//------------------------------// // Book 1 Hello, Explanations // Story: Origins of the Ponies of War // by Tagshadow //------------------------------// Chapter 2 Explanations -- Celestia’s sun had long since passed before the meeting took place. Crystal Shine prepared herself for the coming explanation she would have to give… again. Most of them came on their own having been told about that evening meeting around the fire pit. Others had to be fetched. Crystal Shine had her place on a tree stump beside the fire; the others had to share logs. “Would you mind shifting over a little bit?” Free Thought asked Armoured Command. “Why don’t you shift it?” He growled back. Free Thought said nothing but sat down closer to Tag on his other side. Crystal Shine knew there would many problems like this. There were always problems when a new pony came in, and of course the new pony always adjusted. But now there were so many new ponies, and only one old one. Harrow sat on the log closest to Crystal Shine; he looked around, as the other new ponies bickered and fought about were to sit. “Hey I was going to sit there…” “Does it even really matter?” “But…” “Forget about it, you can sit over here.” The occasional hint of kindness shone through. It was nowhere near the companionship needed to be effective. There was a lot of work to be done. Eventually the ponies had settled down, several of the younger ones looked squished between the older, larger ones. Crystal Shine stood up off of her stump and began to speak. “Hello everypony, as you may remember I’m Crystal Shine. I’m the leader of the Ponies of War, and I’m also your commanding officer. There are a lot of things that I have to explain to you tonight, so I’ll just put it in a list and get started. I will tell you about the Ponies of War, I will tell you about our mission out here, and I will tell you about myself. I’m fairly certain none of you have heard about the Ponies of War. That’s because we aren’t supposed to exist in a manner of speaking. We’re a specialized unit with special training. But the biggest part of this is trust, trust in each other; if we don’t trust each other there’s no way we’ll ever be as effective. So starting tomorrow we’ll be doing training. The reason we’re here. We are here to remove a group of… rebels for lack of a better term. This group is made of a large variety of species; largely ponies and griffins but they’ve also managed to train a variety of animals including a few manticores. They are led by a synthetic alicorn who has taken the name Soladversarius. It has recently been discovered that he has plans to attack Canterlot and go straight for the Princesses in a coup d’état, so we have been dispatched to deal with him. Our spy within their compound believes that we have at least two days before they leave. Admittedly that isn’t a lot of time to train new recruits, but it will have to do. We will start tomorrow bright and early. We march on the third day. Finally, seeing as this unit is built on trust, I should tell you a little bit more about myself. I am Crystal Shine, I am a synthetic alicorn, and I lead the Ponies of War. I grew up beside Rainbow Lake until I ran away from home. At that point I was old enough to join the military and did so. When I heard that they were starting up the synthetic alicorn project I volunteered myself for it. Not too long afterwards they put me in this unit, the only reason that I’m here now is because I survived long enough. Harrow, why don’t you tell them about yourself.” She looked at Harrow as she sat down slowly. Harrow stood up and cleared his throat. “I’m Harrow, I’ve been here for a few months, and I grew up in Manehattan in my dad’s leather shop. He used to beat me a lot, but after one day I had had enough, and beat him. I ran away after that, and so I signed up for the military. After a while they transferred me here. And so here I am.” He sat back down. Crystal Shine looked around. “I think it would be a good idea for us to go around the circle. Tag, why don’t you go next?” She looked at Tag who was sitting beside Harrow. He stood up, taking a look around before speaking. “I’m Tag Shadow… I was a writer among other thing before I came here. I lived in Canterlot but I’ve lived in a lot of other places. I was even in the military for a short time so hopefully it’ll all come back to me as we start this. That’s about it really… I’m not that special.” He sat down slowly looking around; Tigrean seemed to be taking an interest in him from across the campfire. Crystal Shine looked at Tag for a moment seemingly dissecting him with her eyes. “Let us move on, Allko, right?” Allko nodded as he stood up. He stood for a moment as if unsure of where to start. “I’m Allko, I used to work in a