Chapter 18. Play to Win
Seath tilted his head back and gave a deepthroated chuckle. “And there we have it, the last of them. Finally purged. I always hoped I would see the day.”
“Yes!” Scholar pumped his fist victoriously. “Score one for us!”
“Score!?”
Scholar rolled his eyes and glanced languidly at the lavender unicorn who was glaring vehemently at him.
“Score!?” She repeated incredulously. “What do you think this is, some kind of... of contest!? That this is all a big game for your amusement?!”
“Eh...” Chrysalis waved her hoof back and forth in the air. “Of a sort. When you get right down to it, this is a form of game.”
“WHAT!?” Twilight screeched indignantly. But before she could start her tirade...
“They’re right.”
Twilight’s jaw dropped open in shock as she slowly turned her head. “Cadance?” She whispered quietly.
The pink Alicorn was glaring vehemently at the trio, huffing heavily and obviously straining to keep herself from relapsing into her panic. “This... is all a game. And everyone’s a piece, each with their own values, rules, moves...” She shook her head slowly. “But it’s not bad. It’s good. Because the Oligarchs? We were all perfectionists. If we ever played, we played in such a way that we had a crushing victory. All opponents incapacitated, as many allies alive as possible. That’s how they see it, that’s how they work. That’s how we worked. Considering how we formed a globe-spanning empire, it’s safe to say its an effective line of thought.”
Scholar slowly clapped his hands in a mocking manner. “Very good, Cadance. Gold star to you!” He spread his arms out wide, indicating the world around them. “Indeed, we see this all as a game because that’s the most effective way to deal with it: everyone’s a piece, and we play to win. And you know what?”
He leaned in towards Twilight’s cage, his smile shining ferally beneath his hood. “We never lose.”
“Oh enough.” Seath growled darkly, slapping his tentacles on the crystal ground for emphasis. “I can appreciate a fair bit of posturing as need be, but for now I’d rather be professional. Clinical. Let’s at least attempt at being courteous towards our guests. After all, we’re not barbarians,” He rolled his eyes sardonically. “Well, most of us anyways.”
The crystal dragon drew himself up to his full height and crossed his arms behind his back, folding his frail wings down neatly. “The fact of the matter is that we have already won. Most of the soldiers have been routed, their chain of command thoroughly disrupted and any environmental advantages they could have taken advantage of made null and void. This is our victory, and nothing can stop that.”
THUNK!
If he’d had eyes, Seath would have blinked in surprise. As it was, he merely tilted his head down and stared blindly at the large, trunk-like shaft that had suddenly sprouted from his chest. “Well then...” That was all he he managed to get out before he collapsed forwards, driving the rest of the massive projectile through his torso and out his back.
Chrysalis hissed in shock, jerking back and whipping her head around. “Who the hell-”
She only had a moments warning as a blur of color flashed straight in front of her. After that...
THRACK!
She couldn’t think of much else due to the javelin shoved through her mouth and out the back of her head.
Scholar had his arm up, runes flashing around his hand and ready to loose a blast of magic...
When his attention was drawn upwards to an Array that suddenly materialized above him.
“Oh you have got to be-!”
SKREEM!
That was all he got out before a pillar of pure magic encased him, kicking up a plume of smoke and dust.
For a few moments the plaza was silent, the Elements, Princess and drake trying to process what they had seen.
Then...
“WOOHOO!” The black pegasus that had impaled the changeling matriarch whooped, looping successfully through the air. “Oh yeah, that’s right, Equestria number one!”
“You’ve got that right, brudda!” A burly grey Earth Pony snorted, trotting down a nearby staircase from a surrounding skyscraper. “Heh, and Nova said that this wouldn’t work!”
“Tch...” A mottled ash and white Unicorn rolled her eyes as she stood up from where she had been hiding amongst the dead. “Forgive me for being skeptical about our ability to kill gods.”
“Oh, whatever!” The black pegasus giggled as he landed in front of the cages. “At least it worked!”
The Earth Pony grunted in agreement, trotting up to stand alongside his comrade. He then snapped a salute at Cadance. “Ma’am. I’m Nebula. These are Nova and Mobius. We’re part of the Equestrian Black Ops. Just hang tight and we’ll have you all out of there in a second.”
The Unicorn saluted in agreement, her horn lighting up in magic.
“No!”
But before he could act, the trio jerked back in shock when Cadance regained her wits and yelled at them.
“You idiots!” She admonished. “Didn’t you learn anything in basic training!? You don’t fight anyone on the level of the Oligarchs, especially the Oligarchs themselves! You run and never look back because you simply can’t win!”
“Ma’am, with all due respect, that’s a load of bull.” Nebula grunted. “Anyone can win against anyone, you just need to play your cards straight. Credit to Scholar, he’s right about one thing: this is a game. And we won.”
“Yeah! I mean, look at this!” Mobius gestured at Seath’s prone form. “The guy took a shaft from a freaking ballista! No one survives that!”
“Actually...”
Before anyone could react, a massive hand whipped out and wrapped around the Pegasus. The ponies stared in horror as the dragon slowly drew himself upright, despite the shaft through his torso, and growled viciously at the soldier in his grip.
“You would be surprised by what a person can live through.”
“B-b-but-ERK!” Mobius’s protests were choked off as the grip on him redoubled.
“Shut up for a moment, will you?” Seath snarled. Slowly, he raised his other hand up, gripped the shaft, and in a feat of strength belied by his scrawny figure, wrenched it from his chest. Before the eyes of the awestruck and somewhat nauseated equines, the gaping hole in his chest slowly slid shut, new flesh, skin and bone growing to cover the wound until finally his body was pristine, as though he had never been harmed.
“Hmm...” The Duke hummed idly as he examined the construct of rune-engraved wood. “So, you got one of the old ballistae working, did you? What’s more, you did it without my noticing. Quite the feat. I commend you. On any other day I’d promote you for your prowess. Still though, you did impale me, so I suppose I have no other choice but to kill you. My apologies, it's just protocol.”
The Pegasus tried to say something, anything in his defense. He was silenced by the cascade of crystals and mist that encased him.
Nebula stumbled back a bit, trying to turn his head away from the gruesome sight.
His motion was halted by a hoof from a much taller being wrapping around his shoulders and forcing his head back forwards.
“Awww, come now!”
