… ugh, well, that was certainly a thing. Note to the wise here, don't go getting knocked out in whatever context. It's bad, period. Not only does it give you one hell of a headache, but the momentary lapse of memory makes it… worse. Wait, what's going on? Where am I?
I finally drew the strength to open my eyes to discover I was… in a prison cell… oh joy. Here come the Wind Waker flashbacks again. I hated that bloody prison cell segment.
The cell I was in seemed to be dug into a cave wall, giving me the feeling I was being held somewhere underneath the castle. The bars seemed old and rusty, yet looked sturdy enough to hold out to the end of time. The only furnishings in the entire room were the beds that Shane, Celestia and myself were on. I might've only just gotten up, but Shane was wide awake, and Celestia seemed to be lost in thought.
Well, here's hoping I can figure out what's going on… I rolled to the edge of the bed I was laying on, turning my body to face Shane. I tried to move my arms to balance myself, but quickly noticed the shackles around my wrist. Great…
"Hey, you good?" He asked, clearly surprised to see me awake so soon.
"I just got knocked out by… a rogue guard, then woke up in a jail cell. So yeah, I'm feeling just peachy, thanks Shane." I moaned, placing my head in my palms to help with my headache. "Please tell me I didn't see what I thought I saw. That can't be David."
"I'm afraid it was, I'm shocked too." Shane answered, sitting back on his bed and leaning back. His fist was clenched and his eyes were closed, as if he was trying to remain calm.
"So, your 'friend' was the one who's been taking my guards? He's the rebel leader?" Celestia asked, her typical calm voice becoming more threatening. "How do I know you won't join him? What's stopping you?"
"Celestia, calm down. What David's done has clearly caught us all off-guard. I never took him as the kind of person to lead turncoats into battle." Shane defended, giving me a firm glare. "Marc, you know David better than me. Why would David do something like this?"
I took a quick second to think, but I shook my head. "Simple answer; he wouldn't, not willingly. David isn't the kind of guy to go out of the way to hurt others, nor would dare turn against authority. Whatever's going on… we only have half the story. He's the one who knows what's going on."
"Why should I believe either of you? If David is capable of being so deceitful, who's to say you two aren't?" Celestia questioned, her mane moving in a way that I noticed a weird ring around the base finger horn. It clearly didn't belong there, and it seemed to be holding back a golden aura. It was likely preventing her from casting spells. I figured I'd sort that out later though, as she'd likely use it against us in anger.
"Rather simple; were unarmed. And I'm not sure if you noticed, Ms 'sunny-side up', but we're trapped in here too!" I yelled at Celestia, causing her to slightly distance herself from my anger." So before you go spouting out any more 'bright' ideas, I'd put a little more thought in before you go accusing us!"
I turned to the bars of the cage, as away from Celestia. I could feel my hand uncontrollably shanking in rage, so I firmly grabbed it, just to be safe. I then noticed Rainbow in the cage across from us, along with Twilight and Pinkie. Looking a little further down, I noticed AJ, flutters and Rarity in a third cell.
"You okay Marc?" Rainbow asked, having likely just saw my little outburst.
"I just learned my best friend is the one who's led the whole corporate deter against Celestia, who's starting to think we're also working with him. You tell me, am I alright?" I vented, firmly banging my head against the wall, hoping to dear god this was all just some weird-ass dream, that I was still on the train somehow.
"Is coup d'état! How many times do I have to say it?" Twilight once again corrected, trying her best to use her magic. From what I could guess, she also had one of those inhibitor rings around her horn preventing her from using her magic.
"Ugh, whatever. It's not like it matters anyway…" I moaned, sitting back against the wall, reaching into my shirt and grabbing my pendant, clenching it in my fist. "We've been beaten. We're detained. Unless you're telling me there's a hole in the wall that's small enough for us to crawl through and access a video game-like stealth section, then we're boned."
"Forever the optimist, huh?" Shane said, moving his way closer to the bars and placing his hand oh them. I could then see a small-ish domed shield appear from it, similar to the one he conjured in the desert. It was incredibly small though, barely the size of his hand. "If I can figure out how to make this bigger before casting it… I might be able to get us out of here."
"Unless the shield functions like the ones in Halo. In that case, it'll only block bullets and covenant weaponry." I countered, not really paying him much attention. "Perhaps if the unicorns and pegacorns in the group could use their magic, we'd already be out of here."
"It's 'Alicorn, you dunce!" Celestia yelled, moving to the opposite side of the cell and away from me. I don't exactly think she was in the best moods right now. "If we could cast magic, you're right, we wouldn't be in this situation. Not sure if you've noticed, but our magic is being suppressed. There's no helping us!"
"Great, I'm stuck with two pessimists…" Shane groaned, firmly face-palming. Twilight could only look in horror as her mentor seemed to get more and more freaked out.
