//------------------------------// // July 6th, 2559 // Story: Voidrunner // by The DM //------------------------------// //Begin Personal Log // //July 6th, 2559 // //19:29 Local Time Six days. All I need to do is hold for six days. Then, Admiral Reynolds will show up with the seventh fleet and put this conflict down for good. Should be easy. Should be. However, with every passing hour, that goal seems more and more difficult. Allow me to explain... We interviewed Hawthorne today, the captured Gryphon courrier. He was surprisingly cooperative. I didn’t really need to rely on scare tactics to get him to talk. It was a nice change of pace having someone just willingly spill all their secrets. Hell, he even encouraged us to go through his bags to look at the various missives and other communication between King Varen and various field commanders. While they do have radio communications, they are nowhere near secure. So sending messages through couriers is a good way to make sure the contents of those transcripts stay secret... until said courrier is captured. Oh well, his loss. But anyway, the reports we received yesterday that suggested an attack on another major city turned out to be true. In fact, every city named on the list is going to be attacked in the next few days. Though all that pales in comparison to a piece of intel we gathered from Hawthorne. Turns out that Varen intends to march on the Crystal Empire, going after some powerful magical artifact known as the Crystal Heart. So now we really have something to worry about. //End Log Daniel sat with Spotlight in their usual interrogation room. This time with Hawthorne, the gryphon courrier, on the other side of the table. The Captain let loose a relaxed sigh as he calmly laid out a pad of paper and a pen, along with his usual datapad to record the audio of the interrogation. “So, Hawthorne, we picked you up carrying quite a few documents from King Varen. Mind telling us what was in them?” The Captain asked calmly. “They were orders to the regional field marshals. Specifying targets in Fillydelphia, Vanhoover, Trotterdam, as well as the Crystal Empire,” the young gryphon replied nervously. Daniel’s eyes went wide at the last target. “Woah, woah, woah. The Crystal Empire? Why?” “Varen wants the Crystal Heart,” Hawthorne replied. Spotlight then leaned forward with an inquisitive gaze. “Why would he want the crystal heart? It’s used to keep beings of darkness at bay, and can only be utilized by the crystal ponies.” The gryphon nodded. “He knows that. The king has no intention of actually use it, he want it for it’s immense magical power. While the king can’t use its magical abilities, he can always break it and unleash all the power within.” The changeling’s jaw dropped at the realization. Daniel looked to Spotlight with concern. “And I take it that’s bad?” Spotlight nodded. “Smashing the Crystal Heart would be the equivalent of setting off a twenty megaton nuke. Anything caught in the blast would be vaporized, and unlike a normal explosion, it wouldn’t be slowed by solid objects. if he used it on Canterlot, he could make the whole mountain disappear in an instant.” “...Shit.” Daniel muttered as he looked at Hawthorne suspiciously. “Why are you telling us all this?” “Because... I have no love for the king. That, and you seem like the only person capable of bringing him down.” The human blinked at this revelation. “Ummm... what?” Hawthorne chuckled. “Did you think that every gryphon supported Varens crusade?” “Well... kinda.” “Not even close. For the past two months gryphons have been fleeing cities in droves. Many heading to neighboring countries. Entire cities lay empty as their occupants try to escape the coming onslaught,” Hawthorne calmly replied. “So, gryphons have been evacuating in mass droves... Sounds like Varen’s support base is crumbling,” Spotlight mused. “Indeed. Those that defy him, and stay, are conscripted into the army. A sadly large portion of his army is made of conscripts. Most of the actual warriors are held in reserve,” Hawthorne announced with a shrug. “So by telling us everything, it’s your way of getting back at him?” The human asked with a smirk. “Pretty much. I would have come to you myself, but I was afraid Varen would send assassins after me before I could reach you. So imagine my joy when your troops came and picked me up,” the gryphon laughed as he leaned back in his chair. “Interesting. Do you know when he plans on attacking the various targets?” Spotlight asked as he picked up a pen in his magical grasp. “The seventh of this month. I’m not sure what today is, so I can’t tell you how many days,” the gryphon said anxiously. Daniel sighed as he looked over his shoulder at the one way window. “The seventh is tomorrow.” “The king is intent on capturing and subjugating the population. He will use a large force to try and scare the ponies into surrender. As long as there isn’t a big fight, he will spare their lives,” Hawthorne said with a shake of his head. “Yeah, well we can’t let him just have the Crystal Empire. Thank you Hawthorne. You have been quite helpful,” Daniel said as he stood up and picked up his