Chapter 10: Slip
Warning: Minor Gore
Potatoes and milk. The breakfast of champions with very low standards.
I didn’t want to get out of my tree tent in the morning to make some proper hash browns because I still didn’t completely trust Steel Fang. Sure, he had eaten all of the fish, but I wasn’t completely sure I could trust what I saw. I had already established that even in my delusion, I had a sense of self-preservation, but I didn’t know if I could poke it with the ‘logic stick’ quite yet.
I took another bite out of the potato and concentrated on my flow, trying to ‘see’ more. Before falling asleep last night, I had established the existence of ‘flow’ in my dinner as it settled in my stomach. However, I couldn’t pull more from my food than my body normally would. As soon as my reservoir was filled, it wouldn’t take any more energy from the food, letting it go to waste. And apparently, this energy could not be absorbed through the small intestine’s duodenum, like the nutrients obtained from food. As soon as it was broken apart, the energy ̶ Wait. As soon as the food is broken apart, the energy escapes into my circuits naturally. What if it operates by osmosis? Feeling the flow within my core, I concentrated on redirecting the flow to the most outer edges of my body without letting any of it escape. Instantly, my core let some more flow out to compensate for the areas that I had vacated of energy, allowing more energy from the potatoes that I had eaten to enter my core. Interesting. But is there a way of ‘stretching’ my reservoir so I would not have to concentrate on keeping extra energy elsewhere, where I might potentially waste it?
I tried directing the flow back into my core, and there was a bit of give as it accommodated slightly more energy than before. It didn’t even diffuse back into my half-digested food. But after a bit, I felt a bit of bloating, followed by spike of pain in my core. Well, I winced, I suppose I can’t force a lot of energy in there at once. I guess if I want to make any real progress, I’ll have to do this every meal. The way I see it, this will only mean short amounts of pain in exchange for the illusion of security or actual security. Both of which I would like. I laid back and stretched my limbs. I’m almost done with my house, but I still have to build an outhouse since I lack plumbing, as well as a hut or two to store the stuff I get from the diamond dogs. And with the money I get from Zecora’s tasks, I could slowly supply my house with basic furniture and other necessities. I still have to pull water in buckets from the river, but since I bathe there, it shouldn’t be much of a problem. I rolled over and looked outside of my tent. Down in the clearing, there was no indication of Steel Fang, other than the unnatural silence, a sign that he was up and about, prowling. He isn’t hungry, he ate a good dozen fish, and then some. I know he’s sticking nearby, so it would be best if I gave him space and went fishing this afternoon for both him and I. I need to know how much more energy fish brings compared to potatoes.
I suppose I should eventually take a leap of faith.
I gently glided down from my tent to the front of my house. I didn’t have time to fix any of the damage, and the chaos yesterday had ruined my door.
“I suppose I’ll have to rebuild the door and bum a few bits of metal to reinforce it from Jackie.” I sighed. “And make a proper roof. I’ve got a lot of work cut out for me, but I’m very close to finishing.” I perked up and began to head towards Sweet Apple Acres…until I noticed three little fillies heading my way. Whrooooah boy. I stood there, like a statue, hoping their vision was based on movement. No such luck.
“Hi Mister Windell!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle, before she looked away and started biting her lip. “We’re sorry about yesterday…” she mumbled.
“Ah’m really sorry, Windell. We should have given more thought to what we saw.”
“Yeah…we kinda jumped to confunctions when we first saw your wolf with the same bandages as you.” Scootaloo said, moving her hoof in circles in the dirt. Sweetie and I turned to look at Scootaloo, but we didn't bother correcting her.
“We’re sorry!” they chorused.
“Thank you girls, that was very decent of you to apologize.” I was about to ask them to return home, but then I remembered that I could probably use a little child labor. “Say, could you three help me out a bit? I’ll even pay you three a small allowance for your task!”They jumped up, excited for a chance to help me. “All I need you three to do is go to Jackie’s and ask her for spare pieces of metal. I really need door hinges, nails, bolts, and strips of metal. Maybe a doorknob.”
“Jackie?” Scootaloo cocked her head.
“That’s Windell’s nickname for mah sister!”
