Chapter 6: Origins
“At the beginning and at the end of love, the two lovers are embarrassed to find themselves alone.”
- Jean de la Bruyere
Chapter 6: Origins
Nightmare Moon POV
Roughly 1000 years ago…
“WHERE IS HE!?”
Nothing would stop me from finding him. No guard; no assassin; no mortal on this earth would be able to prevent me from saving my colt.
“DID YOU NOT HEAR ME!? WHERE IN TARTARUS IS HE!?”
“I-I-I’m so-sorry you’re majesty. We do-”
“THEN GET OUT OF HERE AND LOOK FOR HIM OR I SWEAR I’LL TAKE YOU ALL TO THE MOON AND WATCH YOUR HEADS EXPLODE!”
Nothing else needed to be said as they took off in different directions to search. My servants would pay dearly if he was harmed. Moments ago, I had received word that an intruder had entered the castle grounds, and he was believed to be an assassin. On top of this, my son had disappeared at the worst possible time. Everything had gone wrong in a matter of moments. This should have never happened…
“GGGGGGAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”
A blood curdling cry from the distance caught my attention, and my head snapped towards the sound. It came from the furthest door down the corridor. My bedroom. Even though it sounded like a fully grown male and not my five year old colt, I instinctively feared the worst and charged like a bull towards the door. Everything seemed like a blur as I focused squarely on the wooden entrance and smashed my way through to stare at the sight before me.
My bedroom was generally the same as it always was. The black ceiling, the blue furniture and curtains, but the dead body gushing blood that my colt was sitting upon wasn’t. Something was very wrong. Not the body, but Carnage himself. There was a crazed look in his eyes as his irises seemed to be even larger than normal. Pouring from his teeth was blood. The same blood as the dead stallion. And then I saw it. The blades, the same blades that we had implanted in him years ago, had been unsheathed for the first time. They were dripping with crimson blood as well.
His eyes locked onto me when I charged into the room, and he started to growl and snarl like a crazed animal. His back arched and he put himself into a defensive posture. I couldn’t fathom what I was seeing at first, but clearly the process performed before his birth was taking hold and something had been unleashed for all to see.
“My Little Moon, it’s me, Mother.” I said carefully.
Whether he understood me or not didn’t matter. His mind had been set to attack. With one mighty roar he leapt at me with his blood stained blades and…
Mr. Carnage POV
Present Day…
“NOOOOOOO!”
What? Where am I?
“Mother!? Are you there?”
When I had awakened inside the train carriage in an adult body, I realised that it had all been a dream. Dreams have an amazing way of sucking you in until you believe its reality. I berated myself on having nightmares. Nightmares attracted mother, and if she was to walk into one of mine to assist and discover me, there would be no chance of escaping her.
For a moment I sat there, with only my thoughts to keep me company. I decided not to go back to sleep just yet so I could prolong another nightmare. Quite frankly, I hadn’t thought back to my first kill in so long now that I was amazed it would suddenly pop up. But then, I realised I had no idea why I was on this train. For a moment, I pondered if I was still inside the dreamscape, but everything felt too real for that. My mind had simply not caught up to current events.
Did I forget? This isn’t like me at all. My eyes drifted to the window in my small carriage where the night sky was twinkling as bright as ever, and a familiar black cover had coated the sky. I was the only one in here, which I was certain of. From recollection, the mares had decided to bunk together, including Mimic, but the rest of us opted for our own rooms on the train since we had the whole thing to ourselves. The conductor had barely said anything as we entered, and before I knew it, we were off. I decided to try and think back to this morning.
“Aw c’mon! Why can’t we use one of those cool airships the Illusive Pony’s got? Or what about the Doctor’s TARDIS?” Asked a visibly irritated Vinyl Scratch.
“We can’t use the TARDIS because the ponies of Ponyville know me too well in my previous form. They might recognise my machine and become suspicious,” explained the Doctor, who could barely contain his excitement. A yellow coated mare who had given herself the name, ‘Sun Drop,’ also made a good point.
“Um, Miss Scratch. I advised against it since we had to find this Changeling before he was on to us, and if we arrived in a giant blimp, then he would’ve smelled something was off. Plus, we already stick out enough.”
If you had found yourself at the Canterlot train station at 1 A.M in the morning, you would have been greeted by a very unusual sight. A smallish train had arrived to pick up a gallery of unusual beings. One was a smartly dressed Pegasus with razor sharp teeth and cat like eyes. There were other pegasi in this group. A hooded one, a Luna guard, and a world renowned celebrity. You would have also seen a floating hat and coat, a giant spider creature, an award winning DJ, an earth pony playing with a glowing stick and a bright yellow Pegasus who could not look more paranoid if she tried.
