Everyone has an influence on public affairs if he will take the trouble to exert it.
Calvin Coolidge
"So, not that I don't appreciate you looking after these mortals," Discord said, his tone growing more serious. "I am very curious as to what you are doing here, and what it has to do with these little balls of hate, if anything."
With a snap of his fingers, a lasso appeared in Discord's hands, which he promptly threw over his shoulder. With a yank he pulled it back, bringing with it the lone surviving zergling trapped in a giant snowglobe, to which it was clearly displeased with. It let out muffled shrieks and attempted to kick and scratch its way to freedom but to no avail, eventually deciding to lay down and glare at its captor.
Matt eyed the zergling warily. "First off, you're better off killing that thing. For safety's sake if nothing else." And what does he mean by "mortals?"
"Not that I disagree, but I was asked, rather politely I might add, to bring one back alive if at all possible."
"By who? To where?"
"By Princess Celestia, believe it or not. Normally she tells me to not get involved with things, but it seems the events that transpired here convinced her otherwise."
Matt opened his mouth to speak, but Discord cut him off. "Now. To my earlier question?" He rested his lion's paw on top of the snowglobe, tapping a finger impatiently much to the zergling's annoyance.
"Well," Matt croaked with a gulp, suddenly very nervous of how Discord would respond. Grateful as he was for the intervention, he wasn't sure how trustworthy the so-called "Lord of Chaos" could be. "They're called the Zerg. We followed them here. They breached the perimeter of one of our, uh, 'installations' and we were sent to track them down. Unfortunately we're all that's left of our initial force."
"Is that so?" he challenged, raising an eyebrow. "And where might this 'installation' be?"
"Braxis," Matt sighed. "One of our fringe world military outposts." Then, a far-fetched idea formed in his head. If he implied that he's immortal... It's a hell of a gamble, but it might work. "The Protoss used to call it 'Khyrador,' I think."
That got Discord's attention. He stiffened and straightened up, fixing Matt with an unreadable gaze.
"'Khyrador' is a very old name." He bent over until his eyes were inches from Matt's. "A very hated name. Be grateful very few people still know it. If I were you, I'd keep that knowledge to myself."
Whoops. "Got it, sir."
He waved his hand dismissively, saying with some annoyance, "No need for such honorifics with me, Matthew. Now, since you are currently the leading expert on these 'Zerg,' I suspect Ol' Sunbutt will want to speak with you personally."
Matt suppressed his irritation at how familiar he was addressed, occupied by another thought entirely.
"Sunbutt"?
"And as for you, Your Highness, what is your stake in all this?"
It took Matt a moment to realize he was addressing Dorylus.
"The Zerg killed most of my hive, Discord," she said. Matt was impressed at how well she managed to hold herself together as she recalled the event. "My mother included."
To his credit, Discord had the decency to look apologetic. "Ah... Then you must be..."
"Dorylus. Daughter of Queen Formicidae."
"My sincerest condolences then. I regret that I did not know her as well as I'd liked. But still, that doesn't fully answer why you're so... chummy with our dear Sergeant here."
"I met these Terrans not long after we attacked. On behalf of what's left of my hive, we've agreed to an alliance with the Dominion to defeat the Zerg."
"An alliance? With an alien civilization?" Discord turned back to Matt and grinned. "Seems you've been making waves, Matthew. Never thought the changelings, of all things, would be the first to come to Equestria's defense. Tell me, what are your plans going forward?"
"We've been trying to get to Canterlot to speak with the Princesses. I figure the more connections we can make, the better our chances."
Discord hummed as he stroked his goatee and glanced down at the trapped zergling, which was silently glowering at each of them in turn. "Yes," he said finally. "Yes, I think that will work nicely." He clapped his hands and smiled. "You six, and our 'friend' here, are coming with me to Canterlot. Is there anything you need to do before we leave?"
Dorylus gulped nervously and said, "If you don't mind, I need to inform my changelings of what's going on." She turned and walked towards the south side of town where her hive was posted, but not before whispering, "We'll talk later," to Matt as she passed. He watched her leave for a moment, feeling a troubling combination of emotions.
Has she always swung her hips like that? Matt's heart skipped a beat as the thought crossed his mind. What the hell am I thinking!? Have I finally lost it?
