Applejack struggled up what seemed like a never-ending steep hill. It didn’t help that she was in a suit that weighed more than she did. But as much as she tried, she couldn’t get out of it. Finally cresting the height of the hill, Applejack nearly collapsed at its peak until she noticed a sight she hoped she wouldn’t see: a base of Terran origin. Various buildings such as supply depots, starports and factories stood tall on the flattened ground. Earth ponies in SEV suits were scattering amongst the base on their businesses, but perhaps the worst of all sights adorned her eyes: Pinkie Pie.

------

Four hours earlier...

------

“Consarnit!” Applejack muttered as her Terran base was quickly overrun by flocks of flying Mutalisks - their barrages of attacks easily taking out building after building on the computer screen. “Mind giving me a hand, Rarity?!”

“It’s about time you asked for help, my dear!” chirped Rarity’s voice through Applejack’s headset. “Help should arrive just about... now!” As quick as the Mutalisk horde had appeared before Applejack’s undefended base, a decently numbered squad of Stalker ground units came to aid, quickly laying waste to the hovering Mutalisk mass. It wasn’t long until the Mutalisks turned around and fled back to their base, leaving Applejack’s base half in tact.

“Consarnit, Rarity - ya could’a sent help a bit earlier!” Applejack barked through her mic.

“Well, I came to help, didn’t I?” Rarity replied, smug as ever. “With that taken care of, it’s time I move in for the kill!” As the squad of Stalkers quickly followed the fleeing Mutalisks, Applejack began to re-build her base... until she noticed where Rarity was heading.

A legion of Rarity’s massive Carriers descended upon the Zerg base, quickly decimating the biological buildings into rubbles of flesh and entrails - her Stalkers arriving in time to aid in taking care of the remaining Zerg forces. It wasn’t long until Rarity and Applejack read the word ‘Victory’ across their screen.

“Rrrgh! No fair! I was the last one alive - AGAIN!” moaned Rainbow Dash through the voice chat.

“WEEE! Let’s do it again!” squealed a high-pitched voice, irritating her rainbow-maned team mate.

“Good game, girls. But as much as I’d like to play another game, I must get back to my orders. Those dresses won’t sew themselves!” Rarity sung, signing off not a moment afterwards.

“Heheh, that’s another win for me, Rainbow Dash!” Applejack said through her mic, smirking.

“RARITY won that for you! I would have totally scrapped you and your tin-can race if SHE hadn’t come to your rescue!” complained Rainbow Dash.

“Fine. How’s about we settle this in a one-on-one?” Applejack asked as a look of determination spread her face.

“You know I wouldn’t turn down a challenge!” Rainbow Dash replied, equally as sharp.

“What about me?!” squealed the high pitched voice, again.

“Pinkie Pie, this is something I HAVE to settle with Applejack,” Rainbow Dash moaned.

“B-but - “

“Girls! Good to see you online,” said Twilight’s voice in their Trotspeak server, the other mares seemingly not noticed her entrance.

“Oh - howdy partner,” Applejack greeted.

“I have a surprise to show you all... Come over to the library at once!”

“Oooh, I like surprises!” Pinkie Pie eagerly answered.

It wasn’t long until everypony arrived to the library. But Applejack somehow knew that when Twilight summoned the five mares, trouble would somehow ensue. And this time was unfortunately no different.

Twilight screwed up another spell.

------

Four hours later...

------

“P-Pinkie Pie! Oh mah, am Ah glad to see you!” Applejack gasped, out of breath from her climb in her heavy suit.

As she stumbled towards her pink friend, other earth ponies in similar gear like Applejack’s walked about the base. An airport - starport - was stationed to the left of Applejack; a parked Banshee aircraft resting on top of the landing pad. Siege Tanks and anti-air turrets were stationed at the perimeter of the base, serving as sentries to ward off oncoming threats. But despite all of the activity going on, she couldn’t take her eyes off the only thing that was physically familiar to her - Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie was at a table surrounded by a few other earth ponies, some armoured and some not. Pinkie herself, however, was in attire different from the rest: she wore a neat black coat with several badges and a gold trim adorning the coat, accompanied by a naval-officer hat and... a pipe in her mouth. But shortly after Applejack’s remark, a stallion with a shoulder-mounted rifle approached the newcomer.

“That’s Admiral Pinkie Pie, for you!” he spoke with a rusty deep voice.

“Admiral?” Applejack questioned, her eyes squinting in confusion.

