The Maiden and the Serpent

by Hustlin Tom

Chapter 10

The white alicorn fired off a blinding hot laser directly at my newly created corporeal form. Can’t say I really care for it; the body or the laser for that matter. It was like wearing a very itchy glove, but I must say I like the lack of symmetricality!

So, let’s see, light traveling at a constant speed of three to the order of ten to the eighth power meters per second with a distance of five meters gives me about 16.7 nanoseconds in order to react and avoid. Or what if I didn’t avoid it? Hmm. Fifty-fifty choice. Unless I chose both. Oooh, that’d be interesting! Fifteen nanoseconds to decide now. Oh why not? I guess I’ll dodge it.

I teleported just a meter to the right. The dark alicorn was using her powers to grab hold of my shadow, trying her hardest to keep me restrained. Another laser, another 15 or so nanoseconds. It seems it’s time to pull another trick out of my exceptionally large and nonexistent sleeves! I went two dimensional, becoming one with my shadow. A full half second of surprise from the dark one and I slipped away down the hall. Now was as fun a time as ever for a game of tag!

Oh, I’m going to love these new toys! No, these two are something more than the humans! They are almost as powerful as I am! These two are my new playmates! They’re going to be so much fun! I burst out of that ridiculous hallway and soared skyward toward the roof of the cavern above. They followed of course on their large wings. They telekinetically tried to grab me; and I of course avoided them, because what good is a game of tag if you get caught to early?

---

The two winged unicorns barrel rolled in the air, each firing energy bolt after energy bolt after the deranged draconequus. I watched it all through the security feeds. It was absolutely impossible! Discord was dodging everything Dawn and Dusk tried to hit him with, and they in turn dodged everything he dished out; oversized Lincoln logs, palm trees, even a giant albino whale! Dawn transformed into a beam of pink light and zigzagged around the falling objects. Dusk teleported around the objects for all of them to fall to the cavern floor. Discord flew up through the cavern ceiling, passing right through it towards the surface above. Dusk ripped the rocky surface of the ceiling apart with her newfound powers and Dawn sped through the hole with Dusk closely behind, who then closed the hole behind her.

I found my way to master control of Vanguard eventually after the janitorial drones had cleaned up the..the..well, everyone. Since the system recognized me as the last living human being, I was granted unlimited access to every project and every place. I had the freedom to go anywhere, to do anything. But my thoughts were turned upward, to the world beyond.

I was able to send up probes to the surface, and I saw nothing but darkness. Then, there was a flash in that darkness. A rainbow kaleidoscope pinpoint filled the screens of master control, and it exploded. Pure light! I saw a statue for an instant through the light. It was the mismatched body of Discord, encased in rock. Yes! They’d done it! The plan could actually go on!

I found the old missile console, and ordered the missile doors to open. With the bay doors open, Dawn picked up five of the missiles, each of them nuclear and each several tons in weight, and she launched them into the sky. With another stroke of her power, she propelled a gravity bomb directly between them all, and she ignited them. Yellow light cascaded into the probe’s visual sensors. Dawn was creating a sun! She was containing the reaction and stabilizing it, shaping its core and stabilizing the electromagnetic fields surrounding it. Solar flares temporarily covered the entire surface of the new heavenly body, but under Dawn’s control, the sun eventually rested.

I turned the sensors to the moon to catch Dusk in the middle of fragmenting it and crushing it. All part of the plan. To maintain the balance of Earth and its orbit around the old sun, the mass of the moon had to be changed so the new sun and the new moon itself would equal the old moon’s original mass, or the Earth would be tossed into the darkness beyond the Solar system itself, forever drifting in its angle of departure through the silent vacuum. Dusk tossed the unneeded mass of the moon out into the darkness beyond and shaped the rest back into a spheroid shape, like it was as easy as shaping silly putty.

With their jobs done, they came back to Earth. They stood on the barren ground, the sun and moon in perfect harmony, which created a twilight never before seen by any eyes. Another flash of light, and what I would see filled me with joy. Green! Green grass! As far as the eyes could see! Forests spontaneously appeared from gray nothingness! My Dawn and Dusk were using the very forces of creation itself to remake everything into a beautiful paradise. Blue skies filled the screen. I could see my girls there, radiating the Tessaractal batteries’ power over the entire world, bathing everything in the rejuvenating rays. Hope, life, joy! It was all possible again! The Earth was no longer dead. It was alive again! The planet was restored.

It was time for the exodus to begin. I opened up all the locks on the doors of the habitation areas. They deserved to see the light now, to experience the real living world which my race had robbed them of for so long. I ran out to see it for myself, and there they all were; ponies of all kinds, griffons, dogs with ape-like proportions, buffalo, hydra, manticore, kappa, dragons, minotaurs, and so many other species walked or flew out to the twilight beyond. Dawn and Dusk ushered them all out and teleported the aquatic creatures into nearby lakes, rivers, and oceans. They were the last ones out.

