Chapter 80
Lacy POV
“Is that it?” I asked as I walked around the room, examining all the things they had laying about.
“Essentially,” Nova answered as she, Louie, and Roxxy sat at the table, watching me. “Any questions?”
“Yeah,” I said with a nod of my head, picking up a picture of a few ponies at a party, “this Champion guy, he’s literally unbeatable?”
“Very much so,” she said solemnly.
“And we’re sure of that fact?” I asked with a smirk as I put the picture down and moved to a window, looking out to see that one weird mare, Babel, leaning against the nearby building drawing in her notebook.
“Lacy,” Nova began sternly, “do not engage with Champion if you see him. You’ve watched our memories, you KNOW he’s to dangerous to challenge.”
“I mean, yeah,” I chuckled, “but it’d be cool to be the one to kick his ass, wouldn’t it?”
“Do not engage Champion,” she repeated, causing me to roll my eyes.
“Geez, can do, mom,” I muttered as I watched Babel.
Nova must’ve seen where I was looking as she let out a sigh, “I’m really sorry about Babel Yarn. She’s a good mare, she’s just a tad bit… excitable.”
“Nah don’t worry about it,” I chuckled, “I actually like her. Got that charm to her, ya know? Plus I love someone who speaks their mind and doesn’t give a flying fuck.”
As if she knew I was talking about her, Babel’s head shot up and she began waving happily at me. I just chuckled and waved back as I moved away from the window and turned my attention to the other three in the room.
“So my role tomorrow is to just be used to find Lance?”
“Correct,” Nova confirmed.
“Will I get to do any kind of fighting?” I asked hopefully.
“If everything goes to plan, no, there will be no fighting,” she said a bit proudly, causing me to frown.
“Oh yeah great, no fighting works for me…” I muttered, a bit disappointed.
[Gay bullshit. We are being misused and mistreated! We are a fighter!]
<Calm down, Rake. We just came from the battle with the Observer, we need this break.>
[Only pussies need breaks!]
“Tomorrow at noon Champion will be holding the greeting ceremony for the Hippogriff Dignitaries, and it will be broadcasted live to the entire world,” Nova began, finally telling me the full plan, “we’re going to hijack the broadcast and show the world CCTV footage of just how bad he really is.”
“Oh sweet, what kind of footage do you got?” I asked, walking over and spinning a chair around so I could sit in it and lean on the back of it.
“We don’t know just yet,” she admitted as she nodded to a device plugged into a much larger computer screen, “I haven’t gone through it yet.”
“Well I’m invested, so I’m down to go through it right now,” I said with a large smile.
Nova looked at the other two, who gave nods in return, “very well then. Just be warned, there is apparently a… sexual assault in this video. Are you able to handle that?”
“Uh yeah?” I said with a wave of my hoof, “shit don’t bother me.”
“Just making sure,” she said as she used her magic to navigate the cursor over to the CCTV app, opening it to reveal a system for going through all the CCTV footage of New Ponyville.
It took her a few moments to get it set up, but once she had the time right, the screen displayed multiple camera angles of a city being slowly destroyed.
“Okay… now I just need to find all the Champion footage…” she muttered, slowly clicking through camera’s and moving the timeline around.
“Go to the beginning, Twilight said he attacked them first,” Roxxy suggested.
Nova nodded as she set the timeline back and switched to a camera showing a few homes. After a moment a costumed stallion, which I knew was Champion thanks to their memories, landed at the front door of a building. A mare appeared next to him in a flash as he banged on the door.
From the angle we could see the door open and Lance step out, looking a bit confused, but happy. Then without warning Champion punched him, somehow destroying not only Lance’s home, but every house behind it for at least a mile.
“Fuck!” I yelped, having not seen him actually fight yet, so to see how much power he actually had was insane!
“Save that,” Louie grunted, shaking his head as he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.
“Do we know when he next appeared?” Nova asked as she sped through the footage, watching all the camera’s.
“We do not, we just know he came back at some point near the end…” Roxxy answered, rubbing her chin as she watched the little boxes of cameras.
Nova sped the footage up till near the end of the battle, switching to all the camera’s that did not include the area’s where Phantasm Troupe had been fighting. It took a little bit but eventually we saw Champion suddenly appear on one of the camera’s.
