//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Beginnings // Story: You Seek Knowledge? // by Astral Star and Company //------------------------------// The next morning came quickly, and with it, the first phase of my plan. I must first reach the train station to gain transportation to Canterlot. Before I could start however, I came upon a few complications… Firstly, the former resident of this ‘house’ seemed to be hold a significant amount of social connectivity to her neighbours. She was no social butterfly, but enough ponies were acquainted with her for her disappearance to be noticed. Seeing the facts, I hastily reconstructed Zecora’s household, and then Zecora herself. Collecting atoms from the air, taking them apart and joining them together by my will, is a tedious task. I must maintain proper control over unbalanced atoms, and contain the energy released when manipulated. After a great amount of time, her whole house was restocked, and fully furnished. Zecora herself hovered two feet off the ground, as her muscle tissue wove around her skeleton, lending shape to just another pony corpse. I have set this process to act autonomously; it should be done in less than an hour. By the time any pony were to wander into this house, she would wake up without remembering anything of my existence. Ironic, that the only way I could have reconstructed this so seamlessly, was because I had disintegrated it all in the first place. With problem one solved, now is time for problem two… “W-Where am I?” Annie asked, clearly shocked an bewildered She got up hurriedly, and danced around the small residence like a scared animal. I watched with mild amusement, until she finally rested her gaze on me, and started quaking. I looked to her neutrally, and she recoiled in fear, like a normal pony. “Who are you?!” she demanded “For that matter, what are you?!” Hmph, seems that some of my intelligence has rubbed off on her. As much as I would desire some intelligent conversation, I wave a tendril in front of her, causing her to fall asleep once more. A subconscious command branded into her subconscious through hypnosis. Now that Annie is developing a mind of her own, I now require fuller control over her body. Submerging myself into her mind, and pushing her own growing one aside, I shudder at the sudden flood of sensation. It takes me 2 minutes to fully settle in her body. With full control over Annie, I take a few tentative steps out of the tree, and trotted back to Ponyville. -{>(|)<}- The rural town of Ponyville was much the same as when I first arrived there. Sky, a clear pale blue without a single cloud across it. Sun, blindingly bright as usual. Ponies though, are making a lot more suspicious glances my way. When I looked to them in response, they turned back to their normal activity, and when I look away, they resume previous behaviour. Such treatment was undeserving, unless news of my doing has reached their primitive ears somehow. It is a problem I must address later. Using Twilight’s memories, I pinpointed the exact location of their transportation. A train station to the North-East of Ponyville provides access to other parts of the land of Equestria. I could simply teleport there, but my data tells me such a feat is uncommon among unicorns, and can only be achieved by what they would call ‘Arch-Mages’. With a heavy sigh, I trot up to the train station. When I arrived at the ticket booth, I realised that the whole building seemed to be ready for an incident. Tall, white Stallions in golden Roman-esque armour stood in pairs beside each doorway. The ticket fair was an easy challenge. A little hypnosis from my eye convinced the teller to lend me one ticket to Canterlot. Regretfully, he collapsed with mental exhaustion as soon as I withdrew control. I levitated the ticket before my eyes and waited silently by the station. My fellow patrons shot me curious glances as I waited, but nothing I haven’t tolerated before. That is, until the guards became involved. “Ma’am?” a gruff voice behind me said I turned to see a young, male unicorn guard before me. He regarded me sternly with a slightly upturned head, as to look down at me. A tough feat, since I was already eye-level with him. “You’re going to have to come with me,” he stated flatly “And why is that?” I curtly replied, with a drip of venom He started to blush a little when I spoke. An odd reaction, but he quickly recovered. “We’ll have to interrogate you under the suspicion of criminal activity,” Turning my head for witnesses, I was sorely disappointed when I saw multiple ponies with their eyes cast towards me. I breathed a heavy sigh, and plodded towards the portable interrogation room, the obviously new guard trailing behind. The small, fragile hut of an office stood to the corner by the train station. The poor guard had to resort to running to catch up, and opened the door for me to enter. I take a seat opposite the door, while he takes one facing it. Sadly, no social bonds could be detected between him and the ponies of Ponyville, making mental influence impossible. “Your name?” he asked plainly “Annie,” I replied “Just Annie?” “Just Annie,” He began to furiously