Yearling slowly, silently opened the door ajar. The room itself was filled with electronic equipment and monitors. The adventurer noted that one of them was of the hallway they themselves were in, only seeing the illusion spell (which Rarity was in the process of reapplying). There were seven occupants in the room; three of them the red tied agents, three dressed in lab coats, and the last being the only stand out. He was a large, muscular Minotaur that was the spitting image of Iron Will dressed in standard SiB attire, a black tie around his neck. He stood and looked over the entire room with the same emotionless expression as the other Stallions. Daring Do's eyes fell on the wrist mounted communicators several of them wore before she slid the door closed. “Got seven; three agents, three techies from the looks of it, and one big minotaur Elite Agent.”
“That'd be Elite Agent Iron Body,” replied Gear Shift. “He was the template for Iron Will's appearance. I've beat him in sparring matches before, but never in this inclosed space.”
“Cameras?”
“This is the place watching the cameras.”
Yearling nodded, putting a hoof to her chin. “Okay...Gear Shift, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, I need your help...”
Rainbow Dash was beside her in a flash. “Yes, Da-I mean, Miss Yearling?”
Fluttershy jumped slightly at her name being called. “O-Okay.”
A few moments later, Rarity launched a spell bolt into the room that exploded like a flash bang while using her fine and precise telekinesis to rip the sunglasses off their faces in that moment and leave them exposed.
While they were disorientated, Gear Shift turned up his 'gears' to their maximum and flew in with Rainbow Dash, Yearling, and (somewhat reluctantly) Fluttershy in tow.
Yearling instantly aimed for two of the blinded agents, driving an elbow into one's stomach and an uppercut to the other's jaw before she slammed their heads together to knock them out. Rainbow Dash took the remaining one out with a flying drop kick to the head. Both made sure to smash their communicators before doing anything else. Gear Shift buzzed by, swiping the communicators off of the wrists of the techs and frying them with pegasus lightning.
Iron Body finally cleared his eyes and saw what was going on. He reached for his communicator before his vision was completely clear...only to find it missing. “What?”
Fluttershy eeped and ran out of his reach, the communicator in her mouth before he'd even realized she was in the room.
One tech officer tried press an alarm button...only for Time Turner to push himself between him and the button. “Now now, no need for that. Mind if I borrow this computer?”
Not laying a finger on him himself, the Doctor merely allowed Daring Do and Rainbow Dash to tie the tech officer and the others up. Rarity entered last, closing and latching the door behind her.
“I take that as a no. The Doctor is in!”
Elite Agent Iron Body looked over the situation unfolding around him. If he was intimidated by the odds, he certainly didn't show it. His expression only changed when his gaze fell on Gear Shift. “Traitor.”
“Iron Body, listen,” the gray pegasus replied as he took a defensive pose. “I'm NOT a traitor. The Oracle was telling the truth! The Tree of Harmony doesn't want this!”
“You have always been too sentimental, Gear Shift,” the minotaur replied while he marched forwards and crushed a tech officer's seat in his hand. “She's a liar. She just wants out of here. It's her who does not care what the Tree of Harmony and Fate want. Listening to her begging is a mistake.”
“The Stallions in Black are the ones lying,” was the pegasus agent's reply. “Cover Story is a MARIONETTE and neither of us even knew for Celestia's sake!”
“So?” the minotaur replied with no emotion, towering over them. “We are all just cogs in a machine, Gear Shift. You knew that when you signed up. What does one of us being a little more of a cog than the rest prove?”
“...Everything...Because if my best friend is a Marionette. If the Tree of Harmony wants them free. How can I help enslave them?! How is that right?!”
"Are you going to be asking the toaster about its feelings next?” Iron Body charged, horns lowered at Gear Shift, only for Yearling to intercept with a flying kick to his face...which stopped his attack, but did little else. She followed up with several spinning kicks, all of which connected without any sign he felt him. She finally resorted to ducking a swipe from him and driving a kick right between his legs. With the same result.
“...I'm having flashbacks to a certain Hooviet mechanic...” the adventurer muttered with a flat look before the towering minotaur punched her in the face and knocked her back a fair bit.
“He doesn't feel pain and takes less damage! That doesn't mean he's not taking any!” Gear Shift advised.
“Got it,” Yearling replied, throwing off her disguise to reveal her Daring Do attire and producing her pith helmet. She did a backflip as best she could in the small room as Rainbow Dash performed a fly by kick to Iron Body's head, drawing his attention but once more not doing anything more. Nor did a jumping roundhouse kick from Rarity. “Help Turner! We've got this guy!”
Gear Shift nodded, rushing to the Doctor's side and entering a password into the computer. “Alright, that gets us into the system...now we just need to figure out what to do.”
“That should be the easy part...” Time Turner replied, confidently. “If I can pilot something meant for six pilots by myself and deal with the complexities of temporal anomalies on a daily basis this should be child's play...” He then had to duck a swing from Iron Body's tree trunk like arms before Rainbow Dash flew a circle around the agent, punching him like an angry wasp and distracting him again. “Assuming those three can keep that Minotaur busy...”
Explaining to Marionettes that they were living things was something the group had experience with by now (after being able to prove to them they were Marionettes in the first place, something Twilight had been reluctant to do but realized simply wasn't possible given they would need regular recharging to keep going, something not easy to hide. Especially with the Stallions already aware of it and battle imminent). Trixie had even already covered the problem of 'being able to push your limits' the athletic Ace had with Lightning Dust earlier. The group knew what needed said and how to say it, and this time even had Zecora's philosophical and spiritual guidance on the matter.
“In this world, beings of wood, stone, crystal, and fire do thrive, so why should beings of metal be any less alive?” the zebra questioned the two.
And Trixie had come up with another argument in the meantime.
“Trixie has had three days to think on this matter, and she has come up with this compelling argument,” the azure android said, taking a proper, official pose. “You're effectively immortal and will never lose your good looks! If you want to grow up, we can just get you an adult body and you're good to go!”
Ace blinked. “...That's...actually a convincing point.”
