Scootaloo finds a piece of alien equipment from a drop pod. Things go to hell
It has been years since the Crusaders have had time to meet each other, so they planned a camping trip. During the trip Scootaloo, finds a piece of alien equipment from a drop pod. Flank-kicking ensues, science is done, and several decades down the road, things go to Hell.
Because Zaponator won the last ShortSkirts Fic Contest, he set up the topic of the next contest.
Three hooves raised and bumped each other, the trio of friends laughing as they reunited after several months apart pursuing their own dreams. Scootaloo had gone on to be a stunts pony, along with the occasional Extreme Sports competition. Sweetie Belle, to nopony’s surprise, went to a University to train her voice. Often times, she came back to lend her talents for whatever show Ponyville had set up.
Apple Bloom still spent much of her time on the Apple Farm, but to her friend’s surprise manage to prove to Twilight that she was willing to work under her. A few months later, the Princess declared the yellow filly her apprentice. Her friends were quite surprised, but decided to encourage her on regardless.
After several exchanges of mail over the past month, the trio had finally managed to arrange a time when all three were free for a weekend. Having not done so since they were fillies, the Crusaders traveled back to Ponyville with camping bags packed and ready to go. Apple Bloom gestured to a cart she brought with her, already filled with her own bags along with the tents they had agreed she would take care of.
“Ready girls?” Apple Bloom asked, as the other two arranged their bags alongside the rest of the equipment. Scootaloo pulled open her own satchel and skimmed through the contents.
“Actually...” Scootaloo said, “You two should hop in.”
“Why?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Scootaloo buzzed her wing. “Old times sake, Crusaders?”
The other two of the trio looked at each other and grinned. “Crusaders forever.” Hoofbump.
Scootaloo sighed happily, cartwheeling over the skies of the Whitetail Forest. The setting sun cast beautiful shadows across the campsite. As she rolled, she spotted the silhouettes of her friends getting the campfire ready. Oh, right, I should drop off the firewood.
She landed, proudly shaking the cluster of sticks onto the camp floor. Apple Bloom stared back in disbelief. “That’s ... sticks.”
Scootaloo tilted her head. “You said about fifteen pieces, right?”
“I mean, it’ll work for starting the fire, but this ... this kindling will only last half an hour at best.” Apple Bloom scratched her head. “This wasn’t supposed to take just one trip.”
The pegasus winced. “Ah. I might have wasted a few minutes stretching my wings.” She glanced back to her unpacked bags. “I’ll get to it right--”
Apple Bloom patted Scootaloo’s shoulder. “How ‘bout this. Sweetie and I will get your stuff sorted out. Focus on finding heavier branches, and we’ll have your sleeping bag and food ready.”
Scootaloo smiled. “Thanks. I won’t let you down.” She flapped her wings open and shot into the sky.
“And of course,” Sweetie called out when the pegasus was just a blur in the distance, “we get to tease her about the Rainbow Dash Wonderbolt plushie she still carries around.”
“Ooh! Let me see!”
The moon was starting to rise; Scootaloo had at least managed to find enough fallen branches that hadn’t decomposed away to get the fire going at least, but if they wanted it to last for a few more hours she would need to get more. “This might have been a lot easier if we did this after the Running of the Leaves.” Scootaloo muttered. “And breaking up new branches wouldn’t be nice, on top of having a lot more smoke.”
She sucked in a deep breath, and zipped lower through the trees. Her friends were counting on her to get this done quickly, and there were marshmallows on the line.
Her musings were cut off by a large flash of light overhead. She paused, flying a little higher and saw a meteor burning across the sky. Her eyes sparkled. “Cool! Never seen one this bright before.” She followed it’s path for a moment before realizing it was getting brighter. And closer.
With a mighty crash, and a sparkling mushroom cloud, in smashed into a nearby section of the Forest. Scootaloo quickly darted behind a tree to shield her from the worst of the debris.
Once it stopped, the pegasus poked her head out from behind the branches. “I wonder if that dried out the debris,” she pondered, tapping her chin. Her eyes brightened up at an idea. “Oh! I can show it to the girls too! Cutie Mark Crusader Rock Scientists, yay!” she said to herself. With a grin, she buzzed over the trees to investigate it.
She pulled upwards a bit, allowing her to see the gentle flickering of the campsite and the smoldering crater of the meteor impact. As she drew closer, something very strange became apparent.
Besides the orange flickers of fire, there was also a strange pulse of green light.
