Error 404 - Pony Not Found

by Suke

Part 3A - That's No Cloud City!

Part 3A: That’s No Cloud City!

Disclaimer:

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, may have been intentional, and could quite possibly reflect on them; I don’t really care.

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Two heroines were frozen on the spot, looks of awe smothering their faces. The ache in their necks from staring upwards went completely ignored. If Cliff hadn’t been distracted by the sight before them, she would have thought how unusual it was for Berry to be awestruck. It was indeed quite the sight to behold, but we are kind of getting ahead of ourselves.

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After barely avoiding being seen by Flutterling, Berry Punch and Cliff Jumper rematerialised in their third desolate future. It was night time, and all was quiet in whatever hellhole of Equestria they’d arrived in. Nothing seemed Discorded, so that was a plus, but knowing Sweetie Belle’s description of her timeline, there was far more worse things at work.

“Right,” Berry began. “First things first, we need to make contact with the ponies of this time.”

Cliff nodded, her thoughts hanging back on the bruising she’d seen on Fluttershy. Perhaps she should tell Berry Punch. This was considered up until she recalled their previous conversation, as well as something even earlier which she missed.

The soldier continued, “I think I can make out a Cloud City off in the distance. There’s normally civilisation nearby on the ground, so we’ll go that way. Come on.”

“Berry?”

“Yes, Cliff? What is it?”

“You told me I couldn’t save Fluttershy, but you went and tried to save Pinkie Pie… What the hay was with that, huh?”

“Well, it’s like you said-”

Cliff stomped a hoof in protest.

“Don’t use my own words to defend yourself! You’re just a hypocrite!”

“No, I… I’m not I just…”

“You just what, huh? You’ve got noth-”

“I was pretending!” Berry shouted desperately. “You happy now? I was pretending.”

Cliff looked appalled when she asked, “Why… on Equis… would you PRETEND… to save a dying filly… in front of her WHOLE FAMILY?!”

“I-I-I had to. I had to act the part…”

Now Cliff was completely confused.

“What?”

With a gasp of realisation, Berry turned and trotted away, the silhouette of the Cloud City off in the distance.

“Don’t you run away from me, mare!” Cliff shrieked, chasing after her partner. “What was that about acting the part?”

“It’s nothing, really. You wouldn’t understand.”

An angry hoof grabbed Berry’s Sweater and pulled her backwards before forcing her to sit, spinning her round to face Cliff.

“What happened to me being smart, eh?”

At first, Berry tried to avert her eyes from Cliff’s.

“So you lied about that too? I am just here for comedic effect?”

“NO! You are smart… but…” Berry sighed. “It was better if you didn’t know.”

“Well, too late for that, missy.”

“You’re right. The truth is, I slipped a device around your neck without your noticing. It’s called a Cloakling Device.”

“Don’t you mean Cloaking?” Cliff corrected as she felt around her neck. “And there’s nothing here.”

The guilty mare reached over and lifted something Cliff couldn’t see, then suddenly she could. It was like a simple ID card and clicker pen attached to a chain around Cliff’s neck. It had her picture, as well as her name, age, race and date of birth. Along the bottom were three circles labelled ‘Off’, ‘Auto’ and ‘Custom’. The Auto circle was shaded in.

“I meant Cloakling. The information shown on the front is the identity of your current disguise. Shading in another circle clears the previous one. For additional information, look at the back and it’ll show you whatever you need to know. The Auto setting scans your surroundings and decides your disguise appropriately. It made us seem like passing medical professionals when with the Pies, so I had to act like one. It is possible to check the Device without others noticing. Lastly, the Custom setting will make you what you desire, and fill in any blanks for vague requests.”

“It does all that? Why don’t you use these more often?”

“They use an ancient form of Changeling magic, which attracts their kind. Normally not an issue until there are unicorns nearby, their horns amplifying the signal. I should also point out that Auto struggles in larger groups, having to find a good middle ground to avoid any suspicion.”

“Huh…”

Berry got back up and returned to facing the Cloud City, halting instantly upon noticing it had grown closer.

“By the way, don’t go thinking you’re all forgiven by telling me all this. I’m still pissed that you couldn’t seem to trust me. You listening Berry? Oi, Little Miss Secrets!”

“Shut up Cliff and look, will you?”

Cliff followed Berry’s line of sight.

“At what? The Cloud City? What about it?”

“Doesn’t it look closer than before?”

“I wouldn’t know. This is the first time I looked at it.”

“Look closer. I think… I think it’s moving.”

“So? Cloud Cities have been known to move.”

“Not this much in the course of maybe an hour. Even when Pegasi intentionally move them, they do it in the day.”

Cliff Jumper shrugged.

“Maybe it’s eternal night here, too?”

