//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: Going Native // Story: Equestria Nova: Brave New World // by Al-1701 //------------------------------// Monsoon scanned the list on the center screen. He occasionally glanced to the recharge countdown on the left screen to make sure it was actually there. “The ground bridge was definitely used, but there’s no record of its usage.” “How is that possible?” Wind Whistler asked. Monsoon turned to her and Fizzy on the floor. “My guess is this device has a clandestine mode to keep certain uses secret.” He glanced to the side and scowled. “Something Rosetta failed to mention if she came across it.” “Failed, or deliberately concealed?” Wind Whistler asked rhetorically. “Spearhead and his followers have been scheming behind our flanks since probably before we even came through the mirror.” Monsoon ground his teeth. “That’s why he was so calm about us striking down his plans. He had contingencies.” “We should return to the castle,” Wind Whistler said. “They had several carts no doubt filled with supplies and weapons.” Monsoon glanced at the center screen again. To think this stallion was within hoof’s reach of Princess Celestia, he thought. Magic Star turned to Sparkler as she walked into the office. “What’s the state of the armory?” “There barely is one,” Sparkler grumbled. “They took all the laser rifles and breach-loaders, most of the gunpowder and guncotton, and half the machetes.” Magic Star rubbed her hoof on her chin as she processed the list. “That’s a lot of firepower.” Cupcake walked in slowly. “Governor Spearhead, Rosetta, Echo, Landslide, Typhoon, and Sunset Shimmer are the only ones missing. A week’s worth of food for six ponies and five kilograms of gold are also missing.” “I bet their personal items are also gone,” Sparkler said. A knock came at the door leading to the balcony. Magic Star figured that had to be Wind Whistler and Monsoon. “Enter.” The doors swung open and the two pegasi she was expecting to see walked in. “Where did they go?” Magic Star asked. “They hid their destination point,” Monsoon said. “They could be anywhere on the planet.” “Figures,” Magic Star grumbled. “Then we’re not going to go after them. We have more important matters than going on a wild goose chase.” “What do we do about leadership?” Cupcake asked. “Spearhead was our governor.” “Was being the operative word,” Magic Star said. “He abandoned us.” She turned to Wind Whistler. “As the lieutenant governor—” “No,” Wind Whistler cut her off. “My position was given to me by Spearhead and now I realize it was fruit from the forbidden tree. I step down as lieutenant governor and nominate you for our new governor, Magic Star.” Magic Star paused as she contemplated. “I second the nomination,” Monsoon added. “Fine,” Magic Star said. “We’ll see if anyone wants a vote tomorrow morning, but being unopposed at the moment, I accept the office of acting governor.” “What if they do something?” Sparkler asked. “It would instantly fall on us.” “Then we’ll explain the obvious to whoever they harm,” Magic Star grumbled. “The moment Spearhead and his followers stepped through that ground bridge, they ceased to be citizens of Equestria Nova. They’re rogues, bandits, whatever name you want to call them. They’re no longer our responsibility. Is that clear?” “Yes, Ma’am,” the four ponies around her said. “At dawn we’ll continue like this didn’t happen,” Magic Star said as she stepped away from the desk. “We have less than two and half major moons before the first wave of colonists arrives. They need a home besides this enclave.” Sunset Shimmer walked as best as she could across the uneven and unstable ground. She had spent so much time as a human, walking on four hooves took getting use to, especially when the ground could give way at a moment’s notice. She looked around them. They were in a barren wasteland with rocks ranging from pebbles to boulders the size of cars. The rings arched across the sky that glowed blue in the morning twilight. She remembered the first time she entered the world of the humans. She was running their high school almost immediately. However, she had a major advantage of those simple-minded apes and only needed to worry about that small area. She was ruthless, and more mature mentally than her human body suggested. This world made her seem small and insignificant even with her magic at her disposal. She almost regretted leaving the valley where the mountains seemed to confine the world. “Congratulations, Colonel,” Rosetta