Celestia, Luna, and the duo of human commanders remaining on their feet surveyed the field as the cleanup continued. Nearby, a SEAL stooped over the body of a Marine and pulled his dog tags off, saying a quick, silent prayer before continuing on to the next body. Over to their right, a man in a gray trench coat with a swastika arm band turned over the body of a conscript, and immediately sank weeping to his knees. “Francis…bruder…es tut mir leid…”*
“I hate this part so much,” Webb grumbled, wishing desperately for a cigarette.
“It doesn’t get easier,” Vance sighed. And he had been looking forward to a good night’s sleep after all this, too. Fat chance of that happening.
Oddly enough, a wing rested on each man’s shoulders: one white, one night-blue. “I am sorry,” Celestia said.
“We can guarantee that each one of your fallen will be honored as best as we can manage,” Luna said softly.
“But that is for later,” the Princess of Day stepped forward, eyes turning to the humongous dome-like structure dominating one edge of the field, just off the side of the massive chasm everyone had just spent a night fighting and dying over.
“Ah yes, the elephant in the room,” Vance said, gazing up at the chrome structure.
“Or…big ol’ dome thing in the room, as the case might be,” Webb said smartly.
“I know it wasn’t in any of the battle plans Swarm and I went over,” Celestia said. “Any ideas as to what it may be?”
“Oh yeah, I got a few,” Vance said, scratching his chin worriedly. “I hope to God they aren’t right, though.”
“So, what do we do?” Webb asked.
A determined look in her eyes, Luna simply strode past the trio and started making her way towards the dome. Celestia arched an eyebrow at her as she passed. “Sister, are you sure this is the wisest course of action?”
“Well, ‘tis better than standing around with our hooves lodged within our anal cavities, is it not?” The Lunar Princess replied, not pausing in her stride.
Celestia rolled her eyes as the humans’ jaws dropped. “Did she just say…” Vance started.
“Yes, Luna was always the more vulgar of us,” Celestia sighed, standing to join her sister. “She has a point, however. If it pleases you, gentlemen…”
Staring at each other and shrugging, the humans followed. “Ah, sir,” a SEAL said, running up to them and saluting as they jogged to keep up with the royal duo. “There’s a prisoner who wishes to speak with you.”
“Send him to the dome-thing, I’ll be there,” Vance replied without stopping. The SEAL nodded and dashed off. By the time the pair reached the massive dome, several Marines were already daring one another to touch it, one with his hand just a few inches away from its chrome surface while a SEAL stood behind him, dangling a twenty from his fingers.
“You’re pussying ouuuuutttt…” the SEAL said mockingly.
“I’m not! Just…getting ready…is all…” the Marine yelled back, his fingers closing the distance.
“Ah, wait, don’t…” Luna started when an electric jolt flashed from the chrome to the Marine’s fingertips, sending him flying back into his friend.
“Holy-“ Vance gasped, watching the pair collapse on the ground. “What in the fuck is this thing!?”
The Marine’s eyes rolled around in his skull for a while, then suddenly he bolted upright. “PRINCESS!” He gasped as his SEAL friend shoved him off.
The Princess of Day looked back at the man quizzically. “Yes?”
“Princess…you need to help…voices…” the man’s eyes gazed blankly up at the sky. He blinked a few times, as if struggling with something. “You gave me time before, but I require even more now.”
The sisters’ eyes darted wide open. “Chen!?” Luna gasped.
“Woah, the Major’s bro?” Ramirez said.
“Yes…the Major,” the Marine replied, still lying on the ground and staring blankly. By now, the SEAL he’d landed on had put a fair amount of distance between them. All eyes focused on the man on the ground, watching as his body seized randomly. “…Confused. They’re all so confused. So much pain…please, please stop talking…”
“Chen, is this you?” Celestia asked, motioning towards the dome. “Did you build this?”
“No, am it…had to contain…please, I know you’re hurt, but I can’t focus…please…I need to focus…have to contain…”
“What do you mean? What did you need to contain?” She asked urgently.
“Michael! He’s hurt, very hurt,” the Marine continued in his semi-coherent daze, his head starting to rock around. “Mars…please stop, please…I need to focus, please…”
The man’s face suddenly went blank again, and he collapsed. A few moments later, he suddenly bolted upright. “Jeez-us, did anyone get the number of the truck that hit me!?” He exclaimed.
“What was that!?” Luna gasped.