“Right you are, Eden.” I put in, “Just ask for a general price so I can pay her when I pay you three. I don’t do communism, after all.”
The three fillies looked at one another.
“Communism?” Well, shit.
“What’s that?” asked Sweetie. I shook my head.
“It’s complicated, Turnip. Ask your par ̶ errrr…” My eyes flew to Scootaloo and Applebloom, and I cleared my throat. “Ask the adult figures in your life.”
“Oh. Okay!” Sweetie Belle piped as the three began to head over to Sweet Apple Acres.
“Thank you, Turnip, Eden, and Emu!” I yelled as they galloped into the distance. “Alright, now I can get started on Ze’s task. I think she asked that I get her some fire brambles and a batch of ramananas. Now I just have to ̶ ” Rainbow Dash decided to drop in then. And by drop in, I mean crash through my sky tent, tearing the ropes from the trees and bringing the canvas to the ground in front of me. The entire thing was shaking as Rainbow tried to free herself from my tent.
“Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly.” I sighed dejectedly. Not how I pictured saying that nursery rhyme.
“What?” Rainbow muffled from within, stopping her struggle to listen.
“Nothing…just something I’ve wanted to say for a long time. So what brings you to my neck of the woods?” I asked as I untangled the pavilion pillager.
“Weeeeeeell… I wanted to say I’m sorry. I was a bit quick to use hoof combat.” I finally freed her from her canvas prison, and she looked away in shame. “I shoulda used my head first before attacking your wolf.”
“I accept your apology, Skittles, I know you thought you were saving lives. It’s very noble of you to do so.”
“Yep! That’s me!” She smiled a bit, her usual attitude coming back slightly. “The loyal protector of Ponyville’s ponies!”
“Neat. Now, before you fly off with that hot air balloon head of yours, could you help me set my tent back up and secure the beams? I need a bit of help, and I suspect you’re strong enough to help me out.”
“Pff!” Rainbow waved a hoof. “Is that all? C’mon let’s make this place awesome!”
We flew up to the trees and started tying the ropes back in their places, setting them taunt, and closing it all with canvas.
“So why’d you set up here?” she asked.
“I like solitude. I’m just strange like that.” I shrugged.
“Oh. So no friends?”
“I had friends. It just…didn’t end well.”
<><><>
“And so we, the three musketeers, have gathered here to celebrate our last high school midterm!” Benny rose a glass of cola in the air, smile reflecting those of Scott and Windell, who held cold glasses of orange soda and lemonade respectively. “We’re halfway there guys!”
The three clinked their glasses together.
“I don’t understand why we’re drinking cold beverages at Benny’s.” Windell mused. “It’s cold as hell here.” Benny chuckled and rolled his eyes as he left to get a straw.
“Oh, be quiet and drink your lemonade.” Scott said as he took a sip from his glass. “It’s stupid that you still think lemons are better fruits then oranges.”
Windell smiled. It was a mock argument they’d had so many times before.
“Lemons are awesome! Haven’t you listened to Portal's Cave Johnson? They have so much potential! The golden yellow color, the way it can be used to accent so many foods, and it’s the primary accessory for every drink!”
“And that is where the lemon fails,” Scott scoffed, “It’s nothing more than an aid in food. Never the main, only the accessory. Oranges, however, need nothing. Orange juice doesn’t need sugar, orange salads are exotic and delicious, and unlike your pitiful lemons, they can be eaten right after they’ve been unskinned.”
“Why can’t we all agree-”Benny fell onto the couch, straw in his barely spilling drink, “-that melons are the superior fruit?”
Windell and Scott unanimously shook their heads. “Citrus master race” Scott said, and he loudly slurped his orange soda.
There was a buzz from Windell, and he reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. Satisfied, he was about to put it back, when Scott stopped him.
“Hey, is that a new phone? Can I see it?”
Windell shrugged and let him play with it, then turned to Benny.
“So what are you planning on doing for college, Benny? I haven’t actually heard.”
“Not much,” he said nonchalantly, “just business and finances.”
“Huh. I can’t really picture you doing business.”
“Trust me Windell,” Benny gave a familiar grin, “I’m a people person.”