Despite the fact Mimic looked like a pony, she really needed to calm herself when walking around in her disguise. She clearly felt anxious with so many distrusting eyes on her, so that clearly didn’t help. The group had mixed reactions to bringing her with us, but they all agreed she would be necessary. The deal was simple. If we located him and we got our location, she was free to go, no questions asked. The Illusive Pony made no objection to the arrangement, and he assured me that the rest of the changelings had been quietly turned over to the guard. Their fates were out of our hooves.
“Well, this is a cheery atmosphere, ain’t it?” Asked Fade in a sarcastic tone.
“What do you expect after being woken up at this time of night?” Responded Shadow, who looked considerably annoyed. From what I had heard, her trip the other day hadn’t gone as she had hoped.
Illusive had set up the first train possible to Ponyville. It was a private train for us to use with no questions asked. The problem was that it required us to get up extremely early in order to catch as this was the dead hour in Canterlot where practically nopony was about. However, not everypony seemed annoyed, as the Doctor took in a large inhale and looked wide awake. He breathed out the sucked up air with a grin.
“You’ve got to love that morning air!” Spitfire nodded in agreement.
“You see, the Doctor here has got the right attitude” said Spitfire, “and Vinyl, I thought you were a nighttime mare?” Vinyl rubbed at her eyes sleepily.
“Hey, I got woken up from my Z’s. Of course I’m gonna be tired. I’m not like Silver who’s… probably…”
When we turned to the mentioned mare, we couldn’t see her face because her head was pointed downwards and her hood was covering her head. The thin fog that had set in didn’t help either. But we could hear the faint sound of snoring from the snow white Pegasus. It appeared the trained assassin had a bit of a sleepy side to her. Guardian, who had been standing stoically to the side, nudged Silver with a leg which caused the mare to jump up in shock. She brought forth a blade from the device in her sleeve and looked ready to use it, only to find there was no target. A red rouge spread across her cheeks when she realised she had been asleep.
“Sorry about that,” she said sincerely. “It’s been a while since I was up this late.” I couldn’t help but sigh when I realised how useless we all were in our present state. At least most of us. The Doctor looked as if he was on cloud nine after his visit yesterday, and Spitfire seemed surprisingly used to being up at this hour. Fade was so tired he hadn’t even bothered with bandages.
“Not sure if I’m gonna find a bloody changeling in that village we’re heading off to. My intuition normally works for items and ponies, not changelings. Plus, they’ll probably have some sort of bullshit to keep us off track. I’m telling ya, my intuition ain’t gonna be worth anything this time.”
“Actually, you may not be far off,” muttered ‘Sun Drop.’ We turned to her in confusion.
“What do you mean?” Growled Guardian. ‘Sun Drop’ seemed to shrink as soon as all eyes fell upon her.
“W-well you know I told you a changeling can detect another changeling even if they’re disguised?”
“Yes,” we all said in unison.
“Well, that’s doable because of the hive mind. However, if we’re too far away from the hive, or we’ve been disconnected, like myself, we can still pick up their scent. But there is a little trick they can use. If they’re in a place long enough, they can spread their scent all over the area, thus disrupting a specific one. It would turn into a wild goose chase of guess who’s the changeling in the crowd. When we get there, I guarantee you the changeling has already done that, considering how long they’ve been there in Ponyville.”
“And why did you not think to mention this before?” Pressed the Arachnapony, as he seemingly towered over the disguised changeling.
“… I didn’t think you’d let me come if I did.”
A series of groans and facehooves filled the air. This mission had just gotten a little more difficult. She assured us though that it would still be possible to track him, and it was too late to send her back now, so I had to hope she would be of use. Moments later, Ulysses exited the train and approached me with news. The early morning didn’t seem to affect him at all.
“We are ready to depart when you say so.” I nodded and gathered everypony together before we headed out.
“Okay, this is what’s going on. We know that the Changelings, or at least Chrysalis, has formed some sort of allegiance with the Templars. Although, it appears most of her followers seem to be unaware of this. All we know about their plan is that it has something to do with the leftover Cyberman technology from their attempted takeover. When we reach Ponyville, our mission will be to locate the rogue changeling and get him to tell is where Chrysalis’ hive is located. Before we left, Illusive informed me that a pupil of the great Sherclop Pones was staying in the town, so he may well be able to help us locate our target. From there, we will decide our next course of action. If there’s no questions, then let’s roll out.”
The reminiscing had done me good, and I felt like the world was right again. The train carriage I was in could fit two ponies, but I had picked it out for myself. I fell asleep early, and by looking at the clock, I saw it was 3 AM. We were on a slow train so we wouldn’t reach Ponyville until around seven, so I still had some time left. Judging by the sounds coming from outside the carriage, some of my associates were still awake.