“My suspicions being confirmed,” Vance sighed, watching as the SEAL from before approached on the heels of a man in enemy uniform. This prisoner stood tall and defiant, his very stride reeking of someone of importance, his chin raised high, his chest thrust out. His regular, gray uniform had been covered in medals, which coupled with his new, still-shining helmet and well-pressed uniform pants to tell the others he’d just recently received a rather large promotion. Vance grimaced. These guys were always SO much fun to deal with.
Webb turned to his superior as the strange pair approached. “What’re you thinking, man!? This could be a trap!”
“Doubtful. His army is defeated and the Princesses of Night and Day are here. As far along as Nazi technology has come, I don’t think they’ve figured out how to disable an Alicorn yet.” Vance shrugged as he took a few steps towards the prisoner. “Besides, there’s a few things I’d like to ask.”
“Like?”
“Like why they retreated. You know as well as I do that Nazi policy regards retreat with the deepest contempt, to be used only in the most desperate of situations. They had us outnumbered and outgunned, so why run? They know something we don’t, and that scares the ever-loving shit outta me.”
Webb started to argue, but thought better of it. Every one of the Captain’s points had been perfectly valid. “I just hope you know what you’re doing,” the paratrooper grumbled.
“That’s a rare occasion indeed,” Vance smiled.
The prisoner approached the pair, striding right past the Princesses before he saluted and extended his hand. “Oberlieutnant Stevens, Nationalsozialistischen Reiter Offensiv Truppe,” he said.
Vance nodded and extended his own hand. “Captain Vance, United Nations Inter-Universal Affairs Task Force. Do you speak English?”
“Not good, but some,” Stevens shrugged. “I want congratulate you on well-won victory. Very hard-fighting. Very good.”
“Your men as well,” Vance replied, honestly surprised at the man’s civility. “You should know that they will be treated fairly as POWs of both the United Nations and of the United States of America. They will be fed and will receive medical attention once we’re back stateside.”
“Thank you,” the man bowed. “Now, to business.”
“Right: I’ve been wondering why you called for this meeting.”
The prisoner’s eyes immediately went to the massive dome looming over all of them. “That.”
“What do you know about it?” Celestia asked, butting in.
The prisoner grimaced, looking over to Vance. “Was talking to American,” he said icily.
“The Princess fought every bit as hard, if not harder, as me and my men. She has earned your respect in every way, shape, and form,” the Captain growled. “Anything you tell me you can tell her.”
The prisoner glared, but obliged, nodding to the Alicorn. Vance kept a smile from creeping onto his lips. You just had to know how to deal with these guys. “You and your men should leave as quickly as possible.”
“Why?”
“Mars had a weapon. A bad one, my friends in lab told me what it could do. To a human, harmless, but to one like your Major,” he shivered. “Could unleash hell.”
Vance’s lower lip quivered, his eyes widening in fear. “And if we do not leave this place?”
The prisoner’s eyes fell. He turned to walk back to the rest of his men under the watchful eye of his guards, trudging along like a man being sent to his own execution. After a few steps, he paused, and with his eyes still on the ground, said: “Then we are all dead men.”
Vance froze, watching the prisoner trudge away. His eyes widened, his blood freezing in his veins as a knot twisted in his stomach. “What was that all about!?” Luna gasped, breaking the silence.
“Oh, they don’t have much respect for anyone except their own and for people who beat their asses in combat,” Webb said with a cocky grin. “Guess which of those categories we fall in?”
“I think my sister meant that last part,” Celestia said, her eyebrows furrowed with worry. “Why did he say you were all dead men if you did not leave Equestria?”
“Because the worst possible thing that you could imagine has happened,” Vance replied. The Princesses gazed at the human commander as the color drained from his face. He turned to them, a haunted look in his eyes. “War isn’t over yet, ladies: if anything, Equestria’s in even greater danger than before.”
“Captain…” Celestia asked, urging him onward.
“Princess, whatever happened between the Swarms and Mars, it was bad. By the sounds of things, Chen had to contain Michael in there,” he pointed to the dome. “How in the hell he built it so fast, I don’t know, but the fact that he even had to tells me one thing: that Michael has somehow fallen victim to a state the documentation on him referred to as a ‘Mass Reversion Status’.”
“And that is?” Webb asked.
“Top secret,” Vance grumbled. “I don’t even know who to ask. But the documentation said to treat this state as a possible XK-Class event.”
Webb’s eyes widened. “Holy shit.”
“And that would be…” Luna said, growing impatient with all the terms and phrases Vance was throwing around.
