Arrival

Titan, Io, Mars, and Mercury...

Those are the names of the four worlds that disappeared. Now, it is up to us Guardians to protect the remaining habitable worlds from the Darkness and it allies. My name is Reaper ninety-nine, a human Guardian of the Hunter class and leader of fireteam scout. I just arrived at the tower after successful quest when Zavala gave a city-wide broadcast.

"People of the Last City. Humanity has endured a devastating blow. But, there is hope." The last line caught my attention "Vanguard scouts have confirmed the recent discovery of a new planet that follows the same orbit Mars had. This planet, named Avalon by the scouts, shows no traces of the Darkness or its forces."

I noticed that many civilians began to look hopeful at the news before Zavala continued "However, until we have confirmation that the planet is safe we urge all lightless civilians to remain within the safety of the city walls."

I left the hanger once Zavala ended the broadcast and headed to Banshee-44, the Tower's gunsmith, and dismantled all the lame and weak weapons I found on my quest.

"Here you go." He said as he handed me a legendary Engram as my faction rank increased.

"Cool, thanks." I said before decrypting it and discovering it was a Riskrunner SMG.

"Hmm, now that's a gun." Banshee said when he saw Riskrunner. I headed to my vault and stored my Last Hope pistol before equipping my new RIskrunner.

"Guardian, incoming transmission from...Commander Zavala." I heard my ghost say over our neural link before I heard commander Zavala's voice through my ghost.

"Reaper ninety-nine, this is commander Zavala, Titan Vanguard. I request your presence at my office at your earliest convenience." he said before ending the transmission.

"Well, that was...strange. Why would he request your presence so suddenly?" my ghost asked me.

"Beats me, I've only talked to Zavala to inform him of news or to obtain bounties." I answered as we set off to the office of the Titan Vanguard.

As me and my ghost approached commander Zavala's office, we noticed that were more guards than normal and that Zavala was staring out the window towards the city. We entered and saw the normally assortment of communications junk and Frames that manages the communications.

"Commander, what troubles you?" I asked when I saw him.

"The people want to colonize Avalon, but I'm worried that it might not be the best decision to take." He said without looking away from the window. "I want you and your fireteam to explore Avalon and decide if we a chance to establish a second city on the surface."

"Yes sir, I'll have my team ready by dawn tomorrow." I said before he turned and faced me, the look he gave me caused shivers to go down my spine.

"I want you and fireteam scout to be ready in a hour, we need to get there before the Darkness discovers the planet and establishes a foothold on the world." He ordered.

"As you command, Ghost search for Sapphire six and Markov." I ordered my ghost as I departed the office.

I found Sapphire six (Our team's Exo Warlock) in the Hanger, tinkering with her Leopard Zero jumpship and listening to some rock song dedicated to us guardians.

"Hey Reaper, what's up?" She asked, closing the engine's maintenance hatch when she saw me.

"We have a mission, be ready to leave in thirty minutes." I said before asking Amanda Holliday if my Vector Zero jumpship was good to go.

"I patched it up good as new, but next time don't pick a fight with a Fallen Ketch and expect to win." She said seriously.

"I make no promises!" I said before heading up the stairs to the courtyard and walking to the bazaar where Markov (The team's Awoken Titan) was arguing with a vendor over a Crown-Splitter sword.

"I told you, I wanted a Machine gun! Not this stupid sword!" He shouted at the vendor.

"Hey, Markov, we got a new mission." I said, he turned around and was about to hit me for interrupting his discussion with the vendor when I continued "From Commander Zavala himself." His fist stopped only inches from my face and inside, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"When do we leave?" He asked.

"In twenty-five minutes...Oh, and bring a sword." I said before heading back to my vault to gather my best gear for the mission. I chose to bring a Night Watch Scout Rifle as my kinetic primary, my newly obtained Riskrunner SMG was my energy weapon of choice, and my Outrageous Fortune Grenade launcher as the power weapon I will carry into battle.

"So, you're packing Sweet Business and Gnawing Hunger? Are you expecting to face the whole HIVE alone?" Sapphire joked as Markov loaded his guns into the storage of his Echo Zero Jumpship.

"Hey, you never know when you'll face a swarm of Thralls in an enclosed space. Plus, the fastest reload always is, switching to your secondary." He shot back, silencing Sapphire with the ancient quote.

