//------------------------------// // A Day In The Life Of A Royal Guard // Story: The Baltimare Incident // by Powerdrainer //------------------------------// This chapter was brought to you, slowly, by Powerdrainer editors inc. A Day in The Life Of A Royal Guard <<>><<>><<>> Ten minutes before the invasion. It was a nice, sunny day. Not too much wind, and just a few clouds in an otherwise clear sky. The local weather pegasi certainly delivered yet again. Strong Will trotted with his chest puffed out through the streets, his armor clanking a bit from his movements as he and his fellow guard were moving through one of the most busy streets of the city. It was a necessary show of power, despite the peaceful nature of ponies. There is always a rotten individual within the bunch, and with a city as large as Baltimare, there would always be somepony, somewhere, causing a ruckus over something. It could be worse: Somepony could be causing a ruckus over nothing. Still, despite the occasional disturbance, the city was pleasantly peaceful. This was something Strong Will took pride in, knowing he and his fellow guards were responsible for making this happen. Today, though, was proving to be a rather slow day. Little to no incidents were reported, with only one notable case of a drunken griffin going amok in a sleazy bar known for their lower standards. Not much of an issue, and the featherbrain was quickly apprehended by a team of unicorns, before being carried off to the drunk tank to sober up. Strong Will, however, was nowhere near that part of the city. He and his brother, Flash Lightning, weren’t even on an active patrol. Instead, they were on a break, idly chatting over the latest developments concerning the strange and unusual creatures calling themselves humans who suddenly appeared one day when the first tear formed. Of course this topic of conversation soon shifted to the numerous reports they received about strange, translucent entities terrorizing the populus anywhere a tear could be found. Which, of course, sparked a heated debate about what these unknown entities could be. "I'm telling you. I'm not buying that explanation!" Strong Will said with a grunt of annoyance, "Ghosts, really?" "Hey, it's what those humans call them." "Right," Strong Will rolled his eyes. "The humans, creatures who suddenly showed up when reality tore apart and who we know almost nothing about, are saying those things are ghosts." Flash Lightning shrugged, "Hey, don't look at me. All I'm saying is what they told us. Besides, when you think about it, it kinda makes sense." "...I'm still not buying it," Strong Will replied in a mutter. "I figured as much. Still, what if-" "-I'll believe it when I see it," he cut him off. It was then that they had heard screaming and both their heads snapped towards the source of the disturbance: a massive tear in the air some distance away with glowing, intangible entities spewing forth out of the shimmering hole. "Well, you just had to open your mouth, didn't you?" Flash Lightning shot at his brother, flexing his wings before launching towards the threat. "Well, you're the one who brought it up," Strong Will replied to no one, envying his brother's wings at the moment, and cursing his lack of a horn. Shaking those thoughts off, he hurried to catch up, making sure his sword was well within reach for a quick draw. <<>><<>><<>> Five minutes before the Invasion. 'Your will is mine. Your thoughts are mine. Everything you are, everything you do you do through my will.' His victims stiffly nodded in response. 'Now, let's have some fun shall w-' His mental command was halted before he could finish. The reason? A sudden rupture appearing near the edge of the town. He and his undead brethren were invading, ripping open the air, revealing a world untouched. 'Well, what do we have here?' he mused, stroking his black goatee, white streaks running through it. The creatures on the other side of the tear stared with wide, fearful eyes at the hovering force of undead entities. The invasion then shifted from one world to the next; the ponies and other species to be found past the shimmering hole screamed and ran away in panic. 'How very interesting,' he idly observed, then shot a sideways glance at his slaves standing below him, eyes and minds blank. 'No need for you to get off easily.' he thought. 'Make a mess, cause as much mayhem as you can. Show them why it is I who they should fear the most. Show them the might of Vesper!' and so he flew through the rip in reality, joining the chaos unfolding in this new haunting ground, the hole sealing shut behind him as he passed. <<>><<>><<>> Numerous ghosts were descending down upon the ponies, making their screams fill the air as Vesper hovered above it all, watching, thinking, plotting. 'Very interesting,' Vesper mused, observing the unfolding chaos with the faintest of grins. 