“The end of the world,” Webb said, his heart racing in fear as he gazed up at the massive dome. “Whatever’s happened to Michael, it’s bad. It’s really, really bad, and if Chen fails to contain him…”
“…then Michael will unleash Armageddon upon Equestria.” Vance finished.
The four beings stood in dumbfounded shock, staring up at the massive structure as it pulsed and writhed, as if containing some horrifying monster or great beast. “That can’t be.” Luna said.
“Princess…”
“In the short time we have known Swarm; he has demonstrated far more character than most do in their entire lives!” The Lunar Princess screeched without warning. “He would never raise a finger against Equestria, not after everything, not after how hard he’s fought to save it!”
“He may not have a choice,” Celestia sighed, a wing curling over her sister’s shoulders. “You heard Chen’s voice: he sounded confused, out of place, did he not? Imagine how Michael must feel.”
“God damn, he might be more a victim here than any of us,” Webb sighed. His large, brown eyes wandered over the rippling surface of the dome. “Makes ya wonder: what must he be goin’ through in there? What could be so bad?”
“I pray we never have to find out.” Vance sighed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Chen opened his eyes.
Please…
Where am I…
Can anybody hear me!?
It hurts…it still hurts…
Chen closed his eyes, trying to focus, to concentrate. But why? What was he focusing so hard on? What could possibly be worth this pain? It must be important, though, for him to be putting himself through this. Just to be safe, he would keep on fighting until he could remember…fighting what?
A red planet flashed before his eyes. “What is that…” he mumbled. More questions. More thoughts. More voices in the dark. God, if the voices would just shut up for a second he might be able to focus…
THAT WAS IT! He could only hear the voices when his eyes were open! That had to mean something! Oh, but to figure out what, he’d need to open them again. And that hurt…
…it hurts so much…please…anybody…
His eyes darted open. The past couple days came flooding back: the battle in the void, Mars’ betrayal, gathering the Elements and the humans together with the Princesses, fighting Mars...fighting Mars…and then…and then what? Ugh, opening his eyes had been a mistake. He could focus even less now with the voices all screaming through his head again. And the sights weren’t helping: that big, undulating ocean before him, like he was in the top of a lava lamp, looking down at the goo running about down there. ‘Oh wow, groovy man,’ as his brother would say, an obvious allusion to his people’s more colorful…
Wait…
His brother! Yes, that was it, Michael! Whatever happened next had something to do with Michael! But how was he supposed to remember that now!? That ocean goo thing was intensely distracting! Although, there was that curious speck down there…
No, he had to focus on Michael! Something…something was wrong…something terrible with his brother. Oh, he couldn’t! He couldn’t focus! What with that speck bobbing up and down…writhing…twisting…cursing…struggling to stay above the surface and remain…
The last few pieces finally clicked into place. The syringe…Mars…Michael losing cohesion…erecting the barrier in time to contain him…tapping into Michael’s fragmented mind to try and save him before his body, unfettered by the chains of a mind to contain it, destroyed all of Equestria. And that bought him to right here: the conscious hive. The place where the thousands of minds that gave Michael his god-like power all gathered, now thrown into chaos by Mars’ last move. Below him, struggling amidst the thousands of minds reeling with the chaos as one, massive sea, was his brother.
“MICHAEL!” Chen focused in on the speck: one little island of cohesion and thought amidst a sea of chaos, struggling to hold on to what little was left of its form. His brother, slowly sinking like a man in quicksand, struggling as the ocean of minds threatened to drag him under. Okay, now was not the time to panic, just had to think of a way down there. Literally: Chen just needed some means of transport to pop into his mind, and it would appear before him. The hive-consciousness was funny like that.
Hive…
Oh no. Of course it was the FIRST thing that popped into his mind, stupid! If only he could focus a little better, he might have thought of a plane, or a jet-pack! Whatever, this would simply have to do.
A swarm of giant bees appeared behind him, flitting about through the darkness and swarming around the man in the business suit. A pair lit upon his arm and stared down expectantly at him, awaiting orders. He only needed to point at the struggling form in the sea below, and the bees nodded and buzzed him towards it. As they drew closer, the voices grew louder. Chen struggled to remain conscious as the thousands of thoughtless, formless words threatened to overwhelm him, make him into one of their own. Of course, that would be rather counter-productive, considering he was the only one maintaining the shield keeping Equestria safe. Without that…without that…
Oh God, it was so much! The voices…the thoughts…the desperation…the shield…so many things lost…so many things to be lost…he couldn’t fail…he would fail…he would fail…it was inevitable from the…
“Chuh-CHEN!” Michael’s voice broke through to his brother. The man still wearing his business suit shook his head, slapping himself a few times to clear his thoughts.