“Whelp!” Scott stood up and tossed Windell’s phone to its owner. “I’ve got to go. See ya guys.” And the teen picked up his bag and left out the front door in a barely repressed hurry.
“What was that about?” Windell asked aloud, before his phone started swarming with texts. “What? Why am I getting all of these…” his eyes widened at the last message sent on his phone.
“What?” Benny asked the nearly catatonic Windell. He pulled the phone out of his grasp and stared at the screen with a neutral expression.
I want to rape you
“Bastard” muttered Benny. “He sent it to everyone except Amadeus. Your reputation is fucked.”
“…I’ll say my phone was hacked.” Windell rasped, shaking himself from his stupor, weakly trying to get off the couch. Benny whipped around to look at Windell.
“Windell, that’s nine kinds of retarded. Why would you defend this? If you say that, few people will believe you.”
“But maybe Scott will stay. He’s been with my friend for almost as long as you, Benny. I don’t want to lose that. Everyone else either doesn’t care or hates me for some reason. This could have been a prank gone wrong. There’s nothing wrong with a little white lie, right?”
“Listen, Windell,” Benny sighed, “Friends don’t do that to friends. You were nothing more than a toy to him. He just threw you away and watched the shitstorm.” Windell curled up into a ball.
“Why?”
“Because he could.”
<><><>
Many things could be said about Big Macintosh. Silent, strong, dependable, sturdy, big, a family colt, and as he has heard mares whisper that he was, as bashful as he was to admit it, handsome. And red, although that wasn’t really said in undertones.
So when his sister came to the farm with her friends looking for some scrap metal, and she asked him what ‘communism’ was, he was a bit stumped. It certainly sounded like a few words he knew, several of which he hoped weren’t relevant. So when she clarified that she had already asked somepony what it meant, and they responded with ‘Ask and adult figure’, Big Mac couldn’t help but feel thankful that his red coat hid his blush quite well.
“So Big Mac,” Applebloom asked, “Do ya know what ‘communism’ is?”
“N-nope!” Big Mac smiled sheepishly and trotted off to warn Caramel and Thunderlane of the new word. It was best they knew before their siblings. He just hoped the term would not spread.
<><><>
Celestia sat at her desk as she looked over the files of the guards that Hawk Eye had requested for his ‘Equestrian Bar Crawl’. Luna was peacefully sleeping in her chamber, so she would have to be the one to approve for the night guards he had requested.
It was unfortunate that she had to refuse his request for Zahid, as he would be far more resistant to bursts of primal magic than a unicorn medic, so he had to remain stationed at the Alamane. Strong Recovery, however, was a unicorn she could spare for his quest. Sergeant Recovery had an admirable record as a field medic. A powerful unicorn capable of healing the most grievous injuries, he excelled above other medics due to his own strict physical regimen, leaving him a tier above the average earth pony guard in terms of physical strength. His attack spells may have been lacking, but he could form a decent shield around a small town, so he could easily protect a small team. It would be a small loss to remove him from the circulatory system Celestia had set up between the Alamane and the Canterlot guards, but she doubted primal bursts would be common enough for his absence to make a difference.
Next was a member of the Lunar Guard, Midnight Azalea, the bat-pony mare with an affinity for stealth and all manner of poisons. Celestia had been reluctant to accept her as a guard, but she had also shown considerable skill in anti-toxins to all manner of creatures. It wasn’t Celestia’s place to accept or deny this request, so she moved on to the next file.
Red. Celestia smiled. She knew of Red, who had renounced his title as noble at a young age before deciding to earn his own title in the guard. Blueblood’s younger brother and one of the two black sheep of the Platinum dynasty family. Formerly Redblood, Red had revoked his own heritage to become the Solar Guard’s prodigal attack mage. The lithe unicorn was as fast as a pegasus on the ground, and was often seen as nothing more than a red and white blur before unleashing a plethora of spells at his targets. The only complaint that his drill instructors had listed was that he ‘couldn’t take a hit’. Red would make a fantastic addition to the team.
