Chapter 7
“Ahem.” Wanderlust blinked his eyes open. Their room was still dark save a few scattered rays of sunlight sneaking their way between the curtains, one of which fell across Allegro’s hooves a few feet in front of him.
The unicorn, still mostly asleep, lifted his head to look at his friend. The earth pony was looking almost giddy for some reason. “Is there something wrong?” He asked groggily.
“Not at all.” Allegro smiled broadly. “In fact, you two seem quite comfortable.” Wanderlust stared blankly for a moment before he was suddenly aware of the fact that Dawnfire was still very much asleep and still very much curled up against him.
“Dawn,” He squeaked, blushing furiously, “now might be a good time to wake up.” The pegasus mumbled something unintelligible and wedged herself closer to Wanderlust. Celestia, why did she pick today to sleep in? He glanced back at Allegro, whose smile was only getting larger. “You would be enjoying this,” The unicorn muttered. “Dawn, wake up.” He gently nudged the pegasus.
“Is it morning already?” She asked, lifting her head. When she saw the grinning earth pony her eyes grew wide and her ears drooped. She glanced once at Wanderlust, then back to Allegro, then jumped to her hooves so quickly that she nearly ended up stepping on the unicorn. “I need a shower.” She blurted hurriedly, retreating to the other room and trying to conceal her beet-red face.
As the door slammed shut Wanderlust rose. His friend was still grinning from ear to ear. “Go ahead, get it out of your system,” He groaned.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve been pushing for this since day one. In fact, I’m very happy for you.”
“You’re enjoying this too much.” Wanderlust replied as he walked across the room to unmask the windows.
“Oh, you have no idea. I’d like to rub it in, but I’m afraid your marefriend would murder me.” As Wanderlust pulled open the curtains and squinted against the light he could hear the other pony struggling not to laugh. “I guess we know who wears the pants in this relationship.” He started cackling as Wanderlust drooped his head and sighed.
“If you keep this up, I might just murder you.” The other pony just laughed harder.
“Come on, Wands.” Allegro gasped between giggles as Wanderlust turned to face him again. “Could you really hurt somepony who looks like this?” He was doing his best to try and look innocent until he burst into laughter again. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He gasped. “It’s just that you spent so long denying it, and getting angry whenever I brought it up, then I wake up to-” He broke down again. Wanderlust glared at him until he finally regained most of his composure. “I mean Celestia, Wands, you two were just so adorable curled up like that.” The smirk re-appeared. “Promise to name the first kid after me, okay?”
“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Wanderlust ordered. “You’ve had your fun, just let it go.”
“Not until you admit I was right.”
“How about I wipe that grin off your face instead?”
“Wands, so violent.” Allegro replied with a mock gasp. “Dawnfire really has been rubbing off on you.” Wanderlust glared at him. “This grin isn’t disappearing. I want you to think of it every time you look at her so you remember that I was right the entire time.”
Three minutes later, Dawnfire finally returned. “What the hell are you two doing?” The two ponies were on the floor and Wanderlust had his forelegs wrapped around Allegro’s throat. They instantly froze and looked at the pegasus. Allegro tried to speak but only managed a gurgle. With a sigh, Dawnfire glared at Wanderlust. “Let him go, Wands. It’s not his fault that he has the sense of humor of a two-year-old.”
The unicorn reluctantly released his grasp. “See, Wands? It’s not my fault,” Allegro said as he sat up, the smile instantly returning to his face.
“Now if you two would stop acting like children, we have things to do.” Dawnfire walked to the corner of the room where they had left their equipment. “With any luck, the shops will be open so we can buy food on our way out.”
*
They’d been walking for three hours when Dawnfire spotted smoke on the horizon. “It’s a good ways anti-spinward of us. We should just ignore it and go around: whoever that is could be hostile.” They were stopped in the middle of the open plains that surrounded Archive. So far the three ponies were alone save for the birds and the wind that blew through the tall grass.
“Or they could be friendly. We could use some information on what we’re walking into.” Wanderlust replied.
“That’s true,” The pegasus conceded reluctantly. “It could be a trap of some sort, though.”
Wanderlust cocked an eyebrow. “Just randomly set for anyone who might be walking by?”
“There are bandits who work that way. If we approach, they could attack us.”
