//------------------------------// // Winniepeg // Story: The Abundance // by defender2222 //------------------------------// "When Gotham is ashes, then you have my permission to die" -Bane, The Dark Knight Rises “There it is… Winniepeg,” Shining said, passing the binoculars over to his sister. Twilight looked upon the northern city with interest. Winniepeg was roughly 2 days’ train ride from Canterlot and located on the foot of the Crystal Mountains. One of the oldest cities in Equestria, it had originally been founded as a trading fort on the border of the Crystal Empire. But as the Crystal Ponies and their kingdom had faded from memory Winniepeg had lost much of its significance. Cities such as Manehattan, Los Pegasus, Cloudsdale and Detrot had gained prominence, leaving this once capital of trade behind. It had grown, of course, and anypony coming from Ponyville would have still gasped at its size, but for every citizen it gained other areas gained 30 and for every new house that rose up entire skyscrapers were built in other, more powerful cities. The ponies there were proud, however, and did not look at their town with anything but joy. It was a point of pride that theirs was a city of blended cultures. Ancient buildings stood next to new coffee shops and roads that had been walked upon by Celestia when she was barely a hundred years old were dotted with the latest fashion boutiques. Even the populace was blended. There were plenty of ponies, of course, but also mules, a few hundred minotaurs and, most startling for their warm-weather pony brothers, reindeer. Winniepeg took all these different races and blended them together to create the most accepting of cities. It was rare to find unicorns that married pegasus or earth ponies and vica versa in Equestria, but here such things were not even looked upon with a second glance. There were even prominent families that feature reindeer and ponies raising orphaned mules and minotaurs. Still, with all of this… there was no reason for the high level of guards that patrolled the city limits. “How many do you count?” Twilight asked, passing the binoculars to Spitfire. Pegasi were known for their keen sight and with the aid of the binoculars Spitfire might as well have been standing 3 feet from the nearest squad. “Atleast 10 guarding the southern entrance. They look spread out though,” Spitfire said, flapping her wings. “If I was higher I could get a better look.” “No,” Twilight said softly. “I don’t want them spotting us.” “Why aren’t we just rushing in?” Spike asked. “We could take them Twi.” “Yes, we could,” Twilight said. “But we don’t know what is inside. Maybe this is a trap just to get us inside. Or maybe they have some prison which will call for more fighters if we want to liberate it. Right now our concern isn’t taking out the guards but getting information.” “Think of it like extreme research,” Shining joked. Spike stuck his tongue out. “Every day with Twilight is extreme research.” “Ha ha ha,” Twilight muttered. She closed her eyes, her horn beginning to glow. “I think if I send out a low level white magic burst I can figure out if they are shielding-“ The Doctor tapped her on the shoulder, shaking his head. “Might I suggest a slightly different approach.” Reaching into the pocket of his catsuit (which he was still tickled about… he was wearing a catsuit… like a ninja! He was a pony ninja in a catsuit… fantastic!) he pulled out his trusty sonic screwdriver. “Thank whatever deity you want to thank at this point in time and space that I was able to hold onto this little darling.” He moved the device around in his mouth, waving it at the city. “Now, unless I begin thinking about turning on their waffle makers, I should be able to scan the city and detect any magical security systems,” he mumbled. “Doctor, I hate to ask but… what happened to your box?” Twilight asked. “The Tardis?” The Doctor frowned as he began to sweep his screwdriver in the general direction of the city’s art district. “When the queen invaded Ponyville Derpy and I were caught right in the middle. I tried to get to my Tardis but then the guards snatched Dinky-“ there was a crack and Twilight realized the Doctor had snapped his teeth against his screwdriver. The memory of the abduction was still painful for the Time Lord. “I was forced to pursue and leave the Tardis behind. I had Whistle Wind get his birdies to check for it but they found nothing; I can only assume your friends snatched away my box and carted it off somewhere. It doesn’t matter… if they try to play with it my sexy girl will give them a nasty spanking.” “You do realize you are talking about a box, right?” Spike said. “Boxes don’t have genders.” “Some genders have boxes though,” Spitfire quipped, causing the Doctor to snort. Spike soon followed, after he got the joke, though Twilight and her brother just stared at the three and rolled their eyes. “Alright, we should be good to go. I detected no defensive spells around the city… we should be able to sneak in quite well.” Twilight looked up at the sky, her horn glowing black and her eyes went monochrome “Well then, goggles on everypony… it’s time to kill the lights.” ~MC~MC~MC~ Broad Back frowned, sweeping his flashlight along the ground. Just moment ago he had been doing a routine check of the road when… something… had occurred. He didn’t know what it was or if it was good or ill, but the night had changed and it put him on alert. He considered for a moment sending out a magic flare to signal the other members of his squad but he resisted the urge. He hadn’t spotted anything dangerous and he didn’t want to pull his friends away from their own routes just because he felt like something was off. A small voice in the back of his head (which sounded a bit like Queen Applejack) whispered that he might be acting a bit dishonest, but he dismissed that thought. It wasn’t dishonest