“Got him,” Roxxy exclaimed as Nova switched to that camera.
They all watched as he lowered himself down to a pile of rubble where a mare was helping another.
“That’s Azure Moon,” Louie clarified, causing everyone but me to frown. I was missing some context here it seems.
Champion was speaking with her, but she seemed to be angry with him as she was a bit animated, clearly wanting him to leave.
From the angle of the camera, we could see those two and everyone around them slowing gathering up.
Then without any warning every single person around them just… exploded.
We all lurched forward in our chairs as this happened, as it came out of nowhere.
“What the fuck?!” I yelped while everyone else stayed silent, eyes locked to the screen.
Champion flew down to Azure Moon and held his hoof out to her.
“So this is when that bitch joined his side,” Roxxy muttered.
We watched them talk for a moment, then she slapped his hoof away and began to scream. Nova zoomed in a bit so that we could clearly see what was happening.
“Do you think this is the…” Louie began, but cut himself off as we all knew what he meant.
She spat into his face, followed by him suddenly slapping her, sending her to the ground.
They watched as they continued to talk, then Champion began to remove his…
“Oh fuck…” I muttered as we watched something horrible begin to take place on the screen. None of us looked away, as this sadly was something we needed to see.
Once he finished his heinous act, he pulled out an object and pressed it to her head, causing her to go rigid. After a few moments she went limp and he picked her up, his ears perked up and he suddenly flew to the left. Changing the camera angle showed him killing a few innocent ponies who’d entered the area. He did it a bit slower this time, so you could clearly see him just killing them with a single hit each.
Then he flew off, taking Azure Moon with him.
Nova paused the footage at this point and grabbed her head, clearly distressed at what we’d just seen.
“That evil bastard…” Roxxy growled, slamming her hoof down hard and getting up to walk around the room.
Louie just clenched his fist and leaned forward, looking focused and deep in thought.
As for me, I just rubbed my face, processing what I’d just witnessed.
<Rake, do not make a joke here.>
[I’m not!]
(We can clearly tell you’re thinking of one right now!)
[I mean, I got a good one in the chamber, but I’ll keep it to myself!]
I sighed as I looked at Nova, “is that what you needed?”
She groaned, shaking her head, “yes, but I will not use that part of the footage.”
“What?!” Roxxy snapped as she ran back over, slamming her hooves onto the table. “We have to show that! It’ll paint him as the bad guy instantly!”
“I will not show an innocent mare getting assaulted on live TV just to win this,” Nova declared sternly, eye twitching.
“What if the footage of him killing innocents is not enough? What then?” Roxxy countered.
“It will be enough,” Nova assured her as she began to save the needed footage. “It has to be.”
“That’s wishful thinking we can not rely on!” Roxxy yelled, but Nova ignored her as she finished grabbing the footage and putting it on a small PDA.
“I am not discussing this further,” Nova said simply as she got up and left the room, her emotions clearly all over the place.
Once she was gone, I looked at Roxxy, who was fuming with rage.
“She’s too soft sometimes…” Roxy growled as she pulled out her own PDA and plugged it into the device.
“What are you doing?” I asked as she went back to the CCTV footage.
“I’m setting up Plan B when Plan A fails,” she answered roughly as she brought up the assault footage again so she could save it.
Once it finished she put her PDA away and glared at us, “not a word to Nova, okay?”
“You got it,” I answered as Louie just shrugged.
She gave a sharp nod and left the room.
I let out a sigh and looked at Louie, “this shit is a lot more complicated than the shit I was dealing with in my dimension.”
“Yeah, that’s common for us,” he answered with a chuckle as he stood up, “you ready for tomorrow?”
“Born ready,” I answered with a grin.
[Let’s get this shit, fuckers!]
ooo000<^>000ooo
Strawell rubbed her forehead as she read over the orders she was issuing for tomorrow's ceremonies. The Inquisitors were in charge of making sure no rebel activity occurred or disrupted the Hippogriff Dignitaries' visit to Equestria.
As she went over a few revisions, her mind drifted to the folder Red Storm had given her and its contents. She’d learned that the Apostles indeed were never under the control of anyone else. They’d been acting on their own free will. She also found out Nova herself was not even on Equestria during the battle, as she’d apparently been off traveling the Eternal Plains.
