//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 
// Story: Doomtrooper: A world where Light rules. 
// by Ethrak 
//------------------------------//

For the next two hours, Twilight watched the humans wait. They said very little. Mitchell paced. The others seemed deep in their own thoughts, but they shot glances at the doors every now and again. Twilight fidgeted. There was so much she wanted to ask, but… no. It was better if the Princess took care of that. Suddenly, the doors to the surgical unit burst open, and the doctor and another human in clad in red armor burst through the door. All the humans in the room looked at them, staring apprehensively. The doctor fired a big smile.

“She’ll live.”

Mitchell let out a loud cheer, jumped to his feet, walked over to the doctor and kneeled in front of him, bringing their eyes level. Twilight heard a quiet, heartfelt whisper. “Thank you. Thank you.” The one in the red armor bowed his head, and mumbled something else, too quiet for Twilight to make out through the helmet. 

Mitchell quietly asked the doctor “Can we see her?” 

The doctor thought in silence, but eventually nodded. “She’s still unconscious, but if you want to, then… follow me.” 

Hunter and the team left Twilight behind and followed the doctor, who talked constantly as they walked. “This was one of the most difficult surgeries I’ve done. You see, the difference between our anatomies is so small that the differences become all the more jarring, for example…" He fell into a long harangue of vaguely familiar anatomical terminology. Hunter tuned him out, and fell into step beside Nicodemus. He looked at the Inquisitor. His face was hidden by his helmet, but the Inquisitor still seemed troubled.

“Nicodemus, what’s wrong?” Hunter asked.

Nicodemus looked at him. “Nothing. That’s what bothers me. This place seems too good to be true, and, in my experience, if something seems too good to be true, it is.” he answered.

Hunter was a bit confused. “What do you mean?” he asked.

Nicodemus clarified. “Everyone’s kind and accommodating. No soldiers, no law enforcement personnel, no defensive constructions anywhere. No signs of weaponry of any kind. No-one has even asked that we give our weapons up, but that may be understandable. But the icing on the cake is this: There is no sign of the Dark Symmetry. Anywhere. Nothing. At first, I thought everything was good, but it seems… too perfect now.” He sighed. “You’re the commander, Colonel, and I’ll follow your lead. Just… be careful.“ Hunter nodded.

Finally, the doctor showed them into a room. Valerie Duval lay there, sprawled across two beds that had been pushed together to accommodate her larger frame. There was almost no part of her that he could discern which wasn’t covered by bandages or plaster casts, but she was breathing deeply and regularly. She looked so small, almost frail, a far cry from the indomitable valkyrie who had put fear into the hearts of so many enemies of Bauhaus and humanity.
Hunter looked at her. 

“Alright team, time to face the facts. When we faced Chaghul, what did we do wrong?” he asked.

Big Bob spoke instantly. “We were overconfident.”

“We relied too much on the element of surprise.” Nicodemus said a second later.

After a long silence, Hunter heard Steiner’s voice. “Ve vere overpowered. It vas just too powerful.” he said.

Hunter snorted. Steiner stood impassive, hands at the small of his back. “It had power far beyond vat ve thought. If it hadn’t been able to send us here, ve vould have killed it. But it did, ve’re here, and it got avay.”

Hunter rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Damn it Steiner, why do you have to make sense? Alright. Now we have to speak to this “Celestia” figure and see if we can get home.”

Suddenly, Nicodemus began looking at the wall. His head moved, as if tracking movement on the other side. His gaze slid down the wall, stopping at the door. The door opened, and a new being entered, causing Nicodemus to flinch. This was Princess Celestia, Hunter knew. She was taller than the others, longer of limb, and far more graceful in her movements. She had a horn, much longer than Twilight Sparkle’s, and large wings folded onto her back. Her coat was gleaming white, so bright it almost hurt his eyes to look at, and her mane was all soft pastel blues, pinks and greens. It moved of its own accord, flowing in a breeze that didn’t blow. Her features were youthful, though Hunter could spot crow’s feet in the corners of her eyes. Her violet eyes were warm and maternal, but her mouth was set in a hard line. She wore a tiara and necklace which were clearly symbols of high station, and the way she held herself reflected the absolute self-confidence of those used to wielding power. She looked at him and spoke, her voice a rich, velvety contralto. “We have to speak. Follow me, please.”





