Chapter 5: When Legends Collide
Observation and Protection
Chapter 5: When Legends Collide
By: Stillmatic
“Long ago, before many of the evils that L.U.R.K. today, there was one so inherently evil and corruptive, none could stand up to His raw power. While His name is nearly lost from the annals of time and history, His legend of cruelty and gruesome actions have trickled down to those of this age. Many creatures, such as Discord the Devilish, Chrysalis the Corrupt, and Nightmare Moon the Never-Ending, take power and personality from His reign turned myth. Over time, they’ve come to embody such stories in their own acts, becoming the last remaining vestiges of the First Tyrant. While He was said to have been slain thousands of years ago by the early Equestrians, it was also mentioned that He would ultimately return once more along with the Darkness contained within His bag. However, such prophecies are subject to criticism due to them also involving an ambiguous character that was described as ‘having no relation to this plane of existence; a withering devotion, and colossal energy gifted to only those that were marked by impossible occurrences.’ While next to nothing is known about said creature, one thing is for certain: It doesn’t hesitate to slaughter those it deems unrighteous in its cause. Whether this mysterious interloper is a threat or an ally to Equestria is something that remains to be seen, should or if it ever decides to arrive. Nonetheless, Tirek the Tyrannical would once again resurface, ready to plunge Equestria into a state of destruction.” – Legends of the Pre-Discordian Era, Author Unknown, from the Canterlot Royal Archives
12:05 P.M., Canterlot Market District.
Star-Spangle, a sergeant in the Royal Day Guard, was never one for civil disobedience. Twice already he’d been reprimanded for using violence to quell the citizens that he believed needed such treatment. The situation he was in now was completely different as he quickly kept pace with the alicorns beside him, realizing such tactics would mean him most likely spending the rest of his life in a dungeon in the middle of nowhere. The stallion quickly looked around nervously, trying to spot any threats as the Royal Pony Sisters cantered towards the alleyway where Royal Guard operations were being conducted to clear the sewers and waterways.
“Plea—“, he dodged a celery-stand, “Please, Your Highnesses, it isn’t adequately safe to be in any area other than the Castle. Creatures may come out from the sewers and attack, Goddesses forbid.”
Princess Luna held back from using the traditional royal Canterlot voice, not wanting to be bothered to use it on such a pathetic excuse for a guard, “We shall forbid, now stand down and resume your post.”
While her sister was troubled at Luna’s harsh tone, she found herself proud that her vocabulary was becoming more in-tune with this millennium. “We’ll be fine, now do as she says.”
Star-Spangle reluctantly stopped and watched as both alicorns continued to the stallion-hole the General was returning from. They stopped and spoke to the various guards moving about with equipment, such as swords, shields, and other necessities to purge the sewers. One guard saluted as Princess Luna asked him a question.
“Guard, what is the situation down below?”
He looked at the other guards for a moment, seeing that most seemed a bit traumatized while only one or two were able to shrug off any feelings, “We’ve come in contact with two types of creatures as of the last hour. Both have a similar structure, but their postures are completely different, as well as their intelligence and tactics.”
Celestia gave her sister a look, “Two, now? Do you have any you could show us?”
The guard nodded and barked and order to several others, who retrieved body bags stacked behind a nearby dumpster residing in the alley. Both the Princesses seemed to droop at the sight of such a sad sight, despite the fact that these were the very same creatures attacking their ponies. The guard from earlier unzipped the longer one to reveal something the Sun Goddess had never seen before. The body shape was similar to a Diamond Dog, but its design was much taller and leaner. Its ashy, grey skin looked almost entirely moistened in its own blood with several large cuts across its chest and the parts of its head peeling back revealed breaks in the skull where the brain resided.
Celestia nearly gagged, covering her mouth and motioned for him to close it, “Please, that’s enough.”
He did so. “As you wish, Your Majesty. Would you like to see the other? It seems to be fighting against the previous ones in a territory war.”
“Yes, but close it the moment I give the signal.”
The guard placed a hoof on the zipper and pulled back. Unlike the last creature that was shown, this one was significantly odder. It appeared to be wearing a large mask over part of its face and dressed in unorthodox clothing. The jaw on it hung loosely by a mere tether of muscle, allowing for both Princesses to see the corroded and foul mouth within. A putrid stink wafted into their nostrils and Princess Celestia motioned her hoof once again, having seen enough. He quickly closed it in order to not disturb her any more than he already had.
“Horrid….” Celestia muttered, pressing her right hoof to her mouth in a bid to keep her lunch down. She took a few deep breaths and looked towards her sister, who was still staring at the body bags before her blankly, “Luna? What’s the matter?” She placed the hoof she just used on herself towards her sister’s forehead, feeling for a temperature, “Are you sick? Do you need to vis—”
Luna pushed the hoof away, not truly paying attention, “Sister, what would you say if perhaps I saw either of these before? Long ago, before this situation?”
The guard from earlier wanted to back out of the conversation, thinking it wasn’t right for him to be part of it. In his mind, it would be an insult to the Princesses to simply be listening in on what could possibly be a private conversation, but he knew it would be worse to simply walk away without being ordered to. He remained where he was and tried to focus.
“Sister…” Celestia now stared at Luna, “What do you mean? You’ve seen these before?”
“The night after I was exorcised of Nightmare Moon, I had a dream of a strange place, one that would make Equestria pale in comparison.” Luna seemed to drift off as she spoke, “… It was fascinating to see how all those beings interacted with each other, but bothersome and frightening.” She glanced at the Sun Goddess before staring back at the body bag in front of her, “Have you seen, while I was gone that is, creatures driving out monster-like creations with exploding tools of destruction while also slaughtering each other, all in the name of monetary gain?”
Celestia, due to her caring nature, felt a twinge of pity towards whatever it was her sister saw, “Killing…? For money?”
“Yes,” Luna nodded, “In fact, it seemed that they’d rip off parts of each other to sell as ornaments or as research purposes. If this is certain, a much more intelligent species had killed another of its kind; it would desecrate the corpse and steal whatever it pleased before leaving it on the ground to either be picked apart by animals or to rot. Such was life there, it seemed. Yet, there was an order, despite the apparent chaos amongst the beings.” She just barely smiled, “Massive groups, coming together for common goals and helping one another in order to preserve a sense of peace, despite knowing full-well of all the dangers lurking nearby.”
Princess Celestia wasn’t entirely sure how to react to what her sister was saying. Could it be possible that her imagination had created such a thing? That it was merely a dream and not a vision of some distant land where uncontrollable interaction, killing, and greed were the mode of operation for its inhabitants? It seemed far-fetched that even such a place could exist in this world, let alone any other. While the Princess had seen her fair share of bad experiences with violence, she was ignorant of the farthest boundaries of malice and chaos, despite having met Discord on more than one occasion.
