Barn spent the next four days recovering from the injury. His eye was a mess after the impact and healing magic was not precise enough to completely fix his vision. He needed a new eye to recover all of his sight. Zed was fully repaired by then and was more than willing to help with the surgery.
Plum was understandably furious with me. Later that first day, she kicked down my door and shut off power to my room. I did not retaliate. I simply repaired everything. This frustrated her even more and she flew away for a few days.
Esper continued trying to contact Nick, even once saying to me she had made some progress. I was sure she was lying to me but I kept my mouth shut.
Elly tried to continue dealing with the dark signals on her own. After a few close calls, and a lot of injuries, she decided to wait for the others to help.
In spite of interruptions, I had plenty of time to think and cool off. I can’t believe this but I must have deleted the conversations I had with Smith. That’s hard for me to believe because, as I mentioned, I don’t get rid of anything. The only reason Esper even had that quantum radio in the first place was because I kept that useless box even after everyone left for Earth. Heck she was using pieces I ripped from the Spectrum Bridge Generator which I was supposed to completely get rid of.
But back to Smith: For some reason, we talked to each other a few times. I’m not sure why I didn’t blow him off like everyone else. I think it was because Smith was only asking about the technical questions he had about what he was reading in the library.
Well, at least at first.
He began to inquire about my feelings. He helped me sort through a lot of my thoughts and I offered my input to anything he said. We were combative with how we talked but it seemed to work for both of us.
Sadly, I can’t remember much given how many years ago that was but I do remember that I asked him why he was so against any kind of help. He told me that was just the way he was and it always worked for him.
He also said that if I could not do anything but hate humans than I should just forget about them because obviously it was not helping me. He didn’t say it exactly like this, (if he did I would have ignored him), but he said I needed to consider my own problems and not create some sort of scapegoat.
I needed to start from square one and figure out how to solve everything without anything clouding my judgment. It was good advice.
But near the end, something dawned on me. We were feeling and acting much the same way over the course of our lives. Smith had isolated himself from others just like I had. He was dismissive of others and stubborn in his actions just like I was. Just like me, he was starting to realize the problems with his world view. And so on. It was like looking into a mirror.
I asked him why he had stayed here if he already had his journal. He did not answer.
I asked him if he was lonely. To that he did not answer either.
I asked him if he was happy or if he was even satisfied with his life. More importantly, would he ever be satisfied? His reaction was obvious.
I even asked him if he was really as good as he thought he was. Was he ever wrong? Had he ever blamed himself?
Perhaps most importantly, no matter how good he was, did anyone ever recognize him for how hard he worked? Would they ever recognize him solely for how brilliant he was?
Finally, I asked him if anyone cared about him. Those words hit him the hardest.
I wanted to ask more, but I had to stop. For both of our sakes.
Those talks with Smith happened over the course of three days.
It was on the forth day that Elly came to me.
Elly: Stratos?
Stratos: …
Elly: If you don’t want to come out, at least let me in.
(I pressed the button allowing her access. Elly walked inside. I was lying on my bed staring at the ceiling. Elly walked over to my bed and sat down. She did not say anything for minutes, so I spoke.)
Stratos: I was going to be famous.
Elly: What do you mean?
Stratos: As part of the deal with the Unknown, they were going to hand me a prototype of the equations they used to create the Spectrum Bridge. I would publish it and it would be humanity’s first step towards faster-than-light travel. My name would have been stamped in every major science textbook. The next E equals M C squared. No average person would know what it really meant but everyone would know it was important.
Elly: Don’t you want to be famous?
Stratos: It wasn’t my work. People would ask how I discovered it. I would be invited to share my stories. Everyone would listen to my scientific expertise and record all of my thoughts on philosophy and politics. I would have had to have lived the rest of my life under that lie. Why should I get credit for it? On the other hand, it was the best shot I had at achieving my dream. Even if it was all a lie. It’s why I went to this world in the first place. Maybe they did publish the equation under my name, maybe they gave it to someone else. Maybe they didn’t even publish it. But I gave that up when I decided to stay in Equestria.
Elly: Why did you stay?
Stratos: I’m sick of being miserable.
Elly: Equestria makes you happy?
Stratos: No. It just didn’t make me miserable. This place is more overtly peaceful. No negative things to distract me. Or disappoint me. But I’m not happy. Nothing makes me happy.
Elly: What about us?
