PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR MOST DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Next Day – 8:45 AM
Everyone had gathered at Fluttershy's for breakfast. Suddenly, the card-form Device tucked behind the right ear of Teana's pony form chimed.
"Master" Mirage said. "The timelines have synchronized."
"Meaning…?" Rainbow Dash prodded.
"A combination of magic and slipspace was used to send us here" Teana replied. "It also sent us a couple weeks back in time, multiverse-wise, so not much would happen in our already-been-there realms without us. That sent-back time period is passed; right now, elsewhere in the realms, we just left for this realm. That means that now we can send a report back to Command… and, if need be, they can send people here."
Pinkie gasped. "So that means we could meet all of you girls' friends!"
"If they come here" Shion replied.
"I can't wait to see the rest of our team" Timmy said. "Erio and Caro and Laicixa and Mariko…"
"We'd better get started on the report of what's happened so far" Teana said.
"The report has already been compiled" Mirage replied. "It simply awaits your approval, Master."
"Hmm… Alright. After breakfast, I'll look at it, make any alterations I see fit, and send it on its way."
-SCENE BREAK-
Same Day – 8:15 PM
It was such a calm, peaceful night. The skies were clear, a thin band of orange to the west marking where the Sun had set, the stars twinkling overhead. Ponies were out & about, getting late-day errands finished or just enjoying the night. Everything was peace.
And then the warning klaxons stationed throughout the town, linked to magitech sensors Gamma Team had put up around Ponyville's perimeter, began to go off.
Following the drills they'd all been made to participate in, the townsfolk quickly made for their homes. The extra-dimensional group and the Mane Six (plus Spike and Trixie) came out to see what was going on, meeting up outside Twilight's house, Teana and Marie tapping into the perimeter scanners to see what the trouble was. Marie cursed under her breath.
"We've got Heartless" she said. "And some Unversed, and a few 'Demons' and Nobodies, too. It looks like the Dark Voice and his underlings have found out we're here."
"Alright, girls; set up and get ready!" Teana ordered.
The seven girls of Gamma Team glowed, leaving their pony-form transformations and taking their original forms. Teana summoned her Mjolnir Armor, while Marie conjured her Barrier Jacket, Charon active in Cannon Form over her right arm. Erika and Timmy followed suit, the former summoning her Keyblade Armor. Teana turned to the Local Group.
"Make sure the civilian evac proceeds as planned, and then engage at your discretion. We'll head them off, cut their numbers down."
The Harmony Element bearers nodded and moved out, the injured Trixie and young Spike staying at the library "to guard it" (read: Twilight didn't want her 10-year-old assistant or her just-out-of-the-hospital friend getting involved in any serious fighting). The girls of Gamma spread out, heading for where the sensors had detected the enemy. They didn't have to go far; a worryingly large number of hostiles were just reaching the outer edges of the town. Teana gritted her teeth; there was no way just the nine of them would be able to stop all of these from getting past them and into the town. But they would have to try.
"Cross Mirage, contact Celestia" she ordered her A.I. "Give her a report of the situation, and tell her we may need some help."
As her Device fulfilled her order, Teana launched a Fire-type Sagitta Magica barrage that took down a Type-E Demon and four Soldier-type Heartless. She then switched Mirage to one Longsword and one Pistol, and got to work, beheading a Scrapper while blasting a new hole through a Neoshadow's skull. Not too far away, Ahsoka began carving through more of the dark creatures, her twin emerald energy blades lighting the night. In another section of the front, Erika's Keyblade was cutting a good amount of them down, Timmy supporting her with an M6E pistol and a wrist-mounted plasma dagger.
After a few minutes of fighting, the roar of engines could be heard. Teana looked up, and saw one of Project Corona's dropships. It swung around and touched down, and five ponies in full-body powered armor emerged. The large white-armored Earth Pony with the 'Sigma' symbol on the armor's flanks stepped forward, dealing a blow to a Type-E that killed it in one hit, and then unslung his bladed grenade launcher and started firing. The others, bearing the symbols for Omicron, Theta, Chi, and Epsilon, joined the fight as well.
