Dishonored: Discord Hunt

by freakindabox

Information, but Surprise

Information, but Surprise

After that altercation between himself and that equine looking bug, Corvo decided to hide away in the the nearby forest, blinking only a few meters in, and crouching down behind some rather thick brush. He activated his dark vision, a power he had worked on for some time, improving its potency. Now, not only does everything living glow in his eyes, but he could see the intentions of anyone he looked at, as long as he looked them in the eye. He could not see any life forms glowing, as if all of the life that was able to leave had simply left the area.The trees and shrubbery were as still as he thought they should be. Satisfied, his sight returned to normal.

Beside him, a tree towered over. Corvo took the opportunity to climb up to get a better scouting point.

Before he did so, though, something occurred to him. He noticed his hands, young and strong, not the wrinkled, calloused hands that he knew not an hour before. This brought a smile to Corvo’s face, but he had to get moving.

In only a second, he blinked up from branch to branch, passing the lush green leaves and twigs that reached out to scrape him. The ease of it surprised him. He never really had much trouble with blinking, but he always did feel a small drain of energy if he did multiple blinks quickly. As he climbed the tree, he didn't even feel like he was using power.

Standing on a high branch, he crouched, looking toward the mountain. It was large; wide and tall, reaching far above clouds that seemed to hang lower than the rest that he could see. The thing that stuck out, though, was the enormous castle that was perched near the top of the mountain, complete with towering spires. Corvo was stuck staring at it, taking in the sight before him. Below the castle sprawled an entire city. Buildings of all sizes reached far down and across the mountain and a waterfall spilled its water from far above the city. The waterfall hit a rather wide ledge where it turned into a river that ran through the city itself. Corvo only thought that Dunwall was a wonder to behold, being a port city with some of the largest and most complex buildings on Empire Isles, but this impossible city, hanging from a mountain side was still there, even when he closed his eyes and shook his head, just to make sure it was.

And to top all of this off, a giant, purple force field encompassed the entire city, from top to bottom, seeming to even go into the mountain itself. As he marveled at the sight, a pillar of light shown from the city, hitting the top of the force field, sending a shimmer that traveled down the entire surface of the bubble. Corvo was taken aback by the sheer size of the energy that must be required to produce a force field of that magnitude. If that kind of energy consumption happened in Dunwall, they would very quickly run out of whale oil, even with the new, much more efficient oil docking systems.

Now, he wished he was not so hasty about taking the life of that creature. He probably could have learned some important information from it, even if he may not have been able to understand it, nor it be able to understand him. It was unfortunate that it attacked him, more than enough reason blink behind the thing to neutralize it as quickly as possible. The real regret, though, was his belongings that were still in their place in the grass. Though large, the city was quite a long way away, and his mask would help him to see the details. The magnification function that Pierro added made the mask infinitely useful with such tasks.

Corvo looked to where his equipment still lay, figuring with the ease of climbing the tree, he could blink directly on top of them. He then looked back to his surroundings, reactivating his dark vision. The forest was quiet, no signs of life, not even the small animals and bugs that one often found in the setting. This still disturbed him, not knowing if it was natural, being so close to the large clearing, or if it was because of what was happening to that city.

Confident that the coast was clear, Corvo cancelled the dark vision. Focusing on his destination, he found himself standing over his gear.

He crouched down, lowering himself slowly out of habit, but found that his knees did not pain him. He caught himself reveling in the fact, but focused once more on the task at hand. He picked up his mask, the metallic face with its sharp, menacing edges and eyes of glass and clockwork. He slowly turned the mask in his hands, revealing the red, soft material the Pierro had included. Whatever material it was, it breathed well, and felt good against his skin as the mask found his face.

Even after all of these years, his eyes adjusted to the lenses with ease, but that may have been the youth he regained.

He then picked up the Heart of a Living Thing, willing it to say something.

“Everywhere you look, peace and harmony prevail, but to the trained eye, this is but an illusion. There is darkness that lurks in this world; forces of great and terrible power roam the wilds.”