*PAUSE*
Stratos: Elly, I’ve been a terrible friend. You are all much better than I deserve. That’s really not an exaggeration.
Elly: You aren’t that bad.
Stratos: Even barring what I did to Barn, I haven’t worked at getting to know any of you. I haven’t learned anything about any of you. I only know Zed because I built him. I only know Esper because I’ve practically raised her. I only learned about Barn’s desire to become a knight because I argued with him. Heck I’m ruining his dream. Barn’s right, I only cared about myself. I don’t know of anyone’s dreams. Friends should help…
*PAUSE*
Stratos: Elly, what is your dream?
Elly: To make everypony happy.
Stratos: You’re naïve if you think you can achieve that.
Elly: Then I guess I am not naïve.
Stratos: *Chcukles* I see why you and Zed get along so well. Do you know Plum’s dream?
Elly: She says she wants show her architecture to the world, but mostly she wants to start a family.
Stratos: That won’t do anything in the long-run.
Elly: It will make her happy.
*PAUSE*
Stratos: And I ripped that away from her by forcing her to join us.
Elly: I don’t think so. Unless this evil is stopped, nopony will be safe. *Smiles* Besides, she likes Barn.
*PAUSE*
Stratos: Why don’t you hate me?
Elly: First of all, you saved my life.
Stratos: Oh, right.
Elly: And second, I don’t think you are bad. I think you are sad.
Stratos: It does not excuse anything. Intentions and ideas do not excuse actions.
Elly: I know you can change.
Stratos: I have not changed my idea about humans.
Elly: To extrapolate on what the Greek philosophers said, “A man only hates their fellow man because their expectations fail to align with their reality on numerous occasions. Continual disappointment leads to pessimism. We cannot expect perfection and focusing on failures will only lead to misery. To escape from that darkness, we need to understand our follies and shift our view to find the light. Only then can we rekindle that flame.”
Stratos: *I sat up on my bed* Wow, what book did you get that from?
Elly: One of your video games.
Stratos: Oh… Well, regardless, you’re right. I need a new perspective. Smith is correct, start from zero. I need to find that one thing. There’s always one guy I can trust.
(I got up from the bed and walked over to my desk. I kept a print copy of Nick’s “mission” to me on my desk, next to any computer really. I studied the words closely.)
Stratos: You didn’t say I could defeat this thing. So, am I not supposed to win? *beat* Wait a second. Maybe I’m not supposed to win.
Elly: I don’t understand.
Stratos: They may have known I couldn’t win on my own—
Elly: But that’s why we’re here to help, right?
Stratos: Well… uh… no. With your help, I am a lot stronger but it is still not enough. The point is, even if they did not think I could win, it does not mean they thought I would lose or that what I was doing was useless.
(I turned to face Elly.)
Stratos: Elly, why would they have only me stay behind?
Elly: Uh…
Stratos: Never mind, I’ll answer that. They could have had a soldier or, really, anyone else stay behind. They could have conducted covert operations. They picked me because I was supposed to research this thing, not stop it. Even if they were selfish, they can’t ignore this danger.
Elly: That’s a good thing?
Stratos: Actually, no. We can do something just not what we actually want to do. Still, that’s good enough for me.
Elly: So, now what?
(I nodded to myself and put the note in my pocket.)
Stratos: Come on Elly, let’s gather everyone together and go contact Princess Celestia.
Elly: So are we done being depressed?
Stratos: For now. *I shook my head and chuckled* I still don’t know how you can do that so easily.
Elly: Do what?
Stratos: Cheer me up.
Elly: Oh, I do.
Stratos: Really? How?
Elly: By being awesome. *She proudly trotted out of the room*
Stratos: *Amusement* True enough.
I quickly went to the lounge to sort everything out with everyone. Luckily, it just so happened that everyone, minus Smith, was in that room at that time. Also luckily, in spite of scowling by Barn and Plum, no one tried to kill me or ignore me.
Barn: Oh great, you’re up.
Stratos: Barn, you’re right, I’m sorry, I need to stop blaming others and get my act together. There’s no amount of combination of words that will work as an apology. Thus, I’m not sure what else to say other than I hope I make up for past and prove myself to you, starting now.
(That caught Barn off-guard.)
Barn: …Okay.
Stratos: Esper.
Esper: Yes?
Stratos: Are you still trying to communicate with Nick?
Esper: Yes! As I said, I think I even got a response! Not sure how to translate it but—
Stratos: Stop it.
