//------------------------------// // Act 2.4 // Story: Echoes of the Ancient // by Wandering Axioms //------------------------------// 2.4 Know where your loyalties lie, child... It was another simple Fall morning for most of the upper class ponies throughout the city of Canterlot. They went about business as usual; shopping at the markets, visiting friends, going to work. In the Royal Palace, however, there was a state of preparation amongst the Solar Guard and Council of Mages as Aiden, Tempest Runner, and Night Step prepared for their journey to the ruins of Taotras. The previous evening, Aiden went over some basic training with the bow and longsword he had taken from the barracks’ armory. Aiden stood with his two companions at the rear exit of the Palace balcony that looked over the Eastern side of the mountain that Canterlot was situated upon. A chariot headed by two pegasi guards waited to take them North to the Rachay Mountains. Celestia stood at the entranceway as food supplies were loaded onto the chariot by the Palace workers. “I assume that the three of you are ready?” The Princess asked, unable to hide the worry on her face. “Ready and able, your Highness,” Tempest Runner bowed his head to his ruler. “Yes, your Majesty,” Night Step said with the same bow as Tempest. “We are all well prepared for the task at hoof.” “Aiden?” Celestia shot him a concerned glance. Aiden nodded. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, Princess.” “Very well,” Celestia sighed. “It is only fair to warn you though; the Gryphons have recently been making bold territorial claims, and disputes on who owns the Rachay Mountains still continues between us and them. Now Gryphons rarely come that far South, but if anything occurs, come straight back to me; understand?” “Yes, Princess,” Aiden bowed. “Excellent,” Celestia said. “Good luck; all of you, and please do be careful...” With farewells exchanged, the three boarded the chariot as it ascended into the air and soared away from Equestria’s Capital city. Aiden looked back as the city ever so slowly began to sink below the horizon. He simply couldn’t get over the fact of how this world seemed like it was straight out of a children’s story. Over the past few days, Aiden studied in the Palace Library and learned of Equestria’s inhabitants and the denizens from beyond his new home’s borders. Not only were dragons and griffins among the mythological creatures of this colorful world, but within the confines of the darker regions, such as the Everfree Forest or the Rachay Mountains, dangerous creatures such as hydras, basilisks, and manticores made their homes. Even Cerberus, the three headed guard dog of Tartarus was mentioned in an old text. “So,” Aiden said turning to Tempest and Night Step who sat on the other side of the chariot. “How long until we reach this ‘Taotras’ place?” “It’s no less than three hours to the Northern border with Gryphonia,” Night Step casually answered. “What’s this place like?” Aiden asked. “It’s hard to put it into words,” Night Step contently sighed. “I think one should see for himself to truly understand and appreciate the beauty that the Human race has put into their works.” The unicorn mage paused for a moment. and then looked over at Aiden with a smile “But I suppose that you being one of those amazing creatures must give you some sense of understanding of what I speak?” “Uh, yeah,” Aiden laughed. “Sure...” he sighed as he leaned back in his seat and looked up at the sky that stretched on beyond the clouds they were flying over. “He seems to share Lyra’s interest in my kind,” Aiden thought. “Well he is a scientist, basically, so I guess it makes sense...” He corrected himself. At this point in their journey North, Aiden closed his eyes and tilted his head back. Even though he was interested in exploring this world, something told him that he shouldn’t be at all anxious for whatever waited for him at Taotras. --- You belong to us, Aiden... You have always belonged to us... Aiden... Aiden... Aiden! “AIDEN!!” Aiden awoke with a gasp as the world came rushing back into his vision. He sat with his six teammates in a land transport. “Tesanga City,” Aiden thought. “December of...2211...over a year after the Ashen Siege...” “Welcome back to the land of the living, Sergeant,” the voice of Leon Caine said to his right. Aiden groaned and rubbed his left temple as he let out a yawn. This resulted in a few small fits of laughter from his teammates. “Sleep well, Goldilocks?” Alex playfully teased. “Oh, I feel like I can take on the world, my friends,” Aiden tiredly mused. More laughter. “So as I was saying,” Mary began. “Is there any real reason why we’re here?” “There’s a civil war going on,” Logan replied. “Our job is to find out why it started and if possible, put an end to it, right?” “Well, if it was started by the SLA,” Mary replied. “Then we should be further North in the Saharan Empire, not down here in Tesanga...just sayin’” “Exactly,” Emily chimed in. “The Saharan