The heart spoke with Jasmine’s stolen voice, and he wished he could say he missed the human heart made into living clockwork, being such a wonderful tool during his assassin days. He did not, and it still gave him pain to use it. The heart lay heavy in his hands, dormant. It revealed to him no faint images of the runes that it sought. It was as if The Outsider truly had no influence here. He put the heart back on the ground.

Next was his wrist bow, an upgrade that was inspired by the man he watched kill Empress Jasmine. The concealed weapon was simple enough, consisting of a cross bar made from specially cured whale bone and string that gave it its power, and a firing mechanism that fit snugly into the knuckle of the middle finger. A Metal band, its inside padded with plush material for comfort, held the whole contraption in place. The weight of it was small, but the bolts it fired were just as deadly as his original crossbow. He slipped his hand through the band and turned the screw that tightened it comfortably into place.

He reached down for his coat and picked it up, running his arm through the soft, midnight blue sleeve, feeling row upon row of bolts made for the wrist bow, hidden in the fabric that covered his forearm. He then picked up the heart and inserted it into the pocket that had been designed to carry the tool, and proceeded to fit the coat into position. It fit snugly, caressing his torso and biceps, but leaving room enough for full range of motion. Nostalgia began to take his mind, memories resurfacing, but that was for another time. He had a mission.

He had a deal to uphold, and just maybe, he could gather some information from the city. Feeling adrenaline rush through his body, he ran, blinking large distances to cover the ground between him and the city.

He passed the clearing quickly, reaching more trees at the base of the mountain. The trees were much less dense here, almost no brush to be seen. Corvo took to climbing, blinking his way up the closest tree. To his left, the mountain climbed upward, huge compared to himself. To his right, he could see that a portion of the mountain was carved, leaving a long flat clearing that twisted with the natural curve of the mountain. And of all things that Corvo could see, he saw a train.

It wasn’t like any train that he had ever seen before, with its bright colors and smoke stack bellowing its contents into the air. Corvo raised his hand to his mask, twisting the dial that magnified his view. The train was headed toward the city, and following its path, Corvo made out that just inside of the force field, there was what appeared to be a large train station. He guessed that was his way in, and was thankful that the timing was so great.

Corvo took a moment to return his mask to its original view, and activated his dark vision, revealing any life forms that may be around him. Still, he could see no orange flares as he scanned, so he moved his gaze to the station. He could not see anything save for one bright orange figure standing still inside the station. He could not discern anything as he looked at the train itself.

Deciding he had a moment to spare, Corvo removed the heart from its pocket. He held it in his hand gently, and it began to speak as if he had asked a question.

“Magic here permeates the air, and the inhabitants in this world naturally absorb this energy, as do you. This place is ruled by two powerful sisters, one is the night, and one is the day. This city, Canterlot, is the capital of their land.”

Well that explains why its much easier to blink, Corvo thought. These two sisters sound dangerous. I wonder what The outsider would have to say about that.

The train found its way closer, so Corvo blinked from his spot in the tree to just below the tracks, out of sight from anyone that might be engineering. When the train began to pass him, Corvo ran.
It wasn’t difficult to keep up, as the train was not going all too fast. He ran next to it, closing distance between him and the tracks, activating his dark vision.

As he ran, he scanned the train, noticing that it was empty, except for the engine of the train which was too far away, now, to make out any solid figures.

The force field was looming closer and the train began to slow. When it came to a stop, a few paces from the force field, a white, vertical line revealed itself. The force field began to split, a hole the train could fit in opening in just a few moments. Corvo took the opportunity and focused his power...

...The world around him went grey, the color blanched from the grass and trees and even the train. The smoke that bellowed from its smoke stack stopped rising. Time was at a stand-still, and Corvo headed for the opening. He sprinted, anticipating his power to break, letting the world gain back its motion, but he was through the opening and near the far side of the station before realizing that time had been stopped for longer than he had ever been able to stop it before. Then he noticed that there was nearly no drain to his energy level, and that made him slow to a jog.

