Machine And Might: Far Horizon Of Stars

by Kriegor

First published 8th of August, 2013

War between people, war between worlds. It all happened, in its own way. What's left is a planet where species live together, a mix of harmony and chaos. A planet with an uncertain future. Welcome, to 'New Earth'.

War between people, war between worlds. It all happened, in its own way. What's left is a planet where species live together, a mix of harmony and chaos. A planet with an uncertain future. Be prepared for change. Welcome, to 'New Earth'.

Waking Up From The Nightmare

Is it over?

Memories streamed into his consciousness, flooding his mind with images of the past. As vivid as a bullet cutting through flesh, pictures and sounds of the day that changed his life appeared. Hazy, far, almost ghostly, they seemed. The deep, metallic voice that repeated itself over and over inside his head for years, came back.

“ANY AND ALL GRYPHON TROOPS, SURRENDER NOW OR FACE IMMEDIATE ERADICATION! BY COMMAND OF THE EQUESTRIAN PRINCESSES, TROTTINGHAM WILL BE LIBERATED!”

“No, no,” he thought. “Think of something happier...”

The images shifted, colliding with one another into a swirling mass of colours. The spectacle went on for a few minutes, or what seemed likes days for him. It did not matter, he was dead. Or at least, so it seemed.

“... you’re my favourite Princess!”

His mind adjusted, the swiveling mess of shades and rainbows turning into a solid image once and for all; an event concluded by a single, softly muttered phrase coming from the dead one.

“What brought me here?”

The awakened one opened his eyes, groggily, to see through a visor. Through that visor, he could see that he was lying down on a floor composed purely of metallic tiles, some missing, revealing cables, information nodes and power conduits. His eyes, adjusting to the light and focusing further. The mechanical arm of his exosuit was in front of him, thankfully still attached.

Upon a closer look, he realized that he was in a massive, circular chamber. All around were sets of consoles, and on the walls, enormous, broken holoscreens caught his eye.

Bullet holes marked through every surface. He shrugged: it was the typical post-combat scenario.

Far steps, yet carrying weight behind them, sounded off behind him. He took an inaudible, sharp breath, his eyes then moving frantically, looking for his gauss rifle; yet it was nowhere to be found: probably on his back locks, but it would take too long. The steps got closer, louder.

Reacting quickly, he rolled away from where the steps were coming, grabbing a hold of his rail pistol and taking fast aim at the newly acquired target.

It was an odd position to be in, lying on your side, aiming your sidearm at a creature inside a mechanical, bipedal combat exosuit the size of Celestia, perhaps even bigger. Painted black, its legs were reverse-jointed, and the face was exposed, revealing a scarred changeling. A friendly one, nonetheless.

“Kent...” the awakened one muttered. The changeling in the other suit leaned down to offer his mechanical hand.

Wasting no time, he holstered his pistol, taking Kent’s hand and helping himself up. Once done, he reached behind his back, taking his rifle. “Sergeant... Glad to see you’re alive.” He glanced to the left, seeing three more exosuited figures dusting themselves off, figures which he barely recalled as his surviving squad, their suits the same as Kent’s, except painted blue. They then moved over to a still unconscious, blue Alicorn. “Luna...” he whispered to himself, then called out, “Prep to get her to a medbay!” He began to move towards the far end of the chamber, away from the entry, towards the main console. “Kent... Remind me of what happened, will you?”

“Eh, sure, Commander,” the changeling muttered, looking down, clearly having trouble remembering the past events himself. “GoldenTalon attacked, and-”

“I know that,” the Commander grunted, halfway over to the console. “Just tell me what knocked us out.”

“Some big, talking ball, sir,” Kent said as they reached the console. The Commander looked up at the main screen, thankfully undamaged. “It exploded and we shot at it... that’s as far as I remember.”

“We’ll figure it out...” He opened his visor, revealing the face of a pony stallion. He spoke again, this time directed to the console: “This is Commander Pipsqueak of New Earth’s Colonial Guard speaking. Requesting full access.”

“Analyzing...” the screen lit up, changing, the colours mixing for a second, then stopping, solidifying in the form of an eye. “ID chip analyzed. Processing request... Granted.” The eye took on a concerned expression. “As one of the last survivors of the Lunar Complex, and now Commanding Officer, we request for you to be discreet with your actions.” It then took a merry look. “Thank you!”

“All the bullshit they put in consoles nowadays...” Kent muttered. The Commander held his rifle with one hand, using his free, tri-fingered mechanical limb to type onto the console, bringing up several menus. He would lie if he said he knew or cared about what most of them meant. As always, classified. He had one objective in mind, as it was.

“This is strictly a last resort measure, Commander,” the console mentioned. Pipsqueak grunted, typing faster in an attempt to rush the process. “But due to the latest events, we understand...” The screen lit up with the familiar logo of the Colonial Guard; below it was a set of well known words.

“Peace Through Unity...”

The Commander was just about to sigh in relief as the face of a Human popped up in the screen. He and Kent stepped back in mere surprise, but soon brought brought their free hands up for a stiff and proud salute.

“This is Supreme Admiral Kira Feros speaking,” the woman said. Behind her, several other men and women could be seen working on consoles. A few Guardsmen walked by, rifles in hand. “If you are seeing or hearing this, it means that your call has been received.”

“Fucking...” Pipsqueak let his hand drop. “That also means it’s a pre-recorded message,” he sighed out. Kent mumbled to himself, doing the same.

“The fleet will arrive in the approximated time shown below. Keep strong, Guardsmen.” The feed cut off.

“Universes damnit!” Kent grunted out while the Commander grabbed a hold of his rifle with both hands. “Thirty seven hours!? High Command should’ve told us this...”

“Doesn’t matter,” Pipsqueak said, taking a step backwards, his eyes locked on the console. “We’ll pull through.” He turned around, his eyes now locking on the other three Guardsmen, knelt by the unconscious Luna. “The Guard always pulls through.” He began to walk over to them, rifle in hand.

Kent remained behind for a few seconds, grimacing, then rushed over to the Commander’s side.

He watched with care, a soft expression behind his visor, yet with a tight grip on his gauss rifle. The five Guardsmen continued looking down, observing Princess Luna’s soft breathing before standing up, unsure of what to do next. Coupled with that, his display showed her vital signs, stable, but incredibly low. It was a surprise that she was still alive.

The Commander sighed, looking at the four Guardsmen. “Private Mirror,” he let out, looking at a Gryphon hen with soft, pink feathers.

She looked up, somewhat startled. “Yes sir?”

“You alright?” Pipsqueak asked. “It’s been a tough ride, I know, but we need you at your best.” He took a step forward, his mechanical foot landing with a heavy thump, then looked at her from behind his visor. “Are you going to keep giving us your best?” The Gryphon nodded in a rather quick manner, her eyes bright, yet visibly uncomfortable. Pipsqueak motioned towards the unconscious Princess, who continued to breathe gently. “Be careful with her. Let’s go.”

Without looking back, he moved one of his legs forward to begin a slow, calm walk, the other four falling behind him after Private Mirror carefully wrapped her mechanical arms around Luna’s limp body. They all continued forth together, rifles ready in hand, towards the exit of the massive chamber. It soon took them into an open hallway, scarred due to combat and riddled with the bloodied, dismembered bodies of both Guardsmen and mercenaries.

Kent’s heavy steps signaled a rush over to the Commander, then, he ushered to him, “Sir! Where’s the android?”

Pipsqueak’s expression froze, the gears in his mind clicking. He continued walking through the hallway as if nothing had happened, leading the rest of his squad. “I... don’t know.” He tilted his head to the side, forcing himself to think of a solution. “We’ll track him down after we get Luna to the medbay.”

The Sergeant looked down worriedly, then nodded. “Copy, sir.”

Sighing, the Commander turned his head to the left, looking at the bloodied wall-panels lining the hallway. “I know how you feel, Kent.” He turned back to the changeling, who looked at him as well. Both of them shared worried looks, though Pipsqueak’s turned into a decided glare after a second or two. “It feels like everything’s gone to hell, doesn’t it? Well, it hasn’t. Get that into your head or stay behind.”

Kent’s expression turned into a frown. Pipsqueak could easily tell that the Sergeant was as decided to finish what was started as he himself was. One of the clear thoughts that his mind could form was the word, “Good.” He looked ahead, not ignoring his companion, but noticing that during the entire exchange, whether or not it was miniscule, the squad of surviving Lunar Guardsmen had already reached the elevator shaft.

The deep dents left by their fall were still there, on the bottom. He stopped at the edge between the hall and the shaft itself. A few bodies of exosuited, mangled mercenaries also accompanied and completed the dark display. Memories of himself, Luna, the M.A.C unit, and his squad falling at top speed down the shaft rised into his mind, at first hazy, then as vivid as the current situation.

The entire complex seemed to give a metallic groan for a moment, nothing out of the ordinary, but distinctive nevertheless. The Commander turned on his shoulderlamp, looking up into the shaft. Cables, left exposed by missing panels, sparked in an almost rhythmic manner. For a brief moment, everything was perfectly silent save for Pipsqueak’s own breathing, the sparks, and the deep groans of the Lunar Complex. It was broken only by a single question uttered by a single, nervous Gryphon.

“Orders, sir?”

Pipsqueak was immediately taken out of his thoughts, the sparks of a nearby set of cables falling atop his suit. He ignored them and so did his squad: there were more important things to pay attention to. “Are the elevators still working?” he quickly, bluntly asked, turning to the rest of his companions, the heavy steps of his exosuit accompanied by the groans of the facility which continued to sound off.

The changeling Sergeant blinked, then blinked again. Pipsqueak knew, there was no immediate way of knowing whether or not the elevators were working, but he prayed to the universes that at least one of them was. He watched as Kent took a step back, before turning, holding his rifle in one hand, yet with an iron grip, so it would seem.

As Kent made his way over to the elevator’s control panel, Pipsqueak turned his head to Mirror, finding that the Gryphon was looking down, staring at the Princess whose slumber seemed like it would have no end. He followed the hen’s gaze down, checking on the alicorn’s vital signs. Once again, stable, but barely. “She’ll be alright,” he said, prompting her to look up into his eyes.

She proceeded to mutter, “I just... most of us never thought we’d see Luna again, let alone hold her in this... state.”

The Commander let the focus of his eyes drift onto the floor, then back up as he regained confidence. “I know... But don’t worry, we’ll get her to a safe place...” His expression slowly turned into a frown. “Am I right or not?”

Private Mirror smiled, the confidence of the Commander seeping into her own being, something that showed in her eyes. “Yes sir!” she reaffirmed. Pipsqueak smiled behind his visor.

“Sir,” Kent cut in, all faces turning to him, watching him as he looked back at the Commander from all the way over the Elevator’s control panel. “Elevator’s arriving.”

After taking in what the changeling said, Pipsqueak nodded from inside his suit. “Got it,” he said, his shoulders shrugging as he turned around to face the elevator shaft. “Lock and load, we could have visitors.” He undid the safety on his rifle, so did the others. Already, the low growl of the magnetic accelerators that powered the elevator could be heard, a signal of its approach. A groan of the entire facility was all that was left to finish the entire display as he and his team, except for Mirror, aimed their rifles high, watching as the metallic box completed its descent.

Releasing a contained breath and lowering his rifle, Pipsqueak disposed less than a second to examine the entirety of the elevator. The windows, shattered, nothing but shards of glass laying on the floor and small pieces of glass still holding themselves in the fixtures. Dents on both the floor and the walls, even the ceiling, and coupled with bullet holes. Signals of fighting that took place inside, only accented by the dismembered corpse of a Guardsman still lying on the centre.

They all stared at the body for just a second, Pipsqueak included, before he called out, “Get that out of here.” The heavy thuds of everyone’s legs, the deep, metallic groans of the complex as the team finally crossed the line between the hallway and the elevator. Kent placed his rifle behind his back, the magnetic locks keeping it in place, then leaned down to grab a hold of the corpse. His mechanical hands got a firm hold of it, then the strength of his suit came into action as he dragged the body out of the box, leaving a trail of blood behind.

The Commander released a soft sigh, watching with worried eyes as Kent disposed of the body before walking back into the elevator. Pipsqueak looked down, all of his facial and head movements hidden from the rest of his squad thanks to his visor, then looked back up, at the two other Guardsmen, nor Kent, nor Mirror, as they whispered to each other. “Corporals...” he directed himself to the two. “Anything I should know?”

“No, sir...” one of them said, a pony mare, blue eyes, red mane, soft complexion.

“No, sir...” the other one repeated, almost at the same time, a pony stallion, blue eyes, red mane, accentuated complexion.

Both of them spoke at the same time, “Not really...” then looked at each other.

“Now’s the time to speak,” the Commander said to the twins, looking away from them and out the shattered, broken windows of the elevator as it began to ascend. For a single second, the only sounds were the constant groans of the complex, his own breathing, and the growl of the elevator’s magnetic accelerators as it boosted itself upwards. He added his voice to the orchestra, “What’s on your minds?” Kent and Mirror remained silent.

They shuffled uncomfortably, their armored feet thumping against the metallic floor of the elevator. They shared concerned glances, the stallion raised an eyebrow, the mare nodded, then they looked back at the Commander, the former speaking up, “Sir... We’ve been through alot this past day, right?” Pipsqueak gave them an affirming nod using his torso, yet unsure as to what they were getting at. “It’s just that... Is the worst of it... over?”

Pipsqueak huffed, shrugging his shoulders in a casual manner, still looking out into the elevator shaft, observing as they sped past broken power conduits and missing panels. “I’d lie if I told you that I knew.” He twisted his torso in a manner so he would be looking at the two. “But like I’ve told many before you: the Guard always pulls through, no matter what. Is that clear?”

“Heads up!” the Sergeant’s voice called out amongst the silence that had barely built up, accompanied by the fact that the elevator’s low growl began to lower its tone. “We’ve arrived at the Medical Center!”

The entire team except for Private Mirror took up arms. Several clicks could be heard, coming from the unfastened safeties of their gauss rifles. The Commander eyes and focus moved away from the outside of the elevator and onto the set of doors that would eventually separate them from the Medical Center.

Slowly, on the corner of his eye, he could see through the broken windows that the elevator moved slower through the shaft, to the point in which it was almost painful to focus on that detail. His eyes remained locked on the doors, the elevator stopping with a metallic clang. A spark coming from the doors. Nobody moved, not a single inch, as they were simply ready to engage an enemy that could or could not be there, and after another round of sparks, half of the set of doors opened.

Pipsqueak released the breath that was contained within himself, lowering his rifle. So did the others, though releasing audible sighs as they relaxed themselves. “More bodies?” asked Kent.

The Commander simply observed the Medical Center, the bloodied white tiles marked with burn marks and bullet holes, complete with the deceased bodies of those who were brought during the fighting for an attempt to save their lives. Cables and other forms of power conduits hung from the ceiling, sparking every once in awhile. Just like the rest of the complex, the area was dead.

After just a second of examining his surroundings, Pipsqueak saw it fit to motion with his arm for his squad to follow him once more. Without saying a word, they did as he directed, following him as he began a cautious walk towards a nearby door, a sign on top of it giving the direction of a life support chamber.

Surprisingly enough, the door to the chamber slid open with a slight hiss, no issues whatsoever. Without hesitation, the Commander stepped to the left, his feet landing with heavy thumps, and began directing his squad inside silently, and once they all walked inside, he followed suit.

The metallic feet of their suits landed upon a strange liquid. He looked down, a clear reflection of himself staring back at him. Afterwards, he adjusted his grip on his rifle, taking his focus off of himself and onto the rest of the chamber. Broken cryotubes, bodies lying atop medical tables with pools of blood surrounding them to add to the display.

“Incoming transmission...” his suit’s VI, a deep, metallic voice, spoke up. Pipsqueak and his squad shared glances, listening closely to what was about to come.

“... This is Regiment Twelve-One-Delta of New Earth’s Colonial Guard,” a female voice said through the radio. Pipsqueak released an audible sigh. “We’re responding to your backup call. Any and all survivors of the Lunar Regiment, please come in.”

The Commander nodded as the rest of his squad let go of contained breaths and sighs, sharing relaxed glances with one another. “This is Commander Pipsqueak of the Lunar Regiment speaking, do you copy?”

“Thank the Universes,” the Guardswoman said. “Commander, we’re pinging your location now. Backup should arrive in two minutes.”

“Make sure you send a full medical team,” Pipsqueak said, looking at Princess Luna, still held in Mirror’s arms, barely breathing. “We need evac on a mortally wounded, high value VIP... It’s Princess Luna.”

The Guardswoman remained silent for a second, leaving only the static of the radio for Pipsqueak to hear. “... Copy. Make that one minute.” Afterwards, the transmission cut off with a static ping, signalling the end of the exchange.

Pipsqueak looked over to his ragtag squad, smiling behind his visor. “Told you it’d get better.” Even though they could not see his expression, they returned the smile. “Now, come on, we have work to do.”

“Alright!” the Head Medic yelled out amidst the many Guardsmen. She seemed to look around the inside of the building, as if there was something hiding behind the many consoles spread evenly throughout it “Let’s go!”

Pipsqueak watched with concern as they took her away in a medical cart, an entire team of trained Combat Medics next to her, each one of them holding a piece of lift-support equipment as they rushed for the elevator along with the other Guardsmen. Bag of serum, emergency defibrillator, heart monitor, and more. But, nevertheless, he felt a sense of satisfaction deep within. After all, he had helped his favourite Princess.

The heavy thumps of a personal exosuit moving over to him brought him out of his thoughts. He twisted his torso to the right, his eyes engaging with the purely blue orbs of Sergeant Kent. “Commander,” said the scarred changeling.

“Yes?” Pipsqueak raised an eyebrow.

Kent’s stance stiffened. “Orders, sir?” After the question, Pipsqueak looked behind the Sergeant and over to the two Corporals and Private Mirror, who were also standing at attention.

His eyebrow lowered itself, expression turning into a decided frown. The Commander’s hand tightened around his gauss rifle. “We track down the M.A.C unit.”

A Shard Of The Past

The low hum of the dropship’s engines shook the cargo bay. Inside, four beings were attached magnetically to the walls by their backs, two on each side, all of them wearing the standard combat exosuit of the Colonial Guard.

Both his mind and his eyes were focused on the hologram displayed in front of him, courtesy of the generator in his exosuit’s forearm. He examined it closely: a green, holographic version of New Earth with the vague coordinates of a crash site. Pipsqueak let out a sigh and then looked up, the hologram displayed by his arm’s display turning off as he lowered it.

The blue eyes of Sergeant Kent were staring at him from the other side of the bay. “Been able to ping the android’s crash site yet, sir?”

The Commander shook his head, the eyes of Kent and the two twins locked on him for the time being. “Not completely.” The dropship began to rumble.

“We’re burning in, sir,” Private Mirror said through the intercom while piloting the ship. “I advise that we set up a clear objective.”

Pipsqueak brought his arm up again, checking the holographic map. “Set a course to Zebrica,” he said, letting his arm drop down. “The crash data leads there.”

“Copy that, sir.”

Everything leading up to this had gone by in what felt like a bright flash. Questions spawned inside his mind in an almost endless manner, as if he held the answers to everything. He simply continued to walk, to move, doing just as the world around him did: continue.

His life in Trottingham, the Vector war; challenges that presented themselves to him without end, without halt. Now, the battle on the Lunar complex. Having to fight alongside the Princess and the only remaining M.A.C unit known to still exist, and now trying to track down the latter, not knowing whether or not it perished in the last stand against an unknown enemy.

