desperate, hopeless scream faded to nothing and she was gone, only the echo of her fear and loneliness remaining in his mind as she slipped into some swirling corridor outside of time and space where nothing had ever existed.

No!

Poor Pinkie.

Poor, brave Pinkie.

Is it too late?

(there is no time here)

(yet existence continues)

(love she said)

Love.

Forget the cold.

Forget the pain.

Forget the fear.

Love makes reality.

Remember who you love.

(Emmy)

(All of them slipping away)

(quickly now)

I need you, Emmy.

Chris reached out into the infinite void with his spirit and groped through empty eons and dead universes that had never lived. Centuries passed in a dream, the tattered edge of comprehension forever lurking just a millimeter away. Eventually, millennia passed, time wheeling meaninglessly in the cold darkness of space as stars birthed and died, red giants casting an eerie, waning glow into the emptiness where no eyes ever saw. In the depths of churning eternal chaos, a few tiny points of flickering light answered his call, reaching back across incomprehensible distance with the primal force that transcends time, space, and reality itself.

Love will never die.

***

"Ouch. You're SO heavy!" Rainbow Dash moaned, squirming weakly underneath him.

Chris groaned in reply and carefully pushed himself off of a very woozy looking pile of ponies.

"Darling, that was the worst possible thing," Rarity added groggily, her purple mane all tangled and matted with coolant and hydraulic fluid puddled on the floor. "Oohhhh, I'm such a mess!"

Pinkie Pie didn't say anything at all, but clung to him for dear life, her eyes clamped shut, tears flowing past her tightly closed lids. He put a hand on her head, and she opened her eyes slowly, then released him as she looked around. "Thank you Chris," she said, then she grabbed him again in a hug. "Thank you SO MUCH."

"For what?" he asked as he looked up. The world was phasing in and out of solidity, pulsing with his heartbeat as he reached out and took Emmy's hoof in his hand. She stirred, and turned to smile at him weakly as their bodies solidified.

Still holding her hoof, Chris looked out the front window and saw that the magic barriers protecting the Gate were gone. His mind was hazy, the last thing he could remember was the demon Shub-Niggurath sending some kind of massive pulse from the gate that made everything fade.

"Looks like somebody used up all their energy trying to erase us from this world," he said wheezingly. The fire suppression system had gone off in one of the rear compartments during the battle, and the dry chemical taint in the air was irritating his throat.

The eye suddenly noticed them. The voice sounded unpleasantly surprised. "WHAT? YOU SHOULD BE DEAD BY NOW!"

Chris smirked and spit an unpleasant mix of blood and fire suppression chemical onto the floor as he reached fumblingly towards the missile launch button, flipping the plastic cover off it. "I get that a lot." He hesitated momentarily, and addressed the ponies around him. "Since secrecy doesn't matter anymore, we are probably all going to die when this bomb goes off. We're at ground zero here."

"Let's not make this any harder than it has to be, then," Rarity said quietly.

"Just do it," Emmy said. "It's not like there's another option. I don't think it's going to work though. Not as long as the Blasphemy Focus is still intact."

Abruptly a pillar of light blasted up from the ground beneath the Focus. Celestia strained upwards, gritting her teeth, her power streaking forth like the sun, using every last wisp of her magical essence in this one attack. The beam struck the Focus and continued through into the heavens, a shining symbol of pure beauty that dwarfed everything horrible for a brief moment. Then the beam faded out of existence. Celestia's eyes closed, then she fell backwards onto to the ground and lay still beside Jeff's body.

The Blasphemy Focus cracked, and a horrible whistling sound began.

Shub-Niggurath let loose a genuinely shocking scream of rage and fear, unlike any sound she had hitherto made. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Her tentacles seemed to be stretching and sliding into the arcane sphere, as if the damaged Focus were a black hole pulling matter within it. She swiftly retracted most of her twisted body, trying to escape back through the Gate, but the Blasphemy Focus seemed to be stuck fast, devouring her.

Chris gasped and swiftly threw his arm towards the launch controls. "I love all you guys," he said. He pressed the button and flipped the bird at Shub-Niggurath's immense eye while the missile streaked forward toward the Oblivion Gate. "Have a nice trip, asshole, and don't let the door hit your ass on the way out."

The missile flew directly into the Blasphemy Focus like a javelin, sticking in the crack and flexing in impossible directions when the bizarre tidal forces warped space itself on the very edge of the gate anomaly.

