My Little Pony: Twilight's Requiem

by Pika53

Chapter 2

Chapter #2:

Standing in a nondescript corridor, a young alicorn mare silently kept watch. Although, guard duty could be considered boring by most, it was a duty the young alicorn was sworn to uphold at all costs. The alicorn’s name was Tess and while there were plenty of things about her past that she didn’t know, Tess was aware that Princess Celestia had faith in her. Of course, one thing that could be said about guard duty was that it always gave one time to think. Even though she couldn’t remember much, Tess knew she was different than most ponies.

Her earliest memories were just after she first awoke and saw Princess Celestia looking down at her. That had been three months ago. Since that time, Tess had devoted herself to her studies and her role within the Royal Guard. Although she was nothing more than a trainee Tess was determined to fulfill her duty to serve and protect the princesses of Equestria to the best of her ability. Speaking of princesses, Tess had recently met the younger one and was still clearing out her ears of the ringing that Luna's ye olde Canterlot voice had caused. That princess really had to learn to control her volume if she didn't want a kingdom full of deaf subjects.

Tess’s immediate superior was Master Sergeant Paranvilcora but she had been receiving additional instruction from the Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor. The only reason she could speculate for this was that she resembled the captain’s younger sister; although she had yet to meet that pony. In fact, Tess was interested in meeting the captain’s younger sister but never seemed to have time to do so.

Shaking her head, Tess let the thought go. Moments later, she was startled by a sudden flash of light that made her feel dizzy. Groaning, Tess blinked and shook her head; a troubled look crossing her features as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. Glancing around, she saw nopony nearby.

“Hello?” Tess called out.

“You’ll do.” A feminine voice suddenly spoke up.

“Identify yourself!” Tess snapped.

“Soon enough; but first I need you to take part in a few tests for me.” The voice said again.

Unfortunately, nothing could have prepared Tess for what happened next. Before she could respond her eyes widened in surprise as a strange glow suddenly enveloped the area around her. Panic and worry covered her muzzle as she squeezed her eyes shut and frantically shook her head in response to a shrill noise that made her head feel like it would explode. Almost as quickly as it began, the noise faded away into silence. After a few seconds of nothing happening, Tess relaxed slightly and sighed in relief.

And then her whole world went white.

***************

Wandering through the streets of a deserted Canterlot, Jaden reflected on how bizarre the situation had become. Throughout the long train ride, Twilight had grilled him about the human race and earth. They had covered transport, energy and resources, and she had seemed upset about horse drawn carriages, but he’d diverted her attention with the next era of transport; and how they used a sticky black liquid deep under the ground to power metal objects that let them move faster than anything in Equestria. He had also explained about how it was damaging the environment, and how it was running out. During this time, Twilight had filled several notebooks. Trixie meanwhile had cared little for the conversation and had glared at either the surrounding walls or out the front window.

The train itself was a boxy single engine setup with plenty of room for them to move around comfortably. Its basic design and functionality was similar to that of trains from his world; an intriguing mystery since computers and electricity didn’t seem to be common in Equestria. In fact, the train itself was a stark grey color and resembled something he’d seen in a movie.

Now, the ponies were glancing around the streets warily. He couldn’t blame them. Something about the place just didn’t feel right. He’d visited abandoned places in the past but right now he didn’t get the same lonely feeling that he’d felt when visiting them. Instead, the feeling was like the area was just empty.

Jaden blinked. It was the same feeling he’d had back in Ponyville. He also noted the
vast number of security cameras that lined the buildings; much as they had in Ponyville.

“Where is everypony?” Twilight breathed as they approached the drawbridge of a decent sized castle.

“I don’t know? I suppose all we need now is to have a couple of demented lil’ bunnies racing by with a shopping cart… and we’ll have a party.” Jaden remarked dryly; shaking his head.

Both ponies turned and stared blankly at him.

“What?” Twilight asked.

“Let’s just say that if that unlikely event were to occur… your I.Q. would drop.” Jaden replied;
hand reaching subconsciously for the weapon in the holster strapped to his hip.

He caught himself; prompting Twilight to cast him another curious glance while Trixie snorted at him.

“Let’s keep moving.” he said.

Nodding, Twilight turned and began leading the way inside. Letting his gaze drift, Jaden marveled at the architecture as they strolled through the archway and into the castle proper. He also noticed the increased number of security cameras that lined the ceilings of most of the corridors. After fifteen minutes, Twilight rounded a corner and came to a sudden stop. Jaden almost collided with her; only to have Trixie ram into him. Over the sound of the showmare’s aggravated moan, Jaden spotted what had caused Twilight to stop and stepped forward to investigate.