Liberation Army are funded by the Saharan government, because Sargon has been looking to annex the Tesangan Republic for years!” “Most foreign governments associate us with the Second American Military,” Logan explained. “If we operated within the Saharah’s borders, then it would only cause more problems back home; more problems that we simply can’t handle, not after the losses we took in the Ashen Siege more than a year ago.” “I guess you’re right,” Mary sighed. “I just hate it when we can’t hit the enemy where they live...” “Here we are,” the driver in the cabin of the vehicle said. “Colonial Street, Market District.” He pulled a lever to his right and the back doors of the vehicle opened, allowing sunlight to pour in. Aiden, as well as the others, shielded their eyes immediately, for they were riding in that cramped vehicle for so many hours. “Alright,” Aiden sighed as he stood up. “Let’s get moving, the Captain’s waiting for us.” “Geez,” Alex sighed as he stepped out of the vehicle, and into the street of the war-torn African city. In the distance, gunfire rang out, complimented with the occasional explosion. “Why is it that after hundreds of years of conflict, this region of the world can’t get any form of stability?” “Bro,” Leon replied. “Almost no region of the world has had any form of stability since the bombs fell nearly a century and a half ago...” “Huh,” Alex sighed. “Okay, point taken...” As the seven of them proceeded further down the street, they passed civilians, members of the Tesangan Military, and fellow Network Operatives. Aiden stopped to ask one of the Lieutenants on where to find Captain Devon Ross. The officer pointed them over to a tavern further down the street. “Thanks!” Aiden shouted as he motioned for his squadmates to follow him further down the street. Indeed, the city was feeling the full effects of the war; Tesangan military officials knocked on (and sometimes broke down) the doors of homes, searching for any traitors or Saharan sympathizers. Such a scene was more than enough to make Aiden wonder if the side that the Network was taking in this conflict was any better than the other side. “Maybe, maybe not,” Aiden thought to himself. “But hey, it’s my job to hurt things, not philosophize...huh, is that even a real word?” The bar was empty of souls with the exception of a middle aged man standing behind the bar studying what appeared to be a map of the city, tracing his index finger across red markings on the paper. “Ross?” Aiden asked as Logan closed the door behind them. The man did not look up. He extended a hand to his left and picked up a coffee mug. “That’s Captain Ross,” the man said as he sipped from his mug. “Sergeant Marsh, your team is fully equipped and ready for the task at hand, correct?” “Yes, sir,” Aiden confirmed. “We’re all prepared.” “Excellent,” Captain Ross replied. He motioned for the seven of them to come closer. “Now then, on to the reason you’re here,” he said as he looked down at the map of the city. “Intelligence reports lead us to believe that a high ranking officer of the SLA by the name of Abrafo Dafari is hiding out at an encampment beneath the collapsed overpass here,” he pointed to a section of road on the map that was encircled in red. “His detachment is responsible for the massacre of several civilians and Tesangan Military officials.” He wrapped up the map and handed it to Aiden. “Central Authority would rather you bring him in alive,” he paused for a moment. “But if he puts up a fight, then you’re authorized to put him down; we need you guys alive more than him.” “Understood,” Aiden said as he turned to his six teammates. “You heard the man; let’s get moving!” --- Aiden felt a slight nudge against his shoulder as his consciousness slowly returned to him. “Come on, Aiden,” a familiar male voice said. “We’re here...” Aiden’s eyes slowly opened, revealing the clear blue sky staring back down at him. He grunted softly as he sat up in the carriage, which felt like it was starting to descend. He looked over the edge to see several snow capped mountains piercing the horizon. “Thank you, sirs,” Aiden heard Night Step say to the two pegasi guards who supplied the ride to the mountains. They huffed proudly in acknowledgement. The Rachay Mountains looked intimidating to say the least; almost along the lines of the Everfree Forest. The cloudy sky was occasionally interrupted by the rocky spires that dotted the landscape. The air was rather chilly and the moderate breeze only made it feel colder. Aiden cleared his throat. “So, Night Step, where exactly is the entrance to these ruins?” Night Step quietly hummed to himself as he led the other two across a ledge that overlooked a wide ravine that opened up into an almost endless abyss. “It should be right around this bend,” the dark blue unicorn mage replied. “You can’t miss it.” “What kind of danger can we expect in Taotras?” Tempest Runner asked. “Basically what I explained last night,” Night Step answered. “Odd looking machines that