//------------------------------// // Prologue - Earth // Story: Revolution Equestria // by SeriousTWILEY //------------------------------// The Everfree forest was silent, as silent as ever. Cool night air skimmed the tops of the trees, causing their leaves to whisper and their branches to creak. Moonlight cascaded over the green leaves, the ever present darkness causing the usually vibrant green to appear a dull bluish colour. But below the thick hide of the forest canopy, stillness and darkness held complete dominance over the moon and the wind. Through this eerie and murky quagmire of quiet shadows the faintest sound of eight dainty hoofsteps could be heard. The tiniest gap in the otherwise impenetrable treetops cast a silver strip of light on the dark floor of the woods. The beam of light was interrupted by the tiny forms of two fillies. The first silently and slowly tiptoed (or would have if she had toes) along, her coat was the colour of fresh snow and her pale pink mane waved without a breeze. She lit her way with a faint yellow glow that emanated from her horn. The second was a darker blue, and much younger. Her light blue mane seemed to shine silver in the moonlight, but did not flow ethereally like that of her companion. Also unlike the other filly, she hopped about joyfully and fluttered her tiny wings, disturbing the eternally still air. "Are you sure that we should be this far in the woods Luna?" the older filly asked, her head quickly turning in the direction of a snapping twig. "I told you! I saw it out here!" the other replied as she bounded up ahead of her sister and disappeared into the underbrush. Upon seeing the tiny pony advancing so quickly, the older filly called after her, "Luna! Where do you think you're going!" The blue filly reappeared from the bushes, a few leaves stuck in her mane. "You're such a baby sometimes Tia! Don't you want to see him?" "See who?" Celestia replied. "The hairless metal monkey! Or... wait... maybe he was a Diamond Dog..." Luna said as she put a small hoof to her chin. "What? You dragged me out to see some creature in the middle of the woods and you don't even know what it is!?!? What if it's dangerous!" said Celestia as her eyes widened and she looked back over her shoulder. "I might not know what it is, but I know where it is!" said Luna proudly as she stepped toward a cluster of bushes. "Ta da!" she sang as she pushed them apart. The view that Luna had revealed showed nothing but a small clearing, and a the large mouth of a cave. "Please don't tell me that we're going in there." Celestia said, dropping down on her haunches. Luna looked baffled, "What? How did... he was right here! I swear!" Luna left the safety of the bushes and made her way into the clearing, searching frantically for her missing creature. "Okay Luna," Celestia said with a sigh, "I think that it's time we head home." "But he was RIGHT HERE!!! I'm not lying or making it up or anything!" Luna said, barely holding back sobs. "Shhh... it's okay, I believe you little sister" Celestia said gently as she tugged on the filly's tale with magic and herded her to the edge of the clearing. Several minutes later, the underbrush by the cave in the clearing was disturbed. The rattling gave way to the force of an advancing animal. Out stepped a creature, some five feet and ten inches tall and walking upon two muscular legs. He was clad nearly head to toe in thick steel armor, a shining helm covered his face and a bright yellow feather sprouted from it's top, making his image even more imposing. Attached to his belt was a large sword, now clean but often stained with blood. Grumbling, the creature and his metal apparel clanged it's way over to the mouth of the cave, and disappeared inside. Leon Trotsky Air Base, Archangel, Soviet Union December 28th, 2059 It was a cold day today, easily thirty below. The landscape was a bleak mixture of snow and a few scattered boulders, and the depressing nature of the Soviet countryside was not helped by the fierce winter storm that blew south from the arctic. At the edge of a snow covered tarmac stood two men, both young and tall and both wearing dull Soviet military garb, the taller of the two wearing a long brown winter coat that hung down just below his knees, on his head sat a wide officer's cap. His companion stood beside him shivering as a result of clothing inappropriate for a harsh Russian blizzard, he was clad in a reddish brown flight suit and a simple scarlet beret. They stood in silence, contemplating the storm that approached. "You think that this will slow down operations?" the shorter one said. "I doubt it, our boys have been moving through blizzards like this since-" the other began before he ended his sentence abruptly. The two simultaneously turned to the sound of approaching feet over the whistle of the wind, as they turned they instinctively clicked their heels together in unison and stood as straight as they could as they saw a Colonel and MP approaching them. The Colonel stopped