Before them lay an unconscious pony. If it weren’t for the fact that the creature before them was wearing what looked like some sort of guard garb, had caramel colored wings and a similar colored coat he would have sworn that it and Twilight were twins. They even had the same mane and tail color; complete with the pink streak running along its length. Curiously, the creature had a magenta portal surrounding a star for a cutie mark.

Jaden cocked an eyebrow.

“She’s an alicorn.” Twilight explained, obviously unnerved by the apparent similarity.

Trixie scoffed at the sight before them.

Before he could respond however, Jaden watched as the pony before them began to stir.
Slowly sitting up, the creature blinked in bewilderment and shook its head as it looked around.

“Ugh! W... what just happened?” it murmured in a raspy, dazed voice.

Jaden cocked an eyebrow. The voice the alicorn was using sounded like a slightly higher pitched version of a certain mauve colored unicorn he knew. He was also struck by the fact that the creature before them had piercing green eyes. While Twilight regarded the alicorn warily, Trixie was staring at her as if she’d suddenly grown two heads.

“The last thing I remember is standing at my post when I heard a voice and was accosted by a strange light… then… nothing.” the alicorn continued.

“Hearing voices and seeing strange lights… seems to be a theme.” Jaden remarked.

The alicorn cocked her head to the side as she stared at him curiously.

“You’re the first pony we’ve seen since we found ourselves here.” he continued, extending a hand.

The alicorn seemed to mull the information over as she accepted the assistance. Jaden noted
that her foreleg felt as if it were mechanical rather than flesh and bone but didn’t say anything.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“My name is Tess.” the alicorn replied.

“Nice to meet ya; I’m Jaden Kururugi, human, in case you're wondering; and this is Twilight Sparkle and Trixie.” Jaden greeted, waving a hand to his companions.

The ponies murmured greetings.

“So…” Jaden spoke up after a pause, stuck for more questions.

Twilight and Tess seemed to share a look between one another before replying in perfect sync. “We should inform Princess Celestia right away.”

“Lead on.” Jaden smirked.

Jaden’s smirk grew as he watched Twilight and Tess turn in unison and began leading the way. Looking on, he could tell that although the unicorn appeared to still be troubled by the alicorn’s presence, she seemed focused on other things at the moment. Turning, he saw Trixie staring after them before turning to him. He fought back a chuckle as the light blue unicorn’s face twisted in annoyance as she sighed, rolled her eyes, and followed the pair. A short time later, the group arrived in front of a huge metal door.

Passing through the door, they entered a large throne room. Sitting on the throne in the center of the room was another alicorn. Unlike Tess, this one was much larger and had a solid white coat and a flowing, multicolored mane. Considering his cousin’s absurd bet, Jaden recognized who the alicorn before them was as his companions bowed. As Twilight and Tess began to explain everything that had happened to the princess, Jaden took the opportunity to study his surrounding more closely.

On the left side of the stairs leading to the throne, he saw what looked like a pedestal of some sort. On a nearby wall were a series of inactive lights arranged in an oval shape. On the ceiling above the right wall, was another security camera. Returning his attention to Princess Celestia, who still remained strangely silent, Jaden noted that something was seriously out of place. Staring at the princess more closely, he noticed small lines around her body, as though she were constructed and put together instead of flesh and blood. In fact everything about her seemed somehow brightened beyond what they should be.

Her hooves were shiny and black as night, fetlocks stained with brown and red, as though she had recently walked through a battlefield. Much like the smile plastered to her face, the princess’s eyes didn’t seem to focus on anything. With a turn of the head, Princess Celestia could have easily acknowledged their presence, yet she continued to sit quietly and stare ahead. She certainly hadn’t moved a muscle since they’d entered the room moments before.

When Princess Celestia finally began speaking, Jaden realized it was a pre-recorded message.
His companions meanwhile began stammering and blinking in confusion at what they were hearing.

“Princess Celestia, a-are you alright?” Twilight hesitantly asked.

“I’m afraid you’re princess is in another castle.” Jaden spoke up, wincing at how lame the line sounded.

As one, the ponies turned to him in surprise. Jaden quickly pointed out all the anomalies he’d observed. Out of the three of them Trixie seemed to take the news best; only snorting in confusion. Tess however, was blinking and stammering in bewilderment while Twilight wore a look of utter horror on her face as she began to pace around the room.

“What’s going on? This doesn't make any sense!” Tess exclaimed.

“Come over here and check this out.” Jaden replied, walking over to the pedestal.

Moments later, the ponies crowded around him.

“When the sun sets in the west and the moon rises in the east, stars will appear in the sky and the wind will blow toward the ground.
Then the gate of new life will open.” Tess read aloud; cocking an eyebrow dubiously.

