The sounds of ponies going about their business in their hundreds filled the air of the ports of Manehattan. Despite the fact that the ports of the pony city were meant to handle ships transporting people to and from the continent as well as trips down the coast, there were more than a few cargo ships moored at the port. The reason for this was the simple fact that the ports of Baltimare couldn't handle the sheer traffic it was experiencing nowadays and the same could be said for its sister ports on the opposite coast. Dozens of ships had to be relayed to Manehattan and wait for space to open up in the ports. Needless to say, the commerce ports of Equestria were being expanded as immensely as the railroads were.
In the hustle and bustle of ponies boarding and disembarking ships and sailors going off to enjoy some shore leave, the flash of a teleport went mostly unseen. Within the crowd mostly unnoticed was Emerald Gleaner in her pony form and beside her was an old griffin wearing dark gray robes.
“Here we are, Randolph,” Emerald stated, nodding towards the anchored ships at the port. “Again, thank you and House Gravor for coming over to give compensation.”
“Think nothing of it, my good lady,” Randolph Gravor replied earnestly with a smile. “I honestly thought I would be staying far longer, but I don't mind being able to return home so soon.”
“Have a peaceful journey home, Randolph,” Emerald said with a smile after the griffin as he left. The virus kept up the smile until the griffin was concealed behind the ponies that crowded around her.
“Good lady...” Emerald muttered with a shake of her head before disappearing in another flash of pink light.
An instant later the Evolved arrived on the surface region of the Enclave with a flash of light. Things were getting quite busy on the surface; many companies of Warhounds were marching and in training, and resources were being shipped to and fro through the tunnels to the underground. There were a few cottages dotting a green, scenic hillside to the distance. Along with Whisper Wind and Diane, several dogs had decided to take to living on the surface, though it was clear they were the exception when it came to Diamond Dogs.
'Speaking of people living on the surface,' Emerald thought as she glanced over towards Diane's cottage. 'Flan moved in with Diane. Those two are quite the pair, practically the best of friends already. Hmm... Diane is outside. What is she doing?'
With another faint flash of a teleport, Emerald arrived near to the clone's home. Outside sitting on a porch bench was Diane. Her mane was slightly different; it wasn't voluminous and curly like Pinkie's was, but it was slightly wavy along its length now and her hair clip still remained, keeping her hair out of her face. She was wearing quite a bit more clothes than the average pony now as well. She wore a pure white dress shirt with a royal purple silk vest covered in gold floral embroidery. It was quite clear that being best friends with a spider had its benefits.
“Hello, Diane,” Emerald waved as she approached and added. “New hairstyle?”
“Hello, Emerald!” Diane greeted back with a smile. “I'm just trying out something new.”
“It looks good,” Emerald commented as she came to a stop before the bench the other pony was on and then waved to the surface of said bench. “What's this here?”
“I got letters from my sisters!” Diane squealed happily as she held up several letters, postcards and pictures for Emerald to see.
Just from a glance over, Emerald could tell that ultimately she had been quite correct in the idea that while the clones looked exactly like Pinkie, they didn't exactly behave like her in the long run. Most weren't that much different from “baseline” Pinkie Pie but some were immensely different. One of the Manehattan clones had gone full on goth, piercings included, though she was clearly quite perky instead of stereo-typically moody. Another clone from down south in Appleloosa looked like they had been completely and utterly assimilated by Applejack's local relatives, looking the complete and honest part of a cowpony, her expression calm and content.
“They all look like they're coming into their own quite well,” Emerald said as she looked at another postcard depicting a clone from Vanhoover that looked like the sort Rarity would get along quite famously with. “So, setting up any future dates for a family reunion?”
“Oh that's a wonderful idea!” Diane replied excitedly with eyes that sparkled in glee. “I'm going to start writing letters and see if we can get something scheduled next year.”
Emerald smiled as Diane started gathering up some papers she had been writing on to make responses to the mail she got. The virus then noticed that among the large pile of letters and postcards Diane had gotten was an open package; within were several brushes and small paint tins full of various colors.
“What's this for?” Emerald asked, levitating a brush up as an example.
“Oh, that's a gift from one of my sisters,” Diane answered absently as she wrote a letter in surprisingly elegant cursive. “I forgot I covered the back of the paper I was using in random drawings and she said they were really good so she got me some stuff to see if I could get into painting.”
“Huh,” Emerald said simply and placed the brush back down. The virus' eyes were drawn to Diane's flank as she spoke. “Well I have some errands to tend to. Have a good day, Diane.”
“See you!” Diane waved with another smile before going back to writing her correspondence.
'Still balloons,' Emerald thought as she walked away. 'Don't know why I thought they'd look different. Hh well... on to business. It should be about that time now.'
Emerald made her way over to the large tunnels leading down into the Hub. As she walked, there was a low rumbling and shaking of the earth. The sound and shaking grew in noise and intensity as she neared the tunnels. She came to a stop just before the decline down into the tunnels just as the forms of several large beings appeared from behind the slope.
There were several dozen of them following each other out of the tunnels, and each of them were at least two stories tall with many being taller, the tallest of them nearly reaching forty feet and needing to half crawl along the tunnel to get out. Each of them hard dark gray, scaly skin that was almost carapace like in some places, and along the back were shiny, jet-black, incredibly hard growths. Their eyes were small only in relative size to their entire mass and softly glowing yellow with round, black pupils. Their noses were flat and their heads hung in front of their bodies, the slouch of their back propelling their heads forward. Their hands were thick and meaty and had three fingers with one thumb while their legs ended in thick, stocky stumps like that of an elephant's. Each one of them walked slowly, their footfalls easily shaking the earth with every step.
'It's too bad I didn't have the Titans ready for that fight a short while ago,' Emerald thought as she walked alongside the latest additions to her army. 'With them around, I doubt the viral hordes that had come spewing out of the portal would have managed to breach the perimeter. Ah well, what's done is done. No point in dwelling over what ifs.'
Eventually the group came to a stop in the middle of the clearing, Emerald came to a stop beside them as Warhounds and various Diamond Dogs and raptors watched from the distance in interest. Emerald briefly looked over the group of Titans and felt her eyes drawn by the largest of them in the group. The virus approached what she was already calling the “Bull” Titan and waved up at him.
“Follow me,” Emerald commanded and the Titan nodded down at her and followed her over and away from the others, moving at a pace that for it was almost lethargic but easily covered distance quickly thanks to the length of its stride.
“Alright now...” Emerald began once the two of them were a decent distance away. “Make a platform for yourself, ten feet tall and twenty feet in diameter.”
The Titan nodded and raised one large, stocky foot and stomped back down with a crash. There was a loud boom and the earth shook as suddenly a circular platform shot up from under the titan and raised it up ten feet into the air.
Emerald smiled and nodded in satisfaction. This was the reason why the Titans had been delayed and couldn't be deployed for battle when Emerald's Alternate attacked. The virus had been implanting Channeling knowledge into their minds while they were still growing in their pods. They only knew Earth Channeling, but that was as much as Emerald was okay giving them. Plus it would compliment their strengths greatly.
