Canterlot Castle
22:30
October 12, 1196 CE
Day 1
Preparing to investigate disturbance at Everfree Castle
As Matthew Reeves and his team readied for the mission and awaited their advisor, a man in an Air Battle Uniform walked up to him with a tablet.
“Sir? Tech Sergeant Adams,” The airman introduced himself.
“What is it?” Reeves greeted him.
“Sir, me and some of the other techs made a temporary patch for your AdCam fatigues. We haven’t fixed all the bugs yet, but we can alter the pattern of your camo right now; you won’t be able to change it in the field with this patch, but we can at least get you something less conspicuous. We’ve just about fixed the bugs in the system - well, they're more like missing bits of code - and we should be done with it by morning. All the combat teams will be able to use their own camo in the field after that.”
“Great. How long would it take to switch my team’s fatigues to MultiCam?”
“Around eight seconds.”
“Do it.”
The gray digital camouflage pattern on the uniforms of four men changed, the pixels transitioning in color and rounding out to form the distinctive 7-color MultiCam they were used to wearing. Their armor, weapons and accessories remained the same colors as they were before.
Reeves had blue eyes, a light tan and thick black hair that went halfway down his neck, going below what a helmet would cover if he were wearing one. He hadn't shaved since they'd arrived, and consequently he'd grown some stubble.
“Dismissed.”
Reeves went to grab his gear when a dark gray - nearly black - unicorn mare with a messy silver mane and golden eyes approached him. Her cutie mark was a silver-colored quiver of arrows, and she carried a duffel bag in a golden field of magic. He turned his head to face her while he continued to walk.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m Artemis Arrow, the advisor you were told about. I’m going in with your team to assist your mission.”
He sighed. “You can’t just communicate with us from the helicopter?”
“I know you can communicate long distances, but I need to see what’s on the ground to do my best, and I can’t do that from inside one of your war beasts.”
“Got it. What can you tell me about the Everfree Castle?”
As Artemis began to explain, the other members of Viper Team began to gather around.
“The Everfree Castle is surrounded by a moat – well. it's more like a dry chasm now – and the only access is by an old bridge. To prevent incursions from the air - by pegasi and griffons for instance - there’s a magical ward above it that can only be disabled from within. The walls are a yard thick and made of stone. For a structure a thousand years old, it’s in pretty good shape. If we’re going in by air, we’ll have to start from a clearing nearby, then head through the forest itself.”
“What should we expect in the forest?” Staff Sergeant Robert Matsuo asked.
“Manticores aren’t in the Everfree this time of year and cockatrices aren’t either. Dragons don’t come that far south, and when they do they usually prefer mountains or deserts.”
“Oh, so we only have to worry about monsters besides dragons, chicken-snakes with a petrifying gaze and giant lions with wings and scorpion stingers?” Sergeant Jack Caputo asked sardonically.
Artemis ignored him.
“What’s the terrain like?”
“Footing is uneven, but there won't be any climbing. About two-thirds dense vegetation, one-third sparse vegetation, it rains a lot, plenty of obstacles and hazards, some nasty plants. That said, it’s actually unseasonably hot in most of Equestria right now, especially a rainforest like the Everfree. I wouldn’t wear anything heavy if I could avoid it. The only reason it’s cold here is because we’re closer to the ocean and on a mountain. When we approach the river we should watch out for kelpies, since they’re fairly common in the part of the forest near the castle. Juvenile hydras are known to stay in the forest before they grow full size and return to the water. In other words, there are a whole lot of unfriendly beasts.”
“Got it. Matsuo, Mk 48 and a Super Shorty. Caputo, Mk 17 with a standard barrel. Everyone else, Mk 17s with short barrels. Sidearms are up to you.” He looked back at Artemis with a small grin. “In other words, we’re equipping for close to medium range combat with tough hostiles. If you’re coming with us, what’s your kit?”
She opened the bag she was carrying and pulled out a button-down shirt and pony-fitted pants both patterned in what looked like an older Tigerstripe pattern, one that used olive-brown instead of a darker green. After putting them on, she pulled out a black, folding compound bow and a quiver of arrows and slung them over her back. A short sword went into a sheath as well.