I decided to carry my weapons in my inventory instead of in my ships storage so I don't have to waste time retrieving them from my ship when we land, even if it would make flying slightly harder. We took off from the Tower and flew into orbit before jumping to Avalon, arriving behind the planet's moon.

"Scout team, report in." I said on my fireteam's private frequency as we approached the moon.

"Scout one reporting in." responded Sapphire.

"Scout Two reporting in." Markov replied

"Scout leader reporting in." I said "Alright team, lets begin operation BLIND SALVATION." I then gunned my engine and headed around the moon and towards the planet below. The outside of our ships burning from the aerodynamic heating but held strong. Once we reached an altitude of around thirty-five thousand feet from the surface, we began scanning the land below in search of a place to land.

"Guardian, I am detecting a large presence of an unknown energy below." My ghost said via neural link "It appears to be similar to the the Traveler's Light."

"Ghost, can you find a suitable landing site nearby?" I asked him before ordering Sapphire and Markov to circle around the area and provide support if needed.

"There is a field to the east of the energy, setting course to it now." My ghost said before my ship's autopilot (AKA my ghost) took control and flew me down. On the way, I pulled out my Riskrunner and loaded it. When I landed, I had my ghost scan the atmosphere to make sure it was breathable before I exited my jumpship.

"Fireteam Scout, this is Scout leader, do you copy?" I called over the private frequency.

"Scout leader, this is Scout one, we copy over." I heard Sapphire say as her jumpship circled overhead.

"My ghost detected a powerful energy near my location, heading towards it now." I said as I headed west into the unknown.

I decided to switch to my Night Watch Scout Rifle as I neared the source of the energy. I crested a hill and came across a medieval city being besieged by a Fallen raiding party, thankfully the city was built on a mountainside and had an energy shield around it, making it all but impossible for the Fallen to enter. I ordered Sapphire and Markov to take out the raiding party's Skiff while I went super and took care of the ground forces. The raiding party wasn't expecting Guardians and they either tried to retreat or hide when they saw us.

I was massacring the Vandals and Dregs when the Captain of the Raiders charged me, but it only took three hits with my Arc staff\ to take him out. I finished off the remaining Fallen forces before my super ended and pulled out my Scout Rifle before approaching the energy shield.

"Ghost, could you somehow disable the shield?" I asked him as he decloaked and scanned the shield.

"There seems to be no means to disarm the shield from the outside." He said after scanning for a few moments.

"I have an idea that Cayde would have loved." I said before I began to shout while waving my arms "HEY! WE JUST SAVED YOUR CITY! CAN YOU LET US IN?"

"I don't think-" My ghost was interrupted by the shield slowly disappearing. "Hmm, strangely enough that worked."

"That's a Cayde plan for you." I said before entering the city. While walking through a seemingly deserted street, I contacted Sapphire and ordered her to protect my jumpship while Markov would patrol the airspace around the city. "HELLO??? ANYBODY HERE???"

"Stop where you are creature." I heard coming from the street to my left.

"Show yourself or be considered hostile." I said as I turned and pointed my Scout Rifle down the street where the voice originated.

"We are here to escort you to the Princesses." Said a unicorn flanked by two Pegasus, all of them armed with spears and wearing gold armor, as they came down the street.

"Well then, take me to your leader." I said as I stowed Night Watch and began following them.

I entered what appeared to be the throne room and was told to wait by the guards as they left. I decloaked my ghost and had him scan the layout of the building for the best escape route incase things went bad with the Princesses.

"Presenting her royal highnesses, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of the Equestria." said a normal-looking horse before two winged unicorns entered and sat on the twin thrones. One was a dark blue with a mane that resembles the starry night sky, the other was an almost pure white with a rainbow mane that reminded me of the auroras I see whenever I flew over old Russia at night.

"My name is Reaper ninety-nine, Hunter Guardian and defender of the last city of Humanity, it is an honor to make your acquaintance." I said as I went down on one knee.

"Rise, I am Celestia, co-ruler of this land and princess of the sun." The white one said. I stood up and sent a message to Zavala using the neural link with my ghost.

"My name is Luna, princess of the moon and I rule alongside my sister here." Said the blue one.

"Ghost, are these two of the source of the energy?" I asked him as he decloaked and went up to them, scanning as he did.

"Yes guardian, the white one's energy is similar to solar light and the blue one's closely resembles Void energy." He said before cloaking once more.

