A Shot in the Darkness
I suddenly awoke, quite unexpected, from a rather rough sleep. Clearly I'd gotten very used to the soft beds in the palace- my spine was killing me. I looked about me in surprise, determined to figure out what was going on or where I was.
"Hello?" I called, as I stood up. "Is anypony there?"
The dreamscape was full of clouds and stars burning in the distance, and I seemed to be walking on a cloud (although not lonely as one). A free cookie if you recognise the reference, by the way.
Suddenly, a mysterious shape, that looked like a pony, appeared beside me. I couldn't make out her appearance, but she seemed to be an ally from her body language. And I know it was a she from her voice. "Zipp," they said.
I knew that voice. It was the one that spoke when I was first turned into Zipp! "Who are you?" I asked.
"Who I am does not matter now," said the voice. "But what does matter is what I'm about to tell you. I know things are not ideal right now."
"That's the understatement of the decade," I sighed, rubbing my back as best I could. "A coup, us being trapped in the mountains, and now two potential dictators running around the place- sure sounds like a bad situation to me."
"I am aware of your frustrations, Zipp," the voice continued. "But you are here for a special purpose. You were sent here with a very important mission. For you see, the world is under threat from a foe so terrible no one pony can defeat it."
I perked my ears up immediately, even if these things sometimes seemed to have a life of their own. "Opaline?"
"No, not Opaline," said the voice. "It may seem hard to believe, but Opaline actually wants the same thing as you. She wishes to avert the destruction of the world, not destroy it herself."
"Well that sinks that theory," I said to myself.
"But this threat poses grave consequences to this world- one he despises by virtue of it just existing," the voice continued, showing me moments from my past. "I know you've had scrapes, but you and seven others have been chosen- chosen for a very special purpose."
So I wasn't just randomly turned into a pony for shits and giggles. That sentence still sounds absurd no matter what way you slice it. "So why me? Why some guy from a cold northern town?"
"Because of the contents of your heart," the voice said. "You are like her in so many ways."
"Ah. So you're my personal alicorn who'll also turn me into an alicorn! That's how this works, right?"
"Unfortunately, no. That version of the dreamscape ceased to be when Celestia retired."
I breathed a sigh of relief. I had quite enough appendages to manage right now. Speaking of which my wing was cramping badly.
"But keep your eye out for the other seven," the voice continued. "Only with their help can you stand a chance of defeating the One with the Stripes. But I am always with you. I will always be there for you. I may only be observing from a distance, but I will always be there to stand by your side. Best of luck, Zipp."
Just then, the dreamworld went white, and in an instant I woke up at the moutaintop campsite we'd occupied. Nobody else was awake. Just me.
I looked up at the night sky, and stars and the moon glowing up above. I sighed as I tried to settle back down to my sleep, but something continued to bother my mind. What had any of that dream meant?
I trotted over to the cliff edge and looked out into the open void of blackness before me, lit partly by distant fires and the gloom of the moon's light. I had to puzzle this out.
So, there was this spirit that brought me and seven others to this land? That would suggest seven other people who were turned into ponies! But who?
And then it made sense. First Pipp, then Sunny, Izzy, Misty, and then mom. All of them were former humans!
That adds up to six, though, if you include me in the tally. Who were the other two, then?
Hitch seemed like an obvious candidate as he serves a heroic role in the movie, but who then was the seventh pony who would be helping us?
Was it Opaline? It seemed as though she had the same goal as us, even if she probably ultimately was doing it for selfish reasons- you can't rule over a world that's been destroyed, after all.
I decided I needed to rest more. I went back over to the campsite and settled down for sleep, my eyelids drooping as I did nothing in particular.
I'd do most things to get a proper mattress out here.
The next morning arrived, and with it came sunlight. Sunlight cutting through the clouds of my doubt. I had often wondered if I had a purpose in life, and it seemed I had finally found that purpose. True, I wasn't expecting that purpose to be roaming around Equestria as a fictional character (and a flightless princess at that), but there wasn't a lot I could do about that. I was here for the long term.
And truth be told I was starting to get pretty comfortable in this body. It'd been shocking at first, but I realised then I was growing to enjoy this a bit. That explains why Pipp seemed to be having such a great time- if what she told me was true then this new life was a drastic improvement over her old one, even if it came with a tendancy to use connectives incorrectly.
Once we'd packed up, we were back on our way across Equestria, climbing through soaring peaks so high they scraped the very ceiling of the sky. I soaked it all up as closely as I could, and even took some snaps on my FlyPad. The soldier from yesterday had rigged up a charging box from an old generator as a way of apologising for his outburst yesterday. I appreciated the gesture- we all get a bit hot under the collar in stressful situations, and my behaviour wasn't exactly princess of the month material either.
