Iris Strike: Sealed Power

by hujan86

RIDDLE'S CODEX

Located in the heart of Moebotropolis, the old structure had served as the seat of the House of Acorn for more than two hundred years. There was nothing distinctive about the castle until it was added with rooftop gardens sometime after Queen Alicia assumed control of the empire.

In light of the Monster’s arrival, Queen Alicia called for all council members to meet at the castle. The Viceroy, Jeffrey St. Croix arrived, not long after Prower and Snively. In the hallway, the three came across the beat up-looking Patch, Boomer and Buns (Antoine D’Coolette, Rotor Walrus and Bunnie Rabbot’s Moebius counterpart respectively). As top commanders of the Suppression Squad, they have observer status in the Council of Acorn.

St. Croix could not help but poke fun at the two whom he knew just returned from a failed operation against suspected resistance positions near his province. “Again with another heavy defeat? I’m beginning to think you two are losing on purpose.”

“Indeed,” Snively agreed with the skunk. “Having made the Suppression Squad a laughing stock in front of our enemies, I have to wonder why Her Majesty still keeps you around.”

Prower did not say a word to Patch, Boomer and Buns. He regarded them with indifference as he paced down the hallway with other viceroys.

St. Croix and Snively’s ridicule exasperated Patch. Once the viceroys are out of view, he growled, “J’en ai ral le bol! (I’m so fed up!) Zees job should’ve helped me climb up to zee position of Viceroy! I’m supposed to drink fine red wine in my very own villa, have my own secretary, giving orders to zee people, making new tax laws. Not still leading stupide robots to zee battlefield, getting shot at and coming back with black and blues all over me!”

“The resistance fighters do seem to know an awful lot about our operation,” Boomer said with thought. “Every time they were ready as if they’re already expecting us. You know what? We should consider the notion of a spy in our midst.”

A spy? A name crossed Patch’s mind. “Miles.”

“What ‘bout th’ lil’ runt?” Buns was asking as they strode down the hallway.

“He is not zee same as before, is he not?” Patch said. “He no longer speaks to us. What do you zink he is doing in his own private lab?”

“Your point is?” This was coming from Boomer.

“He is zee queen’s right hand man and most trusted advisor. Zat is why she lets him freely work on his own weapons program, separate from zee main army. But we both know he also is very ambitious.”

“You’re suspecting Miles of treason, are you?” Boomer realized.

“He stands to benefit should zee chaos worsens,” Patch opined. “When Her Majesty’s rule is weakened enough, zat would be zee right time to strike”

“It’s gonna be mighty hard t’ prove that there allegation of yours, Patch” Buns pointed out.

At this point, they had arrived outside the council room.

Before opening the door, Patch said, “We shall see about zat.”

Council members focused on the 3D hologram projected at the center of the donut-shaped conference table. It showed the Monster docked at an unknown location. Some were awed by the warship’s appearance and size. Some, including St. Croix, looked uneasy for their own reasons. Snively for one was being very calculative. Queen Alicia remained impersonal.

“Where did it come from and why were we not told of this?” This came from Snively.

“It was important that this weapon be developed in the utmost secrecy,” Prower replied the question. “With good reason in light of countless setbacks suffered against the resistance.”

Patch tensed up in his seat at the reference to the botched operations he and Boomer led up until recently.

“From this footage, you can clearly see the consequences of what happens when confidential information is leaked out in the open. The warship was damaged when the site it’s being constructed in came under attack by unknown forces which I speculated as being allied to Crystal Empire, prompting the premature launch of the warship.”

It is a lie, of course. Whether the young fox is aware of it or is being used as a puppet in the SG’s machination is yet to be seen.

“How did this information that only you supposedly know of was given away?” Snively inquired further.

“Irrelevant,” the queen interjected. “This is not a fact-finding proceeding. Miles, how soon can you get the warship ready?”

“Not very soon I’m afraid, Your Majesty,” Prower said calmly. “Apart from the hull needs repairing, the assemblage and retrofitting of the armaments will take time. But once completed, it will give us a great deal of advantage over Crystal Empire’s military. Even so, we shouldn’t be overly haste.”

The hologram changed to display Grand Forest with a translucent dome covering the whole area, all scaled down to size.

“With Your Majesty’s permission, I’d like to have it field-tested on Kintobor’s energy dome,” the young fox continued.

“The dome is impenetrable,” Snively reminded him. “We’ve tried it before and failed. None of our most powerful missiles and cannons could get through it. Not even the coilguns work.”

“If you’re saying that this warship possesses firepower enough to take out the dome, then it risked destroying Grand Forest. A huge loss it will be if such scenario turned out to be true. Not to mention the fallout it will bring upon the nearby Moebotropolis,” St. Croix added to state his concern.

“You may recall Project Metal,” Prower said, referencing to the weapons program he shelved several years back with reason being given is that it was deemed to be ‘unfeasible’ in terms of technology and software right from early stages of development.

Summarizing, Project Metal is a program to replace the current fleet of Mechanauts with a new generation of robots, fully weaponized and run by intelligent AI. The latter part involves the implementation of a new chip that will have the same storage capacity and performance of a biological brain (similar to E-Sat’s neural CPU).

“Your Majesty, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the follow up to the program, the Roboticizer. Yes, our previous weapons were able to penetrate the dome. But this one will due to its photonic properties.”

The hologram changed again. This time it showed an odd looking machine, roughly the shape of a spark plug with orange and blue glowing highlights all over it. The machine is positioned upright, hence giving it the appearance of some sort of aerial cannon or a satellite weapon.

“This machine is able to convert any organic creatures into robotic forms. Anyone who undergoes the ‘roboticization’ process will have their minds translated into software format. They will lose their free will, original personalities and memories, thus becoming subservient, ready to do our bidding whatever we demand of them.”

As Prower spoke, the hologram began playing a simulation of the converting process of living tissue into machinery. The scene moved from cellular level to finally showing organs being transformed into mechanical equivalents. Many council members felt uneasy at what seemed to them is a gruesome and very painful process.

“The Roboticizer will be refitted as part of the Monster’s secondary armaments. Due to the limitation in firing range, I will have drones scouting for the exact location of Kintobor’s base and the nearest villages. Once the first hurdle is passed, our newly ‘conscripted’ robotic army will help take down the force field generator for us and then Grand Forest and all of its natural resources will once again be ours.

