Chapter 5 – Anthropology
Cyrell was not unaccustomed to strange sights or events. Every Guardian at some point had a run in with something that baffled them. Whether it was the eclectic scrap machines the Fallen cobbled out of the ruins of the Golden Age, a dark Hive spell meant to commune with one of their dark gods, or even an encounter with one of the Nines many agents. All Guardians encountered such bizarre events and creatures. Though, if he was honest, this was certainly up there for him personally.
The Titan scanned the tree line again, watching the edges of his camp for danger as his guests continued to stare at him, a range of emotions plastered on their equine faces. It was both cute and unsettling just how… expressive they could be.
Slowly he refocused on the colorful group before him, taking in every detail. Hunters and Warlocks were quick to think of Titans as little more than punch happy rough-housers, and while in some ways that was true it didn’t stop them from being tactical.
The one calling it– or rather herself Twilight Sparkle eventually began to speak. Her eyes locked on his helmet, as if she was attempting to look him in the eye.
“Though she seems unsure about where exactly to look”, Cyrell chuckled to himself.
“So… we have a few questions” she began, her words seeming to rouse her companions. The group began to look at one another, sharing a silent conversation. For a moment all that was heard was the cracklings of the new fire, and the moans of the wind in the trees.
“I assumed as much. I imagine this is pretty new to all of you. Not that I’m used to talking horses myself” Cyrell rumbled, his face never leaving hers as he spoke. He watched the faces of most of the group scrunch up a bit when he said “horses”. How odd, perhaps that’s not an appropriate word here? How silly!
“I’ll have you know, good umm… sir, that we are ponies. Please do refrain from using such language” the white unicorn huffed, she seemed to take offense to that. And she was not the only one it seemed, as a series of nods accompanied her rebuke.
“Ah, right. My apologies, where I come from most uh, equines were called such. I meant no offense” Cyrell quickly replied, gesturing with his hands as he spoke to the herd of mares. The last thing he needed now was to anger the local more than they already seemed.
“This is all very new to me. In the spirit of good faith I’m willing to answer what I can, just don’t expect to leave here as experts. I still don’t know who you are or what you want after all” he crossed his arms as finished, staring at the blue pegasus, whose glower had been aimed at him since he had been rez’d by Selene. Said ghost quickly zoomed right up to his helmeted face, her shell rotating in frustration before speaking.
“Be nice! They helped bring you back somewhere safe and that allowed me to bring you back a lot quicker than I would have alien” she hissed, havi by tried to play diplomat between the wary groups. Her eyes darted back and forth as she waited for the conversation to continue.
Cyrell sighed, his large shoulder pads sagging as he relented to his faithful companions admonishment. “Right, right. I’ll be civil, now…” he scanned the group one more time before continuing. “What exactly do you want to know?”
Suddenly the link one began bouncing in place, her hooves shooting into the air as she began to shake them like an excited child during the Dawning.
“Oh, oh! I have questions! Lots and lots and LOTS! Like how’d you make that big hammer or glide in mid air, or what that weird tube thing is and where you keep your big sword because I usually put mine in here –“ as if the tidal wave of questions wasn’t concerning enough, the odd little pony pulled out what looked like Worldline Zero from her fluffy mane before sending it back into the pink abyss. It was… terrifying, and all the while as this image burned into his mind she continued listing more and more questions. Each one brought her further from the fight with the beasts and more into absurdity. She even asked what his favorite cupcake was… which was odd because Cyrell didn’t know what that even was.
“Oh and when’s your birthday? And do you prefer confetti or streamers or both?! I like both! Hahah *snort*! And als–” the mare's questions were thankfully halted as the orange pony shoved her hoof into the pink one's mouth. Despite the veritable flood of increasingly insane questions, it looked towards its ecstatic companion with a mix of mirth and exhaustion. It- or rather she Cyrell reminded himself, had a smirk on her muzzle as she began speaking to her companion.
“I think we ought’a keep this conversation a might bit more relevant, sugercube. Now how’s about you explain how ya’ll… came back to life!” Her eyes narrowed slightly, her gaze transfixed on Cyrells chest and arm, which now were as good as new. Her momentary mirth disappeared as the conversation spun back towards the far darker events of the recent past, and her eyes showed no hint of anything less than suspicion and fear. Cyrell couldn’t blame the poor thing, while most of Humanity had long since learned of the nature of Guardians, he imagined the first few to rise back up were met with similar mistrust and fear. For many, those emotions would remain for all together different reasons. The orange mare, which Cyrell noticed had a strange hat on, began again.
“And fer that matter what yer doing as well! Been tryin for what feels like ages to sort out what that huge contraption of yer’s even was and why it was shooting around like a bat outta Tartarus'' she jabbed her hoof towards him, emphasizing her strange idiom as she did so. What strange names these aliens had for places!