Another Lunar Guard, so outside of her jurisdiction. Even then, despite this one’s fantastic record, he seemed a bit…odd. How does one go from studying musical theatre to the guard with a cutie mark like that? The next night guard was Silent Foray, one of the rare earth ponies in the Lunar Guard. A martial artist with an adequate record. Another Solar Guard, a pegasus by the name of Thunder Strike. Martial artist as well, and quite proficient in blades. He was one of the few pegasi capable of handling wingblades as well as hoofclaws. Add that to his impressive weather manipulation, and Thunder was a pegasus that one would be hard-pressed to act without. Celestia nodded. This one, she approved of.
This day guard seemed quite average, but looking over her, Celestia could not help but admire Hawk Eye’s intelligent choices. Whereas Lake Lily was an earth pony mare who had passed the guard exam with a perfectly average score, she excelled in all manner of things. Her skills included cooking, medical know-how, planning, financial knowledge, signs of leadership, and being a very social pony. Both Celestia and Hawk Eye recognized the importance of her skill set for this mission. Another earth pony night guard, a stallion by the name of Titanium, displayed an interesting combination of brute strength and incredible intelligence. Titanium was as tall as Luna and was known throughout the guard as ‘the one who wrestled two minotaurs into submission’. No thought necessary, Titanium would be an invaluable member of the team.
The only files that needed to be approved or denied now were those of the Lunar Nights, and for that, Celestia needed Luna’s ̶
“Hello, Tia. We hath awoken early this day to properly choose Hawk Eye’s roster of companions. Have you chosen thy proper guards for the quest for Lucid?”
“I’ve already chosen which requests I’ve accepted.” The white alicorn floated over the files into a pile. “Have you had any luck finding Lucid in the dreamscape?”
“Nay, sister.” Luna shook her head sadly. “You know how lucid dreams work. They can appear anywhere in the dreamscape, and they may even move. I’ve seen glimpses of Lucid’s dreams, but they always slip out of sight. It is possible that Lucid is actively repressing my presence from its dreams.”
“What incredible mental fortitude.” Celestia murmured. “Anyways, would you please go over the files?” Luna picked up the pile of night guard files in a blue glow and began to quickly skim over the pages.”
“Yea. Yea. Yea. Nay. I need Silent Foray here, he is third in command of my night guard, and we are already sending Hawk Eye. Night Shade will need a right hoof stallion, for which Silent is perfect.”
“So the final roster is Hawk Eye the gryphon male, Strong Recovery the medical unicorn stallion, Midnight Azalea the bat-pony mare, Red the combat unicorn stallion, Titanium the earth pony stallion, Lake Lily the earth pony mare, Thunder Strike the pegasus stallion, and Tron…the odd unicorn.”
“Yes,” Luna giggled, “Tron is quite entertaining. But we cannot help but notice you refused to let Zahid go with them. Why is that?”
“As much as he would be helpful to them, he, and all other zebras in the guard are needed at the Alamane, as they are more resistant to bursts of primal magic.”
“It is amazing that they would be able to endure primal magic. Such ancient magic is dangerous.”
“Dangerous, yes,” Celestia conceded, “But we must remember that is the energy that makes up the heavenly bodies, the magic found in the sun, the stars, the moon, and deep within Equus. It is a magic of both creation and destruction. These bursts are but signs of unstable times that will come to pass. Respect it, Luna.”
“Of course sister. We remember the days long gone when primal magic was far more common, when beasts such as Fenrir, Echidna, and Typhon roamed. Even those who merely dabbled in it, such as Grogar caused trouble. Or those that fought alongside us, such as Leah’par and Yazi of the Nine. We remember that primal magic is nothing more than a soulless blade, used either to slaughter or protect the innocent.”
<><><>
“So long!” I waved to Rainbow as she flew away. “And thanks for all the fish!” I steadied the basket on my back full of what would be Steel Fang and I’s meal. After Rainbow had helped me properly set up the roof of my house, I casually mentioned I would get some food for Steel. Apparently, Gilda had taught Rainbow how to fish in streams during flight camp, and she managed to get a few before I did the ‘Here fish!’ trick.
The way she stared at me…it was like I told her that things could go past two times the speed of sound. And then she started laughing like crazy! Maybe I just stood there like an idiot while no fish landed in my basket…Meh, whatever. I know I have food because my senses tell me so. It may not be fish, but it is edible because I see it that way. I just have to trust myself. I shook my head. Going down that road led only to pain. I approached my nearly completed cabin and noticed a trio of tiny ponies.