'I've heard rumors from some of the ghosts, but to actually see it… Hmmm.' His eyes followed a small, young looking pony with wings as it flew over one of the taller buildings in an attempt to chase off a duo of ghosts following it. He was unable to tell if it was a boy or girl. The presumed child cleared the roof, and immediately dived down, while the two ghosts, lagging behind, missed the child's evasive action and continued in a direct line, flying over their target, leaving it to pant behind a hoof to keep the sound to a minimum. 'This one seems to have at least some semblance of a mind,' he thought, eyes glowing with twisted glee and curiosity, 'A perfect pawn to see just how well my powers work on these equine creatures.' The young pony carefully flew back up to the roof, peeking over the edge to make sure no more of those... things were hiding in wait. Seeing nothing there, a sigh of relief escaped the pony, before gently landing upon the flat surface of the tall building; he failed to notice the grinning Vesper hovering directly behind him. With deliberate slowness, the pony crept its way towards the other side of the roof, intending to peek over the edge and see if there were any other of those monstrosities. Noticing this, Vesper approached the small pony with the same slowness; his shadow stretching out further and further until it grew to cover the pony. Stopping mid-motion, the pony turned around with terrified slowness. Looking up with wide, fearful eyes, expecting the worst, and… and… and seeing nothing. "Hello, is anypony out there?" the pony spoke, her fearful voice giving away to Vesper she was a girl. Looking around with fear, the girl was unable to see anypony… until she looked down. "Wha…?" she uttered, sounding both confused and surprised, but not afraid, much to Vesper’s chagrin. This would not stand! "Behold, child," he spoke with a dramatic voice, "And tremble in fear before the greatest and most fearsome of ghosts, Vesper!" "Uhh… Aren't you a bit small for that?" the pony girl asked, looking down upon the miniature ghost who hovered just above the roof, almost a head shorter than the child. Vesper's eyes narrowed as their red glow intensified; his right eye, however, was dimmer than the left, as a long scar cut through it, and he snarled in response. "You dare mock me?" he seethed. "Me, the greatest and most fearsome of all ghosts?" his aura intensified, and he closed the distance between himself and the pony, the latter backing away from the miniature ghost, until she could feel her haunches hit the roof's border. "You think you're better than me? Greater than me…?" Vesper halted his advance, a menacing grin creeping onto his face, and his eyes burned a deep red, reflected in the eyes of the young pony. 'So, just like all the others, I will take away your ability to think...' The pony's eyes, their color once a light blue, now burned with the same red found in Vesper's eyes. 'Your will is mine. Your thoughts are mine. Everything you are, everything you do will be my will.' The pony stiffly nodded. 'Now, let's have some fun, shall we?' The pony stiffly nodded once more, and Vesper laughed loudly. <<>><<>><<>> "What the hay are these things!?" Strong Will shouted, swinging his sword at one of the apparitions yet unable to score a single hit as the metal passed cleanly through his enemy. Jumping back to avoid the glowing green orb of destruction the entity shot from his stubby claw, Strong Will readied for another attack. "Don't waste your energy fighting these things!" Flash Lightning yelled at him, "Our swords are useless!" and he raced in to push his brother out of the way of yet another bolt of sizzling green energy. "Then what do we do?!" Strong Will shouted back, glaring at both his brother and the impossible to hit enemy hovering before them. "The one thing we can do!" Flash Lightning shot back, "Protect the citizens." "That’s what I am trying to do!" Strong Will shot back heatedly, the both of them jumping away from their position just in time to avoid another beam of destructive green coming from behind them. "Oh, great. Here comes ugly's friends." Strong Will glowered. A scream then brought his and Flash Lightning's attention to a group of civilians, several of the glowing creatures closing in upon them. "Damn it," Strong Will swore. "Fine, if we can't hit them, we'll draw them off." Nodding, his brother turned to face the three slightly translucent beings who had attacked them. "I'll deal with them. You go take care of those over there." Their eyes met, and a single nod gave confirmation to their thoughts. With a mighty flap of his wings, and a wicked slash of his sword, Flash Lightning gutted the beings he knew to be ghosts, only for his sword to pass cleanly through them. Still, such an invasion