Machine And Might

by Kriegor

First published 13th of January, 2012

A massive contraption obscures the Equestrian sky. "USS Vector" is engraved on its sides.

"A massive, artificial behemoth made of metal tore through our skies. It loomed over our world, blotting out Celestia's sun and shrouding Luna's moon, leaving those below in the shadows. It sowed chaos and conflict on our nation, something that had not happened in more than a millennium."

"It sits high above us, watching and waiting. What is this monster, and what is to be the fate of Equestria?"

Season Two starts 10/18/16!

Cover art by Conicer!

Prologue: Drawing Lines

The USS Vector is the fifth Terra-class vessel built under the banner of the United Systems and Colonies (USC). It falls under the category of a ‘Supercarrier.’

Being a Terra-class war vessel, the USS Vector excels in military capability, being able to assault entire solar systems in mere minutes, and possessing the thickest hull the USC is capable of producing. However, in terms of pure firepower and armor penetration capabilities, Terra-class vessels are outmatched by the Mars-class Superdreadnaughts.

Even so, Terra-class vessels are the biggest to date with the USS Vector, at approximately six hundred kilometers in length, being the largest. The USS Vector is also the only Terra-class vessel capable of performing orbital troop drops, as it possesses a “Z-Grav” generator that allows it to get close to planets without altering both the vessel’s and the planet’s gravitational state, as well as rendering the ship almost frictionless, thus allowing it to enter atmosphere without suffering structural damage. However, it should be noted that although atmospheric entry poses no threat to the USS Vector, the same cannot be said for the surface of the planet, due to the destructive forces produced by the ship as it moves the air around it.

Every Terra-class vessel has the necessary equipment to initiate the colonization of planets. These ships are capable of building small but relatively secure colonies which will later be utilized by one of the major corporations of the USC, such as “Landrex Arms and Construction”.

Another feature of Terra vessels is that they are almost completely self-sufficient, possessing an inner factory complex that provides its crew with all the supplies and commodities they may require, with the exception of food. Of course, that does not mean that Terra vessels are unprepared should they find themselves in a lack of supplies. Every Terra-class vessel has six months’ worth of basic supplies and two months’ worth of building materials.

In the event that a vessel such as the USS Vector is in need of additional supplies, a small military colony may be established by the crew on any suitable planet or asteroid it comes across, so long as the gravity and temperature at the surface are within the nominal operating range of the Colonial Guard’s vehicles and personal infantry armor.

The entire crew of the USS Vector consists roughly of five billion individuals, the vast majority of them capable of operating most military equipment on board, and is able to host half a billion more should the need arise.

Due to their nature as both battleships and colonisers, Terra vessels may often come across planets with sentient life forms. For that reason, the members of each Terra vessel are carefully chosen to fit the profile of the ‘Exemplary Human’; strong, stern, dutiful, and trained to operate efficiently should they find themselves in a 'First Contact' scenario.

The staff of the USS Vector consists almost solely of Humans, as having a mixed species crew (Lakuran and Gektar, for example) would require many technological adaptations to accommodate for practical multi-species use.

Colonial Guard: Peace Through Unity And Strength.

*End of entry*

Lying on the lower half of a bunk bed was an unnaturally large man who squinted as he read the words being displayed by a small holopad. The whole setup was almost comical as the device he was holding was like a glass walnut nestled between the teeth of the fleshy nutcrackers that were his fingers. His knees were bent towards his chest, almost forcing him into a fetal position as the bed was not big enough to fit the entire length of his legs.

This man was commonly known as “Atlas”.

He sighed, carelessly tossing the pad onto the bed as if it was nothing but a useless rag. This was the start of his third day on board the Vector, and since he had been having trouble sleeping, he opted to spend his time reading about the ship in which he would probably spend the next couple years of his life. He found the ship itself to be slightly boring. Maybe it was the fact that it was so clean and orderly unless it was in the middle of a battle, then it got better. He smirked as he pictured a few projectiles flying across the hallways, coupled with explosions resonating all throughout the ship. Perhaps such a thing would not be as enjoyable for the rest of the crew, but he enjoyed a change in pace every now and again.

Another sigh escaped his lips as he attempted to sit up in his bed. He cringed as it creaked loudly under his massive form. Then he regretted moving altogether as a dull pain shot up his lower back, forcing a groan out of him.

“This is stupid,” he thought. “They might as well stuff me inside a crate.”

He relaxed as the pain subsided, resting his elbows on his knees as he rubbed at his eyes. He yawned as he looked just above the doorway. 7:02 am, Universal Time.

He sat on his bunk, looking around the room. Metal walls fenced him in on all sides. Halfway across the room sat a small sink, while the far end housed a second bunk bed, occupied top and bottom. He proceeded to check the top of his own bunk, finding it empty.

A loud hiss suddenly came from his left as the door slid into the wall, a dark-skinned man promptly stepping through the open portal, leaning on the wall just inside. He was clad in a suit that was quite familiar to Atlas.

This outfit was standard issue armor. The outer layer was a synthetic muscle, most commonly known as ‘Syntex’. This was all reinforced with a strong, lightweight alloy of metals that could endure the harshest of conditions. The shoulder pads were large, etched with the initials ‘CG’ and painted blue with a yellow stripe cutting across the middle, which identified him as a combat technician.

"Hey Atlas. How'd the 'normal' sleep go?" the man asked, emphasizing his comment with air quotes.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Atlas groaned, stretching as he got to his feet, popping several joints as he did so. Because of his insomnia, Atlas had always had problems with sleep. The only way for him to get any real rest was through the use of stasis. However, this did not affect him too severely; humans had the ability to go days, even weeks, without rest, and Atlas was no exception.

"Hah! I figured. You don’t look so pretty," the trooper said as the door slid shut behind him.

"I don’t recall being pretty to begin with, Morris…."

Atlas shifted his view back to one of his bunk-mates across the room, a man laying face-down on the bottom bunk, snoring loudly, and a slimmer figure, occupying the bunk above the first.

Atlas stepped across the small space, crossing the distance between the two bunks in a second, and gave the man on the lower bunk a slap on the back. “Wake up, Allen.”

“AH!” The man woke with a start, briefly thrashing about weakly as he came to his senses. “Shit! Did you really have to do that? Again?” he asked as he sat up, rubbing his back as the other two in the room chuckled at him.

“Well, yeah actually,” Atlas replied honestly.

“Last time we were in a ship with you and got attacked, it took damn near fifteen minutes for the explosions to wake you up. We thought ya' died!" Morris added in between laughs. Allen could only growl in response as he got off the bed, stretching as he did so.

"G'morning boys," came a chipper, feminine voice from the upper half of Allen's bunk.

"Mornin’ Torres," the three men replied in unison.

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, allowing them to dangle freely, while Atlas went back across the room and pulled out a footlocker from under his bunk. From within, he extracted a pair of pants, a shirt, socks and his boots.

Atlas quickly pulled on his socks, pants and boots. As he struggled with the shirt—which was too small once again—the ship’s AI bellowed out over the loudspeakers, “Attention all crew members, re-route to your nearest armory to retrieve your equipment, then report to your designated briefing chamber. Attention all crew members....”

“Alright,” Atlas said, interrupting the announcement, “I’ll see you guys soon.” He promptly ducked under the doorframe and stepped out into the hallway. He immediately fell in step with the flow of men and women heading towards the armory. To his left was a series of viewscreens that allowed one to view the expanse of the universe, or at least part of it, without the inherent danger of having glass blown inward and an atmospheric breach sucking you out.

His destination, known as the Heavy Armory, was one of many located throughout the ship. Heavy troopers like himself clad themselves in enormous exoskeletons that could tower up to twelve feet in the air—just a touch taller than Atlas stood without any assistance. They were placed on the front lines as walls of metal and muscle carrying a large variety of weaponry, all for one purpose: eliminate the enemy. Heavy troopers were equipped to deal with almost any ground threat, ranging from triple-barreled autocannons for anti-infantry use to anti-material kinetic pulse launchers against light and medium armored vehicles.

