//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: My Little Pony: Twilight's Requiem // by Pika53 //------------------------------// Chapter #3: Sitting in a corner of the Ponyville library once again, Jaden reflected on how bizarre the situation he was in had become. Shortly after returning to town, the group had stumbled across the unconscious forms of the rest of Twilight’s friends near the town square and had spent a considerable amount of time dragging them to the library. Upon regaining conscious, introductions were made and Twilight began telling the group what had happened. Trixie meanwhile, had cared little for the conversation and had wandered off. Tess however, was only half listening as she browsed through a nearby book shelf. “So how long have you been a guard?” he asked. “Three months.” Tess replied, turning away from the book shelf and sitting down next to him. Jaden nodded thoughtfully. “So, what do you do?” she asked. “Well, in addition to studying at a local university back home I work for my uncle’s air charter service.” Jaden answered. “As you can probably guess, we humans can't fly by ourselves; we don't have wings and such. Anyway, some time ago, two brothers built a machine that could fly, called a ‘plane’. Ever since then, people have been inventing better and better planes. But, they have to go forwards fast to take off.” he continued. Looking on, Jaden couldn’t help but smirk as Tess mulled the information over; cocking her head to the side in the same manner that Twilight did when she was highly curious about something. “So, what do you use as currency here?” he asked. “These… they're called Bits.” Tess answered handing him a small golden coin. Accepting the coin, Jaden looked it over; a picture of Celestia's head on one side, and what he presumed to be her sister Luna's on the over. He handed it back. “So…” he said, stuck for more questions. “What do you use for currency, in your world?” Tess asked. Jaden sighed. His world was more complicated than theirs. “Well, there are lots of different lands called countries, each with a different ruler. Usually each country has a different currency. Where I'm from, America, it's called Dollars.” Tess thought this over before responding. “That's a bit like here. The Griffons use a different currency, and they have a different ruler.” Jaden thought this over as silence fell between them. “You’re cybernetic aren’t you?” he commented after a pause. Tess began to fidget as she stammered a load of nonsense for a moment. Jaden nodded in polite understanding as silence fell between them once again. “While it’s true that a lot about my past is a mystery, I know I’m dedicated to serve and protect the princess in whatever way possible… that’s why it was so hard to comprehend what was happening back there.” Tess spoke up sadly after an extended pause. Jaden nodded in polite understanding as silence fell between them once again. “Believe it or not, I’ve received substantial training from the Captain of the Guard. A stallion named Shining Armor. I know he has a younger sister and have been interested in meeting her for some time now.” Tess said after another pause. Jaden thought this over before speaking. “Well, it seems you’ve already met her.” Tess cocked an eyebrow; a curious look crossing her face. “Twi’s his younger sister.” Jaden said casting a glance toward the mare in question; Tess following his gaze. “And you would know this how?” she asked, turning back to him. “You wouldn't believe me if I told ya.” Jaden replied. Tess continued to stare at him intrigued. “What are your feelings regarding paradoxes?” he asked suddenly. Tess blinked at him. “Paradox… that’s a statement or group of statements that contradict one another.” she remarked. Jaden grinned at the directory-esque answer. “I remember Princess Celestia casting a spell on me shortly after I first awoke. I suppose it was a protection spell of some sort.” “Migraines’?” he asked. “The worst!” Tess groaned, waving a hoof in the air for emphasis. Jaden couldn't hold his amusement in and laughed. “Bye the way, what is that thing anyway?” Tess asked, pointing at his holstered sidearm with a hoof. “As I explained to the others earlier, this is basically a device that blows holes in things.” Jaden replied, pulling the weapon out of its holster. “It’s a Springfield XD Tactical Pistol; 9mm semi-automatic with a sixteen round magazine. It’s useful at short to medium range against human-sized living targets.” he continued. Tess nodded thoughtfully. “You seem very knowledgeable in these things.” she remarked. “I learned a lot from my uncle.” Jaden replied, holstering the weapon. Tess nodded again before speaking. “So, what’s that one?” She pointed to Jaden’s rifle with a hoof. “This is an M-4 Carbine. It fires a 5.56mm projectile with a thirty round magazine and a rate of fire of about 700 to 950 rounds a minute with an effective range of 500 meters.” Jaden said pulling the weapon around for a better view. Tess nodded thoughtfully. “What’s this one then?” Jaden studied the weapon Tess had selected for herself from