for a moment and inspected the men in front of him. "Kommandant Anon Y. Mous?" he said accusingly "Yes sir" the taller man replied with vigor. "Then that makes you Captain Borris Baretslav" he said turning to the one in the beret "Yes sir" he replied bluntly, the vaguest hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. After a moment of tense silence the Colonel broke into laughter, "Relax boys, you're not in trouble, however there is a General here who would like to have a word with you two". Anon and Boris were relieved, together they had done more then enough shit that was "against regulation" and would have had plenty of reasons to be arrested. Instead of worried they were now merely curious. This part of the front had been quiet for a month, the Russians hadn't even dreamed of making a move since November. Whatever was going on, it was certainly something of interest. They followed the Colonel back down the tarmac towards the base, leaving their footprints in the dust-like snow as they went. Anon stood on the outside of Field Marshall Gramov's door, and he was glad he was on the outside. From the inside of his superior's office he could he the rage filled ranting that made Gramov famous. Old Mikhail Gramov was usually a kindly old fart, which was unusual for a veteran of the Great War. But no mistakes were made when it came to Gramov's temper when it was tested. Anon caught the old man's fit in bits and pieces "You fucking coward.... if you.... balls.... those Crimeans... on their way back to Volgagrad... Leningrad was almost... send your worthless ass to Siberia if I didn't think that you'd surrender to the Russians just to take their dick in your ass!". Anon couldn't help but snicker at the last sentence but he was forced to rapidly regain his composure as a young General trudged out of Gramov's office. Anon managed to keep his best poker face until the receptionist informed him that the Field Marshall was ready for him. Anon gingerly stepped into the poorly lit office of the base's commander and saluted. The room was quite dark, the only source of light was a small desk lamp and the rapidly retreating sunlight that trickled from the closed blinds. The feeble light cast faint shadows upon the peeling dark green paint of the walls. Gramov had his back to the door as Anon entered, but obviously knew who was standing in front of his desk. "Tell me Kommandant, you're no Soviet. Why did you come to this hellhole?" he said without turning, his voice sounding somewhat accusing. It was one thing for Gramov to call Anon into his office like this but it was another for him to be asking Anon personal questions, especially one like this.The fact that Gramov's face was hidden added to the discomfort. Anon fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment before he decided on an answer, but before he could open his mouth Gramov turned around and smirked at him. "Don't worry lad, your loyalty isn't in question. However we do have a series of questions for you". It was then that Anon noticed the shadowy figure in the corner, and at the Field Marshall's request the spectral officer stepped forwards. He was a man of his late twenties, slightly older than Anon, and unlike Anon and Gramov he wasn't dressed in the dull brown of a Soviet soldier but the olive green of an officer of the SSA's military, a General. The man had a sly face that reminded Anon of a vulture, and though he seemed younger than thirty judging from his complexion, he had a deeply receding hairline. The mysterious officer spoke up "Your name is Kommandant Anon Y. Mous, correct?" Anon nodded. "You were born on February 8th 2037 in... [city withheld], [nation withheld]. You enlisted in 2054 in the [city withheld] militia and fought in the American Aftermath with the 35th Air Mobile Infantry. This is correct?" Anon let out a barely visible nod. He didn't like where this was going. The stranger continued "After the Aftermath you put in for transfer, you were assigned to the 41st International Airborne Brigade of the Soviet Red Army after you received paratrooper training outside Kiev, Federal Ukrainian Republics. You then were shipped off to the Southern front of the Russian Civil War, where you served until the present day. This is all accurate information?" Anon let out a "Yes sir" that was barely above a whisper. "Well then Kommandant!" Gramov began surprisingly cheerfully and apparently recovering from his outburst at the unfortunate General who preceded Anon "it appears that it's time to take a look at your future, now I see that you have placed a transfer to the 102nd Airborne batallion of the Siamese People's Army. What? Soviet Union too cold for you?" he mused. "Well no sir" Anon said a tad nervously, "I put in for transfer because things have quieted down substantially all through Europe. NNATO and the ANS have been sitting around twiddling their thumbs so I figured why not head south to help out Asian Comrades against the Chinese?". "The reason, my dear young