//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 // Story: MLA: Perihelion // by Starscribe //------------------------------// The sun was rising. Bright yellow light leapt over forest and scrubland beyond, shadows getting shorter as the seconds passed. Of his squires, all had volunteered to join him today. Leonidas had brought only two. Brigid might’ve tricked the dogs of their army into fighting, but there was no deception here. These dogs knew they came to their deaths. There was no missing it now—the battle raged only a few miles away. Wherever the monster had gone, it had found its way back to the little pony village. Even as he looked up, Leo watched the library the green native had taken him to explode in a shower of wood and fire. What was the monster doing? It was hard to tell from this distance. They were more or less concealed amidst the thick trees of a wood, and made no effort to expose themselves yet. The little Technocrat was not here to curse Leo for the foolishness of ritual. Not today. Duke and Yuna were both on one knee, the posture a little stranger for a dog than a human, but not much stranger. They met his eyes, each with a bulky paw to their chests. “I will be a knight of the Steel Tower, and uphold the honor of my Lord through my actions. I will strengthen the weak. I will comfort the fearful. Confidence without arrogance. Truth without deception. Peace without oppression. Compassion without restriction.” Sir Tullius Leonidas said nothing as he walked past the dogs. He stopped in front of Yuna, looking into her scarred, white-furred face. “Squire Yuna, how long do you serve?” He found himself smiling as she answered. “Until death.” In the air behind her, the great monster soared, seeming either not to notice them beneath or not to care. Leo cared just as little for what the monster was doing. He didn’t even consider that some other might conquer this foe before he did. Equestria’s princesses would not have allowed such a monster to roam free. If it did, it meant they couldn’t help. A monster that could strip ponies of their magic might be beyond even the princesses to conquer. Their weapons depended on magic. Not so with himself and these knights-to-be. Leo touched his sword to each of her shoulders in turn. “Your Lord accepts your oath,” he replied, his voice clear amid the deserted trees. “I name Sir Yuna, Knight of the Steel Tower.” Yuna rose to her paws again, drawing her fist to her chest in a salute. Even through the armor Leo could see her pride. He passed her, looking into Duke’s eyes next. He was much darker, with black fur giving way to brown around his mouth and neck. Several of his teeth had been chipped once, but were now replaced with implants. “Squire Duke, why did you come?” There was no ritual answer, any more than there had been for Yuna. “To protect my home.” “Well said.” Leo did as he had with Yuna, touching a sword to each of the dog’s armored shoulders. “I name you Sir Duke, Knight of the Steel Tower. May your courage never fail and your sword never rust.” Duke rose, repeating the salute. Together, these new knights glowed with pride, along with courage. It was a courage they would need before the day was done. Men, princesses, little green ponies… and dogs. They weren’t that different, really. How many would Leonidas watch die? Leo touched the satchel on his back, feeling the warmth of the reactor there. The energy it fed into his armor and body never seemed to wane—an entire fusion reactor only for him. A pity he didn’t have his old armor, with its integrated magnetic polarization shield. Any advantage would have served well in the confrontation ahead. I am sorry I couldn’t have seen you again, Princess. Leo reached up, and with the push of a button his helmet closed again around his head. Sirs Yuna and Duke imitated the gesture, and soon the three of them were totally sealed away again. Without a word, Leo took off running, huge armor digging massive footprints into the dirt. Computers and programs took care of most of the work, allowing him a far greater pace than any a human could reach through trees and forest. His dogs ran on four paws instead of two, and probably could’ve passed him if they wanted to. She might’ve been insufferable, but at least that Technocrat knew how to build. She had adapted this armor to work in either stance. His squires had trained many hours in it, though not the years he would’ve liked. “We’re going to come at him from all sides,” he explained as they ran, his voice not reflecting any strain from the effort. Which made sense, since he didn’t actually have to breathe any harder to run. “Activate your active camouflage.” They did so without hesitation. Of course, even the most advanced light-reflection field would do very little for the fact that they were still a trio of one-ton metal hulks crashing through the woods at fifty kilometers an hour. Their footprints would not vanish either, and they would be very easy to track. “We will try with conventional weapons first. Remember your training, and hurt him as much as you can. While you attack from the ground, I’ll be in the air. If you fail…” He shook his head, though neither would see it. “I will use the Equestrian weapon.” Well, it was a bit more complicated than that. It wasn’t as though they had the Elements of Harmony or any of the other tools Equestria had for dealing with threats like this. It was all Leo could do to assume that they weren’t available. Duke’s voice was low, like someone who gargled gravel with breakfast in the morning. “And if he didn’t kill