//------------------------------// // Lockdown // Story: Legends of Equestria: The Long Road Back // by JimmyHook19 //------------------------------// Another morning arrived, and Starswirl and Mistmane awoke to a cacophony of noise outside. Sirens were blaring and the noise of vehicles rolling around outside was clearly audible. Vehicle engines are not known for being silent, after all, and as the duo trotted over to the window and opened it, they could clearly see who it was. "Well, it looks as though our friends from Edmonton are paying us a visit again," Starswirl mused. "Though how are they all the way over here?" "I suspect their reach is far greater than any of us could have anticipated." Mistmane shook her head. "Now then, we need to get out of here, before they find us or anybody." "ALERT: THIS IS A CATEGORY FOUR LOCKDOWN. CASES OF COVID 19 ARE RISING IN THIS SECTOR. ALL CITIZENS ARE TO REMAIN INDOORS AND AWAIT SCANNING BY MEDICAL AUTHORITIES AND US GOVERNMENT AGENTS. THOSE FOUND TO BE INFECTED WILL BE TAKEN TO TREATMENT CENTRES. STAY CALM AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. ONLY BY WORKING TOGETHER CAN WE DEFEAT COVID 19." The warning message played again as Mistmane looked out across the bay. Jeeps and armored trucks were rolling about the streets, alongside soldiers who were marching along in perfect step, going along, and knocking on doors as they went, presumably to test those inside. "ALERT: THIS IS A CATEGORY FOUR LOCKDOWN. CASES OF COVID 19 ARE RISING IN THIS SECTOR. ALL CITIZENS ARE TO REMAIN INDOORS AND AWAIT SCANNING BY MEDICAL AUTHORITIES AND US GOVERNMENT AGENTS. THOSE FOUND TO BE INFECTED WILL BE TAKEN TO TREATMENT CENTRES. STAY CALM AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. ONLY BY WORKING TOGETHER CAN WE DEFEAT COVID 19." Starswirl looked through his telescope, and gasped. "The harbor has been locked down too! Look!" He indicated toward the edge of the harbor, and indicated what was sitting there. A destroyer was blocking the port exit, and its guns were trained on the city and the port. "They are deadly serious about preventing anybody from leaving." Mistmane hoped she was wrong, but her hopes were dashed when she saw a boat make a dash for the harbor exit. The destroyer trained its guns on the boat, and fired a single grappling hook that locked into the dock chains, before the winding gear reeled the boat in and further of those soldiers jumped onto the vessel in preparation for boarding. "The city is crawling with Project 722 goons!" Starswirl exclaimed. "I can't think of any way in which we can escape!" "And Meadowbrook forgot to supply us with any disguise potions, so disguising ourselves as humans is out of the option," Mistmane said quietly. "But I think there is a backup available. A one shot card." She found a piece of paper in a folder in her satchel, and gave it a read. "One use teleport, perfected by Merlos the Mad. This spell allows a user to teleport themselves and one other over a great distance to relative safety. However, it can only be used once every 24 hours. The maximum range is 40 miles." "That should get us clear of the city!" Starswirl exclaimed. "Let's give it a try!" "ALERT: THIS IS A CATEGORY FOUR LOCKDOWN. CASES OF COVID 19 ARE RISING IN THIS SECTOR. ALL CITIZENS ARE TO REMAIN INDOORS AND AWAIT SCANNING BY MEDICAL AUTHORITIES AND US GOVERNMENT AGENTS. THOSE FOUND TO BE INFECTED WILL BE TAKEN TO TREATMENT CENTRES. STAY CALM AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. ONLY BY WORKING TOGETHER CAN WE DEFEAT COVID 19." Mistmane nodded, and lit her horn. In a flash of light, the duo were teleported out of the city and ended up somewhere else. "We're safe!" said Starswirl. "For now," Mistmane replied. "Come on, let's go." And they set off into the harbor area. They started by heading south and then took a right, before continuing down a long road. Once they had travelled down this long road, further warnings warning people not to enter the city, they joined a road named the Great Highway (for some reason). For the next few miles, they took a series of left and right turns, before they merged onto another road that ran in a completely different direction to the one in which they had started. As they proceed down this road, heading in what Mistmane believed to be south (something weird was happening to her compass), a great big blue body of water opened up on their right, and they continued alongside this mighty body of water for several miles as they walked, noting vehicles breaching the lockdown and driving away from the city. Presumably they were from sectors of the city that hadn't been combed by