He soon found himself in front of the Heavy Troopers’ Armory, with a much more comfortably sized doorway to boot, with a pair of guards, clad in the signature exo-suits of an average Heavy Trooper, flanking the entrance. They were completely black aside from the dark green shoulder pads, the logo of the Colonial Guard clearly etched upon them.

The troopers stepped aside as Atlas approached, allowing him to enter the armory. As he stepped inside, he was immediately swept up in a current of motion, weaving himself through the flow of men, armored or otherwise. Much of the bustle in the room came from the already armored men moving from dispenser to ceiling-high dispenser, collecting their assigned equipment as they did so. The dispensers often reminded him of a joke that involved a private mistaking them as coffee dispensers, allowing a little chuckle at the thought.

A few moments later, Atlas found himself entering a familiar chamber. Inside was almost nothing; just a grated floor, various vents, a sealed door to the next chamber, and a series of nozzles along the wall. This was the first step in the armoring process, which he was privileged with undergoing every couple of weeks. He smiled to himself as he looked forward to having his rest in the cryo-tubes, glad to be rid of the small, uncomfortable bunk beds for the next week or so.

The door slid shut behind him, leaving him sealed within a small chamber. He removed all of his clothing, dropping them into a small hatch in the wall to his right. He shivered as the cold air of the ship rippled across his bare skin. A few moments after he deposited his clothes through the hatch a metallic voice rang across the room.

“Initiating decontamination and scanning cycle.”

A clear liquid was sprayed on him from the nozzles around the room, only taking a few moments before it had completely evaporated, making him shiver once again. In another instant, a device that resembled an eye popped out from its case from above the door in front of him before scanning his body from top to bottom, the familiar red light crossing through his vision in a fraction of a second. As the device retracted back into the holding chamber, the door that it was above slid open, allowing Atlas to step into the next room. He walked into the middle of the room as the door slid closed around him, now finding himself within an array of mechanical arms.

“Error: User data nonexistent. Requesting bypass.”

A small screen extended from a recess in the ceiling with the words “REQUESTING RETINAL SCAN” displayed prominently across the screen. Atlas quickly complied with the machine, leaning towards the device. A moment later, a flash of light went off before the machination retreated back into the ceiling. Atlas stood upright once again as he waited for the armoring process to continue.

“Scan complete; subject ‘Atlas’ recognized. Initiating assembly of the ‘Titan Mark Two’.”

A small section of the wall slid open, allowing another set of mechanical arms to produce a silver bodysuit. He knew from all of his training and previous uses that this suit was a strong, flexible nanocomposite that was created to keep the wearer safe from the vacuum of outer space and other factors. It was specifically fitted to his body, covering everything except his face. He grabbed the suit and pulled it on, the arm sealing it shut as he did so. The friction of the nanocomposite against his skin made the experience mildly uncomfortable. The mechanical arm receded as the voice spoke up again. “First layer: Complete. Preparing Syntex layer.” As the words cut off, the arm came right back, along with the next layer: another bodysuit composed of muscle-like fibers that interlaced with each other, forming a replica of the human body. Atlas quickly took this new piece and slipped it on as well. It felt quite heavy at this point, as it was not yet physically connected to him and his neural system.

The mechanical arm welded the suit shut, and then retreated back into the hatch.

“Second Layer: Ready. Beginning assembly of third layer.”

Suddenly the room was filled with a brief flurry of motion. All the arms in the room started moving in sync, preparing to finish his armor. All but two of them obtained a piece of black metal; the last two grabbed a pair of orange shoulder pads imprinted with the logo of the Colonial Guard: a shield with rifles crossing the center in an X and the letters "CG" engraved over the intersection. At this point, the arms froze for a moment before the automated voice sounded once more, “Assembling.”

The arms came back to life immediately, swiftly connecting the various pieces of alloy on his armor, while a pair of arms began to work on his back, initiating the attachment of the Syntex to his nervous system. Meanwhile two tubes latched onto his shoulder pads and began pumping a blue, gel-like substance between his skin and the first layer of the armor. Known by most simply as Nanogel, it consisted of a mix of nanites and various minerals that allowed any wounds on the body to be repaired quickly and efficiently. The nanites would then, be absorbed into the wearer's bloodstream. There they would spread throughout the body to couple with the biological enhancements implemented in the men and women of the Colonial Guard. By interacting with neural boosters, the nanites would provide an amazingly quick reaction time.

As the arms on the back finished preparing the wiring of the suit, they sealed the power pack shut and connected two cables to it which proceeded to begin charging Atlas’ suit. He flinched slightly as several needles pierced his spinal cord, which finished the transformation of the suit into a second skin. The weight of the suit didn’t just disappear, he actually felt lighter. He brought his hands in front of his face, flexing his fingers before taking a step backwards. This triggered the release of all the tubes and cables, a series of pops sounding as they detached and receded into their respective housing compartments.

And with that, it was done. His armor was ready and functional, covering everything but his eyes. With a tap on the side of his neck, an orange visor slid into place over his eyes, displaying a typical HUD: heart rate, body heat, motion sensor. Everything that he’d ever want to know, and more. As he confirmed that everything was in working order, he turned on his heels and walked back out through the decontamination chamber. Once he reentered the main room of the armory, he quickly scanned the room and located a dispenser that was currently not in use.

He moved over to the glorified vending machine and tapped a few buttons on the side, folding his arms impatiently as the machine whirred to life, clunking and beeping as it processed the commands he had given. A few moments later, the machine opened revealing a large rifle accompanied by several magazines alongside it. His visor promptly identified the rifle as a BAUR-80 Gauss Rifle, a long-barreled weapon that fired large caliber rounds made of a compound based on depleted uranium. Atlas grabbed the rifle, quickly slinging it over his back and engaging the magnetic locks to secure it with a mental command, ready to be disengaged once more at a moment’s notice.

Having everything he required, Atlas promptly made his way out of the armory, greeted by the sight of the virtual windows. Out there was a vast emptiness, a large amount of nothing. Atlas had little time before he had to catch his tram to the debriefing chamber, but he decided it was worthwhile to take a moment for himself.

A midnight blue equine with a flowing mane of blue rimmed with a translucent border paced about the large room. Aside from her physics-defying mane, she was defined by the wings on her back and the horn protruding from her forehead, as well as the black splotch on her flank that displayed a white crescent moon on each of her hips.

“Tia, you really should get some rest. You have been up for over five days now. Besides, your work will improve after you do,” the mare implored. She was watching as a snow white mare, also adorned with an ethereal mane, a pair of wings, and a horn, was using her magic to write several letters simultaneously.

Tia sighed as she briefly looked at the dark-furred mare before promptly returning her attention to the letters. “I know, Luna. I just need to finish these letters. I have enough pressure on me already, and being late with these will only serve to reinforce their belief that I don’t care.” Luna knew, unfortunately, that her sister was right. The ambassadors from the various nations surrounding Equestria would take anything negative and blow it out of proportion. Something as small as a letter arriving late could very well satisfy the criteria for them to do just that. This was made even more likely during the last meeting, in which they had made it very clear that they were not content with Equestria’s policies, nor the way that they were handling their emigrants, and it was starting to affect the Equestrian economy.

Luna walked over to Tia and proceeded to nuzzle her gently. “Well, at least hurry it up so you don’t miss out on the meteor shower,” Luna prodded as she trotted over to the balcony. “You know: ‘Enjoy the small things.’ Did I get that right?”

While the blue pony chuckled at her statement, Tia redoubled her effort to finish the letters. She had been awake far too long due to the recent meetings between various ambassadors as well as a number of other politicians, not to mention the veritable plethora of correspondence associated with such tasks. She was concurrently working on three letters with three quills moving independently. As each quill began to run dry, they would dip into an ink pot to resume their task. The speed and accuracy with which she wrote was awe-inspiring and would have made even the most adept of writers jealous.

However, her appearance detracted much from this awe-inspiring performance. Her entire body showed signs of exhaustion; her eyelids were tinted an unusual shade of purple and bags had formed under her half-closed eyes. Her ethereal mane and tail, which normally sparkled and fluttered as if they were the proud flag of a nation, had fallen limp, appearing as that of a normal pony’s. Under normal conditions, she was considered to be the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria, only rivaled by her own sister; however, the stress of the last five days had taken a great toll on her, giving her the appearance of having aged another thousand years.