But the enemy just kept coming.
"Ma'am," Cross Mirage reported, "slipspace rupture detected 1.3 AU out. Scanning… IFF confirmed; the Starshot is present in-system. They have become aware of the situation and are preparing a slipspace micro-jump."
"Excellent!" Marie shouted as she blasted a pack of Type-Gs with Light Beam shots. "Reinforcements!"
Seconds later, there was a loud crack of dispersed air and a flash of blue in the sky overhead, as the 1600-meter vessel emerged around 1,200 meters up. Homing in on Teana's transponder, a slipspace translocation rift formed several feet from her, and out from it emerged 13 armored figures. Agent Washington fired his BR85 at a charging Type-E, gunning it down, while Caboose caught a Large Body's punch, giving Sarge the opportunity to blast it in the head with his shotgun.
"You gals just can't go anywhere without stumblin' into trouble, can ya?" Sarge said.
"Story of our lives!" Mai replied as she used a plasma sword to behead two Type-Gs.
Suddenly, the comm. channel crackled.
"Is this thing working?" Twilight's voice was heard. "Teana, we've got trouble! Quite a few of those things made it into the town, and not everyone's gotten to safety yet! Me, Rarity, and a few volunteers are pushing them back and keeping their heads down as much we can, but we sure could use some help over here!"
"This is Agent Chi of Project Corona" Indigo Ember replied. "Help's coming, Sparkle. Omicron, with me! Let's go protect the civvies!"
"York, Grif, Caboose, you three and I are going, too!" Texas said.
The six took off, heading into the town and hoping they made it in time.
At Ponyville Mental Hospital, one mare could hear what was going on, thanks to a comm. receiver she'd gotten a hold of. Realizing that it was at long last time to get back in the saddle, she concentrated, calling up her other self. After a few seconds, to her eyes, Screwball materialized in front of her, transparent and with a slight glow.
"Screw…" Golden Tiara said. "It's time."
"W-What?" the fragment looked shocked and sad. "B-But…"
"I know you don't wanna go. But… you won't really be going anywhere. …I'm incomplete like this, Screwball. You're a part of me. But… in a way, I'm part of you, too. If you come back to me, you be part of a whole pony again."
"But I won't really be anymore, Goldie…"
"Don't you want our friends to be safe? Don't you want Trixie and Diamond to be safe?"
"…M-More than anything."
"Please… I promise I'll never forget you."
The fragment took a deep breath, and when she opened her eyes she looked calmer and more focused than ever. "All right. Let's get this done."
She walked up to Golden, the two touching hooves.
"I'll miss you" Screwball said as her 'body' began to glow. "I'll miss existing, having my own mind, being able to come out and have crazy fun. But… I know this is for the best for you. Goodbye, Goldie."
"Goodbye, Screw" Golden replied.
The translucent figure closed her eyes, and she vanished, returning to where she'd come from.
(IMAGE: A brain that is styled like a jigsaw puzzle; all but one of the pieces are in place. The final piece then slides into place, and with a flash of light the seams between pieces disappear, leaving a single, whole thing.)
Golden Tiara closed her eyes as she felt the last bit of her mind finally reintegrate. Emotions and thoughts raced through her for a few seconds before subsiding. Her ears twitched as she heard the sounds of clawed feet skulking around outside her door. She opened her eyes, which now glowed green. She focused on the door in front of her, and thrusted her forehoof forward.