Project 722 yet, and they could count themselves lucky. Or unlucky, if they had the virus and would end up spreading it to somepony else, in which case fleeing was exceptionally dumb. They entered into another town and turned left, before enjoying a slight right and then joining another road, before another series of turns that weaved back and forth, left and right, which once more left our heroes slightly dizzy as the road whipped around like a snake. They rejoined one of the roads from earlier, and once more found themselves following the vast body of water which seemed to stretch into infinity. They continued along for a while, before realising that they were getting rather tired and hungry, and so needed to stop, even if only for a while. After crossing a bridge and finding themselves going over a creek, they paused to overlook the mighty body of water. "Do you think we have found the emerald sea?" Starswirl asked. "The legendary body of water said to have incredibly healing properties?" "I think we have," Mistmane Said. "Although the water is blue, not green." "Maybe it looks emerald in the light of different parts of the day?" Starswirl suggested, then stopped as a biker pulled up in the layby to have a rest. He also switched his radio on, and a news channel began playing. "San Francisco went into lockdown earlier today following a surge in the number of cases in the city," the news reporter said. "Reports of soldiers in uniforms' were- can we fix the autocue, please?- were seen patrolling around hthe city to enforce the lockdown and keep citizens safe. Those who are found to have the virus are being taken to treatment centers across the country to facilitate their swift recovery. It remains to see whether other cities in California will follow suit." "Project 722 must be more powerful than we anticipated if they can freely lock down cities," Starswirl said. "How high does this go?" "Only one way to find out," Mistmane said, fishing out some food. "Shall we eat here?" After a short rest, they turned right, and then merged onto another road before leaving it again. They snaked about, left and right, before arriving in a valley, and rejoining another road from earlier. They turned left and merged onto a road before turning right, and right again, and then left, before ascending through the mountains and eventually stopping at the summit (walking uphill is tiring). Descending the other side, they found themselves once more following the great body of water and passing a beach with KEEP OUT signs all over it. They switched to another road, and kept left before going back again to the previous one, passing two beaches in the process. After many hours of walking and the sun beating down upon them, they arrived in a built up place near a pier, and came off the road. They wove their way through the streets of this place, not noticing the interested looks from all of the townsfolk, until they switched to yet another road. Once upon this road, they kept right, merged onto two different roads, continued straight for a bit, and then took an exit off before trotting into their final stop for the night. "All units, this is Colonel Peterson," Peterson said over the radio. "Any sign of Sorcerer or Gravity?" "Negative sir," replied an officer on the radio. "Sector clear." "Sector empty." "No trace of them, sir." "Section clear." "Sector clear of hostiles." "Nothing to report, over." Peterson sighed. "Any infected?" he asked. "We've rounded up about 1,000 across the city so far," the first officer continued. "Doctors are still completing their sweep of the area, so expect the number to increase." Peterson suddenly heard the unit behind him start up. He turned around to look at the screen, and saw the familiar AUDIO ONLY text flicker on. "Have you found them?" the voice asked. "No sir," Peterson replied. "It appears they were never in San Francisco." THIS IS UNNACEPTABLE!" the voice replied. "The Pillars must be found! Two are already in captivity, and there is no sign of Meadowbrook or Rockhoof. These two must be captured or else my entire plan is derailed. Did you find any infected?" "Yes, sir," Peterson replied. "They're already being processed to treatment centers as we speak." "Sir? I've got something!" an aide called, and showed Peterson the screen of an iPad. On it was a special trace. "This is the trail left behind from a spell. It shows us where the caster went." Peterson nodded. "Sir, we have a trace on their location. They're in Los Angeles." "Well? What are you waiting for? GET THEM!" The radio flickered out as Peterson switched channels. "Skyhammer, move to orbiting position and await clearance."