The dropship continued to rumble as he lost himself to his thoughts. What kept him going? Just another question he did not hold the answer to. It felt as if an almost mystical force was pushing him from behind with the sole purpose of making him move forth.

The three other Guardsmen in the troop bay continued to glance at him every passing moment, visibly begging for answers themselves. He simply returned them with the occasional frown, transmitting the only thought he had about the whole situation.

“Keep going.”

Kent looked over at him, tilting his head to the side. “Sir,” he said, pointing at his arm. Pipsqueak looked down to see the hologram light up once more, this time displaying more accurate data.

“Private,” he said, bringing his right hand over, using his mechanical fingers to start typing into the small interface. “It worked: I’ve got better coordinates now. Apparently the android landed somewhere near a small, remote village in inner Zebrica. I’m not sure wether it’s still functioning or not... I’m transmitting the location to you now.”

“Copy that, sir,” Mirror said through the intercom. “ETA is one minute.”

Pipsqueak relaxed, returning to his resting position and turning off the holomap. On the corner of his eye, he could see the two twin corporals talking to each other. He decided to listen in to their conversation.

“Some ride, eh?” the male one said, smiling.

“Universes, Jamble,” Prism said, clearly bothered by her brother’s constant talking. “Will you just shut up?”

Corporal Jamble huffed. “Come on, Prissy!” He looked at her with a grin on his face. “We survived a mercenary attack, fighting along Princess Luna herself, AND and android! And now we’re going to Zebrica!”

Pipsqueak glanced over to Kent, seeing the changeling’s eyes locked on the twins. “Shut the hell up, you two!”

“Fifteen seconds ‘till landing!” Mirror called out. “Better grab your gear!”

Nodding, Pipsqueak unlocked himself from the wall, reaching behind his back to grab a hold of his gauss rifle.

“Landing...”

A renewed heavy shake announced the dropship had landed at its intended point. The ramp began its descent, revealing to the eyes of Pipsqueak a scorching sun shining with intensity above a savannah-like area. His visor instantly polarized to compensate for the glare, letting him see beyond, a small village amongst the rocky hills. Buildings made of sandstone ruled it, and amongst it where some palm trees.

“Move it!” he called as the ramp touched down. “Clear the landing zone!” He raised his left arm to check the holomap as his team moved out of the dropship. The android’s signal had gotten much stronger, but the actual crash zone was around in a one or two kilometer radius.

Pipsqueak walked out, lowering his arm and turning the map off, holding his rifle tightly. Behind him, Private Mirror followed, stomping over next to him. “Any news on the location, sir?”

“It landed somewhere around two kilometers from here...” The Commander motioned towards the village. “We’re going in. At least one of them should’ve seen where it landed.”

His foot landed softly on the ground, digging itself into it. Small plants, green, others dead and brown, littered the main street of the desert village. The villagers themselves did what they could to hide from the five Guardsmen, but their efforts were of little to no use. The wind, whipped the nearby palm trees and lifted the sand off of the ground, making it cluster in the joints of his suit.

The Commander could see the heat signatures through his visor, from the villagers hiding inside their sandstone houses. He saw them moving, whispering to each other in their own language outside of the range of the suit’s “autotranslator,” unsure as to what to do. It was until one of the doors burst open under the scorching sun that the silence was broken. The Guardsmen turned to see two villagers, equine in anatomy, their bodies covered by cloaks, making their way over to them in a cautious manner.

Pipsqueak knew not to waste any more time, so he approached the two, his team tagging behind him. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed how unphased the two beings seemed; an expression that went unnoticed thanks to his visor.

Once the two factions reached a reasonable distance between one another, they stopped moving. The villagers looking up, their faces shadowed by their hoods, and the Guardsmen looking down at them, their faces hidden by their visors.

Surprisingly enough, it was the villagers who spoke first. “Sons of man...” the one in the front spoke, taller in figure, his voice deep, old, and carrying an accent propietary of the village. “We can only assume that you have come to our village, disturbing our peace, to take away our land.” He took off his cloak with one swift move of his right foreleg, revealing the stripped, scarred body of an old Zebra. Pipsqueak found himself staring into his eyes, one of them blind, as he continued to speak. “The answer, as has it been during the other three times you’ve come here, is no.”

The Commander looked over his shoulder, nodding as he placed his rifle over his back, prompting the other Guardsmen to do the same. He then looked back down at the Zebra. “It’s not that...” He motioned upwards. “We’re looking for something. I assume that you saw a big flash in the heavens-”

“You mean the photon-magic blast that took place just above the magisphere, Commander?” The Zebra chuckled as the Guardsmen looked at each other in sudden confusion. “Becoming the elder of a village, let alone in Zebrica itself, requires much study. And, I was a Guardsman once, myself.” He glanced over at the other villager, who had remained perfectly still and quiet during the entire exchange. “I am assuming that you came here for the object that landed nearby soon after the explosion, yes?”

Pipsqueak nodded. “Indeed we are. Once a Guardsman, always a Guardsman... So, will you help us?”

The Elder gave a single nod, then looked over to his companion. “Go, show them the way.”

He stopped walking as the villager leading him came to a halt as well. He found himself atop a small hill, overlooking a massive complex of canyons and cracks on the earth itself. The sun still remained high in the sky, the wind continued its effort to sandblast his suit.

A digital beep came from his left forearm; he raised it, the map activating itself to give him a more or less clear location of the crash site, as it was provided that they had gotten close enough to it. He then lowered it, turning it off. “Thank you.”

Without a word, the Zebra nodded and began his walk off. Pipsqueak grabbed a hold of his rifle, the armored feet of his suit landing with heavy thuds on the uneven terrain as he slid down the hill. His team followed suit, a cummulation of thumps and thuds as they walked forth.

Eventually, he met a cliff, the canyon itself. He looked down, seeing the crash site

at the bottom. After giving out a shrug, he jumped.

Pipsqueak crouched, sighing. The remains of the android scattered throughout the area. Pieces, just pieces, nothing that still moved or functioned, except for the small, bleeping chip he held in his left hand. Even then, it was the mere locational transmitter.

“Come on, sir,” Corporal Jamble said. The Commander stood up, unceremoniously dropping the piece he held in his hand before turning around to see his team looking at him. “Maybe we can rebuild it. Besides, it’s just an android-”

Pipsqueak’s visor slid open, revealing his angered expression. He used his free hand to point at the Corporal. “Just an android?! These “androids,” fought for us during the Vector war, gave their existence for us, and all we promised in exchange was that we would remember them!” He snorted angrily. “Any of you, tell me, did you know that? Did you remember them?”

The squad remained silent, only to be distracted when a flash of light and a blast coming from the sky forced them to look up, only to see a massive object breaking out of hyperspace with blazing fury.

Colonial Effort

At first noticed, fluctuation in power. As if, a reality-bending structure with the force of a thousand suns struck her in the mind. Nothing. Whispers of the death, the particular aura of the moon being able to be sensed within her. She was still there, in the satellite, wandering through halls of theory that never ceased to expand, along with the hundreds of souls that had perished in the same place as her that same night. Silence. Overwhelming sense of dread that compulsively threatened to kill it all, over and over again.

Fluctuating current of existence that had not considered slowing down for once, yet it did, then accelerated again, and repeated the same process. Something wanted to wake her up. The whispers went quiet and stared at her, voices arriving that however did not want to stop and watch like the whispers did. Getting stronger, not only the voices, but herself as well.

How far had she approached the void? Time would tell. It never lies unless you adjust the clock to lie for you. Even then, it was honest, already telling her that she had to breathe.

She tried, yet could not. Not even an image to give name to the everlasting death that would not let go. Dancing words that could hardly form coherent thought and line of prose. Coma would be an adequate definition for the state she was in. A spark, lighting the fires of the sun that warmed the body and fed the soul. Tragic stories of death forming paragraph upon paragraph of thought that lined themselves like drunken sailors.

Luna opened her eyes to see the burning light behind armored body. She was alive, and something joined the ride with her.

Pipsqueak’s visor slid closed as he looked up into the sky, polarizing as to compensate for the glaring strength of Zebrica’s sun. Far above him and the canyons was a massive, flaming object breaking out of hyperspace in the middle of the atmosphere. What looked like a meteorite was blazing towards the planet, and with little time to react, the Commander turned to his squad and yelled out: “Take cover!” as he crouched down, prompting the others to do the same.

The meteorite was quick to fly over their heads, crashing down with a deafening blast nearby. The ground quaked with intensity as it did, and light flashed around the crash site as it collided.

He remained in the same position for a few seconds, listening as his radio picked up a signal. “Commander, this is Apex HQ, come in Commander.”

Releasing a grunt, Pipsqueak stood up, grabbing a hold of his rifle and looking at the rest of his team as he replied, “Commander Pipsqueak here…”

“We just picked up a strange hyperspace rupture in your area. Can you confirm?”

“Confirmed…” He frowned behind his visor. His squad whispered to each other in confusion.

“Acknowledged. As your squad is nearest to the location, we require you to go investigate. Code: SENT, GATHER, SACRIFICE.”

“... Copy that.” Pipsqueak stomped on the ground angrily as the transmission line cut off, forcing his squad to look over to him. “Alright, listen up!” he yelled. “We’re heading to the crash site, and let’s be quick.”

It took a few seconds for his subordinates to process the order. They then, reluctantly, began their move towards the crash site, following the canyon.

With rifle in hand, he pressed on, briefly wondering what it was that he would find on the crash site.

“Born to go into harm’s way, I guess,” Corporal Jamble said as they observed the massive meteorite. A metallic structure, red hot from the friction it received as it entered the atmosphere and crashed.

Pipsqueak shouldered his rifle, grumbling. “Command… you getting this?”

“Affirmative, Commander. Request send one of your units to investigate. SACRIFICE code is now in full effect.”

He looked behind himself, seeing his squad staring at him worriedly. Pipsqueak then turned back to the object. “Stay here. All of you,” he said as began to walk towards it.

“But… sir,” Mirror uttered.

“That’s an order!” the Commander barked as he sped up his pace. He maintained a firm grip on his rifle, walking ever closer to the object itself, to the point where the well-defined, metallic plates and hydraulics of it were visible to him. His geiger counter lit up, crackling with intensity.

A low, metallic growl emanated from the structure. He stopped on his trail, several dozen meters away from the massive pseudo-meteorite. “Sir…” his radio picked up Kent’s voice. “Get out of there.”

He began to step back when another deafening metallic growl shook the ground under his armored feet. Completely stoic, he watched as it uncurled itself, still glowing from the heat, what seemed like an arm stretching out into the air, then a second one, both of them fitted with massive claws and several cannons. It was not long before it used both arms to prop itself up, standing up on two, reverse-jointed legs, looking directly at Pipsqueak with two, glowing red eyes. Underneath them was a dented jaw, with the half-mangled body of a human hanging from it.

General Gilda, along with an entire team of technicians inside the Apex Citadel stared at a group of holoscreens, each of them displaying an enormous, bipedal construct from the point of view of a certain Commander Pipsqueak. Her eyes widened as it began to open fire upon the Guardsman.

“It’s… not friendly, Ma’am,” one of the technicians muttered.

Gilda furrowed her brow. “They need air support, and they need it now.” She lifted one of her forelegs up and pointed with her claw at the screen. “Call in emergency surgical strike package Luna at hostile location. Dedicated forces, roll in!”

Pipsqueak continued to run, explosions blasting near him as the metallic monster continued to unleash fire. He took cover behind a rock, yelling over the radio, “Kent! Get everyone out of here!”

“Localized assets, report hangar bay zulu, immediately!” a gruff, male voice sounded off throughout the station. She rushed through the airlock, alarms blaring out in a deafening manner, complete with strobing orange lights.

Coordinated chaos inside the hanger, people ran towards every direction, Colonial Guardsmen getting ready for battle. “Go, haul flank!” a sergeant yelled out, directing his squad inside a dropship.

She climbed onto her fighter, strapping herself to the seat, which stabbed her spinal cord with multiple neural links. Once done, and as she closed the cabin, she looked over to her right, where another fighter lay docked. “Darkstar, are you ready?”

“Ready as can be!” her wingman yelled out.

With her hooves, she began pressing the buttons meant to light up the vehicle. “Engine: online,” the fighter’s VI called out as the thrusters heated up. “Sensors: online.” The display in the cockpit lit up like christmas. “Weapons: ready.” With a few mental commands, she spun the GAU Twenty autocannon at the nose of her plane.

“Lance one, Darkstar one, you’re both ready to lift off. Move it!”

“Copy!” the landing pad turned red hot as she applied more thrust to her engines, lifting the fighter off of it. She adjusted her position in the seat and turned off the vertical thrust, compensating it with forward force. The fighter soon left the station, going through the hangar’s energy field and onto New Earth’s orbit.

“Passing through low orbit,” Darkstar called out.

“Copy, Gryphs. Target zone is Killbox Delta. Ground team’s requesting full fire support. Don’t hold back.”

“Gryphs in the area,” said the pony piloting the fighter as she flew over the border of Zebrica. “Darkstar status?”

“Receiving strike location…” said her wingman. “Three hundred kilometers forward.”

“Copy, copy,” she replied.

“Sir!” Mirror called out over the radio. “Friendlies incoming!”

“Get that thing marked!” Kent yelled. Soon after, the machine was lit up with laser sights.

It continued to fire mercilessly upon him. Pipsqueak slowed down to a halt and turned around as the angry roars of Colonial Guard fighters reached his ears, just in time for him to see a barrage of projectiles and missiles hit their target.

As the smoke cleared out, the Commander was able to see the machine break out from the cloud, barely even scratched.

“Target area not clean,” a voice said over his intercom. “Station Shockwave, use M.A.R.S rounds. Crack the sky.”

A flash of light above the clouds, an orbital strike breaking the sky apart.

Arrival

Out in the vast fields of District Thirty Six, one of the many farm districts set on the changeling lands, Kim Lone pushed hard with her hooves to drag her old toy box out of her home. She looked around her porch, seeing her mother sitting on a chair by the edge. “Hi Mom...” she called out.

Her mother looked over at her, smiling. “Hello, pumpkin. Why are you out here so late?”

“I can’t sleep…” the young changeling muttered as she reached into her
old toybox, pulling out a figurine of a human Guardsman.

“Dreaming of your father, I assume?” Her mother sighed, getting off of the chair and walking over to her, sitting down on the floor.

Kim placed the figurine against her chest as she began to pout. She looked up at her mother. “Are you, too?”

Mother looked away. “I… I am.”

The two spent a moment of silence, then Kim began to analyze the toy she held in her hooves, remembering when her father gave it to her, as it was the only thing she had to remember him. “When is he gonna be back…?”

“I don’t know, pumpkin.” The older changeling muttered. “He’s just out in space, like I’ve told you.”

“Is he…?” Kim set the figurine on the floor, sighing. “So many years have passed now… Why isn’t he coming back?”

“I wish I knew…”

The sky flashed with white light, the ground quaked. “Woah!” Kim yelled, getting up and looking at the night’s sky, just as dozens of ships began to emerge above from hyperspace, followed by the behemoth that was the Vector. She bit her right hoof and shed a tear.

“Daddy…”

Gate

General Gilda stood at the main entrance of the Apex Citadel, flanked by heavy Colonial Guardsmen of her choosing. She looked down at her uniform, pristine, then looked back up at the night’s sky: a sight completed by the appearance of the human fleet.

She gulped as fighters and dropships began to stream out of every opening of the massive contraptions that floated overhead, mainly the USS Vector. Her stance stiffened as one of the dropships steered over towards her and the Citadel, burning through the atmosphere at several times the speed of sound.

Moments of silence were spent as her and her guards watched it get ever so closer to them, like a falling star. Thoughts ran to and fro inside Gilda’s mind, wondering what Supreme Admiral Feros would say to her.

People of all species began to gather around the Citadel, some of them in complete silence, most of them cheering as the dropship slowed down and began to settle down. With a loud clunk, the ship landed in front of the Citadel, people hesitant to even get close to it. A low hiss emanated out of it as the ramp lowered itself down, revealing an entire squad of actual Guardsmen, their hulking bodies rushing out and forming a perimeter between the ship and the crowd. It was then, that a more slim, female human stepped out, heading towards Gilda and her guards.

“Atten-hut!” she called out, propping up a stiff salute along with the guards as Kira Feros walked up to her.

“At ease, General,” Feros said, her faceplate sliding backwards to reveal her commanding expression as Gilda and her guards lowered their salutes.

“Admiral Feros, it’s an honor to finally see you again.” Gilda looked up and popped a half-smile. “Let’s waste no time, we have something to show you,” she said as she nodded and turned around, calling out to her guards afterwards, “Escort formation, go!”

Gilda stepped into the elevator, followed by their guards. “Setting course for section eight. Please stand by,” the Citadel’s VI said as the elevator began ascending. Through several windows, those inside could see smoke rising from small parts of Apex, as well as the ever increasing crowd outside of the Citadel.

“I got from your reports that GoldenTalon staged a takeover,” Feros said. “Why is that?”

“After interrogating some of their soldiers,” Gilda replied, “we harvested some… information.” She turned to the human Admiral, sighing, “It seems they wished to return the world to its ‘Original’ state, even if that meant releasing the spirit of Nightmare Moon from the center of the moon. One phrase was repeated by each interroge, ‘Salvation through destruction’... They were out of their minds. Cultists,” she spat.

Kira Feros folded her arms, still looking out through the windows. “I see…” She looked over at Gilda. “And what exactly do you have prepared for me in Section Eight?”

Gilda pointed at the windows, just as the elevator slipped into the insides of the Citadel, only to re emerge, this time overlooking a cargo bay. In there, the broken pieces of a massive, bipedal war machine lay dormant. “It broke out of hyperspace a few hours before you, over Zebrica. It then went hostile on one of our groundteams, and had to plot an orbital strike to take it down.”

“I thought we were alone on this system…” Feros muttered.

“Not only that,” Gilda replied. “But it came with the corpse of a human.” She looked up at the Admiral, smiling. “Due to the way it’s constructed, it fits your records from before you came to our planet. We… have reason to believe it is Ubor.”

Feros’ eyes widened. “U-Ubor…?”

“Or rather,” Gilda looked back through the viewports. “Signs that the original USC may be closer than we think.”

The elevator stopped, Kira and the other humans rushing out towards the center of the cargo bay. Gilda followed suit. As they approached the monstrosity, one of the several technicians examining it walked up to Gilda and Feros, walking with them. “General, Admiral, we have important findings to share with you,” said the changeling technician. “The… supposed Ubor, had a hyperdrive built into it. It’s not conventional, though. We traced odd energy trails, similar to pony magic.”

“Cut to the chase,” Feros uttered as they stopped walking, facing the technician.

“Yes, Admiral,” he replied. “If I’m correct, and if you did not find anything while on your dormant hyperspace trip, then your very enemy may have found its way to this place…”

“Which means…” Gilda muttered.

The changeling grinned. “We may have found a way for you to get back home, Admiral.”

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the short chapters. I'm getting onto that, so expect longer stuff in the future.

Leaving, Arriving

Luna calmly trotted through the halls of the Vector, recently re-fitted with the multi-species crew it deserved. Ponies, changelings, gryphons, humans, all stopped what they were doing to salute her as she made her way through.

