Project: Transcendence

by Bluecatcinema

The Enemy, Revealed

Unaware of the threat approaching them, the group on the sanctuary were finally finished with their preparations, and all set to depart.

"Okay, everypony ready?" Shine asked.

"I know I am." Eclipse declared.

"Oh, yeah." Huckleberry nodded. "Next stop, civilization!"

"Not that this wasn't a fun trip, but I can't wait to get home." Globe admitted.

"I think we all feel that way, Globe." Daring smiled.

"I know I do." Caboose smirked.

"Attention passengers, this is yer captain speakin'." Big Red announced, putting on his best "announcing" voice. "We are now boardin' fer the mornin' flight ta Canterlot. All aboard!"

"To be honest, I'm a little sad." Shine admitted. "Our big adventure is essentially over now."

"That's just how I felt after each one of my expeditions." Daring nodded. "But we'll always have the memories."

"And maybe we can come back here sometime." Caboose grinned. "Whattaya say, big O?"

"We'll see..." Osiris grunted non-committedly.

"So, we'll going off in this flying machine?" Isis asked. "They didn't have these the last time I was on the surface."

"The wonders of modern technology." Discord grinned. "Why fly under your own power, when this little number can do it for you?"

"Great thinking." Isis smiled. "I've never had something else do the flying for me before. It'll be a little weird, to be honest, flying in a tin box attached to a big balloon."

"It'll be great." Discord told her. "You'll love it. Trust me."

"You know I do." Isis beamed.

Osiris scowled, but showed no other reaction to their sweet moment.

"Shall we board now?" He asked. "The sooner we leave, the better."

"For once, we agree." Discord smiled. "Off we go!"

They all boarded the S.S. Cherryblossom, most of them gathering in the observation deck.

"It's been a while since I've had paws and talons." Osiris remarked. "This metal floor is a touch on the cold side..."

"You get used to it." Eclipse assured him.

"And what of the... lodgings?" Osiris inquired.

"Leave that to me." Discord smiled. "Walk this way."

Discord led Osiris to the habitation deck. With a snap of his fingers, he created a new cabin, which literally squeezed inbetween two others.

"Ta-daa!" He declared. "One cabin, just for you!"

Osiris opened the door and inspected the room. It was quite a basic thing; A bed, a table, and a nightstand.

"I figured you weren't into the whole 'extravagance' thing, so I went for the basics." Discord admitted.

"...It shall suffice." Osiris shrugged. "And what of Isis? Doesn't she get a room?"

"Oh, she'll be... bunking with me." Discord declared.

"Oh, will she?" Osiris raised an eyebrow.

"Relax." Discord snorted. "There won't be any funny business… not yet anyway... you don't have a problem with that, do you?"

"If I did, Isis would certainly not appreciate my interfering." Osiris growled. "I promised to keep my distance on this trip, and give her room to do what she wants. And it's a promise I intend to keep."

"Very admirable." Discord smiled. "Just what I'd expect from a devoted, yet fair big brother."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Discord." Osiris rolled his eyes.

"Doesn't hurt to try, though." Discord shrugged.

"Attention, passengers." Big Red's voice blared out of the PA systems. "We are about ta take off. Brace yerselves!"

"Finally, we're leaving." Discord smiled.

"I'm going back to the observation deck." Osiris declared. "I want one last look at my home before we leave."

"Suit yourself." Discord declared. "Isis is probably thinking the same thing. She was still there when we left, after all..."

The two returned to the observation deck. Just as Discord surmised, Isis was also looking out through the window at the rapidly-shrinking sight of the sanctuary.

"I never thought I'd leave this place again." Isis sighed.

"I hoped we never would." Osiris added. "Yet, here we are, leaving it all behind. Moving on to a new journey."

Sensing her brother's melancholy, Isis placed a hoof on his side to comfort him. Osiris looked at her, and smiled.

Suddenly, the airship was rocked by a sudden explosion.

"Whoa!" Eclipse yelped, as the airship titled to the side.