scribble onto a note pad with a quill, casting suspicious glances my way. While he worked, I pondered the point of such an unorthodox interrogation. Possibly a routine check-up on suspicious persons? I highly doubt that. Besides my appearance, nothing ‘illegal’ has been recorded of my doing. Perhaps there has been a leak… “You new here?” he inquired “Yes, but I could say the same thing for you,” I answered curtly He grunts and returns to scribbling. Growing weary of this foolishness, I observe my surroundings for a way out. I looked to the window, only to see empty sky. The hut was completely plain, except for this desk, two chairs and the notepad he’s using. Sadly, and with no other option, I dove into is mind. Soft pink tendrils emerge from the wall, binding him to the chair on which he sat. My consciousness reached deep into his own, wrestling control from it and taking over. Without direct social bonds to soften the process, he was plagued by intense migraines as I rummaged through his memories. Possessing a high degree of control, I lock his vocal cords to prevent screaming as I searched. The guard’s eyes were narrowed, boring holes into my own as he tried feebly to shout alarm. Only a tiny croak escaped his open mouth as I searched. Through my eyes, I see a wonderfully complex miasma of blue colour. An ever shifting spectrum of bio-electric signals coursing through his brain. Before me, lay the most complex code in the universe, and I was determined to crack it. Electrical signals hardwired throughout the stallions brain correspond to certain actions, thoughts and feelings. His very DNA held the instructions for his whole body, down to anatomy and general personality. I greedily take it all, forcefully duplicating these signals and absorbing them into my own mind. The process couldn’t be more agonising for the guard below me. I didn’t even feel the cruel smile stretch across my face as I worked. Results were a mixed-batch. His intelligence was little, but what little he had was useful to me. Rudimentary knowledge of this world’s military could prove useful for future endeavours. The source of the sudden influx of guards and suspicion is all due to an upcoming wedding between a third alicorn princess, and the Captain of the Guard. The latter of which seemed to be Twilight Sparkle’s big brother. Unfortunately, I require closer proximity to harvest his knowledge, despite the strong family bond between them. One information source at a time I believe… My mental infiltration also informed me of other things. Firstly, this stallion is an orphan, has next to no friends, is regarded as a wimp by his peers, has no social bonds what-so-ever and finds me attractive. The all but the last give me all the confirmation I need. The final point of data was rather intriguing, obviously, pony aesthetic was sufficiently different to human aesthetic sense. The factors of enticing pony physique may become useful. Taking everything I needed, I withdraw my mind, and unceremoniously vaporise him on the spot. With a shout, my eyes glow as a stream of purple lightning shoots from my horn, and engulfs the stallion in its arms. The energy works quickly, disintegrating the bonds between molecules and compounds, even the atoms themselves. Soon, there is only a black shadow of soot, and a singed set of armour as proof of his existence. I feel the stray electrons ionise the air around me, giving it the smell of ozone. Lingering traces of his fear plagued my mental senses like a bad smell. Fortunately, like all bad smells, they tend to disappear over time. Satisfied with my work, I walk confidently out of the office and shut the door behind me. The other guards gave me strange looks, but I paid them no heed. The train arrived just in time as I boarded it along with the other passengers. The steam locomotive was designed to resemble some kind of large confection, like a cake maybe. I took a window seat, and stared idly at the increasingly blurred landscape. I was headed towards the final destination of my mission, and for the first time, I was looking forward to it. -{>(|)<}- The journey was uneventful, a mere hour of watching the landscape go by. The mountains of Canterlot stood tall and proud just ahead. Their tall, surreal shapes jutting up like blunt spikes in the otherwise featureless landscape. Fixed to the side of one, was the huge city of Canterlot. An ivory city of wealth and power, it was so large, it could be seen from Ponyville and beyond. The memories of the guard I erased quickly appeared in my mind. With his death, I have memorised all the Royal Guard patrol routes and watch schedules. Avoiding them would be far too easy. The Canterlot station approached rapidly. Its design reflected the city well, with its ivory white colour accompanied by gold and deep purple trim. The citizens, unlike Ponyville inhabitants, were almost fully clothed and carried a vain, self-righteous aura around them. Nobles, how I despise them so. As soon as the train stopped, I quickly leapt off the train and into the station. A total of four guards were stationed there, as predicted. Taking a different route, I successfully avoid their gaze, and progress onward