The sound of Shub-Niggurath screaming in pain and terror was deeply gratifying as she reflexively tried to escape back through the Oblivion Gate, tugging and lashing about, finally slipping past the threshold, dragging both the missile and the devouring Focus together into the anomaly.

Chris and the ponies all clung to each other, pulling desperately close in a tight circle as the experimental warhead detonated. Chris wrapped his arms around the group, an instinctive protective gesture that came without thought. He did not turn away from the explosion. There was no point in hiding at this range.

There was a single brilliant flash as the Gate warped, bending in a direction that none of the observers had ever seen before. It receded into itself and imploded into nothingness, a single small object falling from it onto the smooth glass crater that now marked the location once known as Oblivion Gate Two.

"Is that it?" Emmy asked incredulously.

Chris peered out the windshield. "Wow. The Gate is gone completely. I think the nuke detonated on the far side."

Emmy squeezed up next to him and looked at the shimmering pit. "It must have overloaded and destroyed the Gate without killing us."

"I'll take that," Rainbow Dash said. "I'm very OK with not being dead right now..." She hesitated, the vague, unsettling memory of an unknown darkness tearing her apart tickling somewhere in the back of her thoughts.

The others paused too, half-forgotten images fading from their minds.

Rarity shook her head and hugged Rainbow Dash. "For some reason, I'm just so glad you're here, darling," Rarity said.

Rainbow Dash hugged her back. "So weird. I feel like I lost something, but I can't remember what it was."

Pinkie Pie was smiling with tears in her eyes. "Group hug!"

They hugged again, and then Dr. Hardy grunted and sat up from the floor abruptly, looking around like he had no idea where he was. Finally his eyes set upon Pinkie Pie, and widened. "Are you a ghost?"
Pinkie Pie leapt upon him, almost knocking him back over. "Do I feel like a ghost?"

"You're alive!" he squeezed her hard.

"Let's get out of here." Chris moved towards the back of the vehicle, activating the release on the rear door hatch. It hissed open, and they stepped out into the now-quiet battlefield. All around, humans and Equestrians were climbing out of the disabled armored vehicles they had taken shelter in and helping each other up off the ground.

"I guess that did the trick," Chris muttered. "I don't see a single monster moving anywhere."

"HOLY SHIT!" Marky was gaping at them from on top of one of the tanks. He yelled down the open top hatch. "GUYS GET UP HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Twilight's head appeared in the hole. Her face was drawn with repressed suffering, as if she'd aged fifty years in an hour.

Rainbow Dash spoke softly, her voice horrified. "Oh my gosh. What happened to Twilight? She looks horrible."

"I don't know. Oh dear. Oh my." Rarity replied.

Twilight still had not noticed them yet. "Marky, what's going on?" her voice was heavy, listless. He didn't say anything but just pointed at them with his hoof.

Twilight looked, and her eyes bugged out of her head. She gasped and sank back against the edge of the hatch, her body going limp.

"Whoa!" Marky grabbed her telekinetically and kept her from falling back into the tank.

"What's goin on up there now?" Applejack shoved Twilight's rump up and out of the way, then squeezed up next to her. "Twilight? Are you okay sugar cube?"

Twilight silently pointed towards the returnees.

Applejack's eyes grew as huge as dinner plates. "BUCK ME."

Chris looked at the antics curiously. "They're acting like they just saw a ghost."

Fluttershy was the last to appear out of the hatch. She took one look and launched herself into the air, plowing directly into her friends like a bowling ball scoring a strike. She didn't speak a word, she just held them and cried.

Chris got squashed as Marky, Twilight, and Applejack joined in for another awkward and enthusiastic group hug.

He shrugged as best he could with Fluttershy's rump somehow crushed up into his face. Her long pink tail hung down over her back, covering absolutely nothing. "Whatever," he said companionably into the wiggling yellow ass. "Hugs are good."

***

Jeff groaned, listened to the headset, and then he opened his eyes abruptly.

"Celestia! Celestia!" He struggled momentarily, then realized he was lying under one of her spread wings. "Celestia?"

She lay beside him, eyes closed.

"Oh no." He crawled against her, putting his hands on her neck, unsure of where to feel for a pulse on an Equestrian. "Celestia! Please wake up!"

Don't be dead don't be dead don't be dead...

"Mmmm. Are we still alive?" she asked, her eyes opening slowly. "I feel like I got hit by a train."

Jeff exhaled and sank down, exhausted with relief. "Yes we're alive. And we aren't the only ones!"

"What?"

"Rainbow Dash and the others! Celestia, they're ALIVE!"

