//------------------------------// // Unrecognizable // Story: Season Spike // by Haoryu Changer //------------------------------// Spike and his two companions walked silently for minutes, on their way to the town once known as Ponyville. Ponyville... that town was now a country itself. With lights brightening the streets and small homes, it stretched far past the Everfree forest which was cut down to the point that it didn't exist. A few scattered trees don't define a forest after all. Appleloosa and Dodge City were no longer country towns of their own, with newly-built homes and structures from Ponyville slowly overlapping it. Even Pinkie Pie's family's rock farm no longer existed. It was all buried underneath the modern buildings that were forcefully built. It seemed that Ponyville's border now stopped just before the Badlands and Los Pegasus, and anyone who looked at the giant stone wall surrounding the city wouldn't dare try to invade. Finally, near the center of where Ponyville originally was, there was a towering, brown skyscraper, with multiple tree branches along its sides with leaves. This large building went past the gray clouds and lightning, making its roof not visible to those who inspected it from below. It was a symbol of this town... no, this city. Spike, Doctor Hooves, and Derpy all looked at the sight in awe. They followed far behind Starlight Glimmer and her group on the small path to Ponyville, and the three stopped just before they arrived at the entrance to the town to head up a cliff on their left to get a better view of the state of Ponyville, or what they thought was Ponyville. "That's... Ponyville...?" Spike said in wonder with wide eyes, staring at the large area of buildings. "Starlight did say that the Grand Emperor made Ponyville his kingdom... I was expecting a change but never something so extraordinary such as this..." The doctor said aghast. Of course, they couldn't see the other side of the border of Ponyville because everyone had their limit of vision, but it made it that more amazing. Even if it was made by an evil ruler. Derpy looked at the city with a frown. "I can see why this is the most feared place in Equestria. Even if it's so large it looks so innocent. It's deceiving others who aren't aware of the danger." She said. "It's all most likely a trick..." Spike said before looking downward to stare at the tall stone walls. "We might want to stay away from using magic. We want to be unnoticed." Doctor Hooves informed. "But in a town- er city as large as this it should be hard to find someone," Spike said. The doctor shook his head. "We shouldn't act upon assumptions. We must act carefully and efficiently." "Yeah, I suppose..." Spike let his eyes wander for a bit on the wall. He soon found something that confused him. At the original entrance to Ponyville, the wall had an opening that seemed to let ponies enter and exit as they pleased. No pony was leaving, but Spike did see Starlight's group entering the city through it. "It's pretty weird that a huge wall is built if the Grand Emperor has an open entrance." The doctor also seemed to notice. "We will find our answers soon enough." "Will we even be able to search for them?" Derpy asked. When the two males looked at her with a raise of a brow she continued. "Well, I mean, if the city is so big will us three alone be able to find what we need?" "Hm..." Spike put a claw to his chin in thought, using his other claw to hold up his elbow. "We probably don't have to search this whole city. You see the tallest building right there, right?" He asked while pointing at the tall structure with a claw. "That's most likely the Grand Emperor's castle or base of some sort. If not it looks as if it holds a lot of intel." "But that's too obvious." The Doctor explained. "For all, we know it could be a large hotel or office building." "Well, there's only one way to find out." Spike was about to descend the cliff when he caught something in the corner of his eye. He looked back at the entrance to the city and gasped at what he saw. "What?" Doctor Hooves and Derpy trotted over to Spike's side. They too gasped at the sight. A changeling was greeting Starlight's group at the entrance. "A c-changeling? Could that mean..." "The Grand Emperor is a changeling." Spike finished for Derpy. He snapped his body towards his two companions. "My bet is that it's Queen Chrysalis that's done all of this." He said before glaring back at the city. "But it doesn't make sense. If something or someone changed the past shouldn't she rule over Canterlot? Instead, it's destroyed." "But on the other hoof, it makes sense why the city looks so wonderful. The ponies can provide love for the changelings easily. And there's the fact no one knows who the Grand Emperor actually is. Changelings live to manipulate their forms." "Well, we won't be certain if we stand here. Let's get going." "But how do we enter?" Derpy asked the doctor. "Why, with science and technology, my dear, anything is possible." Doctor Hooves then extended his left leg and revealed a black device strapped onto his hoof with a small blue screen and multiple buttons. He punched a few of the buttons and muttered... "If my coordinates are correct..." Then tapped the blue screen, then, suddenly, the