grumbled, grabbing Sunset Shimmer’s attention, “we managed to convince a grand total of one pony who didn’t even come with us from Equestria to join our cause. Even your hoofpicked golden filly turned against you.” “Shut up,” Spearhead snarled. “Our hand was forced too early by those filthy humans.” Sunset Shimmer caught Typhoon out of the corner of her eye. “Out of curiosity, why did you join us?” Typhoon asked. Sunset Shimmer scowled. “It had been drilled into me since forever that friendship has power. However, these last few days showed me the truth.” “Which is?” Typhoon asked. “Friendship only has power if your friends are powerful,” Sunset Shimmer said. “Those five girls were able to do incredible things with Princess Twilight Sparkle with them, but those idiots in the volcano were able to trap them easily. You seem to understand that.” Typhoon smiled. “There might be hope for you.” “Do you think those intellectuals and dreamers would have ever been turned?” Landslide asked. “They seem to believe the pen is mightier than the sword.” “Then we simply need to find a bigger sword,” Spearhead said. Sunset Shimmer looked around at the barrenness. “So we’re in the middle of nowhere.” “Not quite,” Spearhead said. “In fact, we’re not alone.” Forms jumped out from behind the rocks all around them. The group collapsed around Sunset Shimmer and brought the strange beam rifles to bear. Lights flooded the area to reveal several creatures that looked like human-sized monkeys with machinery replacing their legs, right arm, and right eye. “What are those things?” Sunset Shimmer shrieked. “Gizmonks,” Spearhead answered calmly. “You led us into gizmonk territory?” Rosetta’s voice cracked. “Did you want us to get killed?” The gizmonks trained their beam rifles on the group. “Don’t move, ponies.” A gizmonk with particularly shiny machinery stepped forward. “King MacGyver wants you alive.” “We’re here to ask for an audience with your king,” Spearhead replied. The gizmonks snorted and snickered, but the one with shiny machinery only scowled at them. “You have nothing to say that would interest our king. However, he is very interested in your backs for our mining crews, or your bodies for study.” Spearhead glowered forward. “Wrong answer.” The mechanical arm of one of the gizmonks suddenly exploded, throwing sparks in every direction as it separated just below the shoulder mount. The arm dropped on the ground and the gizmonk grabbed the stub as he shrieked and collapsed. As he fell to the side he revealed Echo stand behind him with a beam rifle suspended in her magic. The gizmonks trained their weapons on her. She turned to them and the aura around her horn intensified. The gizmonks dropped their weapons to grab their heads and shrieked and moaned in pain. They fell to their knees and collapsed on the ground, rolling around as if to find a position that would save them from some agony. Sunset Shimmer stared at Echo. She expected to see anger or at least an expression of intense concentration for inflicting a spell like this. However, she only stared on with that blank expression frozen on her face. She then looked to the gizmonk at her hooves. Both the arm and the socket to which it had been attached had half-melted wires hanging out of them and some kind of fluid that was thankfully not blood running from them. Apparently the machinery replaced the parts of their bodies they resembled. “Excellent work, Echo.” Spearhead walked up to the gizmonk with particularly shiny machinery and kicked the rifle away from him. “Release this one.” The gizmonk stopped writhing and rolled over onto his belly. He tried to push himself up, but Spearhead planted his hoof on his back and forced him down. “If you want your men to know anything but overwhelming agony again, you will return to your king and tell him to meet me here with no more than two guards. Am I clear?” “Yes,” the gizmonk exhaled. Spearhead stepped off the gizmonk. “Then go.” The gizmonk scrapped to his mechanical feet and ran towards the hills in the distance. Spearhead turned back to Echo. “Knock them unconscious and bind them.” Echo nodded and her horn flashed. The gizmonks suddenly stopped moaning and moving to relax on the ground. Ropes surrounded by auras came out of saddlebags and carts as the gizmonks were brought together. Sunset Shimmer felt truly small now. It took a few seconds for it to all sink in and to form the words she wanted to say. “What kind of ponies are you?” “The future,” Spearhead