//------------------------------// // Chapter 19: Fire and Ire // Story: Warsong: Primordial Conflict // by Jumping Jack //------------------------------// Well, this is unexpected. I sat confused in the middle of a circle surrounded by zebra. Wood was stacked around up to my chest. I wasn't tied down or anything, but this still felt a little strange. My friends watched from the side lines. Cloudchaser rubbed the back of her head. "Err... so, remind me again why the villagers are setting up Fie to a bonfire? Err... voluntarily?" She asked. I looked down at myself. "Yeah, I'm not sure how I got talked into this." I replied. Mystique smiled. "Your friend has been chosen by the stars. It is customary that we appease our ancestors' spirits with the presence of a Star Bearer." She said. "It has been written thousands of years ago when the first Star Bearer arrived into our homeland. Every year we celebrate it as the Star Bright Festival. We make effigies to burn to invite our ancestors to join in and partake in delicacies as well as commune with loved ones from beyond the spirit realm. However, a special rite had been recorded where one who will be selected as the next Star Bearer must undergo a special ritual to gain the blessings of our ancestors by exchanging a fraction of their power in their natural element." I looked worriedly at the stacks of wood around me. 'What is she talking about, Din?' I thought to her. Din snorted. It does ring a bell... Almost as if I have done this before... She replied. I remember feeling... stronger through this. Mystique trotted over to me and put a hoof gently under my chin. "The ritual is painless for the Star Bearer. I must remind you of some rules before we continue. You are to remain humble amongst the spirits. For they will provide you with blessings that you must treat with care. If you anger the spirits, you will be cursed. I have read the ancient texts for as long as I can remember. And it has given me a lot to learn about magic." I was starting to sweat a bit. "I-I see... And you're an elementary teacher?" I asked, trying to remind myself why I was in this again. Din smirked. This feels natural. Besides, there is no better way than to obtain more power for my ascension! She cackled. 'I hope you're right, Din.' I replied in my thoughts. I had to remind myself as well that I had promised to help Din to not hold her back. And if I have to become a volunteer to set myself on fire to commune with ancient zebra spirits, then for the sake of Equestria, I'll do it. Flitter scratched her head. "Wait. If this is supposed to be done during a festival, shouldn't we have set it up as one?" She asked. Mystique chuckled. "Unfortunately, the Star Bright Festival passed last month. And it has been several thousand years since the ancient texts had described such a method. But considering that nothing happened to the previous Star Bearer back then, and with careful following of instructions, we must treat the coming of the next Star Bearer as if the Star Bright Festival has never ended." She explained. Thi rubbed her chin. "This is the first time I've ever heard of this process. Another quick question. What are we going to do with this one?" Thi bit down on a rope string and yanked the uniformed zebra forward, the zebra landing on his side and glaring up at them. Behind my friends were the zebra that had terrorized the village all gathered neatly and bound on a spit roast. Thankfully, the villagers here aren't cannibals as Mystique graciously explained to us, but they also don't have a jail or prison cell. So, they had to make do with what they have. Mystique frowned angrily at the zebra. "Punishment for the wicked will be decided. I must ask that you please keep an eye on them while the ritual proceeds. As you might have guessed, we are not a community for this type of... interesting conflict." Mystique motioned to the other villagers who were either spectating, comforting others or helping stack wood around me. The zebra began to back away when I would assume the last bit of wood was tossed in, Mystique stepped towards me. "Star Bearer. You will now be graced by the ancestral dance of the dead to welcome our ancestor's spirits into the living realm. Your star will sense them." I gave her a worried look as Din hummed. Yes… I’ve done this before… but for what then…? She pondered. ‘So… what should I expect?’ I asked her. Din went quiet. ‘Din?’ Shut up. It’s starting. She hissed. My focus went onto three zebras bearing strange staves. The villagers began to stamp their hooves in a rhythmic beat, the torches lighting the area. Then began the chanting of a singular zebra followed by the chorus of the villagers. The three zebra in front of me began to dance, their hooves stomping to the beat as it got faster and faster. I heard the uniformed zebra shout something in zebric. “What are they saying?” Thi asked Scribble. “Spouting insults to get under the skin of the villagers.” He simply replied. “Easy targets, we may be. But our spirits remain unbroken as wished by the ever stream.” Mystique spoke. The uniformed zebra grinned and spoke to Mystique. Mystique replied, annoyance clear on her face. Scribble then spoke up. The three were conversing with Scribble being the voice of reason for Mystique as the uniformed zebra gave a crazed laugh. Thi frowned and the sisters were unsettled. Mystique sighed and turned to my friends. “I fear we are not clear. More should be on the way. And it may not be pretty.” Thi smiled and pat her chest. “Leave it to us. Cloudchaser and Flitter. You girls begin patrolling above the perimeter of the village. Scribble will keep an eye on our intrusive guests here and I’ll look around on the ground for anything off. I’ll signal if I find anything. And Fie?” She looked to me. “Stay put.” I slumped and frowned at her. “Don’t worry, not going anywhere.” I sarcastically replied. While my friends proceeded to do their patrols and guarding, I sighed and focused back on the dance. The rhythm was getting faster and faster. The dancer’s hooves moving so fast in a blur that they looked like they were gliding. Din stirred, standing up. They are here. She said suddenly. I suddenly felt nervous. What should I expect? Wispy spirits floating around? Emerging from the ground and clawing at me? Would… would Table Top be apart of it all? I was getting flashbacks from all my Table Top encounters and the screams of the damned as Hoofington erupted into an amber mushroom cloud. I watched as the megaspell washed over me, setting my body ablaze. Yet, I didn’t feel anything. The fire was instant. It grew higher and higher around me. I looked around in a panic. Din stepped out of me and walked down the stacked wood, her hoof steps setting the wood on fire. When she reached the bottom, the dancers glided their way aside for her. ‘Din?’ I asked. That’s odd. It is almost like she’s in a trance. Which is what I assumed happened as what she did next blew me out of the water. She unfurled her wings, displaying her regality proudly before starting to dance in tandem with the dancers. The fire from the bonfire began to snake towards her and around the dancers. The villagers must also be in a trance as well as none reacted in surprise to what was going on. Or… is this all in my head right now? I’m suddenly feeling dizzy. I felt a warmth wash over me and I looked up. My eyes widened as I noticed spectral zebra bounding around us. Din got on her hind legs and used her wings to swish and sway mesmerically with her hooves and body unnaturally. Eventually, she came to a stop and held her hooves out high above her to the side while her wings furled upwards. The ghostly zebra glided down to her and lifted her up from the ground. Din began to say something in a dialect I was not familiar with. It wasn’t zebric or pone-ish. She then turned to look down at me while the spectral zebra bounded around her. I wasn’t sure what I should do. I was too mesmerized by the sight to think clearly. Eventually, the spectral zebra bounded down towards me and circled me. Hollow, glowing white eyes met mine. Decorative ring accessories around the neck and hooves and fancy headdresses of varying design was most of what I could make out. In unison, voices began to whisper around me. Quietly at first but grew louder when one zebra stepped forward and bowed. I don’t know how, but I understood what I needed to do. My body moved on its’ own and I returned the bow. I rose with the zebra and found my forelegs being held gently, my hooves leaving the ground as if I was light as a feather. I rose high into the air to face Din, who seemed to still be lost in a trance. The fire began to rise higher and higher until it enshrouded us. Thi’s POV I trotted away from the dancing, glancing quickly at Fie who was questioning her entire decision on this. It was an out of nowhere blurt when Mystique mentioned the Star Bright Festival as we rounded up the uniformed zebra. The details were shortened then, but Fie must have talked with Din for a brief moment or something as she agreed to have a bonfire built around her. But seeing how she handled the situation earlier, it has me wondering something. That Alicron wasn’t able to engage Fie due to primal energy. I had made my way back towards the wreckage, my eyes falling onto the hissing scrap pile. I began to traipse around the wreckage, my brain racking with theories. How did Exiles get ahold of something that the Triad would not be willing to trade or give in the slightest? It must have been stolen. I don’t see how. Unless something else is going on. After Roam and the Triad HQ raid, I couldn’t help but find some documents regarding certain dealings with Moonlight Sonata and a co-authorizer named N. At least, that’s what the line showed. There were also shipping documents, which was strange as this was just an HQ outpost for the Triad. A decoy in a sense. They must be getting all these documents from somewhere. One document stood out to me. A red folder. In it, the contents were heavily redacted, save for one instance. Project Resonance. What I could gather, the words Prisma Core, Resonance and Creation Mother stood out. I tried using a data base that one of the Gorgons was so kind to hack into, but nothing came up for these words. Not even Project Resonance. I began to shift through the wreckage, the material surprisingly intact despite having the entire torso eviscerated by Fie. Burnt wires, fiber membranes, plating, damaged circuitry. Nothing worthwhile I could find. I trotted over to the massive head of the robot, the entire design intact. Upon further inspection, this was remote controlled with no driver. My eyes narrowed in suspicion. I dug through the wiring carefully from the neck area, but nothing of worth. Perhaps the eyes? I called Excalibat with my magic, only to hop back and ready myself as the head of the Alicron jerked and began to blip. ”P-P-PRIMAL ENERG-G-G-GY DETECTED. REQUEST-QUEST-QUESTING A-A-A-ADJUSTMENTS.” I cocked my head questioningly. I waved my bat, seeing the reticule pupils follow it. I had a sudden thought. “What is your identification?” I asked stoically. ”ERROR-R-R-RR. VOICE NOT REC-REC-RECOGNIZED. E-E-EVAL-VAL-VALUATING-ING.” There was a chorus of beeps and blips before the eyes turned red and focused on me. ”EUCLIDAN TERRORIST IDENTIFIED, THI BILLET. E-E-EN-ENGAGE WITH LETHAL FORCE.” The head started to move. However, it wasn’t able to turn at all. ”CHASIS FUNCTIONALITY-Y-Y-Y ERROR. UNIT DISABLED. S.O.S. PINGED. BEGINNING SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE IN TE-TE-TEN. N-N-NINE. BRRRRTZZZZ. ZERO.” I stumbled back a bit in panic and braced myself. Nothing happened. I blinked confusedly, looking back at the head. ”ERROR. BRRRZZZZTTTT. ERROR. BRRRRZZZZTTT. UNIT IN DANGER OF SALVAGING. REQUESTING ASSISTANCE.” I let out a quiet sigh of relief. I then walked over to the head and smirked. “Gotta’ hoof it to ya’, Triad. Giving away your toys is just asking for them to break.” I said, tapping the eye with my bat. “Unfortunately for you, I’m the one that breaks it into a lot of pieces.” I then brought back my bat and with a heavy swing, I smashed the eye, breaking the lens and exposing the inner workings. I couldn’t help but shudder at the wiring and mechanical works. It was as if they had recreated nerves and tissue. To this day, I still don’t know how the Triad keep coming up with stuff like this. I frowned as once again, nothing was seen of value to me. I wonder if Fie destroyed anything important to the Triad. I stepped back from the head and looked around. I could see the lighting from the fire. Thankfully, there was no smell of burning flesh. I was about to turn and proceed to investigate the area when I stopped upon hearing several bleeps and a garbled static with a voice coming through. ”Three four zero en route. Closing in distance. Seems the locals are celebrating. Request to crash party?” A distant, garbled voice said. There was quiet on the other end. Only static. ”Roger. Proceeding to salvage operation on one oh three. I’ll scout ahead zero zero two.” There was more garbled noise before another voice popped in. ”Remember three four oh. We are to keep the area unharmed, and the locals pacified. No bloodshed. This is a discreet operation.” I narrowed my eyes. Well, this isn’t good. As if on cue, Cloudchaser and Flitter soared down towards me. “We got trouble.” Flitter stated with a desperate look. I sighed. “Just heard the transmission. Come on, we’ve got to warn the others.” I said, picking up my canter into a gallop. We had to halt ourselves as the sound of something screeching grew louder and louder. Before we knew it, the ground exploded, sending all three of us into a tumble away from the wreckage. I somehow landed on my hooves and readied myself along with the sisters. Yet, my confidence took a bit of a step back. A sleek, black and green insectoid Alicron with thin legs adjusted itself over the wreckage of