„This is just too weird.“ thought Twilight. Even after all what happened to them, and what they saw up to now, she knew for sure there was something they were missing. Whatever it was, she was sure it would help them get back. Or at least figure a way to help them.
While the rest was still looking through the information book, she went back to the stacks of papers and documents that she found on the table and shelves. While she tried to find anything useful, she threw one glance over to the group. Seeing that Applejack, Rainbow and Pinkie being unable to help much in this room, she told them “You could go check out one of the other rooms. But together okay ?”
She knew that keeping them occupied was a good choice, and that it might even speed things up.
The three picked the door on the left to explore as first. They didn’t get far though.
“Uf. Its locked.” said Rainbow as she slammed into the locked door. She was the first to get to it and didn’t slow down a bit from excitement. The locked door did it for her.
“What now ?” she asked, rubbing her shoulder
“We could break it down ?” suggested AJ. The door didn’t look as sturdy as those before and the two of them would be able to do it.
“Yeah. Let’s break it down.” Pinkie approved
The two of them got ready to break it down, with Pinkie only waiting, since there wasn’t a spot for a third person. And just as they wanted to try the first time Twilight stopped them.
“No! Wait!” she yelled, instantly stopping the two of them from moving
“Oh common Twilight. What now.” said Rainbow with a clear disappointment in her voice
“Don’t break it down just yet ok ? There could be something behind it that would give us away. I know we haven’t seen anyone, except that one guy you knocked out, but you can never know.”
No response was needed. She was right and the door wouldn’t leave while they checked the next room. And this one wasn’t locked.
The three entered, instantly shielding their eyes with their arms. The room had white walls and had a bright light turned on, which in contrast to the rest of the facility was a sudden turnaround. Once their eyes adjusted they stopped just as fast as they entered. The room was another medical one. As those empty ones before, this one had lots of medical equipment, like scalpels, some chemicals, different books and other equipment they didn’t recognize. And just as before, there was a table in the middle with the strong light above it. But this time, the table was a dissection one. And it wasn’t bare.
“Girls….I think you need to see this.” Applejack said to the others while Rainbow and Pinkie went to check the cupboards and shelves for something useful, and at the same time avoiding the body on the table.
First to enter were Rarity and Twilight with Spike and Fluttershy behind them, although the later two didn’t get past the door. Rarity managed to stop Fluttershy while Twilight stopped Spike. Neither of them could handle the body on the table, or at least that’s what Twilight and Rarity thought. Spike was simply too young for this and Fluttershy was always bad with death. Nothing was more painful for her then losing one of her pets, and this looked even worse.
The two looked at them with confusion in their eyes, but then realized without asking, that whatever was inside was not meant for them, and so they returned to search the first room.
Closing the door behind her, Twilight stepped closer to the table, which Applejack was already looking over. For some reason she didn’t mind it as much as she thought she would, or as much as the rest of the girls. She didn’t really know why it was like that, could have been from the looks of the body. It was as tall as she was, had no hair, eyelashes or anything, and it was really skinny, as if the person didn’t eat for months. Also the skin was white, not far from how white snow was. It didn’t have any cuts, bruises or any marks on it. It was just frail looking.
“What do you think happened to it ?” she asked Twilight once she was able to look it over as well
“I don’t know.” she replied checking the body. She didn’t notice anything specific. Why was it here ?
While examining the body, both of them circled around the table. Applejack didn’t think she’d be able to explain anything, but she might be able to notice something Twilight didn’t. And that’s when her coat got caught on something. It was a medical chart. She took it and gave it to Twilight, happy she managed to find something. Twilight returned the smile and then looked into the chart. It had several pages, the first being some personal information about the person, the second and third were his medical history. And then she looked at the fourth one. Her smile vanishing instantly, she looked at the body again, then into the chart once more.
Holding the chart tightly, all she was able to say at the time was “Those monsters.”
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All that was left for the four was to wait. There wasn’t anything they could do to help with preparations, except for Boss to give directions. They all got a room as well, with boss having his own, and since the Queen was somehow able to direct and order the changelings without any problems or mistakes, Boss stayed in his room with the cyan pony guarding his doors.
