//------------------------------// // Prologue, Part 1: Evaluation // Story: The Embassy // by bossfight1 //------------------------------// The Embassy Prologue, Part 1: Evaluation Baltimore Hilton, August 2nd 2013, 9:00 PM With a groan that steadily increased in volume I lurched into my hotel room, tossed my bags to the side, and collapsed into my bed. My legs felt like they deflated as I squirmed my way up the bed to rest my head on my pillow. “Bronycon...” I moaned, my face pressed into the pillow. “Bronies, good... Walking for ten hours, baaaaad...” After spending a minute debating whether or not I should just pass out right there, I rolled onto my back and emptied my pockets. My cell phone, my Horde insignia wallet, my iPod, my inch-thick emerald stone, any receipts that I-- “The hell?” Frowning, I took the spherical emerald and held it up above my head. It was rough, and had a strange, faint glow. Squeezing it in my palm I could feel a deep warmth. “Where did you come from?” I murmured, placing the stone on my bedside table. Sitting up in bed, I pulled out the event listings for the next day.                 -                -                -                -                - The usual mental clusterfucks I call ‘dreams’ were interrupted by an overwhelming sense of mental clarity, often absent whenever I dreamt. Before I could get to the second ‘t’ in ‘what the fuck’, the dream melted around me, and I was left in complete darkness. Oddly enough I could look down and still see myself as though the place was well lit. It was like the place around me was merely a black background. “...’kay?” I made to step forward when a flash of light blinded me. When I finished rubbing my eyes and cussing, I looked up and gasped softly. There, clear as day, was Princess Luna (Heh, ‘clear as day’... you get it? ...You get it-- never mind.) She stood roughly as tall as me, her mane of a pure night sky more breathtaking than anything the show could depict. “...Hello...” I said. I found it odd that I could think so clearly in what was clearly a dream, yet I hadn't woken up. Typically whenever boring old logic shows up, the dream party is immediately and irreversibly ruined. Luna smiled and approached. “Good tidings, Mr. Creed. Worry not, your dreams will resume once I am finished here.” “Finished with what?” I asked, yet she didn’t reply. Her horn began to glow, and she touched it to my forehead. For a moment it felt like my brain was being copied and dumped into her head. As quickly as it started, though, it stopped. Luna stepped back, satisfied. “Thank you, Aaron.” She turned away, and I felt something pulling me backwards. Before I was dropped into dream again, Luna turned back to me. “You should probably keep the stone...”                 -                -                -                -                - Baltimore Convention Center Food Court, August 3rd, 1:00 PM “I goddamn LOVE funnel cake...” I said before taking another vicious bite out of the dessert before me, not caring for the mess of sugar getting on my clothes. “I gathered...” my friend Gabe chuckled, taking a sip from his drink. Gabe and I had only met the previous day, yet we were already swapping Steam names, Twitter, Facebook, just to keep in touch. That’s part of the joy of BronyCon, isn’t it? Actually making friends out of your obsession with a show about friendship? “I dunno, man, I just found it in my pocket last night...” Perking up, I turned and noticed three guys at the neighboring table. The guy in the middle was showing them an oddly familiar stone... “Huh...” I said, powdered sugar flying out of my mouth. “What?” Gabe said, looking up from his phone. “Those guys over there...” I nodded towards them. “That stone they’re looking at? I found one last night in my pocket...” “Where’d you get it?” I shrugged. “Couldn’t tell ya... Did someone slip it in there?” Gabe peered past me. “...There’s another one...” I turned around and spotted the stone in question, and scanned the crowd. “...And another one... and another... There’s two right there...” “What’re they for?” I scratched my chin. “I remember once in elementary school, at lunch they put stickers on the bottom of some trays... Then they told everyone to look under their trays, and the kids who had stickered trays got a prize, like a basketball or something... Maybe that’s the same idea here?” Gabe nodded. “Makes sense... Wonder what the prize would be...”                 -                -                -                -                - Creed’s House, Rockport, Maine, September 2013 “You'll never take me alive, coppers!” Gabe yelled through his mic without any trace of irony as his character poked out of the car window and shot out the front tires of the pursuing police. The car skidded and flipped onto the sidewalk, reducing several civilians to a bloody pulp. As I laughed hysterically, trying as hard as I could not to crash the car myself, Gabe’s character sat back in the passenger seat. “That’s Steelport’s finest, ladies and gentlemen!” “Serve and protect!” I replied happily. My grin faded when I noticed the car glitching between lanes, and the controls became unresponsive. “Laaaaaaag...” I droned through my mic, doubtful that Gabe could hear me. After a minute of irritating lag, the game finally threw up its hands and outright disconnected me. Sighing, I looked to the modem at the computer behind me and noticed the flashing yellow light, indicating a failed connection. I pulled out my phone and texted Gabe. “‘DC’d... Sorry... I’ll