"What in the-?" Isis yelped.

"Is this supposed to be happening?" Osiris asked.

"Not really." Discord admitted.

"What's going on?" Globe asked, as the ship shook once more.

"Feels like an earthquake... in the sky!" Huckleberry yelped.

"They have those?!" Caboose gasped.

"No." Daring shook her head. "And it's way too rough to be turbulence."

"Maybe Big Red knows what this is." Shine declared. "Everypony, stay put!"

As, Shine rushed into the main deck, another rumbling quake sent him flying through the door.

"What was that?" He asked Big Red, who was struggling to regain control.

"Ah think we're under attack!" Big Red yelled.

"Attack?!" Shine gasped. "By who?"

As if in answer to his question, another airship emerged from the clouds. This one was a brand-new, military-grade vessel, loaded with weapons, each one pointed directly at the S.S Cherryblossom.

"Ah'm gonna say... that." Big Red deadpanned.

"Why are they attacking us?" Shine asked.

"Beats me." Big Red shrugged. "An' Ah don't think they're gonna stop long enough ta ask."

The enemy ship let off another volley, which came dangerously close to hitting them. The "improvements" Discord had made to the S.S. Cherryblossom rendered it tougher than it looked, but it wasn't enough to fend off firepower of that magnitude.

"We've gotta get out of here." Shine declared. "We'll get blown to bits otherwise!"

"Hang on!" Big Red turned sharply. "We're outta here!"

The S.S. Cherryblossom turned away from its attacker. Meanwhile, Shine ran down to the others to inform them of the situation.

"What's going on, Shine?" Eclipse asked.

"We're under attack!" Shine declared.

"Say what?" Caboose gaped.

"I don't know why, but somepony seems pretty keen on blasting us out of the sky!" Shine declared. "Look!"

Shine pointed out of the observation window, the enemy ship coming into view.

"Is that so?" Discord smirked. "I'll handle this!"

Discord snapped his fingers... and nothing happened.

"What the..." Discord snapped his fingers again. "This can't be right."

"What are you waiting for, big D?" Caboose asked. "Hit it with that old chaos touch already!"

"I can't!" Discord declared.

"Performance issues?" Caboose frowned. "And right in front of the lady, too..."

"This is no time to joke around!" Globe yelped.

"No kidding." Huckleberry cringed. "One of our biggest guns is firing blanks!"

"You know, comments like that aren't really helping!" Discord yelled.

"Let's just try and stay calm." Shine urged.

"Yeah, stay calm while we're on the verge of being blasted out of the sky." Eclipse snorted. "No problem."

Discord kept snapping his fingers, to no avail.

"Why isn't this working?" He growled.

"I think I know why." Daring frowned. "Those markings on the side are ancient runes. They supposedly protect against the primeval magic, like Discord's chaos powers. Somepony's done their homework..."

"So you're saying this isn't some random attack?" Shine asked. "That whoever's behind this somehow knows about our passengers?"

"It's beginning to look like it." Daring declared.

"But how?" Eclipse asked.

"That doesn't matter right now." Shine declared. "We should worry about getting out of this in one piece!"

On the helm of the attacking ship, the masked pony watched as they continued their assault.

"Keep it up." The masked pony growled. "I don't know how they've lasted this long, but they will be brought down."

"Yes, sir." The captain nodded.

"Who are they, though?" The masked pony frowned. "I thought we were the only ones to know of the sanctuary and the Serpents..."

"Perhaps they simply stumbled onto the sanctuary?" One of the scientists suggested.

"That doesn't explain why our quarry left with them." The masked pony pointed out.

"Could they be spies?" Another scientist mused. "They could have learned of the project, and decided to beat us to the punch!"

"Impossible." The masked pony growled. "Few know The Forefathers even exist, let alone how to spy on us."

"So what are they?" The captain asked. "Tourists who simply got lucky? Or some of those pain-in-the-flank conservationist groups?"