lab just outside Canterlot. I was actually transferred over to work on the synthetic alicorn project for a time before… I volunteered myself. It worked of course, and I spent some more time working on the project in the background until now. Of course I’m particularly new to this so I hope I can find some way to make myself useful. I should probably mention that my broken horn means that I can’t do magic so… just keep that in mind.” Crystal Shine once again studied him before he sat down. “Well alright then, next pony. Saren.” She stood up and started speaking almost immediately. “Hello all, I’m Saren, and much like Allko I worked in a lab before this. I really am not sure why they would send a pony like me off to join the military but I was willing to give it a shot, not like I had a choice anyway. I managed to get a masters degree in both magic and technology so, uh, yeah… if anypony needs any help with anything I’d be happy to help” There was still silence. As Saren sat down sighing quietly the next pony got up without bidding. “Hey all, I’m Ardennes. To be honest there isn’t anything that special about me; I’m just a normal mare… or was until I got the letter but I’m sure you know what I mean. Anyway, just like Saren if anypony around here needs a helping hoof with anything just let me know and I’d be happy to try and help.” She sat back down. Harrow regarded her with a raised eyebrow of curiosity; Crystal Shine had a similar look, although it was more guarded. “Next?” She asked. The pony beside Ardennes stood up unsure of himself. “H-hi there everypony, I’m Free Thought… uhm… I’m not really that good at anything but I’m willing to learn… so if…” He seemed to grow tight-lipped. “I’ve been sort of wondering what I should do with my life… so I guess you could say I’m open minded about stuff… that’s it.” He sat back down with an incredibly embarrassed look on his face. In the flickering light of the campfire Crystal Shine noticed Frizel holding back a cruel laugh. The next pony stood up before Crystal Shine could say anything. He regarded the crowd with his seemingly callous eyes before speaking. “I’m Phantasmane, but most ponies call me Phantom… no I’m not a pony, although I used to be, once upon a time. And no, there isn’t a name or a word for what I am now; I’m just a thing. I was raised in a small town outside of Canterlot until I was accepted into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, and I was in between jobs before I came here. Aside from that I suppose I had a normal upbringing.” He sat back down wordlessly. The mare beside him stood up. “I’m Terrabyte, I guess I’m sorta like Phantom cause I was born and grew up in a small village… uh I realize that my name sounds a little odd but that’s because my parents were a little odd… my life was rather uneventful like some of the other ponies here. And I don’t really know how the army found me where I was but I had to come here so, here I am. I hope I can be useful… or learn how to do something useful… or something like that.” She sat down sheepishly, mentally kicking herself for sounding like a fool in front of everypony. With a groan the next pony stood up. “I might as well introduce myself seeing as everpony else is. I’m Frizel. I was in Chestermare before I got that stupid letter. Before anypony even asks yes I am wearing socks and if you want to make something of it feel free to, I wear them because they’re confortable. And if any of you think about trying any funny business I can take care of myself.” She seemed to be looking at Phantom in particular who snickered. “Is that how you managed to get out of those ropes?” He asked through a laugh. Frizel growled and struck a fighting pose, her mouth an inch away from the knife strapped to her forearm. Phantom looked at her with a calm smile on his lips. Before ether pony could do anything a turquoise aura surrounded Frizel and picked her up. She landed back on the log with a dull thud and a sharp exhalation. Crystal Shine was glaring at Frizel with suddenly cold eyes. “This is a military unit, more so this is a military unit under MY command, I will have none of this while I’m in charge. Is that understood Frizel?” She punctuated the question by striking her hoof down harshly on the stump. Frizel seemed surprisingly intimidated and backed down. “Sorry.” She said looking away. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you Phantom, you are not to tie up your squad mates.” He nodded at her slowly. “Yes ma’am.” He said. “Now, who’s next?” “I’m Professor Tigrean. But you might as well just call me Tigrean. I came from Ponyville where I went to school and the like. After expressing a large interest in archeology I was sent to the University of Canterlot, and after that I became a professor at the University of Hoovington. I even found the time to host some of my own expeditions to uncover other ruins. Not to mention being called in for some… other tasks by the headmaster. It would appear that I’m not the only one wondering what I’m doing being forced into the military but my fencing skills were getting a little rusty, and I had been meaning to take up the art again, maybe those skills will find use here. But I do believe that I’ve gone on for long enough.” He sat down seeming pleased with his introduction. The next pony stood. “I’m Armoured Command.” He said gruffly. “I’ve served before and was discharged for cruelty. I’ve been waiting around since then because I knew this letter would come, military runs in the family, it was only a matter of time before I would be needed again, and I will serve without question. And as a word of precaution,” he growled. “I detest cowardice. Acting cowardly is as bad as betraying your country outright.” His statement was met with deathly silence. He looked around one last time, menacing each pony in turn and sat down. There was a pause before the next pony stood up. “I’m Matheniel… I don’t really have that much of a past because… well… I am- or was an arbitrator.” There was a mix of confused and curious silence. “What’s an arbitrator?” Terrabyte asked. Tigrean shook his head distastefully. “Arbitrators are a… an experiment for lack of a better term. They’re bred, their parents being previous arbitrators, and then they’re raised in a facility. They live in isolation, with as little contact as possible so that they grow up with little to no bias at all. After they reach an adolescent age they are put to… work. An arbitrator’s job is to arbitrate, to judge; but what they judge is what leads to a divided public opinion. They judge life and death cases. Every time they make a decision, it is either life… or death for a pony. The idea was that they would judge on a moral compass, with only basic survival in mind, to prevent real world bias from creating an incorrect verdict. I suspect that Matheniel here has never even set hoof outside his facility before now.” He glanced at Matheniel who just looked at his hooves. The camp sat in shocked silence for a moment. “So what you mean to say,” Tag started. “ Is that they are the hoof that either stays the axe, or nudges it forward?” “From a poetical standpoint I suppose so.” Tigrean shrugged. “It’s a fairly new project, only one generation has passed if I remember correctly. There is a major fight between the two sides on all levels from the street to the castle.” Crystal Shine said. Allko nodded. “I think I remember hearing about that, but I don’t understand why they would send one here.” “After a few cases I… began to ask questions. They said that I was becoming too aware, and that they would have to let me go. I guess this was the best option.” Matheniel said unhappily. Ardennes shook her head. “I really doubt that, if you were raised in a facility then really, and I’m sorry if this is harsh, you’re more of a weight on the battlefield.” He winced slightly. “I wasn’t in a position to say anything about it…” He trailed off. “Come on everypony, asking Matheniel about isn’t going to solve anything, he knows about as much as we do so let’s just lay off.” Saren said loudly. “Besides, we should be focused on out upcoming task… the Soladversarius pony.” Crystal Shine nodded to Saren. “Right you are. We are not here to discuss what enough ponies back in the cities are discussing. We are here to take out Soladversarius. We only have a few days to train, and the hardest part is getting started. I suggest that you all get a long sleep because we start bright and early tomorrow. I’ll send Harrow around to wake you all up but in the future I expect you’ll be able to get yourselves up. Go now, you are all dismissed, and no messing around.” Everpony around the fire got up quickly and hurried off to their own tents, Harrow was still beside her. “It would seem we have a lot of work ahead of us. I don’t see much of a point to it though, they won’t survive the attack on the camp.” He murmured. Crystal Shine looked at him sternly. “Don’t say that Harrow. Most said that about you, and you about the others. They… lasted.” She finished looking away. Harrow’s eyes grew suddenly soft. “Crystal, we have to focus on the now, they’re gone. We have to face that fact.” “It’s not them… it’s him.” She said thickly. Harrow gave her a surprised look. “Him? Who?” He asked. Crystal Shine shook her head. “Nothing, nothing anymore. We must discuss the new ones. Let’s retire to my tent.” She got up slowly and trotted to her tent, Harrow kicked dirt onto the fire and followed her quickly. -- Crystal’s tent was not too different