pop out of the walls and floors; I honestly don’t know how else I can describe it...” he mused as he placed a hoof to his chin. “The entrance should be...” Aiden’s jaw dropped, as did Tempest Runner’s as the trio rounded the bend to come face to face with what Aiden could only describe as something out of a fantasy story. Etched into the side of one of the tallest mountains stood the entrance to Taotras; a gigantic, metal, rectangular door was planted into the mountain’s side, with a horizontal line across the center, which Aiden guessed to be the opening point; a dim red glow emitted from it. The door itself was probably around ten feet tall and fifty feet wide. Two metal pillars stood at each side with glyphs written upon them that also glowed the same dim red as the door. The moment he laid eyes upon it, Aiden knew that there was something wrong with this place. That there was something inside, something evil; something that was meant to be kept within its walls. Merely glancing at the unnatural glowing red glyphs on the pillars nearly made him sick to his stomach with nervousness. Yet something else about those ancient inscriptions made him think that he was in a familiar place. Those glyphs told him that he belonged here; that whatever was inside there was a part of him, and he was a part of it... “It looks amazing, does it not?” Night Step asked the two of them. Aiden shook himself out of his trance, much to the unicorn’s amusement. “Yeah,” Aiden quietly said. “I’ve...” Tempest Runner sighed, almost at a loss for words. “I’ve never seen anything like it...” Night Step chuckled to himself. “Yes; this was my first expedition into a human ruin, and my reaction was quite similar.” He gave a sigh of content as he turned to the ruins. “Well, we won’t be solving anything by standing here,” he concluded as he pointed a hoof towards the ruins before them. “Shall we?” “We shall,” Aiden replied as he stepped up to the metallic door. “How do we open this door?” He asked as he placed a hand on it. It felt oddly warm, and he occasionally felt a “pulse” of sorts coursing through it, almost as though it was alive. “The last time we opened this gate, we had to press upon the glyphs on the two pillars in a specific order; if I remember correctly..” Night Step approached the pillar to the left of the gate and examined it closely. “Let’s see if we can’t get this on our first attempt...” the unicorn seemed to whisper to himself. “Tempest Runner, make yourself useful and operate the other glyph, would you kindly?” Tempest Runner huffed, but obliged, as he trotted his way over to the opposite pillar. Aiden hummed to himself quietly. It seems that the two had a history with each other. “Huh, I was getting this odd vibe from yesterday that they didn’t like each other...” He thought to himself. “Alright,” Tempest said. “I’m in position; what next?” “Press down on the glyphs in the order I say,” Night Step said. “This lock mechanism runs on a timer of about twenty seconds, so we’ll need to be quick when we press down on the glyphs. Now then, first, find the glyph of the serpent!” Tempest traced his hoof across the surface of the pillar until he found the image of the animal he was looking for, outlined by the dim red glow. “Found it,” Tempest called back. “Excellent,” Night Step replied. “Now, on three, we both press down. Ready; one, two, thr--” “Wait!” Tempest interrupted. “By three, do you mean on the number three, or on go?” Night Step slammed a hoof into his face. Aiden snickered. “On three!” The unicorn yelled. “It’s faster on three!” “Oh, okay,” Tempest smiled. “Ready!” “One, two, three!” The two ponies pressed down on the serpentine glyphs, as the dim red outline turned into a cyan blue. “Excellent,” the unicorn said. “Next, find the eagle.” “Is this it?” Tempest asked. Night Step sighed and quickly trotted over to the other side of the pillar. “No,” Night Step said with rising irritation in his voice. “That’s a hawk.” “What’s the difference?” Tempest asked with a shrug. Night Step’s eye twitched. “You’re a pegasus for Celestia’s sake!” Tempest gave Night Step a blank expression. “Ugh; the eagle is larger and has a bigger wingspan!” “Oh,” Tempest said as he looked back at the pillar. “Okay!” “You better hurry,” Aiden laughed as Night Step ran by him. “Less than ten seconds before that timer runs out!” Night Step cursed under his breath as he returned to his pillar. “Ready?” He asked the pegasus. “Ready!” “One, two, three!” As they both pressed down on the eagle glyphs, their outlines also turned from a red glow into a bright cyan blue. “Very good,” Night Step clapped his hooves together. “Now the last one is that of a butterfly; you know what a butterfly is, don’t you?” The mage quickly asked Tempest with the same amount of irritation in his voice as before. “Yeah, yeah, of course,” the pegasus casually said. “Good; one, two, three!” As the third and final pair of glyphs was activated, the red line that ran along the center of the giant door glowed