//------------------------------// // Darkreach Chronicles, Part Eight // Story: Ofolrodi // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// "Anthropological reflection: The details concerrning they who would be the neutral denizens of the Dark Side as provided by he would be Lieutenant Warhol are quite astounding. It would appear that these lost equines have lived in the shadow of obscurity for multiple centuries. They predate they who would be Bloodwings and it is the suspicion of she who would be Commander Gwen that they might be as old if not older than they who would be armies of the three-sided war. "Keen observations: 'Neutral' is indeed the best way to describe these ponies. Upon meeting they who would be the Verdestonian Expedition, the lost equines displayed nothing short of emotional indifference. It has been said that they refused to look at the agents of she who would be Commander Gwen in the eye, constantly speaking to the earth and the shadows around them—not even registering the presence of each other. According to he who would be Lieutenant Warhol, there is no member of the lost tribes over the age of thirty. Many of them are malnourished and they evidently endure an existence of much pain, struggle, and suffering. She who would be Commander Gwen graciously offered a portion of the expedition's supplies to the ill-fated equines, but they refused her gift. They didn't even acknowledge the gesture at all. When asked about their habitat or cultural proclivities, every answer given is taciturn and obscure. They excel at evading answers and appear to thrive on diminishing their own sense of identity or individualistic ego. "Current hypothesis: It is the prevailing theory of she who would be Commander Gwen that these recently-discovered equines are the distant descendants of ponies who were taken over to the Dark Side against their will. In other words, these ponies originated on the Light Side just like they who would be the Verdestonian Expedition. The question—then—is who imprisoned them and brought them over in the first place? It is highly doubtful that the blame can be placed on they who would be Bloodwings, for the sarosian migration happened within the last few hundred years and these lost ponies and their total and complete disentigration of culture suggests a far longer imprisonment. It is thus the current hypothesis that one of the other two militant factions of the war here on the Dark Side is responsible for the mass exodus that brought these pitiable victims over. "Personal reflection: I who would be Chief Engineer Ranort of that which would be called Darkreach deeply empathizes with these ponies. Their lack of identity makes it difficult to describe them, and I who would be Chief Engineer Ranort greatly suspects that they have been long bereft of any insight into the liberating spirit of technological progress. And yet they distance themselves from any sort of prevailing ego—a curious coincidence that makes me pine for the days of dwelling in that which would be called Ring City, communing with those who would be called Cylindrimanian neighbors. I who would be called Chief Engineer Ranort would very much like to leave the confines of that which would be called Darkreach and meet them in person, but—alas—my duty prevents me from doing so. It is with meager hope that I who would be Chief Engineer Ranort look forward to the command decisions of she who would be Commander Gwen and how they might involve future relations with these ponies—as least in regards to assisting that which would be the Verdestonian Expedition in making a heroic attempt to access the Midnight Armory." "His next two entrries go on to descrribe morre details concerrning he who would be Lieute—" Kepler caught himself. He cleared his throat. "A thousand parrdons, frriends. Chief Ranorrt descrribes Lieutenant Warrhol's morre detailed obserrvations concerrning the indigenous equines. It would seem that everry pony local to the Darrk Side prractices a cerrtain sense of... emotional detachment. They exprress neutrral feelings and possess currious speech patterrns. For instance, they don't use prroperr nouns. None of them even adopts a name!" Logan scratched his scruffy chin and looked across the HQ. "No wonder it was so damn difficult to determine where they lived." "They arre always mobile, it would seem," Kepler added. "Warrhol and Gwen firrst rran into them while the locals werre galloping thrrough the wilderrness, hunting varrious sorrts of beastly, chaotic game. It would appearr as though they employed tools indicative of a prre-industrrial civlization: spearrs, slingshots, bows and arrrows..." "True survivalists to the core." Ariel gulped. "Just how long have they been living like this?" "An even better question," Flynn suggested. "Are they still around today?" Kepler folded his forelimbs and sighed. "I'm afrraid I haven't gotten to any entrries that explain the fate of these equines." He raised an eyebrow. "Orr the fate of the Darrkreach colonists, forr that matterr." "How much of the data crystals are left?" Ariel asked. "Ach!" Kepler shrugged. "Farr morre than can be counted, my frriend!" He smiled calmly. "I am both dismayed and rrelieved! I desirre morre and morre knowledge, but I know that we cannot stay herre in Darrkrreach forrever." "Well, if worse comes to worst, you can bring the talking briefcase and the crystals with us, right?" Rainbow Dash suggested. "By all