'Even without that there would be incredibly few defenses in the world that would have hoped to be able to even slow these guys down,' Emerald thought confidently. 'With these abilities, any fortification they face would easily be turned against the enemy. I want to give Channeling abilities to the raptors as well, though with fire, not earth.'
“You can remove the platform now,” Emerald said to the silently standing Titan. “Good work.”
There was a rumble as the Titan sunk the platform back into the ground and Emerald turned away, considering plans of implementing knowledge into the raptors. Suddenly, a large shadow was cast over Emerald and she turned to see a hand reach out towards her.
“LITTLE MA...” the Titan rumbled lowly as it carefully held Emerald in its hand against its chest.
“...” Emerald blinked for a moment before sighing and patting a massive finger with a hoof. “Yeah, big guy. I'm your Ma...”
Another thing about the Titans; Emerald had made them more intelligent than the raptors, now feeling more confident in her viral engineering abilities to try out much more sentient beings. They weren't exactly designed to be “human” level intelligence, but they weren't what you would call morons either. Basically, they were simple but not stupid. That was okay though, since Emerald designed and intended for them to be the Super Heavy Assault forces for the Warhounds and not much else.
“Mind putting me down now?” Emerald asked the Bull Titan holding her, who nodded and did so.
“Thanks, big guy,” Emerald said as she brushed herself off when she heard a loud, excited crow. Turning, she saw Stripe bounding towards her before skidding to a stop.
“Stripe?” Emerald said questioningly as the raptors shifted rapidly from foot to foot in excitement and bouncing in place. “What's the matter?”
Stripe forced himself to calm down and then began to rapidly flash through several hand signs along with a body movements and the odd squeak to convey a message. As Emerald put together what Stripe was trying to say, her eyes steadily started to widen as she got the full message. She stared at Stripe for a long moment, taking him in as if for the first time.
“You... want to be able to talk?” Emerald asked.
Stripe gave another excited crow and nodded rapidly.
“I... okay then,” Emerald said and approached the raptor and reached up towards him with a hoof. Tendrils extended and entered the raptors throat where rapid alterations to the vocal chords began to take place. After a moment, the work was done.
“So, uhh... got something say?” Emerald asked, staring intensely at the raptor.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhh... Gaaaanuuuuuuuuuh...” Stripe said as he began to work his newly altered vocal chords, his voice coming out as low and growly(1). “Th-thank you... very m-much... al... always wa-wanted to speak b-but didn't... k-know it was possible for me.”
“Ah...” Emerald said with completely poleaxed expression. She had not designed the raptors to be this intelligent. “So uhh... I guess I should ask if any other Raptors wants to talk as well?”
Three rounds of crows and about a dozen other raptors from the large crowd of raptors surged forth to stand before Emerald.
“Uhh...” Emerald sat on the floor, looking around at the Raptors standing around and over her. “I guess... let's get to work?”
A half hour later found Emerald below in the Orion Serum vat room, adding another vat into structure filled with a different strain of the serum. Her focus on what she was currently doing was only half there, though. Her thoughts constantly drifted back to her raptors and the incredible surprise she got out of them.
'Stripe's been getting quite a bit of practice with the other raptors who I gave altered vocal chords,' Emerald thought with a blank expression. 'Not exactly sounding like they've been speaking their whole lives, but they are getting a hang of it really quickly... not a surprise considering how smart they are...'
Emerald stopped her work over filling the newest vat with the alternate Orion strain. She paused and sighed before pressing the both of her hooves against her temples. The situation with the raptors had stressed her out a little since it came completely out of nowhere as far as she was concerned.
'I've been going over the various raptors, trying to see if their intelligence was common or not,' Emerald thought as she went back to work. 'I'm not one hundred percent certain just yet, but from the looks of things, improved intelligence only results in the Raptors who lead the others. Something about constantly needing to think and consider what they are doing allows for far greater learning capability than I initially designed in them.'
Emerald then sighed and stood up on the catwalk she was on over the vat. The liquid in the vat was a sky blue compared to the other vat's pink, and tasted like blueberries. Both strains of Orion Serum had been given the same upgrades, but the blue Orion serum caused a bit more visual changes rather than purely under the skin or fur as the case may be.
'I guess really in the end it doesn't matter. The raptors were capable of far greater intellectual feats than originally designed,' Emerald thought as she made her way out of the room. 'They've all proven loyal and friendly... Blue is a bit ornery and high maintenance, though Stripe seems to like her.'
Emerald eventually left the back room of the building and entered the front. The main lobby of the Orion building was mostly empty today; only Fenrir was standing there, patiently waiting for her.
“Right, I'm done doing some double checking on the new serum,” Emerald said to Fenrir, coming to a stop next to the new serum tap next to the old one. “The new Orion serum is ready for use.”
“What will it do?” Fenrir asked as Emerald poured out a cup of the blue liquid.
“Well, everything the old version does right now as well,” Emerald explained as she approached the wolf-like dog. “All the previous augments and the new ones I added. Sleeplessness, decreased required food intake, minor regeneration capability, a large amount of resistances to most - and outright immunity to some - types of poison and toxic materials. But this strain of the Orion serum does something a bit more. Unlike the previous versions, which simply cause changes beneath the skin, this serum also visually changes the body dramatically. You will still obviously be Diamonds Dogs, but it will also be quite clear you are different.”
“What exactly is the change?” Fenrir asked curiously as he took hold of the cup holding the serum.
“Basically it strengthens your leg muscles and also changes the shape and size of your legs in general,” Emerald answered. “Allowing vastly increased mobility and agility, not to mention making it comfortable for any dog taking this to stand on their hind legs for as long as they wish.”
“What is wrong with our legs as they are now?” Fenrir asked, looking down at his own pair.
“Quite frankly, you guys are rather top heavy,” Emerald answered. “Normally this isn't an issue and is actually a benefit for close combat and the style of combat the Diamond Dogs used before. However with the guns I've introduced and the high mobility warfare I've been teaching you, it's becoming quite clear your strengths don't entirely match up. Whenever a Warhound has to open fire they have to stop and plant themselves on the ground. If they attempted to run and gun in any decent speed they'll both lose most of their aiming ability and be likely to trip themselves up due to the recoil of their weapons.”
“But with the changes this causes, that will no longer be the case?” Fenrir asked thoughtfully and got a nod from Emerald. “Good enough for me.”
Without another word Fenrir downed the serum in one go.
“Ah... well, anyway...” Emerald continued, a little surprised Fenrir was so willing to get into body shape altering augmentations. Though in hindsight, it should have been obvious. “I'm aware that the idea of changing the fundamental base shape of one's body could be rather repellent to most people, so I'm forming a sort of separate branch of the Warhounds which I'll be calling the Direwolves, made up of dogs who are willing to take this serum. I'm hoping to make them the “elites” among our forces.”
“And I shall ensure they are worthy of such a title among the Warhounds,” Fenrir stated determinedly before frowning in discomfort.