Soft Thunder cowered behind her desk, as several of the facility's security fended off the little black creatures with glowing-yellow eyes that had literally crawled out of the shadows and started attacking her and anyone else in the lobby. The security chief bucked one of them mid-leap, sending it to splat into the far wall, dispersing into darkness particles as it slid down. Suddenly, there was a rumble from down one of the halls, and a few thuds. Several seconds later, the Shadows in the lobby suddenly found themselves being drawn up toward a swirling black sphere with green energy surrounding it that formed in the middle of the room; the dark creatures flailed helplessly in midair as the artificial gravity field hoisted them up. A pony then leapt in, dealing crushing blows to them in midair, dispelling them. She landed, her Singularity dispelling.
"G-Golden Tiara?" Soft Thunder said. "Isn't this normally a time of night where you let Screwball have the reins?"
Golden looked at her. "Screwball's gone, Soft" she replied. "Or rather, she returned to where she came from. I'm whole again."
Soft gasped as she realized what Golden was saying.
"Can you boys hold the fort here?" Golden asked the security personnel.
"Sure thing, ma'am" the chief replied. "But what about you?"
"…I'm going to go and help defend my home. Thank you for taking care of me these last four years, Soft, you guys. But now it's time for me to be the one taking care of ponies again."
With that, she walked out the front door, and then took off running for the heart of the town. As she ran, she positioned the comm. device and activated it.
"This is Agent Gamma of Project Corona" she reported. "I am on station and ready to assist."
"Goldie?-!" Azure and Indigo said simultaneously.
"Yep, it's me. I'm all better now; just convinced the last fragment of my mind to reintegrate. I'm ready to do my part defending my home. Just tell me where to go."
"…Head for the post office" Indigo Ember said. "I've got something for ya, sis."
Back at the main front, the defending group continued to keep the enemy forces occupied. A Sangheili Phantom flew in, and from its grav-lift emerged an Mgalekgolo pair. The two Hunters brought their cannons to bear and fired, green death incinerating many Heartless. Sarah threw a plasma grenade, killing a Type-E, while a Saber Throw from Ahsoka and a Strike Raid from Erika took out a pair of Invisibles. A DMR shot from Agent Florida killed two Type-Gs, while North's sniper rifle took out a Stealth Sneak via an eye-shot.
"This is UNSC Colonel Urban Holland to defending forces. Spartan-117 has just arrived from the Infinity via translocation link and is on his way down to assist."
"Affirmative, sir" Teana replied. "Glad to hear it."
"I'm sending him into the city to help clear it out; you folks on the front line will have to settle with two Pelicans full of marines."
The redhead smirked. "I think we can manage with that."
Near the post office, Twilight Sparkle fired another blast of magic at a Neoshadow, destroying it. She turned and noticed four more rushing at her… only for a green shockwave to smash into them from the side, knocking them away. The pony responsible ran up, taking position beside her. Twilight looked shocked.
"Mrs. Tiara?" she asked.
"Hey, Twilight" Golden said. "Looks like I finished repairing my mind just in time, huh?"
Two Type-Es ran at them… only for one to fall as a high-velocity round tore through its head. Indigo Ember, Agent Chi, leapt down from the nearby roof, firing his sniper rifle mid-fall, scoring a perfect shot right through the other Type-E's eye. He walked up to his sister.
"Lift your hoof, sis" he said as he pulled from his subspace storage pocket a small metallic-purple ring with a green Gamma symbol on it. Golden grinned and held out her right forehoof, and he telekinetically slipped it on. She then pressed the symbol, focusing her will. Twilight shielded her eyes as a flash of light enveloped Golden Tiara. When it faded, she stood in her personal powered-armor, the big green Gamma symbol on the armor's flanks contrasting with the purple plating, the green visor over her eyes reflecting the light from the nearby streetlamp.
"Oh, yeah" she said. "It feels good to be back. Got anything for me to shoot with?"
"Here" Twilight said as she pulled from her saddlebag an advanced-looking contraption, silver with a reddish-orange glow from within. "Wrist-mounted plasma-caster, configured for a pony. Just a little something Gamma Team's been working on. They gave it to me, but… well, I think you'll make better use of it."