“I’ve taken out a Manticore with this bow, and I can hit a target at a hundred fifty yards without much problem. Never killed anything that could think for itself before, though.”
“Well, if you're lucky you won't tonight. Viper Team, gear up, we’ll mount up in five. Artemis, follow me.” He led her to the team’s Black Hawk, which was undergoing final checks by the pilots. “I’ll be back in a minute.” He left her there, and true to his word he returned with haste, carrying weapons and equipment. Sliding open the door, he gestured for her to get in, which she reluctantly did.
“Is this thing safe to ride in?”
“Helicopters have been used in warfare for over half a century on Earth and about as long in civilian use. ”
“Look, I’m not going to pretend to understand half of what you and your buddies say, or that I even know what kind of animals these ‘helicopters’ are.”
“They’re not animals, they’re machines.”
“Right. Just like planets orbit the sun, plate armor is more flexible than chainmail, and owls are actually stupid.”
Reeves just stared.
“Relax, I’m just messing around. I’m just, y’know, doubtful because the whole idea seems impractical based on our technology, so that’s just a matter of perspective. I’m skeptical of a lot of things.”
“Oh. Well you almost made me think you were a kinda backwards-minded individual for a minute there, so nice work.”
“You were cruising for a rusing.”
“Alright boss, we’re on our way,” Reeves heard over his radio.
“Look, the rest of my team is coming now, so I'll cut to the chase. We’ll do the heavy lifting if-and-when we end up in combat, you hang back if that happens. Got it?”
“Got it.”
The rest of Viper Team entered the chopper. They’d followed Artemis’ advice, wearing lighter headgear and rolling up their sleeves to regulate heat.
“Condor, we’re onboard, let’s move!” Reeves shouted to the pilot.
“Copy, engines on!”
When Condor arrived at the LZ, they came to a hover just above the ground, low enough that Viper Team and Artemis were able to simply hop out of the helicopter. The clearing was bisected by a trickling stream whose water occupied only a small part of what the erosion around it indicated it could hold. The team followed it as they headed deeper into the forest. The trees closed in around them, and the humidity made the heat much more oppressive.
The seven of them continued on until their guide signaled them to stop. Running water could be heard nearby. That could mean a lot of things. They continued more carefully from there.
“So, how far to this castle?”
“About half a mile to the moat.”
The group made their way towards the castle in a silent run, approaching a clearing after a few minutes. Finally, the moonlight touched their skin as they came into sight of the ancient structure and took to their knees. It stood upon a plateau, with the only visible way to cross being a rickety-looking bridge.
“Yeah, that looks safe,” Caputo remarked.
Reeves pulled out a pair of binoculars, as did Artemis, while Caputo used the magnification of his ACOG to get a better view.
“Griffons?” Artemis muttered. Patrolling atop the walls of the castle were a few of them, carrying objects she didn’t recognize judging by her confused look.
“So those are a real thing here. They sapient?”
“Yeah, so are diamond dogs, minotaurs, buffalo, some dragons and animals, and a lot of other things.”
“That’s just great,” Raynor grumbled. “More critters to worry about.”
“Don't worry so much about it, most of ‘em aren't in Equestria,” Artemis reassured them. “Although griffons are a warrior race, so you might want to be careful. On top of that, I don’t know what they’re doing or carrying, and I’d bet they’re guarding that castle. I’ve only got five-power magnification on my binoculars, so I can’t really help much.”
“Same,” Caputo agreed. “Sharp vision is great, but it sure as hell isn’t a replacement for optics.”
Reeves grabbed a pair of binoculars and flipped a switch to unlock the zoom and focus knobs, adjusting them as he gazed towards the griffons.
Their fur and feathers seemed to be a mix of colors, perhaps equivalent to different races or corresponding to different birds of prey. Maybe both. They also wore some sort of clothes, a uniform it looked like. Changing the focus, the uniform pattern itself looked like the Belgian brushstroke pattern. Their weapons were FN FAL 50.63s, the paratrooper model. Those were no trouble identifying.
“Things just got more complicated. The griffons are using paratrooper FALs, somehow they got their claws on human weaponry.”
“Maybe the tech got here the same sort of way we did?” Matsuo suggested.
“I guess.”
