//------------------------------// // Stratos's Report (Border Barn): Discovery of Anomalies // Story: The Krastos Logs // by Sinderen7 //------------------------------// Name: Border Barn Species: Pony – Earth Pony Gender: Male Coat Color: Teal Mane Color: Grey Eye Color: Brown Cutie Mark: A grey rock with multi-colored (Celtic?) runic markings on it. Abilities: A natural affinity for magic and magical artifacts. More importantly, he can actually create magical objects. He can enchant items. He can sense and activate magic and electronics. Unique Features: He looks normal in every way imaginable. Biologically, I have found no oddities. There is literally nothing that indicates he should have his current abilities. He even utilizes different areas of his brain than a unicorn would in order to access magic. Meeting Barn: Admission, Celebrations, and Discovery (Year 985) As of this writing, it has now been seven (almost eight) years and looking back it feels so tiny a timespan. But back then, for me, it had already felt like a lifetime. I no longer do but, occasionally, I would have to convince myself it wasn’t a dream. Sometimes I would have nightmares of waking up back on Earth, having never gone to Equestria. Sure Nick would be there, my colleagues would be there, I could talk to everyone I met, people would recognize me, I could play the video games I loved, go to the websites I frequently went to, and I would be glad about that. But all of the horrors of the world would surround me once more. I guess I have grown soft. I’m not sure if I could handle going back to Earth at this point. The negativity would overwhelm me. Or maybe I just would hate to feel less important. Not to say this place is perfect by any stretch of the imagination (I certainly do not believe that anymore) but the atmosphere is simply uplifting. But I’m pretty sure this world is real. Our actions have distinct consequences. For example: In those first nine months, no pony had actively discovered us. Nothing had discovered us. Nothing wanted to go to our little area due to the slightly sub-par climate. But we had not considered something. Sure Esper was staying with us, but we didn’t tell anyone that. Also, Esper said that, with the basilisk dead, the dead ponies would return to life eventually. (I have many theories on how the death-gaze works but I’ll just put that in my “science” journal.) So, they had to have known that someone was successful in killing it. Naturally, someone would investigate. While we had cleaned up the machine parts, we had forgotten to clean up the actual combat area. It still looked like a battle zone. Someone might inspect the area if they saw it. Zed realized this and went back with Esper to fix up the area. On their trip back, Zed noticed something was following them. I, who was still at the facility, decided to send out a UAV. Turns out they were being cautiously followed by a youngish pony that was probably not much into the pony teenage years. Considering I’ve already told you some things about Barn it is no surprise when I say he was the one following them. Zed asked what they should do about the pony and I said “nothing.” I cannot remember exactly why I said that but I decided to go out and meet the pony in person before he discovered our base. I simply went up to him and introduced myself as Dr. Stratos Lucid, a human scientist studying Equestria. After the pony collected himself, he, in turn, introduced himself as Border Barn, a wanderer who decided to investigate the disappearance of Esper Teach along with an undead basilisk. He had been traveling for around two months to complete this task, though was only two days from the town. (It suddenly occurs to me that Esper must have followed the Basilisk for two days. I guess she was a tough little filly.) He had searched high and low for Esper. Right off the bat I could tell he was different. He seemed calm and friendly but very strong. I could not sense a microgram of ill-will in the guy. He was just pleasant to be around. He was like an honorable hero of a legend, a passionate defender of justice. I felt I could trust him with almost anything. In that sense, he reminded me of Nick. I’ve never felt that kind of spirit from another Equestrian (though Cobalt is somewhat similar). I decided I had no reason to hide anything. I told him that Zed and I helped Esper kill the monster. I offhandedly mentioned it was rather foolish of Barn to try and go after the monster himself. Barn said it was no issue and he could have killed it if need be. I asked him how that was possible. Out of his saddle bags he pulled out several magical items. Potions, elemental stones, magical trinkets, etc. I asked where he got them. He said he made them. I did a double-take and made sure he was not a unicorn. He reaffirmed the fact that he was an Earth Pony. He asked where I got a magical suit of armor. I said it was not magical, it was all