the fallen Alicron. A flash of green traced the visor. It then turned to us. “Well, well. If it isn’t Thi Billet. How unexpected, but welcoming.” The voice echoed through the robot. I grit my teeth, beginning to sweat. This isn’t good at all. I’m no robot expert, but this is for sure going to be tough. Cloudchaser was speechless and Flitter looked terrified. “What’s the matter? Cat caught your tongue? Seems you won’t be getting out of this one so easily as before, Billet.” The voice said with a snicker. The Alicron froze. “Yeah, yeah, I know. You sure you don’t want me to clean up here? They already started the fire. Might as well fuel it.” I looked over as I noticed several villagers running away and screaming from the direction of the fire. The sound of somepony yelling in zebric. The robot shifted to the direction of the screaming. “Things are getting interesting.” The voice said. It took one step forward and my brain kicked in. I can’t let it get to Fie or anycreature else. I whipped out my arc pistol and popped several shots at the visor. The robot froze and looked to me. “Really?” I then smirked and aimed at the fallen Alicron. I pulled the trigger and hit the bullseye. The Alicron whirred and bleeped. ”SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE REPAIRED. RESUMING COUNTDOWN. ZERO.” “Move now!” I shouted. I galloped away along with the sisters flying after me. The head glowed brightly and we took cover down a steep small hill as the explosion rocked the earth. We heard the sound of the voice yelling and a loud, thunderous crash of trees and something heavy hitting the ground. I pushed myself off the ground and shook away my daze, looking to see the sisters doing the same. “Cloudchaser, Flitter. Get to Fie and Scribble. I’ll lure the Triad away!” I shouted, reloading my arc pistol. “Don’t die!” Cloudchaser said seriously before taking off in the air. Flitter gave me a worried look before following after her. I took a deep breath and readied myself. I peeked out from cover to see the insectoid Alicron flail its’ legs helplessly. “Of all the…!” The voice growled. There was a loud whistling sound and the Alicron shot itself up right with whatever propellant tech it used. I couldn’t tell if the self-destructed Alicron head had done any damage to the chassis. I did see some loose plating, which made me have an idea. “Yeah, I’m fine. The scout prototype self-destructed. Seems the body is still salvageable.” I stepped out of my cover and stoically walked in front of the Alicron. It looked down at me, the visor glowing green. “All signs reading green. Permission to exterminate the pests.” I grinned and popped a shot at the visor before flicking my head down and bouncing into the foliage. “Screw it, you handle salvage! I’m ending this once and for all!” The voice spat in annoyance. Good. Follow the mouse. I used the momentum of my springs and a mix of my acrobatics to keep myself going, moving away from the village as the Alicron began to barrel its’ way through the trees. I found myself standing amongst the stars. Something I’m fully familiar with. However, the spectral zebra that surrounded me and Din was not something I had expected. "Bearer of fire. Our second meeting pleases us. We welcome thee to our Paradise." The voices said in unison. Din bowed and I was speechless. Din then forcefully made me bow with her wing and glared at me. “Remember what the shaman zebra said.” She hissed. I quickly nodded and bowed. "To grace us with thy presence. We take it thou hath need of our blessings once more." Din stood up and I with her. “I desire ascension. To rise higher than the other stars. Even the gods themselves. Those that would challenge the law of balance will answer to me.” Din said. The spectral zebras smiled warmly. "Tis warming of hearts to hear such a strong desire. One that thou can achieve as thou hath shown." The voices replied. "We see that thou hath a new bearer." Their eyes fell onto me and I felt smaller than I ever did before. Din nudged me. “Humble.” She hissed to me quietly. I was panicking. Din is being oddly complacent about this. She says she’s done this before, but I haven’t! What is she expecting of me?! ‘Okay Fie. Deep breath. Follow Din’s example.’ I thought to myself. I stood up straight and faced the zebra directly across from me. “I am Quiet Fire. Vessel of Din. A pleasure to make your acquaintances ancient ones.” I said. The zebra bowed softly in approval. "Thou hath chosen a polite one. We are amused." The voices said. “I doth not recall who, but his image familiar and his mind my own mask. I cannot say the same for this one.” Din said, glancing at me. I felt my ears drop. The voices began to whisper. The whispers stopped before all eyes fell onto me. "We sense a dark aura around this one. Thy mind is clouded. Thy will trembling. Tis a surprise thou hath made it this far. Yet, thou heart is kind. Hardened. Beating with the flame of thy bearer. An amusing one." The voices began to whisper once more. Din looked calm and respectful, which was so surreal to me. ‘Din, can we trust this process? I’m not so sure about this.’ I thought to her, my red flags going off all over. Din rolled her eyes. The process is not the issue, idiot. Remember your promise. This is beneficial for both of us. She grinned. I should have brought popcorn. I looked at her questioningly. The spirits eerily stood at attention all at once towards me, sending a chill down my spine. "We hath come to a conclusion. Our blessings to thee, Star of Fire. Your last desire was to find thy heart. Thou now request ascension. Take upon thee newfound power. The power to freely walk between the planes of life and death itself." The zebra rose on their hind legs and raised their forelegs high into the air. A whispering chant began to crescendo around us. Din flashed with bright light as she stood proudly and stoically. The light began to shimmer around Din before flowing into her. When the light vanished, Din relaxed her posture and looked puzzled. The zebra bowed before her before turning to me. "Thou hath darkness, but a kind heart. What doth thou desire?" The voices asked. I balked. I didn’t think about what I should really desire. I mean, I have mostly everything I want. Cloudchaser, a home in Ponyville, friends. I guess what I really wanted was to go home. To have this entire nightmare over with. I sighed and bowed my head. But I can’t have everything. I thought long and hard about this. When I came to a conclusion, I picked my words carefully. Standing up straight and facing the spirits, I copied Din’s posture and expression. “I desire to end this pointless war and have the creatures from Pony Land to the Dragon Lands and all over Equestria to maintain a normal and prosperous life for many generations to come. It’s… a tall order but in order to simplify it, the power to ensure that I can achieve all of that along with Din’s help.” I stated. The voices whispered before silencing. "Thou desire is to