Her Candidates

by Nyte-Blade

The Factor of Hope- Part 1

~Previously~

After the encounter with newly revived King Sombra and escaping from the Windigos, Twilight, Trisha, Megan, Hover Clear, and Shining Armor are saved by the fire of friendship.

Their victory is short lived however, the moment the cabin is broken into and Twilight is held at gunpoint by a couple of strange beings wearing a the mask of a horse’s head, later revealed to be humans.

A short, but quick fight occurs, and the two humans, despite their seemingly adept knowledge at fighting ponies, are easily defeated by Trisha, who took them by surprise. They felt that Trisha shouldn’t be attacking them since they’re fellow humans.

The group would asks the tied up assailants who sent them and why, but many of the answers they gave were dodgy. Afterwards, they chanted a spell that turned their bodies into Star Mist, seemingly committing suicide.

Despite the horrifying end to their journey of the frozen north, the group is now left with even more questions than answers.

Did a pony really come to the human world?

That was the biggest question on everyone’s mind right now.

---

“Yo, it took ya long enough to get back! I was starting to think we’d have to go out and search!” Rainbow Dash greeted everyone with a smile, along with Applejack and Fluttershy at the Crystal Docks.

“Where ya’ll been?! The town looks like a stampede of buffalo ran the place down!!” Applejack pointed to the disastrous scene, filling Twilight in on the news.

“We know what happened already.” Twilight said with a grimace.

“Not about all of the Crystal Ponies abandoning the kingdom!” Rainbow added.

“What!?” Twilight, widening her eyes upon hearing that, runs out to the town square, only to notice that it feels cold and desolate now. Looking around, the doors to several houses are left wide open, many shops are ruined more than ever despite the damage from the Shadowbolts’ attack, and the entire area has lost the warmth that it once had. The Crystal Empire had felt desolate, nothing like what she had seen when she first arrived back when the place magically returned after a thousand years.

Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow explain to the others about a majority of the crystal ponies running away from the empire the moment King Sombra was revived. They actually sensed his presence and they wanted nothing to do with Sombra again. Not after everything that’s happened involving his tyranny.

“It’s worse than I thought...” Twilight looked down, pacing left and right, repeating to herself how bad the situation is.

“Where’s Cadence?” Shining Armor quickly asked.

“In her room.” Fluttershy answered quickly. Shining Armor of course, would suddenly use his magic to teleport. After the brief magical flash, Fluttershy sees Megan, and what he’s holding in his arms, causing her eyes to widen in fear. “W-W-WHAT IS THAT!?”

Megan narrows his eyes, confused as to why the yellow pegasus is suddenly paralyzed with fear. He then looks at the horse head in his arms.

Fluttershy’s breathing became rigid and rapid, unable to move a muscle.

“S-s-sugarcube...?” Applejack looked at Fluttershy, feeling her trembling violently. Her voice too suddenly started to vibrate the longer she stared at that mask.

“Cover the mask!” Trisha shouted, prompting Megan to put the mask behind his back. Fluttershy then collapsed, but seemed to be back to normal.

“T-t-that, that thing!!!” Fluttershy spoke wobbly..

“I don’t like these things either, but the humans who attacked us was wearing them. We-” Twilight tried to explain.

“Wait, HUMANS!? Ya’ll were attacked by humans?!” Applejack cut Twilight’s explaination off, desperately asking.

“Yeah, and we managed to beat them, but,” Twilight trailed off, suddenly feeling crestfallen.

“Wait... you didn’t...?!” Fluttershy’s eyes quivered at the thought of them murdering humans this time. To Trisha and Megan, it was clear that she just doesn’t like the idea of bloodshed to begin with.

“No, they kinda killed themselves.” Trisha answered gravely.

“Uh, kinda? How do you ‘kinda’ kill yourself?” Rainbow asked tightly.

“We’ll explain everything when we get back to the palace.” Twilight said, beckoning everyone to go inside to meet with everyone else.

“Rainbow, I have to ask, where is Jeremy anyway?” Trisha asked, walking next to her, gripping the inside of her pocket.

“I took him to the academy.” Rainbow answered in a taut manner.

“The Wonderbolt Academy?” Trisha asked, feeling nostalgic.

“Yeah, It was the first thing that came in my head as I was flying away from the Windigos.” The multi-colored pegasus sighed.

“Why didn’t you just take him back here?” Trisha asked.

“I didn’t want to risk leading the Windigos here!” Rainbow quickly glared at Trisha.

“Well, judging from what we know, the Crystal Empire and the Frozen North are practically neighboring lands. I don’t think it’s that big of a stretch to say that those phantoms would want to freeze the Empire too.” Megan interjected, understanding Rainbow’s reasoning.

“Exactly! You forget how awesome I am! Your friend’s safe, got it?”

“He’s your friend too, right?” Trisha asked.

“W-we just have a common enemy! Why would I wanna be friends with that jerk anyway?” Rainbow scoffed at the remarked, then began to rant in a hushed tone. “That idiot hasn’t said anything since we got there. He didn’t even want to move. I really wanted to punch him, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. how could he sulk like that! Who does he think he is!? That sulking isn’t cool at all!”

Trisha didn’t say anything else after hearing that. She knew that Rainbow was probably more upset than anyone else. She knew that nothing she would say would cheer anyone up. She didn’t know what to feel either, whether to feel upset at Celestia for breaking his resolve so thoroughly, or at Jeremy himself for being in this state. She pursed her lips and clenched her fist, knowing that despite that, she knows that they have even bigger things to worry about.

How does King Sombra know about Humans?