I ran up to them both and I gave them each a huge hug. “You did it! You both did it! I’m so proud of you!”

They looked at me, each with a smile on their faces, and Dawn said, “It’s our duty to help all beings. There’s room for everyone up above, even for primates like you. Come, join us!”

My smile faded. Oh, Ahmed. You were right. Damn you, you were right. I stepped back from them, and did my best to recompose myself, but I couldn’t help the tears that came to me. Dusk came nearer to me, and she wiped away my tears with the tips of her wings, “There, there! There isn’t any need for tears now! You can find happiness above.”

“No. No I can’t. I’m the last of my kind, and I’d be killed as soon I stepped foot onto the surface.”

“We can guard you, keep you safe and happy. Our mother would have helped anyone, and we would do the same.”

“No. I couldn’t. Please. Just please..leave me be. I will keep anything from ever finding this nightmarish place ever again. Just..do what you mother told you. I’m sure she’d want you to help others, to help them find a new start on the surface above.”

They nodded in unison. “We accept your decision. Thank you for your sacrifice,” Dawn declared.

“No, thank you two. For everything. Goodbye.”

They waved me farewell, each with their right wing. “Goodbye.. Oh! We’re so sorry, we never asked your name.”

“Lauren.”

“Thank you, Lauren.” They turned away, towards the light of the surface beyond, and they were the last living things I ever physically saw in my mortal life.

---

Years went by. I of course grew older. I saw my imminent death yawning before me. I wouldn’t let anything near this place for its own good, and I wouldn’t let some little thing like death stop me! I found a project buried in the medical bay; a way to cheat death itself. I uploaded a copy of my consciousness into the databanks of Vanguard’s computer network, and I had my consciousness inscribed onto nanoparticles that would emulate my personality. I became something different. I became a nano-ghost. And then, I rested.

Years went by like minutes, and centuries went by like hours. Every time I awoke, things got worse and worse. Though the maintenance drones had done their best to restore her over the years, even they broke down, and Vanguard was left rotting from the inside out.

Then one day, I saw something new. Something I thought I’d never see ever again. A human! A flesh and blood human. As impossible as it seemed, there he was, undeniably existent. Maybe he was a descendant of some surviving colony? I have to see for myself, whoever he is. I know one thing for sure; he has to exist here and now at this time for a purpose.

I’m sure of it.

Comments

[Hustlin Tom]

Well, it's done.

I'd like to say thank you to all of you for reading my story and providing interesting and fun feedback! I uploaded two chapters today because, one, it's my birthday, and this is my gift to you, two, season 3 is next week! and who wants to compete with that?

I'd also like to say that for those who were affected in any way by Hurricane Sandy, I will be keeping you in my thoughts and I hope you are safe.

Now then, one story is done. So what happened for the near four hundred years in between what has just happened and the rise of Nightmare Moon? We'll all find out together in the next spotlight, starring Princess Luna, "The Sorrow and the Temptation". I hope to start uploading that around the beginning of next year. For now, peace

[Scribblestick]

Woooo!

My only complaint is that the climax seemed very rushed. I would have liked to see a bit more of the battle with Discord and how Dawn and Dusk defeated him. Other than that, I liked how this ended--and I especially liked the reveal of Red's real name.

[jercos]

Well that was only completely amazing.

[Hustlin Tom]

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Yeah, I'll admit it, I rushed it. I get very impatient when my brain is so full of ideas, all of them just bouncing off each other! My ADD is my greatest and worst asset.
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Thanks jercos! I only hope the next story is up to standard!

[Drawdex]

Then one day, I saw something new. Something I thought I’d never see ever again. A human! A flesh and blood human. As impossible as it seemed, there he was, undeniably existent. Maybe he was a descendant of some surviving colony? I have to see for myself, whoever he is. I know one thing for sure; he has to exist here and now at this time for a purpose.
I’m sure of it.

4.bp.blogspot.com/_x5BTGMxTvbU/S-CtSjvTWxI/AAAAAAAAAC8/vHwGuUniJWE/s1600/fuck-yea2h.jpg

[Hustlin Tom]

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And then everything has come full circle!

[Drawdex]

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What...

Oh my GOOOOOOOOOOOO-
data.whicdn.com/images/31870004/tumblr_m6kpg7KjR61qiwuxx_large.gif

i.imgur.com/aFgZa.gif

The circule is complete.

[Hustlin Tom]

Hey everyone! Good news! The next appendix, "The Sorrow and the Temptation" is now up! I'd love to hear from you all again, and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as you guys enjoyed this story!