With a great, heaving sigh, the three quills were returned to the single ink pot amongst the many others that still remained filled. The three letters were then encased by a yellow aura and promptly placed into envelopes, quickly being sealed with a wax emblem of the Equestrian Royalty shortly before being sent off in a bright flash. Having completed her work, she gave a long, satisfied sigh and closed her eyes, allowing herself a moment of rest. Celestia stood up and stretched each of her legs in succession. Trotting across the room to join her sister on the balcony, she carefully avoided the variety of items that were scattered around her room, such as cushions, disregarded notes, empty ink pots, and several tomes.

The two sisters nuzzled against one another, and Luna placed her midnight blue wing over Celestia’s back. "The meteor shower should start any moment now."

"I really hope we can make amends with the other nations...” Celestia looked up at the stars. “At least Docaro appears to be loosening up.”

"We do share a lot of similarities with the Zebras,” Luna said. “I find it hard to believe that so many ponies think of them as evil. I remember reading that letter from your student, about that Zebra that lives in the Everfree… What was her name? Ah yes, ‘Zecora’. Maybe if everypony knew more about them, the immigrants from Zebrica could make a better living here in Equestria.”

"I know… Nowadays it seems most of our little ponies are xenophobic."

Silence reigned supreme for the next few minutes before Luna turned to her sister once more. "I really wish for things to go back to normal, Tia."

"I know, sister… I want that as well."

Both of the sisters looked up as pieces of rock and ice hurtled into the atmosphere, lighting up the midnight sky. The friction brought on by such an entrance caused the rocks to ignite in an astonishing flash of light, producing a spectacular show for those watching from below. Though the whole process took less than a second, the ionization of the high atmosphere and the sheer amount of meteors ensured that the show would continue for a fair while longer than that.

The two ponies were grinning contentedly, enjoying a moment of peace in the sea of stress in which they were currently submerged in. Just as they thought the sky was out of tricks for that night, a bright, blue flash was followed by the appearance of another meteor, burning in an aura of the same hue.

Celestia looked up, smiling widely. "Luna, that's beautiful. I know that I keep telling you, but I really do love the night." She then turned to her right, towards a rather confused looking Luna.

Luna cocked an eyebrow. "Thanks for the compliment, sister. But… this one doesn't feel right…" She narrowed her eyes as she monitored the bright, blue burning object that was hurtling through the night.

"What do you mean?" Celestia inquired.

Luna took a step backwards, her eyes widening. "What is—It’s getting closer!" Celestia followed her sister’s gaze back towards the sky; the blue meteor had gotten significantly closer.

Their hearts leapt into their throats when the crackling of superheated air reached their ears, as the object charged through the sky at speeds that would have made any pegasus jealous. The Princesses’ horror-filled gazes met for a moment. They shared a simple nod as their looks of fear swiftly transformed into cold, stern expressions. They stood in tandem, planted their hooves down on the bright, white marble below them, and ignited their horns as they channeled magic through their entire beings.

The meteor was now clearly visible, a blue aura, made of several interconnected hexagons, wrapped all around it, forming the image of a bright blue, glowing net. Not only could they see it, but they could also sense the energy emanating from it. This was no ordinary meteor. The two alicorn sisters released the pent-up energy together, producing a magical barrier that would protect Canterlot from the meteor. The light from the barrier could be seen for kilometers in all directions, ready to test its strength against that of the oncoming meteorite.

Their preparations complete, all the two sisters could do now was wait; wait for the unavoidable impact of the meteorite, confident that the shield would be enough to deflect the debris. They were confident in this outcome; they had conquered far larger and more dangerous obstacles, blocked even more powerful attacks, and defeated more devious foes than a meteor. This was just foal’s play. The alicorn sisters gritted their teeth in anticipation. With a mere moment left before the meteorite collided with the barrier, they shut their eyes in preparation.

And then nothing. Their eyes snapped open once more as they scanned the sky. The barrier was still there, but there was no trace of the meteorite. A dumbfounded look was exchanged by the sisters for a moment before the barrier dissipated. Then an explosion rocked the castle.

The sisters’ hearts skipped a beat. That should not have happened. They each moved objects that were much larger than a mere meteorite; for them to not be able to control something of that size was unthinkable. Yet it had just happened.

The two sisters froze in horror, the next moments feeling like a thousand years, before a night guard landed next to them. Desperation was spread across his face as he panted as if he’d just finished a marathon. For a moment, an awkward silence reigned as the royal guard caught his breath. “Something hit the Southern Tower,” the guard exclaimed, still panting heavily, “it went right through it!”

The princesses took off at full speed, leaving the floundering night guard in their wake. All of Canterlot was awake at this point; the streets were full of alarmed citizens as screams of terror echoed throughout the city. Every window was lit up, and doors were left open as confused and terrified ponies fled their homes. Most of the ponies were in nightgowns, having been rudely awakened by the explosions and not having the time to worry about their attire during the commotion occurring in the destructive wake of the meteorite.

It only took the alicorns a few minutes to cross Canterlot, soaring through the sky at full speed. As they made their way into the south district, they found themselves in a storm of paper fluttering through the air. Moments later they found themselves in front of the Canterlot Library, and discovered that the source of the maelstrom of paper was a hole that had been blasted clear through the third floor of the Southern Tower.Books that had been stored inside had been strewn everywhere. Fortunately there appeared to be no threat of fire breaking out, as it would take next-to-no time to spread through the paper-laden environment.

The alicorns set down near the entrance of the tower amidst the evacuation proceedings. Royal guards were quickly escorting terrified citizens out of and away from the crippled spire. Most were bruised and battered, although a few ponies were not quite as lucky. Almost everypony was shouting, trying to figure out what had happened to the building, and those who weren’t yelling were simply standing there, dumbfounded.

Two guards exited the building, carrying another pony clothed in janitor’s overalls, a nametag showing his name to be “Scruffy”. He was covered in all manners of debris, his clothes ragged and his eyes wide. “This one was on the same floor that the thing went through, your highnesses,” one of the guards stated plainly, as they set the janitor pony down in front of the pair of alicorns.

The janitor pony, knees still shaking in fright, focused on staying upright as Luna approached him. “Are you alright?” she asked, carefully examining his figure in an attempt to locate any wounds, though not finding anything outside of minor bumps and scratches. “What happened?”

"I-I-I was c-c-clean-ning t-the floor y-y'know, a-and then I l-looked out t-the wind-dow a-and saw the... t-thing!" The janitor took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down.

Luna gently placed a hoof over his shoulder. "Please, relax and take your time." giving him a smile, hoping that it would help him calm down.

The janitor took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly, "I dove out of the way a-and covered my head, and then... then it came through and it made a bright blue flash a-and this weird sound...."

Luna tilted her head to the side out of confusion. "A sound...? Mister Scruffy, what sound did it make?" she asked with a slight hint of curiosity in her voice.

Scruffy’s legs gave out, putting him back on the ground as he considered her question. "Oh, I-I don't know... I guess it was a really deep sound; I swear it shook the tower almost as much as the crash itself! It was deep, like, 'HOOOMMPH'!" He left his mouth closed while he made this last sound, while gesticulating wildly for effect, stunning the princesses with the craziness of it all.

"I see... Thank you, Scruffy. You will be rewarded for your troubles. Guards, please make sure that Scruffy and the other ponies get to the hospital and are checked for any injuries," Celestia said.

“Oh, but I ask that a contingent of pegasus guards remain with me,” Luna added, a mischievous excitement in her voice as she turned back to Celestia. “Sister, you need to stay here and rest, please. I can handle this. We need to go find out what this thing is.” Her eyes pleading with her sister.

Celestia hesitated, taking a deep breath. "Alright Luna, but please do be careful."

"Oh, don't worry, I can do this!" Luna said, a smirk playing across her face.