Despite her apprehension, Scootaloo’s curiosity led her closer. The area had become eerily quiet. Most of the wildlife in the area got scared off, it seemed. She flitted behind branches and trees, carefully poking an eye out to check for any ... aliens? If there was rustling, it was either going to be her or aliens.
After getting only a few hooflengths away, she began circling the crash site. Still nothing. Confident that there was either nopony there, or dead, she crawled into the still smouldering clearing.
There was a blackened pod, with traces of red and white paint barely able to be discerned over the smudges of dirt and grime. A ovoid door was cracked open from the harsh impact. Scootaloo saw a black box knocked over, it cover open, the source of the pulsing flash of green.
To her surprise, it looked like there was a bracelet of some sort, or even a compact timepiece. Despite the wreckage around it, it still looked clean as if fresh out of whatever space factory it came from.
“Hello?” she called out. “Anypony there?” Nothing.
She cautiously walked into the light. Distracted by her vigilance, she stepped near the wristband.
Ca-Click
Scootaloo spun just in time to see the wristband snap open and lunge at her. Before she could react, it had clamped onto her left foreleg. “AHHH!” she screamed, waving her arm. “Geditoff, geditoff, gedioff!” She backed up frantically, her wings beating. A flailing arm slapped the bracelet, causing it to glow and inject twin rivers of pain coursing through her body.
And then it was over. Curiously, Scootaloo noticed she was a meter higher. She looked behind herself and saw the body of an orange dragon. “Wha- ow.” She nursed a scraped tongue. Her mouth was full of fangs now. This is new.
Fl-slap
Leather wings, too. Cool. Does this turn off? Don’t want to scare the girls.
“I wonder if it was a good idea to go hunting for dry wood in the middle of spring,” Apple Bloom pondered as she set to shaping the cluster of twigs to start burning. “With the sun down, it’s going to be even harder.”
“Relax,” Sweetie Belle called from inside a tent. There was the sound of a sleeping bag snapping open. “I heard her mention Rainbow giving her defensive flying tricks. Anything that wants to catch her unawares is going to have to really work for it, and by that time we’ll hear here. Now come on, if we don’t start soon we won’t have any fire to marshmellow.”
Apple Bloom sighed, sparing a final glance at the darkening forest, before turning back and trotting back towards the campsite.
The first thing that told her something was about to go horribly wrong was when Sweetie Belle glanced up from her seat on the log and stared in horror at something behind her. Apple Bloom froze mid-step as Sweetie Belle rocketed towards her, horn flickering.
Her pulse thudded heavily in her ears as it felt like she was turning her head in slow motion. A skeletal figure reared over her, pits of hellfire glowing in sunken eye sockets. Gleaming teeth were backlit by a fireball growing in its scorched mouth.
“APPLE BLOOM!”
A white hoof passed over her, grabbed her head and pushed her down. Sweetie Belle vaulted over Apple Bloom’s back and twisted in midair in order to shield her friend’s back.
There was a flash of green and orange.
Apple Bloom blinked charred mane out of her eyes. “S-sweetie?” Her hooves started to shake as her hooves slowly curled around the cold body. “Please, Ah ... can’t...” Wait, cold--?
“Hey girls--Woah!”
Apple Bloom snapped her head to the side, her pupils shrinking as Scootaloo darted behind a tree, ducking underneath a fireball sailing off into the forest. “SCOOT!” she screamed. “RUN!”
Scootaloo crouched, her eyes locking with her friend, then darting to something by her hoof. “...No. I can do this.”
“What?!”
The pegasus fiddled with something on her hoof, then pushed it. There was burst of green light and a cry of pain. Then the demon took aim and blasted another fireball into the tree, collapsing it.
“SCOOTALOO!”
Too everyone’s surprise, Scootaloo was still standing, or more accurately, sorta kinda hovering. Her body was also now orange tinted smoke, with purple slitted eyes.
“Apple Bloom, do you trust me?” she asked as another fireball whizzed through her. It did nothing but make her wince slightly and waver a bit.
Apple Bloom glanced down at the corpse of her friend. “Of course.”
“Then hang on!” Scootaloo suddenly leapt at her, almost gliding towards her on wings of wind. Apple Bloom squeezed her eyes shut as a wave of cold pierced her, clawing down her throat and into her lungs.
You know, I’m somewhat disappointed there’s not Apple themed chanting here.
Scootaloo?
