//------------------------------// // The Oncoming Storm // Story: Least Faithful Student // by Dexter Helix //------------------------------// "Dexter," Derpy asked over the intercom, flying over vast stretches of forest to reach fort Bezzer, "How are my vitals looking?" "Hmm? Oh. Heartrate's fine, blood pressure a tad high, RMS magic output fairly steady." "And the transducer?" "All systems are still operating at peak performance." "Excellent, what's my ETA?" "At your current velocity... three minutes, twenty seconds." "Anything coming up on the sensors?" "I'm seeing nothing on your radar, ambient magic is just background noise after the transducer is accounted for, nothing out of the ordinary." "You sure about that? The ranged ticker is throwing a fit!" "I'm not looking at that one, hold on, let me check the profile." "I'll aim right for the source, you getting anything?" "Yeah, a fairly high magic signature. Well above anything I've ever seen. You sure that's not just feedback from the amplifier?" "Fairly sure," Derpy replied, "it's only coming from one direction." "Maybe there is something interesting at Fort Bezzer after all." "I'm starting to worry, Dexter." "I'm here for you. And remember, you can turn around at any time." "But I can't. The Doctor has taught me so much about Elements... I couldn't live with myself if I knew I had a chance to do something and I didn't!" "It sounds like the Doctor is getting you into a big mess all over again. How many more times are you going to be stuck solving his problems?" "But they aren't his problems! Nobody forces him to solve them, he just goes. And he helps. He can't be here this time, so now I'm going to follow his example and go this one alone." "Why can't he help you?" "He won't explain it to me. He just said that he can't. He said that 'he had changed too much already,' by taking me with him, and that 'he needed to fix it.'" "Sounds like a pretty lame excuse." "I don't expect you to understand, Dexter, it's complicated. I just want you to trust him. Trust him like I trust him; the same way I trust you." "If anything happens to you and he doesn't swoop down out of the sky in that ridiculous blue box of his to save you, I swear, I'll tear him a new one." "Don't say that, Dexter. He does his best to save everyone he can, but sometimes he just can't. Sometimes ponies just have to die and it can't be helped. And if that's what happens to me today..." Derpy took a pause and gulped, "There wasn't anything else that could have happened." "Well, he's just full of excuses." "Don't be that way, Dexter." Dexter sighed on the other end of the intercom. "You should be seeing fort Bezzer about now, keep your eyes peeled for the source of that magic signature." "Aye, aye. I can make out the walls, don't see anything strange yet." "Signal's getting stronger, you're definitely close. Let me triangulate the source." "Got it yet?" "Yup, East wall. Something big." "I see it!" "What is it?" "A big white unicorn!" "Celestia? That signals way too high for her!" "No, it's some kind of baddy, this has Elemental magic written all over it. She's even got some kind of perception filter up. I think she's mauve, actually." "Be careful, you're getting pretty close and you haven't practiced combat in that suit much at all." "Combat is fifty percent smarts, Dexter, I've got this." "Yeah, but the other fifty percent is practice. And fifty is still a failing grade." "You underestimate me, Dexter... I'm going in!" "Good luck!" "Whoa, they see me!" Derpy exclaimed, charging a bolt of magic up on her artificial horn. "Ambient magic is through the roof! Watch out!" "Oh, I'm not the one who needs to watch out!" "It's really weird, isn't it?" Twilight asked rhetorically, "I mean, the ocean is frozen over. It's totally pointless. The griffons can fly. They could just fly over the ocean. But for some reason they froze the whole thing. I don't even know how griffons would go about doing that." "Must be those artifacts Celestia was talkin' about." Applejack suggested, "Ah've never heard of anything like 'em." "But they don't just give creatures the ability to do magic beyond their means. They would make a griffon a strong flier, but wouldn't let them do unicorn magic. It's just weird." "You know what else is weird?" Pinkie asked. "What is it now, Pinky?" "That!" She said, pointing at a strange pony-shaped object in the sky, headed straight for them. "What in the hay is that thing?" Oh, Twilight. Hi. It's the Element again. That's just a buddy of mine. Pay him no attention. "I don't know, but I don't trust it, what's it doing?" "Looks like it's fixin' to attack us!" Applejack replied as the strange pony's horn illuminated. "Neither princess mentioned anything about this, so it must have something to do with the griffons!" Twilight declared, charging a bolt of magic on her own horn to match that of the oncoming pony. The unidentified creature responded to the threatening gesture by unleashing a magic bolt in their general direction. It missed the Elements of Harmony by a small margin, blowing a hole in the wall. It was on. Twilight retaliated by firing more bolts into the air, all of which missed. The creature, which had the silhouette of an alicorn, was diving straight for them, casting more magic bolts. Twilight reared up and prepared herself for magical combat. The alicorn-like creature landed on the wall across from them. Twilight hardly had a moment to take in the sight of the strange, metallic beast before it attacked again. She deflected bolt after bolt as it