• Published 13th Jul 2015
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Founders of Alexandria - Starscribe



Four months after the end of human civilization, six ponies come together to rebuild. They learn that the apocalypse has not made friendship any easier.

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Part 5 (Oliver) - Chapter 3

Oliver had many reasons to dread using the phone. Talking with strangers was near the top of the list, though it wasn’t quite at the top. There was not yet an entry on the list for “negotiating with the possibly insane for the return of his friends.” He didn’t say anything, just stared at the screen, trying to figure out what he should say.

The speaker on the line sounded familiar, though he still couldn’t put a name to the voice. Maybe it would come to him as he spoke. “When will you be returning to Alexandria, Oliver? Your presence is urgently needed here. One of your friends hurt one of my friends, and we have no doctors.”

It was all he could do not to continue to stare in silence. “What happened?”

For someone whose friend had been hurt, the voice didn’t sound upset. More like he was commenting on a bit of inconvenient rain. “Adrian the pegasus attacked several of my ponies with human weapons. Two of my friends were injured. I think there is still metal in their bodies. We did our best to stop the bleeding, but we really need you back.”

Oliver nodded, though he knew the speaker couldn’t see him. He spoke without thinking, the words almost automatic. “Of course. We should be back in four hours. Did you take them to the hospital?”

“No, they’re in the library. We would not take them near that human place.” Pause. “We are prepared to trade you Adrian in exchange for your help with our wounded and a visit from the filly.”

The filly? Oliver knew from Cloudy Sky’s insistence on using horse words that a filly was the equivalent of a girl, and he only knew of one of those. “Riley isn’t with us. She stayed in Alexandria. Why would you want her, anyway?”

There was a brief silence, accompanied by a chuckle. Something sounded sinister about it, though he couldn’t have said why. “No, not that thing. The crows will have her soon, and we don’t need any pact to make it so.” Oliver felt cold, like a chip of ice had suddenly been lodged in his heart. It wasn’t just that the speaker casually spoke of harm to a child. It was the matter-of-fact way he said it, without the slightest doubt. No human or pony was meant to sound that way. In an unpredictable world, most ponies spoke with at least a little reservation. None could know all things.

This one sounded like he thought he did. “Your leader, the thing that calls itself Lonely Day. Your master must speak with ours. For this, we offer Adrian's life in exchange.”

Oliver muted his microphone, long enough to shout down the hall for Alex. He wasn’t sure she would hear, but he yelled a few more times. If nothing else, Joseph would’ve. He wasn’t really fit to be doing this negotiation stuff. Oliver was a healer, and maybe a gardener. Politics was beyond him.

Still, there was something dark in the image the speaker’s words gave to his thoughts. He couldn’t help but feel anger. Insinuating that Adrian had attacked them had been one thing; that was an accusation of action (which they would probably learn was false as soon as they spoke with him). This was different. They hadn’t accused Alex of anything, they were just insulting her. Perhaps a little bizarrely, but the intention seemed clear even so.

He switched the mic back on. “You must mean Alex. She’s not our master, she’s just our leader. Those aren’t the same thing.”

There was always a long delay with satellite communication. “Her kind do not lead,” said the voice. “They own. Equestria has bowed to its own for long enough, and now they wish to seed your world with more of the same. We’re here to put a stop to it. To protect you. To do that, we must speak with it, and we must have your help to treat the injuries our friends received.”

Again he nodded, though there was nobody to see. “I will help regardless. I’m not sure who you really are… if you came with the immigrants, or if you’re somebody else. But in my country, doctors are afforded a certain level of respect. I have no desire to get involved in politics. We take an oath to ease pain and treat the wounded. I would have helped anyway.”

“And the filly; will it speak with us?”

“She will.” It was not his voice that answered. Oliver glanced over his shoulder, heart suddenly pounding in his chest. How was Alex’s… Of course, the answer came from the screen. She wasn’t doing anything magical; she had just joined the call from the other room. Evidently his shouting had accomplished something after all. “Though I believe you may be technically mistaken about terms. I have my cutie mark; I’m grown.” She sounded more defensive about that then being called an “it.” It was almost enough to make him laugh. “Whatever you want to say, Ryan, say it now.”

There was shocked silence from the other end. “A fictional name for a fictional pony. My true name is Night Speaker. You have no true name.”

“Not true.” Alex took a breath. “Princess Luna of Equestria named me Archive.” She said the word slowly, as though it were something heavy she were putting down. It wasn’t a name Oliver had heard before. Just how much did he know about Alex? “What do you want, Night Speaker?” Oliver expected Alex to be more confrontational, perhaps getting angry about the fire-dragon that had attacked them on their landing. Perhaps she would demand an explanation for what had happened in Philadelphia, even though they still weren’t sure yet if these ponies actually came from there.

She did none of those things.

If he expected reference to the Equestrian royalty to soften Ryan’s voice on the other end, he was disappointed. Instead, the unicorn’s voice came off harsh and clipped, as though barely containing his emotions. “She had no right to tamper with this world!”

“You’re not the only one upset with how Luna did things,” Oliver interjected. “I’m probably never going to see my mother or cousins again because of her. My whole life was uprooted. She’s not our favorite pony either.”

“No.” That cold amusement was back. “She should not have interfered with your world at all. Fate’s judgement was clear. But she interfered. The vultures of the void will not be cheated. Odium forgives.”

Oliver tensed. In two words, this “Night Speaker” had confirmed all of their suspicions. The same message had been scrawled in Philadelphia. Ryan could not have been there when the fire started, so some other pony must’ve been responsible. At least a dozen people were dead because of the actions of whatever group he represented. How many more deaths did he want?