answered. “It’s like you said. Friendship only has power when your friends are powerful.” Sunset Shimmer watched as the others bound the unconscious gizmonks. It was hard to believe these ponies were from the Equestria Princess Celestia had told her so many times was built on love and friendship. She had never seen the aggression, cruelty, and total domination she just witnessed. Even the ‘intellectuals and dreamers’ they had left behind were more violent and under-hoofed than any pony she had met in Equestria. However, there was no arguing with their results. Perhaps instead of escaping into the world of the humans she should have sought out these ponies, as they knew the truth. When push comes to shove, power really was all that mattered. Ribbon pawed at the cobblestones of the castle courtyard as she let her consciousness melt into her magic power. Her perception expanded like water being poured into a dish, reaching further and further. She could sense the minds of all forty-one ponies, twenty-two blarks, and fourteen dell dwellers there. She could even sense the simple minds of the animals. They were like bumps in that dish her perception flowed around. She could penetrate most of them easily enough, but dared not. Besides, it was not the thoughts of those she knew were here that concerned her. She was searching for that eerie mind that could lurk far from its host body. However, she found no trace of Echo to the point that her perception included all of Dream Castle and the mysterious chamber. They were alone at least at the moment. “Ribbon,” Wind Whistler’s voice said, seemingly impossibly far. Ribbon brought her perception back to her body. She returned her concentration to her eyes, ears, and other physical senses. Wind Whistler stood in front of her with a concerned expression. “Is there something troubling you?” Wind Whistler asked. “I’m afraid Echo could spy on us at any moment,” Ribbon said. “Galaxy thought of the same conundrum,” Wind Whistler said. “She presently wishes to converse with you on the subject of a possible defense.” “I suppose I should see what she has planned,” Ribbon said. She took notice of the equipment Wind Whistler had, including a pickaxe and shovel. “What are you doing?” “I plan to remedy our recently developed shortfall of gunpowder,” Wind Whistler said. “This valley should have the chemical components needed to make it ourselves. Since I am no longer engaged in the political arena, I suppose I can lend my scientific expertise and pragmatism to the operation of the colony.” “Right,” Ribbon replied as she tried to absorb all that Wind Whistler had said. “Well, Sparkler will probably be eager to see your results.” Wind Whistler turned to the front gate. She was halfway to it when a thought crossed Ribbon’s mind. “Wind Whistler—” Wind Whistler stopped and turned back to her. “Yes?” “Did Spearhead ever give you any indication this was going to happen?” Ribbon asked. Wind Whistler paused for a second. “Now that I look back at his actions and statements, yes. However, I was oblivious to his intentions at the time. I should have been more perceptive.” “Hey, he fooled a telepath and a semi-clairvoyant,” Ribbon replied with a smile. “We won’t hold it against you. Speaking of which, I’m going to talk to Galaxy.” Wind Whistler turned to the gate and walked out onto the drawbridge. Ribbon turned to the apartments on the southern wall. Since they had moved in, they had personalized the castle a bit. Each pony had claimed their apartment by painting their cutie mark on the door. The red stars representing Galaxy’s were painted on a door on the second story. The world disappeared in a flash of green and reappeared with the door right in front of her. Ribbon knocked on the door. “Who is it?” Galaxy’s voice replied from the inside. “It’s Ribbon,” Ribbon replied. The door opened and Ribbon stepped in. “You wanted to talk about keeping Echo out?” Ribbon asked as she looked around Galaxy’s apartment. Along with personalizing the outside, the ponies had made their apartments their own private sanctuaries. Ribbon’s was filled with the colorful ribbons she had collected since foalhood. Galaxy’s was filled with astronomical equipment and material. Star charts took up much of the walls and a decent-sized reflecting telescope sat in the corner. Galaxy sat at her desk with a case in front of her. “Yes. I think I have just the thing,” she said without turning around. “However, I need you keep how exactly we do this a secret.” “Sure,” Ribbon