us already, we die.” “Yes.” Leo did not say even a word that might distort the truth. “Along with everyone for two kilometers in every direction. It is good the monster is fighting… something… so far from civilization. When it finishes, we may have to lead it further into the wilderness.” “And you don’t think we should help the one it’s fighting?” Even as Sir Duke spoke, something exploded from a mountain far away, magical force that shook the ground beneath them and might’ve knocked them over. Might’ve, if they weren’t all armored knights. “I wish we could.” Leo shook his head sadly. “Long ago I fought beside a princess with stars in her hair. We killed nightmares worse than this.” “You don’t think us two could fight like a pony?” Yuna didn’t sound defensive, though Leo knew better than to assume she wouldn’t feel that way. Knights vowed not to give in to their baser emotions, but that didn’t mean they didn’t experience them. “Not a princess.” His voice was wistful. “I can’t describe some of what she could do. But… we need not feel shame we are weaker than she. A knight does not rush into battle foolishly when prudence might secure a victory.” The battle raged on far away, at a scale that probably would’ve killed any one of them even through the armor. Can’t be worse than getting melted by a dragon. Well, not worse for him. His knights had recorders of course, but that did not make them immune to pain. If this monster struck them, it would be an agonizing death. “I wonder who it is.” Duke’s voice was not rebellious, only curious. “Fast pegasus to stay away so long.” “It isn’t Princess Luna or her older sister.” Leo looked up, focusing his eyes on the faintly purple blur he saw. “A brave pony hero. We pray them success, but we won’t expect it.” They moved on in silence then, through a forest thick with trees. Animals scattered at their passing, though none would be able to see them. Time passed—even Leo wasn’t in a terrible hurry. He ran towards death. Eventually they reached a clearing, a clearing swept clean of trees and burned black. It wasn’t empty. There were seven natives here, and none of them looked good. It was like the village all over again, with the faded colors and missing cutie marks. Leonidas could not sense the missing magic, but he could make enough sense of his dogs’ shocked muttering. Six were ponies, in their usual array of colors. Two from each tribe, except… “Stop.” They were on a ridge now, overlooking the ponies below. Something was wrong… not only was there a creature limping after them that looked almost like one of the statues Leo had seen in the Canterlot garden, but… one of them was an Alicorn. “Do either of you know that purple pony down there?” “No,” Duke finally admitted. “Never followed Equestrian politics.” “Indeed.” Leo groaned, then pressed his hand again to the side of his helmet. It retracted at once—the single innovation this suit had over the one he had worn into Equestria. “Follow me, but stay quiet and out of sight. I want a word with these ponies.” The monster had not killed them. It was hard to tell, but it had looked like the purple one had been fighting it. He would need to learn what they knew. Leonidas decloaked, letting his armor of bright green appear from the trees. He walked slowly down the ridge, both hands out. “Excuse me!” he shouted, towards the defeated crowd. They all stopped to stare, though none lifted their hooves against him. Unsurprising, given what he knew about the condition they were probably in by now. They looked suspicious, confused, and bewildered by his appearance. “Not another monster!” he heard one of their voices exclaim, exasperated. “This isn’t even the Everfree!” The other ponies all seemed to agree, all except the purple one. She muttered something to the others, then stepped forward, meeting his eyes. There was none of the incredible power that often marked Alicorns—her mane didn’t shimmer and no light came from her eyes. She was a little bigger than her friends, but that appeared to be it. “I know your face.” She sounded as drained as her friends, though that wasn’t the only emotion he heard. There was also awe. “You died in the first invasion. I visited your tomb, Leo the Bold.” “I did.” He gestured around the clearing behind them, burned and flattened by magic. “Was it you I saw fighting the voidspawn abomination?” She nodded, then deflated. “Tirek. He… He has it all now. All the Alicorn magic in Equestria.” She glanced behind her, at the little crowd of ponies and one strange creature. “Our fighting would’ve gone on forever… I gave it up. Their safety for the magic.” Leo sighed, though he tried not to do so too loudly. It wasn’t surprising to see the ponies making such obvious strategic follies. What good would her friendships do her if the magic of all Equestria was stolen and the ponies starved? No matter. She had survived the fight, which spoke highly of her abilities. There was little more he could learn here. “Did this Tirek continue west?” She nodded. “The opposite way we came. Probably… shouldn’t go that way. He’s even bigger now…” “Is Luna still Princess of Night in Equestria?” The new Alicorn nodded. “She is.” Tullius Leonidas started walking again, passing the pony and her lonely group. “I suggest you ponies hurry to safety. When you feel the ground shake, close your eyes and stay as low to the ground as you can. Whatever you do, don’t look.” “What?” The Alicorn’s voice was the only one with any strength, even now. He wasn’t moving very quickly, but he had already passed the strange creature in the rear. “What