Luna continued, “But that’s not to say that these groups didn’t fight with each other, Sister. There were several that blatantly attacked others without provocation and two in specific feuded considerably, leaving casualties in every direction. It’s interesting,” she mused, not noticing the abhorred look she was receiving from both the guard and Celestia, “these creatures, not the ones before us, but the much more social ones spoke amongst each other, helped each other, murdered each other, and simply shrugged it off as normal day-to-day occurrences. It truly makes me wonder what it is that allows them to be so.…”
“Detestable?” Celestia interjected. “If they’re willing to simply take the lives of others without reason or consideration, then they must simply be savage animals.”
“Sister, they seemed to be far from animals as I saw them. I didn’t see their motives or reasons, but I did see their dreams.”
“Dreams? What exactly did they have dreams about?”
“To put it simply, nearly all of them had horrific nightmares that wouldn’t allow them to sleep properly.” Her ears shifted downwards, “In fact, some died from the shock they received during their sleep.”
Celestia, sensing something was wrong, nuzzled her sister, “Luna, you did nothing wrong, nor did you do anything to them that would cause their nightmares.”
The Moon Goddess didn’t even flinch and continued to keep her eyes on the corpses, “… That may not be true, but I won’t know for certain until I capture one myself and interrogate it personally.”
“As I hope you will, Your Highness,” a voice called from nearby. General Whitemark exited the stallion-hole and bowed alongside his subordinates, who soon got to filing paperwork on their actions down below, “Your Majesties.”
Luna rolled her eyes, “No need for such formalities, General, we need only to speak about the current situation.”
He nodded, “Yes, I had prepared a packet of information regarding these creatures and the autopsies, but I think you would rather hear it from myself instead. But Your Highness, I must ask something regarding your dreams.” He internally winced, just realizing what he had said, “I apologize, I had heard some of your conversation from below. Captain Polaris used a spell to increase my hearing capability.”
Before Luna could say anything, Celestia cut her off, “It’s fine, General; please, ask your question and she’ll answer to the best of her ability.”
Princess Luna gave her sister an annoyed look for essentially putting her on the spot, “Yes… feel free to ask, General.”
Whitemark cleared his throat, “Princess, have you happened to see a creature, by any chance, that walked upwards, with a metallic carapace?”
She frowned, “There were several with that very same description. Please be more specific.”
He bowed his head in self-admonishment, “Yes, Your Highness. It was dark brown, with large boots, metallic objects attached to its sides, some form of full-headed helmet, and a weapon capable of firing small projectiles, as well as creating explosions.”
Luna considered it for a moment, taking in the information. The description was still vague, as she had seen a few like that, but one in specific came to mind. There was a large facility, teeming with activity but it seemed both time and space had been distorted somehow. The air had been perverted and masses of energy coalesced in random areas. The creatures jumped through them, but only two seemed to have been worthy of notice.
One was wearing a thin-layered suit with the hood upwards. Still, she could easily make out the nasty cut on his face, and she shivered at the thought of what could have caused it. It had been running and literally wiping out all resistance in its path by itself, despite being severely outnumbered and stuck in a hopeless situation. She aptly named it “Running One.” It had managed to jump through several blue vortexes of energy before it disappeared entirely.
The second was hulking in stature, but surprisingly enough, far more silent. Whatever it was it had the same description as what General Whitemark had given her, furthering her suspicions. It ran madly in an attempt to stop the previous creature, but to no avail as the other faded from existence. Yet, it flung itself through regardless, also becoming nonexistent in seeable reality. Her dream cut off there and forced her awake. Looking back at it, she almost regretted not telling Tia of it. Almost.
“Why yes, I know exactly of the one you’re talking about, General,” Luna replied coolly, “I would go so far as to say I’ve seen it interact with others and hunt down one of its own.”
Celestia got close to her sister’s face and gazed at her with a hurt look, “Lulu…” she whispered, “Why didn’t you tell me you saw all of that? I could have helped you get through it.”
Luna’s face suddenly went deadpan, “I believe the Princess of Dreams can effectively control her own, as well as her emotions, in any given situation, Sister.”
Despite what she had just heard, Princess Celestia pinched Luna’s cheek and smiled, “Oh, how I love it when you try to be strong for your big sis.” Her smile grew as Luna sighed in mock exasperation, “Mother and Father would be proud to see how capable you’ve become.”
Luna’s expression softened significantly, “Tia… it’s good to be back…. Now, let’s prevent more casualties and keep Canterlot safe.”
“Actually,” Whitemark spoke up, “We’ve only had three actual casualties so far within the ranks, and only two wounded. While it is still a significant loss, statistically speaking, it pales in comparison to their numbers. The last count led us to twenty-four dead creatures, combined.”
Luna glared at him coldly, making him shiver ever so faintly, “General, even a single loss of a life on our part is a tragedy, not a statistic!” She spat. “Now, lead us into the…” The Princess looked at the stallion-hole and shuddered, “Sewers, so we may investigate ourselves.”
He bowed, “Yes, Your Majesty. Please, follow me.”
Celestia nudged Luna as they trotted behind the General, “You didn’t need to go and snap at him like that. He is trained to see deaths as numbers and not actual lives.”
“Well, I don’t like that one bit!” Luna snapped back while they headed down the stairs, “Surely we can provide empathy training to the Guards.”
“Empathy?” The Sun Goddess gave her a look, “For soldiers? Who would possibly kill if the situation called for it in order to protect Equestrian citizens?”
Luna rolled her eyes, “When you put it that way, of course it sounds silly. Then again,” she bumped hips with Celestia and smirked. “You would know about that wouldn’t you, Sister?”
Princess Celestia bumped back, “Don’t think I’m so old that I’ve lost my ‘fun,’ Luna.”
Whitemark suddenly stopped and looked around quickly, as if trying to spot something, “Princesses, I don’t believe it to be—“ His ears cocked up higher, “Hmmm… speaking… i’ve never heard such a language before….”
Princess Celestia quickly casted a spell that would, in most cases, allow for universal translation through a magical tether between minds. His eyes lit up for a brief moment and he listened, letting the words sink in. The General’s jaw sank slightly, but he quickly shifted it up in order to maintain his appearance.
“I hear two voices… one older, gruff… the second significantly younger.…”
“What are they saying?” Luna asked, hiding her frantic tone.
“They’re having a discussion about something called an ‘anomaly’ that resides nearby, supposedly. The older one is suggesting the other protect him while he ‘deactivates’ it by taking something from it…. It mentioned something about ‘Beads.’”
“Beads?” Celestia asked incredulously. “They’re after simple beads?” She put a hoof to her head and shook it, “This can’t possibly be happening… murders, over small trinkets? What has this world come to?”
Luna cleared her throat, “They might not be from this world, Sister. For all we know, this ‘anomaly’ could have brought them here.”
Whitemark’s head quickly recoiled back in surprise, “Well, I’ll be… the older one just ordered the younger one to not attack anypony lethally; only what it called ‘mutants.’” He turned back to face the Princesses, “I believe this would be our best chance to restrain and capture them.”