“As for the Crystal Empire queen, we will present to her the Monster’s destructive firepower in the form an ultimatum. The experimental plasma-based weapons that will become the Monster’s main armaments is able to reduce cities the size of Illumina to ashes in mere moments.”

Alicia allowed herself a small smile, relishing the prospects of victory in the long-standing frozen conflict. “Which leaves her with two choices: surrender or perish with her city. Once the royal family is out of the way, once the lands of Crystal Empire fall, we will use the Roboticizer to convert the remaining population into free slave force to mine its riches.”

She stood up from her seat and briskly proclaimed to the council, “The advent of this kingdom as the sole superpower of Moebius draws near! Acorn Empire will rule all and Moebius will be ours!”

At the end of proceeding, through her decree, Prower’s weapons program was given the green light. Both St. Croix and Snively shuddered at their Queen Alicia’s audacious ambition. The use of such weapons they felt would amount to genocide. Yet there was nothing the two could do about it. In fact, even if the whole council objects, it would not matter at all.

Although Council of Acorn is the legislative and deliberative assembly in the kingdom’s political system, it is not a truly democratic body. Any laws and resolutions proposed during the proceeding, either by an individual, specific group or collectively, only Queen Alicia has the final say in the approval process and adoption. As the de-facto head of the assembly, she approves and vetoes at her own discretion without requiring to offer explanation for her decision.

Alicia was about to enter her private lounge room when Patch came in and interrupted her.

“There’s nothing new about it,” said the queen coldly. “The new weapons have already been made known to me for a long time.”

“But surely Your Majesty having Miles too much of a freehand is still a cause for concern?” the coyote persisted.

“You’re not suggesting Miles is up to something sinister!? That’s absurd! He is one of us! The greatest friend this empire got. My empire!”

“Your Majesty, you should at least have someone monitor-”

“I am not listening to this! Focus on crushing the resistance, Patch! That was supposed to be have been crushed ages ago! You are DISMISSED!!!”

Patch aversely complied. Alicia opened the door, walked in then ordered the bodyguards inside to get out, leaving her alone with Miles. She slumped into a soft chair and helped herself with the bottle of champagne on the adjacent low table.

She took a sip from the glass. “Miles, I assume you have news in regards to my special request.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” said the young fox as he stood at ease before the queen. “You were right all along. She has the codex. The first two chapters have been fully deciphered. A third is underway.”

“The rumors that she’s seeking the Precursor Artifacts are true then.”

“I’ve always thought the artifacts were nothing more than folklores told to amuse.”

It is common knowledge to most Moebians that the Precursor Artifacts refer to a set of mystical object with infinite energy, seven in total. Various tales surrounding each artifact have been told by different races and tribes, passed down verbally from ancient times that predate Crystal Empire and Acorn Empire’s 5,000-year history, hence the origin of the term ‘Precursor’.

How these objects came to exist had always remained enigmatic. While none of the tales tell of the artifacts’ creation, they all however share one common element- it is that the cores of all seven artifacts were forged from the Elite Gems of the same number.

According to the Cataclysm myth which many Moebians believe, about around twelve million years ago, a time when cold-blooded beasts called Mobosaurs roamed this planet and only a single supercontinent existed, Moebius crossed path with Tartarus, a dwarf red planet originated from another system. The glancing impact broke the continent apart, triggering massive volcanic reactions and climate change on a global scale that lasted another million years.

During this period, it said the energy from the collision reacted with the crystal deposits deep within the planet’s surface. The result was the creations of the energy crystals. Following thousands of energy crystal deposits compressed under ultra-high pressure, fusing into a highly dense form, the Elite Gems were created in the wake.

“If the codex does indeed exist,” Alicia said, “so must the artifacts. One had been found, I believe. Kintobor’s energy dome. I’ve always suspected it. What kind of energy source could that Overlander possibly use to power up a force field so durable and that goes uninterrupted for years, hmm? Imagine what he could do with that unlimited power.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much,” Prower said confidently as Alicia sipped her drink. “Although only he among the forest inhabitants has the technical expertise to create a device capable of extracting power from the artifact, Kintobor is still a pacifist. The Crystal Empire queen on the other hand... She has the same idea, but who’s to say she won’t change her mind and use it against us.”

“Before that happens,” Alicia said sternly, “I want those artifacts found. And that includes the one in Kintobor’s possession.”

“It will be done,” Prower affirmed. “The texts’ meaning is ambiguous. But I will continue monitoring them. Any progress they made on solving the codex’s riddles, I’ll be the first to know. Then it’s just a matter of sending my agents out to track their location and retrieve the artifact. Once they’re in our possession, with more research, I might find a way to incorporate it into our weapons. Our military’s power will be limitless.”

Alicia gulped down her drink and then put down the glass on the table. “Ah...! What am I going to do without you, Miles?”

She pressed her fingers to her temple and continued, “I was always the better one. But, Elias was destined to inherit the throne.”

Prower stepped to the low table. His glacial eyes on the bowl containing grapes, oranges, apples and pears. And a fruit knife. He took the knife. Holding the handle firmly in his grip, he gazed at the sharp edge of the blade, seemingly in a deep thought. He then looked at his queen who was still relieving herself of the slight hangover.

“I have the intelligence, the combat prowess, the leadership skill. Yet Daddy favored him more than me. It’s not fair that I should linger in the shadows of my brother my whole life. All of these, the things that we enjoy today, none of it would’ve be possible without you, Patch and Boomer’s support. That’s the sole reason I still keep those two dunderheads around. Oh-” An apple, its skin freshly peeled, was held before her.

She took the fruit off the young fox’s hands. “Why, thank you.”

“Don’t over think about the past, Your Majesty. Focus on the present and think about what lies ahead in the future.”

“You’re right,” Alicia said then took a bite out of the apple.

With a bow, Prower excused himself out of the room. As the queen enjoys her fruit, had she paid more attention to her surroundings, she would notice a transparent outline of a figure lurking silently in the room. The slight distortion of the surrounding behind the figure is the only sign that could indicate the cloaked Spirit Godslayer’s presence. From early on, Varst had been watching and listening to their conversation.