“Right, normally the serum needs a whole day to work,” Emerald stated as she stepped in close to Fenrir. “However, I want to get the results of it right so I'm just going to help speed it along to its completion.”
The wolf-like Diamond Dog nodded calmly and kneeled down as Emerald reached out with a hoof and extended a few tendrils. Fenrir kept his calm as he actively felt his bones and flesh warp and move against his own accord, silently awaiting the end with eyes closed. Emerald watched as Fenrir's legs began to visibly change. A groan filled the air, not from Fenrir’s mouth but from his bones as they strained and and rapidly changed size. Smoothly and steadily over a period of five minutes, Fenrir's legs lengthened and bulked up and kept going until they looked to be in proportion to his arms and torso. Once the changes were complete, Emerald extracted her tendrils and took a step back from Fenrir.
Once Fenrir felt the strange sensations in his legs stop, he began to slowly shift onto his hind legs. He was a bit wobbly as he stood upright; understandable, as his legs were now completely different lengths and sizes from the rest of his life. But once he somewhat found his balance, he cut striking figure.
Fenrir had already been taller than Emerald in her human form, but only just. Now that his legs were in proportion to his body, he would very likely tower over her human form almost as easily as he was currently towering over her pony form.
“Doing alright there?” Emerald asked the the newly christened Direwolf.
“My balance is a little off,” Fenrir muttered as he visibly wobbled a bit in place. “This will take some getting used to, but not impossible. Hmm... I'll need to have my power armor re-sized as well.”
“Well speaking of that, you may want to hold off on that a bit,” Emerald said. “I've been doing some improvements on them and I'll be releasing the Mk II power armor for distribution among the Warhounds soon...ish.”
“Very well, I shall hold off on that.” Fenrir nodded. “I need to practice my piloting anyway. Will the new serum be offered to the Warhounds today?”
“No, this is a pretty big change.” Emerald shook her head. “I'd rather have you be like this for a few weeks, maybe a month, before offering it. Rather people see some of the benefits of the change before I offer it.”
“Then I shall endeavor to master my balance as quickly as possible so I can give as good a showing as possible,” Fenrir stated and quickly set about walking in circles in the lobby until he could do it without stumbling or showing the slightest wobble.
'Well now that that's done,' Emerald thought with a bit of a smile as she watched briefly. 'What else do I need to do before I go off to inevitably meet my fate? Hmm... I left Moon Dancer working on some stuff. I should go check up on her and maybe catch a few more minutes of work on my own projects before I have to leave.'
With that, Emerald teleported with a small pink flash.
ALPHA
A loud hum filled the room along with a bright green glow.
“Let's see...” Moon Dancer muttered, adjusting her glasses as she made sure some cables were properly connected. “Alright, everything looks good. Let's get started.”
Where Moon Dancer currently was, was in one of the secure labs Emerald had scattered throughout the depths of the Enclave. It was a rather clean room and most of its surfaces were stark white or polished metal. It was also filled with advanced looking magical and scientific equipment that Emerald likely made herself for her own uses. Although it was also possible they could have been made purely for Dancer's sake by Emerald when she took the unicorn on.
Right now Moon Dancer was making use of the various equipment to run tests on a crystal Emerald had grown. The crystal was green and the size of a basketball and in the stereotypical shape of a diamond. This gem was also socketed into a special holding device that was attached to a rather large power cable. This gem was developed to be an upgrade over previous versions of gems and had an incredibly massive power capacity compared to what was used before.
“Right. Running first test on power gem, testing date is...” Moon Dancer muttered as she wrote down notes on her clipboard. “Stress testing power gem. Test one initiating. Turning on power now.”
Flipping a large switch on the wall, the loud hum was briefly interrupted by a buzz before the hum returned but louder. The gem in its socket started to glow, the light of which quickly grew in intensity within moments.
“Steady power growth, no fluctuation,” Moon Dancer recorded absently as she observed the gem keenly. “No signs of magical rebound. Gem capacity is now passing... one thousand magical units, about half expected capacity.”
The gem continued to glow and the hum in the room grew ever louder. Despite herself, Moon Dancer felt somewhat nervous about this much magic being poured into one source. If the gem suddenly had a magical meltdown due to some flaw... well the amount of magic in it was supposed to be fairly beyond Princess Celestia's power. If it rebounded, the amount of damage it could do...
But before the unicorn knew it, there was a beeping sound coming from the socket the gem was in and the flow of magic ceased. Moon Dancer quickly got out an MU measurement device and aimed it at the apparently full gem.
“Readings are currently at two thousand magical units,” Dancer stated with a bit of a relieved sigh. “The gem is holding steady, no aberrations whatsoever. Good thing, too. I really wouldn't have liked being blown up.”
“I wouldn't have liked it either.”
“Gah!” Moon Dancer started and whipped around to see Emerald standing at the doorway. “Y-you shouldn't startle ponies working on dangerously experimental materials!”
“Sorry.” Emerald shrugged and entered. “Though the crystals aren't what I would call dangerous. If there was a large chance of them exploding in your face, I would still be developing them instead of handing them off to you for finishing touches.”
“Well this gem seems to be working okay from what I can see,” Moon Dancer reported as Emerald walked over to stand beside her. “Max capacity and nothing seems to be going wrong. It's holding stable.”
“Good, just what I was hoping for.” Emerald nodded and then asked. “What about the “metal” I made? Is it looking good too?”
“It's working fantastically,” Moon reported with an eager nod. “The alloy you created is highly conductive towards magical and thermal energies. With a proper sink to draw the energies into and the right runes, you can effectively make a protective system that powers itself from things that try to attack it.”
“My own little experiments into seeing what a more effective means of protection is,” Emerald stated as she walked off to the side towards a computer set up. “A solid barrier or the protective qualities of said barrier interwoven into the armor. Nothing may come of it, we'll see.”
Moon Dancer looked over at Emerald. It had been quite an interesting last few weeks. Emerald had been right when she said that her magical research and development was more than a little ahead of Equestria's, though honestly only in specific fields. Mind magic was decades if not a full century ahead of what Equestria had and Moon Dancer was rather interested to know how Emerald had accomplished that. Her shape shifting teacher, though, had been oddly cagey regarding it and prone to changing the subject whenever it was brought up. However, besides from that magical development was largely focused on weaponization and warfare in general, which quite frankly was easy to see why the Enclave was ahead of Equestria in that front.
Dancer was more than a little appalled that so much knowledge was wasted on purely weapons development and quickly set about making a list of various ways the knowledge could be used for peaceful means. The big surprise came when she approached Emerald with her list, prepared to commit to a long speech and discussion to get Emerald to come around to her viewpoint when the shape shifter proved more than willing to listen. Not only that, but she was also very receptive to the idea of doing some minor re-engineering to turn some of Emerald's ideas into more peaceful versions for them. So much so that finding said uses was now part of her job as her assistant.
The unicorn definitely had a ton of work lined up for herself, but she liked it. Plus it put all of her knowledge to use thinking up plans for different devices that could be made out of the warlike research Emerald had undertaken. And speaking of plans...