Esper: Why?
Stratos: If I am correct, Nick knows we’re in trouble. We were wrong about the time frame before they come back. Most likely, from their departure, they intended to come back anywhere between five and thirty years. Our responsibility is to send them information that would help inform them of what they could be fighting so they could better prepare themselves. Do we have any useful information on that?
Esper: Oh, right. At least I probably got it to work.
Stratos: Indeed. Save your research for later when we can use it.
Esper: Okay!
Stratos: Plum, are you sure you still want to be an Unknown Guardian?
Plum: Yes, why wouldn’t I?
Stratos: I just need to make sure I’m not forcing anyone to do anything they don’t want to do.
Plum: Let me worry about that.
Stratos: Right… Did you have a good trip to Coltberton?
Plum: Yes I did… Wait, how did you know that?
Stratos: I figured, if you were frustrated with me, you’d want to talk with your family.
Plum: I went to talk with my sister. After insulting you for an hour, I told her you think Equestria is not strong enough anymore.
Stratos: What’d she say?
Plum: That we should make it stronger.
Stratos: Are you saying you two worked out a plan?
Plum: Yes, but I don’t want to tell you just so you can shoot it down.
Stratos: Trust me.
Plum: How about no.
Stratos: Alrighty then… I have no idea what to say now.
Elly: Please Plum?
*PAUSE*
Plum: Elly, were you ever a warrior or ever want to be one?
Elly: Oh no, violence was the last thing on my mind. I always hated when anypony argued and stayed as far away from weapons as possible.
Esper: But, you play video games!
Elly: Because they are fun and nopony gets hurt.
Zed: I disagree. I express a great deal of disagreement towards that statement.
*PAUSE*
Plum: Moving on. Would you ever hurt anypony?
Elly: No, never!
Plum: If we could train Elly, then we can train anypony. We can and should start recruitment. We need an army.
Esper: That could work. She’s right!
Stratos: She is, but we are not equipped to deal with a large influx of recruits.
Plum: Oh great.
Stratos: No-no-no, don’t misunderstand. I’m saying we need to plan this for a few weeks, preferably a few months, before we officially go forward.
Plum: So, you like the plan? You’re actually agreeing?
Stratos: Yup, we need to get more ponies in on this. And if you don’t mind, the first place I’d like to check out is Coltberton. They have the best warriors and we can trust them. Do you agree?
Plum: That sounds great!
Stratos: Good, just remember it’s not an option at this very moment. We’ll get started soon.
Plum: Gotcha.
Stratos: Now… Zed?
(Zed was still experiencing some sort of terrifying gaming-related flashback but shook himself back to reality.)
Zed: Yes?
Stratos: If you’re going to keep fighting at this pace, we need to upgrade you significantly.
Zed: Are you capable of doing that?
Stratos: At the very moment, no. For that, we need better base materials.
Zed: Meaning, you need to get Smith.
Stratos: Yup. Everyone, prepare for departure to Canterlot. We’re going to meet with the Princess but, before that, I’m going to get Smith. Any objections?
(There were none.)
Stratos: Alright!
(I turned around to leave but before I left the room I turned back to face everyone again.)
Stratos: By the way, if I ever act like that again, would someone please kill me?
(Plum and Barn tried to raise their hooves but Esper beat them to it.)
Esper: I’ll do it!
Stratos: Oddly enthusiastic, but thank you.
(Then I left.)
Zed: That was truly fascinating. *Turns to Barn* Contrary to your statements, there might be hope for him yet.
Barn: I hope so. It’d be a nice change of pace.
*PAUSE*
Barn: I’d still rather talk to other humans.
Esper: *Still looking at her code on her quantum transmitters* Ah ha! I can figure out one part of the message. If I am correct, Nick says… “Hello… ponies!”
Barn: …It’s a start.
(On the other side of the room.)
Plum: Elly, how’d you do that?
Elly: You owe me forty bits.
Plum: Aw, ponyfeathers.
I made a stop by our base’s library where I knew Smith was hanging out. When I arrived I saw he was reading my custom-print version of “Rats in the Walls” by none other than H.P. Lovecraft. As soon as he noticed me, Smith closed the book and sat down at the nearest table. Soon after, I took my chair and we briefly locked our gazes.
Smith: So you are up.
Stratos: Nope, still crying myself to sleep. This is just a hologram.