In response, Berry pointed Cliff in the direction of a building light on the horizon.

“I guess not then. I’m just stumped now. That rumbling is getting annoying too.”

“What rumb-”

Then she heard it too: a faint rumbling, growing ever so slightly louder with every passing second. With a little more concentration, Berry matched the increase in volume with movement of the Cloud City. The Sun poked over the horizon and sleepily climbed into the sky, its light crawling away from the horizon. Eventually, it reached the two mares, as well as the silhouette.

What they saw was not a Cloud City, but a flying chunk of metal. More precisely, a purposefully shaped chunk of metal. Jets of flaming propulsion fired downwards, assisted by massive propellers sticking out the sides. Lights flashed here and there on surfaces and corners. Smaller metal objects hovered or flew around it.

“Sweet. Pony. Jesus,” whispered Cliff. “If that’s a Cloud City, then I’m Diamond Dog’s uncle.”

“I agree,” Berry concurred.

“What IS it?”

“Some kind of flying fortress… I spotted some cannons… I think these are the humans Sweetie Belle mentioned.”

“Would’ve been nice if she’d warned us about this!”

“It’s possible she didn’t know about it.”

“True…”

They watched as the fortress flew directly above them and stopped. The Earth Ponies could just make out a couple openings appearing in the bottom of the monstrosity. Next, they dived into the bushes when they saw little figures jumping out of the openings. From the safety of the nearby plant life, Cliff and Berry observed a dozen bipedal figures crash into the ground, completely unharmed.

The figures all wore black, strangely metallic yet malleable clothing all over their bodies. They did not clink or clang as they moved about. The helmets they wore had darkened, full face visors. From head movements, they seemed to be communicating with one another. The squad search the area around them.

In the process of moving back with Berry Punch, Cliff Jumper saw a muddy hand in place of a forehoof and tripped, the consequential noise the action produced attracting the attention of one of the soldiers. In the brief moment between tripping and being discovered, Cliff looked down to see herself as a human female. There were strange lumps on her chest, tattered clothes covering her body, both flesh and artificial material smothered in dirt and sap.

“What the bu-”

The soldier saw Cliff’s distraught face and offered a hand.

Their visor turned seethrough as they softly cooed, “It’s alright, miss. I’m not gonna hurt ya.”

The voice was male, and the young looking face smiled welcomingly. Knowing what these things were capable of, Cliff remained cautious, but she had to keep up appearances, looking human herself. Taking the hand, she was helped up by the nameless soldier.

“There we go now. Sir,” he called out to the apparent commanding officer. “I found one of them.”

The only soldier not doing any searching replied, “Ok, Stiggerz. Does she know where the other one is?”

Berry Punch, in a similar state to Cliff, stepped out of the bushes, hands held high.

“Well, I guess that makes things easier,” commented the officer. “You others had any luck finding the source of the energy signature.”

A chorus of ‘No Sir’s was the response. The officer checked something on the inside of his visor and grunted.

“It appears it has dispersed. O’Neil to Command, we have the lifesigns, but no luck on the energy signature. Permission to return?” Silence. “Acknowledged. On our way.”

Without a word, the young soldier wrapped his arms around Cliff, another soldier doing the same for Berry.

“Hold on tight,” said the humans.

The fake humans did as they were told. The squad abruptly took flight, thrusters powering out of their feet. Within in moments they were inside the airborne command base. Most of the soldiers immediately went about their own business, disappearing through one of two exits. The officer and two soldier that had carried Cliff and Berry guided their charges through the other exit.

The interior was just as much a sight to behold as the exterior. Long, clean and carpeted corridors, wide enough for four or five ponies, and tall enough to fit Celestia. It was so warm and welcoming for something so very grey. many other humans were passed. Some in military uniforms, others in labcoats, many in plain clothing with attached IDs. It was all very utilitarian.

Stiggerz spoke up quietly, “So what are your names?”

Cliff saw Berry check her Cloakling Device, and followed suit.

Berry answered, “Rebecca.”

Cliff added, “A-and mine’s S-S-Sophie.”

“Well, everyone round here calls me Stiggerz,” Stiggerz said with another gentle smile.

Silence returned. After a good few minutes of twists, turns and stairs, the group finally ceased movement. They stood within a simple room. Clearly living quarters, there were two army style beds, one above the other, cupboards and drawers, and ensuite bathroom with shower and sink. Fresh changes of clothing were laid out one of two empty desks lining the walls.

“This will be your room,” explained the officer. “Should you need anything, just ask aloud and someone will respond. Stiggerz will take first shift at your door, and you are not to even attempt to leave unless someone invites you to. Are we clear?”

The women nodded.

“Alright then.”

The officer turned to leave.

Berry squeaked, “Uhm, what’s your name?... Sir?”