bombarded her and her friends with magical attacks, not even giving her a moment to respond in kind with a spell of her own. Twilight was overcome by the incredible speed and strength of the creature as she began to appreciate the bits of living pony still visible through the suit. Most striking were two yellow eyes, just visible through the visor. The unicorn guards in the base could only watch in awe, they could tell that this was a battle beyond their capability, and even attempting to interfere would probably result in their immediate incapacitation. "She's very strong, whoever she is," Derpy reported to Dexter. Back at the lab, he was frantically looking over the instruments, hardly capable of understanding numbers of the magnitude being presented to him. One-quadrillion is not a number that comes up too often, even in his line of work. "Eh... Keep it up?" "I can almost see through the perception filter now, it seems like it wasn't doing anything other than changing her coat color. She's definitely mauve. Did you know that that's the universal color for danger?" "I think thats red. Just like all the red flashing lights in this room, warning me of all the danger your in." "That's just ponies, silly. Everyone else uses mauve. Hold on, I'm gonna try wearing her down." Derpy stopped assaulting Twilight with magic for a short moment, just long enough for the latter pony to catch one of the eyes behind the visor drift up out of alignment with the other one. "Derp—" Twilight began to ask, before her opponent's mechanical horn began spouting a persistent beam of magic. With little other choice, she matched the attack, holding a steady equilibrium of magical energy between the two of them. Twilight could feel that the machine she was up against was maxed out; by pushing herself near the Element's limit, she was able to shift the impulse back towards Derpy. She was in control now, she just had to figure out why she was being attacked. "DERPY! IT'S ME! TWILIGHT!" Derpy reported back to Dexter. "She's trying to say something now, can you pick it up on the mic?" "No," Dexter replied, "It's all being washed out by the noise of the magic beam." "DEEEEEEEEEERPPPYYYYYYYY!" "Where did this unicorn even come from?" Derpy asked, "I thought we were supposed to be fighting griffons!" "I don't know, I—" Dexter paused, "What color did you say she was again?" "Mauve, that's how I know she's dangerous for sure!" "You're fighting a really tall lavender unicorn?" "No, she's mauve. Definitely mauve." Dexter rested his face in his hoof. "That's Twilight, Derpy" "Who?" "Luna's project. She was giving an Element to Twilight." "Dexter, how many times have I told you you need to be more open with me? Your secrets are getting me into trouble now." "I didn't think you'd just start attacking somepony out of nowhere!" "Why didn't you tell me when I first saw her?" "It just— I don't know, it didn't occur to me!" "Well, what do I do now?" "Um.. I don't know, you have to show her you're friendly... somehow. Try lowering the intensity of the magic beam." "But—" "Look, we've gone over the theoretical limits of the transducer, and I know for a fact that she is well beyond them. If she wanted you dead, you would be. Just try it!" Derpy complied, exerting less magical energy. Instead of being rapidly overcome by Twilight's attack as she expected, she found that her opponent responded in kind, keeping the impulse between them in perfect equilibrium. She kept reducing the power until she could finally hear Twilight. "DEEEEERPY!" "YEAH, IT'S ME!" "WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING ME?" "I THOUGHT YOU WERE SOMEPONY ELSE! MY BAD!" Derpy continued reducing the intensity of the beam until they were eventually both able to stop completely without being obliterated by the other. "What are you even doing here, Derpy?" Twilight asked, slightly exhausted from the ordeal. "I'm here to help fight the griffons!" "Nobody said anything about you being here... How do you even know about the griffons? What's that thing you're wearing? How are you doing magic?" Derpy flipped up her visor and thought for a second, fully intending to answer all the questions in one run. "Nopony knew I was coming, I decided to do it on my own; I have some connections with ponies who are in the know; this thing is called a transducer and it's something I work on in my spare time; and the transducer lets me do magic. Any more questions?" "Yeah... lots. But they'll have to wait for another time." "Princess... Suit..." Rarity interjected, prompting a quizzical glare from Twilight. "Yup, this is what Sweetie Belle was talking about!" Derpy responded, "Not exactly high fashion, but it's... practical." "I'd say so!" Rarity replied. "Ah still have no idea what's goin' on." "Can I ask a question now?" Derpy asked. "I guess so," Twilight answered. Derpy got up close to Twilight, as if she was trying to see something. "It's a bit odd, but your armor seems to be a little radioactive..." "I suppose that would make sense; I just sort of made it out of thin air. Probably just some residual radioisotopes from my sloppy spell work. I know I could do it better with a little practice..." "You mean that you magically fused atomic nuclei to make this?!" Derpy asked, frantic, "You pretty much just proved my doctoral thesis!" Twilight was shocked by what she was hearing, but she was even more surprised by the sudden onset of a hug from the bionically-enhanced pegasus. "But how did you coordinate the neutrinos for the inverse decay?" Derpy asked, tilting