“And accomplish what, exactly?” Wanderlust asked with a gesture towards her weapons. “I think we’re prepared to deal with a few bandits.”
“Still, I’d rather not approach unless we had some way of knowing what we were walking into.” She looked around. “I doubt we’ll find anywhere we could see it without being observed.”
“Dawn,” Allegro had stayed quiet up to this point and when Wanderlust turned at the sound of his voice he saw that the other pony had a hoof to his face. “You have wings. Couldn’t you just fly up and get a better view?”
“Right.” Dawnfire said, looking embarrassed. “I’ll be back in a minute.” With that, she launched into the air.
“I swear she likes flying less than any pegasus I’ve ever met.” Allegro said in amazement as they watched her fly upwards.
“She told us that it attracts too much attention, remember? She kind of has a point, too: you can spot a flying pegasus from a lot farther off than you can spot one on the ground.”
“She’s too paranoid.” The earth pony said disapprovingly. “Try not to let that rub off on you, Wanderlust. It’s not healthy.”
“I’m beginning to think that out here it actually might be. This isn’t Equestria: we don’t have any friends out here, there’s no help coming if we make a mistake, and there are more than a few out here who would kill us just for the fun of it.” Like the unicorn from last night. He suppressed a shudder at the memory of the look in the tan pony’s cold, blue eyes. Almost like he was just looking for an excuse. “Paranoia might be what keeps us alive.”
The earth pony sighed, admitting defeat for the moment. “Remember that we’re trying to mellow her out a little bit, though. Don’t do anything stupid just because it’s what she wants.”
“What makes you think I’d do that?”
“Wands, I’m down here.” The earth pony said dryly.
Wanderlust pulled his eyes off the sky to look at Allegro, blushing furiously. “Sorry. In any case I’m not going to be falling all over myself trying to impress her.”
“Good. The last thing I need is two murderous lunatics on my hooves.”
“She is not a lunatic.” The unicorn growled.
“You don’t deny the murderous part, though; not a good sign.” The two waited in silence until Dawnfire settled roughly to the ground a few feet in front of them. She looked worried.
“You two should see this.”
*
“I don’t know who did this,” Allegro said, “but I’d like a chance to thank them at some point.” The three of them were standing at the edge of a small crater at the bottom of which, crumpled and nearly sheared in half from the impact, was a large dart-shaped aircraft identical to those that had pursued them a few days before with smoke drifting lazily from a circular hole in the top.
“I didn’t think you approved of killing, Allegro.” Dawnfire replied, her eyes on the sky.
“I’m willing to compromise a little when one party is trying to murder us.”
“Don’t get too excited: for all we know they could just be fighting over who gets to claim us.”
“Thanks, Dawn, you always know how to lighten the mood. There’s such a thing as being too paranoid.”
“More from personal experience than paranoia, Allegro.” She replied. “Wands, what are you doing?” The unicorn was gingerly navigating his way down the side of the crater.
“I’m going to see if I can find a way inside.”
“That’s not a good idea,” Dawnfire called after him. “We have no idea what’s in there.”
“We need to know what we’re up against. Just make sure nothing sneaks up behind me and I’ll be fine,” He responded over his shoulder. Just for good measure he drew his weapons, though. Nothing wrong with being careful. The hull of the ship was scratched and pitted beyond the damage caused from the crash, like it had been worn down over a tremendous period of time. He could almost feel the weight of ages on the ship as he advanced.
Wanderlust finally found some sort of hatch near the front of the hull that had been ripped nearly off its hinges. Lying face-down across the threshold was a massive minotaur with a hole burnt clean through its chest. From the smell it had been dead a few days. Inside, the damage was even worse: the floor had been bent severely in many places and was carpeted with shattered glass.
The entire rear section of the ship was inaccessible, blocked by crumpled walls and fallen equipment, so he slowly worked his way forward. In the front of the ship he found what he could only assume was the control room. Cockpit, his mind supplied for him, a relic of his time attached to the ship. Not sure I’ll ever get used to that.
The vast majority of the space inside the room was taken up by two massive metal chairs sloppily bolted to the floor. Slumped across each was the body of a minotaur clad in black body armor adorned with red lances over the right breast. One of them had obviously been killed in the crash: its head had been smashed against the side wall, leaving a spray of blood to mark its passing. The other, however, was pinned in its seat by what looked to be a makeshift control device that had been driven into its chest by the crash. That one’s throat had been torn open by some sort of blade so savagely that its head had nearly been cut off.