"What was that?" Asked princess Luna.

"That was my ghost, my robotic helper and a friend." I answered before ghost mentally told me Zavala has sent a reply. I pulled him out and played the message on speaker.

"To those who it may concern, I am Commander Zavala, Titan Vanguard and leader of the guardians. The Hunter before you is the leader of Fireteam scout, my expedition team that was sent from earth to explore this planet. I trust that you will treat him and his team with the respect you give to the leader of another nation as they will act as diplomats in my stead." it said before my ghost went back into my inventory.

"Where is the rest of the team your commander mentioned?" Princess Celestia asked. "And I've been wondering, who were those monsters that attacked earlier?"

"My team is composed of me, Markov the Titan, and Sapphire the Warlock. And those monsters are called the Fallen, they are a band of pirates, scavengers, and raiders that survive off the scrapes of other civilizations."

"You still haven't answered the question of how you defeated them." Princess Luna stated.

"I achieved victory by the grace of the traveler and the power of its light." I answered as cryptically as I could. knowing what the next question would be.

"Who is this traveler you speak of?" She asked.

"To understand the Traveler, I must tell the story from the beginning..." I said before telling the tale of Humanity.

Alliance

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Two hours later...
After a quick Q&A session to get a basic understanding of each others species. I told the two princesses the stories of the traveler, golden age, and collapse. I called my team halfway through the tale of the traveler and they arrived in time for them to share their story from the collapse. Markov told the princesses how he watched cities burn from orbit, Sapphire recalled how she bravely fought the Vex on mercury before being killed by a Hydra when her squad was overrun, and I spoke of how my family was killed when the Fallen attacked earth and burned New York city to the ground.

"How has your kind survived in the face of such adversity?" Princess Luna asked, almost to tears by the story of my family's death.

"The human race has survived because we stood together and fought the darkness even when there was no chance of winning." I said "Humanity was saved when the Traveler sacrificed itself to stop the darkness and with its final breath, created the ghosts, whose sole purpose was to resurrect dead warriors and aid them in the protection of the Human race."

"Sister, I wish to speak to you in private." Princess Celestia requested. We left the two princesses to talk and waited outside the throne room. We waited for around ten minutes before being called back into the throne room.

"Does the Human race have any allies in the war against the darkness?" Princess Celestia asked.

"No your highness, we have fought this war alone since the beginning." I answered.

"Then let the nation of Equestria be the first to offer aid to human race in the war against the darkness." Princess Celestia offered as she brought out a document that stated the terms of the alliance.

"What does your kind bring to the field of battle? I noticed your guards are armed with spears and swords, which are ineffective against the advanced weapons the Cabal, Fallen, and Vex field in large quantities." Markov pointed out as he read the document.

"We have the best mages on the whole of Equus and can field them in a force numbering three thousand." Princess Luna said proudly.

"We shall also request for copies of your weapons so we can create our own versions and strengthen our army with them." Princess Celestia added.

"Very well, please excuse us for we need to inform our leader about your offer." I said before we left and informed Zavala of the alliance offer.

"I see, tell them that the Vanguard accepts their offer and shall send diplomats to work out the details of the alliance." He said before ending the call. We were on our way back to the throne room when we heard a commotion coming from outside the castle walls.

We looked out a nearby window and saw that a large group of ponies asking if they were safe, if the Fallen would return, etc. We rushed to the throne room when we saw the crowd begin to grow restless and unruly.

"Your highnesses, The Vanguard accepts your offer and there will be diplomats arriving soon to work out the details." I said before asking "What shall you tell the crowd outside?"

"The truth." was all the Princess Celestia said before heading out onto the balcony. "CITIZENS OF EQUESTRIA, WE HAVE LEARNED THE MONSTERS THAT ATTACKED CANTERLOT ARE CALLED THE FALLEN. THE ATTACK WAS THWARTED BY THE BRAVERY OF EQUESTRIA'S NEWEST ALLY, THE HUMAN RACE, AND THEIR GUARDIANS."

"Who are these 'Guardians'?" Asked a pony. The princesses then motioned for us to show ourselves, we stepped onto the balcony, earning a few strange looks by the ponies below.