her head almost sideways. Only Twilight seemed to have any clue what she was talking about, everyone else's eyes had instantly glazed over. "I didn't have to. I used a self-organizing toroidal magic field to increase local neutrino density, and basic statistics took over from there!" Twilight explained, beaming. "With a magnetic stabilizing field to prevent redundant interactions?" "Exactly!" The two ponies jumped up and down like excited schoolfillies, both completely thrilled to even be having such a conversation. After a moment, Derpy's expression quickly jumped from one of joy to one of worry, as though she had just remembered something important. "You seem to be rather clever, but... An Element? How'd you manage that one?" Twilight laughed nervously, acutely aware that the princesses had just come out of the royal bunker, drawn out by the commotion. "What do you mean?" "I'm just curious, how is it that you're still... you?" Twilight's ears twitched. "Who else would I be?" "Well, not yourself, I would expect. If what I've heard about NightMare Moon is true, I suspect you borrowed Luna's." "Maybe so..." Twilight replied cautiously, "why does it matter?" "Well, that one isn't anything like the Elements of Harmony, there's no protective layer in place. How is it not driving you mad?" "Believe me, it tried. But I held myself together, and eventually it gave up." Derpy's gave twilight a look of bemusement. "Elements don't just 'give up.' Almost three-thousand years of history says that you can't bind to an Element unprotected without being turned into a monster." "But I know I'm still uncorrupted, the coupling frequencies proved it!" "Coupling fre—" Derpy sighed, and began speaking to the air, as though someone invisible were listening in. "Dexter, why didn't you mention the coupling frequencies?" She paused for a moment, as if listening, then continued to have half a conversation with herself. "Of course I would know what it means. Every detail is important, and you've kept getting me into trouble by leaving things out..." "Because the Doctor told me about it..." "Look, I know how you feel about that. Are her CFs clean or not? ..." "uh-huh... uh-huh... I see... Alright, thanks." Everyone within earshot was staring at Derpy as though she had just declared that the Earth actually orbited around the Sun. Applejack broke the uncomfortable silence, asking, "You feelin' okay, sugarcube?" "Huh?" Derpy responded, "Yeah, of course I'm okay... Sorry Twilight, Dexter didn't tell me they did CF scans on you. I didn't even know machines to measure that even existed anymore!" Luna was deliberately avoiding looking at her sister, but she could feel Celestia's eyes burning on her back. The Sun-Goddess was definitely learning more secrets than Luna had cared to divulge, secrets that were going to lead to some difficult conversations later on. "You know that nopony around here is named Dexter, don't ya?" "Of course, silly, he's still in Ponyville! There's a two-way communication system built into my gear." "You mean you can just talk to him, all the way back in Ponyville, just like he's standing right in front of you?" "Absolutely! Normally it wouldn't work over such long ranges, but I worked out a way to boost the signal!" Having listened quietly for a time, Celestia finally broke into the conversation. "I must say, you are quite a brilliant pegasus, Miss..." "Hooves," Derpy replied, bowing. She leaned a little too far forward and almost tripped over herself, but she recovered in time to continue, "and if I may say so, it is a great honor to hear such a compliment from the Princess herself!" "Tell me, do you have any formal training in the sciences? You are very well-versed." "I studied at the Canterlot Academy for seven years, now I research... independently." "So you're a doctor then?" "I'm afraid I never received my degree," Derpy responded, thinking carefully about how to explain why, "due to administrative issues." "Well, that simply will not do! I insist on making you a royal scientist. And you shall be knighted, as well. Surely your brilliance could be put to good use in serving all the ponies of Equestria." "Do you really mean it?" Derpy asked, glowing with excitement. She was prancing a bit, almost jogging in place. "I am very certain that I want you on my side." Celestia added with a smirk. Luna and Twilight made eye contact briefly; they were both aware that it was unusual for Celestia to be endorsing a common-pony's knowledge of the Elements, or any other pre-Equestrian technology. Of course, given how much Derpy already knew, it seemed she had very little choice other than to place Derpy under her own direct supervision. "And you're not only well-informed on science, either, you seem to have quite a handle on current events. Tell me, who is this Dexter fellow you have on the other end of your... communication system?" Luna swallowed hard. That was the question she had been afraid of. Dexter had been her trusted scientific lackey, and she had confided some very sensitive information to him. If Derpy knew this much, the thought of how much information Celestia could extract from him made the night-princess' skin crawl. "Just... some stallion..." Derpy replied, slyly. "Some stallion?" "Never met the guy in person. Mostly communicates through letters, and, lately, over the wireless intercom. I don't even think his name is really Dexter." "And you trust this stallion whom you've never met before?" "Well, he usually knows what he's talking about." "I see," Celestia replied, clearly