Wanderlust took a few minutes to search the bodies, trying to ignore the smell, but whoever had killed them had emptied every last pouch on the armor, leaving nothing of use behind. Wanderlust started to leave, glass crunching under his hooves with every step, but he stopped in the door of the cockpit and looked back to utter a silent prayer that whoever had done this wasn’t his enemy.
*
By the time the ponies approached their destination the flat plains had given way to dry, rolling hills. Finding water had become a challenge, but they had probably brought enough to last. It was early afternoon as the three of them lay in the dust, taking in the distant village. “Dawn, you’re the expert here. What do you think?” Wanderlust asked, not taking his eyes off of the cluster of white domes.
“We can’t go in during the day: they’ll tear us apart, barding or not. We’ll have to do it tonight.”
“What are you talking about?” Allegro asked. The earth pony was clearly baffled, and it took Wanderlust a moment before he figured out why. As he put the pieces together his eyes reflexively flicked to Dawnfire, and his friend made the connection instantly. “You told me,” Allegro said slowly as he rose to his hooves and turned to the pegasus, “That we were sent here to trade with them. That we were going to make a deal for what we needed.”
Oh, no. She didn’t, Wanderlust thought, but the pegasus didn’t try to deny it. “You never would have come with us if you’d known the truth,” Dawnfire replied without so much as a blink, “And we didn’t have time to argue. I’m sorry, but this was the best way.”
“You bitch.” Allegro snarled. Wanderlust watched in shock as the blue pony hit her across the face with his hoof.
It was almost as if Dawnfire’s eyes were burning, but when she spoke her voice was frighteningly calm. “Because I consider you a friend, I’m going to forget that that just happened. But if you ever hit me again-”
“Don’t you dare threaten me,” The earth pony spat before turning to his friend. “Wands, this is wrong. You know it’s wrong. We’ve come close to the line before, but you can’t deny that this crosses it. We need to just walk away.” The look on his face grew almost desperate as the unicorn remained silent. “Wands, these ponies are living in the middle of a desert and you’re planning on stealing their only source of water: you might as well just shoot them, because that’ll be quicker than what you’re thinking.”
“Archive is planning on selling them wa-” Dawnfire began, but Allegro cut her off.
“Stay out of this,” The earth pony snapped at her. “These ponies have lives, they have families. They’re just like you and me. You can’t possibly be serious about going through with this. There are foals down there, Wands. Foals!” He pleaded, “They’ll die if you do this, Wands. They’ll die slow, horrible deaths, and for what? Because we’re too lazy to find another way to get what we need? I know you, Wands. You know this isn’t right. Just walk away. Please.”
There was a long silence as Wanderlust worked up his nerve. “I made up my mind a long time ago, Allegro. I’m sorry, but Equestria comes first, no matter what the cost.”
“No,” Allegro protested, his eyes starting to glisten with tears, “I won’t let you go through with this. I’ll go down there and tell them what you’re planning.”
“Then it’ll come to a fight.” Dawnfire pointed out calmly. “It’ll be us or them, and we’ll take a lot of them with us, but I don’t think that’s a fight we can walk away from. You’d be condemning us to die instead.”
The earth pony’s gazed at the village, and then back at his friend. “Please, Wands.” Was all he could muster.
“I’m sorry, Allegro, but we’re going.”
“Then you’re going without me.” The earth pony replied. “You can do whatever you want, but I’m not going to be a part of this.”
“Fine.” Dawnfire said, turning to leave. “Wands, I think that building at the center of the plaza is the condenser. Our best chance of approaching unseen is between those two buildings at the far side. We should move now if we want to make it before nightfall.”
Wanderlust stayed back for a moment, the helpless, pleading look in his friend’s eyes tearing at him. Finally, he turned to follow the pegasus. When he looked over his shoulder, Allegro was lying in the dust, his face buried in his hooves.
*
“Are you sure that’s it?” Having crept under cover of darkness through the outer sections of the village, the two ponies crouched in the shadow of a small building. Before them, at the center of a plaza paved with white stone, stood their destination.
“How the hell should I know?” Dawnfire hissed back at her companion. He could barely make her out in the darkness: black on black, only her bright mane gave her away. “Do you see any other buildings that look like likely candidates?”