Corvo turned around, looking toward the train, then toward the building, scanning for a place he could hide. He found that the roof might be his best bet, so he blinked to the edge, catching the roof with his hands, and pulled himself up. He focused once more on his power, cancelling the time stop.

Color found its rightful place again, giving life to the greens and browns that surrounded the area. Without the purple tint of the force field, he could see that the city was brightly colored, like he was looking at a child's new play set.

The train lurched forward, slowly rolling toward the station. Corvo activated his dark vision in hopes to get a better look at the inhabitants. Below him, he could see that figure in the building that he saw before, and he was surprised when he saw that it was not human. It began to walk, and its shape and movement gave it the look of a horse, if a bit smaller. This got Corvo’s head spinning, trying to figure out what was going on here. Had one of those creatures found its way inside the force field and was waiting to attack the train? The creature below him did not quite look like the equine bug, though. It seemed softer; more plush.

Corvo let the situation play out, but he readied his wrist bow, a soft, nearly inaudible clicking the only thing that betrayed his existence. He looked toward the train, the shape of the person engineering coming into focus. But again, it wasn’t a human. In fact,the shape of it closely resembled the thing that was now walking out to meet the train. He thought his power must be fooling with him, so he cancelled the dark vision in order to see things in their original color.

And still, he thought his eyes deceived him. The creatures he saw below were, in fact, not human. They did look like small horses, not like the equine bug, but their coats were colored brightly, and they were wearing cloths.

The train came to a stop, the wheels giving a small whine of protest. Corvo watched as the small horse that walked out of the building walked up to the small horse that was sticking its head out from the window of the train’s engine. Then things got even more strange as they began to talk. Corvo was taken aback, and even found it difficult to keep quiet as the voices of those creatures reached his ears. He couldn’t quite make out any discernible words, but he didn’t know if that was because of the distance between him and the creatures, or because he didn’t recognize the language. Despite its improbability, Corvo thought it safe to believe the latter.

As Corvo watched the two small horses converse, he pulled the heart from its pocket, willing it to tell him their secrets.

“These two have been great friends since they were children. One of them chose to leave, and the other chose to stay. It is chance that lead one to become this train’s engineer, and the other a manager in charge of the train’s schedule. Now, they talk of their past, reminiscing their younger days.”

Corvo put the heart back in its place.

So these are the inhabitants of this world. Somehow this world was populated by sapient equines, and The Outsider sent him here to hunt a monster that could destroy The Outsider if given the chance. Corvo thought himself an idiot to accept this deal and leaving Emily behind, not knowing what he was getting into. He let the terms cloud his mind, and The Outsider knew how to make a deal. How could Corvo defeat something that gave The Outsider a run for his money.
BANG!

Corvo’s berating of himself was interrupted by an explosion that shook the ground. He turned to look upward, and all around him, the force field tore away and a black army fell from the skies. Their numbers were massive, casting a shadow over the entire city. High above, more of those creatures from the clearing came from behind the mountain, and in the distance, they seemed to materialize from the clouds. Thousands upon thousands of them came rushing down, and not just a few were heading toward him. Corvo had to move.

~

When the shield broke with that awful bang, a young earth pony mare that lived on the outskirts of Canterlot called to her children in a panic. When they came to her, crying in fear as they ran inside from the black terror that fell upon them, the mare ushered them into her own room at the back of the house. She made them crawl underneath the bed and told them not to move, or make a sound.

She tried to tell them comforting words, but they came from her throat sounding just as scared as the whimpers that came from underneath her bed. In only moments, the invaders were upon them. They crashed into the roof of her house, causing cries of fear from the two fillies. The mare was petrified, eyes fixed on the door in front of her, refusing to blink. She could hear screaming and hissing from outside of the walls.

How could this happen? she thought. How could Princess Celestia allow such a thing to happen?

She could hear loud banging all around the house, and then there was a crash. The front door, not really meant to hold back attackers, shattered, meaning the invaders had entered. She heard a horrid buzzing growing louder as the invaders rummaged through her house. Her children began to cry, and all she could think of was that this would attract them.