"Whoever they are, they're packing some serious magic." The scientist declared. "The detector's picking another massive source of magic in that ship."

"Let's just hope they don't get the chance to turn that magic on us." The captain frowned.

The masked pony suddenly froze, a realisation flooding through him.

"Wait... Shine Paladin is on that ship!" He declared.

"You can sense him?" The captain asked.

"No, he's right there!" The masked pony pointed to a window with Shine in it. "...Oh, this is even better than I'd hoped for! Not only do I get the ultimate power, but I can finally settle the score with that inbred hick! Increase fire!"

Back on the S.S. Cherryblossom, the crew found themselves rocked by another attack.

"Enough!" Osiris yelled. "I'll deal with this!"

"How?" Isis asked. "If those runes protect that ship from Discord's magic, it'll be the same for us!"

"Who said anything about magic?" Osiris snarled, his body starting to glow. "I'll return to my true form and tear that ship apart! I had fought with other deities bigger than that floating hunk of metal! It will be as easy as one, two, and three!"

"No!" Isis yelled. "If you transform in here, you'll tear this ship apart!"

"Yeah, spare a thought for your fellow passengers, pal." Huckleberry added.

"So do you expect me to just sit here while we are attacked?!" Osiris asked.

"For now." Isis declared. "We still don't know for sure that they're after us specifically. Might not be such a good idea to reveal yourself to them. And besides, all those weapons might just do you some serious damage. They’re nothing like what we've seen in the past."

"They're naught but metal and fire." Osiris said dismissively. "I've faced torches and spears before, and they barely scratched me."

"Trust me, it's not simple." Shine declared. "No torch can explode with enough force to cave in a mountain. Even you could suffer some serious damage."

"And what about the rest of us?" Daring asked. "Even if you can shrug off their ordinance, we'll still be caught in the crossfire."

"So basically, you're telling me to do nothing?" Osiris growled.

"I know it's not exactly your speed, but it's better if we just try and escape for now." Isis told him. "We don't know enough about our enemies to just recklessly attack them."

"I don't know, that always worked for me." Caboose shrugged.

"Isis is right." Shine insisted. "We have no idea who we're up against, or why they're after us. Our best bet for now is to try and out-manoeuver them.

"...Very well." Osiris frowned. "I'll stay my claw... for now."

"Hang on, folks!" Big Red said into his speaker. "I'll try an' lose 'em in that cloud bank!"

The others hung on for dear life as they swerved into the clouds.

"Trying to hide, are we?" The masked pony sneered. "Too bad for you, we're locked on to those passengers of yours. Continue pursuit!"

"Yes, sir." The captain nodded.

The masked pony's airship followed the S.S. Cherryblossom into the clouds. Using the magic detector, they remained right behind their target, though they still needed to be clear of the cloud before they could resume fire.

After a short while, the S.S. Cherryblossom passed out into clear sky again.

"That oughta do it." Big Red smiled proudly. "Even the best pilot couldn't follow us through that..."

"Guess that's that." Huckleberry grinned, sharing Big Red's sentiment. "Whoever those jerks were, we're not gonna see them again anytime soon."

"Wanna bet?" Globe gulped, pointing out the window.

Before their eyes, the enemy ship emerged from the clouds.

"That's not possible." Shine gaped.

"How could they have followed us through that pea soup?" Daring asked.

"GPS?" Caboose suggested.

"We have them now!" The masked pony yelled. "Fire!"

The enemy ship unleashed another barrage. One blast struck the S.S. Cherryblossom's tailfin.

"Whoa nelly!" Big Red yelped, as the airship started to fall towards a nearby cliff face. "Brace fer impact, folks!"

"We're crashing!" Globe yelped.

"Stay calm!" Shine urged. "Don't panic!"

"Did you say 'panic'?" Caboose gulped. "Okay! Ahhhhh! We're gonna die!"

"No, don't panic!" Shine yelled.

"Easier said than done." Eclipse frowned.