Matt glanced over at the other troopers, who'd been recuperating nearby and watching in silence. As he made eye contact with Stuart, the Corporal pointed discreetly in Dorylus' direction and flashed the "okay" sign with his fingers whilst grinning like an idiot. Matt's face flushed red as he flipped him off.
"Just to police call the area and make sure we've got all our equipment together. Other than that, Appleloosa was supposed to have a garrison of guards on their way. Don't suppose you know where they are?"
Discord gave him a knowing smile, recognizing Matt's redirection for what it was. Thankfully, he didn't comment on it. Instead he snapped his fingers again, and all their rucks, spent power cells, grenade cases, and the discarded RecR appeared in a neatly organized pile next to the snowglobed zergling. It hissed angrily at the sight of the large weapon.
"As for the guards, I happened to pass them on the way here. In fact, I believe that's them landing now." Matt turned his head as Discord pointed behind him.
Coming in for a landing was, to Matt's surprise, an entire squadron of flying golden chariots. Each was pulled by a pair of white... Pegasi? and escorted by an additional three or four flying alongside. Seated in the back of each were two to four dark gray unicorns. Each and every one of them was garbed in gleaming golden plate armor.
Yeesh, I haven't seen this much gold since I deployed with the Protoss...
As they landed in the middle of the main street, the unicorns disembarked and their pegasi parked their chariots like it was a motor pool. They unloaded a wide variety of medieval-looking weapons. The pegasi carried spears and lances while the unicorns had what looked like simplified versions of Dorylus' glaives. Once completed, they all gathered in a rank and file formation a hundred strong. A single pegasi guard with a blue plume like a Roman officer stood at the front, inspecting his troops.
"Now, is that satisfactory?" Discord asked.
"Not sure how well they'll do against the Zerg if they come in force," Matt sighed. "But it'll have to do for now." He stayed and looked across the town for a few moments, then - with an embarassed cough - asked, "I, uh, dont suppose you can do anything about the broken windows? Those may or may not have been our fault..."
Discord barked a single laugh and snapped again. Each shattered window was instantly repaired, but rather than being reverted to normal each shard turned a different color. The result was each window being a chaotic kaleidoscope of color.
"If there's one aesthetic choice Celestia and I do agree on, is that stained glass is the best glass," he explained.
Well, the locals might not like it, but I got what I asked for... Better be careful about asking him for help in the future though; this dude is like a talking monkey's paw.
"Right... That'll work. Well, as soon as Dory gets back, we should be good to go."
Matt waved his arms at the other troopers, motioning for them to gather around. While they waited, they stuffed the spent cases and cells into pouches on their rucks and replenishing the empty spaces on their web gear with fresh ones. Matt eyed the expended ammunition and frowned.
He turned to Stuart. "We haven't used much so far, but if this keeps up we might run out before we can resupply."
Stuart nodded. "Wouldn't be a bad idea to look into alternatives sooner rather than later."
"Or see if we can rig some kind of charging station." Matt rubbed his temples. "Either way, I doubt we'll be able to handle that here. Might as well at least wait to get to the capitol first."
"If nothing else," Stuart added, "They'll have more resources to work with there."
Matt checked his watch. She's taking an awful long time... He was about to go look for her when she trotted up to them, walking right in front of the formation of guards. To his amusement, the entire formation followed her with their heads, dumbfounded by the changeling queen casually walking right in front of them. Matt tensed involuntarily when the officer barked at them to straighten up like a drill sergeant.
"All good?" Matt asked as she rejoined them.
"Yes. For the time being, they'll be staying here to help the town. They've already made connections here, and it seems the ponies and buffalo are willing to let them stay."
"Ah..." Matt said, a little disappointed that they wouldn't be picking up any new help. "That's... good? At least now you know they'll stay well fed."
"Still leaves me wondering how I'm going to get by though." Matt thought he saw a ghost of a smirk on her face for a moment.
Apparently, so did Stuart as he placed an elbow on his shoulder and leaned on him. "Hey, play your cards right and you'll be set for- oof!" Matt elbowed him in the ribs. "... Party pooper..."
"We're ready to go, Discord. Is there a train on the way, or...?"
Discord laughed maniacally and said, "Oh, dear, no. Nothing so mundane."
Instead, he wrapped his tail around the snowglobe and flew up into the air. Putting on a blue and white striped hat, he swooped down and scooped up all six of them, tucking them all under his arms.
"Next stop: Canterlot!" he shouted.
As Discord's body coiled like a spring, a jolt of terror shot through Matt.
