Tales of Equestrian City- the Back Roads

by Alden MacManx

18: Acanthite

Interurban Rapid Transit (IRT) Headquarters, Barbados, 3450 AE

Acanthite sat in the brilliant tropical sunshine, thinking. The chubby burnt-orange pelted unicorn with a black and silver two-toned mane and tail was quite on edge. He looked at his cutie mark, two concentric silver circles, and glancing up, he could just barely see the thin silver ribbon that spiraled up his black horn. “I wasn’t supposed to get the telegate spell, but I did. First case in family history where a unicorn that did not have a silver mark on their horn developed one when they got their cutie mark. I haven’t been trained in any of the operational aspects of the business, just finance, accounting and service work. I have a full destination list, dating all the way back to the family founder, Rapid Transit himself, way back to the time of the Event. Thrice-great has the rest of the Family Heads talking about what to do with me,” he thought as he looked down the slope of Mount Hillaby at Bridgetown, a thriving little community. The IRT family lived on and in the mountain, maintaining their world-wide network of telegates, available to any pony, if they can pay the price, the only exceptions being Family members and native Barbadians.

A voice intruded into Acanthite’s thoughts. “Thought I would find you here,” his cousin, Silent Strike, said as she settled down next to Acanthite, draping her right wing over Acanthite’s back. “Nervous?”

“You can say that. All my life, I’ve been derided as a late bloomer. Now, I got my mark, and something happened that has never happened before. What does it mean? Nobody can answer that,” Acanthite said, leaning against Strike’s side. The two cousins were about the same age, and have been quite close since they were foals.

“Just means you’re someone special. With this being the first occurrence of its kind since the Family was founded, all I can say this is your chance to show all the bullies you ARE worth something. You’re no support staff, now you can be an Operator. That’s more than any of the bullies can say, right?” Strike said, trying to encourage her cousin.

“They’ll just find something else to pick on me about. I’m fat, clumsy, and farther ahead in magic studies than any of them…” Acanthite said, some bitterness in his voice.

“Nonsense! Just because you can do something they can’t, or better than they can, they’re just trying to drag you down to their level. Just go in with your head held high and be proud you can be an Operator, when they can’t. We only have forty-two Operators to cover the planet. One more will be of great help,” Strike explained, hoping her words would penetrate into Acanthite’s skull.

“What can I do? Telegate them down to the shore? They have to go through the gate, not the other way round,” Acanthite explained.

“So? Think of how much money you can earn as an Operator. Who knows where you will be stationed, like maybe New Alexandria, New York, London, Las Vegas, Sydney or Brasilia. You’ll definitely be busy, for sure! Me, I just do weather patrol and security around the island. Rather exciting, yes?” Strike snorted.

“Maybe not, but it’s necessary. I know how hard you and all the pegasi worked last year when the hurricane neared. Plus when that one group tried to invade here. Your shooting was quite accurate.”

“Like I enjoy shooting ponies? If they were smart, they would know not to mess with us. Now, anypony who wants to go to Cuba has to pay triple normal rates, and we will not accept any offers to go FROM Cuba to anywhere, they have to boat to Key West.” Strike snapped back.

“So you think I’m not useless? That I can be something special?” Acanthite asked his cousin.

“I’ve thought that since we were foals, cousin. Just because you’re descended from Rapid Transit while I’m from Chopping Block’s line, (Rapid Transit having Returned five months after The Event, while Chopping Block, his father, didn’t Return until 125 or so years later) I have always thought of you as being special. A bit slow off the mark, but destined for greatness,” Strike explained, putting the depth of her feelings into her voice.

“I should not dread Testing, then? It’s not like Silver Scalpel would exile me if I don’t measure up to her standards, right?” Acanthite asked, some confidence coming back into his voice.

“Right! Even if you can’t handle the full roster of stops, ANY help would be appreciated. Have you tried the telegate yet?”

Acanthite shook his head, his black and silver mane flying about some. “No. I was told not to until testing can be arranged. It’s been what, three years now since the Testing Panel was convened?”

“Something like that. I would say don’t be scared, just go in and do what you can do. Just because you’re the first one in six generations in your family line does not mean you’re incapable. Just do your best. I do, and you can too.”