Looking over again, Moon Dancer saw that Emerald was steady at work at her computer. She had a tendril plugged into the tower of the computer but she was also rapidly typing out sequences on the keyboard. The screen was filled by a pulsating dark blue sphere of light with an open window over that rapidly filling up with codes and other figures that likely had something to do with the computer neural interface… possibly. Moon Dancer didn't really know what it was that Emerald was working on, only that it was big and would eventually require several hundred of the gems of the same type she had tested out. The unicorn was intensely curious to find out what it was that Emerald was working on but also knew that as Emerald's student and personal assistant she would be brought into the know sooner or later.
Turning her head back to the gem, Moon Dancer contented herself with some more lab work.
BETA
“Alright, I know that for some of you this isn't your first escort assignment but we have some recruits with us today,” Shining Armor stated sternly to the Royal Guard standing at attention before him. “So I'm just going to quickly repeat the basics. Be their shadow, be silent, be unnoticed, be out of the way and make sure the dignitaries aren't bothered. Got that?”
“Sir, yes sir!” came the reply.
“Good.” Armor nodded. “You know your missions. Dismissed.”
With that the group of Royal Guards saluted one final time before heading on their way.
Shining Armor let out an unnoticed sigh as he took in the Royal Guard barracks around him. Lately things had become rather busy, mostly because of all the ambassadors and diplomats arriving and leaving daily to Canterlot to seek an audience with Celestia concerning the Enclave. And boy did simply thinking of that nation bring up some unpleasant feelings.
Shining scowled angrily before shaking his head and walking through the training grounds of the Royal Guard Barracks. Lately they had gotten a large intake of potential recruits for the Royal Guard. All of them were Thracian Ponies which included the Deinos that were once kept hidden away in the Palace. Thoughts of their origins also brought up some anger, but Armor put those aside easily in the name of professionalism. It was quite fortunate he was able to do that as well since his replacement for the Royal Guard when he finally permanently left for the Crystal Empire happened to be a Deinos. Said Deinos was approaching him now.
“Captain Shining Armor, sir!”
“Yes, Razor Wing? What is it?” Armor asked as the Deinos came to a stop before him.
“Princess Emerald Gleaner of the Enclave arrived a short while ago, sir,” Razor stated with a sharp salute. “She is waiting in your office in the Royal Palace. She said, and I quote, 'It's about time we had that talk,' sir.”
“... Took long enough,” Armor said after pausing for a moment. “This is likely going to take a while. So I'm entrusting the rest of my duties today to you, Razor Wing.”
“I'll handle it, sir,” Razor Wing saluted.
“I know you will. Dismissed.” Shining Armor nodded and turned away.
The soon to be former Captain of the Royal Guard made his way to his personal quarters in the barracks. Once he was there he quickly divested himself of his armor and wore his more “casual” uniform, a red gilded jacket. Once he made sure his appearance was in order, he then made his way towards the palace.
As he made his way through Canterlot he passed by quite the menagerie of peoples. Ambassadors of many different nations were here, a vast majority of them being carnivores. An example of which was the rather rotund Bast Diplomat who was being carried through the city atop quite the grandiose litter; the litter bearers were a sub breed of Diamond Dog called Jackals. They had black fur and were very lean compared to the dogs in the Enclave. Armor had also heard they couldn't dig through dirt and rock nearly as good as the local breeds, but in exchange they they had incredible abilities that involved the vast deserts of the Bast Dynasty.
Armor continued on his way, the diplomat's sudden shouting for lasagna echoing behind him. It wasn't long before he found himself entering the front door of the palace. It was amazing how much could be done when one was given a blank check to work with. The damage caused to the palace from Emerald and Oskar's fight was already almost gone. There was the odd crack here and there but for the most part the palace was fully repaired.
Making his way through the somewhat lively hallways of the palace, Shining Armor soon found himself standing before the doors of his office. He could already feel his temper start to rise as he reached for the doorknob before he stopped and took a breath. He recalled the words spoken to him almost a year ago by an old Heron.
“Hmm... while you are legitimately angry about what Emerald did, as is expected as Captain of the guard, it is not the majority that fuels it,” a memory echoed. “No, the majority of your anger isn't born out of the concern you feel as Captain of the guard. It is born out of the concern you feel as Shining Armor, brother to Twilight Sparkle.”
'I can't go into this seeking justice as Captain of the Royal Guard,' Armor thought with a frown. 'This will end badly if I go in expecting that. No, if I want any satisfaction at all, then I'll need to go as a concerned brother for my sister rather than any authority figure. It's galling to ignore what she has done, but this is the way it has to be.'
With that, Armor gathered as much calm as he could and opened the door.
Shining Armor's office in the palace was clean and straight forward looking. The only decoration in the room were the various awards both scholarly and otherwise hanging on the walls, and Cadence's picture on his desk. The desk was set at the opposite end of the office, behind which was a large window that let in quite a bit of light. Above that was the Equestrian flag and before the desk was a pair of plush chairs. It was a simple set up, all things considered, probably more due to the fact Armor prefered to be out among the Guard rather then behind a desk.
Sitting in one of the two chairs patiently awaiting his arrival was Emerald Gleaner in her pony form. The shapeshifter was calmly drinking what appeared to be a cup of coffee and did not turn when Armor opened the door.
“Well... it's been a while, but I'm finally here,” Emerald stated as Armor walked around to sit at his desk. Now that he was getting a look at her face, he could tell a little she was bracing herself for this as much as he was. “What shall we talk about?”
“...” Shining paused for a moment. Honestly this was a bit out of the blue and he was on the back foot getting his thoughts together. “Well... what exactly are your intentions with my sister?”
“I... don't know,” Emerald answered after moment. “She and I were just friends at first. But then I got impulsive one day and... next thing I knew, we were together.”
“Impulsive,” Armor mused aloud. “I do hope you know to reign that in should she decide to act on her conscious again.”
“... Yeah, the Elements of Harmony were a bit unpleasant and I admit to being more than a little furious with her when I was first sealed,” Emerald said softly with half lidded eyes that hinted at more than a little anger. “I guess it's to be my benefit she is choosing to forgo acting on her conscious nowadays, isn't it?”
“Hmm.” Armor looked away a moment. He walked into that one. “If you don't have any real intent, and from the sounds of it, any real actual desire to be with her in the way you are, then... why be with her this way?”
“...” Emerald's eyes shifted away from Armor, clearly a little uncomfortable with the line of questioning, but they returned soon enough. “I guess it's because I act the way I do because partly she expects me to act as such. I mean, I did kiss her. What else is she to expect out of me than something more than just friends?”
“You are leading her on,” Armor stated with more than a little indignation.
“Yes and no.” Emerald closed her eyes and sipped her coffee, absently refilling it from the kettle and adding in milk. “My feelings towards her are as a really close friend. I care for her wellbeing, both physical and emotional. If she wants me to be her fillyfriend, then okay, I am fine with it. I do not mind committing to acts of affection that such a thing would require of me. She is happy and I am more than content. If and when she asks more of me as her fillyfriend, whether that is to take this to a far more intimate level or even asking for me join her in marriage... then okay, I am fine with it.”
