//------------------------------// // Phase 1: You're Not in Kansas Anymore // Story: Hyper Future Pony // by Ponisattva //------------------------------// Hyper Future Pony Author’s Note: Since the prologue was received a whole lot better than I expected, I’m going to try to move forward faster than I originally planned. Hope you guys enjoy, and as always reviews especially constructive criticism are always appreciated. For those familiar with the BAA source material, I’m going to be integrating some of Alita’s backstory as it was revealed in the Last Order sequel, so obviously there will be some spoilers if you haven’t read it. Phase 1: You’re Not in Kansas in Anymore “Wh-where? Where am I?” No one answered her. There was nothing but formless black void surrounding Alita. She was cold and alone again. “Am I dead now?” she asked. The darkness began to dissolve, and Alita felt herself racing towards something. Whether it was heaven or hell she had no clue. It didn’t really matter at this point; she’d stained her hands with enough blood to last a hundred lifetimes. That was just what she remembered since her rebirth. She’d been a warrior before that, but apart from the a few fleeting memories, and the ingrained combat experience, she had no idea what sort of person she had been. Well, this was certainly a strange afterlife. She found herself floating in high orbit above a planet. It looked like the images and globes of the Earth that she had seen before, but it was different. A gigantic ring surrounded the planet in low orbit. But wait…it wasn’t orbiting…it was in sync with the planet’s rotation. The two halves of the elliptical ring connected at a node above the center of the North American continent. A shaft from the node descended planetside towards a floating city, and a bustling metropolis below the floating city. Another shaft ascended far into space, well past geosynchronous altitude, and ended at a giant counterweight city. From the angle she was at, Alita could see another elevator extending from the far side of the ring, its counterweight city peeking just beyond the horizon. She was awestruck by the size of it. She’d spent years living under the floating city of Tiphares, never once really realizing with it was connected to. The awe quickly turned to terror when she realized she was surrounded by what looked to be giant warships. Their sleek lines, dagger-like angles and the numerous weapon emplacements made it clear: these were well-honed weapons. They were engaged in combat with one another, though the flags that were painted on their hulls were unrecognizable. Who they were or why they were fighting was a mystery. And from that angle, it looked like nothing more than a sad waste of life and resources. “Maybe that’s what my life looked like to everyone who watched,” she said to herself. Alita’s dream soon took her aboard one of the ships. In a lot of ways, the interior reminded her of her home in the Scrapyard. The design aesthetics were similar; rugged functionality, with cluttered surfaces filled with important machinery. It was not made to look pretty. Unlike the Scrapyard, though, the ship’s interior looked new. It was missing the cobbled together appearance she was most familiar with, which gave it a strange unfamiliarity that was unsettling. There was a cyborg waiting in the hold that Alita was exploring. Her slim frame was well armored; drab military gray ceramic plates covered the vital areas of her body. She was braced up against the wall of the hold, her arms crossed her stomach. Her eyes were closed…was she sleeping through this? Then Alita recognized her face. The same pouty lip, the same slight nose, the same eyes and her characteristic anti-glare eyeblack…that girl could only be one person. “That’s me! Before I lost my memory!” “Looks like you’ll be having guests, Twilight! And since I don’t know these guests, they must be knew to Ponyville, and I know everypony in Ponyville! Even ponies that aren’t actually ponies like these weird aliens here. And since I don’t know them, that means I have to throw them a welcoming party!” The pink party pony prepared to bolt off, but Twilight tackled her. “Whoa there, Pinkie. You’re not going anywhere, not until I make sure these…visitors…are okay. Got it?” “Yeah, I guess so.” Twilight let Pinkie go, and decided to cautiously take a closer look at the aliens in her basement. They were dusted with some shattered concrete, but otherwise seemed to be none the worse for wear. Well, except for the one with the smooth black…skin? Was it skin, or was it just a covering? “This is most peculiar,” said Twilight, shifting into hardcore scientist mode, “As far as I can tell, they seem to be of the same species. If you’ll note, they have the same morphology. They look to be bipedal, with bilateral symmetry. They have five digits on their forelimbs, one of which appears to be opposable. They’ve got hair on their heads, and forward facing eyes suggesting binocular vision. Hmm, nose, mouth, two eyes, two ears. No hair on their bodies though. Like big hairless monkeys. This one here appears to be an amputee. The poor thing is missing an arm and a hoof.” Twilight started to brush them off, checking for life signs. “Looks like the one in the lab coat is still breathing. But I’m afraid the other one might be…well, might have passed on.” “No silly, look closer. It’s breathing, just very slowly.” Twilight doubted it heavily. She