Without turning back, the officer replied, “I am Colonel Michael O’Neil, with one L.”

And then he left, his two soldiers in tow. Aware that people could hear their every word, Cliff and Berry limited their conversation to what they hoped would be safe and expected of two women who’d got lost in the wild. Without much else to do, they took turns getting cleaned up and reclothed.

Cliff figured there must be more to the Cloakling Devices than an optical illusion… it was weird to touch and painful to try to understand. How did she know how to walk bipedally? If they have to keep things quiet from eavesdroppers, she may never know.

Out of the blue, Berry said, “So we need to somehow find a way to locate Sweetie Belle.”

The only response Cliff could give was a horrified stare.

“Oh, the microphones? After a short time, Devices can hack microphones and cameras.”

“You could have started with that.”

“Sorry for wanting to get the job done.”

“... So, what do we do? You’re the smart one.”

“You’re still sore about that?” Berry shook her head. “No, not the time for this. We’re in enemy territory. Hmmm…”

A knock came on the door, and in walked Colonel O’Neil, followed by a man clearly his superior. This man wore an all white suit with many badges and on his shoulders rested two silver stars that just screamed leadership. His face was showing signs of aging, with a greying brown chin beard connecting to a thin moustache, forming a circle around the mouth. His head hair was almost short, the little fringe sweeping up and to the side. His stare was an analytical one.

The Colonel had ditched his battle gear for simple military uniform, a silver bird on his shoulders. Unlike the greying man, Michael had a full beard, and long hair, also brown, tied back in a rivian ponytail. His yellow, greenish eyes seemed worn out, assumedly having seen things they wished to unsee.

“So you’re Rebecca,” the man nodded to Berry. “And Sophie,” then to Cliff. “Welcome aboard Pride Rock, humanity’s aerial base of operations in the fight against Equestrian scum. I am the commanding officer, Major General Francis Ham. Do you have any questions?”

“Well… erm…” Berry started, trying to plan her words carefully. “Are there any ponies on board?”

Ham chuckled heartily, “Why of course not, dear. We shoot on sight in most situations, and the other kind of situations hardly arise.”

“O-oh… what kind of plans do you have in beating them once and for all?”

“Why, aren’t you a curious one. Well, we have many plans in the making! You see…”

The General babbled on about this and that, none of it helpful for the two spies. He had the full attention of ‘Rebecca’, the girl eating up every syllable with her eardrums. The Colonel had heard it all before and started to stare at ‘Sophie’, who stared right back. This went on for a while. A long while. One hell of a while. At some point, ‘Sophie’ flickered green, brown and blue. Michael blinked. It happened again. He subtly rubbed his eyes. And again she flickered. One more flicker later and she remained altered.

Cliff tilted her head slightly, confused as to why the Colonel was acting out. She didn’t know he was seeing a humanoid version of her pony self; an anthropomorphic pony. Two things were stopping him from saying anything to his superior officer: One, never before had anyone ever seen an anthro pony during this war, and two, this was the first pony who hadn’t stared daggers at him. There was no hatred, or ill intent. She just looked, for lack of a better word, innocent.

The only problem now was how could he communicate with the pony woman without attracting unwanted attention? The answer was that he couldn’t, because right at that point, an impatient Berry Punch perform a bit of a faux pas.

“Do you, or do you not, have, in this gigantic monstrosity of a flying machine, an artificially created filly Unicorn?!”

The rest of the room was struck speechless. No one knew how to react. Thankfully for the Major General, Stiggerz had been listening from outside, and consequentially charged in, tackling Berry Punch. Not wanting to seem idiotic, Colonel O’Neil quickly got a hold of Cliff Jumper.

“To the brigs, sir?” he queried.

Francis was almost too stunned to concur, “Y-y-yes.”

Stiggerz lead the way, muttering to his Colonel, “A bit slow there, sir.”

Having his hands full with a struggling woman, Michael couldn’t hit Stiggerz for his insubordination. He’d have to give it later.

To help himself and calm Cliff down, he whispered into her ear, “I can see your true form. Do not worry. I will not allow the deaths of innocents.”

As the words left his lips, he felt a twang of pain in his head. Choosing to ignore it, Colonel Michael O’Neil escorted a less resilient Cliff Jumper down to the brigs.

Comments

[JazzyWaffles]

Cliff tilted her head slightly, confused as to why the Colonel was acting out. She didn’t know he was seeing a humanoid version of her pony self; an anthropomorphic pony. Two things were stopping him from saying anything to his superior officer: One, never before had anyone ever seen an anthro pony during this war, and two, this was the first pony who hadn’t stared daggers at him. There was no hatred, or ill intent. She just looked, for lack of a better word, innocent.

I. Why did this happen O.o