She had a point. The building in the center of the plaza was windowless and square. It had a utilitarian feel to it that clashed with the rounded, flowing architecture of the rest of the village. “No.” The unicorn whispered back.
“Then wait here while I check to see if things are clear. You’ll have to move slowly or your hooves hitting those stones will wake the whole village.” As the pegasus slowly flew into the square, Wanderlust cast a glance to where they had left Allegro. Celestia, I hope he’s okay. Unarmed, alone, at night, in the middle of nowhere. We shouldn’t have left him. The thought was still eating at him when Dawnfire silently motioned for him to follow.
Wanderlust scarcely dared to breathe as he crossed the plaza, gingerly setting his hooves down with every step and wincing at the quiet click they made every time they struck the stone. He didn’t relax until they’d entered the central building and gently eased the door closed behind them.
“So,” Wanderlust whispered, looking at the tower of machinery that occupied the center of the building, “where do we start?”
“You’re the unicorn.” Dawnfire whispered back. “I thought you’d know.” Wanderlust sighed and started to look around.
“I think this is all part of the water condenser,” He said after a minute of searching. “I’ll have to check the top to find what we need. Stay here and make sure nobody bothers us.” He quietly crept up the spiraling stairs until he reached the top. Sitting in the center of the room, stretching from the floor to the ceiling was a strange, pyramidal device made of smooth metal and covered with access hatches.
He started carefully opening hatches one by one, peering through jumbles of wires looking for the part they needed. After a few minutes, Dawnfire’s voice crackled through his earpiece. “Pick it up, Wands. We’ve got trouble.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Just hurry! Shit.” The report of a plasma weapon echoed through the building and Wanderlust started tearing off the hatches. She fired three more times before Wanderlust finally found what they needed. He carefully removed it from its mountings and shoved it into a pouch as he ran for the stairs.
Skidding breathlessly to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, he saw Dawnfire standing in the doorway, shrouded in her barding’s protective fields. “What’s going on?” The unicorn gasped, switching on his own.
“They found out that we’re here, and they’re angry. I’ve been firing shots over their heads, but it won’t keep them back forever.” The pegasus paused to fire again. “We need to get out of here before they work up their courage: if they all charge us I doubt even the barding will save us. I’m going to fire a few more shots, order them out of the way and then we walk out.”
Wanderlust sighed and eased his weapons into the air. A half dozen plasma shots echoed through the village. “We have what we came for. Just let us leave and nobody gets hurt.” She yelled.
“Where are we supposed to get water?” A pony shouted back. There was a rumble of agreement from the rest of the crowd.
“Not my problem. We’re leaving. If anyone gets in our way, they die.” Without turning, she spoke over the radio, “Wands, stay right behind me. You know what to do if things turn ugly.” With that she started walking slowly, her head swiveling constantly from side to side. Wanderlust followed and got his first view of the crowd. Dozens of ponies packed the square and filled the air with an angry buzz.
The crowd parted around them as they moved, but they were becoming more agitated. Wanderlust cringed as the shouts seemed to hit him like physical blows.
“Where are we supposed to find water? You’re killing us!”
“Thieves!”
“You monsters! I have children to think of!”
They were almost out of the village when things finally boiled over. A green unicorn charged them brandishing a pitchfork. Without thinking, Wanderlust gunned him down, sending the pony sprawling face-down in the dust, his fur blackened and smoldering. There were a few scattered screams and the crowd recoiled as a young filly ran forward and knelt next to the body, nuzzling it.
“Don’t look, Wands. Just keep walking and watch the crowd.” Dawnfire ordered through the radio. “I don’t think they’re a threat anymore.” Wanderlust tried to do what she said, but his eyes kept returning to the filly standing in the street next to the dead body of her father, her eyes slowly filling with tears as the realization dawned on her that he would never be getting up. He hoped that Dawnfire couldn’t see him shaking as he walked away.
*
After rejoining Allegro, the three ponies walked silently through the night and made camp in a cluster of rocks at daybreak. Dawnfire fell asleep almost instantly, but the earth pony tossed and turned while Wanderlust lay on his back and stared at the clouds.
“What’s happened to us, Wanderlust?” Allegro’s voice was so quiet that he barely heard it.
“Mostly a lot of walking interspersed with short moments of utter terror. It all kind of runs together.”