“You are okay with it?” Armor asked with more than a little disbelief. “She could ask you to become something you are not, to spend the rest of your life as this, and you are fine with it?”
“I used to be a heartless murderer, a raving cannibal on command.” Emerald sighed as she placed her cup down. “This was not something I was, not something I wanted to be at all. But I did it because I had to. In the name of survival I had to become something I was not and make it such a part of my being I might as well have been born that way.”
“This, what is between Twilight and I?” Emerald said, waving a hoof in the direction of Ponyville. “This I can more than tolerate. This I can learn to like. This I can willingly make a part of who I am. This is the closest I have come to being in a normal, happy relationship; one that might just end up with me having a family of sorts of my own one day. The day I was forced to become something I really didn't want to was the same day I tossed aside all hopes of a happy ending. I may not feel what Twilight feels for me, but... this makes me happy, and I like to think I make her happy, too. I am willing to live a lie and convince myself it's the truth for this chance.”
Shining Armor just stared for a moment. He thought of Cadence and how intense his love for the alicorn was. He knew with all of his heart that her love for him was just as strong. The idea of someone being in a relationship they did not actually have any strong feelings for in was almost inconceivable in his mind. If it wasn't for the proof sitting before him, he would have simply refused to believe that such a thing could be. Pity was the last thing he expected to feel about Emerald, but it was now there. The fact she was so willing to live a lie because she was convinced it would be the closest she would come to a happy, fulfilling life was... it was horrible to say the least.
“... Don't look at me like that,” Emerald said with a scowl.
“Excuse me?” Armor said. “Like what?”
“With that look,” Emerald said as she looked away from Armor with an irritated huff. “That pity. I don't need your pity, your mercy. I didn't ask to be the way I am and I won't get looked down on for it.”
“Alright...” Armor said and schooled his features. “I am sorry.”
“Is there anything else?” Emerald asked and took another drink of her coffee.
“No... I don't believe so,” the unicorn replied, his heard so whirling with thoughts he couldn't ask another question.
“Well I'll be on my way then,” Emerald said and downed her coffee. She got off her chair and made for the door when she paused. “You aren't going to tell Twilight about this, are you?”
“And you aren't?” Armor asked.
“I know Twilight,” Emerald said with a sigh. “She would likely overreact and have her heart broken by the fact I don't love her in the same way she does me. I do love her, though I guess it could be argued my feelings aren't strong enough for me to be in this with her... it doesn't matter what arguments could be made, we're happy and that's the most anyone could ask for, isn't it? Just do me this one favor and don't tell her. Please?”
“...Okay, Emerald,” Armor said with a sigh, his hoof rising up to rub his eyes. “I won't say a word to Twilight.”
“Thank you,” Emerald said and opened the door, saying just before she closed it, “Have a good day, Captain Armor.”
When the click of the door being fully closed met his ears, Shining Armor took in a deep breath before releasing a large exhale. This meeting most certainly did not turn out the way he had imagined it at all...
Looking down at his desk, his eyes landed on the picture of Cadence and himself at their far more peaceful second attempt at their wedding in the Crystal Empire. His thoughts wandered to the idea of sharing with his wife everything he had learned just now. Would someone who was known as the Goddess of Love be more understanding or less of Emerald's unconventional love towards Twilight? He didn't know, but he did know this; a proper husband and wife didn't keep secrets from each other.
His promise had been specifically to not tell Twilight after all...
GAMMA
It was a calm night in the Crystal Empire, or at least the Viral Changeling resting upon a ledge on the Palace thought so.
The Changeling's name was Vata and he was busy at work on his assignment, though it currently looked like he was playing the part of a gargoyle. He was mostly bare save for a camo cloak draped over his form covered in soft blue colors to help him meld with the buildings and darkness of the night. He had a few others he had packed for when the lighting made the camo stick out more than hide.
Currently what Vata was doing was keeping an eye on Twilight on Emerald's orders. He'd be inside the palace keeping a more direct line of sight on her, but he figured that since the palace was decently secure enough he'd just have to watch for people trying to get into the palace. He'd be on guard around Twilight for a day or so yet before being rotated out for one of his brothers and sisters. The whole lot of them were still in training, learning espionage and arts of subterfuge from Emerald and running the courses she made for them. They'd gotten staying hidden parts fairly mastered but the assassination courses were quite tricky.
Suddenly Vata's thoughts were interrupted by feelings of intense statement and shock before quickly changing into violent anger. All of it was coming from Twilight.
Muttering a curse under his breath, Vata quickly teleported within the palace with a burst of orange flames. Locking in on Twilight's emotions, Vata arrived in a side passage and glanced out into the hallway to see the alicorn in a running battle with a unicorn. Behind Twilight, the other Mane six were close in pursuit, though somewhat sticking back in order to not be caught in the middle.
“Get back here!” Twilight shouted, a beam of magic lancing out from her horn and clipping the unicorn who barely dodged in time.
“Ah!” the other mare shouted in some pain before sending her own beam washing over her pursuers and forcing Twilight to throw up a shield to protect her friends. “A bit violent for a princess, aren't you?!”
Seeing that the unicorn was running towards a room with open doors, Vata quickly teleported just beside the open doorway on the other side. For a brief moment Vata was left listening to the sound of magic tearing apart the hallway followed by explosions before he felt the approach of alarmed and somewhat fearful emotions. Timing it just right, Vata leapt forward with fangs bared.
The unicorn mare gave a shrill scream of fright as Vata rammed into her. There were more shouts of shock coming from the hallway she just left. Vata and the mare rolled over each other for a moment, and in the confusion one of her saddlebags fell open and there was the sound of something metal hitting the floor. Vata and his prey rolled to a stop next to an ornate looking mirror, the viral changeling clinging to the mare's back, his limbs wrapped around her as best as they could. He reached out to the presence on top of him with his power and started to drain her of all emotion. The mare gave a shriek and lashed out with a hoof at his face over her shoulder and he reflexively bit deeply into it with his fangs.
Everything seemed to be going well then and it looked like the mare would be captured when suddenly there was a bright flash of light and Vata saw something intensely bright rush towards him. His head whipped back from a harsh impact and he hissed but kept his grip on the mare. Said mare seemed to take the sudden attack on Vata to her advantage and created an expanding barrier around her body. The barrier practically fell apart after mere moments of pressing against Vata's body but it was enough for the mare to quickly teleport. Vata saw the unicorn flash from above him to just in front of the mirror before quickly limping through.
“No!” Vata hissed, leaping at the spot the unicorn just left. “Grrr... what hit us?”
“Didn't mean for her to get away,” Twilight muttered as she walked into the room, her horn glowing brightly with magic and keeping her gaze locked on Vata. “But I've got you at least. Why are you here?! Hasn't there been enough bloodshed between our peoples? Who sent you here?”