About then, Acanthite’s watch pinged. “Speaking of which, testing begins in ten minutes. I had best get my plot to the test area. Would not help me if I was late,” he said, getting up.

Silent Strike got up as well. “I’ll walk you to the gate, okay? I can’t go in, but I can go that far with you.”

“I would appreciate it, Cousin. I admit to being scared of what the testing would involve,” Acanthite muttered as he started walking down the side of the mountain.

“You can handle it. I have faith in you.”

The first part of testing involved site recognition, that being Acanthite was told to look at a series of photographs, and if he recognized the place, and he could feel he could gate there, he was to say so. Picture after picture, he was able to either identify the location, or say he didn’t know it. The panelists agreed with everything he said, admitting there are some pictures in there that are near, but not on, the destination lists.

This went on until a picture of a castle on the side of a mountain appeared on the page. Acanthite looked at it for a good twenty seconds before saying, “Canterlot Castle. I don’t know how or why I know it, but I do.”

The panelists were startled by the revelation, and broke out a book that was dusty with age, the pages brittle. “Look through these pictures and see if you can identify them,” he was told. Undaunted, he plunged in. “Ponyville Castle. Appleoosa Town. Seaquestria,” and so on, identifying all twenty locations.

“Acanthite, there is no way you should know these locations, because they are not on this planet. They are from Equestria, the source of the magic that changed all humans into ponies and whatnot three and a half millennia ago. Since you can identify them, can you go there and back again?” the panel leader, Silver Scalpel, asked.

“Going there, I’m reasonably certain. Coming back, I’m not so sure. I have not done any site recognition training here yet,” Acanthite admitted.

“Starting tomorrow, you and I will start local drilling, you and I telegating to various spots and back. If you are not sure of the return, that’s why I will be coming along. You have nothing to worry about, Acanthite,” Silver Scalpel told the young unicorn.

“If I may ask, why do you have those pictures of Equestria?” Acanthite asked.

“There is a family prophecy that one day, one of the Family will have the ability to telegate not only around the Earth, but to other locales as well. You are the first pony to recognize Canterlot Castle since the book was obtained millennia ago, thanks to the assistance of Archive,” another panel member, Silver Blaze, said. Archive is Earth’s resident alicorn, and was the only pony known to have gone to Equestria and back, when ponies first appeared.

“If it is a family prophecy, why didn’t I know about it?” Acanthite asked.

“Because the secret is tightly held, only Operators of the telegates knowing about it. It was decided long ago not to let the rank and file know of it,” Silver Scalpel explained.

“Thinking about it, I can understand why. Why get ponies’ hopes up for something that may not happen in their lifetimes?” Acanthite said.

“Thus showing your intelligence, young stallion. Despite your inauspicious start, you do have the potential to become a Prime Mover in the Family,” the third member of the panel, Silver Arcade, said with a smile. That surprised Acanthite, because the older unicorn was not known to smile at any time.

“I will do my best to live up to your expectations,” Acanthite said. “Will there be anything more today?”

“No, that will be all for today. Do not tell anypony about what happened here. Nopony is to know the Testing procedure unless they go through it themselves, especially the Equestria pictures. Understand?” Silver Scalpel said severely, in tones that Acanthite knew meant she was not to be crossed.

“I understand, Elder,” Acanthite said quietly before walking to the testing room door, opening it with his glow and going through.

Outside, Silent Strike was waiting, her white mane and wings glittering in the sunlight, her sky-blue fur shining. “How it go?” she asked.

“I start training tomorrow on site recognition. Since I have not had to do anything like it before, I will be escorted in the drills by Silver Scalpel,” Acanthite said quietly.

“Wow- high-power help! You had best pay attention, or else she will flay you to your bones, or wish she did,” Silent Strike replied. “Let’s go get something to eat. Knowing you, you can use something.”

“You’re right, I do. After that, a good sleep.”

Acanthite did just that, having one of his normal meals (which are one and a half times a normal unicorn’s portions, but the cooks were used to it), before going back to his quarters, where he told his parents about the testing to take place tomorrow. They were quite pleased to hear he had passed, because the addition of an Operator’s income, even the juniormost, will add a lot to the family budget. He then went straight to his room, to study some before going to sleep.