“I see you’re awake.” My head shot upwards, and on the roof of the carriage was Guardian hanging upside down. I looked up in confusion as to why he was in here, but I realised my scream from earlier might have caught his attention.
“And I see you’re in my room,” I countered.
“My apologies, I came in here to find out why you yelled, but now I must ask a favour of you.” He gently walked along the wall and to the floor so we were eye level. It was rather surreal to see him do that, but other thoughts occupied my mind.
‘A favour? What would he need from me?’ Before I could ask, he beat me to the punch and explained.
“When we arrive, I wish to take a moment and visit my tree. I want to know if it has been kept safe since my departure.”
I just sat there for a moment, processing his request. It didn’t seem unreasonable, but I did want to get started straight away. What was odd though, was that Guardian has never asked for anything before. If he wanted something, he got it. Then there was also the matter of what this tree was. Why was it so important? Did he live there, by any chance? Sitting there staring at him wasn’t going to get me any answers so I felt compelled to ask him for more details.
“What is this tree? Why is it so important?”
He didn’t answers straight away, instead he seemed to deliberate over telling me. But in the end, he came to the conclusion that he should tell.
“In your tongue, it is called the tree of life. I will keep what the tree does to myself. But I will tell you that the tree is dangerous and very important to my people. I have not seen another member of my kind for a very long time.”
“So you lived in the Everfree before this. What do you know of Ponyville?”
“I know for a fact that despite being a small town, we will not be the oddest thing they’ll ever see. They have been through worse. Especially considering some of the residents.”
“The Elements of Harmony?”
“Precisely. We should still tread carefully though, as they have a tendency to run and hide at the first sign of trouble. They once panicked when a stampede of bunnies went through the town.”
Well that’s just silly. I had more questions to ask, but I decided to tread lightly. I didn’t want to risk upsetting him so I dropped any questions about his race’s history for now. If I connect the questions to Ponyville, I should get away with it.
“Does the town know of your existence?”
“No. At least, not all of them. Three fillies and a young colt were the first to encounter me. One of the fillies, Applebloom, was being chased by Timeberwolves and I intervened. She and her friends then came in to the forest to look for me. The rest of Applebloom’s family, the Apple’s, are also aware of who I am, and I occasionally visit them. Another denizen of the forest called Zecora and another called Twilight know of me as well. I believe that is it.”
“Twilight? As in the Element of Magic?”
“The very same.”
She might be useful. Despite Twilight Sparkle being the pupil of Celestia, I had no ill will towards her. From what I had read she seemed rather competent and intelligent, if not close-minded. She could be an excellent source of information. The only risk was that if we told her why we were here, she might freak and contact Celestia herself. That would be a disaster. And where Celestia goes, mother is bound to be close behind.
Apart from certain points where the Illusive Pony would give us direct orders, this was now my ship to helm. My desire to avoid responsibility had been given a big ‘fuck you’ by the universe and I now found myself with more responsibility than before. If I messed up, then many would likely suffer from whatever Chrysalis had been planning. But what if this was the Templar’s plan? Or maybe a third pony entirely? We still had little answers and this annoyed me greatly. Since I had Guardian with me, I could at least get an answer to one question that had been bugging me.
“So, what did the Illusive Pony say to you in order to get you to join him?” There was no hesitation in his voice as he answered straight away.
“Simply put, I believe he offered us both the same thing. Permanent solitude from those we hope will never find us. For you, it is you’re mother and the rest of the monarchy. For me, it is those who are naturally afraid of what they don’t understand and wish to destroy it. He will carefully wipe all mention of my race from the history books, so I will remain a myth until time itself forgets me.”
“That’s a very tall order, even for somepony with his resources.”
“Even if it’s unlikely, I judged that it was worth the risk. I will now rest before we arrive. Thank you for letting me see my tree.”
Without another word, Guardian headed out of the room and presumably to his own bed. I stared dumbly at the door and I came to the conclusion that there was no way I was going to get any sleep tonight at this rate. I decided I should stretch my legs a bit and see if I came into contact with anypony else.
When I exited my bedroom, I was greeted by blue velvet on the walls and floor, which had been loving laced with the stuff. The train that was pulling us, called Thomas for some odd reason, was actually a slow train as it was recommended we arrive in the morning to appear less conspicuous. I suppose the idea was that we would look like tourists or something along those lines. The rest of the train was essentially black. It seemed very stylised and built purely for the passengers comfort.
I walked down the narrow pathway and heard bits and pieces of convo. In the very distance, I could spy Ulysses who was blankly staring out the window. He turned to me and nodded. His presence suggested he wished to be alone so I didn’t ask why he was still up. The loudest conversation was the mares, who were all situated in the largest room. I couldn’t help but eavesdrop slightly. I couldn’t make out anything of note, apart from them trying to find out more about Mimic.