This raised a lot of questions, as the King assured everyone that she was the one behind everything, the main leader of the Bronies. According to him, she was the one who helped them kill the Princesses. But now, with this new info, she wasn’t so sure of that.
Of course, that didn’t matter right now, as she needed to make sure tomorrow went off without a hitch, as her current plans required life to continue as normal for now. If things went as planned, she’d be able to bring everything down at once, and hopefully end with Champion arrested.
The actual process of arresting him though eluded her as of now, but she’d figure something out. She had plenty of time to come up with a method of holding him.
With that, she went back to work, as she had a long night ahead of her.
ooo000<^>000ooo
The Next Day
The crowd slowly gathered up in front of the massive stage set up in the courtyard of the Palace, all excited about the upcoming ceremonies as it was rumored their King had a special announcement to make.
Inquisitors walked the outskirts of the crowd, watching everything closely, on high alert for any kind of suspicious activity.
Up on the stage stood a few important ponies, namely Strawell who stood by her seat, eyes scanning the crowd before her as she looked for any familiar faces.
As the crowd grew larger, the time began to near for everything to begin.
“All clear?” Strawell spoke into her radio, getting a few ‘affirmatives’ in response.
She knew the rebels had something planned for today, she just was not sure what it would be. But she knew this would prove to her if they really are the ‘good guys’ or not, as it depends on how this went.
If they came in violently and hurt anyone, then that’d be it, she’d dedicate her life to bringing them all to justice. If things played out differently… she’d just have to decide on her actions if that time comes.
Trumpets began to sound all around them as the sound of a sonic boom sounded above their heads. The crowd went insane as Champion began to lower himself down the platform, waving to the crowd all around him happily.
“My citizens! How I have missed you!” he bellowed, getting a massive response from the crowd as they roared his name. The huge screen behind him displayed his smiling face as he looked out at the crowd. “Yes yes, it is I!” he laughed, still waving to them all.
After a moment the crowd fell silent as he smiled at them.
He began to read a speech he’d prepared for this event as Strawell continued to scan the crowd, her eyes locking onto a single pony in the sea of ponies.
The Rebel known as Roxxy.
Her eyes narrowed, but she held off on calling this in, as she knew she needed to wait and see their plan first. She just prayed she was not making a mistake here and about to allow others to get hurt.
Champion’s grand speech continued as she took notice of a few more Rebel’s in the crowd, namely the members of the Phantasm Troupe. They were wearing disguises, but she could easily see through them.
Then her eyes caught an unexpected sight. Red Storm’s daughter, Babel Yarn, just standing in the crowd by herself, eyes locked on the stage. That is an unexpected development.
“And now,” Champion said proudly as he waved a hoof to the side, causing his Queen to walk out onto the stage and stand next to him, “before I introduce our Hippogriff visitors, I, we have an announcement to make.”
All eyes fell on him as he smiled proudly at everyone.
“Equestria,” he said with his head held high, “your beloved King and Queen are pregnant!”
The crowd went crazy as he placed a wing over his Queen, who just smiled blankly out at the crowd, waving her hoof in a circle.
After a few more words of self praise, he allowed her to walk off stage, returning to smiling out at everyone. “Now, I’d like the honor of introducing our esteemed guest from the Kingdom of Hippogriffia!”
Two Hippogriff’s stepped out onto the stage, looking very regal in their Royal attire.
ooo000<^>000ooo
Lacy’s POV
“The Hippogriff Dignitaries are out on stage with Champion now,” Roxxy’s voice said from the communicator, causing Bronwyn to nod as she began to perform a ritual to use me as some kind of beacon that’ll lead them to their friends.
“Do not move, Lacy,” she said as we stood in the clearing, far from the cities or anyone else.
“Can do,” I muttered as the ground began to glow around me, Ego flying up and attaching to me. “Yep… not moving…”
“This will tell us exactly where to go,” she explained as the Ego increased in intensity. It was just the two of us, as the others were busy with their own task. But we should be enough since all of the threats will be in Canterlot for the ceremonies.
Suddenly everything stopped, causing me to frown.
“Did it break?” I asked, causing the tall woman to laugh.
“Oh no no, it worked,” she confirmed as she twirled her Dimensional Dagger in her hand. “And I’ve got the exact coordinates as well.”