The soldier’s voice almost stopped as an all-too-familiar voice crooned in his ear. Slowly, hesitantly, he turned his eyes and stared in horror at the figure that was holding on to him.
Chrysalis’s grin was nearly face-splitting. “You don’t want to miss the show, do you?”
“But-but how-!?” His protests were choked off as he turned his gaze towards where Chrysalis’s corpse had been.
Where once there stood a changeling queen, now there was only a drone in sleek, almost reflective black armor with electric blue borders. Unlike the other insectoid soldiers, this one’s helmet included a faceplate which obscured its visage completely, leaving only a blank expanse of obsidian.
“Ah yes...” Chrysalis’s grip around the pony tightened as her tone took on a hint of menace. “The Nameless.”
Suddenly, the air before the two of them shimmered before peeling away, revealing two more similarly-armored soldiers. They didn’t say anything, didn’t react, just stared at him.
“They’re my personal guard, you see.” The matriarch continued. “Don’t worry, the one your comrade killed didn’t have any friends or family per say. See, the Nameless are as the name describes: Nameless. They’re drones, brainless husks with no identities to call their own. They’re genetic abnormalities that occasionally occur in hatches. I put them to use by commandeering their bodies and using them as extra sets of eyes and bodies. Normally, I also use them as body doubles. I usually keep them out of sight during combat, though I do tend to flash them around a bit during casual events. What do you think, hm?”
“Fascinating.” Nebula replied drily. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
In one deft move, he whipped his hoof up to his shoulder, grabbed her arm and flipped her over his shoulder. Once she was flat on the ground, he lifted his hoof up and slammed it down on her head, reducing her skull to pieces.
“Well...” The soldier panted. “That’s that...”
“Indeed.”
“GRK!” The Earth Pony whipped his hoof up to his throat, trying to pry her leg off of his neck. “Wh-h-how!?”
“Do you honestly think that I would just expose myself to you like that!?” Chrysalis snarled. “Do you honestly think that I, a centuries old ruler, thoroughly versed in the arts of deception and subterfuge, would be so idiotic!? I am thoroughly insulted. Now then, you’ve had your fun. You were quite good, I will admit. I just happened to be better.”
And with that, she jerked her leg to the side, snapping Nebula’s neck.
The entire time, Nova had been backing up slowly from the two titans trying her best to act inconspicuous and avoid drawing their ire.
Suddenly, she froze in terror as she backed into something.
“Say... you wanna know something?”
Slowly, she turned her head around, her pupils dilating in horror.
“The fact that we never lost any of the wars we played? The reason why we never lose?”
Nova tried to run, but was snatched up by a ring of runes. She was then turned around, bringing her face to face with Scholar’s savagely grinning face, his entire body shrouded by runes.
“There’s an easy explanation.”
He leaned in close so that the two of them were inches apart.
“We cheat.”
“So,” Seath rumbled, idly tossing away the newly formed Gem Custodian and letting it take to the air on its fractal-patterned wings. “What will you do with her, hm? After all, you do have a multitude of methods available to you.”
“Indeed...” Scholar hummed idly. “What to do, what to do. Geeze, now I know what Nix and Null feel like.”
Cadance beat her hooves helplessly against the side of her prison, trying to draw his attention. “Scholar, please don’t-!”
The Rune Keeper flicked his hand carelessly, conjuring an Array before Cadance’s cage that silenced her. She kept shouting for a moment before freezing and pounding her head against her cage in frustration.
“Now then...” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Let’s see... immolation? No no, that’s far too mundane... Magic overload... no... hm... tricky trick-eh?” He froze suddenly and stared at the pony intently. “What’s that?”
Nova paled in panic and tried to struggle away from him. “I-I don’t-GRK!”
She was cut off by Scholar whipping his hand out and clamping her mouth shut. He then stared intently into her eyes, searching her for something. Finally, he drew back and smiled.
“Implants,” He whispered in awe. “That’s how you managed that blast. Runic implants designed to increase mana output. But far, far more advanced than anything that we ever had.” He glanced over his shoulder and smirked at the suddenly pale Alicorn. “How rude of you, Cadance! Keeping such fascinating progress away from me for so long! Its simply criminal!” He turned his attention back to Nova. “Well, seeing how you’re proving to be so interesting, I suppose there’s only one thing for it: I’ll just cut you open and-!”
Scholar’s diatribe suddenly cut off, his last word hanging in the air and his entire body frozen.
At the same time, Seath and Chrysalis snapped their heads around and staring at him, their jaws gaping in shock. Meanwhile, Cadance, who had been terrified before, now looked as though she were about to be sick.
“Oh you have got to be kidding me.” Chrysalis mumbled.
“How could we have possibly-” Seath started.
“You!”
The on-lookers jumped as Scholar suddenly bellowed furiously, dashing up to Cadance’s cage, reaching through it and lifting her up by her throat.
“You made me forget about them!” The human snarled, his voice drowning in magic. “You hid my own creations behind a subliminal barrier! Hid them from me!”
“N-no! I-it wasn’t me!” Cadance wheezed. “It wasn't us! S-she set it up! Hid herself and the others from us! I-I didn’t remember that they existed either, I swear! S-Scholar, please, d-don’t-!”
The human growled angrily, flicking his wrist and sending her into the far wall of her container. He then ripped his Lexicon open and flipped through it until he found the page he wanted, and slammed his hand on the paper. A flurry of runes whipped up around him, an array of varying designs and colors encircling his torso. He hastily reached out and tagged a red set of the alien markings. Almost instantly, the rest flashed out of sight and a pair of Arrays appeared before his ear and mouth.
“Come on, come on... please...” He pleaded quietly, all but begging for whatever he was attempting to work.
Suddenly, the runes flashed green and Scholar’s face lit up with joy. “Hello? Are you- YES!” Scholar cheered ecstatically. “Oh thank Athena! You’re alright! A-and the others? Are they-?” He nodded at the answer, chuckling in relief. “That’s good, that’s good. Fantastic in fact! That’ll make that much easier! Now then...” The human slowly turned his head, sending a downright disturbing smile at the still-captive Nova. “I’ve got a... patient for you to deal with.”