The next morning, bright and early, Silver Scalpel met with Acanthite, taking him to the outdoor
‘reception area’, where all incoming telegates from the Family arrive. The only time they would use the indoor one is in case of prolonged storms. “Are you ready, Acanthite?” she said.

“I am ready, Silver Scalpel. What is the first target?”

“Let’s try something simple at first. Las Vegas Receiving Area One. The Strat Tower is quite distinctive,” she suggested.

“Okay!” Acanthite said. Mentally, he pictured what he was told, the Strat Tower in Las Vegas. He then called up the family spell and applied power to it. A silver beam came from his horn and spread into a silver disc, ten feet in diameter, partially sunk into the ground. Silver Scalpel trotted through, followed by Acanthite. The Operator is always the last to go through a telegate, because the spell collapses when he or she does.

Acanthite stepped onto a platform of smooth rock, the Strat Tower visible in the early morning light off in the distance. “Very well done, Acanthite! How do you feel?” Silver Scalpel asked.

“A bit tired, but that normally happens when I try a difficult spell for the first time. Give me about ten minutes and I can try again,” was his reply.

“One thing I noticed when you activated the telegate. Your cutie mark glowed a bright silver. I don’t know of any case where that happened before.”

“I hope that does not mean trouble, Elder.”

“I hope so, too. Rest a bit, then we will try Nueva Angeles next.”

That whole morning, Acanthite drilled under Silver Scalpel’s watchful eye, visiting thirty destinations in six hours, the last one being Mount Hillaby in Barbados, where the Family living and IRT corporate headquarters are located. “That was very well done, Acanthite. Take the rest of the day off to rest and recover. Only under extreme situations should you be called upon to open so many gates in such a short amount of time. I’m proud of what you have done today,” Silver Scalpel said to the much younger unicorn.

“Thank you, Elder Scalpel. May I prove to be a true asset for the Company and family,” Acanthite said respectfully. It was almost a family ritual to say something of that nature when an Elder compliments a junior.

“I think you will. You have exceeded expectations today. We will call you tomorrow for more testing. Dismissed.”

Not wanting to show weakness or weariness in front of the Elder, Acanthite quickly trotted off to the dining hall, where he had a big meal (even for him) before heading to the family apartment and his room to sleep. His sleep was restless, images on his destination list coming to mind, both the ones he visited that day and ones he did not. The Equestrian destinations came to mind a lot, Canterlot Castle appearing the most often.

When his mother went to check on him, she found Acanthite on his hooves, his cutie mark pulsing a bright silver. “I’m being called…” he breathed, his eyes glassy as he projected a telegate and stepped into it, the telegate collapsing after he went through.

When Acanthite woke up, the first thing he noticed was that he was cold. Opening his eyes, he got his first shock when he saw he was not a pony, he was human! The skin is the same color as his pelt, his hair, from what he could tell, was black like his mane, he was naked and he was COLD! Looking around, all he could see was wreckage. What appeared to be some sort of control panel was there, with a hole burned through it. A multi-gimballed apparatus sat idle, and the room itself had more than one gaping hole in the walls and roof. “This sure as hell isn’t Canterlot Castle!” he muttered as he tried to get up. He knew humans walked upright, but never saw one in his life. He crawled to a wall and used it as a support to get to his feet.

“Time to go home,” he said as he summoned up a telegate, visualizing the Mount Hillaby reception station. What felt like an electric spark striking his horn hit him, and he fell to his knees, skinning them some. “That didn’t work… but why?”

Captain Proton, the Rare Innovations Beta-team leader, was overflying the ruins of Canterlot High. Some time earlier, the villains known as Malcontent and Mayhem were brought to heel here by the Rare Innovations Alpha-team, and Malcontent’s plans were brought to a rather rough conclusion. Mayhem was captured, but Malcontent got away somehow. Proton didn’t know, he wasn’t there to see the battle, something he was quite happy to have missed. He wasn’t Alpha caliber yet, and knew it. The city is in recovery and rebuilding after the night of rioting, brought on by Mayhem’s planting of a signal in the main television and radio broadcasts that induced behaviors in those who heard it that led to rioting. They are still counting the dead, wounded and damages to Equestrian City.