“I feel kinda bad for him.” said Jax to his friend
“For who ?” he replied with confusion
“Fenix. Who else ?” Jax looked at his friend “He has to stand there all day, and do nothing else then guard the door. That’s so boring.” He lowered his head a bit to show his disapproval but then raised it back up after a few seconds.
“Anyways, have you noticed how strange this place is ?” Jax said while looking at the changeling town they were in. Besides the fact that the houses looked ragged and destroyed, the changelings seemed weird. Not only were they hardly talking to each other, but they didn’t even make eye contact with each other, as if they didn’t need to or weren’t allowed to. Either way it creeped both of them out.
“I just hope we won’t have to stay here for long. This place gives me the chills.”
“I agree. Let’s just go back to our rooms. There’s nothing that can be done or seen here anyways.”
Jax just nodded in agreement and they both left the town.
The place they left behind them had something in there that was just weird. They had some information about the changelings, but none from this place, since it was somehow hidden.
“So we will be able to start tomorrow ?” Boss asked the Queen who called him into her throne room. Apparently, the changelings were able to finish what they had to in not even half a day., which Boss didn’t expect in the least. He tried to push his surprise back, but he knew that she noticed it the instant she told him.
“Yes. My subjects are hard workers.” she smiled but this time it was a somehow pleasant smile. If she felt something for her people, they might use it later against her somehow, but now the plan was a priority.
“That’s great.” he replied “Have you decided on how many will be sent and how many will stay in cover ?”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ve got more changelings than you can see here, some of them have already been sent out to scout the area.”
Bosses face now clearly showed his happiness, he wasn’t even trying to hide it. Soon Canterlot would be his and he would have what he wasted so much time on. Only thing he had to make sure was that these Changelings wouldn’t mess it up for him.
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“I see you’re not that bad at this.” someone said from behind them, making Mark jump up a bit. They turned around to see who the stealthy pony was, only to be met with a lovely smile on an older mares face. Mark had never seen her before but to his surprise Marksman did.
“Hello there. Lookin' as lovely as always, aren’t we ?” he smiled at her to which he got a blush as a response
“Oh you Marksman. Always a flatterer.” she smiled while talking, making Mark think that she was a really nice person for some reason
“So what brings ya to us ? I thought keepin' the machines up and running' was hard 'nough work for ya?” Marksman asked her. That’s when Mark noticed that the mare had a horn hidden in her big mane, and that it had a faint glow around it.
“Years of practice darling. I don’t need to concentrate as much on them any longer. And when I saw the two of you a moment ago I just had to come ask you something.” she looked at them
“Did we catch yer eye ?” Marksman said jokingly
“Maybe.” she replied with a smile “But that’s not what I meant. You know were having a competition today don’t you ?”
“What kind of competition ?” Mark asked to which he only got a laugh from both of them
“Ya do know where ya are right now, dontcha?” Marksman asked with a smirk. He totally forgot and now felt stupid.
“Well it’s going to be a gaming competition and you two seemed to be quite good at it so why not join ? You can win a month of free playing here.” she said, knowing that the free time would attract them
“Really ?” Marksman asked “And where’s the catch ?”
He saw right through her. How he did that, Mark had no idea. Maybe he could teach it to him one day but maybe that was just his superpower or something like that.
“You got me there boy. Its fifteen bits for joining. I have to make a living too you know.” she smiled, even after she was discovered like that
“Uhh. I can’t afford that now, I only got so much from Mac and our paychecks are a few days from now.” he said, but Mark knew he was lying. Big Macintosh gave him more than enough and if he asked, he would get more for sure.
“How about you sonny ?” she looked at Mark now “I don’t think we met yet either. My names Flashy Screen, but friends call me Flashy.” she introduced herself and lifted one hoof into the air
“Names Mark. Nice to meet you Flashy.” he shook her hoof and smiled at her “And about the contest. I think I’ll join in. Sounds like fun.”
“Well then you should get ready. We’ll be starting half an hour from now.”
