Magic Gear

by kari

Mission 03

Mission 03

An ear deafening screech echoed throughout the train station as the train slowly came to a halt within it. Once the train had stopped completely Twilight, Spike, and all the other passengers began to exit the train from their individual carts out into the large station. While they made their way out of the train, Twilight began to notice the number of passengers leaving the train compared to the number of carts that made up the train's main body. Upon further inspection it could be seen that there had barely been any ponies on board. Yet another sign of the country's poor economy, Twilight thought to herself until she felt a strong tug on her mane, only to see it was spike with an impatient look on his face. At first she was puzzled, but once she saw what he was waiting for he understood his concern. As they were exiting the station Spike took notice that Braeburn was standing over by a pillar while Twilight's mind drifted elsewhere.

Spike and Twilight proceeded to meet up with Braeburn and exit the station together. Up and down the streets of Ponyville they came and went with Braeburn giving them the grand tour. House after house, store after store, ponies everywhere, Ponyville seemed a much calmer and more festive place than Canterlot was. The air was so much fresher, the streets and buildings so much more joyful, and even Spike was a lot cheerier than usual. Eventually, they left Ponyville and after crossing over a bridge, journeyed along a rough dirt trail until at last they came to an apple orchard that seemed to go on forever in every direction in front of them as if it were a wall of sorts. As they pressed on through the endless forest of apple trees, Twilight couldn't help marveling at such a sight. She had never before seen anything like this during any of her missions or studies at Canterlot. For what seemed like at least thirty to fifty minutes they continued on until they reached a clearing with a barn resting in the midst of it with small gardens scattered around here and there.

They stood in silence and in awe, gazing upon the beautiful landscape that lay out before their eyes. As wonderful as Ponyville had been, this was utterly amazing. As lively as it had been, here flowers and plants of all sorts flourished everywhere, animals were everywhere, and even the atmosphere in general seemed more appeasing overall. Before Twilight and Spike made their way to the barn, they saw Braeburn starting to head back in the direction of Ponyville. Curiously she asked,

"Braeburn, Where are you going? Weren't you going to take us the rest of the way?"

"Now don't ya'll worry your little heads off, I'm just heading back to Ponyville to pick up some groceries for Granny Smith. I'll be back later for dinner, and hopefully you'll be joining us. Anyway, just continue on down to the barn and you'll find li'l Applejack inside. I'm sure you'll get a warm welcome from them, and I'll just be on my way."

With that said, Braeburn continued on his merry way, leaving Twilight and Spike to continue on to the barn by themselves. The closer they came to reaching the barn, they began to see the condition it was in. The red paint that covered the walls was chipping, an occasional termite here and there, and the whole thing itself just seemed to be in poor condition overall. Having reached their destination, all they was left was to open the doors and see what lay ahead for them.

"Are you ready Spike?"

Twilight asked as they stood before the door. In reply, Spike just looked at here with an expression that seemed to say that he'd be going in after her.

--Sorry this chapter was shorter than usual, and that it took so long to get out. My time lately has been occupied with an array of various activities, but now that everything has been calming down, More chapters will be out soon!(And won't take FOREVER to finish. Also, I'm still messing around with the format, so once i have it set, it will be continuous.--

Comments

War, has changed.

It's no longer about nations, tummaches, or who got the last cupcake. It's an endless series of proxy battles, fought by mercinaries and manticores. War - and its consumption of life - has become a well-oiled machine.

War has changed.

ID-tagged ponies carry ID-tagged weapons, use ID-tagged gear. Nanomagic inside their bodies enhance and regulate their abilities. Genetic control. Information control. Emotion control. Battlefield control. Everything is monitored and kept under control.

War, has changed.

The age of deterrence has become the age of control. All in the name of averting catastrophe from weapons of mass destruction. And he who controls the battlefield... Controls history.

War, has changed.

When the battlefield is under total control... War becomes routine.

[kari]

23891
As if war couldn't change enough for an old( or in this case young) elite pony sneaking agent with a craving for headbands....soon