Golden nodded as she snapped the device into place on her left wrist. "I'll be sure to put it through its paces" she said. "Thanks, Twilight."
Just then a Scrapper came charging at them. Golden pointed her new weapon and fired, and a bolt/blast of red-orange plasma flew out and nailed the Scrapper in the face, burning/blasting about half of its head off.
"Whoa. This thing packs a wallop! I like it!"
"According to testing," Twilight said, "each blast is the equivalent of three bolts from a Sangheili Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle. It's semiautomatic and can fire at up to two rounds per second, and has an effective range of about 30 meters. This prototype has access to a subspace ammunition foundry and storage for its plasma, like Teana's Device's plasma-bolt mode, though if we end up mass-producing it we probably won't be able to do that for all of them. Let us know how it performs!"
"Okay, now that you're ready to rock," Azure Feather said from atop a nearby roof, "let's go bust some heads and be heroes!"
Indigo Ember chuckled. "The old trio's back together again…"
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, a pack of Shadows and Soldiers had cornered a unicorn mare and her two little children. Suddenly, a frag grenade flew in and blew half of them away. A tan-armored biped ran in, firing his shotgun at the dazed survivors, quickly cutting them down. He turned to the family.
"You folks alright?" York asked.
"W-Who are you, mister?" the little colt asked. "What are you two-legs we've seen fighting those things?"
"We're the good aliens, here to save you from the bad aliens" York replied. "…Well, technically they aren't aliens; they're creatures of raw Darkness, but… eh, semantics. Anyway, you guys had better hurry on home, or someplace else safe. My friends and I will get rid of the monsters."
The mother nodded in thanks, and then she & her children took off running, keeping an eye out for any more of the dark creatures. York watched them go, making sure they got away safely, and then headed out to hunt down some more hostiles.
The fighting continued for a little while longer. The enemy forces attacking the outskirts lessened while those inside the town's borders focused their efforts, so Gamma, Blood-Gulch, and Lancer Teams, along with the Corona agents and Timmy & Erika, were redirected into the city, leaving the marine squads to deal with the increasingly-small attacks from the outskirts. They eventually corralled the surviving hostiles near city hall, and systematically picked them apart with superior numbers and positions. The last Type-E fell to a pistol round from Tex.
"Things seem to be mostly clear now" Shion said.
"Any fatalities?" the Chief asked.
"Not from what we're hearing, no" Agent Chi replied.
Suddenly, a Dark Gateway formed a little off to the side from everyone, and they all readied themselves.
"Now it is time for you to meet my newest and fiercest warrior" the Dark Voice was heard. "Rescued from the brink of death, and imbued with a fragment of my essence. My assistance, along with his ferocity and cunning, shall enable him another chance to gain the power and revenge that he seeks."
The black vortex subsided, revealing an armored figure crouched down. He slowly stood up to his imposing full height, and fear gripped the hearts of those who recognized him. White armor with bits of black and dark purple…
"Y-You've gotta be fucking kidding…" Tucker said, slowly backing away with unconcealed terror in his body language.
A reflective golden visor…
"We're all gonna die…" Grif whimpered.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit…" Marie was trembling, eyes wide.
An unholy snarl…
Plagam Extremam Infligere!
The figure looked around, focusing his gaze on Grif and the large weapon magnetically clamped to his back. Then, with a growl, The Meta charged.
"FUCK!-!" Grif screamed, pulling the Brute Shot out and firing as fast as he could. The Meta simply strafed to dodge them, growing ever closer. However, he was then blindsided by a clothesline from the Master Chief, knocking him away and giving Grif the chance to get some distance. The Meta rolled with the blow, landing on his feet, and he then rushed at the Chief with surprising speed, but the Spartan blocked his punch… and felt surprise as the blow pushed him back, made his arm ache even with his armor, and near-totally drained his shields. No doubt about it; The Meta was as strong as him.