get back online... once I finish... beating my modem... with a garden hoe...’” I murmured as I typed out the text. After a minute Gabe replied back, “Actually, I gotta go pick up my sister from school. Let’s play again later. /)” I stowed my phone and spun around in my office chair as I looked around my room. My bedroom was really more of an attic, with a low slanted ceiling I spent many a morning banging my head against. Other than that, though, I loved my room. Space to myself, everything I needed short of a bathroom, and my parents were down in Florida, leaving the house entirely to myself a majority of the time. This house was my little corner of the world. It was on a dirt road in a thickly wooded area, where no religious bible-pushers dared to tread. The quiet neighborhood was well worth the fact that we were miles from any stores. My gaze fell upon the old green stone on my bedside table, gathering dust in the month since I’d come home with it. I stared at it for a moment before standing from my chair, collapsing on my bed and picking the stone up. I rolled it around in my hand, feeling the curved surface in my palm. “Pretty fancy paperweight, if nothing else...” I muttered out loud. I rolled to the side and made to set the stone back on my table. A sudden warmth in my hand made me stop. I peered at the stone and noticed a soft glow emanating from it. “Um...” The glow brightened quickly, and the stone soon became red hot, causing me to drop it to the floor, hissing in pain. Peering over the side of my bed I watched the stone glow brighter and brighter still, until I couldn’t look directly at it anymore. “Okay, this is a little weird...” I said loudly, partly addressing the stone in vague hopes of getting it to stop. Imagine my surprise, therefore, when the glow suddenly stopped. Raising an eyebrow I peered back at it. I barely made a confused “Huh?” before the stone suddenly flashed and I blacked out.                 -                -                -                -                - With a snort I woke up, finding myself lying on what felt like a stone floor. The room I was in was dark, save for a couple lit candles on either side of a door a short distance away. Taking shuddered breaths, I sat up. Where was I? Was I kidnapped? Why? I felt in my pocket and found my cell phone. I frowned; why would kidnappers leave my phone with me? I decided to wait a bit, hoping someone would explain things. I stood up shakily, sweating profusely. “Hello?” I called out. The door suddenly swung open, causing me to jump back yelling “Fuck!!” A brown-haired woman, roughly in her thirties, carrying a manilla envelope and wearing casual business attire, stood in the doorway. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” she said cheerfully. “Would you come with me, please?” “What is this?” I asked, hand on my phone in my pocket. “Where am I?” “We will explain everything, just come with me, Mr. Creed.” “How do you know my name?” I asked, a bit more forcefully than I intended. “What is this, some government-related shit?” The woman shrugged. “Sssssssorta?” She said sheepishly. She stepped into the office-like hallway behind her and gestured for me to follow her. After a few moments’ hesitation, I followed her out of the room. The building we were in was very unremarkable, with plain white walls, dull gray carpeting and an overwhelming sense of “someone, someday, will go postal here”. The woman led me to a room at the far end of the corridor, with nothing save for an empty table and two chairs. The woman gestured for me to sit in one chair while she sat in the other. I sat down uneasily, not taking my eyes off of her. The woman opened the envelope and pulled out a reasonable amount of papers, as well as what appeared to be parchment straight out of Hogwarts. “My name’s Shannon,” she said cheerfully, searching for a specific form. “I’m here to help you with your application.” “...For...?” I said, gesturing for her to continue. Shannon giggled. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you outright. Just fill out these forms...” she laid a few basic forms in front of me and gave me a pen from the envelope. “Don’t worry if you can’t fill everything out, just fill out all the basics and we’ll be all set.” Raising an eyebrow at her I slowly scooted towards the table and began filling out the form. It wanted my name, my date of birth, my hometown, my parents’ names, my siblings’ names, yet for the life of me I couldn’t tell why they needed all this information. They already knew my name, it was safe to assume they knew plenty of other things about me... Eventually I finished the form and laid the pen to the side; my aching hand reminded me that this was why I preferred typing, other than my atrocious handwriting. Shannon took the form, still smiling that creepy-ass grin. “Thanks! Now, Mr. Creed...” “Just call me Creed. That’s what my friends prefer.” Shannon gave a small, happy gasp. “You consider me a friend?” “Um...” Oh, joy. I thought. “I can tell why you were chosen-- oop!” She covered her mouth and giggled again in that “Moira Brown from Fallout 3” way that was getting a little irksome. “Almost let it slip! Now, if you’ll just wait here for a few minutes, we’ll wait for the others to finish their applications and we’ll explain what you’re doing here.” She stood up, taking the forms with her and heading for the door. “I’ll be back to get you soon, Creed!” She shut the door behind her, leaving me alone. I waited about twenty