"Princess, are you okay? You're acting weird." Twilight asked, moving closer to the edge of her cell.
"I'm… I'm fine Twilight. Just a case of clostraphobia and some irritating fellow captives. I just need a moment." Celestia explained, closing her eyes and breathing calmly. With her trying to calm down, I decided to change the subject and focus on our next move.
"Alright, we need to start planning a way out. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get out of here?" I asked, being met with a collection of 'no's and shaking heads, from both cells. I wasn't sure where the third one was, but I felt we needed to check with Cell three. "What about you guys? Do you think you could bust these cage bars open AJ?"
"Nope, too sturdy. Even if ah' could, it'd just bring more guards." Applejack answered, seeming to come from the cell directly next to ours, just out of sight.
I sighed. "Well, that's one idea down the drain… does anyone have any hair clips or something? I might be able to spoof the lock."
"No, you won't. I don't think the lock is as simple as that." Shane explained, looking at the lock on Twilight's side. "Besides, we can't do anything about that. Our arms are too thick to get through the bars, and I seriously doubt hooves can grab things like hands."
"What, you mean like this?" Twilight asked, using her hoof to pick up a stick off the ground, disproving Shane's point. "But Shane's partially right. While we can pick things up, the locks in here are far too complicated. You'd need a group of five ponies to unlock it, and some of them would have to be outside the cell."
"Ugh… come on, think!" I yelled to myself, placing my head in my hand and scouring my brain for any last-ditch ideas. "Pinkie? Remember when we first met and you somehow went from the bedroom to downstairs while nobody was looking? Could you do something similar here?"
"Sorry, No can do." Pinkie answered, leaving me without a plan.
"Well, looks like we're stuck here for a bit then…" I sighed, moving back to my bed and laying down on it. "The only way we"re getting out of here is if the cell door is unlocked, and I doubt they'll just let us-"
My point was cut short by the exact opposite of my statement; the cell door was being unlocked by one of the guards. He had a gruff expression to his face.
"David wants to talk to the two of you. You're coming with us." He declared, using his horn to levitate his carried spear to Shane's neck. "Try to escape, and you're dead. look at me funny, and you're dead. Talk-"
"-And we're dead, we get it. We're not idiots." I growled, standing up and standing next to Shane. My fist remained clenched. "You must be pretty daft to be threatening aliens you know."
"David told us your soft spots. The head, the heart, the neck. If you try to escape, the ankles are the place to strike." The guard explained, putting another spear to my neck. While it'd probably be more practical to use a dagger or something, I wasn't about to lecture the guard on how to keep prisoners.
"Yeah, fuck that. I'd rather wait here until I'm sure I won't do something I'll regret when I see David. So if you could ju-" My remark was cut short by the guard, who felt it was necessary to dig a light cut in the side of my neck. "Hey, what the hell man!!"
"That wasn't a request, it was an order! Move it beast!" The guard commanded, a dark and threatening glare viewable from he's bright green eyes. I didn't exactly want to try his patience after that, so I just did what he said.
"You know, you're going to regret that later. Mark my works." I threatened the guard, who simply shrugged off the comment. I turned to face Twilight before I left. "Don't worry. I'll get us out of here, all of us."
"I hope you do… Celestia looks like she can't take any more of this." Twilight muttered, looking over to her currently hyperventilating Mentor. Jeez, someone get that pony a stress ball!
"Are you death of something? Move it human!" The guard once again shouted, using the reverse end of the spear to push me forward. I'd make a move on him now, but I think it'd be better to get in a word with David first. Perhaps he's sane enough to give us answers.
-0-0-0-0-0-
I couldn't exactly recall exactly how long getting out of the dungeons took. It could've been three minutes, but if felt like half an hour to me. Guess that's what happens when you're guard is a bitch who remains silent and expects you to do the same. Never thought I'd miss Pinkie, but I really enjoy conversation. This was just torture.
However long our little trek took, we eventually found ourselves back in the throne room, with some minor changes… and by that, the room went to shit. The regal carpet that should lead to Celestia's throne was torn and ripped in more than one spot, most of the plant pots were also smashed, and the room seemed generally crap. I could see David off to the side, working in the same room he revealed himself from. He looked slightly stressed, his usually neat hair having gone rugged and spiky, but he still retained an oddly devious smile.
"Any news on Luna yet?" David asked one of his nearby guards, who seemed to be reading from a pile of documents.
"It appears she took a visit Trottingham two days ago, and was planning on returning some point tomorrow." The guard said, placing down the paperwork. "Celestia sent her sister a letter about the chance of attack, but she's yet to get a reply from her."
"Great, looks like we've got a suspicious alicorn to deal with. Have the squ-" David was about to say, before noticing me and Shane were present. "We'll continue this later. Just have the guards to begin regular patrols of the castle and report back later."
"Alright sir. Whatever you wish." The guard said, leaving the room to is three humans and our guard. David focused his attention on the guard.