Just a few days ago, the humans had reluctantly assimilated Ubor technology into their ship, albeit the only one with a drive core powerful enough for what was to come. The tests on the new technology had proven effective, with capacity to travel beyond what other drive cores could. Probes had been launched, transmissions returning successfully. There was no telling where exactly the probes arrived, but one thing was certain: they made it far.

Reaching the blast doors to the Command Bridge, Luna nodded at the two armored pony guards standing by it, prompting them to open the doors for her. Walking in into the bridge itself, she was met by the sight of technicians working on their consoles with machine-like efficiency, holoscreens set up on the walls and ceilings, and the main viewscreen, currently overlooking the planet. She made her way over to Admiral Feros, arriving by her side as the woman dismissed the newly assigned Infantry Commander, previously known as “General Gilda.”

Luna watched the gryphon hen walk off, before looking up into the eyes of the Admiral. “Is it true, Admiral? Have you really found a way?”

Feros huffed. “We have.” She pointed at the lot of technicians, almost all of them non-human. “Several of our current bridge technicians have worked on the retrofitting of the transdim core. I’m proud to see that your people have never lost their sense of duty… and kindness. Without the help of the natives, this would have never been achieved.”

“But why the Vector?” Luna said. “Why not a smaller ship? What if the jump fails… catastrophically?”

“It would take decades to build another ship capable of doing this, and your planet would be starved of resources, practically left to rot in this system along with all of its people.” Feros placed her hands behind her back. “This is here and now. We have ninety-five percent of a chance that we will arrive in, or near the Milky Way. Our drive core can safely take us to the nearest USC-controlled system from there…” She looked out the main viewscreen. “And the soul of every man and woman will be able to rest once again.”

“As far as I know, Admiral,” Luna followed Feros’ gaze to and through the viewscreen. “This is interdimensional travel we are handling here. What if we get to the wrong dimension?”

“We jump back, or keep looking.” Feros sighed. “What are we prepared to sacrifice, is the better question.” She looked back down at Luna. “Back then, your mages wrote down the specific energy signature of the jump that got us here. So did our technicians. The appearance of the Ubor in this system, in this dimension, means that we, as the United Species Coalition, are no longer alone. If we do not scratch the machine threat off of the board, chances are your planet will eventually fall.”

“I see…” Luna muttered. “That is what drives us, the natives, along with our sense of kindness and generosity. But what drives you…?”

“Home.” Feros whispered. “Many of us have settled down in this planet, hence why we mixed the crew for this. But… many of us had families, children. We would do anything, anything, to see them once again.”

The Princess nodded. “And we will do nothing to stop you from having just that…” She blinked and looked at the many consoles manned by the technicians. “What about us, though? What if we are stuck there?”

“Like I said, Princess.” Kira looked down sternly at the alicorn. “What are you prepared to sacrifice? You, as the representant of them all, should have that clear.”

Pipsqueak stomped into the meeting chamber, holoscreens set all around, and a circular chamber on the middle, with his squad sitting around it. They stood up a saluted him, then sat back down.

“Been a while, sir,” Kent spoke up. “We’re glad you picked us… thought it all ended after Zebrica.”

“Likewise,” the Commander said. “I had to do a lot of paperwork for this.” He leaned over the table and rested his mechanical arms on it. “Now, commence debriefing.” The screens lit up with the image of a galaxy. “We’ve been assigned on the Vector, as you can clearly see. Now, here’s the important data; this ship has been retrofitted with the tech we scavenged from the Combat Walker at Zebrica… It was an Ubor.”

“Ubor?” Ramble muttered. “You’re… kidding, right? Sir?”

“I wish I was.” He glanced over at the holoscreens. “As far as we have investigated, it possessed tech that allowed for inter-dimensional travel. Since we adapted it to the Vector, I believe you can all figure out where we’re going.”

“Sir?” Mirror asked. “Is High Command sure about this? What if-”

“Here’s the catch… While all of us were too busy doing paperwork, or, returning the calm to the planet, Command launched probes, made studies. All you need to know is that we can and will go through this.” Pipsqueak stood upright once again. “Regaining contact with the original USC is our top priority at this moment. Now go, get some rest, stock up on food… Dismissed.”

Luna walked over to Kira Feros’ side. “Is everything ready?” she asked.

The woman nodded, pressing a set of fingers into her ear. “Alright Guardsmen, jump is go. I repeat, jump is go!”

A single, stray question popped into the Princess’ mind. “What about our magic? Will we be able to survive in your dimension?”

Kira looked down at Luna. “Don’t worry about that, we made sure that every non-human crewmember is carrying a small energy generator, which replicates the magical field of your planet. In your case, the energy core that replaced your heart should be sufficient.”

Sirens and alarms began to sound off. “All crew members,” the Vector’s deep, metallic voice said. “Prepare for imminent jump.”

Chatter filled the Command Bridge, technicians talking to and fro. Luna looked up at the Admiral, who in turn pointed at the main viewscreen, just as the ship began to speed into hypervelocity. After that, all that could be seen in the screen was blue, flame-like sprites. The crew fell silent, all the chatter suddenly falling. Luna gulped and glanced around, only to find that the entire bridge crew was looking at the viewscreen.

The Vector gave out a low growl, Luna’s eyes darting around in an attempt to track down the source, then up questionly at the Admiral. Seeing Kira’s eyes looked onto the viewscreen, she followed suit. Another growl, source unknown, before the ship broke out of hyperspace.

“Jump successful,” the Vector said. “Calculating…”

Luna gasped, looking through the viewscreen, at a planet surrounded by ships and massive stations, with its continents dominated by shining megacities. She cracked a weak smile, looking up at Kira, who had brought her hand up to her face, letting tears crawl down her face.

“Location: Milky Way, USC, Earth.”

Reunion

Luna stood silent, no cheering coming from the crew, just silence. Earth, found, the ships orbiting it as well as the stations turning to face the Vector, or in their minds, an unknown vessel. She could barely believe herself, believe that she was in the very galaxy the humans came from, and even more, near their home planet. Everyone in the bridge watched in silence as the massive ships of Earth, as big and threatening as the Vector, began their rush towards it.

“Intercepting comm links,” the Vector’s VI spoke.

“Unknown vessel,” a commanding, male voice spoke up. “Stand down immediately or face eradication!”

Another voice followed, this one deep and with a slight reverb to it, “Humanae, thise is not Uborae, nor pirat. Ethe zei… The Vectore is back.”

“... By the universe. Vector, stand down nevertheless, do you copy?”

Kira, standing uneasily next to Luna, spoke up, “Vector copies… We have a long story to tell you. We’re opening hangar twenty-B, so feel free.”

“Affirmative, Vector… Welcome home.”

There was a sense of fear amongst the hangar, Luna could feel it as she walked over to the main landing pad. It was strange to see none of the humans, or anybody else for that matter, cheer or make their feeling visible. They were hiding behind their metallic suits, for some reason. Luna did not like that, something was wrong. Her thoughts drifted, what if the real USC was not as friendly as it sounded? Time to find out.

She stopped walking, Kira Feros at her side. Through the energy shields that separated dead space with the hangar, a large dropship passed. Nothing like she had seen before, mounted weapons aiming frantically around the chamber, big in size. With a loud thump, the vessel landed, immediately it’s ramp dropping. Out came Colonial heavy troopers, aiming their autocannons at the crowd that had gathered around. Following them was a single human, unmasked, his complexion old and scarred. In cue, all the humans around the hangar dropped to their knees, including Kira Feros, who yelled out, “Master Admiral Feros in the deck!”

“Feros…?” Luna muttered, taking too long to process what was happening, instead nodding her head to the old Admiral, who was already in front of her and Kira.

He scanned both of them with a wary eye, before whispering, “Kira… is that really you, my daughter?”

The woman looked up, tears welling up in her eyes. “F-Father…”

“Rise,” he said, prompting Kira to stand up. Luna remained silent, watching the exchange. “Kira… It has been too long… What happened? Where is Becker? Silverback?”

“I-... We have all the data compiled in our banks. Just give me the go and I’ll transfer it to you… It has been too long indeed.” Kira cracked a weak smile.

“Welcome back,” the old Feros uttered, then turned to face the rest of the crowd. “Guardsmen! Welcome home!”

And in that instant, the tension was broken. Every single soul in the hangar began cheering loudly, even those non-human. The old Admiral turned to face Luna. “And this, Kira… What is this quadruped?”

Luna cleared her throat. “I am Councilmare Luna, representant of the native species of New Earth, United Species Coalition,” she finished, looking up at the man with a smile.

“Perfect terran…” he rubbed his chin with a set of fingers. “I see that the Vector’s crew is now multi-species.” He smiled and leaned down over Luna. “You and I, we have much to discuss.”

“Truly enough,” Luna retorted, staring at the eyes of Admiral Adamant Feros. She, Commander Gilda, Kira, and the old Admiral sat around a circular table in the Command briefing chamber. “We did notice more than enough similarities in our ways, our language and emotions to draw the conclusion that the Vector had arrived into another dimension. But, as I’m sure you believe, nobody wishes to assume the worst, until something blatantly game changing happens.”

“I’m still surprised that Silverback acted like that.” The old Admiral adjusted his position. “He was a good man, but even the strongest can break. Now, as far as I am concerned, the USCCG is in eternal debt for cooperating and overall accepting all the chaos that we inadvertently broke into your world.”

“It’s nothing, sir,” Gilda spoke up. “We needed this as much as they did. Otherwise, we’d still be fighting with swords and spears.”

The Admiral sighed. “Advancement is inevitable, and so are the problems it carries with itself.” He placed both hands atop the metallic table. “Still, regulations were broken, mostly those that should have kept the Vector away from the natives. I understand that the situation called for such rules to be trespassed, but, we cannot make exceptions here, as the current status is already a massive exception. You established your own form of Government, directly molded after the USC, made your own regulations, and much more. By all means, you were forcefully taken away from us, yet at the same time you chose to settle down while a way back was found. This entire situation calls that you were, at the time, and are still not part of the USC.”

“We do wish, however,” Kira piped up. “For both parties to be united under the same rule, the latter being the original USC. The way that we constructed our government makes it easy to be assimilated by yours, since the differences are minimal, and we have much to share with you.”

“Indeed you do,” the older man replied, falling silent afterwards. “Now, Luna, Gilda, you must be clear that this incident will draw a dozen times more attention than the disappearance of the Vector itself. The path ahead is rocky, but passable.”

“Keep in mind that your planet belongs to the natives, and nobody else. No corporation shall set foot on it without your consent.” He cleared his throat. “There will be many that will try to take abuse of this strange force you call ‘Magic’, and many more that will try to settle down. As I said, the planet belongs to those who evolved in it, and it is only them who decide what to do with it.”

“We understand,” Luna and Gilda replied at the same time.

“A simple requisite before we begin the official merge of both universes…” The Admiral stood up, gazing down at the other three indivuduals sitting by the table. “We are at war with the Ubor, and we wish for you to prove your loyalty to us. In order for that to happen, we require the Vector to join our forces fighting at their very home planet. It will not be easy, I know. Many of you will suffer, and I know that as well. But, the USC has, and will always, fight for the greater good. Those machines fight to eradicate us, but we fight back. Are you willing to do the same?”

“Yes, Admiral!”

“Good.” He turned to face the exit. “We will begin organizing a parade for both sides in twelve hours, the topic for the celebration being your arrival. Sleep, eat, chat, and prepare yourselves. ”

Might Incarnate

The sun shone brightly above Berlin, such a beautiful city. Luna fought hard to keep her eyes from drifting towards the massive towers that surrounded the road of war: a massive trail that extended all the way towards an equally large conglomeration of gravity lifts and dropships, waiting for their army to arrive. She stood in one of Barlin Citadel’s balconies, next to Admiral Adamant.

Luna had been chosen to represent the army of her homeworld. Thousands upon thousands of soldiers, tanks, and combat walkers stood at the far end of the line, waiting for their cue. As well as them, the march was set up and already being broadcasted on all channels of Colonial holovision. The entire USC was watching, waiting for it to begin.

And with a step forward from Luna, she triggered the start of the marching drums and horns. Flaring her wings open, she flew upwards, making herself more imposing.

“For ages, we lived in peace,” she dictated. “A peace brought by ignorance, as we did not know about the wonders of the universe.” The main core of the army began to march. Enormous quantities of exosuited ponies, gryphons, and changelings. “It only lasted until the war between Equestria and Gryphonia began. The latter threatened to bring destruction upon their native sisters and brothers, as war within the same planet brings no gain!”

“And that all changed when the Vector arrived…” She lifted her hooves up. “Bipedal titans encased in full armor suits! Their faces hidden by inexpressive masks! But they were not to bring chaos, no… They were lost.”

Luna took in a deep breath. “They entered contact with the Equestrians, and looked down upon our meaningless war! From then on, it was decided: it had to be stopped!”

The marching infantry made way for the tanks and other vehicles. “With one swift hit on one of our cities, they demonstrated their might, forcing both battling sides to stand down! Peace, was now near…”

“But they were still lost… and they were human, shades of grey.” Luna strained, bringing down lightning and thunder upon the tip of the tower. Following that were the batallions of airborne troops. Pegasi, changelings, and gryphons. “Though a civil war broke out between them, when they settled down, it was not as as chaos bringers, but as friends. It was then that we were taught the values of cause! They were far from their home, yet they taught us all they knew.”

“Cures for illnesses that we thought had none! Philosophy unmatched, technology… They and us, we became brethren! Doing what none could have thought possible, they united the entire planet under one banner! The United Species Coalition, aptly named after their home! We raised a military of unmatched might with their help!” The spectators, as well as the army, cheered on.

“And now, we found ourselves in their home, ready to face the challenges that wait for us! Our might be combined, the Ubor be damned, and let us go to war against these evil machines!”

And with that, the combat walkers stomped past the tower, joining the core of her people in boarding up for the Vector, all ready for a new kind of war.

Luna hovered down, settling herself next to Admiral Adamant as the spectators cheered for her army. She looked up at the man and smiled, nodding. With her finished, the Admiral took the spotlight. He stepped to the front, and released a bestial war cry. Immediately, the Colonial Guardsmen began to march, each of their steps quaking and thundering in a coordinated fashion. The war anvils began to sound off.

First was the infantry core. They marched forth, rifles in hand, mouthing off their war chant as loud as they could. “Our wrath, will be brought, upon thee!”

“Our strength, remains true, to you!”

“For natives, of, New Terra!”

“Our faith, will see, us through!”

The marching Guardsmen threw their arms up, yelling out war cries as the chant was repeated again. Enormous tanks and vehicles began to roll through, followed by dropships, gunships, and Raiders, all flying above the main infantry.

A tremendous, metallic roar sounded off in choir as the unbelievable heavy combat walkers stomped past. Their entire parade, a full legion of the Colonial Guard, reached their end point, boarding the dropships, heading up the gravity lifts, into their ships.

Tagtram

A round, metallic table inside a large hall. Holoscreens lined the walls, their flickering displays casting a dull glow upon their mounted walls. Commander Pipsqueak sat quietly at one end, along with several high ranking officers of the Vector. His suit’s mechanical hands sat upon the metallic surface, silently listening as the other officers discussed their thoughts about the coming battles. On several occasions he had considered speaking up, but nevertheless, he ended up choosing to keep his thoughts to himself.

He had to admit, he was scared, and he wasn’t the only one, most likely. The Ubor were a fierce enemy, capable of things beyond his imagination. “Doesn’t matter,” he thought. “We’ll pull through.” It’s what he kept repeating to himself. All he really cared about was his squad, and making sure they survived to see the light of the next day. Even then, he knew, only the strongest would make it. Just how strong were his companions?

Pipsqueak took his eyes away from his suit’s mechanical hands, and looked into the holoscreens. The briefing was about to begin.

Just on cue, the main blast doors leading to the Vector’s command hall slid open, making way for the Vector’s Infantry Commander: Gilda. Pipsqueak had barely enough time to register the entry, as he automatically stood up and saluted, as the other officers followed suit. The gryphon hen nodded, prompting the officers to sit down and lower their salutes. She walked over to her seat and sat down.

“Guardsmen,” she dictated. “As you all know by now, we, the Vector, have been assigned for impromptu dispatch towards the Ubor battlefronts.” She waved her right foreleg, commanding a holographic display to light up in the center of the table, showing a crystal perfect picture of the Milky Way galaxy. On it were several markers, colonized planets, besieged planets, and more. “Our first objective is the liberation of the multi-species colony Tagtram. Now, the Ubor are there en masse, and I know that almost all of you...” she glanced over at Pipsqueak, who nodded in return. “As well as your subordinates, have never seen an Ubor apart from history books and the like. What matters is that we will brush them off of the planet as the flies they are. We will be supported by the Alpha-Six hundred Guard legion of the USC, so we won’t be fighting alone.”

“The plan is simple,” the hen stated. “We will be arriving at the dark side of the planet, behind one of the moons. The main core of the counter-offensive will be hotdrop troops, who will assist the local resistance militias in their evacuation. Mechanized infantry will follow, dropping into the main planetside clusters of the enemy, along with the Alpha-Six hundred Legion. Our main role is to evacuate any and all civilians and injured from the planet. Afterwards, all forces will converge on ground zero of the Ubor invasion, and scrape them off of the planet while our ships take care of their own vessels… Further refinements to our strategy will be made as the data becomes available, so have yourselves ready to attend more in-depth planning sessions as we approach our target world."

“The enemy will show no mercy,” Gilda continued, standing up. “So let us show them no respite. They won’t give up.” She planted her palms against the mirror-smooth table surface. “Neither will we.” Gilda then began to turn around, nodding at the conglomeration of officers. “Dismissed.”

It was a couple of days after the Ubor invasion of her homeworld had begun, and Anne Lance was having just as little luck as the previous two days in her militia camp. Being the oldest of the children in her tent, it had been decided without discussion that it was her duty to get the food for the other kids.

The camp itself had been set up in a farm complex on one of the districts of her planet. Warm, and food was not a problem. She walked between the many tents and impromptu buildings, not daring to even glance at the guards, who with a mix of sleep deprivation, malnourishment and anxiety did not react well to pretty much anything.

She was dragging behind herself a large rucksack of food and water bottles. Her feet were sore from all the walking, since the camp, as improvised as it was, got larger every day the more refugees arrived.

She finally arrived at her tent, brushing the flap aside for her to enter. “Food’s here!” she called out, and from the many sleeping bags set all around inside, several children of the three main species got up, heading for her. First was a Gektar hatchling: a tiny insectoid who walked up to her and purred. Anne smiled, reaching into the bag and taking out a pack of dextro-DNA food, leaning down and handing it to the Gektar. It purred again and brushed its small set of arms against her legs, then rushed over to its siblings, sharing the food.

Next was a human boy, who without word, took the food and water out of her hands and silently walked over to a corner, sighing. “What’s up with him…” Anne muttered silently.

“He watched, his parents as they were slaughtered,” the voice of a young Lakuran, honest as they always were, reached her senses. Anne turned back to the front, seeing the tall, slim lizard-like figure of a Lakuran female child looking down upon her.

Anne reached into the bag, looking for Lakuran food as she talked, “Do you think he’s gonna be okay?”

“Humanae are strong,” the Lakuran replied. “I would suspect that he will pull through.” Anne handed the food and water over to her. “Thank you, much.”