Thinking about Mimic made me consider what I had told Vinyl a couple of days ago. There is no black and white, only many shades of grey. Mimic was not a bad pony. Well, she wasn’t a bad changeling, anyway. She wanted something that any reasonable creature would want, which was freedom. Life had dealt her a bad hand though, and now she found herself stuck with us. I wouldn’t want to be stuck with me. I’ve killed ponies. She seemed innocent; actually, somewhat sweet from the small conversation we had after the interrogation. Although I don’t think many of the team trusted her, and for good reason, as well. What she had told me fascinated me though. Not only was Chrysalis never a queen, but there was more than one hive. There were in fact ten. How could these creatures last so long with just love? And how have they been hidden for over a thousand years at least?
“Somepony’s a hypocrite.”
I wish I could tell you that voices behind me didn’t spook me. But a blade unsheathed from my right forearm and shoved against someponies throat, didn’t look very good as a defence. It was Silver. She hadn’t batted an eyelash at the blade and simply smiled at me. I detracted the blade and muttered an apology, but I refused to meet her eyes. Then I realised what she said.
“Hold on. Did you call me a hypocrite?”
“Yep.”
The response was so mind boggling simple that I pressed for a clarification.
“And how was I being a hypocrite?”
“You complained at me when I was listening in on your talk with the Illusive pony. You were just listening on them talk to Mimic. Thus that makes you a hypocrite.”
“… Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. So what’s up? You look like a lost puppy.”
I let a sigh of defeat as I rubbed my tired eyes. I should sleep, but at the same time, I knew I wouldn’t get too much of it. At the very least I could talk to somepony who was trained in sorting out a pony’s mental state. Plus, her Poma accent was pleasant on the ears.
“I had a nightmare. One that I haven’t had for a long time.” She seemingly became a different mare. Her posture went from relaxed to serious, her smile faded to a straight mouth, and she stared straight at me.
“Alright, tell me about the nightmare in question.”
“It’s simple really. Mother runs in to find me on top of an assassin’s corpse. I’m covered in his blood and when I spot her, I attack. That’s always where it cuts off. You see, this isn’t just a nightmare, this was my first kill.”
“First kill you say? Were you by any chance, in the same state when you attacked Spitfire?”
“Yeah, but why would that memory come back?” A smirk found its way to her white lips and I knew she had already figured it out.
“Simply put, you’re stressed. The sudden weight of being a leader and the constant fear of being discovered by your mother has left you feeling more stressed than usual. Subconsciously, your brain is clinging on to something, some memory of your youth. Sadly, it’s picked that particular memory as it’s connected your mother. You need to relax.”
Her white hoof found its way onto my shoulder and began to rub it slightly. She sauntered around me until her two forehooves were on both my shoulders. The impromptu massage was unexpected, but I didn’t complain. Silver was somepony else I had trouble reading. Her motivations were clear when it came to the mission, but something else just felt off. I figured out pretty quickly that she was meant to be near me in order to keep me in check. But then again, there felt like there was something else, some other motivation for being close to me. I wasn’t sure how that made me feel, but, I didn’t think it was a bad feeling.
“You really are tense. A massage might do you wonders.”
From the way she said it, I had the sneaking suspicion that a massage wasn’t the only thing she had planned. I allowed my eyes to look over her quickly, and my brain liked what it saw. She was in excellent shape, she had unusually hypnotic white irises, and her flank appeared to be quite firm as well. On top of all of that, it suddenly hit me. She was exceptionally beautiful. To put in bluntly, she put some models to shame with her blessed looks. I felt my cheeks go slightly red as I turned away before she saw anything. How could I have only now realised this?
“So what do you say? I think I might know somepony up for the job of helping you relieve some tension in your big, strong shoulders.”
The answer was more than obvious.
Spitfire POV
25 Minutes Later…
“I should have never told Silver that I do this,” I muttered under my breath. I couldn’t believe it. I was giving Carnage of all ponies a back rub. I could still hear Vinyl teasing me in my ear.
“Oooohh Spitfire. You’re moving in on Silver’s coltfriend.” She got a pillow in the face, courtesy of Silver herself. By Celestia’s flank, I couldn’t believe I had been roped into this. All I said was that, when I was on the Wonderbolts, I would sometimes give my teammates a massage if they were a little stressed. I had become quite good at it over the years, but I stopped after one recruit got a bit touchy feely and I kicked his flank straight out of the academy. Of course, Silver would remember that I told her that, and asked me to give Carnage a massage.
Mimic was still very quiet around us and after a short round of questioning, she silently fell asleep. My suspicion towards her had mostly turned into pity after hearing her story, but I still stayed on guard around her. If there was one thing I would associate with a changeling, it was deceit. You could say it was literally in their DNA.