datapad. As he and Spotlight exited the interrogation room, Princess Luna and Captain Silverlight were waiting in the hallway. “Well, that was easy,” Silverlight chuckled. “Yes, but can we be sure he was being truthful?” Luna asked as she looked at the door. Spotlight quickly nodded. “He was. If anything, he felt relieved to be talking to us; excited almost.” “So he really does want to help us?” Silverlight asked the changeling. “Quite badly. Whenever he mentioned Varen, he let out a little spike of hate. So I can also believe that there would be many who others would oppose him,” Spotlight replied with a nod. “I suppose so. It’s nice to know that there are those who don’t support this stupid war,” the Solar Captain said with a sigh. “Indeed. Just remember, the sins of the few do not pass to the many. Not all gryphons are evil killers,” Daniel cautioned. Silverlight sighed and nodded. “I know, it’s... just, hard.” Captain Ryan patted Silverlight on the shoulder. “C’mon, we got a lot of work to do before the fleet gets here.” “Right, like securing the Crystal Heart,” Luna said as the group walked up the stairs to the castle proper. “Exactly. We should get a warning to Shining Armor and Princess Cadance as soon as possible. They need to know what’s coming,” Daniel said as he typed notes on his datapad. “And I’ll send word to the local garrisons and inform them of what’s coming. That might give them a chance to evacuate the civilians,” Silverlight commented as they continued to walk. “Sounds good. I’ll relay all this back to ONI and the Grafton. Captain Daviston will need to hear this as well. I would recommend putting Canterlot on high alert. I can’t imagine the gryphons would conquer surrounding cities without taking a swing or two at us,” Daniel replied as he put away his datapad. “Maybe they wanna cut off supply lines. Starve the city out and make them more open to the idea of total surrender?” Spotlight asked. Daniel shook his head. “I doubt the gryphons are that patient. Everything we have seen points to them wanting to go on the offensive. They are tired of us and will want to kill us all quickly. Waiting for starvation could take months, all very valuable time that we could use to fight back.” “Still, we should be ready for anything,” Luna announced as she opened the doors to the throne room. “Six days. We just need to defend for six days. Then Admiral Reynolds will rain hellfire from orbit. it is truly a beautiful sight, seeing thousands of troops raining down from space,” the Captain said with a chuckle. ~~~ King Varen gazed at the report on his desk with absolute fury. Two of his largest fortresses had been reduced to ash and rubble without so much as a warning. The only thing that suggested something had happened, was the giant fireball seen the previous night. Scouts had returned that morning and informed him that both strongholds had been obliterated. There were no survivors or witnesses from either forts. The only reports had come from traders passing over the mountain range. As such, he had no idea of the size of the force, or even who was responsible for such an attack. Though the King had his suspicions. The ponies lacked the know-how, or the will, to make and use a weapon capable of such destruction. Nor could the deer be responsible, seeing as how they were busy trying to hold his armies at bay. The only logical conclusion was that the humans were somehow behind the attack. Though the thought of humans having a weapon capable of such destruction made the king uneasy. The large gryphon shook with anger as he threw the scroll across the room, nearly hitting a messenger entering the room. “What do you want!?” the King snapped. “Apologies, sire. But General Galerun has asked to see you. He said he has a solution to the human problem,” the messenger replied nervously. Varen’s eyes went wide as a smile crept across his face. “Did he now? Well then, it seems something good has come of this day.” The king quickly got up from his chair and strode passed the messenger. He quickly made his way down to the northern workshops of his fortress in Alba Regia, the new name of his capital city. Varen didn’t bother knocking before entering the room. Before him was a large machine and a single large cloud floating near the ceiling. There were a few gryphons scattered around the room, as well as a large red dragon. “General Galerun, you said you have a solution?” the King asked as he looked at the machine. “Yes, sire. But first, allow me to introduce Galwrog. It was with his help that I was able to create this machine,” the General said eagerly. “This looks like a pony cloud making machine,” the King mused as he continued to look at the large machine. “That’s because it is. Taken directly from the weather factory in Cloudsdale,” Galwrog said with a chuckle. “I see, and how is a cloud machine going to kill the humans?” The King asked with a hint of disbelief. “Simple. General, will you please demonstrate?” The dragon instructed. A nearby gryphon flew up to the lingering cloud and moved around inside the cloud, to no effect. Then the gryphon flew down and picked up a piece of scrap metal. With