Princess Celestia nodded, “Very well, lead the way, General.”
He nodded and galloped towards his destination, his ears serving as a guide. Both Royal Pony Sisters kept pace with him and followed by his side along with several other guards who had just arrived. Neither Sister knew of what was to come, but it was always in everypony’s best interest to be prepared. Still, both felt something was severely off in the air, and it definitely wasn’t the sewer water that stained their shoes. A certain aura clogged the area, making them tense. Celestia had a feeling things would get out of hand.
“Yes, this one is odd, isn’t he?”
One scientist looked at his colleague from over his shoulder, “Are we discussing this now? We need to subordinate him immediately before he gets loose again.”
“I believe we’ve found the new head of this little ‘faction’ we’ve created, don’t you think?” the first asked, eyes on the unconscious man lying on a table.
“Oh? For what reason is this one any different?”
“Because, this…” he checked the PDA of the stalker and glanced at the profile, “Mercenary Scar could prove quite useful, especially since he managed to fight all the way here and destroy a military attack helicopter. I think that’s fitting enough for the position, don’t you?”
The other pulled a surgical light down onto the body and placed several electrodes on the Mercenary’s forehead, “Let’s get this over with, then. We’re wasting time.”
“Tsk, look at these readings… the blowout just now; it’s completely energized his body to the point of super-human ability….” The first scientist looked between the clipboard and man frequently, “While everyone else was either killed, knocked unconscious, or zombified from that blowout, he was the only one to still be standing and healthy, I might add.”
“He’ll be useful. Now,” the second pushed away the lamp, used tape to hold back the Mercenary’s eyelids, strapped him down, and pulled down a brainwashing monitor towards his face, “Let’s make ourselves a new guardian.”
They got to work, making sure the process was complete within only an hour. By that time, the Mercenary was no longer a stalker, nor a sensible person. From that day forth, his name would be feared throughout the Zone. He was the Highest Preacher of the Monolith, Charon.
Charon extended his arm out and tried to grab onto the Mama’s Beads within the anomaly. This one was by far the rarest he had ever seen. In fact, this particular anomaly was the progenitor to the Space Bubble, which eventually became more common than the “Time Machine” as it was called. Despite significantly slowing time from hours inside to minutes outside, the health of whoever stepped in would usually never retain any ill side-effects, unlike most other anomalies.
It was considered to be one of the few miracle anomalies within the Zone and had once, when it existed, functioned as rest stops for any stalker capable of spotting them. Mutants and other anomalies would refrain from getting within at least fifty or so feet of the anomaly, for reasons no one knew. However, greed became its downfall, as stalkers readily snatched the Mama’s Beads within them, effectively deactivating the anomaly and destroying it. It seemed that despite the Zone creating anomalies on a regular basis, there were only a limited number of Time Machines to exist.
The Monolithian glanced back at his subordinate down below. Ten feet below him was a newly-indoctrinated rookie who was not incredibly impressive. He was devout, yes, but what good was a soldier for the Monolith if they couldn’t even fire properly at the non-believers or mutants? Entirely shameful, was what it was.
Charon stood on a relatively low catwalk, trying to grab the artifact within the Time Machine. In order to prevent further leaks, he learned he needed to destroy the anomalies producing them. A sixth sense alerted him that this one was close to maturing, most likely soon to become a Space Bubble and allow mutants through. The Leader leaned over the edge and grasped for the object, but it floated a mere foot away from his gloved hands. The fall below would cripple any mutant that came through, other than a bloodsucker or snork, but that still left too many possibilities. Leaning further, he threw his arm once more to grab the Beads.
Then, a flash of light threw him back against the railing, staggering him heavily. Thankfully, the goggles provided with his exoskeleton were more than enough to block out what would normally be blinding. Shafts of lights twisted and darted past and into the Time Machine, which fizzled loudly. It was already happening. He lurched forward once again and barely restrained himself from jumping over to grab the artifact, but pulled out as another force shoved him back roughly. Charon glanced about and concluded it wasn’t safe to be near an unstable anomaly such as this one. He quickly made his way down using a nearby staircase and met the other Monolithian as he hit the bottom.
“(We’re moving back to the tunnel,)” he stated in his utterly charismatic, monotone voice.
“(Why?) The rookie asked.
Charon, a protector of divinity, had no time for such impotent and foolish questions as he jogged down the tunnel away from the large area he was just in. Each step launched murky water back up at him and soon the rookie was nearby, practically sprinting to keep up. Despite his age, Charon still was one to be reckoned with. They stopped halfway and the Voice turned around, hoisting up his Vintar BC and crouching low. The other Monolithan stood up, a mistake, and aimed his Viper towards the area further down.
It seemed especially quiet for a few moments, before ghastly howls echoed through the sewers. Several dozen snorks, more than any stalker had ever seen together before, dropped down from the Space Bubble and landed effortlessly. Neither Monolithian flinched, but their scents eventually came into contact with the highly feral, highly sensitive nose of the snorks. Nearly all of them flipped towards the two simultaneously. Despite being fairly strong mutants, their lack of intelligence and extreme reliance on natural instinct proved to be their downfall as an F1 grenade was tossed directly at the group’s front.
They disregarded it and clambered forward until it exploded, instantly launching several of the mutants and parts of them into the air before crashing back down into the water. Unfortunately, that still left quite a bit more, and Charon had just used his last grenade. Without hesitation, he began firing, eliciting his younger comrade to do so as well. The mutants were cut down quickly enough, leaving only a few stragglers limping their way pathetically towards the two. Charon, being the reputably cold stalker he was, proceeded to smash in the heads of the surviving snorks with his boots.
“What now?”
He prevented himself from rolling his eyes and turned to the rookie, “Take our prizes.”
The younger stalker watched as the veteran tore off the feet of the snorks using a knife, snapping the highly elastic tendons with a jolt. He only took one foot for each mutant and was soon carrying quite a lot. Only a scientist or highly desperate stalker would be able to tell you how a mutant bit tastes, or what it does to the body for that matter, but Charon was no stranger to biting off bits of a monster’s eye or boar hoof.
Those parts always tended to be the most nutritious and least radioactive, along with other positive or negative effects. Dining on a snork foot at the right moment could save you in a grim situation, if you could manage to stomach it down. While most were unwilling to touch that specific part, Charon had no problems with it. Plenty of stalkers were turned off by the prospects of eating what was once a human being, but there was no complaining amongst the Monolithians. You ate what you were served and gave no complaint, completely trusting of whatever it was you found or were given. Still, the rookie watched countless heads and feet dangle off of Charon’s body. It was a miracle in itself that it didn’t encumber him.
“Do you enjoy the taste?” The rookie asked, hoping to start some kind of conversation.
Charon, however, wasn’t up to it. “No.”