Before I could reject the offer to give ‘the prince’ a back rub, Shadow gave me a lecture about making sure I treat royalty right. Apparently, it was my duty to the crown to make sure ‘the prince’ was in absolute comfort throughout his mission. Especially since he was leading us now. This meant give Carnage a massage, or Shadow was going to stick her spear right up my keister. She was hot, but I’m pretty sure that would kill me.
The massage itself was definitely the most awkward one I’ve ever given. Every so often I would hear a tiny growl which either meant I was doing something good, or something really bad. I certainly didn’t want to find out so I just let instinct guide me. The funny thing was that he seemed disappointed. When I walked in he didn’t look shocked, just disappointed. Like he was expecting somepony else. What I began to realise, though, was why he needed this massage. He was incredibly tense around the wing area.
Clearly he didn’t fly very often, but the tension seemed to be brought on by sudden stress. Maybe being made leader was more stressful than he let on? Actually, Silver’s a psychologist, and she was the one who led me to Carnage. Maybe there was something going on here?
“I’m sorry.” My thoughts were interrupted by Carnage’s voice. That was the first thing he had said to me during this entire massage, but why was he apologising?”
“Um, what are you sorry for?” He let out another small growl as I continued to massage the wing area. I guess the growling was a good sign.
“When I first attacked you. I’ve only now realised that I never said sorry for that.”
“Oh, well I suppose you did tell me to stop.” That sort of just came out, but it didn’t make it any less true. When I first spotted him, I flung fire at him as a warning, but when I saw him freak out, I thought I discovered his weakness. Turns out he’ll just hulk up and destroy everything in his path. “Y’know what, apology accepted.”
He grunted in confirmation, and I naively thought the conversation would end there, but I think he wanted to get to know me a little better. He was a leader after all, and it can be tough to lead when you don’t know the ponies you’re leading.
“I’ve noticed how your voice changes.”
“Pardon?” I was a bit confused about this sudden statement.
“When you talk normally, like you’re doing now, your voice is actually quite soothing. Some could argue it’s angelic.” I wasn’t sure why, but a tiny hint of blush hit my cheeks when he said that. “But, when we're on a mission, or you’re doing your military thing, your voice becomes more gruff and raspy.” I continued to rub his sore spot, and this time he let out a moan of pleasure.
“Oh yeah, that’s just something I do. When we’re training new recruits, I have to establish who is in charge, but also to work together. That’s how the Wonderbolts work.”
“That’s how an army should work,” he said.
“True, we are a military group that’s co-owned by Princess Celestia…” He let out a low growl before I had a chance to continue. “… We’re also financed by Mayne enterprise. They brought us from Spark industries after Mr. Spark decided he wanted to invest in ‘actual’ military. Not former military. We we’re just a bunch of fancy showponies to him. The way he goes about things with his arrogance, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets killed or kidnapped one of these days.”
“He did, remember? It was a random group of changelings. It was all over the papers.”
“Oh yeah, you’re right. He’s been quiet ever since escaping though.”
“Have you seen many battles?”
“No. I joined at a very young age. Youngest Wonderbolt ever. I helped take down a greed filled dragon once.”
That was an especially weird day. It was my first and only time going to Ponyville and I quickly found our number one fan right in my face. I liked Dash, I really did, but sometimes she needs to learn to restrain herself at times. Sadly we moved out quickly afterwards, so I didn’t get any time to look around the small town. Although I did find out where Dash lived. She could actually be of some help, especially considering how fast she is.
“You know about my background, right?” Again, my thoughts came to a halt.
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Well I appear to be at a disadvantage then. Besides the fact you’re a Wonderbolt, I know nothing about your background. Since we have nothing else to do, would you mind talking about it?”
It wasn’t an unreasonable request. It was just… painful to talk about. Actually, I’ve barely ever talked about it, even with my teammates. Soarin and Silver Lining were the only two who knew anything in detail. It just never really came up, I suppose, and now a pony who was at best an acquaintance was asking me about my life. But I did wonder how we were going to get closer. This might be that olive branch between me and him. The whole team will benefit the more we trust each other, so strategically, this was the smartest move. I let out a sigh as I began to reminisce.
“Alright, but I’m only going to say this once. I’m assuming you want to know about the whole fire powers thing, right?” he grunted in confirmation. “When I was three, I injured my foreleg and was taken to the hospital. When I got home, I suddenly found I could bring fire from my hooves. I freaked out and set my house alight. Despite the blaze taking my entire house with me in it, I didn’t take any damage. Guess what? I’m also fire retardant. My parents, not so much... I killed them in the blaze.”
The silence that fell after that was unbearable. Honestly, what could he say after that? He could apologise, but what would he be apologising for? Maybe I shouldn’t have been so blunt about it, but there’s just no other way to put it so I didn’t have to think about it too much. Only now did I realise the tension was starting to fleet from his muscles, which meant I could stop soon and leave. I barely knew my folks, so this might sound cold, but I was barely affected by their deaths, in an emotional sense I least.