means! Although I would rregrret being so tied up durring the jourrney prroperr!" "Don't fret, Kepler," Rainbow Dash said. "I'm sure we'll find the downtime for you to continue your research." She sighed, glancing around the room. "Somehow... there's always downtime." "Does that mean we're pulling out soon?" Logan suggested. "Because I'm almost done setting up an arsenal." "Not... quite yet," Rainbow Dash said. "I've got Flynn working on a couple of projects still..." Flynn clenched his jaw shut. He avoided Rainbow's gaze. "Aaaaaaaand..." Rainbow's eyes lingered on him. "...I want to reconsider some of the options we have at the moment." She looked in Wildcard's direction. "I also wanted him rested up and fixed up." Wildcard signaled with his good talons to protest— "I mean it!" Rainbow pointed, frowning. "I want you in one piece. When it's time to pack it up and take this crazy show on the road, we're going to need our ace in the hole. We may just never know what we're going to face and how badly we'll need to put our last Desperado into ass-kicking mode." "Pffft..." Logan folded his forelimbs with a pout. "You want a fighting edge? I'm standing right here, y'know." "Good point." Rainbow Dash nodded. She made for the nearest stairwell. "When the time comes, we'll toss your axe into Wildcard's hands." Ariel laughed. Flynn managed a slight grin. "Keep it up, Keps... the rest of you guys." And Rainbow ducked out of the room entirely. As she navigated the stairs of Darkreach alone, Twilight and Fluttershy hovered in her peripheral. "An entire civilization of lost ponies?" Twilight stammered. "I... I can't believe I never even suspected it!" "Still..." Rainbow's nostrils flared. "...they don't exactly sound very epic." "They've been living on the Dark Side for centuries... surviving on the go..." Fluttershy sniffled. "Those poor... poor ponies. It's enough having to deal with the craziness of the Dark Side for a few weeks... much less countless lifetimes." Rainbow stumbled to a stop, blinking. "Is that how long we've been here?" she muttered. "A 'few weeks?'" Twilight ignored her. "Maybe Chief Engineer Ranort was wrong. Maybe the Dark Vigil did bring them here." "Ya really reckon so?" Applejack hovered into view. "From what we've seen of the sarosians, them batfolk seem awfully zoophonic." "It's xenophobic, darling," Rarity purred, floating closer. "And I happen to agree. Considering all that the Lunar Remnants have been through, it doesn't seem quite like them to take prisoners of the same Equestrian races who cast them out." "There's certainly no record in the royal archives of the sarosians taking prisoners—before or after their exodus," Twilight Sparkle said. "At least not from what I've read." "Then if the sarosians aren't responsible for the local equine populace, who is?" Fluttershy asked. "The Night Shard?" Pinkie Pie suggested. "Pinkie, we dun know a single dang thang about them Night Sharders," Applejack said. "I know! But they already seem so mysterious and spooooky! Isn't abduction a total 'spook' thing?" "The answer's obvious, guys," Rainbow said. "It is?" Rarity looked over. Rainbow nodded somberly. "It's the changelings. Tchern's and Chrysalis' hives." Fluttershy grimaced. "Oh. Oh no..." "Abducting ponies and taking their place...?" Rainbow gestured. "It's Changelingism 101. And considering the fact that Tchern and Chrysalis were both once ancient alicorns who mutated deep in the mountains of Equestria..." "They would have needed 'fuel' for the exodus that they made," Twilight Sparkle thought aloud. "Both in terms of sustenance and... emotion." She gulped. "They must have abducted hundreds... thousands of ponies between Equestria and the plane's edge." "It makes sense that they would have brought them over to the Dark Side," Rainbow said. "This place is a virtual wasteland of chaos. Until the hives found a way to settle, they would have needed 'food' to sustain them... like animals storing for a long winter." "Goddess..." Fluttershy whimpered. "Then... then that means these ponies—" "Are the remnants of those who escaped," Applejack said. "Or worse," Rainbow said. "How?" Pinkie grimaced. "How could it possibly be worse?" Rainbow shrugged. "The changelings could have... let the poor motals go. Kept track of them at a distance. Allowed them to hide away, settle, repopulate..." She produced a shuddering sigh. "...then later 'harvested' them en masse when the opportunity served." "Good heavens..." Rarity shook all over. "What kind of a Hell have we stumbled into?!" "Remember, Dashie knows the changelings best." Pinkie's ears drooped sadly. "Poor, poor ponies. They could really use a party." "They could really use a pick-me-up for sure!" Applejack stammered. "If Rainbow's idea is true and they were really brought over here like livestock, then no wonder this Ranort fella describes them as bein' unemotional." "They've been preyed upon for generations by carniverous empaths," Twilight said. "That takes a certain degree of tenacity that... no civilization on the Light Side could conceivably compare to." "Well, maybe there's hope then," Rainbow said. "Hope?" Fluttershy blinked. "Hope for what?" "They could still be alive," Rainbow stated. "Even after all these centuries... following Darkreach's abandonment and everything. And if they're alive... and if we can run into them..." She trotted the rest of the way down the stairwell. "...then maybe they can give us some much-needed answers."