doctor's gem on his necklace started to glow, and it could even be seen through the hood of the cloak. "What are you doing, doc?" Derpy asked with a bit of worry when she noticed that her's and Spike's were also glowing. "I'm assuming that even if there's an open entrance to this... city, there may be some magical security around the border. And if there is, I doubt that whoever set up the defense anticipated technology teleportation." "You're using technology to teleport us? How? And... is that safe!?" Spike asked, a bit nervous. "I've tested it before, I assure you. And this latest model uses these gems which are linked to my time machine back home to carry our bodies through time." And before Spike could say anything else, the three immediately vanished in three blue sparks. They reappeared in a small, dark alleyway between two buildings. Spike recognized this place, via the color of the two buildings, orange and blue, and the placement of the blue trash bins, one far in the back and one blocking the slim entrance. This was where he and Sweetie Belle once hid when they were playing colthunt with other foals including Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. He also remembered that when the seekers noticed some movement in the alleyway he used himself as bait to let Sweetie get away. It caused her to win the game. This memory made Spike remember that Sweetie Belle, as well as the other foals they knew, were somewhere in this timeline. They had to be. He had to find them. He has to save them from this real nightmare. This memory also meant that the three were still in the original Ponyville. The doctor motioned Spike and Derpy to follow him quietly. He led them to the end of the alleyway and he peeked out over the garbage bin to take a look. Derpy fluttered above Doctor Hooves so she could look as well, and Spike hopped onto her so he could take part in analyzing the area, which was Ponyville's town square. The first thing Spike noticed was that the ponies all looked broken and depressed. Not a smile anywhere, frowns glued to all their faces. The way they sluggishly walked. How they didn't speak to one another or even glance at each other. Even all of the color on their coats had a gray tint to them. Like when Tirek consumed their magic or Discord glooming them. This was nothing like what Equestria was supposed to represent. The town square wasn't looking great as it usually was either. Most of the grass, trees, and bushes were dead. The confetti and banners were ripped off and no pony seemed to care or want to pick it up. The large and tall town hall was destroyed and collapsed in the middle of the town square, to which Spike hoped that no pony got injured when it occurred. The water fountain with the pony statue was cracked and broken, as the water didn't seem to flow from it anymore and the water already inside was dirty and unusable. The bridges that led to the other parts of Ponyville were also cracked, one was entirely destroyed, and the buildings all around had their respective damage done to them. This depressing scene and atmosphere made Spike feel uneasy and depressed himself. Another shocking thing were the changelings. They roamed among the ponies like they belonged there, doing their own things. But the surprising part was that the changelings too looked miserable. Their black carapace also lacked the dark shade, replaced by a gray-tinted black. Just by looking at their blue eyes, one could see that they didn't have any happiness flowing within them. Spike even noticed something stunning; Aloe consoling an upset changeling. Aloe had the changeling in a hug, who was starting to weep. "That's weird, shouldn't the changelings be happy since they rule Equestria and can gather the love?" "Derpy, I doubt that love can still be emitted if this is how the ponies live." The doctor said. "I guess so..." Spike hummed to himself as he thought profoundly while still looking over the area. "Or maybe that's not entirely it... If I remember correctly, back when the royal wedding took place, Queen Chrysalis was the only one to seem evil. The changelings just simply... followed her orders." He put out. "The changelings wouldn't be unhappy, they would be starving and dying if that were the case. My guess is that something happened between the Queen and the changelings that made them look like this. Maybe she upset them all somehow?" "We don't know for sure, but we should keep that in mind while we're here." Doctor Hooves said. Then, when he looked to his left, Spike saw someone that made him perk up. A white mighty unicorn with a blue mane and tail named Shining Armor was standing in the middle of the town square. "Hey look, it's Shining Armor..." Spike said with surprise, trying not to be loud to alert others. "He may have some important information we can get from him..." Doctor Hooves said before trying to think up a plan to get to him without being seen. "Don't worry, I'll bring him to us," Spike said, before bringing up his claw. "No, Spike wai-" The doctor tried to warn. But it was too late, Spike snapped his fingers and Shining Armor was teleported in the alleyway. He sat quietly against the wall looking up at the three hooded figures in confusion. Spike realized by