Back at the shopping arcade where Forte encountered Photo Finish, the photo studio actually belongs to the latter’s parents, operating shortly after the couple’s marriage. It was from the time she spent most of her childhood playing around the studio, observing her parents working, that her passion for photography began to develop. Her talents in taking great-looking pictures are a mixed result of self-learning and her parents’ tutorship. Of course, that is by no means she should not expand her knowledge and develop her skills further.

A Crystal Heart College student herself, she is currently taking major in professional photography. Already at such a young age, part of her portfolio has been featured in local community exhibitions and amateur photography magazines. It does not draw in much money for her yet, still she is content. Because for now, networking and reputation building is her main focus.

Being a professional in the field opens her up to other opportunities apart from inheriting the family business. Why should she limit herself to taking portrait and wedding photos? She could choose to partner with documentary filmmakers as a travel photographer, or work as a photojournalist for press agencies, or she could even move into Manehattan’s fashion industry and sign contracts with prestigious modeling agencies. As of now, she has yet to decide on her future. However, whichever course she decides to take, her parent assured that they will still be proud of her.

Inside the dark room, Photo Finish had just finish developing the photos she took earlier today. Usually all her photos are developed at the college facility. But as she wanted to have these done urgently, she went to her parent’s studio instead which is not too far away from where she did her photo shoot. She studied each and every of the 4R-sized photos clipped on the rope line. Strangely, Fluttershy did not appear in any of the photos. That is because they were not taken at the photo shoot. Instead, they showed something else entirely.

A figure clad in strange armor is seen in the first photo. The next few shots recorded the armor’s transformation sequence. The final shot revealed the armored figure now being a mare in semi-formal attire. With her photo shoot ruined earlier, she decided to try her hands at snapping disaster photos. She only managed to take these bizarre shots in secret before the arrival of the royal army at the site prompted her to leave the crash site at the very minute.

Photo Finish took down that last photo and went to get a magnifying from the drawer. Even though the image is sharp, due to the distance between her and the mystery mare, she still could not make out the facial details. After she focused her magnifying glass, the details became apparent.

“Mist!” she cursed, hand lightly smacked on her forehead.

Photo Finish recognized the face as belonging to the mare that rudely bumped her shoulder earlier (Not true in fact. Photo Finish was in such a hurry that she was not paying any attention on the ponies around her).

So the one responsible for the crash- that blue-haired, white Earth Pony, she was just right in front of her. Whoever this mare is, it was apparent to Photo Finish that she is not be from around here. The (SHADE) armor’s design- What was the word she is looking for? Alien? Robotic? To put it simply, it is unworldly.

What if the mare is an agent from Acorn Empire- an android, a clone, or a maybe living biological weapon taking the appearance of pony to infiltrate Crystal Empire? And the exact nature of the mission? To spy on the kingdom? Conduct clandestine attacks on civilians? Assassinate the beloved Queen Regnant?

“Za crazy mare vas right all along,” Photo Finish proclaimed. “I have to report zis immediately. Ja, zat is vat I- Photo Finish, must do!”

“Photo Finish!” her mother’s voice was heard from outside the door. “Mit vem redest du noch? (Who are you taking to?)”

The embarrassed Photo Finish quickly responded, “Urk! Niemand, mutter! (No one, mother!)”

Crystal Palace of Illumina is the heart of the royal family’s rulership over Crystal Empire. Unlike the castles and palaces of other nations which employ singular structure design, Crystal Palace is a citadel.

Within the defensive wall enclosure, the castle where the throne chamber and the royal family’s residence are located lies atop a slightly elevated ground at the central compound, surrounded by rows of office buildings, courtyards, pavilions, and botanical gardens. In addition, a giant clock is built into the wall of the main gatehouse.

The facade on the castle’s lower setbacks are of sandstone brick veneer with four different hues painted on each brick- brown, red, green and light gray, the result being a colorful facade. The plaster-finished exterior wall of office buildings and the castle’s upper setbacks are painted pearl pink with gold accents. The roofing consists of azure and deep blue glittered tiles alternate.

When Queen Crisanna was informed of the incident involving the crashing of an unidentified airship in middle of Illumina, she became restless ever since. Returned from the city earlier on, the captain of the royal army, Shining Armor reported that neither bodies nor survivors had been found at and around the crash site.

Crisanna said sternly, “Put all the soldiers in city on maximum alert. Increase frequency of air patrols. Send more reinforcements to the border outposts! Get all military assets at every garrison on standby. They all must ready to strike back hard should those Moebian fools attempt another incursion.”

“Yes, Your Royal Majesty. Anything else?”

“That will be all for now. Dismiss.”

Shining Armor bowed to the Queen Regnant then paced out of the chamber to carry out his orders.

Crisanna turned to a ripe old-aged unicorn whose thick moustache and eyebrows made it almost impossible for anyone to tell his expression at any given time. Holding the title Overseer, he has served the royal family faithfully since the time when the Queen’s father was a mere young prince.

“Kibitz, issue an advisory notice informing the citizens to be extra cautious in the outdoors. We must assume Queen Alicia is planning more provocative acts against the kingdom. And contact Professor Inkpen. Set up an appointment with her at the chancellor’s office this afternoon.”

“At once, Your Royal Majesty,” said Kibitz with a deep bow.

After the Overseer left, Crisanna slumped into her throne chair, looking rather depressed. It seems the incident had a deep effect on her.

Cadenza moved to her sister’s side. Sitting on the arm rest, she placed her arm gently on Crisanna’s shoulder. “Sis…”

“She’s finally awake from years of slumber to go on the same fateful path with her father,” Crisanna said bitterly.

“How can you be sure it’s them?”

“One of the outposts reported to have spotted a large airship crossing over Grand Forest towards the direction of their capital. From our airspace, Cadence! The nerves! She’s challenging me! Just as her father had challenged mine!”

“You’re very agitated.”

“How could I not? I simply cannot allow that incident from happening again. Many have died, all because of the ambition of one stupid…rodent!”

“Sis- Crissy…” Cadenza began as she held Crisanna close to her. “They have wronged us more times than we can count therefore I understand your anger towards them. But please don’t let it affect your judgment way too much. Otherwise you’ll be putting yourself and this kingdom at risk.”

Holding Cadenza’s hand firmly, Crisanna looked up at her younger sister with gentle eyes. “Believe me. I only have the citizens’ best interest in my heart. Cadence?”

