//------------------------------// // The Monster's Lair // Story: My Little Background Pony: New Neighbors // by comicfan616 //------------------------------// Whitetail Woods was a stark contrast to the Everfree Forest; whereas the latter was filled with trees that created a thick, almost light-blocking canopy, effectively darkening the entire wood, Whitetail was home to more deciduous trees, like oak, maple, and birch. There were also several woodland animals scurrying about, not like the fantastical creatures from the Everfree. In short, the overall atmosphere of the forest was peaceful. It helped that, unlike their last adventure, they came to this forest in broad daylight. The six ponies came to a part of the forest that bordered a rocky, almost mountainous terrain. “Is this the place?” Derpy asked. “A slight approximation,” Turner admitted, “but essentially, yes.” “I don’t see anything, though,” Lyra pointed out. “Then it seems we have no alternative,” Turner stated. “We’re going to have to use our heads: specifically, our noses.” Everyone else’s faces became confused. “We know the Krillitanes used some Xaxion fluid around here, and left alone, its… effects can linger for quite a while.” “Hold on,” Vinyl said. “You’re saying we gotta sniff out the worst smell in the history of Equestria?” “If we want to find the missing ponies,” Turner replied, “yes.” Nopony looked happy, but they didn’t argue either. Everyone spread out and started sniffing. For a long while, almost fifteen minutes, there was no report. Many of the ponies started to drift further away from each other. Finally, Octavia caught something. “Ugh!” she groaned. “I think I found it!” she called out. The rest of the group galloped toward her. Octavia pointed in front of her. They were now at the edge of the forest, where the rock walls began to form. They all took a cautious step forward, followed by another, then another. Suddenly, one of the bushes started rustling. The ponies leapt to a defensive stance. The next few seconds seemed to drag until something finally stepped out of the bush: a skunk. It stopped to look at the ponies before heading on its way. As they watched it leave, Bon Bon said, “Well, Octavia, it looks like your comment about the skunk wasn’t totally off the mark.” “Let’s get a second opinion,” Turner interjected. He reached over to his flank, revealing the pouch-like pocket that was unique to his race, and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. As he tinkered with it, he started hearing some odd sounds. “Is Vinyl still retching?” he asked. “To be fair, Turner,” Derpy said, “it is a little weird.” “Weird ain’t even the word,” Vinyl said sickly. “Deep breaths, Vinyl,” Turner said. “Remember what I told you. I will say that you seem to have gotten better about this. Ah, there we go.” He switched the sonic on and moved it around. After a few moments, he settled on another bush, this one against the rocky hillside. “There,” he said, pointing at the bush. “Would someone like to do the honors?” he asked, gesturing toward it. “I got this,” Lyra responded. Her horn lit up in a golden aura, as did the bush. Lyra shook the bush experimentally. “Huh. It’s not even rooted to the ground.” She moved the bush aside. Everyone could now see that behind the bush was the entrance to a cave. “Is this it?” Bon Bon asked. “The evidence does seem compelling,” Turner said. “But just in case…” He pointed his screwdriver at the cave and turned it on. After a few seconds, the rock walls started to darken around the mouth of the cave, almost looking like drops and streaks of water. “What was that?” Derpy asked. “Using sonic pulses to rearrange the molecules to make the colorless liquid not so colorless,” Turner answered. “I think we can all safely assume we found the Krillitanes’ lair without a doubt.” “I don’t like it,” Octavia said. “It’s like they want to be found.” “Quite the opposite, I’d imagine,” Turner countered. “At the moment, nopony, save those they kidnapped, even know of their existence. They’d want to stay as out of sight as possible. And what better ‘Keep out’ sign than a smell that rancid and unfamiliar? “Besides, there’s a strong chance that several ponies are in there wondering what the hay is happening to them. I don’t want to leave them in that situation longer than I have to.” After a long pause, Vinyl, who by now had gotten over Turner’s pocket, stepped up and said, “Let get going then. The sooner we get to those things, the sooner we can make them get out.” She took the lead and lit up her horn, illuminating the inside of the cave. The others followed her. There wasn’t much to the cave, just rock