Who in the world is ‘Heartseed’?

Why did Celestia call Ruby the ‘Midnight Lost Child’?

Why are there humans who want to bring Everlasting Night to the Human World?

And did ponies come to their world already?

So many questions buzzed through her mind as she headed to the Crystal Palace, and she was sure that they would buzz through the minds of her friends as well when she breaks the news to them. In a way, knew that the discussion would be a long one.

---

Meanwhile, inside Cadence's room, Shining Armor arrived, startling the crystal princess out of their bed through the crystal-like sheets. She wasn’t expecting him to be back at the moment, but a smile formed on her lips the moment she saw him, and sighed a breath of relief. The two trotted across the red, crystal-like carpet to each other and embraced each other.

“I’m so glad you’re back!” Cadence cried in his arms.

“Of course I’m back. Are you okay? Did Sombra hurt you?!” Shining Armor desperately asked, checking for any injuries.

“I’m fine, dear. I’m just exhausted. There’s so much going on, I don’t know what to do!” Cadence answered, panicked.

“It’s okay, I’m here for you! We’ll restore the empire to it’s former glory-” Shining Armor tried to comfort her, but was interrupted.

“I don’t think you understand! The fact that the Crystal Ponies ran away, they’ve taken all of the trains available, and they won’t be back until King Sombra is defeated! That in itself has thrown the balance of harmony in a state of disarray! It was my duty to keep that from happening, and I’ve failed!”

“It’s not your fault. We didn’t predict that King Sombra would come back. But we can still fix this. I mean, this can’t be any worse than the Changeling invasion, right? And Twily and her friends will help us bring the Crystal Ponies back.”

“They won’t listen to reason until King Sombra is gone! This was the very thing I was afraid of the very day the Crystal Empire returned!”

“I know. Taking him down is part of the plan. We won’t let him win.” Shining held his wife in his arms until his eyes wandered to a letter on their bed. He uses his magic to hover the letter over to them after ending their warm embrace. “A letter from the princess? When’d she write this?”

“It was here when I came to. It’s addressed to everyone here, but I’ve yet to read it.”

“The humans included?”

“Yes.”

---

As for Twilight and her friends, they got together to discuss their findings, piecing together all the new information.

The discussion is cut short upon knowing that humans attacked earlier.

“To be honest, things have been kinda gettin’ worse ever since them humans arrived here.” Applejack held onto her hat.

“Yeah, but we can’t blame them for what happened!” Twilight defended them.

“Then why the masks!? Those... images!?” Fluttershy folder her forearms, shivering and trying to hold back tears.

“Whoa, what images?” Rainbow asked, having no idea what she meant.

“I seen them too.” Twilight added. “I saw images of humans killing ponies in their world.”

“Ah!” Rarity gasped. “Y-y-you’re, *gulp* surely you speak in jest, right?”

“Oooo, how did they do it?”

“Pinkie, this isn’t funny!”

“I know. But how did they do it?”

“You know what a ‘gun’ is, right?” Twilight asked, then went to finish her answer, “They shot them with it; right in the head.”

Upon hearing that, Rarity nearly fainted, and the levees in Fluttershy’s eyes finally broke.

“Why, it’s those masks, right?” Applejack asked, trying to stay strong for everypony’s sake.

“Yes. Those masks seem to have a strange power. If you make eye-contact with them just once, you’re going to see those images.” Twilight explained.

“And the reason?” Pinkie asked.

“Reason?” Twilight asked, trying to not glare.

“You know, the reason for the shooting, killing and stuff!” Pinkie clarified. She was bubbly as usual, but she seemed to understand just how serious the topic is.

“I don’t know. To be honest, I didn’t hear anything.” Twilight answered, looking down at the crystal floor as she struggled to recall any voices.

“Then be honest with us, Twi.. What exactly did you see? We need a clear description!” Applejack pressed.

“Wha?”

“Come on, Twilight! I refuse to stop liking my new human friends!” Twilight was taken aback by Pinkie’s words.

Pinkie had a point. She was starting to understand humans a little. She was starting to see that they were a friendly species.

“You’re right. I’m sure Lyra only obsessed over humans for the best parts, not the worst parts.” Twilight thought, thinking about a certain mint-green unicorn. “Wait, why did Lyra come to mind?”

“Well? What’d you see?” Rainbow asked, wanting Twilight to answer.

“Well, I think we should talk to the humans first before we continue this discussion,” Twilight sighed, “I don’t want to feel like we’re plotting against them now.”

“Tch. you guys shoulda did that with me before you pulled that Mare-Do-Well stunt.” Rainbow said under her breath while pursing her lips.

“Huh?” Twilight asked, wanting to know what Rainbow said, hoping that it wasn’t an objection.

“Don’t worry about it. Just know it wasn’t an objection.”

“Well, err, okay.”

“Mind if we joined that discussion?”

“Spitfire? Soarin? What are you two doing here?” Twilight was surprised to see the two Wonderbolts in their Officer uniforms instead of their usual suits.

“We decided to take a trip here when we crossed paths with Rainbow Dash. She told us that she’d fill us in on everything that happened here if we came, so we did.” Spitfire answered.

“And you’re just in time too! Hopefully we can actually come up with some answers this time.” Twilight said, slightly agitated.

---

Meanwhile, at the cafeteria section of the Crystal Palace, the humans grabbed several chairs and sat around each other in a circle so they could have their discussion. Funny enough, this is how their club meetings would work, so it was a bit of nostalgia.

“Humans? you’re kidding! So, we’re not the only ones here?” Chris asked.