to wait before sending up the alarm. Doing so without all the information would only lead to panic and fear; those were the opposite of the harmony he worshiped. Better to gather the facts and come up with a plan before he became the colt who cried wolf. Broad Back swept his flashlight towards some bushes, only to catch sight of a raccoon darting away. He let out a sigh, tilting his head back and laughing at how silly he had acted. The chuckles died in his throat when he looked upon the night sky. The moon was still hanging up there, as it had since time began. The queens had taken over moving the celestial orbs and life had continued on like normal. But now, instead of shining down on him, the moon was darkened like it had been covered in soot. More startling was that not a single star could be seen; the night sky had become a sheet of blackness that stretched out as far as the eye could see. Broad Back felt like he was falling into it and he stumbled, ripping his eyes away. He realized that was the disturbance: the night had gone almost completely pitch black. That’s when the pink orb wrapped itself around his head, cutting off his air supply and sending him crashing to the ground for a not-so-earned rest. “Neat trick,” Spitfire whispered as she helped Spike drag the guard off into the shadows. Shining smiled, the lens of his night vision goggles flashes as he turned his head to address the pegasus. “Everypony just assumes that all I can use that spell for is making big barriers. Nice to show off.” He looked up at the sky and pursed his lips. “Especially when my baby sister can turn on and off the night sky like it is a night light.” “Please don’t ever say those words in the same sentence,” Twilight stated. “What?” “’Turn on’ and ‘night light’. Puts very horrible thoughts into my head.” Spike began to snicker at Twilight’s blushing. The mare rolled her eyes and reached into her saddlebag. She pulled out a scarf, some boots and a winter hat, all done up in a muted blue. The rest of the team did the same, bundling themselves up. The wind off the Crystal Mountains made the city a chilly place even during the fall, which would provide them with a perfect story for why they were decked out in 'winter gear'. The catsuits also resembled the long johns some ponies in the city wore and thus wouldn’t attract too much attention. At the late hour there were few ponies on the streets but there were just enough that the fivesome didn’t stick out. The guards, for their part, didn’t seem all that interested in what was going on and just nodded at any pony that passed. Other than the patrols the group didn’t see any overly saturated ponies, which meant the queens hadn’t began brainwashing and amplifying the public. That was both good news and bad. It made things easier… but also raised many questions. “It looks normal,” Shining whispered. “No new structures or signs of weapons building.” “Everypony looks normal, too,” The Doctor stated. “A rather nice surprise, as I don’t think I could have handled staring at a thousand overly-cheerful grins without coming down with a bad case of body shivers.” “What the hay is going on here?” Spitfire hissed as they passed a darkened toy store, the painted sign in the window stating they would be opened at 10 the next morning. “Why are all the guards here if nothing is going on.” Spike shook his head. “Maybe they are doing something underground… or maybe this is a decoy city to keep us from finding their zombie labs over in Appleloosa!” The baby dragon turned towards Twilight. “What do you think Twi?” The alicorn, however, was no longer focused on the road. She turned her head, staring down an alley, her brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed. “Twiley?” Shining whispered. “Don’t you sense it?” Twilight asked. “Sense what?” “Power… it’s been muted and drained… like an hour glass emptied of all its sand. But it is still there, I can… I can…” Twilight burst into a run, the others letting out yelps before they chased after her. The alicorn of the stars didn’t stop, however; she couldn’t even if she wanted to. Her entire focus was on what lay ahead. She was drawn to it like a moth to the flame and her heart and her head told her to continue on. She was not disappointed. “I am telling you something is wrong!” a voice called out. Twilight skidded to a stop, staring at the small house that stood before her. It was a simple building, pleasant but plain. The lawn was well maintained and a fresh coat of paint clung to the walls but there was no true love put into the grounds. Whoever lived there didn’t do so by choice… they merely dwelt in the walls, nothing more. Upon the porch sat a navy blue pony, who continued to stare at the sky. Her gaze was fixed on the moon and she tugged on her mane every so often. Twilight was startled by the fact that there was no magic within the blue pony’s body; she didn’t have a horn, or wings, or the natural strength and endurance of an earth pony. She was none of them… she was just a pony. Shining nearly slammed into his sister and he was ready to ask her what was going on only to find that the question died on his lips. “That’s why… that’s why they are guarding this place," Shining whispered. “Captain Armor?” The Doctor murmured. “Come back inside!” a new voice called out. “You’ve been staring at the sky for the last two months! Just stop it, please! Stop torturing yourself like this!” From the doorway a white pony with a pink mane stepped out, tapping her hoof against the porch. “I mean it Luna, come-“ “No,” Twilight whispered, stepping onto the two ponies' yard, revealing herself to them. “It can’t be…” The white mare froze, staring at the lavender alicorn, startled by the reversal of roles. “T-Twilight?” The alicorn felt hot tears burn against her cheeks as she stared at the pony that had once meant the world to her. “Princess Celestia…”