of personal space granted him the full attention of the ghosts, and he flew away with speed, followed by the trio of the dead . "Good luck, bro." Strong Will muttered through teeth, sword clenched tightly in his jaw. With a gallop, he threw himself at the impossible beings, slashing away at them with no effect. "Yeah, you like that?!" he shouted at them as best he could, (and with years of practice, he did a rather good job in speaking with his mouth full,) gaining the beings' attention, and giving the ponies with their backs against the wall a window to escape. "Well, if you want more, come and get it!" Taking his invitation to unbeating heart, the glowing beings swarmed the lone guard; his sword cleaved the air, but never hit even one of them. 'Celestia damn it,' he thought as he swung his sword once again, taking notice through the corner of his eye that the civilians were gone. 'Well, that's about the only good thing happening right now.' With a defiant roar, he swung his sword one more time, somehow managing to clear a path. Not wasting this chance, he jumped through and ran away as fast as he could, sword still in his mouth and the glowing beings hot on his tail. 'That's right. Follow me. It's just a matter of time before I find a way to cut you down.' <<>><<>><<>> Panting heavily, Strong Will peeked past the wall he was hiding behind, making sure he had lost his pursuers. Grumbling to himself, he retreated back behind his cover and took a moment to inspect his sword. 'Why didn't I hit them?' he asked, slowly angling his sword from one side to the other. 'No matter how much I try, I just can't seem to hit them.' His mind returned to the conversation he had with his brother shortly before the tear formed, and he sighed aloud wearily while resheathing his sword. "Ghosts…?" he muttered, frowning. "...I'm still not buying it, but I can't deny what I've seen either." His head snapped around as he suddenly heard soft hoofsteps coming from behind the wall. Peeking past the wall once more, Strong Will's eyes widened as he saw a lone pegasus filly walking through the seemingly empty street. However, being well aware of the abilities these 'ghosts' had shown him by passing through solid objects as well as being able to turn invisible, he knew that he couldn’t be sure that she could be safe, himself notwithstanding. Despite that, being out in the open, wandering around like she seemed to be doing was just asking for trouble. "Hey, kid!" he called out, catching the filly's attention, missing the flash of red in her eyes, or the momentary grin as he looked around for any of those 'ghosts', "It's not safe out there. Get in here quick. While those… things are not here." Giving a nod, the filly hurried behind the wall Strong Will was hiding, taking notice of him being the only one present. 'Perfect," Vesper thought, seeing through the pony's eyes. "Are you alone, is anypony else with you?" Strong Will asked after he was sure no one else was coming. "N-no.." the filly answered in a whimper, huddling down a bit, "I lost my parents when those… those things attacked." and she whimpered again. "Hey now, it's going to be alright," Strong Will said, trying to sound comforting, "I'm sure they are around here somewhere," he then shook his head as he sighed out, knowing he couldn't just leave the filly alone. "Just.. Just stick with me. I'll keep you safe while we look for your mom and dad, okay?" Nodding weakly, the filly stepped closer to the lone guard, head held low; a menacing grin on her face mirrored the one on Vesper's, hidden from view by her light blue mane obscuring her face. "Do you know where you last saw them?" Strong Will asked, and the filly nodded before running off towards the way he had recently managed to shake off his pursuers. "Hey, wait up!" he shouted after the filly, yet she didn't seem to hear him as she hurried around the corner, and out of sight. "Damn it," Strong Will muttered, before hurrying after the child, sword at the ready as he knew, deep down, he would need it. <<>><<>><<>> "This way, mister." The filly ran through the streets without pause, leading Strong Will to where she last saw her parents. "Hey, wait up!" Strong Will shouted after her, scanning the suspiciously empty streets with a wary glance. "It isn't safe!" With his sword at the ready, he chased after the filly, swearing over the fact that the pegasus child was able to stay ahead of him. A fact that didn't seem logical, but which he didn't give much thought due to the current crisis unfolding. Instead, he followed the child, hoping she wouldn't run into any more of those… things before he was able to catch up with her. Rounding a corner which he saw the child's tail vanish behind, he came up onto a confusing scene, and all his instincts screamed at him something was seriously wrong. Standing