Twilight looked to Trixie. “We can't be sure about that last part...” she whispered.
“Why not? If father won't do it, we have you don't we?” the azure android asked with a confident expression.
“She has a point. You were able to modify the World Mirror to work on demand in an afternoon...” Sunset Shimmer reminded. “And that was when we only had one of you. My you was able to create a mana capture device before she even knew what magic was.”
“...Point taken...” was Twilight's response as she blushed. Trixie gave a chuckle at her expression despite a clear hint of jealousy.
The issue of teaching them they were living things was nothing new, and something Trixie did with pride. What was new, however, was what came after that.
Namely, the two teenaged androids sitting, looking depressed for a completely different reason that was one of the very reasons convincing them they were alive had come easy.
“...So...our friends....” Ace started, ears pinned and voice shaking.
“...She's...but...I was just starting to...” Teddy muttered, voice breaking, even though he decidedly was trying to hide it. Trixie knew pride concealed emotions better than anypony.
“...Friends?” Starlight finally asked as she approached them.
“...We had a friend named Lancer who we hung out with. There were these seven girls too...now...ugh!” the older of the two androids said, holding his head in his hooves. “I was such a jerk!...Lancer must think we don't give a darn about him with us disappearing like that...Maybe he's right too...”
Trixie recognized that feeling well, her old narcissistic tendencies coming to her mind.
“Yeah...and...they still think I'm a big jerk...” Teddy lamented, trying to hide the artificial tears in his eyes. “...They only tolerated me because I was Redheart's...”
“...If it makes you feel any better, the Stallions put failsafes in your heads to make you act like that when you started to do something they didn't like,” Lightning Dust replied, sat atop one of the crate piles keeping an eye out (as she could see in the dark). “...It doesn't, does it?”
“No...It's still what they're going to remember us for...” Ace pointed out, not looking up at her.
“Figured...still feel rotten for what I did too...all I can say is move on and do better next chance you get. That's what I'm doing...”
“Really? And how would you know?” Teddy snapped bitterly.
“Cause I nearly killed five ponies by being a colossal prick. And I still feel rotten about it.”
The G2 android tried to think of a retort, but ultimately just turned back to his misery with a huff.
Twilight noticed Starlight had begun to shaking, snorting hot air out her nose. “Starlight?”
“Starlight?” both androids asked, snapping over quickly...before their expressions turned to one of disappointment.
“Oh...That was...one of their names actually...” Ace commented. “She...had a crush on me, but...”
“Well, I don't know her...but...I DO know how you feel!” Starlight shouted suddenly, face become more calm, but the trembling still there.
“Oh yeah? How?!” Teddy asked, head snapping up with a growl and glare. “We got KIDNAPPED and we'll probably never see our friends again, how could you possibly know what that's like?!”
“Because the one friend I ever had as a filly was ripped away from ME!” Starlight shouted back, giving a glare...then looking down. “...I haven't seen him since...How I handled it was wrong...but...I know just how much that hurts! To have them there for you one day then gone the next! It HURTS!” Twilight's student explained, tears streaming down her face. “...But...but take it from me, becoming BITTER because of that? Becoming ANGRY? Letting it be ALL you think about for the rest of your life?! That's the WORST thing you can do! All you do is be afraid to have ANYPONY! To ever trust anypony because you're so scared you'll lose them again!...And even when you think you have, you'll always be looking over your shoulder, paranoid that if you don't keep an eye on them they'll vanish in a heart beat. You'll just be alone...Do you think your friends would want that?”
Twilight put a wing on Starlight's back...but smiled with a bit of pride.
Ace blinked, looking down. “Geeze...I...no. I don't think they would...Ugh...feelings aren't my strong suit...never were...”
“So what?!” Teddy asked, still seeming dedicated to being furious. He trotted over to the pod he'd been in and kicked it. “I don't think you know a flying feather about waking up in the future and finding out you've missed years with...with somepony you like...How could you?! How could anybody?!” the android screamed as he kicked the pod again and again so hard he dented it inwards, a few sparks flying.
“You're right, I don't...but I do know what it's like to be so caught up in being angry and wanting to take it out on something that you don't want to listen to anypony else. Because at least when you're angry you can focus on something other than being miserable...” Starlight countered. “Because I was just there! If you can't calm down, you are going to do something you'll regret!”
“I...You...UGH!” Teddy snarled and punched the pod so hard his hoof left an indent, Ace jumping and staring in shock.
Trixie, who'd been reapplying the illusion bubbles, looked over to her 'little brothers.' Then to her original body. A moment of hesitation entered her mind, that fear welling up again...then she looked back at Teddy and Ace, both looking miserable and conflicted. “...You're right...Starlight can't truly understand that part of your problem...but I can...” she said, galloping over to the crate containing 'Trixie 1.0'. “Cover Story! Is there a way to upload my original memories into my new body down here?!”
“Original memories?” Ace asked, while Teddy just trotted over and sat down, not looking at anypony.
“Trixie was originally built to challenge me, they uploaded her into her new one to challenge Twilight,” Sunset explained. “She hasn't been able to remember that...”
Cover Story jumped, then trotted over...cringing as he noticed the two androids recoiling back in fear from him. “...I'm sorry...I'm on your side now...” he muttered, well aware it might not make much difference. “Yeah, there is. Simple really...but not all of those memories are going to be happy.”
“Trixie doesn't care.”
“Trixie!” Twilight shouted as she rushed over. “Trixie, this...there's no telling...” the lavender Alicorn looked like her brain was short circuiting. “...Why are you doing this? I know WHY you're doing it now but...why? We don't know what will happen just throwing those memories into you and...”
Trixie looked at Twilight with a sincere expression. “...If Shining Armor had to do this for you sake, would he?”
Twilight took a step back, eyes going wide. “I...I...”
“...Trixie told Lightning Dust she wanted to be a good big sister.”
Twilight paused in response...then nodded without another word.
While this was happening, Sunset Shimmer trotted over and set next to Ace. “...I know how YOU feel.”
“Huh?” Ace asked, perking up.