“On a scale of one to ten, how much of a problem is that?” Artemis asked.
“Maybe a four,” Caputo said.
“Not a big problem, but this definitely complicates things. We’ve been up against worse,” Raynor added. “The FAL is nice gun, but it's kinda dated and hasn’t aged as well as the AK design. On the heavy side too, but lighter than an M14 or a G3. It’d be useful here for sure.”
“Artemis, how sturdy do you think that bridge is?”
“I’d say the weakest part is the rope, but it should be able to hold us all.”
“Alright, I think I’ve figured out the guards’ movement patterns. On my mark we're gonna double-time across the bridge. Three, two, one, mark!”
The five of them moved across the fifty-foot bridge with all the haste they could manage, each worried that the aged passage would fall apart beneath them. After thirty seconds, they’d all cleared the bridge except for Reeves.
The snap they’d all been dreading came, and one of the ropes snapped from the near posts it was tied to, tilting the bridge sideways. Reeves was fast enough to avoid falling to his death, grabbing onto the rope with both hands while his weapon hung on its sling. If he screamed or shouted, he’d have attracted attention from the guards and endangered his team. So he kept quiet.
A golden field of magic interrupted that train of thought as it enveloped him, lifting him up and bringing him to the others, where he saw that it was Artemis that had just saved him. Upon reaching the ground, he breathed a sigh of relief and got to his feet.
***
“Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
Reeves took hardly a second to collect himself from that close call. “Okay, what do you know about the interior?”
“Nopony’s been in there for a long time. I’ve got no idea what’s inside. If I had to guess, I’d say they’re doing whatever they’re doing in the courtyard. Hold on, let me grab a map the Princess gave me.”
She took a map from her saddlebag and unfolded it. The outer wall of the compound was shaped like an irregular hexagon, with the bridge they’d crossed on the southwest side. The northwest side was the only wall that had only a single room separating it from the courtyard within the structure.
Viper team moved along the wall. Their guide was noticably confused when he stopped in the middle of the largely featureless stone wall.
“There isn’t a damned secret passage, we’re wasting time.”
They ignored her.
"Brooks, re-arrange some architecture."
A dark-skinned member of the team pulled out a brick of some sort, sticking it on the wall. He poked a few spots on a small black and white panel and motioned for everypony to get back. Artemis did what he wanted and he took cover behind a large rock, though she was the closest to the wall. A few moments later, deafening thunder slammed her ears, followed by ringing.
“Move in!” Reeves led the charge as his team rushed through the smoke and dust the blast had kicked up. For her part, Artemis fell to the ground and groaned as she watched the humans rush towards chaos.
Quickly, she recomposed herself and followed them in, doing her best to ignore the pain in her ears. Coughing as she accidentally inhaled the fine particles the explosion, she continued until she could see the window to the courtyard, where she leapt over it and hid behind a rock near the others. Viper Team took cover nearby behind fallen pillars in the courtyard. It sounded like every one of the weapons in use spat thunder, and it was especially bad since she was nearby four of them.
Matsuo’s weapon spat extended bursts of fire, with yellow streaks darting out from many of the flashes. The others fired shorter bursts and single shots. For every blast their weapons made, a hot brass object flew from the side of the weapon, a few of them landing on her. Similar streaks flew by their area.
“Raynor, gunner on the east side, take him out!” Reeves yelled.
The masked man pointed his weapon outside and took aim. A couple seconds later, his weapon boomed, and the hail slowed.
“Put some HE in those positions, make sure they’re clear,” He added, gesturing to several locations across the courtyard and atop the walls.
Raynor quickly switched to a strange looking implement that looked like it was built around a drum. Taking aim, his weapon sounded a deep thump, and a split-second later an explosion rang in the distance. He repeated the process three more times before stopping. An eerie silence permeated the area.
“Reloading,” He said, swinging out the drum and pulling out four empty cylinders before replacing them, leaving two untouched.
Another one popped up and aimed a long weapon at them. Without thinking, Artemis drew back her bow and loosed an arrow. The projectile travelled through the air for a split-second before burrowing in the target’s skull.
She didn’t feel much at all for the griffon she killed. Should she have? Probably, since she’d just ended a life. But the absence of emotion didn’t bother her much.