a heave, the gryphon threw the piece of metal into the cloud. As soon as the metal came in contact with the cloud, it flashed red and vaporized the metal before vanishing. The King’s eyes went wide with surprise as both cloud and metal disappeared. Galwrog simply began chuckling at the King’s surprise. “H-how?” The King stammered. “Simple, the machine is infused with dragons breath. Specifically, mine. The clouds it produces are perfectly safe if you were to touch it. But once it comes into contact with anything metallic...” the large dragon said with a smile. Varen couldn’t help but feel impressed by the display. “And you think that this will be enough to take down the human ship?” Galwrog laughed. “Of course, this is magical dragon fire. As soon as that ship touches one of these innocent looking clouds, it will have a ten foot hole in its side.” Varen slowly paced around the machine, taking in every little detail. “Could we mount this on an airship?” The dragon shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”   King Varen smiled as he chuckled. “General, have this fantastic machine loaded onto your fastest airship. I want a minefield of these clouds placed around the Crystal Empire. That way if the humans show up, they will only meet a swift demise.” “It shall be done, sire,” the General said with a bow. With that taken care of, the King turned back to Galwrog. “I’m curious, why are you helping us? What’s in it for you?” Galwrog laughed. “Simple, I was promised gold.” The King shared the dragon’s laugh. “And gold you shall have. Especially if this machine manages to kill the humans.” “Trust me. They’ll never see it coming,” Galwrog said with a sly grin. The King left the workshop with a smile on his face. Finally, something he could use to fight the humans with. As the King strode through the halls of his fortress, he couldn’t help but feel a bit excited. He had a clear and decisive plan to beat the Equestrians, and their human allies, in a single blow. The deer would fall even faster once the ponies were under his control. Then, there would be nothing stopping him from surging out and taking the surrounding nations. Never had the dream of world conquest been so close at hand. ~~~ The sun gently shone through the curtains of Celestia’s room, gently bringing her out of her slumber. The Princess took a deep breath as she opened her eyes. To her continuing surprise, nothing about this hospital felt like a hospital. The way it looked, felt, and even smelled betrayed the fact that it was, in fact, a high end hospital. Only ten days ago, she was brought here on the verge of death. Now, though, she was ready for the next step in her recovery: physical therapy. She still felt weak and couldn’t use magic for any length of time. Basic levitation was the extent of her abilities, and even then, only for a very short time. Celestia sighed as she shifted in her bed. The various IVs and wires connecting to her had since been removed, allowing her to rest more comfortably. While she was grateful for the time to just rest and relax, she wanted to at least get up and walk around. Her thought process was soon interrupted as Neume entered the room with a breakfast tray in her magical grasp. “Morning, Princess,” the changeling quietly greeted as she closed the door behind her. Celestia gave a single chuckle as she scribbled out a note “I’ve told you, you can just call me Celestia. We’re not in Equestria right now.” A smile crossed Neume’s muzzle as she set the tray down on a side table. “Right. Doctor Optikanner has you scheduled to begin basic physical therapy this afternoon.” Celestia perked up at this and quickly began to write. “Finally, it will be such a relief to get out of bed.” The changeling let out a small chuckle as she sat down on a couch across from the bed. “I can imagine. Being stuck in a bed for even a few days would probably drive me crazy.” Celestia nodded and continued to write. “Luckily I haven’t had much energy to become bored. Spending most of the day sleeping was at least keeping me sane. Though now I just want to get up and actually move.” Neume nodded as Celestia ate the breakfast provided. It was definitely not what she would expect to be eating in a hospital. When she thought of hospital food, she thought of cold sandwiches and jell-o cups. So every morning when she received a bowl of hot cereal, fresh fruit, a sweet roll, and a glass of orange juice, she had to remind herself she was actually in a hospital and not on a vacation. As she finished her meal, she scribbled out another note for Neume. “Have you heard anything from Equestria?” Neume shook her head. “No, I haven’t heard anything. Though I’m sure the Director would be able to tell you more.” The Princess nodded as she set her breakfast tray back on the side table. “Did the Doctor say what time he would be coming by?” The changeling nodded. “Yeah, he said it would be around one. Do you want me to grab you a book until then?” Celestia shook her head. “I have a few that I still want to get through.” “Alright, I’ll be back around one. Have a nice morning,” the changeling said as she picked up the empty tray and left. With a smile, Celestia picked up the datapad and opened the last book she was reading. While the title Learning English For Dummies might have been a bit mean for an educational book, it was incredibly helpful. For the past few days, Celestia had been trying to grip the basics of the English language.   