“You hit us,” Vata sighed in resignation and fell into a sitting position. “We were sent here to watch over you on commands of the Queen Mother, Emerald Gleaner.”
“Well... shoot,” Applejack commented.
“You were on my side?” Twilight asked with wide eyes before looking at the mirror. “This... ohhhhhh... wait, there are more of you? Where are they?”
“...” Vata sighed as he heard the sounds of people rushing down the halls towards them.
“Vata, are you alright?” Vata heard one of his sisters ask through their link.
“Yeah. Ran into some issues here, though,” Vata replied as crystal pony guards flooded into the room. “I get the feeling I'm going to be detained by local law enforcement for the time being. Can you pass along my mission report to the Queen Mother?”
“No problem. Stay safe.”
DELTA
The next day saw all princesses and the Mane Six in the room with the mirror the mare, now identified as one Sunset Shimmer, escaped into.
“I've seen to our guest. He is well and has not attempted to leave according to the guards,” Luna said.
“That is good.” Celestia nodded. “This is a sensitive situation and I honestly do not want Emerald to hear about it until the dust has settled.”
“Of course, sister.” Luna nodded though she looked at odds doing so.
“Why can't Emerald know about this?” Twilight asked as she strapped her saddlebags on.
“While Emerald has proven to have a sense for subtlety...” Celestia began, keenly aware in this moment that Emerald was her student's fillyfriend. “There have been occasions where she has chosen to “cut the knot” as it were and go for the loud and destructive action.”
Twilight opened her mouth to protest but closed it after considering. The situation with the dragon now staying with Fluttershy, how she nearly killed him, the arguably extreme reaction towards the changeling invasion... Twilight had to admit Emerald did have a history of going the extreme route, but... from a lot of personal experience with the viral unicorn, she also knew how to stop things from escalating via simply talking things out. For a moment Twilight really wanted to argue Emerald’s inclusion but was at odds with obeying Celestia's word, ingrained loyalty towards the Princess warring with the love and respect she held for Emerald.
“Well it's too bad Emmy can't tag along,” Pinkie said. “Pretty sure she's never been on an adventure with the rest of us just yet.”
“Speaking of that,” Celestia said and turned to face Twilight's friends. “I want you all to remain behind as well. I wish for only Twilight to undertake this task alone.”
“Alone?!” the group exclaimed.
“Yes,” Celestia confirmed and walked over to the mirror. “On the other side of this mirror lies a whole other world. The sudden presence of all of you at once may disrupt the fragile balance of that world and render Twilight's mission nigh impossible. Subtlety is needed here. Twilight needs to go alone.”
“It's okay, girls,” Twilight said with a determined expression. “Even just one of the Elements of Harmony alone is too dangerous to be left unsupervised. Who knows what may happen.”
“What do you think of this, Cadence?” Luna asked the younger alicorn.
“Oh don't mind me,” Cadence said with a cheerful smile. “I'm just waiting for the inevitable.”
“What do you mean?” Luna questioned with furrowed brows.
Suddenly there was a disturbance outside the room, the sound of ponies shouting protests and approaching footsteps. The double doors suddenly flew open and in walked Emerald in her human form wearing her formal wear with Navi buzzing overhead. Beside her was Belvedere wearing his blank white silk long coat dug out from the Old Kingdom ruins.
“And just in time.” Cadence smiled. “Welcome to my kingdom, Emerald! Guess you found out in the end, hmm?”
“But how?” Celestia questioned. “We kept your subordinate in our custody and forbade him from trying to contact you.”
“Now if I told you that, you would find a way to counter it for next time,” Emerald replied blankly before smiling at Cadence. “Hello Cadence, and yeah I definitely did.”
“Emerald, please,” Celestia pleaded earnestly as she stepped forward. “Listen to me on this, just let Twilight go alone-”
“I heard you from back there,” Emerald said with a raised hand. “And I think you already know the answer to that.”
“Emerald, you've been increasingly making a habit out of ignoring my advice when it comes down to your actions,” Celestia stated with carefully restrained anger. “But this time please listen to me. I do not want you to go with Twilight. Please trust in her abilities to handle this alone.”
“Oh, and what are you going to do if I choose to not listen to you again?” Emerald asked, crossing her arms with an aside glance at Celestia. “Grab that one pony who could make me? What was his name now? Idon'texist Hoofingten Esquire III?”
“EMERALD!” Celestia shouted with an angry glare and booming voice, stamping a hoof down with a startling bang. “DO. NOT. MOCK ME.”
Emerald actually started at that. She stepped back and uncrossed her arms. Hher eyes were wide as one of her hands halfway shifted into a claw out of reflex before she caught it. After a moment of shocked silence, Emerald took a calming breath and straightened.
“I know you don't want me to go with her,” Emerald said softly. “I know she can probably handle this easily enough on her own, but why take the extra risk? I'm going. You aren't going to convince me otherwise.”
“... I just do not want another world dragged into our conflicts, Emerald,” Celestia said solemnly. “What happened not one month ago was a perfect example of this. You're right. I can't convince you or even stop you from going. But please at least promise me you won't bring the conflict that has been afflicting us to that world.”
“... I can do that.” Emerald nodded and Celestia gave a relieved sigh.
“Well...” Luna began. “Since Emerald is now allowed to go, is there anyone else who would want to go as well?”
Celestia gave her sister a greatly displeased look, but surprisingly the Mane Six looked rather reluctant to actually tag along. Emerald gave a surprised look at the expressions on everyone's face; she'd expected them to raring to go.
“Uh, sugarcube don't take this the wrong way, but I think we kinda wanna sit this one out,” Applejack said as she nervously clutched at her hat. “I mean if it was just you going and all, then no problem.”
“Yeah, we got your back!” Rainbow Dash shouted but then looked disappointed in herself after saying. “But after what happened with Emerald's evil alternate universe clone... well...”
“I do believe what everyone is saying is that we need a bit more time to unwind and recover from recent events,” Rarity stated and approached Emerald who had shifted back into pony form. She began fussing over Emerald, making sure her mane was just so and coat arranged, to everyone's amusement. “We would gladly accompany you if you were alone, but you have Emerald with you. No matter what happens beyond that mirror, we can trust her to make sure you make it back home safe and sound.”
“Well... I want to go!” Spike shouted and ran forward to come to a stop just before the two. “I wasn't there when the whole evil universe invasion went down, but I want to be here for this!”
“Uhh, Spike...” Twilight began.
“Sure, why not?” Emerald began and pointed a hoof at Navi who was had lighted down on the tip of her ear. “I mean I'm taking Navi with me, might as well bring you along too.”
Celestia gave a barely heard, irritated groan followed by a giggle from Luna.
“Well this sounds wonderful,” Cadence said happily as she crouched before the group of four. “The whole family is gathered together for an adventure into a new world!”
“Yeah, I suppose so...” Emerald smiled as Twilight blushed, Spike gave a sheepish look as Navi gave a trilling cheer.