“Ooooh boy...” Martin grabbed his head out of nervousness.

“That’s great! We might be able to ask them how-” Alice’s suggestion was immediately shot down.

“These other humans are less likely to cooperate. We can’t just act as if we trust them when it’s clear they have some goal.” Megan said.

“This whole adventure just went into conspiracy territory.” Mia sighed as she gripped the edge of her shirt.

“What do you mean?” Trisha asked.

“Well, if there’s some sort of mastermind behind all of this, us coming here, the monster, the shadow ponies, Ruby being kidnapped, Avu turning into a monster, that’s... that just can’t be right.” Mia listed off everything that’s happened so far, expressing her disbelief of the idea of a mastermind.

“Isn’t that just biased to dismiss the possibility though?” Eva asked.

“Well, I don’t like conspiracies. No, really. I hate them to the core. It makes people paranoid and stupid! Conspiracies cause discord!”

“You’re saying that this whole plot might make us lose faith in humanity?” Trisha summarized Mia’s words while hoping she wasn’t far off the mark.

“Fool.” Megan crossed his legs and folded his arms, shooting a glare at Mia.

“Wh-how am I...!?” Mia’s glare didn’t faze Megan at all.

“It’s true, most conspiracies are foolish and it’s one of the few things that makes the vocal minority distrust our government. But if that conspiracy turns out to be true, without much room for doubt, then what? Are we to turn a blind eye to the facts? Face it. There is a mastermind, and if it’s a conspiracy, then so be it. That possibility isn’t something worth dismissing when we have plenty of facts to support the theory.”

“Everything happens for a reason, ya know?” Martin summarized Megan’s explanation, earning a scowl from him.

“But it’s still a conspiracy! I thought Nightmare Moon was the villain, but this isn’t even right! We’re going completely off track now!” Mia refused to face the possibility, considering everything that’s happened.

“We’re not off track at all. Simply put, the humans who attacked us implied that they’re working for the Nightmare Monster, but other words they mentioned implied there’s a third party they’re working for. They even went so far as to kill themselves so they wouldn’t spill any tortured secrets.” Megan countered Mia’s argument.

“Whoa, ponies can torture!?” Eva asked, taken aback by the sudden implication.

“That means they might be into S&M!” Kitsu quipped.

“You idiot, don’t say that! I don’t want to imagine that kind of thing with... ponies!” Mina elbowed Kitsu on the side.

“Hiiiiiiiiiii everyone!” Pinkie suddenly poked her head between Trisha and Megan’s seats, startling them both.

“Hmph! Foolish pony.” Megan said in his usual condescending tone, but took a deep breath to remain composed.

“Sorry to interrupt, but we need to talk. Can we join in on your discussion?” Twilight asked, dragging a chair to the circle.

“Please do. To be honest, I want your input on this matter.” Megan said, then turned his head around to see two unfamiliar pegasi with Twilight and her friends. Two pegasi who wore blue, button-up shirts that resemble a standard-issue police uniform. “I wasn’t aware you brought friends.”

“I guess the new faces I see are the humans that the ones we saved were referring to.” Spitfire scanned the faces of Megan, Mason, Chris, Martin, and Alice. “I’m Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts.”

“And I’m Soarin, the second-in-command. We want in on this discussion, because we feel it’ll help us learn more or at least, figure out why Lightning Dust went rogue.” The light-blue pegasus introduced himself.

“Then It’s fair we get acquainted with each other then. I’m Megan Miles.” What a condescending presence he gives off. Spitfire thought.

“I’m Mr. Martin, their teacher and adviser.” He doesn’t seem like a teacher.

“I’m Alice Stanfield! Awesome to meet ya!” Strange clothes. Her friends styles are a little far off, so...

“Mason Takahashi. Nice to meet you.” A human taller than all of his friends. it’s a wonder he isn’t some hot blooded guy like Snowflake. Spitfire thought.

“My name is Chris Ciel King. Nice to meet you err, would it be okay if I call you ‘lovely maiden’ or something?”

“How about, no.” Spitfire flatly answered.

Eva, who is sitting next to her brother, grabbed him by the ear and whispered, “You can’t be serious!”

“Hey! I was trying to be polite! I wasn’t flirting with her! You know I have standards to uphold!” Chris whispered back.

“What’s with the whole circle anyway?” Soarin’ asked.

“Well, It’s something we kinda adopted when we used to have a round table at school. We just kinda wanted to recreate the atmosphere.” Eva explained, “Ah! But it’s not like we’re homesick of anything.”

“That won’t be too far off.” Mina spoke in a matter-of-factly tone.

“Come on, it’s only been a few days!” Kitsu waved off the worrying claim.

“Doesn’t change the fact that it can happen anyway. We’re in a world we still know very little about! The second you think about your family, you’ll be more likely to get that way!” Mina stated the facts.

“Then just avoid the topic for now. It’s as simple as that.” Megan said.

Seconds later, Cadence and Shining Armor would also join the circle of chairs instinctively, with the husband using his magic to pull forward two chairs for himself and his mare.

With the circle full, the discussion of today’s happenings began immediately. With so many questions on everyone’s mind, no one was be willing to wait. With everything that’s happened so far, they wanted to reach some answers.

“Ahem. Now that everyone is gathered here...” Megan started off.

“Dude, you might mean ‘everypony’.” Kitsu attempted to correct.

“I refuse to say ‘everypony’. In any case, I’ll be the one to start this meeting since our foolish leader decided to sulk over his own actions...” Megan crossed his legs and snapped his fingers. “First thing we should discuss, is the humans attacking us, and their relation to the enemies we’ve encountered over the course of this whole ordeal.”