keep the balance and paths of the creatures of this land in check. A noble and righteous goal. If thou were righteous. We fear we cannot bless this desire as the darkness coveting thou is pungent. But we can aid thou in cleansing it. We doth need a catalyst to ensure this cleansing proceeds expectedly. We know thou has it already, fortunately." The voices said. I was about to protest when Din hissed and forced my head to bow. I hissed a bit in pain but it helped to keep me from blurting out something I would regret. “If that is the path I need to take to solidify my desire, then I welcome your aid, ancient ones.” I replied, hoping to be as humble as can be and not a little sour. The voices chuckled. "Thou hath changed greatly, Star of Fire. We sense that thou truly hath the right path. We must ask to aid on our cleansing of your vessel." Din frowned a little. “Good luck. The amount of clutter inside her head is enough to smother even the sun.” She said sourly to me. “Well then, vessel. Present the catalyst.” I looked up at her confused. She growled and pointed at my saddle bag. I arched a brow and began digging through my bags. Odd how I have everything on me in wherever Celestia knows we are. After digging through, it dawned on me. I withdrew the glowing scale of Malevolence. I held it out in front of me and the voices began to speak loudly around us. The spectral zebra all began to rear and kick their legs out, stamping their hooves as well. "Such a vile thing. But tis blessed by the follower of the ancients. This will suffice." the voices said as the zebra began to calm. The scale began to float out of my hoof and began to shimmer. A light started to seep out of the scale and pour into a pillar where a zebra in an intricate headdress and accessories formed. Din and I recognized the zebra. “Queen Zeuli??” I gasped. The Roam queen turned to me and smiled kindly. ”A queen no more. But my faith remains within my blood. Tis good to see you again, Champion. I’ve dreamt of this day since I was a filly.” She said. She then turned to face the zebra and bowed. ”Fore bearers, heed me, for this one hath done a great service to my kin and my late husband. I ask humbly that you save her soul from the darkness within her. For her true potential lies with the stars.” I was dumbfounded. Queen Zeuli knew about all of this? She dreamt of it? I need to ask Princess Luna when I can about her times in zebra dreams. The spectral zebra bowed to the queen before standing on two legs and raising their hooves high above them. A chant began in a chorus around us. Zeuli was lifted off her hooves, floating with her forelegs outstretched to the scale. When she reached the scale, she embraced it tenderly, closing her eyes. ”Exhibit your courage, Champion. For this will not be pretty.” Zeuli said in a motherly voice. Her figure began to fade away as the light from her flowed back into the scale. I looked to Din, who looked intrigued. I can feel it… my rite of ascension ever so close to me. She grinned slyly. The light from the scale shimmered brightly. The zebra suddenly stopped chanting. The atmosphere around us drastically changed to a chill and eerie feeling. There was a moment of silence. All was still. I could hear my heart pounding in my chest. My eyes widened as the sickening sound of breaking bones went off all at once. The ghostly zebras all had their neck twisted or lopsided and began to laugh. The light from the scale started to seep out a black fog. Soon, the area around us was enveloped into darkness. "Face the dark, Champion. Ignite your potential." I gasped and found myself standing in a desolate, barren land. Nothing but dead trees in sparse sights, rock formations jutting in no particular direction and dirt dunes of varying heights and distance as far as the eyes could see. A dry, chill wind blew through the area as the murky, orange sky gave this barren land a hue of a sickening orange. Not a single trace of anything living at all. Din stood next to me, her eyes scanning the area. “Well then, vessel. Where oh where could the source be…?” She said. The wind seemed to pick up and I had to shield myself from a cloud of dust. I threw on my hood and looked around. “Perhaps we can get a bird’s eye view?” I asked. Din eyed me. “I can do that. The only issue. I’m not inside of your head. As you may have noticed, I am manifested physically. So, while I have the perfect capability of traversing this land, you do not.” She explained. I slumped. “Zebra magic is so surreal…” I stated. I then had an intrusive thought. I tapped my hooves meekly together. “Err… then… can I…?” “Start walking, vessel.” Din cut me off, pointing ahead of me with a disappointed expression. She took off to the air, leaving me to sigh and start my trek through the barren wasteland. The wind was insanely strong. I had to fight against it as I made my way over a couple of tall dirt dunes. When I managed to climb a third one, I gasped. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The destroyed remains of Hoofington laid before me. The tall buildings charred and collapsed. The roads covered and shattered. What used to be the city of tomorrow, now rotting in the middle of all of this. I clutched my chest, feeling very hesitant to continue. I looked back over my shoulder. ‘Did I…? Did I just come from the station?’ I asked myself. I scanned the area, my brain piecing together the memory. I was a little off from the mark, but I for sure passed what used to be the station. Using my inner map, I traced what I could remember of the road. The main road that would lead to the location of the Tri-Mourne Tower where it all happened was there, but completely destroyed. I adjusted my hood and looked over my shoulder. Dirt and death. I sighed and carefully began my trek down the massive dune towards the main road. As I got closer to what was once an area where taxi wagons would pull ponies to and from the city, Din descended from the sky and landed, waiting for me. She turned to face the city and smiled. “Such good memories.” She sighed. My expression darkened. “Oh, lighten up, vessel. The city was rotting from the core. Whatever virtue or ambition spurred such a creation was an eventual outcome of corruption. Decent beginnings always fall to the abyss.” She cackled softly. I avoided looking at her. “There were innocent ponies…” I muttered under my breath. Din did a small stretch before unfurling her wings. “Stick to the path, vessel. Any misdirection will spell trouble for both of us.” She said, pointing down the main road. My eyes fell onto something fluttering down. I looked up with Din and watched as what appeared to be embers and ashes flutter down like snow. Din and I the noticed something beginning to glow further down the road. It was quite a bit of ways down. Din grinned widely. “There you are. Vessel, change of plans. I will allow this just once. Any mention of this and I will burn more than just an entire city.” She seemed hesitant, but then