“What does that even mean?” Trixie huffed.

“It’s a riddle.” Jaden replied as he watched Twilight begin pacing around the room once more.

“A piece is missing. If we recover that piece we should be able to figure out how to open the door the plaque is referring too. That one.” he continued, pointing first to a hole on the pedestal then at the series of inactive lights arranged in an oval shape on the nearby wall.

“The only thing to do now is figure out where we should start looking.” Twilight spoke up.

The sudden sound of grinding gears caught everyone’s attention.

“Except for the main entry, there are no other doors into this room.” Tess piped up worriedly.

Turning slowly, Jaden spotted a large partially open door along the left wall centered roughly in the middle of the room. Jaden looked back at the ponies and saw Tess mouth the words “What the…”. He couldn’t blame her considering she knew the castle’s layout better than he did. After a moment of hesitation, Tess realized he was staring and nodded at him. With a nod of his own, Jaden and Tess began advancing toward the door in unison.

Upon arrival, Jaden smirked as Tess flanked one side of the door while he took the other. Pulling out and readying his handgun for the first time since discovering it, Jaden nodded at Tess once more and watched as the alicorn pulled the door open for him before stepping through over Trixie and Twilight’s startled yelps; weapon held at the ready. The passage he’d entered appeared to be a dimly lit utility passageway that ended at an empty wall some thirty feet away. Other than another security camera and a partially open door halfway down on the right side, the passage was empty.

Turning back, Jaden saw that Twilight and Trixie were standing at the doorway next to Tess; eyes wide with shock. He pointed at the door and Tess nodded before moving forward. Jaden then held up a hand warning Twilight and Trixie not to follow before advancing toward the door also. Minutes later, he gave them the ‘all clear’ before entering the room to better assess the situation. The room was an armory of some sort. Curiously, the vast majority of weapons were ballistic based and from his world. Only a small number failed to resemble anything he recognized. In addition to a vast number of grenades, Jaden spotted plenty of ammunition. Examining one of the rifles, he noted that it had the same modifications as his pistol. In fact, they all had the same modifications.

Jaden blinked.

“What is all this?” Twilight asked as she stepped into the room.

“What would we need these things for? We need to get out of here!” Trixie snapped, kicking a nearby crate in frustration; only to wince in pain moments later.

“It would appear that there is a reason for these items to exist here.” Jaden remarked, noting out of the corner of his eye that Tess was eagerly examining one of the more exotic weapons.

“I think it would be a good idea to take what we can carry. After all, I don’t know about you but I’d rather have something and not need
it rather than be caught in a situation where I need something and don’t have it.” he continued, selecting an M-4 with a tactical scope, shoulder strap, an M-203 grenade launcher, and laser light combo attachments.

As the ponies reflected on his words, once again, Twilight appeared to be gripped in a sort of half-panic mode. Her lips were moving as if speaking yet nothing came out. Trixie meanwhile, was once again less than impressed. Tess however, suddenly looked up from her examination and turned to them.

“I’ll see if I can find a cart.” she said before heading out the door.

***************

Scrutinizing one of the many monitors, GLaDOS observed the events occurring in the reconstructed palace throne room and noted that her guests were getting settled in. Cocking an eyebrow, she was intrigued by the human’s reaction to the situation. GLaDOS had learned a great deal from her previous inquiries but found herself fascinated by the data that was now coming in from her test subjects.

From her previous inquiries, GLaDOS had discovered that a considerable amount of time had indeed passed since the facility was first constructed. It was rather unfortunate that no pony currently living knew of the facility’s existence; or her for that matter. She was also aware that humans were far more violent and selfish than ponies tended to be. If the current state of affairs continued to develop, that revelation brought a host of possibilities for her to explore in the name of science.

One such idea involved seeing how her guests would fair against some of the more charming specimens that inhabited the facility. The specimens’ had been created through another bizarre experiment shortly after the facility was first built. As she recalled, the creatures were some sort of insect/hybrids that had infested most of the condemned section of the facility. GLaDOS could easily part with a few dozen of the beasts. If anything, the experiment could provide her with some much needed amusement.

Another fascinating development was the appearance of the Equine Support System. How it arrived, GLaDOS didn’t know. As she recalled, the little robot had somehow managed to escape one of the labs in the condemned area shortly after the main system had reactivated. Now it was back, and judging from the outfit, it considered itself a guard pony. How cute. In any event, she would treat it like any other test subject.

Considering her guests had located the special equipment she’d provided,
GLaDOS suspected that things would soon become very interesting.

Comments

[Darkscowl]

Well damn he be op as shit.