“I want to discuss the corpses we found first, actually.” Twilight started off.

“C-c-corpses?!” Fluttershy shrieked at the mention of the word.

“Yes, Fluttershy. We found human corpses at a Mining Facility we discovered. We only discovered two, but, I get the feeling there may have been more...” The purple unicorn put a hoof to her chin.

“More? How could have there been more!? The room those bodies were in looked small!” Rainbow objected.

“From that angle anyway.” Megan interjected.

“Angle?”

“There was something there obstructing our view of that room. Do you remember what it is?”

“Something obstructing it...” Trisha closed her eyes, replaying that scene in her mind. “Ah! The capsules!”

“She’s right. Those strange containers with the dead creatures; they obstructed our view, and we even averted our eyes to most of it.” Shining Armor backed up Trisha’s claim.

“Oh, I forgot about those! Well, more like, I wanted to block them from my mind.” Rainbow looked away, pursing her lips.

“It’s okay! It’d be strange if you didn’t!” Trisha reassured her.

“Pony experiments, right...?” Fluttershy asked, hesitantly.

“Yes.” Twilight confirmed with a grimace.

“What else was there?” The light-yellow pegasus inquired further.

“All sorts of mythical creatures, but the ones up front were mainly from the Everfree Forest.” Twilight listed off the various creatures from all over Equestria, even other ponies, which only made Fluttershy all the more horrified. But a single gulp was enough to force back what little composure she had when dealing with such a morbid topic to her.

“Everfree? How’s that even possible? Dontcha think we woulda noticed somethin’ strange out there if these humans were out huntin’?” Apple

“Applejack, you make a good point, but that’s something that we won’t know until we have a way of knowing when these experiments were performed.” Mina said.

“So...” Fluttershy took a deep breath, then asked, “Did the humans perform the experiments?”

“Perhaps.” Megan answered.

“Think the dead ones are the culprits?” Shining Armor surmised.

“I have a theory,” Rarity chimed in. “Perhaps, a pony actually murdered the humans you’re speaking of?”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, curious about Rarity’s line of reasoning.

“Perhaps, that somepony killed those humans for experimenting on his or her kind, for the sake of the revenge?”

“That kinda depends on how the humans died, you know.” Spitfire added. “We can’t say for sure that a pony did it unless we know the method.”

“The method?” Trisha asked Spitfire.

“Well yeah. I mean, did a Pegasus take’em into the sky and drop’em? Did they strike’em with lightning with a cloud? Did a Unicorn use some form of magic to kill them? Did an earth pony break their bones with a simple buck?”

“Pfft- gah!” Kitsu giggled to himself at that last bit, only to earn an elbow to the side from Mina.

“Now that I think about it...” Trisha thought to herself. “Ah! Wait, there was a hole on their bodies. A hole around their stomach areas!”

“I see... then maybe a pony did it after all. Specifically, a unicorn.” Spitfire theorized.

“With magic? T-there’s a magic for killing people!?” Chris asked, looking at Twilight and Rarity with quivering eyes.

“Well, yes and no.” Twilight answered quickly, catching on to Chris’s fear. “We can’t kill anypony with magic unless we use dark magic. And at magic school, they teach us to never, ever use it, you’ll suffer from the side effects.”

“B-but, what about that Sombra pony? He’s a unicorn, right!?” Chris asked.

“Was.” Cadence reminded.

“Oh, right... you guys killed him before.” Chris solemnly uttered those words, earning a slight scowl from Cadence.

“You say that like we wanted to do it!” Cadence directed her annoyance at the unfortunate implications.

“Chris, don’t you watch TV and Movies? Whenever there’s a bad guy on the loose, the good guys usually kill him in the end. This scenario’s no different. This isn’t a movie, sure, but Sombra was a tyrant, and terrorized this princess’s people. They did it because it was the right thing, not because they wanted to.” Mina tore Chris’s implications apart, making him silent. She then looked away, finishing her statement. “Besides, I wholeheartedly support their actions in taking down a tyrant.”

“Well, It’s not like that in horror flicks though! The bad guy always comes back to life!” Alice said enthusiastically. “Actually, this really does feel like a horror flick! At least it’s not a lame slasher though.”

“I’ll apologize for my brother’s paranoia. He doesn’t hate you guys, but still. He has his reasons for being the way he is.” Eva waved off her brother’s remarks.

“Yeah, but...”

“Shut up, Chris!”

“......” The young blonde boy groaned as he hung his head low, holding his left arm.

“Actually, I got a problem with this whole line of reasoning.” Soarin finally spoke up. “You guys are trying to say that King Sombra was the culprit, right? That blonde haired human made a good point if you ask me.”

“Chris?” Eva asked.

“Yeah. He said Sombra was dead. Isn’t that where things don’t add up? How can he kill anyone if he wasn’t even alive to do it?”

“We can also rule Lightning Dust out as a suspect as well since I doubt she was under anypony’s control at the time. That, and the only blood she wants to spill is that of the Wonderbolts.” Spitfire added.

“Wait, there’s something not right though.” Twilight put a hoof to her chin again.

“Yeah. The condition the bodies were in is enough to show that Sombra’s a possible culprit, right?” Shining Armor reminded.

“The bodies...” Trisha closed her eyes for another moment. “The bodies were a little decayed, weren’t they?”

“Precisely.” Megan confirmed. “Of course, once again, we all turned our eyes away

“Well, how long were those bodies there?” Spitfire asked.