"Undo their shackles." David instructed the guard, who gave off a weird expression.
"Sir, they're not trustworthy. Why should I un-" the guard blurted out, before being picked up by the neck by David, getting a somewhat unsettling galire from him.
"I never asked for your opinion solider! Undo their shackles and leave, that's an order!" He yelled, the sheer level of intimidation from his voice catching even Shane off-guard. He dropped the guy, who did as he asked, unlocking our shackles and left. "Sorry about that guy. He has some serious anger issues."
"Yeah, speaking of issues, what's your problem man?!" I shouted, trying to stop myself from beating him senseless. Hurting me was one thing, but getting everyone else involved was a step too far. "Your first plan after arriving on a new planet… is to raise an army and take over the government? Of all the insane things that's happened to me on this planet, that one takes the cake!"
"Calm down Marc, it's alright." Shane said, placing his hand on my shoulder to keep me calm. He then turned to face David. "I don't know you as well as Marc, so give me a simple answer; what the hell is going on?"
David sighed. "Okay, just… listen. It's simple once you know what's happening behind the scenes." He moved to sit down on a nearby chair, gesturing to two others nearby him. Me and Shane took those seats. "If I might ask; how did you guys get out of your pods?"
"Easy; My ships AI fragment opened my pod for me." I answered, shifting slightly in my seat.
"Same for me. My ships AI seemed to die directly afterwards, but it worked at least." Shane added. "Why do you ask?"
"Because I wasn't woken up by an AI; a dragon crashed into my ship while it was landing and caused the whole thing to tear apart, including my pod. It nearly killed me." David explained, looking down as a seriously large gash on his arm. It still looked like it was healing. "After that, I was taken in."
"Taken in… by who?" I asked.
"Queen Chrysalis of the Changlings. It's thanks to her I'm still in one piece." David told us, turning to a couple of the guards outside. "Hey guys, show him what I'm talking about!"
As if out of nowhere, the two normal-looking Canterlot guard rogues were coated in a peculiar green aura. This quickly began to travel the lengths of their entire body, slowly revealing what was supposedly their true forms. They… were basically ponies, but entirely black, bug-like and filled with holes that made them comparable to black Swiss cheese. I would've been shocked, but they're not the weirdest thing I've seen this far… but it was for Shane. Ooh his face, he looked terrified.
"How… what… but… how?" Shane blurted out, not able to fully understand what just happened. As for me, I remained distant. And by that, I moved straight over to the other side of the room out of discomfort.
"Shape-shifters? That's cool but… really unsettling!" I said, looking to David in disbelief. "Dude, these things are the ones who saved you?! They're weird as hell!… no offence."
"Appearances aren't what matters. What's important is that they look out for me. They're the reason the infiltration went so well."
A sceptic look filled my face. "Wait a minute… if these 'changelings' are capable of shape-shifting, how do I know you're actually David?" I asked.
"Oh, you're playing that card, eh? Alright, what do I have to say? We met at project horizon. You have an unhealthy obsession with coca-cola. You always had dreams where you were in RWBY and were banging--"
"-Okay, you're David! Just don't finish that story!" I yelled, covering David's mouth before he could finish the story. All that could escape was a quiet chuckle. "You're evil, you know that?"
David moved my hand. "Come on man. I know Weiss is a decent character, but there are limits to what's acceptable to imagine." He moved over to the window. "Chrysalis wants Canterlot for herself. Changelings feed off love, so they need a steady source. If the queen wills it, then I will deliver what's she wants."
"Dude, this isn't like you. Helping a greater cause? Yeah, I can see that. But strategised attacks and stealing from a crown state? You don't have the balls for that." I told him, much calmer that I had his motives.
"I'm doing what needs to be done. The Changlings have been discriminated and feared their entire existence. I'm helping them!" David defended, looking over to the two guards he called. "They save me, I help them. That's how it works."
"And you should know that violence isn't the way to earn peace!" Shane interrupted, his clear thinking having returned to him. "If you want peace, you need to work with the likes of Celestia, not imprison her. I'd expect you of all people to understand that. We survived Earth! We all know where war leads to."
David paused, sighing and clenching his fist. "And you should know that racism and discrimination doesn't fade that easily! In the past, large-scale wars and calamities are what brought our people together. It's how women got the vote, and it's how we're going to get the respect that the Changlings deserve!" David walked over to me. "Because do you know what snuffs out hate?… Fear."
"… I don't have a clue what's going on David, or why you felt it necessary to tell us this, but it's wrong. Violence is never the answer!" I yelled, hurt by the fact David would ever revert to this manner of thinking. Something about this whole thing didn't feel right. This was definitely David, but he's thinking in the polar opposite of what I'm used to.