technology. He inquired about whether “the other human’s” suit was also technological. I said it was and that Zed was not a human, he was an android, a robot made to look like a human. Basically, he is an intelligent non-magical golem. It was at that point we realized we had quite a bit to talk about. There was no way around it. I brought him back to the facility along with Zed and Esper. We showed him the base. He was quite impressed. Actually, he was in awe and was delighted to see everything. (I always get a kick out of that. There is some sort of pride knowing that your home is enviable.) In return, he showed us how he enchanted something. Turns out he just put his hoof over something (a piece of metal in this case), concentrated, and then a bunch of glowing, indecipherable runes would appear on the object. There appeared to be some sort of pattern to what runes meant what but that was not important. At that point we got down to business. I asked him what he intended to do. Barn said he just wanted to protect the town from the monster and rescue the filly. The townsponies were, understandably, too scared to do anything themselves. So, while he was passing through, he dispelled the death-gaze and volunteered to go after the basilisk and rescue Esper. However, no one knew where the monster or Esper went. By the time he tracked us down, the monster was long dead and Esper had been unofficially adopted. So neither task was needed at that point. At this point, I said there was one issue. Barn wanted to report his findings to the townsponies and that would reveal our existence. He did not understand the problem so I clarified it for him. I had to explain about the expedition, our findings, my goal, and how him revealing our presence would ruin them. I suggested telling the townsponies that Esper died but Barn rejected that, saying that was dishonest. He felt the townsponies should know that Esper is fine. Barn asked if there was any way to help me complete my research so that it would be a nonissue. Because of his travels, he knew almost everything about Equestria and its inhabitants and so could help give information on anything. Zed, Esper, and I talked about it. It was eventually decided that it couldn’t hurt. We would give him access to all of our knowledge about humanity and, when he was finished, he could explain his findings to us. I’ll admit I kind of did it to humor him. I’ll also admit I gave him the worst stuff on purpose. I assumed he would get to something like World War 2 or the atomic bombs or third-world countries or something like that and freak out. From there he would understand he could not help humanity and be more willing to bargain with us on what to do with Esper and the townsponies. I didn’t expect him to come back a little over a week later to tell us his conclusions. We were so stunned we immediately set up a meeting and I, once again, brought my audio recorder. I could tell whatever he was going to say, it was going to be big. I didn’t know how right I was. Stratos: Alright, it’s recording. Barn: That device will record my voice? Stratos: Yup, so just say your conclusions. Just be as brief as possible. Barn: That shouldn’t be too hard. Stratos: Really? Well, whatever. What are you opinions on the differences between humans and the ponies of Equestria? Barn: Uh… I’m… Yeah, I’m not seeing any differences. Stratos, Zed, Esper: What? *Clunk* *clack-clack-clack* *Shuffling* Stratos: Sorry, I knocked it off the table. Barn: Should we start over? Stratos: No, no it should be fine. Zed: No differences? Barn: Uh… well… yeah. Nothing significant anyways. Everything that I have read says that everything humans have done has been done for a reason. Stratos: Everything? Barn: I can’t absolutely say everything. I did not read everything about humans in under two weeks. Stratos: Yeah, I suppose that couldn’t be possible. Esper: So what did you read? Barn: The conclusions. I could not read everything so I went to every major event… there were plenty that were quite disturbing. *PAUSE* Stratos: And yet you still think our species aren’t that different? Barn: The humans in that group you worked for wrote explanations for every event. I found myself agreeing to every point they made. I could see a pony doing everyone one of those things under the same circumstances. Everything could be traced back to a reason. Stratos: If we are so rational, why does humanity have so many problems? Barn: Because your world has problems. Your world is a deathtrap. I would not want to live there. Your animals are not like ours. We can communicate with our animals, they rely on us. Animals from your world would either run away or try and kill you. Without magic, the weather is uncontrollable and unpredictable, meaning you have to be more extreme and innovative to survive. And, without magic, you can’t just cast a spell overcome any challenge. Stratos: But we solved most of those problems