“Well I have full confidence in you four to get the job done,” Cadence said brightly. “And with time to spare. So if you finish far earlier than expected, or rather as expected, then who knows? If conditions on the other side allow for it, the four of you can make a small vacation of this and enjoy yourselves.”
“Speaking of time,” Emerald said and looked to Luna. “How long do we have to get back?”
“You have three more nights,” Luna answered. “Ending on midnight of the third night.”
“Good.” Emerald nodded and looked towards Belvedere who had been standing patiently and silently to the side. “Go collect Vata, Belvedere. This shouldn't take long, but at the most expect to be in command for roughly three nights.”
“Of course, Boss.” Belvedere nodded and turned away to leave.
“Well girls, this is it,” Twilight said to her friends. “We'll be back soon.”
“And we'll be here waiting for you!” Applejack said to everyone's vocal agreement.
“Right... ready, Emerald?” Twilight asked as Spike clambered onto her back.
“Whenever you are,” Emerald answered as Navi dove into her mane.
“Okay.” Twilight paused before the mirror and then took a breath. “Let's go.”
With that, she crossed the threshold.
EPSILON
Emerald remembered watching a few episodes of watching the Stargate series. Every time they went into the aforementioned stargate there would be a CGI scene of a path of bright light, dark borders and bright lights rushing at you. Walking through the mirror... was kind of the opposite of that; visually speaking, that is. There was the feeling of being squeezed down and stretched out to the point it felt like you could easily fit through the opening of a tube of toothpaste, but the journey itself was quite... colorful. It was also almost over just as fast.
The colors and twists of the the transport to another world was replaced with that of a dark stairwell. Emerald's arms lashed out and her momentum was instantly halted and she was put upright in midair, glowing slightly from her use of magic. However, she wasn't nearly quick enough to catch everyone else.
“Ahhh!”
“Ow!”
“Ahwawa!”
Emerald turned and blinked when she saw the three bodies lying on the floor. Though she had incredible night vision, she still created a magical light just to make absolutely certain what she was seeing was correct. On the floor were three humans.
“Ugh, not exactly a comfortable exit,” Spike said, his human form like that of a thirteen year old boy with short green hair, wearing a purple track suit with a green undershirt and green high top shoes.
“Wawa?” babbled what could only be Navi now as a little human girl that looked roughly four years old. She wore a light blue dress that reached down to her knees and a pair of white slip on shoes. She had purple hair with lime green eyes that matched the ones she had as an insect. The former bug suddenly began to notice her new form and started to get excited as she poked at her face with her fingers. “OooooOOOooooohhh!”
The last person was obviously Twilight, who appeared to take their landing a bit worse than the others as she was still face down on the ground and groaning in some discomfort; understandable considering it looked like Spike and Navi landed on top of her. She was wearing a pair of black jeans with a small white belt and a pair of black leather buckled shoes on her feet. On her torso she was wearing a long sleeved dress shirt and over that was a dark purple vest and no doubt she was also wearing a matching black tie. Her hair reached just past her shoulders and was the same dark blue with purple and pink streaks running through it.
“Ugggggh...” Twilight groaned again and struggled to get up a bit but was pinned down by Spike and Navi. “Get off me, please...”
“Oh, uh, sorry,” Spike said and quickly got up but immediately fell over as he was suddenly a bit taller than he was used to. “Gah!”
“Hehehe, bah!” Navi giggled and crawled off Twilight on her hands and feet.
With another groan, Twilight pushed herself up into a sitting position when she blinked and looked down at her hands in shock. Emerald was staring too, but not at Twilight's human form. No, the virus was staring in shock at her face.
As the now former unicorn looked up at Emerald, her appearance seemed to change in Emerald's eyes. Suddenly her hair wasn't colorful, but black. She wasn't wearing the scholarly styled clothes but a pair of sneakers, plain blue jeans and a dark blue hoodie with the image of a blue police box on the front. She wasn't looking up at her in concern, but with a friendly smile and was sitting at a table with a mostly empty cup of coffee.
“Hey, can I get a refill here, donut boy?” she said with a smile, shaking her cup at her.
“Coffee Girl...” Emerald muttered.
“Emerald.” Emerald blinked as she heard her say a name she couldn't possibly know. “Emerald, are you alright? Emerald!”
The virus started as suddenly the illusion was broken. She wasn't back in her mother's bakery. The girl she never got to learn the name of wasn't in front of her, but was actually her girlfriend. Said girlfriend was actually staring up at her in no little amount of concern.
“Oh, uh... sorry, I just... really surprised at... you know, you,” Emerald stuttered out a little, waving at the entirety of Twilight's form.
“I know!” Twilight exclaimed with equal parts excitement and shock as she examined her body. “This is what it's like to be human... I feel so light and lanky.”
“Ugh...” Spike groaned as he wobbled while standing in place. “I feel off balance.”
“Fafa loo!” Navi exclaimed and clapped her hands as she started testing them out more.
Emerald smiled down at Navi, acting the age she looked. Suddenly she frowned as she began wondering why in the world all of them had been put into human shape when a completely horrifying thought popped in her head. She rapidly looked around the stairwell and noted how alarmingly familiar it was. Looking up the stairs, she saw the door up only one set of stairs and quickly dashed up it to exclamations of surprise from the others. The virus slammed the door open and darted outside only to stumble at what met her sight.
“This isn't so bad once you get used to it,” Spike said as he waddled slightly onto the roof.
“Ugh... that's easy for you to say, Spike,” Twilight said after half crawling up the stairs and now leaning against the doorway. “At least you spent most of your life getting around on two legs.”
“Muh!” Navi shouted as she half stumbled along on her two feet towards Emerald.
Emerald absently patted Navi's head as she wrapped her arms around one of her legs and hugged it tightly. The virus walked forward, easily ignoring the added weight of Navi firmly attached to her leg and came to a stop at the barrier at the very edge of the roof.
The world stretched out before her... it was New York, the NYZ. She was home...
“Jeez, what happened here?” Spike asked as he stepped on the tip of his toes to see over the barrier. Beside him, Navi easily hoisted herself up onto the ledge and sat on it, happily kicking her feet against the barrier as she took in the view.
“This city looks completely abandoned,” Twilight commented as she looked over the landscape. “Wait, I think there are lights over the river over there.”
Before the group stretched out the ruins of Manhattan. It was a dreary day with overcast skies and mist hanging over the city. Just like the pegasi of Cloudsdale, the people who once lived on the island seemed to have decided that third time most certainly was not the charm and had abandoned it, leaving the many tall buildings left standing to slowly rot and turn dilapidated. The once thick viral growth that coated the streets and a great many buildings was still rotting and many buildings were covered in moss and plant growth. The large viral stalks had turned completely green as they were slowly eaten away by plants, giving the ruins an almost jungle like feel. In the distance over the river, just managing to piece the mists were lights emitting from buildings on that side of the river.
Unbeknownst to the group, Emerald had quietly walked away and gone back to the stairwell while they were taking in the sight of this new world. A few minutes later she appeared out of the darkness of the stairwell, her shoulders drooping and head hanging low. When she reached the barrier she hopped up and sat next to Navi, facing away from the view of the city.