It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy having Neume around, she really did like the changeling, she just wanted to be able to better interact with the humans. While she couldn’t easily practice speaking the language, she could certainly practice writing it. After a few hours of practicing the new language, Doctor Optikanner and Neume entered the room. “Hello, Princess. How are you doing today?” The Doctor asked as he pulled out his own datapad and began taking notes. Celestia picked up her usual notepad and began to write. Neume watched what the solar Princess was writing, only to look at the page in confusion. “I... I’m not sure what this says...” the changeling stammered. Doctor Optikanner walked over and looked at the paper. “I am feel good.” The human began to chuckle. “Wow, how long have you been practicing this?” “3 day,” the Princess wrote as she cracked a slight grin. “Impressive. The fact that you can even write after only three days is outstanding. Good to see your mind is still sharp. Now,” the Doctor said as he pulled up her file, “I want to get you started on light physical therapy as soon as you are feeling up to it.” Celestia nodded eagerly. “Great. Let’s see how you are doing first. Try and stand up,” the Doctor said as he moved to Celestia’s side. Ever so carefully, Celestia brought her hooves to the floor, before finally standing. She was a bit wobbly as her legs got used to bearing her weight, but she stayed upright. She took a few experimental steps and smiled as she successfully took a few steps. “Very good. Hold out your right front leg,” Doctor Optikanner requested. Celestia complied, allowing the Doctor to gently feel the muscles in her leg, seeing if there was any atrophying. Satisfied, he moved to her left front hoof. He repeated the process and made a few notes. Untimately he came to Celestia’s rear legs. The Princess did her best to hold her composure as the Doctor gently felt the various muscles in her back legs. Starting on her croup and moving slowly down her flank, occasionally pressing into the muscle and making a few notes. As he moved down her leg, he gently took her hock in his hand and slowly moved her leg in slow circles while keeping a hand pressed against her hip, right on top of her cutie mark. After only a minute, Michael Optikanner finished his examination of her legs and smiled. “Alright, there is little sign of muscle atrophying, but that is to be expected. Now, I have one question, do you swim?” Celestia nodded with a slight grin. “Excelent. Then if you would follow me,” the Doctor said, motioning toward the door. It was a slow walk, but quite refreshing. Celestia was simply enjoying the feeling of getting to stretch her legs and wings. After a few minutes of walking, the small group came to the aquatic therapy ward. Inside were a number of long narrow pools as well as a pair of larger normal pools. The entire ward was empty as Celestia walked forward to one of the smaller pools. “Let me know if the water temperature is comfortable,” Optikanner asked as he set down a stack of towels on a nearby table. Celestia nodded and slowly eased herself into the pool. The water was quite warm, and incredibly soothing. She closed her eyes and let out a content sigh as she allowed herself to sink up to her chin in the water. She then let her wings droop from her sides as she relaxed into the warm water. The Doctor chuckled at the alicorn as he walked to the side. “I see the temperature is just fine. Let’s begin with some simple exercises.” ~~~ Andrew sat at a long conference room table. He would soon be meeting with six other CEOs from companies throughout UNSC space. The goal? To rebuild Equestria after the war was over. The engineer chuckled as he looked over the directive from the Office of Naval Intelligence. All of this would be a part of Andrew’s penance. A knock on the door shook Andrew out of his thoughts. The door swung inward as Michael Optikanner and Greg Branson walked in. “Hello, Andrew,” Optikanner said as he and Greg took seats at the table. “Afternoon. Busy day?” Andrew asked with a chuckle. “No more than usual,” the Doctor replied. Greg reached forward and poured himself a cup of coffee after pulling out his own datapads. “So who else is coming to this?” “Vyrant Telecommunications, Agra Sol, Australium Construction Corp., and COBB Industrial,” Andrew answered. Greg look at Andrew with surprise as a grin crossed his face. “Wow, you’re pulling in quite the team.” “Yeah, this is gonna be a huge project,” the engineer said with a nod. After a few more minutes of idle conversation, two more people entered the room. Lucia Vyrant, of Vyrant Telecoms, followed by Sebastian Forarro, of Agra Sol. Both were in formal business suits, a stark contrast to the other three sitting at the table. While Optikanner was wearing his usual lab