with technology and techniques. We could feed and clothe and house everyone and we don’t. Barn: *Takes a deep breath through his nose and exhales through his mouth* One thing I did learn was that humans, including apparently you, have an uncanny ability to put themselves down about everything they do wrong and ignore everything they do right. You are greatly exaggerating your flaws. You just said that because you have the capability to feed everyone it should happen. You know that it is much more complicated than that. Your species has adapted to a world where everything was trying to kill them, including each other. It can take a long time for anything to adjust to changes. Humans are still stuck thinking it is necessary to desperately fight for survival. It was something that happened to ponies for a while. Stratos: So, I guess humans are just stupid? Barn: Do you think ponies are that much better? Stratos: From what I have seen, yes. Barn: Well we aren’t. As far as I see, there is no difference between ponies and humans intellectually or morally. Especially in the past, but even now… I have seen a lot of things in my travels. I have personally seen ponies be afraid of zebras for no reason other than they are different. I have seen ponies bully other ponies because they want to. I have seen ponies take advantage of other ponies to benefit themselves. And I do not see many ponies out there just helping others because it is the right thing to do. We do everything because we want to. We pursue our own goals, dreams, and desires. Zed: And so on and so forth. There are a lot of similarities. Why is Equestria so ideal to humanity? Barn: Stratos, do you want my answer to that? Stratos: Yes. I guess that is what I want to know. Barn: Remember, everything I have said has come from my experiences and what I have read from your intellectuals. Stratos: Go on. Barn: I’ve only seen two differences. One is what magic allows us to do. We can use it to make sure everything is predictable. Stratos: More predictability means more stability. Esper: And my magic “saves labor!” Stratos: Which… yeah, means less scarcity so less need for change. Barn: If magic and what the notes keep saying is our different pisicks- Stratos: Physics? Barn: Um. Strastos: P-H-Y Barn: Yes. If we were as restricted as you were, we would be a lot worse off and there would be a lot more conflict. Zed: So, what is the other thing? Barn: I would never have figured this out if one human did not outright state it. I think his name was Nickolas. Anyways, it was why I was able to finish so quickly. Esper: We had the answer? Barn: Yeah. It’s Princess Celestia. Stratos: Hm? Barn: There are rumors, that seem to be true, that Princess Celestia is immortal. One of the files I read said that she would be able to determine what laws and rules make sense based on years of experience. Also, because she has to worry about everything in the long-run, she plans ahead. She knows suffering and works to make sure everything happens for eveypony’s benefit. She has no desire or need for material wealth since it means nothing to her. She is the perfect ruler. *PAUSE* Barn: I’m sorry, I’m not very educated but I know enough. I’m sure there are other things too but those are the important ones. I do not believe that it is the only way to prosper but, if humans want a society that is exactly like ours, humans need better technology so they can do what we do with magic and they need an immortal, benevolent leader. I cannot think of a way for humans to do that. We ponies were just lucky to grow up in the universe that we did. Stratos: …Yeah. I figured. Esper: You knew? Stratos: Yeah. I did. I just. I put so much effort into this and bet the rest of my life on it. I didn’t want to believe it was pointless. I needed someone to tell me I had screwed up. I’m guessing you knew too. Right Zed? Zed: …I did not want to say anything. Barn: If it helps, I don’t think humans are that bad. They have done bad things but they are trying. It seems like your world is getting better. There are plenty of admirable humans I have read about. And ponies are not perfect. Honestly, you are one of the nicest ponies… uh, individuals I have met in a long time. Stratos: No, that doesn’t help. You’re wrong about humans. Barn: …What are you saying? Stratos: It’s better if you don’t know any more than you already do. Barn: Are you really a human? Stratos: I’d rather get off this topic. I need to think of something else right now. The truth was I knew from the beginning what I was doing made no sense. I just kept deluding myself that my studies would make a difference. I mean, one person, changing everything? One person fixing all of the problems of humanity? That was my ticket to success? Who was I kidding? Myself apparently. So yeah. I threw away my entire future to study magical ponies, pretending like I would make all the difference in the world. I abandoned my