frustrated, "Well then. As you seem to be aware — more so than I can hope to reasonably explain — we are currently under attack by an army of Element-bearers. Is it safe to presume that you are here to help defend Equestria from the oncoming hoard?" "Quite correct, princess. I know exactly what we're dealing with and came to help as soon as I heard what was coming." "Well, I must salute you for your bravery and loyalty to the state. My private assistant will make sure you are provided with any amenities you require to prepare for battle." Celestia said, sending a guard pony she had at her side to approach Derpy. Derpy bowed again, and thanked Celestia for her hospitality as she walked off, asking her new assistant where she could find someone to speak to about military strategy. Celestia glowered at Luna, and then retired back to the royal bunker to resume whatever business she had been tending to before Derpy had distracted the entire fort. "Am I missing something?" Rainbow Dash asked her friends, "I mean, what did I just see?" "Apparently Derpy's some kind of genius..." Twilight responded, a little dumbfounded herself. "But she couldn't even hang up a banner at town hall without blowing a hole in the roof!" "She is pretty clumsy, Ah saw her trample somepony's garden just a couple days ago..." "Sometimes the smartest of us can be the most absent-minded..." Twilight offered, "I mean, I once went a whole week without remembering to wash myself." "So that's what that smell is..." "This was years ago, Pinkie." "Uh... I think it's now, too." Twilight laughed uncomfortably. "I guess it has been a couple days..." "Seriously, though, Derpy? The mail-mare?" "None of us ever took the time to get to know her, how would we know?" "It's just... weird, is all..." "I won't tell you it isn't weird, I mean, that machine was something else. Even with my new... abilities, that machine made her almost exactly as strong as I was. But stranger things have happened!" Rarity broke back in to the conversation. "Wait, Applejack, do you mean she trampled the flowers across the street from my house? Right after you left, and before she came to see me?" "Yeah, those are the ones, why?" "Did you get any sense of why she was there?" "Said she was lookin for somethin'. Had to do with our little sisters somehow... And she had some kinda baton that could measure magic." "Small, spherical objects..." Rarity muttered, recalling the warning Celestia had given earlier. "Oh my..." Twilight was starting to get an idea of what Rarity had just realized, that Derpy now had an Element too. She could hardly believe it, though. "What? What is it?" "I had a... This thing. A little round rock with bits of gemstone set into the surface... Derpy must've... Wait, Twilight, what did Celestia mean when she said 'you already know why?'" All five of the other ponies looked at Twilight at that moment, and her ears fell back against her head. There was no sense lying to her friends. They had already worked it out. "I... Those rocks... They're called Elements. They're similar to the technology used by the Elements of Harmony, but... They're dangerous. They manipulate the minds of their hosts, and make ponies into monsters." "Is that what got yer saddle up in a bunch two days ago?" Applejack asked Rarity, slightly amused with herself, "Some dumb rock?" "They're not dumb, Applejack, they are very, very, serious. Any pony who binds to them is subject to go mad." "But Twilight..." Fluttershy interjected, "Derpy said you had one. That you took Luna's. Are you okay?" Realizing the implications of this discovery, Applejack added, "how can we know you're not gonna go all NightMare Moon on us?" The others looked at Twilight expectantly, as though they took Applejack's concerns to heart. Twilight stepped back, clearly hurt by what she had just heard. "I'm different, okay? I fought it! I was able to fight it by remembering you! I fought it for you" She began tearing up. "And I still have to fight it. I have to fight it every minute of the day, and it hurts! I just want to give up, so much. Letting it take me would be so easy, but I'm doing this to protect you! The Elements of Harmony won't be enough to fight the griffons! Luna and I did the only thing we could!" Twilight's eyes illuminated brightly as her hair began blowing around her head, causing her friends to inch away. She began speaking with a much harsher tone. "And now you're afraid of me. You think I'm going to be just like her! That I'll try to kill you!" Twilight's sadness evolved into rage as wind began blowing more strongly around her. The wall they were all standing on began shaking slightly. "How could you do that to me?! Don't you realize how much I care about you?! ANSWER ME!" "Ah'm sorry Twi! Ah- Ah didn't mean it! Honest!" Twilight seethed. "LIAR!" She stepped towards Applejack threateningly. All the ponies except for Fluttershy backed down, paralyzed with fear. "Twilight..." Fluttershy said, in the calmest, most soothing voice she could muster, "We care about you too. We were just worried about you. We just want to know you're safe." Twilight furrowed her brow as she processed her friend's words. The wind around her died down and her eyes dimmed. "I... I..." She fell back on her haunches, very disturbed by what had just happened. With some coaxing from Fluttershy, the others gathered around her and comforted her. The nagging pain of the Element faltered, and her mind was clear again. "I'm so sorry..." It would only be another hour before the griffons would attack.