"Doesn't this have any escape pods, or parachutes?" Huckleberry asked.

"It never occurred to me." Discord shrugged. "But something else does. Everypony, group together!"

The others did as instructed. Discord then stretched his body and wrapped around them, forming a dome.

"Sweet sassafrass!" Big Red yelled, as the S.S. Cherryblossom skidded onto the cliff face.

The airship scraped across the rock, eventually coming to a stop, tilting precariously on its side. When he was certain it was safe, Big Red rushed out of the helm and over to the observation deck.

"Everypony okay?" He asked, before spotting Discord's curled-up form. "What in the-?"

Discord untangled himself.

"Yes, everypony's fine." He smiled. "Thanks to me."

"We'd better get going." Shine declared. "Whoever's chasing us will no doubt try and board the ship."

"Just like the sky pirates of Stallios." Daring recalled. "We'll have to grab what we can, and make a run for-"

Suddenly, the window of the observation deck shattered, and a squad of two dozen ponies in black trenchcoats and gas masks, each equipped with belts of numerous gadgets, were upon them.

"So much for that idea." Eclipse frowned.

"Yeesh, look at all those black leather outfits." Caboose shuddered. "And the gas masks... What is this? Attack of the fetish brigade?"

"Attention, ponies... and the one they call Discord." The leader of the squad declared, his voice muffled by his mask. "We are here for the Serpents. Step aside, and you will not be harmed."

"What Serpents?" Shine asked innocently. "No Serpents here."

"Don't even bother lying." The leader held up a smaller version of the magic detector. "We know exactly where they are, and what they're pretending to be…"

"Is that so?" Osiris growled, stepping forth. "Then it seems there's no need for pretence."

"You attacked us and our friends." Isis growled. "You won't get away with that."

"But since you came all this way for Serpents, then Serpents you shall get." Osiris growled. "Isis?"

"Let's do it." Isis nodded.

The two started to glow, about to change back.

"Count me in on that action." Discord declared. "No runes on these guys, so this should be pretty easy..."

"I don't think so." The leader sneered as he gestured with a hoof.

Three of the squad threw metal rings (bearing similar runes to the ones on their ship) at Discord and the Serpents. The rings clamped around their necks.

"What the...?" Osiris gasped, as the glow faded from him and Isis. He tries to break it apart, but it stuck firm, "What is this?"

"I can't change back!" Isis groaned, trying to concentrate.

"Now you're gonna get it!" Discord snarled. He snapped his fingers, but once again achieved nothing. "Oh, come on! Again?"

"What did you do to them?" Huckleberry growled.

"What, you didn't think we'd come prepared?" The leader snorted. "As long as those collars are on, those ‘entities’ won't be able to use their powers. We weren't expecting the Spirit of Chaos, but it seems the collar works just as well on him."

"We can still fight, though." Osiris growled, bearing his talons.

"And fight we shall." Isis agreed, her wings flaring.

"We all will." Caboose added.

"Wait, 'we'?" Globe gulped.

"Jest stick by me, kiddo." Big Red urged.

"I got a big ol' bear paw, so I may as well use it." Discord smiled. "Bring it!"

"With pleasure." The leader smirked as he threw his hoof forward. "Attack!"

The squad charged at the group, and a battle ensued. Despite their lack of powers, Isis and Osiris were able to put up a fight, but they hadn't taken on those forms for some time, leaving them a little rusty. As Isis tried to take off, her wings were unbalanced.

"It's been a while." She mused as she fought to steady herself.

"True." Osiris admitted, his own flying a little off. "But flying is flying, even with these feathery appendages!"

Osiris dived down and tackled one of the squad.

“Agent Sepulchre, fire containment unit!” The leader barked.

One of the squad pulled out a weapon of some sort, and pulled the trigger. A net flew out of it and caught the surprised Isis.

"Ah!" Isis yelped, as she dropped to the ground.

"Isis!" Discord growled, dropping the pony he had been manhandling. "Why, you-"

"I've got one for you too, big fella!" Another squad member fired his net gun.