are you going to do? Tirek can’t be stopped… If all the Alicorn magic of Equestria wasn’t enough, then…” He ignored the question. “When you see her next, please convey my apologies. It would have been… good… to see her again.” Whatever the new princess said next was lost as he slid the helmet back into place and started running again. They would have to make better time if they wanted to catch up with Tirek before he reached another city. * * * “What did you mean—” Duke asked, when they were running again. They were moving far faster now, as fast as their armor would go through the trees. Forest blurred all around them—a single mistake at these speeds would either end with a shattered trunk or a broken soldier. “What is ‘voidspawn’?” Ahead of them, the ground started to shake. It was monstrous footsteps, each one unsteadying them a little on their feet. To their credit, neither of the new knights fell. “The alpha and myself came to Equestria from another world,” he explained. “Between all worlds is the void, a darkness without end or beginning. It contains nothing, yet that nothing is every possibility—every creature, every demon, every monstrous thing that could exist. Sometimes living creatures make contact with the void, making contracts with the demons within. The result of such a union is voidspawn.” His tone darkened. “These monsters destroyed my world too.” The humans who had breached the universal barrier had not done it with magic, nor had they gained the power to steal it from ponies. Most had only gained knowledge, knowledge both sides had used to make the weapons that unmade the world. “You think we have a chance?” There was the monster, rising as tall as any pony structure ever had. It rose above the trees, its coat black and red and its torso frighteningly human. “We do.” Leo reached behind him, drawing the massive rifle from his back and settling it into both hands as he ran. “Our cause is just. To a knight that’s all that matters.” Tirek didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get anywhere. Rather, the monster reveled in destruction, flattening trees and hills and carving into mountains with strange magic. Some ruler this monster would turn out to be. “It’s so big.” Yuna sounded almost awed. “Will human weapons succeed where the ponies failed?” Leo stopped running. Wings on his back deployed, fixed lengths of steel with an ionic accelerator engine mounted near his back. The heat would’ve been unbearable for an organic even through the armor, which was why neither of his knights had them. Leo’s legs were not organic, though. Blue fire sprung to life behind him, so faint it was almost invisible. Even so, the ground beneath him turned black, and the undergrowth caught fire immediately. Sir Tullius Leonidas took off into the air, a roaring invisible comet. “We will succeed,” he assured over the radio, unaffected by the acceleration. “Even the bravest ponies surrendered in the end. No Knight of the Tower has ever lost a battle.” “For the king!” his new knights shouted in unison, then charged. Leo could not see them through the trees, despite his high vantage. He could see the transceivers of their network nodes, charging towards the monster. They didn’t plan on using swords. Leo reached behind him, patting the pouch and making sure the device inside was still secure. The device didn’t have any sort of digital interface. There was no network connection either, just power. Power filled his reserve in a constant stream, such that even the fantastic draw of the ionization engines did not seem to be draining it. How much would it take to sap the strength of the magical reactor? Tirek stopped its massive steps, slowing and then stopping beside a towering mountain. There were no signs of life anywhere nearby, no ponies or villages or pegasi in the sky. No cloud cities. This was very fortunate, as Leo would have had no choice but to sacrifice them if fighting came now. It was better for a few to die than a nation. It seemed to be scanning the sky, perhaps searching for the pegasus brave enough to make such a roar. Ionization engines were not quiet, nor was their heat hard to find for those who searched for it. That was why stealth drones still used props. Leonidas crested three kilometers, arcing slowly forward towards Tirek. Yuna’s voice came over the radio in a shout. “Firing now!” The air began to buzz with energy, and he caught a faint flicker of light from somewhere in the trees. Yuna’s armor had a 120mm main gun that ran down its entire length, with such high energy demands she couldn’t even move while it was in use. Even with electronic eyes Leo saw nothing as the first projectile tore through the air. He did hear the scream of fury, and saw an explosion of flesh and blood from the monster’s unprotected belly. In the time it took Tirek to turn towards the source of the assault, several more wounds had been torn in his body. “I’m out!” Yuna’s voice called, along with the flashes of small-arms fire. These didn’t seem to scratch the great monster, little gouts of charged plasma that would’ve fried a living human or an android but couldn’t touch something so large. Even the huge wounds on his underbelly seemed more of an annoyance to him, and the flow of blood was already starting to slow. Tirek laughed. In that sound asteroids collided, planets crumbled to dust, and hope died. “You aren’t even a pony!” “God I think he can see me I think he can see me!” Leo did not fire—his own rifle had only a few shots capable of damaging the creature, and he would need them. “Duke, can you