“Hmm?”

“Come with me this afternoon. I wish to show you something. I’ve had Inkpen and Starlight Glimmer working on it for quite a long time.”

Curious to find out, Cadenza nodded. “Yes, sister.”

Canterlot Street is a two-mile long pedestrian mall lined with shops selling all kinds of goods, particularly clothing and jewelry. There is also a fresh food market midway down the street, cafes as well as many street stalls, especially along the side passageways

Forte regarded with slight envy the foods and drinks served to the customers as she walked pass an open cafe. Fruity oatmeal, coleslaw & chips (fries), mustard piccalilli, green bean casserole, rice & peas- all those would have come as a breath of fresh air from the packaged food and supplement pills served aboard The Catgirl. If only she is not penniless right now.

She soon passed a lavish fashion boutique. Canterlot Boutique is its name, according to the front sign. Visible through the glass window are two posh mares helping to put gowns on the mannequins. Forte recognized one as Rarity, who looks identical to the Rarity she knew (deceased). The other Unicorn (Sassy Saddles), older and is wearing a classy black dress, Forte guessed is Rarity’s employee.

About an hour later, she came across a music store. And almost without thinking, she entered the store. It felt like ages since the last time she visited such a place back in Hallow’s Victory. Along with Zach, she had returned to the Ethenian capital city periodically but the stay was very brief before they going on active duty again.

Inside, she found the store was in fact much bigger than it looks from the outside. Almost every musical instruments, digital and traditional alike, is available for sale, all neatly arranged on the walls and around the floor space.

Forte has a great talent in playing pianos. Her love of the instrument began in her original homeworld. She was eight when her father first sat her down on the chair and taught her to play the family’s piano. And it has grown immensely ever since. She played whenever she could, thinking of herself as a musician every time.

Forte finally found what she was yearning for. Before her is a veneer-finished parlor grand piano with glittery topcoat and extensively carved legs, approximately 7’ in size. Eying the instrument with admiration, she ran her fingers along the elaborate marquetry patterns whilst making her away around to the stool.

“It’s gorgeous, don’t you agree?”

Forte looked at the younger, friendly but jaded Unicorn, judging from the blemishes around the eyes. “It’s...exquisite, yes. You are?”

“My mom’s the store owner,” Starlight Glimmer revealed. “I’m the helper.”

“I see,” Forte acknowledged. “So, is this new?”

“No quite,” Starlight Glimmer was being very honest. “This was once belonged to the Apples. Other than replacing a few strings and did some retuning, this instrument is like-new. No cracks nor scratches. The soundboard is in pristine condition. All parts are excellent. Sound is superb. Not overly bright, just about right.”

The Apples? Forte thought. The family must be quite reputable here if they have to be referred by name.

“Made from the rare Everfree Rosewood,” Starlight Glimmer added. “That reason alone makes the piano very expensive. Had the condition been worse when it came to us, even a minor restoration would’ve inflated its cost considerably. Say, would you like to sit down and give it a try?”

“Can I?”

“You’ll see that I was being truthful,” Starlight Glimmer smiled. “To add, other music store owners would say that only the wealthiest ponies would have the privilege to lay their hands on the finest of pianos.”

Forte could detect hints of playfulness in the young Unicorn’s voice. Perhaps a ploy of getting me into making a purchase? Well, sorry.

Though, in truth she wanted to play the piano anyway. For she had not work her fingers on the keys for quite a long time.

“All right,” Forte said. I do hope my fingers haven’t turned rusty.

She sat down on the stool, flexed her fingers before gently setting them down on the keys. Having already decided on which music piece she wants to play, Forte took a while to recollect all the notes that she had learned by heart. Hitting the first key at last to play the four-note opening motif, she began playing.

Not a classical music, rather it falls under the modern genre of symphonic rock, a combination of progressive rock with classical music traditions. It is one of her favorite music pieces. When she first heard it, she was captivated by its energetic rhythm and lyrical tunes, so true that she regarded it as a masterpiece.

The full orchestral version, featuring the symphonic combination of instruments common in classical genres (violins, cellos, trumpet) and non-classical (congas), and modern instruments (drum kit, electronic keyboard/synthesizer, bass guitar) complemented with chorus, would not be out of place in an epic tale involving the final battle between the forces of Light (good) and Darkness (evil).

All those who stand in the Light, so courageous and high in spirit, were in fact fighting a losing battle. Any hope of achieving victory was almost extinguished. Then out of nowhere, unexpectedly, an omen came to signal that a miracle is about to occur, driving the fighting spirit of the Light’s entire forces to soar even higher than before. So ignoring all the pain inflicted on them, they kept on fighting to hold off the onslaught of the Darkness’ infinite forces until at the end the Light prevailed when the miracle cast the Darkness itself into the eternal abyss never to be seen again.

“Superb is an understatement,” said the notably impressed Forte, right after she finished playing. “The tone quality is simply amazing!”

“Was that an original piece?” Starlight Glimmer asked with genuine curiosity. “It doesn’t sound like any of the classical symphonies I knew. Did you compose it yourself?”

“No, no,” Forte said with a head shake. “It’s something that I heard before.”

“It’s lively,” Starlight Glimmer stated her opinion. “The style is different... Hmm, I don’t know how else to describe it. Contemporary?”

A fair remark, Forte thought.

The last remark she received with regards to the piece was from Zach when they were staying at Gazleen Perris’ house- Oh, man. I’ve never cleaned a toilet with such might while listening to that song.

Ironically while she played the music aloud in her bedroom, the younger feline did in fact just came out of the bathroom, having finished scrubbing the toilet bowl. So she had no clue whether he was serious or was making another unamusing joke.

“Anyway, I like it,” Starlight Glimmer continued, which Forte was glad to hear.

“Hello? Is there anyone around?”

Knowing well that upper class female voice, Starlight Glimmer glanced over at the counter. “Be right there!”

She was not the only one though. Forte also recognized the voice, much to her consternation.

“Please excuse me,” Starlight Glimmer said to Forte before going off to attend to the customer.

Forte suddenly became emotionally distressed. She looked away upon laying her eyes on the Earth Pony. The Earth Pony possesses a striking resemblance to her deceased friend, Acoustic Strings, save for the personality, fashion and music tastes. Judging from the former’s attire and upper class accent, she appears to be coming from an aristocratic family. Acoustic Strings on the other hand was a punk with ponyhawk hairstyle and the lead guitarist of a rock band.