looking into his red tired baggy eyes that Shining was stressed out. "Spiiiii..." The doctor stopped himself from revealing Spike's identity to Shining Armor. The cloaks would be useless then. "S-spine, sorry for being harsh here, but are you insane?! They could have detected your magic!" "...O-oh," Spike said with wide eyes. Doctor Hooves started to pace left and right in worry. "They could be coming for us right now! We must head back home! We're not safe here! We-" "You really think he has defenses like that?" Shining Armor asked. Spike, Derpy, and the doctor stared at him with curiosity. "What do you mean?" Spike asked. "I presume that you three aren't from here, looking at your secretive clothing. And by his words," He said, referring to the doctor. "...you're intending to take down the Grand Emperor." When he received nods as replies he sighed. "He doesn't care if others come to try and defeat him, he would want and utterly enjoy the challenge anyways." He shook his head. "You should just leave. It's pointless to try and stop him. Many have tried and all have failed... I should know..." An image of two alicorn mares flashed in his mind, making him grow sad. "We need to try!" Spike said to him. "We just need to get to her and stop her before anything get's worse." "...Her?" Shining was confused for a moment but soon pushed it aside. "It's easy to approach him. He doesn't have nor he needs any guards. It's defeating him that's the impossible." "So that's why there's an open entrance..." The doctor muttered to himself. "I'm positive we can stop her. Where can we find the Grand Emperor, though?" Spike asked. "He's not here at the moment." Shining Armor informed. "His base, home, or whatever he wants to call it is the tall tower with branches, you can't miss it. He's headed to his latest mission in Griffonstone. He's planning on doing the same thing to them as to us. He's even forced us to build more homes so he can rule over them as well." "So let's take control here while he's gone, and get ready for him when he's coming back." The doctor said. "No!" Shining suddenly stood up with wide eyes, startling the other three. "That's exactly what he wants. Every time he leaves he dreams of someone stepping up to try and stop him, just so he can bring them crashing down." He explained. "I shouldn't even have told you anything! You all should get as far away as possible while he's gone... It's hopeless..." And with that, Shining quietly exited the alleyway over the trash bin, much to the three's shock. "Equestria really did lose all hope..." Derpy said with sadness. "...Let's split up and search this place." Doctor Hooves suggested. "If Chrysalis or I should say the Grand Emperor since it's not confirmed it's her, is gone on a mission, it's the best time to get the information we need in this city." He walked up to Derpy and said. "Derpy, you and I will search the new parts of... Ponyville." Then he turned to Spike. "Spike, you can search the original town of Ponyville. It should have the most important info if what Starlight Glimmer said was true." Spike nodded in understanding. "The true identity of the Grand Emperor." He held his chin with a claw. "Smart. You and Derpy wouldn't be able to defend yourselves if you encountered him... or her, so you two can search the parts of the city where most likely have less information, so you won't have to search as much even if it's a wider area." The doctor nodded. "And with my technology and Derpy's excellent mailmare skills, we'll be able to scan the wide area quickly. We should make a rendezvous point somewhere first. So we will always know where to meet up." "How about your lab?" Derpy proposed. He shook his head in return. "We can't interact with our past selves, remember? How are we going to explain to ourselves who we are?" "How about here? The town square in general. It's not too big of an area and I'm sure we could meet up and discuss privately in one of these alleyways." "Alright then, the town square is our meeting spot. We'll start searching immediately. We must find who this Grand Emperor really is, what's his plans, and how we can defeat him and return Equestria to the way it was." Spike and Derpy nodded in determination. "Let's get going Derpy. I'll discuss my plan for our search while we head there. Spike, do you have a plan yourself?" "I think I have something in mind, doc." "Excellent. Come now, my dear. Let's start our hunt." Spike let the doctor and Derpy out of the alleyway, and he watched them sprint through the town square past some ponies and changelings, who gave them no attention, disappearing behind a building shortly afterward. It didn't matter if they were seen, as long as they had their cloaks on, and with the Grand Emperor gone it was safe as well to do so. He then looked to his left and noticed a pipe on the wall leading up to the roof of the building it was attached to. He used it to climb to the top of the building to stare down at Ponyville under the dark sky. "Where should I start?" He asked himself. Shining Armor spotted the shorter one of the three cloaked figures he recognized as the one who was called 'Spine' on top of a building like a ninja. He sighed in sadness knowing his foolish goal. The Grand Emperor must fall.