“You look pretty bad,” Reeves said to her.
“Thanks, but I’m fine.” She’d been worse.
"Okay. Alright, what do you think is the source of the spell keeping our helicopter out?”
She peeked out and lit her horn alight, searching for a magically charged object. Everything became gray-tinted in her tracker’s sight spell as she tuned her senses to search for an artifact, save for a statue of an unidentified alicorn that glowed yellow. Searching for other traces of energy, she found a trail that seemed to lead underground.
Blinking hard, she returned her vision to normal, which erased the thin, transparent golden field that surrounded her eyes. Pointing at the artifact, she frowned.
“The statue in the center is projecting the ward. Don’t destroy it yet though, it might tip off anypony downstairs.”
She leapt through the window with her bow at the ready, and the humans followed her. They formed a circle of vision, all of them searching for enemies. A quick use of her spell and she concluded there was nopony nearby. Oddly enough, the humans didn’t light up at all in her vision, perhaps because they had no intrinsic magical signature unlike all living creatures and most objects on Equis.
“We’re clear,” Raynor said. The humans all lowered their weapons.
“Check the bodies for identifying markings,” Reeves ordered.
He and Artemis examined the sculpture as the others combed through the area. Kneeling in front of it, the soldier brushed away filth on the plaque.
“‘This statue stands as a reminder to all, of the-’ It’s too damaged to read. Looks like someone defaced it a long time ago, probably even before the castle was completely abandoned,” He guessed.
The huntress didn’t recognize the pony it featured. It didn’t seem to be Princess Celestia at all; the mane was a faded black and the eyes a pale blue. It didn't match any royalty she knew of, so she brushed the confusion off.
Probably supposed to be a symbol, not an actual pony.
“I found one with a marked uniform, cut the patch off,” Raynor announced. He trotted over to them and let the piece of fabric hang from his hand. “No radios, so any of their buddies might think that their guys won the firefight if we keep quiet.”
The patch read “SOG”. When Artemis saw that patch, she grimaced.
“What’s the matter?” Matsuo asked.
“I’ve run into this group before, they're butchers. The rest doesn’t matter right now. Follow me, I’ve traced path to the Aegis Gate they’re opening.”
The Special Observation Group was officially a group of scouts and bodyguards for hire, but it was an open secret they were a paramilitary force. They were a group that might’ve belonged to a larger entity, or perhaps not, but if they did they were fairly skilled at maintaining plausible deniability.
She’d had experiences with them in the past. Nasty ones she’d always remember. Now things seemed to be in her favor.
Artemis slung her bow and drew a shortsword.
“Alright, lead the way,” Reeves ordered.
The seven of them headed downstairs in a staggered line, Artemis in front. One by one, they descended a spiral staircase into the chambers beneath the castle.
The walls were made of rounded stones and mortar, creating a bumpy and irregular surface. In several places, patches of moss could be found growing on the walls, ceiling and floor. Water dripped from cracks with metronomic precision into small puddles. The only illumination was provided by dimly-lit crystals positioned every five yards on the ceiling.
The passages were damp and quiet, with the occasional skittering of small creatures breaking the silence. The lack of noise only heightened the tension for them, as they became attuned to every sound and movement besides their own silent stalking, which would usually send them into a battle-ready state until they realized what the source of the noise was.
After cautiously proceeding down the eerily silent halls for several minutes, they came to a fork.
“Not sure which one’ll take us to the Gate faster,” Artemis said. “We don’t have much time left, and one of them might be a dead end.”
“Better safe than sorry. Raynor, Brooks, Matsuo, Montes, down the right. Caputo, Artemis and I will take the left. Move.”
They separated and headed through tunnels that wound back and forth, or at least Artemis and Reeves’ tunnels did.
It felt like an hour before they found an old wooden door, through which speech could be heard.
“French?” Reeves whispered.
“…They’re talking about why they’re here. It sounds like the group’s leader is in there, hold on.” She used tracker's sight spell again. “The leader is wearing a red pauldron,” She said.
“How many?”
She glanced around, putting extra focus on the spell to observe with more clarity.