The place was crowded for a simple contest. Many ponies came to watch the show, some for fun, others to place bets on who would win. The contest itself didn’t have that many participants as Mark thought it would have. There were only twelve of them standing there, waiting for it to begin. Mark seemed to be the oldest, or the second oldest there which was a bit awkward to him, even more when he found out that the youngest one there, a small brown colored colt, was the reigning champion of the last contest. He had to try his best to not loose to a little child. Also he wanted the free month just as well.
They didn’t have to wait for long. Flashy came out and stood on a low stool just so the crowd could see and hear her better.
“Fillies and gentlecolts. All of you are gathered here to witness another one of our game competitions, but this time will be different. Now that we have an actual game house, and not just a few machines, we can have more rounds and make it more interesting this way.” she spoke with confidence and never once did she stop to smile. The crowd started cheering a bit and talking about what would happen next.
“I will explain what will happen next. Since we have twelve contestants and you don’t want to be here for a week till everyone plays a game, we will have elimination rounds.” she got off the stool and went over to twelve machines that were already ready for playing. The crowd was now silent, mostly because they didn’t know what type of elimination there would be.
“Everyone take a place. I’ll explain once you’re ready.” she ordered the contestants
The twelve each took a spot at one of the machines, with Mark taking the spot between a purple filly on one side, and the brown champion on the other.
“Now.” she said a bit louder so all could hear “You will play the game I choose and for how long I choose. The three of you with the least points will loose so do your best.”
All of them got ready for the first game, none of them wanted to drop out in the first round. Not a single sound could be heard from them and once the machines lit up from Flashy's spell, only the pressing of buttons could be heard.
The first game they played was the game with the filly head eating fruits. Mark never liked the game and was doing really badly. Once Flashy stopped them, he was sure he had lost already, only to find out that he did much better than half of them. The first to leave were the filly on his side, one cyan colt on the edge and a black colt.
The second game was jumping game. They were all controlling a pink mare that was collecting candy in different worlds. For some reason, Mark thought that the mare looked a bit like Pinkie Pie, even if the mare had a different hairstyle.
Once again, Flashy stopped the contestants to see who had how many points. Mark was the third one in points this round, which made him happy. That didn’t last long when he found out that the brown colt next to him was the first one. With an annoyed grin on his face he turned back to the machine, not even looking at who dropped out this time.
The third game was a shooter game of some sorts. The player had to shoot timberwolves, which jumped out of a dark forest and at the same time avoid hitting ponies running away from them. The game was fun to Mark, and he didn’t even notice how fast the round went. To his surprise, this round he was the victor. He had the most points and he even noticed Marksman cheering at him from somewhere in the crowd with a funny sounding “Woohoo.” The ones that dropped out this turn were an orange filly that sat on the left end, a reddish colt that was sitting next to the champion and a dark blue colt sitting somewhere on the right from him.
The last round was here and Mark could hardly keep his hooves calm from the excitement. In his previous life, he spent lots of time playing games, but at the same time he had hands and not simple hooves. This time though, the game didn’t just start.
“OK, stand back a few steps please.” Flashy asked them from behind them. Once the three that were left stood back Flashy cast a spell. Her horn shone white and the machines started rumbling a bit. Slowly they started changing in shape and size until Mark realized that the machines changed into the driving game he played with Marksman before. The realization that the machinery he was playing at was so advanced only flew through his mind for a few second when he sat into the chair and made himself comfortable. Last round. Now or never.
The round started and the three sped up, the champion taking the inner edge of the road and taking the lead, Mark being right behind him and the gray colt last.
For a while it seemed like none of them would change places since the champion was successfully blocking them from getting past him.
Not wanting to loose, the gray colt tried to get past them in one of the bigger curves. Mark let him get past him because he had problems controlling his car on that part of the track, but the champ had other intentions. One he noticed the car next to him, he tried to ram it with the back of his back bumper. This idea greatly misfired when the two cars got stuck into each other and the gray colts car greatly slowed the other one before they disconnected. Mark used this moment to get past both of them and with a smile on his face continued the track with the other two behind him. The gray colt had given up at this point and was just slowly doing his laps. The champion on the other hand tried to get past him again and again, but without success. Mark just used the same tactic the little guy used on them before. Not much longer and the game ended just like those before. Mark was the clear winner and from joy he jumped out of the machine, screamed a loud “Yeah!” and started jumping around the place. He was really happy. His first big accomplishment in a new life, even thought minor, but still great for him. While jumping, people got closer to congratulate him. He stopped so ponies could get closer to him. All he could hear were cheers and congratulations, and many even shook his hoof. Stallions and mares switched one after another, most of them he never even saw before. All went so fast he only slightly noticed a flash of light from his sides, thinking that someone took a picture. So full of joy, he didn’t even notice what the ponies were saying until Marksman got past them.