“I see,” he said all of a sudden, “you don’t want to think about it so you got right to the point. You don’t know how you got those powers, huh?”
“No, no I don’t.”
“Well shit. I don’t really know what to say. I’m sorry I made you think about it.” Surprisingly, a small smile made it to my lips.
“Nah, you’re alright. The rest of my life wasn’t that great after that. I went through orphanage to orphanage, nopony ever realised it was me who started the fire. Honestly, I wasn’t choked up about my folks because I barely remembered them, but the guilt kept gnawing at me and it affected me through school. I flunked high school. Though, when I started that fire all those years ago, I got my cutie mark. What a way to get it, huh?”
“They say getting your cutie mark is a time for celebration, I got mine when I killed for the first time.” Yikes, his is no better.
“I went through some rough stuff after that. When I was seventeen, I went to a cloud and just decided to let myself drop. I didn’t give a crap about living. I had no friends, no future, nothing in the world. But then he arrived.”
“Who?”
“Silver Lining. The wonderbolt’s captain at the time. He spotted me and asked what I was doing. I panicked and led him around a chase across Cloudsdale. When he caught me, only then did I realise what I had done.”
“What did you do?” He asked in a worried tone.
“Relax, it was good thing. For a full five minutes, I out manoeuvred and outflew one the best Wonderbolt’s who ever lived. He knew that too. He offered me a place at the academy. At eighteen, I got into the Wonderbolt’s and I finally found my calling.”
“So a happy ending then?”
“Yeah, apart from…”
‘No! Don’t think about that! We always breakdown when we do that, get her out of your head.’
“… Y’know what, never mind. It isn’t important. Simply put, the Wonderbolt’s are my life now.”
And with that, the massage was over. He let out a sigh of content as he began to get off the table. He shifted his weight so he was standing on his hindlegs.
“Well I have to admit,” he started, “that really helped me out. I think Silver was stressed about me being right… I mean, Silver was right about me being stressed.” I couldn’t help but giggle a little.
“That’s alright.” I stuck my hoof out in front of him. “Hey, no hard feelings?” He eagerly bumped my hoof.
“No hard feelings,” he confirmed.
From the corner of my eye, I swore I could see Silver smirking at us from a crack in the door.
Fade POV
Meanwhile…
‘Now let’s see what we have here then.’
I first looked right. Ulysses was staring out the window, so going that way was out. I then looked left, nopony in sight. Excellent, there might be some goodies in my near future. I crept past my door and my hooves made contact with the blue velvet floor. I never really did marvel at anything that didn’t have any value, but I liked the design. But who the hell would buy a train from me? I wouldn’t even know where to sell it.
As you might imagine, being invisible was a big advantage when it came to sneaking about, but I could easily fuck up a theft by making even a tiny noise. A creak of a floorboard, a knocked over bottle, or anything at all could alert somepony I didn’t want alerted. Some ponies tend to shoot in the direction of the noise and ask questions later. To a degree, I wasn’t at risk of that since they needed me. Even if they did catch me, I think it would take a lot to get me kicked out, especially at a time like this. Carefully, I made my way to the left of the train and I could hear the mares chatting amongst themselves in their room.
‘What I wouldn’t give to be in there right now.’ I checked to make sure I wasn’t drooling this time at the thought. At times like these, my imagination had a tendency to go wild.
‘Hey Spitfire, would you like another helping of whip cream?’
‘Oh dear, I seem to have locked my own hoofcuffs on me. I hope nopony takes advantage of me in this position.’
‘Wubs ain’t the only thing that gets me to my peek… NAKED PILLOW FIGHT!’
Well, everypony is naked most of time, but that’s still kind of hot. Heck, even that changeling’s easy on the eye. Plus, she could be anypony she wants. The possibilities are endless!
‘Focus Fade, Carnage’s room is in sight. Think of the treasure.’
The hot mare on mare action would have to wait. Plus, if they saw a door open by itself, I’d be screwed. The point of this was to see what Carnage had on him. I mean come on, he’s like a thousand years old. He must have some good shit lying about, and expensive too. I knew I should have done this back at the mansion, but I had to store up on bandages so I had to sneak into the local hospital.
I made it to the door with no problem, and I already knew Carnage had left with Spitfire, lucky bastard. I gently rested an elbow on the door and carefully parted it so I could slip through. I looked back one last time to find only Ulysses, but either he hadn’t realised or he didn’t care. Now was my chance.
