3-2 Recap · 6:42pm May 22nd, 2015
Well, the people have spoken! Recap blog posts will continue throughout the final Act. Get the next one below!
*Dramatic deep voice* Previously on IAIMAY
“She’s still way too young, Velvet,” her father said. “She won’t understand.”
“She’s a smart filly,” her mother replied. “If we don’t tell her soon, she’ll probably figure it out herself!”
“I hope not. Honestly, I hope she never finds out…”
Twilight's dream had become more and more frequent ever since their attack on Freelancer Command, but like before, she always seemed to wake up before her father finished speaking. Even when she didn’t, she never remembered what he said.
"What do you want with the Monitor?” Rarity asked, glowering.
“That Monitor has information that will lead me to another Forerunner site!” CT told her as the two stared each other down. “Perhaps you’ve been there? It is on your homeworld, after all!”
Rarity tilted her head. “What?”
“Apparently, there’s some pretty damning evidence against Project Freelancer there.”
Once the room was quiet, Tex's avatar turned to face 636. “Look, we need some information from you. Specifically, we need to know where that Forerunner base is on the pony homeworld.”
636 coughed and bobbed in place. “Ah, yes. These Reclaimers have been asking the same thing. Unfortunately, several of my memory banks have been corrupted over the years. The repopulation facility’s exact location on the homeworld of Species 29 is among the corrupted data.”
“Then just give us the coordinates to the planet itself,” Tex said. “We’ll figure out where to look once we’re back in Equestria. Time is of the essence; we can’t afford to wait around any longer.”
CT looked up at Twilight from where he was sitting. “Connie—the real CT—actually met the princess when Project Freelancer first visited Equestria. She was my mole within the program, you see,” he explained. “She seemed to think that Princess Celestia actually aided the Director in his experiments on Alpha.”
Twilight’s heart stopped. “No… that… that can’t be true! S-she’d never….”
“She’s a politician, Ms. Sparkle. Even the best ones can't be good all the time. Comes with the job. It would greatly surprise me if her collaboration with the Director was the first morally gray road she’s taken.”
Despite how much Twilight wanted to deny it, she simply couldn’t find a hole in the logic he presented. “I-I... Celestia would never lie to me!”
The Leader gave her a knowing look. “Really? So she's already told you everything, then?”
Twilight looked away.
“Be careful, protègè. It’s a dangerous game you’re playing. You can’t trust anybody now.”
Sarge turned away from Grif and adjusted the weight of his shotgun. “Fine. If ya wanna keep playing at commander, I guess I’ll just have to stop the Blues myself!”
Grif folded his arms as Sarge walked towards the others. “If you’re going, don’t even think about coming back! We don’t have room for deserters in my squad!”
Sarge looked over his shoulder. “Good. Any squad with you in command is not one I want to be a part of!”
Tex looked down at Sunny's sleeping form and waved an ethereal hand. Twilight wasn’t sure what Tex did, but all at once Sunny’s spasms subsided.
“Sorry I wasn’... stronger…” with that, the white pony lay still, breathing softly.
“She’s traumatized...” Twilight suddenly realized. A little stab of pain entered her throat as she said it. “She shouldn’t be out here! She needs help! She should be at home with her family!”
Fluttershy tilted her head at Grif inquisitively, “Oh? Do you have a little sister, Grif?”
“Yeah. As a matter of fact, she used to be a lot like you! Loved animals, was shy as dicks…” Grif laughed when he noticed the way Fluttershy looked away with a slightly red face, “she was even uncomfortable with my swearing!”
Grif continued to laugh. It was such a joyful, contagious sound that Fluttershy couldn’t help but join in briefly before silence prevailed between them again.
“So, um… what happened?” Fluttershy asked.
“Hmm?”
“You said... she used to be like me.”
Grif hesitated, “Yeah. Kaikaina is a completely different person now. I really don’t want to talk about it…”
Fluttershy suddenly stepped toward Sister’s still body and tentatively reached for something. It was then Twilight noticed that a pair of metal tags hung from Sister’s neck by a metal chain. It looked just like the ones Sunny wore that belonged to Tex. They must have been what the human military used for identification! Fluttershy lifted the tags in her hoof, and suddenly gave a trembling gasp.
“Oh no…” she whimpered, her voice breaking. “W-what will I do? He’ll be heartbroken…”
Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “Who…?”
Fluttershy turned to Twilight and, with glistening eyes, showed her the blood-stained metal tag.
UNSC
Pvt. Kaikaina Grif.“Alright, what’s going on, Wyoming?” Celestia asked as they stood facing each other in Castle Canterlot's gardens. “Why are all of these troops here?”
“My men and I are going to be taking up residence in your castle for a bit. Make sure you aren’t doing anything the Director doesn’t like,” Wyoming said.
“But… what about…?”
“These men are aware of the risks, and are ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice,” Wyoming’s voice suddenly turned dark. “Of course, the Director is prepared to follow through with his threat regardless of who is still in the castle when it goes up, so don’t get any cheeky ideas while we’re here.”
“Spike! I’m back!” Twilight called out. She waited for the young drake to call back, or to hear the pit-a-pat of his little feet as he ran to greet her, but Twilight didn’t hear anything. “Spike? Hello?”
“He’s in Canterlot,” a cold, serious male voice that was definitely not Spike answered, and a tall figure in gray and yellow powered armor stepped around a corner into view. “A situation came up and Spike is currently stuck there with the princesses. Rest assured, he is safe for the time being.”
“Washington?!” Church and Twilight exclaimed simultaneously.
“Why isn’t Spike here? What’s happening in Canterlot?” Twilight asked.
“That’s what I’m here to explain,” Washington said. “I also have something for you: a message from Princess Celestia.”