The Chief grabbed hold of the Meta's forearm and pulled him in for an elbow strike to the face, but the Meta twisted out of the way, wrenching himself free and then lashing out with a low sweep-kick which the Chief jumped back from. He lunged with another attack, only for the Meta to block and counter. As the two armored warriors flew into a fast-paced duel, matching blow for blow, the observers felt a mixture of shock and fear upon realizing that, either from already being that good or from the Dark Voice's boost, the Meta was actually an equal match for the Master Chief; the best of the Spartans could only break even with this monster!
John-117 frowned in his helmet. While the Meta wasn't quite as fast as he was, it was made up for in durability, ferocity, and raw strength; it was like sparring with Samuel, except Sam never tried to kill him. He knew, from the written reports and from the Blood-Gulchers' testimony, that he was dealing with a dangerous power-hungry psychopath who was far more cunning than his animalistic nature would make one think; The Meta was a rabid, murderous beast, but an intelligent and resourceful one. He'd have to be extremely careful; a slip-up could cost him his life.
The fight went on for several minutes, the two forgetting the others' presence as they tried to kill each other. While the Master Chief proved unable to get past the Meta's defenses and gain an upper hand, so too did the Meta prove incapable of besting the Chief. It was a stalemate. Finally, the Meta, his frustration peaking, jumped back and summoned a pack of Heartless. However, the others had been standing back only so as to not interrupt a fair one-on-one fight. The Meta's summoning of underlings meant that it was no longer one-on-one, and thus that the Chief's allies were free to jump in. As he narrowly avoided being decapitated by Ahsoka, the Meta realized his folly. He used his Bubble Shield to withstand a Crossfire Shot from Teana, and then formed a Dark Portal which he then leapt through, escaping and leaving his summoned Heartless to be butchered.
With the town finally cleared, everyone caught their breath and checked each other over.
"I can't believe he's back…" Marie said. "The Dark Voice brought the Meta back from the dead."
"Actually, he said he rescued the Meta from the brink of death" Sarge replied. "That means that even though we ran that sumbitch through with a plasma sword, blasted him with a shotgun, and chucked him over a 400-foot cliff into 34-degree water, he still wasn't dead. Dying, but not dead."
"And now he's got a power-up" Church said. "Just great; as if he wasn't a one-man army group already…"
"H-He actually took on the Master fuckin' Chief and matched him blow for blow" Tucker said, still slightly disbelieving. "Was he always that skilled?"
"He was on the Freelancer leader board…" Carolina replied. "But even then, Tex was number one on the board, but the Chief beat her in a spar earlier today."
"Not easily, to her credit" the Master Chief chimed in.
"So now, in addition to everything else," Teana said, "we've got The Meta in top form against us. Who're they gonna throw at us next?"
"Necromorphs?" Marie suggested.
"We've fought the Flood" Teana replied. "They'd be nothing new."
"Frieza?" Shion said.
"Nanoha-san or Naruto-kun in Sage Mode would flatten him."
"Covenant Remnant?" Simmons said.
"The Dark Voice has humans in his employ, so the Covvies probably won't wanna work with him. Plus, he's Xel'Naga, not Forerunner."
"We'll have to wait and see" Twilight said. "And hope it isn't too big."
"For now, we should focus on cleanup, make sure nobody's seriously hurt" Sarah said. "And there's no way we'll be able to avoid having to explain everything to the locals."
"My team and I had better head up to the Starshot and report to Colonel Holland and Shipmaster Arum" Teana said.
"W-We'll come, too" Erika said, Timmy standing beside her.
"The Princesses are wrapping up what duties they presently have" Indigo Ember said. "At least, that's the message I just got. They'll join you as soon as they can."
"I'm coming up as well" the Master Chief said. "I need to get to the Starshot's translocation terminal and get back to the Infinity. We're tracking a lead on the rogue Sangheili terrorist Parg Vol."
"Anything new?" Teana asked.
"He's not working alone. Besides his subordinates, he has either a partner or a superior. We don't know who yet, though."