He took the hint and kept quiet, watching as his superior tied his prizes together to his body using wire. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think Charon was a living mass of different body parts stolen from the dead. Still, he remained where he was and didn’t speak. The rookie began to follow once Charon had begun to walk away, but something caught his heel. He shouted for help once before succumbing to a blow that nearly liquefied his shins, causing him to drop to the floor. A cracked, faded gasmask stared down at him and the last thing he saw was the gnarled mouth of the snork open and release a low, guttural growl.
Charon looked passively at the scene, not all that bothered by watching the newly arrived swarms of mutants maul his subordinate into a bloody pulp. The screams ended all too fast, implying either his head was literally crushed or his jugular was torn out and prevented any more. It occurred to him that he was still in pouncing distance, however, and he ran farther into the sewers, the snorks giving chase. He’d have to bide his time and continue until he found a more suitable spot to alleviate their disease of living.
“Princesses!” Whitemark hissed, “It approaches quickly!”
Each of the Royal Sisters readied their horns for anything that may pop out, despite not having had the need for them yet. That being the case, they didn’t want a single mishap to occur when it was necessary that they attack. The General’s ears perked up towards the direction in front of them before flicking back down. He grunted as pain shot through them from an incredibly loud noise coming from around a nearby corner. Then it appeared, splashing water as it came towards the end of the tunnel opposite of them.
Several creatures were also following it and as it turned the corner to run towards them, it suddenly took notice of the Equestrians. It reeled back and tried to do a quick turn but was cut off by a tackle from one of the monstrosities chasing it. Celestia quickly cut off its only route of escape through a magic barrier while they watched the interloper do a dance of sorts. The fluidity of its movements, the sheer skill it stepped with, and the relatively ominous way it knew each move the creatures surrounding it would take left them in awe.
It appeared passive at first, with simple ducks, dodges and half-spins, but it turned deadly quickly. It grabbed the legs of one of the monsters and proceeded to use it as a bludgeoning tool on the others. That is, before they all simultaneously leaped at him. The Princesses, White Mark, and several guards saw the creature go down under the weight and lose itself in the countless bodies swarming over it. What had really caught them off guard was a single thing, however. Out of seemingly nowhere, a voice rang through the entire sewer systems.
Charon was already waist-deep in snorks, but even he knew this was getting ridiculous. While snorks were deadly adversaries in nearly all regards, they were absolutely brainless when it came to their ability to tackle anything that was significantly armored, much like himself. Their claws weren’t able to tear through the fiber or dig within his neck, as opposed to them being able to do so with anyone else without an exoskeleton. Still, it was more than disenchanting to watch as countless snorks literally rubbed themselves over you and growled like dogs.
Despite the needlessly loud vocalizations however, he heard something ring off of his PDA. His integrated HUD displayed the radio message as coming from an unregistered source, which was fairly common due to the members of Monolith barely ever using radios due to their innate telepathy with the Monolith, which essentially guided them. Still, that single message made him go limp.
“MERC! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! WE’RE GETTING SLAUGHTERED OVER HERE!”
Charon’s pupils dilated. He remembered that. He had heard that more than enough times in the Zone. But that couldn’t be, he was a Monolithian, not some Mercenary! His mind raced to understand what was happening within, but it came to the same inconclusive results. There wasn’t a single possibility that he was… not who he thought he was. He had always been Charon, Highest Preacher of the Monolith, and Voice of the Holiness itself.
Right? He questioned it for but a moment, but that’s all it took for all of his mental defenses to come crumbling down. Charon had begun to doubt his most sanctified thoughts, and soon a flurry of such speculations occurred in his mind. It was impossibly frightening to him to have even considered such things, and fear gripped him as he wondered what the Monolith would do for such blasphemy.
Then, everything within his mind snapped like a rotted twig. There was only a stagnant, lingering thought that drifted aimlessly. If he was, in fact, who he was now realizing he truly was, then what atrocities had he committed during the time he had been brainwashed? Who had he killed? What did he order? All those questions were suddenly shoved back as Mercenary Scar’s face started twitching, with an impulsive, feral rage taking him over. Suffering an identity crisis and realizing what he had done, Scar’s psyche cracked apart, leaving him no different in thought pattern than the mutants crawling over him.
Several snorks were launched off of his body as he forced himself upwards, both hands clutching the windpipes of two separate mutants. The exoskeleton improved his strength astoundingly, allowing him to smash both of their heads in and make the gasmasks containers of a revolting stew. The mindless creatures ignored the deaths of their comrades and attempted to kick him to the ground in an effort to topple him once again. This time, however, he was prepared. He dropped a corpse and kept a grip on the legs of the other, getting ready to use it as a bludgeoning tool.
Scar brought down the scabby, flesh-deficient body on the snorks around him, preventing them from reaching him for a few precious moments. The Mercenary tossed the fresh cadaver away like trash, opting to use his knife and boots instead. Several snorks leaped at him from one side, and it took only one carefully placed back-hand to displace them from their spots in the air. A familiar cracking sound was heard from two of the four. His eye caught a few more attempting to kick in his legs, which he immediately responded to.
His most used form of attack was once again put to the test, as his stomps literally tore apart the mutants beneath his feet. Spines were dislocated, heads were severed, and quite a few bodies lay dead in the sewer now. Before him was only a single snork, crawling forward as if testing his reactions. A labored breathing was heard from behind, and he quickly assessed his situation and devised a solution. The mutant from behind pounced onto his back and raised a hand to bring it back down upon his helmet. Of course, when it was grabbed and used to bring down the other who just jumped, it wasn’t able to do much. His knife found itself imbedded into two humanoids as he kept a foot on each of them, finishing them off entirely.
Scar’s breathing was erratic and even in his enraged state of mind, he found it near impossible to breathe properly with his helmet on. He tore it off and threw it to the side on dry ground, letting it roll along with the built-in mask. Several splashes were heard as he fell to his knees, only propped up by his hands in the dirty sewage. The rushing sound of water died down and he was finally able to concentrate. Scar dragged himself over to a nearby wall, removed his equipment, and felt faint. His blurry vision caught the forms of several creatures he didn’t recognize, but he ignored them. After all, they seemed to make it a priority to only watch from a distance.
The grizzled man felt something jab at his hip, which he pulled out. It was one of the most useful tools within the Zone: the PDA. He turned it over in his hands before looking at his reflection on the screen. His silvery stubble and buzzed hair still resided on his head, but what caught his attention were his eyes. Greyness stared back at him in wait, considering what the next course of action was. Bobbing his head tiredly, Scar attempted to force himself from sleeping. The amount of energy he had used throughout the past few days had taken its toll, and now he was finally paying the price. Within a minute, he was fast asleep, completely oblivious to the menacing entity nearby.
White Mark squinted, “… It… fell asleep? Here?”
Celestia trotted forward a few meters before turning back to her companions, “Be on your hooves for this, it might jump up at any moment.” She was nearly within ten feet of the creature before her muzzle hit a red wall of magic, making her recoil back in shock, “What on earth—“
“Sister! Get back!” Luna called out.