With the discussion completed, the pegasi of both the day and night guards gathered before Luna while the unicorn and earth pony guards went about their assignments. There were eleven guards left in front of Luna once the clamor had died down. Luna looked over to Celestia one last time, exchanging nods as Celestia lifted off and headed back towards the castle.

Luna noticed that a crowd was starting to form around the spectacle of the smoldering tower. She indicated the guard at the far left of the line. “You! Tell the rest of the guard to form a perimeter around the tower. Nopony gets in without permission from a captain of the guard, Celestia, or myself.” The guard immediately bowed and took flight to carry out his orders as Luna looked back over the remaining guards. Luna cleared her throat. "Alright, the ten of you are going with me. We're going to track down that... whatever that was. Now, does anypony know where it landed after it went through the tower?"

"It flew over Ponyville, your highness, and landed near the Everfree forest," one guard stated promptly. Luna furrowed her brow as the pony mentioned Ponyville, causing him to gulp worriedly in response.

"Ponyville? I hope it did not wake up the entire town. Let us make haste!" Immediately taking to the air as she finished speaking, she sped off towards Ponyville with the pegasus guards close behind.

A yellow pegasus with a pink mane was hiding under her couch, shaking like a leaf in a late autumn wind while clinging to a small white rabbit who was noticeably displeased with the situation that he currently found himself in: stuck under a couch, getting the life squeezed out of him. The pegasus kept repeating the same phrase to herself under her breath, “Oh please, please, please, don’t let anything happen to me, Angel Bunny, please.”

Her eyes constantly swept the room as the night’s shadows played around the corners of her room. Though she knew the only beings in her humble abode were a variety of creatures that she was taking care of, the commotion outside had awoken many of them. Her eyes snapped back to the window as she noticed something out of place; a pair of glowing red eyes staring inside. “EEP!” she shrieked, crushing the bunny even more as she shrank even further beneath the couch.

The meteor had crashed on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest and had dug a trench a fair way into the forest before it had come to a halt. The grass around the imprint was singed, trees had been reduced to splinters and much the dirt in the area was hot to the touch. The sound of flapping wings could be heard in the distance as Princess Luna and her contingent of pegasus guards came into view, illuminated by the midnight moon. The group landed a safe distance away from the impact site, not sure of what to expect from the object.

Luna took in her surroundings as she approached the crash site. The cottage of Fluttershy, the spirit of the Element of Kindness, stood off to her left, while Sweet Apple Acres was visible far off to her right, the Everfree forest, along with the recently-formed ditch, in front of her.

She could still see a faint red glow in spots where the friction between the object and the ground, leading Luna to believe that it whatever the fallen star was, it was composed of metal. Then she looked at the object itself, and it was like nothing she had seen before. She couldn’t make out the details from where she stood, but they did not look natural. She quickly looked over the guards, “Spread out, look for anything of importance,” she ordered as she trotted towards the object lying in the forest.

Just what in Equestria is this? Luna thought to herself as she circled the alien contraption. Now that she’d taken time to examine the crashed object, she found that it appeared to have a window on the front, and opposite that was a door, hinges located on the bottom, that was currently lying open. Inside was a large compartment, its inside containing seats and lights that glowed with a faint hue of blue, which tried but ultimately failed to give a clear picture of said compartment. There were a pair of metal wings fixed to the outside of the object, which itself was mostly composed of metal. She concluded that the design must have been created with high speeds in mind, as it had flown faster than anything she had ever witnessed before, giving her an idea of what it was probably used for. Coming to the conclusion that this thing was for use in transportation, and most definitely not alive, Luna breathed a sigh of relief.

After a few moments of trying to figure out what this thing was, she noticed the two guards that had rescued Scruffy from the tower earlier that night were standing nearby, idly chatting. She approached them, receiving salutes from the two ponies as they noticed her presence, “your Highness.”

"I need you both to come with me,” Luna said. “We are going inside of it."

The two guards hesitated for a second before nodding their understanding, "yes, Princess."

Luna turned back to the box, and walked over to the side that had the door. It was almost pitch black inside of it, save for some spots and bits which glowed in a faint blue, but aside from that, nothing too interesting or eye-catching could be seen.

Luna ignited her horn, shining some light inside the metallic contraption as she walked confidently towards the entrance, the two guards close behind, clearly unnerved by the situation - one visibly shaken, the other merely hesitant. The Princess’ light illuminated the insides of the contraption, allowing a better view of what was found inside.

Along the sides were what seemed to be seats, but different from those that she would normally expect. Each of them had a strap that was clearly not meant to be used by a pony; they were far too large and constricting. A large, rectangular black surface took up much of the far wall, opposite the strange seats. It was pitch black and unreflective, so Luna quickly discarded the idea that it was a mirror. Perhaps it has some form of enchantment on it?

A rotten odor invaded their senses as they continued further inside. As Luna’s light illuminated the interior of the contraption, the three ponies noticed that the floor was bathed in blood. The rotten stench crawled deeper into their nostrils with every step they took, eventually causing one of the guards gag.

"Copper! Are you okay?" asked the other.

"Yeah... d-don't worry, Shield Soul," was all the guard could manage between gags.

Luna, having kept her composure thus far, cast a momentary glance back at the guards before catching her hoof on something. She looked down at her hooves, "O-Oh my...." In between her forehooves she found the head of an unknown creature looking right back at her. Unlike the cranium of a pony, this one was far more rounded and lacked a muzzle. It was completely devoid of any fur, scales, or feathers, just two empty holes in which the eyes should have been, amid the decomposing flesh.

She stepped back, her hooves splashing in the blood, as the guard gagged once more. Luna kicked the head and watched it roll away. As her eyes followed the path of the skull, she saw more bones; entire bodies lay in a pile next to a door leading to another compartment, consisting only of bone and rotting flesh. The skeletons were larger than those of a pony. They had no tails, and their feet each divided into five separate appendages, presumably claws. Those on the forelegs looked to be particularly dangerous. Even in their current state, the bones looked strong, dense, and none of them had been broken during the crash.

Luna looked away as she began to feel sick. As she did so, something that just... wasn’t quite right caught her attention. Strapped to one of the seats was an object that stood out among the bones and blood. Part of it was soaked in the red fluid, but most of it was a bright pink. Luna could tell that it had the basic features of a bipedal creature, similar in structure to that of the other bodies. She slowly walked over to it.

Why would there be a doll in something as crazy as this!? Her mind lit up. The chairs... the straps... This is... This is a vehicle! Like a chariot of sorts, except... different... Much different.

Luna was distracted from her revelation by Shield Soul, who had fallen into the pool of blood. Or rather, she was distracted by what happened as he pulled himself up using a nearby surface. When he placed his hooves on the table, he hit a couple of buttons and, in response, the black surface suddenly lit up. Amazing... Luna marveled. The glass was now displaying an image and sound emanated from an unidentified location. A scene played out from within the confines of the formerly black screen.

The setting was the same that they were in now, though much brighter and cleaner. They saw two creatures strapped into the seats, presumably asleep, while another was standing in the same spot that Luna currently occupied. The three beings had very short manes, all of them wearing clothes and showing no signs of having any hair or fur aside from their manes, just covered in bare skin. The image showed by the glass was rather distorted, but they could distinguish the eyes of the creatures; they were beadier than those of a pony.

The creature that was standing was holding a smaller one in its forelegs, bouncing it up and down playfully. This smaller creature had a longer mane, was dressed in pink and held the plush doll that was currently strapped to one of the seats in its claws.

"It's like... a filly...." Luna took a glance at the pile of bones, then looked back at the glass.

The bigger creature walked over to the glass while holding the smaller one, and seemed to be looking right through the glass, staring at the ponies though never acknowledging their presence. It then began speaking, its tone clearly that of a male, joined by the giggles of the smaller one.

"Say hi to Mommy!" the male creature said, waving at them.

The smaller creature obeyed, "Hi Mommy! I love you!" it said, smiling at the group of ponies.

The male creature spoke up again, this time looking at his daughter, "Sweetie, how about you show Mommy the new toy daddy got for you!"