the armory closely. The weapon looked vaguely like an MP5. However, a yoke-like object that draped across a pony’s shoulders connected to the device where the stock would be. The trigger mechanism meanwhile, appeared to be some sort of tag-like object that connected a wire of some kind between the device and the mouth of the pony wearing it. Most of the other functions such as the safety, magazine port, and fire-select controls had also been adapted for easy manipulation by hoof. Curiously, the wire setup didn't seem to affect speech very much. “If I had to guess… I’d say that was an MP5… MP5K.” Jaden replied. “Again, it’s a 9mm with a thirty round magazine. It’s also got a rate of fire of about 900 rounds a minute and an effective range of 100 meters.” he continued. Tess nodded thoughtfully once again as Trixie appeared at the top of the stairs leading to the basement. Looking on, Jaden noted that although the showmare appeared to be outwardly just as indifferent as before, something had her spooked. Exchanging another glance, Jaden quickly walked over to the stairs and made his way down into the basement. Upon entering the basement proper, he noted that things were not the same as they were when he’d first visited the area. For one thing, the ornamental grate he’d seen earlier had been moved to the side. Cautiously, he made his way over to investigate further. Peering into the hole, Jaden observed a nearly-bottomless darkness. Glancing around, he noted that nearby lay the remains of two mutilated ponies. Walking over, Jaden crouched down to better assess the ponies injuries. One pony, a stallion by the looks of it, lay sprawled out on its side and appeared to be eviscerated. Glancing at the creature’s head, Jaden noted that its right eye had been ripped out, the veins hanging out the pony's eye socket; the left was a ghostly white. Beside it lay a mare with a large chunk taken out of its throat. Both ponies appeared to be partially eaten. Standing up, Jaden shook his head and quickly walked back toward the exit. As he did so, a million questions raced through his head. Chief among them… where had the slain ponies come from?, what happened to them and why hadn’t he seen them during his initial search?, where were they really?, why would someone go to all the trouble to create a replica of the land of the ponies?, what was going on? As he made his way up the stairs, Jaden didn’t have any answers. One thing he knew was that they had to get out of town; fast. It was no longer safe here. He also had a sickening hunch that he knew what the weapons were for; he only hoped they hadn’t made a mistake by leaving most of the gear stashed beside a large oak tree just outside town. Tess immediately cocked an eyebrow as he reentered the common area. “Problem?” she asked softly. “Just met a couple of the locals. Seems one doesn’t have the guts to do much while the other’s tryin’ to get ahead.” Jaden replied briskly; checking to see just how much ammo he had on him. After a moment of hesitation, Tess followed his example. Jaden quickly came up with nine magazines for his rifle and the initial six magazines for the pistol. That averaged about 270 rounds for the rifle, 96 rounds for the handgun and a dozen grenade rounds. Tess reported similar findings and Jaden hopped it was enough as he caught Trixie’s anxious gaze. Turning, Jaden raised his voice as he addressed the rest of the group. “Excuse me, ladies. I hate to break up the love fest before it gets well and truly outta hoof… but we’ve gotta go.” A series of blank stares was the only response he received so Jaden spent the next five minutes ushering the ponies out the door. After the group had settled down and was moving in the proper direction along the streets, Jaden began to calm down. As they traveled, Jaden was pleased to note that Tess was taking point five yards in front of him. Her gaze darting around the area; searching for threats. She was learning quickly. He was actually two yards ahead of the main group who were completely confused by what was happening. He couldn’t blame them; this was a situation completely foreign to any of them. The group soon arrived near the town square when Tess suddenly stopped and turned to him. Jaden quickly halted the rest of the group, ignoring the complaints from some of the members, as he heard a clatter from somewhere up ahead; within the square itself. Tess then began a series of hoof gestures. Jaden quickly signaled back for her to proceed. Nodding, the little alicorn slowly began to advance. Moments later, the sound of something like a garbage can being knocked over from somewhere behind them followed by a deep throaty hiss had everypony in the main group on edge. Jaden could do little more than shrug helplessly at the concerned looks the ponies were giving him. Tense seconds passed before Tess let out a startled yelp. Jaden held up a hand warning the others not to follow before advancing forward. He quickly found Tess struggling to fend off what appeared to be an earth pony mare that was attempting to bite her. As he quickly approached the