Smith: Are all humans this annoying?
Stratos: No, some of us are really scary because we are incredibly violent.
Smith: I can see that.
Stratos: Still, that at least keeps us safe from most threats, unlike Equestria.
Smith: I suppose that is a fair statement.
*PAUSE*
Smith: Alright, say what you want to say then I will say what I want to.
Stratos: Okay Smithy Strike or, if you don’t mind, I will call you Smith. You and I are pretty much exactly the same. Besides the whole pony-human thing. We both have incredible abilities that we want to be recognized for. Beyond that, we want to use those abilities to gain even more recognition and respect on a large scale but, quite frankly, the thing is, in the grand scheme of things, we are weak and insignificant. If you do not join our organization, as much as we joked about it when we first met, no matter how great you are, you will die alone in a hovel. Join us and that won’t happen. You will perfect your craft, gain abilities and powers you never would have dreamed of, and have your name go down in Equestrain history as one of its saviors. Yes, a lot of your time will be spent training for battles, studying unrelated topics, and going on missions, but in the end you will win out because you won’t have to spend so much time gathering materials and will benefit from all of our knowledge and intellect. We want you to join our organization because we need someone we can trust who has unsurpassed ability in crafting weapons and armor while not being a nuisance when the time for battle comes. We will be that much stronger with you at our side. Quite frankly, from my own personal endeavors, I can easily say there is no one in all of Equestria more qualified for this position than you are. We can do a whole lot of good together. Therefore I will ask one question: Do you want to become an Unknown Guardian?
Smith: … Wow. Uh, *scratches the back of his head with his hoof* I was just going to say that I wanted to join your group.
Stratos: …Oh.
*PAUSE*
Stratos: What changed your mind?
Smith: Well, I saw all of the other formerly cursed items you have and I feel certain amount of kinship with the others who have suffered the same fates. For once, I can say I enjoy the company of all of the ponies here. I was rather impressed with Zed’s dedication towards fighting those abominations. You were right, humans know a whole lot more about my own craft than I do and I will need your machines to significantly improve my skills within my own lifetime. That your goals overlap with mine is just an added bonus. And beyond all of that, you are rather odd; I want to see what you will do. If you can really do anything at all.
Stratos: That’s not all is it?
Smith: Nope.
Stratos: Don’t feel like talking about the actual emotional reasons?
Smith: Nah.
Stratos: Just checking. Okay then. Um, wanna go meet the Princess and tell her what we found out?
Smith: To the first part yes, to the second part no, but we might as well do both.
Stratos: Come on, let’s go.
*We got up and began to leave the room.*
Smith: You know that speech was pretty good. Did you think of that off the top of your head?
Stratos: Mostly.
Smith: That’s impressive.
Stratos: I can tell this is going to be the start of a wonderful friendship.
Smith: Is that a reference to something?
Stratos: Roughly, I can’t remember the exact line.
Smith: *Chuckles* Well I can say one thing.
Stratos: And that is?
Smith: Life within the “Unknown Guardians” is going to be rather interesting.
I’d hope so; otherwise what I am writing is going to be very boring when someone reads it.
And so off we left to meet with Princess Celestia. She had no idea what we were going to say or why but that all of us were going to meet her proved the importance.
I won’t set the scene much. We were in the royal gardens and it was in the middle of the full moon lit night, that’s all.
The important thing was what was said.
Celestia: I sense this is not simply a matter of introducing me to our new companion.
Stratos: Sadly no. On that matter, let’s keep it short. Smith, say hi.
Smith: Hello Princess Celestia, it is a pleasure to meet you once again.
Celestia: Likewise, Smithy Strike. I am glad they were able to sway your opinion to our favor. I am curious how they managed this.
Smith: Yes but if that is a story to be told it must wait for another time.
(I cut them off there.)
Stratos: I need to get this over with. This is not easy to say. As you may see we are not exactly in the highest of spirits.
Celestia: Then I must assume this is a matter of great importance. Please, go on.
Stratos: Alright, I am going to tell you exactly what is going on here. What this thing is doing and why.
Celestia: You have a conclusion you are willing to share?