The little one smiled, holding the doll in front of the glass, as if she was showing it to Luna and the guards, "Mommy, this is Guardswoman Kelly! Daddy got her for me, and I named her like that because she is part of the Colonial Guard! She’s strong and always takes care of people!” She held out the doll for the ponies to see. The toy itself had the same figure as the bipeds, including a set of pink armor, but not much else could be distinguished as the image was too distorted.

Luna was covering her mouth with one of her forelegs, avoiding her bloodstained hoof in shock; unsure of how she should react to something like this.

The male figure stepped away from the glass and gently placed his daughter back on the ground, allowing her to stand on her own. She proceeded to approach a chair before strapping the doll into it. She was talking to her father, but she was too far away for the voice to be distinguishable to the ponies.

Once she had secured the doll, her father lifted her into an adjacent chair and strapped her in before sitting down next to her and doing the same for himself.

Then the image flickered before resolving into something quite different, showing some letters that read "Loading next entry... Warning, Energy Critical..."

The image started distorting, flickering on and off several times, but enough for Luna to catch a glimpse of another creature and the others backing away from it. After that it went back to its original pitch black, leaving three very confused ponies.

This—this isn't right, she thought. Did she call me... Mommy!?

Luna walked over to the seat the doll was on, gently grabbed it in her mouth and slid it out from under the strap, carefully avoiding the bloodied parts. She turned to the two guards that accompanied her, and saw them looking above her, scowling.

Luna flinched and backed away, slowly looking up. On the ceiling was a square hole with a yellow substance that had begun to drip out of it. She moved out of the way just in time for a drop to leak down from it onto the floor, mixing with the blood. She channeled more magic into her horn and used it to illuminate the newly found hole; it led to another room of sorts, but she saw nothign but a few metal boxes within.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and then looked back at the guards. "Go to Ponyville, make sure everypony is safe. I do not think everything that was inside of this... chariot was dead when it arrived. Hurry, I will go to Canterlot to speak with my sister. I will be back in no time."

Copper and Shield nodded. "At once, Princess."

Luna trotted out of the contraption, promptly pushing off from the ground with a mighty flap of her wings, taking flight in the direction of Canterlot.

She never noticed the two glowing, red eyes that stared at her from within the forest.

Intermission: The Hunt

A soft breeze meandered through the fringe of the Everfree Forest. Creatures, both large and small, could be seen scurrying amongst the shadows provided by the trees that blotted out the afternoon’s sunlight, preventing it from reaching the depths of the forest. The area, often avoided by ponies, looked as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened; unless one were to notice the large crater left by the object that had fallen from the sky the night before.

A cordon had been set up, preventing access to both the forest and the crash site. Guards stood in groups of three at fifty meter intervals along the metallic fences that had been erected during the night, only a single gate provided to access the site. Corporal Shielded Spirit stood next to the gate, adorned with a golden set of armor. Alongside him was a dual-bladed sword, inset with a ruby, which was bonded with him through an enchantment which allowed for him to wield the sword effortlessly. He stood militantly, silently watching as a lavender unicorn mare and some other worried ponies argued with the guards stationed at the gates. She had been there for more than ten minutes, desperately trying to get through to the other side. Shielded and a few other guards rolled their eyes at every argument she gave, as they were already bored with the whole situation.

“But this could have a significant scientific value! Think about it!” the mare exclaimed, magically opening the saddlebags set on her back and retrieving a parchment from it, then shoving it at the face of one of the guards. “Rarely does a meteor ever reach the ground, and, as Princess Celestia’s student, I demand to be given access!”

The guard frowned and smacked the piece of paper off of his face with one of his armored forehooves. “Lady, this area is locked down by the request of Princess Luna, not Celestia. She strictly ordered us to deny passage to anypony, unless they have permission from Luna herself. I do not care if you are Celestia’s student, so you will stand at at least ten meters from this fence, is that clear?” He stepped towards the mare, an angry expression spread across his face.

After snorting, the mare glared at the guard. “Fine!” She turned around and stomped her way back to the nearby town, followed by the rest of the preoccupied ponies. “But I will tell Celestia about this!”

Once the mare was away from hearing distance, the guard scoffed, looking at Shielded Spirit and the rest of the armored ponies. “ ‘I demand access!’, yeah right... Like we don’t have bigger things to worry about.” Shielded and the other ponies nodded in agreement.

“Alright!” another voice said, this one gruff and loud. Corporal Spirit and the other guards turned to see Captain Burning Arrow trotting up to them, his purple armor shining as it reflected the light of the sun. All of the guards immediately saluted, bringing their hooves down once the Captain returned the gesture.

Shielded Spirit carefully sheathed his dual blade in the sheath on his armor, then turned back to the Captain and adopted the typical stance of a Royal Guard. He was currently fighting his need to close his eyes for a few minutes, having guarded the meteor since it had crashed last night. What he really desired was to return to his home and get a few good hours of sleep. The Captain looked around, as if searching for something. Corporal Spirit raised an eyebrow as he quietly waited for the gruff pony to speak.

“As you all know,” the Captain continued, lowering the volume of his voice. “A meteor crashed down last night. Now, this is a strictly need-to-know basis.” He looked around again, then continued, “It appears that it was not a meteor, but rather some type of vehicle. We suspect that whatever it was that came with it is somewhere inside the Everfree forest, so our orders are to split into teams and comb through it. Be prepared, as we do not know if it is friendly or hostile.”

“Yes sir!” the lower-ranking ponies exclaimed.

“Good.” He pointed at the forest with his left hoof. “We’ve already sent two teams in, and you are the third.” He nodded at Shielded Spirit and the two ponies standing by his side: Private Breaking Kick, an earth pony, and Sergeant Sharpy Senses, a unicorn who wielded the same type of blade as Shielded.

“Sergeant Senses,” the Captain said, “you will lead this team. Twenty minutes tops, then you will rendezvous back here with the others. The other two teams have started combing the south and north ends of the forest, so you will take the middle. Be careful out there.”

“I will take good care of them, sir.” Sergeant Senses brought a hoof to his forehead, saluting.

“I would expect nothing less from you, Sergeant.” The Captain returned the salute. “Now go, the clock is ticking.”

“On me,” the Sergeant said, breaking rank and beginning to trot towards the forest, with the other two guards following suit.

As the trio ventured into the dense forest, Shielded Spirit could not help but gulp at the prospect of having to find a completely unknown creature, and the fact that it was somewhere in the Everfree did not help his anxiety. He knew that the forest was said to contain some of the most dangerous creatures in all of Equestria, such as manticores and hydras, a thought that made him feel uneasy.

Deeper into the forest, the scenery began to change. No longer did the chirping of birds reach the Corporal’s ears, instead replaced by distant howls and roars. He could see creatures scuttling amongst the bushes and trees, their eyes warily watching as he and the other two guards walked through the gloomy forest.

Something in a nearby bush moved, causing the guards to spin around, the two unicorns retrieving their blades from their holsters and readying them in front of themselves with their magic, while Private Kick prepared himself to deliver a swift buck to whatever was hiding inside the vegetation. They stood there for a few seconds, waiting for the creature in question to make the next move.

A rabbit jumped out of the bush, sniffed the air and looked at the ponies before hopping away. Shielded Spirit sighed in relief and lowered the blade, then chuckled to himself. Scared of a rabbit? he thought. Although... what if it hadn't been a rabbit?

He was snapped back to the real world by Sergeant Senses, who motioned for the Corporal and the Private to follow him.

“Did you find something, Sarge?” the Private asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You could say so...” the stallion responded. “There is an odd scent around here... one of death.”

Shielded stopped in his tracks for a moment before continuing after the Sergeant, levitating his blade close to himself. He took a few precautionary sniffs, but the only thing that he could make out was the normal smell of the forest.

Naught but a moment later, a rotten stench crawled into the Corporal’s nostrils. He grimaced and huffed, trying to breathe through his mouth instead in order to avoid the foul odor.

“And here we are....” The Sergeant pushed a few bushes aside. Corporal Spirit’s eyes widened as he found himself looking at the corpse of a large manticore. It was disgusting. Half of it had been shredded, torn to pieces by something. The other half looked as if it had been dipped in acid; much of the muscle, fur and tissue had melted off the bones and pooled on the ground, producing a horrid stench. It’s face was contorted in pure agony, and upon taking a second look, he saw that the wounds on the more intact side of the body seemed to be self-inflicted.