“The whole 'leave ponies behind after being a gigantic, self-absorbed jerk' thing,” the former Alpha of Canterlot High explained. “Did it back when I was at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns...and was then a self-absorbed jerk at my second school...And yeah, it stinks. Big time...But you know what else I know?”
The android cocked his head. “What?”
“...If you make up for it, they'll forgive you...you haven't been gone so long that you won't have a second chance...” Sunset Shimmer replied with a smile. “If nothing else, you've got a better reason you were a jerk than I ever did.”
Ace looked like somepony who wasn't used to being vulnerable trying not to act vulnerable (an expression Sunset had known and practiced well over the years). But finally gave a small smile. “...Thanks...”
“You're welcome. Trust me, after all I've been through, I know how much a pony in your horseshoes needs a hand. I mean hoof.”
“Yeah...By the way, you're pretty cute too...”
“Don't push it.”
“Worth a shot...”
Zecora, having passed look out duty to Lightning Dust for the moment, wandered over to the pods and examined them closely...then produced something from the inside of Teddy's now dented and battered one. “Teddy, if I am not mistaken, I believe there's something here you have not taken.”
“Huh?” the blue android asked, looking over.
Zecora trotted over, passing him an old teddy bear, which looked like it'd been ripped in half at some point and stitched back together.
“My...uh...I mean...”
“Comfort is something you should not fear, you need all can get if this you want to bear. And this I speak true: the Princess kept her stuffed toy too,” the wise Zebra whispered to him with a goodhearted chuckle. Zecora lived in the Everfree Forest. She sometimes saw things at the Forest's edge while collecting herbs. Including Twilight speaking to Big Macintosh about a certain stuffed toy.
Teddy gave a sigh...then snatched it from her. He slowly looked to the stuffed animal, running a hoof along the stitching.
Teddy stood at a county fair, a white furred, pink maned, teenaged Earth Pony standing next to them. The young mare put her mouth into her saddle bags and produced the Teddy Bear and gingerly returned it to Teddy.
“...Redheart...”
“Redheart? That is a name familiar to me. Would a white earth pony with a pink mane and tail she be?” Zecora remarked, running a hoof under her chin.
Teddy eyes went wide and he spun to look at the zebra. “Yeah...that's her.”
“Well, my friend, I know her true. After this perhaps I can reintroduce you.”
The teenaged android jumped to his hooves. “You know her?! Is she okay?! What's she doing?!”
Zecora nodded. “At Ponyville's hospital she works now, she has taken a nurse's vow. And if the look in your eyes I've not reading wrong, fear not, for no pony else's heart has she come to long.”
The blue android blushed brightly (literally). “I...uh...you think she...ugh...”
The zebra chuckled. “Matters of the heart are complicated things, but if true your feelings are being, time nor distance can cut that bond true. That much I can assure you.”
“...Thank you...Miss...”
“Zecora is what I am called, even in this dark place's walls...And if any linger doubts of having a soul lurk in your heart, love is not something you'll find in just a mass of mechanical parts.”
“Alright...” Cover Story said as he produced a cable from Trixie 1.0's pod. “Gonna need to mess up some of your skin...”
Trixie's face was resolute. “Do it.”
The android agent nodded, and promptly felt around the side of her head before using a beam to cut off a small square of skin which he floated away, a little fake blood being drawn due to no internal damage being done. He inserted the cable into a now exposed port and went back to the pod, pressing several buttons.
“Beginning data upload. “
Trixie gasped, feeling something. Memories...experiences...events...
”You will not beat me this time, Sunset Shimmer!” the original Trixie announced in a confident, if hammy tone.
Sunset Shimmer merely rolled her eyes. “Ugh, this again? How many times to have to beat you before you learn your place!”
This particular memory repeated...a lot. Different challenges, different ways. Trixie always felt herself...burn out before she could finish the job.
“Your problem is in your focus, Trixie. The spell needs you to not lose your concentration or it won't work.”
“I see,” the young android replied, focusing her magic...and suddenly speeding up to the point she could dash around the room as a blur for a few seconds, after days of trying to get the hang of it on her own. “I did it! I really did it! Thank you, Mrs. Inkwell.”
“You're welcome...actually, here's a story that just might help you with your current predicament.”
“Thanks for the tutoring, Lavender, Fuchsia. I...we might not have beaten Sunset that time...but at least we managed to make her sweat a little. That's more than anypony else around here seems to have been able to do in a long time.”
“No problem, Trix. We want to see that jerk get her ego popped as much as you do...But enough about her. Me and Fuchsia were going to go that party this weekend, want to come?”
“I...I...I would love to...thank you.”
=I'll Face Myself – Persona 4=
Trixie opened her eyes and found herself floating in a void of 1s and 0s. “Where is Trixie?!” she asked...then noticed her voice was an echo.
She looked in front of her...and found herself facing herself.
“...Hello, Trixie 2.0...” said Trixie 1.0, holding a book in her telekinesis. The two stood there, staring for a few moments in the sea of code that was Trixie's mind. Or at least how Trixie's mind depicted itself.
“...Hello, Trixie 1.0...are you going to...”
“No, Trixie,” said her original self, motions a perfect mirror of her own. “...I'm not a virus here to infect you...but you feared that, didn't you?”
Trixie 2.0 opened her mouth to say something...then sighed. “Trixie...may have been scared of that...A little bit, obviously.”
Trixie 1.0 gave a smile. “And do you still fear that?”
“...A little...This is all a symbolic representation of Trixie's mental state, isn't it?”
“We have always loved our theatrics, haven't we?” the original version of herself asked.
“Yes...” the current version replied...then blinked in realization. “...Yes, we have, haven't we?...We've always been that way...”
“And?”
“...We were always driven to stand out...We hated losing...but when we finally got it through our thick skull and asked for help, we did better than when we ever did when we were trying to be the lone wolf...” Trixie 2.0 blinked, realizing her other self had started talking in sync with her. “...We've always been trying to be larger than life and wanting to be the best...we've just never been able to reach the mountain top by ourselves...then again, if there's one thing we've learned from Twilight...it's even she can't.”