friend," Gramov said sternly, a slight shadow coming over his eyes as he furrowed his brow "why you will NOT be running off to Vietnam to fight the Chinks, is that my friend General Parsons had a more important and interesting job for you". The mysterious man (now identified as General Parsons) cleared his throat, "First of all Kommandant I want to be perfectly clear about something. This conversation will not leave this room. I don't even want you to mention it to your flyboy butt buddy Baretslav until I say so. Understand?" Anon looked Parsons square in the eye and gave him a calm "Yes sir". Parsons opened a few folders on the Field Marshall's desk and continued. "A few civilian divers in Virginia were at the bottom of a lake, looking for any scrap that may have been left behind after the War. What they found was much more interesting than a crashed F-35, so interesting in fact, that we have quarantined the area and drained the lake. We manufactured some bullshit about an old US nuke that was set to launch from there, telling people it's radioactive. To tell the truth though, we have absolutely no idea what we're dealing with." On Gramov's desk were a series of images, a number of formerly underwater caves. In the first picture there must have been five or six caverns but Anon knew exactly which one Parsons was talking about. Near the center of the image it sat there, sinister, generating some kind of strange feeling of unease that could be felt through the photograph itself. A simple grotto carved into the grey rock by water and wind, and yet so much more. "I see you feel it too" Gramov almost whispered. Anon couldn't take his eyes off the photo, he felt like he knew something about that cave but he wasn't sure. He didn't believe in the supernatural, but just this one, seemingly unremarkable photo of a seemingly normal cave was almost enough for him to question that belief. "What we need" Parsons began again, "Is a team to take a look at this cave". Anon turned his attention from the photos, looking once to Parsons, then to Gramov, and back to Parsons. Surprise and confusion never left his face, "No offense General but it's a cave, I may have a reputation for being a bookworm but I'm no geologist." A small smile crossed Parsons' lips "It's far more than just a cave Kommandant. Don't ask me what it is because I don't know, all we know is that it isn't a cave." Anon continued to examine the photo "Just what makes this particular cave-like entity so special?" he said without looking up. "Well for one thing when you go inside your compass will spin uncontrollably". Now it was Anon's turn to be smile, "With all due respect sir that could mean any number of things, high electrical properties, iron in the rock, really any kind of electro-" "That's not all" Parsons interrupted, "Not just compasses, GPS, cell phones, radios, radar. Hell even fucking watches. Nothing works in there but light bulbs. Not to mention the effect it has on the people who go in there." Anon's heart rate jumped slightly, and the slightest of butterflies fluttered in his stomach. "What happens to people who go in there?" he asked while trying not to sound nervous. "Well it depends on how long they've been inside, ten minutes gets you a headache, half an hour gets you anything from temporary loss of hearing or sight to disorientation, an hour and you pass out. The doctors who examined the men and women we sent in there said that they showed signs of sonic damage. It was like they were having a heavy metal concert blared at them through crowd control sized speakers less than ten feet away and they didn't even notice." That uncomfortable feeling that Anon got when the Field Marshall asked him about his motives returned in earnest. He began to sweat slightly. "Wh-what do you need me for?" he asked, now unable to hide the worry. "Why don't you take a look at some of the other photos in there." Parsons said as he nodded to the file on the desk. Anon approached Gramov's desk again and examined photo after photo. The first he saw was simply a closer picture of the cave's exterior, then came some photo's from inside. "Notice the floor" Gramov piped up "it's smooth, like fresh pavement, which is how we managed to send in a probe, all mechanical with an old school film camera". Anon looked at the photo's closer to the back, apparently the camera had been rigged to take a photo after every ten seconds or so, and for about a minute all that was visible on the probe's pictures was the floor, illuminated by the camera flash. That is, until Anon noticed another source of light. It grew steadily larger for another two minutes or so until what was on the other side became visible. The probe apparently had only traveled as far as this new opening before it had been pulled back via the cord attached to it's chassis, but it was clear that the probe was no longer on the bottom of a dried up lake or inside a cave. It was in a forest, a brilliant forest with a shining sun and vibrant leaves and flowers....