Scholar suddenly flinched, waving his arm frantically as a female voice began shouting over the Arrays. “GAH! Nonono! I remember that you don’t approve of euthanasia, but that’s not what I’m asking for! See, it appears that in the interim between our imprisonment and Vitrum’s little stint out of time, magi-tech has advanced dramatically. The prisoner I have here has multiple subdermal implants that are definitely superior to what we had back in the day. What I want you to do is take her, cut her open, and examine the implants... the rest of her? Eh, do what you want. Plug her into something and use the leftovers as spare parts. Uh-huh. Uh-huh, got it, I’ll send her through.”
Scholar made to gesture at Seath, then froze and whipped his hand back to the runes. “Geeze, almost forgot to tell you! There’s a priority target in the middle of the fighting. I’ll send you the details on him and you can forward them to them so that they don’t-! Hm? Oh, no no, he’s no one important, I’ve just got a bet riding on his survival is all.” Scholar flinched again as the shouting renewed. “I-y-yes, I know, I promised no more gambling on lives but- come on, please! I’ve got a lot riding on this guy’s head, literally! So, please?”
He listened attently to her response for a minute. Over the course of that time, what little of his expression could be seen slowly fell and became haunted. “I... th-that’s a good point...” He tugged uneasily at his color. “With her around, there’s a good chance that... actually, it’s very likely she’ll...” Scholar swallowed heavily. “Awwww shit. What the hell do I-!?” He was cut off, blinking in surprise at what he was hearing. Slowly, he started to grin eagerly. “Oh. Oh. Well then. When you put it like that...” Scholar’s grin became downright evil. “That actually makes things so much easier. Thank you, m’dear.”
“NO!”
Scholar glanced over his shoulder uninterestedly at Cadance. The Alicorn was downright frantic, pounding her hooves ceaselessly against the walls of her cage. “Scholar, I’m begging you, begging you!” She screamed. “T-The law! The Law of Inheritance! Please Scholar, the Law of Inheritance is in effect, please!”
“The Law of Inheritance?!” Spike questioned in surprise. “What the heck is that!?”
Cadance panted heavily as she continued to beat against her cage, her eyes wide with terror. “It’s an old Concordian law. It states that all of an individual’s standings, titles and possessions become null and void upon their death...” Tears started to flow down the Alicorn’s cheeks as she choked, unable to continue.
In the end, it was Seath who finished in his rumbling voice.
“And that those holdings shall not be returned should the individual’s demise be rescinded.”
Twilight paled drastically, her mouth running dry. “N-no...” She breathed in horror. “Th-that’s impossible! You can’t it’s impossible!”
Scholar’s only response was to chuckle darkly, his hood shadowing his eyes. “Oh believe you me, anything is possible so long as the brain is intact and fresh enough.”
“No... NO!” Twilight screamed desperately, joining Cadance in her protests. “You can’t do this! You can’t do this!”
“Can’t I?” The human questioned smugly.
“No, you can’t!” Cadance insisted. “The Law is clear, if Shiny dies-!”
“Then jack shit happens.” He cut her off matter-of-factly. “I still win so long as he’s alive in...” Scholar glanced at his glasses quickly. “Ten more minutes. So long as he’s ‘alive’ then, then everything’s fine. Besides, we came up with the law to deal with issues over Succession and whatnot. It doesn’t hold any sway over bets-!”
“Unless someone calls it into effect, which I do.”
Scholar shot a betrayed look at Chrysalis. “Et tu, Ch-oof!”
The changeling rolled her eyes sardonically as she withdrew her hoof from her friend’s gut. “Oh just please shut up.”
Cadance laughed numbly in relief. “Thank you, Chrysalis, thank-ergh!” The Princess’s gratitude was cut off as her pupils shrank to pinpricks and her muscles locked up.
“That wasn’t for your benefit, turncoat.” Chrysalis snorted as her horn ceased glowing green. “It was for mine.” She gave Scholar a disbelieving look. “Did you seriously expect me to just take you trying to cheat in such a blatant manner lying down?”
“Worth a shot?” He wheezed tentatively.
“Still not happening. Win by the spirit of the rules or pay up now.”
“Got it.” Scholar groaned as he tapped the Array by his ear. “Yeah, I’m back. That’s a no on the Lazarus gambit, Chrysalis invoked the law... Yeah, yeah, she’s here too, brought the hive... Uh-huh, well, nevertheless, I’ll send over the intel and the patient and let you get to work, alright?... Yeah, alright, got it. See you soon!” And with that he stood up straighter, dismissing the Arrays. He cast a final blood-freezing glance towards Nova before raising his hand and snapping his fingers expectantly.
Seath complied, waving his hand in the air and conjuring a set of runes. Moments later, the crystal that composed the ground wrenched itself upwards until it formed an arch. The arch sparked and sputtered momentarily before flaring up and filling with a curtain of runes and magic.
Scholar floated the struggling Unicorn in front of the gateway. He then flipped close to the back of his book, tapped at a few points on the paper, and ripped the page clean out and into the air. Instead of falling, the sheet floated within a bubble of runes, several lines of glyphs and symbols flashing along its surface.
The human gave a final sardonic wave of farewell to Nova. “Tell Frannie I said hi for me!”
And with that, he shoved his arm out and cast her through the portal, which promptly snapped shut.
Scholar clapped his hands together successfully. “Well, that’s that! Nothing left to do but wait out the clock! By the way...” He cupped his chin contemplatively as he thought long and hard on something. “What do you guys think? Think she’ll have a body when all’s said and done?”
Chrysalis shrugged uncaringly. “With her? Who can tell? It’s about as likely to be one thing or another. She’s a wily one after all.”
Seath let out a rumbling chuckle. “Personally, I suspect she’ll be runic in nature. The last time I saw her, she was trying to golemancy with a few other fields.”
“Oh? Now isn’t that interesting. I have a lot to look forward to!”
“What in tarnation are you nutjobs yammerin’ on about!?” Applejack demanded. “And who the hay did you send that poor filly to anyways!?”
Scholar gave her a contemplative look before chuckling darkly. “Oh, nowhere important. She’s just going to see an old friend of mine. And don’t worry, she won’t kill poor old Nova. Though by the time she’s done with her...” He flashed them all a bloodthirsty grin.
“She’ll wish she had.”
-o-
Nova groaned painfully, shaking her head as she slowly came conscious.