“Hey, you three!” I gave them a smile, “Did you get my scrap metal?”
“Yup!” Applebloom exclaimed, “We asked mah sis and she said it would be ten bits.”
“And don’t forget our cuts!” Scootaloo put in.
“No worries. I see the scrap’s in a pile by my cottage, so that’s perfect. I’ll give you twelve to give back to Jackie, and three each.” I flew up to my tent, where I left my bits, and gave them twenty-one coins. “You three be good now, I’ve got to get fixing.” I headed over to the scrap, the chattering of three girls fading into the distance. “Soon, I can finally finish my sanctuary.”
“Good afternoon Windell.” God damn it. I turned around to see Bon-Bon approaching me with a strained expression. “Sweets. You’re here. Why?”
“Listen,” She snarled, “I don’t want to be near this smelly forest any more than you would a manticore. But I had a choice between you and Rarity, and I decided to come to you for romantic advice, since you know of my…affliction.”
“What the-Okay, first off, it’s less of an affliction and more of an affiliation. Second, what died in your cereal bowl this morning? Third, it’s a good thing you came to me instead of Marshmallow, because at least I’ve been in a relationship, not read sub-par novella on the subject.”
“Sorry,” Bon-Bon sighed, “It’s just…now that I’ve fully realized how much I would enjoy Lyra as more than a friend, I’m stuck. I don’t know how to flirt with a mare! I want to be with her, but I’m afraid of what she’ll think, what she’ll do…”
And with that, a melody began to play. Bon-Bon closed her eyes and took a breath.
Oh, come on. Don’t do this to me, brain!
I'm not strong enough to stay away.
Can't run from her
I just run back to her.
Like a moth I'm drawn in to her flame…
Says my name, but it's not the same.
She looks in my eyes, I'm stripped of my pride.
And my soul surrenders, and she bring my heart to its knees.
It went silent, and Bon-Bon opened her eyes as they shone with passion.
And it's killin' me when she’s away, I wanna leave and I wanna stay.
And I'm so confused, so hard to choose.
Between the pleasure and the pain.
And I know it’s wrong, and I know it’s right.
Even if I try to win the fight, my heart would overrule my mind.
And I'm not strong enough to stay away
I'm not strong enough to stay away
What can I do…
Bon-Bon turned to look at Ponyville and reached with a hoof.
I would die without you
In her presence my heart knows no shame
I'm not to blame
Cause you bring my heart to its knees
And it's killin' me when she’s away, I wanna leave and I wanna stay.
And I'm so confused, so hard to choose.
Between the pleasure and the pain.
And I know it’s wrong, and I know it’s right.
Even if I try to win the fight, my heart would overrule my mind.
And I'm not strong enough to stay away
There's nothing I can do
My heart is chained to you
And I can't get free
Look what this love's done to me!
And it's killin' me when she’s away, I wanna leave and I wanna stay.
And I'm so confused, so hard to choose.
Between the pleasure and the pain.
And I know it’s wrong, and I know it’s right.
Even if I try to win the fight, my heart would overrule my mind.
And I'm not strong enough to stay away
Not strong enough, strong enough
Not strong enough, strong enough
To stay away
Not strong enough, strong enough
Not strong enough, strong enough
I'm not strong enough to stay away
Just roll with it.
“…feel better?” I asked. Did not expect her to sing some orchestral metal. Or to do it better than Doug Robb.
“A bit, yeah” the mare intoned.
“I would tell you how to flirt, but in the short time I’ve met Mint, it just seems like it’d fly over her head. The best I can suggest you do is continue being nice to her, maybe throw in a bit of physical contact, and eventually, she should realize. You can’t carve canyons in a day.”
“I know.” The confectioner looked down. “I just wish I wouldn’t have to wait. What I feel…it just…I can’t explain how much she means to me. I can’t imagine living without her.”
“That says a lot. How about you be, well, you. I’ve got a hunch that you two will end up together.” A small smile graced Bon-Bon’s muzzle. “Just be patient. Heck, if you need any indication in how important you are to her, look at her actions. Remember the event in the forest, Mint stepped between you and the danger. She cares about you.”