replied. She then scowled. “Can I ask why?” “Because it involves an artifact of the Crystal Empire even most crystal ponies don’t know is real.” Galaxy slid to the side to reveal a clear crystal in the exact shape of a pony’s skull. “A crystal skull?” Ribbon asked confusedly. “Yes,” Galaxy said. “There were originally twelve, but Sombra destroyed nine of them when he took over. While eluding his cleansing campaigns, I and my followers protected the remaining three.” Ribbon walked up to the desk and looked at the skull. “It’s pretty in a kind of…creepy way—” she fought off the urge to shudder at being in the same room as something that even resembled a pony body part “—but I don’t understand what a crystal sculpture has to do with keeping Echo out.” “They’re not a crystal sculptures,” Galaxy said. “They’re artifacts with mystic power rivaling the Crystal Heart. Some say they are the skulls of the first ponies to discover the wellspring of crystal magic the Empire is built over. If we cast our magical energies on it, it will create a barrier preventing other telepathic magic like Echo’s telepresence from entering the area.” “Are you sure it will work against her?” Ribbon asked. “She’s a crystal pony too.” “It doesn’t matter,” Galaxy said. “Crystal pony, non-crystal pony, non-pony, all will be repulsed by this artifact.” “So what?” Ribbon asked. “We just cast a spell on it?” Galaxy stepped away from the desk. “Yes.” She turned and pointed her horn at the skull as a pink aura appeared around it. Ribbon pointed her horn towards the skull and called upon her magic. However, before casting it in the skull, she swept the area for Echo. Fortunately she was nowhere in the valley. “Are you ready?” Galaxy asked. “Yes,” Ribbon replied. She cast her magic at the skull and felt her power concentrate within it and then burst out. It felt like a shell, a thin layer of magical energy that passed over her as it expanded with nothing within. “We should make the barrier large enough to include the underground chamber,” Galaxy said. Ribbon continued to cast her magical power into the skull and the shell expanded. It engulfed the castle and the surrounding areas. Finally, once the underground chamber and most of the area the ponies frequented was contained, she relented. The shell stopped expanding and faded from her perception. It was still there, but the skull was maintaining it instead of her. Galaxy raised her head. “We will probably have to charge it from time to time, but we should have nothing to fear from Echo or anyone else trying to peek in on us.” Ribbon looked up. She sighed and shook her head. “To think we have to defend ourselves from our fellow ponies.” “The worst part is I knew them,” Galaxy said in a low voice as she placed the skull in its case. “I met Spearhead shortly after the Crystal Empire reappeared. He was driven and considered Equestria’s safety to be more important than anything, but I never thought he was this extreme.” She looked towards the window. “Even I can’t tell you what he and his followers are doing out there in the wilderness.” Spearhead sat on one of the larger rocks in the field. It gave him a good vantage point of the area. He kept his eye towards the general direction of Gizmas City the gizmonk had run towards. However, he glanced behind him to the unconscious gizmonks tied together every few minutes. A bargaining chip had to be watched closely. After glancing to the captives again, Spearhead returned his gaze to the hills on the horizon. Lights emerged from a pass as a vehicle motored towards them. Judging by the ugly appearance he assumed they were gizmonks. “Look lively,” Spearhead said, not bothering to take his attention from the approaching vehicle. “They’re coming.” The other ponies took up position in front of Spearhead’s perch. They watched as the vehicle came closer. It finally reached them and came to a top. Spearhead felt his body tense as the door opened. The thought that this could be a trap nagged at the back of his mind. The vehicle could hold perhaps a dozen gizmonks, which could be a challenge. However, King MacGyver stepped out, flanked by two armed guards. MacGyver looked up at Spearhead, his lens almost completely collapsed to mirror the lowered brow over his natural eye and his teeth showing in a grimace. “You have some nerve, pony. You trespass in our territory and take my soldiers hostage. Then you expect me to give you an audience? Have you forgotten we’re still in a state of war?” Spearhead leapt