out in the open in the center of the street amidst abandoned saddlebags and other personal belongings, stood the filly, who smiled a visibly fake smile. "Hey, kid… Is everything alright?" Strong Will asked warily, slowly approaching the child. "Oh, yes mister. Everything is alright now that you are here." Faltering for a moment, Strong Will's eyes narrowed slightly, his ears swiveling around to pick up any sound, only to come to the startling realization everything was quiet. Too quiet. "Oh yeah, how so?" he asked her, voice thick with suspicion. "Because you've walked right into my trap." she answered sweetly, giving a large, fake smile while her eyes glowed a deep red. "What the-" Strong Will shouted, only to fall silent as a miniature being faded into view, hovering just above the filly, grinning menacingly with its eyes glowing darkly. "KID, WATCH OUT!" Strong Will yelled, rushing towards the filly; only to come to a sudden and involuntary stop. "What- ghnn- is going on?" he grunted as he willed his legs to move. "Oh, don't worry too much about that," the small ghost told him, slowly hovering towards the stallion. "Losing control over your legs is the least of your worries." Grinning smugly, Vesper slowly circled around the struggling stallion, studying him. "Yes, you'll do nicely," Vesper mused, stroking his goatee. "I can't wait to see just how many pawns will fall before my might using you, a trustworthy being of importance, as a lure.” "I.. won't ever -ghn- do such.. a thing," Strong Will grunted, struggling against whatever power was keeping him immobilized. Chuckling darkly, Vesper hovered right before Strong Will, "Like you have a choice," and his eyes' glow increased slightly. 'Your will is mine. Your thoughts are mine. Everything you do shall come from my will.' Strong Will's eyes flickered between his natural yellow eyes and a glowing red. Gritting his teeth, and shaking his head, he tried to get rid of the voice in his head. Vesper, taken aback by his resilience, had to increase the force of his mental control, determined to enslave this lowly mortal. 'You will listen! You will obey! My thoughts are your thoughts. My will is your will. I speak, and you listen. I control, you are controlled. Resistance is futile!' "GHA!" Strong Will screamed as he felt the miniature being's voice snake its way into the deepest recesses of his mind; a dark tendril obscuring all thoughts of free will. He felt it, and he fought it. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" he roared, severing the mental link forced upon him by Vesper and launching the ghost back through the backlash. Panting loudly, Strong Will glared at the being with murder in his eyes, feeling his legs listening to his commands once more. Vesper, shocked by what had just happened and slammed into the ground from the unexpected blow, righted himself as he slowly levitated himself off of the ground. A look of disbelief clearly showed on his face, before it was replaced by something all the more sinister, rubbing his goatee. "My my. You certainly are strong willed," a murderous grin growing on his lips. "How very interesting..." And so, his eyes' glow increased once again. "Oh no you don't!" Strong Will shouted, launching himself at the small pest before he could try the same trick again. Yet in the blink of an eye, Vesper was gone, and Strong Will glared around as he searched for this proven threat. "Where are you!?" he growled. "Oh, I'm right here," the filly answered, her voice no longer sounding innocent. Instead, a mischievous grin had grown on her face, and her deep red eyes bored into Strong Will's. "What the-" Strong Will replied, shocked, taking a step back. "And here!" another voice said, drawing Strong's attention to another pony walking up on him from behind, his eyes also a glowing red. "And here as well!" a mare replied, stepping out of an abandoned building, eyes equally red. "And I am right here," Vesper answered, directly next to Strong Will. Shocked, and eyes wide, he slowly turned to look at the small being hovering next to him. However, the moment their eyes locked, a concussive blast sent him flying with a scream to crash into a wall and drop onto the ground in a heap. Groaning, he opened his eyes, struggling to get them to focus as he saw several blurs stand before him; one hovering above the rest, all their eyes aglow. "My powers are absolute, and no mind is capable of withstanding my control," Vesper hissed as he lowered himself before the stallion. "You are no exception." His eyes glowed a dark red, mirrored briefly in Strong Will's own before unconsciousness claimed him. But before he blacked out, he could hear the last few words of the small being, "You just need some more pushing before your mind gives in to my will." <<>><<>><<>> An unspecified amount of time later. "Ugh." With