“Mate. Congratulations.” he said fast and started shaking his hoof
“Thanks. I didn’t think I would be able to win like that.” Mark thanked him with a wide smile on his face
“Oh yeah. That too.” Marksman replied
“That too ? Did I do something else ?” Mark was now half confused and half happy
“Look behind you !” Marksman told him, grabbed his head and turned it around
At first he had no idea what to look for until he saw it. The flash of light from before wasn’t a photo being taken, but magic happening. His previously blank flank was no longer bare and Mark finally had a cutie mark of his own.
----------------------------------------
“Twilight ?” the girls looked at her with concern.
At first she didn’t respond, thinking about what she just read and if she should even tell them about it. Keeping secrets in this situation was not wise thought, and so she started talking.
“You know the portal we went through, right ? Well it seems like they found a way to replace the magic that was needed for it to exist with something different.” she said and went silent again
“Common Twi. Please continue.” Aj tried to make her continue
“Well…” she started again “…in some of the scrolls I found some things about magic in this world. It exists in every living being here, but most of them don’t have the ability to harness it like we can.”
“Quit the science stuff and get to the point.” Dash couldn’t handle it anymore
“Dashie don’t be mean to Twilight.” Pinkie scolded her
“Anyways,” Twilight continued once more “these guys figured out how to harvest the magic in them and power up their portal. And that’s how they do it.” she finished and pointed at the body on the table
“The magic in them is bound with their lives, so that is the only thing that is left after they have what they need.” she put her hoof down and swallowed. She looked at the girls, thinking how they were taking this. Applejack and Dash seemed to take it without any problems, Rarity and Pinkie seemed to be broken by what they just heard. She was just as down as they were. Using someone else’s life for something like this ? What did they plan to gain from such cruelty ?
They looked at the body, then at each other, silently standing there until finally someone spoke.
“But, you seemed to use a lot of your energy to open the portal up. How many lives would they need to open it up on this side ?” ask she finished her question, each mare in the room turned to Twilight. She knew the answer but did not want to tell them. She could no longer keep it from them now.
“Hundreds actually, maybe even thousand.” she replied and lowered her head. She didn’t want to see their reactions to that
“Where would they even get so many humans down here ? This place is completely empty.” Dash said while the others were lost in thoughts
A good question to which none of them knew an answer.
There was nothing else left in that room that could help them any further. Twilight had some doubts that what they found out helped anyone else but her. Now most of them felt down and there was nothing she could do to cheer them up. She hasn’t found a way to open a way back or contact the other side. If she could figure either of those things out, they would be saved. For now thought, they just had to stick together, and to explore the door on the other side of the room.
Just as before, Dash and Applejack took their spots on sides of the door, waiting for Twilights nod of approval. Once they received it, both of them hit the door with all their might, shattering the weak wood into pieces and making Dash loose balance and fall. Luckily her hovering saved her from hitting the floor face first. All seven of them entered, Pinkie helping Dash to stand up again, and looked around. The room had no lights turned on so seeing anything was impossible. The girls looked around the doors for a light switch but could see anything in the dark.
“This is totally ridiculous.” said Dash angrily, and threw a punch at the wall. Her hasty action would normally go unnoticed would she not have caused the lights to turn on. The place she hit was the light switch they were looking for, built into the wall for some unknown purpose. Dash seemed pleased with her accomplishment, even if it was completely random.
The girls looked away from the cheerful Dash and looked at the room. Before their eyes lay a big laboratory, bigger then the two rooms before combined. And what was in the laboratory itself made another pony smile widely.
“Yes.” Twilight said under her nose and headed to her discovery
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“My queen,” a changeling entered the throne room “the preparations have been completed.”