from his perch and planted his hooves in front of the others. “Kind of hard to remember since you haven’t attacked us, even when we leave our valley,” he replied casually. “And your war is with the other ponies. They wanted to attack over our objections for capturing Paradise. It was also you who tried to stab us in the back last winter, and it was your soldiers who attacked us here.” MacGyver’s grimace tightened. “We could have killed them,” Spearhead continued, “but we decided to return them mostly unharmed as a gesture of goodwill.” MacGyver’s expression relaxed somewhat, but he crossed his arms. “Why would you want to show goodwill towards us?” “Because we’ve been exiled from our valley by the others,” Spearhead lied, but it came out so naturally it might as well have been the truth. “We have plans for our mother country they don’t agree with.” “While your political exploits are probably fascinating,” MacGyver said dully, “they’re no concern of ours.” “What if we had something that we could both benefit from?” Spearhead asked. “Go on,” MacGyver said, sounding slightly more interested. “Have you heard of the metal giants?” Spearhead asked. MacGyver said nothing, but his shifting eye and lens told Spearhead he had struck a chord. “I thought you might have. We learned of them from the dell dwellers.” “Then you should know most of their technology is too far gone to be of any use,” MacGyver said as he unfolded his arms to plant them on his fists and his mouth sank into a slight frown. “Besides, you need to know their language to really use whatever is salvageable.” “And that is what we offer.” Spearhead motioned back to Rosetta. “We have a matrix for translating their language to Common. In your…activities, I’m sure you have run across their tech.” “Nothing of use,” MacGyver answered. He then paused as his eye darted around in his socket. “However, the Skree claim to have the mother of all artifacts buried under the sands of Skree-Rah.” “The Skree?” Landslide asked. “They’re flightless birds that look like ostriches,” MacGyver said. “Skree-Rah is in the deserts southeast of old Blarkland.” “Perhaps we could speak with these Skree,” Spearhead said. “Perhaps, but how do we benefit from your discovery?” MacGyver asked. “You and the Skree will have a share of what we can be salvaged,” Spearhead said. “I propose an alliance with the translation matrix and your soldiers as our consideration.” MacGyver scowled. “I never thought I would bargain with you ponies, but your offer is tempting. We’ll take you to Skree-Rah to see just what can be salvaged, and if there’s enough, I will personally write up the treaty.” Spearhead bowed. “Thank you, King MacGyver.” He turned back to Echo and Rosetta. “Wake up the soldiers and release them.” The two nodded and ran behind the rock. Wind Whistler walked out of the main entrance into the courtyard. The sky was clear, giving a perfect view of the rings and the stars twinkling against the blackness. The thought that each point of light was a sun, impossibly far away, with planets like this circling them, crept into her mind. She was staring into infinity; something that the ponies of Equestria dared not think about. To this day, even adult ponies believed the stars were like light bulbs Celestia and Luna turned on and off. The thought that on a planet circling one of those stars some manner of life form was staring back at the point of light they were circling was bordering on blasphemy. Yet, here it was a real possibility. In fact, this world had changed them. It changed the language they spoke, their understanding of the universe, and even their value to friendship. Wind Whistler had on occasion heard griffons talk about going native. If a griffon began to eat, dress, or in general act too much like a pegasus, they would be called back to their homeland. She wondered if they were starting to go native. Wind Whistler caught a glimpse of turquoise on the roof of one of the side buildings. She spread her wings and flew from the courtyard to the roof. As she suspected it was Fizzy laying on her back and staring south. “Good evening, Fizzy,” Wind Whistler said. Fizzy turned to her with the start. “Oh! Hi, Wind Whistler.” “Can I join you?” Wind Whistler asked. “Sure,” Fizzy said. Wind Whistler dropped on her belly. The slate roof was still a little warm from absorbing sunlight. She carefully rolled over, minding her wings. She spread her wings across the slate to absorb more of the warmth they were radiating. She followed