Stratos: Yes. As you know, we have been trying to track down and eliminate the source of these dark magical energies. I am sorry to say, for that part, we have no answer. Nevertheless, we have collected many items that are cursed and saved many individuals who have been afflicted. During this time we noticed a disturbing pattern within our endeavors. It is no coincidence that, as soon as we try to help or arrive in an area of dark energy, we are attacked. More specifically, as soon as we try and help or meet with any cursed individual they are attacked. So, we know for a fact that this thing does not want multiple “cursed” individuals interacting with each other. On the other hand, with cursed items, we know these items are solely related to the investigations into what is causing these events. However, I must clarify that neither these items nor any individuals are actually cursed, they are… followed.
Celestia: Followed?
Stratos: For example, Sir Colbert’s journal was never cursed in spite of its importance. The likely reason is because what was supposed to observe his item was instead killed by him, meaning that this thing did not know where the item was so could not follow it properly. It seemingly does not worry about us collecting large amounts of cursed items because we are killing everything that monitors the items. Without seeing us it can’t follow us. Even besides that, we are actually removing potential items that could inform individuals about this thing from circulation. I’m not sure it would want to stop us even if it knew what we were doing.
Celestia: There is no curse. It is something that is watching, plotting, and acting.
Stratos: Correct. And the next question that comes to mind is, of course, why?
*PAUSE*
Celestia: Is something wrong?
Stratos: We had the information in front of us this whole time. It was there from the very beginning; as soon as we translated Colbert’s journal… Before I go on, I should emphasize that all of this was done specifically while avoiding your gaze. The near impossibility that you do not know about all of this even after all this time means that these attacks had to have been planned around you.
Celestia: Does it know me this well?
Stratos: Probably, but we don’t know. But, as I say, we know what it is doing. It is eliminating powerful monsters. In addition, legendary warriors are being killed off. Many times this is either before they started a family or along with their entire family. Nevertheless, Colbert’s journal is the biggest clue. He gave out everything. Most of the names on his record were individuals who were either legends or prodigies going to become legends. Many of my friends here are also of that caliber and they were attacked.
Celestia: Doctor Lucid, I do not need more evidence. Please, tell me what is happening.
Stratos: Princess Celestia, these aren’t just random killings tied to those who could find or discover this thing, these are assassinations of the strong. This thing is eliminating the most powerful members of Equestria including monsters and possible allied civilizations. Moreover, the reason why it is killing those with special abilities is to keep them from reproducing. It wants to remove those abilities from the gene pool.
Celestia: Why would it do this?
Stratos: Societal engineering. Over hundreds of years it purposefully promotes physical weakness and stunts development to make sure that society as a whole is weaker. It gets rids of potential leaders and sources of resistance including non-Equestrians. I’ve never even conceived of something like this. But the closest match, or the closest thing this resembles, can be seen with a certain brand of tactics used on Earth. This is used in preparation for war and genocide.
(I never thought it was possible for her face to become pale.)
Stratos: Its ultimate goal is to either to destroy all of Equestria or that is just a casualty to get rid of you.
(Celestia tried to say something, but she could not. She turned her gaze away from us.)
Stratos: If you had discovered this three hundred years ago, you could have tried to gather the forces to challenge it. Now, combat magic is a dying, if not dead, art. Even the Royal Guard can barely do more than one type of basic elemental attack. Weapons are uncommon. Powerful artifacts are falling apart. Equestria doesn’t have any legendary warriors anymore. This thing has removed anything that could challenge it. There’s no one left. WE are all that is left. We are by far the strongest force Equestria has seen in a hundred years… Stronger individuals have fallen to it. From the texts, I know this thing has only shown a fraction of its power.
(Celestia continued to stare at the ground. She mumbled a couple of ancient words to herself that Zed later translated to mean "The Holy Beings." I assume she was cursing at the gods for her misfortune.)
Stratos: I’m sorry Celestia. I said I would solve this. We all wanted to save Equestria. It’s hard for me to admit the impossibility of our task. The truth is, we are probably one hundred years too late to help. We aren’t strong enough. We need more warriors. We can’t do it alone. We can’t stop it. At this point, nothing can. If it attacks now, we are doomed.
*PAUSE*
Stratos: That is our conclusion.
I’m not sure how long we stood there. If felt like forever. I wanted Celestia to say something; we all did. To say it was okay, or that she had a plan, or just something.
She didn’t.
The physical god of Equestria was at a loss. She just stood there, confused, struggling to think of anything.
Luckily, Zed broke our silence.
Zed: What do you desire for us to do?
Celestia: I… um, I… I do not… I do not know. What is doing this?