The queen looked at her subject and nodded in approval.
“Also,” he continued “the scouting team has sent a report.” he finished and approached her, handing her a weirdly glowing scroll. The queen took it and dismissed him. What was in that scroll, Boss wanted to hear. Since the day started, they have been discussing how best to follow the plan, and even though there were some mutual agreements, they still argued on some.
Although the queen knew the strengths of her kind the best, Boss spent most of his time in observing equestrian, trying to find out the most about its defenses and people, or in this case ponies. He was sure that getting his way would take some time with her, mostly because of her royal pride, but if things got dire, he could always pull out the “You lost one attack already.” and crush her pride a bit.
For now arguments would suffice.
The queen opened the scroll and lay it down on the table. It was completely empty, besides a faint green glow covering its surface. Some kind of secret message he thought, and he was once again right. The queens horn lit up with the same green glow as the scroll and once she touched it, its content was revealed and fully readable.
“Nice way of hiding the message.” he complimented the spell
The queen just threw an unpleasant smile and looked at the scroll.
“Seems like they got pretty close to the city already.” she started explaining the scroll
“According to their scouting, the city has just the basic defenses, nothing special like the last time.” he smiled when he heard the last part. She still had her defeat on her mind. His smile froze once the queen started laughing.
“Ah this is just brilliant.” she continued once she stopped laughing “We couldn’t have asked for anything better.
Now he was confused and interested at the same time. What was so funny for her ? She noticed his interest, but did not explain. She waited a bit, giggling a bit, before saying anything. A way of punishing him for the arguing maybe ?
“Guess who’s not home at the moment.” she told him while smiling. The same insincere and evil looking smile she had every time she smiled.
“I have no idea.” he answered
“You’re no fun. Cheer up a bit. Our little princess isn’t home and we can do whatever we want.” she said in the most unroyal fashion she could muster
He looked at her, confused about what she just said, but quickly realized. Celestia was the princess she meant. His mouth turned into the biggest smile he had in a while. Not only were they ready to strike, but the strongest opponent was not even there to stop them. He didn’t care that the lunar princess, Luna, was still there. During the day she was basically incapacitated, and in the night, she had enough work with the moon to be of any use. Now the only obstacle for them was the third princess and her husband. Easily dealt with.
He looked at the queen, still smiling.
“Shall we start then ?” he asked her and her response was a simple nod
“Get your people, well be heading out shortly.”
“Fenix, get those two idiots.” he ordered the cyan pony when he left the throne room. “I’m going to my room for some stuff. Meet me there when you find them.”
The cyan pony nodded and darted off into the city, looking for his colleagues.
The first one he found was the gray one.
“What’s the hurry ?” the gray stallion asked
“Boss called us over. I think it’s time.” Fenix replied and looked around. Jax was nowhere to be found “Where’s Jax ?” he asked
His friend only smiled and lifted his hoof, pointing upwards. Fenix followed his hoof and looked up at the sky. At first, he couldn’t see anything, but then he noticed something moving in the mist above. The something suddenly sped up and charged right at them, stopping only a few meters above their heads.
“Hey Fenix. What brings you here ?” Jax asked his friend, hovering above their heads
“You can fly ?” his friend asked surprised
“Yeah.” Jax answered and started laughing “Wasted my whole day trying to figure it out. But it was worth it.”
“Useful . Anyways, Boss is calling us.” Fenix said, turned around and headed to bosses room, the two of them following him, one on land, the other flying.
“Gentlecolts.” Boss said and looked at them, one after another “It is time to head out and fulfill what we came here to do. You all know what your mission is, don’t mess it up.” he said, lifting his backpack and placing it over his back.
The four of them were ready, physically and mentally, for what the mission was about to bring them.
Now the true test would begin, and only the better one would come out of it alive.
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With the competition over, and after congratulations were given to the winner, the crowd was no longer to be found. Everypony went on with their daily routines, as well as Mark and his friend.
“Well that was fun.” said Marksman as they headed home. After Marks victory, there was no need for them to say there anymore. They bought all they had to beforehand and even with the time spent at the competition, they still had almost half the day left for whatever they wished to do.