“We don’t know. We stopped looking upon seeing them. All I can recall is that the bodies looked like they were rotting a little.” Trisha answered.

“...!!” Fluttershy slammed her eyes shut, shivering and feverishly shaking her head.

“Sounds like the humans you found were killed a while ago. But that still doesn’t exactly make that tyrant a suspect. Not until we can determine when those humans died.”

“Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaah, I’m gonna go with Spitfire on this one.” Kitsu scratched his head. “I mean, that dude just came back to life, and he used Avu’s body to do it, ya know?”

“Is the death of those humans really all that important though?” Alice asked.

“I’d like to think it is.Think about it: The fact that the bodies were rotting by the time we got there means that the humans have probably been in Equestria for a while. We’re not the only ones here. Not to mention, there’s the ones that attacked us, and that there’s eight others just like them.” Megan said.

“You want to determine just how long the humans have been here, right?” Cadence asked.

“Yes. If we can figure out that information, we can answer nearly all the questions we have. If the humans were here much longer than we were, that could mean that travel between this world and ours is more simple than you might’ve made it out to be.” Megan concluded his claim.

“About the Followers...”

“What do you mean, Mason?” Alice asked.

“Ah. Perhaps that’s the name for them. It’s quite fitting for a group who tries to enforce the will of the monster.” Megan added.

“Oh, how cute, even in a brainless, single-minded way! It’s like they’re Zombies!” Alice clasped her hands together, rambling on with enthusiasm.

“Yeah, but didn’t you say they’re dead too?” Mia asked.

“Heh, more like suicide.” Rainbow corrected.

Mia scowling at Rainbow, “Same difference! Tomato, Tomato!” she grumbled.

“Ah, Twilight, I recall you saying that these humans; they turned into a mist similar to Nightmare Moon, yes?” Rarity inquired.

“Right.” Twilight answered.

“Then certainly they left something of importance to them behind, yes? Something that could prove quite beneficial?” Rarity leaned forward in her chair.

“The wallets!” Shining Armor exclaimed. “Yeah, I had planned to ask that blond kid some questions!”

“Huh...?” Chris, rose his head, staring at the white stallion in disbelief.

“Does ‘King’s Foundation’ Ring any bells?” Shining Armor asked curly.

“Eh!? Wait, how do you know about my father’s business?!” Chris widened his eyes as his lips began to quiver.

“The humans who attacked had wallets made by that company,” Shining answered, then pointed a hoof towards Chris, “They probably worked for that company, and for you by extension!”

“W-wha, wait! No, hold on!” Chris tried to explain in a fit of panic. “You can’t be serious! Just because I’m the heir to the company, you think I planned this?! That’s what it is, isn’t it!?”

“Well, how can you explain those wallets!? They even had photos of other people! One of them looked like you! An older version of you, so we can only believe that it’s your father! You have to know something here!”

“Oh come on! I have nothing to do with this crisis! I didn’t send some guys to attack my friends, and-”

“But that’s the problem right there!” Shining cut him off, fiercely pushing his claim forward. “Megan Miles and Trisha Cole are your friends, right?! The humans never focused on them, their sights were set on us ponies!”

“Look, they just happened to be from father’s company! Those guys weren’t sent by me! And there’s no way my father can be involved in this! I wouldn’t wanna hurt you guys either! You saved my life!” Chris finally made his rebuttal, and added, “And for crying out loud, how would I even have the time to send for some guys to attack anyway!? Ever since that day you saved us, we were kept in that freaking hospital room for about, three or four days!”

“First of all, I put you and your friends to sleep for a few days, but-”

“SAME DIFFERENCE!” Chris snapped briefly, but since it was Cadence, “Ah, I’m sorry for screaming at a lovely princess such as yourself, but still!”

“Don’t disrespect my mare!” Shining Armor’s glare caused Chris to shriek back in his chair.

“Perhaps there’s a problem your claim.” Spitfire chimed in.

“What!?” Chris couldn’t catch a break.

“Well, I think you’re forgetting that his little sister is in this room.” Spitfire reminded, pointing a hoof at Eva.

“I’m the older sister, goddamn it!” Eva sharply replied. “Wait, now you wanna shift the blame to me!?”

“Not necessarily. But you’re free to make a counter-argument.”

“Why do I feel we just turned this discussion into a court room?” Soarin’ asked.

“Beats me. But it kinda reminds me of this one game I’m sooo into right now.” Kitsu answered with a cheshire cat grin.

“This is serious! We don’t have time for jokes!” Mina scolded.

“If you’re thinking I sent those guys, then you couldn’t be further from the truth!” Eva began her counter argument, leaning forward in her chair, “I left that family! I wanted nothing to do with my father!”

“Then why did you leave?” Spitfire asked.

“That doesn’t matter! Just know that I did, and I have no connection to the King’s Foundation!”

“You kinda just dug a grave for yourself.” Martin palmed his face, sighing.

“Wha-”

“Sounds suspicious to me.” Spitfire said.

“We can’t just call her a suspect out of the blue like that!” Twilight argued.

“Twily, those humans tried to kill you, and even spat on you. I can’t just let this go!”

“And so you turn around suspecting me and my brother of being the culprits!? No offense, but you’re being an idiot! A dumbass!”

“Why you...!"

“Try to look at it from his perspective: If someone spat on your brother, or tried to kill him, you wouldn’t react too favorably either, would you?” Martin cooly asked.

“Of course not! He’s a lame brother, but he’s my brother!”

“Good. In that case, allow me to interject with one of my own theories, like a good teacher would.”