The room was the same as mine. Two beds, but only one was in use. I could see the night sky out the window as we were moving along the tracks. Again, I rarely marvelled at anything that wasn’t of value, but I’ve always appreciated the night more than the day. My fears were quickly realised though when I noticed how little he had taken with him. His suit, hat and tie were hung up neatly, but there was nothing in the pockets. There was nothing but lint and dust under the beds and the baggage holding area wasn’t in use at all. None of us had really brought anything, considering we would hopefully not be in the town very long. Silver had the main source of money from the Illusive Pony, so I had to hope Carnage had packed away some spare bits for himself.
“Well, that’s very odd.” My head snapped towards the stallion in the doorway. It was the Doctor, who for some reason was wearing 3D glasses.
‘Wait, he’s looking right at me. Shit! He can see me!’
“Hold on, don’t tell me,” he said as he waved his hoof. Still looking at me, he tapped his chin in thought, till he suddenly came to life. “OF COURSE!”
‘Stop shouting, you’ll bring everypony and their mother here.’
“The formula you must have taken is bending light around. Your skin and fur has become a mirror that bends the light in such a way so you appear invisible. That’s genius. I knew these glasses would come in handy! Of course, if anypony used thermal goggles or anything that can see body heat then they would spot you clear as day…”
“Whats going on here?”
‘Well I’m doomed. Here comes Jaws.’
The Doctor took his eyes off me for a moment and I looked for an escape route, but found none. I couldn’t sneak past him either since he was right in the doorway. Jaws and Hot Cheeks (I wouldn’t dare call Spitfire that to her face) marched straight up to the Doctor who had a goofy smile on his face.
“Oh, hello.” Spitfire looked at him with suspicion, probably because of the stupid glasses. “Doctor? What’s with all the shouting? And why are you in Carnage’s room?”
“Oh, well I was pondering how Fade was invisible, so I figured he must be bending light around himself continuously. So I modified my glasses to track him and followed him to Carnage’s bedroom. He’s right over there.”
He pointed a hoof right at me. Even though they couldn’t see me, I knew that Carnage…
“You’re right. I can smell him. What are you doing in my room? And with no clothes or bandages on, for that matter.”
A great liar is somepony who always has an excuse ready on the spot. Somepony who can bluff their way out of anything. The sad reality is that I’m not a very good liar. In fact, I’m generally perceived as a pretty shitty one. But in that one moment I remembered something, he was our leader. Maybe if I played the whole ‘I wanted to check on what’s happening, boss’ angle, I might just get away with this.
“Oh, me,” I said as casually as possible. “I was looking for you. I wanted to check what you wanted me to do when we got there. Y’know, do you want me to sneak around the town and look out for anything Changeling… that’s not Mimic.”
He didn’t argue with me, he just kind of blankly stared at me. Hot Cheeks was a different matter though.
“That’s such a crappy lie, y’know that rookie? I swear if you were under me I would…”
“So how did you become invisible then?” We all noticed the Doc’s sudden question. I was thanking Celestia for it because for the moment it had saved my flank. But I was confused as to why he wanted to know.
“Huh? Why do you wanna know?” I asked sincerely.
“Because I’m curious,” the Doctor began as he started to walk around me, always keeping me in his sights. “You’re obviously not intelligent enough to have created the formula…”
‘Cheers.’
“… So how did you come across it? Who actually created it?” My eyes shifted to Carnage who seemed just as curious.
“I would like to know as well. Care to tell us, Fade.” Spitfire said nothing, she just kept staring at where I was meant to be. I didn’t really have anywhere else to go, and if I tell the story well enough, they might just forget I was here.
“Alright, well as you know, I’m a thief, and I use to steal specific items for clients. I’ve worked with the best of them, even a courier called Faith who could traverse rooftops like nopony’s business. Anyway, one day I’m sitting at this random bar in Manehattan, when this random stallion with a beard and some specs comes right in and offers me a job.”
“Stealing, I assume?” Asked Spitfire, but she already knew the answer. I could tell she just wanted me to say it.
“Yeah, stealing, we can’t all make money from our looks, sweetheart.” She stepped towards me with murderous intent in her eyes, but Carnage put a hoof in front of her.
“Anyway, this guy was called ‘Water White’ or something like that. He was a former chem teacher who was making and selling drugs, but was expanding his criminal empire.” The Doctor seemed upset about this for some reason.
“Why would a teacher go from educating to making and selling drugs?”
“He got a load of medical bills for cancer treatment, plus his wife was pregnant with a second foal so he had to make the money somehow. He met this former student of his and they were pretty successful at it.”
“So he wanted you to steal him supplies to continue making meth or whatever drugs he was making?” Asked Carnage.
“Not exactly. He wanted me to get supplies, but not for his drugs. Apparently he got a hold of this formula from the original Invisible pony named…”
“Griffon,” Carnage finished. “The irony is he isn’t a Griffon, but a pony. The Illusive Pony already told me about him. He was part of the original league.”