"We'll stay here and assure the townsfolk that everything's all right" Twilight said.
-SCENE BREAK-
Starshot - Bridge
15 Minutes Later
"Gamma Team reporting, sir."
Colonel Urban Holland turned around to see the seven girls of Gamma Team standing at attention.
"At ease" he said. "From what I've read, you girls have had an interesting couple of weeks."
"You could say that, sir" Marie replied with a grin.
"Indeed. I just got the report from Agent Washington concerning The Meta, how he was apparently rescued and empowered by the Dark Voice. This is worrying; if even half the things I've heard about the Meta are true…"
"They are, sir" Teana replied. "Unfortunately. …Has the word about Celestia's discovery been spread yet?"
"About the dramatically-slowed aging rate for dimensional travelers? Yes. Keep in mind that, for us, it's been less than a day; a lot of people are still in shock. But most seem to be dealing with it by just… not thinking about it."
"That's pretty much how we've been managing, too" Shion replied. "Though knowing our loved ones who've made the journey are also affected makes it easier."
The oral report lasted around 10 minutes, the girls outlining what they could so far to Holland and Arum. At that time, a sphere of golden light suddenly formed in the bridge, expanding to about seven feet across, and then faded to reveal Celestia, Luna, and Cadence. Holland dismissed Gamma, allowing them to do as they will while the three Princesses added what info they could and started setting up formal diplomatic stuff. As the girls headed for their quarters, they found Erika, Timmy, Mariko, Erio, and Caro in a "cuddle-puddle" on one of the lounge's couches. On the other side of the lounge were Aqua, Ginga, and Subaru, who waved them over.
"Where's the rest of Sigma Team?" Mai asked.
"Mana's presently on her homeworld with the Eva pilots for a couple of days," Ginga replied, "Asa is on a minor mission with a couple others, and Kaede – Kanade, that is – is with Kōta-san at the moment."
"Hey, girls" Vice greeted as he walked in, Satoshi and Kizuna following behind him. "We heard you've had an interesting couple of weeks without us."
"We've got The Meta on the loose now," Satoshi said, "and that 'Checker' character; I have a feeling we may not have seen the last of her."
"But at least we have some powerful new allies, too" Kizuna chimed in.
"So…" Vice said as he walked up to Teana and Sarah. "What now?"
"We let the higher-ups sort out diplomatic stuff and the fact that we've been revealed to the pony public" Teana replied, not resisting as Sarah pulled her and Vice close. "Those worries are above our pay grade for the moment."
"At least the locals seem open-minded" Vice said as Sarah leaned against him while he put his arm around Teana's waist.
"Yeah" Ginga added as she latched on to Sarah's free arm while Subaru clung to Teana. "It could've been worse, as First Contact scenarios go."
"As the UNSC can attest…" Satoshi said as he sat down in a chair, Shion quickly claiming his lap as her seat.
"Let's just hope the Dark Voice doesn't throw anything really major at us here" Kizuna said from his position in Mai's lap. "This world is so… pristine. I'd hate to see it wrecked by a full-scale daemon horde or something."
Ahsoka, seeing all the snuggling and knowing what would come after, felt a little left out. But then she turned toward one of the doors and saw Nodoka peek in, meet her eyes, give a certain type of smile, and then walk away, and she was alright again.
-SCENE BREAK-
Same Night – 10:35 PM
Tiara/Rich Residence
Golden Tiara let out a sigh as, for the first time in four years, she lay in her own bed. After the battle, tests and a psy-scan had confirmed that her mind had finally, fully reintegrated, and she was cleared to be discharged from the facility. Diamond had literally wept with joy, not leaving her side until she was too tired to stay awake any longer. Now, as Golden snuggled up with her husband for the night, she went to sleep with a smile on her face.
She was back. She was whole again. She was home.
-CHAPTER END-
Next Time: A giant monster, and Scootaloo's troubles