Chapter 20-The Message of Peace
A machete encased within a light blue aura tore apart the vines that hung tangled between two deceased tree limbs. The remains fell limply to the forest floor, graciously stepped upon by the hooves and feet of the weary travelers. Or traveler. The two never grew weary. They never felt tired.
For Starlight Glimmer, she couldn’t say the same. Sweat poured from her forehead, nursery rhymes playing again and again in her mind, drowned out by the sounds of her exhales joining the rhythm of the Everfree’s song of night. Birds crying, Timberwolves howling, creatures big and small scurrying about. It mattered not.
She wasn’t afraid. Neither was Ultron, nor his sentry.
Sharing an unsure glance about the forest’s thickness, Starlight levitated her machete back into its holster. Her magic didn’t stop, and instead chose to reach into her pouch and levitate out a relatively large item. A book.
Her Equestrian Legends book.
Licking her lips, Starlight trotted to halt, also stopping the two behind her.
“Are we here?” Ultron asked, red eyes glowing amidst the blackness of the Everfree. His sentry followed his actions, scanning the forest foliage with its haunting, blue gaze. He only brought with him one of his sentries, the other left to guard Starlight’s village per her request. She still didn’t explain why.
Starlight mumbled something incoherent, earning Ultron’s stare. His eyes bore into the back of her head, red gaze flickering to the flipping pages and back to her.
She bit her lip, saying, “I suppose so…”
Halting on a single page, she cleared her throat and repeated its words.
“Where the brambles are thickest, there you will find a pond beyond the most twisted of vines.”
Starlight brought her head up from the pages, squinting and catching sight of a large quantity of brambles jutting outwards from the forest. They were right ahead of her. She spun her head back, noticing the hanging vines, including the ones she had chopped down.
Sighing, she closed the book, levitating it back into her pouch. “Well, we got the brambles and the vines down. But…” she looked around, noticing no such sight of a pond, “…nothing else. I’m not even sure if these are the thickest brambles in the entire Everfree.”
“What about that?” Ultron inquired, his hand held out to his far left.
Turning to the direction Ultron had pointed, both Starlight and the lone sentry spotted a massive boulder dug deep into the earth. All three of them approached, very cautiously at first. Then they halted, Ultron and his sentry standing a few feet back while Starlight examined the rock further.
“Hmm…” Starlight hummed, scratching her chin and bending down. She narrowed her gaze at the crack between the ground and the rock, noticing something a little unusual. Light. “There’s something underneath this rock. Whatever it is, it just might—”
Starlight was interrupted midsentence. Her eyes grew wide at the pulsating rock in front of her, its entire exterior trapped within a blue haze. She backpedaled, watching with shallow breath as the rock rose from the earth, cobwebs and dirt falling from its underside. In an instant, it was tossed aside as if it was weightless, impacting and shattering a few tree trunks.
Starlight spun her head back. The blue glow engulfing Ultron’s fist faded away.
And he and his sentry walked right on past her, the sentry standing by the hole’s entrance. Ultron offered her a passing glance. “Shall we?” he persuaded, gesturing her to continue onward.
Telekinetic powers? Another thing Ultron forgot to mention to her.
She waited, watching as Ultron entered the hole first followed closely by his sentry. She finally took in a deep breath and continued on with the journey, on the search for the Mirror Pond. Her first step was a straight drop into the darkness below, earning a surprised scream from the mare. Luckily, she levitated herself in the nick of time, gently landing without a scratch.
The tunnel ahead of her had twists and turns, ups and downs, but in the end of it all she could see a light breaking through the black. She set her horn ablaze, lighting the void in a soft, blue glow. The tunnel wasn’t as complicated as she expected, and soon enough Starlight was staring down at the two aliens from her position high above the cavern.
A large trail led downwards near the glowing pond, only eliciting enhanced excitement from the unicorn.
They made it. They finally made it.
Just as legend said, the Mirror Pond was hidden in a deep, dark cavern lost within the Everfree Forest. Having escaped the forest’s treacheries appeared fruitful, as the calm, serenity of the cavern walls gave a sense of peace to the unicorn. Plants unknown to her popped out from the earth, glowing tips and mushrooms pockmarked all around. Resting in the center of the cavern was the Mirror Pond…just as legend foretold.
Starlight couldn’t stop smiling even as she regrouped with the two at the bottom of the cavern. Ultron and his sentry stared into the water’s edge and remained frozen in that state, merely gazing into their own reflections. Starlight stood by Ultron’s right, her reflection catching the robot’s attention.
With a grin, Starlight said, “We’re here.”
Ultron nodded to her, bringing his gaze back to the still water’s edge. “What do we do now?” he asked, voice low and raspy.