“Thank you, Windell." Bon-Bon said as she began trotting away, "I’ll be seeing you.”
“About that. I kind of like my solitude, and others seem to think I’m some sort of guru. I’ll be around, I would just like to be alone.” Bon-Bon scoffed and rolled her eyes.
“You’re an odd pony.”
“I sure am, Sweets. Now shoo!”
<><><>
Rainbow Dash was having an awesome day. There were only four days left until the Grand Galloping Gala, four days left until she could meet her idols, the Wonderbolts, four more days until they induct her into the team because of her pure awesomeness. Because of that, she was clearing the sky as fast as she could so she could train and show ‘em her stuff.
Two, four, six, twelve clouds in less than three seconds. She was on a roll!
“Hey Rainbow Dash!” The prismatic mare looked down to see her biggest fan, Scootaloo, waving at her as she filly buzzed by on her scooter. “Can I ask you something?”
Rainbow shrugged and landed by the orange filly. “Sure. What’s up, squirt?”
“Everypony else has been avoiding the question, and I want to know: what’s communism?”
Rainbow Dash froze, looking off blankly in the distance. She’d overheard the word when she listened to Thunderlane warning Cloudchaser about it. Now, Rainbow Dash considered herself a lot of things...
“R-Rainbow? Are you okay?”
Awesome was definitely one of them. Fast was another good adjective. Cool, radical, maybe a bit arrogant…But come on! Have you met her? She’s her!
“Shou-should I get help? Blink if you don’t need help Rainbow Dash!”
…Colorful was also another word that fit her. But all that was on the outside. On the inside, she was something absolutely nopony must know. It would ruin her reputation, her entire image. On the inside, hiding from everypony else, Rainbow Dash was…
“O-oh my gosh Rainbow! I’ll get a doctor!”
A prude. It wasn’t just mushy relationships that made her uncomfortable, it was everything that went with it. And while talking about…that to a little filly was awkward, it was a whole lot more uncomfortable for her. Especially since she couldn’t…wait a second. Rainbow blinked a few times and noticed that Scootaloo had left her in the middle of the empty road. Rainbow held her chest out in pride.
“Rainbow awesomely avoids awkwardness!” she proclaimed before flying away.
<><><>
On the morning of the Gala, I had found myself standing by Cherilee in her small classroom, in front of two dozen students. Thankfully, I had removed my and Steel's bandages, so I didn't look completely ridiculous. I didn’t quite know where to start, so I decided to start small.
“I was asked to attend so I can teach a bit of biology. So I guess I’ll start with the basic components of every biological organism. Keep in mind, I’m old, so this information could be a tad outdated.” There were a few chuckles. “So today, I’m going to talk about the cell.”
With Cherilee’s help I was able to draw a diagram of the cell, and even drew cells with different functions; from your run-of-the-mill plant cell, to the neuron and how messages are sent. Cherilee even stopped to take a few notes for herself, and the children caught on quite quickly. I described a basic rundown of the Krebs cycle, the Electron Transport Chain, and DNA replication, without going too in depth with the chemicals involved, sure that they wouldn’t quite grasp that. The entire class was quite interested in DNA, and I introduced a bit of genetics to them. To finish off, I made them do a few problems using Punnett squares by themselves. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I enjoyed teaching. It felt so right.
As class finished and the little ones filed out of the room, I couldn’t help but feel satisfied on what I’d taught. “You did very well!” I turned to look at a smiling Cherilee. “I even learned some things. And I could tell you measured yourself so it wouldn’t be too complicated.”
“Yeah,” I admitted, “And it felt really…nice to give them my knowledge.”
Cherilee beamed. “Say, have you ever considered becoming a teacher? You’ve got the cutie mark for it.”
“Maybe one day.” I shook my head. “But not soon. I still have issues I’d like to deal with, and the only solution is solitude. I enjoyed this, but being alone is good for my well-being.” And that of others.
“Okay,” Cherilee granted, “But if you ever want to teach again, you’re welcome to come here.”
I gave her a nod and headed back home to put the finishing touches on my abode.