"Wait. Waitwaitwait- FUUUUUCK!"
Then they shot off like a cannon.
A veritable horde of reporters swarmed the throne room. Word from Appleloosa had evidently leaked out. Granted, Celestia wasn't overly surprised. It was to be expected that the town's beleaguered residents would attempt to communicate with their friends and families about what had been transpiring in the frontier town.
The telegrams that had been coming in since last night were... unsettling. To her astonishment, not only were they under siege by horrific monsters, but a small band of uniformed beings identifying themselves as "Terrans" had seemingly come to their rescue before the Royal guard - or Discord, for that matter - could arrive.
What she heard about them spooked her almost as much as the monsters. They claimed to have been at war with the creatures - what they referred to as 'Zerg' - for decades, that they belonged to a galactic empire, and that the world was currently on the brink of annihilation. Chillingly, they'd also expressed a desire to speak with her. What's more, they arrived in the company of a changeling queen she didn't recognize and wielded devastating weaponry with ruthlessly efficient tactics. Celestia considered herself lucky that only the Sheriff had apparently been privy to the Terrans' words. The amount of panic that would ensue at the revelation of their claims would grind Equestria to a halt.
The journalists, on the other hoof, were another story.
"According to several of my sources," said a unicorn mare with a press badge cutie mark. "These so-called 'Terrans' apparently possess extremely advanced weaponry. Not that I or anypony else is ungrateful for their help, or that their weapons made a difference, but can we really trust anypony who has devoted so much effort to advancing that kind of technology?"
That is actually a good question, and one I've been wondering myself. "While I share in your concerns, my little pony, I think for now the most prudent course of action would be to humor them. As yet, they've shown no sign of hostilities to Equestria, and have asked for little more than food and lodging in exchange for their help."
"To that note, Your Highness, they did also arrive with a changeling queen, who, by her own admission, is unaffiliated with King Thorax. Even if the Terrans prove trustworthy, can the same be said for the company they keep?"
"By her own admission," Celestia said, trying to recall her speech mentioned in one of Sheriff Silverstar's updates, "Her hive was destroyed by the same creatures that attacked Appleloosa, where they lost their former queen. For now I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, but will refrain from any agreements until we get more information."
"Thank you, your highness. That will be all."
The reporter bowed and stepped aside for another journalist to take her place, this time a pegasus stallion wearing a fedora with a tag labelled "press" stuck in it like a feather. He bowed politely as he stepped forward.
He cleared his throat and introduced himself apprehensively, "Thank you Your Highness. Deep Look from the Canterlot Times. If you'll pardon the strange question..." He hesitated, but Celestia motioned for him to continue. "At the risk of sounding like a, well, crackpot conspiracy theorist, some ponies have - some more reasonably than others - theorized that both the creatures that attacked Appleloosa and the ones that came to its defense, may be... extra-equistrial in nature. Could you provide any insight on those claims?"
Fighting to suppress a laugh, Celestia said, "You mean aliens, Mr Deep Look?"
Deep Look, seemingly aware of the question's absurdity, let a small smile crack on his face as he confirmed it. "Given that the creatures are vastly different from any lifeforms currently known to science, from appearance to temperament, and that the 'Terrans' possess technology reserved only for science fiction, ponies have been wondering where they could have come from."
Silverstar said they explicitly stated they were, but I'm not so sure disclosing that is such a good idea. I'm still not sure I believe it myself.
"While I believe the question as to the creature's origins is a matter of concern, so far there has been no evidence to support the claim of them being aliens." She saw the journalist open his mouth to speak, so she added on, "However, I am not ruling it out entirely."
"Thank you, Your Highness. One more question, if I may?"
"Proceed."
"Since they both seem to have suddenly appeared at approximately the same time and place, is it possible that their arrivals are related?"
Celestia was about to answer, but paused. Correlation does not imply causation, but it is indeed quite the coincidence. If Sheriff Silverstar's report is true, then they must be deliberately fighting each other. But why here?
She took a deep breath and carefully answered, "Based on what we know so far, I believe it is a very likely possibility. What exactly their relation is is currently known only to them, but from what we have seen it is clear that the two are in opposition to each other."
If Deep Look was dissatisfied with the answer, he didn't express it. He jotted her answer down on a notepad and stepped aside with a bow. Before the next reporter could step forward, the attention of all present in the throne room was grabbed by the distinct sound of...