a low groan and surprisingly stiff joints, Strong Will drifted back into consciousness. Blearily opening his eyes, he tried to figure out where he was through the unfocused images his eyes were showing him. Blinking multiple times, he pushed himself up with another groan before looking up and seeing things clearly again. "What happened?" he muttered, rubbing his aching head with his eyes closed. "How did I get here?" the memories came flooding back, and adrenaline started coursing through his veins upon remembering who he fought, and what that... thing, had done. "Where are you!?" he yelled, looking around with glaring eyes, sword at the ready, only to find himself completely alone. "What the-" he muttered, not trusting the situation one bit. "Strong, is that you?" Flash Lightning called out as he dropped down, looking worse for wear. "Flash?" Strong Will answered, surprised. "What are you doing here?" "Looking for you. There’s a mass evacuation ongoing, and they need all the help they can get." "Wait, what?" Strong Will replied. "Evacuation?" "Yes. Those ghosts have taken over the city, and we're getting as many ponies, griffins, and others out as we can. Now come on!" Flash Lightning said urgently, spreading out his wings and taking to the sky. "Hold on!" Strong Will shouted as he hurried after his brother. "When did all of this happen?" "Not long after we split up," Flash Lighting called back. "We've sustained heavy losses, and are mostly on the defensive." "Damn it," Strong Will swore. "It's not all bad news, though," Flash Lightning continued. "Those horn heads managed to inflict some damage to the ghosts, allowing us to gain a few small victories." "Horn heads?" Strong Will repeated, confused and even a bit shocked his brother would use such an insult. It wasn't like him at all, and he glared at the pegasus as he ran along side him. "What the…?" Strong Will muttered, almost tripping over his own legs as, for a moment, it almost looked like his brother was flying without any wings. Blinking, and shaking his head, he looked again, only to find nothing wrong with his brother's wings. "Over there!" Flash Lightning pointed. "Some others of this outfit have managed to capture some of those ghosts," and he dropped down with speed, coming to a stop next to a unicorn stallion Strong Will had the strong feeling he had seen before, but couldn't quite place when or where. And, as he took a moment to study his fellow guard, the armor he was wearing seemed to fade away. Only for the protective gear to be fully present after he blinked a few times in confusion. "What the-" he murmured as he shook his head. "... That blow must be messing with my mind," he deduced, shaking his head a final time before focusing on the trio of ghosts somehow contained by the other guards. Looking at him with an irritated frown, Flash Lightning stepped closer to his brother. "Those are some of the ghosts responsible for attacking the civilians," he said, voice surprisingly light. Then a sinister tone took over. "Time for a little payback, wouldn't you agree, Brother?" "What!?" Strong Will looked at his brother in shock. "What are you talking about? We don't attack a defenseless opponent, no matter who they might be or what they have done." He glared at his brother. "And even though I'm still not buying the whole ghost thing, I am not attacking them when we already have them captured," his eyes narrowed in suspicion, "and neither should you!" A sudden blow from behind send his world spinning, and Strong Will stumbled on the spot as he tried to regain his bearings. Shaking his head, he growled in anger as he looked back to see who delivered that low blow; his eyes widened as he saw the frightened eyes of a young filly, only for a spike to shoot through his brain. The next moment he looked again, all he saw were the 'ghosts' surrounded by the guards; one of which was holstering his sword while glancing at Strong Will for a split second. "What the hay…?" Strong Will muttered loudly, glaring at those around him with ever-increasing suspicion. As he took a slow step back, his burning eyes never left the group of guards. "What the BUCK is going on!?" he demanded, only to flinch and groan loudly in pain as a painful throb shot through his brain. Grunting, he looked back up with angry eyes, only to have them widen in shock and disbelief as he saw the group of supposed guards were no longer wearing their armor. When he blinked, he saw that the entities that were being held at sword's edge weren’t the freaks he was fighting. Instead, they were replaced by the fearful, pleading eyes of a young family, one of which was the filly he remembered trying to help a while back; they were begging without words, praying for somepony, anypony to help them. "WHAT THE-" he roared, only to be struck by eerily familiar