"WHAT?" She stumblingly tried to stand, and almost went over the edge of the glass crater they were teetering on. Jeff threw his arms around her and pulled her back. "I don't know how, but they're not dead. They're alive!"

She put her hooves around him, and for a moment they held each other, rejoicing under the cloudless blue Earth sky.

Chapter 47: Horizons

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Chris pulled the van to a stop, and the passenger window rolled down. Emmy peered out, her ARHUD darkening into sunglasses against the blazing morning light. "What's up?"

"Waiting on the bus. What kept you guys?" McAllister replied.

"Dr. Hardy wanted to feed Fluffy in the jungle. He wanted Chris and I around just in case he ended up becoming the meal."

The van rocked slightly as McAllister, Sanchez, and Hamilton got in, followed by Marky. "The panther?" Marky asked. "How did that go?"

Emmy poked her glasses. "Yup. The creature has continued to behave in a docile fashion since Fluttershy went home. Dr. Hardy is fascinated by that."

"Doesn't surprise me one bit," Sanchez said, buckling his seat belt. "The yellow girl is magic."

Emmy chuckled. "Oh, there's a little bit of magic in all of us. By the way, Rena said hi, Marky."

"Oh, yes, erm, that's great," Marky stuttered.

Emmy leaned back and twisted her head towards her shoulder, catching Hamilton from the corner of her eye. "How''s the arm?"

Hamilton held it out in front of him while the van started moving, exposing a long almost-healed scar. "Doc sprayed it with instant skin graft. Said I'd be fine by the end of the week. I feel fine already, though. It hurt more yesterday when I went to visit Fluttershy and Discord."

"I heard he made a full recovery at almost the same time we completed our mission," Chris said without taking his eyes off the road.

"Yeah, well, he's been sitting in bed at Fluttershy's cottage ever since he got out of the hospital. I honestly think he's shamming because she keeps stuffing him with tea and biscuits."

Chris chuckled. "Do you really blame him?"

Hamilton grinned. "Can't say that I do. Those biscuits are awesome." He smacked his lips in remembrance. "So, does anypony know why the boss called us in?"

"Not exactly. I've got some ideas, though."

"Maybe he wants to give us all a raise," McAllister suggested.

"Like you'd know what to do with more money anyway," Sanchez scoffed. "If you stuff any more MLP crap into your quarters, you'll not be able to get in the door."

"Hey you weren't supposed to see that," McAllister protested. "It's just a few things!"

"Yeah and you've even got pony bed sheets."

"I do not!"

"Liar!"

"Guys, knock it off," Chris laughed. "He can have damn pony bed sheets if he wants to. I may get some myself."

Emmy rolled her eyes. "Like you even need that."

"I'll have you know I am a highly impressionable consumer," Chris said. "Recently, I have little to no control over my impulsive spending when it comes to pony merchandise."

"You and the rest of the world," Hamilton added. "Apparently Celestia's and Pinkie Pie's web pages have instigated some kind of pony frenzy. People are buying so much stuff the shelves are bare. Which is great!"

Sanchez nudged him. "What's the big deal?"

Hamilton grinned. "I dumped a bunch of money into HAS ticker stocks. They've risen incredibly even in the past few days thanks to the following Celestia has gathered. Several of her videos have gone viral. And did you know Pinkie Pie has been recording video ads?"

"I had no idea," Sanchez mused. "But it doesn't surprise me in the least. She's a cute little show-boater."

The van pulled up outside the lodging building, and the occupants slid out and headed for the door.

When they entered Jeff's office, they were surprised to see Princess Celestia in attendance as well as Dr. Hardy.

"We have a problem of some magnitude," Jeff said, wasting no time getting to the point. "Celestia and myself just got off an encrypted video conference call with the President of the United States." He quickly held up his hand at the gasps and shocked looks. "No, it's not what you think. There have been increasing incursions. Unexplained events. Disappearances. Sightings of bizarre creatures."

"What the hell is going on?" Marky asked.

"Apparently, during the time Gate 2 was jammed, rifts began opening up on Earth as well as Equestria. Only here, nobody noticed them or sealed them. There were only two located in the United States, and the Army contained them under top-secret conditions."

"How were they even aware of what we had going on?" Chris said.

Jeff sighed. "Because I was sending the Department of Defense live footage of our entire assault on Isla del Lamento. Someone had to know what was going on. If we failed, humanity would have no chance unless I let them see what we were up against."