“That is correct. And from the looks of it, Sunset Shimmer was ultimately the same...Still think I could've found a way to beat her eventually if the Stallions hadn't given up on me...” Trixie 1.0 replied. “So what does that mean, Trixie?”
“...You're just memories...memories change, but Trixie didn't...” the current version of Trixie replied...then gave a smile. “...Trixie 2.0 is just little more of a showmare.”
“And Trixie 1.0 is just more scholarly,” replied the original Trixie, returning it. “But only a little, she's not Twilight Sparkle or Moon Dancer. Scholarly pursuits are the end for them, for us it's a means. And there's nothing wrong with that.”
“...Trixie had nothing to worry about and you're just a mental manifestation of her inner conflict, aren't you?”
“Fits us, doesn't it?”
The two Trixie's chuckled. “Yes...yes it does...”
The two stood next to each other and glowed with Trixie's magic color. “We have just been but one split in two. We're both one Trixie Lulamoon.”
The two slowly overlapped, phasing together and glowing with a bright light.
“Download Complete.”
“Trixie? Are you okay?” Twilight asked, looking at her concerned...only for Trixie's horn to glow and the android to dash past her at high speed. “Good, you're fine...Wait, WHAT?!”
Trixie came to a stop in front of Teddy and Ace, synthetic tears running down her face. “There! Now I know!”
The two jumped back with a yell, Teddy nearly dropping his teddy bear. “Know what?!” the startled blue android asked.
“Trixie just uploaded Trixie 1.0's memories into herself...Does that make her Trixie 2.5 now?...Not the point. The point is now I know how you feel...how it feels to make friends, to have ponies you care about, and then these fate manipulating JERKS deciding to just rip them all away...and yeah, it sucks...” the azure android said, looking down. “It feels like my heart's been ripped out...metaphorically speaking. Like there's a void there. I'm scared I've lost my chance to see them again...But you know what the Magnificent Trixie is going to do about it? Kick these jerks' flanks, then find her friends and be a much better friend than she was the first time!...We're in Equestria, and the Princess of Friendship is standing right there. It shouldn't be that hard...”
The two just stared at her in shock...then let what just happened slowly sink in.
“So, are you with Trixie? Or do you want to find something else 'no pony can understand about you' to be angry about?...And if you say 'being a stallion,' Cover Story has that covered...and Trixie can just download herself into her backup stallion body to figure it out if needed. But it shouldn't be, because Trixie literally just risked losing herself to her original persona to empathize with you!...And Trixie's not used to empathy!”
Teddy looked down at his teddy bear, running a hoof over the stitching as Zecora's words echoed in his head.
Ace looked down at his hooves. “...How are we going to explain...you know...”
“Eh, let's just tell them we got abducted by aliens. Patch will believe it,” his 'brother' replied.
“...And Bright Eyes will probably faint.”
The two allowed themselves to chuckle.
“Alright...we're in.”
Lightning Dust flew down from her perch and made a 'superhero landing' (she'd be the first to say she did it just to look cool). “Alright then, guess we should be properly introduced now that you two are done mopping,” the android replied, holding out a hoof. “Name's Lightning Dust, I'm your...ugh...little sister.”
“And I am Trixie Lulamoon. Or Trixie the Magnificent. Or Trixie 2.5...okay, don't call her that one, only Trixie gets to call herself that,” Trixie formally introduced (after wiping the tears from her eyes and regaining her composure), by Trixie standards. She offered out her own hoof. “Trixie is your big sister.”
“Sisters?” Ace asked, he and Teddy looking at each other with wide eyes.
“Why of course, we were created by the same pony, after all,” the azure android replied with a smirk.
“...Does that mean I'm HIS brother?” Teddy asked, looking over to Ace.
“Hey!”
“If you WANT to be, no pony is forcing you,” Trixie interjected before the two could get into an argument, but smirked at the two's antics. “Trixie chooses to see all of you as her younger siblings.”
“...Alright...big sister...” Ace said, still clearly having some awkwardness, but shook her hoof.
“Are you going to be super annoying or something?” Teddy asked Lightning Dust. “Because I don't want some bratty little sister.”
Lightning Dust smirked. “No way, my brat days are over.”
“Then I guess I'm alright with it,” the teenaged android replied, shaking her hoof.
“Besides, you might have been BUILT first, but I think I'm more mature than you are,” Lightning Dust teased.
Teddy gave a look that only reinforced that notion. “Hey!”
“It's good we got past that...” Twilight said, flying over. She took a moment to give Trixie a proud look before continuing. “But we really need to be going, the other groups are doing their jobs, we need to do ours.”
“Ours?” Ace asked.
“Rescuing our little brothers and sisters,” Trixie added. “And also kicking the flanks of the ones who did this to us.”
Twilight Sparkle nodded. “You don't have to fight if you don't want to. We only woke you up to save you, what you do now is your choice. It will be dangerous. Even for androids.”
Teddy replied by 'cracking' his hoof and trying to look tough. “Yeah right, like I'm gonna back from a fight!”
Ace nodded, giving smirk that would remind one of Trixie. “It'd hurt my reputation if I backed out.”
“Alright then...” The lavender alicorn turned to Cover Story, a hint of worry in her face. “...Can I recharge them if their power starts to run out?”
Cover Story nodded. “They're designed to be recharged on the field.”
“...What about them fighting?”
“Ace is intended to be incredibly athletic, again, he's the jock. Teddy is 'the bad boy,' he was programmed to be a good fighter. Unfortunate, yes, but those are the roles they were built for. They're both also very durable and their weight will probably be helpful in a fight.”
“...”
“...They chose to fight, Princess. This is their freedom too.”
“It doesn't mean I have to like it.”
“Honestly? I don't think this is a situation anypony should be happy about. Any of it.”
As the group finally prepared to head out of, Twilight looked to Starlight Glimmer, who was still moving with her head low and ears pinned back. “Starlight? Are you okay?”
Starlight jumped a little bit. “Oh...I guess I...I just took what they did to those two a little personally...It reminded me of what happened with Sunburst, only worse...”