Zed: We do not know. After years of action we are no closer to finding out precisely what is doing this, why they would want to do this, how they are doing this, or where they could be staging their operations from.
Celestia: So we have nothing.
(It was more a defeated statement than a question.)
Zed: Incorrect. We are gradually targeting and eliminating areas of disturbance. We have saved many lives in the process and, most importantly, we have discovered that something is happening and its overall objective. We are gaining ground. We will track the source or sources down and do what we can to stop it. That is why the Royal Unknown Guardians was created. We are here to help you and we will do so to the best of our abilities. We will not stop simply because the task is impossible.
Zed, I’ve got to hand it to him. His comment was not just uplifting, it was correct. This was our duty, our promise. His words seemed to rejuvenate Princess Celestia’s spirit. And from there, we began to formulate our next action.
Celestia: Do we have a plan?
Stratos: Give me a moment.
Esper: I love this part.
*PAUSE*
Stratos: Alright Celestia, do everything in your power to protect anyone with special abilities. We do not know why but it is avoiding specific areas. You, Canterlot, The Everfree Forest, and a few other places we will soon confirm. Again, place anyone of note in those areas. We will continue our operations and narrow down its activities. We will protect anyone we can. We don’t know what is doing this but we are not powerless. Build contacts, build alliances, quietly build up the military. We will give you armor, technology, attack drones, anything. If I am correct, we just need to slow it down.
Celestia: How much time do we have?
Stratos: This has been going on for hundreds of years and I don’t think it will end anytime soon. It probably will not act in full. The Unknown seemed oddly confident about that fact and I will trust their judgment.
Celestia: Is there anything that can stop it?
Stratos: No amount of magic or skill has worked. It has eliminated everything that could be a threat on this world. Nevertheless, there is one force that I believe is strong enough to challenge it. If nothing else, we can hold out until my colleagues return. The Unknown Soldiers, the Unknown Agents, the United Nations, the Nine Unknown Men, maybe even a few corporations, they will help us. Nickolas promised me — promised us — this. We will stop it. We will win. We will complete this mission. One way or another… We can count on humanity.
Celestia: You are putting a great deal of trust in your allies.
Stratos: *I looked over at Barn* I think that’s something I need to start doing more often. Besides, would you do any different?
Celestia: I would not. Should we avoid confronting this until they arrive?
Stratos: No, if we track it down, with your help, we should kill or contain it. We don’t know when it plans to act and in the meantime many lives are at risk.
Plum: Hate to kill our bravado but we are not strong enough to stop it. Sir Colbert mentioned how many had fallen to it and he himself was killed.
Elly: It killed many Ursa Majors.
Smith: It destroyed several civilizations.
Esper: But it has not attacked us or Equestria directly.
Zed: If it could destroy us it would. It is conducting its current operations because it cannot.
Esper: Probably.
Zed: Probably.
Barn: Just a thought; Princess Celestia, what this group or individual is doing, it is outside your range of ability, correct?
Celestia: They are using powers I do not possess but that does not mean they are stronger than me.
Barn: Is it possible?
Celestia: For them to be stronger than me? Yes. There are beings I cannot match with my own abilities.
Stratos: Such as?
Celestia: Nightmare Moon, Unifier, Gale, Discord, Reaper, Avardis, Helios, and… that is all I remember. There are a few more. Not all are hostile.
Stratos: Sorry for throwing so many questions at you—
Celestia: That’s quite alright.
Stratos: But which ones are hostile?
Celestia: The evil ones were Nightmare Moon and Discord but they have been sealed away. I am certain they are not a threat.
Elly: Are the others friendly?
Celestia: Helios was… Though I only assume he is alive. I have not heard from him in some time.
Stratos: The others?
Celestia: Unifier and Gale are reclusive. I do not know remember much of their abilities. They are hard to find and they do not wish to be disturbed. They are always neutral and indifferent. Reaper and Avardis—
Zed: The Nine Unknown Men have files with those names. * Zed grimaced at his own actions* Sorry for interrupting.
Celestia: That’s quite alright. I am not surprised that humans know of them. Those two only consider the affairs of humanity. Reaper cannot be killed and has vowed to defend humanity if it is in danger. Otherwise he does not interfere. On the other hoof, Avardis enjoys testing the abilities of humans and their allies. He can be killed but he can always reform elsewhere. His interference puts him at odds with Reaper and yet Avardis will more vigorously defend humans and other beings if he takes interest in them. He does not appreciate wanton killings.