The mare took a deep breath as the buzzing continually got louder. Then voices became clear through the closed door.

“Heh, I can hear little ones crying in there!” One of them yelled.

The mare wasn’t thinking anymore, and she was so scared that she might as well not be. All she knew was that her children were in danger, and these things were coming for them. She turned around, slowly, ready to kick anything that came through the door.

“I’m breaking the door down, lets get ‘em!” A moment passed and the door began to glow green, but it didn’t break. “Hey, did you hear me?” The invader said again. Hey gu-”

The inquiry was interrupted following a sound of quick thudding on the floor, a loud gagging sound taking its place. The glow surrounding the door disappeared, then the other side of the door was silent. Silent enough that sounds of fighting and ponies yelling could easily be heard from outside. She even heard an explosion, wincing at the thought of what could have caused it.

Minutes passed and the mare regained some of of her composure, her body relaxing. She released a breath that she did not even know she was holding. Whatever had happened had gotten rid of the attackers.
She didn’t want to see what was on the other side of the door yet. Her family was saved, and all she wanted to do was lay next to her little fillies.

~

Corvo was fast, but the army of the carapace covered equines were using gravity and wings. He sprinted toward a group of buildings that resembled small houses. The army descended, falling too quickly for him to reach the buildings before they did. They crashed into the roofs of many of the houses, audible thuds reaching Corvo’s ears.

Corvo blinked behind some thick bushes, staying low to avoid being spotted. They did not see him running toward them, nor did they seem interested in his bush, as the army was already breaking into the houses. Panic was setting in, and some of the inhabitants ran out of doors and jumped out of windows. Corvo knew that this didn’t matter as the army far outnumbered the small horses that fled, and it was painfully obvious that they were not the fighting kind. There were even what seemed to be children in all of the chaos, each one that tried to run getting captured by creatures much larger than they were.

Putting the creatures aside in his mind, he focused on what was really happening, trying to discern a way to help the poor things. He activated his dark vision, the world taking on a dark grey hue while anything living lit up with an eerie orange glow.
Immediately, Corvo could see something happening in the closest building. With his dark vision, the lifeforms inside revealed themselves. There were six in total, three of them roaming the house, while the other three stayed still. Corvo guessed they were hiding in the furthest room from the door, two of them huddled close, hunkering down low to the ground. One was standing, and it wasn’t anywhere near the size of the two small horses at the train station. The equine bugs were larger that it.
He then felt a surge of duty, a need to protect these innocent creatures, and saw an opportunity. Corvo cancelled the dark vision, and watched for a chance to reach the house unseen. He did not have to wait long, Corvo noticing that the equine bugs were not very attentive.

He focused on the entrance to the building and blinked just inside of the now broken door, crouching low as silently as possible.
The floor was carpeted, the entrance turning into what was obviously a living area. A couch sat to the left, facing something that was hidden by a wall. Directly in front of him, Corvo saw a hallway, and to the right, another. The hallway in front of him ended with a door, and in front of the door, one of the equine bugs stood, staring intently.

“(Heh, I can hear little ones crying in there!)” Corvo heard, not understanding the language, but knowing that it was spoken word none the less. The creature’s voice was sharp, but not clear, sounding like it was hissing. Almost immediately, he could hear the second and third equine bugs buzzing their wings. The sound was getting closer, coming from the second hallway.
Corvo readied his wrist bow, and as soon as he saw the first equine bug exit the hallway, he focused his power, willing time to come to a stop. He did not worry about moving quickly, but calmly walked forward, calculating the situation. The wrist bow held a lethal bolt in its firing mechanism, but Corvo did not raise his arm to fire. He stopped when he reached the two equine bugs coming to their ally. There was enough room to move through the hallway between them and the wall, so Corvo did so. At his full height, Corvo towered over the creatures, though one was much smaller that the other, the tallest only reached up to his stomach. They seemed skinny, too, and Corvo did not know why that stood out, as that was what they could naturally look like, or if it was something else. It just didn’t look natural.