“This isn’t a joke. I was watching, Wands. I saw you murder a pony whose only crime was anger at seeing his livelihood stolen. You didn’t even hesitate.”
Wanderlust rolled over to face the other pony. His friend’s back was turned, staring into the distance. “You know what would’ve happened. If I hadn’t done what I did, the rest of them would have rushed us. We’d be dead right now, and what would happen to Equestria then? There are ponies counting on us.” Tell that to his daughter. It took some effort to push that out of his mind.
“What hope does Equestria have if its salvation comes at the hooves of monsters? Look at yourself, Wands. Look at what you’re becoming. Maybe it would have been better if we’d died today: our home doesn’t need heroes like us.”
“You can’t really mean that.” Wanderlust responded. That one had hurt. The filly nuzzling her father’s corpse leapt back into his mind. Maybe he’s right.
“I do. You crossed a line today, Wands.” The earth pony said sorrowfully, rolling to face him. “There’s no going back.”
“What line? This isn’t Equestria. Nobody’s going to save us, nobody’s going to hold our hooves, there is no right or wrong, there’s only what it takes to succeed.” The words were more for himself than for his friend. I’m not a monster. The look in the filly’s bright blue eyes disagreed. “Nobody’s dying because I wasn’t willing to go far enough.”
“Listen to yourself!” His friend cried, “You’re turning into her,” He said with a nod at Dawnfire, still sleeping a few feet away, “and that’s not a good thing. You can argue, you can object, you can rationalize all you want, but wrong is still wrong, Wands.
“I tried. Princesses help me, I tried, but you’ve lost your soul out here. My mistake was letting you bring her along.” Another nod at the pegasus. “I thought it was for the best, that you two might be happy, that we could save her, but she’s past saving. She’s been whispering into your ear this entire time, turning you into whatever the hell you are now. I should’ve seen it sooner.”
“If I’ve made any mistakes, they’re my own,” The unicorn objected, “Leave Dawn out of this.”
“Everything you’ve done, she’s been there urging you on, and I’m just as guilty for not stopping it.” Allegro sighed. “I need to clear my head. I’ll be back by morning. I hope it was worth it, Wands.”
Wanderlust watched his friend walk slowly into the night before settling his head onto his forelegs and staring blankly at one of the rocks. It was a few minutes before he heard Dawnfire’s hoofsteps behind him. “How long were you listening?” He asked without turning.
“I think I managed about five minutes of sleep before he started talking.” She said as she settled to the ground in front of him. “I thought it best to keep quiet until he left. He doesn’t have a very high opinion of me, does he?”
“You lied to him. I honestly can’t say I blame him.”
“It was the only way to get him to come along.”
“That’s not true and you know it,” He objected. “We could’ve won him over.”
“And how long would that have taken, Wands?”
“Too long,” The unicorn admitted. “What if he’s right, though? ”
“You did the right thing today, Wanderlust,” Dawnfire said quietly. “I’m not exactly proud of what we did either, but like you said, there are lives at stake. Get some sleep, Wands.” She stood and gently nuzzled the side of his head as she walked by. “I’ll keep an eye on things.”
Allegro rejoined them the next morning as they were breaking camp. Bedraggled and bleary-eyed, he obviously hadn’t gotten a minute of sleep.
“I was worried you weren’t coming back,” Wanderlust said cautiously.
“I almost didn’t,” The earth pony admitted, “but I think there’s still hope for you. As long as I’m still breathing, I’m not giving up.” The rest of their return to Archive passed in silence.
*
“I’m assuming that you have what I asked for, because your stay will be short, otherwise.” The view from the Chief Archivist’s office in daylight was spectacular. However, with Wanderlust, Allegro and Dawnfire packed in with the Archivist, two guards and a technician of some sort, the elbow room left much to be desired.
With a glance at Dawnfire, Wanderlust removed the part from his pack and started to set it on the Archivist’s desk. “No, give it to him.” The older unicorn snapped, gesturing at the technician. “Why the hell do you think he’s here?” Wanderlust complied and after a moment’s examination the technician withdrew.
“Excellent. While we wait, please have a seat.”
“I trust you haven’t forgotten your half of our agreement?” Dawnfire asked warily as she sat on one of the cushions.