pair, Jaden noted that the crazypony’s eyes were dilated and watery. Its teeth looked like something had died in its mouth and it seemed to be unnaturally pale. Lowering his rifle, Jaden grabbed the crazypony and shoved it off to the side as Tess staggered to her hooves. “You ok?” he asked, glancing at Tess. Tess murmured an affirmation as Jaden turned his attention back toward the crazypony and pulled out his handgun as it struggled to its feet. “Stay down!” he ordered. The mare didn’t listen as it continued to rise. “I’m warning you… stay down!” “She’s crazy!” Tess muttered, shaking her head. “Come any closer and I’ll fire… I mean it!” Jaden snapped as the mare started walking toward them. Jaden noted rather grimly that the mare wasn’t really walking; no one walked like that. She was shuffling, like the way zombies were depicted in late-night horror films. Shaking his head, Jaden pointed his handgun down, targeting one of the crazypony’s knees, and fired. As the round passed cleanly through the mare’s left hind leg, Jaden noted that the beam reminded him of a tracer round. The mare meanwhile, just stumbled, snarled, and kept advancing toward them. Over the sound of Tess’s startled squawk, Jaden could do little more than blink. Instinctively, he knew what the creature before them was but his mind didn’t want to accept that fact as he targeted the mare’s other leg and fired. This time it didn’t even slow the mare down. Jaden fired another three rounds into the creatures’ chest. Moments later, he heard the unmistakable hum as Tess opened fire on the crazypony; propelling the creature backwards, and out of view, a good ten feet away. Jaden was hardly surprised by the sounds of hooves as the rest of the group quickly joined them. Tess however, continued to grapple with what had just happened. “What happened?” Twilight asked; eyes wide with shock. “It seems we’ve had a visitor.” Jaden replied. “She was crazy… and tried to bite me.” Tess gasped. As the ponies continued to murmur among themselves, Jaden made his way toward where the crazypony fell. Considering he already knew what to expect, Jaden was hardly surprised by the fact that the creature was missing. “She’s gone!” he called out. Over the sound of Tess’s startled squawk, Jaden continued speaking as he turned toward the group. “She fell right here… and now she’s gone!” “Can we go now?” Trixie piped up. Jaden agreed with that idea whole heartedly. He was about to say as much when a sudden scraping noise grabbed everyone’s attention. Turning, Jaden saw a large crowd silently shuffling toward them from the surrounding streets. In addition to ponies, Jaden noted curiously that quite a few humans were shuffling toward them also. From where they came from… he didn’t know. Quite a number of the approaching group appeared to be injured; fatally injured. None of them were bleeding however. “They’re behind us, ya'll!” the orange one with a Stetson hat, Applejack if he recalled correctly, called out. Turning and raising his rifle, Jaden observed a sizable crowd shuffling along the street they’d come from. Shaking his head, Jaden was at a loss for where the mass of people and ponies had come from. When his group had first arrived, the town had been completely deserted; now they were receiving quite the welcome. Glancing back, he could see the fear and bewilderment that had crossed his companions’ faces. He felt almost sick as he heard Twilight warn the approaching hoard to stay back; knowing the creatures were beyond reasoning. Moments later, Tess yelped again. Sparing a quick glance, Jaden observed her struggling with the crazypony they’d previously shot once again. After a few tense seconds, Tess managed to twist the creature’s neck until Jaden heard the unmistakable sound of bone breaking. As the mare dropped to the ground, Tess shook her head and blinked a few times in disbelief. Moments later, she aimed her weapon at an approaching human. The figure was a tall balding guy dragging what appeared to be a metal rod of some sort along the ground; apparently the source of the noise they’d been hearing. The guy was dressed in a musty looking white T-shirt and jeans. He had what appeared to be a messed up shoulder and his right foot was perpendicular to his leg; like he’d broken his ankle. He continued to stumble forward as if he didn’t feel it though. After a few tense seconds, Tess fired on the big bald guy and he dropped to the ground. The burst prompted a few startled yelps from the rest of their group before the man rose to his feet once again. Shaking his head, Jaden turned and targeted a pegasus stallion in front of him and fired on it; dropping the creature to the ground along with staggering a few others nearby. As Tess fired again, Jaden dropped another approaching corpse to the group’s right. Looking on, there was so much wrong with the situation that he didn’t even know where to begin. For every zombie they eliminated, another would take its place. This was definitely turning into what his uncle would have called a serious “FUBAR” event. Flipping his rifle to semiautomatic, Jaden