"Hmm… ironic considering your first actions on this planet. Slaying an Omega Timberwolf? I've heard those things have laid waste to whole towns." David commented, picking up a nearby illustration of the creature from the nearby coffee table.
"That was different. That thing was going to kill me! Is self-defence not relevant?" I claimed in my defence, squaring up to David in an attempt to show some form of authority, or to intimidate him into changing the subject.
"You know, I originally intended on asking you if you wanted to help us. To stand alongside me as we claim this planet. But now… I don't think it's worth asking." David growled, staring me in the eye with his deeply green eyes… wait, green eyes? That can't be right.
I didn't pay that fact much attention at the moment. I was too mad. "You think we'd join you? I thought you were the smart one. You know I wouldn't want a part in this! I'd rather rot in jail for eternity than help anyone conquer the planet!"
"… that can be arranged." David sniggered, sending a hand signal to the guards outside, who approached us with weapons in hoof. "If you don't wish to help me, then you can die with the rest of them. I don't have time for traitors."
I was about to continue my rant to my supposed 'friend', but Shane intervened, pulling me back from the shoulder.
"Marc… calm down. Don't do anything you'll regret." Shane told me, leading me towards the guards who would lead us back to our cells. He then turned back to David. "I don't know what you've been through with the Changelings, but if you do anything to harm either me or Marc, then you'll be sorry."
David let off a sinister grin. "Oh, that's the least if your worries… goodbye Shane."
Shane eventually joined me in returning to the prison, looking over at me. I was in thought, and Shane likely picked up on that.
"You figured something out, haven't you?" He asked.
"David's eyes… they should be blue… but they were green." I claimed, having finally figured out what was bothering me so much.
"So what, that's not David? You said yourself that he is the real deal. Second thoughts?" Shane guessed, trying to come to some kind of conclusion himself.
"No, it's definitely him. His memories are proof of that. The abnormalities are the changes in his personality and his aggression… perhaps he's possessed or something?"
"It seems the redhead caught on pretty quick, didn't he?" One of the guards behind us whispered, getting slightly closer to us to avoid making too much noise. He was an aqua Pegasus with short, blonde hair. He was also clad in golden armour, silver chain-mail underneath. "Don't worry, I'm not one of them. I'm here to help you."
"If that's the case, then actions speak louder than words. Prove it." Shane muttered back, trying to keep his deep voice from attracting the other guards. Luckily, they were wearing helmets, so they couldn't hear us. Not sure how, given the helmets were metal and didn't cover the ears, but I wasn't going to analyse that right now.
Seriously, are all the ponies in this world so bloody oblivious? If so, this is gonna get old quickly.
"Then wait for my signal." The sane guard said. "On my mark, we take out the other three guards, one each. Got it?"
I wasn't quite sure what was going on. Perhaps this was a trick, but if this guard wanted to help, then going along with him would be smart. If it comes down to it, we'll just knock him out too. So I nodded.
"Okay… now!" He yelled, tackling the only unicorn guard and bashing him in the horn. This caused the weapons levitated at out necks to drop to the floor.
The other Pegasus guard behind me tried to crash into me, but I responded by grabbing his wings and dragging him to the floor. After that, I kicked him in the neck to knock him out. As for Shane… he threw the remaining guard, an earth pony, Into a statue roughly twenty yards away from us, causing them to go limp. Well… that was underwhelming.
"Nice moves gentlemen, thanks for the assist." The solider said, standing at salute for us. "I'm captain Flowers, a captain of the royal guard. It's a pleasure to meet you both."
While I still felt a little sceptic of Flowers, I guess I still owed him for helping us out, so I lowered my guard slightly. "Wish I could say the same. The best I've seen from your soldiers is knocking me out and mild discrimination."
"Marc, he just helped us. Give the guy a break." Shane told me, holding his hand oh for a hand/hoof shake. "The pleasure is all ours. Although, I must ask this, how do I know you're not either a Changling, or being hypnotised by them?"
"I guess you just have to go off my word. I have no proof." Flowers declared, looking down at the eyes if the unicorn he knocked out. While they originally appeared green, they slowly turned into a brown colour. "If it's any consolation, I can prove your hypnotism theory. These men are, without doubt, my soldiers. Their eye colours changed to green, and they began to act odd. I avoided the radar because my eyes are naturally green."
"Hmm… so green eyes are a sign of possession, or that they're a changeling… got it." Shane noted, looking as the pony he threw revered to their changeling form, still out cold. However, all his theory did for me was make me even more angry.
"This is Chrysalis, isn't it? She hypnotised him!" I yelled, looking down at the slowly awakening soldiers. I then decided my anger could wait for later, given it wasn't the time or place. "Sorry, it's just… where I come from, I was known for my loyalty. Seeing my friend hypnotised is… wrong."
"Don't worry son, I know how you feel." Flowers said calmly, placing his wing against my back in support, given his smaller size would make using his hoof otherwise awkward. "The same happened to my squads. I see where you're coming from… but we should save that for later. I need you two to help me out a bit."