“Of course. You’ll have full access to the archives as soon as we’re certain that the part you’ve returned with is actually functional. I’d rather you stayed here until we’re certain. Trust but verify. I’m sure you understand.”
“Perfectly. How long do you think it will take?”
“Not long. Would you like me to have a servant bring drinks? Maybe some food?” Dawnfire shook her head. “Your loss. Out of curiosity, did you have any trouble obtaining it?”
“None worth speaking of. What will happen to those villagers, by the way?”
“We were planning to make a deal to sell them water, but we’ve decided that it wouldn’t be profitable enough. They’ll probably just move somewhere else.” He said with a dismissive wave of his hoof. “It’s none of our concern, anyway.”
“Monsters.” Allegro muttered.
The Chief Archivist was instantly on his hooves. “I would kindly ask you to keep your servant quiet.”
“He’s not my servant.” Dawnfire responded, then turned to face Allegro. “However, I would recommend that he keep his mouth shut.”
As the older unicorn returned to his seat, something on his desk beeped. After a cursory glance he motioned at the guards. “Everything seems to be working. Please escort them to the archives.” The unicorn spun his chair away to face the window. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.”
*
The archive complex was located just below ground level. Their guards left them without explanation in a massive rectangular room lined with bookshelves. With a shrug, Wanderlust walked towards one and attempted to pull a book off. It wouldn’t move. “They’re fake.” He said. “Just for show, I guess.”
“Try this.” Dawnfire said, pointing at an odd rectangular podium sitting at the end of a shelf running down the center of the room. Upon closer inspection, Wanderlust could see a depression for a hoof on the top. With a deep breath he set his hoof in the appropriate spot and his mind was filled with the all-too-familiar static feeling from the ship as the machines tried to establish a connection.
His vision went black and everything was silent until a calm female voice greeted him. “Hello, welcome to the Triumph facility central archives complex.” The voice seemed to be echoing from every direction at once. “Please state your query.”
Wanderlust hesitated for a moment. “I need information on the command center.” He finally blurted.
“Searching. Please wait.” A brief pause. “Unauthorized intrusion from a foreign entity has been detected. Automated defenses have been overpowered. Collateral damage to databases has corrupted some archive functions: We apologize for any disorientation.”
*
Wanderlust was suddenly assaulted with a flurry of disjointed images and voices. Bits of events flashed through his mind, seconds in length, without any context.
A grand throne room with two ponies, one wearing a crown and flowing robes and the other wearing a white coat. The white-coated one was speaking. “Of course it’s overkill for the stated use, your majesty: that’s not the point. The point is that we’re faced with a problem, one that will require unconventional measures to solve. Triumph is the first step.”
Suddenly the view shifted to a narrow corridor with walls of silver metal. Two ponies wearing matching black uniforms walked side by side. “Is there any particular reason why they look like our gods?” The silver pony on the right asked. With a start, Wanderlust realized it was the same pony he had seen weeks before in his vision.
“Doctor Moon has an odd sense of humor, sir,” The purple pony next to him responded. “Do you disapprove? I wasn’t aware that you were religious.”
“There are those involved in the project who are. Those things are objectionable enough without any added complications.”
“Their existence is necessary for the facility to function efficiently.”
“Unfortunately. They’ve been tested, I assume?”
“Yes, sir. They’ll follow orders absolutely, and they can’t be turned against us.”
Everything went black and the sounds came more frequently. Disjointed, frantic voices assaulted him, one after another.
“Contact on scopes, extreme range. Make that four contacts. Ten. One hundred...oh, gods. Get the Administrator in here now!”
“Three leviathans making a rush on the ring, moving to intercept.”
“Re-target the heavies, we can’t let any slip through.”
“Hostiles are making another push!”
“You don’t understand, sir, we’re already being pushed to the breaking point. If I reassign ships to cover civilian transports, we lose the entire facility!”
“Shit, shit, shit! Echoes just took a hit to the nose. There’s nothing left.”
“Hostiles on the ground! Gods, there are thousands of them!”
“Tinx is overrun, Iniba’s gone, Arrival’s getting pounded with fusion warheads. I’m pulling the defensive line back to Tryn.”
“Admiral, there are too many of them. Most of my ships are dead, half the ones I have left have lost engines, weapons, it’s a miracle that Archon’s still in one piece. I’m down to maybe two hundred fighters and a dozen battle-ready capital ships: the rest might just distract them for a few minutes. I’m sorry, sir, but the next time they push your cover is gone.”