Fizzy’s gaze to the rings arcing across the sky. “What has you preoccupied at the moment?” Wind Whistler asked. Fizzy scowled in thought for a second. “Oh! What am I doing? I’m thinking about the rings. What are they made of and where did they come from?” “Planets farther from their sun tend to have rings composed primarily of ice, dust and rock,” Wind Whistler answered. “However, at this distance from the sun, the composition of this planet’s ring system is of dust and rocks with highly reflective minerals giving them their luster. As for their formation, they are either the remnants of a third moon that strayed too close to the planet and was torn apart by gravity, or material that failed to form a moon and is held in place by the complex gravitational interactions of the planet and its two comparably large moons.” “Uhh…right,” Fizzy said, but her voice betrayed her confusion. “Sorry,” Wind Whistler. “I suppose that explanation was too technical.” “That’s okay,” Fizzy said. “I love the way you talk. I wish I was super smart like you.” Wind Whistler turned to her. “Don’t sell yourself short. As I said last night, you have incredible inner strength. However, I do appreciate your company and would like to take you on as my little sister of sorts. I never had any siblings either, so perhaps we can make up for each other's deficiency.” Fizzy smiled a broad smile. “What a pair we make.” Wind Whistler grinned. “Indeed. While I’m not the most knowledgeable on the subject of friendship, I would say we make quite a pair.” “What are you doing now that you aren’t vice governor?” Fizzy asked. “Lieutenant governor,” Wind Whistler corrected. “I’ve set up a workshop in the basement. I’m currently replacing some of our stores of gun powder. The first samples should be ready tomorrow morning.” “Can I watch you test them?” Fizzy asked. “I don’t see why not,” Wind Whistler replied. “Wind Whistler?” Fizzy asked. “Yes?” Wind Whistler replied. “What do you think Spearhead is doing right now?” Fizzy asked. “Given the hour,” Wind Whistler answered, “he and his followers could very well be sleeping. However, in terms of his current overall goals, I cannot say with any certainty.” Wind Whistler also did not want to hazard a guess. Her mind was capable of dark thoughts she figured other ponies were incapable of comprehending, except perhaps Shady who seemed to see the darkest possibilities out of compulsion. She did not want to turn her imagination loose on what Spearhead and his followers could be doing out there. Whatever it was, it was not anything good. Sunset Shimmer was jarred awake as the vehicle reared and came down from hitting a bump. Her mind quickly pieced together their current situation. They had left Dream Valley, were in a tentative peace with the gizmonks, and were headed to Skree-Rah, where they had some kind of artifact. Her vision came into focus. It was morning, and she and the others were in the large cab of some vehicle. King MacGyver sat in the passenger’s seat and another gizmonk was driving. They were driving through another barren, rock-strewn desert with mesas in the distance. “I swear, this world is one wasteland after another,” she grumbled. “Sorry if the view isn’t to your liking,” the gizmonk driver replied. “However this desert is home for the skree.” “In fact this is about where we need to be,” MacGyver said. “Stop the vehicle.” The driver pressed the breaks the vehicle came to a stop. Sunset Shimmer looked through the windshield and windows. There were no buildings or entrances to something underground. There were just rocks. “I think we’ve been had,” Rosetta muttered to Spearhead. “Then they’ve made one monumental mistake,” Spearhead growled. Sunset Shimmer hopped out of the door as the driver opened it. She landed in the soft sand and it gave to bury her up to her hooves. She looked at one of the nearby rocks. It was about the size of a pony and an almost uniform shade of gray. It was oblong in shape with a rounded surface. It would make a handsome lawn decoration, but there was nothing of note to it. “Where are the skree?” Landslide asked. “All around us,” MacGyver answered. The rock in front of Sunset Shimmer began to tremble. She backed up a few steps as the surface began to take on the texture of feathers. The gray was replaced by blacks, whites, and deep purples. The feather-like texture became feathers and stubby wings flexed from the sides. A neck that had been hidden by the sand pulled itself up until it uncovered the head dominated