Elly: At least they are not evil.
Celestia: Evil beings of my ability do not last long.
Esper: Hang on. If they are all alive, were there others who are no longer living?
Celestia: Yes. Terra Thantos, Pnumbra, Lord Methusta, Hïslçy, Ethos, Spire The Destroyer, Krastos The Glue Maker, Utäktrüá The Corrupter, Cavern The Mistborn, Yinskuff, Fin… *Chuckles* This could go on for a while if I am not careful. Equestria was not always a place of joy and discovery. All the same, I had not considered them for a reason. I am certain they are all dead and none acted in this manner.
Stratos: How certain are you that they are gone?
Celestia: These beings were either tyrants or nearly mindless creatures of destruction. They were quite open about their actions. With their defeat, Equestria has been free of great turmoil for hundreds of years.
Esper: Sort of. *Zed flicked her on the horn* Ow!
Zed: Go on.
Celestia: Heroes and others helped to free Equestria. Reaper killed Utäktrüá, Avardis killed Yinskuff, Helios helped destroy Lord Methusta, even Thantos was no match for the Nine Grand Archmages, and with great help from Helios, Endewize, the Grand Archmages, and the Athereal Knights I personally lead the Royal Army to finally permanently defeat Krastos and its Reclaimers. Much more recently, Sir Colbert built his legend by slaying Pnumbra. A task even I could not complete.
Plum: Sir Colbert was stronger than you?
(I was certain Celestia almost got lost in her own thoughts.)
Celestia: *Chuckles* No, but he was very clever. He threw his strengths against Pnumbra’s weaknesses. He set traps, created plans, studied legends, and used tools. It was his first major victory. One among many. Furthermore, it was the only one he completed by himself. From there on he had allies he could lead into battle.
Smith: So we are doing the exact same thing Colbert was doing and doing that got him killed.
Stratos: Yup. Reassuring, ain’t it?
Barn: Strike, you don’t have to join us.
Smith: *Scoffs* No way. This thing has been pestering my family for generations. Besides, if we stop this, we will be legends. *He looked at me and smiled* Isn’t that right Doctor Stratos Lucid.
Stratos: Indeed that is correct. But, unfortunately, it looks like we are mostly on our own for now. Our plan has not changed though I would like us to spend some time researching into these past uh “beings of destruction” just in case they are somehow related.
Celestia: It sounds as if we are not so doomed after all.
Stratos: It does seem like that but you never know. I mean I think at this point we will become legends but I’d prefer to be alive when those legends come about.
Celestia: I can arrange something.
Plum: As much as I enjoy conversing with the Princess can we please get back to our duties?
Zed: Plum is right. We have a new member to break in.
Barn: *Talking to Smith* Besides that, I think I will be able to help you greatly with enchanting your armors. And there are a lot of items from the human world to go over. It is rather fortunate that we have humans on our side.
Smith: …I know this is a little off topic but I’m not really that afraid of this thing. Not compared to Stratos or Zed anyways.
Elly: Why? They aren’t… *Thinks for a second* Zed isn’t mean to anypony.
(However warranted, and much to everyone else’s amusement, I desperately struggled for a counter-remark to that statement before giving up.)
Smith: One of the series of human stories I read referenced a group of powerful god-like creatures from outside our reality that can make beings go insane with the mere understanding of what they can do and how they act.
Barn: *Interest piqued* I believe you are referring to Lovecraft and his associates’ stories. I have read them. They are quite interesting.
Smith: Yes, well, as far as I am concerned humans seem to hold a lot of those characteristics. Stratos in particular seems to hold those characteristics. Honestly, it is one reason why I joined your group.
Zed: Lovecraft convinced you to join us?
Stratos: …That’s it. I’m burning those books.
Esper: Yay! We have an Elder God on our side!
Plum: Oh the joys of friendship.
Celestia: It is the kind of magic we all learn to appreciate.
In due time I suppose.
With our plan solidified and information exchanged, we exchanged good byes and wished each other luck.
The Unknown Guardians spent the next few months training with Smith, who proved to be surprisingly difficult to work with. While Smith was more than a competent fighter, he had a hard time learning how to work with others. Not to mention he had a lot to catch up on regarding modern techniques and technologies. Luckily, he had to work with Barn for most of his new enchanted equipment which, slowly but surely, warmed him up to the needed concepts. Those two are now really good friends and are usually seen talking with each other in their spare time. I believe they have even formed an informal book-club, along with Plum and Esper, where they read stories created by humans.