Proton drew the overflight duty because of his suit, a Wonderbolt suit of armor modified for his unique circumstances, that being he is paralyzed from the waist down due to a broken back incurred by the Canterlot Catastrophe ten years before, which let magic run free on this world. The concentrations of magic here, so close to Ground Zero, were unhealthy for most humans and fatal to a few. His suit filtered out the dust that bore the magic, leaving him unaffected. If anything DID get through, his meta talent, a force field that surrounded his body at will, should be enough to protect him for a time. Time enough to get clear, at least.

As he flew, his suit scanners pinged, getting his attention. “Where did that come from?” he asked as he brought himself to a landing outside the gymnasium. He activated his comm system. “Captain Proton to Base,” he called out.

“This is Spike. Go ahead, Captain.”

“Spike, I’m at the Canterlot High gymnasium. I was doing a security sweep, when I started detecting life signs in the gym. I’m going to head in to investigate.”

“You go ahead, Captain. I’ll notify Doctor Sparkle. Monitoring your telemetry.”

“Copy that, Spike,” Proton said as he walked to a hole in the wall. He put a finger around the wall, using the inbuilt camera to get a visual. Matching the location of the life sign is a teenage boy with orange skin and black and silver hair. The boy is naked and quite the fat fellow for his age. “Spike, you copy my images?”

“Captain, this is Doctor Sparkle. Go in and help the kid. You do have an emergency kit, yes?” she asked.

Proton sighed. “Yes, Doctor. I have a full emergency kit, including a mylar blanket. Notify Imago to be on standby. She will be faster getting him to safety, if she can pick him up.”

“I’ll do that, Captain. You see to him. How the hell did he get in there?” Sparkle asked.

“That’s what I would like to know, too. I’ll go ask him.” Proton stepped through the hole and activated his external audio. “Hello, there! What’s your name?” he called out.

Acanthite looked blearily at the thing that was approaching him. The failed telegate spell had jarred his magics, and he was not sure of what he was seeing. It stood on two feet, and had two hands, like a human, as well as being very tall. “A-a-acan-thite,” he managed to stammer.

The thing hurried over to him. It had some sort of uniform painted on the ...armor?... it was wearing. “I’m Captain Proton, Rare Innovations Beta-team leader. You may want this,” it said as he shook out something thin and glittering, tucking it around Acanthite’s naked body. “This will help you warm up some. Can you get up and walk, if you lean against me? I’m going to get you to safety.”

“I’ll try,” Acanthite said as he wrapped the mylar blanket tightly around him. Proton helped Acanthite stand, then did a slow walk out of the wrecked gymnasium towards a locker room.

“How did you get here, Acanthite?” Proton asked gently as they walked, Proton careful to avoid anything that would cut the boys’ feet.

“Tried to telegate to Canterlot Castle. Wound up here. Why am I a human being, not a unicorn?” Acanthite asked.

“You’re a unicorn? I know someone who would love to talk to you. She’s my boss, Doctor Sparkle. If she gets too techy for you, ask her to slow down. We just have to find an intact mirror large enough for you and Imago.” Proton said.

“Mirror? Why a mirror?” Acanthite asked in a mumble. His head hurt and he was tired.

“Imago can travel through the Mirrorverse, going from one place to another far faster than any other means. If she can lift you, that is. She should. If she can pick up her fiance, she can pick you up and carry you to Headquarters, where you can be seen to.”

“I would like that a lot, Captain. My head hurts a lot. Hard to concentrate. I hate it when my magic backfires on me. I don’t know where I am, but I’m not home,” Acanthite mumbled, his energies fading fast.

“Hang on, new friend. Help is on its way,” Proton said encouragingly.

“Imago to Captain Proton,” he heard in his helmet speakers.

“Go ahead, Imago. Where are you?”

“Girls locker room. There’s a suitable mirror there. What do you have for me?”

“Male, about fifteen, five eight, two fifty or so. He’s losing consciousness, more than likely from exhaustion. We need to get him to Doctor Sparkle,” Proton said as he scooped Acanthite into his arms and walked faster to the girls locker room. Having attended the school, graduating thirteen years before, he knew where it was.

Imago met Proton at the door and walked him to the mirror. “Where did he come from?” she asked.