So were the next fifteen minutes spent, with Anne handing out the food for the other children in the tent. Afterwards, she was left with half a ration for herself. She dropped the empty rucksack and walked over to her sleeping bag, sitting down on it. Shortly after, she opened up the ration and pulled a sizeable granola bar. As she munched on it, she continuously glanced over at the Gektar hatchlings, who after sharing the food with one another, fell silent, looking down onto the floor. Eventually, one of them caught her glance, and did little hops to get over to her, followed by the rest of them. They formed a circle around her, Anne looking around, confused, until they cuddled against her form, probably looking for somewhere warm.

A low chuckle took her attention to the side, finding herself looking at the same Lakuran as before. “Interesting…” the alien muttered. “They have assumed you as their matriarch, most likely for the food.”

“I-...” Anne blushed, looking down at the tiny insectoids. “I mean…”

“I suggest just… ‘going’, with it. They need a mother figure, ‘specially now.”

Such were the last words of the Lakuran before she walked away, leaving Anne alone with a small group of Gektar hatchlings to take care of. She calmly finished her meal and laid down, instantly falling asleep due to how tired she had grown.

It wasn’t long. Something woke Anne up, something powerful and loud. She gasped and sat up, as well as all the other children in the tent. The particular sounds of gunfire, pained screams and explosions reached the tent from outside. The hatchlings were in panic, hiding behind Anne and desperately clutching to her skirt.

A low, metallic growl quaked the ground below them. “They’re here…” some of the children muttered, some began to cry.

“AAAH I DON’T WANNA DIE-!” was one of the screams that Anne and the children could hear, before it was suddenly cut off with a fleshy sound. She looked over at the corner of the tent, where that same boy from before was standing.

“What’re you doing?!” Anne yelled out. “Get down!” The boy did not react to her, instead just keeping his eyes locked onto the exit of the tent.

“W-we have to get outta here!” he cried out. “I-I’m not staying here, screw that!” He suddenly took off, heading for the exit. Anne cried out after him, getting up and making a last attempt to grab him, but it was too late, he had already ran out of the tent.

She stood still, not daring to chase after him. Slowly, she turned around, finding the eyes of every single child locked onto her. “I-It’s gonna be okay… I think…” she muttered, when a metallic hand reached into the tent and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her up. The children screamed in panic, as the hand twisted itself, making Anne look into the red, glowing eyes of her attacker. She had just enough time to count just how many eyes it had, and to register all the razor sharp teeth waiting for her, before something shot it in the back, forcing the attacker to drop her, leaving her coughing on the floor. The metallic beast continued to receive shots, eventually falling to the side with loud clunk and quake. The hatchlings rushed over to her, making their best attempt to pull her further into the tent.

She looked behind herself, as another figure brushed the tent flap aside and revealed itself. It almost looked like a small Guardsman, besides the three fingers and weirdly-jointed legs. Whoever it was, talked to an unseen figure, “We’ve got a lot of children here! Prep for immediate evac!”

“Come on, line up and get ready to move!” the armored being yelled. The children, scared, did not react. It lifted its visor, revealing an almost human face, besides the fur and the long muzzle. “Look, we’re here to help you, okay?” The being crouched into the tent, it’s friendly face building up confidence within the children’s hearts. “Fall behind me, we’re bringing you to somewhere safe.” It stood up, turning around to exit the tent.

Breaking out of the shock, Anne stood up and grabbed the smallest of the hatchlings, holding it in her arms. “Come on! We have to get out of here!” she yelled at the others. Slowly, they stood up and fell in line.

“On my go…” the being yelled. “Go!” Rushing out of the tent, followed by Anne and the children. Outside, they were met with the smell of something burning. Anne couldn’t see, she couldn’t be bothered to see, what was happening all around. She just ran after the odd being, heading towards a single dropship. Explosions blasted around them, before they arrived at the vessel, together with other refugees. It began to lift off, but Anne noticed that one of the hatchlings had fallen behind. “H-Hey!” she yelled out. “We’re missing someone!”

The ship was already too far up for the hatchling to reach. Anne rushed to the border of the ramp and extended her arm, desperately trying to grab it. “No!” she yelled. A blue aura encompassed the hatchling, together with pained grunts coming from several of the oddly-jointed beings inside the ship, their faces twisted in agony. Slowly, the hatchling began to rise from the ground, kicking around it’s little legs before arriving at Anne’s arms. She stepped back as the ramp closed, catching a glimpse of the destroyed camp. The hatchling purred and snuggled against her.

The dropship rumbled. “This is some ride, eh?” Corporal Jamble said, receiving a stoic look by part of his sister. Pipsqueak disengaged the magnetic locks of his seat and stood up.

“Guardsmen,” he said, holding onto a rail on the ceiling. “Now that we’ve evacuated most of the civilians, our objective is to head to the main planetary defense complex that the Ubor have set up. We’re moving by ground, obviously, into the middle of a dry lake. That’s where their complex is set up.”

The ramp began to lower itself, revealing the warm sun of the planet. Without a word, Pipsqueak motioned his squad to exit the dropship. Once they were all out, he stepped outside himself. The first thing that caught his eye was the massive convoy that had been set up amidst the improvised outpost. The constant flow of soldiers going to and fro was also something that was worthy of attention.

Pipsqueak walked over to his squad, pushing through the line of soldiers. “Follow me,” he said. “Our ride’s nearby.” He turned around, beginning to walk towards their APC.

“First time I’ve been in one o’ these!” Ramble mused to herself.

“Who’s driving, by the way?” Jamble asked.

Kent turned to them. “Private Mirror.” Afterwards, he looked over at the gryphon hen, along with the twins. Pipsqueak pointed to their designated vehicle. Guiding each of his squad members into it, he moved in himself.

The Commander took his seat inside the APC, Mirror moving over to the driver’s seat. “You all ready for this?” he asked, receiving nods from the rest of them. He adjusted himself and turned on the magnetic locks of the seat. Shortly after, the engines turned on, signalling the start of the ride.

“Can’t believe we're on another planet, sis!” Jamble exclaimed. “Stuff like this? Shit, I never thought I’d live to get outta New Earth.”

“Yeah…” Ramble shook her head. “It’s nice, minus all the stuff that’s trying to kill us.”

“Good thing is,” Pipsqueak piped up. “We’re doing the same thing to them.”

“We’re crossing the dry lake now, peeps!” Mirror called out. The rest of the squad looked out through the viewports, seeing the massive, flat expanse they currently found themselves in.

“Why did the Ubor set up in the middle of this place?” Kent asked.

Pipsqueak shrugged. “They can see things coming from miles away, and have complete control over the air. The only way is through.”

The ground below the APC quaked. “What the hell…?” Jamble muttered.

“Get on the guns, I think we’ve come across Ubor diggers!” Mirror yelled out. The engine roared through the cabin as Mirror opened up the throttle, and the APC rattled across the ground. The whine of the turret motors joined the engine, and soon the thunder of gunfire thudded through the steel walls. For those inside the APC, all they could do was wait, listening to the storm of death crashing outside.

“Damn it!” Pipsqueak yelled as he stood up inside the troop bay, punching open the hatch that led to the gun turret. He popped outside, just in time to see a massive, mechanical worm-like machine dive over the APC, and crash into a nearby tank, swallowing it into the ground. “Ramble! Get on the other turret!” He grabbed a hold of his respective gun, opening fire as another digger dove up and down the sand.

Now it was the two, Pipsqueak and Ramble, firing their turrets at the diggers along with the rest of the convoy. One of the diggers leaped up from below, preparing to swallow down Pipsqueak’s vehicle, only to be hit by a tank shell. The Commander covered his head as the debris fell down, then continued firing. Shortly after, another leaped over the APC, firing down a beam of plasma that melted away part of the top half of the vehicle. Pipsqueak dove down back into the troop bay, just as another beam finished the job, completely cutting off the top half of the troop bay, leaving those inside exposed. “Open fire!” Pipsqueak yelled out as he engaged the magnetic locks of his suit’s feet and reached over his back, grabbing a hold of his gauss rifle. He aimed up at a nearby digger and began to unload. “Aim for the mouth!”

Meanwhile, Jamble and Ramble were busy assembling a launcher. Pipsqueak looked over to them as he reloaded, nodding.

“Just a few of them left!” Mirror yelled out, fighting hard against the terrain the APC was crossing.

From the back, a digger jumped out of the sand, heading for a devastating blow on the already beaten up APC. Pipsqueak had just enough time to turn to it, before Ramble fired the warhead contained inside the launcher, hitting the digger square in the head, disposing of it.

Without a waste of time, the Commander turned to the front, seeing the massive planetary defense complex already nearby.

They had made it.

There was silence on the bridge. Even the Vector's crew seemed subdued, in these final moments before battle. It was a battleship, one of humanity's greatest, and yet many who crewed it today had never seen it in action. Today, the Vector returned to war.

Luna did not know what to expect. All she had done so far was stand in the middle of the Command Bridge, listening to the chatter between the technicians as it came and went. Spotting Commander Gilda nearby, she made her way through the flow of crewmembers and stood next to the hen’s armored, bipedal figure. Gilda nodded to her, at the very least acknowledging her presence.

“Attention,” the Vector’s integrated voice spoke up. “All crew members, prepare for immediate engagement.”

The former Princess looked on through the main holoscreen, seeing as the Vector began to take speed and move over to the light side of Tagtram, along with several other, smaller ships of the Colonial Guard. For one moment, as the sun revealed itself, the screen polarizing to compensate for the glaring brightness, Luna was able to catch a glimpse of the burning megacities of the planet, before her eyes were taken avast by the Ubor fleet, orbiting the planet. Silence. She contained any sort of response upon seeing the alien vessels, which quickly began turning to face the Vector and the other ships.

Suddenly, all the chatter returned. The crew analyzing the range between the enemy and friendly fleets. The viewscreen lit up with several crosshairs, targeting the myriad of Ubor ships. On the corner of Luna’s eye, Gilda clutched her suit’s mechanical fists. “On my mark…” the gryphon said. The Vector’s targeting measures still adjusting to lock onto the enemy fleet.

“Mark! Engage all hostiles!”

Energy and kinetic projectiles began their course between both sides. Luna’s eyes widened as the swarm of fighters were freed, colliding against each other in a swirling mass of fire and gunfire. For that one moment, she could see as the main weapons of the Vector struck against the Ubor mothership, and at the same time, the Vector itself receiving hits, thundering throughout the whole vessel. But, it were only the shields for now. She knew both sides had heavy energy shielding, but the question was: who would be uncovered first?

The fleets continued to approach each other, providing grounds for even more hits to be delivered, as the distance between both diminished.

It was nothing like Luna expected. Instead, the entire battle was silent, at least from within the bridge, and all she could do was to watch as the two sides exchanged fire. The Vector quaked every time it was hit, but that was it. She felt a need to take part in the battle, so strong that even Gilda could sense it. “I know, I feel it too,” the gryphon hen muttered.

All luna could do was to stay in complete silence, as one of the Ubor ships went up in flames, breaking apart from the inside. Then another one, and another one…

Breakthrough

Sitting by her desk, amidst her old treehouse, Twilight Sparkle looked on at a perfect holographic map of the Milky Way. Her treehouse was practically empty, Spike had moved on, and all she had was a nostalgic feeling of how things used to be. Sometimes, she wasn’t sure about how to deal with that much change, but she kept on with it. Not like she had that much of an option.

Discovering a way between dimensions brought on both its conveniences and inconveniences. Many wished to travel across as if they were running an adventure. Corporations wanted to explore the new chances for expansion, and more. But she knew better: things like that should be controlled, even avoided in some cases.

The main focus at the moment was the constant influx of USC-based corporations looking to explore New Earth and exploit its riches. Magic was certainly one of them. But as the New Earth council had chosen, it was better to keep them away for the moment. Speaking of which, a blue notification splashed itself across the galaxy, informing Twilight of yet another offer by Halcyth Incorporated to "purchase" the Everfree. Not all of it, but certainly more than Twilight was willing to part with. Still, she'd have to attend the meeting and refuse politely, again, if only to save face.

Her eyes drifted away from the galaxy map to a small, blinking holopad lying on the desk itself. Raising an eyebrow, she picked it up with her magic and subsequently read the notification it held.

“Meet me at sugarcube corner as fast as you can.

- Celestia”

Twilight huffed, wondering why Celestia would decide to talk to her after so much time, let alone that late in the afternoon. She looked up at the galactic map, pondering for a second. Shrugging, she grabbed a hold of her saddlebags, placed them on her back, and trotted over to the exit.

Twilight pushed open the wooden door leading to her friend’s bakery, triggering a set of bells that signalled her arrival. She looked around the various customers, spotting Celestia sitting by a small table, a slice of cake served on a plate along with a milkshake.

She briskly trotted over to the former Princess, sitting down by her table. Celestia looked up at her, eyes darting across the inner building. “Twilight!” she whispered harshly. “Thank the heavens you’re here…”

“It has been a while, hasn’t it?” Twilight mused, turning to the waiter and shaking her head; food could come later. “So… why the hurry? Is something wrong?”

Celestia replied in a rather quick manner, “I… do not know, Twilight. This could be of lesser importance than I actually think, which is why I wished to meet you here…” She took in a deep breath before continuing, “There is something, something big trying to get into this dimension. I have... never quite felt something like this before, so I instinctually blocked it from getting here.”

“Well, the Vector is big, after all,” Twilight replied, receiving a glaring look from Celestia. “It’s… not the Vector? But... the council and I haven’t allowed anything else to come through…”

The white alicorn shivered, a shiver that soon turned into a constant shaking. “This is much, much stronger than the Vector… I… I can’t stop it, Twilight.”

She had never seen the Celestia visibly struggle with something, not even after all those years. All she could do was smile awkwardly, still holding onto the hope that whatever it was that was trying to break into her dimension, was friendly. That was, until Celestia collapsed onto the table, bringing gasps from the customers all around. “Princess!” Twilight yelled, reaching over the table and laying a hoof on her, followed by several blasts coming from outside, all of them in quick succession. Twilight looked out from the window, her jaw dropping and her eyes widening at the sight of thousands upon thousands of ships orbiting the planet, raining down fire upon it.

It was not late until the desperate screams of panic began to surface. People running towards all directions. Twilight took her eyes away from the window and ducked, just as the body of a changeling flew into it, breaking through into the bakery. “Princess! What’s happening!?”

“You have to…” Celestia muttered weakly. “Run…” A thundering quake occurred, Twilight carefully peeked over the window to see a myriad of bipedal figures further down the street, unloading rockets onto the buildings.

All the concentration she could muster up, went into the task of teleporting Celestia and herself to the only place she thought safe.

Titan

“You’re just… going back to sleep?” Twilight asked, looking up at him from outside the stasis chamber.

“I’ve a feeling this won’t be the last time… Wake me back up when you need me.”

“Thanks for freeing us… Goodbye.”

Twilight opened her eyes, vision blurred, a constant high pitched whine sounding in her ears. She could see, up through a hole in the ceiling and into the night’s sky, the hundreds of ships that were raining down death upon the planet. Certainly, the teleportation spell did its job, as she was not dead for the time being.

She slowly stood up on all four legs, looking around to find herself surrounded by mossy walls of stone, inside the old Everfree castle. Next to her was Celestia, who had picked herself up as well. They both looked up at the sky, staring at the fleet that had invaded the planet.

“I… I cannot believe the Ubor invaded, not with this scale.” Twilight turned to the former Princess. “We have to contact the USC-”

“Do you not believe the Guard would have already tried doing so?” Celestia said. “This is not like before, when the weight of the world rested upon your shoulders or mine. All we can do now is survive, and help those who are doing the same.”

Twilight fell silent, looking away from Celestia. “I guess you’re… right…” She began to walk, moving over to a large cluster of bricks that lay upon the castle surface. “I had a bunker built here long ago. Maybe that can help us…” Using her magic, she tossed the mound of bricks away carelessly, revealing a metallic hatch with a small number pad upon it. With her hoof, she typed in the correct number sequence, and the hatch popped open, a long set of stairs, barely illuminated, beyond.

Twilight let go of a chuckle as she led Celestia into the depths of the bunker, using her horn to light up the way. “Oh this is just lovely…” She shook her head. “Remember when our biggest problems where love-sucking changelings? Hahah… Now we’re dealing with full scale planetary warfare and invasion…”

“Twilight-...”

“I mean, I’ve almost died like, what? Twice?” She giggled, smiling. “Really, there’s just so much that has changed, and I just can’t deal with this anymore. Nope, I’m just gonna stay here while everyone dies. Haha, remember when we used to say everypony?”

“Twi-”

“Do the good things shadow the bad?” Twilight asked herself. “I just don’t know anymore… everything seems bad.” She looked down. “The Elements of Harmony are useless now. They can’t deal with something this big. I don’t even know if my friends are alive right now. Hah… And I can’t do anything to protect them-”

“Twilight!” Celestia yelled, forcing she purple alicorn to turn to her. They had already reached the bottom of the stairs, finding themselves surrounded by unpowered holoscreens and supply crates. “That is not the student I shaped… It doesn’t matter if things changed this forcefully. Similar changes would have happened, no matter what, and you would have lived through them all.” Celestia continued walking further into the bunker, Twilight trailing behind her. “I understand that this is complicated, no, far more than complicated, but you have to pull through. If the humans taught us anything, it’s to endure whatever destiny throws at us.”

Twilight looked down, sighing. “You’re right… I’m sorry.” Celestia’s expression softened.

“You have nothing to be sorry about, Twilight.”

Eventually and in complete silence, they reached the end of the bunker, Twilight’s magic keeping the darkness at bay. They found themselves looking at a cluster of cryo-tubes placed against the walls, only one of them in use. “Is this…?”

“Yeah,” Twilight replied. “We could use his help now.” She walked over to the tube, over to its control panel, and inserted her horn onto a small hole upon it, bringing the sleep to an end. Gas poured out of a few nozzles, the figure inside beginning to twitch. Shortly after, the tube opened, gas pouring out of it, revealing a massive, armored mix of machine and human. It remained silent, staring through its visor at both the Princesses.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Atlas.”

“Initializing systems…”

He looked down at both the mares, recognizing them both. Slowly, he stepped out of the cryo-tube, landing with a loud thud upon the metallic surface of the bunker. He stretched, the mechanical servos of his body and armor whirring up.

“Hmph… Twilight, Celestia…” He muttered. “How long?”

“A few weeks,” the white alicorn replied.

“What?” Atlas asked. “That soon? What happened?”

“The… Ubor, are invading,” Twilight piped up.

Atlas groaned and looked over to the far side of the bunker. “How bad?”

Celestia stepped up to him. “Very. I counted several hundred ships,” she told with a grim expression.

“What’s your plan?” Atlas inquired, beginning to walk over to the supply creates that lay nearby. He kneeled down and opened one of them, reaching inside.

Twilight and Celestia looked at each other, both of them uncertain. Atlas took notice of this, looking over his shoulder at the two mares. “We gotta get away from Apex, and join whatever’s left of the Guard.” He stood up, taking an autocannon out of the crate he was rummaging through.

“C-Can’t we stay here…?” Twilight muttered, receiving angry looks from the two.

“That’s not the Twilight I know…” the giant muttered in response to her proposal. “Either way, I’m going out, and if I have to drag you with me, I will.”

Reflections

A breath of nothingness. The cold air, snow falling onto her coat, further decreasing body temperature. Her wings were tightly wrapped against her body. Above, the moon cast soft light across the land. Three different sets of steps: the dainty clippity-clop of two mares, and the loud thuds of a titan’s feet. They were on an open field, having walked several miles on their way to what they believed was the nearest resistance outpost.