“MICHAEL!” He screamed, the bees buzzing him closer. The voices were nearly unbearable now, but as bad off as he was, Michael was so much worse. He was barely keeping himself abreast in the imaginary sea, his head constantly bobbing under the surface, and what little Chen could still see was constantly flickering and wavering and fizzing about, like an old analog TV tuned to a channel that wasn’t quite coming in.
“I can’t…” Michael gasped, choking out more of the sea as he smacked at it, trying desperately to stay afloat. “I can’t get out!”
“Reach!” Chen wrapped his legs around one of the bees’ middles, leaving his hands free to stretch down to his brother. The voices roared through his mind. He couldn’t even hear his own thoughts amidst them anymore, now lost amidst a throng. “Hurry!”
“Almost…” Michael’s fingers stretched towards his brother, a gloved hand reaching upwards, all of his remaining strength pouring into this final push, this last desperate grasp.
And it was all for nothing. Something slammed into Michael’s would-be rescuer, carrying him off just inches before their fingertips could touch. Howling in pain and frustration, he watched as the sea swallowed Michael whole, his still-outstretched hand the last to slip beneath the waves and disappear. A split-second later, a hand wrapped around his throat and bought him up to stare right into his captor’s eyes. He wasn’t even remotely surprised when Mars’ baby blues grinned back at him. “Come now, daddy, did you really think it’d be that easy to get rid of me? That I wouldn’t think you’d try something like this?”
Screaming with rage, Chen nailed Mars in the temple with a devastating haymaker, landing calmly upon a non-existent ground. Then something wrapped around his arms, and his eyes widened in surprise at what they were. Two copies of the man in the gray trench coat, both sharing the same wicked smile, stared back at him. “Nice try, daddy, but in case you’re forgetting…” the one on his left began.
“…I have always been talented in matters of the mind.” The Mars on his right finished.
“And with the power I’ve acquired over these many months…” the first Mars continued, grabbing onto his shoulders from the front.
“…that makes me a GOD in here!” Yet another Mars cackled from behind, wrapping his arms around Chen’s armpits in a wrestling lock.
“YOU!” Chen threw off the Mars on his left arm with a simple toss. “ARE!” A punch to the rib cage threw away the Mars clone on his right. “NOT!” A head-butt dispatched the one up front. “A GOD!” He completed, throwing the last Mars over his shoulder with a roll that ended with his knee on the clone’s throat.
“Oh really?” The clone asked, the grin widening. “My six-billion friends would kindly disagree.”
“What…” Chen looked up in time to see an army of the clones. No, more than an army: a massive, unstoppable, horde. Throngs of Mars clones, billions strong, all descending around him, landing in a tightened circle. Reacting immediately, the man in the business suit severed the spinal cord of the clone beneath his knee before lashing out, desperately chopping away at the horde, hoping to whittle at the enemy’s numbers. But it was hopeless. Even if his head wasn’t buzzing with a thousand disjointed, confused voices, and even if he wasn’t distracted with maintaining the shield protecting Equestria, their numbers were simply far too great for one lone offshoot to handle by himself. Still, he managed to remain free of their grasp for nearly two full minutes before a pair latched on to his back and front, locking his arms to his sides. The throng immediately descended upon him, wrapping more and more arms around him, pulling him down deeper and deeper into the sea of never-ending, wicked little faces, grinning down at him as once again, victory seemed inevitable.
“No…” Chen mumbled as the faint light in this imaginary plane faded away, blocked by a tidal wave of arms and legs. He had failed. Michael would never break free of that sea without his help, and eventually, his strength would give out, unleashing the apocalypse upon the unsuspecting beings of Equestria. Soon, pony, griffon, changeling, dog and human would all suffer the same fate as the little field outside Coltton. And it was all his fault. He wasn’t strong enough. He wasn’t smart enough. He wasn’t fast enough. Whatever it was, it had all gone wrong.
“Princess…Captain…” he mumbled, the two Alicorns and the aging Marine passing by his eyes as the mob grew deeper and deeper, the light now just a rapidly-fading spark in the distance. He closed his eyes as he sank lower. “I am sorry. I am so very, very sorry.”