The net wrapped around Discord's lower half, causing him to topple.

"Whoa!" He gasped, just before eating dirt. "Okay, now I'm mad! You are gonna-"

Another net wrapped around Discord's top half, pinning his arms and silencing him.

"Two down." The agent sneered.

The ponies were doing their best, but they were outnumbered. Since Globe wasn't much of a fighter, Big Red tried to protect him, leaving his attention diverted.

"C'mon!" He bashed two agent's heads together. "That all ya got?"

One of the agents suddenly ensnared Globe in a magic field.

"Pa, help!" Globe yelled.

"Globe!" Big Red yelped. "Put 'im down, ya yella-bellied-"

Another agent struck Big Red from behind, knocking him out.

"No!" Eclipse roared. He lunged for the agent who did the deed, only to be pounced on by another, and another.

"You're going nowhere, kid!" One taunted him.

Meanwhile, Huckleberry found himself pinned by three more agents.

"Not the face!" He yelled. "Anything but the face!"

Caboose fired his magic beams in all directions, sending his opponents scattering for cover.

"Who want to mess with me?" He yelled. "I'm here to kick flank, and chew bubble gum! And I'm outta bubble gum... Oh wait, I got some here!" He pulled out a small pink stick. "I'm still gonna kick your flanks first, though!"

"Try this on for size!" One agent threw a small round object.

When the object struck the ground, it created a bright flash, blinding Caboose.

"Owww!" Caboose gasped, clutching his eyes. "No fair! You cheated!"

In his weakened state, Caboose was leapt upon and subdued.

At the same time, Daring knocked away one of her aggressors.

"I've fought worse thugs than you in my day!" She yelled.

"I'm sure you have, ma’am." The leader nodded. "But did those thugs have anything like this?"

The leader threw a sphere of his own. It burst open right above Daring, showering her with sticky goo that rendered her immobile.

"Why, you..." Daring struggled to break free.

"I'm guessing that's a 'no'." The leader sneered.

Shine kicked away one agent, then punched another.

"I don't why you're attacking us, and I don't much care." He declared. "But you messed with the wrong pony!"

"We gave you the chance to leave, your highness." One agent declared. "You refused, and this is what happens."

"Whatever you're up to, you won't succeed!" Shine took off.

"Wanna bet?" Another agent smirked, firing his net gun.

The net wrapped around Shine's wings, causing him to crash to the ground with enough force to render him unconscious. There was only one left...

"You won't get me!" Osiris roared, dodging more nets.

"Guess again!" A Pegasus agent flew into him, tackling him to the ground.

"Off me, scum!" Osiris kicked the agent off.

The remaining agents surrounded Osiris.

"You think I'm afraid of you?" He spat. "I'll take you all on!"

"Bring him down!" The leader yelled.

The agents charged Osiris. Osiris slashed one with his talons, headbutted another, and tackled a third.

"Now, while he's busy." The leader told Agent Sepulchre. "Take the other one."

"Yes, sir." Agent Sepulchre dragged the net containing Isis away.

"Let go of me, you-!" Isis snarled.

"Isis!" Osiris gasped, turning away from his foes. "Don't worry! I'll save you!"

That moment of distraction was enough for the agents to jump him en masse. They piled on him, weighing him down.

“ISIS!” Osiris cried, reaching desperately for his sister.

"Step back, boys." The leader ordered. "I got this."

The agents got off Osiris. The Serpent-turned-Griffon struggled to his feet, but was ensnared by the leader's net gun.

"Gotcha." The leader sneered.

Osiris struggled to break free, but his Griffon body wasn't strong enough, letting out screeches of fury.

"Put them in the hold." The leader declared. "The boss is gonna be real happy..."

When Shine came to, he found himself in a dank room with a single porthole, through which Caboose was peering.

"Ooohh..." He groaned.

"Hey, Shine's awake!" Eclipse pointed.

"Welcome back, bro." Huckleberry smiled.