“APPLEJACK!” Pinkie screamed, followed by a pink blur and Applejack on the ground with Pinkie on top. “You’re here! I thought I was dreaming but I wasn’t and I found myself here with this funny looking hat and everyone always listens to my orders and - “

“T-that’s mighty fine, Pinkie Pie... Where are we?” she modestly spoke, knowing that despite her babbling, Pinkie always heard what others were saying to her.

“OH! We’re in our base, of course - Terranville!” Pinkie answered, crawling off Applejack and getting back onto her hooves. Applejack followed suit, the other ponies around them staring in some sort of confusion.

“Uh, you’re... Admiral Pinkie Pie?” Applejack asked, hoping to not hear what she already knew.

“Uh-huh! And I have my own ship!” Pinkie exclaimed. Almost on cue, a massive aircraft rose from behind the many buildings. Applejack stared at it in utter disbelief - it was a massive Battlecruiser, almost the size of the base itself. And it was painted pink.

“I call it: The Partycruiser!”

------

Rainbow Dash woke up; her mind vaguely remembering the events prior to going unconscious. But she soon found that she wasn’t in any bed nor any sort of floor below her.

“Wha-,” Rainbow Dash gasped before she found herself tumbling down a... slimy hill. Not a moment after just waking up and realizing she was falling, she hit the ground which was covered in a grey-ish purple muck.

“Aah... Ew! What is this stuff!” she said with disgust and fatigue in her voice. But before she could raise any hoof, however, she found that she didn’t have any.

“Wh-WHAT’S GOING ON!” Rainbow Dash screamed, realizing she wasn’t a pony anymore. She was instead a long linear-shaped creature with several exoskeleton armor pads that adorned her back; she was some sort of worm.

“Oh.. H-hi Rainbow Dash,” came a voice beside her.

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow gasped - the poor former pegasus pony only having seconds to process all that was going on. It only took a second for Rainbow Dash to realize that Fluttershy was like her: an armored worm creature.

“Hi...” Fluttershy meekly spoke back. Surprisingly, the two kept their original pony faces, it was only their bodies that were different. Surrounding the yellow and sky-blue worms were various other worms, but they were all a brown colour and took no notice to the two out-of-place larvae that were conversing with each other.

“What the hay is going on?” Rainbow Dash hastily asked, hoping that it was all a dream. Beside the worms was the strange slimy hill that she found herself falling from - it was a tall dome-shaped mass of flesh and bone; a living structure. “Why are we worms?!”

“I don’t know... I kind of like this shape, even if everything’s kind of sticky,” Fluttershy replied, her mouth-pincers happily clicking together.

“This isn’t good... It can’t be real!” Rainbow dash screamed.

“Look!” Fluttershy squeaked as a brown worm beside them began to shriek, quickly curling up into a ball and somehow encasing itself in a ball of green slime.

“Oh my - this can’t be happening!” Rainbow Dash yelled even more, finally giving into her realization: they were Zer-

“AAH!” Fluttershy screamed as more worms around them began following what the first one did, forming into translucent green eggs. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, however, remained worms.

Splat!

“Rrrghghh!” growled the figure that exploded out of the first egg. The worm that had encased itself came out with even larger pincers on its face and sported two web-like wings on each side of its body. It had also grown legs that seemed to allow it to move across the ground with decent speed.

“Ohmygosh what the - “ Rainbow only screeched as the Zerg drone quickly ran off.

Splat! Splat!

More of the drones burst out of their respective green encasings, all running towards the same direction.

“Aaw, such gentle creatures,” Fluttershy smiled.

“Gentle?! GENTLE? Really, Fluttershy?!” Rainbow Dash scowled, not knowing if she felt panicked or... excited.

------

“My life, for Celest - what?” Twilight interrupted herself, quickly gaining consciousness. The last thing she remembered was a large flash of blinding light - and only now, recovering from the incident, she found herself able to see again.

“What the hay,” Twilight slowly spoke, realizing her surroundings: plenty of very ornate buildings in a very orderly fashion were placed among the ground around her. They were mostly made out of a golden material, decorated with accenting trims and large gems. Blue light seemed to radiate from the several monuments and structures, which also hummed in a gentle forboding purr.

“Oh my, it can’t be,” she muttered under her breath, noticing that a rag was covering her muzzle.

Next Chapter: Chapter 2 Estimated time remaining: 27 Minutes