from the other tents, only slightly bigger and with a desk inside where she kept important papers and other miscellaneous items. Harrow took a seat on the stool in front of the desk, Crystal Shine in the plastic chair on the other side. “This new group is very interesting.” Crystal Shine started. “Very different. All of them are rather equally spaced out in their own way.” “Unfortunately… and I must say that I’m questioning their judgment this time. It’ll be hard to get them to trust each other, especially the way we need them to. But once again we were both the same way. But what we have to discuss is how we’re going to approach training.” “And what makes you think training will be hard?” “Look at them, well, some of them anyway. I doubt that some of them have even seen a weapon. But I’m especially concerned about Free Thought, Terrabyte, and Matheniel. They seem so… fragile. Saren and Allko are much the same way but at least they’re old enough for it!” “Calm down! Celestia condemn it you’re acting like a foal… commander.” Crystal Shine inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. “Right… suppose complaining about it now won’t do anything to help me in the future, or the past. In any case, we should approach training lightly. Make it seem more like exercise than war. But… the first battle will be hard, for most of them. Hmm… yes… We shall divide them into groups based upon their need for training. Free Thought, Terrabyte, and Matheniel most definitely… we should put Saren and Allko there too. Those will be the ones that need the most training. Next group should have those who haven’t seen combat, Ardennes Phantom and Tigrean. The last group will consist of all the others, the ones that are no strangers to war.” Harrow sat there nodding as she listed names. “Okay then, now we’re getting somewhere. But that’s three groups to train, and there’s only two of us.” He pointed. “Those last two groups are fairly similar, but the first group will need special attention, I shall work with them… they’ll need a friendly face.” Crystal Shine sighed. “But I’m sure that you’re more than capable of handling the other two groups; the second one might need more attention but the third one really only need to refine their moves. I doubt Armoured Command will need any work at all, from the way he look he hasn’t been out of the military for THAT long, Tag and Frizel also seem quite confident in their own abilities as well.” “That works.” Harrow said. “But I wouldn’t even know where to start.” “Start simple; the easy maneuvers and work your way up. Hopefully they’ll be able to take care of themselves by the time we attack.” “Well that seems to take care of that… I suppose there’s nothing we can do at this point except wait.” “Yes.” “I hate waiting. Waiting is the worst part of war.” Crystal’s eye grew distant at the statement. “No… the worst part of war is when it ends…” -- Allko was just settling down on his sleeping bag when he heard a hoof pounding on the ground outside his tent. “Is that for me?” He called out into the dim light. “Eh- yes, I was wondering if you’d mind me coming in for a moment.” He recognized Tigrean’s voice from the campfire. “Sure, come right in.” He called out again. Tigrean pushed open the flap to his head and stepped in almost nervously. He had taken off his vest but there was a beret-like cap on his head. “I’m very sorry to intrude when we I know we should be sleeping but I couldn’t hold back my curiosity any more.” Allko gave him a look. “Curiosity about what?” He asked. “The alicorn project!” He exclaimed, the immediately lowered his voice. “I just HAVE to know how they do it… did they copy any ancient artifacts? Use any ancient techniques? The archeologist in me just has to know!” “What makes you think there is even some sort of ancient… thing involved?” Allko demanded suddenly becoming tense. “I also have a minor in history, that makes me privy to the knowledge of the super advanced race of creatures that came before us. And to the knowledge that they created alicorns before ponies; so I must know whether or not as is my duty to prevent the past mistakes from repeating themselves.” “What are you… some sort of vigilante?” “I suppose one might look at it that way, but I’m serious, this ancient race died out for a reason, and trying to replicate their technology may very well be replicating their own demise!” Allko sighed. “Fine… but not now… I’m very tired and we do have to do stuff tomorrow.” Tigrean put on a pained expression. “Very well.” He said, the disappointment in his voice was fairly pronounced. Allko winced. “I’m sorry but… it was a long ride over and I need sleep.” “No, no it’s quite alright. I suppose I shall see you in the morning.” He backed out of the tent