concussive blast. "Impressive," Vesper's heavily irritated voice spoke up, indicating he was anything but pleased. "Even now, you seem to be able to defy my control." He gritted his teeth for a moment, before a soulless smile replaced it. Turning to the helpless ponies, a short and hollow laugh escaped him. "Yes. No more kidding around." Here he glanced at Strong Will, who clambered back to his hooves, glaring at the ghost and taking notice his brother was no longer to be found. The guard frowned as he connected the pieces. Vesper turned his attention back to his pawns, "No need to go easy on them. Show this world that it is I they should fear. Show them the might of Vesper… Kill them, and make him watch. Then kill him too," he ordered as he flew away. "I can't have someone like him running around, defying me," he muttered afterwards. Growling at the small being, Strong Will once more cursed his lack of either a horn or wings. All he could do was glare murder at the small entity as he flew away. Looking at the ponies before him and now knowing that they were not in control of their own actions, he prepared himself to take them on. Watching with narrowed eyes, he saw the controlled ponies split up into groups. Two of them came for him, a mare and stallion, with the rest moving in on the family. Growling, Strong Will launched himself at the approaching threat, knowing he was at a disadvantage as he was unable to go all out. They weren't in control of themselves, and had to be subdued with minimal force. The controlled ponies, however, had no such reservations, and they readied the weapons they were carrying. The mare held a sword, the stallion a spear, and they charged Strong Will with blank gazes. Strong Will dived underneath the mare’s magical swing of her sword, before jumping back up and delivering a bone-shaking punch at the attacking stallion's jaw with enough force for him to lose grip of the spear, which fell to the ground. Not having time to rest, Strong Will jumped back, narrowly avoiding another wild swing from the sword, and he set his sights on the mare. A scream of fear then grabbed his attention, and he swore as he saw the other controlled ponies heading for the family; the controlled ponies were almost on top of them in the time he had wasted trying to defend himself. Swearing, he dodged yet another swing, before running at full speed towards the family in need. Jumping into the fray, he kicked the legs out from underneath one of the attackers, sending him tumbling to the ground. Acting quickly, he grabbed the spear that the pony had dropped, using a quick stomp of the hoof to snap off the tip of the weapon. He then brought the shaft up in a blur to block an incoming attack, nearly breaking the wood from the force of the blow. 'Damn it,' he grunted. 'What is going on with this piece of junk? This isn't any of the equipment we use,' he thought, before shaking those questions away, focusing on the problem at hoof. Swinging the halfway broken, pointless spear wildly around in an effort to push back the approaching force of mind controlled ponies, he slowly made his way to the huddled forms of the endangered family. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of here!" he yelled through clenched teeth as he kept his eyes firmly on the approaching ponies, his back towards the family. "Oh, that's alright!" the filly spoke up, her voice light, yet hollow at the same time. Strong Will's eyes widened at the belated realization that it was her who had lured him in to begin with, and he had just enough time to turn his head to look at her before the back hooves of the stallion connected with him. With a groan and blood dripping from his mouth, Strong Will collapsed in a heap, barely conscious. "Well, isn't this something?" a now eerily familiar voice spoke up, chuckling darkly. In his rapidly blurring vision, Strong could see the small form of Vesper hovering before him, grinning madly "Why, it is almost as if you can't trust anyone these days." Strong Will groaned, struggling weakly, before slowly sinking away into darkness. "Oh, don't you worry. We'll break you, eventually. It isn't a matter of if, but when. Now, you just lay here while I go gather more pawns. I'm sure we’ll meet up again soon enough." Strong Will stilled as he finally fell unconscious. "The question is, will you be ready when we do?" Vesper slowly flew up, looking down at the blank minded pawns under his control. "Leave him for now," he ordered, then grinned evilly. "Now, you all know what to do. Make a mess, cause as much mayhem as you can. Show them why it is I who they should fear the most. Show them the might of Vesper!" The ponies all stiffly nodded, and Vesper laughed loudly, wickedly; his red eyes burned darkly in the minds of those he controlled. "Now, let's have some fun, shall we?"