“We’re all ears.” Spitfire said, beckoning him to proceed.

“Okay. It was when I took my students to the front half of the airplane. We tried to check and see if the radio would work, if we could contact someone for help. The idea came to me when Jeremy was rambling like an idiot about the possibility of this place being just an island.”

“Actually, about that... he’s not that far off the mark.” Cadence said, surprising Martin for a bit.

“Is that so?”

“Well, Equestria is an island, yes. But then there’s the Griffon Kingdom to the east, the land of Dragons to the south, the bat ponies to the west, and to the north, we have the Windigo homeland.” Cadence answered.

“Haaaa... so we really are in another world.” Mr. Martin sighed, but continued his explaination. “You see, I picked up the radio, I was calling for help, basically. I heard a voice on the other end, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.”

“Hold on Mr. Martin, surely you’re not saying...!” Chris worried for his teacher.

“Yes. While you guys were out there, I probably alerted those guys. Probably. Soooooo, yeah. Sending those guys was probably my fault. It wasn’t intentional though. But it makes sense, given the location.”

“The location?” Twilight asked.

“Well, didn’t you all tell us that the place you were attacked was an area with several cabins spread out there? I thought there could’ve been a radio out there. Maybe.”

“Are you saying you have connections to the King’s Foundation!?” Shining Armor sharply asked.

“I have none whatsoever.” The teacher calmly answered, followed by a sigh.

“Then why are you even making that claim!?”

“Well, i’m just a bit annoyed that you’re kinda throwing some crazy accusations around. Yes, I understand that you’re making a connection based on evidence, but I don’t believe we have enough to determine our culprit. Perhaps you’re ticked off at the humans that attacked your group hurt your sister, but why don’t we focus the blame on those who actually committed the action? It’s as if you’re saying my students are talented enough to mastermind some complex and crazy plot.” Mr. Martin gave a calm smile, then scratched his head, “I suppose I should thank you for complimenting them though. To think they’re that talented.”

“Guh...!” Shining eventually calmed down.

“Now, hold on there! They ain’t out of the woods yet!” Applejack cut in this time.

“Oh come on!!!” Chris cried out.

“Ya’ll still ain’t explained them fancy wallets those humans had!”

“Geh...” Chris wore a grimace as he knew exactly where this was going.

“Hmph. I suppose you bring up a good point, but the wallets’ importance is nil, despite the label.” Megan said.

“How can ya say that!? It connects them humans ta those kids!”

“Hey!” Eva grumbled.

“Those photos we found in them!” Trisha’s eyes lit up. She dug into her pocket to take out the photos she was referring to. The one she displayed up front first, contained a picture of a group of individuals.

“Those people...” Chris trailed off.

“You mean to tell me... this many humans came to our world?!” Rarity asked.

“I wonder if we could throw a party for them all!”

“Last I checked, these humans are trying to kill us! they don’t deserve a party!” Shining Armor complained.

“I know those people...” Chris still trailed off, grimly closing his eyes.

“I knew it!”

“WILL YOU SHUT UP AND LET ME SPEAK! JESUS, I CAN’T GET A WORD IN AT ALL!” Chris was reaching his boiling point.

“What, so you can-”

“I’m sorry, I know you’re my BBBFF, and I love you very much, but could you please let him explain?” Twilight politely asked.

“............” Shining Armor reluctantly fell silent.

“Why thank you very much, fair maiden!” Chris spoke light-heartedly to Twilight, but he maintained his serious expression. “These people...” Chris took a deep sigh before finishing his sentence. “They’re, a research group formed about twenty years ago. I wasn’t born at the time, but still, It’s just what I overheard.”

“By that bastard father of ours?” Eva asked.

“Well, no. You see, my Uncle was the one who founded it. You remember Uncle Daryl, right? You actually liked him more than you did my father.”

“Yeah, but looking at the photo, he looks like Chris quite alot. If you hadn’t said it, I would’ve thought that was your dad.” Mina squinted at the photo handed to her.

“Well, that’s because my father has a twin brother. My father’s name is Harold. My Uncle’s name is Daryl.” Chris explained, stopping in between, as if he were still hesitant to explain. “You see, Uncle Daryl was more book smart and research savvy unlike my father, who’s all about business and making money. Naturally, My father inherited the King’s Foundation since he was more qualified. But my uncle? He decided to form a research team called the Merlin Initiative, with my father’s help.”

“Merlin?!” Trisha asked, shocked to hear the name. Her eyes then turn towards her pocket.

“Why are you so shocked? Don’t tell me you’re a big fan of that story, right?” Chris asked.

“A-ah, no reason! Continue!” Trisha nervously urged him on, focusing on her pocket. Spitfire of course, narrows her eyes, looking at Trisha suspiciously.

“Well, as I was saying, this group; they were founded for the purpose of researching mythical creatures. You know, like Bigfoot, or the Lochness Monster, or even the ancient Sphinx. Those things mentioned in legends.” Chris grips his arm, sighing deeply again. “Of course, I only overheard it when I was just a kid.”

“You were quite curious as a kid, huh?” Alice asked enthusiastically.

“I think the real question is how come Eva there doesn’t know about it?” Spitfire asked.

“I told you, it’s because I left the King family! Yeah, my last name remains unchanged. But still, Chris and I don’t even live together!”

“Well, yes. It’s as I said. Eva’s two years older than me, and yet she moved out anyway. She’s always been a bit more mature. But I guess that’s why she chews me out so much.”

“Carry on with the Initiative. How much more do you know?” Megan asked.

