//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Spouting Out Exposition // Story: Borderlands: Rise of Equestria // by Playtindo //------------------------------// "I...don't know what you are talking about." Replied Twilight as she reached to turn the water back on, her hand getting stopped by Maya's. Twilight turned to Maya, who had a very serious expression on her face. "I've seen a face like that countless times. The face of someone who knows something but is afraid what will happen if they reveal it." Said as she released Twilight's hand, "Please, tell me what is going on." "Follow me," Twilight said as she turned away from Maya and walked towards the living room of the library. She took a seat and Maya sat across from her. Twilight took in a deep breath and began her story. "This country has been ruled by a diarchy for centuries, and more recently, a triarchy. But three months ago a warrior-race of caribou invaded Equestria and took over within days. Caribou men took over the social system, Stripping mares of their rights and turning them into slaves." Maya clenched her fist in rage. "Was there any resistance?" Said Maya as she stared at the flat-topped lump on Twilight's head. "Most of the soldiers and guard defected to the caribou, seduced by promises of wealth and glory. They turned on the triarchy of princesses. Enslaving two and killing the third." Twilight explained through a pained voice. "What about that lump on your head? Or those appendages on your back?" Asked Maya. Twilight immediately choked up. "Before I tell you, I'll tell you about the races of our species." Twilight said as she tried to not break down crying. "We call ourselves ponies, and there are four types of our kind. Unicorns, who control magic with a horn on their forehead," Twilight explained as she pointed to the lump on her forehead. Before Maya could ask another question she continued, "Pegasai, who can fly with the wings on their backs," She then turned to show Maya the appendages on her back. "And then there are Earth Ponies, who are born with neither a horn nor wings. And finally there are the Alicorns. They were the rulers of Equestria, with the strength of an Earth Pony, the wings of a Pegasus, and a Unicorn horn." "Wait, Alicorns ruled Equestria?" Asked Maya as her eyes widened from the information she was just given. "You said that they had a horn and wings, which means...." Maya trailed off and looked at Twilight, who looked to be on the verge of tears. "What happened Princess?" "They cut off the horns of Unicorns and plucked the feathers off of the wings of Pegasai to ensure that we wouldn't fight back." Twilight said as she and broke down crying Maya simply moved next to her and told her to let it all out. Twilight had endured the pain of her horn getting cut off and getting her wings plucked. She needed a moment to let her emotions run free. "Funny, I kinda know how you feel." "You....you do?" Twilight said between sobs. "A little bit. The people who raised me never let me go anywhere and were always telling me what to do and what to wear. I almost felt like a slave in my home. I eventually found out they were raising me as a weapon to instill fear in the population." "How could you be a weapon?" Asked Twilight who had stopped crying to listen to her story. "I'm a Siren. I have powers that allow me to do things that others can't." "Powers?" Twilight asked, giving Maya a confused look. "Stand up and I'll show you." Said Maya. The duo got up and walked towards an open area of the library. "You ready?" Asked Maya. Twilight nodded as Maya activated her Phaselock and lifted Twilight in the air. Her mouth hung open as she floated inside the sphere of energy. After a couple of seconds the sphere dissipated and Twilight landed on her hooves. "That was AWESOME!" Twilight exclaimed as she began to ask a ton of question about Maya's powers. The two talked for about fifteen minutes until Maya decided she would head back to the ship. As Maya walked towards the ship she was glad she turned her ECHO on during their conversation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Hello my Subscribers! Gaige of the Vault Hunters here on day fourteen of intergalactic Vault Hunting!" Gaige said as she talked into her ECHO device. Gaige always did a daily ECHO-cast to recap the day's adventures for a universe-wide audience. "Today was a hell of a lot more eventful than the past two weeks put together! And why do you ask that? Because we found a fucking planet! That's right, the Vault Hunters just discovered a new planet! I'll give you guys some details of the planet and then I'll play a recording that Maya gave me." Said Gaige as she hooked up Maya's Echo to her's. "The planet actually has sentient life that speaks English! I'm thanking God right now that we don't have to translate some weird-ass alien language. Maya and Axton went down to investigate, and Maya was actually able to interview a local! I'll play the interview and you can all decide for yourselves what to think of this world!" Finished Gaige as she played the recording. When the recording finished Gaige sat there, unable to process what she just listened to. She then leaned towards her ECHO. "I need to go punch something. This is the Mechromancer, signing off." Said Gaige as she pressed the button on her ECHO to end the broadcast. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Attention crew of the Sanctuary II, you are required to listen to the Mechromancer's latest ECHO-cast. After you have finished, report to the cafeteria and press the YES or NO button. The question will be posted above the buttons. That is all. Half an hour later crew members were hoarding the table that had the YES and NO button. The poll currently was at 214 for YES and 0 for NO. The question was posted above the buttons so that all could see what it was. The sign read: Do you think we should help the citizens of this planet?