A train horn?
Celestia braced herself mentally, fully aware of what was coming. The towering throne room door burst open as Discord rocketed in wearing a train conductor's hat. Clutched under his arms were six dark figures, and held in his tail was an enormous snowglobe.
"Princess!" He cried excitedly As he flew through the doors. "I have returned!" Before he even came to a stop, he released everything in his arms - and tail - and allowed them to tumble forward on the red carpet.
Celestia stared, shocked as she watched the figures. The snowglobe rolled all the way to the steps before the throne, it's interior completely obscured by the fake snow. Of the six, one was very clearly a changeling queen she didn't recognize, but bore a familiar resemblance she couldn't place.
The other five were what held her attention though, as did they all the reporters. Even without standing, it was clear to Celestia that they were bipedal, with a body structure more like a tall ape than a diamond dog or minotaur. They were dressed in uniform black and red armor smeared with dust and grime and wearing masked, tortoise-shell shaped helmets that obscured their heads and faces. Slung across their shoulders were peculiar long, boxy devices, and strapped to their armor were various pouches and tools.
The two that landed nearest Discord when he finally came to a stop went sprawling unceremoniously, much to her concern. The next two fell and stumbled, but managed to recover somewhat albeit with some difficulty. The changeling queen and last of the odd creatures landed closest to the throne, just behind the snowglobe. Spreading her dragonfly-like wings to act as airbrakes, the changeling gradually slid to a halt on ber hooves, while the armored creature expertly broke its fall with a roll where it came to a stop on one knee.
Then, to everypony's shock, they spoke.
"A little warning would have been nice..." grumbled the nearest of the creatures as it straightened itself up, rising to its full height.
"I think I'd rather have taken the train," the changeling agreed, rather grumpily.
The two behind them staggered to their feet. One, an absolute giant the size of a minotaur bodybuilder, clutched its lower back as it leaned backwards. Its shorter counterpart leaned forward, bracing its hands on its knees.
"Suka blyat, I'm getting too old for this kind of thing," the giant groaned, as if from a bad back.
Sounding sick, the smaller one croaked, "That was worse than when Booker drove the D-Back..."
Of the two that had gone sprawling, one popped up to its feet laughing, "That was fucking awesome!" It reached up to high-five Discord, who happily obliged.
The last one retched violently on all fours.
"John!" Shouted the first one with an air of authority, pointing at the sick figure. "Take care of him!"
"John" looked momentarily at their leader, then gave a thumbs-up, saying, "Roger, sar'nt!" and dashed to his comrade.
As the six collected themselves, Celestia drew her attention to the inexplicable snowglobe. She watched as the snow settled on the bottom and squinted. It might have been a trick of the light, but she could have sworn something was moving under the white powder.
Then she recoiled, biting back a yelp as a reptilian form burst from within. Thankfully, the glass of the snowglobe kept it contained, and gave Celestia a perfect view of the pony-sized creature.
It was covered in a ruddy brown carapace with a pair of two-clawed, kangaroo-like legs. Its shorter front legs ended in taloned paws, and protruding from its back were a third pair of appendages, each with three massive, wickedly curved claws. A thick, tapering tail like a dragon's with two rows of spines protruded from its backside. Its large head had wide, lipless jaws that revealed row upon row of sharp, pointed teeth. On either side of its jaws were a pair of forward swept horns, and two glowing yellow eyes with slitted pupils blazed with malice as they glared at Celestia.
Well. He actually did take one alive.
Never. Again, Matt thought as he got his bearings. As if the flight hadn't been bad enough, Discord wasn't particularly gentle with the dismount. Matt and Dorylus stuck the landing fairly well, but he still felt his gorge rise in sympathy as he heard the sounds coming from Mike.
He examined his surroundings. Discord had apparently deposited them in a grand, marble throne room the likes of which he'd only ever seen in fantasy. A high ceiling with gothic arches led down to tall, narrow stained-glass windows, depicting fantastical scenes that covered the walls. He stood on a bright red, velvet carpet that ran down the length of the room, leading up a short staircase. At the top of which was a regal, golden throne, with a white pony far larger than any of the others he'd seen sitting atop it.
Surprisingly, it possessed both wings and a long, lance-like horn, a trait shared with no others aside from the changelings. It wore ornate golden horseshoes, necklace and tiara atop its head. Its billowing mane and tail were the colors of an aurora, and flowed as if an ethereal wind passed through them. On its flank was the image of a yellow sun with orange corona.