“Emerald?” Twilight asked in concern as she took in Emerald's mood. “What's wrong?”
“I checked the spot we arrived through,” Emerald stated hollowly as Navi scooted as close to Emerald as she could. “It's completely solid. I tried to force my way through and the only thing I accomplished was making a hole in the ceiling...”
“So... we are stuck here,” Twilight said and got only silence from Emerald.
“Muh!” Navi shouted as she turned around in her seat and grabbed hold of Emerald's hand with both of her own.
“Here there, Navi,” Emerald said with a strained smile as the little girl clutched at her hand looked up at her with soulful eyes. “It's okay. I'll be alright.”
“...” Twilight pursed her lips as her thoughts raced, and suddenly her eyes widened. “Wait, Sunset!”
“What about her?” Spike asked.
“She came back to Equestria from here,” Twilight stated. “She must know how to make the portal on this side work if she managed to return to steal the Element of Magic. All we need to do is complete our mission. We find the Element of Magic, we find her, we catch her and make her tell us how to get back before it's too late.”
“She has at least eight hours on us,” Emerald said as she got off the barrier. “But my viral pulse has been getting steadily larger over the years. If she is still in the city, I'll find her.”
With that, Emerald recalled Sunset Shimmer's image to her mind and sent out a viral pulse. She was quite shocked when the pulse ended almost the moment she sent it out. She tried to do it again several times but each ended in failure.
“My pulse isn't working for some reason.” Emerald frowned but shook her head. “There is more than one way to track someone.”
With that, Emerald focused her nose on picking up fine scents. She filtered the smells of the others on the roof, the smell of a moldering building, the earthy smells of decomposing old viral growth being fed on by plants. Eventually she found it, the one smell that didn't belong.
“I have her scent,” Emerald stated and walked over to the barrier and looked down at the street with narrowed eyes.
“Will you be able to track her down quickly?” Twilight asked as she stumbled over next to Emerald.
“A little,” Emerald answered. “Not nearly as fast as with my viral pulse, but I should be able to find her provided nothing odd happens with the scent trail.”
“Everyone get close,” Emerald said as she reached over and picked up Navi. “I'll teleport us down to the street and we'll follow her trail down there.”
A moment later and the group of four arrived on the ground level with a soft pink flash. Emerald placed Navi back down on the ground where she began to demonstrate her rapid mastery of standing on two feet by comfortably rocking on them. Spike was only a bit wobbly in comparison but Twilight almost immediately fell over the moment she didn't have Emerald to lean on.
“Perfect, she came out of the front door,” Emerald said as she examined the overgrown shattered glass doors of the building they were on.
“Which way did she go?” Twilight asked after tripping over to Emerald.
“That way.” Emerald pointed down a street. “I would just go on my own and sprint after her, but... I really don't want to leave any of you alone in this place... which reminds me. Twilight, are you able to use magic without a horn?”
“Oh...” Twilight started and looked upwards with her eyes. “Oh no. No I can't.”
“Well I can blame Discord for my own ease in doing so.” Emerald sighed. “I guess we have no choice but to follow her slowly but steadily.”
“Why?” Twilight asked. “Do you honestly think this place is so dangerous?”
“Twilight...” Emerald began with a steady stare. “This is my world of origin. The world I was born on and the world that made me the person I was when I first entered Equestria.”
Twilight gasped in shock and Spike's eyes widened in no little amount of fear and worry. Navi had no real reaction to this information. It didn't mean much of anything to her and mostly she wasn't paying attention. The little virus was busy at the moment happily skipping circles around Emerald and Twilight, doing a good job of ruining the serious atmosphere.
“...Come here, you,” Emerald said with a sigh as she scooped up a giggling, wiggling Navi in her arms. “Settle down for a moment, please?”
“Muh, fawa!” Navi babbled with a smile and Emerald took it as an affirmative and placed her back down where she stuck to Emerald's side with a hug.
“Ohhh, such a sweetie!” Twilight couldn't help but gush at the former bug.
“Fafa!”
“Let's get going, shall we?” Emerald asked. “We are on the clock here.”
“Yes, let's.” Twilight nodded.
The group of four began making their way down the street at as brisk a walking pace a still struggling Twilight could manage. At first Navi was content to remain at Emerald’s side, holding her hand, but she soon got really antsy and wanted to run around. Emerald allowed this but kept the hyperactive little virus in sight.
“So this is your home?” Twilight asked after a moment, her walking beginning to grow more and more stable with every minute of practice; quite the feat, really.
“Once upon a time I would have happily referred to this city as my home,” Emerald said gloomily, her eyes half glazed over as she unwillingly recalled unhappy memories. “You already know the ending to that story.”
“Yeah...” Twilight frowned and stepped closer to Emerald, an act that Spike quickly mimicked.
The next half an hour passed in unnerving silence with the only sound being that of the wind blowing through the towering husks that made up the Manhattan skyline. It was after this half an hour of following a scent trail that Sunset's scent trail ended quite unexpectedly in the middle of a four way crossing.
“Her trail ends here,” Emerald said in some confusion, her brows furrowed in deep thought.
“Is that supposed to happen?” Twilight asked.
“No, not at all.” Emerald shook her head. “Why in the world would...”
Emerald frowned in thought. There were several things that could have contributed to the scent dissipating early. But it was extremely odd the scent just cut off right here. As her thoughts raced through several possibilities, her eyes widened in realization. She stopped her focus on purely scent and reached out with her other senses. Echoes of faint sounds rapidly formed a picture of the surrounding miles in great detail and Emerald immediately stood stock straight.
“Shit...” Emerald cursed.
“Emerald?” Twilight said.
“We're surrounded,” Emerald replied softly as her eyes darted about. “And there is a lot of them.”
That seemed to be the signal their followers were waiting for. People by the hundreds seemed to crawl out of the woodwork. People appeared in windows and on ledges, dozens of them leapt out of hiding and flew through the air before landing on the road around them with a loud crash. Emerald gritted her teeth as she took in the faces of the Evolved around her; she didn't recognize very many of them...
'Looks like the Cannon Fodder did some recruiting,' Emerald thought as she took in the several hundred strangers surrounding her.
Movement ceased and silence reigned for a moment as everyone paused. Then one Evolved went flying through the air from a ruin and crashed down onto the ground just in front of Emerald. She rose up onto her feet and brushed herself off before staring down Emerald with a sardonic smile and eyes full of dark promise.
“Well if it isn't our wayward traitor!” the Evolved said loudly to the crowd's benefit. “We've missed you so much, Oskar. So nice of you to come back home to us.”
“... Hello Sophie,” Emerald said with a wince.
“... You aren't allowed to say my name!” Sophie screamed instantly, her hands shifting to claws. “You should have stayed in whatever fucking dark hole you slithered into, you fucking snake! But don't worry...”
“I'll be putting you back in one as one final favor for an old Ex.”
-TBC-