the same shade of cyan as the activated glyphs. As the gate to Taotras began to open, Aiden brought a hand to his temple as a familiar voice pounded against the walls of his mind. "Brother... Release..." “Aiden?” Tempest asked with concern in his voice. “You okay?” Aiden shook himself out of his trance. “Uh...y-yeah! I’m fine...” Night Step trotted up to Aiden’s left, giving him a similar concerned look, before looking forward. “Tread with care, both of you,” he said as his horn began to glow a bright blue, providing a light source as he stepped inside the gate, with both Tempest and Aiden not far behind. As Aiden crossed the threshold, that same voice again spoke to him. "Dearest, Brother... Welcome to my home... I implore you... Mother implores you... Release us... Release yourself... My dearest, fallen Brother..." Aiden, again shook himself out of another trance as he followed his two pony companions into the darkened halls of Taotras. --- The walls and floors of this place emitted the same dim red glow as the gate and two pillars outside. Aiden was actually reminded of some underground bunker from before the nukes fell back on his world. He had explored one before, but this somehow seemed more advanced; he couldn’t place his finger on why that was though. The three of them at least knew their objective: find a way past the door that Night Step mentioned, and if possible, shut down that defense system. “So where exactly is this door that won’t open?” Tempest asked the mage. “Further along this path,” Night Step replied. “These ruins aren’t as extensive as some of the other human ruins such as Mirosia, Algat, or Celestia forbid, Neris.” “Uh huh,” Tempest quietly huffed. “How did you get all this information?” Aiden asked. “The Council of Mages has a section of classified texts on the subject in the Canterlot Archives. I’ve studied them extensively since my apprentice days.” “You don’t seem that old,” Aiden said. “How long have you been in the Council?” “Four years,” Night Step reluctantly said. “I became an apprentice not long after graduating from Her Majesty’s School for Gif--” Night Step halted mid-sentence as the three of them stopped in their tracks at a turn. Tempest glanced up at Aiden with an inquisitive look. “I heard it too!” Aiden yelled in response to the pegasus’s unasked question. The three immediately ducked behind the wall as something around the corner began to move. “Is that one of those “things” that pop out of the walls that you mentioned?” Tempest asked. “It certainly sounds like it!” Night Step yelled with nervousness in his voice. Aiden peeked around the corner to see if there was indeed a “thing” popping out of one of the walls. A bright red light flashed at the end of the pitch black hallway. Aiden heard some machine whir to life as the unmistakable sound of gunfire filled his ears. “SHIT!!!” Aiden cursed as he quickly ducked his head back behind cover. After a few brief seconds, the gunfire ceased as Aiden’s lungs finally regained control of his breathing. “Yeah, that’s an automated turret, alright!” “An auto-whozi-whatsit?” Tempest asked. “An automated turret,” Aiden answered. “It’s an automatic defense mechanism; meaning that you don’t need anyone to operate it. The machine will kill intruders for you, basically.” “Amazing!” Night Step exclaimed. “Once again, you humans have proved to be among the most resourceful of all races!” Even in the darkness, Aiden could see Tempest roll his eyes. “Yeah, that’s really fascinating and all, but can we please get to the part where we render it harmless?” “Well, we can’t just rush it,” Aiden said. “We’ll get shredded to pieces!” “I could offer a force field spell,” Night Step suggested. “It takes a lot of concentration though, so I can only cast it on one of you at a time, or myself.” “Alright then, Aiden,” Tempest said. “Your choice; who should go?” Aiden clenched the longsword he brought with him. “I’ll go,” he concluded. “Very well,” Night Step said as he closed his eyes. As his horn began to glow a brighter blue, a similar colored aura surrounded Aiden’s body. “Do be careful, Aiden!” “Careful is my middle name,” Aiden quietly jested as he unsheathed his longsword. The turret resumed firing once Aiden stepped out of cover. The bullets whizzed past his body and harmlessly reflected off the force field that Night Step was providing. “Good thing my sword is also shielded,” Aiden thought. “My guess is that these rounds could easily pierce armor...” Aiden eventually broke out into a sprint once he was sure the force field was stable. He ran towards the red light situated on the left wall of the dark hallway when the machine was in sight. As he got closer, the bullets started hitting him with more force. After examining the killer machine, he raised his blade in one hand and brought it down on one of the thick wires that connected the machine to the wall. After firing a few more rounds the turret crackled with electricity and the red light went out. Silence filled the