More importantly, when he began to perfect his armors, there literally was no equal. It seemed as if, overnight, our weapons and armor doubled in effectiveness. Having someone actually specialized in a specific task really does make all the difference.
Can’t say much else about his particular abilities. His work did help improve our droids and other machines but our overall operations did not change.
As you can hopefully see, Smith and I are a little snarky with one another. As I said, we are similar in personality. We respect each other’s abilities but do not hang out too often. Most of our contact comes from when we need something from each other. I guess our relationship could best be described as business-like.
One thing that does separate me from him is his love of music, any kind of music. Symphonic, electronic, quiet, loud, sung, and wordless, he loves it all. He says that the easy access to songs is the thing he appreciates most about technology and humanity. He finds it inspirational when working. If he needs a certain mood, he goes and sets the appropriate group of songs to play. He even briefly considered trying to learn how to make songs himself before admitting it was way over his head and not worth the time investment to him. (Which, now that I think about it, shows he’s not as stubborn as he used to be.)
And he has gotten more social.
Smith and Zed enjoy sparring together. Smith is the one guy, pony, thing, who can almost keep up with Zed. It helps that he can fly and can take a lot of punishment. And in an actual mission, Smith and Zed seem to gravitate towards one another as fighting pairs.
As I said, Plum and Esper generally spend the most time with Smith in their book club. Otherwise, most of Plum’s relationship with Smith is built around aerial combat sparring. The two seem to like their friendship to stay at that near-rivalry level. I think that this stems from their semi-warrior upbringings but I can’t be certain.
Esper and Smith are on surprisingly good terms. He loves teaching her about his metal crafting techniques and is always pleased at her metal-generating skills. Even besides that, it appears Smith is really good with children and is always willing to play games with Esper.
Elly is the only one who still, to this day, has not really established a solid relationship with Smith. The two don’t talk or interact much beyond Smith occasionally asking Elly for large quantities of selected minerals or Elly asking him to better customize her armor. I guess their personalities are just too opposite of one another. She doesn’t like his harsh, indifferent attitude while he does not like her soft, overly supportive one. It is not to say they hate each other. Smith admits that he rather respects Elly’s determination and knows that he relies on her for healing when he is down. On the other hand, Elly enjoys Smith’s softer-side with Esper and recognizes his skill and just how important he is to the team. Both would willingly (and have willingly) taken blows for each other and fight by each other’s side.
It’s that dynamic we have to work with. Differing personalities and traits. Sometimes I have to remind myself we never officially chose a leader and it is not my job to run this place smoothly and efficiently. I should let them develop and run their own relationships and not get involved. All of them do their jobs well and none are on bad terms with one another. Again, the worst is with Elly and Smith who just don’t interact all that much.
I guess I am just lucky to have a group of friends that get along so well and that I can count on all of them as comrades in battle.
It’s kind of ironic (if that’s the correct way to use the word) but, besides Nick, I never really appreciated my friends back on Earth. Now that I have new friends I miss my old ones even more.
But, as is clearly evident, I was never a good friend. I doubt that most of them even recognize that I have been gone for nearly a decade. I probably just fazed out of their lives without anyone noticing.
Maybe that’s why I’m writing these documents. This thing could attack at any moment. I know I’m not immortal. I guess I don’t want to be forgotten after I die. Even if I am known on Equestria I don’t want to just disappear from Earth. But really, what’s the likelihood of anyone finding and caring about this while I’m still alive? By then there will probably only be a few video recordings or pictures of me at best. At worst there will only be these words and no one will really know who I was. Maybe that’s a good thing.
I suppose the other reason I write this has to relate to these dark signals. So many have fallen to them that I feel like, if it happens to me, someone should know about it so they don’t have to spend years researching and fighting like I did. To be fair, I guess that was the point of the mission Nick assigned to me.
In that respect, I have something unfortunate to admit: I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to write and perfect these little documents on me, my friends, and what we were searching for, but our introduction with Smith was the last time we had a major breakthrough on this investigation into the dark signals.
That said, whatever we are tracking has proven to be an elusive figure. It can manipulate seemingly anything to accomplish its goals.
If nothing else, there is one thing I can be relatively certain of: This thing is likely one entity and it is intelligent.