“I understand...” the Princess of Friendship replied, looking as the two androids continued interacting with their 'sisters'. Ace seemed to be getting along with Trixie (from the sound of it, both seemed to be talking about themselves, though not to the extent Trixie once did) and Teddy with Lightning Dust (both talking about 'badflank' stuff) before they got back to a 'stealth' area where they'd need to be quiet, but she could tell both still seemed shaken...she couldn't blame them. “What the Stallions did to them was just plain heartless...”
“...It's easy to be heartless to somepony when you view them as tools...” Sunset Shimmer remarked, giving a knowing look. “Trust me, I know from experience...”
Twilight nodded in agreement. “...Which is exactly why this has to end...and not later.”
Bon Bon and her group crept along until they came to one final door, the agent directing Twinkle Shine to a camera to hit with an illusion bubble. “Alright...We're here...”
“No guards?” Moon Dancer noted, giving everything an analytic eye. “I thought they'd have her heavily guarded.”
The former agent trotted over and looked at the keypad in front of it before typing in an access code. “The laser grid beats out just having ponies to stand around and watch, and only Elite Agent and higher have the password to access 'the Oracle's Temple'...”
“Password Accepted.”
“Thankfully, Gear Shift gave it to me,” Bon Bon explained as she knelt to open the door ajar and peek in. “Besides, the guards are on the inside...”
On the other side of the door was a cold, featureless metallic room, for the most part no different than any other cold, metallic room in the structure. At the very back was an entirely golden-bronze wall with a single door locked by a terminal. Six red tied agents stood at attention along the walls. What most drew Bon Bon's attention, however, was the agent at the back.
While dressed as Cover Story and Gear Shift, he was a deer rather than a pony and stood as tall as Big Macintosh. His fur was a deep crimson and his antlers had a distinct lightning bolt shape to them, ending with metal caps. However, the most notable traits were the lightning bolt shaped scars covering his face, particularly on the lower left portion and his forehead.
“Pony Feathers...” the yellow agent cursed. “It's Thunderhoof.”
Minuette and the others peaked in. “Thunderhoof?” the energetic unicorn asked.
“Former Colonel for Aspin's much more ill-tempered relatives over seas. After they fell, the new leadership exiled him and he jumped ship to the Stallions in Black,” Bon Bon explained, giving a glare at the huge deer.
“Why?” Moon Dancer questioned, eying Thunderhoof analytically. “I thought the Hooviets hated Equestria.”
“They did, but no pony ever said everyone in the Stallions in Black were here for Equestria's own good. I think Thunderhoof just wanted to jump from one position of power to another. The Stallions have so much control over everything, and it was always the control he was after. I imagine Masquerade accepted him because she had ways to keep him on a leash.”
“Think we can take him?” Lyra asked as she gave a gulp and shuddered a little. “We've got him outnumbered, right?”
“Not by enough to beat him rushing him head on...Here's the plan: we take out the other guards as quickly as possible, then you all keep Thunderhoof distracted so I can get into melee range.”
The green unicorn's eyes went wide. “Bon Bon, that guy's twice your size!”
Bon Bon gave a smirk. “Only twice? I've taken bigger. Plus, I know I'm a better fighter than him, I just need to get up close and personal.”
“...Be careful...”
“In this job I had to be.”
After a few moments of planning, Bon Bon opened the door slightly more and Twinkle Shine quickly fired illusion spells to the rooms cameras as Lemon Heart's chucked a lemon into the room...which promptly exploded into an eye-stinging cloud of yellow smoke. Minuette instantly manifested some goggles and 'blinked' into the room, straight up to the first agent, who was still trying to wipe out his eyes. “I'll be taking this...” she said, snatching his communicator off his wrist before blinking to another. “And this...and this...and this...”
The time bending unicorn finally blinked back to her friends as they rushed in, sweating a bit as she held the communicators in her telekinesis and allowed Moon Dancer to destroy them.
With that out of the way, Lyra charged the nearest guard as the pegasi Agents cleared the smoke with their wings, who began exchanging blows with her, both blocking and countering each other.
Bon Bon did a front flip up to two of the six and performed a jumping round house kick to one of their jaws before blocking a strike from the other. She twisted his leg around before slamming her other foreleg into his back and driving him face first into the ground. “Sorry for this.”
Twinkle Shine launched several beams at another two (one a unicorn, the other a pegasus), but both dodged and charged her return. Realizing that their sunglasses neutralized blinding spells, she sent out a pitch black spell bolt...that seemed to implode and suck light INTO IT (including the Reflection Deflection the unicorn attempted to use), plunging the two into darkness. The gifted unicorn followed this up by firing a laser beam that split in two then collided with both their chests and slammed them into the wall behind them. “Lights out.”
Moon Dancer formed an energy barrier around herself to block beams from the last remaining guard no pony had taken aim for. Before she could counterattack, the stallion let off the Reflection Deflection upon her. The mare felt something try to worm its way into her mind...but then the counter spells Twilight had put in place pushing back. The mare shook her head to clear it and glared. “That won't work. We were prepared for your tricks.”
The stallion didn't seem intimidated. “That just means a little more work for us, and a lot more pain for you.”
Moon Dancer kept her shield up to block another beam. “I don't think so...” With that, the scholar waited for him to fire another beam...and instead of blocking, fired her own beam back down his, completely overpowering it and slamming him hard into the wall behind him.
Lyra received a punch to the jaw, knocking her back. She finally caught his hooves with her own...and sucker punched him with a mana generated fist to the jaw, knocking him back. The green unicorn manifested several glowing energy hands around her, each acting as a focus for her magic, and fired a converging blast from them to knock him back. The beam struck her opponent and slammed him hard into the back wall next to Thunderhoof. “Got him...” she muttered, panting and sweating, with several bruises already.
The Agent she just defeated groaned and got back to his hooves, feeling the back of his head where it'd collided with the wall...and finding oil with red pigment instead of blood. “W-What?”
Before any of the ponies could react to this, Thunderhoofs stomped over and put a hoof on the agent's head...and let loose a powerful burst of lightning from his body that forced the ponies to cover their eyes as sparks flew.