hallway. “Are we good?” Tempest asked from around the corner. Aiden brought his blade down on the machine again, causing more wires and supports to break. He sliced again, and the turret was now dangling from only a few smaller wires. “We’re good,” he finally said. Tempest and Night Step peeked around the corner to see Aiden sheath his longsword and give them a reassuring smile. --- “Say, Tempest,” Aiden whispered to the pegasus as they followed Night Step through the metallic hallways of these underground ruins. “Yeah?” Tempest whispered back. “Outside, were you just messing with Night Step?” The pegasus chuckled to himself quietly. “Yeah, him and I, we knew each other from a while back...” “Huh, you weren’t much of a joker back in the Royal Palace...” “Well, duh,” Tempest replied. “I’m a member of Celestia’s Solar Guard for the Sun’s sake! We’re always expected to be the usual no-nonsense, super strict elite soldiers that are pictured in the posters.” “So...outside?” “Yes?” “You were just fucking with him?” “Just fucking with him.” Tempest laughed again. “I know the difference between an eagle and a hawk.” “I can hear you both...” Night Step sighed. “Anyways, we should be hitting that door right about...” he looked forward to see a circular black door with more glowing red writing on it. “...now.” “Woah,” Tempest said as he stood next to the mage. “That’s rather...intimidating.” “To say the least,” Aiden said. “So how do we open it?” “If we knew that, we’d already be inside,” Night Step said. “This door seems to lead into an inner chamber of sorts, and this outer chamber,” he waved a hoof all over the room they were in. “Must have a way to open it.” “So, we’re just looking around?” Aiden asked, scratching the back of his neck. “Precisely,” the unicorn replied. “We didn’t really get a chance to inspect this room, due to the danger that those ‘turrets’ posed to the team.” “Uh huh,” Aiden said as he spotted an alcove on the right side of the room. “I have a feeling that whatever you’re looking for might be on that alcove up there.” “What?” Night Step asked as he began frantically looking around. “What alcove?” “There,” Aiden pointed with one hand while gently pushing the unicorn’s head in the direction he should’ve been looking with the other hand. “Oh,” Night Step facehoofed for the second time that day. “I can’t believe that we missed that...” “Now the question is, how do we get up there?” Aiden asked. Tempest Runner cleared his throat to get their attention. The pegasus began flaring his wings. Aiden shrugged in response. “That works I guess; can you carry me?” Tempest scoffed. “I may be a lot shorter than you, but that doesn’t mean I’m weak; climb aboard!” Aiden shrugged again and saddled himself on Tempest’s back. He immediately felt a sensation of vertigo set in when the pegasus lifted into flight. Much to Aiden’s satisfaction, the ride lasted for less than seven seconds as Tempest landed on the alcove. “Here we are!” Tempest said. “Safe and sound!” He finished with a laugh. Aiden rolled his eyes as he inspected the alcove. The only thing to be seen was a short, slim black pillar that jutted out of the floor at the back wall; shorter than him, in fact. Out of curiosity, Aiden inspected this pillar to find a glowing red light at the top of it. “What is with these ancient humans and the color red?” He thought as he examined the light. Immediately, he noticed the imprint of a human hand outlined by the light. This was an easy one for him. “Ah, a hand scanner, I suppose?” Aiden thought with a smile. Instinctively, he placed the palm of his hand upon it. After a few moments, the light turned a light cyan. “I guess they liked that color also...” A slight rumble could be heard from below. Tempest and Aiden exchanged looks briefly before looking down to see Night Step gazing in awe at an opening circular door. Tempest helped Aiden down to join their companion in staring at what was beyond the door. “I can’t believe it...” Night Step sighed happily. “Aiden, would you like to see what is inside first?” Aiden shrugged again and put on a fake smile. Inside, however, he felt that feeling of “wrongness” resurge. Aiden stepped beyond the threshold, despite his gut telling him the opposite. At the same time, though, he felt something else deep within him tell him to go in, that there was something in there meant for him, and him alone. The second his entire body was beyond the threshold, the metal door shut behind him, cutting him off from both of his companions. Immediately he could hear both of them pounding against the door with their hooves, yelling his name, asking what was happening or if he was okay. Their cries were drowned out completely as Aiden sank to the floor, clutching both of his temples as they throbbed with agony. His vision became hazy as something all too familiar again creeped into the confines of his mind. Something he had heard many times in his dreams before, but this time it felt closer than ever before. “Hello, Brother...”