"THIS IS REAPER NINETY-NINE AND HIS TEAM, ENVOYS OF HUMANITY AND THE ONES WHO STOPPED THE FALLEN ATTACK." Princess Luna said loudly as we took off our helmets (which were on the whole time), which was received with gasps and looks of shock. I wasn't expecting to give a speech when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna went back inside, leaving me, Markov, and Sapphire to speak to the civilians.

"I have an idea, play Citizen Soldier by Three doors down, no vocals." I whispered to my ghost, He went to speaker mode and began playing the music without the vocals. I then sang the lyrics with Markov as backup singer.

"We'll always be ready because we will be there." I sang the last line. Most of the civilians below were awestruck by our performance and I finished by saying: "We are the Guardians and we'll always be ready."

We then went back inside and were greeted by a shocked Princess Luna. I put my helmet back on before I spoke, saying: "Yes, I can sing and yes, we're all part of the human race."

"Then why do you look so different?" She asked.

"Exos (I point to Sapphire) are sentient golden age machines made to be police officers and military units while Awoken (I then pointed at Markov) were transformed at the by a mysterious power at the edge of known space during the collapse." I answered before Princess Celestia went out to the balcony and lit up her horn.

"What's she doing?" Sapphire asked Princess Luna.

"She's lowering the sun." She answered before my ghost sensed the planet's revolution jolt forward, making it seem that the sun set because of the Princess. "Now it's my time to raise the moon."

"What?" Markov asked before Princess Luna lit up her horn and the moon rose into the sky.

"What...just...happened?" I managed to ask after snapping out of the shock of two aliens moving celestial bodies with magic.

"Our planet has a slower revolution than most other planets, so we give it a little push to keep our time to twenty-four hours a day." Princess Celestia answered as she came back from 'lowering the sun'. "We also move the moon to help it keep up with our pushes."

We then heard the sounds of jumpship engines overhead, we then said goodbye to each other as the diplomats arrived. Me and my Fireteam then returned to the tower while the Princesses worked out the alliance with the diplomats. We arrived at the tower moments after Commander Zavala announced the success of our mission and were received as heroes of humanity.

A week later...
It has been a week since the establishment of the Human-Equestrian alliance and Commander Zavala has tasked Markov and Sapphire with training the Equestrian army in guerrilla tactics and modern weaponry since Lord Shaxx was busy with the Equestrian Guardians who were fresh out of the grave. I decided to spend my time in the Crucible, training against other guardians. I was waiting for a control match to rap up before I register when a four-man fireteam composed of an Exo, two Humans, and an Awoken came up to me asking:

"Is this where we register to enter the control match?" asked the female Awoken in Warlock armor. "My name is Aroura Xal, Leader of Fireteam Misfit and we're here to join."

"Actually, the registration is over there." I pointed to the stand where most players sign in. "Are you guys new to control?"

"We're-" Began the Awoken when one of the two Human Hunters interrupted.

"We're pros at control, we won over a dozen matches already. My name is Dexter, best fighter in all of the solar system." He boasted before the other three gave him a glare.

"We're somewhat experienced at playing but I wouldn't call us pros, name's Nightingale by the way." Said the other Human as he offer a hand to me.

"Hi, name's Reaper, leader of Fireteam Scout." I said as we shook hands.

"You're THE Reaper?! The one who established the Human-Equestrian alliance?!" Shouted the Exo, who began acting like a little girl meeting their favorite music artist. "My name is John Seventeen and I'm honored to meet you. I hope to fight by your side one day."

"Please, the honors mine." I said humbly before I heard the ongoing match ended. "Anyway it was nice meeting you and I hope we meet again someday."

I signed in for a match in Midtown and waited for the battlefield to be prepped. I checked that my weapons were set to my new favorite loadout, the loadout being the False Promises Auto Rifle, Arsenic Bite bow, and Prospector Grenade Launcher. When the battlefield was ready I flew to the City and was greeted by Fireteam misfit and a Unicorn guardian.

"Hey, fancy seeing you guys here, ready to kick some but?" I asked them as I drew False Promises.

"Hell yeah, my name is Midnight Blade and its good to meet the one responsible for my resurrection." Said the unicorn as he pulled out a Baligant Shotgun. John then drew Ace of Spades (which I was curious on how he obtained it), Aroura readied her own False Promises, Dexter pulled out a Izanagi's Burden Sniper Rifle, and Nightingale grabbed his Lumina Hand cannon just as the game began.