Simultaneously, Corvo grabbed each of their horns, having to stretch his arms wide, and canceled the time stop. He didn’t know if it registered on them before he blinked the two outside, a considerable distance from the house, but the looks on their faces were a mix between fear and confusion. Then on the larger equine bug, fear masked his face entirely as he watched Corvo slam his clinched fist into his squad mates face, hearing a crack, then something wet as it sprayed the ground.

Corvo raised for another blow, thinking that he may have killed the thing, but stopped as he saw the look on the face of the other one. Instantly, Corvo knew he did not need to continue. He stood to his full height ,looking down at the equine bug. He activated his dark vision, taking the opportunity to see what it really was thinking, and was confused by what he saw. He did see anger, but in this creature’s eyes, Corvo could see fear, those giant eyes betraying a strong desire to run away and hide, and strangely, a strong hunger.

This left him even more confused as he mulled it out in his head. Their actions were saying that this was full on war. Maybe it was just that, but it wasn’t a war for something that the rich wants, or for power between factions like the war that he knew so well. The equine bug sitting, cowering before him was giving him the message that these creatures were fighting a war for necessity. They may not have even wanted to go to war, by the look in this one's eyes.

Despite Corvo not moving a muscle, the equine bug was petrified. It had the right to fear him, the mask he wore nearly assured fear from those who have seen it, but his dark vision was telling him that there was much more to the story. Then Corvo thought about the equine bug that he met in the forest, and that left him even more confused. These two creatures did not even seem like the same species, their actions toward him so different from each other.

He would need to think about that later, maybe capture one and find out for sure, though he had no idea how to communicate with one. He would leave this one alone for now. He had a small horse to save.

When he blinked back into the house, he saw that the equine bug’s horn was glowing green, and the door was glowing with the same color. He did not waste time with sneaking, but sprinted toward the unknowing creature, promptly wrapping his arm around the creature’s neck, stopping it in what seemed like mid sentence. He quickly blinked from the door in the hallway to the doorway, stepping on bits and pieces of shatter wood. He activated his dark vision, trying to get a more clear glimpse of the situation that played out around him.

All around, the equine bugs were running after the small horses that were running from them. In the buildings, many of the small horses were hiding, and it seemed like some were doing so successfully.

He simply stood in the doorway, knowing now that not these equine bugs were not really intelligent when it came to observation, whether it be from their arrogance or inexperience.

Through his dark vision, he saw what he was looking for: a pattern. In the chaos, he saw that the equine bugs ran in small packs, and two were not running at all. These two, though, were yelling out, as if giving orders to subordinates, each yell followed by a pack of equine bugs changing their direction. These two equine bugs were his targets.

~

It was going so well. The invasion was a success and they would soon have enough sustenance to feed all of the changelings happily. It was going so well, and they had followed their orders just like in training, but still something had gone wrong. Now, he was scared, and he was confused. Queen Chrysalis had assured them that if they just followed their orders like in training that they would not have anything to worry about. It was going well, but now he was trapped in this creature’s arms, whatever it is. It hurt really badly, too, like sharp metal scraping across his neck as he was choked.

He was being held very tightly so he could not get his wings going, but the creature had left his hind legs unchecked. The changeling raised both of his legs, readying himself to kick the damn thing off of him, but that only made the situation worse. The creature’s arm got tighter around his neck, and the other jerked downward, landing hits strange, elongated paws into his stomach.
There wasn’t any air, and everything went black, but when his sight came back to him, he was flying. The spots in his eyes couldn't have been good, but that did not matter because he got away. Why was he flying toward, his commander, though? And so fast. Wait… he wasn’t flapping his wings. And he was going far faster than he had when he fell to the buildings when the barrier broke, heading straight for his commander.

Comments

[NadyaAnn]

Omg SQUEE! I LOVE Dishonored!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I also LOVE MLP so put them together and you have a wonderful recipe of gorgeousness! I'm in love with it! Great job :)

[freakindabox]

4276218
Thanks! I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying it.

[kyle131996]

"It's Empire of the isles" not empire isles.