friends and associates for a cause I knew was fruitless. I could have used my knowledge to save at least thousands of lives and help many people. I ignored all of the good things I could have done for everyone. And I can’t help but feel the real reason why I did it was because I was just sick of living on Earth. I was just tired of hearing so many bad things that when I got to somewhere that was nice I selfishly decided never to leave. I’m not a bad person. Not anymore. But I know I used to be. I went on this expedition because I thought it would give me what I wanted. I didn’t really want to help anyone. I just wanted the recognition. All of those studies, it was just to isolate myself. To keep humanity from tainting them and to remind myself of why this world was so much better than the one I came from. Very hypocritical considering the reasons I gave for staying. And of course I blamed all of my failings on being a human. I hate what I used to be. Still, I have changed. Luckily, the knowledge I have collected and the contacts I have made should help. Not in the same, revolutionary way but, when humanity returns to this land, my actions on Equestria should at least help either with negotiation or with understanding how magic really works. The physics between the two worlds are close enough that they can interact. Many things that are possible on one world should be possible on the other. Hopefully what I have catalogued in my science journals should benefit people in that way and won’t be forgotten. Sorry for that digression, I just wanted to get that off of my chest. And besides, it’s not like anyone is going to want to read this thing. Well at least probably not within my lifetime. But I really do digress: While I sat there reflecting on my faults, the others began to deal with what to do with Esper. (I just want to clarify it is not hard to tell when I am really depressed or regretful because I start very angrily mumbling and partially acting out past mistakes and events to myself. It’s a silly habit I just can’t get rid of and it sounds really pathetic so I did not want to transcribe it.) After much deliberation, Zed, Esper, and Barn came up with a plan. We would return to Epser’s orphanage. Because he broke the death-gaze before the monster died, no one would know when or even if the monster had been killed. Therefore, we could say what we wanted. Barn would say he helped her defeat the basilisk, bringing back its bones as proof. (Side note: I never throw anything away.) Zed and I could come (carrying the bones) pretending to be advanced metal golems that Barn and Esper created to deal with the monster’s death-gaze. In the end, Barn would adopt Esper and we would leave back home. Barn would be on his way. Everybody wins! There was some skepticism involved over whether or not the orphanage would allow Barn to adopt Esper but it was decided that, if that did not work, Epser could always run away. And if she did that, no doubt the orphanage would assume she went to stay with Barn anyways. Not that Barn agreed with her doing that but it’s not like he could stop her.          With that decided, they went for my approval. When they noticed that I was still acting forlorn, they fell into casual chatter. Eventually, that led to a certain question popping up. Esper: Why are you a wanderer anyways? Barn: I… don’t know... Or do I? Hang on. (This reaction pulled me out of my stupor. I remember Barn just sitting there as his eyes glazed over. We could all tell he was reaching pretty far back into his memories. When he came back, we all could tell, he was trying to hold back his feelings.) Barn: I do remember… I do. *He touched one of his magical amulets with his hoof* Barn: As you have seen, my abilities aren’t normal. Many are suspicious of it. In the village where I was born, they began to assume I was a unicorn masquerading as an Earth Pony. The stigma was… quite unbearable. Zed: Your abilities have great utility. Judging another like that does not sound like something an Equestrian would do. Esper: No, it does. There is a belief that some unicorns who misuse their magic are punished for it by removal of their horn. Another legend is that if a unicorn is too powerful and cannot control their abilities, they would also have their horns removed for the safety of others. From there it is said that, while most lose their magic, some keep it. But the lack of a horn means that they cannot be trusted… I was always afraid they were going to remove my horn. *PAUSE* Stratos: If they assume that Barn is a unicorn and that Barn is lying to them, how can they trust him? I guess it makes sense. Zed: I would feel pretty bitter about that. There is no proof you are lying or are a danger. There is no reason for them to jump to conclusions like that. Barn: You get used to it. I got my cutie mark when I was quite young. I knew that this ability made me unique; it was a part of me. I couldn’t hide it. But it also made others fear me. I left the village and wandered from place to place. I would do all the good I could and be as friendly as possible to fit in and be accepted by the community. But no matter where I went, they would see my abilities and grow suspicious of me. It became a habit. Because of the stories I read and the morals I learned, I kept doing good deeds for whoever I came across but I got used to the idea that I would just wander forever. Now, I just help everypony I can and move on. Honestly, I forgot how I started. It is not something I like to think about. (I didn’t need Esper’s look to know what to do next.) Stratos: I can tell you your abilities would be greatly appreciated and we have all got our personal problems here. Zed: Not me. Esper: All living beings here have got issues. Zed: Fair enough. Stratos: You seem like a really good person. You deserve more than what you have. Barn, would you like to stay with us? (Barn barely reacted but I saw a glimmer in his eyes.) Barn: Living with humans… That would be nice. Stratos: Since you have already proven my studies are, well, pointless. There is no real need for you to stay hidden but I’d still like it if I remain a secret. Or at least my home remains a secret. After all, if ponies found out humans were real; I’m sure I’d be swamped with curious individuals and never be able to do any other research quietly. I don’t want them to know about humans. I don’t want to be that kind of a celebrity. Barn: That’s fine with me. If you don’t mind, I’d like to go lie down somewhere. Stratos: Zed, do we have an extra room prepared? Esper: He can use mine. Barn: I’d prefer to sleep outside actually. I’m kind of used to it. I just need a sleeping bag or a blanket. Zed: Let us go get one. (Zed and Barn left the room.) Esper: I hope he stays with us. It would be nice to have more company. Stratos: No wonder he was so accepting of humanity’s actions. He’s still naïve. He has no idea what Earth is like. Of course that doesn’t change anything for me or help anyone. (Esper tried to console me. That or she was examining my thought process. I’m not sure which.) Esper: Humans will just have to learn how to deal with what they have. Learn that they can get through life without fighting or hurting others. Just like most of us have. Stratos: It is a message that we already have. Be kind to others, good things come to those who do good. Too bad it’s not true. Esper: The humans of Earth will be prosperous eventually. It will happen. Stratos:Maybe. Probably not. Esper: I haven’t met any other humans but, from what you have told me and what I have read, I’m sure most of them are good and that there are plenty of others like you. Stratos: *Rising voice* Good? Heh, you think… Esper, I’m not going to talk any more about this. *PAUSE* Esper: So, what do we want to do now? Stratos: *Chuckles* You know, that’s a really good question. It’s not like I can go back to Earth, and even if I could, there’s not much point. I mean, I like it here. Any ideas? Esper: Well, you have much better technology and scientific knowledge than we do. We have already made many discoveries that would amaze most scientists. And we know you and Zed are amazing fighters… You said you were working for a secret organization to benefit everyone? Stratos: The Nine Unknown Men. They are so secretive I was never certain if they were the real deal or just some other organization that used the name as a cover. Nevertheless, they and their agents, including Nick, would collect and protect knowledge that mankind is not quite ready for. They study and perfect their knowledge and release it in parts when it is needed. It’s not like mankind relies on them but they can be helpful. Well, that’s what Nick says about them. I’ll take his word for it. Regardless, they are why I am here. Why do you bring it up? Esper: We could try and be like them. If some of our discoveries are too dangerous at this moment we don’t have to show them to anypony. We could even run them by Princess Celestia and have her approval. (Her eyes lit up.) Esper: We could be her secret guard! We could get other unique ponies like me and Barn and create more helpful protecting androids like Zed to be our agents. We could deal with monsters and recruit members. Stratos: Are you suggesting we start a local Nine Unknown Men? Esper: Why not? Stratos: …Wow you are incredibly smart for your age. Esper: Thank you. Stratos: Wait, is this thing still on? Oh past me, you were so clueless. But first things first, we still had to deal with the issue that Esper’s town was looking for her. Barn was not sure he wanted to join us but he would stay for the moment. In preparation for the trip into the town, Zed and I had to wear the full-body powered combat armor exoskeletons to fully hide our features. If you don’t know, the suit looks like the Powered Humanoid Weapons Platforms. Unlike the normal combat armor, they