Fifteen minutes later...
I was looking at the kill scoreboard, I had five kills, John had Ten, Aroura had fifteen, Dexter got seven kills, Nightingale got three kills and twenty assists, and Midnight somehow killed nine opposing guardians without any deaths. After I grabbed my Rank-up reward I headed back to Canterlot to see how my fireteam has been doing. I landed at the makeshift spaceport and made my way to the castle, watching how people and pony lived together happily.

"Halt, what's your business here?" Asked the guard as I approached the gate.

"I am here to see Trainers Markov and Sapphire." I answered.

"And your name is?" He asked as he looked me over.

"General Reaper of Fireteam Scout." I answered, the princesses made me a general of the Equestrian army so I can help lead the army when the need arises.

"Sorry sir, I didn't recognize you, you are clear to pass." He said before opening the gate. I then went to the firing range where Markov trained soldiers in modern weaponry.

"-and remember, a weapon's range can be the difference between life and death." I heard him finish as his class ended. "Ah, general, what do I owe the pleasure of your visit."

"Spare me the pleasantries Markov, I'm here to see how well your handling training duty." I said.

"Well, this army is over three centuries behind us in tactics, tech, and troop numbers. They said they had three thousand mages, I just found out that more than two thousand five hundred of them are reservists! How the hell am I gonna make an effective fighting force out of reservists?!" He shouted.

"Calm down, you can train the reservists in small batches to allow the reserve force to catch up with the standing army." I said reassuringly, I am one of the few people alive that can calm Markov down without resorting to the use of drugs and I do it by giving him solutions to his problems.

"Good idea, I'll contact somebody to organize the bringing up of reservists and have them trained alongside the main army." He said before I departed and began to head to the military college where Sapphire teaches tactics. I entered the classroom and saw Sapphire giving lessons on chokepoints and how to use them effectively.

"Ah, general, you're just in time. We're about to conduct a wargame with me on the offensive and Chimera Claw here as the defender.

"Okay, by the way how are you doing with the teaching?" I asked as they began the wargame using an ancient strategy game called 'Team Yankee'. After ten minutes of watching as pieces get destroyed on both sides, Sapphire called the game a victory for Chimera.

After the class, I went to the local gunsmith and decided to upgrade the masterwork on my False Promises. After some time I went to a donut shop owned by somebody named Donut Joe. I haven't had a donut since before the collapse and ever since I learned of the donut shop in Canterlot I've been craving one. I bought a chocolate glazed donut and sat down, savoring the smell that I've missed for over five years before biting down and tasting the sweet, melt-in-your-mouth goodness that is a donut.

I quickly finished the donut and was walking back to the spaceport when I noticed that I was being followed by three ponies. I charged my fist when I saw that they were armed and that they were going to rush me. I turned around and they charged once they figured out that I knew what they were gonna do.

I punched one with just enough force to knock him out before my melee ability disoriented the other two with an energy wave. I then disarmed them and kicked one in the face before the other tried to blast me with a spell. My shield absorbed the attack as I pulled out False Promises and shot the pony in the right foreleg.

"Darn you Humans! Don't you see that your presence will attract the darkness to Equestria?!" He shouted before the royal guards showed up and took him away along with the other two. I had to identify myself before they let me go and continue on my way to the spaceport. I arrived at the spaceport, got into my jumpship, and took off towards the Tower to inform Commander Zavala about the incident.

Dawning

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I arrived at the Tower Hanger and disembarked my Jumpship, noticing the snow and decorations around the hanger almost immediately. As I walked towards Commander Zavala's favorite place, the balcony overlooking the city, I saw Eva Levante in a small stall in the middle of the courtyard. Upon seeing her I realized the reason for all the décor, it was Dawning! I rushed over to the stall and after chatting with Eva, obtained a Starfarer 7M jumpship and a portable Dawning oven. I then went to Zavala to give him my report on the incident.

"Happy Dawning Commander Zavala, I come bringing news." I greeted Zavala, he turned his gaze away from the city and towards me.

"What is it Guardian?" He asked, I then told him everything related to what happened at Canterlot. "I will speak to the Princesses about this matter. In the meantime, you are dismissed."

I went to my vault and stored my False Promises and Prospector, replacing them with my MIDA Multi-tool scout rifle and Avalanche machine gun. I then went to the Tangled shore to gather ingredients so I can bake gifts for everybody, taking my new Starfarer instead of my Vector. Upon arriving at Thieves' Landing, I spotted a Deranged Scorn Abomination and immediately attacked it and its escorts before they could escape.