“It really was.” Mark replied with a smile. “And if you think about it, I actually won two prices instead of one.” he said and laughed a bit. He had a good reason to be happy. Not only did he beat Ponyville's champion in video games and with that won a free month at the arcade, but he also managed to get his cutie mark as a bonus. The idea that getting a cutie mark in something he was good at on earth didn’t even cross his mind. Now, he would no longer have to try and hide. He was a normal pony, just as anyone else in Equestria.
The two of them walked slowly towards their home, both carrying bags with groceries and both of them smiling. Only thing that crossed their minds now was, what they could do the rest of the day. Mark was the first one to say something about this.
“So what do you think we can do today ?” he asked
“Hmmm.” Marksman replied and his face showed that he was thinking
“Well we could finish unpacking the boxes that are still left and clean the house up a bit.” he said after a moment
“Sounds boring.” Mark said and laughed a bit “But you’re right. We could finish cleaning up your house so it’ll look more cozy.”
“Ya’ll help right ? “ Marksman asked
“Of course I will. I’m not a freeloader.” he replied and both of them started laughing.
The rest of the trip home went faster than they thought, mostly because they didn’t even notice that the house was only a few meters away from them.
Putting the stuff they bought in their places, they now could start with the unpacking. The various crates and boxes littered basically every room now, which was all Marksman's fault. He didn’t mark the boxes with what was inside, so finding something usually meant checking every box separately.
Mark decided that the best would be to start with the boxes that were in each room first, then get back to the main storage, which was the living room.
The first room was Marksman's.
They both entered, Mark for the first time, and looked around. Mark was never here before, he had no reason to and exploring someone else's room seemed rude to him. The first thing he noticed was that the room was basically the same as his, only flipped around. The only difference was the amount of boxes. While Mark only had three boxes in his room, Marksman had six or seven scattered around. He wasn’t sure if he counted them all because the room was a bit messy.
“You got the same bed as I do.” Mark said one he looked over the furniture “Actually, everything seems the same as in my room.”
“Yeah they're the same. The place I got 'em was doin' some kind o' deal because they were closin'. T'was get one and ya’ll get a second one for half the price.” he explained
“Good deal then. The bed is awesome.” Mark said as he grabbed the closest box and started unwrapping it.
The box was filled with Marksman's clothes, which made Mark wondered why ponies even needed clothing. None the less, they started taking the clothes from the box and hang them in the cabinet. Most of them were leather jackets, except one coat which didn’t even look his, but he didn’t seem to notice.
The last piece of clothing he took out from the box sparked a sudden reaction in Marksman.
“Oh my god.” he grabbed it “I was looking everywhere for it.”
What he got looked like a simple greenish rug, but once he unfolded it and tied it around his neck, Mark realized it was a neck handkerchief of some sort.
“What is that thing mate ? It looks so old. “ he said while looking at his friend, breaking his happy smile.
“Oh this ?” touches it “It is something I keep to remind me of my past.” he says, his face turning into a sad smile
“How about we clean up this mess and then go get a drink ? We could call Big Mac as well since he’s all alone on the orchard.”
Marksman smiled and looked out of the window.
“Yeah. It’s a long story though, so we better hurry.” points at the window. The sun was already setting. How fast the time passed by was a mystery, even more so because they didn’t even finish one box yet.
The other five boxes, which Mark was able to gather into one place were much easier to unpack, mostly because they were filled with basic stuff from the kitchen or bathroom. It was kinda funny to him how Marksman was able to stack so many utensils into his room, and not realize it until now.
Once the room was done, the sun was almost down, only a bit was still seeable.
“Took longer than I expected.” Mark said when he placed the last pieces of cutlery in the kitchen
“Yeah. These boxes are evil...” he replies from the living room and starts laughing.
“Think we still have time to get Mac ?” Mark asked.
“We still have enough time till the bar closes so yeah.”
With that said, the two of them left the house, heading towards the orchard. They managed to only clean up a few boxes, but at least they managed to do something. Sadly, the day was nearing its end, but not before Mark would find out more about his friends past.
This town was full of secrets and surprises he had no idea they existed, and that one of them would soon show itself.