I'm not sure what it was, but captain Flowers seemed trustworthy. It was likely my respect for authority figures, or my time in project horizons militaristic setting. Either way, I owed the captain a favour.
"Sure thing. We owe you one anyway." I declared, a nod from Shane confirming this.
"Alright, here's my plan; I know of a few other guards who broke free of their hypnotism. I'm planning on gathering them and taking back the castle. To do this, we need to take care of David. Now, thats where you guys come in…"
"Woah, we're not going to kill him, alright? David's my friend. I don't care what he's done, he's being controlled!" I defended my friend. I don't care about the situation at hand, I refuse to kill someone I've known for so long.
"Slow down there, nopony is killing anyone, and I know he's being controlled. All I need you to do is buy me some time to gather my ponies." Flowers explained, raising his wings in defence… do most Pegausi use their wings like hands here, or is it just him?
"So you want us to cause a distraction… that's easily doable, so Conciser it done." Shane declared, no doubt having come up with a plan. He gave me a quick nod. "We'll meet you in the throne room. Me and Marc are going to… gather some reinforcements of our own."
"Got it kid. I wish you the best of luck." Flowers said, saluting and running off down a corridor. As such, me and Shane did the same in another direction, heading back to the dungeons.
"Woah, wait a minute." I paused, quickly turning around and returning to the knocked out guards. After a quick scramble, I grabbed one of the spears off the floor and ran back to Shane. "No bloody swords, no daggers, nothing. It's better than nothing, but I fucking hate spears."
"Hey, don't look a gift horse in the mouth… gift pony, whatever. At least you have a weapon." Shane told me, returning to our sprint. A couple of hypno-guards ended up crossing our path, but a kick to the face plus our momentum meant they were out almost as fast as they appeared.
"You know, I almost feel bad for those guys." I muttered, stopping to scan the guards for weaponry. But no, just spears. I groaned.
"Don't. Knocking them out is the nicest thing we can do for them. It fixes them… I think." Shane told me, quickly turning around… and running straight into a suit of armour on display.
"Ha! Not fun when you're the one getting hurt, is it?" I sniggered, finding the change around a little ironic. "Come on, get up. We need to he the others."
Shane groaned, lifting several armour plates from him. "Still not sure how we're going to get past those locks. If we can't find the… hold on." Shane looked at the pile of disassembled armour. "… actually, I've got a plan."
-0-0-0-0-0-
"INCOMING!!" I yelled at the top of my voice as me and Shane bursted into the castle dungeon… his idea. There were three guards in the room, and Shane asked me to take out any of the ones that got in his way. He planned on busting open the cells.
'How will he do that?' I can probably hear you ask. Well, let's just say I wasn't the only one to arm myself with weaponry we found. That's the most subtle way of me saying he'd found a new hammer, claimed from the collapsed suit of pony armour Shane tripped over. Copper plated with a diamond tips here and there. These ponies must pay a fortune to have this many gems lying around.
…
Anyway, let's move on. I already knocked out one of the guards by the entrance, and just succeeded in taking out a pesky unicorn guard. All that left was one earth who attempted to dart at Shane. Too bad momentum was a thing. Shane tripped up, but the much smaller guard fell over with him, and while I had the chance, I kicked them in the head to knock them out.
"Your job was to knock them out and keep them out of my path!" Shane shouted, silently groaning as he got back to his feet. He landed on his new hammer, so he was thoroughly winded.
"What's going on?!" Celestia shouted, rushing over to the entrance of her cell. Her time alone clearly hadn't done much good for her mental state, as two long, black tear streams had formed under her eyes.
"Princess, I'd move back if I were you." I warned the princess, as Shane was beginning to approach her cell.
Celestia moved to the side of the cell, away from the door. That was when Shane decided to take a decent swing at the cells lock… It didn't do anything other than dent the lock, but a second swing saw the door flies open in no time, releasing the princess. As such, she quickly ran out of the cell and nearly fell to the floor, breathing heavily. A look of relief was imprinted on her face.
"T-Thank you…" She whispered, a sigh of relief finally escaping her. I couldn't help but smile at this. Stress and fear does to someone.
"Took you guys long enough! What was taking you so long?" Rainbow complained, immediately stretching her wings for her expected rescue.
"It's a long story, but I can give you key moments." I explained, Shane moving over to knock open the next door. "David is possessed by Changlings, who've also infiltrated the guards ranks. We were saved by this dude called Captain flowers, and Shane found a new hammer. That's about it."
"Wait, Changelings? Here!?" Celestia yelled, getting back to her hooves and beginning to approach the door.
"Woah, slow down princess. It's fine, we've got a plan." I told her, momentarily wincing as Shane unlocked the second of the three cells. Twi, Rainbow and Pinkie then walked out.