“It looks like… Seven of them. None of them have those large thundersticks, but they do have some small L-shaped objects. The tumblers on the door's lock aren't engaged, so you could just open the door.”
"They're speaking French, maybe they'll just give up," Caputo joked.
“Wait," Reeves interjected "The others found the chamber with the Gate… Brooks says there’s twelve griffons and a unicorn mare that’s powering it up.”
“The mage probably knows something, the others probably don’t. Tell them that, and to smack her horn while she’s using her magic, that’ll knock her out for a while. When a unicorn uses a spell, their horn glows, so they’ll know.”
“Brooks. Take out the guards and capture the mage. Smack the unicorn’s horn while it’s glowing, that should KO her. Out.”
“How do you suggest we do this?” Artemis asked. “Since that’s probably their leader in there, I’m guessing we want him alive,”
“Flash and clear. We’ll kill the others, disable and capture the leader.” He got in position in front of it. “Raynor, prep a flash. Artemis, you may want to cover your ears this time.”
Raynor took a small cylinder from one of the pouches on his chest and pulled a ring from it, holding a lever down with his thumb. Reeves opened the door and his teammate tossed in the cylinder. A flash and thunder came from in the room, and they stormed in.
Reeves and Raynor stormed in and fired two shots each into five of the griffons. Each one had blood fly from their back and splatter the walls, all before they could grab a weapon. Another one fired and hit Reeves in the chest, stunning him for a split second, long enough for the officer to charge him. Raynor fired and took down the shooter.
Reeves took a left hook and a slash at his arm before he managed to draw his knife and drive it into his attacker’s spine. He yanked the blade out and pushed the mostly-paralyzed officer off of him, sheathing the knife and grabbing his weapon.
“Tell what you’re doing here,” The victor growled.
The griffon just sputtered.
“Damn it. C’mon, let’s regroup and bug out. After the adrenaline wears off, my chest’ll hurt like hell.”
The group formed up at the fork they’d separated at and headed back to the courtyard, one unconscious unicorn in tow with her hooves bound. With no pretense of stealth to adhere to, they made it through the eerie passages quickly.
After returning to the surface, Brooks planted a small object similar to what destroyed the wall onto statue projecting the ward. Poking a panel on it a few times, he motioned for the others to get back. After the group retreated, it obliterated the statue in a burst of heat and sound. This time, Artemis had the sense to cover her ears.
A minute later, their helicopter descended into the courtyard so that they could enter, kicking up a cloud of dirt as it descended. They entered the vehicle, Montes shutting the door behind them once they were all in, and looking over Reeves' injuries.
Artemis cast a spell bound their captive’s legs together and sheathed her horn in a preventative ward. Another one ensured she wouldn’t awake for another 24 hours unless somepony cast a counter-spell to wake her.
“She’s not gonna be much trouble now,” Artemis said. Looking around, the humans seemed calm, but not relaxed, most of them keeping an eye on their prisoner.
***
Canterlot Castle
23:55
October 12, 1196 CE
Day 1
The Ghosts’ aerial war beast touched down in the humans’ private wing of the Canterlot Garden shortly before midnight. As soon as the Princess’ Royal Guard informed her of the creature approaching, she immediately headed to the garden to see it down.
The rotary wings of the animal touched down and began to slow, emitting a peculiar whine as they did. The side facing her opened, and the humans piled out, one of them helping the injured Calliope down.
The honey-hued mare stumbled a bit, and shoved off the human helping her with one of her wings. When she saw the Princess, she immediately bowed, though she had a bit of trouble getting back up.
“I wasn’t sure he was telling the truth about you, Your Majesty, but I suppose I was wrong,” She said. “Where am I staying?”
“You’ll be staying in the Castle, with doctors to help you recover from your injuries. The last thing I want is to put any strain on you after your ordeal. My guards will see you to your room.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” A pair of guards led her to her room, while Captain Mitchell and Princess Celestia headed their own way. The two leaders silently strolled towards a small balcony on a cliff overlooking the city.
The marble buildings below them emitted a faint glow, reflecting the moonlight and the light from within the city. Streetlamps, candles in shops, lanterns and lightbulbs in buildings, they all gave it a faint glow of its own, a warm glow of life that contrasted the cold moonlight.