would encase your entire body. Which meant no one could see me and nothing could get inside the suit. To a pony it would look like a magical construct. A perfect disguise. We implemented the plan and… you know, it went far better than I could have ever imagined. Esper and Barn came back heroes. It was like the stigma that surrounded the two was completely gone. There was a huge celebration for them. It was hard for me not to touch any of the food and keep up my act but there was plenty of fun to be had. I was able to play with the townsponies and the little fillies and colts. The music was lively (I forgot they had DJ turntables), the games were entertaining (I kicked butt in horseshoes), the speeches were great (even when they made mistakes), the stories were epic (particularly Barn’s made up one about how we defeated the basilisk), the fireworks were a sight to behold (it helps have Zed’s brain to coordinate everything), and Esper had never looked so embarrassed in her entire life. We were happy. This is how we wanted to always feel. Or at least it was how I wanted to feel. But, as all things do, it had to end. When it did, Esper and Barn were torn. These ponies had accepted them. They wanted to live with them. I don’t know how they could make their decision. But I’m glad they made the one they did. Barn said he would continue on his travels, that he had more adventures waiting for him. Esper said she wanted to join him. The ponies seemed hesitant but Barn was able to say he knew what Esper’s curse was and he could deal with it. That convinced them, barely. The townsponies packed a lot of food, gear and supplies (that Zed and I ended up carrying) for their heroes and said the two were always welcome back whenever they wanted. A lot of tears were shed as they left. Can’t say I wasn’t one of the ones contributing. When the town disappeared in the distance I first got out of my suit, ate some of the food, then I asked why the two decided to leave. Esper’s answer made the most sense to me. She said she owed us her life. She would never have had that moment without us and she was still my, always would be my, research assistant. Barn’s answer was more complicated. First Barn had to clarify that he was going to stay with us. Then he said that he wanted to do the most for everypony. We had talked about the idea of forming a secret organization on the way to the town. He thought that we had something important developing with the “Unknown Guardians” and he wanted to be a part of it. Barn’s decision turned out to be a great for all of us. We found Barn’s enchantments to be unbelievably helpful. We could reinforce everything, enchant every weapon, and develop magical equipment. We never ran out of tasks for him. I felt bad that we kept working him so hard but he said it felt fulfilling. It was nice to have another pony around to comfort Esper. Sometimes Zed and I just can’t relate to her problems the way another pony can. And yet he never treated her like a filly, always like a friend. I think he does not divide people by age, only by overall capability and association. For example: Zed and Barn spent (and still spend) most of their time together attempting to create and utilize new enchantments. (Even Zed can use Barn’s magical enchantments.) Barn seems to understand how Zed thinks and vise-versa. When they are found together (and not working) it is only for talking and reminiscing about the past or planning the future. But Barn was always quiet and kept to himself a lot. He has opened up a lot more over the years but it is hard to shake a lifetime of isolation. I think this is reflected in how much he reads. Books were not something he commonly had access to during his many travels. At least not in great variety. Even if he could not understand it, he would try to read anything he could get his hooves on. He found a particular interest in the works of H.P. Lovecraft. You see I had first given those works to him when I tried to prove how bad humanity was. When I later revealed that there were many more endearing and uplifting works made by humans, even if I didn’t care for them, Barn became all the more fascinated in Lovecraft for being so different. Among many other works, he now likes the horror and science fiction genres. (Seriously, I’ve got to stop getting ponies addicted to Lovecraft stuff, it’s not healthy.) As much as he likes to keep quiet, Barn spends most of his time with me clarifying material or discussing new ideas he has come up with. He wants to understand opposing and complimentary points of view. All in all, I’d say he always sees everything and everyone in a favorable light. He just seems to nod his head in understanding whenever he hears of any problem or action. Perhaps everything is too relative to him. There was one exception to his universal acceptance. I’ll admit that, back then, Barn and I were not friends. We mostly stayed away from each other. I