Twilight waited nervously. The princess had arrived, and gone in to meet with the humans. The door to the surgical unit opened and the princess and the five humans trooped out. Twilight looked up at the princess, who gestured for her to come. Twilight and Spike followed them out through the door and into the streets of Ponyville.

The streets were now bustling with the activity of everyday life. The party, consisting of a Princess and five large unknown creatures drew a lot of attention. Ponies stopped to bow to the princess and gawk at the humans. Twilight suppressed a giggle as they walked past Applejack’s apple stand causing the orange earth pony to end her sales pitch mid-sentence to stare at them with wide-eyes and an open mouth. After a while they reached their goal, which was apparently a small café on the outskirts of town.

The eight of them now sat at a table in the café, the humans slightly uncomfortably. Princess Celestia had requested cheese and broccoli pie, green salad and tea and then ever so politely asked that they be left alone. The café was now empty and quiet. Twilight noted that while the humans had set aside their weapons, they kept them within arm’s reach, even here. The one in the red armor removed his helmet, and Twilight’s mouth fell open. The left side of his face was gone. In its place was a mass of red, deep, angry-looking scars. She had understood that they were fighting humans of some kind, because of their armor, but she hadn’t realized the implications. What kind of world gave beings scars like that?

The red-armored human bowed his head and spoke quietly. “Light bless this meal, and all those who provided it.“

The others answered with a murmur. ”Blessed are we who walk in the Light.”

Then the five humans began inhaling pie at a speed parasprites would envy. Princess Celestia just watched them, a slight smile playing across her lips. Twilight nibbled a small piece, too excited to do much else. Finally the last human sat back with a contented smile. Twilight poured and passed around cups of tea. When everyone had received a cup, Mitchell finally spoke. “Thank you, Princess. Now, you wanted to talk.”

“Yes, I did. Believe me, it’s not every day five completely unknown, heavily armed and armored beings show up in my realm, demanding medical attention for a wounded comrade.”. She paused. Her eyes hardened. ”I’ll be frank. I need to know who and what you are, what you want, why you are here, how you got here and if you are a threat to my realm or my people.” she stated flatly.

Steiner nodded, and Twilight thought she saw approval in the gesture. Mitchell smiled. 

“Well, ma’am, we can do introductions first. My name is Mitchell Hunter. I’m an officer, a Colonel, to be precise, in the Capitol Armed Forces. My companions are…” He gestured to the others. “...Corporal Robert Watts, also of the Capitol Armed Forces.”

The huge dark-skinned one smiled. ”Big Bob to my friends, ma’am.” he said in a respectful tone.

An apt nickname, Twilight thought to herself. She had thought Big Macintosh was big, but Big Bob loomed. He could probably block out the sun.

Mitchell continued. “Major Max Steiner, of the Bauhaus Heer.” Steiner dipped his head, then fixed his grey eyes on Princess Celestia again.

“Inquisitor Nicodemus, of the Brotherhood of Light.” The scarred man smiled nervously.

“And Sebastian Crenshaw, also of the Brotherhood.”. Crenshaw gave a bright broad smile, nodded and then continued to sip at his tea, his little finger daintily crooked.

“The woman in your medical center is Major Valerie Duval, also of the Bauhaus Heer. We are Doomtroopers in service or on loan to the Brotherhood of Light. As for what we want, we want to get Valerie patched up and go home.” Mitchell sighed. ”Sadly, we have no clue where we are, or how we get back. We were sent here by one of our enemies, and we don’t even know how to begin replicating what it did. However, we are no immediate threat to you or your subjects. Our mandate is to fight the servants of Darkness, nothing else.”

Princess Celestia took a sip of her own tea and looked at him. “Good. However, your answer raises more questions than it answers. I need more background. What are Doomtroopers? What is the Darkness? What is the Brotherhood?”

Mitchell’s face turned thoughtful, but finally, he nodded. ”I think the Inquisitor is better equipped to give you that information.”

He looked at Nicodemus. The Inquisitor nodded curtly. “What of it I can give you, at least. I can’t give you the full story. The story of the rise of the Darkness and the Brotherhood only exists in the Chronicles, and to replicate even a word of them is punishable by death.”

Twilight was shocked. Death for speaking about what was obviously an integral part of the lives of these humans? She felt compelled to ask. “Why?”