<><><>
Jason Halles was scared. He was nothing more than an engineer on deck, another drone in the large machine that was the maintenance staff of a military vessel. Sure, they were a bit nervous about the most recent reports of first contact, but he was skeptical. Aliens wouldn’t do that! They would surely be very logical beings.
And then they came.
Their strange, sleek, ship contrasted the human’s blocky vessel starkly, like the difference between night and day. And their weapons were vastly superior. Only one salvo was fired before the Lincoln was incapacitated. Then, they sent the boarding parties.
Jason could barely see them through the red, dimmed emergency lights, but they all moved on two legs, and several towered over the humans they mercilessly slaughtered. There were some other species that were smaller, but they scared him with their bird-like features. These often scavenged the human bodies, tearing into flesh with their beaky mouths, blood splattering onto their reptilian skin. Jason had stumbled across one a few minutes prior, eating Leroy, another engineer Jason frequently found himself working with. He quietly brought up his gun and fired a shot into the back of its skull. Its gray matter splattered over Leroy’s face, and Jason ran into a bunk room before anything could follow the gunshot’s sound.
He leaned back against the steel door, unable to comprehend how this had come to be. He would never see home again. He looked directly ahead, contemplating the bay window. His face wet with tears, he looked to his pistol. It still had eleven rounds. Maybe if he shot the window enough, he’d break it. Go out on his own terms.
He shook his head. Nothing less than a rocket launcher could pierce that glass. Without a warning, a familiar humming began. The slipspace drive was working! But…there were still invaders on the ship. Were they planning on going to a secure base to interrogate prisoners? But what if they had means of tracking their soldiers? There were too many unknowns!
There was a familiar jolt, and the Lincoln entered slipspace. Jason was wondering what the hell his superiors were thinking when a series of explosions echoed through the ship. The lights turned off completely, the bright fluorescence of slipspace providing Jason with the realization. They quarantined the part of the ship the intruders had boarded, and blew it off. Jason’s hair began to float as the last vestiges of artificial gravity left.
Jason knew that out of all the tests, a tracker released in slipspace only very rarely was found. The rest just…fell out of space.He pushed off towards the window and managed to orient himself towards the working part of the ship, which seemed to be moving exponentially faster.
For humanity.
His piece of the ship started 'falling down', the brightness of slipspace dimming. The active part of the broken ship was accelerating, until it was nothing more than a dot, a memory, a dream. Darkness consumed the ship. It wasn’t space, there were no stars, no lights, no hope. Just darkness. A darkness that seemed to move, shifting to Jason’s peripheral vision. Something was out there, moving, surviving.
Jason’s heart began to race. There were things out there. Not like the things on the ship. Given enough time, he could understand them. But these, these were beyond that. They coiled about, whispering, invisible, malicious. He could not see them, but he knew they were there. And more importantly, they knew he was here.
But the creatures skirted away, their whispers disappeared, their desires did not come into fruition. And Jason saw the Veil. The white expanse became visible as tendrils of darkness slithered away, revealing the surface of the Veil. The surface of another universe entirely. Slowly, the broken ship approached the white expanse. A speck of dust on the vastness of a reality. Jason saw the tip of the ship touch the Veil, and with the sound similar to that of one tearing a sheet of paper while slurping through a straw, Jason entered a new world.
Instantly, his stomach plummeted as he felt gravity reassert itself a kilometer above what seemed to be a swamp. Letting his training take control, Jason used the seconds left of zero-G to push himself into a bunk and brace for impact.
When he came to, Jason blearily looked about a minute, wondering why his bunkmates hadn’t woken him up, before recent events rushed to his head. He stood up quickly, but winced as his left arm flared in pain. Broken. He tore some sheets with his teeth and some clever maneuvering and he was able to make a sling. Magnum in hand, he moved towards the window. There was some light peaking at the top, but the rest was below mud level. The only sign of the crash was a crack at the bottom right of the window, a testament to human engineering.
Holding his pistol in his teeth, the engineer used a spare crowbar to pry open the door before squeezing through. Looking in both directions of the hall, Jason decided to go against the slight incline, reminding himself that there may have been more survivors, and that may have not been a good thing. As he came closer to the topmost part of the ship, he crossed a few corpses, dead by either plasma burns, fire, or from the crash. Jason came across one other survivor, a bird-thing with less broken limbs than he deserved. Jason crushed its last arm before he broke its neck on the heel of his boot.