The unicorn attempted to struggle, to move, but found her limbs to be completely restrained. Straining to shift her head around, the Unicorn found that she was strapped down to a slab of metal. Flicking her eyes back and forth, she realized that she couldn’t see anything. Everything was blocked out by the light source shining directly above her.
The soldier scrunched her eyes shut, trying her best to come to terms with what had happened: the attack, the capture... and when she’d come through the portal, a movement of swift movement before something insanely sharp jabbed her in the leg. After that... darkness.
Suddenly, the sound of clattering above her head caused her to strain her eyes upwards. While she couldn’t see anything, she could hear someone. A female, talking in a voice that was intelligent, but young and curious. There was a slight waver to it. Not like she was weak, but... like it was wholly natural.
“Let’s see...” The voice mused idly, a small metallic clicking sound ringing out the entire time. “Blood pressure, normal. Blood type, AB positive. Fur color, mix of grey hues. Temperature, within acceptable ranges. Injuries, minimal. Heart rate... elevated? Ah, you’ve woken up. Sorry I wasn’t with you right away, I just had to send something to my sisters.”
“Wh-who are you!?” Nova cried, renewing her struggles. “Let me out of here!”
“Ah... I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t do that. After all, you’re still my patient. And you’ve been mean to me and my friends, so...” The voice trailed off helplessly. “Still though, I might as well introduce myself. It’s the polite thing to do after all.”
Slowly, the origin of the voice came closer and and came into view. Nova’s mouth dropped open in horror at the individual before her.
The person was a human, like Scholar, but instead female. She had long, blond hair that hung down her back. Her eyes were a soft amber and her eyelids were at half-mast, giving her a vaguely half-asleep look. The horrifying part about her was the in-humane features on her. A pair of stitches ran out of the sides of her mouth, running across her face and a stitch above her left eyebrow that ran up her forehead. Two large bolts were sticking out of the sides of her head. She had one hand at the one on her left, idly twisting it around and producing the clicking noise. Meanwhile, her other hand was holding up a clipboard. A third arm was idly scratching away at the paper on it. A fourth was twirling a scalpel around absentmindedly while a fifth and six were tucked away in the pockets of her labcoat.
“My name is Fran Madaraki.” The monstrous human introduced herself politely. “Nice to meet you.”
Nova opened her mouth to scream... and gagged when Fran’s bottom-left hand whipped out its pocket and shoved a tongue depressor in her mouth.
“Hmm...” The patchwork person used the opposite hand to withdraw a pen light and shine it into her mouth. “Teeth seem to be fine... no inflammation...” She took her hand out and held Nova’s eye open, quickly shining the light over it. “Pupil dilation optimal, no brain damage. That’s good, that’s good...”
Nova coughed heavily before staring fearfully at the person. “Y-you... it’s really you... you exist!”
Fran blinked in surprise, tilting her head curiously. “Oh? Hm... I’ve been hearing rumors of a few legends about Duke Seath and Priscilla. It makes sense that there would be a few about us as well. So, tell me... what do they say about me?”
The soldier struggled violently, doing anything she could to move. “T-the mad doctor! The one who cuts up ponies for fun! F-F-Franken FraaaARGH!”
Her rambling evolved into a scream when Fran’s top right arm suddenly tossed its scalpel into her coat’s pocket, withdrew a syringe and stabbed it in her leg. Nova tried to keep screaming, but was horrified even further than before when her vocal cords were suddenly silenced and her limbs locked up.
“Franken Fran, huh?” The doctor mused as she withdrew the needle from the pony. “Eh, at least it’s better than Fran the Ripper. Sheesh, that was a fiasco. Now then...” Fran set down the clipboard and pen she’d been writing on on a nearby table and picked up a marker. She leaned over Nova and began marking out a specific area on the pony’s forehead, around the base of her horn. “Allow me to explain the procedure. First and foremost, I’ll be making an incision about here so that I can examine those fascinating implants of yours. After that... well...”
Fran gave her patient what would be a kind smile, if not for the manic spark in her eyes. “See, the whole time I’ve been in here? A few old friends of mine have grown... old. Weary. Parts of them have worn out. That’s not very good for them, you see. I don’t want them to die. I want them to live. That’s what I’m all about, you see? Preserving life. So... I’ll be needing a bit of help from you. Well... not so much you as your body.”
The mad doctor raised a hand and snapped her fingers. In response, lights lit up all along the room. Although she could not scream, Nova still gurgled in terror. Lining the walls were several containers, filled with liquid. Floating within them were... monsters, stitched together with bits and pieces of varying species. Unicorns, Pegasi, Earth Ponies, griffons, minotaurs, dragons... even a few she couldn’t quite place.
Fran spoke casually, pointing out different creatures. “Hubert needs some new limbs, I think that Largo could use your lungs, intestines for Dino, heart for Argus... Oh, and Priner will want a new horn too.” Noticing Nova’s shivering, she ran her hand through her mane in a calming manner. “Aww... there there... don’t worry... I won’t kill you. I’m against killing other creatures! Life is sacred!”
She then indicated another container. This one held a creature that appeared to be partly biological, while the rest was rune-encrusted stone. “See, that is my latest project. I call it Orthos. It’s almost done, but for it to work, it needs a final piece: a brain with which to process information. And yours?” Fran tapped Nova’s skull lightly. “Yours will do just fine. You’ll still be alive, I promise! Just a bit... uncomfortable is all. Alright?”
Tears were now leaking down Nova’s cheeks as she stared at Fran pleadingly.
The patchwork person ignored her, turning around and bustling about with a nearby table. “Oh, and for the record, that wasn’t anesthesia that I injected you with, merely a muscle paralyzer I concocted. We wouldn’t want you missing out on any of this, would we? Such an interesting procedure!”
Fran turned back around, her mouth set in a grin of child-like glee and an array of surgical tools gripped in her hands.
“Ah! Finally, my first job in so long! Well, let’s get to it!”
And with that, her hands raised up simultaneously, her face twisting into the epitome of dementia.
“Begin the operation!”
-o-
“Duck!”
Shining Armor grunted as he felt a hoof plant itself in the small of his back and shove him to the ground. However, he refrained from protesting due to the fact that a bolt of magic sheared through the air above him moments after.
BOOM!
The ear-shattering explosion seconds later emphasized his gratitude.
“Move!”