I let loose a barrage of machine gun fire as I got close, taking out several of the escorting Scorn before turning my attention to the large Abomination. I emptied my belt before double-jumping back a safe distance while switching my weapon to my MIDA Multi-tool. I fired the weapon until I emptied my mag of all sixteen rounds while the Abomination shot bolts of lightning at me, causing me to move behind cover between shots.

"God, when will this thing die?" I asked myself as a bolt of lighting flew over my head. I finished loading my rifle and jumped forward to finish the Abomination with a close range shot to the head when a rocket hit the thing in the back. It then slumped over, an indication that it is dead, and a chest appear near the body. I opened the chest and retrieved my share of the gear before I grew curious over who fired the killing rocket.

I then looked behind the dead creature's body and saw three pony guardians approaching, the first one was a unicorn in Warlock robes, the second was a Pegasus in Hunter gear, and the last one was an earth pony in Titan armor. They barely paid attention to me as they grabbed everything that was left in the chest and began to walk off, which is considered rude by most other guardians, since they only take what they need and leave some for others.

"Hey!" I shouted, the trio stopped and turned to look at me. "What do you think you're doing?"

"None of your business, Human." the unicorn spat out the last word like it was poison. "Stay out of it."

"At least leave some gear for other Guardians!" I shouted, which got the attention of a nearby raiding party of Fallen soldiers. The three ponies ran off while I fought off the Fallen, taking all the gear with them. After taking down the Fallen troops, I gathered some baking supplies and ingredients from their corpses.

Knowing that it will be very hard to find the three, I instead went around the reef (Tangled Shore and Dreaming City) collecting everything except Vex milk from my kills. I then began baking from the portable oven I obtained from Eva and created two new recipes, Celestial sponge cakes and Lunar cheesecakes for the Princesses. I then went back to Avalon and landed at Canterlot, my plan was to surprise the Princesses and discuss the fate of my attackers (the ones who attacked me earlier in the day).

"Hello your highnesses, Happy Dawning." I said as I entered the throne room and presented my gifts. Princess Luna just arrived to start night court and Princess Celestia was just about to leave.

"What's Dawning?" both of them asked in unison.

"Dawning is similar to your Hearths Warming except it takes place over the course of a whole month and is dedicated to the traveler and its light." I answered. "Most Guardians participate in Dawning festivities by giving gifts and playing games. Some Guardians, like me, bake treats for our gifts, while others give trinkets and gear as their gifts."

"I see...what did you bring then?" Asked princess Celestia as she picked up the box containing her gift with her magic.

"I have a Celestial sponge cake for you Princess, and a Lunar cheesecake for your sister." Princess Celestia then took the box that held her sponge cake and excused herself as she left the throne room.

"Here we go again..." Sighed Princess Luna as the doors leading out of the throne room closed.

"What's going on?" I asked, staring at the door that Princess Celestia just exited from.

"My sister loves cake to the point of obsession, giving her cake is a bad idea when she just finished day court." Princess Luna answered.

"Why is that?" I was curious about Princess Celestia's obsession since it reminded me of Markov's love of vodka.

"CAKE!" I then heard echo throughout the castle. It made me realize that now would not be a good time for discussing prison sentences.

"Never mind." I said as I left the box containing Luna's gift on the ground in front of her and ran out the room as politely as I could. I then tried run out of the castle to avoid being raided by Princess Celestia for more cakes. I was almost off the castle grounds when I was picked up by golden magic and brought face-to-face with a crazy-eyed Princess Celestia.

"GIVE! ME! MORE! CAKE!" She shouted, the words almost loud enough to deafen at close range and unfortunately I was right in front of her.

"I still have to gather the ingredients and bake the thing, can you wait for at least an hour?" I begged, even though I already collected everything I needed for another Celestial sponge cake and it only takes five minutes to bake.

"Fine." I was then unceremoniously dropped and the Princess then went back inside the castle, but not before searching me for any sign of another cake. I ran to my ship as soon as she closed the door and took off for Nessus to get as far away from Avalon as possible. I arrived on Nessus just as a public event started, I summoned my Sparrow and rode towards the event.