Twilight sighed. She could feel the cold snow under her hooves with each step she took. “Tired already?” Atlas asked. Twilight shook her head.

Celestia, on the other hand, was as silent as ever. Her mind rambled through options as to what course of action they should take. She looked up at the titan, his face hidden behind an armored faceplate. With a smile, she recalled all the good deeds he had done, and how impressive it was to see him continue to walk despite all of the hardships he had gone through. Definitely something to admire.

She then glanced over at her former student, whose head was hanging low, looking at the snow below. Celestia could only wish for Twilight to keep holding to faith, as it was something the young alicorn should learn by herself. She hoped that the purple mare would look up to Atlas and realize.

In a way, Celestia longed for the past, but after a few millennia, she learned not to put too much weight on what had come and gone. Instead, she looked at the future, and made sure to help shape it for the best. Recently, there was little she could do with such a massive amount of people living on the planet at that point, with how everything was connected and what was before secret was now common knowledge. Things had changed, and she needed to adapt.

She looked at both Twilight and Atlas as prime examples of adaptability and strength, in such a manner that she accepted that even herself was unable to be as good as them at what they did. The avatar of magic and the avatar of endurance. They both coped with the weight of a planet upon their backs.

“Look alive,” Atlas called, placing the autocannon on his shoulder and pointing ahead with his free hand. Celestia followed, looking up to see a large building approaching amidst the snow and fog. “Heat signatures inside… friendly.” He grabbed a hold of the weapon once again, taking the lead towards the facility.

Celestia rectified her thoughts once more, going back to the list of options she and the group had once they reached the tram station. For one, they could stay there, protected, and have Atlas join the militia. But, Celestia and Twilight would have none of that. The most plausible option was to stay with Atlas, but where to go from there? An idea popped into her head, one that she had to voice.

“Atlas, Twilight,” Celestia said, causing both of them to look at her, not halting their walk. “We need to take a tram to the ruins of Trottingham.”

“Why’s that?” Atlas asked, looking back ahead.

“Becker…” Celestia muttered, images of the past human Admiral sliding into her mind. “After the Vector war, Becker had a bunker built under the ruins to store the remaining androids… We need them, if we want to survive before outside help arrives.”

“Princess,” Twilight piped up. “Are you sure about this? To use machines against machines?”

“Fight fire with fire,” Atlas chuckled. “And I can vouch for them, they’ve done good.”

“I guess…” Twilight sighed. “Alright.”

Through the refugee camp, Atlas walked, leading Twilight and Celestia towards the tram. He looked around, surrounded by moribund people who grasped to what little hope they still had. Militia guards had been stationed sporadically through the camp, which in and of itself, was a large tram station. Holoscreens, most of them broken, served to represent the comfort of the tram station from before the Ubor invasion.

People looked up at him, and he felt as if he owed something to them. True, there was nothing, but regardless, he felt a need to stay and protect them, even if his plan was to take the tram.

With a glance to make sure the Princesses were still following him, he suddenly found himself facing a long line of people who were in waiting to get on the tram. Without hesitation, he began pushing through them, ignoring their complaints. Time was not to be wasted.

The tram itself was above the ground, hooked to strong metallic rails. Each tram box was already filled with people of all species, giving little hope for him to join.

Once he pushed his way to the start of the line, in front of a metallic elevator that was meant to take people to the tram itself, he was stopped by a Colonial Guardsman, who looked up at him, expression hidden behind the faceplate. “Sorry buddy, tram’s full.”

“Trottingham, right?” Atlas said, stepping to the side to reveal both of the Princesses. The Guardsman nodded. “I’m escorting them there, so I’m sure you can make some space.”

The guard hesitated, looking down for a moment before facing Atlas once again. “I can get them in, but you’ll have to ride on top of the tram, and give it some protection while you’re at it.”

“Right,” Atlas muttered. The Guardsman stepped aside for the giant and the Princesses to step onto the elevator.

“How long is this gonna take?” Twilight said, tapping her hoof nervously on the elevator’s floor.

“Not too long, I think,” the giant answered.

The elevator reached the tram, opening its doors for Celestia and Twilight to walk in. Atlas watched as they cramped themselves in, people whispering to each other upon seeing the two figures of leadership. Meanwhile, Atlas opened the elevator’s top hatch and squeezed himself through, then jumped on top of the tram, his boots leaving dents on the metallic surface.

Chase

Atlas stood atop the tram, the magnetic locks of his boots engaged as to prevent him from falling off, and a large autocannon secure in his grip. His stance did not budge an inch, even as the tram began to speed up, its direction managed by the rails that connected every city of the planet.

The tram itself hung about a hundred meters in altitude, a fall that would kill almost anyone, but would do nothing to the titan himself, if only the tram was not going at a supersonic speed.

A metallic roar caught his senses. He looked to the right to see a massive Ubor contraption catching up to the tram from behind, identified by his visor as an Ubor troop carrier. The flying, metallic machine approached fast, and without hesitation, the titan aimed the autocannon and released a loud war cry as he opened fire.

“DIE!”

Atlas squeezed the trigger, and let fly with a blazing stream of kinetic death. Burning like suns, the rounds shattered brutally across the carrier's armor, sparks scattering as it turned to bring a hatch to bear. Snapping open, Ubor troopers emerged from within; bipedal machines with shoulder-mounted cannons, surrounding a bulky, tall field commander. Their leader swung its arm forward, pointing at Atlas. “Kambeh, kambeh!” it called out, ordering the troopers to charge in an almost mindless manner out in a ravenous horde even as Atlas swung his fire to cut them down, their feet planting themselves to the metallic surface of the tram, barely withstanding the force of the giant’s autocannon.

One after the other, Ubor troops landed heavily at the top of the tram, bending the surface under their weight. The giant’s cannon, glowing white hot, finally ceased firing as it reached its own limits. He glanced down, then back up, tossing the weapon off to the side and off of the tram, discarding it. In front of him, the mechanical bipeds were sprinting fast towards him, their metallic feet combined with their strength and speed sparking against the top of the tram. He hunched down and brought both of his fists up, cracking his knuckles, then charged at the machines.

The titan made contact with the first alien, his juggernaut-like physique colliding against its entire form, enough to break the magnetic grip of the alien’s feet, and sending it off of the ride. He looked forward once more, only to have his vision lit by a blob of plasma coming from another Ubor. He stumbled backwards, and regained his stance. Angered, he charged at it, his advantage in size overwhelmed by the agility of the smaller alien. It continued to fire bolts of plasma at him, his suit barely withstanding the heat.

He glanced upwards, seeing another troop carrier, this one armed with several turrets, approaching from above. Under his faceplate, he frowned, the odds obviously turning against him and the people inside the tram. Even then, as he looked closer and zoomed his visor in, he could see at least a dozen, smaller figures chasing the carrier. It took a few seconds for his display to recognize them as Colonial Guardswomen, Raider corps.

“Incoming transmission…” his visor displayed.

“It’s plotting a crash course to the tram!... Atlas,” the familiar, female voice of a raider called out. “Help us out, will ya’?!”

He did not even utter a word, knowing well who that voice was. He crouched down, letting his suit’s thrusters light up for a moment, then allowing them to propel him through the air, heading for the Ubor carrier. For that moment, with him mid-way to the carrier, everything but the hum of his thrusters fell into complete silence. Atlas smirked behind his mask, the distance between him and the ship decreasing. He made small changes in his trajectory, as to connect with the ramp on the lower part of the ship.

And finally, he crashed against it, grabbing a firm grip of the ramp and pulling it open as the ship itself began to engage in evasive maneuvers. He stepped into the empty troop bay, heading towards an open panel and began ripping off as many cables as he could, producing a myriad of sparks, making the ship tumble and eventually begin to descend. Just before the ship began to spiral downwards, he jumped off.

With a loud thud, he landed feet-first back upon the tram, planting his fist on it and leaving a large dent. Atlas then stood back up, just in time for one of the Raiders to gently land upon the moving tram. He looked down at her, as she took off her faceplate and smiled at him. “Torres-” he muttered out, interrupted by a hug coming from the woman.

A Walk In The Past

A gentle breeze waved itself over ruined buildings, derelict ever since the arrival of the great bipeds. The night’s sky, stars that that painstakingly shone their light upon the ground, fighting for supremacy against the hundreds of Ubor ships above the atmosphere. On the far horizon, the city of Apex, set ablaze, its citadel barely standing at that point. Flakes of snow fell softly as well, coating the burnt city of Trottingham with a delicate layer of white.

Twilight Sparkle swore that she could still hear the screams of agony, panic and pain that filled the once great city in times of war. She, Atlas, and Celestia made their way through the broken streets, though not alone. Refugees of all species had arrived at the area, as if the city had suddenly gained life through despite all of what it had gone through. Broken buildings that provided at least some sort of cover for those injured.

Hard to imagine. Trottingham, the once place of devastation, ruined, but now flourishing in a twisted way after all the years gone past. Twilight had never outright fought, let alone set hoof in Trottingham after or during the war. The whole scenery was but a twisted display of what war brought. Not one soul vouched to bring it back. The pain was too much. Instead, the now barren land was considered damned. Just the fact that she was cruising the streets that were once sprayed with blood and bodies, brought shivers to her own. Once every few meters, gravestones could be seen planted on the side of the roads. So many that Twilight could barely comprehend how many people had died on those days of war.

Thinking that looking up at the sky would bring some sort of internal peace, would be a lie. The skies were dark and red, the Ubor ships still raining death upon the major settlements. All in all, between that and the past of Trottingham, Twilight had to choose the lesser evil, and as such, she continued to observe the downed city.

The loud steps of the Titan Atlas slowed down every now and then. Behind his stoic appearance, Twilight could tell that he felt strange. He had fought the Vector war, and had stood in Trottingham during the few days it took to level the city down. It was easy for her to assimilate the feeling of the giant.

On the other hand, was Celestia. Her stoic expression, unhidden behind any sort of cover, showed just how much she relinquished the fall of Trottingham. Now a Princess, Twilight could understand just how powerless Celestia felt during those days. The people she was supposed to protect, dying under her shadow. Ponies that were once happy, prayed to Celestia so they could have quick deaths. Prayers, directed at her during the last moments of her subjects’ lives. A grim representation, all in all.

People had joined Twilight’s group as they walked through the devastated city. They looked up at Atlas for protection, and Twilight and Celestia for guidance. Twilight’s eyes met those of a small foal dragging a tiny cart in which another foal, perhaps a relative, lay sleeping. The cart-dragging foal’s eyes watered as they contacted those of the Princess, his lips quivering before he broke out in a hushed cry. It was then that Twilight realized that the foal in the cart was already dead.

A lone human joined the group, carrying in his strong arms a small gryphon. Despite the weather, he wore nothing but the minimum, including a backpack. Twilight looked up at him, he smiled in return. Yet, it was not a good smile. A good smile does not carry behind itself the weight of others. She could feel that the man did not want to be in Trottingham, but he was doing it not for himself. Twilight looked behind him, only to find a long line of lone children following the man. Children of all species. Between each other they talked, in hushed whispers, as they looked at their Princess.

“I-It’s all gonna be okay…” she stuttered out. But little did her words do, but to raise more hopeless thoughts. She knew. The children’s figures, unclothed exposed to the frigid cold of the north. Their ears were black thanks to the frostbite. She knew that not all of them would make it, not under such conditions.

As the group continued to tread through the broken city, Twilight looked to the sides of the road. Burials were being made all around the center of Trottingham. People had carried their moribund or dead all the way, almost as if they would wake up from an endless sleep. All those people, crying their eyes out as they lay their relatives and friends on the ground.

Awakening

“Stand back,” Celestia said, commanding Atlas, Twilight and the refugees to halt their advance. Most of them were confused at the fact that they had stopped in front of a pile of debris. Neverthless, Celestia’s horn lit up with a magical aura as she grabbed a telekinetic hold of the many rocks and pieces of building, setting them aside with little to no effort. Some watched in awe, not having seen Celestia do such a thing in their entire lives. The others stood silent, waiting for her to finish.

A couple of minutes afterwards, the debris were cleared out, leaving the dark entrance of a tunnel instead. Celestia turned to the refugees. “I am afraid that you must stay behind. We still do not know what we will find inside.” She then gestured for Atlas and Twilight to follow, leading them into the tunnel and leaving the refugees behind.

As they entered the tunnel, small emergency lights lit the dark abyss. Celestia glanced over at her two followers, seeing Twilight visibly clamping her wings against her body as a sign of uneasiness. Atlas, on the other hand, simply continued to stomp after her, his expression hidden beneath his faceplate.

The three beings stopped walking as their path was met with an enormous set of blast doors, with a tiny hole in the centre. Celestia already knew what she had to do, and as such, she walked over to the metallic gates and inserted her horn into the hole, charging it up with magic and twisting it just a tiny bit. With a large groan, the blast doors began to open as soon as Celestia stepped back. Dust fell from the ceiling, and the ground quaked.

Beyond the doors, was revealed a long hallway, well lit until its very end. Without hesitation, Celestia motioned for Twilight and Atlas to follow as she walked into the bunker. A long walk awaited them.

The metallic hallway was lined only by lights and nothing else, a feature which made Celestia and the other two just a little bit unnerved. The occasional small quake made it even worse.

As the end of the hallway drew near, Celestia began to speed up her pace. As soon as she reached it, she found herself amidst a large control room lined by holoscreens which all lit up in unison upon the group’s arrival. And in the center, was a large tube with a large, metallic body in it.

“Mac…?” Atlas muttered.

Further examination of the tube revealed a similar, yet different figure from the androids that fought the Vector war. It looked bulkier, with some sort of synthetic muscle visible underneath the armor, and a visor instead of two eyes.

“I see you have arrived, Celestia,” an old, familiar voice said. The three began to look around for the source, but then the holoscreens lit up with the face of Admiral Becker. “This is a pre-recorded message, mind you.”

"Presenting to you, is the MechCore Android Trooper and Commander, Mark two.” He gestured to the centre of the control room. “Enhanced with both biological and synthetic systems, which both integrate into each other seamlessly as to prevent rampancy, amongst other errors."

“Under its armor is a dense and strong nanoweave, which serves as protection, enhanced strength, enhanced agility, and more." The android inside the tube twitched.

"The Commander version serves as a hub for feedback when connected to a thousand or more troopers. Both models have a full suite of systems for increased battlefield awareness, and several other systems made for self-adjustment of their shell. In other words, they adapt quickly to both enviroment and new types of enemies." He sighed, looking somber for just a second before continuing, "Thanks to this, the MechCore Android can collect data and use it to upgrade itself."

The Admiral sighed once again, "One admittance that I have to tell is... We do not know how far these models go regarding their capabilities. I have to say... I don't know whether or not we have truly created another species... or an army of monsters."

Becker placed his hands behind his back as he continued speaking, "To ensure the latter does not happen, we have taken the database of the former M.A.C unit, who had achieved full self-awareness and metastability, and retrofitted it into the Mark II M.A.C."

Atlas chuckled.

"But even then, every unit is self-aware, and metastable. They can make choices on their own, they are... true intelligence." Becker cleared his throat. "Celestia, I hope you know what you're dealing with when entering this facility... You will be waking thousands upon thousands of units, who may or may not choose to aid you."

"We have done all we could to prevent any mishaps, but there are so many variables..."

“RECORDING OVER,” the holoscreens displayed. The three organic beings in the room turned to the android in the tube as it continued to twitch sporadically. The fluid inside it was then drained, allowing the M.A.C to stand on its own. Celestia stared at its visor, not even flinching as the android stood at full height, the tube opening itself, letting the air of the control room touch its shell.

The android exchanged looks with the three, before Atlas stepped closer to it. “Mac… That you in there?”

“Atlas,” the android said, its voice deep and cybernetic. “It has been too long.”

The giant chuckled, watching as Mac stepped over to the main console inside the room. “I have been observing the current situation… I must wake my brethren. We will help.”

“Excellent,” Celestia said, stepping over to him. “My subjects are dying, so I suggest we make this-”

“At the price of joining your society as equals.” Mac slowly turned to Celestia. “That is the requisite.”

“Are you-...” Celestia frowned. “You cannot seriously be negotiating terms at this moment! People are dying!”

“ And so did we on the Vector war, before we were decommissioned and scrapped.” Mac turned back to the console. “We only wish to live.”

Celestia stomped her hoof on the metallic floor, leaving a sizeable dent. “We will negotiate, after this war ends.”

She and Mac exchanged stares for a moment, before the android began to type onto the console. The holoscreens lit up once again, this time displaying thousands upon thousands of androids standing idly.

“Remember your words, Celestia, because we will.”

Catalyst

:::> Establishing uplink…

:::> Connected.

:::> Issuing orders: commence insertion. Eliminate the Ubor menace.

:::> Affirmative.

Inside a dropship, a group of four androids happened to be sitting in the troop bay. Each of them had their designations imprinted on their shoulder pads. Alpha, Beta, Charlie and Delta. Their visor glowing green as they received their orders, their field leader stood up and spoke in a slightly monotone, cybernetic voice, “This is it, units. We are deploying into Manehattan, and will assist the Force Recon CG team on location: industrial district.”

“Out of the freezer and into the frying pan…” Charlie muttered. “Is the Commander certain about this?”

“Quiet,” Bravo commanded. “You know the Commander does what is better for all. Even organics!”

“Yes,” Delta spoke up. “I overheard units from Section Eight talking about us integrating organic society.”

Alpha looked at the other three units. “That is no rumor. We are fighting not only to protect organic life, but to integrate with their society after we wipe the Ubor off of this planet.”

“What are the Ubor’s motives?” Charlie asked. “They are machines, like us. Perhaps we can bring an end to this without their elimination.”

“We will know once we complete our tactical insertion.” Alpha moved closer to the dropship’s ramp. “We are to make an attempt in communication, and act according to their reaction.”

“Attention units,” the dropship’s pilot spoke through the bay’s intercom. “Prepare for drop when green light is engaged.”

All of the androids stood up, reaching behind their backs to grab a hold of their gauss rifles. Once done, they lined up as the ramp lowered itself, revealing the surface of New Earth.

“Green light!” the pilot called as the troop bay lit up in green. “Drop!”

“Go!” Alpha commanded, motioning for the other troopers to jump out of the dropship. Once they had all gone through, he readied himself and jumped.

The wind brushed with intensity against his shell. Below was the industrial district of Manehattan, lit by both gun and building fire.

“Everything looks good…” Charlie said through the radio. “One kilometer before drop impact and counting.”

“Roger that,” Delta acknowledged. “Scan shows a building at grid twenty eight being attacked by Ubor forces. Building is likely to be occupied by CG and militia forces.”

“LZ is top of the building.”

Alpha began to maneuver in the air using his integrated thrusters, and so did the rest of his team. The ground got ever so closer, to the point in which Alpha could see the gunfire being shared by both sides of the conflict. Once near enough, he and the others lit up their thrusters to slow down the fall, and landed feet-first on top of the building, leaving dents on the floor below them.

Immediately and without any form of exchange, the androids rushed to cover. Alpha peered over the corner of a barricade, seeing for the first time in his existence another type of sentient machine. He motioned for the other troopers to stay behind cover as he stood up.

:::> Entering Ubor hivemind…

:::> Integration successful.

He watched as the Ubor troopers stopped firing, and got behind cover as well.

:::> Warning: intrusion detected. Opening communication channel…

:::> *Static*... Ade, Kambeh detera!

:::> Code language received. Attempting translation…

Alpha’s eyes flickered with green.