The captain reacted swiftly, scrambling to his feet and darting forwards.
That was the way things had been for the previous heart-pounding half-hour. The soldier that had rescued him had been desperately shepherding him along, pushing him to dodge and run as need be. Honestly, without him, Shining would have probably died several times over.
The entire place was... intense. Shining was in awe. After all, he’d only been able to see a tiny bit of Vitrum after arriving, but this... sure, the fights that were taking place up and down the street were a bit frantic, but the city still instilled a sense of wonder. The massive pillars of crystal, bridges that spanned deep chasms and the platforms they sometimes held up... Even with soldiers and citizens clashing here and there, it was still beautiful.
“Quick, in here!” The soldier urged, shouldering Shining Armor into a nearby alleyway.
The two staggered forwards for a bit before slumping against the walls surrounding them.
“We... should be safe... for now...” The soldier panted, holding his hoof to his chest. “Sweet Ares, I haven’t run that hard since my last tour. Enlist in the Army, they said. Re-enlist in the Army, they said. The Crystal Empire is a paid vacation, they said! Whoever the hell they is, I want them to look at Sombra and the active rebellion and tell me that this is a vacation!”
“Speak for yourself...” Shining groaned. “Considering how things have been going lately? I’m going to guess that I’ve been seeing the start of a brand new norm.” He glanced at his rescuer. “So... other than the running... how much of this is par for the course?”
The armored pony shrugged in a casual yet still exhausted manner. “Eh, it comes and goes. Normally the most hectic things get is when we raid a senior Academic’s base. Those can be tough. Lots of runes and traps and... yeah, word to the wise, first rule of raiding an Academic’s home? Don’t.”
Shining gave the soldier a searching look. “Raids, huh?’
The pony raised a hoof and waved it hastily. “For the record, we usually tried to keep things peaceful, tried to take them in quietly. It only got really bad if they fought. And no, we didn’t execute them either, and yes, we tried to keep their families uninvolved if we could.” The soldier was quiet for a second before sighing and hanging his head. “I tried to stay out of those fights myself. Puts a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve always thought the restrictions were a bit too harsh. Necessary, but harsh all the same.”
Shining Armor gave the unicorn a searching look before nodding in acceptance. “I suppose so. So... name and rank?”
The unicorn worked his helmet off his head and placed it on the ground. He then turned around and snapped Shining Armor a salute. He had a light grey coat and a light violet mane. “Corporal Faithful Shield of the Equestrian Army, captain. And sir, might I say? It’s an honor to meet the commanding officer of this generation’s Guard. They always did the forces proud.”
Shining Armor snorted and shook his head slightly. “Things change, Shield. You should have seen the debacle that was my wedding. Not one of us could do a damn thing, me least of all! Urgh, compared to you guys...”
“Let me guess. Total collapse of structure, your mind wasn’t your own and things all went to shit?”
The captain snapped his head up in shock. “How did you-!?”
“Remember that tour I mentioned?” Faithful Shield grinned sheepishly. “One of the last strikes on a changeling hive. Let me tell you, those buggy bastards are wily insects.. They tend to run circles around everyone. We usually have to marched straight from a base to the hive for a fight because camping anywhere else guarantees infiltrators and hypnosis. You aren’t as weak as you think. You’re just... not quite ready. Give it some time, you’ll get there.”
Shining Armor worked his jaw for a second before furrowing his brow. “Corporal Shield... why did you save me?”
The relatively old Unicorn shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “The charge on Prince Pompous’s-”
“Wait, you called that him Prince Pompous?” Shining Armor queried.
Faithful Shield started to sweat arrowheads as he flashed his superior a nervous grin. “Eh- aheh, What I meant to say was-! Er, I mean-! Look, Cap, everyone calls him that, don’t give me latrine duty!”
“I only ask because that’s what we call Prince Blueblood.”
The soldier gave the captain a wide-eyed look. “...it is scary how much our DNA regulates our personalities, isn’t it?”
“Oh most definitely.” Shining Armor nodded hastily in agreement.
“Right...” Faithful Shield rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Well... anyways... the blowhard’s spear has a hell of a blast. And while what I’ve seen of your shields are definitely hellishly strong by any standards, you couldn’t have known that it was specifically designed to pierce magical shields. Hell, the only reason why it didn’t kill the Duke is that he’s been working on shield magic longer than you, me, or the prince have been alive combined. So... yeah, I knew that thing was going to turn your chest cavity into a hole and I decided to act.”
Shining Armor raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Just a soldier doing his duty and protecting his superior, then?”
Faithful Shield stiffened almost instantly and raised his head proudly. “Sir, no sir!”
The captain of the Guard raised his head questioningly. “Explain, soldier.”
The corporal stamped his hoof on the ground definitively. “Sir! I am a soldier of the Equestrian standing forces! My duty is to protect all citizens of Equestria from all forms of harm, regardless of standing, birth, or any other possible factors, sir!”
Shining Armor stared at the soldier for a moment before smiling and nodding in acceptance. “Well said, soldier. So tell me, do you have a plan or are we just running around wildly?”
“Essentially yes.”
“...care to rethink that last statement?”
“Not even a bit, sir.” Shield shook his head. “See, the only reason that you aren’t dead yet is that the Oligarchs haven’t put all their resources into it. Hell, if Seath tried, he’d know exactly where we were at any and all times. As it is, we’ve been running around at random, going from place to place. If we were to head for a safehouse, or one of the barracks, to join up with any other soldiers, then we’d end up under siege alongside them. Our best option is to keep mobile, sticking to areas that have already been cleared. So long as we keep off the frontlines, we ought to be safe.”
Shining Armor stared at Faithful Shield contemplatively for a second before nodding in acceptance. “Very well then, lieutenant. You haven’t led me astray yet. Lead the way.”
Shield snapped of a casual salute before turning around and starting to trot down the alley. However, before he went more than a few steps he froze in place and slowly turned to stare back at the captain. “Umm... sir? I told you, I’m a corporal.”
Shining Armor smirked lightly and nodded in acknowledgment. “I know what I said, Second Lieutenant Faithful Shield. Is there a problem with that?”
Faithful Shield worked his jaw for a minute before nodding energetically in acceptance. “Y-yes sir!” And with that the two took off down the alley at a steady trot.