"Attention! A Fallen mining expedition is on its way. May I suggest discouraging them?" I heard Failsafe say as I approached the event.

"Alright! Glimmer Extraction! My favorite event to do!" I cheered as I got close. I hopped off my sparrow and ran towards the event with MIDA multi-tool in hand.

I made sure to first destroy the small machine that fed mined glimmer to the drill to help start the Heroic event before I attacked the extractor crews. After chasing the extractors off two times and destroying another 'glimmer feeder', I was approaching the third site where the crews were when a rocket destroyed the third glimmer feeder and triggered the heroic event.

I decided to hide behind cover to see if the three ponies who raided the Abomination earlier in the day were going to show up. After a while, they appeared and stole the glimmer but left the loot chest alone. I opened the chest and grabbed my share before following them.

I followed them from Nessus to Avalon, watching them from a safe distance, until they landed in the everfree forest. I decided not to land my ship, but instead transmat down to avoid being detected. I tailed the trio until they entered a cave and were out of view.

I heard the sound of buzzing insects as I approached the cave entrance, giving me a hint of what awaited me within. I told ghost to keep the light off as I entered, instructing him to turn on his flashlight only when I tell him to. As we descended deeper into the cave, the buzzing grew louder until we saw a light up ahead.

"Here you go my queen, the most glimmer we have managed to steal in one go." I heard the unicorn say to some unknown creature in the area. I silently pulled out my Arsenic Bite bow and nocked an arrow.

"Well done my children, I will see to it that you are all promoted from infiltrators to infiltrator-soldiers." I heard the unknown creature reply, allowing me to get a estimated direction and location.

"Thank you, my queen." I heard the unicorn say before I decided enough was enough and it was time to reveal myself. I ordered Ghost to turn on his flashlight and drew my bow while slowly approaching the three guardians and the unknown creature. The guardian drew their weapons but did not fire due to the fact that my bow was pointing straight at their 'queen'.

"Who are you?" I asked since the creature kept to the darkness just outside my view.

"A creature of many faces and voices, the one who hides amongst the shadows." She answered calmly. "Leave us my children."

The three guardians the left, leaving me, my ghost, and the creature by ourselves. I released the tension in my bow once I knew the guardians were gone and stored the arrow, leaving myself somewhat vulnerable but not defenseless. I also pulled down my hood and took off my helmet so I can see better.

"So, you're a Human. I was wondering how such simple looking creatures with no magic created such powerful weapons and such advanced technology." She said, her sickly green eyes penetrating the darkness.

"And I've been wondering how so many magical creatures have lived so long without even developing pre-golden age tech." I replied smugly. "So tell me, Changeling. Why does your kind need Human weapons and glimmer?"

"You know of our kind?" She asked, sounding sincerely confused. "How?"

"One, your drones addressed you as 'Queen'. Two, you addressed a Earth Pony, Pegasus, and Unicorn as 'children'. And three, your kind attacked Canterlot almost a month ago and failed." I stated "It's pretty obvious your kind are preparing for another attack by your acquisition of modern weaponry."

"Well, I must commend your intuition." She said before the a swarm of changelings decloaked around me. "BUT YOU WILL NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY AGAIN!"

"We'll see about that." I said before casting my super and proceeding to massacre the changelings surrounding me. The queen watched silently as I cut down her children with my arc staff and ran out the cave, only to be met with even more changelings.

"It's over!" shouted a changeling. "You will never defeat us!"

"He's right Guardian, you only have thirty more seconds of super remaining." Ghost told me mentally before some of them revealed their firearms. "Plus, they have modern weaponry."

"I know that, I'll have to make the most of my remaining super energy." I said as I charged the swarm. My arc super running out after defeating a dozen more changelings. I then drew Avalanche and fired until I emptied all my ammo, leaving me with only my Arsenic-Bite Bow, fifty-four arrows, my MIDA multi-tool, and one hundred twenty rounds of primary ammo.

"HE'S OUT! ATTACK!" Shouted one of the gun-wielding changelings before the swarm took to the air to dive-bomb me.

"Ghost, it was an honor being your Guardian." I said out loud as I saw the moon being blocked out by the vast numbers of Changelings.

"Please, the honor was mine." He replied as I readied myself to face the swarm with my MIDA Multi-tool at the ready...

Destiny Calls The Brave

by Reaper99

Arrival

Alliance

Dawning