"What happened?" Shine groaned.

"Long story short: the fetish brigade nabbed us." Daring deadpanned.

"But why?" Shine asked. "Why are they doing this?"

"No clue." Big Red frowned. "Prob'ly sumthin' nasty, though."

"It's because of us." Isis sighed. "They came for us. We put you all in danger."

"Don't think like that." Discord declared. "Nopony knew this would happen."

"But it is happening." Osiris growled. "Whoever these ponies are, they wanted us. And I doubt it'll be for anything pleasant..."

"Really?" Discord said sarcastically. "Because with such a warm welcome, I was expecting a nice penthouse suite, with adjoining bathrooms."

"Really, Discord?" Daring sighed. "Jokes, now?"

"It's kind of my thing." Discord shrugged. "Call it a coping mechanism."

"We're clearly on the enemy airship." Shine surmised. "But where are they taking us?"

"Beats me." Caboose shrugged. "I'm not seeing any familiar sights down there."

"Oh, what's going to happen to us?" Globe groaned.

"Not much, I'm guessing." Huckleberry shrugged. "You heard those thugs. They just wanted Isis and Osiris. They'll probably just lock us up in a dungeon for the rest of our lives."

"Way to think positive, Huck." Eclipse scowled.

"It'll be okay, kiddo." Big Red assured Globe. "Ah've bin in worse scrapes than this..."

Caboose suddenly burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Shine asked irritably.

"The name!" Caboose pointed to a sign saying 'Welcome to Schwartzamungaknackerhobblestan'. "Remember that? It's the name of the country that chump Prince came from!"

"You're right." Shine realized. "This is Nalik's kingdom."

"So... what?" Daring asked. "Does this ‘Nalik’ have something to do with all this?"

“I don’t know. Nalik wasn’t exactly a nice pony…” Shine frowned. “But I don’t think he would be involved in something like this…”

"From what Ah've bin told, Ah wouldn't put it past 'im..." Big Red snorted.

"Ah, I'm pretty sure that whoever the Big Bad is, he'll be revealed soon." Caboose declared. "If this were a story, a reveal like that would be a great way to end the chapter."

"That's how I did it in my books." Daring agreed. "Nothing makes for a dramatic end scene like having the villain of the story revealed at last."

"Well, lucky for us, this isn't a book." Eclipse rolled his eyes.

Meanwhile, up on the helm, the masked pony was celebrating his victory.

"That went just as well as I'd hoped!" He cheered. "Good work, Captain Slink!"

"Thank you, sir." The squad leader saluted him.

"I called ahead to the palace." The head scientist declared. "We'll be ready to move on to phase two as soon as we land."

"Excellent." The masked pony removed his mask, revealing the red mane, brown eyes and face of Prince Nalik-Aqqbar Royale of Schwartzamungaknackerhobblestan beneath it. "Now I, Prince Nalik the Incomparable, shall possess the ultimate power!" He gloated. "The power over life and death itself! Finally, Project: Transcendence is a go!"

Nalik started cackling madly. As he did, his airship passed under a storm cloud, lightning flashing through the darkness, and illuminating Nalik's deranged face.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Nalik laughed maniacally.

His servants were greatly unnerved by his display of madness, but out of a combination of fear and loyalty, said nothing.

Comments

[danick]

All right now that was big surprise

[Vakama95096]

Oh, you've got to be kidding...Nalik, that douchebag, what does he want now?

[00RaiserGundam]

Didn't see that coming.

[zugzwang12]

How did I guess!!!

"No, he's right there!" The masked pony pointed to a window with Shine in it. "...Oh, this is even better than I'd hoped for! Not only do I get the ultimate power, but I can finally settle the score with that inbred hick! Increase fire!"

Still very suprising, well done!

[Koala2001]

No, not him, you did not just bring him in to this!
Oh don't worry, I'm not mad. In fact, I'm practically laughing my head off!
*slow clap* bravo, bluecat, bravo