just figured the naïve girl was in denial about there being a dead body in the basement. Still, Twilight looked closer, listening carefully. Sure enough, she could hear and feel the air moving in and out of the black clad creature’s nose. “That’s odd. It’s way too infrequent though, and its chest doesn’t seem to be moving.” “Speaking of that Twilight, what do you suppose these lumps on its chest are for?” Pinkie put a hoof on one of the lumps, testing its rigidity. “The surface seems hard, but it’s got some give to it.” “It looks like the surface is some sort of clothing. Maybe armor. Perhaps it was a guard?” “We should probably get these things to the hospital, and make sure they’re okay.” “That is remarkably responsible of you, Pinkie.” Twilight levitated the lab-coat wearing monkey with the wild hair, carrying it up the stairs effortlessly. Pinkie, on the other hand, was struggling to budge the other one. “Jeesh Twilight, this one is really heavy,” she said with her teeth clenched around its collar. “How much does yours weigh?” “About the same as an average earth pony.” “Well, this one weighs a ton. Come help me with it.” Pinkie was right. The other one was really heavy. With her magic drained from the botched wormhole spell, even Twilight struggled to life the hairless monkey with her magic. They ended up taking off its armor from its arm, shoulders, chest and legs to be able to move it easier. When they arrived at the hospital, Twilight gave her sheepish explanation about why there were strange monkeys unconscious at her house. Groaning at the lavender magician’s continued mishaps, the attending nurse admitted Twilight’s new guests while runners were sent off to find the one hermit doctor in the entire area who had any knowledge of monkey anatomy. Since she was responsible for their current condition, it took some convincing to get the hospital staff to allow Twilight to remain with the two unconscious aliens. Of course, there was no way of knowing yet whether they were actually from another planet or reality, or if they just happened to be from some distant corner of this planet. “I guess monkey will have to do for now,” she said to herself. The monkey in the labcoat seemed to have a bit of a concussion, which was treated easily enough by the nurses. They quickly removed his clothing and found a hospital gown meant for a minotaur’s bipedal frame to give him. His maleness was rather obvious under the cloths, and that threatened Twilight’s sense of modesty. These were strange creatures alright. Her earlier appraisal that he was hairless except for his head proved to be mistaken. The unconscious male monkey had fine hair that was barely visible all over his body, as well as slightly thicker patches on the pelvis, arm pits and chest. Faced with the strangeness of the situation, Twilight forgot her discomfort and went into full blown investigation mode. She started asking the nurse mare questions. “Huh, so why do you think he has those patches of hair?” “Honestly, I really don’t—“ “You think they could be for mating purposes?” “Well, I suppose that—“ “Or maybe they are a badge of rank. He had some strange objects with him. You think he might be a chief of some kind?” “Look kid, I really—“ “Then again, he had a lab coat. Or at least it looked like one. Maybe he’s a scientist too. Oh, that would be so cool!” “You shouldn’t get your—“ “Or maybe he’s a scientist and a chief! That’d be so awesome!” “Don’t jump to—“ “Oh, I can’t wait for him to wake up. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!” “Kid, I’m trying to—“ “What do you think about all of this? I mean, you’re caring for an emissary from another world!” “THAT’S IT! SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP SO THAT I CAN WORK! HE NEEDS MEDICAL ATTENTION, NOT YOUR BLABBERING!” A third voice, quite obviously male jumped into the conversation. “Actually, I am quite alright, thank you.” “Oh, you’re welcome,” replied the nurse, oblivious. “Anyway, as I was saying, he needs medical—“ The nurse pony turned around slowly, almost afraid the see what was behind her. The strange hairless male monkey sat on the edge of the bed, grinning like an imp. His white hair was slicked back, though rather disheveled. He and the nurse stared at each other for a moment in complete silence. The smirking creature slowly leaned closer to the terror struck mare, and uttered a single word: “Boo!” “AHHHHHHH!” she cried, and bolted for the door. “What a strange creature,” he remarked. Twilight cleared her throat to get his attention. “So, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I believe I accidently abducted you during one of my magical experiments.” “So you say, dream pony. While I must say your Technicolor world is quite intriguing, to say nothing of the novelty of a talking horse—“ “Pony!” “Whatever. As I was saying, the idea of talking pony is rather amusing, I am afraid that it is far more likely that I’ve finally cracked under the stress I’ve been under, and am currently in the middle of a psychotic episode.” “Err…what?” “Indeed, being a researcher of karmatron dynamics is a terribly stressful job. And a dangerous one. Which leads me to conclude that the other possibility is that I am dead or dying, and what I’m seeing is the fevered processes of a brain being starved of oxygen, or less likely this is some afterlife where I am supposed to deal with my karma.” “Surely you can’t be