“Well, It’s just, I don’t know the ins and outs of it. I did a little snooping every now and again, but that’s after all twenty-four members of that group disappeared ten years ago.”

“Ten years ago? That was when you were only five.” Eva pointed out.

“Eva, you remember when your grandmother and my father had a falling out? My uncle was there, and he took me away so I would hear such a vile argument. That was actually the last time I saw him. He ended up disappearing along with the rest of his crew the next morning.”

“Did he say anything to you?”

“That’s where my mind draws a blank. I can’t even remember anything about what he said. Of course, now I think it may have been important.”

“Well of course. Like the rest of us, you didn’t think you’d wind up in another world, going on some absurd adventure.” Martin sighed.

“You do realize that your revelation is pretty easy to piece together, right? At the very least, you just helped me come to a horrifying conclusion.” Megan said.

“Eh?”

“You said there were twenty-four members of this group, right? One of the two Followers told us that there’s eight others. And with the dead bodies we came across at the mining facility, it’s enough to explain what happened to the rest.”

“You mean, they were killed!?”

“Murdered is more like it.” Megan bluntly put it.

“Great, first a conspiracy, and now a murder mystery. And this seriously has something to do with our arrival?” Mia asked.

“Well, possibly. I’m beginning to think we weren’t pulled here for nothing. Perhaps, we may have been part of an unlucky group of people, but I highly doubt that we were brought to Equestria on a whim.”

“I agree on this. As I said, everything happens for a reason.” Martin said.

“Ugh! This is getting stupid! I hate this! Why a conspiracy!? Why can’t we just go home?!”

“We would if we knew how. There’s no point in getting home sick now.”

“But we just witnessed Avu turn into some tyrant guy, Ruby getting kidnapped, and Jeremy’s in total despair! I don’t know what I’d do if anything else happened to my friends!” Mia’s tears already began to flow from her eyes.

“Surely you don’t suggest we sit and do absolutely nothing.” Megan seethed.

“I... I can’t...”

“Then leave. Go to the bed and just sleep. If you don’t want to contribute to our survival, then leave. We don’t need those who’ll hinder our survival rate. This is survival of the fittest after all.”

“Megan you dumbass!!” Mia got up from her chair and ran away.

“Mia, come back!” Mina ran after her.

“Hmph. Fools.”

“Megan, that was unnecessary.” Mr. Martin scolded.

“No, it was necessary. We have to do everything to survive, you know.”

“Jeremy was saying the same thing! Wasn’t it we who convinced him to think rationally and handle this carefully?!”

“Tch... If anyone should be leader of this crew, it should be me, really. But I guess I’m just a mere number two. Here I am, taking the most action to solve this problem.”

“then why did you hold that horse head mask towards Fluttershy?” Trisha called him out.

“W-what!?” Fluttershy perked up, startled at the revelation. Megan would answer Trisha’s question by turning his attention to the introvert pegasus.

“You froze with fear, did you not? I got you to look into the mask’s eyes and you froze, the same way Twilight did. That was enough to prove my theory that The Followers use the horse head masks to combat your race. Quite adept of them, I believe.” Megan.

“Wait, you knew what that mask was doing to Fluttershy?!” Twilight shot a glare at Megan, who simply responded calmly, but curtly.

“I had a theory. I simply needed a confirmation. One has to make the necessary decisions to take actions that prove to be meritorious. I’m not weak like our foolish leader, so I have no reason to hold back.”

“You jerk!” Rainbow Dash got out of her chair, prepared to charge at Megan, who sat there as calmly as possible. He removes his glasses to clean them however, looking at the lens as he made his reply.

“You’re free to do as you please.” Megan sighed.

“MEGAN!” Martin would stand up and get in between the two. “Stop this at once!! You’re just provoking them! You’re provoking everyone! Didn’t we come here to piece together everything!? What do you gain from stirring up everyone’s feelings like this?!”

“Weeding out the weak. I already removed one weakling. Why not remove the rest?” Megan sighed, put his glasses back on, and walked out, leaving behind an air of unease.

“Awkwarrrrd...” Kitsu whispered to himself. “Uh, well, I think I’ll see how Mia and Mina are doing, soo, uh, Ja ne~!” Kitsu hesitantly slipped away.

“Alright sugarcube, let’s get going.” Applejack beckoned Fluttershy to come along. Rainbow Dash left walked away as well, grumbling about what happened. As Applejack tried to put a hoof around Fluttershy, she shockingly pushed it away and kept walking, picking up the pace.

“Gah, weelllll, that escalated quickly.” Soarin rubbed the back of his mane with a forehoof.

“Haaaah. Is there any alcoholic beverages around?” Martin asked, but backpedaled. “On second thought, forget about that. It’d be pretty weird to assume that you guys had any whiskey.” The teacher sat back down in his chair, leaning backwards a bit.

“That... went down horribly. I thought we were supposed to work together. And here we are, accusing our allies. Of course they’d get hostile; we’re not losing friends like they are.” Cadence spoke gravely.

Everyone knew Cadence had a point as their they hung their heads low, contemplating the discussion today.

“Well, I suppose I went too far to go pointing hooves at a human I helped. I suppose I was still pissed off at how those humans spoke, and the way they treated my sis, you know.”

“Umm, I guess I need to apologize as well. Yes, I guess I’m a little hostile towards Chris here, but I still love my brother. But for me, my bitterness stems from something else. Something I actually wish were envy.” Eva apologized to both Chris and Shining Armor. “I’m sorry for taking it out on you. On both of you.”