I had a bet with Sweet.... Never mind. Hey, open your eyes
Huh? Apple Bloom looked down, then looked again. She was noticeably taller, with shadowed hooves and--is that a horn?
Yeah, I know. Not really sure how to use that yet, but hey, I know how to use the wings--! Move!
“Ee!” she squeaked as she stumbled forwards. Apparently their mental conversation went faster than she thought. Her reactions too. The demon thing loped after her, another fireball ready, but it seemed as if it was running through jelly. As she circled the campsite, she felt invisible limbs settle over her like a jacket. The wings on her back flexed on their own.
Together. Avenge our friend.
Let’s.
Apple Bloom suddenly snapped to a halt, her wings back swinging furiously. The instant she had a stable hoof hold, she snapped her hind legs out, sending out two very satisfying cracks. One from her hooves slamming into the creature’s jaws. The second came from the sound barrier breaking.
Jets of flame burned through its eye sockets as its flames were unable to be release in time. While distracted, They shot into the air and dive-bombed it, smashing its torso into the forest floor.
“This is for Sweetie Belle, monster.” The dark alicorn grabbed the demon by the legs and blasted into the sky with one powerful wing-beat. They drew a large circle in the sky before letting go just as they were accelerating downwards.
After regaining their breaths, they slowly glided over to examine their handiwork. There was just a blood stain left, shattered bones spreading out in a radius.
Sighing heavily, they landed off to the side and began a slow walk back towards their ruined campsite.
“Where did that come from?”
“The anger earlier, or the ... demonic thing.”
“Hmm, both actually.”
“She ... died to save us. It still doesn’t ... sit right. As for the other, I don’t know.”
“That’s worrying. We may need to contact the authorities. Get their attentio--wait, Sweetie?”
To their surprise, Sweetie was sitting up, facing away from them as she rubbed at her face. At their voice, Sweetie turned to glance at the dark alicorn, who gasped at the sight.
It wasn’t just blood and bone. Half of her skull was netted with steel wire holding the cracks in her skull together. Half of her eye remained, though with cracks spider webbing over the foggy sphere. She blinked at them, only her left eye working, as they froze in shock. “Uh, I can--”
Beep Beep Beep
The alicorn looked down through the wispy magic that covered her body at the small hourglass of pulsing red light.
With a pop, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom split apart, collapsing in a tangle of flailing limbs.
The unicorn gasped at the sight of the black watch clamped to Scootaloo’s arm, then started rubbing her temples. “Oh boy, there’s a lot of stuff I’m going to have to explain to you two.”
Apple Bloom looked on slightly worriedly as Scootaloo fiddled with the bracelet-thingy right beside her. “Sweetie, do I really need to be this close to her?”
The unicorn was noticeably further away, a notepad hovering in her magic. “I can see just as fine from over here, and I can write notes faster than you.”
“But yer a lot more durable than me!”
“That will teach Scootaloo to be a lot more careful.”
Scootaloo winced a bit, but avoided saying anything that might incriminate her even further. Her exaltations of giant explosions and lasers got her a stern talking too that she didn’t want to repeat.
“Now,” Sweetie continued, “Start the first one, Scoots.”
Beep Beep
With a flash of green light, Scootaloo turned into a smokey-bodied alicorn with slit eyes.
Sweetie nodded. “Yeah, we saw how that worked. Next one.”
“...”
The trio looked at each other. “How do we turn it off?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Second test,” Sweetie Belle called after they figured out that pushing the button deactivated the transformation. The hard part was figuring out how to poke smoke until they ended up merging the two test subjects together.
Scootaloo moved the dial one click and depressed it. A moment later, a large, orange raptor-like bird stood in her place. There was a long purple crest trailing backwards. “Sweet,” she commented.
She took a large flap with her powerful wings and blew Apple Bloom over.
Apple Bloom glared at a blushing Scootaloo as Sweetie Belle notified that she was ready for the third test.
This time, Scootaloo turned into an ice golem. This came with a miniature, but expanding ice rink. Apple Bloom started backing away worryingly as Sweetie Belle instructed Scootaloo that she should start figuring out how to direct her power before she froze a water line.
One hour later
Sweetie Belle looked down at her notes. “Well, that’s ten. We should be--”
“Actually, there looks like another one in here.” Scootaloo cut in, spinning the dial and counting under her breath.
Sweetie tilted her head. “Really? Intelligence suggested that it was locked to ten initially. Alright, let’s try it out.”