Hamilton's eyes widened. "Surely you didn't pass on how to create the magical weapons. That would put the Equestrians in danger!"

Jeff nodded. "I am well aware of that. I had prepared a file with all our information for transmission to the Department of Defense and the White House in the event of our deaths."

"I approved it," Celestia added. "It was the only choice that made sense."

"Fortunately," Jeff continued, "We succeeded, and the file was never sent. You did not know it, but during our engagement, a nuclear-armed U.S. Air Force B-21 bomber was en route to the island. If we were eliminated, they would have bombarded it with enough nuclear weapons to eradicate a small country."

Chris put his hand to his head. "This just keeps getting better and better."

Jeff nodded. "Tough times call for tough decisions. I didn't think such an approach would work, but it was the best they could come up with."

Chris sighed. "I understand. But what now?"

"No government in the world is equipped to deal with the creeping threat on our doorstep," Jeff explained. "Not America, and certainly not anybody else. Due to our special alliance with the Equestrians, we have access to new technology that gives us an edge shared by none else."

"But," Emmy said, "what is going to happen? What about the Gate?"

"The Gate will remain open," Celestia replied. "We have discussed it at length, and although we could seal the portal and cut off our worlds, neither of us is willing to do so."

Emmy's eyes grew wide. "You mean..."

"We Equestrians will continue forward with humanity into the future."

"Is that a good idea?" Concern was evident in Hamilton's voice. "Humans can be dangerous. ProteC is a controlled environment. Not everyone is like us out there."

"Which is why we will be careful visiting your world," Celestia said evenly.

"And why we will keep our side of the gate, and this facility, heavily guarded at all times," Jeff added.

"Our side as well." Celestia promised.

"This brings me to a question," Jeff said, looking at Chris's team. "The United States Department of Homeland Security has requested our assistance in dealing with the unique problems that have cropped up in the wake of our science experiment. The President, while not overtly holding ProteC responsible for the situation, has reminded us in no uncertain terms that we are the only ones who can control it."

"What are you getting at?" Chris asked, folding his arms.

"We need field agents to go out, assess situations, and deal with them as necessary. Your team is the obvious first choice. I know I had initially offered you the job of security head here, but, as you can see, the situation has changed. I can find another person to manage this place. I need someone who is good at putting down monsters, in fact, I need whole squads of people who are good at it."

Chris looked at his team, and a series of nods told him all he needed to know. "We're in. I never did much care for being a managerial type anyway. But, what about Emmy and Marky?"

"Marky would be welcome to come live in Equestria," Celestia offered. "Jeff has something he wishes to ask you, though."

"That's right. I wish to extend a job offer to both of you guys," Jeff said, looking at the two ponies. "You would be official ProteC employees, assigned to the special task force under Chris. Earth needs your help."

Marky grinned. "You don't have to ask me twice, boss. Princess Celestia, I like Equestria very much, and I appreciate your gracious offer, but I feel I belong on this side of the fence. It would be really hard for me to get a burger or a taco over there, no offense."

"None taken," Celestia said, smiling widely. Her smile faded as she saw the suddenly sad expression on Emmy's face. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Princess Celestia," Emmy began. She hesitated, unsure how to proceed. Celestia waited patiently until she spoke again. "I, uh, I know you gave me this job. I feel I owe you. I don't feel... I mean, I don't think it would be right for me to ask..." she trailed off, then continued. "I have my duty to Equestria, after all."

"You want to stay here, don't you?"

Emmy nodded, the words stuck in her throat.

Celestia smiled again. "By working for ProteC, you would provide an important opportunity for Equestrians and humans to come together..." She was momentarily distracted by McAllister, who had made an odd, strangled giggling noise, then abruptly clamped his hand over his mouth and was apparently trying to play it off as a cough. "...I, ah, believe this would be a huge asset to us all," she finished.

Emmy looked up, her eyes growing bigger. "You WANT me to stay here?"

"Yes, if you so desire."

"Oh thank you!" Emmy said, bowing. "Thank you so much!"

"I take it you accept my offer, then?" Jeff chuckled.

"Yes, yes!" Emmy trilled. "Thank you!"

"Excellent! Chris? One more thing. I want to add a member to your team."

Chris's eyes narrowed. "What for?"

"Well, you have more than enough ass-kicking capability, and you have Emmy for magic science. I want you to have a human science and technology specialist as well."

"Who did you have in mind?"

Jeff nodded at Dr. Hardy. "One of his assistants."