From beyond the magical barrier, a bubbling matter began forming on the sewer floor. An inky blackness with hints of red and blue emerged, moving upwards and higher until it contorted into the bare shape of a pony larger than the Princesses. However, no neck formed at all, only to be replaced by the upper body of a creature similar to the one lying on the ground. Massive muscles and a sinister smile were the most defined features by that point, but it continued to morph. In less than a few seconds, the inky colors took their places on the body and gave the creature an identity to the ponies before it. It was, without a doubt, the last surviving centaur in the world.
The newcomer shook his head, flinging splotches of color off of his body, “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Corona….”
Both Princesses went wide-eyed and share looks, “Mother?”
The centaur looked them up and down before coming to a conclusion, “I see… that tramp had children, did she? I should have assumed as much, what with her meddlesome ways and her need for preservation.” He clicked his tongue, “No matter, neither of you children will be able to stand up to me.”
Luna stomped her hoof in rage, forcing the sewers to shake. “Don’t you dare speak of our mother that way!”
“Who are you?” Celestia yelled at her new adversary.
When he heard that, the half-breed looked quite surprised. His eyes took in their looks and examined what might be their weaknesses given their attitudes. One seemed younger, weaker, and far too easy to manipulate. The other, however… it was stronger and would require him to at least break a sweat. No matter, it would all work out beautifully for him in the end anyway.
“Oh, I’m nothing other than,” he gritted his teeth, “the arbiter of Death and Corruption! How even you simple-minded ponies managed to forget me! Lord Tirek! Quite impressive how feeble your mental abilities are!”
Luna’s ears dropped down against her head immediately, “T-Tirek..?”
“The only, and the one who’ll finally purge this world of you despicable scum. Through my reign, all your kind shall simply be exterminated and replaced by my own creations. Won’t that be wonderful?”
Celestia, starting to lose her nerve now, narrowed her eyes, “How are you alive? You were killed thousands of years ago!”
“Oh yes,” Tirek answered, watching his hands as he rubbed them together absently with a smirk. “I did die. But now… now I’ve been subjected to something! Energy like no other I have ever felt or seen before! Like others, this energy resurrected me, but unlike them, I was fully capable, if not more powerful than before!” He clenched his fist and stared down the ponies, “Once I’ve disposed of you, I’ll bring that same energy here along with more of those,” he pointed to the bi-pedal, “who I’ll force to do my bidding and clean this planet. A whole world of those, and I’m able to snatch them at will! Imagine the destruction!”
“You’re crazy!” Celestia growled, “We won’t allow you to do such a thing! Nor will we let you use them as pawns for your sick intentions!”
He guffawed, “You really believe that someone as weak as you can stop me, let alone any one of my future minions? Your abilities are mediocre at best and I do believe that it’s finally time to kill both of you.”
Tirek simply lifted his right hand, and something happened beside both Princesses. The two guards that had escorted them were not to be found, but only parts of them lying about along with the once golden armor, now coated in blood. An eyeball rolled its way to Celestia’s hoof and she retched at the sight, holding a hoof to her muzzle. Luna was unfazed and stared down the evil centaur, hatred in her eyes.
Tirek took notice of Luna’s glare and gave her a wary look, “Quite interesting… quite like your father as well. It’s a shame he died a coward.”
The Moon Princess snapped, gritting her teeth and nearly barking at the centaur. White Mark, who had been standing in front of the Princesses, now looked back and shrunk at the site of Luna seething with an intense anger. Celestia herself was just as worried for her sister when she noticed her eyes were taking a darker hue. All of it, along with Tirek’s laughter, was brought to an end when the tunnel shook, sending dust and small fragments of the stone ceiling down. White Mark looked around for the source, but found nothing. But sure enough, something approached.
An eerie, red light was coming from the end of the tunnel, past the corner. The sound of a distant explosion going off resounded loudly and the area shook again, this time with more power. Tirek’s mood instantly turned to a sour worry, as if his plans had suddenly been disrupted.
“WHAT?! NOW OF ALL TIMES?”
The magical shield fell to the ground and quickly covered Tirek as garbage and other rubbish was kicked up from the end of the tunnel along with a large gust of wind. The bloody glow grew brighter and approached faster and faster until a wave of dust, dirt, and intense energy came barreling towards the group. White Mark growled under his breath, knowing full well that a pegasus had no way of throwing up a barrier to protect the Princesses. Luna, however, already saw this coming and wrapped the three of them within a tight, blue bubble.
The flood of red energy forced its way through the tunnel and rushed past the centaur and ponies, each feeling a distinct tingling through their magic, but leading to no other effects. Luna struggled to hold the shield as the raw power of the wave wore her down. Sweat began to bead on her forehead and her legs began to shake spasmodically from the strain. Right as she began to feel herself give way, a golden bubble surrounded them, bringing in a motherly warmth. Instantly, both Luna and the General relaxed, not realizing it was a side-effect of the older Princess’ magic. Soon enough, the wave of energy died out, atomizing every non-organic thing in its wake. Any rats or other living beings in the tunnel were now dead, skinned, and charred heavily.
Tirek, using this as an opportunity, put a temporary barrier between him and the ponies, one that wouldn’t require his concentration. Celestia let down her own shield, feeling nearly exhausted from the act. She didn’t realize how draining it would be to maintain a barrier powerful enough to hold out against the unknown activity that had just ran rampant around her. It was now obvious in her mind that neither she nor her sister could fight in their current states. The only viable option would be to retreat and find this demonic centaur another day, something she loathed the idea of.
But it came to great surprise to all three ponies when the creature from earlier proved its dogmatic will to persevere by standing up fully, reaching well over an imposing six feet in height. Its appearance was now vastly different, and each of the ponies, despite being near collapse, could make it out. There seemed to be severe damage, but none were certain as to how hampering it would be.
The armor the bi-pedal wore was now scorched in several spots, but that was fairly negligible. What were truly astounding were the visible parts of the skin on its body. A red energy glowed from within its neck, ebbing through each vein and travelling upwards until it twisted around the head. Its jaw hung, a misty breath heating the otherwise frigid, underground air. The neck muscles visibly expanded until it became more and more threatening in stature. Lastly, the eyes were the main focus of the ponies. Redness seeped from the sockets and the eyes themselves had an unnatural, otherworldly glow to them. A lump in the throat pulsated once brightly, before the creature licked its cracked lips.
Tirek, noticing the looks from the ponies, turned to the now-standing Mercenary. He cocked an eyebrow up at the sheer ignorance of it before letting a low, rumbling laugh out. The centaur sneered and clicked his tongue.
“Really now, human? Is this what you do? Stand up when your master hasn’t given the order to do so? Be the dog you are and sit!” Tirek threw his hand down, attempting to magically pull down Scar. However, nothing happened and the Merc just stood there, breathing heavily. “What?! How is this possible?” He attempted it several more times, each one providing no result.