“And for the record?” Shining Armor panted out. “I’d make you a First Lieutenant if I could, but I promised my friend Flash Sentry that one for when he finally earns it. We went through basic together, so...”
“I get it, you think he’s all but guaranteed. No big deal with me, sir. Way I see it, I’m going to have to deal with all the stuck-up asses in Officer School so that’s a fair price. And you know what they say, if it’s good enough for me...”
Shining smiled, “It’s good enough for government work.” They shared a laugh at the joke that had been persevered for a full millenia.
“Well, anyways, come on!” Faithful Shield jerked his head to the side. “I know an old soldier’s pub a few streets down that should be abandoned in the middle of this! It should be this way!”
As he came out of the alleyway, the soldier started to turn right. But before he went even a step further, he hastily planted his hooves in the ground and fell on his rump, eyes wide with terror. “Or not.” He squeaked in terror.
“What are you-grk!” Shining Armor cut his question off as he looked over the soldier’s shoulder and choked in horror.
Priscilla slowly turned her head around and raised an eyebrow at the pair curiously, nonchalantly flicking a profusely bleeding pony’s corpse off of her scythe’s blade. A midnight-blue Earth Pony and a light-brown Unicorn standing at her sides turned around to face them as well, glaring at them vehemently as blood dripped off their rune and crystal laced forelegs.
“Definitely not.” Shining Armor gulped.
“Captain Shining Armor. Corporal Faithful Shield.” Priscilla intoned in her soft, lilting voice. “Father has been searching for you. He will be most pleased.”
Shining Armor instinctively started to light his horn up, but before it could begin to glow, an armored hoof shot backwards and buried itself in his gut.
Faithful Shield shot him a desperate look before chuckling nervously as he slowly started to back away from the murderous trio. He darted his eyes back and forth frantically before finally focusing on the Earth Pony and setting his lips in a rictus grin. “H-hey Quartz! Remember me? Ol’ Faithful! You gave me that nickname when I blew chunks after drinking too many during Soldier Happy Hour! We laughed and laughed...”
The burly Earth Pony snorted derisively, shaking his head slightly. “Close. It was my sister who gave you that name. Remember her, Ol’ Faithful?” He spat the name out as if it were a curse.
Almost immediately the soldier’s personality shifted, going from pleading to defensive, steeling his shoulders and reinforcing his gaze. “I wasn’t responsible for what happened to Jade, Quartz. I was against the raid. She helped a lot of people with her herbal remedies, regardless of the ways she grew them. I am truly sorry for what happened, Quartz. No one could have expected the wall to shatter the way it did. Please, she was my friend!”
“And she was my sister!” Quartz snarled angrily. He panted heavily for a second before taking a deep breath and bowing his head. “But... I know what you mean well. I know that you didn’t want to hurt her. Hell, I even advocated for you to join the Academia, for Duke Seath to invite you into the dream worlds.”
Faithful Shield blinked in shock. “Wh- but then, why did I never-?”
“Because...” Priscilla droned. “I tested you, and found you unwilling.”
“WHAT!? But-!”
“Do not try to object, Faithful Shield.” She cut him off flatly. “I searched your psyche. I looked into your mind, your being. I know you, Faithful Shield. I know that you are well and truly sympathetic to our cause... but you are also undyingly attached to the Equestrian cause as well. Look me in the eye, corporal, and tell me honestly: were you to join our cause, would you be devoted to it, wholly and unconditionally? Could you honestly say that you would be able to turn your back on the Princesses, and stand by our side? Can you promise we that we could trust you?”
The unicorn stared at her silently for a moment before closing his eyes and looking away.
“That’s what I thought.” Priscilla sighed wearily, running her finger along her scythe’s blade. “For whatever it is worth, I am sorry about this. You and Shining Armor are both remarkably honorable. But... you are both irrevocably opposed to us. We are on opposite sides of this war... and as such, no matter how much I wish otherwise... there is no other alternative.”
Faithful Shield nodded solemnly. “Yes. I understand. I suppose there’s no other choice. I’ll just stand here and take it like a-CHEESE IT!”
All of a second, the unicorn grabbed the front of Shining Armor’s barrel with his magic and bolted down the street away from the trio.
SLAM!
“GAH!” “ACK!”
They got about six meters before before they ran face first into a wall of brown magic and runes.
“Well that didn’t work...” Shining Armor muttered.
“I just remembered...” Faithful Shield mumbled against the barrier. “I forgot to introduce you to my superior. Shining Armor, meet Sergeant Amber, chief of the Riot Control Squad. Renowned for his barriers and crowd control tactics,” The soldier tilted his head slightly and raised an eyebrow at the brown unicorn. “I’m gonna go ahead and guess that the reason you don’t have a perfect record isn’t due to a few accidents, is it?”
The realigned soldier chuckled wistfully and rubbed the back of his head. “What can I say?” He asked honestly. “You and I, we’re just doin’ what we’ve always done: followin’ orders an’ upholdin’ our sworn duties. The difference, though? I’ve just got a few duties that don’t match up with your own. It’s nothin’ personal, mate. I swear it.”
“That’s real reassuring.”
“For whatever it is worth...” Priscilla sighed as she strengthened her grip on her weapon. “I will try and make your deaths painless. At the least, you both deserve that much. Do either of you have any final words that you would desire me to pass on?”
Shining Armor snarled as he turned around and faced the demi-dragon head on. “Go to-!”
“Er, actually, I have a few!” Faithful Shield interjected. He gave the Captain a desperate look. “Does a sequence of three swift hoof-taps and one stomp mean anything to you?”
Amber frowned and tapped his hoof to his chin in thought. “Wait a second... isn’t that the signal for a-”
Almost instantly, Shining Armor flashed a shield over his head, covering his ears and eyes. Simultaneously, Faithful Shield’s horn lit up and he blasted an orb of white light up into the air between the two groups.
Amber stared at the orb in confusion for a second before paling and letting his ears droop. “Awww shi-!”
BANG!
“Gah!” Priscilla whipped her forearm to her eyes,rubbing them vigorously as she tried to regain her sight, stumbling slightly as her inner ears tried to cope with the sudden stress put on them. The ponies at her sides weren’t much better, groaning as they attempted to reorient themselves.