serious.” “Oh, I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.” He cackled ominously. “Umm…okay…I’m not quite sure what you’re saying but I’ll just nod my head and agree.” “It’s an early 20th century joke. One of the classics, from a great movie named Airplane” Twilight groaned, placing a hoof on her face in frustration. “You just keep making less and less sense.” “You are remarkably flexible for an Equid. Well, thank you Miss Sparkle for helping me rule out this being a psychotic episode or the dream of a dying brain. See, if that were the case, then you’d know that joke too, because you’d just be a manifestation from my own brain, so I wouldn’t have to explain it to you.” “But wouldn’t your brain also know that you knew that, and perhaps try to trick you anyway by pretending to not know?” “Well, that is a possibility, in such situations my critical judgment faculties would be impaired or absent, preventing me from making that distinction, or discerning that you should have known what I know.” “Well, as interesting as this is, I can assure you that you’re not dead. You’re in a town called Ponyville in a country called Equestria. You and your friend were accidently brought here by a teleportation spell that misfired, and since I’m afraid I don’t know where you’re from, I’m afraid you’re stuck here.” “Did you just say magic?” “Yeah. What’s the deal?” “Put another one in the psychotic episode category.” Twilight groaned again. “Look, I’m telling the truth.” “I believe you believe that. But you’re also talking about magic and parallel universes. I find the former category to be nothing but hokum, and the fact that we’re both speaking English to rule out the latter.” “We are not speaking English, we’re speaking Pony.” “It’s my fever dream, not yours pony. Cogito ergo sum assures me of that.” “I have a name, monkey.” “Well I suppose from a phylogenetic point of view, the term ‘monkey’ is technically correct to describe the species Homo sapiens, I’m afraid it’s rather imprecise. And I have a name as well.” “Well, what is it?” “Call me Desty Nova.” “Look, as fascinating as fighting with you to recognize that you are still alive and more or less sane, I basically just wanted to apologize for yanking you and your friend into my world?” “My friend?” Desty Nova finally noticed the unconscious form of his archnemesis laying on the table behind him. That hellion looked so peaceful lying their unconscious. Which meant it was time to run the hell away. “Well, it’s been so nice talking to you Miss Twilight Sparkle, but I’m afraid I must be going now.” Nova shook Twilight’s hoof so briskly she kept shaking for several seconds after he released. “Well, it’s been so nice to meet you, let’s do this again never.” He stormed out of the hospital room, not caring that the hospital gown left him rather exposed. “Yoko, report to the bridge!” The image of Alita’s younger self awoke instantaneously, and sprung to life with practiced efficiency. She travelled forward along the long-axis of the ship, floating from handhold to handhold in the microgravity environment. “That was my name back then,” whispered Alita. Alita followed the image of her younger self forward. She gathered with a group of other cyborgs on the bridge. Each wore the same anti-glare patches on their cheeks, as though it were a uniform of their group. They all moved with practiced efficiency, like well-honed razors. None of the showed the slightest bit of fear as the ship buffeted from the battle outside. To call them people would perhaps be a misuse. They’d long since sharpened themselves into living weapons. Their commander addressed them. “We’ve been detected before we could reach the drop point. There have been casualties. But Operation Maulwurf must be completed as planned. Kammer Frau Yoko!” Yoko snapped to attention, saluting her commander. “You will carry out the infiltration. The rest of us will provide a diversion. We will lead their recon pickets away from the transfer orbit to Ketheres Elyion, and begin a suicide attack on the shipyards at Luna 2. We will evacuate in Zubringer pockets, and make the assault individually if necessary. Künstlers, you should detonate your nuclear devices upon infiltration.” To Alita’s great shock, there wasn’t a single murmur of discontent. They were all going to commit suicide for their cause, and none of them protested. “Is there a war going on? How long…was I in that scrapheap?” Alita asked herself. From the way the commander addressed his subordinates, they must have been trusted lieutenants. He had the tone of a man who was asking, not ordering. Even his final directive: “You should go dispose of your wounded. May Mars look down upon us in battle.” The soldiers scattered to carry out their terrible deed. Alita didn’t want to watch, but she had to. Yoko swiftly floated down the corridors, past numerous weapon emplacements and important machinery. She arrived at what looked like a cybernetic medbay. Several badly damaged cyborgs were in there, awaiting repairs that would never come. The first one had lost his body just below the solar plexus as well as both arms. Loose wires, and burnt serves dangled from the gashes through his body. As Yoko approached, he instantly recognized her mission. “W-wait! I can still fight! Just repair my limbs!” he pleaded. Cold and impassionate, Yoko approached, swiftly drawing a ceramic combat knife. Just as swiftly, she rammed the blade straight through the damaged cyborg’s