"My best!" Dr. Hardy added, then he spoke into his ARHUD. A few moments later, Rena Hendricks entered the room, wearing black fitted ProteC Security cargo pants and polo shirt. She glanced and smiled at Marky as she walked to Chris. "Reporting for duty, sir."

Chris reached out his hand to shake hers. "If Dr. Hardy recommends you, I have no further questions. Welcome to the team."

"Thank you," Rena beamed. "I can't wait to start."

***

The following morning, Jeff, Chris and the team stood on the tarmac outside the jet that would bring them to Texas.

Celestia and the Mane Six had come to see them off. Starlight Glimmer and Princess Luna had come as well, not wanting to miss the opportunity to see the humans and ponies before they left for Texas.

"It's a shame you have to leave so soon," Celestia said to Jeff as she gave him a farewell embrace.

"I'm sorry. We have to deal with this before more innocent people get hurt."

Celestia sighed. "I know. Please let me know if there's any way I can help. And don't forget to message me!" She held up her bracelet. "Since your people fixed the slow data issues and installed those relays in Canterlot and Ponyville, we can talk any time."

Jeff smiled. "That's why I wanted to give you that network. Because I'm going to miss you, Princess. You're the woman I admire most in this world or any other."

Celestia blushed, at a loss for words.

A few feet away, Starlight Glimmer was talking to Chris and the other humans. "Thank you for not killing my friends." She put a hoof to her face. "I mean, thank you for not letting them die... Er, thank you for bringing everypony home safe!" She smiled. "Yes, that's what I meant to say."

"More like they kept us from getting killed," Chris said. "I don't think any of us would be alive right now if not for your friends, Starlight."

"You can say that again," Hamilton added. "Oh, and by the way Fluttershy, I think Fluffy would love to see you."

Fluttershy nodded. "Afterwards." She leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Be careful out there."

Hamilton nodded, his face on fire.

"Cargo load is finished," Marky said, glancing at the back of the plane where the crew was sealing the door. "It's about time, guys."

McAllister bumped Rainbow Dash's hoof. "Keep in touch, girl. Gotta go."

"Ya'll keep out of trouble now!" Applejack shouted at them as they walked away.

"Sorry AJ, but we got other plans," Marky replied with a wink and a nod. "Trouble is exactly what we're looking for. Now we're gonna go find it."

"I do hope they know what they're doing," Rarity said, watching the ProteC team head into the plane.

"I'm sure they have little to no clue," Twilight replied with a shrug. "But that hasn't stopped us yet, has it?"

"You're sure right about that," Rarity agreed.

***

Jeff leaned back in his seat as the jet prepared for takeoff. It had been a hell of trip, from the combat with aliens to the memorial service for the ProteC employees who had died under his command on Isla del Lamento. Losing a man never sat well with Jeff, although the defense of Earth was possibly the most worthy cause anyone had ever given their life for.

He nudged the thought from his mind. There was work to do yet, and he had no doubt it would be just as dangerous as anything they had done here in Ecuador. The creatures from the nether worlds would not make it easy on them. He glanced around the plane, looking at the humans and Equestrians who would be on the forefront of this new war against the powers of evil.

Rena was poking Marky in the ear and laughing at the way it twitched.

"Hey! Stop!" he growled.

She poked him again, giggling.

McAllister was telling some vulgar joke to Hamilton and Sanchez. "-and then the last guy started crying! He'd picked watermelons!"

Sanchez laughed heartily, slapping his knee.

"That's disgusting!" Hamilton said.

"Don't be a party-pooper," McAllister chuckled.

Chris was showing Emmy something on his phone again. "Shrek is love. Shrek is life." Jeff heard from the speaker.

"What the hay was that!?" Emmy asked, half shocked and half laughing.

"No one knows," Chris said. "The Internet is full of things like that."

Jeff cleared his throat, and they all turned to look at him. "I feel like I should say something momentous, but I can't think of anything. So anyone else got anything?"

"Yeah I got something," McAllister said, grinning mischievously. "It's good. You'll like it."

"I'm almost afraid to ask," Jeff said.

"You really shouldn't," Chris warned him.

"But since nobody else is volunteering, I'm going to have to go with him."

The plane engines spun up, preparing for takeoff as the morning sun breached the horizon, sending golden light across the world.

McAllister beamed, trying hard not to laugh as he prepared to speak, surrounded by the increasingly apprehensive faces of his friends.

Oh yes, life was good.

THE END

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8fPfJPtZhg

Don't forget to check out Equestrian Alliance: Menagerie, the ongoing spinoff sequel!