walls and a tunnel that just barely let the ponies fit inside at full standing height. Everyone kept their ears ready, listening and waiting for a possible ambush. Luckily, nothing happened during the first leg of the trip. In fact, their first real challenge was a three-way fork in the tunnel. “Which way now?” Octavia asked. Vinyl tried shining her light down each path. “Doesn’t look much different no matter where you go,” she said. “Let me try,” Turner said. He turned on the sonic screwdriver and pointed down at each of the sub-tunnels, waving it back and forth. Soon, he stopped on the left one. “Let’s try this way.” “Do you know what’s down there?” Lyra asked nervously. “I’m picking up some very strong energy readings,” Turner explained. “And my curiosity never could resist very strong anything.” The others conceded to this point and Vinyl led them down the new tunnel. Again, there was nothing notable about their path. However, they soon saw what looked like a faint light opening into another chamber. “Vinyl, switch off for now,” Turner said. “That light should point us the rest of the way.” Vinyl nodded and her horn stopped glowing. The group continued on until they were close enough to start regaining their vision. “Wait here,” Turner said. “I’ll scout ahead, see if there’s anyone there.” “Why you?” Derpy asked, her voice full of concern. “Because brown coat against brown rock is effective camouflage. I’ll only take a quick peek.” Derpy didn’t look reassured, but she didn’t argue either. With no one else protesting, Turner crept closer to the wall, eventually straddling it. Slowly, he made his way to the end of the tunnel. He cautiously turned his head into the chamber. The light had come from several torches placed along the walls. The chamber itself was small, but definitely intriguing; the entire room was lined with advanced machinery, well beyond what Equestria was capable of at this point. Most of it looked like computers, but a few devices looked designed for a pony-sized creature to step into. Assimilation chambers, Turner thought to himself. The chamber opened up into another hallway, except this one was lit by more torches. There were also several other openings along it, each appearing to have its own light source. Turner looked as far down as he could, but didn’t see anything or anyone. He turned back to the girls. “All clear,” he whispered. He walked into the room, the others following him. They all looked in wonder at the technology around them. However, their amazement turned into apprehension when they reached the next tunnel. The various openings had caged doors over them, indicating they were in some kind of dungeon. Some of them were still empty, but a large portion housed a number of captive ponies, one in each cell. They all noticed that each pony had a set of what looked like manacles, except there were no chains connecting them to the walls. In spite of that, nopony seemed eager to move, let alone try to break out, only looking up at their visitors before turning away. “I think we found our missing ponies,” Bon Bon observed. “What are they doing here, anyway?” Derpy wondered aloud. “If I had to guess,” Turner answered, “I’d say the Krillitanes are getting ready to start the assimilation process.” “You mean that thing where they make themselves more like us?” Lyra asked nervously. “Exactly that,” Turner affirmed. “But what baffles me is what they could possibly want from ponies of all creatures.” “Who’s there?” a weak voice interrupted. It sounded feminine. And familiar. “Turner?” Turner recognized the voice almost immediately. “Twilight!” he exclaimed in a whisper. He ran down the dungeon, looking in every cell he passed. The others joined him in looking. Finally, he found a cell with a purple unicorn. Twilight looked more physically capable than the rest of the ponies, but she was evidently weaker than she should have been. “Turner,” she breathed out. “What are you doing here? Did they get you too?” “Don’t worry, Twilight,” Turner replied. “We’re here to save you.” He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and unlocked the cell door. (Twilight seemed too tired to notice where Turner had produced it from.) As he stepped inside, the five mares approached him. “We just found Applejack,” Bon Bon reported. “Rainbow Dash is here as well,” Lyra added. “Are they… are they alright?” Twilight tiredly asked. “They seem a little tired,” Derpy answered, “but then again, everypony’s pretty tired around here.” “That’s gonna make getting them out a challenge,” Turner mused. “We have to get them awake.” “How?” Vinyl asked. “I doubt even my loudest song could get these ponies