Cyrell was quiet for a while, mulling over his options. Selene had told him of her conversation prior to his resurrection, but had correctly assumed that his would be grave keepers were no doubt curious about his origins and abilities. She had only given the barest explanation of themselves after all, it was only a matter of time before they were pressed for more satisfying answers. He himself was curious about the strange energy that Selene could feel radiating off them, and his mind went to the Splinter in his pack. If these equines didn’t wield the Darkness or Light, then what WAS giving them this paracausal energy? Could it be that they were like the Awoken of the Dreaming City, or something more sinister like the Ahamkara?
Cyrell let loose another heavy sigh, before steeling himself and replying, “That’s a long story, and this ain’t the best place to tell it all. Let’s meet somewhere safer and then I can answer all your questions, and perhaps you can answer some of mine. It’s the least I can do for dragging me to safety. Does that sound fair” he asked.
The group exchanged a quick glance, before all eyes landed on Twilight. The equine in question simply nodded her head before asking a follow up question, “where and when do you want to meet?”
The Derelict lurched as its NLS drive rumbled and bucked, the device having been modified to allow the ship to be speedy despite its… unusual cargo. Like most of the ship, it was a mix of different tech, both human and alien, all towards one single purpose: survival. Drifter had learned a lot since his ghost brought him back all of those centuries ago, about survival and about people as well. He’d seen the wars waged by the Iron Lords and Warlords first hand, and he remembered the aftermath just as well. While the Iron Lords certainly were better masters than those they often overthrew, their unwillingness to accept that some Risen were better off dead a second time had led to a great deal of suffering for the Lightless caught in the middle of it all.
Tired eyes slowly swept across the makeshift ships various sensors and projections, landing finally on a small screen showing the moon it had just come into orbit of. Europa, the battleground between Guardians and House Salvation. But it was so much more than that! This wasn’t just another “fight of the week” between Lightbearers and Alien aggressors over the remnants of some old Golden Age city or whatever. No, this was where Guardians were seeking new ways to fight against the enemies that surrounded them, with an all new kind of power that was both different and similar to the Light.
Drifter wished he could have seen the Vanguards faces when little Ikora’s Hidden agents reported not only that the Fallen were wielding Darkness, but so too were their own Guardians! And to make it even sweeter? He had been right the whole time! Darkness was now wielded by numerous lightborn, even the Hero of The Red War, Slayer of Oryx and all those other fancy titles had taken to Stasis.
To say Drifter was beyond pleased to finally have been proven right after all these years was an understatement. But that was before Cyrell had disappeared, and now all he could feel was dread at the thought of what might happen if he didn’t come back. Sure there were plenty of other strong Guardians and he didn’t do all those things by himself, he had been a part of fireteams for every raid and strike to his name! But there was no denying he was special amongst his peers in a way previously reserved for figures like Saint-14 or Osiris.
More importantly, he had earned Drifters trust, and that was no easy feat mind you. Drifter had made it a point to trust no one for centuries, even his old crew when he had set out to find a way to turn the tide in Light on Light warfare.
The kid was special, had proven he was the real deal time and time again. Which was more than Drifter could say for himself. He may have had Humanity in mind when he did the darker deeds he kept hidden away, but it didn’t stop the dreams or make his conscious any lighter. He had to learn to change his way of looking at things, otherwise he’d be just as insane as that gunslinger Dredgen Yor.
Now it was up to him and Moondust to search this frozen rock for a way to find their mutual pal, and make sure that when Savathûn came knocking, that they had as many god killers as they could muster.
Throughout his musings Drifter had guided the ship with practiced ease, lumbering into low orbit before having briskly switched the ship to autopilot and standing up. He grabbed his mask and other warm gear and made his way to the shuttle bay, where Eris was already waiting. They exchanged a glance, before wordlessly entering the shuttle and making for their other mutual friends campsite.
The tension was palpable, as once again the duo were faced with the grim quest laid before them. They now had to find a way to power the improved teleported, and save the Guardian that had saved both of them prior, in some cases more than once, before he was lost forever. The shuttle bucked and rumbled as it descended to the icy surface below, landing with a dull thud a short distance from the camp. The two set out, intent on seeing this to the bitter end, as to do otherwise was to doom Humanity a second time.
No pressure, right?
Twilight could hardly believe it! They had done it, they had made first contact with an honest to Celestia alien! Sure you could argue it was second contact given that brief standoff in Cloudsdale but who had time to argue something that silly when there was an alien to interview!
Her friends had all collectively rolled their eyes as she began furiously taking down notes for possible questions after having been out of eye and earshot of the strange new creature they had just met.
While the group as a whole was still wary of the strange creature, they each had to agree that it was amazing to be part of history…. again!
Even Rainbow Dash, who was more than a little suspicious about the entire affair, was eager to learn more about these strange bipedal creatures and their flying machines.