"What's this about a plan?" Twilight asked.
"Me and Marc were tasked by the captain to cause a distraction for David while he gathers his own troops. We're planning on heading to the throne room and… well, distracting him." Shane explained, aiming at the lock of the third cell.
I began to try remove the inhibitor ring from Celestia's horn. "But we can't actually make any lasting damage on anyone, human or ponies alike. They're not in control as of right now, and we believe knocking them out is the easiest way to snap them out of it."
"Well, seeing as how often Marc gets knocked out…" rainbow sniggered.
"Shut up, that was from brutal injury and dehydration… and being caught off guard." I argued back, the slight spike of irritation causing me to fully yank off the inhibitor ring, allowing Celestia to use her magic again.
"Well, if an evil force is ultimately at play here, then it looks like the situation calls for one thing; the elements of harmony." Celestia declared, looking over to Shane as he released the remaining three. After that, she approached Twilight and Rarity, using her regained magic to remove their inhibitor rings.
After hearing the name of the earlier-mentioned all-powerful weapon, I winced. "Hold on, I did just explain David is being possessed, right? That means we can't kill him, not 'blow him to hell with megaspells' or some shit!"
"You misunderstand. The elements won't kill your friend, they'll purge the dark energy from his body." Celestia explained, standing up and looking me in the eyes… she's the same size as me, if you take her horn into account. "I promise you this; after all this is over, your friend will be kept alive. You have my word."
I sighed. Celestia's calm and confident energy had almost entirely returning, aside from a slightly shaking front hoof.
"Okay… then we should move. If we make a move, we make it now." I declared, moving out of the way as every pony in the room ran out of the room. I then looked over to Shane, who was checking the remaining cells, which were all empty. He had a perplexed look on his face. "Hey man, what's got you bugged?"
He turned around. "What happened to Spike and Foalen?"
--- meanwhile ---
In the middle of Canterlot's restaurant district, Spike and and Foalen were sat at a noodle cart. Foalen was scoffing down a reasonably helping of said dish, while Spike simply sat there and twirled his fork in his dish.
"Do you think everypony is wondering where we are by now?" Spike asked Foalen, dropping his fork and shifting in his seat. The young prince didn't really pay this much attention however, choosing to simply continue to eat.
"Probably." Foalen mumbled with his mouth full, swallowing what he was eating and taking another mouthful of food. As such, spike turned back to his bowl.
"Twilight is going to kill me once this is all over." He muttered, taking a sceptic bite of his noodles. His face seemed disappointed after the first mouthful, as he pushed his bowl forward. "Hey waiter, you got any emerald to go with this?"
--- back at the dungeon ---
I thought hard about Shane's question, but I couldn't find a single idea as to where the others went to.
"Nope, not a clue! Here's to hoping they avoided all of this somehow." I mumbled, moving over to the doorway. "Come on, we need to catch up with the others. They might be small, but my god are they fast!"
"I'm aware of that. We should move." Shane agreed, swiftly bolting out of the door just before me. After a quick look at the floor for the slowly recovering guards, I decided to join everyone else. I don't want to be delayed by a complicated explanation to some grouchy guards, thank you very much. Let's leave that to Captain flowers after all this is over.
-0-0-0-0-0-
After a few minutes of all-out sprinting, me and Shane had finally managed to catch up with everyone else, who were sprinting in the direction of the castles throne room, and to David. While I wasn't quite sure why we were heading this way, rather than to the elements, I guessed they had good reason for it. As such, I felt I should ask.
"Anyone going to explain why we're heading directly towards David, rather than those element things?" Shane asked, now running side-by-side with Celestia.
"The quickest way to the elements are through a pathway behind the throne room." Celestia explained. "In order to retrieve them, we'll need you to distract David while Twilight and her friends make their way through to them."
I stopped running. "We have to go through the throne room… the room the guards are in… and the room David has albeit called his base. Anyone else seeing the issue here?"
"Marc, shut up. This isn't the time." Shane instructed, having clearly once again taken the leader position. Not that I cared, rather him than me. "Don't worry about it. As long as Marc pulls off his usual tricks, we should be able to keep them busy long enough for you to get out of sight."
"Celestia, I'd suggest you make a break for it. You need to warn your subjects and sister about all this, before everything kicks off." I suggested.
Celestia stopped and looked at me, as I stopped aswell. "Marc, I need to be here. If anything happened while I was gone, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. I'm staying."
"Celestia, I know you want to go, so take it from me." I paled my hand in what I beloved was her shoulder. "I know how it feels to have a sibling at risk. You're probably worse off, you've also got your subjects to worry about… just go. We can't risk anything happening to you."
"Okay… I'll go. Good luck everypony. And Marc?" Celestia asked.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine… I just want to apologise for damaged ahead of time. Now go."