on their hooves. Might have something to do with those rings.” She pointed to the “manacle” around the base of Twilight’s horn. “What is that, anyway?” Lyra asked. “Some sort of magic suppressor?” “It can’t be,” Octavia responded. “We saw a ring just like this on Rainbow Dash, only it had her wings pinned to her body.” “Not to mention Applejack had one on each hoof,” Bon Bon added. Turner thought for a moment and glanced outside at the other cells. The other ponies had similar rings on their bodies, and, as the others had noticed, the locations of each were all dependent on the type of pony: earth ponies had rings around their hooves; pegasi’s rings were wrapped around their midsections with the wings folded; and unicorns sported one on their horns. Turner took a closer look at Twilight’s ring. It looked like it was made entirely of metal, save for one spot that consisted of a small, red light bulb. Twilight spoke up again. “I… I don’t think it’s… a magic… suppressor. I can still… still use magic… but it… it hurts when I do.” Turner put the screwdriver up to Twilight’s forehead and activated it. “What is that, by the way?” she asked. “Let’s just say I haven’t been completely honest about my identity, Twilight,” Turner replied. “I’ll be glad to tell you when this is over, but for now, let’s focus on getting this thing off you.” “Do you know what it is, Timey?” Vinyl asked. “If I’m correct, and I usually am, this is an assimilation ring. It transmits genetic code and converts it into data, which is then stored into those computers we found in the previous room. That code then reverts into its original form as genetic information that the Krillitanes use to evolve themselves via those assimilation chambers, also in the previous room.” Turner’s answer left many confused looks on the mare’s faces. Tuner just sighed. “They use these to change themselves.” Everyone then nodded in understanding. “But what could they want?” Turner asked himself. “Horns, wings, hooves… Horns I can understand, but they can already fly, and it’s not like they need to improve on the hooves they have now.” “Maybe it’s not just the individual traits,” Octavia suggested. “Blast it!” Turner nearly shouted. “It’s deadlocked. The only way I can get it off is—!” He stopped when he realized Octavia was speaking. “Say what now?” “What if it’s not just those traits?” she clarified. “What if there’s something beneath the surface?” Turner mulled over the possibility. He whispered to himself, “If it’s not one trait per race, then… something unique to ponies… but what do all…!” Turner’s eyes widened in realization. “Magic,” he finally whispered. “They’re after magic.” “But the earth ponies,” Derpy pointed out, “and the pegasi, they don’t have…” “Not active, unicorn magic,” Turner interrupted. “Real, raw magic, and the ability to tap into it from within. Ponies are practically the only creatures in the entire universe that have the potential to control magic embedded into their very DNA.” “What does that mean?” Bon Bon asked. “I’ve seen magic plenty of times before,” Turner said, “but what most beings don’t realize is that it’s more of a semi-sentient force that can be manipulated through the right channels. Some beings can manipulate it through incantations, some through artifacts, but ponies are all but unique in that you can control it directly. And not just unicorns. “Bon Bon, what is it about earth ponies that makes their food better and easier to grow than if, say, a pegasus tried the same methods?” Bon Bon tried to come up with an answer, but couldn’t. “Derpy, you can control cloud movement and even walk on them, even though they’re little more than untouchable, gaseous forms. Not to mention that your wing-to-body ratio is far too low for sustained flight. How do you explain that?” Derpy didn’t pretend to be an expert on pegasus biology, but even she had to admit that if all of that wasn’t possible for two-thirds of ponykind, then what made ponies like her so special? Turner’s speech was interrupted by the sound of a hoof striking stone in a slow but steady beat. It seemed to be coming from further into the dungeon. The six friends looked and noticed that the tunnel was unlit; they couldn’t even see what was in the shadows. Vinyl illuminated her horn and pointed the light in front of them. A figure was revealed near the end of the tunnel; it looked like a pony, but the rest of its body looked like a mash-up of other animals. It was smiling, and its stance as it stomped its hooves on the ground indicated a sort of slow applause. “Congratulations, my little pony,” the Krillitane said in a smooth yet dark voice. “You figured it out.”