“Let’s try this again. CHEESE IT!” Faithful Shield bolted down the street, Shining Armor following behind him. “We are so lucky, we are so lucky!” The soldier gasped. “If Amber had realized even a second sooner-!”
“Less talking, more running!” Shining Armor grit out.
“Come on, in here!” The soldier darted down an alleyway. He then slammed into Shining Armor’s side, holding him against the wall and clamping his leg over his muzzle. Shield’s horn flashed white, coating them in a curtain of white light. The curtain shimmered around them for a moment before fading away.
They stood there for a few seconds before finally...
Priscilla flashed into existence at the mouth of the alley, her brow furrowed as she raked the length of the sidestreet. For a moment, her gaze seemed to focus on the two of them. Then...
She scowled and looked away. “They’re gone,” She called out. “Seek them out, do not let them escape!”
And with that, she was encased in a flurry of snow and vanished. A second later and Quartz and Amber galloped by.
The pair stood there for a few, endless minutes before the curtain of white reappeared, shimmered and melted away. Faithful Shield stumbled away from Shining Armor, panting from exertion. “I had absolutely no idea whether or not that would work...”
Shining Armor gave the soldier a bemused look. “The heck was that!?”
The relatively older unicorn gave him a shaky grin. “ Light manipulation. It’s kind of my thing. Useful for when you want to take a nap without getting caught... or avoid being detected while you’re trying to avoid the daughter of a city’s god-governor who really wants you dead.”
The Captain gave him a hasty nod... before suddenly freezing. “Wait, ‘god-governor’!?”
“Eh, I wanted something in the same vein as god-king but less-”
“No no no, I mean...” Shining Armor searched for something to say. “Earlier... you said that Seath would be able to know exactly where we were if he wanted to. What did you mean by that?”
Faithful Shield breathed heavily for a second before sighing despondently. “Seath is... immortal. And I mean legitimately immortal. Incinerate him, decapitate him, disintegrate every last piece of him, anything and everything you want, it doesn’t matter. He’ll always come back, always regenerate to pristine condition. The reason why is that he’s found a way to link himself to the world, a corporeal connection, an unshakable tether to an object. So long as that tether exists, Seath will not, cannot die.”
“Woah...” Shining Armor breathed. “But then... what is... he...” The white unicorn trailed off, a hint of horror and recognition creeping into his voice. His eyes slowly trailed down to his hooves. To the floor beneath. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“Nope.” Faithful Shield shook his head solemnly. “In return for his help to save the world from an imminent threat, Seath as allowed to design and construct Vitrum. He then linked himself to it. For all intents and purposes, Seath is Vitrum. So long as he remains within its walls, he is essentially a god.”
The captain processed the information for a second before feeling his mouth run dry. “E-eight more minutes...” He breathed in horror. “In eight minutes, Seath is going to go all out. A-and I heard what he was called, the un-seated Oligarch. If that’s what an un-official one looks like, then how the hell-!”
“We’ll deal with that later.” Faithful Shield interjected. He raised a hoof and placed it on Shining Armor’s shoulder. “For now... for now we just try and survive. Okay?”
Shining Armor considered his words for a moment before nodding in acceptance. “Right... right.” He shrugged Shield’s hoof off and began trotting out of the alleyway. “Come on, let’s keep moving.”
Faithful Shield grinned eagerly as he followed his superior. “I hear you! And who knows? With any luck, we won’t run into anyone else!”
They emerged back into the sunlight...
And stared bemusedly at the twin spears pointed between their eyes.
“Well well... what do we have here, boys?” Rotfang leered.
“A pair of dead-beat pansy ponies who hold the key to great fortune!” Lacewing cackled.
“LET’S GET THEM!” Chitter roared as he jumped into the air, waving his hooves energetically.
Faithful Shield took in the horde of black, chitinous, murderous figures before them numbly. “Me and my mouth...” He whimpered.
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Pay 2 fap if a much better play model.
damn i am not against gore, but franken fran gore is not my cup of tea
Oh my god,it's Franken Fran...oh I can not express how happy I am to see her!
I think this piece of music fits Fran perfectly:
If only their were words to describe my love of this story!!!
I might have to stop reading this, its getting a tad hard to enjoy Celestia and her army getting stomped on.
Good story, just not for me.
4754332 Duly noted, and I shall also duly make a note to give a wide berth to anyone who slaps (illogical*) ad hominems on those who (more or less) politely criticize their chosen work.
*I do have a decent understanding of what fanfiction entails, thank you very kindly just the same. Take a look at how many favorites I have, for example. But, in context, that's amusing: "It's called fanfiction for a reason, and that reason is because it throws out and tramples on all the canon characterizations you know and love!" Wait, what?
Is there a chance of Sunset Shimmer appearing in this? Like maybe Celestia intended to kill her after Sunset learned the truth and she was forced to run away?
Equestria really needs something to balance the scales soon otherwise this story is gonna be over way to early.
Shining armor:Damn it Shield!
4754377
Sorry for nitpicking, but you misspelled homonyms.
But maybe there are those that want to ADD onto the Universe, such as, why are Celestia and Luna Princesses, when they should be queens? If they are just Princesses, that would mean the King and Queen are alive and well somewhere, so why aren't they mentioned?
4754425
I love nitpicks, but this one is out of place, for indeed I made no such error.
Add crazy six armed lady with no moral whatsoever.....poor Pony.
Just pure awesome.
4753815 4754510 Considering Equestria's past record, Condordian's are still restraining themselves to their own laws so they are being very tame about what they're doing.
OH HAPPY DAY!! THIS HAS UPDATED!
Also
Really when it all comes down to it, life IS a game. Of cards and the dealer is the most crooked card shark to ever cut the cards
4754465
We're done here.
Getting good so far, keep up the good work.
Alright, just read through something like 5 chapters of the "Franken Fran" comic.
Thank you for showing that to me.
No, seriously. It's awesome. Creepy, and grimdark as fuck, but awesome.
Awesome chapter.
Equestrian Black Ops´grim fates could have been prevented with a sassy gay friend, and the Evil Overlord's minions guide.
Franken Fran?
Eh, I would have preferred Illuminor Szeras.
To each his own I guess.
Life truly is a game, and only those who understand their place in it can achieve true greatness.
So does anyone else think that there's some romantic history between Faithful Shield and Cadence.