When it was finally over, the android hung limply, Thunderhoof's hoof stuck in his shirt collar.
Lyra gave a growl. “Why did you do that?!”
Thunderhoof's stoic facade vanished into a sadistic smirk. “Simple: he found out a secret he shouldn't have, why should I let him do anything with it?” he asked with no attempt to hide his Roedinian accent. He promptly threw the fried android over and letting it land with a thud on the ground. “Or you?”
“...He's lying,” Bon Bon replied, stepping over and checking the robot. She hoped they could get him repaired later. She noted that the metal under his skin was not mithril, but the same metal as the original G1 androids. 'Mithril is expensive, of course they wouldn't waste resources on 'expendable' androids. Makes them easier to keep on a leash too, mithril doesn't conduct electricity as well...' “He just gets off on hurting people.”
Thunderhoof just gave a shrug and stomped forwards, keeping the sadistic smirk on his face. “You know, I should wonder what you're doing back here, Agent Sweetie Drops...” he replied, then focused, crossing his hooves over his chest. He let out a yell as massive amounts of electricity erupted through him and burnt off his suit. Underneath was a dark red combat suit with yellow accents, close examination showing it to be made of rubber or a similar material. “But I honestly don't care.” The massive deer cracked his neck as electricity crackled around him. “It's been boring as Tartarus watching this brat down here, stuck in that stuffy suit. Besides, I can just beat it out of one of you after this anyway.”
“I thought deer had magic closer to Earth Ponies...” Lemon Hearts said, taking a step back.
“They're also normally peaceful...mostly. Thunderhoof isn't a normal deer,” Bon Bon replied, taking a fighting stance. “Be careful.”
=Clash With Evil Personified – Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater=
“Here I come!” yelled the psychotic deer, charging electricity into his hooves and forming a sphere of it around him. The group had to duck as he threw his front legs forwards and launched a wave of lightning across the room, only Moon Dancer remaining standing and putting up a barrier around herself to block it. Even then she was forced back a bit.
Lyra counterattacked using her magic hands to fire several magic beams at him, but Thunderhoof merely used his electrical abilities to shield himself from that, as well as several of Twinkle Shine's lasers and magic beams from Minuette.
“That all you got, ladies?” the former Hooviet spat back, electricity surging through his antlers and sending off arcing bolts of lightning.
Twinkle Shine counterattacked by using her lasers to meet his lightning while Moon Dancer put a shield up and Lemon Hearts manifested lemons and threw them into the air where they drew the bolts like lightning rods. Bon Bon simply tackled Lyra out of the way of another one of his bolts during the chaotic attack.
Minuette 'blinked' through the lightning bolts and fired a beam point blank at the hulking deer. Thunderhoof merely punched straight through her attack, knocking her across the room and giving her a pretty bad shock.
“Don't go down too easy, or this won't be any fun!”
“You okay, Minuette?” Twinkle Shine asked, going to her friend's side.
“Y-Yeah...ow...just he hits like a train,” the time manipulating unicorn replied, rubbing her head and having some burned fur from where his blow had connected.
Thunderhoof didn't miss the opportunity and threw a hoof forwards, sending a cascade of lightning straight at the two. Moon Dancer dove in the way, firing a beam of her own, the two fighting back and forth before the clash exploded, knocking Moon Dancer back.
“Beginning to see why Bon Bon was worried about this guy...” the scholar muttered sarcastically.
Thunderhoof prepared to charge forwards with lightning crackling along his antlers...only to find two of Lemonhearts' Baby Lemons latched around his legs. “What the buck are these things?”
Undeterred, he simply raised up on his hind legs, and slammed down, squashing the two familiars into pulp.
Lemon Hearts let out a cry and cringed, feeling her familiars' essence return to her. “I'm sorry...”
Their sacrifice was not in vain, however, as the distraction gave Bon Bon the opening she'd been waiting for. She finally jumped from cover and blindsided the deer with a blow to the head. “Forget about me, Thunderhoof?” she shouted as she painfully twisted one of his front legs and gave him a blow to the ribs
“How did you-” the giant of a deer questioned...before being flipped over Bon Bon to the ground. Before he could recover, the mare took a leap into the air and landed an Earth Pony powered stomp right on his chest, knocking the wind out of him and allowing her to land a few more blows before being forced back by his lightning crackling over him.
The hulking deer snarled in rage, getting back to his hooves and holding one of them to his injured chest. “Try dodging this!” he roared as he charged electricity around himself and stomped the floor, sending surge of it through it.
Minuette used her blink to launch into the air while Twinkleshine launched herself up on a beam of light (though due to the bright room, not as high as she'd like and having to do so several times) and Lemon Hearts formed a layer of lemons under her hooves to protect herself. Bon Bon used a grappling hook around one of the lights to pull her and Lyra out of the way...
However, Moon Dancer gasped, realizing something. She used her telekinesis to grab the unconscious agents and levitate them of the now dangerous floor as she put up her shield. With her magic divided between the two spells, the unicorn's shield began to crack and barely held out long enough to avoid the brunt of the attack, only receiving a small shock at the end. 'Small' in this context, was still enough to make her cry out in pain and fall to her knees.
“Moon Dancer!” yelled Twinkle Shine, landing and going to her side as fast as her legs could carry her.
“I'm okay...” the unicorn muttered, cringing as she forced herself to her hooves.
“Why would you save those idiots?” Thunderhoof asked, giving a sadistic smirk. “They're the enemy.”
“Because I'm a pony!” Moon Dancer shouted before she launched a magic beam that forced him back despite his own force field of lightning.
Lemon Hearts stepped off the bed of roasted lemons she'd conjured and gave a thoughtful look. “Lightning, what can I...Ah!” She proceeded to fire a beam from her horn, hitting Thunderhoof while he was distracted and drenching him in lemon juice.
“Why you!” The hulking deer snarled in rage and channeled his electricity...only to scream in pain as it backfired and crackled through the lemon juice, giving him the shock this time.