“That simple?” I asked.
“That simple,” she replied with a wide smile.
“Well let’s get in there!” I exclaimed, “maybe we’ll get done fast enough to join up with the others.”
Bronwyn gave a nod as she ripped open a portal for us, jumping in as I ran in behind her.
Now I don’t know what I was expecting when I agreed to find their friends, but a room filled with red crackling cocoons was not on the list.
“Oh this is not good,” Bronwyn muttered as we scanned the room around us, seeing all the ponies stuck inside of the red cocoons as energy seemed to pump out of them and into the floor beneath us.
“What is this shit?” I asked as I looked into a cocoon next to me, seeing an unconscious pony floating within it.
“They’re harvesting their Ego…” Bronwyn began, but then she leaned forward and touched a cocoon. Her eyes went wide instantly, “no, not their Ego… they’re siphoning the Holy Energy from them!”
“This Holy Energy bullshit again?” I mumbled, shaking my head. I’d already faced a few dipshits in the past who were all about stealing the Holy Energy within myself and the other Bronies. The shit got old real quick, as that was all anyone ever wanted from us. Sad to see the trend continues even in this different dimension.
“We need to get them out and destroy whatever is collecting the energy,” she instructed, as she looked around quickly. “We need to start with Lance, as the moment we cut one, they’ll know we’re here.”
“Oh great,” I muttered, looking into each cocoon, looking for someone who looked like me.
Of course Bronwyn found him first, waving me over.
Upon stepping up to the cocoon I was surprised to see the occupant was awake and looking at us. He indeed looked exactly like me, all the way down to the fake eye, which was only noticeable if you knew what to look for.
“Ready?” she asked as she put a hand on her sword.
“Do it,” I said as Lance watched us intently, eyes locked on mine as I saw his two consciences appear on his shoulders.
But as she went to slice the cocoon, a loud pop sounded right behind us.
“Ah, we met again,” a charming voice exclaimed as we spun around to see a fairly built man in a very nice business suit. He raised an eyebrow at me, then looked to Lance, then back to me. “Now that’s a bit odd…”
Bronwyn lowered herself into a fighting stance, “Lacy, get Lance out.”
“What about everyone else?” I asked but then the man shot straight at us, causing Bronwyn to dash into his path and draw her sword.
“Get anyone you can!” she yelled as her sword flashed as the man used his bare hands to take swipes at her, laughing confidently as he did so.
Without a moment's hesitation I summoned my Ego greatsword and sliced the cocoon, causing Lance to collapse onto the ground.
“Interlopers!” a female voice roared as all the cocoons suddenly flashed away, much to our surprise. “How DARE you enter my personal space!”
“Fuck!” I yelled as I pulled Lance up, having only saved him .
“Are you me?!” he asked in confusion.
“We don’t have time for that!” Bronwyn yelled as she was thrown backwards by a heavy hit from the smiling man.
“Right!” We both exclaimed at the same time, spinning to face the well dressed man as he turned to face us, rolling his shoulder as he prepared.
“Got a weapon?” I asked as I held my large sword up effortlessly.
“I got my hooves,” he answered, causing me to roll my eyes.
“Well that’s useless as fuck.”
“Says the lady with the massive slab of iron,” he retorted, causing me to smirk.
“Just keep up with me stripy boy,” I chuckled as I spun my sword a few times so the tip was pointed at the approaching man.
“I’m not concerned about that,” he said smugly as he shifted into his own Apollyon form, “I’m more worried you won’t be able to keep up with me is all!”
To answer him I shifted into my own Apollyon form, sticking my tongue out of the corner of my mouth at him, “I’ll try my best, sweet innocent summer child!”
[Oh this shit is so much hotter than the whole Kill and Joy situation.] Break said as he rubbed his hooves together as he looked at Rake.
[Uh oh, we got a wannabe charmer over here ladies! Too bad I can feel the small dick energy from here!] Rake retorted with a smirk.
[Small dick energy!? Bitch I’m all Big Dick Energy over here!] Break yelled back angrily.
<That’s a tad bit SDE of you, Break, she may be right.> Dawn said, getting a roar of laughter from my three consciences.
[Pussy whipped little shit…] Break muttered, crossing his hooves.