I mean she recognized him after a quick Glance at long distance, and it's pretty obvious that Shining Armor isn't her first husband.
I feel sorry for Nova, Fran is going to destroy her...
4755688 No, no no! She'd never kill her! Though in a way... that's worse.
4755321 Sadly, I only have a cursory knowledge of WH40K. As such, there will be no Eldar or Imperium of Man. Sorry.
4755699
Will she retain her mind and memories after becoming Orthos?
4755726 Her brain is being used to process information. It doesn't mean that she herself is in control.
4755729
Soul eater reference to Dr. Stein anybody?
4755729
Stitches, I looked into space, confused.
Bolts, I paled.
Arms, I realised I may know who you were talking about.
Name, I sighed, realising that Nova is now certifiably, undeniably, absolutely f**ked.
Though it has to be said, I always saw Fran in images with Two arms. Where did 3 through 6 come out of?
4755958 She sometimes stitches them on whenever she's performing an operation. You can find fanart and pages from the manga attesting to that fact.
And for the record, did you like that I included her? It's just that there are so few Franken Fran fanfics that its simply criminal! So when I saw a viable way to use her, I took it!
4755958
She uses more arms when she is operating.
freakinawesomenetwork.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/frankenfran_v1_021.jpg
4755984
Much like how Hellsing's Alucard (Wouldn't be surprised if he showed up) renewed Dracula, Franken Fran took Frankenstein to the next level. The only true master of Eldritch abominations below H.P Lovecraft himself.
I'm surprised Fran didn't show up before. Then again, I haven't met too many people on the Internet who've even heard about it. The things my country think up. That manga about the human shaped tunnels in the mountain,
(Warning, do not look at if you have a weak stomach)
i61.photobucket.com/albums/h64/_Tibs_/Amigara/Gyov02c09pg204.png
Silent Hill,
Franken Fran, I dread to delve deeper.
Oh, I finally understand what's going on.
It's a power struggle between gods. No side is really better than the other. Damn, I was actually on Scholar's side. Now I kinda don't care who wins. Both sides are planning to do the same thing. Commit absolutely horrible acts against the other, while claiming they are in the right to do so.
4756263 Did I ever truly define Scholar as the hero? Sure, most of the story follows him and his friends, but does that make them genuinely just? For the record, the trope 'Villain Protagonist' exists for a reason.
fc01.deviantart.net/fs40/f/2009/044/5/1/Franken_by_gamera1985.jpg
^= Please
I didn't read Franken Fran, but I know Soul Eater, and that cranking bolt in here head made me think that she's rule 63 on Dr. Stein. I practically waited for her to roll in on office chair, faceplanting as it wheels got cough up in some cables or something.
Loving this story dude. Really twists things you know about the show. I like stories like these that put extra meaning to events from the show and completely 'kick the dragon' your original thoughts. Also, 'kick the dragon', is possibly the FUNNIEST god damn things I've ever read! Good job!
I only feel bad for the Equestrian soldiers, civillians and the Mane Six they were'nt around back then. Fuck Celestia, Luna and Cadence!
Oh really? Okay, go fight that guy who can teleport, fly, blast things, doesn't age, can't get sick, is invincible, immune to all poisons, can't be killed, warp reality infinitely, be everywhere at once, create anything and everything from nothing, turn things to nothing, time travel, banish armies of powerful beings to entire dimensions of his own creation, dream walk, control life and death, bestow powers onto others, heal people, control anything and everything, and is powerful enough to defeat everything in the whole of creation effortlessly, just by willing it. Try it. I dare you.
4757930 Easy enough. Get two people who are exactly like that person to fight him.
And, just checking, are you simply pointing out a flaw in the logic or are you talking about Scholar? Because for the record, he's not omnipotent.
Advanced Immortality. Not as good as Absolute, but still a LOT better than Simple Immortality. Though most have a more "I= invincible" thing going on instead of a "constant self-resurrection" thing. *shrugs*. One thing, does the tether need the planet to work? Could he enchant it to be incorporeal, or place it in a demiplane(pocket universe), and have it still work? Oh, and how much of Vitrum does he need for it to function? Does he regenerate where he was, or in Virtum, or what?
Man okay no. At first I really liked this story, it was very interesting in it's premise and everything.
Then things started going downhill. I managed to tolerate out of nowhere Dark Souls characters, but some completely unrelated girl from some anime is where I draw the line. This has officially devolved into a clusterfuck. Scholar and his pals are quite boringly OP, pulling stuff out of their asses constantly, and this whole computer-like crystal city goes completely against everything I imagined when I started reading this story (it initially reminded me of the "Thief: the dark project" storyline in a way: a wild, untamed world full of adventure and glory, suppressed and twisted into a safe haven for cowards to prosper and stagnate in. But a computer uber-city is so much unlike that kind of wild untamed world that it isn't even funny). Maybe it's my fault for expecting something else than where the story went, but I really, really don't care for where it went. I really liked it when it was more of a challenge for Scholar and the Trixie-Gilda-Will-Chryssie gang, and in my opinion it should've kept like that instead of them all suddenly becoming irrationally awesome (by now all they seem to do is flaunt how Super Cool they are), the opposing forces being treated like so much meat for the sake of Epic Violence, more and more unwelcome characters just barging in (hell, I was becoming wary even when the golem twins appeared, come to think of it that was a sign of things to come that I didn't recognize). The Scholar really stopped being a likeable or interesting character, and the initial conflict and premise became nothing more than "let's slaughter everyone in this cheap power fantasy". When that Fran lady said her name, I googled it, silently begging for nothing to turn up... and then lots of anime pictures turned up and I threw my arms up and stopped reading this story forever. Sorry.
Oh....i remember Fran. Had the "pleasure" to stumble on that manga couple years ago(shudders), its was an interesting read but boy it was trippy to watch.
Surfer Boy is gonna die?!
...
...
...
Do the Shining Armor wiggle jiggle!~ *(dances merrily!)*
4755897 Nope. Franken-Fran reference with Fran Madaraki. Completely different.
Franken Fran of all beings? Well I can safely say I did not see that one coming in a million years. Could not have imagined it if I tried. Quite the shocker there.
Also don't understand people being squeamish about gore. Never phases me.
4760658 Agreed. I've become rather jaded to it.
When the Oligarchs "Came back to life" and faced the Black Ops, i tought of this: