//------------------------------// // Righteous Anger // Story: The Monster Below: Nightfall // by Greenback //------------------------------// With two guards escorting us, we make it to the stage in record time, where Beakbreaker and I sit in the VIP seats, giving us a perfect view of whatever Glasseye will be revealing tonight. The large, veiled case from the opening ceremony is still on stage; we got a glimpse at the next generation of artificial limbs and the introduction of mechanical eyes when this convention opened. Who knows what wonders lie beneath that cloth? Beakbreaker‘s notepad comes out. “So, what do you think is under there?” “I don’t know," I say. "Whatever it is, it looks big." “My bits are on a robot. Or a power loader." The lights dim. The crowd goes silent as a spotlight shines on Glasseye as he strolls out, excited as he brings up a microphone. “Good evening, Mares and Gentlecolts. Now, this is the part where I’d usually launch into a ten minute speech about the wonders of our age and our hopes for the future… but you’re more interested in this mysterious case, aren't you?" Laughs drift through the air. “I figured as much. And I can’t blame you. You’ve already seen what TechInc has in store for our society, wonders that we couldn’t even have dreamed of five years ago. Even I never could have dreamed them up. But now, we are on the verge of the single biggest breakthrough in the history of medical technology." I hear something behind me. Turning, I see a dozen or so ponies getting out of their seats and lining up in the isles. Huh... this must be part of an act Glasseye has planned. Glasseye goes to the container and magically takes hold of the cloth cover. “Two years ago, we saw an earth pony get wings. Two nights ago, you saw a pony with an artificial eye. And tonight, you get to see the next great wonder of the world!” The cloth is yanked from the case with the flair of a circus performer, revealing... a pony. But not just any pony. It‘s not even alive, or covered with skin. It‘s a pony made from metal, cables, motors, and strange mechanisms I can't make sense of. The air's filled with murmurs. What is this? Some type of automaton? A carnival attraction? An oversized remote-control toy for the wealthy? Glasseye spreads his legs. “Mares and Gentlecolts, I present to you, the very first artificial pony body!” The crowd gasps. Beakbreaker’s notebook falls to the floor. “Where we have given injured ponies new legs, wings, and even sight, we can now restore the whole body!" Glasseye says. "No longer will ponies crippled in accidents have to live with disabilities for the rest of their lives! Those who are paralyzed will walk again! The old, feeble, and infirm will find new vigor and strength beyond what they had before!” I gawk, my mouth opening on its own accord. This... This can’t be possible. Something this complex seems like something out of science fiction. And yet, there it is, standing before me. Glasseye taps the case. “You are all looking at the greatest marvel of our age. Within a few years, you will all be seeing cyborgs walking through the streets and flying through the air! And we will all-” He's interrupted by a thunderous explosion as the case is blown apart. I’m flung over my seat and smash my head into the floor. Pain floods my body; my vision swims, and all I can hear is an ear-splitting ringing. What's happening?! I… Beakbreaker! Where’s Beakbreaker?! The air above me explodes in a burst of magical light. “Everyone, stay where you are! Nobody moves, and nobody gets hurt, understand?” Scrambling over the seat before me, I duck down as a pony struts across the stage with an antique rifle. His horn fires off another magical burst that illuminates the hall. “I said, stay where you are!” Being as close to the stage as I am, I’m concealed by the shadows, giving me a moment to catch my bearings. The ponies I saw earlier... they’re all carrying weapons! They're surrounding the stage and seats, and… wait, there she is! Darting forward, I grab Beakbreaker and yank her close, clamping a hoof over her mouth. She tries to scream, but goes still upon seeing that it’s me. Another light flies up, revealing that luck has given us a break; we’re next to a small hatch leading into the stage. I kick it open and scramble through, Beakbreaker following right behind me. “What’s happening?!” Beakbreaker asks as I shove the door shut. “I don’t know!” I whisper. “Are you okay?” Beakbreaker wipes her hair away from her glasses, her hooves shaking. “I… I think so.” Thank Celestia! “We’ve got to get out of here,” Beakbreaker whispers. “Come on." She carefully makes her way through the stage‘s storage area. I follow, both of us staying as quiet as we can. The voice of our unseen party crasher echoes down from above. “Now, I imagine all of you are suffering from a bit of a memory problem. You seem to have forgotten that two years ago, a certain pony decided he was going to make himself better than the rest of us. And as a result, Manehattan was almost destroyed, and hundreds of innocent ponies lost their lives!” “Who are these guys?!” Beakbreaker whispers. “We saw what was coming! We saw that these, ’marvels of technology,’ would become weapons and tools to enslave decent, hardworking and innocent ponies like you and me!” Oh no… it can‘t be! "We didn’t want to do this, but you all forced us to take drastic measures. That’s why, starting tonight, we’re going to make sure that none of these foul things made here will ever see the light of day!” There’s a scuffle on the stage above us. The crowd screams. “Unhand me, you ruffian!” “I’m sorry about this, Mr. Glasseye, but we can’t let you continue with these abominations of yours.” “Abominations? Listen here you uneducated lowlife! I-” Even through the thick wood, I hear the smack of steel smashing into flesh. Something heavy drops to the stage. “I'm not the lowlife here. You’re the one leading us towards the end of the world with a smile on your face.” There's a loud click. “It's nothing personal. This just needs to end, one way or another.” Sweet Celestia, they're going to kill Glasseye! I've got to save him! But how?! “Listen, can't we talk this out?" Glasseye pleads, his bravado nowhere to be found. I run to a nearby support beam; by sheer dumb luck, it seems Glasseye is on a trapdoor. If I can get it open, he‘ll fall out of harms way, and the shock of seeing him vanish will give us a few seconds to flee. Problem is, he’ll break his back from falling from so high up. “Beakbreaker!" My loud whisper gets her attention. She runs over; I point out the control panel. “When I say so, hit the red button!" She nods and gets into position while I stand beneath the trapdoor. “Yes, it is drastic. But sometimes lives have to be sacrificed for the greater good." Another click. “Any last words?” “Now!” I shout. Beakbreaker hits the button and the trapdoors swing open. Glasseye tumbles through and lands hard into my waiting hooves, the impact knocking both of us to the ground. It hurts, but assuming that we’ll still be alive by tomorrow, all we’ll have to deal with are bruises and a cracked rib or two. A shadow falls on us from above. “What in Tartarus?!” I drop Glasseye and run for the back of the storage area. Though shaken, Glasseye manages to get his footing and follows us, darting to a hatch. He yanks it open, and the three of us run through, Beakbreaker shoving it closed behind us, sliding a lock into place, and muffling the enraged shouts from the stage. “Follow me!" Glasseye whispers. I let Glasseye take the lead, and we all run through the cramped duct. We soon reach a thick door, plain except for a hole in the center. Glasseye shoves his horn inside and twists. Locks are undone and it swings open. “Get in!” The three of us pour through and shove the door back into place, the locks falling with a heavy thud. There’s no way anybody’s getting through that in a hurry. “Is everyone okay?” I ask. “Yeah,” Beakbreaker pants. “Are you sure?" I look for cuts, scrapes, anything that she might not have noticed. “Hey, I’m fine. Really." I turn to Glasseye. He’s trying to still his trembling legs. “How about you?” “I've been better." Taking a deep breath, Glasseye puts his hooves down and casts a light spell. “Follow me.” Guided by Glasseye’s light, we make our way through the tunnel at a fast clip, Glasseye no doubt wanting to get as far away from the center as possible. “What is this place?” Beakbreaker pants. “Emergency escape tunnels,” Glasseye says. “When you're the head of a company this large, it pays to be paranoid. And judging from what happened back there, my paranoia was justified. But who were those ruffians?” Beakbreaker and I glance at each other. “The Guardians of Tradition,” I say. “That can’t be! I thought they disbanded after the Manehattan incident.” “I guess not,” Beakbreaker says, glancing back the way we came. “Well, they won’t get away with this." Glasseye starts up again, his anger giving him a boost of speed. “When we reach the tower, I'm initializing a complete lockdown of every building in Genesis. I won’t rest until every one of them have been rounded up!” *** I lose track of how long we follow Glasseye through the tunnel as it twists and turns. While I can keep up easily, Beakbreaker starts to wheeze; I’m about to tell Glasseye to slow down when we reach another steel door. When the lock is opened, we emerge into a vertical shaft and take a small elevator upwards. It comes to a stop about ten minutes later, and after unlocking yet another steel door, we make our way through a cramped tunnel. “Where are we going?” Beakbreaker asks, grunting as her back scrapes against rough metal. “The most well-defended room in Genesis,” Glasseye says as he unlocks one last door and swings it open. Squeezing through the hatch, I follow Beakbreaker into the cavernous expanse of Glasseye’s quarters. “Oh wow." Her fatigue is forgotten as she spins, gobsmacked at the elegance and beauty adorning the chamber. “Sir!” Onyx Shield and several heavily armored ponies dash from the hallway leading to the elevators. “Onyx!" Glasseye sighs. “Am I glad to see you! Now, what’s happening out there?” “It’s not good, sir. The Guardians have taken the tower.” “What?!” “They infiltrated our ranks and launched a surprise attack; I don’t know how many there are, but I’ve lost half my forces.” “You mean they’re dead?” “I don’t know; it’s hard to get a detailed report on what’s happening." Glasseye curses. “What about the rest of the city?” “Stonehoof and the other security forces were able to subdue most of those inside the convention center after your escape. A few got away, but we’re looking for them now. The Guardians have sealed the tower with magic barriers to keep anyone from getting in or out.” “Then we need to purge this tower of their disgusting presence. Options?” “It won’t be easy. They’ve taken hostages and are threatening to kill them if we launch a counter-attack.” “What are their demands?” I ask. “The complete destruction of Genesis’ databanks and research. And they want it done in an hour, or they'll start executing hostages every five minutes until we comply with their demands.” That can’t be… the Guardians I dealt with were obsessed, but not to this degree. “Are you sure you didn’t misinterpret their demands?“ I ask. “I've been in security a long time, Mr. Silverspeak. I know the look of someone ready to kill. And there’s something else… we got some security footage of the Guardians as they took the tower. Several of them were ordered to look for you, Silverspeak.” A silence fills the room. “Me?” Onyx nods. “They want you.” “Then let me talk to them," I say, a desperate plan throwing itself together in my mind. "I can use my talent on them. At full strength, I might be able to persuade them to stand down, or at the least, buy you some time to mount a raid.” Onyx contemplates the idea. “It’s worth a try, but I doubt they'll go for it. Fanatics are always ready to die for their cause.” “Then we have no time to lose," Glasseye says. "We've got to reach the communication center. Silverspeak, once we're there, I'll have you broadcast to every building in Genesis. After Silverspeak does his work, we’ll contact Canterlot and ask for backup." Wait a minute! “Glasseye?” “I'm sorry, Silverspeak, but I-” “We don't have to go to the communication room; I can contact Princess Luna from my suite. She gave me a magical orb to communicate with her. The Guardians won't be able to detect it." It only takes a second for Glasseye to make up his mind. “We'll do it. We'll escort you to your room, you call the Princess, and then we head to the communications center. Now, let‘s go!” Onyx leads us all out of Glasseye’s office and down to the security center. Dozens of officers are working out battle plans, while others interact with their computers to coordinate a strike. Onyx and the others work to top off on ammunition for their weapons, and grab combat vests for the rest of us. I slip one on. So does Beakbreaker. “What are you doing, Beakbreaker?” “Coming along. What does it look like?” “What? No, you need to stay here. It's-” “I can't stay behind and do nothing, not when there are lives on the line. Besides, if there are any wounded, I can treat them until we can get a doctor.” I don’t want her to come; I don’t want to run the chance of the Guardians taking her hostage, or worse. But if we were to come across wounded personnel, Beakbreaker's medical experience would be invaluable. “Well...” “Hey, I'll be alright." She takes a taser off a nearby counter. “I'll have this with me." She studies it. "Glasseye?" "Yes?" "What exactly is this?" "A taser, my dear. Shoot something and they're incapacitated by electricity." Glasseye tightens the last strap on his vest. “Alright, are we all set? Then let's go!” Taking my own taser, I fall in as Onyx leads us out of the office and down a stairwell to the guest floor. Onyx and his guards head out to inspect the hall and make sure it's clear, leaving Glasseye, Beakbreaker, and myself behind. “You both seem to be taking this all rather well,” Glasseye tells me as he wipes sweat from his eyes. “Not really,” Beakbreaker says. “I'm scared out of my wits.” “You don't look it.” “You learn a few things working as a doctor: Keep focused on a goal, and you'll be able to ignore distractions." “I suppose so.” “Then again, we aren't being shot at every day.” Wanting to change the subject, Glasseye turns to me. “Silverspeak, in case anything goes wrong and I don't get another chance, I want to thank you for saving me back in the center.” “It's nothing,” I assure him. “Nothing? You saved my life! I am in your debt, and if there’s any way I can repay the favor one day, I shall. You have my word.” I nod. “Let's worry about that later." Onyx pokes his head inside the stairwell. “It's clear.” We leave the stairwell. I stay close to Beakbreaker as we dart across the hall to my door. “How long will you need?” Glasseye asks as we reach my room. “Two minutes minimum,” I say, fumbling for the key to the door. I hope to Celestia that Alicorns have teleportation spells they can use in cases of extreme emergencies. An entire company of Royal Guards would stop the Guardians in no time flat. At last, I find the key and ram it into the lock, opening the door with a fast yank. "Alright, let's get-" “There they are!” The hallway explodes in a barrage of colors as magic blasts shoot past us. Instinct takes over and I dive into the room. “Beakbreaker!?” Beakbreaker jumps inside, just narrowly dodging the blasts. The guards cry out as they're blasted down the hall, overwhelmed by the sudden assault. “Glasseye, move!" Onyx shoves his employer inside the penthouse and slams the door shut. I yank Beakbreaker to her hooves. “Are you okay?!” She nods. “Yeah, I think so!” Onyx yells beyond the door, then goes silent. “Uhhh... anyone have any ideas on what to do?” Beakbreaker asks. Glasseye runs to the wall before us and hits it with his hooves, feeling around. “There's a drywall somewhere around here! Help me find it!” The door bulges. Wood cracks as magic seeps through. “Glasseye!” “Wait, the bathroom! We can-” The door bursts. I have a brief image of several security guards and ordinary looking ponies dashing inside, weapons and horns powering up. I have a second to act, maybe two. There's no way I can dodge their attacks, not at this range, and the taser can only take down one of them if I'm lucky. But I can still fight, giving Beakbreaker time to escape. I fire the taser. One guard goes down as I leap forward, stretching myself as wide as I can as the unicorns open fire, and- *** It’s dark. “Boss? He's waking up.” I blink. Things come into focus; monitors, displays, tech equipment, and cables. This must be the communications room Glasseye was talking about. Dozens of other ponies stand guard over Onyx Shield and his guards. They're unconscious, but alive. But where's Beakbreaker? I glance around and try to conceal my sigh of relief. There's no sign of her. She must have slipped away. But I'm not alone: Several of the Guardians stand before me, their weapons pointed at my head. Among them is the pony from the stage. He regards me the way someone would view a rabid dog. “So, this is the famed Silverspeak.” Okay, Silverspeak, stay calm. I’ve been a hostage before. I got through those, and I’ll get through this. “I don’t think we’ve met," I say. “No, we haven’t." The pony turns to one of his associates. “How much longer?” “Fifteen minutes.” "Good." The leader turns to back to me. “You should be proud, Silverspeak. You have a front row seat to watch my hostages die.” “You think that will help your cause?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady and reasonable, “that murdering innocents will gain you sympathy?” “We're not looking for sympathy.” “I thought the Guardians were non-violent.” “We were. Once." He looks over his antique rifle. “But that didn't get us anywhere. We need to make examples of those who follow the wrong path.” “You still haven't answered my question.” “And what's that?” “How you know me." I could care less, but I need to try and distract him. Need to buy any rescue teams as much time as I can. A pony walks in with a small box. I turn on the charm. “If you kill anyone, public sympathy for you will vanish. And even if you did stop TechInc, what will you do when someone picks up where they left off? Are you going to go take hostages every time something new is invented?” “We’re stopping massacres, Silverspeak. We're making sure this technology is never abused. How long do you think it will be before the armed forces applies full-body replacements to soldiers? Do you think they'd pass up an opportunity to create an army that never gets tired, never gets hurt, and can overwhelm anything in its path? And what about our enemies? What if they got hold of all this technology? There'd be wars, wars so destructive that they could wipe out all life on this planet. But we can stop that from ever happening, right here, right now.” I shake my head. “No matter how many hostages you take, no matter how passionate are, you can't stop change.” My captor’s face hardens. “Your talent is the gift of the silver tongue, to charm others into doing your will. That's what you're doing, isn't it?” Oh buck. My captor cracks his hooves and turns to the box. I can’t see what's inside as he takes something out and fiddles with it. He takes his time. That can't be good. Two ponies grab hold of my shoulders and force me to stay still. “I've dreamed of this moment for a long time, Silverspeak. You see, we've never met, but you knew my father very well. He was the spokespony for the Guardians. You remember him, don't you?” Wait... that pony? The one I debated in Manehattan? Then that means... “You're his son?” “Yes,” He says, voice calm and unfazed. “Yes, I am.” He turns, and my heart stops. He’s wearing knuckle-busters. “And I want to see you bleed.” I ratchet up the charm to maximum strength and open my- The first hit snaps my head sideways. Then another hit knocks my head back. I try to pull away, but the pony hits me again, and my vision goes red as I hear flesh ripping. “You killed my father! You and your stupid, single-minded obsession!” Another hit, and bones crack. “He was the only family