“What in Luna’s name did this?” he asked, covering his muzzle with one of his hooves.

“We’re going to have to find out.” The Sergeant pointed at a trail left by whatever had attacked the manticore. The grass was matted down with dark crimson blood, and a gouge in the earth divided the length of the trail as though something had dragged itself away from the gruesomely slain animal.

After shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Shielded Spirit looked back at the stallion leading the team and nodded, keeping a tight grip on the gem of his blade. “I’m ready.” The private, repressing a gag, nodded his own confirmation.

Sergeant Senses nodded to confirm their responses. “Let’s keep moving, then.”

The three ponies began following the trail, the Sergeant leading the way. Shielded was happy that he was no longer within range of the rotten smell, but that didn’t change the fact that he was worried about what they were tracking. Never before had he imagined that such a way to die could be possible, let alone seeing the aftermath firsthoof. The simple thought of a pony, such as himself, suffering the same fate as the manticore made him shudder.

The path eventually led them into a cave. Nothing could be seen from outside the entrance; the trees all around them blocked the light from the sun, and no light shone from within the cave.

Gritting his teeth, Shielded Spirit followed the Sergeant into the darkness of the cave, along with Private Kick. The gruff stallion lit his horn as they made their way inside, while the Corporal kept a firm grip on his blade.

And then the trail suddenly came to an end. The three confused ponies looked at each other, unsure what to do. Shielded felt his heart start to beat faster, and his grip on the blade tightened even more.

A distorted, maniacal laugh sounded from behind them. They turned around, and saw the outline of a massive creature with glowing, red eyes standing between them and the exit.

The Sergeant drew his sword and took a deep breath as he stepped closer to the monster. “It’s been an honour...”

Chapter One: Behemoth

A blue portal opened amidst the empty space, bending and swallowing all light around it. As the space warped, the portal began to expand, and a massive starship started to push through. It was official: the USS Vector had reached its destination.

The ship had spent three days in hyperspace, heading for “Zeta-Twenty”, a mining station orbiting a small rocky planet. It had gone silent roughly six days before, and the Vector had been dispatched to investigate. The station itself was large and ring-shaped, with several antennae protruding from almost every section—some of which were bent, or simply not there at all. Docked right at its center was a large cargo vessel, and a myriad of lights could still be seen flickering in every section of the station, signaling that it was at least still powered.

Deep inside the Vector was its command bridge, a large chamber outfitted with consoles that had both men and women sitting in front of them. When they were not typing on or managing their stations, the technicians were either voicing commands through their commlinks or, more rarely, sipping on a cup of coffee.

Aside from the consoles, the entirety of the walls were composed of virtual windows, including the ceiling. This allowed for a panoramic view, even from the inside of the ship, while still keeping the bridge safe from any immediate damage that could be caused from the outside.

Standing in front of the main window was a single man clad in a suit of white armor, its shoulder pads a golden yellow. The right one was adorned with the logo of the Colonial Guard, while the left one had a vertical blue stripe on it with a star in the middle. It was the typical armor of an Admiral.

His name was Adam Becker, a veteran of the CG who was entering his early three hundreds. He was a respected man amongst the USC, known for his heroic actions and loyalty to the USC.

He folded his arms and gazed out through the window, attempting to get a better view of the station as the ship continued to move towards it. He was brought out of his thoughts, though, by the quaking sound caused by someone walking up to him. He turned around and found himself face-to-belly with a titanic man clad in heavy armor, also known as "Atlas". The Admiral glanced up at him, then went back to his previous task of looking out the window.

"So... that's Zeta-Twenty, right?" Atlas inquired, then folded his arms.

"Yes, it is,” the Admiral replied. “Normally there should be some other ships around here, carrying supplies back and forth, but I don't see any. Besides, it’s been on blackout status for what? Six Terran days now?”

“Guess so,” Atlas mumbled.

The Admiral nudged Atlas with his elbow and gestured back at the window; the ship was getting considerably closer to the station, where it began to pass through a cloud of debris, composed mostly by the twisted remains of small civilian ships, cargo crates, and even the occasional body.

"This ain't looking good..." Atlas said. He then glanced at the Admiral, who was completely impassive. The tension grew as the ship slowly closed the gap between itself and the station. Everyone on the bridge was silent as the Vector slowly slipped across the field of debris, the space-station growing bigger as the two got closer. More details could be seen as the distance diminished, the Admiral noticing that ‘Zeta-Twenty’ was somewhat damaged. Some gaps could be seen, most likely made by explosions, and most of the antennae that were still standing were either bent or missing parts.

“Anything on the sensors?" demanded the Admiral to no one in particular, unfolding his arms and facing the general direction of the bridge's crew.

The crew over at a cluster of particularly large consoles began working rapidly, shuffling through a multitude of information. They sat there for a while, immersed in their work, until one of them stood up and said, "There’s nothing on the scan, sir... just scattered energy sources from inside the station, probably emergency cells. No life signs..."

The crewman's statement made Atlas flinch on the inside. He turned to face the Admiral, who was looking out the window once again.

Atlas watched as the Admiral’s face slowly twisted into a scowl. "Set course, move behind the planet," he ordered, and almost immediately the ship began moving faster, circling around the planet.

Only a few seconds afterwards an alarm began to sound off, accompanied by several several emergency lights. A crewman stood up, yelling, "Sir! Multiple contacts! Three Ubor frigates!" He then sat back down, continuing to manage the console. Soon after, three small ships dashed from behind the planet, heading towards the Supercarrier.

These ships were small, almost minuscule compared to the Vector, but what they lacked in size they made up for with superior speed and maneuverability. Their design was much different from the average Human ship; Ubor engineering being somewhat crude in that area, as they often went for frames with sharp edges and cuts complemented with ridged ends and spikes. Whereas Humans prefered their ships smooth, sturdy and well made. True, it took longer to build a ship by the standards the Humans had, but it paid off in the end. Another difference was that most of what the Ubor built were coated red, while the Humans favoured blue, though they had no real preference.

The automated voice from the ship then spoke up, “Attention all crew members, multiple Ubor ships detected nearby. Assume battlestations, and prepare for possible boarding attempt. Code: SET, REPEL, CAUTERIZE.”

Becker turned around to face Atlas. "That means you as well, son."

The giant nodded, and started running towards the tram station along with several other men, the chorus of their footsteps resonating throughout the ship.

“SS Batteries: ON.”

Becker sighed, looking through the window again, his arms behind his back. Outside, the Ubor frigates were flying loops around the Vector, evading the rain of fire the carrier’s turrets unleashed on them. The Admiral knew that they would not last long, but he also knew that they were not meant to. The Ubor often left some cheap scouts wherever they attacked, used as expendable forces to keep the enemy in one place, only to come back in more numbers, many more. His expression remained unchanged as he watched one of the frigates explode due to turret fire.

The Vector’s tram system was thought to be a lifesaver by many, seeing as the ship was several kilometers long. It ran through the entire vessel, capable of getting everyone to wherever they needed to be and fast. The only problem was that, sometimes, the trams could get a little cramped.

Atlas stepped onto the tram station, pushing through several other men. He did not have to wait for too long; a tram soon stopped at the station, its doors automatically sliding open and allowing several troopers to step inside, Atlas being one of them. It then closed its doors and began to speed through the interior of the ship.

The tram reached its stop, and everyone eagerly walked out. Atlas moved through the ship’s hallways, heading towards the ‘Drop Center’, his designated battlestation. Some simply called the launch tubes ‘Man-cannons’ as the troopers inside were literally launched out of the ship at supersonic speeds, either in individual drop pods or in pods capable of holding entire squads.

One of the tactics involving the Drop Center during ship-to-ship combat was to launch a swarm of drop pods at the enemy ship. They would either punch right through the hull of the vessel in order for the troopers inside to rapidly board the ship, or should they be unable to pierce the hull, the pod would be capable of latching onto the ship, allowing the trooper inside to get out of the pod and walk along the hull, looking for a hatch or another spot they could use to board the vessel. Heavies often chose the latter, seeing as they did not have individual drop pods, instead using only their exo-suits.