“Not from here. Says his name is Acanthite, and he did something called a telegate, trying for someplace called Canterlot Castle. He wound up here, more than likely because of Malcontent’s actions here a while back,” Proton said as he got the boy set on Imago’s back.

“I’ll get him to the Tower. You continue surveillance,” Imago said before stepping into the mirror and vanishing from sight, her ‘tail lights’ fading quickly.

“Will do, Imago,” Proton said before heading back to the gym and resuming his patrol.

Acanthite woke up to find he was in a bed, wires stuck to him, and someone looking at him from a chair, where she was working on something she was holding. She looked up when he moved. “Hi, Acanthite! I’m Doctor Twilight Sparkle, head of research and development here at Rare Innovations. How are you feeling?” the lavender-skinned lady asked.

“Not as tired as before, warm, and more than a bit hungry. What happened to me?” he asked after a few second’s thought.

“That’s what I’m hoping you tell me. Why don’t you tell me all about yourself and how you got here? I’ll listen while you eat, okay?” Twilight said as a cart rolled in, bearing juice, toast and a large bowl of oatmeal. “What’s this about you being a unicorn?”

Between bites, Acanthite told Twilight of his world, how The Event almost three and a half thousand years before changed all human beings into ponies and other assorted forms. He told of his family's proclivity to open ‘telegates’, allowing instantaneous transport from where they were to another place that was known to the caster. “Only unicorns with silver in their horns get the spell, which is learned when they get their cutie marks. I got mine a couple of days ago, and when I did, a silver stripe appeared on my horn and I learned the telegate spell. Apparently, this Canterlot place had sent help, because we had some pictures of places in Canterlot, like the castle, Ponyville, and other sites. I was the first pony ever who could identify them. I tried to telegate to Canterlot Castle, and I wound up here, changed into this form. What happened?”

“I don’t know for sure, Acanthite, but I think it has something to do with what happened there a few days ago. A madman tried to open a portal between dimensions, which could have destroyed this world. He was stopped, but not without cost. Maybe someday you can meet the ones who stopped him. They’re all friends of mine,” Twilight said.

“Oh, my. Powerful friends you have. What’s going to happen to me, since I can’t go home yet,” he asked.

“For now, you’ll stay here at Rare Innovations while you get educated on what’s what and who’s who here. I know you can do it. I did, ten years ago.”

“You did? How?”

Twilight explained about how she was from Canterlot and came here through a portal, to visit friends she had made here. Something happened, which caused magic to flood through this world. “I was an alicorn there, and when I was stuck here, I couldn’t use my magic until I found a way to work around the block. Now, why don’t you tell me about your magic?”

Acanthite explained how he was an excellent magic student, learning the basics while young and was taking advanced studies in magic. “I wasn’t a superstar, but I was definitely better than average,” he said before explaining about what spells he knew, not only basic telekinesis and light, but higher-level detection, purification, preservation and divination spells. “My ancestor developed a spell many unicorns learn, that allows a pony to search a warehouse for a particular item, so long as the pony knows what they are looking for.”

“That sounds interesting. Maybe you can teach it to me?” Twilight asked.

“I will, if I can still do magic here. You were an alicorn? There’s only one on Earth, Princess Archive. She’s been there since The Event. I have not met her, but others of the Family have,” Acanthite told Twilight as he ate.
“You should be able to do magic now. You’ve been asleep for over a day. I suspect that was from the backfiring spell. Try lifting your spoon as if you were a unicorn,” Twilight suggested.

Acanthite nodded and looked at his spoon. A dim silver glow, coming from a silver spot that appeared on his forehead, surrounded the utensil as it lifted off the tray, dipped into the porridge, then went to his mouth. “That feels just fine.”

“Good! Up to do some testing?” Twilight said brightly.

“Sure, once you get these things off of me,” he said, indicating the electrodes on his chest and head.

“Okay!” Swiftly, Twilight removed the electrodes and helped Acanthite out of bed. He found he was wearing some sort of cloth around the lower part of his body. When he asked, Twilight explained about clothing, and how humans wore clothing all the time. After that, the two started drilling with magic, Acanthite demonstrating what he could do with the spells he knew. Some proved impossible to do, like his telegate when he focused on going home, but when he changed the focus to across the room, it worked.