The lights from within the buildings below seemed to go out, one by one as midnight came around. Everypony had stayed up reasonably late, and now they chose to sleep in preparation for the coming day.
“All those ponies down there, living out their lives. Do they really think turning off their lights makes them any safer?” Mitchell wondered aloud. “Like a little kid who thinks if he shuts his eyes, no-one can see him.”
“And we can’t tell them things have changed, can we?”
“No, we can’t…”
They stood there in the cold, still mountain air.
“Tell me something Captain.”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“How do you handle taking others’ lives? Knowing that each death is the end of the world for the individual in question? That they’ll never think, breathe or feel again because of you?”
“… The first time, you never forget. But you get used to it after a while, because it’s what has to be done.”
“I wish I could say ponies are more peaceful, but every day I hear of the things done outside Equestria and I feel ashamed that I did nothing.”
“There’s no reason for you to. You have you hooves full keeping your own country as well-off as it is. Someday you’ll be able to help stop these conflicts. Maybe someday soon.”
“And what of your world? You claimed it was at least twice as harsh as ours was last night.”
“It’s harsh for sure, with every type of environment having some kind of threat to humans. Some of it is because of us, directly or indirectly, and some of it is just beyond our control. And with those problems in mind, remember we don’t have magic, flight or extraordinary strength like this planet’s inhabitants, so almost all of what we’ve accomplished as a species is a result of our minds. But on the physical side, our endurance, shock resistance and ability to recover from injury is absurdly high compared to any other animal.”
He crossed his arms.
“But as harsh as it is, Earth’s more peaceful than it has been at any time in recorded history, even though there are tensions and conflicts around the globe. Knowing how far we’ve come as a species and how much we’ve accomplished in just the last century is… It’s more than a bit comforting after everything I’ve seen.”
Celestia had known from the start that what she had was a very small picture of what humans were like. Judging their species seemed unfair, with the only examples she had being members of a single, narrow occupation.
She’d have to ask about their culture sometime, to see if they had any films, music, or literary works to help her better understand humanity, and more importantly their country.
After all, if a way to return them home was found, it would likely result in a way to communicate with their nation. They would probably rely on stable magical portals being created to bridge their worlds, and with well-adjusted techniques they could be made permanent with relative ease.
But then, that was in the future, and assumed that they could find a link to the humans' world. The only future she needed to focus on at the moment was Equestria's future..
For now, she needed to understand the humans she was cooperating with, to know them better.
“You spoke before as if you had a family,” She stated, a desire to know this particular individual better taking hold.
“My mom died when I was young, and my dad worked long hours as the foreman of a General Motors plant in the next town over. Being the oldest child I was the de facto man of the house and I had to look out for two brothers and a sister. Two of them are married now, and the other one is engaged. We turned out pretty good, I suppose.”
“And you already know about my sister,” Celestia said with some woe.
“It wasn’t your fault. You did what you had to.”
“I hope so. I can’t stand the thought that there might’ve been another way.”
“Eternal night on one side of the world would mean eternal day on the other. The day side would get a lot hotter and suffer droughts, while the night would get a lot colder and plants would die off. The only habitable areas would be where the two met. You prevented an apocalyptic event.”
Celestia had never spent much time considering the longer-term effects of Nightmare Moon having her way in much detail, just the panic, unrest and tyranny Equestria would have experienced. She'd been busy enough with other things for centuries that she relatively had little time except at night, and she'd become more and more likely over the centuries to criticize herself and her decisions than to try and soothe her conscience.
They began going over the mission he’d completed, and after Reeves’ team returned and were debriefed, and their unconscious passenger was taken into custody, they all settled down for the night.
***
Canterlot Castle
04:30
October 13, 1196
Day 2
Scott woke up drenched in sweat. He hadn’t had that particular nightmare in a while.
Inside the castle, he’d been given a room to sleep in for the night. One with an excellent bed, a private balcony, adjoining bathroom, running water, the works. Now he’d soiled the sheets with his sweat. Getting to his feet, he went to take a quick shower.
As he waited for the water to warm up, he tried to clear his head. The “what-ifs” wouldn’t leave, as much as he wanted them to. Finally, he showered before getting dressed and heading outside for early morning exercise.