knew there was only one real choice they could make if they wanted to survive; clear a path and run. “Protect the left flank and take point. I’ll cover right and rear!” he called out; glancing at Tess. “Uh-huh!” “Oh, and aim for the head. It’ll keep ‘em from getting back up.” he added as the pair focused on the crowd directly in front of them and resumed fire; plowing down the shuffling creatures one by one. “Let’s go!” Jaden yelled moments later as an opening appeared within the approaching hoard. “Hurry up!” Tess shouted seconds later before charging forward. The rest of the group needed no convincing as they rushed after her. Within the span of a few minutes the group had managed to travel several blocks and had created a decent space between themselves and the mob that was slowly following them. Glancing back, Jaden could see their admirers were rather eager to become acquainted with them as they continued to shuffle silently. Judging by the layout, he guessed they were about four blocks away from the outskirts of town; exactly where they needed to be. Turning back, he almost collided with Trixie; who had come to a complete stop. Jaden was about to ask why the group had halted when movement further ahead caught his attention. Moving forward cautiously, Jaden quickly reached the front of the group; reloading as he did so. Tess briefly glanced at him before nodding at something up ahead. Following the little alicorn’s gaze, Jaden saw something he’d never expected to see on a nearby rooftop. The creature before them had an elongated, cylindrical skull with no visible eyes. Despite this peculiar anomaly, Jaden was certain the thing had no trouble seeing them. It was a quadruped with a skeletal carapace built around a pegasus or normal pony body frame. The creature’s carapace coloration appeared to be a muted shade of olive or black, Jaden wasn’t sure. Thick muscular legs terminated in clawed, four fingered hands and it had a segmented, blade-tipped tail. The creature actually reminded him of something he’d seen in a movie once. And it wasn’t alone. Letting his gaze drift, he noted dozens of the beasts materializing from rooftops, building windows, sewers, and alleyways all around them. Some of the creatures had their mouths open; revealing what appeared to be an inner set of jaws located at the tip of a long, tongue-like proboscis. As they moved closer, Jaden could tell that the beasts before them were very much alive and also very eager to become acquainted with them. He even heard what sounded suspiciously like a deep throaty hiss from some of the strange creatures; apparently the things had been following them since the group had left the library. Jaden felt ill at the sight before him. Whatever the things were they were blocking the group’s only escape route. Although Jaden hadn’t known his companions very long the idea that any of them might be hurt wasn’t acceptable; it didn’t seem fair. He was brought out of his stupor when one of the beasts growled and suddenly lunged at them from the right. Determination crossing his features, Jaden raised his rifle and fired on the bug-monster; grimly satisfied to hear it squeal in pain as the creature was propelled backwards, and out of view. Switching his weapon to full automatic, Jaden targeted another one of the beasts and opened fire. This target exploded spectacularly as Tess fired on another one of the creatures. “Reloading!” she called out seconds later. “Keep moving!” Jaden yelled as he began shooting at more of the approaching bug-monsters. It only took a few moments for Tess to finish reloading before the group began moving again. As they ran, Jaden was amazed at how fast the bug-things were. Everywhere he looked the beasts nimbly leaped and scuttled as they pursued the group; shrieking and snarling in what he guessed was some sort of bloodlust. The things were relentless. Jaden could only hope the creatures didn’t follow them out of town; he was having difficulty just holding them back with M203 grenades and short controlled burst of rifle fire. Rounding a corner, Jaden felt a sense of renewed hope as he spotted their destination. Six yards in front of them was an open clearing with surrounding woodland nearby. He could see another fifty yards away the large oak tree with their cart full of gear beside it. Tess and the others were already racing toward it. Turning, Jaden unloaded the remainder of his finale rifle magazine into another bug-monster. As the creature dropped, Jaden ejected the spent magazine and slung the weapon across his shoulder and drew his handgun. He’d almost reached the clearing when dust rained down on him. Looking up, Jaden’s jaw almost dropped as he spotted one of the bug-monsters launched itself at him from further up the wall to his right. Instinctively, Jaden fell onto his back as he fired on it. The creature missed him by inches as it landed on the ground beside him. Sitting up, Jaden unloaded the remainder of his current handgun magazine into the bug-monster to finish it off. Staggering to his feet, Jaden struggled to make sense of what he’d