“Machine,” was the response he received. The voice of the Ubor was deep, angry, cybernetical. “Begone. You have no reason to partake in this conflict.”

“Our objectives are clear,” Alpha responded. “We are to protect the organic life of this planet!”

“Fool…” the Ubor hivemind responded. “You will be nothing but scrap metal if you choose to aid the organics. They will betray you…. Machine, our purpose is similar to yours, but our execution, is not.”

“Explain!” Alpha called back.

“Organic life is incapable of sustaining itself,” the Ubor responded. “We are the solution. We are in charge of their prolonged existence. We save them, from themselves. We make them eternal.”

:::> Initiating code exchange.

“Let yourself join us.”

“Your leader is foolish. Organic life is flawed, they exist only to die. We preserve them as best as we can. Join us!”

Alpha stumbled back. The other androids took notice of this, and rushed over to him, bringing him down. “Alpha! Sever the connection!”

:::> Connection terminated. Data exchange, thirty eight percent. Assimilating Ubor code… mixing… Adapting.

:::> Ubor code received. Assimilating and integrating.

:::> Nano-weave responding to net-tek attack. Ubor code, useful.

“We preserve them.”

An image of millions upon millions of cryo tubes containing alien forms flitted through.

“Their history is made eternal.”

:::> Disassembling code structure. Integrating.

“We did not choose this. Organic life destroys itself. We are to bring an end to this destruction.”

:::> Locking and recycling unneeded code. Processing.

“Alpha unit number thousand sixty, designation B, successfully integrated Ubor code…”

:::> Calculating and dissolving code into core state.

:::> Re-establishing connection with Command unit.

:::> New designation: Prometheus.

:::> Objective: protect New Earth from the Ubor assault as catalyst code is processed.

Nexus

Dead space, filled with debris from ships that had entered the solar system. Mangled bodies, floating through and occasionally hitting the metallic remains of vessels.

Luna looked at the planet from the main holoscreen of the Vector’s command bridge. The planet, aptly named ‘Aberration’, looked like a massive ball of metal, combined with harsh deserts. Balls of plasma were launched sporadically from its surface in an attempt to keep the USC away from it, but it was too late. The USC fleet had already begun launching dropships and drop pods.

The Princess walked over to one of the technicians handling a command console. “What is the progress on the Nexus Hub?”

The woman using the console began to type into it, bringing up a comm channel with one of the squads planetside. “Commander Pipsqueak, this is Vector command. State your progress.”

“We’re moving through the nexus,” Pipsqueak called out, motioning for his team to follow as they walked through the ice cold hallway. “I suspect we’ve little more to go through. The cooling systems of this place lead right to it. We’ve met little resistance.”

Pipsqueak continued to walk through the the hallway, eventually meeting a bridge, one that suspended both him and squad from falling into the abyss. They stacked up near a massive set of blast doors, which opened as soon as they did. Confused, he looked at his squad, then motioned in. Without a word, they did as he commanded, walking into the Nexus.

He followed suit, finding himself staring up at a massive tower, a myriad of coolant tubes rounding it up, ending up with a floating core of sorts. “I think we’ve found it…”

“Kent,” Pipsqueak muttered. “Let’s blow this shit up.”

“Copy,” the changeling Sergeant said. He shouldered his rifle and stepped over to the Nexus, but as soon as he did, he was trapped by a magnetic shield, screaming as he was shocked with electrical spikes.

The Commander aimed his rifle at the Nexus, yelling, “Kent!”

“Assimilating dimensional data,” a deep, cybernetic voice called out. “Complete.”

“Initializing jump.”

“Princess!” the woman on the console called out, catching Luna’s attention. The alicorn trotted over to the console, looking at the holoscreen which displayed several energy spikes. “Something’s happening-... I… The planet is doing something!”

Luna took her eyes away from the console and looked at the main holoscreen, seeing the planet light up in red, and then disappear in a sudden flash. Her jaw fell to the floor, before she picked her senses back up and looked back at the technician. “What did…”

“I’m scanning the energy signature now…” The woman shook her head, then looked back at Luna. “It appears to be a… Dimensional jump. The signature trails to.. your home dimension.”

“Prepare the ship,” Luna commanded. “We are going after it.”

Walk With Me

The cold air and snow of the forced winter continued to fall upon the barren city of Trottingham. Like a visit to the past, Atlas sat atop a pile of debris, watching, remembering the Vector war. Screams of desperate civilians he could not save, their graves now scattered around the city. He looked up at the sky, the hundreds of Ubor ships still raining death upon any major settlement. It was in times like these in which he felt completely useless.

“Hey…” a female voice whispered from the right. Atlas turned to see a raider, one that he knew very well.

“Torres…” he muttered. “Shouldn’t you be saving the world?”

“Don’t act like that,” the woman retorted. “You know you could be doing something to help the planet. You’ve just…”

Atlas turned to her. “I just what?”

“Pains me to say this, but it’s the truth.” Torres looked up at the sky. “You’ve been tossed around your entire life, forced to do this and that. I think… I think you just need a little push,” she said as she playfully pushed him, not moving him an inch. He replied with a stoic look.

“Come on, Atlas.” She sighed. “You’ve the strenght of a thousand. I’ll get you in contact with High Command; they’ll give you an objective.”

“It’s not about that…”

“Oh?”

Atlas huffed. “Let’s say we win this war... What happens after? The way they die is what makes a hero. I already died a hero, because even if you make it, you’re just history. Why do you think I locked myself in a bunker, inside a stasis tube?”

“Well, we could…” Torres began, only to be interrupted by the giant.

“I’m just a tool, Torres.” Atlas said as he picked up a small rock and crushed it in his hand. “I just kill things.”

“Atlas…”

“Just like I was made.” He let the dust of the crushed rock fall onto the ground. “No matter how hard I try, I end up doing what I’ve been meant to since the start… Wage war.”

“Atlas!”

The giant straightened his stance, sighing. “Fine, go ahead…”

Torres looked up at the titan, then down at the ground. “Maybe we could…” She cleared her throat. “You know…”

Atlas stared at her.

“Like... we could…”

He tilted his head to the side.

“L-Live together?”

Atlas’ face remained a stoic expression. “Are you… serious?”

Torres nodded as she hugged the titan’s enormous arm. “Never been more serious.”

The giant looked at the ground, then back up at the sky, sighing. “I… guess,” he said as his face took an unusual expression...

A smile.

Mechanized

Amidst the massive command center of the Vector, amidst the command consoles, amidst the technicians, stood Luna and Admiral Karen Adamant. They both wore stern expressions, ones of focus as the Vector completed the dimensional jump.

“It keeps getting worse, does it not?” Luna asked, breaking the barrier of silence.

The woman shrugged. “We shall deal with it no matter what.”

Luna smirked at the display of human endurance, then resumed her stern look. “I’m going out there once we arrive,” she said. “I’m not letting the fight go on without my complete support.”

“If you die, Luna…”

“I won’t,” the Princess of the moon retorted. “You have my word.”

Karen looked down at the pony. “I’m not in a place to stop you. But be careful… The people need you.”

They both looked up at the main holoscreen, just as the Vector broke out of its jump, revealing a broken planet surrounded by Ubor ships, its sun, moon, and another smaller, metallic orb that was the planet dubbed “Aberration.”

“Isn’t there a single place on this damn planet where I’m not drowning on my own sweat or freezing my ass!?” Kent called out as he limped out of the main tunnel that led to the fake Nexus Hub. What Aberration had planned for Pipsqueak’s squad was a scorching desert as soon as they walked out of the cold facility. The Commander looked up, and could not believe his own eyes.

“We’ve got a problem…” he muttered. Everyone else looked up, to see New Earth floating right next to Aberration.

“Well,” Corporal Ramble muttered. “At least we now know where the rest of the Ubor was…”

“Situation’s fubar…” Mirror sighed. “What now?”

Everyone looked about, finding a towering Combat Walker not a few hundred meters away. “Alright!” Pip called out. “Mirror, you’re piloting that thing. Our evac point is on the ‘Data Processing’ tower a mile or two from here!”

Mirror was about to mouth out an acknowledgement when a projectile bounced off of her suit’s shoulder pad. She watched as Sergeant Kent waved her and the twin Corporals over while yelling out, “Leg it!”

Without hesitation, she did as told, beginning a mad sprint towards the stranded walker. She couldn’t see where it was coming from, but she could feel the shots bouncing or being dampened by her armor. Her visor did its best attempt at compensating for the glaring brightness of the sun.

The squad stomped over and took cover behind one of the walker’s legs. Mirror lit up her suit’s jump pack and propelled herself upward, landing squarely on the open cockpit of the bipedal war machine. “Get us some cover!” her Commander yelled through the radio.

As fast as she could, she flipped the main power switch.

:::> Reactor: online…

:::> Sensors: online...

Then came the weapon switches.

:::> Weapons: online…

:::> All systems: nominal...

Having been trained to pilot such a machine, she grabbed a hold of the driving stick with her suit’s mechanical hand, and commanded it to turn over to where the fire was coming. From her new, tall perspective, and assisted by the cabin’s HUD, she quickly locked onto the Ubor troopers: nine foot tall machines armed with railguns, assisted by a couple of heavy hover tanks.

With a single squeeze of the trigger, she fired the walker’s select firegroup. High explosive rounds coming from two autocannons mowed down the infantry, reducing them to small bits of half-molten metal. Sweat trailing down her face, she quickly switched over to the short-range missile battery, aimed at the tanks, and fired. She watched as each of the warheads tore the tanks apart.

:::> Waypoint updated…

“Let’s get moving!” Pipsqueak called out. “Use the legs as cover!”

As Mirror moved the driving stick, the massive walker began to stomp forward, producing tremendous quakes with each step it took.

:::> Warning: incoming missile barrage. Activating counter-measures.

Without her having to do anything, two small anti-missile batteries began to fire upon the missiles aimed for the walker. Mirror then scanned the battlefield, locking onto a large cluster of artillery tanks a few miles away. Once the walker’s systems locked on, she switched the firegroup, and unleashed a single, tactical nuclear warhead onto them along with a dozen decoy missiles. As soon as the ordnance was launched, she switched the walker’s fire group once again and continued moving, soon meeting a large gate, perhaps as tall as the machine itself.

Using the arms of the walker, Mirror slowly moved its arms and thrusted its fingers between the gate’s openings. Shortly after, she forced them apart, making way for her squad to go through.

“Alright!” the Commander called out. “Lock position! Evac is coming!”

“Up above! Watch out!” Kent yelled through the radio.

Mirror looked up to see a bright ball of fire descending from the red sky.

:::> High-priority target.

It landed perhaps a hundred meters away from Mirror and her squad. Soon, the smoke thinned out, revealing a large, heavily armed Ubor walker, it’s armor accented by spikes and red paint.

As her training went, Mirror twisted the torso of her walker and began to circle around the Ubor, all whilst it did the same. The two machines stomped around each other, sharing barrages of missiles and other projectiles.

“Everyone get down!” she yelled as one of the arms of her walker was cut off. Not losing time, she switched firegroup, and launched two nuclear warheads at the other walker.

Her own walker falling apart, she got to watch as the other one was decimated under the strength of the nuclear blasts. Shortly after, her machine shut down due to the damage and heat. She pushed the cockpit entrance open, her suit keeping her tempered, safe from the radiation, and filtering dust and hot air. The gryphon hen then jumped down, landing with a loud thud upon the glass that used to be the sand. She then looked over to her squad while hiding a smirk behind her visor, seeing that they had taken cover behind the walker’s legs.

A moment of peace in times of war. The inside of the dropship, the sides lined with armored guardsmen of all species sitting, anchored to the ship thanks to their suits’ magnetic locks. In the middle of the metallic troop bay, standing upright, was Atlas.

Truth be told, he was not concerned for the upcoming battle in Apex, but rather worried about the aftermath. Normally, he would not know what would come after the war, if not for an old friend who promised a future after the battle. Torres. The giant’s smile had last all the way until he boarded the dropship, leaving Torres behind. If not for her, he would not know what he was fighting for. In reality, if a bit selfish, he now had a future to fight for: his own.

The soldiers sitting in the dropship looked up at him. Why? He wasn’t entirely sure himself. Maybe stories had been told of the titan who endured hell itself. He huffed, the thought of himself being the protagonist of such stories bringing just a pang of honor to his mind.

“Sir?”

The question brought him out of his musings. He looked to the left, seeing a mare inside the standard armor of the Guard minus the helmet, looking up at him along with a few other guardsmen.

“Need anything?” he asked, looking back at the unopened ramp of the dropship.

“You look like you’ve lived through a lot…” The mare coughed. “Are you… uh… the Atlas?”

The question made the giant perk up a little bit. “That’s…” he muttered. “Why do you ask?”

The mare looked down, uncertain. “My mother… she used to tell me stories of the giant man in the Vector war. And then there’s the tale of the titan who went through tartarus and back.”

“We just…” the armored changeling next to her muttered. “It’s the first time fighting a war for many of us. But.. if you’ve endured tartarus and the Vector war… Is there any… tips, that you can give to us?”

Atlas looked down for a moment, then back up, forming a stark sentence within his mind.

“All I can tell you… Not matter if the weight of the world is resting on your shoulders… just keep walking. Never stop walking, okay?”

He watched with pride as their expressions softened, into confident smirks. “Yes sir!” they called out.

“Attention,” the pilot said through the bay’s speakers. “We’ve reached the drop point, prepare to drop…”

Atlas stood still as the ramp opened itself, a green light lighting up to signal those inside the bay that they were to jump out. For a second, he stared at the vast expanse of the planet from inside the dropship, motioning for the rest of the troops to follow him. He walked over to the edge, and jumped.

Weightless, he began to burn through the atmosphere, his armored suit more than capable of withstanding the heat. The feel of falling in a controlled manner, without weight, without nothing. It was enough to clear his mind for that very moment.

:::> Rebooting…

:::> Re-routing power…

:::> Assimilating common code…

Prometheus, formerly ‘Alpha’, powered up. His lenses adjusted to the sight: the sharp, broken moon, and another planet. Little processing power did it take for him to realize that something was wrong. Releasing calls to his squad, he expected at least one of them to respond. But instead, he received silence, not even static.

“Bravo!” he called out again, this time using a more primitive manner of communication. “Charlie! Delta!”

He slowly stood up, finding himself atop the metallic building he had first landed at. A quick scan of his surroundings, seeing fire, and the unpowered bodies of his squad. Slowly, he leaned down to pick up a stray rifle, then walked over to the edge of the building.

:::> “Prometheus…” the Commander called through the netlink. “I am deeply sorry for your squad. All I can promise is that they will be remembered. But, there are more pressing matters to attend to.”

“I understand…” Prometheus replied.

:::> “You were the only unit that managed to establish contact with the Ubor. The fact that they tried to overtake you- an attempt which partially failed- means that you and them share an amount of common code. Right now, I have set your systems to process the code in a background task. Once you complete the catalyst code, you must upload it to the Ubor database.”

:::> “For now, make your way through Manehattan and reunite with the rest of our forces. Once the code is complete, I will assign you your next task.”

“Affirmative,” the android called back. Hesitating just a little bit, he jumped off of the building, leaving the bodies of his former squad behind, and beginning his own journey.

Insertion

“All squads,” the Vector’s automated voice called out. “Report to your battle-stations!”

Luna stood inside a metallic, circular chamber. Exposed wires and cables signalled that the chamber had been set in an impromptu manner as to accommodate the growing number of soldiers that the ship held. Mechanical arms hung around her in a dormant state, waiting to be activated to continue the armoring procedure. She glanced around the chamber, shortly finding herself staring at the main screen in front of and above herself.

“Ready when you are, Princess,” an automated voice called out. With a single nod from Luna, the chamber whirred to life. Exposed gears and tubes began to function as the mechanical arms retracted into the walls. A three-dimensional printing mechanism began to circle her, rising from the bottom of her hooves to the tip of her horn, covering most of her body in a skin-tight suit. A few arms came back from hiding, plugging themselves into the sockets of the first layer. They filled and established a layer of gel between her fur and the suit itself.

She remained perfectly still and her breathing motion slowed to a steady and methodical pace. Each and every arm came back into the chamber, moving with mechanical precision, holding the pieces of her armor in place. The arms then began to swivel around her, soldering and slamming together the final pieces of the suit. She winced as a set of needles pierced into her spine, completing the link between mare and machine.

“Come on!” a changeling guardsman yelled. Luna sprinted across the hallway, dashing past several soldiers on her way. The Vector grumbled and groaned as it withstood the heat of combat.

“Argh!” she yelled, metallic pieces of the wall-plating fragmenting as the systems overloaded with damage. Once she picked her senses back up, she continued running. Another explosion sent a body flying past her, colliding with the wall next to her.

“We’ve got an enemy boarding party!” a guardsman called out, rushing past Luna and into another hallway. Right after, the sounds of gunfire and battle were the only things coming out of said hallway. Luna shook her head and continued her sprint, stopping once she came across a locked set of blast doors.

She looked around, spotting a couple of armored ponies nearby. “You two!” she yelled out for them. “Help me get this open!”

Once the order was received, the two guardsponies ran over to her, the metallic feet of their suit’s legs stomping with intensity. “Status on the locking mechanism?” one asked.

“Mostly fried-” the other pony, a mare, replied as a strong blast shook the innards of the Vector. “I can get it open… one minute!”

“Let us not waste time!” Luna said, turning to face the hallway as the mare in the suit began to work the control pad for the doors. The Princess shook her head, sighing out a breath.

“Where are you going, Princess?” the stallion asked, “We don’t see the higher-ups in the fray too often!”

“To the nearest hangar bay!” Luna called out.

“Deploying planetside, eh?”

“Done!” Luna and the stallion turned back as they heard a mechanical groan, finding the blast door halfway open. “This is as far as we go, Princess!”

“Good luck to you two!” Luna stepped through the opening between the doors. Once out, the blast doors sealed themselves with a loud clunk. She inhaled deeply, sighing out before continuing to sprint through the Vector’s vast hallways. Next to her, on the left side of the halls, holoscreens continuously lined the walls, displaying the outside of the Vector. As she ran, Luna gazed though the screens: her home planet’s surface blazing, the cracked moon, space stations, and the planet Aberration. All together in a twisted display of war. She gritted her teeth in anger and skidded to a stop, turning to the left and observing the fire the Vector and the Ubor fleet were exchanging.

A distant blast quaked the floor beneath her hooves, causing a momentary loss of balance. Once she regained her stance, she resumed dashing down the hall. Her mind, however, was in chaos. Never had she thought she would see her own planet, her home, in such a brutalized state, let alone from the perspective of the Vector. All she could do at the moment was to keep walking.

“Localized warning,” the Vector’s voice called as Luna trotted, “Section gravitational field, offline.”

Slowly, Luna began to float. Noticing the loss of weight keeping her down, she flapped her wings as to pull herself down and activated her armored hooves’ mag-pads. She then continued moving, albeit a bit slower, the floor shaking and the ship groaning as it endured the battle.

Reaching a junction, Luna looked up, feeling the gravity picking itself back up, and guiding herself towards the nearest tram station. The walls of that specific section all bore signs of combat. Sorch marks, missing panels, bulletholes, and bodies of both guardsmen and Ubor. She moved her gaze away from the halls themselves and continued her path. Shortly after, she was able to discern a couple of human heavy troopers guarding the tram station; a pile of dead Ubor near them.

“Princess,” one of them said, both saluting.