It really pained Forte to remember every little detail about her. So she hurried towards the door but stopped with a start and had to take another lane when she almost bumped into another Unicorn who is her counterpart in Moebius. Fortunately, the mare was too absorbed in examining the on sale pro DJ equipment to notice her.

As is with Acoustic Strings, Forte is the polar opposite of her counterpart- neat/bun vs. shag hairstyle; semi-formal/smart casual vs. funky attire with bling; she plays the traditional piano, whereas Vinyl Scratch is a disc jockey; the former speaks with a general English accent, the other does not talk at all.

“Good morning!” Starlight Glimmer cheerfully greeted her loyal customer.

The Earth Pony looked very crossed but not at Starlight Glimmer. “Morning. Where’s your mum?”

“She’s out and won’t be back until the next hour. How can I be of service today, Tavi?”

Octavia Melody set her cello case on the counter and opened it for the unicorn to see its content. “Please tell me whether or not it’d be feasible to have this repaired?”

“By the goddesses,” Starlight Glimmer gasped. “What happened?”

The sight of the antique cello’s condition appalled her. The neck had been broken off from the main body. Two of the four strings were snapped in two. Part of the upper bout’s top was shattered to pieces. On top of that, the entire top looked ready to come off from the ribs. What kind of accident could lead to such extent of damages?

“It began with a practical joke gone horribly wrong,” Octavia said in a suppressed anger. “Actually I prefer not to elaborate beyond that.”

“Sure, I can have it repaired,” Starlight Glimmer said. “But, Tavi. It won’t be the same. This is one of only fifty cellos made by Duke Stradivari. It’s irreplaceable.”

“I know,” Octavia grumbled. “My family’s prized possession unwittingly ruined by...Vinyl!”

The Unicorn stepped to the counter in response to her friend’s call.

“Meet the pony responsible and who will bear the total costs of the repair,” Octavia bitterly told Starlight Glimmer.

The newcomer’s appearance took Starlight Glimmer by surprise- the same height, same facial mold, same hair (right down to the cyan highlights) and skin color.

Strange coincidence, she thought. “Hi.”

Vinyl Scratch responded to Starlight Glimmer’s greeting with a V-sign gesture.

“Don’t let her lack of speech put you off, Starlight,” Octavia continued. “The vocal cords are still intact. Though it hasn’t been much use due to her severe stuttering disorder.”

Put off by the scornful remarks, Vinyl Scratch pursed her lips, took off the purple shades she is wearing and glared at her friend.

“What!?” Octavia scoffed. “Was I not telling the truth?” After what you’ve done to my two million Bits cello, I think you really deserved it.

“Please, please! Let’s not fight between friends, okay?” At this point, Starlight Glimmer’s suspicion was confirmed by Vinyl Scratch’s eyes. She looked over at where the exquisite grand piano is, but the mare was no longer there.

So she decided to ask the Unicorn, “So... Vinyl Scratch, right? Do you happen to have a sister? An Earth Pony twin, maybe?”

Vinyl Scratch shrugged her shoulders. A headshake would have been a much proper response.

“She has a big brother who’s also a Unicorn,” Octavia said. “Why do you ask such an odd question, Starlight?”

“It’s...nothing,” Starlight Glimmer said. “Nothing at all.”

“I thought you said you didn’t have any exams today.”

“Something just came up, mom.”

Starlight Glimmer rushed out of the store. She looked at her watch. The appointment is at three and now it is past one thirty. A few minutes prior, she had received a call from Professor Inkpen that Her Royal Majesty wants to see her in regards to the item which she is working on. She usually scoffs at appointments set up in the last minute and asked for a reschedule. But since this one involves the queen, she will make an exception this time.

The walk from the store to Crystal Heart will take more than an hour. The route takes her from Canterlot Street across the downtown shopping district, passed a residential neighborhood, through a public park and another commercial area before finally arriving at the college’s main gate.

While she was in the residential neighborhood, Starlight Glimmer caught a glimpse of a corvette (an armored blimp-shaped airship, with heavy forward and side-mounted armaments) and a dozen or so fighter escorts, flying across sky in the distance to an unknown destination. Like everyone else, she had heard about the crash of an unidentified airship this morning, possibly belonging to the neighboring kingdom. The battle group she saw was most likely mobilized in response to a possible airspace intrusion by the kingdom’s enemy.

Later, Starlight Glimmer walked up a concrete pedestrian bridge spanning across a large lake. The public park is dotted with fountains, artificial waterfalls, stone carvings and sculptures. With facilities like water playgrounds, jogging trails and bandstands, the park is popular for families to enjoy recreations and ponies who simply want to relax far away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. On occasions, it does attract tourists as well.

Halfway across the bridge, Starlight Glimmer heard screaming. At the lakeside, a foreigner was in distress at her son drowning in the lake.

The mother is a Qilin, a race of pony-people considered very unusual by both Crystal Empire and Acorn Empire, due to their hybrid appearance of a deer and reptilian features.

Forte, who incidentally was relaxing on the nearby bench, saw what was happening. She made a split-second decision. Taking off her shoes and blazer, she went into the water and swam towards the struggling colt. By the time she got to the spot, the colt had disappeared underwater. She dived and a few seconds later, emerged through the water surface with the colt. She brought the unconscious colt back to land.

Forte was able to revive the colt through CPR few minutes later. The colt was shaken and left breathless after coughing out all the water. Yet he still managed to ask about his ball. That elicited a chide from the upset mother. Forte looked back at the lake. There about a hundred yards away is the colt’s ball floating on the water. She now under understood what had happened. The colt accidentally dropped his toy while playing too near to the lake’s edge. And even though he did not know how to swim, he still went into the water to try to get his ball back.

Against the everypony’s expectation, the mother and onlookers alike, Forte went back into the lake to retrieve the ball. Soon after she came back, Forte sat with the family for quite a while until the colt recovers.

“Xiè xiè nǐ jiù le wǒ ér zi de mìng (Thank you for saving my son’s life),” said the mother gratefully.

“Bu yong ke qi (You’re welcome),” was Forte’s response.