And like that, Celestia was gone. She flew through a nearby window and managed to escape. After that, we all continued to head towards the throne room, managing to make it to the large doors just in front of it. I was about to open the door, when…
"So, you continue to defy me… a pity." I heard come from directly behind us, showing David standing there. He was unarmed, but was stood next to a pair of his guards, each with spear in hoof… and telekinetic hold.
"Ok David, if you could quit acting like such a bloody prick at some point, that'd be pretty nice!" I groaned, grabbing the spear I'd attached to my back and pointing it his way.
"Oh, you're actually willing to attack me? Ooh, I'm so scared!" David chuckled, turning to his guards. "They won't hurt me, don't worry. Just immobilise them again and--"
Any more of David's cocky commands were cut short by Shane grabbing him by the neck, causing David to struggle in his grip.
"I'm sorry, what did you just say? We won't hurt you?" Shane asked, simply watching as David struggled to breathe. "We don't want to hurt you, but we will if we have to. Our task is to knock you out. That'll snap you out o--"
This time, Shane was the one interrupted, as David took the opportunity to grab a knife from his jacket and plant it into Shane's arm, hitting a tonne of muscle and releasing Shane's grip. After getting back to his feet and regaining his composure, he chuckled.
"Well, aren't you tough, eh Shawn?" David sniggered, watching as Shane kneeled on the floor, holding his injured arm firmly. "I'm warning you now; I'm more than willing to go to whatever lengths necessary to do my queens bidding. If that means harming my own kind, so be it."
I suddenly noticed Shane's expression change. He usually remains blank, withholding most of his emotion outside of speech and hand gestures. His face only usually portrayed… confusion, maybe even annoyance or other emotions. But this was new, even to me, through all the years I knew him.
I saw raw, unbridled rage. Not the typical anger, something I regularly saw from his confrontations with Joseph. His anger was a mere firecracker compared to this state, which was like a nuke going off in my face. I could feel the immediate change of emotion, like hulk, Yang, agent Texas and Whinry rockbell were all pissed off ad once.
"I told you… IT'S SHANE!!" He albeit screeched, grabbing David once again by the neck, throwing him into the throne room door and sending David hurtling into Celestia's throne… I don't think that'll buff out.
The guards that lined the room simply looked on in horror, the force of Shane's throw albeit paralysing them with fear. I couldn't help but feel their immediate gaze locking onto all of us. I couldn't see much of a way out of this situation, unless someone felt like delivering a speech, or some intimidating one liner that'd miraculously ward off the guards. But this isn't some wacky TV show, this is real. That isn't going to-
"Get out." Shane initially mumbled, giving all the guards a collective glair. "NOW!!" As soon as Shane's tone of voice changed, a good 3/4 of the guards currently in the room, we're no longer in the room. They either ran past up, jumped out of the windows or teleported away. The five or six guards that remained surrounding David, helping him back up.
David hadn't been knocked out.
"Well, that was certainly a thing…" David groaned, flexing his shoulder while using his other arm to balance on one of the pony guards for support. Safe to say he easily recovered, soon ridding himself of that support and handling his own weight and approaching Shane. "It's disappointing, now I'm truly going to regret what follows."
"I DON--" Shane began to yell, only being stopped by yours truly grabbing his shoulder calmly, turning him around.
"Shane, stand back. From here on in, this is my fight." I told him, pushing him backwards and taking his position. "All he did was stab you and get your name wrong… but his betrayal is an even bigger wound for me…"
"No, you're not fighting alone! He's too tough dammit, he's sneaky!" Shane argued, trying to steadily walk forward, but was held back by Fluttershy. Remind me to thank her later.
"I've already told you this; you're the smart one Shane. You need to calm down, then you can fight." I told him, turning around and facing David. "Sorry about that, family issues. I'm up next."
"Ooh, so scary!" David chuckled, waving his arms around lightly and rolling his eyes."If that mental meathead couldn't scratch me, what makes you think and a chnace?"
"You think you can out-cocky a Brit? Fat chance of that." I declared, stabbing my spear in the ground and approaching him.
"And you think you can prove that by ditching your weapon? That's not cocky, that's stupid."
This time, I rolled my eyes. I spread my legs apart and raised my hands. "Then come at me!"
As if my threat was a command, David made his way towards me, running from the throne all the way to me. After that, he pushed himself off the ground with his right foot and gave me a right jab. I countered this by grabbing his arm and punching him in the joint.
After staggering backwards and composing himself, David launched his left fist at me. I responded by grabbing his arm and throwing him over my shoulder. After that, I kicked him in the neck.
What came next was… a dick move, so to say. And by that, I got kicked in the nads and got pushed backwards, giving David space to get up. After which, David went to tackle me.
Bad move. While hurting my groin slightly, I jumped to the left in order to avoid his attack, kicking his stomachs in the process. He rolled of to the side, slowly getting up yet again.