The Inquisitor smiled. “The Dark Symmetry is insidious, and it can corrupt anything, and turn it against itself. Nathaniel Durand, the first Cardinal, decided that it was better that some few die, than risk that the Brotherhood’s message be corrupted and turned against it. Small differences of opinion concerning interpretations of religious and political texts have caused wars that could span centuries.“

Twilight’s shock deepened. “Wait. Did you say humans fight wars among themselves?”

Mitchell smiled a crooked smile. He sighed again. “Humans are a warlike race, Twilight, and in
the world we live in, lives have always been cheap. Every human in this room is a career soldier, and has killed other humans at some point. Humanity has fought many wars for many reasons.” He began ticking off on his fingers. “Religious differences, political differences, economic differences. Wars have been fought for resources, markets, living space, wealth, political advantage…”. He threw up his hands. ”…or just because it was too much trouble to not have a war.”

Twilight felt as if someone had just hit her between the eyes with a sledgehammer. Equestria hadn’t been at war for centuries. The Guards Regiments, the Princess had confided, were kept around as a training school and outlet for the few poor ponies whose special talents only veered towards violence. Twilight, however, was enough of a historian to know about the wars in Equestria’s ancient history, and the devastation they had wrought. And here this… this… this… alien was claiming his kind sometimes considered avoiding that kind of suffering too much trouble!?

Mitchell looked at her, seeming to read her thoughts. His face darkened. “If it wasn’t for the experience and technology we developed over centuries, we wouldn’t be sitting here. I won’t apologize for it.”

Twilight gulped. For a split second, Mitchell’s kindly surface had cracked. There was something underneath. Something hard. Dangerous. Something which would do violence without a second thought, if it deemed it necessary. “Do humans still fight wars with each other?” she asked.

Mitchell shook his head sadly. “Constantly. I’ve fought against all the other corporations at some time or another.”. He smiled. “At least if you count a bar brawl with some Cybertronic punks in San Dorado.”

That earned a smile from the others. Twilight was horrified. He had hurt other beings, and it was treated as a joke! He continued without noticing her reaction. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Steiner and I took a few shots at each other when I was posted on Venus.”

If Twilight had been shocked and horrified at the humans’ flippant attitude to violence and war earlier, she was now completely flabbergasted. “But… but… but… if you tried to kill each other then, how can you be sitting here, now?!”

Crenshaw put down his teacup. “My people have a saying: I against my brother. My brother and I against our clan. My clan and I against our corporation. My corporation and I against the universe. We all have differences, and we will fight fiercely over them, but we can and will always unite against an outside threat.“ he said.

Twilight nodded mutely, and saw the Princess do the same in the corner of her eye. Nicodemus looked at Hunter, a sort of questioning gaze. Hunter nodded back at him.

Nicodemus began. ”The Brotherhood is a religious group, and one of the six largest powers in the human worlds. The other five are the five corporations, huge commercial entities. Or rather, the nations the corporations turned into after the nation-states collapsed. The corporations, Bauhaus, Mishima, Capitol, Imperial and Cybertronic, formed a common deliberative body called the Cartel, which is overseen by the Brotherhood and used to try to solve problems which involve more than one corporation without resorting to violence. The Cartel also oversees the Doomtroopers. Doomtroopers are handpicked elite soldiers, veterans of countless battles, given additional training and the best equipment money can buy, and sent to do battle with the servants of the Dark Soul. I can’t say much more without violating the edict against replicating the Chronicles.”

Princess Celestia grimaced, clearly wanting more, but nodded. “Perhaps you can tell us something of the Brotherhood’s teachings, then?”

Nicodemus nodded. “The Brotherhood’s message has always been a simple one. All divisions between humans are false, and humanity must unite to survive. The greatest thing anyone can do is to sacrifice for the well-being of others. Revere light in all its forms, for it alone makes life worth living, and is the manifestation of the powers of life and good. Feed the hungry, comfort the suffering, aid the ill, because a burden lifted by many is lighter than one lifted alone.“

Twilight’s heart skipped a beat. Unity. Loyalty. Self-sacrifice. Comfort.  Through all that brutality, the Magic of Friendship, in some small way, had still managed to reach their world. The thought warmed her heart. Meanwhile, Princess Celestia looked at Spike. “Spike, would you be a dear and see if we can get a fresh pot of tea?” She phrased it as a question, but her tone of voice left no doubt that it was in fact a Royal command.