Starlight Glimmer witnessed this. She realized there is more to the ‘Earth Pony’ than meets the eye. When the mother and son first spoke, they were speaking in their native language. The ‘Earth Pony’ in response demonstrated her ability to both understand and speak the foreign language. This draws surprise not only from the onlookers, even the family find it unusual for a local to speak language so fluently.

Forte gave the colt his ball back. “Yi hou wan de shi hou ni yao geng jia xiao xin (Please be more careful when playing).”

“Xiè xiè nǐ, ā yí (thanks, auntie),” said the colt.

“Na li! Wo hai nian qing ah, xiao di! (Hey kid, I’m still young!)”

“Ō! Duì bù qǐ, dà jiě. (Oops, sorry! I meant ‘sister’.)”

There is a minor difference between Forte and the native speakers, in the way their pronounced the words of the language. The Qilins speak with notable accent, with varying tonal differences between each character that have the same pronunciation. Some are pronounced sharply, with emphasis. Some are pronounced lightly. Whereas Forte speaks in a consistent neutral tone.

Still remembering her appointment, Starlight Glimmer moved away from the small crowd of onlookers and continued her journey. She is still curious about that ‘Earth Pony’ though. No matter how much she tried, Starlight Glimmer just could not shrug the thought off her mind.

Rainbow Dash stood at the window, looking out. She wanted to draw the curtains but then caught a glimpse of the royal sisters arriving at the campus’ main entrance. There, they were met by Starlight Glimmer who then followed them into the chancellery.

The queen sure’s been spending an awful lot of time with Starlight Glimmer lately, the Pegasus thought. What’re they up to I wonder?

She pulled the curtains shut, deliberately leaving her room dark, to keep unduly eyes from looking in and out, since her dorm is facing towards the campuses. Even though her room is on the fifth floor, she could not afford the risk someone finding out she has an ‘unwanted guest’ in her room.

Rainbow Dash checked up on at her doppelganger who was sound asleep on the bed before going out. She had several bandages applied on her face, arms and knees, and an aching back thanks to this ‘Overlander’ dropping on top of her seemingly out of nowhere. She wondered who this young woman is and where she is from. The woman’s resemblance to her was really disturbing. Hopefully when the woman regains consciousness, she will have her some answers.

Out in the corridor, Rainbow Dash was closing the door to her room when someone called out to her.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash!”

Panicked, Rainbow Dash slammed the door shut and turned. Hands still on the knob behind her back, she faced a pony whom she did not recognize.

“Whoa, what happened to you?” asked the Unicorn when she saw the bandages.

“Nothing!” the Pegasus lied. “Who wants to know!?”

“Err, okay... So hey, have you seen the results for Herbology and Potions they posted a while ago? You passed with flying colors, and your scores are way higher than what Starlight Glimmer got. You really showed her this time, huh?”

“No, really? I haven’t,” Rainbow Dash said. Although the she felt happy to hear considering how much effort she had put in those subjects, there is something else preoccupying her mind right now. “Um, who’re you?”

The Unicorn looked at her appalled. “Are you serious?”

Rainbow Dash frowned. Is she in the same class? Those thick eyes brows, big glasses, the funny way she tied her hair… Oh yeah, she sits two rows behind me. But what’s her name again? I really don’t recall befriending this Unicorn…or any other Unicorns for that matter.

“It’s Moon Dancer. You would’ve remembered my name if you haven’t been so keen on slipping away when I tried to talk to you after class.”

“Okay. Moon Dancer. I’ll keep that in mind. And thanks for telling me. Now if you’ll excuse me…” Rainbow Dash locked the door in haste before turning back to Moon Dancer. “I really need to go.”

“Urgh, you doing it again,” the Unicorn complained. “Every darn time. Come on, Rainbow Dash. We’re classmates. I know a good place where we can have a drink together and talk. What do you say?”

“Seriously I gotta go. I appreciate your offer. I really do but no. So...” Rainbow Dash raised a hand in goodbye. “See ya!”

Moon Dancer watched the Pegasus pacing hurriedly down the corridor towards the stairway. Hmph! Someday I’m going to find out where she always hangs out after class.

The artistic painting depicts a freestanding flatiron-shaped structure that will play the main role in Queen Crisanna’s defense initiative. Dubbed the Crystal Peace Tower, it is a tall, four-sided pyramid supported by massive, sturdy columns standing apart at the square base. On the flat top of the tower is an obelisk-like spire. To beautify the tower, the facade is to be covered in crushed quartz and decorated with marbled panels on certain parts. There is also an enormous plaque depicting a stylized snowflake, a symbol associated with Crisanna’s late mother, Snow Crystal.

Cadenza turned away from the painting at her sister with quizzical look.

“The Raid on Cloudsdale,” the solemn Crisanna began. “We’re still here today because my late mother’s shield protected us all at that time.”

The ‘incident’ that Crisanna mentioned this morning refers to this. It was a surprise strike by Acorn’s military purposely to coincide with the royal family’s visit to Cloudsdale. Led by King Maxx Acorn himself, the attack was intended to kill two birds with one stone- to eliminate the Crystal Empire royal family and to capture Cloudsdale where in it’s outskirts vast deposits of energy crystals have recently been discovered.

The attack resulted heavy casualties among Crystallite civilians. Cadenza who was a filly at the time, lost her father during the evacuation process. However, she along with her wounded mother, King Metatron and the then Crown Princess Crisanna all had survived thanks to Queen Snow Crystal’s effort. The confrontation by the late queen led to the destruction of King Maxx’s flagship, and in turn their demise. Leaderless, the attacking fleet was repelled in the following day.

“I remember,” Cadenza said. She was on the same airship with the surviving royalties, thus also witnessed the sacrifice by Crisanna’s predecessor. “But what does it have to do with the tower you’re planning to build?”

“I had a revelation-”

Crisanna was interrupted the moment Professor Inkpen knocked on the door and came into the office, followed by Starlight Glimmer. After they greeted and bowed to the royal sisters, Inkpen handed over a set of technical drawings to the queen.

“Thank you, professor.” Crisanna proceeded to roll the plans on the desk for Cadenza to see.

The princess studied the floor-by-floor plans and section drawings for Crystal Peace Tower. It is revealed that standing at 1100 ft. tall, the tower would become the tallest structure in Crystal Empire should Crisanna commission its construction. But that was not the most surprising part. The tower houses a huge machine of some kind, occupying the center through several floors, connected to an antenna that is part of the spire.