slowly. -- As the Ponies of War settled down in their new camp, as one by one the lights went out, things came to life not very far away. Almost a mirror to the Ponies of War one by one the lights came on within the forest on one side of the clearing. A camp came to life at the same moment the other died. Soladversarius grinned. There was much work to be done. “Sir! Sir! The recon team has returned with word!” He recognized Pitch-Black’s call coming from behind him. He turned around from his small house at the far end of the camp and watched his work unfold before him as even more lights began to live. Their camp was something to be marveled, the entire compound was surrounded by a wall of wooden log camouflaged by miscellaneous foliage from the surrounding trees. On the inside there were several buildings also made of wood. There were some barracks for the various species that made up his army; the largest presence made by ponies and griffons. The other species included minotaurs and some strange black bug creatures with chitin armour. They had a large mess hall to one side and an armory beside it. Soladversarius focused his attention back on Pitch-Black who was quickly approaching him. “Sir, the recon team has a report ready for you.” He said. Soladversarius said nothing. “I’ll just… leave it here then.” He pulled a rough piece of paper out from under his wing and placed it on a table nearby. The metal on his wings clinked together as he hurried away. Soladversarius grinned. Turning around he picked up the report and skimmed over it with his eyes, His grin disappeared. “Do they really think that they can still defeat me?” He muttered. “And here I thought what they had before was their best.” Turning the page he was surprised to find there was even a description for each of his new enemies. He moved over to his small writing desk and read each description with increasing interest. He threw the papers away. “Well if they think they stand a chance against me I’ll have to show them that nopony can beat me!” He jumped out of his chair and nearly galloped through the camp. Pitch-Black looked after him and shrugged. “Hope nothing’s wrong.” He went back to target practice. -- Soladversarius stopped outside the cave without having broken a sweat. Glancing around he could see the little outpost. “Sir! Is something the matter?” He heard one of the guards ask from the little shack that served as the main building. Soladversarius shook his head slowly. “No… everything is fine. But I was wondering about the status on our little friend.” He peered into the darkness, smart enough to not tangle with the creature inside. “You mean how close he is to being… tame?” The guard asked. Soladversarius turned back to him. The guard was a griffon. The feathers on his head were white and at his neck they turned beige, the feathers on his wings were tipped with red. On his back was a saddle-like item with a holster for throwing spears. “Yes, there is something that needs removing… for the cause.” He said. The griffon cast an uneasy glance at the mouth of the cave. “I don’t think he’s quite ready yet. But he’s getting there. Shouldn’t be any more than a few days at this point.” Soladversarius’ smile returned. “Good, hopefully he’ll be ready by the time we make out attack.” He turned around to make back to the camp. “Keep it up soldier.” He stopped. “What’s your name?” “Ettakai, sir.” He said standing up a little taller. “Well then, Ettakai, I think I’ll send someone along to relieve you when I get back to camp.” Ettakai grinned. “Yes sir, thank you sir!” With a last nod, Soladversarius set off back to camp at a brisk pace. -- The night was young and Soladversarius felt good. Things were looking up for him. Entering the camp he waved away the guards. Pitch-Black was waiting for him near his cabin. As he drew near Pitch-Black put a hoof on his shoulder. “Sir… I’m afraid that there’s something we need to talk about.” Soladversarius motioned for Pitch-Black to follow him inside. “What’s wrong?” He asked in a low voice. “It’s… ah… I believe we’ve found a spy in the camp.” “Oh?” “Yes… he was found sneaking out of camp not too long ago. We managed to catch him and we’ve got him locked up. I assume you’d like to deal with this quickly?” Soladversarius nodded. “Take me to him.” He said grimly. -- They had dug out a small cell when they had set the camp down and used it as a cell to hold prisoners. The space wasn’t the largest, but it was roomy for one, it was only the slightest bit higher than a pony’s head. The door was made of thick wood; a small window was at about head height. Pitch-Black punched the door hard and Soladversarius could hear the noise echo into the small cave. “We’re coming in, don’t try anything funny.” He called