believe he thought I was too judgmental about my own species. It’s just a guess. We never did talk about it. Well, not properly anyways. Regardless, with Barn’s help, our first mass-production unit was created. We built our first primitive combat droids and reaper UAVs to defend the base while we were gone and help us with our battles. We also built several robots in order to deal with maintenance, gathering supplies, and other upkeep necessities. Our base was growing larger and stronger every day and so were our resources. We now had a lot more downtime. We began to train and experiment more. We also began to secretly collect Equestrian books, gather bits (Equestrian currency), and keep up to date on current events and rumors. The four of us set out with a new sense of purpose. As great as Equestria was, we were going to make it better. We would have to recruit new and unique allies and battle strange creatures. We would make new discoveries in science and magic. We would catalogue and record everything about this world’s possibilities. We would push ourselves to the peak of our abilities. We would secretly revolutionize every aspect of Equestria. And as ambitious as it all was, we knew we would succeed. And, well, not to spoil anything, but we sort of did. I know I have said this a lot but life was great. I had never felt so fulfilled. Like what I was doing mattered. By the end of my first year on Equestria I had changed my goals and started a new organization backed by revolutionary science, technology, and magic. Among ranks of the “Unknown Guardians” were a human, an android, a unicorn, and an Earth Pony. I suppose it was only natural that a pegasus would come next. You see we soon realized we needed a pegasus. As great as our abilities were we didn’t have anything that could fly, except for some combat drones, and nothing that could control the weather. When a storm blew over us and wrecked some of our equipment, we knew something had to be done. We quickly held a meeting to decide our next course of action. That meeting would lead to a surprising and unsettling discovery. Stratos: Alright everybody, this is our first official organizational meeting. Esper, Barn: Yay! Zed: Exuberance. Stratos: Okay, so we need a pegasus. Any ideas? Zed: We could go and adopt young, talented pegasi. Esper: Like you did with me! Stratos: I think starting a child’s army is morally dubious. Esper: Then why did you adopt me? Stratos: Because you’re special. Esper: Yay! I’m special! … Wait, the good or bad kind of special? Barn: I think he means you have a useful special talent. Zed: We would prefer a pegasus who has proven themselves to be unique and trustworthy. Stratos: Right, we cannot just accept every pony we meet or like into our group. We have to be selective. Which brings us back on topic. Do we know of any pegasuses? Zed: Pegasi. Stratos: If you understand me, it is good enough. Let’s answer the question. Esper: Well, I read the Nine Unknown Men’s expeditionary force’s reports. They were very general about their knowledge. They did not study anypony in depth expect Princess Celestia. Barn: That was my impression too. They do not give names. Stratos: That’s fine; we have been collecting articles, newspapers, and so on. Surely some of that has useful information. Zed: The problem is within recruiting celebrities. They would notice if someone famous went missing. That’s why the Wonderbolts are off limits. Most other celebrities don’t have any useful talents anyways. Stratos: So, we are at a dead end then? *PAUSE* Barn: I have one idea. Stratos: Say it. Barn: In my travels there was one pegasus that surprised me. I do not remember her name. I think it began with a P or an O. She was little at the time, certainly a bit older than me, but she already had her cutie mark. She had a talent for building on clouds. Esper: All pegasi can build things out of clouds. Barn: No, I mean build structures on clouds. Stratos: Like a brick building? Barn: Yes. But it was years ago. I was very young, I could have misremembered it. She could have just been an artist that shaped multicolored clouds into structures. Stratos: Anything else about her? Barn: I remember the town had a lot of soldiers and scholars. Almost everypony had some kind of training in combat and higher education. If she’s still alive, she’s probably a brilliant architect and a trained soldier. Stratos: If not, there are probably many other qualified pegasi to choose from. Do we have any better ideas? … No? Okay then, where is this town and what is it called? Barn: Show me a map and I can probably recognize it. (We brought up a digital map, and Barn studied it for a bit.) Barn: I think it’s… Here. Area C4. That’s right, it was called Coltberton. Esper: That’s an odd name. Zed: Accessing database files… Interesting, the town was supposedly named after a human. Barn’s memory is accurate, the Unknown observed high percentages of