The stalker lowered his head slightly, glaring at the centaur with bleeding eyes. With Tirek’s actions so far being used as provocation Scar pulled his signature weapon forward, his Vintar. Tirek had seen these weapons in action before, but his bodily structure, muscles, and fortitude would easily block the objects it discharged, along with his magic. Scar had different plans, however, and replaced his current magazine with that of armor piercing rounds. While he was completely unable to control himself, let alone in the mind state to do so, Scar was left to the instincts instilled in his mind via Monolith brainwashing techniques, making him an adversary to be reckoned with as well.
Tirek grinned wickedly as bullets flew at him, only to crumple and fall to the floor as they hit his shield. Though, his cockiness faded when one managed to penetrate through, colliding with his shoulder blade. A red hand slapped to the area that was now stinging increasingly. Blood was dripping downwards and matting his fur as more bullets sank into his body, each biting off a little bit of his overall well-being.
He looked back at Scar and snarled, “You’ll die for your insolence! None attack Tirek the Tyrannical and live!”
Scar didn’t exactly know who he was or what he was doing due to the massive cloud covering his mind and leading his actions, but it was fairly obvious to his predatory and feral senses that this human-esque like thing in front of him wanted to possibly hurt and damage him, something that he would not allow to happen. A fireball slammed into his chest, knocking him over and melting some of the exoskeletal frame. The Mercenary rolled to the side, dropping his Vintar next to his helmet and dodging another orb of flaming gas.
A third was sidestepped, making Tirek growl in frustration. He knew he could easily defeat the human, but the fact he couldn’t grab it was the most infuriating part. How could it be possible that his telekinetic ability wasn’t functioning against his new enemy? It was madness! He continued to launch fireballs regardless, wanting nothing more but to end its miserable life then and there. Yet, it dodged them like nothing. Ducking, sidestepping, and several other moves were displayed in front of him, each successfully making his attacks useless.
It was at that time that Scar made his move. The exoskeleton sprinted forward, each servo motor working rapidly to increase the amount of force that each stride let loose. Tirek’s eyes widened as Scar plowed through him with a tackle, knocking the centaur into the questionable water. A kick from the floor sent the human flying back against the wall, giving Tirek a chance to stand up again. A fresh scowl was cut across his face as he raised his hand. A literal bolt of lightning appeared in his palms, which he flung forward.
The blow struck Scar dead-on, staggering him back a few steps. He leaned his back against the wall as motor function ceased for a few precious seconds, giving Tirek the upper hand and a chance to buck him. While an exoskeleton was an extremely powerful, durable, and trustworthy piece of armor, it wasn’t able to fully absorb the blow the centaur’s hooves delivered. Several ribs snapped inward, but Scar merely shrugged it off as the electrical shock wore down.
Tirek, who was gifted with the sight to determine his foe’s overall physical health, was left flabbergasted at what he saw, “WHAT!” Scar’s body was rapidly repairing itself, fixing all damage the centaur had caused. “IMPOSSIBLE!”
However, what wasn’t impossible was Scar rushing forward again, which Tirek foresaw. He braced himself and dug his hooves in, ready to take the impact that never came. Instead, Scar leaped onto his back, landing like one would do on a horse. Tirek’s face fell, as he was confused at first, before an unfathomably deep fury surfaced, enraging him. The act itself was detestably insulting, especially to him. He wasn’t given an opportunity to comment however, when a knife was sunk into his windpipe. It was dug in, sawing through his neck hastily and severing various pieces essential to him living.
A bag was torn from its strings, letting it drop to the ground below. It, unfortunately, contained a rainbow of pure corruption, capable of turning any creature into a minion of Tirek’s and a doppelganger of their former selves. As it hit the floor, it burst open, launching the rainbow forward at a specific target and tearing down the barrier that Tirek had set up. Princess Luna, who was recovering her energy, was hit by the dark energy fully.
She screamed out in pain as the corruption twisted into her body, digging within her veins and attempting to pump itself into her heart. Her own willpower held it back significantly, but drained her own energy as well. Celestia knew full well what was happening; her sister was being forced to revert back to her former persona of Nightmare Moon. She pushed White Mark, who was attempting to block the corruption from his Princess, away and used her own magic to combat the black mist forming around Luna.
The Sun Goddess winced under the strain, “Luna! Please, if you can hear me, don’t let it take a hold of you! Fight it!”
She received a grunt in response, followed by a few words, “I-I’ll try… hurry.…”
As Celestia worked to help her sister, White Mark glanced at the battle, biting his lip in anxiousness. Things looked extraordinarily grim, and he was far more afraid of one of his Princesses suffering than either of the creatures fighting in front of him. Yet, a quick look surprised him enough to grab his attention and hold it. It seemed that despite the incredible power the centaur had, it wasn’t enough to defeat the highly-energized bi-pedal. Even the General, who was a pegasus, could feel the intense surge of energy emanating from the human.
Both of Tirek’s arms fell to his sides, along with his jaw hanging limply. Scar removed himself from the centaur’s back and delivered a kick, knocking his enemy over onto his side. Quickly, the superhuman effects of the blowout faded away as consciousness came back to the Mercenary, who devised a plan to finish off the now defenseless, demonic demi-god. His knife was once again used as he cut open the belly of Tirek, swiftly slicing before stowing the tool away. He felt his own energy dwindle, but forced himself to finish what he had started.
Both the Princesses, who had watched the fight with varying degrees of emotions (horror, mostly), cringed at the sight of what the human was doing. White Mark waited, ready to spring at moment’s notice should the creature try anything against him or the royalty beside him. But it was once again Scar who captured that attention of all. A compartment on his waist opened, and out came an oddly shaped object that glowed like a golden sunrise, specifically noticed by Celestia. White Mark nearly had to force himself from bowing from the all too familiar rays of light.
The Night Star artifact was truly a magnificent piece of work by the Zone, yet now lost purpose to Scar due to there not being guns where he was, that much was obvious. The radiation it gave off was unwanted, making the item a burden at best. So it was with lax restraint that the Merc began twisting it in his hands, sticking his fingers into certain areas, twisting them in, and using the artifact as if it were some sort of alien machinery.
His efforts proved to be successful as it lifted into the air, gravity losing focus of it. It spun several times before Scar grabbed it with one hand and stuffed it into Tirek through the gaping stomach wound. He backed up and leaned against the wall, grabbing his fallen equipment. The centaur was near to death and couldn’t focus on what was happening. The only thing that had kept him alive this long was his willpower to survive, which was shortly ended as his body literally warped inside of itself and imploded in a shower of body parts and organic matter.
The Springboard anomaly had come to life through the Night Star’s activation, destroying the artifact in the process. An air ripple was now formed, humming distinctly to Scar’s ears. One thing in particular that the Equestrians noticed was the bag was also destroyed as well, preventing the corruption from further influencing Luna. She let out a sigh of relief as the rainbow’s effects left her body, before the misty energy tore itself from her, severing all ties. Celestia glowered at it before it snarled loudly and sped off from the sewers incredibly fast.