Ah. "Sunbutt." This must be Princess Celestia. Better not say that out loud...
With another quick glance around, Matt saw a cluster of normal ponies gathered off to the side of the throne room. With their notepads and badges, he decided that they were reporters of some kind. They must have interrupted a press conference of sorts. A sour taste filled Matt's mouth as he eyed them; Mar Sarans had never looked fondly on newscaster types.
Don't mean Kate Lockwell ain't a helluva milf though, Matt thought as he recalled his childhood crush.
He quickly noticed, however, that none of the ponies' attention was on the Terrans. Rather, they were transfixed by the captive zergling, whose snowglobe had come to rest at the foot of the throne's stairs. Even the Princess' magenta eyes were staring as it glared and snarled at her.
Growing impatient, he walked up to the snowglobe and jabbed it with the muzzle of his laser rifle with a loud tink, tink! When the zergling whirled around to face him, Matt used his first two fingers to gesture at his eyes, then the zergling's. Then he pointed down at his laser and made an exaggerated slashing motion across his throat.
Oddly, the zergling followed his gestures with its eyes. In defiance of everything Matt knew about their intelligence, it ceased its guttural growling before curling up on the fake snow, resting its head on its paws. Wrapping its spiny tail around itself, it let out an irritated snort. If it hadn't just tried to kill him, he'd have thought its pouting was oddly adorable.
Hoping his translation spell was still working, he cleared his throat and spoke.
"Princess Celestia, I presume?"
She looked up from the now demure zergling and locked her gaze on him, as did the reporters who scribbled in their notebooks with feverish intensity.
Despite the violent creature resting mere meters from her, her voice was regal and controlled. "Ahem. Yes. I beg your pardon, but you have me at a disadvantage, mister... ?"
Getting real fucking tired of introducing myself. "Sergeant Matthew Hobbes, Terran Dominion Marine Corps. This is Queen Dorylus of the High Desert Changelings."
Dorylus dipped her head slightly. Matt noticed she did so rather stiffly and with a stern look in her eyes. He wondered at it, thinking, They don't know each other, do they?
Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow, intrigued or skeptical, Matt wasn't sure. "I see. I take it you must be these 'Terrans' who helped defend Appleloosa."
"Helped"? That place would be a ghost town if it weren't for us!
"That would be us... I take it Sheriff Silverstar sent word ahead of us?"
"He informed us of your arrival, and your involvement in fending the creatures off." A troubled look flashed on her face for a brief moment as she looked towards the ceiling. "He also mentioned that you are familiar with these creatures," she continued, gesturing at the zergling with a hoof. It growled softly in protest of the attention.
"That we do. They're called 'Zerg,' and these little guys," Matt said as he nudged the snowglobe with his boot, eliciting a surprised squeak from within, "Are zerglings. Smallest of the combat strains."
"I see. And what exactly are you, and the 'Zerg,' doing here?"
Matt took a deep breath. Here's hoping the elevator pitch works. "My fellow marines and I were part of a security detachment posted on one of our fringe worlds. While there, we received reports that the Zerg had landed within our perimeter and we were sent on a seek and destroy mission. When we found them, they'd uncovered an old warp gate buried under the ice sheet and what we believe is their leader. Before we could kill them, they brought the ice sheet down on our heads and killed all but the five of us and cut off our escape route, and also went through the gate. We were ordered to follow them through and continue our mission, and so far it's led us to Queen Dorylus and Appleloosa."
The reporters wrote, the scratching of their pencils almost deafening. Princess Celestia maintained ber composure, eyeing the Terrans sternly. Discord slinked over and whispered something in her ear. Her eyes shot wide, then narrowed menacingly. She stood up and approached Matt, looking him dead in the eyes. He'd grown used to the locals all being shorter than him, so being at eye level with the Princess caused his breath to catch momentarily.
"Sergeant Hobbes," she said, nearly growling. "Let me make one thing clear to you. We do not wish to be involved in your battles. But, in light of your recent actions, I owe it to you to at least hear you out." Turning to the reporters, she said, "As of right now, these Terrans are to be considered dignitaries of a foreign nation. Much as I would like to continue answering your questions, the Sergeant and I have much to discuss, don't we?"
Matt shuddered at how much she sounded like his mother when she was angry and gulped nervously. "That we do, ma'am."