got low next to me. I don’t know why, but I did my best to stifle a chortle. I hopped onto her back and held on when she stood up. Her wings unfurled and she took off into the air. I nearly fell off, but hugging her neck, I found myself steadying. Din was surprisingly soft and warm. Even her fiery mane felt silky. Din growled. “Can’t believe this… Let’s make this quick.” She grumbled as we began to fly down the road. The dry, chill wind was a little fiercer than on the ground, but it didn’t bother Din at the slightest. It wasn’t until the ashes and embers began swirling and creating a blinding storm that Din halted her flight. We both started coughing as the air became heavy and unbreathable. Din lowered herself back onto the ground, the wind returning to normal when we hit the street. I coughed up ashes and tried to clean my tongue with my hooves while Din slumped and heaved her breaths. She spat a liquid ember out and wiped her muzzle. “Shit.” She rasped. I slid off of her and maintained my breathing to clear my lung. Din hummed and took to the skies once more. She went farther than when we had to land. But then, something red and dark sailed across the sky from the glow and struck her, causing her to tumble through the air and crash into a building. I balked and quickly made my way off the road and towards the building she crashed into. So much ash and covered pieces of building blocked off most or all of the passageways, causing me to scale some in order to reach into the tipped over building that had fallen into the other building Din crashed into. I headed inside the tipped over building via a hole in the wall and opened the destroyed door enough to squeeze through, cantering down the hall and hopping onto a decrepit exit stairway. I grabbed ahold of the ladder and climbed it to reach the roof. A massive hole on the roof showed the impact of the crash. Peering in, I could see Din coming too amongst shattered furniture and ash. The sound of a radio playing smooth jazz could be heard. Din shifted slightly, the floor creaking as a warning. However, when she tried to stand, the floor caved in and she fell through with a yelp. I put a hoof over my muzzle, trying not to laugh as Din pulled herself away from the ash pile that was forming around her. She did not look pleased. I don’t know why, but getting a bit of a laugh out of Din’s misery made me feel weightless. Din glared up at me and I made my way down to meet her. She dusted herself off and snorted. “Are you done? Because this is a problem.” She said. I smirked. “You’re alive at least. But you’re right. What even was that?” I asked after calming a bit down. Din shifted her wings to finish dusting herself off as she spoke. “My own spell. Or what should be my own spell.” She said sourly. I tilted my head slightly. “It appears that some of my power is being used to hinder us. The sudden ash and embers. That red and black. As disgusting as it is, that is my power being tainted.” I rubbed my chin in thought. “Could it have to do with the scale?” I guessed. Din turned to walk out of the building through the doorless entrance. “I don’t care if it is Gaia’s rump. Something or somecreature is going to be crushed by me.” She hissed. I only shrugged in response. It could be a number of things. I still have no idea where we ended up, but even though this is Hoofington, it doesn’t feel like it. Din and I exited the building and proceeded to make our way back to the main road, the smooth jazz music growing quieter and quieter as we went. Cloudchaser and Flitter hovered over the village as the insectoid alicorn robot proceeded to follow after Thi. The two spied Scribble being held hostage by the uniformed zebra. Mystique was also being held at gunpoint. How did they get out? Cloudchaser smacked her hooves together. “I’m going in.” She said. Flitter nodded. “I’m with ya’ sis.” She said, knocking an arrow. Down on the ground, Scribble frowned as if he was inconvenienced by this. The zebra pushed him forward, aiming the arc pistol. The zebra grinned and spoke in zebric at the stallion, who only narrowed his eyes. He then held out a hoof towards the zebra, causing the zebra to arch a brow questioningly. “” He replied in zebric. As if on cue, an arrow struck the zebra in the foreleg, causing them to scream and drop the gun. Scribble rushed forward and quickly withdrew a rock and delivered a punch into the zebra’s chest, crushing the rock and sending the zebra off their hooves and over a table. The one zebra holding Mystique hostage was then struck with an arrow on the hind leg just in time for Cloudchaser to swoop in and do a fly by buck on the zebra, sending them into a spiral away from Mystique. The remaining zebra aimed to fire upwards at Flitter, who had knocked two arrows and fired them off in tangent before zipping away from the arc fire. One arrow missed while the other struck the chest of a uniformed zebra. Cloudchaser motioned for Mystique to run before rushing two more, taking them out with swift bucks after a single flap of her wings. Scribble threw out a smooth stone and had it crack and break at colliding with the bonfire, causing the earth to shoot up and shield Quiet Fire. “Where’s Thi?!” Scribble shouted as he took cover from being fired upon from a dazed zebra. Flitter zipped by and struck an arrow into the hind leg, causing the zebra to scream and nurse the leg as Cloudchaser responded to him while head locking a zebra. “She’s luring away a Triad robot that came to retrieve the one Fie destroyed!” Cloudchaser replied. Scribble clicked his tongue. “Then we have no choice but to do what we can here. We’re not leaving anypony or zebra behind.” He said. Cloudchaser cracked the neck of the zebra, causing them to faint before dropping them. “Flitter and I will round them up. You go check and see on the villagers.” She said. The two hurried their separate ways. Cloudchaser met up with Flitter and the two nodded before descending and began their rounding up of the zebra. When the last one was tied firmly together with the others, Cloudchaser wiped her brow and hoof bumped Flitter. The lead uniformed zebra spoke up, quietly at first before raising their voice angrily. They then smirked and looked up. The sisters exchanged glances before looking up, their eyes widening. How have they not noticed it? High above them, lighting up the night sky, was a massive pure white robotic alicorn hovering over the village. The head move, taking notice of the sisters spotting it. “Girls!” Scribble called out, cantering over to them with Mystique at his side. “Good work. We have an issue.” He began. Flitter pointed up. “S-so do we.” She said terrified. They looked up just as the robotic alicorn dropped down, landing with a crash that kicked up a lot of dirt. It stood straight up with the sound of metal being unstuck from the joints, the wings retreated into the body and the robot turned to them. “Well, well. You three are far from home. To what brings Equestrians