Starlight pulled out the book once more, levitating the pages aside until she returned to her last spot. She raised her hoof and stroked the page. “Now, you’re going to need to stare into your own reflection and repeat these very words…” she explained, clearing her throat.
“And into her own reflection she stared, yearning for one whose reflection she shared, and solemnly sweared not to be scared at the prospect of being doubly mared.”
She shut the book with a loud smack, a pretty victorious grin adorning her face. Levitating the book away—hopefully for the last time—Starlight turned to Ultron, only to notice his bemused expression eating away at her.
Slowly, he asked, “Exactly like that?”
Not seeing the problem, Starlight raised an eyebrow questionably. “What are you—?” she paused, jaw dropping only slightly once realization kicked in. “Oh…right. You’re not female…or a mare,” she groaned, bringing her book out again and flipping through the pages.
Gritting her teeth, she said, “Well…it doesn’t really say anything about gender here. All it says is that after muttering the phrase the magic of the Mirror Pond will be activated, and the pony would step into the water to meet their own self on the other side.”
She set the book aside, not putting it away with the thought of having to resort to it again. With a worried look, Starlight turned to Ultron.
“So…just try it…your own way first. If that doesn’t work…we’ll have to resort to the original rhyme,” Starlight explained to him. She watched cautiously as he nodded in understanding, closing his eyes as if he was trapped in a dream-like state. The very action confused the mare, but not for long.
Soon enough, Starlight Glimmer paid heed to the sentry standing on Ultron’s left burn a red cinder. Like an emotionless, zombie-like body, the sentry slumped forward, neck craning back as its newly formed red gaze burned throughout the glowing cavern. Ultron reopened his eyes, twisting his head over to the fidgeting sentry.
“Time for some reinforcements,” the sentry said, its voice exactly similar to that of Ultron’s.
Starlight, once again, was speechless. From his philosophy to his tragic rise and fall, and his strength and power to gravitational manipulation…and now mind control? How much was Ultron hiding from her?
Surprisingly, the sentry approached the pond’s edge and not Ultron. With a quick shake of her head to regain her sense, Starlight approached Ultron’s side a bit closer. She asked, “Wait, aren’t you going in the pool?” Ultron slowly looked down upon her. “I thought that after all of this…that you’d want to double yourself.”
Ultron merely chuckled in amusement, facing the pond again and staring into his reflection.
“The only me is me. I am ultimate. I am one. There are no others as beautiful as me,” he responded. He could see her unsure expression from the pool’s reflection. “Don’t worry. We’re strong together. Alone…not so much. That’s why we need more. Much…much more.”
He slowly tilted his gaze across the pool and landed on the sentry so close by the water’s edge. Starlight followed his eyes, the duo standing silently as the sentry leaned forward. It twisted and turned its head, noticing every detail of its facial features. It stood back, fists clenched.
“Much more,” it muttered.
And then it leaned forward and said, “And into his own reflection he stared, yearning for one whose reflection he shared, and solemnly sweared not to be scared…at the prospect of being doubly mared.”
The sentry fell forward, but surprisingly felt no splash of water. It was ginger, its hand reaching forward first as its head was quick to join, as was the rest of its body. The pool felt like nothing with no wetness falling from its armor, and soon enough the sentry had returned, its hand outstretched.
And grabbed.
By its own.
Ultron was amazed, actually stunned to see the magic play through. It didn’t even seem as if his sentry entered the pool at all, but he knew it did as he was the one controlling it. However, he seemed to…lose connection once the sentry hit the water. But…just as quickly that connection came back…picking up the sentry out of the strange, strange water.
He and Starlight stood together, watching together as the sentry pulled itself out of the Mirror Pond. Its eyes were no longer red, but blue again. The one that pulled, its eyes were red, and remained that way.
“Incredible…” Ultron mumbled. “Simply incredible.”
“I know,” Starlight agreed, her brilliant gaze lingering across the glowing pool.
Knowing how the magic worked, Ultron quickly turned back to the first sentry. They both nodded to him, both of their eyes now blindingly red. Both spun towards the pool, muttering the rhyme over again in unison. A pair of each of them stepped out of the pool. The newborns crawled out, their eyes shifting from blue to red.
Starlight was smart enough to back away. She couldn’t hold back a smile.
Ultron repeated the action several times, never ceasing, continuing until the double was doubled, and those doubles were doubled, and so on and so on. His consciousness, however, shifted to all of the newborn sentries at once, and he resulted in holding his control over them all.