by a large beak. The body lifted on legs that kept going until there were at least two meters from the clawed feet to the head. She looked around and other rocks were going through the same transformation. One of the birds with a more elaborate crest walked up to MacGyver. “My dear King MacGyver.” “My dear King Fleetfoot,” MacGyver replied. Fleetfoot’s beak formed as much of a grin as it could. “I bet three to one you would return.” “An odd thing to wager on,” Rosetta commented. “The skree love making wagers,” MacGyver said. “However, they carefully word the bet in their favor. Like simply making it my return instead of trying to guess the reason.” “Why stack the odds against you?” Fleetfoot asked rhetorically. “What does bring you to Skree-Rah, and with ponies no less? I thought they handed your head to you this winter.” MacGyver scowled and tightened his aperture. “These ponies want to form an alliance. They claim they can translate the language of the metal giants and want to see that supposed mother lode of artifacts you crow about.” Fleetfoot scratched his throat. “What’s in it for us?” “Obviously whatever we can make usable will be split between the three of us,” Spearhead said. “I’m sure there’s something your people would like to use as more than a tourist attraction.” “I suppose,” Fleetfoot mused aloud. “We’ll take you to the biggest artifact. Let’s see if your translation can do anything with that.” “Lead the way,” Spearhead replied. Fleetfoot jumped into the cab of their vehicle. Sunset Shimmer walked near Echo as she approached the vehicle. “Cybernetic monkeys and now birds that turn into rocks. The planet just gets weirder.” Echo glanced at her blankly before jumping into the cab. Sunset Shimmer then remembered she was talking to mute. Spearhead watched the driver take them in the direction Fleetfoot had given them. Skree-Rah was a particularly desolate land. There were the occasional oases where there was some green. However, most of it was sandy desert, perfect for burying your head and hiding as a rock. Spearhead glanced back to Fleetfoot. Hiding and making safe bets were the acts of cowards and hardly suitable allies. However, these Skree had something he might want, and he was a stallion of his word, so he had to just put up with them. They came to a massive plateau and Fleetfoot instructed the driver to stop. He did so and opened the doors. “Buried under this plateau is the largest single artifact on the entire planet,” Fleetfoot said. “It’s yours for the taking if you can do anything with it.” The face of the cliff had a relatively square alcove in it. Spearhead figured it was a door like the one leading to the Ground Bridge in Dream Valley. There was even a rock on the ledge that probably served as a switch to open it. “Typhoon, if you please.” Typhoon flew up to the rock and pushed it away from the wall. The back of the alcove parted and the two halves retreated into the rock. The ground trembled until the halves disappeared and stopped their motion with a thunderous clunk. “Perhaps it’s another Ground Bridge,” Landslide suggested. “It’s much better than that,” Fleetfoot said with as much of a grin as his beak cloud manage. They walked into the opening, which was much larger than the entrance to the ground bridge. It also did not curve. The hall was short as they emerged into a massive, dark chamber. “Hit the lights!” Fleetfoot shouted, his voice echoing through whatever kind of cavern they were in. Just by how many times voices reverberated, Spearhead figured it was large enough to hold a decent sized city. “It’s on the wall about four meters up.” Typhoon fumbled around the wall until he came to a lever. He used his whole body to pull the switch up. It came up quickly and it was all he could do to regain control. Lights started coming on in sequence. They started where they were and spread in both directions. They kept going for hundreds of meters until Spearhead could swear they were more than two kilometers from either side. What was in front of them was just as massive. It was a pit with the opposite side at least a kilometer from them. In the pit was a massive structure of metal with large, sharp blades jutting from it, except the back which was completely flat and devoid of features. The whole thing was dark gray in color, much like Spearhead’s coat. “What is that?” Sunset Shimmer asked, looking over the edge. “It looks like a ship,” Rosetta replied. Spearhead’s lips peeled back in a grin. “That’s exactly what it is.”