and pushed the door open. Soladversarius followed, peering into the dim light to see the pony before him. He noticed that dark purple coat. “Hidden Blade.” He said. Hidden Blade’s head spun around; his eyes shrunk when he saw Soladversarius in front of him. “Soladversarius! Sir! I’m not a spy! I swear upon the Forbidden Whisperer with Teeth of Pewter That Seeks the Hidden Pavilion!” Pitch-Black drove his hoof into the side of Hidden Blade’s face with a blow that left him sprawled on the floor. Soladversarius said nothing but watched Hidden Blade closely. Hidden Blade didn’t move, he just lay on the floor making whimpering noises. Soladversarius stepped over to him and knelt down. He put his mouth the Hidden Blade’s ear. “I want to believe you, I really do. What were you doing sneaking out of camp?” his whispered. Hidden Blade gulped but still didn’t move. “I was… was going for a walk… maybe even see if I could catch something f-for the manticore!” He blubbered. Soladversarius cast a glance over at Pitch-Black before standing up; he helped Hidden Blade to his feet. “Come now, it was just a misunderstanding. We’ll get this cleared up.” “Thank you sir, I ju-“ A loud snapping noise reverberated around the dim cave and Hidden Blade fell to the ground screaming. His hind leg was bent at a sickening angle. Soladversarius said nothing as Hidden Blade flailed around screaming. There was another crack. And another. And there was a fourth crunch. Hidden Blade was reduced to a sniveling, convulsing mess. “B-ut sur… you said i-“ He slurred out only to be interrupted as he vomited onto the floor. “I SAID it was a MSUNDERSTANDING” Soladversarius said raising his voice. “And I THINK that you MISUNDERSTOOD that we DO NOT TOLERATE that kind of CONDUCT!” He repeatedly kicked Hidden Blade cruelly. He stopped when Pitch-Black returned with a torch balanced on one metal wing, and a small container of pine resin on the other. Soladversarius smiled cruelly at the broken, bloody mess that was once a pony. Pitch-Black dropped both the torch and the container onto Hidden Blade. Both ponies retreated out of the cave as Hidden Blade found the energy to start screaming again as Pitch-Black shut the door. A small group had gathered around the entrance and watched curiously. Soladversarius raised his head and returned every stare. “This, this is what we do to traitors!” He called out. He could see the odd hint of fear in the eyes of his followers. The group eventually went back to their stations. Soladversarius looked over to Pitch-Black. “Bury him. I’ll be in my cabin.” -- Soladversarius entered his cabin; he could see there was a steaming meal on the table. He sat down and prepared to eat. “I think you ended it a little too quickly, don’t you?” He looked upward. A lithe earthpony mare with a very dark green coat and a voluptuous dark yellow mane sat in the chair across from him, she watched him contentedly through her bright red eyes. She sat with laidback posture with a manicured hind leg propped up on the table; her hooftips were painted red. Soladversarius ate. “Hidden Blade?” He asked flippantly. “Yes… of course he had to be punished. There is no room for traitors here. The legs were understandable, symbolic even. But fire seems a little… odd.” He stopped eating and looked at her. “What makes you say that?” He asked, resuming his eating. “Was he not broken?” “I had to make an example of him.” “Was he not made an example of?” “I rule with an iron hoof!” “The way you killed him quickly, one would think it was a hoof made of cotton.” Soladversarius slammed his hoof on the table. “Who are you to tell me otherwise!?” He shouted. “I’m not telling, I’m suggesting.” “Well I suggest you stop suggesting things before I tell my guards to remove you.” She shrugged. “Fine. But I still say the fire was odd.” “Why must you bring that up?” He asked rubbing the side of his head. She stood up and walked to the door, she stopped next to him. “You tell me, Mr. Alicorn Leader.” She said poking his horn. Soladversarius gasped as sudden pain seized his head. The noise of bone grating against bone echoed inside his skull; it continued, and as it did so the sound morphed. It sounded so familiar, close yet distant; it was the sound of death. Soladversarius fought through the pain and stood up holding his head with a hoof. He looked around the room; she was gone. “Guards!” He called. A griffin entered carrying a spear in one of his talons. “Sir!” He said saluting. Soladversarius pointed to the door. “Get the mare that just left. I need to speak with her.” The griffin hesitated. “ GO!” He quickly saluted again and ran into the night. Soladversarius grimaced again as another wave of pain flowed through him. He stumbled over to his bed and collapsed.