to the middle ring of the jungle?” The voice echoed from the robot. Cloudchaser stood in front of Flitter, glaring up at the robot while Scribble stoically studied it. The robot’s reticule eyes fell onto the uniformed zebra, who was laughing victoriously. He exclaimed something in zebric, causing Mystique to look mortified. The robot then looked around, scanning the area. “Organics in the area. All cluttered together. Good. This will be a smooth process. You four. Bring that zebra forward.” It nodded to the uniformed zebra. No pony moved. It was the uniformed zebra that managed to break free of their binds and canter past them, grinning wildly and saying something in zebric. This caused the other uniformed zebra to panic and protest. Scribble looked grimly at the one proudly standing with the robot. They looked up to face the robot. “I see… Well, as much as your enthusiasm is, commander, I am afraid plans have changed. Stealing tech from the Triad is a federal law punishable by death. You will be set before a court and tried for your transgressions.” The voice said. The zebra grinned and shrugged, seemingly replying non-chalantly to them. However, Scribble and the sisters had a terrible chill go down their spines. The head looked down to face the zebra and a subtle chuckle could be heard. “Followed protocol for the record. And with that being said.” The metal hoof of the robot rose and before the zebra knew it, they were pinned under weight. The zebra looked shocked, struggling to keep themselves off the ground. They spoke questioningly to the robot. “You did well to test a prototype scout model. Now we can iron out the kinks for more production value. Your free trial of testing is over, unfortunately. By order of our great Queen Moonlight Sonata, I bid you farewell.” The voice replied. It happened almost instantly and without the struggle. The uniformed zebras winced and Scribble, Mystique and the sisters looked horrified. There was no remorse for the late zebra. The only thing they are fearing is how easily it happened. What made it worse was the robot alicorn scraping the ground with the very same hoof to clean it. “Three oh four. Do you copy? Status?” The voice asked. Thi’s POV “You can’t run forever, Equestrian scum!” The voice echoed around me. I had taken cover under a hillside drop off, panting with my arc pistol at the ready. I managed to lure the insectoid Alicron quite a bit away from the village. However, what came next was me playing mouse and setting up hastily made booby traps that I was surprised didn’t blow up in my face. It came at the expense of a lighter saddle bag. If only I had a pocket dimension where I can store all the heavier arc launchers and weaponry. I checked my mag, seeing that I was running low before checking what I had left. I had to use a lot of ammunition to misdirect the sensors on it. At least, that’s my thought process. Knowing the Triad, they always have something or another to know where individuals are. Especially their troops. I had to duck a bit as I heard the sound of a tree being ripped out of the ground and chucked overhead. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!” The voice echoed. I peeked out of cover, eyeing the robot. As sleek and high tech as it looked, there are a lot of exhausts happening in the joints. I smirked and levitated out two arc pineapples and nodded to myself. I readied myself, taking a deep breath before dashing out of cover. As expected, my movement drew the attention of a sensor and the robot turned to me. I had to quickly flick my horn down and spring upwards as a rain of arc fire riddled the area where I was a second earlier. The horn on the robot stopped spinning and opened one wing out, sending out glowing green balls towards me. I deftly and acrobatically avoided the projectiles, exploding brightly in the night sky behind me as I bounded through the jungle. I landed in a crouching position inside some plants with big leaves and peeked through the openings. There was something unnerving to see a giant robot alicorn cantering over. The reticule eyes darting wildly around to spot any form of movement from me. An idea struck me. I hope this works. I spotted what looked to be a group of monkeys scampering in trees along with several birds fleeing. I stuck my tongue out and projected a spring in front of a fleeing bird and with a loud spring sound, the bird squawked and sailed over the robot. The robot came to a stop and opened fired from the horn. The bird recovered and balked, swiftly avoiding the bullets while I dashed out and galloped towards the robot. I pulled the pins on the pineapples and chucked one into one of the foreleg exhausts and the other into the hindleg one. The robot stopped firing, realizing they were shooting at a bird. I dashed out under them and turned to give a salute before galloping away. I heard a growl from the robot and when it took one step forward, that’s when the pineapples went off. The hindleg exploded and toppled the back side of the robot while the other exploded into electricity. “Son of a-!” The voice exclaimed before yelling at what I am guessing was the consoles inside blowing up in their face. The robot toppled onto its’ back, the legs stiffening as electricity shot through it. I let out a breath of relief before walking forward, calling Excalibat out in my magic. “Come on… work, dammit! What the hell did you do, Billet?!” The voice growled. I shouldered Excalibat and smirked. “Equine ingenuity. That, and the Triad never learn their lessons. It’s the same ol’ song and dance everytime.” I twirled my bat in my magic as I walked around the front of the robot. “Gotta’ admit. The Triad seem to be in a bit of a rush or something. Which reminds me.” I brought my bat back and swung at one of the eyes, shattering it entirely and exposing the pony inside. They were wearing a white body suite and a helmet covering their face. However, they looked quite disgruntled. I reached in and bit down on the cuff of the suite and yanked the pony out. They wrestled a bit with me but giving a jab of the butt of my bat into their stomach caused them to crumple to the ground. “What is going on with the Triad. Lately I’ve been hearing that some things have been rather… questionable.” I rubbed my chin. “How should I put it…? The Triad is being a little more incompetent than usual.” The pony coughed and tried to get up, but I struck the side of the pony with my bat and put a hindleg hard onto where I struck them. “Rumors of hiring other creatures. Abundance of resources for trade. Classified documents in place they shouldn’t be. And of course…” I glanced at the robot. “Procurement of dangerous crystal tech that the Triad are one hundred percent not willing to give up, in the hooves of poachers slash smugglers.” The pony coughed and chuckled. “As if I should tell you anything. You’re a damned terrorist…” They rasped. I smiled. “Then you should know what I’m capable of when I get my hooves on any pony