Darkness: consuming, embracing, silent. It filled the rustic wooden room. The thick walls swallowed every sound, but the chewing of termites among the floorboards, and the hoofsteps of a lone pony entering the room. With a quick push of magic, a switch was flipped, and a current of magic blazed through a single desolate light. For a moment, the room came alive as a dozen cockroaches scurried to what shadows remained, only to fall silent once more. Slowly, the nameless pony trotted over and under the light, approaching a lone, rough hewn table. On top of it was a wooden radio, housing an enchanted gem meant to be tuned into various frequencies. The pony already had one in mind, gently tuning the radio with magic. First, there was static, but slowly a voice emerged from the static, amplified by the frail crystal within.

“... You’re listening to ‘Equestria At Large’, the source of news from all across the nation!” a male voice said, deep and confident. “Tonight we’ve got an interview with Commander Kira Feros herself, director of Apex! But first, we have special coverage from the protests taking place in Fillydelphia! Now to News Flash with the coverage!”

“Thank you,” a female voice said, struggling to be heard amongst the sounds of yelling and heavy rain. “I’m News Flash, here at the center of Fillydelphia! Ponies have gathered all around the streets surrounding the main hall! I estimate a few thousands, at least! I can see two sides! One seems to be pro-human, and they hold signs saying things like ‘The future is here!’, ‘Hail The Colonial Guard’! The other side is clearly anti-human, since they hold signs saying... Nevermind! I don’t think it’s appropriate to say such things here!

“Ponies from the Royal Guard are keeping the two sides from fighting each other! I can really feel the tension-- Ah!” came a yelp from News Flash, along with the sound of shattering glass and several screams of panic.

“Flash? Flash, are you alright?” the male broadcaster asked, a tone of concern in his voice.

“Y-Yes, I’m okay! Somepony just threw a bottle at me, and it had something in it that caught fire! N-Nopony got hurt though, but things are getting real bad! Some already broke through the guard and are fighting each other!

Guttural cries similar to those made in battle could be heard. “They broke through!” News exclaimed. “I can see-... Some have knives and other weapons!... Hey! Let me go!” were her last words as the microphone appeared to have fallen. The sounds of fighting were the only things that could be heard.

Suddenly, a booming crash was heard, following by a deep, distorted growl. The microphone was taken back, and News’ voice was once again there, “Oh my... What...”

“News? News, what happened?”

“A-A machine just fell from the sky while I was struggling to get my mic back! It’s bipedal, with legs jointed like the hind legs of a pony! It’s absolutely tremendous and blasted a loud horn when it came down! I think my ears are bleeding!”

“EQUESTRIAN CITIZENS: AUTONOMOUS JUDGEMENT IS NOW IN EFFECT! STAND DOWN OR FACE PROSECUTION!” a deep, metallic voice bellowed.

“I can see human dropships descending from the sky! They’re swarming the place! They’re fully armored, holding some sort of barrier shields, and what appear to be metallic sticks with electric tips!...”

“Oh.. b-but this is mine!- HEY!” she yelled as her voice was cut off, replaced by static.

“.... Uh... we appear to be having technical problems. We’ll be... We’ll be right back after a musical break...” The radio began playing jazz instead.

The nameless pony sighed and turned off the wooden radio, looking at the newspaper that was beside it. The front page headline dominated the entire paper.

“Colonial Guard Stabilization Assistance Forces Announced For Immediate Deployment!”