That set the pattern for the next few days, Twilight showing Acanthite the human world, and Acanthite showing Twilight what he could do with his magic. Acanthite proved a quick study, both learning about the human world he was in, and what computers here could do, which was more than what they could do in his world. “Writing a computer program is like designing a spell, just differing in how it works,” he observed on the third day.

“Good observation, Acanthite!” Twilight said with pride. “I learned the same thing, and it helped me achieve and excel here.”

“I like learning from you, Doctor Sparkle. You don’t make me feel insignificant. Back home I was often taunted for being a nerd. Good thing I had some relatives who really cared,” Acanthite told Twilight.

“Believe me, I understand your feelings, Acanthite. I was similar, but Princess Celestia ordered me to Ponyville to get my nose out of books and learn to make friends. What’s surprising is I found analogues of all my main friends here, and we’re still good friends. You’ve met one of them, Rarity Belle.

“Around here, we don’t tease people, we get along with them. Which brings up something, that being what to do with you, Acanthite.” Twilight told the boy.

“What to do with me? What do you mean?” Acanthite asked.

“I don’t want to keep you here in the Tower all the time. You need time outside it as well. To that end, this is what I have arranged for you.

“You are to come here five days a week for education purposes. You will be doing that until you can pass all the graduation requirements. If it takes you six months, I’ll be pleased. If it takes a year, I’ll be disappointed. Some of the time, I will be teaching you. The rest of the time, I have arranged tutors in various fields.

“Now, when you are not in school, I have arranged for you to stay with two people I know who work for me, one directly, one indirectly. They will introduce you to life outside Rare Innovations, as well as introducing you to some other people you should know, specifically my Beta Team.”

“Beta team? Captain Proton and Imago? The two who found and rescued me?” Acanthite interrupted, surprise evident on his face and in his voice.

“Correct, Acanthite. You will know who they really are, and I can trust you not to say anything about them to blow their covers, right?” Twilight said, a warning clearly evident.

“You can trust me, Doctor Sparkle. I will NOT violate your trust in me,” Acanthite said earnestly.

“Good. Now, do you remember what to say if someone asks you where you are from?” she asked, one eyebrow arched.

Acanthite nodded. “I was orphaned in the rioting, was found by the Beta Team, injured, and brought to the Tower for evaluation until foster parentage could be arranged. I don’t remember clearly what happened before the riots.”

“Very good, Acanthite. Your foster father will be here in an hour or so, when he gets off duty. Just go ahead and surf the web until he gets here.”

“I can do that, Doctor Sparkle. Thanks again for all you’re doing for me,” Acanthite said, respect obvious in his tones.

“I know where you’re coming from, Acanthite. I went through it, too. No sense in you having the same troubles I did. I’ll see you Monday morning, okay?” Twilight told him before rushing out of the room.

It was about an hour later when a knock came from the closed door. Opening the door, Acanthite found a tall reddish-haired, bronzed-skinned man waiting there. He WOULD be tall, if he was not sitting in a wheelchair. “Hello, Acanthite! I’m Doctor Wave Rider, your foster father for the next however long. Got your bags packed?”

Acanthite pointed to the bed, where a duffle and his computer bag waited. “All I have to do is shut down and pack the computer. Won’t be a couple of minutes,” he said, backing into the room so Doctor Rider could enter.
“That's all you have?” Wave said, a bit surprised. “Looks like we’re going to have to do some shopping!”

“Shopping? What for?” Acanthite asked.

“Mainly clothes and other stuff for you. What you have there is no wardrobe for a teenager,” Wave said, pointing at Acanthite’s small duffle. “Time to fit you out properly! Oh, do you like cats?”

“Cats? Depends on if they like me or not, Doctor,” Acanthite said as he shut off his laptop and put it (and the power cable, trackball and portable keyboard) into its carry bag.

“Freckles and Starshine are nice kitties. They should like you. Oh, when we’re in private, call me ‘Wave’. Otherwise, use ‘sir’. ‘Doctor’ is too damn formal. I’m supposed to be your foster father, and my sister, Sand Castle, your foster mother. Now, shall we go?” Wave asked.

“Ready when you are, Wave.” he said after a few second’s hesitation.

“That’s the spirit! Let’s get a move on!”