guards and scientists. It looks like this is one of the towns your friend Nickolas catalogued. Stratos: Still helping me, are ya Nick? *Chuckles* Alright, we know where to go. Zed: Hang on… We might have a problem. Esper: What? Stratos: He said hang on. *PAUSE* Zed: Bringing up the images on map display. (Our map of Equestria was modified; numerous faint, dark patches were covering various areas) Esper: What is that? Zed: Satellite imagery has reported strange activity in Coltberton. Stratos: Define strange. Zed: The signals are similar to the ones present with the basilisk. There are several areas across Equestria with these signals. The great majority were present before the launch of the satellite. Esper: Are there other monsters? Zed: This satellite is not precise enough to acquire those kinds of readings. But we can confirm reports of paranormal sightings in these areas. I will display the magical frequencies now. (Several numbers and letters appeared over the dark fields) Barn: I recognize these. Those are signals of dark magic. Stratos: There is light and dark magic? Esper: No, it is just how we describe how magic is used. Barn’s right, I’ve read a lot of books on this subject, this looks like certain dark magic spells I have heard of. Stratos: Which ones? Esper: If the map is correct and I remember correctly… Necromancy, animation, and curses. Stratos: Raising of the dead, moving the inert, and supernatural torment. I thought the basilisk was just moved by magic not partially-revived. Necromancy and curses are not supposed to exist. Barn: If there is anything I have learned about in my travels around Equestria it is that there are plenty of exceptions to the rule. Stratos: Zed, why didn’t we know about this sooner? Zed: I just pieced the data together now. Much of it was encrypted files held by the organization. Only accessible to top staff. Esper: You said encrypted means that it has something that makes it harder to access. Stratos: Nick and others left me with files that I was not supposed to have. We weren’t supposed to be able to access this but they probably did not count on me building my own android. Barn: Did the humans know about this? Stratos: The real question is if they knew of the significance. Just because these files were reserved for the Unknown does not mean they knew what they meant. Perhaps they did not know and that is why they were classified. No, thinking back… They were running from this. This scared them? They have Unknown Soldiers. Did they think this was out of their league? If so, why leave me with this? Why leave only me? This doesn’t make any sense. *PAUSE* Barn: So, what do we do? Zed: There does not appear to be a source though one of the highest concentrations of these energies is located in Coltberton. We should start there. We need a plan. Stratos: Give me a moment. *PAUSE* Stratos: Alright. Barn, you and I will go to Coltberton and try to recruit this pegasus if she is there. We will also investigate these signals and neutralize them if possible. Zed, I need you to try and find a way to secretly contact Princess Celestia. If the Nick and the Unknown classified it, it should remain so but the ruler of this land needs to know about this. Zed: Sneak into Canterlot? Understood. Stratos: Epser I need you to stay at the base. Esper: Aw. It’s because I’m a filly isn’t it? Stratos: I hadn’t considered that. Zed is the best person we have at stealth. I am the best person at scientific analysis. Barn doesn’t know how to work the computers but he is good at negotiation and his magic is useful. We need someone back at the base to monitor the situation and man the reaper UAVs. Esper: And that would be me. Stratos: Yes… Well everyone, it looks like the Unknown Guardians have a mission. We have a purpose. Let’s get started. And I just realized I gave a child access to high explosives... Anyways, as you can see, our situation had changed. Something was going on. Something that my colleagues knew about but didn’t want to tell me. I think back to Nick and our last conversation. I sometimes wonder how much he really knew. I always considered it odd how the Nine Unknown Men were so willing to give me access to their classified materials, their remaining machines, their resources, and even a satellite just because I was staying on Equestria. They overlooked procedures to help me but how much was for my benefit and how much for theirs? I know the Unknown work in mysterious ways. Back then I had questioned whether or not they intended for me to stay and investigate this. I have no doubts now. If I didn’t believe my reason for staying, surely they must have known the truth. Even so, there are always secrets with them. What did they know about that they weren’t telling me? I still don’t have answers to that question. I might never find out. We still don’t know the origin of these signals. But we do know they aren’t good. We found that out in Coltberton.