As Atlas ran through the long hallways leading to the Drop Center, he was soon joined by a group of Heavy Troopers. They passed by the motor pool, watching for a brief moment as pilots climbed into their combat walkers, and all other kinds of vehicles. After running past the motor pool, he looked through one of the virtual windows lining the hall to catch a glimpse of one of the frigates exploding into a cloud of twisted metal and fire.

They made their way to the Drop Center, into the 'Heavy Infantry' section. Atlas and two of the troopers that were with him walked into a chamber that had three large tubes, where another soldier greeted them. He and the two troopers got inside of a tube, and a transparent hatch closed behind them, sealing them shut and locking them in place. Heavy troopers did not need pods, as they could easily be launched out of the ship, making use of their suits as their own drop pods.

Admiral Becker was still standing in front of the window, observing as the last frigate was turned into a smoldering chunk of metal. Some of the crew around the command bridge began to cheer, while the Admiral slowly shook his head. He carefully examined the surroundings of the Vector. “There...” He saw five bright flashes in the distance, followed by the appearance of five more Ubor ships. The whole crew stopped cheering, and fell silent.

One man broke the silence, "Sir... five ships just came out of hyperspace: three Ubor Super-Dreadnoughts, one carrier and another frigate."

The Admiral sighed, and slowly turned towards the crew, "We won't hold against that many ships; prepare for a jump."

One of the men stood up, "But sir! We don't have enough time to-!"

"Make it a blind jump, we don't have another choice! I am not letting them take this ship!"

“Sir yes sir!”

Once again, the deep, metallic voice of the ship spoke up, "Attention, all crew members begin preparations for imminent hyperspace jump. Code: LOCK, CHARGE, EVADE. Attention, all crew members..."

Atlas was still inside the launch tube when the ship’s automated voice boomed across the hallways. The soldier standing in the chamber next to the three tubes grabbed onto a railing as the Vector’s hyperdrive began charging up. Atlas remained still and held his breath. The Vector rapidly accelerated, the force pushing Atlas against the launch tube.

In a span of milliseconds, the Vector was propelled into a flash of blue light. Atlas felt the pressure on him subside, followed by a massive headache. The last thing he saw was the soldier in the chamber collapse onto the floor.

“No! There will be no more negotiations!” the half lion, half eagle barked, “This has to end now! You have expanded more zan enough, and have even begun to twist and deform the face of Gryphos! Just a few weeks ago, your ‘Ponies’ desecrated an ancient Gryphon temple and turned it into their camp! The old tales were true! Ponykind has always been a plague!” The Gryphon Ambassador, Ivan Razorwing, stood up and pointed his claw accusingly at Celestia, who remained in her chair, her solemn expression unchanged. Razorwing began pacing around angrily, constantly shooting furious glares at Celestia. He wore a red robe embroidered with gold, which had the shield of the Gryphonic Kingdom sewn into it with the finest of threads.

“You have disrupted the natural order of ze world! Not only do you control ze sun and ze moon, for the benefit of your country ONLY! But the increasing population of pegasus ponies in Gryphos is beginning to cause the weather to stall! Soon, ve vill have to pay THEM to make OUR weather function!”

“What Razorwing says is true; ponykind can live in harmony, but only among ponies and ponies alone. Or else they bring trouble to our own.” said Docaro, the Zebra Ambassador. He wore a dark green cloak, and underneath it several golden rings and other types of jewelry jingled every time he moved.

Celestia opened her eyes and looked at Razorwing, who shot another angry glare her way.

“I’ve already told you, Princess. Either you give us part of your land, or ve vill throw those vile pests back to Equestria.”

Celestia took a deep breath, considering her options. If she refused, there was no way of knowing what the Gryphons would do. It was always a gamble with them, even centuries ago.

She opened her mouth to speak, but almost as if on on cue, a deep, low growl shook the palace. As Celestia and the two Ambassadors stood up, a bright blue light flashed from the night’s sky into the meeting room. She frowned before taking flight and racing through the long hallways, followed by the two Ambassadors.

They ran past many of the confused and scared palace servants before they reached the castle’s courtyard. Another deep, but loud growl surprised them. They looked ahead, and their minds refused to believe what their eyes were showing them.

The moon was not visible anymore, and neither was the rest of the sky. Something was eclipsing it, something massive that was slowly inching its way over the city. Parts of it glowed blue, and hundreds of tiny specks of light adorned its entire form. It was bigger than Canterlot, probably by several hundreds of times. It was no dragon and neither was it a mountain. It obscured the sky and replaced the stars with its own blinking lights, while floating effortlessly far above the castle.

Celestia’s eyes widened. She could not believe such a thing was heading towards Canterlot. The monster slowly lost its momentum, and came to a complete stop. It then released a final growl, this one being far louder than any of the ones before it. The ground began quaking, and the windows across the city began shattering as the growl swept through it.

Razorwing stood still as the windows around him shattered. He too could not comprehend the situation, but slowly the gears in his head started moving again. He scowled and looked at the Princess.

“Y-You! This is your plan, is it not!?” he snarled. “You summoned this... thing! I have had enough of this! You and your kind have taken things too far!” Following his statement, Razorwing took flight, and headed back towards his room to fetch his guards and begin the trip back to Gryphos.

The Alicorn Princess was bewildered. She had heard Razorwing, but she simply could not be bothered to respond. Deep inside, she knew that after this, there would be no way to change his opinion.

She bit her lower lip, looking at the ground. The city had lit up already, the screams of terror echoing throughout its streets as Canterlot’s inhabitants panicked at the sight of the monster that hovered above them.

Being more than a thousand years old, Celestia had seen her fair share of monsters, spirits and other kinds of evil creatures. She had lived through the reign of Discord, witnessed wars, and had had to banish her own sister to the moon when she turned into a monster. Even considering her life experiences, this was completely out of her grasp; there was no prophecy, no legend, nothing. “Perhaps... perhaps it is finally the end of days?” she thought to herself.

She banished that last thought from her mind.“No,” she thought. The Alicorn mare lifted her head and put on a stern expression.

“No!” she said to herself out loud. “I do not care what that monster’s purpose is; I will not allow it to hurt my subjects. It shall face me first.”

With her newfound determination, Celestia unfurled her wings and leaped into the air.

Luna took in a deep breath, filling her lungs with the sterile air of the medical facility she was in. She then spent a few seconds adjusting the white overall that was covering her body, making sure the attire was sealed and leaving no room for anything to come into contact with her dark blue coat. Once done, she sighed through the surgical mask placed over her muzzle.

She mentally prepared herself for what was about to come, gathering all of the calmness she could manage. The Princess examined her surroundings for anything she might have missed, but everything was just as before. The group of four unicorn guards standing between her and the metallic door had not moved an inch, and the nurse by her side scratched her head, waiting for the Princess to continue.

“Are you certain it is ready?” Luna asked, looking to the nurse.

“Yes,” the mare responded. “It stopped thrashing about an hour ago, and even... talked to us.”

“I see...”

Luna looked at the door guarded by the four ponies, and gulped. It would have been a blatant lie to say that she was not scared, but she had to keep herself calm, especially considering what was waiting for her beyond the door. Her mouth was dry, but she nodded at the guards regardless of her fear.

The four armored ponies saluted her, then turned around. Each of them inserted their horns into a series of holes in the metallic door, and shortly after a mechanical click sounded, signaling that the door had been unlocked.

Slowly, the Princess trotted towards it, and the guards stepped aside for her. “Stay outside, I wish to be alone with it.” She gently slid the door open with her magic, and walked into the adjoining room.

As she closed the door behind her, her eyes were immediately locked onto the creature lying on the medical table located in the center of the room, which was composed entirely of white tiles. She slowly began her approach, the sound made by her hooves as they hit the floor resonating through the chamber.

She stumbled back as the creature lifted its head and looked at her with its red eyes, its stare drilling into her soul. She frowned and moved closer to it, swallowing her fear.