Three hours, four hundred bucks, five stops and a bunch of shopping bags later, Wave pulled up in front of his house. “Let me show you which room is yours, and once you get everything put away, I’ll give you a tour of the house. Sister isn’t home yet, because her van is not here.”

“Riding in your car is an experience. Not many where I’m from, and I never been in one,” Acanthite said as he climbed out, duffle and computer bag in hand.

“THAT, is a subject for closed doors, Canth. Now, let me get to the door and unlock it. Good thing we have spare keys,” Wave said as he activated the lift that took his wheelchair out of the van.

“I understand, sir,” Canth said, realizing the mistake he had made.

“One thing to understand, Canth, is that secrets are meant to be kept, which means you do not give voice to them unless you are in a secure area, like in the house, the vans, or Rare Innovations. If, no, WHEN your origin gets out, expect a LOT of flak coming down from the Confederacy government, plus, you will be a target the Sombran Empire and the Symmetry Dominion would both want, to find out how you operate. It’s up to me, and the teams at Rare Innovations, to not only keep you safe, but teach you how to keep yourself safe. It won’t be easy, but it can be done,” Wave said seriously as he was removed from the van and placed on the ground.

“Why do you say that, Wave?” Canth asked.

“When you meet the Beta team, you will understand. Some of them are working on getting themselves into condition, so they can be more effective while on duty,” Wave explained as he rolled up to the door and unlocked it. When the door swung open, Freckles and Starshine immediately pounced on Wave, climbing his legs to his lap, mewing happily.

With a smile, Wave petted both kitties before rolling inside, Canth following. When the door shut, the kitties immediately turned their attention to Canth. At Wave’s gesture, Canth carefully reached out to let the kitties sniff him. It took only one sniff for Starshine to hunker down, wiggle her butt and poing into Canth’s arms. “Starshine, you little attention whore…” Wave laughed as he petted Freckles.

“This means they like me, right?” Canth asked. “We have cats at the Family compound, but I was never close to any of them.”

“Yes, they like you, Starshine especially. Now, put her down and follow me to what will be your room, then you unload the van and put your stuff away. After that, the Grand Tour.”

Canth looked around the house, noticing all the leather straps hanging from the ceiling. “What are these for?” he asked, touching one.

“I’ll show you,” Wave said, maneuvering his chair to its parking spot and plugging it in before undoing his lap belt. He then reached for the nearest strap and pulled himself up out of the chair. “This is how I get around the house without my chair. I was a champion athlete before I got injured, and I’ve kept myself in shape despite not being able to move my legs,” he explained as he brachiated to the kitchen table and settled into a chair.

“I’m impressed, Wave. Now, which room is mine?” Canth asked.

Wave pointed to the hall. “All the way to the end, on the right. That room will be yours, and I will not violate your privacy unless it is truly necessary. Then again, those two own the place, no matter what I say…” he grumbled, looking at Freckles and Starshine, who had their best innocent angel faces on.

“Let me get started,” Canth said as he went to his room. There, he put his duffle and computer bags on the bed before going out to get the rest of his shopping, which took two trips. On his second trip, Wave told him, “Just set everything in your room. Stow it later. We need to chat.”

Canth did as he was bid and returned to the kitchen. “Go ahead, help yourself if you want anything,” Wave said, waving to the kitchen with one hand while holding an orange section in the other. Canth selected a couple of apples and sat down across from Wave. “What do you need to talk about, Wave?”

“I see the cuts on your feet and knees have healed, and you are walking all right,” Wave said calmly.

“How do you know I had cuts on my feet and knees? Doctor Sparkle tell you?”

“No, I was the one who found you. Yes, I’m not only Doctor Wave Rider, Assistant Head of Research and Development for Rare Innovations, I’m also Captain Proton, leader of the Beta team,” Wave said before eating an orange slice.

Canth sat there, holding an apple, startled. “But, Captain Proton could walk! He carried me! How can you walk?” he asked.

“Special circuitry and electrodes in the armor bypass the break in my spine and enable me to walk. I can also fly, if I want to. Right now it’s limited, but the Mark Three will have full Wonderbolt flight capacity, as well as the full offensive and defensive armament. Mine has to be custom, because I’m a few inches taller than average when standing,” Wave explained. “You said you were trying for Canterlot Castle. Twilight knows of it, but I don’t.”