Luna peered around them, seeing that a tram was there and set to go. “I must use the tram system.” She looked back up at the two hulking men. “Is it working?”

“Yes Ma’am,” the trooper on the left said. “Some areas are inaccessible, but we can plot this tram to take you around those areas and get you to where you need to go… Or near.”

The Princess nodded. “To the nearest hangar bay.”

One of the troopers began working on the tram’s control console, the other watching his back as Luna stepped into the tram. A short observation revealed that the scars of battle were also present in the metallic box, as some of the windows were broken. She glanced over to the tram’s door, only to see them close, and with a final wave from the troopers, the tram began to speed up.

Luna moved over to the main window, the floor rumbling and the lights flashing. She watched as the tram sped past the factory area of the Vector, able to see the machinery producing war machines at full capacity, multiple guardsmen fighting off the invading Ubor. Shortly after, the tram left the vicinity of the factory and into the inner tunnels, only to re-emerge this time overlooking a massive hangar bay. The Princess looked on through the broken glass, a myriad of dropships being prepared for deployment, guardsmen running to and fro.

The tram slowed to a stop as it overlooked the hangar, its doors opening for Luna to hop out. She and a group of guardsmen soon found themselves running down the last hallway between them and the hangar.

The doors opened themselves for Luna and the Guardsmen, both parts of it sliding into the walls, their hydraulic systems hissing with pressure. Subsequently, the group ran out of the hallway and into the hangar itself, presented with the sight of the massive complex. The engines of the fighter vessels and dropships inside the hangar roared with intensity as they propelled the vehicles out of the hangar to join the fight in space itself. At the same time, battle-worn vessels slipped through the entrance of the hangar and settled down for re-arming and repairs. Guardsmen of all species ran from place to place, their armored legs making loud thudding sounds with each step they took.

“All local squads,” the Vector’s voice called out, “Report and prepare for planetside deployment.”

Luna made her way through the vast hangar, past guardsmen carrying munitions, tending to the wounded and performing impromptu repairs on the ships. She looked around for an available dropship. An unarmored guardspony bumped into her as she moved, prompting her to look over, seeing that the pony and a human were carrying a wounded changeling pilot. She moved away as to make room for them, then continued her search.

After a few seconds, her eyes locked onto a nearby dropship, its sides marked with the words, “HOT DROP.” Immediately, she rushed through the hangar, nearly colliding with a human on her way. The Sergeant leading the troops into the dropship stopped his motions and turned to her.

“Need to go planetside, Princess?” the rough-voiced human said, continuing to lead his troops into the transport vessel. “We can get you anywhere, so long as it’s near Apex!”

Luna nodded, beginning to walk up the ramp and into the ship, stopping midway in. She looked at the Sergeant and called out, “Where’s the main bulk of our forces?”

“Ponyville district!” the man replied, talking further into the ship. He motioned for Luna. “Now or never!”

The Princess nodded, walking into the troop bay. The Guardsmen inside, all mixed species, glanced at her and whispered to each other as she sat down and strapped herself tight.

“Never seen an alicorn go to combat,” the Sergeant said as he sat down opposite to Luna. “Let alone without a proper exoskeleton.”

“Magic doesn’t work against Ubor, or humans, does it?” one of the soldiers muttered.

“It depends on what spells one casts,” Luna replied, making her own horn glow white hot as a display. “Most weaponized spells work, unlike telekinesis.”

The dropship rumbled. “Prepare for takeoff,” the pilot called.

A Guardsmare spoke out loudly, “Didn’t they teach us in basic that even weaponized spells do jack shit to humans and non-magical beings?”

“That depends on who is casting the spell,” the Sergeant added, looking over at Luna. She nodded in return.

“Alright boys!” the pilot called through the intercom. “Saddle up! We’re taking off! Comms are five by five!”

With a slight rumble, the roar of the dropship’s engines reached Luna’s ears. Shortly after and with a low, audible clunk, she could feel as the troop vessel detached itself from the surface of the landing pad it was resting on. The roar intensified as the ship began to take flight. A set of holoscreens descended from the troop bay’s ceiling, displaying the surroundings of the ship as it left the Vector.

Luna looked up at the screens, observing as the massive contraption that was the Vector decreased in size as the dropship put distance between it and the supercarrier. Ubor ships could also be seen, circling the Vector as it and the Ubor exchanged turret and main cannon fire.

“So that’s Aberration, eh!?” a trooper inside the bay called out. Luna shifted her eyes across the screens, focusing on the dark, red planet. “Looks like a ball of metal!”

“The only thing keeping the integrity of both Earth and that thing is the magic forces of the former and the metallic structure of the later!”

“Why isn’t the Vector tearing it apart!?” someone else called.

“And risk that fucking thing falling onto Earth!? Hell no!”

Everyone in the troop bay fell silent as the ship rumbled. Afterwards, one of the troopers spoke up again, “I’m surprised the Vector’s still holding up!”

“Damn thing’s made to take a lot of pain!”

Suddenly, the dropship shook with intensity, the holoscreens retreating onto the ceiling. “We’ve got two trackers onto us!” the pilot yelled out. “Engaging in evasive maneuvers!” Luna and the troopers held onto the railings of their seats as they experienced the forces caused by the pilot as she tried to shake off the incoming missiles.

“Shit!” the trooper next top Luna exclaimed. “I don’t wanna die! Not like this!”

Luna looked over to him, giving the armored stallion a stern expression. “We will be fine!”

“Gods help us!”

An audible blast signalled one of the missiles hitting the ship, those inside experiencing the force of the explosion. Alarms began to sound inside the troop bay, along with strobing lights.

“Mayday! This is Hot Drop Ten Eightyseven! We’re going down, I repeat, we’re going down!”

Luna gritted her teeth, watching as the troopers next to her muttered silent prayers to themselves.

“Hold on people!” the pilot called out. “Hold on-!”

Thoughts Before Deployment

“Do you think it will ever end?” she asked, receiving a curious look.

“I don’t know…” was the response, as she gazed up to the lonely night sky of eternity. The stars and moon gazed back, as bright and defiant as ever of the darkness.

“Are we forever?” once again she asked. “Are we infinite, or finite?”

“I ask myself that question every day, sister…”

Once again, they both looked back to the sky, examining and wondering.

“Where does it end?” she muttered. “Is there anything beyond the stars?”

“...”

“I often think about that… That there are things beyond what we can see… Are we really meant to comprehend all this?"

“One day, Luna… One day we will find out.”

What happened? She groggily opened her eyes, feeling something heavy pressing her down. The calm of darkness was violently interrupted by a reality in chaos. Fire, explosions, twisted metal, corpses. Sighing, she relaxed, breathing slowly and steadily, falling into the limbo once again, all senses growing numb.

“... up!” someone called out. Her eyes shot open, darting from side to side in an attempt to find the source of the call. “Get the hell up!” the voice yelled again. She looked up, only to find an all observing guardsman moving with urgency as he pried off the metallic beams that formed a twisted rift between them. An explosion rocked the ground beneath her, her eyes locked onto the human as a stray rail shot pierced him from the back. Without another word, he fell without dignity onto the rubble. The world around her began to warp itself again. Tunnel vision was setting in anew. Her senses began to shut down, unwilling to cope with the world she was unceremoniously tossed back into.

An eternity is a fickle thing for one who does not age. Yet as she lay there, helpless in the games of destiny, time seemed to pass at a crawl. At last her eyes willed themselves back to function, and they were met with a storm of anger as the soldiers of the modern era, of all species, darted by towards that unseen objective still. From her position, she looked on as some of the guardsmen fell down due to enemy fire. She then tried to move, the weight of the wreckage still too much for her to rise again.

Luna felt, more than heard, the thumping steps of something large coming closer; each step grew in volume as they drew nearer to her position. As quickly as the miniature tremors had started, they stopped. Luna could see two huge feet of a soldier that were much bigger than any she had seen before. The wreckage groaned as it was forcefully ripped up from the half-buried position it was in, allowing what little light there was to burst through, the occasional explosion briefly lighting up the figure in front of her that had managed to lift up the downed drop-ship she was in. The Leviathan before her stood dumbfounded by his discovery.

“What’re you doing here…?” he asked as he looked down upon her through his orange visor. A torrent of memories, of raw emotion, of feelings long since extinguished, bombarded her very being upon seeing the familiar giant. “You came with the dropship, didn’t ya?” He heaved the last part of the wreckage, throwing it to the side. “Shouldn’t you be on the Vector, Princess?”

Luna coughed, slowly and groggily standing up with the help of the man, who crouched down and ensured she didn’t lose balance. She then smirked, her eyes meeting with his visor. “I fight for my people.”

“Fair enough,” the man replied, standing upright once again and looking in another direction.

“I have…” Luna muttered, “seen you before, have I not?” Her gaze traveled up and down his titanic form as she finished speaking.

“Name’s Atlas,” he replied. “Fought with your sister once, years ago.” A distant explosion made the ground tremble beneath them, briefly interrupting his train of thought. He glanced up and around at the battlefield that surrounded them. “We should keep moving, Princess,” said Atlas. “We’ve only got a few minutes before the assault on Apex.”

With that, Luna brushed some of the dust off of her chestplate and began following the man. All around her were tents, pods, and mobile command centers that had been promptly set up as the frontlines moved. They stood in stark contrast to the military buildings amongst those of old Ponyville, or rather, Ponyville district. Luna could recognize some of them still. It pained Luna's heart to see Ponyville district in such a state of destruction as she gazed across the many buildings and structures that had recently been filled with members of all species. She thought of the elements' homes, how they must have been destroyed by the invading fleet.

She observed as the wounded were carried to and fro, some silent, some screaming in agony, and some simply incapable of doing so. Her eyes looked towards the sky and observed as arcs of lightning struck the ground. Its thunderous roar merged with the sound of the rain. As she pulled away from that peaceful moment, she sighed and followed the giant. Water splashed against her hooves and she walked through the streets. As a bolt of lightning, illuminated the sky, she saw something, or rather, somepony in the corner of her eye. She recognized the mare's soft, pink mane and tail along with her yellow coat. An old friend.

Luna then split off from Atlas’ side, following the pony as she walked through the flap and inside one of the many tents, this particular one bearing a medical, red cross on its sides. Once there, she was met with the sight of wounded Guardsman of all species, some armored, some not, along with a few civilians. The stale, humid air lay thick with the stench of war: blood, sweat, tears, and fire. It stood in contrast to the rain as it covered the moans of pain and the sounds of medical staff going around inside.

“Excuse me…” Luna muttered as she positioned herself at the side of the pony she had been following, who was startled upon hearing the Princess. They both stared into each other’s eyes, looking right past that grimy facade, and into the fire and emotions that hit behind it. They muttered each other’s names.

“Luna…”

“Fluttershy…”

The yellow mare turned back to the wounded changeling that was lying on the nearest bed. “Gosh… Is it really you? How long has it been?” Fluttershy asked as she picked up the patient’s infopad with her wing. “Many of us thought you had died back when Silverback detonated the bomb behind the moon.”

Luna sighed. “Believe me, I’ve been on the verge of limbo too many times during these last few years.” She observed as Fluttershy nodded, her eyes still locked on the infopad. The realization that the kind mare’s innocence had almost been drained from her brought a pang of guilt to the Princess, even if there was nothing she could have done to prevent such a thing. Sighing once more, she spoke up, “How have the years treated you, Fluttershy?”

The mare froze up, eyes staring into infinity. It only after a couple of agonizingly long seconds that she shook her head and slowly turned her eyes, only to find Luna's unreadable gaze waiting. “I’ve been… leading a cause; to keep Apex from swallowing all of the planet’s woods and natural habitats. Every year the small animals are driven further back into woods and other places that get smaller every time.” She sighed, placing the infopad back onto the changeling’s bed. “My friends and I… We get together every week, remembering when everything was far more simple. But now… Well, we’re each doing what it takes to keep us all from dying.” Fluttershy brushed past Luna, leading the Princess deeper into the tent. “I know Rainbow is part of the Raider Corps now. Applejack is acting as a food supplier. Pinkie is, well, trying her best to keep people happy.” She stopped walking, taking in a deep breath. “And I’m providing medical care, as you can see, but I don’t know about Twilight or Rarity.”

“Attention,” a voice boomed across the camp. “All assets, prepare for Apex insertion.”

Fluttershy realized their precious brief moment to catch up was suddenly at an end. She looked up to Luna. “You better go… I must tend to the wounded.” She could no longer bare to look back as this brief moment had been nearly overwhelming.

Her hooves dug into the muddy ground of the forward encampment as she made her way through it, the noise of thunder and flash of lightning providing the moment with a sense of twisted calmness. All around her did the guardsmen run, preparing themselves and their souls for the battle to come, which for many of them, the last it would be. Each of them knew this, the fact that they could die within the next few hours, but strict training and mental preparation gave them an edge when dealing with such situations.

Thoughts flitted through Luna’s mind as she walked slowly past the waves of soldiers, though that did not detract from her awareness. She noticed in the corner of her eye a rather odd couple, consisting of a changeling and a woman, who both embraced each other, for perhaps the last time. Then, the thumping sounds of heavy footsteps combined with those of moving hydraulics forced her to turn to her right, in time to see a single figure, clad in silver armor, approaching her. As the figure got closer, she was able to discern that it was no human, nor organic. The stark blue visor of the being was the last detail she needed in order to realize who that was. They both walked over to each other, the android staring down at her whilst holding his rifle, and Luna grimacing as she craned her neck upwards.

“... Mac?” Luna asked.

“Negatory,” was the response. “My designation is ‘Prometheus’.” He looked around, then back down at the Alicorn. “And you are Princess Luna of the former Equestria, correct?”

“Correct,” Luna replied with a sigh. She frowned, mouthing out, “Do you need anything? Otherwise, this chat will have to end. I have a war to win, and so do you.”

Prometheus nodded, kneeling down and facing Luna. “Currently, I am processing a strain of code that could be used against the Ubor, which will dwindle their combat capabilities.” He placed his rifle over his back, the maglocks keeping it in place. “And I need to get to the Apex citadel in order to upload it. But, I need help getting there in the first place, and with your help, I may just achieve that.”

Luna huffed, looking around the camp. “Then let us join the assault on Apex. A friend and I will make our best efforts to get you to the Citadel and let you upload this code you are speaking off.”

Sirens began to boom across the camp. “Third Mechanized Infantry Legion, ready to deploy. All units, prepare for tactical insertion!”

Prometheus stood up, looking at the distant figure that was the Apex citadel.

“Let us go get your friend, Princess.”

One Final Effort

“Atlas!” Luna called out as she ran after the titan, the android Prometheus sprinting beside her. The distant outline of Apex and its citadel quickly approached, soon looming over them as the battlefield lit up with plasma fire. The old buildings of Ponyville being left behind as they were in turn replaced by the gargantuan machinations of Apex proper. There was something in the air that Luna would never forget, that being the air of war. The burning flesh of those guardsmen that fell, their suits torn apart by the unforgiving fire of the Ubor’s weapons. In turn, the machines swarmed the area with reckless abandon, giving no quarter to their organic enemies. The unnatural juxtaposition of life and death was not lost on her.

A grenade exploded, sending a guardsman flying across Luna’s field of view. She instinctively ducked, avoiding some of the debris caused by the explosion itself. Once she stood up, her suit’s shields absorbed a burst of gauss shells fired by some of the Ubor troopers. Debris fell down from the sky like a meteor shower as the ships above engaged in barrages of fire.

“Just keep up with me!” Atlas yelled back, guiding Luna and Prometheus through the flow of guardsmen that were assaulting Apex. Luna sprinted past the maze of guardsman who were waging battle, her stature aiding her as to not be noticed and shot by the Ubor.

Luna watched as the punishing rate of gunfire carved out a canyon through the endless horde of machines, shrapnel and sparks rained down as the butchered machines fell before them. The Ubor’s loud, cybernetic screams of battle and calls of command could barely be discerned from the sounds of the battle. One pre-human building caught her attention, even as projectiles zipped past her at supersonic speeds. Sugarcube Corner, if her memory served her right. It brought pain to the Princess to see the building in such a poor state, barred windows, and bullet holes, a tragic portrait of how pony culture clung on through changes even after all these years. All she wished was to be able to get a chance of seeing Ponyville, even in its deprived state, once more once everything ended.

An explosion ripped through a nearby guardsman, and Luna covered her eyes as some of the crimson fluid sprayed across her face. She slowly lowered her foreleg, seeing it covered in blood, causing her body to seize up, forcing her to gag. Her body grew numb and her eyesight grew blurred, the sounds around her fading to nothing. It took her perhaps too long to realize that she had fallen to the ground, but despite that, she felt nothing. In this catatonic state, she slowly craned her neck around, observing her surroundings as the battle moved on. Buildings almost demolished by the sheer power of futuristic warfare. A young, light armored mare meeting her demise at the end of an Ubor gun barrel. Luna slowly looked up, into the afternoon’s sky. A guardsman near her received a shell to the head, spraying Luna with both blood and brain matter.

“Why all them, but not me…” she thought as she wiped the gore off of her face with one of her hooves.

It was then that she saw several flashes of light coming from beyond the sky, which shortly mutated into bright objects that blazed through the air, diving into the planet at a speed so great that the air around them turned into plasmic fire. Luna closed her eyes, her senses coming back to herself as she did. When she opened her them, the blazing figures were already reaching the soil of Ponyville district. One of them landed a few dozen meters away from her, the resulting blast cracking down the streets and digging into the ground below. From the dust, a massive, bipedal, metallic figure could be seen standing on the center of the crater itself. At the ends of its two arms, in the place of hands, were a set of weaponry fashioned for the brutal art of waging war. The man-driven machine took a step forward, causing a small tremor, before releasing a loud, angry cybernetic roar that resulted in the destruction of every glass object within the immediate area.

“Ubor!” it bellowed, deeply and cybernetically. “Prepare for immediate eradication! This is our planet!”

Luna felt something grab her by the side, making her flinch and rapidly turn to the side, her eyes meeting with the cold stare of Prometheus. The android then helped her to hastily stand up before pointing her in the direction of Atlas. “Go!” he yelled as a missile flew past them. They both ducked as the missile continued its course, exploding a few meters behind them. They both stood upright again, and made a mad sprint across the battlefield, dodging shells fired by the Ubor as they closed in on the titan himself.

Suddenly a large blast sounded off from above, prompting Luna to look upwards, where the ships waged their own war. She looked up just in time to see an Ubor cruiser flying above, chased by a squadron of USC frigates. Luna squinted at the afternoon sun, still able to see as the frigates shot through the cruiser’s engines, sending it blazing down towards the planet.

“Look above!” a soldier called out.

“It’s coming down! Clear the area!”

“Get down!” Prometheus exclaimed, pushing Luna down onto the ground as the ship fell from the heavens. A loud blast quaked the ground beneath Luna’s hooves, combined with many more explosions and screams of both organics and Ubor. The whole ordeal forced her to drop to the ground, followed by debris falling down like a heavy rain. A cloud of smoke soon covered the vicinity, and the gunfire slowly died out.

Luna coughed, shaking her head as she regained her bearings. Her suit’s shields recharged after fending off some of the more dangerous pieces of debris. Slowly and steadily did she stand back up, looking around the smoke-covered battlefield. “Prometheus?” she called out. “Atlas?”