Beep Beep Booosh
Scootaloo looked down at herself. There didn’t seem to anything besides a button on her chest-- “Woah, I can see numbers and boxes floating around.” She spun around, swatting the air. “Can’t ... seem ... to touch.”
Sweetie Belle looked like she swallowed a lemon, and trotted over to the spinning pegasus. When she got close, she raised a hoof and knocked it against her head.
Clang
Scootaloo froze and stared at the spot Sweetie hit. Apple Bloom’s jaw dropped. “Bwah?”
Sweetie Belle sighed. “It looks like you’re a robot now.”
“Also, you’re now outlined in red.”
“No respect, I tell you! No respect!” Sweetie Belle growled, stopping away.
There was a whir as Scootaloo’s hoof split apart and dug up a ball of grass and dirt.
Apple Bloom gave her friend a flat stare and poked her in the shoulder. “No, bad Scoot. Bad.”
A/N: The half-assed list I wrote down for the Omnitrot/Omnitrix, so nobody will be caught off guard if I mention something like this again. 1) Nightmare 2) Falcon (super wind attacks, Pigeot?) 3) Ice/Crystal 4) Vine (if ever used, mention Apple Bloom mention she knows where this is going) 5) Rock-Thing (Thing) 6) Fire Dragon (Basically, Charzard with purple hair and flames) 7) Giant electric amoeba (yes, I’ve been reading a lot of Pokemon) 8) Dragonfly (surveillance/scout only) 9) Hydralisk 10) Chopper (As in, that Reindeer from One Piece) 11) ScootaBot (Sweetie Bot, upon reflection after learning about the Omnitrot, isn’t all that surprised.
3] Doom Horse(or, Author watches too many Youtube videos)
Scootaloo opened her eyes, her limbs feeling like they haven’t moved in countless years. She tried sitting up, but found her limbs shackled to a stone plate. She sighed, yanking at them. They were pretty tight. She lazily looked to the side as a skeletal pony hopped down in front of her.
It peered curiously at her, then stepped forwards, jaws open.
Fast as lightning, her hoof snapped out, grabbed the pony by its head,then slammed it into the edge of the table, shattering it like an egg.
She sighed. There weren’t many options, but it still made a noise. Now, how did she do this? She closed her eyes and concentrated. She could feel her legs start atrophying, shrinking out of the cuffs. Her arms instead go bigger, muscles bulking up, bone lengthening, sharpening. Her neck grew, and her skin hardened.
Complete.
She opened her eyes, her jaw glistening with teeth and pink saliva. Her arms were large, muscled scythes, her torso one long cord of steel hard muscle covered in armored plates. With one swing, the cuffs snapped into pieces.
Legends spoke of the Flesh Dancer. She was tireless, felling foes without pause, changing her body to kill in new and more destructive ways.
She rolled off the stone table, and swung her massive scythe arms. Another zombie loped in, and was promptly impaled through the neck. She shook the corpse off and slithered forwards.
A demon slipped out of the air vents, and its eyes burned at the sight in front of it. With a flex of muscles, Scootaloo spat acidic spines out, tearing the creature apart.
<Ah, you are awake.>
Scootaloo froze, head swiveling.
<I am Genetic Lifeform and Digital Assistant Software. You may call me Gladas.>
Sweetie Belle opened her eyes, her HUD glitching into life.
Time asleep: Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Bzzrt. Error.
Well, considering the circumstances, she really didn’t expect any better. She tried looking down, but found her joints looked by an angry, crackling electric field. Right. Well, she still kept some of her organic bits around for this purpose. She didn’t have to use her horn for so long that they forgot about it, it seemed.
With an effort, she pulled her limbs out of the field and rolled her body over the slab. Should’ve used physical restraints, too. Would’ve taken another few minutes for her to disassemble her body and lob the pieces out.
Looking at the ground, she saw a dropped crowbar. Eh, good enough. She gripped it in her magic, placed the long end against the edge of the table, and gave it one, long pull.
She raised the smoking tip, inspecting the honed edge. That’ll do. She stepped down the hallway, casually stabbing it into the corner behind the door. When she drew it back, it was dripping with red.
<Hello. My name is Gladas, facility AI. I assume you are looking for your companions?>
Sweetie paused momentarily, her crowbar traveling in lazy orbits around her, before nodding hesitantly.
<This way. I apologize for not being able to contact you earlier. My access was restricted until there was no higher command.>
A door hissed open, and glowing arrows lit up the walls.
Beside her was the Warmachine. She keeps no hatred in her heart, for it had been grinded out of her long ago. She hunts dispassionately, with the minimum of effort, wading through death as casually as taking a stroll.