“From our discussions, we think the Canterlot I was aiming for is not the one she came from, because she has no knowledge of what we call The Event, what turned humans into ponies. She also does not know of the alicorn I know of, named Archive, who remembers all of human history, or so I have learned,” Acanthite told his foster father.

“Multiple universes… something my doctoral degree does not cover. I’m a roboticist, not a physicist. We’ll just set that aside for now. My sister won’t be home until late tonight, she was recalled by the city Building Inspector’s office to help out after the combat last week. She’s very good at finding if a building is sound or not.”

“Does she know of the Beta Team?” Canth asked.

“Yes, she does. In fact, she’s my second-in-command, code named Shocker. She has electrical talents, as in she can generate a lot of electricity at once, to either power something, make a stun field, or a potent lightning bolt. She does require a lot of citrus juice, though.” Wave explained.

“I can imagine,” Canth said. “Who else is there? I remember Imago. She brought me to Doctor Sparkle through a mirror.” He shivered some at the memory. “That was the weirdest feeling I ever felt.”

“I know. I’ve been through it myself. One thing that Doctor Sparkle and I are hoping for is that your telegates will speed up our response times to problem situations. You’re going to have to pass Doctor Sparkle’s classes first. You’ll go to and from work with me until you can telegate there and back on your own.”

“That should not take long. I know THERE, but I have to learn HERE before I can go both ways,” Canth said, putting a finger on the table.

“How long will it take for you to learn here?” Wave asked.

Acanthite looked thoughtful for a moment. “Should not be more than a few days. When I can close my eyes and call up a mental picture of where I want to go, then I know I have that stop memorized. That’s how it was explained to me.”

“You only just learned to telegate a few days ago, right?”

“Yes, Wave. They didn’t think I could learn to telegate, because I didn’t have silver in my horn. When I got my cutie mark, a silver stripe appeared on the horn, and I KNEW I could telegate. I learned a lot of spells before that, like cleaning, conjuring, preservation, heat and cold, shields, inventory, and some other things. Maybe some can be useful to the Beta Team.”

“Shields? We’re going to have to check that out, but later. I can raise a shield around myself, and Grey can summon up a shield like the old time soldiers used. Shielding is good to have,” Wave told the boy. “Saved me from being gunned down a while back.”

“That must be some story, Wave,” Canth said with a touch of eagerness.

“It is.” For several hours, the two sat there in the kitchen, swapping stories, learning about each other, fending off kitty attacks, and preparing dinner together before Sand Castle got home. Wave got his laptop, and he showed Canth the rest of Beta Team, explaining who they were, what they could do, and what to expect from them, because Breaker and Grey Man, along with himself and Doctor Sparkle, will be his instructors at Rare Innovations, plus whoever else she could find.

“Since you’re part of Beta team, it stands to reason there is an Alpha team. Who are they?” Canth asked.

“I can show you, but I have to say I do not know their private names. I can show you the public release data, but I can’t tell you any more. I have not really met any of them, though some of the Beta Team has.” Wave pulled up the public files of the Six, Splitsecond, Shadowstrike, Phoenix, Impervia, Flutterbat and Matterhorn.

“I see Matterhorn’s armor resembles yours. Why is that?” Canth asked.

Wave thought a little. “I know Doctor Sparkle knows Matterhorn, so it would not surprise me if she made the armor, like she made mine. It’s different, I don’t know how different. I know she can fly more than I can, but I’ll change that in the next upgrade.”

“Interesting. I’m looking forward to learning. Every time I think of home, I can feel something holding me back, so, if I’m going to be here, I had better do the best I can.”

“With that attitude, Canth, you’re going to go far.” Wave said with a little pride. This kid has smarts, as well as talents that can be of help. He looked forward to teaching Acanthite.

Author's Note:

Finally, after three years, da boss has allowed me to post this. For fans of my work (I know you're out there...) Acanthite is from a couple hundred years after Hal Sleet, thirty-five hundred years from Rapid Transit, dropped into EQC. Now, up to me to develop him properly.

Now that this is out, I can continue on with Back Roads. Lots of stories await.

Comments

[DavisSentoV5]

Nice to finally read this and learning about Acanthine.