Fluttershy, oddly enough, wondered about what kinds of fauna they had on their home world, and how their society had evolved over time. Apparently the shy pegasus had a small love for history, which came as a surprise to most of the group sans Rainbow Dash. Even Twilight couldn’t believe it.
“You’ve never told me you had an it wrest in history, I’d have gladly given you some wonderful books about the subject if you’d wanted” she exclaimed, her prior fervor interrupted by the revelation.
Fluttershy giggled as the group slowly found themselves back i. the White Tail Woods, the path home now stretching off into the distance before them.
“Oh, it’s really just a small hobby. I always loved reading about the mythical creatures that ancient ponies wrote legends about. I guess it just grew from there” she said, a small smile on her muzzle as she thought of all the wondrous creatures that their collective ancestors had written of.
“Well I for one cannot wait to learn all about the fashion of our new friend” Rarity commented, “His sense of armor was oh so dazzling! Why I never would have thought such geometric shapes could go so well with finely detailed sashes, imagine the possibilities” she threw her hoof to the sky in a dramatic flair, eyes sparkling with anticipation of all the new lines she could create from this alien world as inspiration.
Applejack chuckled at her friend's antics, before adding her own thoughts to the conversation. “He certainly has a lot of strength to be jumpin and flyin about in all that heavy armor, might even give Big Mac a run for his bits'', she laughed even more at the thought of the two glaring at one another, locked in a tense hoof wrestling competition.
Pinkie was content to simply smile and hum a merry time, her friends imagining that she was preoccupied with plans for a welcome party unlike any other.
The six mares continued to talk about all that they were excited about, and all they had learned, as Ponyville finally came into view. One by one they each peeled off, waving goodbye and promising to meet up before heading out to meet up again tomorrow to plan for their “alien interview”.
Twilight for her part, was all too eager to start preparing notes for the momentous occasion, before remembering one crucial detail. The Princesses still didn’t realize what they had all just witnessed!
“Oh my gosh! I need to write a letter right now, I’m sure that both Princess Celestia and Luna will want to be there, and maybe Cadence too! It’s not everyday an alien lands on your planet after all” she thought, as she swiftly procured her parchment and quill, jotting out a quick letter before rousing Spike to send it off, a small topaz serving to quiet any grumbling form the young dragon.
With that down Twilight and Spike both made their way back to bed, ready to dream of all the wondrous things that they are their friends would learn in the near future. Her dreams, in spite of the chaotic meeting with Cyrell, would be warm and pleasant.
As for Princess Celestia, who had just styled into her bed and was starting to doze off, the small stack of papers that could have been mistaken for a Master Degree thesis paper couldn’t have appeared at a more inconvenient time, slamming straight into her muzzle.
With a groan, she slowly opened her eyes to see just what her eclectic fellow princess was in such a tizzy over this time. Slowly, she sat up, and picked up the stack of parchment with her hooves, eyes blearily looking over the frantic scribbles with increasing sleepiness. Eventually she would toss it rather unceremoniously over onto her bedside table, opting to read it when her mind wasn’t half asleep. Surely it wasn’t anything world shattering as Twilight had made it out to be in that introductory chapter? Sure she only skimmed it but it was probably just another case of Twilighting at work. Nothing to worry about… right?
Cyrell watched as the last colorful remnants of his guests and “saviors” passed through the craggy tree line into the darkness beyond. His own mind abuzz with questions in a way he mused was not dissimilar to the herd now making their way home.
Home. Cyrell’s mind focused on that word as he came to him. His mind suddenly recalling memories of his far off home world and the peril that surrounded it. Flashes of just what was at stake if he didn’t find a way back to Sol. The Last City suddenly appeared, visions of his fellow Guardians in the Tower, and of the lightless souls they defended. His mind showed all his memories of meeting those he protected, of the festivals they held. He is reminded of a time when a child came to the Tower during The Festival of The Lost dressed as none other than himself, as he had looked when his fireteam had gone to defeat Oryx, once and for all. He remembered the Father had been far more challenging than the Son, though he chalked that up to experience. But that it mattered anymore, with both long dead.
From there he recalled all those who called the Reef home, to Humanities estranged cousins who called the asteroid belt home, and whose proper cities were more majestic than the legends that had been told of them. A brief flash of anger took him as he also remembered of the Prison of Elders, and what had been lost there. Variks will pay in time for that, once Europa is secure and House Salvation is no longer a threat.
Soon more and more memories and faces began to flood his worry addled mind, eventually becoming too much for the weary warrior. Cyrell shook his head, rising to his feet as he prepared to pack up his campsite and move it closer to the town the “Equestrians”, as they called themselves, said was their home. Selene glided at his side, having remained silent. Perhaps she too was consumed with worry over the fate of their far off home.
A few minutes of packing his things, and even longer messing with the infernal tent that never seemed to want to be put away as easily as it was set up, and he was ready to jump back into his jump ship and make his way to his new home away from home.
He feared his dreams would be unpleasant tonight.