Apple Bloom opened her eyes.
It didn’t do much, since It was covered by a heavy blindfold. She could also feel the weight of heavy chains tying her down.
‘This is annoying.’
Her limbs were near totally immobilized, but her mane and tail was still free underneath a tattered bowtie. The strands fanned out, digging into miniscule cracks and crevices in the stone table. Her senses spread, feeling, prodding, listening. Then-
Shatterpoint!
The sarcophagus shattered underneath her strength, allowing her to easily wriggle out of the chains.
‘Hmm. Chains.
‘Haven’t done rope tricks in a long time. Thanks, sister.’
It was simple to snap out a length of chain. Her tail hairs wrapped around the end securely, lifted, and began to lazily orbit it above her head.
Then there was the Crusader. She fights, kept aloft by the fury and loss she keeps burning endlessly in her heart. She remembers for them, anchors them, and empowers them.
<Apple Boom, was it? Your friends are awaiting you. Right this way.>
Nod. Tail flick. Another demon flayed, shredded, eliminated.
A low growl sounded out from her throat, an old wound reopened as she saw her enemies being let loose once more after so many lifetimes of effort. Why won’t they learn? Why must they continue to dance with death?
He thoughts spiraled as she headed towards an intersection, and she heard the clank of whirring motors and the slither of heavy muscles.
She ran forwards, and leapt with arms open, grabbing them into a hug as soon as physically capable.
<Ah, good, you’re all together again. As I’ve told the other two, I was stopped from activating you three until the owners of the orders to prevent me from doing so have perished. They hoped to have a way to harvest energy from the Nether Realm due to the collapse of the world’s resources above, and this has been the only thing able to keep society running while others frantically look for an alternative. Frankly, it looks like society is going to collapse from the invasion of demons from how badly they were at containing this.>
<And now we’ve come to this. Looking at some of the deciphered artifacts, I assume you three are eager to resume your duty?>
Nod.
<Good. I will direct you to the best of my ability, and alert you to trouble spots. First though, are you willing to clear my facility out first? I have barricaded the doors and keeping them out with automated turrets, but they’re running low on ammunition, and I don’t trust the walls to be able to deal with their firepower.>
‘Of course.’
<Thanks. I will show you a map of the facility on a relatively intact screen up ahead. I believe one of your compatriots is able to remember it? There is an emergency ammunitions cache several floors below me. I would send a drone to unlock it myself, but it too was invested before I could lock it down, and many of the doors have already been compromised. Clean them out, repair the locking mechanisms and the security turrets, and enter the security code to release the armory for me to use. I would be deeply grateful for your help.>
<Now, I’ll be activating the elevator down the corridor up ahead. Get ready, they will be sure to notice.>
The three walk forwards. Scootaloo returned to her birth form, walking side by side with Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle. On cue, the elevator opened up, displaying a startled Imp squatting on top of the corpse of a soldier before it was brained by a heavy chain.
They kicked the corpse out of the elevator, and once all limbs were away from the door, Gladas started it moving downwards.
Alone, they were a terror to behold. But together, the Doom Horse becomes unstoppable. They must never to be awakened, for it will be our Doom.
As the elevator clicked down, Apple Bloom gave her friends both a glance, and nodded.
On cue, Sweetie’s chest split open, her neck folding backwards. A black wristband ejected from a pocket hidden on her side, right onto Scootaloo’s outstretched wing, who quickly fastened it back onto her wrist.
Apple Bloom stepped in front of Sweetie, and the cyborg carefully opened the armor that made up her chest and fit in snugly around the Apple filly’s chest as she walked forwards. Once locked in place, her limbs split open and enveloped Apple Bloom’s own limbs. Within minutes, she was clad in a suit of bright white armor, Sweetie’s own mane changing color to have a band of red along with her natural mulberry and rose.
Scootaloo switched on her wristband, and pushed it down, turning into a vaguely pony-shaped amoeba with crackles of electricity darting in between her organelles through her translucent membrane. Ports opened up along Sweetie Belle’s back, and Scootaloo willingly let herself be sucked into her depths. There was a gentle thud as internal shock absorbers bulked up, and hydraulics pressurized.
As one, the Crusader reared up, picking up a shotgun from the dead soldier’s grip.
<Get ready. Doors opening in ten. Nine. Eight ...>
Apple Bloom momentarily closed her eyes, her pulse thudding in her ears.