The Sun Princess felt an immense weight leave her body as the nightmarish energy fled from the scene, now knowing its master had been completely obliterated. The ponies nearby stood in anxious revulsion, not wanting to get in the way of the creature that single-handedly wiped the floor (and made part of the floor) with the dark centaur. The only evidence that Tirek had ever arrived was the occasional bit or piece of his now lost body.
Luna stood back up again tiredly, done observing the battle and victor. There was no intervention for good reason, and that was to eliminate Tirek. While she was a pacifist at heart, she knew it was far more convenient and safe to simply have any extremely powerful enemies to stop existing, unlike her sister that believed all were redeemable. It was admirable to feel that way, but it wasn’t sufficient in protecting everypony and Luna therefore felt relief hit her as she realized how Tirek met his own demise. The dark-blue alicorn looked forward, wondering what to do next with the creature before her.
Scar slumped against the wall, taking several deep breaths to calm himself. All of his movements were shockingly stiff, which he soon realized was an after-effect of being subjected to a blowout. A sullen feeling passed over him; the Mercenary was now one step closer to either death or zombification. He honestly didn’t know what was worse, but he’d have some time to figure that out later, along with what he had been doing for the past few months. Now it was time for his escape. Scar slung his Vintar over his shoulder and shoved his helmet under his arm, not quite ready to put it back on yet. With certain haste, he began speed-walking away with the curved wall of the sewers serving as a place to lean.
Princess Luna, however, wouldn’t let it get away this time, “General! Subdue it immediately!”
White Mark sprang into action without question, flaring his wings and floating a few feet in the air. Taking a moment to prepare himself, he shot forward at high-speed. His front hooves connected with the back of Scar’s head, sending both forward to the sewer water. The Mercenary had long been awake and was finally drained of the last of his energy. The blow to the head slowed the world down considerably as his hands grabbed at the ground, trying to pull himself away from his attacks. It was hopeless, he knew, especially when a hoof connected to the back of his head again, sending him into unconsciousness.
It would be fair to say that Princess Celestia, a kind and just ruler, was shocked at the order White Mark executed. It would also be fair to say she was more shocked at her own sister, who she hadn’t expected to give such a ruthless command.
Worry along with annoyance laced her voice, “Luna! What on Earth were you thinking?! It slayed Tirek and you turn on it?!”
“Sister,” Luna frowned but remained regal, “It proved itself even more dangerous than Tirek by killing him. Why would we ever let it go if it was capable of that? You saw what it did and had at its disposal. Dozens of Equestrian lives could have been taken before it would have been defeated if we hadn’t captured it while it was weak.”
Celestia begrudgingly accepted, “You’re right, Luna, but we aren’t wild animals! We’re capable of reasoning with it, attempting to talk to it at the very least! We may have gained its capture, but we’ve lost what little trust there was in the first place.”
“Acceptable loses. We can’t win over all of our enemies, Celly. We’re going against an entirely new series of threats and we need to act accordingly in order to resolve them.” The Princess of the Night turned to White Mark, “Get several teams down here to clear the area and retrieve this creature over here before it wakes up. When you’ve got it within castle grounds, put it in a cell within the dungeon until we’re able to determine its motives.”
The General saluted, “Yes, Your Highness.”
He moved away from the unconscious human and flew off to an open stallion-hole to get reinforcements. Princess Celestia watched as Luna stretched and examined the bi-pedal creature. She didn’t like frowning, not at all, but now was an appropriate time. The older sibling felt what was happening with her sister and once again had worry creep into her being. Her sister was getting older and more mature, and there was nothing she could do about it. She only hoped the lessons of morality, fairness, and friendship that she instilled in her sister would rub off. Though, who knew what would ultimately happen?
6:46 P.M., Everfree Forest West
It had been nearly seven hours since the attack on the bunker. There were no casualties, but it left several guards out of commission for varying amounts of time. One happened to be Violinist, who pushed himself forward in the face of a controller and finished it off with several rifle butts and stabs to the face, effectively destroying the only significant method of attack for the humanoid mutant as well as its life. The man won in the end, but the controller left its mark for the time being. Violinist, for the past six hours, had been suffering from short-term, temporary zombification.
Given their names, it was fairly well-known that controllers were capable of using mutants and humans alike as puppets, but some strong-willed stalkers and fauna could usurp that control and act freely for a short time. The post-battle usually resulted in something dead on the floor, with the controller being the loser in this case. Violinist managed to kill the mutant as it began to take over his fellow ISG Troops, but at a cost he could recover from. Still, the memory was fresh in everyone’s mind, especially the scientists.
Doctor Wexler, however, was less traumatized by the experience. He was in the lab, fortunately for him, and wasn’t present when the controller climbed through the still unrepaired hole within the fence. It was a bit saddening to know that a mutant had breached their security, but the way every single Troop sprang into action to completely fill the controller with lead was pretty breathtaking. He could easily recognize the amount of experience, training, and coordination each carried on their respective belts, along with their impressive teamwork abilities.
Getting back to what he was doing previously, Wexler focused directly on what he wanted to do the most at the moment: collect data. He exited the confines of the lab in his ecological protection suit and went through the fence; ignoring the Troops he passed by. They gave him looks and motioned to escort him, but he waved them off, claiming that they would contaminate his samples. He did, however, ask that they cover him with support fire from the newly-constructed watchtower. They obliged, scouring the area with binoculars and sniper scopes as well as occasionally radioing the doctor.
Wexler pressed forward, exiting the clearing and moving towards the tree line. A radio message from the watching guards warned him of getting too far away or moving under the cover of trees. But something tantalizing presented itself just inside the forest, resting against a tree trunk. It was an artifact hopping around on the ground, bouncing merrily on its way somewhere. The object in question was a simple Jellyfish, but it was still worth something to him. He pulled out his standard-issue ISG Universal-Detector along with a Martha, ready for anything that may jump up and surprise him. When nothing came out, he walked forward and yanked the artifact up greedily, taking it into his palms.
That’s when a loud hissing sound flew at him. His eyes widened in fear as a black mist crashed into his face, shattering his curtain helm inwards and sending pieces of it into his face. Wexler attempted to scream, but the mist quickly covered his mouth to prevent that. He felt it force itself down his throat, not caring as it stretched it beyond normal capacity. The blackness settled inside of his body, spreading itself out like a cancer. The doctor fell to the floor, convulsing several times before remaining still.
A nefarious grin crossed his face slowly, “Hmm… this… this is new. And I like it….”
His PDA vibrated strongly, prompting him to remove the device and check the email he had received. The scientists’ eyes scanned the document, narrowing before he grunted in confusion. There on the screen, was an email unlike he had ever received before. It was cryptic, yet clear as well. If there was some sort of symbolism or type of idiom he didn’t recognize, it was most likely somewhere in this message.