“There's a reason lemon batteries are a favorite science experiment,” the gifted unicorn taunted with a smile. “That was for the Angry Baby Lemons!”
Bon Bon smirked and charged in, doing a leaping punch to the sadistic deer's jaw as the self inflicted jolt faded, Lyra backing her up by manifesting a pair of magic hands and punching away.
Moon Dancer manifested a plastic, nonconductive cage and placed the unconscious agents (and short circuited Marionette) in it while Thunderhoof's attention was off her. “There...”
Lyra gave Thunderhoof an uppercut with her magically manifested hands, which Bon Bon followed up with a buck to the chest. Minuette got in on the action by blinking behind him and bucking him in the back before blinking away again to dodge a lightning bolt shot in her direction. Twinkle Shine took the opening and hit him in the chest with a laser.
“ENOUGH!” roared the deer, letting off a pulse of lightning in a radial blast. The explosion of electricity sent Bon Bon flying across the room and blackened some of her fur while Lyra's magical hands were obliterated.
“Bon Bon!” Lyra yelled, jumping up and and catching her, both being slammed into the wall behind them. “Are you okay?! Please be okay!”
Bon Bon groaned, trembling a bit from the shock. “Yeah...ow...If I known we'd be fighting this guy, I'd have gotten us a pegasi or two.”
Minuette blinked next to the two as their team regrouped. “Yeah, like in that one Daring Do novel...hey, am I the only one this guy makes think of that one Hooviet bad guy from that book? What with the lightning and everything?”
“Well, he is a Hooviet...” Twinkle Shine replied.
At this, the huge deer's eye twitched madly, a snarl of pure rage on his face. He roared and rained lightning from his horns through the entire room like a thunderstorm.
Moon Dancer jumped to her friends' sides and put up a force field to block the attack. “Read that one, not my favorite...and from the looks of it, not his either.”
Lemon Hearts focused and summoned a basket of lemons that she transmuted into gloves for her hooves and used them add support to the forcefield. “Wonder why...”
Rainbow Dash, now with a black eye, did a flying side kick to Iron Body's head, but he merely caught her leg and swung her around, knocking Rarity out of the air with the cyan pegasus and into a seat nearby. The agent's clothing was ripped and in tatters, he had bruises, but he still wouldn't go down and showed no signs of pain.
He made a jump at Time Turner, but Daring Do intercepted and knocked him back with a buck. “How much longer?!”
“Working on it! Layers of security don't pierce themselves covertly!” the Doctor replied, tapping away. “No pony likes a backseat hacker.”
Daring Do rolled her eyes and flew back into the fray, punching the agent in the gut. Feeling pain or not, his biology still followed the same rules as anyone else and he had the wind knocked out of him for a moment, allowing Rarity to do a spinning roundhouse kick to his head.
“What do you hope to accomplish?” Iron Body questioned as he grabbed Rarity's hind leg and hurled her into Daring Do as the adventurer charged him. “If the Stallions in Black are gone, who will guide ponies to their destiny?”
“ACHOO!”
“Bless you,” said Diamond Tiara to all three Crusaders.
Applebloom rubbed her nose. “That was weird, why would all three of us sneeze at the same time?”
“Maybe somepony is talking about you?” Silver Spoon asked...then threw a pillow at Applebloom. The five then resumed throwing pillows at each other while seeing themselves as pirates on gallons firing at one another, laughing and playing as foals should be.
Fluttershy crept around, making sure to keep the unconscious Stallions and tech officers out of harms way. She gave a squeak and cowered as Iron Body was knocked back almost on top of her.
“Who will ensure that Equestria comes to a good fate if we don't?” Iron Body asked, ducking a flyby by Rainbow Dash...then being decked in the jaw by Daring Do.
Rarity charged in behind the adventurer, using her trench coat to hide her movements. “Hiya!” she shouted, performing a spinning back kick to the agent's chest.
Iron Body was driven back by the impact...and windmilled his arms as he lost his balance, tripping over a cowering cream colored pegasus.
“Who? How about us?!” Rainbow Dash asked as she saw her opening and did a diving buck to his face, knocking him over Fluttershy and slamming head first into one of the monitors in an explosion of sparks. The resulting impact (and probably the repeated blows finally making it threw his hard head) and electric shock finally knocked the Elite Agent unconscious. “Finally! You okay, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy blinked, looking up. “Huh? What happened?”
“...Nothing.”
Yearling panted, patting Rainbow Dash on the back. “Okay, we finally secured the room, what about the defense systems?”
“Let's see...reroute the power from there to there...no, not from there! Ugh, why do computers never want to do what I want them to do even when they're not sapient?” the Doctor muttered. “Ah! They won't miss the power from the dark room! Redirect that to that and...”
“WARNNING. DEFENCE SYSTEMS OVERLOADING. CRITICAL FAILURE IMMINENT.”
“Allons-y!” Time Turner exclaimed, pressing one last button.
Moon Dancer panted, quickly eating some more of Bon Bon's candy. “We'll run out of candy before we beat this guy...” she muttered, the group having their share of blackened fur, bruises, and electrical burns.
“Are you finished yet?” asked Thunderhoof, giving a sadistic smirk and he crackled with electricity. “This was just starting to get fun.”
Before anyone could say another word, the room quaked as explosions rang out around Moirai. “What's going on?!” the sadistic deer questioned, staggering from the quake.
“The defense system just went down!” Bon Bon shouted. “They did it!”
Moon Dancer gave a smile and suddenly teleported around Thunderhoof, blasting him with beams and dodging his attacks. “Teleport wards are down.”
Lemon Hearts gave a smirk of her own. “Which means...” she said, smirking and focusing her magic.
Thunderhoof snarled, managing to catch Moon Dancer and blast her into the wall with his lightning...just in time to hear a loud gurgling roar. Turning, he suddenly found himself face to face with a giant version of Lemon Heart's familiars, this one larger than he was, charging straight at him. The familiar slammed into the former Hooviet like an out of control cart, carrying him backwards and slamming him into the controls for Gypsy's prison. Falling back for another charge, Thunderhoof countered with another lightning blast, forcing lemon monster back.