“What is this?” she asked.

“A projector capable of providing shield protection for the whole kingdom,” Crisanna informed. “Like I was saying, I had a revelation. Cloudsdale and the subsequent wars taught me the enemy will never stop breaching our borders until they achieved their goals. This morning’s incident points to they’re planning something. I’ve always known that someday they will target Illumina directly. My mother’s death served as the inspiration behind the Peace Tower initiative. Once the shield projector is deployed, incursions and surprise attacks will be a thing of the past.”

“You said that this machine could provide protection for the whole kingdom,” Cadenza said as she studied the shield projector’s blueprints. “Wouldn’t that require vast amounts of power?”

“Theoretically it is possible,” Inkpen said. “The goal is to maintain both strong and continuous defense around the kingdom. To be able to withstand multiple direct hits from ferromagnetic projectiles, near-zero disruption on the generation process, such feat will require a new power source.”

“Which is where Starlight Glimmer comes in. Show it to her.”

Acting upon the Queen Regnant’s order, Starlight Glimmer took out the contents of the large envelope she is holding and passed them to the princess.

“It’s the Riddle’s Codex,” Crisanna said.

Cadenza was very astonished upon hearing that. She shuffled through a series of photographs that was given to her. True enough, in the photographs is a paperback-sized antique book that came to be known as Riddle’s Codex, taken from various angles. Subsequent photos showed a close-up view of a faint signature (Riddle Mare), a page with a diagram in which seven symbols are drawn and arranged radially, from clockwise: heart, trident, lozenge, triangle, hexagon, circle and five-pointed star.

The remaining photos are pages showing characteristics of the unintelligible text that culminate with illustrations of objects corresponding to symbols in the earlier diagram:

- A heart-shaped cyan gemstone (heart).

- A staff, not spear since the prongs are blunt with the middle one is actually a purple gemstone (trident).

- A green cut gemstone (teardrop)

- A pendant, consists of a red gemstone mounted on a triangular-shaped bezel (triangle).

- A six-sided prism rock crystal with iridescent glimmer (hexagon)

- A yellow crystalline ring or it could be a bracelet depending on the size of the real thing (circle)

- A crown and a saber, with two identical blue star-shaped gemstones set on the front horn and the guard respectively (five-pointed star).

“The fabled book- it’s all true, then?” Cadenza wanted to be sure.

Crisanna explained, “It was discovered by chance two years ago in an obscure archives at Meadowbrook University library in Maretonia. Fortunately, the professor who found it is a close relative to Kibitz. Thanks to his connection, I’ve had Shining Armor make arrangements for the codex’s secret transportation into the kingdom.”

The codex’s history has always been shrouded in mystery. Its origin is as obscure as its composition and authorship. The book derived its name from its only known possessor. According to history records, so little is known about Riddle Mare apart from she is a physician and alchemist associated with the court of Princess Harmonia of Equestria.

The book was first mentioned in a discovered letter fragment purportedly written by Princess Harmonia in reply to Riddle Mare’s correspondences about a codex which both believe will lead them to the final resting place of all seven ‘magical artifacts of great power’ in order to tackle increasing threat from the invading Yaks. It is stated in the letter that the princess wishes to meet the traveler from whom Riddle Mare acquired the codex in spite of his ‘odd’ appearance.

No other correspondences between the princess and Riddle Mare concerning the codex was ever found. Most likely the rest were lost in the later historically factual war between Equestria and Yak-yakistan. Ultimately the kingdom fell but from its ruins rose a brand new dynasty that is more successful in repelling the invaders. The victory achieved in turn gave rise to the birth of Crystal Empire.

It was unknown what became of Riddle’s Codex sometime after the war. Many ancient scholars speculated should the codex really existed, its final fate is mostly likely ashes under Equestria’s old ruins. Yet there were also an equal number of those who believed the codex survived, that it was merely lost. Throughout the course of time, believers searched tirelessly for clues to the codex’s whereabouts. Old dictators and kings have launched costly expeditions in hopes of finding the codex and subsequently the artifacts themselves to be used for their own nefarious ends.

10,000 years later, after all other attempts to find it have failed, finally the codex was found, discovered by a naive professor in the unlikeliest of all places- inside a closet among piles of uncatalogued old books. Without any form of records on the codex’s ownership and change of hands, how did it end up lost to Maretonia is a question beyond anyone’s capacity to answer.

“And have you found out anything from it?” Cadenza inquired.

After the photographs were turned to her, Starlight Glimmer showed to the princess the papers containing what she claimed are the complete translation of the texts from the codex’s first two chapters.

“How is this supposed to lead us to the artifacts? It’s just more fairy tales,” Cadenza remarked.

“Maybe yes, maybe no, Your Royal Highness” Starlight Glimmer said.

Not quite understanding, Cadenza asked the Unicorn to explain.

“The texts are written in Kuda script. Well, not exactly.”

“Kuda?”

“It’s a Saddle Arabic alphabet adapted for writing the Marelay language. It was the standard script in Marelaysia until it was replaced by the Standard Alphabet a couple of centuries ago. The use of Kuda has since been relegated to religious and cultural purposes.”

“But you somehow can understand it?” Cadenza inquired.

The Unicorn nodded. “Yes, because I have Marelay ancestry in my blood. But when I looked at the texts, I found the characters do not follow the language’s orthographic laws at all. Every word and sentence is made up of randomized jumble of characters, therefore the whole text is meaningless. Another thing is Kuda script is written from right to left. But in the codex, it’s the opposite.

“This rules out the theory that the codex originated from Marelaysia. The ancient script was conceived after religious influence from Saddle Arabia first took hold in Marelaysia. To write the script in the wrong manner would mean a desecration to their religion.

“Anyway, it was a long and painstaking process but after analyzing strange markings below certain characters discernible only under a magnifying glass and inconsistent gaps between certain words on each line, I’ve successfully extracted meaningful texts using Equidistant Letter Sequence method. Mind you, only the early chapters have been translated as each chapter employs different arithmetic sequence.