Title - Ach.: Pursuer of Results
Time - 19:42
“You’ve proven you know what to do in all situations, and your natural intuition on the necessary choices that need to be made for the better has served you well. While there are those can criticise you on your methods, there’s no one that can downplay your success. Through all of this, you find yourself far more capable to do what must be done and influencing others to follow along.”
Wexler jumped to his feet, ignored the PDA message, put the device away, and stretched dramatically, chuckling to himself as his fear disappeared. Things felt so much more right, for whatever reason. He felt right. Things were more right. And he’d make sure those things remained right, as were his orders. Wexler gave a bark of laughter before strolling back to the bunker for medical treatment. After all, he couldn’t pluck out all those shards of helm himself, could he?
It mattered not; things were beginning to look up. Though, he didn’t realize what had happened to him or if anything did in fact happen (he couldn’t quite remember). Wexler also didn’t notice the sinister force within him now, hell-bent on helping him pursue his ultimate goals regarding this U.N. expedition. While he was unfamiliar with the Zone, he was no stranger to the violence that accompanied it.
Such was his life, and such is how he’d attempt to secure a victory for his benefactors. This, he knew, was a necessary evil that would benefit everyone. Wexler would sleep with no trouble in his heart tonight, completely content with the grim future beset on everyone else. After all, who could criticize him for simply doing his job? A necessary evil, he reminded himself, a utilitarian one at that. As he headed inside the lab, catching the attention of everyone, a smug smirk found itself at home on his ever-knowing face.
Author's Notes
I bet all you motherfuckers didn't suspect I was still working on this, didja? Well! You were completely right. Turns out summer courses demand more work than I realized and completely fucked me over big time, leaving me unable to push out content for most of my fics. Anyway, all that bullshit is in the past, for now...
Mysterious, right?
It's all whatever, but you know what isn't whatever? That chapter I uploaded last, which, essentially, was a filler chapter composed of all the original characters' prologues/first few chapters. I can't recall if there was anything important in the author's notes then, but I'm fairly certain there wasn't anything. To wrap all of this up into one, tight little sentence: I fucking hated it, but I didn't expect such strong reactions, and to compensate, I'll delete it and replace it with this. To add to that (I lied about one sentence), I do plan on eventually uploading this onto Equestria Daily, as much as I dislike them. Hell, advertising my fic is all I need from their asses, but it was you, my semi-faithful viewers/readers who made me realize I fucked up massively there. From what I've seen those fellers over there dislike simple things and mistakes for the most part, and one big one like that chapter will sink it entirely.
Ight, I promise I won't lie this time, this is the serious wrap-it-up version: Last chapter's going down, this one's taking its place, let's smoke some piff, watch shit fly.
Also, it appears there are people who actually read this (surprised some even do) and have never played STALKER. Well, one suggestion I have is buying it during the Steam Summer Sale, or if you're not interested, read some Wiki bullshit on it. This also means I'm probably confusing the fuck outta people, to whom I apologize for fucking with you so bad you felt the need to cry. Here, have a tissue. No, really, you can keep it. Reason I'm bringing this up is because of Charon really being Scar. If you haven't played Clear Sky or Shadow of Chernobyl, you won't know of the striking similarities both stalkers share. While it may not be entirely true, I've always personally believed Charon is Scar, and I decided to put that here in this story.
Tirek was put in as well, who was a character from the first gen of MLP. I needed a villain who was really fucking evil, so I used him. Little did he know what a badass Scar was.
Another thing, if anyone gets the reference to that "message" Wexler got, good for you! If not, it's a goddamn achievement, only available in Call of Pripyat. I originally planned on having them because I liked breaking the fourth wall with how STALKER works with its interface. Obviously Wexler is in tune with his inner-stalker, much like all of you should be.
Lastly, when I gave this a Nightmare Moon tag, I didn't mean her specifically, but the spirit that was her, in some sense. That mist was in fact the "spirit" of NMM, but more so a wandering entity hell-bent on possessing the person with the strongest desire to do something. I probably shouldn't say any more than that.
I don't think I have much else to say other than that it's taken almost two months to push this shit out. Didn't feel like that long, but I'm pretty time-insensitive. Hope you enjoyed this installment of OBSERVATION AND PROTECTION Z!
As always,
Stay Trilla.
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This was WWAAAAAYYYYYYY better than the last chapter and is now my favorite chapter.
I especially enjoyed the part when Scar went ape shit on that centaur. I especially enjoy Scar in general. A lot. One comment on Scar's chapter though... Luna's a bitch.
But one other bit...
"But it came to great surprise to all three ponies when the creature from earlier proved its dogmatic will to persevere by standing up fully, reaching well over an imposing six feet in height."
Princess Celestia is approximately 6.66 ft tall, hooves to horn... Sooo.... Yeah... Not very imposing... At all... JUST SAYING
Anyway, I'm glad you decided to update, and yes. People read this.
Keep it up man, this story is awesome and so are you.
Could people please, please just say that the spirit of NMM is dead? It turned an immortal god, the embodiment of a third of the possible Moral and Lawful alignments, to stone. I think it can delete a mindset.
So the protagonist took the Refusal ending? Well, he seems the type.
Strangley, I find myself rooting for Scar, as opposed to Luna and Celestia. Was this what you intended?
935797
Hmm, I'm not sure what you're talking about... but here, have a picture of Scar dancing like the amazing bastard he is.
i.imgur.com/dq49D.jpg
This chapter . . . is just full of unnecessary villains. The first, Tirek, is a Big Lipped Alligator Moment that only serves to make Scar look like a badass, provide blink of an eye 180 degree character development, and get Scar captured by a pair of royals who seem to have swallowed the conflict and idiot balls. (Seriously, if someone saves your life by effortlessly wiping out a elder evil the last thing anyone would do is attempt to piss it off by holding it against their will.) The second, Nightmare Moon, just comes right the frak out of no-where and posses another guy who swallows the idiot ball because . . . evil? The introduction, execution, and resolution of these villains are all terrible, and the whole chapter just feels like it's completely unnecessary.
The Zone and its encroachment on Equestria is itself a great source of external conflict, and if villain was really needed then one could have been easily found in the Changelings. They're dangerous, they have a biological reason to attack other sapients, and they look like something that could have crawled out of a pony version of the Zone. Having Tirek (a G1 villain) and Nightmare Moon (someone who was never shown to be anyone other then Luna's altar ego) show up out of nowhere, then having one of them be defeated, all in the same chapter, was just not needed.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: this tale has more then enough story in it, it does not need more. . . . Also, what the hell happened to Derpy?
Update?
FUCKING SHIT LUNA WTF WAS THAT?STOP FUCKING MAKING EVERY SINGLE BADASS IN THE GALAXY OF GAMES YOUR FUCKING ENEMY
What?
This is on Fimfiction?
And gets updated?
I thought this day would never come.
Officers, especially REAMFs, can't afford to think like that, Luna.
You're so brave when you believe the chance of being killed is gone.
Despite currently losing miserably while genuinely trying.
There is nothing mature about what she just did.