“Suck on that, you birdy freak.” He muttered.
Finally, Jason came across an opening. He looked out to the swamp, relishing the smell of stable ground. He leaned against the side of the opening and sighed.
“I guess I have to either live off the land or call for help.” He stood back up. “I’ll survive this.”
He felt what seemed to be an impact on his back.
“Huh…?”
The engineer felt a burning in his abdomen as he was lifted from his feet and carelessly tossed into the mud. Face down in the muck, Jason felt tired…so tired. He closed his eyes to rest as the cold numbness spread throughout his body.
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Dun Dun Duuuuuun!
Hello readers, and welcome to anywhere between the 1/6th mark and the 1/15th mark. It all depends on world building. So far, Windell has just tied to survive the usual Ponyville shenanigans, but now we're starting to go into a load of good stuff. The Barcrawl team (Yes, that's what the Equestrian special forces team is going to be called from now on) is going to search for the mysterious Lucid across an Equestria somewhat lacking in guards.
If only Luna had noticed the setting of his dream, which really slipped her mind.
I put a unique depiction of Rainbow here, and I really hope you guys like it. I'm kind of used to the 'been around the block' RD so I put in something that would still fit with her personality, but with an interesting spin.
Okay now for some feedback request. Next time a pony sings a song, should I put in the original music, or should I stick to altered lyrics? And I'm pretty sure after this, I'll have to add the gore tag, although it's barely here.
Next, thank you. Thank you, once again, to all of those who liked, tracked, fav'd, and recommended to your pals. Thank you to those who decided I was interesting enough to follow. All of you are awesome. And a special thank you to that one guy who disliked, but decided that my story had gotten better and changed it to a like.
Cheers,
Charon
I went "what" during the starship part. Wasn't the Being preventing stuff from crossing the Veil? He even killed off other human mutants what crossed it, except for protagonist who's a pretty harmless guy.
5797294
The Entity has a specific set of reasons for its actions. As for what it's doing, I mentioned in the prologue that it would be doing damage control, which is manipulating incursions in its favor to prevent splits in the timeline. More will be explained later.
...NO!!!
A wasted opportunity...
Change "Bye" to " So long" and it'd be EPIC!!!
What's with the Halo bit at the end?
Well now, a bit of progress across the board and an interesting curve ball at the end, yep this is continuing nicely.
Huh?
Conclusions?
I'm a bit confused as to what happened in the memory section this time. It seemed like Scott sent the text on mass from the phone then said he was leaving but there was no actual indication he left the room or building. So when Windell saw the text if Scott did send it I was expecting a confrontation as Scott was walking out the door but the dialogue after is as if he's gone and then Windell says maybe Scott will still be his friend? So then it seems like he didn't send the text but then its like what is the text even mean and I'm just confused.
5797501 I thought that 'conclusions' would be the type of word Scootaloo would mess up. As for the memory section, thanks for pointing that out, I wrote that part at about 2 a.m. so it might not have been as neat as the other parts.
5797408 Foreshadoooowiiiiiing!
I really love this story. World and character building are amazing, and Windell is a very novel protagonist, balancing trying to work out his 'delusions' with exploring and living in the world, all while keeping it on the down-low. It's not like he is really hiding that he is strange either, which makes it better since too many hidden HiE stories have them freaking out about being tagged as different (even when some ponies were pretty weird in canon).
I only wish there was more of it.
Cutie Mark Crusaders Communists YAY!
So many hidden references, it's almost a game finding them all. I'm almost sure there was an Android 16 reference a few chapters back.
Well, I guess communism is a dirty word now.
"Hey comrade," she said with a smoky look in her eyes, "Let's say you and I free some proletarians..."
Does he fight for the Users?
6277318 That Communism part.
Yay for Halo!
The syntax of this is all over the place. A better phrasing would be this:
i think I found a consistency error
should it be Turnip, Eden and Emu
6930979 sports.cbsimg.net/images/visual/whatshot/DenardSpanCatch.gif
Looks like I...
Slipped up.