into the city. The structures here seem to follow a uniform in terms of design and colour scheme. Not a single building stood out from the rest, rather jostle for the attention of all passers-by. It could even be taken as a metaphor for the mediocre nature of the ponies here. Following a route frequently taken by Twilight Sparkle, I arrived at the Canterlot archives in little time. The huge, domed marble building stood before me. Tall shelves could be seen through its various and enormous windows. Despite its obvious aura of importance, very little attention was given to it by the citizens. Well, it could explain the lack of overall intelligence around here. Just before I entered the building, a dark hoof appeared from an adjacent alley and pulled me inside. I was thrown to the ground roughly, quickly adjusting my eyes and position to see my captor. He was a tall, dark unicorn with a spiky, electric blue mane. He looked down at me with a look of disappointment across his face, like an upset drill sergeant. I had a look at his social bondings for signs of low life activity. Odd, his bonds were green and frayed, like old, sea worn rope. This meant that either he believed he was friends with ponies, but the sentiment was never shared, or… They were fake. “What do you think you’re doing?!” he said harshly, but still keeping his voice at a whisper “Are you trying to blow your own cover?” I merely looked at him blankly. He probably mistook me for someone else, however unlikely. “The queen gave us explicit instructions to remain unseen and patrol the alleys for entry points,” he continued “So why are you wandering aimlessly in the open huh?” I raised an eyebrow in reply. “Ugh!” he screamed frustratingly To my surprise, his entire body spontaneously erupted into green fire. The process took a split second, but the results were astounding. Before me stood no longer a stallion, but a bug pony. He was covered in a grey, nearing black exoskeleton that gave off a low sheen. He had a pair of translucent green wings, much too small for his body and riddled with holes like his feet. He possessed no hair, a pair of long fangs, and blank cyan compound eyes. Otherwise, he had a remarkably similar anatomy. “We're in the clear now,” he said, calmer this time “Why are you still wearing a disguise?” Ooh, now this was an interesting turn of events. If I could take his shape shifting ability, it would make a valuable contribution to my already deadly arsenal. Also, his language implies that he is on a mission of espionage with several others. I couldn’t help but wonder why, so I opted on solving both my problems with this specimen before me. All I had to do was subdue him. “Oh, so you want me to reveal myself, do you?” I ask him cheekily, throwing in a low, sultry tone. Rarity sure knew how to entice a male. It was enough to lower his guard, and increase his curiosity, therefore lowering his chances of escape. “Um,” he stuttered “Sure?” Without further ado, I wreathed myself in magenta flame. I felt the confines of my pony body slip away as Annie slumped to the ground, free of my control. My full form stretched out from my prison, writhing in the blanket of heat and light. It took longer than I had envisioned, but it was all worth seeing the expression on his face. “Like what you see?” I hissed mockingly, this time with my own voice. His reaction was clever, he turned and ran. I laughed at his naivety, and quickly snagged him with my right tentacle, dragging him kicking and screaming back into the alley. I quickly cast a vibration dampening field around us both, stealing his pleas from the ears of nearby ponies. In the darkness of the alley, they couldn’t even see us either. He continued to scream and kick in my grasp, trying in vain to escape. I laugh once more at his fear, watching his teeth grit at the sound of my voice. With enough time wasted, I bathed the creature in pink light, much like the crusaders yesterday. Also like the crusaders yesterday, he fell asleep immediately. Chuckling to myself, I dove back into Annie, the poor thing managed to open her mouth in protest before I regained full control. Remembering knowledge gained from the purple unicorn, there seemed to be a large series of room in the basement, for storing old books and artefacts. With a plan blossoming in my mind, and a wicked smile on my face, I concealed the creature in magic, and marched right up to the Canterlot Archive. Marshalling a spell, I feel my body fade into another dimension of existence as I slipped through the ground adjacent to the building, my prisoner in tow. Relinquishing my spell, I found myself in a dark, dusty old room below the main structure. It was inhabited by a meagre amount of books, all shoved to the side, I will read them later. The only exit was a door to the back of the room, which appeared to be boarded up and chained closed from the other side. It was lit sparsely by a single incandescent light bulb on the ceiling, giving it a war-torn old atmosphere. At least there’s no chance of escape for my little prisoner. With a plan in mind, I set to work. My goal, is to extract every ounce of data from my new subject, even if it kills him.