"Question David; back at project horizon, who was one of the best at close quarters combat during training?" I asked him, his silence as his response. "I was. After all, you don't get beaten up by your mother during training for years without picking up some tricks yourself."
"Shut up!" David groaned, rolling into an upright position and slowly getting back to his feet. "I don't care about your depressing family issues… stop digging it in. Looking for sympathy points… We had families too! I had a family! Do you see me cry for them, bring up their death?! No, so shut up!"
In a fit of rage, I could see David full-on sprinting towards me, a rage burning in his eyes. I was about to respond the only way I knew how, by entering a defensive stance and preparing his next move… but that didn't happen.
Instead, I was grabbed and thrown to the side my Shane, who took my place in the action. Wether this was a good or bad thing was decided right now, as Shane stood in for the attack I was about to receive… a stab to the chest.
He heart sank as soon as I heard David's dagger pierce Shane's skin. by the time Shane realised what'd happened, David dragged the dagger out of his body at an angle, causing blood to splatter across the floor, and David. Shane then fell to the floor.
If Shane didn't… that would've been me.
"Shane!!" I screamed, frantically crawling over to my friend and searching his body for any sign of life. In the background, I could hear David snigger.
"Haha… oh well, stuff happens I guess. He can only blame himself for that." He said coldly, walking away slightly to gloat. "You'd better brace yourself Marcus, you'll be next."
"No, dammit Shane! Your stronger than this, get up!" I frantically pressed his wound, trying to stop the blood flow. In the end, I grabbed my spear and tore off some of my shirt, making a makeshift bandage to cover the wound. He still had a pulse, but if he didn't get help soon, then… I can't say what'll happen to him.
David turned to his turncoats. "Celestia's stooges broke through. I don't know what they're up to, but stop them before they cause any more trouble." He told them, watching as they all scurried through the pathway to the elements. David remained, looking down at me. "If you chose to side with me, none of this would've happened. So this… this is your fault."
I couldn't bring myself to say anything, so I simply chose to give him the most dark and pissed off face I could muster. My death stare… it didn't work. It only made David laugh more.
"Ha! Did I finally shut you up? I didn't even know that's possible!" David grabbed me by the shoulder and looking me in the eye. "Don't worry, you'll join him soon enough… I'm sorry there wasn't another way."
Now… that would've been me done, but it seemed fate was on my side. In an instant, the throne room doors swung open, and several of the stained glass windows were smashed, causing a small battalion of twelve or so guards to come bursting in. Almost milliseconds later, a familiar blue blur crashed into David, sending him flying. I looked up to see Captain Flowers hovering directly over me, holding a spear in his left hoof and a stern look on his face.
"Sorry I'm late. Turns out there were more soldiers safe than I expected." Flowers told me, lowering to the ground and looking over Shane with me. "Let me guess, David happened."
"Yes… he's still alive, just out cold." I told the Captain, having found my voice again. "If you have any medics, we need to get him stable. He has a stab wound dangerously close to his heart and lungs, and he losing blood fast."
"You heard him boys! All squad medics, double time!" Flowers barked at his men, resulting in five ponies coming up and immediately scanning his body for wounds. Like eagles to their prey, although hopefully they wouldn't devour him or anything. "Don't worry kiddo, these ponies are the best if the best. They'll have your buddy up and about in no time!"
"T-Thanks…" I said shakily, watching as a group of strangers did more for my friend than I could. Despite this, I knew I had to focus. There was more than just Shane on the line here, and I had to push everything to the side while I focused on them. I had to forget about the risks of injury, the fact I was facing a friend and… the number of guards around at the time. I had a job and I was sticking to it. "Twilight and her friends went to retrieve the elements, but Shane sent guards down that way after them."
"Understood, I'll sort that out." Flowers told me, turning to his squad. "Everypony but Shining armour and Silent Swordsmare, locate the mane 6 and get them and the elements here safely!"
Without hesitation, said guards flowed down the hallway, leaving myself, Flowers and two of his men… or ponies. Whatever. Point is that David was getting back up and ready for round two.
"Lieutenant Silent Swordsmare and Sargent Shining armour. your objective is to assist the human and myself in knocking out his friend, or at the very least, buy enough time for the element bearers to arrive. Understood?!" The captain asked his solders. He got a nod from Silent Swordsmare, likely all he'll get considering her name.
"Sir, I'll fight with my life on the line if it means helping my sister!" Shining Armour responded, firmly saluted his Captain. I wasn't sure who his sister is, but she'd probably be glad to have him looking out for her.
"Alright son, we've got our squad. We'll help you the best we can." Flowers told me, lowering his belly to the ground and raising his wings, likely a defensive stance. "Is there anything else you need?"
I clenched my fist. I knew what I needed to fight at my best, but said item would also likely hurt David… but I already promised to put that aside for now. So I sighed.
"… somebody get me a sword."