coat, Greg and Andrew were both wearing fitted jackets and semi-formal slacks. “Afternoon,” Sebastian greeted as  he took a seat next to Lucia, sitting across from Greg and Michael. These two were soon followed by the final attendees. Charles Gallaras of COBB Industrial, and Steve Hale of Australium Construction Corp. Both men took the final two spots at the table, allowing the meeting to begin. “Alright,” Andrew began, “thank you all for coming. Today, I want to present an opportunity to do something truly incredible. As you all know, a war is raging on the planet Avalon. I can say that I have seen it first hand; the ruined cities, refugee tent towns, and the fear in the population. In a few days, the UNSC is going to be making a major move on the planet. As such, there will be a major reconstruction effort needed. That is where we come in.” Sebastian leaned forward as he spoke. “So, you want all of us to help with this reconstruction?” “I do. Virgin Galactic and Optican have already pledged support,” Andrew said as he motioned to Greg and Michael. “Are we dealing with a total loss of civilian infrastructure?” Charles asked as he typed notes. Andrew nodded. “From what we have seen, the occupying forces tend to raze everything in their path. This leaves all utilities and any manufacturing capabilities reduced to ash.” Everyone at the table nodded as they all made brief notes. Lucia was the next to speak up. “So, would the UNSC be reimbursing us for our aid?” “No,” Andrew replied as he shook his head, “this will be totally on us.” This earned the engineer quite a few interested glances. “So, what’s the incentive for us?” “While you will be taking a loss for this project, you will be helping an alien civilization rebuild after they were ravaged by war. Not only are they the first friendly alien civilization we have met, but they are possibly the highest profile thing in the news right now. Wouldn’t you want to be know as the group who rebuilt Equestria? You can’t buy that kind of advertising,” Andrew replied with a smile. This statement raised quite a few eyebrows and earned a number of satisfactory nods.   “I like it. I’m in,” Sebastian said with a smile. “I agree. Though there are a few concerns I have,” Steve replied. “You said most of their manufacturing capabilities were shot. Transporting all the equipment necessary will be costly and take a lot of time. I understand that this planet lacks any form of orbital infrastructure.” “You are correct. Thankfully, Branson here has agreed to ferry the first few waves of man and materials. Our first goal will to be establish a manufacturing center on the planet. One massive facility, capable of producing anything we might need. Then, getting an orbital elevator running will be the second objective. After that, we will be properly set up to quickly start working,” Andrew replied. Everyone at the table nodded and continued to jot down notes. “Alright, you’ve sold me,” Steve said with a nod. “Me too,” Charles responded. “Lucia?” Andrew asked. The Vyrant CEO looked around the table with a calculating gaze. “What about work force? Will we need to bring full crews, or will we be able to hire locals?” “Right now, expect to bring crews. Though I will ask about hiring ponies,” Andrew replied as he made himself a few notes. “Sounds good. When do we start?” Lucia asked. “As soon as I get the all clear from ONI. So probably two to three weeks. Will that be enough time to get everything you need in order?” “Plenty of time,” Steve responded with a grin. “Well the, I believe we are done here. Should you have any further questions down the road, feel free to e-mail me,” Andrew said as everyone stood up and collected their belongings. Andrew smiled as everyone filed out of the conference room. Looking out the large window afforded him a grand view of his facility and the nearby spaceport. He was happy, knowing that he had successfully convinced six others to join him in rebuilding Equestria. The seven of them would bring the ponies back from the ashes, and propel them into a new age. These, magnificent seven, were going to save Equestria. ~~~ Admiral Nathan Reynolds sat at his desk within the Olympic Tower on Reach. His fleet had been given the task to reinforcing the Equestrians against the gryphons. His force of twenty ships had been reduced to twelve due to mechanical issues on a few. However, with the Infinity leading the way, he would still have more than enough troops to retake the planet. In his best case scenario, the mere presence of his fleet would break the fighting will of the gryphons, allowing him to simply walk in and retake the planet. Even if it came down to fighting, he would take a play from the Nazis of the twentieth century: blitzkrieg. His forces would have to move fast and hit hard, overwhelming any resistance. Though from the reports he had read, the technological gap between him and his foe should make any resistance laughable.   Reynolds leaned back in his chair and picked up a datapad from his desk. King Varen Windscar, this was the guy he would have to go up against. The Admiral wanted nothing more than to personally crush the gryphons.