just witnessed, along with his need to breath. It had taken almost an entire magazine to kill the beast; eleven rounds. What kind of creature required that many rounds to die? Where did it come from? How many of the things were there? Jaden didn’t have any answers. He hardly had time to react when something shrieked and exploded nearby. Turning, he saw the others shouting and gesturing at him. The cyan colored pegasus, Rainbow Dash if he recalled correctly, had hooked herself to the cart and was anxiously stamping the ground with a hoof as Tess reloaded her weapon while the others stood, eyes wide with shock, nearby. Holstering his sidearm, Jaden began sprinting toward the group. Moments later, they all ran deeper into the surrounding forest. After ten minutes or so, the group came to a halt in a small clearing and collapsed to the ground to rest. Once he had sufficiently recovered, Jaden dug through his bag and pulled out a large bottle of water. He took a few gulps before passing it to the others to share. “Is everyone alright?” he asked. The ponies murmured about being unharmed. “Whoa! Did you see those things? They were like commin’ outta the walls and stuff!” Rainbow Dash piped up. “Windows!” Twilight snapped. “Uh, yeah… that too!” Dash replied. “What were those things? Where did they come from? Why is this happening to us? Of all the worst things that could happen, this is THE... WORST... POSSIBLE… THING!” the white unicorn, Rarity, wailed before collapsing dramatically into a chair that seemed to materialize from out of nowhere, sobbing. Seconds passed before Rarity realized everyone was staring at her. “What? You didn’t expect me to lie in the grass did you?” she asked nonchalantly. “That’s not even real grass so you won’t get dirty. In fact none of this is real.” Jaden replied, waving at their surroundings. Over the sound of snickers, Jaden cocked an eyebrow as Rarity glared at him while Tess sat nearby; gawking at the white unicorn. “I can’t begin to tell you how creepy that is.” Jaden muttered, shaking his head. “Then what should we do?” the yellow colored pegasus, Fluttershy if he recalled correctly, asked. “Well, it would probably be a good idea to keep moving. After all, we might find some useful information… or a way out, if we keep going.” Jaden replied as he climbed to his feet and staggered over to the cart. He began stocking up on all the ammo he could physically carry and reloading his weapons. “Then where do we start?” Trixie asked. “You mentioned earlier about exploring some old ruins?” Jaden asked turning to Twilight. Twilight blinked for a moment before nodding. “Since this place is a reconstruction of your world perhaps we might find some clues that could help us there. We might even find the missing piece to that puzzle back in Canterlot Castle.” Jaden replied to the unasked question. The ponies looked to one another, exchanging their opinions between themselves without uttering a single word. After pondering the idea briefly, Twilight spoke up. “We need to go this way.” “Let’s get moving then.” Jaden said. Groans rang out as the group began following him. *************** Standing on a bluff a considerable distance away from the action, GLaDOS watched events unfold on a small holographic video screen that seemed to float in midair. Cocking an eyebrow, she had to admit that the results of the latest test were certainly… informative. Her test subjects had managed to eliminate and evade some of the insect specimens, in addition to a fair number of skeletons in her proverbial closet so to speak, relatively easily. Now they were heading toward the old ruins in the forest; exactly where they were supposed to go. Smirking to herself, GLaDOS found herself fascinated by what she was observing. It seemed there was more to the human, and the situation, than she’d first thought. The boy was turning into a contradiction. On one hoof, he seemed to be just as hyper and aggressive as humans were reported to be. However, he also seemed to care about the safety of the other test subjects in his group. GLaDOS couldn't account for luck in her system; or concern for that matter. She needed more data to continue further. Curiously, the boy seemed to have synchronized with the Equine Support System quite easily. Those two appeared to function like a refined version of the Cooperative Testing Bots… which reminded her. Quickly switching views on the screen, GLaDOS decided to see what those two bumbling robots were doing. She was hardly surprised to find Atlas and P-body struggling with the tests she’d given them. The current test chamber required participants to carry the Equestrian Science Weighted Storage Cube across a vast pit while using a combination of tricky flings from small platforms, moving platforms, and excursion funnels to navigate to the exit. Neither of her minions seemed particularly skilled at the task. “Your failing does not make this science.” GLaDOS mocked over the intercom; rolling her eyes at the spectacle. Sighing softly, GLaDOS closed the screen and made her way off the bluff. There was work to be done.