seconds before trying the door; locked. With a sigh I sat back at the table. I sat there drumming my fingers against the desk for a couple minutes before pulling out my phone. It still had a decent charge, but wherever I was, it didn’t give me any reception; absolutely zero bars. “Calling for help is out...” I muttered. Placing my phone on the table I began rubbing my temples, trying to remember what had happened. “Okay... was playing GTA with Gabe... My modem became an asshole and disconnected me... I... fiddled with that rock!” I sprang up. “That rock! Augh, I should have thrown the fucking thing away! I wouldn’t be in this mess... whatever kind of mess it is...” I slouched back on the table; whatever they wanted, they were at least being pleasant about it... On the surface, at least. After five minutes without anyone coming in I started playing Angry Birds, battery conservation be damned. Most of my apps needed a signal, like Steam or Twitter, so my options were limited. After about ten minutes there was a knock at the door. It opened and Shannon came through, still grinning ridiculously. “Thought I’d try not to scare you this time,” she laughed. “Thanks...” I said, warily. I stood up, stowing my phone in my pocket. I wasn’t exactly subtle about it, but she didn’t seem to care. “We all set?” “Yep! Just follow me and you’ll be briefed.” She turned and led me out of the cramped room, down the hall. “...And if I say ‘no’ to... whatever you’re briefing me on?” I asked cautiously. “We’ll send you home, to either think it over or forget about all this. Don’t feel like we’re forcing anything on you, Creed!” “Other than being ripped from home and put in a locked room...” “The locked room was just a precaution. As for the ‘ripped from home’ part, it was the best way we could get you here discretely. What we’re doing here isn’t exactly public knowledge yet. Trust me when I say, you won’t be pressured in the slightest to take part in our little project.” We went through a door to a stairwell, where Shannon led me upstairs. “So, you said there were other ‘applicants’ here...” I said. “Where did they come in? I was alone in that room when I woke up.” “They landed in separate rooms. We felt if you woke up in a dark room with several strangers, not everyone would be... civil, or trusting.” I nodded; I might’ve panicked and decked someone who happened to be in the same boat as me. “Fair enough.” We reached the top floor and entered a large conference room, with a long table and multiple chairs on either side. Only four chairs were occupied, with a few people looking at us like they were hoping we were the ones delivering answers. There was a guy with short blonde hair, a black guy with glasses, a red-haired girl with a sort of hipster look, and a guy with a Smooth McGroove-type beard and haircut. Giving an awkward wave I sat down close to the door. “Right!” Shannon said. “I think that’s everyone! Don’t worry, we’ll explain everything in a few moments. Be right back!” With that, she turned and left the room. After a few moments I spun in the wheelie chair towards the other people. The awkward silence that followed was one for the ages; a few minutes spent twiddling thumbs, clearing throats and evading eye contact. Finally, the blonde guy spoke up. “So, no one has a clue?” Everyone present shook their heads. The guy leaned back in his seat. “Shoulda thrown that rock away...” “Where’d you get it?” the black guy to my right said. The first guy coughed. “A-At a con, last month...” Wait a minute... I thought. “Baltimore?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. The guy perked up and nodded. “Bronycon?” I clarified. The guy opened his mouth to sigh in relief when everyone else spoke up. “Dude, you two are bronies?” The guy to my right said. “Me too!” “Same here!” The red haired girl said. A wide grin spread across my face; maybe this wasn’t such a bad day after all... “I’m Louis,” the blonde guy said. “Derek,” the guy to my right said, holding a fist out for a brohoof. “I’m Aaron,” I said, meeting his fist. “Dana,” the redhead said, scooting forward in her chair. “I’m Colin,” said the guy with the beard so thick you could lose your keys in it. We chewed the fat for a few minutes before the door opened and Shannon entered. “Great to see you all getting along!” She said cheerfully. She turned to watch another woman follow her into the room. She looked to be in her thirties, dressed in a business casual attire similar to Shannon’s, and had a kindly, almost maternal demeanor. Yet it was her hair that almost made my jaw drop. It was ludicrously long, with shades of blue, green and pink, and billowed in a non-existent wind. A very obvious answer was screaming to be heard in my mind, yet for some reason it didn’t occur to me. The woman smiled warmly at us, folding her hands behind her back. “I thank all of you for your patience...” At hearing her voice the ‘obvious answer’ in my mind was now setting off fireworks, screaming into megaphones, doing everything in its power to draw attention, yet I was still unable to clue in. “I understand the means with which we brought you here were... more than a little suspicious, but believe me when I say we could not risk word of our work here getting out. I know you all have many questions, but first I ask you hear me out.” When no one answered, she took a breath. “If I am to explain your purpose here, I will need to show you something... This will prove to you that what I say is true, but it may be... shocking. I