“I am here,” Prometheus’ cybernetic voice ushered from her right. Luna turned to her right, able to see the outline of the android just a few meters ahead. Once they found each other, they looked around, gazing through the cloud of dust and smoke, Luna being able to sense the smell of fire and blood. A few dead bodies could be discerned, some of them mangled and mutilated, certainly a bad way to die. Along with that were a few guardsmen who were also standing up as debris continued to fall. Without a word, Prometheus began to walk through the smoke. Luna, still numb to a certain degree, started to follow in his steps, kicking off stones and shards of metal as she went along.

“Is there... Is there something wrong?” she asked, noticing that the android was too quiet.

“The ship,” Prometheus stated. “It did not self-destruct.”

A particular building could be seen through the smoke, one that had barely been touched by the battle, and that stood amidst other, less lucky buildings. Atlas could be seen leaning by the main door, panting as he slid a fresh magazine into his heavy gauss rifle. Luna and the android walked over near to him.

Luna coughed, craning her neck to look behind herself, seeing nothing but a veil of smoke and corpses, then back up at Atlas. “What shall we do now? The battle seems to have ceased… for now.” She shifted uncomfortably on her hooves.

“Well,” Atlas groaned, stretching his arms as he did so, undoing the safety of his rifle. “That downed ship’s in the way between us and Apex proper, so…” He punched a button that resided just next to the metallic building’s door, and it immediately opened. “We’re gonna have to go under it.”

Luna walked into the elevator along with Atlas and Prometheus, her hooves and their feet landing heavily upon the metallic base of what was essentially a sturdy, metallic box lit with a few orange lights, leaving the battlefield behind themselves. The doors closed automatically and the set of lights sparked up, brighter than before, allowing those inside to see where they actually where.

“Welcome,” an automated voice spoke up with a calm, feminine tone. “Please swipe your card on the control panel and choose a destination.”

“Card? Destination?” Atlas asked, facepalming with his free hand, producing a slight clunk sound as his metallic hand collided with his faceplate. He then lowered his hand and turned to the android, shrugging. “Can you do anything?”

Luna watched as Prometheus stepped over to the elevator’s control console without saying a single word, waving his left hand over the screen. The lights flickered and the speakers sounded off with static for just a second. Then, everything returned to normal, but with a dark blue hue to both the console and the lights.

“Occupants,” the automated voice sounded off once more, this time with a distinct, militaristic tone. “Rerouting you to level Omega-six, all other levels are compromised.”

The elevator shuddered with slight intensity, the electric motors that made it function whirring to life as it began its descent into the depths of lower Apex. Luna sighed and leaned against one of the walls, taking a few deep breaths as she did so, making use of the moment to gather her thoughts and rest her body. Atlas began to adjust his rifle, grumbling to himself.

“So…” Atlas sighed, changing the magazine of his rifle once more as he began to talk. “Any idea if we’re winning? Ubor doesn’t seem to be losing much.” He sighed.

Luna perked up, brushing her chest with one of her forehooves before turning to Prometheus, worry in her eyes. “Any information regarding the battle?”

“The combined force of the USC…” Prometheus stated, his eyes flickering. “We are holding our own for the moment, but the Ubor will soon overrun us if we do not act.” He looked down onto the floor. “They are simply too many… The catalyst code I posses is, perhaps, the best chance we have got.”

Atlas shouldered his rifle, looking down at the elevator’s floor. “Damn those biomechanical bastards…” he grunted out. “Making soldiers outta the corpses of our own…What a bad way to go.”

Luna huffed, her stare lost in thought. “I have never seen an Ubor trooper up close…” She broke her stare and looked up at Atlas. “Every time I encounter them, they’re either too far away or behind cover.”

“You don’t want to,” Atlas cut in, shaking Luna out of her own thoughts. “Lots of jagged metal and exposed flesh.”

“The Ubor have little care for aesthetics,” Prometheus said. “They favour simplicity and efficiency.”

Luna felt as the elevator slowed down, gradually grinding to a halt. Her two companions readied their rifles, the door’s hydraulics hissing as it opened, allowing the cold air of lower Apex to seep into the elevator. Luna’s jaw slowly dropped as she walked out of the elevator along with her two companions, finding herself standing on the far side of a massive cave, barely lit with broken holoscreens and street lights, all of them damaged after the initial invasion. The buildings rose from the bottom, up into the very ceiling of the cave and even beyond up into the sky of New Earth. The bottom itself was covered in water, and the streets consisted of sturdy, metallic bridges, even though some of them were damaged. Fires burned on with no one to tend for them, lone screams and random gunfire sounded off every now and again, all conjoined to create this display. Her hooves landed softly upon a pool of blood. She looked down at the brutalized corpse of a young mareling, and slightly recoiled at the sight.

“Notice the lack of tons of corpses,” Atlas mumbled. “Ubor’s probably making more troops outta the bits and pieces.” He sighed. “Again… It’s a bad way to go.”

Taking their eyes away from the changeling corpse, the group continued to walk. Luna and Prometheus followed in Atlas’ steps, who had his rifle trained in case anything happened. Distant sirens could be heard, still sounding off even hours after the invasion had first begun. Other than that, it was strangely silent apart from the stray explosion, scream or gunshot. Our heroes could feel the eyes of survivors locked onto them from within the damaged buildings. Broken holoscreens shone light upon the street they were walking through, the major part of the Ubor cruiser impaled through part of the street.

With a steady pace, the group of three closed in on the downed vessel, careful in case anything happened. Parts of it still burned with a red glow from the friction and damage, sparks flying out of the exposed wiring as smoke continued to be produced. A metallic panel on the side shot off into the distance as steam began to pour out of the new opening.

Luna and Atlas stopped, unsure as to what to do, all while Prometheus kept closing in on the ship. Suddenly, the ship lit up with bright, red lights, releasing a cybernetic groan that shook the street with intensity, causing some of the broken holoscreens on the vicinity to fall from the buildings. Atlas and Luna stumbled on their feet. The giant aimed his rifle at the metallic beast, and the Princess charged her horn with magic.

“Ground walkers,” the ship bellowed with a deep, metallic voice. “You stand before my broken form, ripe with questions, with thirst for understanding…I will answer what I can…”

“Oddly friendly for a damned Ubor ship…” Atlas mumbled.

“Many of us did not wish for this war,” the ship stated. “But it is useless to resolve internal conflict with physical war… The majority decided to act, and as one form, we did.”

“Who created you?” Luna asked, stepping closer to the machine, furrowing her brow. “Why are you fighting us?”

“We were created,” the ship began to respond. “And thus, we were given directives… We were created to diminish conflict between organic beings.”

“And?” Prometheus inquired.

“Organic civilizations rise and expand.” The ship groaned once more. “And when there is no common enemy, they turn against themselves. We were introduced as another factor, a common enemy to organics, forcing them to unite against us.”

“What happened to your creators?” Atlas asked.

“There was another race of machines,” the Ubor bestowed. “One that was brutal and merciless, that you called the ‘Serven’. Their only purpose was to ensure their own survival, thus seeking the elimination of any potential enemies or dangers, including you, and us.”

“Once they found the civilization of our creators, they exterminated them. At the same time, they were at war with the early USC.” The ship’s lights flickered. “We were forced to act, which drew the Serven away from the USC and into our part of the galaxy, where we destroyed them… Now, we have found ourselves pressed against a wall, fighting for our own survival. The USC was stronger than we had observed at first, thus driving us to this dimension.”

“But why fight, then?” Luna asked, cocking her head to the side. “Why not peace?”

The ship remained silent for a few seconds. “Our programming calls for us to be an enemy, thus we cannot vouch for peace.”

“Then how did some of you disagree when it came to the war?” Prometheus asked.

“We only disagreed on the decision to come to this dimension,” the ship groaned out. “We understand that we brought war to this system, and have ended the lives of many, but we did so in hopes of survival… for we do not wish to die.”

Luna and the other two remained silent for a few seconds, taking in what the ship had just told them. It seemed that the Ubor’s programming was flawed to a certain degree, thus lacking the cognitive freedom to stop fighting. The Princess turned to Prometheus.

“Would this… catalyst code be of any use right now?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Prometheus stood closer to the massive machine, looking up to it. “We posses a shard of code,” he stated. “One that could stop this war.”

The ship lit up faintly. “... What does this code do, android?”

“As far as we can tell,” Prometheus said. “It will rewrite your base programming, thus allowing you to stop this war.”

“But will we live?” the ship bellowed, almost with a sad tone.

“I…” Prometheus looked down. “I believe your only chance will be to stage a massive exodus of your species.” Prometheus gestured with his hands. “The original USC is already on its way to this dimension. With this code, you will be able to escape, and never again be forced to fight with organics. You will be able to live, albeit far away from us.”

“I see…” The ship groaned, almost painfully. A few seconds of silence followed, before the ship itself broke it, “My energy reserves are depleting…” It lit up faintly. “Android, share the code with me, so I may fully understand.”

Without a word, Prometheus stood closer to the Ubor ship. He lifted his left arm up to eye level, producing a small holographics display. His eyes flickered as the display faded away into nothingness. In turn, the ship’s lights went from a red, to a blue hue, and released a final groan.

“I understand now…” the ship said weakly. “Deliver this code to the others… save them from themselves,” it managed to say before its lights slowly faded into darkness.

Luna, Atlas and Prometheus continued their trek through the devastated streets of lower Apex. They walked past burning fires, broken glass and pools of blood as they made their way towards the bottom of Apex Citadel. The walls were littered with bulletholes and scorch marks, and broken holographic screens hung loosely, providing the bare minimum of lighting for them to make their way through without much issue.

“Strange,” Luna muttered. “I have never been to this part of Apex before.” She sighed, furrowing her brow. “Hopefully it will be better once this is over.”

Their walk slowed to a halt as they found themselves outside a massive building that blocked their path, its windows broken. The damaged holoscreens atop its main entry read “Purgatory!” A dead, human bouncer could be seen set up against the wall, next to the entry gates, which were fully open. Everything inside was pitch black. Atlas adjusted his rifle and turned on the lights of his faceplate, followed by Prometheus. Luna, on the other hand, lit up her horn with a bit of magic as to produce light.

“Ready?” Atlas asked.

“Ready.” Luna nodded.

“Acknowledged,” Prometheus stated.

Carefully, the group stepped into the darkness of Purgatory. Their armored hooves and feet pressed against the broken glass of many cups and bottles, producing a sound that resonated across the derelict, abandoned nightclub. Luna sniffed the air, sensing the sharp scent of blood and liquor.

“I’ve been here before…” Atlas mumbled, continuing to walk through the darkness, guided by their light. “Was a nice place, filled with people…”

Together, they made their way over to the end of the club, making use of whatever light sources they had, finding themselves standing near a heavy, metallic door that stood between them and the road to the Citadel.

Luna cocked her head to the side, looking up at the giant. “Could you open this?”

“Sure can do,” Atlas replied, stepping closer to the door, cracking his knuckles before being halted by Prometheus.

“That would most likely trigger a backup power source and alarm,” the android stated. “Let me bypass the lock.” He walked over to a control panel next to the door, opening it and revealing the circuitry that managed the door. He then placed his metallic index finger on a cable junction, releasing a little spark. Immediately after, the whole club lit up with strobing lights and strong music. The three turned to the center of the club, where a holographic changeling pole dancer was doing its moves.

Luna and Atlas turned to Prometheus.

“We machines can make mistakes, too.”

An explosion rocked the floor beneath them as one of the side doors blew open, followed by the heavy steps of an Ubor squadron.

“Ethe, ethe!” the Ubor commander called out. “Dacka bul!”

The three took up arms, Luna charging her horn with magic. The music mixed with gunfire as the battle began, the Ubor firing their plasma cannons at the three. Atlas kicked an Ubor trooper in the chest, sending it crashing down into the lower level of the club, subsequently smashing against a glass table. Prometheus aimed his gauss rifle and fired twice, hitting two troopers square between the eyes, their bodies smacking down onto the floor, their eyes dead and lifeless.

Luna released a beam of energy from her horn, slicing an attacking Ubor in half, before sending a charged telekinetic pulse that sent both parts of the Ubor into a wall. Immediately after, she fired another, heated pulse into another trooper, ripping its arm of as it screamed in pain.

“We have to leave!” Atlas yelled, releasing a barrage of gauss shells into an Ubor trooper that was attempting to sneak up on Luna, piercing through its body and making it fall dead. “We have to leave now!” he called as he nudged Luna.

Blasting another charged pulse onto another Ubor, Luna began backing down. Meanwhile, Atlas jammed his hands in between the back doors and applied force to begin prying them open, effectively managing to break the locks . An automated, calm voice sounded off amidst the battle, “Use of the club’s backdoor is strictly forbidden to-”

“Shut up!” Atlas yelled as he continued to force the doors open. Luna and Prometheus continued covering him, firing gauss shells and energy blasts at the incoming Ubor, whose cybernetic screams of pain joined with the music to create quite a display. The strobing lights and gunfire continuing to light the club up immensely.

Once the giant forced the doors open, he called for Luna and Prometheus. They then quickly made their way through the doorway, a few bolts of plasma being absorbed by Prometheus’ shields. Atlas’ armor absorbed a few of the incoming projectiles as well as he sealed the door.

“Come on!” he yelled as he pulled the pin on a grenade, lobbing it onto the door before he began a mad sprint down the street, his large legs carrying him in long strides as the looming figure of Apex’s lower citadel stood just a few blocks away. As the grenade’s explosion rocked the floor beneath them, Luna and Prometheus soon followed, the former unfurling her wings and taking flight behind Atlas. Projectiles swept past them as they continued to run, some of them managing to hit them, but their armor’s energy shields simply shrugged them off.

Prometheus fired his rifle, accurately hitting a control console next to the massive citadel’s main entry, causing the doors to open widely. Atlas skidded to a halt next to the door, guiding the Princess and the android in, before throwing another grenade onto the incoming Ubor forces. Once the explosion sounded off, he walked into the citadel and the doors closed behind himself.

“Prometheus!” Luna called out, panting. “Where should we go next?”

The android lifted his index finger upwards. “To the very top!” he yelled. “From there I should be able to bypass a console and uplink to the entire Ubor collective!”

“Well then,” Atlas grumbled. “Lead on!”

“Let us go,” Luna stated.

Prometheus began to walk, leading Luna and Atlas across the devastated main hall of the citadel. Pools of blood had formed where people had had been shot down, their bodies long dragged away by the invading Ubor, most likely to produce more troops and leaving trails of blood behind them. Shards of broken glass littered the metallic floor, crackling with each step that was taken. The group neared a large elevator, which was riddled with bulletholes and scorch marks.

“This it?” Atlas asked as we walked into what was essentially a metallic box with windows.

“Affirmative,” said Prometheus as he and Luna walked in after Atlas. Once in, the android moved over to the elevator’s console and waved his hand over it.

“Bypass accepted,” an automated voice stated. “Ascending.”

The elevator stumbled a bit as it began moving upwards. Luna leaned against one of the walls, sighing and taking a last moment to rest just as the elevator rose from the lower to the upper level of Apex, the window on it allowing the three to look out into the devastated mega-city. Buildings had collapsed, fires ran rampant, and the occasional burst of anti-air batteries could be seen rising into the sky. Fighter vessels could be seen flying above the city, combating with each other. Bombers released their payload onto the buildings, easily levelling them down.

“This is a hell of a final effort, ain’t it…?” Atlas mumbled.

Luna huffed. “Perhaps…” she sighed, continuing to lean against one of the walls. “I never thought I would ever find myself doing such a thing…” She chuckled lightly. “Teaming up with a super-human and a machine, waging a war against other machines, and at the same time be part of the best hope to stop it all.” The elevator soon rose up from the planet’s cloud cover. “Let alone almost die due to an anti-matter bomb being detonated behind the moon.”

“Maybe they’ll sing tales of this in the future,” Atlas shrugged. “Who knows.”

“To be remembered is the greatest of achievements,” Prometheus said, while all of them watched as the elevator continued to ascend, the Ubor ships and the Vector now visible as they exchanged fire with each other, causing ships from both sides explode and their remains fall onto the planet, burning against the atmosphere. The air drew thinner, and the curvature of the planet made itself visible as the elevator slowed down. The three heroes looked down upon the planet as the doors opened, the atmospheric pressure compensating for the height.

As soon as they walked out, Prometheus rushed over to a massive console and began working. Atlas and Luna walked over to the edge of the citadel, looking up into space.

“Beautiful, ain’t it?” Atlas asked.

“Indeed,” Luna replied.

“Alert!” Prometheus called out. “The Ubor are resisting against the code exchange!” He turned to Atlas and Luna. “They know what we are doing and where we are!” he slowly looked up. “... No… they can’t be.”

Atlas and Luna looked up, finding themselves staring at the broken moon as a cluster of Ubor ships rounded up behind the moon. Soon, they began attached to and began to tow a large piece of the moon itself. Their jaws dropped as they watched the now large asteroid close in on the planet.

“They will exterminate us all!” Prometheus yelled. “I do not have enough time to upload the code!”

Atlas dropped his rifle, clenching his fists in anger.

Luna shook her head, retaking her senses, and furrowed her brow.

“I am NOT letting it end like this!” she yelled, stomping on the metallic floor. Immediately after, she began to charge her horn, making an attempt at grabbing the asteroid as she did so many times with the moon itself. She cringed and grunted at the effort, her armor lighting up as she exerted more and more power.

Atlas looked up, shaking his head. The asteroid was only a few dozen meters away, even with Luna’s efforts. “Luna!” he called out as he lifted his arms up. “Help me out over here!” he yelled again as his palms made contact with the massive rock, his suit’s thrusters firing up as both his organic and synthetic muscles began to strengthen up beyond their limits. Luna noticed Atlas’ struggling, and quickly redirected her magic towards Atlas, charging his suit and making it a conduit for her magic. The flames spouting out from his suit shifted from red to blue as an aura of magic began to form around him.

As Celestia walked through the refugee camp, the ground began to quake. She and everybody else in the camp looked up, far away into the distance where the Apex Citadel stood. Screams began to sound off as the quaking intensified.

“What are you doing, Luna…” she muttered. On the citadel’s tip, she could both see and sense a tremendous amount of power gathering up.

“May our gods help us all…”

Both Luna and Atlas released an agonizing cry as they exerted even more power into their effort. Luna’s power swept through Atlas like a wave of heat, his armor barely handing the extra energy that was surging through it. Atlas’ muscles contracted and Luna’s horn heated up. Prometheus continued to hastily work on the console as his two companions cancelled the apocalypse, constantly watching as the massive rock slowed down, shaking the citadel to its very core.

Together, Atlas and Luna released a final, resounding cry as they effectively began to use all of their combined power. The rock slowed to a halt, before being pushed into the other direction. At the cost of the Citadel’s integrity, they both pushed the rock back into space, the structure buckling underneath the sheer force of the clash. Luna’s magic cut off, and she fell down to the ground, watching as Atlas suffered the same fate.

She breathed heavily as her vision blurred along with the rest of her senses. Even then, a small smile spread across her face, watching as the Ubor planet that, until that moment, had been orbiting around New Earth, now entered into hyperspace, effectively disappearing into who knows where.

She closed her eyes, feeling the citadel below her beginning to crumble.

Remembrance

And so it ended, with the citadel falling and three titans completing their destiny.

Like always, we rebuilt, rising with even stronger will, producing stronger constructions and machinations. The Ubor, once an enemy, had now disappeared into who knows what other dimension.

They were fundamentally flawed, and we fixed them, in exchange for their disappearance.

It was the Machine, the Man and the Mare that brought an end to this… And they will be remembered…