on scene with Triad activity.” I shrugged. “Can’t help it. Been in this game for years and everytime, I’m seeing new faces. Are you somepony who replaced somepony else I took out? Are you somepony who willingly applied themselves to this life? Why throw it away for a tyrannical queen?” I frowned. “Why force me to do the things I do to my fellow Equines?” The pony stared up at me, clutching their side. “You don’t know anything… what has happened to our great nation of Pony Land! We are… the pioneers… to lead the next generation into the new tomorrow!” They rasped. I sat on my haunches and rubbed my muzzle in frustration. “Same ol’ song and dance… a one-track mind… I’m starting to think everypony in Pony Land is under some sort of brain wash spell. Whatever the case is, something else is going on. Now, you can play nice and make my night better. Or I can just treat this as a normal Tuesday.” The pony continued to stare. They them tried to push themselves off the ground but I stood up and spun around, delivering a heavy buck into the helm of the pony, sending them into the dirt. The pony coughed and slowly began crawling towards a tree. I walked over to them, my ears flicking when I heard something crackle from the robot. ”Three oh four. Do you copy? Status?” The voice garbled. I reached with my magic and shifted aside some circuitry before pulling out a communication device, levitating it over to me. I proceeded to sit on the pony while I flipped it around to see how I could respond. “How do you work this thing?” I asked the pony. The pony gasped, struggling weakly under my weight. ”Who is this? You are on a military owned frequency.” the voice stated. I tilted my head slightly. “Huh, guess it’s automatic.” I said to myself and held it up to my muzzle. “Howdy. Your friendly badass and Triad flank kicking pony Thi Billet speaking. Got your buddy here being a generous one and allowing me to rest my hooves for a bit. Though, can’t seem to say the same to your highly expensive budget wasted not too far off.” I said casually, shouldering my bat. ”Is that so? You truly do live up to the expectations, Thi Billet. Tell that idiot I told him so.” I looked to the pony, who grumbled. “I think they get the hint now. So then. Perhaps you can answer some questions for me.” I replied. ”Oh no, Ms. Billet. You are in no position to ask anything. You see, I have three little ponies here that are just looking quite tied up and very squishable.” My expression darkened. “You’re right. That does suck. Don’t suppose you are willing to negotiate?” I asked. Quiet Fire’s POV “Look out!” I called out, shoving Din forward onto safety as the makeshift bridge of debris began to crumble. I found myself falling, my hooves grabbing onto the edge of the roof of the building. Din peered over the edge and smirked. “Afraid of a one-story fall?” She chuckled smugly. I looked down. Indeed, the fall isn’t fatal. It’ll hurt but I looked back up and frowned. “It’s just going to be a pain in the ass to find an alternate.” I replied sourly. Din rolled her eyes and held out a hoof. I took it and she pulled me up. I dusted myself off and looked up at her. I smiled softly. “Thanks.” Din didn’t meet my gaze and continued to walk forward. I sighed through my snout and followed after her. We spent quite a while traversing the ashen wasteland of Hoofington. I was starting to think that what we were trying to reach was out of our hooves. We found pretty quickly that our combat prowess was useless here when these strange creatures began popping up from the ash. I shuddered at the thought that they could be the ponies of Hoofington taking a grafted form of Din’s magic. They would just crumple to ash, only for another to take its’ place. We had to take a lot of detours to avoid wasting time and energy fending off the creatures, having taken cover in a relatively stable looking building. We spent the next while using the roofs to avoid trouble. We took a moment to rest in a diner, which Din noted was quite “simplistic” as she put it. “Well, yeah. It’s just trying to capture a retro style of an age long before ours.” I explained to her. Din’s eyes shimmered as if a dawning realization washed over her. “So, they weren’t joking…” she muttered to herself in thought. “Vessel, would these places have… crepes?” I opened my mouth to reply when I froze, realizing what she asked. “Uhh… I assume so. Sometimes they do, some places they don’t. I… can’t tell you for sure on this one. The one my family would go to was close by my old home. It was a waffle house mainly.” I chuckled a bit, the nostalgia flowing. “They made some pretty mean hotcake platters. I tried to mimic the recipe once but couldn’t get it right.” Din hummed. “Then I wouldn’t want a crepe from you if you cannot make it right.” She said. I blinked quizzically. “I mean… I can ask the Cakes to help me out.” I stated. “With a little practice, I could probably make one for you.” Din didn’t seem to show any emotion. She looked around the area as if she was reminiscing on something. “Very well, vessel. If you can make a crepe worthy of a queen of her new realm, I would consider you adequate.” She replied. I was a bit dumbfounded. This was strange for me. And it only got stranger when Din had a sudden interest in asking about certain points of interest. She somehow found the concept of a jukebox to be quite complicated. “So, these things play melodies automatically?” She asked. I rubbed the back of my head, slightly in amusement but also quite confused. “Err… technically yes. You still get to choose what music you want. The machine does the rest.” I arched a brow at her. “I figured you’d at least know about it being in my head.” Din snorted. “I wouldn’t call that clutter of trauma and hormones a 'library of knowledge'. One can only preoccupy themselves for so long in the dark and sometimes a queen needs a break from her place of comfort.” She continued walking and I followed her. “We may look through each other’s eyes, but my time is consisting of blocking out a snake and ensuring your muddled mind isn’t causing me my own headache. I will not apologize for my attitude about it.” I tilted my head. “So… you only perk up in interest at the times things were relevant to your ideas?” I asked. “My interests are of my own accord. My knowledge independent of the host. Some call it selective hearing. I call it relevant time waster.” She explained as we carefully stepped around a sunken floor to the exit leading out to the road. “The snake explains a lot of circles rather than the strait horizon. All we could do was act on his strings for as long as I can remember. I only know of the previous time I recall. Which if you put together, is the time during your great pillar Starswirl.” She sighed in annoyance. “And the time when the serpent began to go against the Creation Mother’s will.” I listened quietly as she spoke while we walked down the road. “Call it what you want, but the only ever good thing that came out