distract it? Yuna needs you!” “On it!” An ear-splitting crack cut the air as a hypersonic sniper round took the monster in the head. He reeled, clutching at it and roaring again. The sound was so loud Leo’s eyes probably would’ve watered from it, if he were capable of that reflex anymore. As it was he put on a little more thrust, maintaining an altitude out of Tirek’s reach. Well… for now, anyway. He had seen the monster fly. If it suspected him before Leo was ready, the fight would turn sour in a hurry. Tirek rocked back again with another shot, blood spraying from an exit wound on the monster’s other side. “I’m gone!” Yuna called, her dot moving again. “Pull back, Duke! I think you’re just pissing it off!” Tirek’s roar turned into a burning yellow glow of magic, which registered on Leo’s sensors as radiation across the EM band, radiation to fry humans and cockroaches and anything in-between. “Yuna, go left! He’s aiming right—” Leo took aim with his rifle, no longer caring about the the plan and how carefully they had prepared, but he wasn’t fast enough. Black fire burned from a dark star between the monster’s horns, scorching a huge swathe that swallowed Yuna and the forest all around her in all directions. “YUNA!” Her node winked out—no damage notifications, no status updates, just gone. There was no sign of her on the ground, just blackened and charred forest. “Duke, get out of here! Get behind that big hill…” Duke’s dot was moving, but far too slowly. For all the bleeding this monster did, it didn’t seem to be making much difference. As massive as it was, Leo couldn’t even know if they had caused it any permanent injury. It might be conventional weapons were all but useless against a foe so large and magical as this. “Another one!” Tirek boomed, his voice shaking the trees all around him. “You waste your lives! Even your mightiest weapons are nothing to me now! This is power!” “Duke, get down!” Black fire scorched the earth again, tearing the trees from the earth and throwing stones and boulders before it. The new knight screamed as he died, his voice lasting only a second before the signal cut and his node vanished from the network. “Now we can talk, wizard.” Tirek turned again, until he was facing Leonidas directly. His eyes didn’t seem to be focusing on any one point, though Leo knew the engines on his suit were quite loud. “Your pets amused me, but did you really think they had a chance?” He reached up, holding one hand to the little wound on his head. It closed before Leo’s eyes, new flesh sealing the old. Only a few splotches of blood remained to mark the injury. “You fight with cunning, I respect that.” The creature folded its arms. “You cannot possibly defeat me. Surrender your magic to me willingly, and I will let you live.” I guess that’s it, then. Leonidas disabled the active camouflage on his armor, flickering to life in the air about half a kilometer away from Tirek’s bulk. He turned his speakers up all the way, shouting for him. “Very well, Lord Tirek! I bow before your superior strength!” He put up his hands, flying slowly towards him. He didn’t move very fast, making it obvious he intended no hostility. I’m sorry, My King. I hope your Technocrat can give you a friend where I failed. “Good.” Tirek smiled, watching him. “Equestria’s ponies would not have suffered so if they had your wisdom.” Black eyes larger than he was watched as he approached, following his path through the air. If Tirek thought anything unusual about his armor or the way he flew, he didn’t say. Leonidas didn’t want to fly any lower—the airburst would be most effective if he was in the air. He stopped just out of Tirek’s reach, holding himself steady at about the monster’s head level. “My magic is yours!” Tirek grinned, opening his mouth wide. Bright yellow glowed from between his horns again, and Leo feared for a moment his plan was discovered and he was going to be destroyed. Apparently not. Instead of being wiped away in a blast of black fire, his whole body went rigid, limbs spreading to their full length as Tirek gripped him. He didn’t see anything exactly, since of course he had no sensors that could observe magic. But magic seemed to be gripping him hard enough that some of his armor whined and protested. “Such power!” Leo found the reserves in his suit stopped filling, and that the still-burning engines were drawing power from the armor again. Before him, Tirek seemed to be surging with energy, his whole body shaking as though he were going to get even bigger. “What manner of spell is this?” God no. Don’t let this make him stronger, please! Leo found the telekinetic grip wasn’t really focusing on him anymore, or at least not on his arms. He reached back with grinding effort, tearing the satchel from the back of his armor. Light poured from within, light brighter than the sun. His armor started to flash with radiation and heat-damage warnings. Even as he watched, the satchel melted away, synthetic fabric destroyed in the heat of an artificial star. The metal leaves were gone too, melted away to nothing. Leo clutched only at the sphere beneath, a sphere of hyperstable exotic matter. “So much power!” Tirek roared in triumph, apparently oblivious to what was happening before his eyes. The monster was growing again. Tullius Leonidas couldn’t tell. Most of the sensors in his armor had been fried, the metal glowing bright white around the reactor. His hands were melted, and the rest of him would soon follow. He couldn’t move anymore, and only Tirek’s magic kept the reactor from tumbling to earth. Goodbye Luna.