As we continued on our way, we found another odd sight. Sitting before us was the crash site of another chopper!
"Are you sure we're going the right way, Zoom?" the Colonel asked.
"Positive, sir!" Zoom said. "This chopper has different tail markings to the one we were in."
The Colonel peered at the number painted on the rear boom, and his eyes widened. "I recognise that number," he said. "That helicopter has been missing for the best part of a decade. This is where it must have crashed!"
I stepped over to take a look, and studied it closely. It looked to have some sort of message inscriped next to it. I read it aloud. "HRH down. Have sought shelter. Will try to raise contact. Burial sight nearby."
HRH... Of course. This was the chopper carrying mom's husband! Or... my dad, I guess. This was getting too confusing for words as my pony and human lives got ever more blurred together.
I stepped round to one side and found a grave, with an improvised headstone made from metal from the crash site. It had a singular message- In memory of Private Speedwind. Greater love hath no pony, that a pony give his life for his friends.
We took a moment to pay our respects, and then moved on into the hills. Our equipment was heavy and starting to weigh us down- stuff chafing on your back legs is pretty awkward.
Suddenly, an alarm went off overhead, and it seemed as though somepony had set off a tripwire. We held position.
"Assume defensive formation!" the Colonel barked. "Move the Royal Family to the middle!"
The lines rearranged like clockwork, and I looked forward to see what else was going on. A group of pegasi, dressed in battered uniforms, moved around the corner and stopped.
"Weapons down, they're pegasi," said one of them. "Nice to see a friendly face out here."
The Colonel looked in surprise. "Captain Feldsturm? You're alive?"
"It's takes more than a few bumps to slow this old warhorse down, Lieutenant. Though what I want to know is how you got here?"
"Same way you did, sir."
Zoom glanced over. "Sir, you outrank him."
Opwinden glanced back. "I trained under him when I transferred to the Royal Guard. I was lower in rank than him when he went missing, so I'll break it to him gently. Besides, he has combat experience I do not."
Just then, another figure appeared. He was a grey stallion with a faded golden mane and a wild beard, as would befit a pony stuck out in the wastes for so long.
He looked at me in surprise. "Zephyrina? It's been so long."
In an instant I knew who he was.
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A new chapter is here!
awesome chapter mate keep it up cant wait for the next chapter
resistance movements help downed allied airmen back to england or netural countries
Another really well-done chapter. Definitely appreciated the effort going into the dialogue, characterizations and future chapter set-up. The "dream world" chat between "Zipp" and the one that brought "her" and the others to G5 Equestria was rather good, including point outs concerning Opaline and the playful jab at Twilight's ascension. And "Zipp" has already figured out six of the other seven but will know the seventh in a few days. Also liked the reflection on the helicopter that was holding Haven's husband/Zipp and Pipp's father and that meeting with that lost Captain who trained the Colonel. And that other figure, well, I have my hunch on that too, but will keep quiet about that hunch.
I am really looking forward to more of this.
11860742
Glad you liked it.
11860744
Interestingly, these resistance movements were a partial inspiration to Wilbert Awdry; Oliver's escape from scrap bears a lot of similarities to allied airman escape narratives.
11860748
A lot of the fun was to add themes from media I enjoy-I am aware that conveying narrative info through dreams is a rather clunky narrative device, but it's a plot theme that G4 also used (and TYT has partly adopted it if Swirlpool Starlight is anything to go by.
Another source of inspiration was a VR experience I did at the National Infantry and Soldier Center in Columbus, GA-one of the scenarios I participated in was defending a crashed chopper (a sequence lifted straight from Black Hawk Down). And you'll get more clues as to whom this is tomorrow.
terrible, nopony can defeat it."*
I think I know who 6 of those 'others' are, but not the last one.
Glad they made up.
Rest his soul.
I was in that group myself when twilight became an alicorn. But overtime, I've come to enjoy her more as an alicorn very much. Plus, she looks good with wings.
11860825
1. Not sure what the problem is here.
2. Keep guessing!
3. Indeed. Everybody fights with other people, but it's what happens afterwards that defines us.
4. Agreed. Many years gone.
5. I joined shortly after Twilicorn, so the entire debate seemed a tad silly from my position. Once I'd gotten caught up on the first few seasons I was more able to understand why many users were upset by the change. Then we saw it happen again over Sunnycorn...
11860825
You're right about the comma, but the "no one pony" was actually right, as it was saying it is going to take an entire group working together to do the job (i.e. "no ONE pony can do it alone").
If you've been following the other stories in this series, including his co-writer's stories, you would already know the seventh. But that's us, not "Zipp".
Otherwise, great points all around.
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I can link the co-author's stories if you'd like. They give another perspective on what's going on. Besides, I think Jimmy would appreciate the patronage.
11860861
Thx but I'm good.
11860865
ok.