of time was the chosen seven. The ponies of that era were full of ambition and conviction of paving the way for future generations. My own even inspired Starswirl to make a move against the Highest Evil.” “The Highest Evil?” I asked. Din nodded as she spun and bucked with one leg, shattering a blockade of furniture to get around a high wall of debris from a fallen building. However, she did it a little too strongly and the way crumbled, blocking us off entirely. She frowned. “Perhaps you should help me figure out how to progress. We are no closer to the center of the source.” She stated. I hummed in thought and looked around. I closed my eyes, mapping out the area to my knowledge of what I remember. Unfortunately, I do not recognize the area. However, when I opened my eyes, I noticed something. A pony in an alley, wearing a black cloak. Din sensed what I noticed and looked in the same direction. The figure motioned to us before turning and walking down the alley. I exchanged glances with Din. “Well, we’re too far off from the main road. If it’s a trap, we can get out of it.” Din said. I arched a brow. “Err… are you sure? I’m not entirely sure why we are here of all places and unsure of what we really need to do.” I replied. Din rolled her eyes. “We are to clear your mind of past transgressions so that I can continue with my rise in power that you promised to aid in. If I knew you were this convoluted, I would have picked your friend. At least she gets the reality of this realm.” She said as she started to walk away. I shook my head at this. “I doubt Thi would agree to having somepony like you trying to possess her and the destruction it brings.” I replied following after her. Din tossed her head back and laughed. “She’s no better than I am when it comes to the destruction of everything she disagrees with. She also has the backbone to talk back on unreasonable statements when present company is ‘concerned’.” She grinned smugly. I frowned. “Thi isn’t a monster. She’s just trying to do her best. To be her best self during a time where morals are grey.” I retorted. Din laughed again. “Ahahahaha! That is so rich! You truly think she has the best interest of everypony involved? Don’t lie to yourself, vessel. We share thoughts and can sense it. You’ve taken notice long before the events of finding this damned heir. Just like how you pushed aside the hurt she caused by spending six years away from you with not even a single letter written back. Or did you accept that that’s how she’s always going to be from that point onward? That she is here to truly mend such a tear?” Din turned to me, her grin turning into a disappointed look. “You’ve noticed her actions. You’ve observed how she handles your fellow ponies. Enemies or not, it’s all a means to ‘protect’ you. What will she do when all of this is over? Go back to be a freelance adventurer, throwing her gung-ho enjoyment of thrilling and death-defying moments to be the action hero she has trapped herself in? Or will she hang up everything and settle down and start a family? I may not see the future, but I can see bullshit. She’s even lying to herself about it, but she is at least aware of it.” I was speechless. Din snorted. “When will you start accepting that she is holding you back? If you can accept the fact your ‘best friend’ has dug herself in so much blood and morally questionable antics, then you can accept the fact that this whole city you called a home was damned. The only best thing that has happened to you out of any of this is finally getting the acceptance of that mare you fancied. But…” she grinned slyly. “What’s to say that this isn’t the start of something that’ll sink you lower? I won’t be the one taking the reins when her pretty little head is rolling around at your hooves.” I felt my blood boil. Her smug look was really getting to me now. I stepped forward threateningly. Din scoffed. “Try as you might, little filly, I made the choice of picking you, baggage and all. It’s only fair we share it. Isn’t that what ponies do? Foster friendships? Bring each other up when the other is down? I’m doing you another favor. It would do me well to know you have some appreciation for me sullying my hooves with mortal complacencies.” She turned her back to me and continued walking, motioning with a wing. “I’ll give you time to think about it while we lure ourselves into a potential trap. Of course, I’m going to bail you out as usual. But I won’t be able to do so when the ancient ones judge you for eternity.” I watched her walk ahead of me. My gaze fell to the ashen street. I didn’t know what to say or what to think. What Din said angered me beyond words. But at the same time, I just couldn’t act on anything. I couldn’t believe it myself. Yet, I had too. We are about to hit the start of the next month and we are no closer to stopping the war. All this pointless sidetracking. All this stress and decisions. It was like getting hit in the face with a ton of bricks. I followed Din, lost in my thoughts. We headed down the alley and rounded the corner where we came to a stop. Everything that led up to this point is all for the sake of Equestria. And yet, I’ve been complacent and distracted. The weight on my back grew heavier. Everything flowed back into my mind. The fallout with my family. Table Top being screwed over in life because of my decisions. My failure as Celestia’s student. Thi rushing off to be a national threat to a neighboring nation. Spending six years in a rut of being cheated and ghosted by previous dates and using underground fighting rings and plenty of drink to numb it all. My eyes looked up to Din under my hood. She came into my life without my consent. She made my life a living hell when she began manifesting herself. Her actions coming off as evil and threatening. But thinking about it more, she may have just been sizing up this generation’s will and competence. I thought back to every confrontation I had with her and my friends. Din has been threatening and dangerously chaotic. She caused plenty of destruction. Even created what we are standing in now. Yet, all she said and done; it has always been to protect balance. I still disapprove of what she did with Hoofington, but she seems aware of what she did. All for our sake. What can I say in this situation? To her specifically? I had to accept it. She’s right. I am angry that she told the truth. And I wanted to deny it to protect… Thi? My friends? Myself? I don’t even know anymore. I broke my thoughts when I noticed her staring stoically ahead without so much as a single motion. I followed her gaze and saw the black cloaked figure sitting ahead of us in a chair behind a broken table. We approached the figure curiously but cautiously. Things could get bad from here. And I was right. It got worse. The figure pulled their hood down and my eyes widened. Another pile of bricks were thrown at me. There, looking at us with concern stoicism, was my late best friend from filly hood Table Top.