“Now, back to your original question, Your Royal Highness. I believe each story is riddle of sort whereupon it contains clues to the artifact’s location. For example, in one chapter, it referred to the appearance of a super lunar eclipse and a disaster that bore reminiscent to the flood myth that we’re all familiar with. I’ve had those pages and the ink carbon-dated then I went to check the records at the Astronomy Faculty and Geology Department.

“The moon in the story is described as having a dark hue, which I hypothesized was due to the eruption of the now extinct volcano we know as Mount Smoky. The department’s geological records both showed Mount Smokey’s last eruption and a giant tsunami event occurred almost simultaneously around 60,000 years ago. The same thing goes to the super lunar eclipse which also appeared around the aforementioned period. And now get this, the result of the carbon-dating confirmed the paper and the ink are of the same age- 60,000 years old, give or take.

“Nothing conclusive had come out of my research yet. But like I said, it’s a riddle. In the next chapter, I found a pattern of numbers keeps appearing in the text. And a name- Dowunda, a place that supposedly devastated by a comet. The largest freshwater lake in Moebius is located at Dayunguo. Its near-symmetrical circular arc suggests it was created by a cataclysmic impact. I think that’d be the place to begin our search for the artifact.”

Cadenza took time to absorb Starlight Glimmer’s (overly) lengthy explanation. By the goddesses, I feel like I’m in History class all over again. “So what is the next course action? Send out an expedition team to Dayunguo?”

“Not until more clues can be deciphered by Starlight Glimmer,” Crisanna said. “The location of where the artifact might be buried need to be exact so that the excavation and retrieval works is swift and under wraps. We have to assume the enemy is watching our every move. Not to mention we don’t want any interferences from unscrupulous treasure hunters.”

“I see,” Cadenza acknowledged. “So Starlight Glimmer, could you show me where you kept the codex? I’d like to see the fabled book with my very own eyes.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Starlight Glimmer said, her eyes glinting with pride.

They politely excused themselves after Crisanna gave them her permission to leave.

“Your Royal Majesty,” the concerned Inkpen was saying to the queen. “I don’t mean to sound impudent. But I suggest that you don’t put too much pressure on Starlight Glimmer. The task of deciphering and translating the texts are already hard enough. You must’ve been aware that her grades have been slipping as of late. Her midterm scores are at an all-time low compared to her past results.”

“She’s working on it at her own accord, professor,” Crisanna said firmly. “Time management is the one thing a student should’ve mastered after the first term in college. Now then, in light of the current events, I believe it is justified that we should discuss about moving the project to the next phase. Don’t you think?”

While Crisanna and Inkpen are conversing, Rainbow Dash is revealed to be eavesdropping on them outside the window by perching on corbel table between the floors.

The red sky was gradually darkening. It would not be long before the sun sets and make way for nightfall. Forte finished consulting the city map on the way-finding signage. Moving away, she will need to find a safe spot where she could get into her Fleet SHADE and fly out of there to regroup with her subordinates in Grand Forest. From the map, she determined that she is at a downtown commercial area. The way to the city limits will have her follow the route along the boulevard located about twenty-minute walk from where she is currently at.

As she walked down the sidewalk, she caught sight up ahead of two soldiers together with the captain she saw earlier today. They were hanging up notices on the bulletin board of a tram stop.

Stay calm, Forte told herself. You haven’t been discovered yet.

She froze in her tracks. What!? I can’t believe this!

On the street lamp post is a Wanted poster which she proceeded to rip off. She was absolutely shocked at the colored sketch of her portrait, all details are correct. Written below it are physical descriptions of herself right down to her clothes and the phrases ‘WANTED FOR BEING A NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT’ and ‘DEAD OR ALIVE’.

Well, that escalated quickly!

A mare acting suspiciously attracted Shining Armor’s attention. He was overseeing his subordinates while on patrol duty, also hang up wanted posters and the advisory notice by the Queen Regnant when the mare turned around all of a sudden. As she walked away from them, the mare was seen tossing a crumpled piece of paper into the trash can. He did not quite get a good look at the mare’s face but the clothing, the hair color and hairstyle does match the descriptions in the poster. He called out to the mare to stop, but was ignored.

Forte kept her rear facing against the soldiers. When the second call to her was ignored, the captain ordered his subordinates to follow him. That was Forte’s cue to quicken her pace.

“Hey, you there!” Shining Armor shouted. “Stop! I said, stop! Weren’t you, listening!?”

Forte kept on walking until she veered into a corner, prompting the three soldiers to give chase.

“Don’t let her get away!” Shining Armor ordered his subordinates.

The sidewalk around the corner was busy with pedestrians. Forte dashed past the pedestrians but her pursuers are not far behind. The sidewalk got more crowded as she makes her way deeper into the downtown shopping area. Forte brushed past the crowds until she came across an entrance into an alleyway straight ahead. She glanced back to see the pursuing soldiers having trouble making their way through the crowds. She stooped low hoping to lose herself from the soldiers’ sights amidst the confusion then slipped into the alleyway.

Forte raced through the back alleys that seemed to have been designed like a maze. After what seemed like hours, she stopped to catch her breath. But there was no time for a longer rest, as running footsteps echoed from behind her. She ran again and turned into another alley, only soon to encounter a dead end. Looking around, there was no place in the narrow alley to hide behind and the footsteps were getting louder, accompanied by grunts and shouting.

Oh great, there’s more of them now.

As her pursuers were getting nearer to her position, Forte was now faced with two choices- try to break-in through the locked door at the end, or transform and launch herself out of there. The first is obviously too slow; the second choice likely would provoke a clash with the patrolling air army.

Yet, surrender is not option. She is not about to let herself get arrested and find out what other predicaments await in the interrogation. A Spirit Godslayer like Varst and May would know what to do in that kind of situation. Pushed enough, Forte might have no choice but to fight them.

As she was coming to a decision, there was a faint click. Forte turned around and saw that the door had been unlocked. There stood a figure who looked rather familiar. Unfortunately, she was not able to glimpse at the pony’s face because of the magic aura enveloping her body.

Wha…what is this? Forte suddenly felt woozy. Sleeping…spell…?

Unable to resist the spell’s effect, she collapsed onto the pavement. The last thing she saw before her eyes close shut is a female Unicorn crouching over to her. In the past, Fortepiano had fought against enemies of all types and sizes- tanks, robotic foot soldiers, hundred-foot tall giants, automated fortresses. Today, she fell to a mere adolescent.