“Getting accused of being the bad guy isn’t a nice thing! And now we’ve saddened this lovely maiden! Her tears, beautiful like a clear, crystal lake! Wait, I shouldn’t be saying that, sorry.”

“Err, it’s quite alright.” Cadence awkwardly waved off Chris’s weird compliment.

“Being seen as the bad guy, huh? Even though you’re only just doing what you think is right or minding your own business?” Trisha asked, leaning back and staring at the ceiling.

“Why, yes! That’s precisely what it was like, lovely!” Chris enthusiastically agreed.

“I know that feeling a little too well, and to be honest, I kinda hate it. But watching it happen, you just don’t know what to say, I guess.” Trisha grimaced. “Well, I’d rather not look at those days.”

“Princess Cadence, you said something about working together with these humans, right?” Spitfire asked.

“Well, the humans here have one they acknowledge as a leader, or ‘club president’, and he suggested forming an alliance with everyone. He practically got on his knees and begged for it, but we scolded him for doing that. We agreed, because we wanted to form an alliance as well. We thought it’ll beneficial, and I think our goals can be achieved if we work together, not tear each other’s throats out.” Cadence explained, bringing out the voice of reason within.

“An alliance, huh? I see. I suppose I was the wrench that flew into that one.” Spitfire sighed.

“No way! You were just doing your job, questioning people and stuff!” Eva fervently waved off Spitfire’s apology.

“My job? I’m just a stunt flyer, technically!”

“I thought you guys were like, detectives in this world, or something.” Eva said.

“Haha, that’s funny.” Soarin answered. “Policing is the job of the Royal Guard, as well as each town’s respective law enforcement! We only come in during a world-wide crisis, otherwise we’re just here to put on a show for the princesses with some good flying moves.”

“I don’t think ‘good’ does our stunts any form of justice ya know. We are the Wonderbolts.” Spitfire stifled a giggle. “But still, I’m only questioning and taking such an active role because one of our own... well, I guess that’s not right. But still, Lightning Dust has to be stopped. And the humans, the Followers you call them; I thought there was something fishy about Lightning Dust, and thought there had to be somepony she was working for, but now I believe she might be affiliated with those humans somehow.”

“That’s right. I kinda forgot about her for moment. But all this talk of there being a mastermind has me wondering if Lightning Dust is simply someone else’s pawn to some grand scheme”. Trisha thought to herself, then shook her head. “No way, this is sounding too much like a comic book. But at the same time, it’s kind of hard to ignore.”

“I guess It’d be awkward to ask, right?” Pinkie spoke up finally.

“Pinkie Pie, you’re still here?” Twilight widened her eyes.

“I thought about it, but I still want to be friends with the humans! I already got to party with the first six we saw, but not with the other seven!”

“Pinkie, this isn’t any time for a par-”

“IT IS!” Pinkie protested.

“Agreed.” Mason, who remained silent the entire time, spoke at last. He stood up, towering over everyone as usual. He silently removes his hat as well.

“I was wondering when you’d speak up. It’s like you’re a statue.” Spitfire jokingly said.

“Nothing I said would’ve really been of any use. I didn’t have much to contribute to the conversation since I hadn’t done much to investigate.” Mason sighed. “However, Pinkie Pie...” He trailed off, “She’s right in the idea to strengthen our bonds.”

“Haha, I know right! So much back and forth, shooting arguments left and right! Bam! Pow! And going all, ‘YOU GOT THAT WRONG’!” Pinkie spoke in jest.

“Mason, was it? Listen, Pinkie Pie throws parties every day just about.” Twilight explained, hesitantly. He knew that she was somewhat intimidated by his height, but he carried on anyway.

“She’s simply strengthening the bonds you share, I believe.” Mason put a hand over his chest, “Friends are precious. Teammates are precious. Even alliances are precious. Having bonds and strengthening them is what we need.” He spoke sternly. “Don’t take them for granted.”

“Strengthening bonds, huh. To be honest, I never seen it that way.” Twilight went into a thought, remembering all the times Pinkie Pie would spontaniously have a party. “That was all to strengthen our bond?”

“Bonds can only be maintained when we want to maintain them. Bonds are never one-sided. One-sided bonds are, too sad.” Mason closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. “It’s something I’ve always believed in since I was a child.”

“Hahaha, Mason, I never thought I’d see the day, but you’re talking quite a bit!” Alice said.

“That’s because...” Mason paused again, “I’m hurt.”

“You sure don’t look it!” Soarin’ thought.

“I’m seeing the bonds we humans here share with the ponies being broken. That’s not something I want to see. I don’t like bad endings in real life, because sometimes, they can’t be prevented. Aren’t the bonds we build with one another, the factor of hope?” Mason spoke louder this time. He put emphasis on ‘hope’.

“Hope. bonds. coexistence.” Twilight thought to herself, but she suddenly felt a zap in her head. “Gah! What was that!? And why did Lyra pop up in my head again?!”

Twilight quickly shook off the brief shock, and looked Pinkie in the eyes. “Okay, so, you have a point. Let’s throw a party!”

“A party huh? Well, there’s gonna be pie, right?” Soarin’ asked, which only made everyone in the room burst out into laughter.

That discussion didn’t go too well. We still haven’t covered everything... but perhaps it went south like this because we don’t have enough information. Maybe this tape I have can answer those questions. At least I hope so.

Author's Note:

So, A new chapter! This one took a while, and went WAY different than I had imagined.

So we had a Non-stop debate, aaaaaaaand, well, I wanna know what you, the readers, think. Give me your opinions, Lay'em hard if you think something sucks, and Tell me! I want to improve!

I want to get better!