forehead. He was out like a light, dripping only a small amount of blood from his forehead as the automatic systems automatically sealed the wound. Given the length of the knife, and the depth of her thrust, the blade must have reached the cerebellum, ending him relatively quickly and painlessly. Alita grimaced at the sight. She’d killed people before, but never comrades, and never like this. “What was it we were fighting for again?” another wounded cyborg asked. “Beltram, are you going to plead for your life as well?” said Yoko, glaring at him. Beltram started unload his soul. “That last mission…to the Lunar city…their habitat dome was filled with children, hundreds of them. They were all probably refugees. And I blew them up. Tell me, Yoko, was that the struggle we believed in!? The years of training to master the Panzer Kunst!? Was it all for this!?” “Beltram…” “Ever since the Terraforming Wars began, things started to go awry. I believed our struggle was to protect our homes and families, and to ensure the freedom and independence of Mars, so I fought on. But now…Yoko, you’re an orphan, why do you fight? For what!?” She glared at him impassionately. “I…I fight for my homeland.” “I see…” tears began to well up in his eyes. “But it seems like such a waste for a brilliant fighter like you to go on a suicide mission without even getting a chance to use everything you’ve learned.” “You talk too much Beltram!” “Yoko, I’ve always lov—“ As fast as a bolt of lightning, she covered Beltram’s eyes with one hand, and rammed the combat knife through his skullcase. She grimaced, showing a twinge of regret for how things had to be, as she pulled the knife free. “Beltram, you disappoint me! Weakling!” Alita catapaulted up in the bed, letting out a gasp. It must have startled someone else in the room because she instantly heard a very girly scream, as a purple blur jumped practically to the ceiling. Since anything that skittish wouldn’t be a threat, Alita ignored it. She assessed herself for injuries, and upon finding no new ones, she lay back down on the bed, staring at the brightly colored ceiling. Wherever this was, it was a cheery place. “Jeesh! You scared the blazes out of me!” said a voice at her bedside. Alita’s memory of the conclusion of the fight with Nova was hazy. She had just escaped the Ouroboros, had a few seconds of consciousness, and then was out like a light again, into some sort of nightmare/memory. She looked to see who it was that must have rescued her. A smiling purple unicorn with big cheerful eyes was standing at her bedside. Okay, maybe the dream wasn’t over. “I’m still dreaming aren’t I?” “Funny you should say that, because your friend said the exact same thing. So, how are you feeling? Do you have a name?” Friend? Who the hell could she mean by that. It could wait a moment. “Well, my head is pounding, and I think I might be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.” “That’s…unfortunate. You gave us a scare for a while. We didn’t know how to treat you, and for a while we thought you were dead. You’ve got the strangest skin…it’s almost metallic, like a dragon’s scales but softer.” Alita sat up in the bed, swiveling her legs to dangle over the side to get a better look at the strange equine interloper who wanted to interrogate her. Even though she was effectively naked now that her battle dress uniform and gear had been removed, she was only slightly more anatomically correct than a Barbie doll, so she didn’t pay attention to her modesty. “Um, did you just say ‘dragon’s scales’?” “Um, yeah. Why wouldn’t I have? Do they not have dragons where you’re from?” “Last I checked, they existed only in fairy tales. Then again, we don’t have talking ponies where I’m from either.” Alita looked around at her Technicolor surroundings for a moment. This place was just so cheery, she felt out of place. “Um, so where is here anyway?” “You’re in a town called Ponyville, in the country of Equestria. My name is Twilight Sparkle. What’s yours?” “Alita. Nice to meetcha.” Alita held out a hand to Twilight. Twilight cautiously extended a hoof to her. They shook hands/hooves, smiling at each other. “So where is here relative to where I’m from, and how did I get here?” “I’m afraid I’m kind of responsible for that. I was working on a teleportation spell which seemed to have backfired spectacularly. Instead of the other end opening in my backyard, it opened up right where you and your friend were standing. Which is how you ended up here.” “A spell?” Twilight nodded. Alita got up from the bed, and walked towards the room’s one window with surprising grace for someone with a peg-leg. She opened the shades, and gazed out at the bright sunny day and the lush green fields of Ponyville. “Um…this looks nothing like Earth…are you saying this is another dimension?” “Probably. Or at least another planet from yours. You’re taking this a lot better than your friend did. “You keep talking about my friend…who are you talking about?” “Oh, he’s a monkey like you, though he’s got normal skin. He’s got a white mane, though it’s pretty disheveled, and a purple dot on his forehead. I think he said his name was ‘Desty Nova’, or something like that. He took off a while ago. He might have gone slightly mad from the shock.” A pit formed in Alita’s cybernetic gut. If she could have sweat, she would have been sweating bullets at the thought of Desty Nova being even more insane than he already was.