Spike huffed, but trundled off. Twilight saw Princess Celestia watch him walk out, every step of the way. When he was out the door Princess Celestia inhaled deeply. Twilight watched her features set into a hard mask. She had seen it before. This was the face she had worn when Discord returned. Princess Celestia was normally so kind and gentle, it was sometimes difficult for Twilight to remember that she was more than a mentor and ruler, but also the protector of an entire nation, and had shown a willingness to protect her people by any means necessary.

“Now, I believe I have some inkling as to what you mean by the Darkness. Inquisitor Nicodemus, can you answer yes or no to some questions or statements?” Princess Celestia asked.

The Inquisitor was silent for a long while. Finally, he made a sour grimace, but nodded. “Would you like me to fill in if there is information I can give?” he asked.

Princess Celestia nodded. “Please do” she answered. Then she drew herself up, took a deep breath, and began. “The Dark Soul is not a being of Creation, but of the primordial Darkness, that was before Creation.” she stated.

The Inquisitor’s jaw dropped. Twilight almost thought his chin was going to hit the table, but then he nodded.

“The Dark Soul is sentient, and seeks to destroy all creation, and reform the Darkness from which it came.” was the Princess’ next statement.

Another nod.

“It manifests in a number of interlinked ways, in the form of ideas, items and entities.”

Nicodemus nodded again. “We refer to this pattern as the Dark Symmetry.” he said.

Princess Celestia pursed her lips and sank into thought for a moment. Then she nodded. “The Dark Symmetry… appropriate…” She paused, thinking. “The Dark Soul itself manifests in sentient forms.”

Nod.

“How many?” she asked.

Nicodemus swallowed, took a gulp of tea, then seemed to steady himself. “Five. Semaj, Demnogonis, Muawijhe, Illian and Algeroth. We call them the Dark Apostles.” he answered.

Princess Celestia pursed her lips. “Apostle? What does that word mean?” she asked.

“It comes from an ancient tongue, spoken on Earth millennia ago. It means messenger, ambassador… forerunner, maybe. Perhaps harbinger would be most appropriate in this context.” Nicodemus answered.

Comprehension dawned on Princess Celestia’s features. She nodded and continued. “Before the Dark Soul began to manifest, a physical seal of some sort was found and broken.”

Nod.

Princess Celestia looked satisfied. Nicodemus let out a shuddering breath. He gestured to Mitchell. Mitchell answered the unasked question. “As for how we got here, we were fighting a nepharite, a high ranking servant, of Semaj, and in the middle of the battle, it opened a portal of some kind. It remained behind, we fell through it, and ended up out in the…” He didn’t get further.

Princess Celestia’s eyes flew wide open and she flew up from her seat. “IT DID WHAT?!” she yelled. Twilight saw her eyes blaze with solar fire.

Mitchell looked panicked, and the other humans flew up from their seats, fumbling for their weapons. Twilight stared at the Princess in shock. The Princess seemed to have noticed their panic, and visibly calmed down. Hunter looked at the Princess, and waved to the others. Knives and swords returned their scabbards, slowly and reluctantly, but they did return. There were some very awkward smiles all around the room.

Princess Celestia returned to her seat. She took a long drink from her teacup. She looked at Mitchell, whose features had twisted into an apologetic grimace. “I’m sorry.” she said. “However, these news are most disturbing. The Dark Soul and its minions are well known to my sister and me, but this realm has its Seals still in place. I have not seen more than two breakthroughs in the past two millennia.” Twilight looked at her face. Princess Celestia seemed worried.

Twilight shuddered, as if someone had walked over her grave. Still, her analytical mind continued to work on its own. The pieces fell together. She looked up at Princess Celestia. “Are you talking about Nightmare Moon and Discord?” she asked.

Princess Celestia smiled at her student. “What turned my sister into Nightmare Moon, yes. Well done, Twilight.“

Mitchell seemed to think. Then he looked as if he realized something, and he looked at Princess Celestia, eyes wide. “Wait. You have seen?! Just how old are you?!” he blurted out.

Princess Celestia arched an eyebrow at him. “Colonel Hunter, I don’t know what social conventions are common in your society, but here asking a mare’s age is a major faux pas.” she said, in an icy voice.

Mitchell looked like he was about to laugh, caught himself, and made a credible attempt at looking suitably chastened. Twilight still saw the ghost of a smile on his face, though. “I’m truly sorry, ma’am. It’s just that… well, humans in our day and age are usually don’t live to be older than forty years. A throwaway line about two millennia… it’s… something from a fairy tale.”