His army was growing, crawling over the rocks and filling up the small cavern. They all observed their surroundings, all bringing their attention forward, passed the birthing and onto the one and only. Starlight’s eyes were everywhere, flickering across the walls to see a new sentry fly out from the pond, hovering several feet above the ground. She couldn’t stop smiling. They were going to do it.
They were actually going to do it!
And Twilight was finally going to pay.
She nearly missed Ultron blowing the ceiling apart. Thankfully, she didn’t. Ultron jammed his right hand upwards, his fingers lighting up to a brilliant red, and a stream of red energy blasting upwards and demolishing the rocky ceiling above them. Starlight, on instinct, created a magical shield to protect herself from the falling debris.
Go.
As the majority of the earth fell, crushing only a few sentries which mattered not to Ultron, the growing army was unleashed. They flew free, feet erupting to a bright blue to push the squadrons of sentries out into the night sky. Starlight Glimmer watched them make their push, her shield slowly dissipating as the last of the rocks fell.
Slowly, she approached him, eyes observing the flying lights that never seemed to stop. And Ultron, his gaze held forward onto the birth of his new army, had never moved.
He didn’t see a reason to. Yet.
“Where are you sending them all?” Starlight asked.
He just turned his head slightly back to her, his army growing by the second, Ultron never allowing it to stop. And he smiled. And for the first time, Starlight could see his teeth.
“To spread the message of peace.”
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And those that's how equestria ends!
Ultron now has his army along with an never ending supply source! Oh God... we're all doomed! It's the end! The Age of Ultron is nigh!
Starlight... you've brought extinction to your own kind...
Strange, I would think if Ultron wanted to defeat the Avengers permanently and not risk his robotic Stormtroopers being easily swatted aside, he'd take the chance of cloning himself?
Eh, maybe later down the line...
Good! let the Genocide commence!
(Spongebob Narrator) A Few Hours Later:
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6729585
Usually, I would contest that a land full of pastel, pony, pansies required genocide, but today at least, I'll say emphatically that they have it coming and that the Avengers brought upon them for being so stupid as to focus so much of their time on preparing for a lame party and partaking in a lame party rather than actively trying to hunt Ultron down and put him down like the metal Jihadi he is.
Though I know it's too late for the author to change the course he's wrongfully set for this version of his story, I can only hope that the pony population rightfully blames the Avengers for any property damage and loss of limb and/or life due to their displayed incompetence and laziness that lead up to Ultron being able to accomplish this.
If anything, the duplicates will eventually be as flimsy as an army of rubber bands when swarming the Avengers.
Eventually.
Against Equestrians, however, they're basically tanks once they build a resistance to magic.
Or, Celestia can melt them into slag at some point and potentially scorch Ultron at the very least.
After all, fire can leave marks on Vibranium. Right?
Right?
War is coming...
cdn.meme.am/instances/55451479.jpg
6728573 And she has yet to realize such a fatal flaw.
6729585 Trump declares it.
6730232 Simply put. Straight to the point. I like it.
6731561 We'll see how durable Ultron can be.
6732801 Pretty much the bread and butter of it.
6731572 with all its glory and all its horror
PREPARE FOR BATTLE! ULTRON WILL FALL!
War, war never... Oh wait. Oops, wrong one.
Like the old man said, Together.
Hoo boy. Things ain't lookin good. This is amazing, how you managed to make Ultron more threatening than in the movie.
wat heff you dun?!
Good. Your ego will be your downfall.
Also, Starlight, I'd curse you, but I don't envy how you'll feel when you realize exactly what you have wrought upon Equus.
I remember way back when the Mirror Pond was first used and the army of Pinkie Pies that caused chaos, comically chaotic but still... Chaos. Except now the magic of the Mirror Pond has fallen to sinister hands, in which case Ultron arranging for 'copies' of his Sentries to create an army the like of which the ponies have never encountered. Even in seasons passed when they face an army led by Tempest Shadow and The Storm King, they pale in comparison to the army Ultron has. Of course I don't know how this 'Message of Peace' will reflect on what Starlight Glimmer really wants or if this is what she had in mind if only to make Twilight Sparkle pay for supposedly ruining her life. But I suppose we shall have to wait and see what happens.
Good news is they should be even easier to trash than the originals and there already damaged. Equestrians are absurdly tough they should have little difficulty with them, but the amount of genuine fighters is so few while there’s no limit to how many Ultron’s that will attack.
9647112
Could you stop wanking the equestrians constantly? We get it, magic is BS, now calm down.
Huh, that’s a good point actually. The sentries might be easier to destroy but they are clearly Ultron’s tools rather than his equals. I guess he wouldn’t want to risk making a copy of himself that would potentially have the same ambitions and personality as him, especially if it could turn against him.
Your peace is a joke!