“You... look different,” the creature said, its voice raspy and distorted. “What are you here... for?”

“I am Princess Luna, ruler of the night.” She began pacing around the bed. “But the biggest question is: who are you?”

“I... am nobody,” the creature replied. “Nothing but a distorted reflection of what I used to be...”

“Very well, then. What were you?”

“They took that away from me...”

“Took what?”

“The memories... only shards now.”

“Are you saying you were not always like this?”

“Yes... they turned me into a monster.”

“Who are ‘they’?”

“The machines...” The monster let its head rest on the bed’s pillow, looking up into the ceiling. “All that’s left... is pain. I remember the pain... only pain.”

“Why are you here? Why did you attack us?”

“That was not me... it was them, controlling me... But the signal is gone, now I control... It is a twisted joke; to let you see what you are doing, but be incapable of stopping yourself...”

“You did not answer my first question.”

“Nor did your disciples answer mine...” The monster sighed, “Where am I?”

“You are in our land, Equestria.”

“What... is the name of this planet?”

“Earth.”

“You... what are you?”

“We are ponies.”

“Are you... synthetic?”

“No. Why?”

“I am... on Earth, but with your kind instead... and speaking the same language... Luna, I must warn you...”

“About what, exactly?”

“If... if I made it here, then others can do so as well...”

“What do you mean?” the blue Alicorn asked, her voice taking a tone of wariness.

“I am merely the first...” It coughed, fluids beginning to seep out of its mouth. “Of the inevitable many. This world is not yours... not anymore.”

“Why do you say that?” Luna stopped pacing around, trotting closer to the creature.

“Pray to your gods...” The creature took in a deep breath, then sighed it out as steam, “That your kind will live to see another day.”

“What will happen!?” the Princess asked, furrowing her brow and looking directly into the creature’s eyes. “Where did you-” Right on cue, a deep growl shook the room, making dust fall from the ceiling.

“I recognize that sound... The gears... they are already turning.”

The object hovered above Ponyville and Canterlot, and as it ceased to advance, it released a final growl, the loudest yet. Everypony on the plaza dropped onto the ground and plugged their ears with their hooves.

Twilight could faintly see the dust being lifted off of the ground as the shock wave advanced towards Ponyville. She closed her eyes shut as the wave hit the town, making the windows vibrate loudly, yet they did not break. She slowly stood back up, and so did everypony else. Everything was perfectly silent until a mare decided to change that.

“The horror! The horror!”

That was enough to trigger the panic button on the rest of the ponies. They began running in every direction, some of them crashing into each other. Several of the Royal Guards that had been stationed in the town were attempting to calm them down, with no luck. The best they could do was to keep them from running out of the town and into the woods. Twilight was surrounded by the multitude of panicked ponies. She was confused; she had to hide somewhere, but her brain was refusing to comply.

“Twilight!” a familiar voice called out to her.

The unicorn turned to the source of the voice, Sugarcube Corner. She could see that Rarity was standing at the entrance, waving at her. Twilight began galloping, closing her eyes and hoping not to crash into anypony. Halfway to the building, she crashed into another pony, making her fall and roll a couple times on the ground. She quickly stood back up, her coat dusty, and continued to make her way towards the bakery, galloping as fast as her legs allowed her to.

Twilight came crashing into the store, followed by a series of gasps as she collapsed onto the floor, panting. Rarity sat down next to her.

“Are you okay, Twilight?” she asked, to which Twilight replied with some frantic nodding. “Oh, nonono. You are NOT okay darling. Your coat is all dusty and your mane... Oh no, I must do something about this!” She levitated a brush and began to adjust Twilight’s mane.

Occupying the store, aside from Twilight and Rarity, were Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and the Cakes. Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were looking out the window, observing the behemoth that floated above the ground. Fluttershy was sitting by one of the tables, her mane covering her face.

Carrot Cake trotted out of the kitchen, carrying a small plate that had a cupcake on it. He placed it on the table in front of Fluttershy, who looked up at him and gave him a small smile. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Carrot Cake smiled. “No problem, sweetie.” Afterwards, he walked back into the kitchen.

Rainbow was sitting in front of one of the windows, looking at the object that currently obscured the stars and recently emptied the streets. She looked up with a confused expression, then stood up and walked over to the table where Fluttershy was, noticing that she had been joined by Rarity and Twilight.

Rainbow cocked an eyebrow, looking at Twilight. “Uh, Twilight? Do you know anything about what just happened? I mean you must’ve read something about it in one of your books and stuff, right?”

“I was just talking to the girls about that... My books have never said anything about such a thing. I don’t know if it’s dangerous, or if it’s even alive for that matter! All I can say is that it must be using a HUGE amount of magic to keep itself in the air.”

“Uhm... Twilight?” Fluttershy nervously clopped her forehooves together. “I need to tell you something... It might be important... I guess... I mean, it’s okay if you don’t want to...”

“No, it’s okay. What is it?”

“Uhm, well... do you remember the meteor shower a few nights ago?” Fluttershy asked, looking at Twilight from behind her pink mane.

“Yes...” Twilight got closer, eager to hear what her friend had to say.

“And the one meteor that landed nearby...?” Fluttershy inquired again.

“Yes, the one I wasn't allowed to see because of the guards that kept saying it was royal business, the meteor the Princess told me not to worry about...” Twilight huffed, then rolled her eyes.

“Uhm, yes, that one... You see, I was up that night watching the meteor shower with Angel Bunny... And when the meteor landed, I kind of... Uhm, I hid under my couch... And then...” She took a deep breath, “And then I looked out the window and saw... something... It had two red eyes that... that glowed, I think... When I saw it looking at me, I screamed, and then it just disappeared.”

“I see...” said Rarity, “That is indeed, somewhat creepy. But what does it have to do with the meteor? Do you think that-” She was cut off by Fluttershy.

“Yes, I think it came from the meteor... Later that night, some guards came by, and told me it wasn’t safe... and since I had nowhere else to go, and couldn't leave all my little animals behind, they offered to stay to make sure nothing happened.”

“Oh, wow.” Twilight conjured both a quill and a piece of paper, and started taking notes.

“But... that’s not the most important part. The next day I snuck out and made my way to where the meteor had landed, and hid in some bushes. There were... a lot of guards around it, but it turns out it wasn’t a meteor at all...”

The three mares looked at her, dumbfounded. “Well, what was it then?” said Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy turned around to see that Pinkie and Applejack had been listening as well.

“Oh...well... uhm... It wasn’t alive... but, it was so weird... the only thing I can say is that it gave off the same feeling that other big floating thing does... They are... similar...I couldn’t see anything else because one of the guards caught me... He told me to never ever talk about it...” She finished by hiding behind her mane once again.

Twilight placed the quill and paper on the table, and scowled, “If they are related... I wonder how many of those red-eyed things Fluttershy talked about could fit inside that huge thing above us.” The mares shot each other some worried glances.

Applejack cleared her throat. “Twilight, ah was meanin’ to tell ya’ll ‘bout somethin’. Y’see, ah was watchin’ the big floaty thing, and ah noticed that on its side it had summin’ written on it. Though it was kinda wierd lookin’, y’know. Ah couldn’t really make out much of it.”

Twilight stood up, and trotted towards the window, followed by the other five mares. She looked up at the massive contraption, her mouth hanging open due to to its sheer size. Applejack was right; there was something written on its side. Due to the size of the object, the letters were big enough to be visible from quite a distance. Twilight began scribbling the words into the paper she had brought. Upon finishing, she took a look at it. “It sorta looks like Equestrian. It’s only slightly different...”

Pinkie Pie began bouncing up and down. “Oh! Oh! Does it say ‘Doom’? Or something like, ‘The Eater of Worlds’?”

Twilight shook her head, dismissing Pinkie’s crazy antics. “N-No, It says U-S-S... Vector?”

Rainbow Dash cocked her head to the side. “ ‘Vector’? The hay is a ‘Vector’?”

The lavender unicorn scratched her head. “It's supposed to be some sort of mathematical concept, not... whatever this thing is. I’ll have to go to my library and see if I can find anything... “