I had! And you took him from me!” It hurts to make my tongue move. “Mangus Bluehorn killed your father!” A blow to the stomach knocks the wind from me. “And he would have never become what he was if it wasn't for you!” He hits me again and again, each blow harder than the last. I fight against the cables tied around my legs, but my captors force me to stay still. It feels like an eternity before my captor finally stops. “The Princesses determined that you’ve paid for your crimes. But you haven't. Two years of confinement, and then you're free to go. My pain hasn’t gone away in two years, and it won’t go away in twenty, two hundred, or even two thousand! You thought you were done, Silverspeak? You haven’t even begun to be punished for what you did!" Celestia... it hurts just to breathe. My vision's red, and I can feel broken bones slicing into muscle... Pausing to wipe blood off the busters, the pony turns to one of his fellows. “How long until the deadline?” “One minute.” “And that coward Glasseye still hasn't responded. I guess he doesn't care about the lives of anyone in the city. How surprising.” I blink furiously, trying to get blood out of my eyes. “You’re going to die tonight, Silverspeak, but not before I punish you even more. And what better way to start than by sharing my pain with you?" He glances back. “Bring her in.” Several security ponies enter the room, dragging someone with them. No… oh no, no, no! The guards reach the stage and drop Beakbreaker onto the stage, tied up as I am. I force my pain-wracked mouth to speak. “B... Beakbreaker!” She blinks and looks around, as confused as I was when I was woken from my stunned stupor. She spots me and almost calls out, only to be stopped as two guards yank her up and hold her in place. My captor walks to her and cracks his hooves. “This will be the first part of your punishment, Silverspeak: just as you took my family from me, I’ll take your family from you.“ No! I lunge forward, only to be stopped by the accursed guards. I try to bite them, and get hit in the head for my efforts. “If you have any last words, now is the time to say them.” “I'll kill you if you touch her!” “Wrong answer.” He rears back. No! Oh please, Celestia, no! Don’t let her die! Don’t let her- Something like thunder fills the air, and a bright flash blinds me. Beakbreaker screams. My vision comes back in time to see my captor and the other ponies staggering, hooves held to their eyes. They’re yelling, but I can barely hear them over the ringing in my ears. Smoke’s filing the room, making it difficult to see. “It’s the guards!” My captor yells. “Kill the hostages! Kill them a-” Another bang sends my captor to the floor, blood spraying from what remains of his head. More bangs fill the air. The other Guardians spin and blindly fire their weapons and magic, but they fall as fast as their leader. Beakbreaker flattens herself on the floor. I do the same, watching as the last Guardian is blasted back into a row of monitors, knocking them to the floor in a shower of sparks. Then, as quickly as it began, it’s over. Someone emerges from the fog of acrid smoke. It’s… Glasseye? He surveys the room and spots Beakbreaker. Dropping something he carried with his magic, Glasseye runs to her and undoes the cables binding her legs. No sooner do they hit the floor then she runs to me. It hurts to have my cables yanked off, but I don’t care. She’s alive; she’s alive, and that’s all that matters. “Silverspeak! Oh Celestia, are you okay?!“ I spit out some blood. “No.“ Running to a fallen guard, Beakbreaker yanks out his first-aid pack. “Glasseye! We need a medic here, now!” “On it!" Glasseye runs to a nearby phone. Beakbreaker presses me down onto the floor. “Take it easy, Silverspeak.” “How bad is it?” She hesitates. “Beakbreaker?” “He beat you very badly, Silverspeak, but you’ll be okay. Nothing some magic spells can’t fix.” “Did they hurt you?” She shakes her head. “Just a few bruises from being tackled, that’s all.” “Good…” Glasseye hangs up the phone. “Medics are on the way. Hang in there, Silverspeak. You’re going to be alright.” Beakbreaker injects me with something, and… ohhh... oh, that feels so good. The pain's gone. I can steel feel broken bones, but at least I can breathe without wanting to scream. Turning, I look to Glasseye, wanting to thank him for saving us. The fact that he did so is a surprise; even for a powerful unicorn, taking on almost a dozen ponies at once is near-suicide. He would have needed something to even the odds, something that could… Wait. The item Glasseye carried lies on the ground a few feet from me. I crawl towards it, trying to ignore the blood soaking into the carpet. “Silverspeak, stay still! You can’t-” It’s a rifle. But this isn't an antique like the one the Guardian’s leader was carrying. This is built from plastic instead of wood, and lined with lights and high-tech gauges. “Looks like that’s all of them,” Glasseye says. “I don’t think we’ll have to-” He stops upon seeing me with the rifle. I meet his gaze. Neither of us speak. I didn’t see this on the tour.