“What do you want from me?” Alex asked again. “I already know what you want of Oliver. You have hurt ponies. I’m no doctor, I can’t help them.”

“You lead Alexandria. I wished to warn you of an urgent danger and trust you to remove it. Our… more entrenched disagreements can wait.”

“I’m listening.”

“You have among your number a dangerous parasite called a changeling. These beings caused devastating wars in Equestria. They enslaved and devoured the minds and hearts of ponies. With the help of the pony Cloudy Skies, she has escaped into the wilderness. If she is allowed to survive to reproduce, her kind will infest your world as they did ours. But you’re her leader. If you can find and kill the parasite before her filth spreads further, you might prevent countless deaths. You claim to lead the ponies here; show wisdom beyond your years and protect the ponies of the next generation.”

“I thought you said fate had judged humanity.” Oliver wasn’t sure where the words came from, but he said them. “What do you care if she causes some of us to suffer down the road? Wouldn’t you want us to experience as much pain as possible?”

The voice sounded shocked. “Of course not! Odium forgives. Even you.” Oliver felt something then, as though a force was traveling through the phone into his head. Like thick cotton was filling his brain and making his thoughts slow down, making it harder to consider anything important and trying to dredge important memories from the last few days to the surface.

He will wipe away the stains of the pretender princesses and their pretended compassion. One day, he will make this world even greater than the fallen place I come from. On that day, we might be enemies. But not today. Today, our interests align. Destroy the changeling, Archive, and protect our children from her spawn.”

Alex didn’t answer for some time. When she did, it sounded like the young mare was fighting whatever strange sensation was invading her mind as much as he was. “I-I will consider… your suggestion.” Pause. He felt something shift in the aircraft, and another sudden wave of discomfort. He felt the icy chill of the anti-thaumic shield on his soul, strangling the strength from him. Yet as it did, he felt his mind clear. It was the best the shield had ever felt, like being splashed with cold water after having a little too much drink.

Alex’s voice sounded clearer too, and twinged with just a drop of satisfaction. “We arrive in three hours. I will give you an address when we are ten minutes out. You may bring your wounded there, and Oliver can care for them.”

“No.” Ryan’s voice was callous, with only a twinge of regret. “They’re too hurt to be moved, and must remain in the library. You must send Oliver there. You may accompany him if you wish.”

“Absolutely not.” Alex sounded equally uncompromising. “Assuming all the ponies who arrived with you are somehow working with you, you outnumber us two-to-one. You can’t possibly expect me to put Oliver into that situation; we would be trading one hostage and medical care for one hostage. A very poor trade.”

Oliver felt the fury building. “No, Alex.” He spoke calmly, except that his voice shook a little. The only clue to the anger seething under the surface. “If there are hurt ponies there, I’m going. I don’t care who they’re working for. If trading me for Adrian is how I help them, then that’s how it’s going to be.”

Alex did not argue with him, not then. Not until they’d hung up and she made her way over to him in the cargo area did she finally say anything.

Oliver didn’t stay angry long. Alex still smelled furious when she rounded the corner from the cockpit. At least, that was what he thought she smelled like. The smell of anger was so close to another smell that he very nearly couldn’t tell the difference. Her face told him which of the two emotions she was really feeling, though. Her eyes bulged wide, ears faced forward, and teeth bared. Did she even realize she was doing that?

“Absolutely not!” She was only slightly more than half his height. Still, her shout was enough to sound quite clearly over the engines. “Oliver, you can’t go! Nevermind not presenting a united front to a homicidal enemy, which might’ve cost us big. There’s no guarantee they won’t just kill you the instant you get close. There’s no guarantee Adrian is even still alive. You can’t go in on their terms!”

Alex might be raging like waves, but Oliver was a rock. He withstood all of it, without escalating to anger himself. It was only at the outset that her presuming to speak for him made him upset. Now, he was only resolved. Ryan had said Alex was his master. The word nagged at him; he wouldn’t allow it. He would prove their world was better than that. There were no masters in Alexandria, and no slaves. Only friends.

“I don’t care what might happen,” he said, so calmly that he could practically hear the hot air leaking out of her. “I’m going.”

“What?” She blinked up at him, the teenager that had once been their confident leader. “Why?”

“Because ponies are hurt. They’ve been shot, and I’m the only doctor. I don’t think I’m in danger; even evil cults need doctors.”

Alex sat back on her haunches, making her look even smaller. At least she had a cute angry face. He would probably have to wait until she was calm enough to hear something like that, though. “You’re helping them. They already outnumber us; wouldn’t it be better if they’re in worse shape?”

“We don’t know that.” Oliver removed the headset, turning away from the computer. “Maybe the others were just complacent in whatever they did. Maybe some of the immigrants are prisoners too, and they don’t even know. But even if I am helping them, I don’t care.” He glanced briefly at the reflection of his cutie mark in the screen. “I swore to guard growth and ease pain; to put away death for life. I won’t see that oath violated, even if it would be convenient for me to sit by and let our enemies die.”

Master, Ryan had said. How would his master respond?

Alex opened her mouth, chest puffing out again as though she was going to argue with him. She didn’t say anything, though. Instead she nodded, and he could hear the crack in her voice when she spoke. “I don’t… I don’t want anything to happen to you, Olive. But I’m glad you’re willing to fight to be you.” She nuzzled his leg, then hurried away.

Oliver looked down at the place she had touched, rubbing at the strange feeling there. Of course, Alex’s logic was sound. He probably would end up a hostage. He just didn’t care.

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