“Hey big guy!” Minuette didn't give him room to breathe and blinked behind him, shooting him in the back with a magic beam. The time based unicorn looked behind her at the now sparking control panel and noticed the damage. “Huh, I wonder-AH!”
The gifted unicorn screamed as she was struck by a bolt of lightning and knocked backwards, rolling to a stop in front of the door. “Ow...” she muttered, feeling dizzy and numb as she forced herself up onto the lock.
The sadistic deer gave a smirk. “DIE!” he yelled, unleashing a torrent of lightning in her direction.
“Minuette!” yelled Twinkle Shine, trying to get a beam of light but unable to project one far enough in the well lit room.
...However, Minuette smirked when the bolt was just about to hit her. “Good thing for do-overs!” she exclaimed, horn glowing brightly. From her point of view, time seemed to rewind 15 seconds. From everypony else's, she seemed to wink out of existence and appear right back where she'd been 15 seconds prior minus the damage she'd just taken. The bolt stroke the lock dead on, causing it to explode in a shower of sparks.
“How did yo-” Thunderhoof started...before getting sucker punched by one of Lyra's magic hands, followed by several jump kicks right to the head from Bon Bon, a beam from Moon Dancer, and the strongest, nonlethal laser Twinkle Shine could manage, driving him back. Finally, Lemon Heart's familiar charged him like a runaway train and tackled him full force, hurling him across the room and slamming him into a wall hard enough to crack it.
“Did that do it?” Minuette asked, panting and sweating. 'There goes that power for an hour...'
“Ugh...” Thunderhoof groaned, getting back to his hooves and staggering.
“How much of a beating can this lug take?!” Lyra asked in annoyance.
Thunderhoof snarled in rage, electricity crackling around him...until the door to Gypsy's cell flew open. Two glowing, jewel-like eyes stared out and the lights began flickering. Between flickers, the seer suddenly appeared on the other side of the room, glowing eyes meeting his.
=Magia – Puella Magi Madoka Magica=
“Thunderhoof...” said Gypsy's voice, saying his name like it was venom, her eye glow turning pink and her voice taking on aspects of Fluttershy's. “You've been standing guard at this door for years. Never listening. Never heeding my pleas.” The glow changed to purple. “Having no room for any but yourself in your power hungry heart. You have performed countless evil deeds solely to profit yourself without an ounce of remorse.” As she spoke, her voice gained aspects of Rarity's. Finally, the glow changed to red. “You don't believe you're doing the right thing for anything but yourself, the only place your loyalties dwell...Is there anything you have to say for yourself?” she asked, her voice gaining aspects of Rainbow Dash's.
The deer's eyes went wide and he backpedaled from the mare who was less than half his size. “Oracle?! Get back in your cell!”
Without another word, Gypsy teleported in front of him, glaring daggers at him. The glow in her eyes changed to orange. “My name isn't Oracle!” she screamed with some aspects of Applejack's voice in her tone, seizing him in her telekinesis and flinging him into the wall. “It's Gypsy!” Then into the ceiling. “My!” Then the floor. “Name!” Then the other wall. “Is!” Then the door to her cell several times. “GYPSY!” She finished by launching him into the ceiling so hard that he was left embedded in it.
The group merely stared in shock for a few moments. “...Yikes...” Lyra muttered.
The Seer of the Tree of Harmony slowly turned to face her rescuers, who took a defensive stance...until the mare's eyes reverted to their normal, crystal pony-like state. She promptly ran over and hugged them. “Thank you!” she exclaimed, her voice cracking. And back to being purely her voice.
=His Theme - Undertale=
Bon Bon blinked...then noticed the mare that had just given the finishing blow to her long time captor was now just sobbing her eyes out in her chest.
“Thank you...Thank you so much...”
Bon Bon put a hoof on Gypsy's head. “It's okay...you'll be going home soon....Gypsy.”
The mare looked up at Bon Bon like that one word meant the world to her.
After a few moments of letting it all out, Gypsy composed herself again and sniffled. “S-Sorry...just...” the mare put a hoof to her horn like the feeling of it with no obstruction was alien. “...I haven't been out of that place without a magic suppresser since I got here..”
Twinkle Shine was about to say she could see why given the number she just did on Thunderhoof...but decided against. “Hey, if I'd been stuck in a room for years being somepony's slave, I'd be happy to get out too.”
“Indeed...” Gypsy muttered, trotting over to the unconscious agents. “...In all honesty...a part of me pities them...they never did understand why I was even sent...”
“Why were you?” Moon Dancer questioned as she used some spells to patch up her burns. “No offense, but from what Twilight said about the Tree, seems kind of strange it'd send these guys an or-seer.”
The Seer of the Tree of Harmony gave a sigh. “...Simple. The Stallions had rotted from the inside out, even back then. Become decadent and corrupt...but there was still something worth saving...something that, maybe with the right guidance they could have done...If they'd made the right choices, they'd have returned to their original mission...If they had, Equestria would be a much better place today...” the jewel-eyed unicorn snarled, sending a pulse of magic through the room that caused all the lights and machines to short circuit and explode (except the still damaged Agent Marionette). “Instead they decided to become tyrants of fate. To enslave me. To enslave everypony to their 'one proper fate'...Unaware that no such thing exists...Fate has many roads, each paved by the choices of all beings that live. Roads for good and bad. But they don't GET that. They don't WANT to get that...So they threw away every last chance the Tree offered them to change. And the time has come for them to reap what they have sown...I tried to warn them, I really did...but they just wouldn't listen.”
The mare turned and looked to them. “Trixie and her group are heading to rescue the Marionettes, correct?”
The group, having stared as the mare vented her wrath on the room around them, nodded.
“Hehe...Is that so?”
Bon Bon looked up, seeing Thunderhoof dislodge himself from the ceiling...and fall to the ground in a lump, too battered and beaten to move. “What?”
The mad deer laughed. “To get to the Marionettes, they'll need to get to the doctor. And to get to the doctor, they'll need to get past her...They're already dead.”
*Cue Cheery Ending Music*