Princess Celestia let out a most un-Princesslike giggle. “It's quite alright, Colonel. I’m not offended. Suffice to say that I have ruled here for a long time. I now have questions of a more mundane nature. What will you do now, and how will you support yourselves during your time here?” she asked.

Mitchell scratched his head and looked thoughtful. “We need to get home. If you can’t help us directly…”. Princess Celestia shook her head, with a sad expression on her face. “… that means we need to do a lot of research, which, in turn means that we’ll need to talk to your paranormalists.”

He drew out a large medallion, made from some yellowish metal, from underneath his armor and showed it to Twilight and Princess Celestia. Twilight looked at it. It had a seal of some kind in the middle, with angular symbols of some kind around it. Writing? Mitchell pointed to the symbols. “I assume your script looks nothing like this?” he asked.

Twilight shook her head. There was no writing anywhere near similar to it anywhere in the world, as far as she knew. It didn’t resemble Equestrian script, or Gryphonic runes. He continued.

“Then we need to learn your script so we can read your books. As for supporting ourselves…” He tapped the medallion. “…we have some gold, as well as a few other knick-knacks we can sell. If that doesn’t pan out, we can always find work.”

Princess Celestia seemed mollified, and leaned forward curiously. “Will you consider coming to Canterlot with me, and work as trainers for the Royal Guard? They would benefit immensely from…”

Mitchell slammed his fists into the table. Twilight jumped. His voice turned dangerously quiet, forceful and menacing. “No. We are not mercenaries. We have already taken oaths of service, both to the Brotherhood and to our corporations. We will gladly work alongside your troops if you need our aid against the Dark, but we will not break sworn oaths. And even if we did, I am not going to leave one of my wounded behind!”

Princess Celestia nodded numbly. Twilight was taken aback by the menace and power in his words. Who would speak to a ruler, even one as benevolent as Princess Celestia, like that?

If Princess Celestia took offense at his tone, it didn’t show. She merely nodded. “Very well. Your loyalty to your cause and your subordinates does you credit, Colonel Hunter. I wish you luck in your efforts, and hope for your quick return to your homes. If you need access to the Royal Library, contact me.” she said.

She turned to Twilight. “Twilight, I am assigning you to assist these humans in their endeavor. “

Twilight felt nervous, and bit her lip, but nodded. This was possibly the most important thing she’d ever worked on. Princess Celestia smiled at her. “Don’t worry, my faithful student. You are the perfect pony for the task. I wouldn’t give you a task like this if I didn’t have absolute confidence in your abilities.“

Twilight’s heart glowed, and she beamed at the praise. Princess Celestia emptied her teacup and rose. “One last thing. I would appreciate it much if the existence of the Dark Soul be kept a secret from here on.” she said. She looked down at Twilight. “I have full faith in my student, but if it were to become common knowledge that the greatest threats in our history were the servants of a greater and more powerful evil… the result would be mass panic. This land cannot afford such a panic. Not now.” 

Her amethyst eyes transfixed Mitchell, who quickly nodded his assent. The other humans were quick to follow his lead. “Very well. Good luck, humans. I need to get back to my duties. My student can help you with what you need.”

The Princess left, leaving five humans and a unicorn staring in silence.  There was a knock at the door. It opened, and Spike stuck in his head through the opening. “Have you finished talking about the stuff I wasn’t supposed to hear about?” Twilight nodded, and Spike walked up to Twilight’s side.

Mitchell stared at him. “You can talk too?” he asked.

Spike looked offended and growled “Hey!”

Mitchell beat his head into the table softly and mumbled to himself. “I shouldn’t be surprised. What a day. Wake up, shower, breakfast, morning run, a bit of range time, lunch, paperwork, dinner, nap, quick hit-and-run mission. Now I’m stuck in the land of pastel-colored ponies, one of my team members is in the hospital, after being operated on by the local veterinarian, and I’m chatting with a green lizard.”

Spike snorted. “I’ll have you know, I’m a dragon."

Mitchell looked at him. “An honest-to-Light dragon. Now I’ve seen everything.” He sounded like nothing could surprise him anymore.

He sighed, straightened and looked at the other humans. ”Alright team, we need a plan. We need to get money, find lodgings, buy some new clothes, find a secure place to stash weapons and armor. And we need to get someone back to the medical center to make sure Duval doesn’t panic and kill anyone when she wakes up."

Twilight listened and interjected. “I have a few friends who can probably help.”