“There are shapeshifters all over the rear areas, dragons are hitting us in force and we’ve got a few million minotaurs coming straight at us. This position is untenable, retreat is cut off. Requesting orbital strike at my position. As many batteries as you can spare.”
“Our last prepared defensive line just collapsed. It’s over, sir.”
Without warning, Wanderlust was looking at a massive, circular, silver-walled room. There were easily two dozen ponies seated at screens set against the walls while the silver pony in his black uniform paced through the middle of the room. Every few seconds a deep crashing noise echoed through the structure. A few of the ponies shuddered at their stations each time, but most seemed to ignore it.
“Emergency command center data recording located. Thank you for your patience.” The sourceless feminine voice chimed in his ear.
“Sir!” One of the ponies along the wall barked. “Tertiary strikecom facility just went dark.”
“Transfer control here.” The silver pony ordered without missing a stride. “Target the compromised facility and fire. Inform groundcom of the hot zone.” A few more steps and another crash. “Shield strength?”
“Still outpacing incoming fire, sir.” Another of the ponies responded.
“Where’s our counter-battery fire?”
“They’re taking a beating from enemy aircraft, sir. Extreme casualties reported.”
“Our own aircraft?”
“Wiped out.” The silver pony just nodded solemnly and continued his pacing.
To Wanderlust’s surprise, Princess Celestia drifted silently from behind a pillar and approached the silver pony. “Administrator, third division reports that they’re being overrun. I estimate that enemy ground forces will reach this facility inside of one hour. Our defenses are not designed to defend against a full-scale ground assault.”
The silver pony sighed deeply and pressed his face into one of his hooves. “That’s it. It’s over,” He said, speaking to himself. He raised his voice and addressed the others, “Initiate the contingency plan: hit the kill switches for the orbital batteries and transfer anything you can to Groundcom: Don’t leave the bastards anything if you can help it. All of you should be proud of what we’ve done here and the example we’ve set.”
He turned to Celestia as the other ponies filed out of the room and retrieved a small metal sphere from his pocket. “It normally chooses its own bearers, but I think that it will follow my wishes this time, given the circumstances. Your sister should already have the counterpart.” He handed over the sphere. “You know what to do, and what I need to do now.”
“Goodbye, Administrator.” She replied, taking the trinket. “If it’s any consolation, I’ll do my best to see that you are remembered as you deserve to be.” With that, she turned and left.
The silver pony walked back to a small pedestal in the center of the room and a small screen appeared in midair in front of him, displaying the face of a yellow mare. “There’s not much time. I’m so sorry, but I’ve done all I can.” His voice was sorrowful and quiet; Wanderlust had to strain to hear. “Take the children and hide as well as you can. Help is coming. I’m not sure how long it will take, but it is coming. I’m so sorry.” His voice cracked. “I love you.” He pressed a hoof to the ghostly screen and it disappeared.
His head drooped and he stood still for several long seconds. “Okay, I’m ready.” He announced to the empty room. Instants later, his horn began to glow brilliantly with a light that soon engulfed his body like flame. The unicorn’s back arched and he screamed. Abruptly, Wanderlust’s view snapped to his face. The sadness and agony had been replaced by anger. “Wanderlust!” The silver unicorn barked. “Break the connection!” He hesitated. “Break the connection!”
*
Wanderlust pulled his hoof away from the archive machine so forcefully that he staggered backwards. His head was still fuzzy with the aftereffects of the connection but he was just barely aware enough to hear Dawnfire scream his name before something hit him in the back of the head and his world went dark.
*
When he awoke, Wanderlust could feel restraints binding his legs. He was being dragged roughly into a building, the interior of which was lit so brightly that he was nearly blinded. From somewhere within that light a voice reached his ears. “Why hello there, my little ponies. It’s been a very, very long time.”
Quick note from the author: I’m not dead! I’m extremely sorry that this chapter took so long. My editor and I were both extremely busy and we just couldn’t find the time for it. I’ll do my very best to make sure that there’s never another update that takes quite this long. I also would like to promise that as long as one person is interesting in reading, I’m going to continue writing. Even if an update does take a while, I promise that I am still working on it and that it will be up as soon as it's ready.