ask that you all remain calm, and act in a civil and reasonable manner at what I am about to show you.” If she starts undressing, I’m out of here, my inner joker said. The woman took a deep breath and shut her eyes in concentration. Shannon let out a small cough, “You all might want to look away a bit.” “What?” I said before my whole concept of reality was crumpled up and used as toilet paper. The woman’s eyes opened, revealing a blinding light. I held up a hand to avoid getting blinded, and watched as she raised her arms. A shimmering, high-pitched hum began ringing in my ears as the woman actually began levitating a few inches off the floor. The light seemed to spill from her eyes and begin spilling down her face, all over her body, completely enveloping her. It was when I caught a glimpse of her multi-colored hair that the obvious answer in my mind finally let out a single, piercing scream. Celestia!! The woman seemed to explode in light; Louis and I stumbled out of our chairs and made to duck beneath the table. When the hum subsided, I slowly took a tentative peek out from under the table. This time my jaw actually did drop. There she was; about seven feet tall, her mane even longer than when she was a human, and her very coat somehow giving the brilliance of the sun. This was, no bullshitting, Princess Celestia. She gave her wings a brief stretch, as though she had them folded uncomfortably beneath the clothes she wore moments ago. “I must admit, I’m pleased to see all of you taking this so well...” she said. “We had some nurses on standby in case this revelation was too much for you.” She giggled. None of us may have been screaming, but we were still more than a little dumbfounded. Louis and I hadn't bothered to get out from beneath the table. “How is this possible...?” Dana said softly. Celestia gave a soft laugh before her horn lit up. We flinched at the further display of magic, yet calmed down when a large red cushion appeared at the end of the table. Celestia sat upon the cushion, then tilted her head at Louis and I. Hesitantly we climbed into our seats, not taking our eyes off of her. Celestia turned to Shannon. “Why don’t you go tell the chefs that they can bring the food in whenever they’re ready?” Shannon gave a thumbs up before heading out the door. Celestia turned back to us. “Twelve years ago, my dear cousin, Princess Brushstroke, discovered this world while exploring the dreamscape once explored by my sister Luna. She found the dreams of humans, young and old, and discovered their potential for the harmony that has protected our home of Equestria for millennia. She showed this world to me, and we agreed humans should have the opportunity to become a part of Equestria.” “Yet when we arrived on Earth in secret, we discovered that the human heart, however bright, has a tendency to be surrounded by darkness. We learned of humanity’s... darker aspects; war, bigotry, greed, hatred... I almost turned around right then, hoping to never look back. But...” Celestia smiled. “Brushstroke was persistent. She insisted that humanity could earn its place in Equestria... She learned that for every act of cruelty, there is an act of kindness... Every act of greed, an act of generosity. Brushstroke theorized that, if humanity could be shown what Equestria stood for, it would learn to follow our example.” “Perhaps it was fate when we then discovered a franchise on your world... My Little Pony...” she chuckled. “Brushstroke’s talent has always been with writing; creating worlds that would astound and immerse the reader... We found that... ‘MLP’, as you call it, bore enough similarities to Equestria that we could simply use that brand to create what you would believe is fiction, when in reality it is anything but.” A soft cough caused Celestia to pause. She looked up at Louis, who was tentatively raising a hand. She nodded, allowing him to speak. “Uh, yeah, if you mean the first three generations...” Louis said tentatively. “...You think that... well, to be frank, that garbage, other than some similarities, is like the Equestria we’ve come to know?” Celestia laughed. “I said ‘enough’ similarities, I didn’t say they were exactly alike. And yes, we did observe the first three... ‘generations’ of MLP. Brushstroke felt the first generation was rather... ‘average’, and the other two...” She gave a soft shudder. “Were somewhat painful.” Huh, even the Gen 4 ponies didn’t like the past three generations? Ouch... I thought. “In any case, Brushstroke took on a human guise; a way with which she could earn a name for herself in the world of cartoons and animation...” Wait... I thought. Another obvious answer was beginning to make some noise... “She would obtain the rights to the show, she would show mankind the true Equestria, and she would see how mankind would respond.” It can’t be... I thought. “And when your subculture, the...” she laughed. “‘Bronies’, came to light, we knew that humanity was more than deserving of a chance.” The obvious answer in my mind had somehow gotten its hands on some guns and was firing wildly into the air like it was a Texas wedding. Celestia’s horn lit up again for a moment, then the light faded. “Your fandom was more than just a group appreciating a decent show.” The door opened. In walked a red-haired woman in her late thirties, a wide smile on her face. She walked up to Celestia and wrapped her arms around the Princess’s neck in a hug. She released the hug and turned to us. “It’s great to meet you guys,” said Lauren Faust.