Original league? There were ponies doing this shit before us? Turns out the guy before me already did this song and dance. I wonder how it went for him.
“Anyway, White found it somewhere. He never told me the details, but at the time I thought it was just some random stuff. Specific flowers from Celestia’s garden, a rare element that was ridiculously expensive, and other rare shit. During all this, his family found out and reported him to the police. He bled out in a shootout, and I went back to the lab to find out what he was making. Turned out he had finished it before he died.”
“Why would you go back there?” Asked the Doctor.
“I didn’t get paid, so I wanted to know if there was anything valuable there.” I could see their looks straight away and I wasn’t having it. “Hey, don’t judge me. You think it’s been easy for me? My entire life has been filled with bullshit. Folks died when I was two, orphanage abused me, picked on all the Celestia damned time. Don’t any of you dare judge me! I’ve done what I needed to survive, what can I do if my special talent is robbing ponies?”
They didn’t have an answer for that. And if any of them were looking me in the eyes, they would have turned their heads. I wasn’t going to let an awkward silence fill the room though. I still had to get out of here so I hurried up with my story.
“I found the potion and of course I thought being invisible would give me a massive edge in my business. Thing is, turning back from invisible to visible is bloody difficult. And now I stand for all to see. A perfect example of why you should never use an invisibility formula. And in case you were wondering, the Illusive Pony has promised me a cure once the mission is over.”
I was actually quite pleased once I finished my explanation. There was no judgement in their eyes, but rather something I hadn’t expected, sympathy. I wasn’t a charity case and I certainly didn’t act like one, but I wasn’t complaining. Only then did I realise the Doctor had been scanning me with that weird light of his. Probably worth a ton… why didn’t I go after him? It was alien technology and… hold on. Alien technology.
“Hey Doc, you’re related to that Cyberman stuff, aint ya?” he stopped scanning me almost instantly. He twiddled the object in his hoofs as he answered with a stoic expression.
“I suppose you could say that. I’ve encountered them a number of times in the past. And judging by the collection of cyber technology, I’m worried what they’re using it for.” I noticed Carnage raise an eyebrow at this. With all attention taken off me, I had half a mind to get the heck out of there. But my curiosity got the better of me in the end.
“Doctor, I already know of your connection to these Cyberponies and how you stopped them, but what do you think the Changelings and the Templars want with their technology?” The Doctor began to explain as he paced back and forth across the room.
“Well obviously the Cybermen are manipulating them, at least that was what I first thought. That can’t be though, because the ones I defeated are definitely gone, plus both the Templars and the Changelings have existed for far too long to get so easily manipulated like this. No, this plan has been brewing ever since the Cyberman invasion, and I guarantee you that this is the Templars work.”
“What makes you say that? Why not the Changelings?” Asked Spitfire.
“You remember those grunts? They barely knew who they were working for. No, Chrysalis is most likely a pawn, which means the Changelings following her are Templar pawns. What do you think, Carnage?”
“… I think… we should get some sleep. All of you, I want you to hit the hay before we arrive at Ponyville. Goodnight.”
In that one moment, I swore I could hear the heavens above me cry Hallelujah! My beautiful flank had been saved tonight at the last second. After the Ponyville assignment, I made a mental note to check out this TARDIS I had heard so much about for any goodies on offer. The Doctor trotted out and wished us a good night. Spitfire followed and did the same and I was about to leave as well, until…
“Fade, if I ever catch you trying to steal mine, or anypony else’s stuff again, I will kill you. Nothing fancy, just me killing you. Goodnight.”
I suddenly didn’t feel the whole ‘they need me’ thing was very secure anymore.
???
“High Templar, I have some regrettable news.”
“…”
“It would appear our operations in Canterlot have been destroyed by Cerberus. They stopped our last shipment. Worse, it appears the Illusive Pony has brought back the league. And judging from the apparent damage, they are very powerful. Possibly more powerful that it’s last incarnation.”
“…”
“Sir?”
“It wouldn’t normally matter, as we already have enough cyber technology to proceed forward. However, this league could be troublesome. Where are they headed?”
“Ponyville, sir. It appears they’re looking for that rogue Changeling, just like us.”
“I see. Very well, send some of our agents to intercept them. They will likely fall, but don’t tell them that. I just need specifics on these ponies. Also, tell Chrysalis to commence with the destruction of Daedalus’s hive. The other Changeling King’s and Queen’s may become a problem so we must demonstrate our power. She can have her fun.”
“I will tell our mole in Cerberus to keep us updated. Goodbye sir!”
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I'm pretty sure everyone found the Breaking Bad ref.
Either way, nice chapter.
Though, that Thomas the Train reference...
No, you may not sneak a Iron Man reference past me.
... but apparently yo can sneak a Thomas the train by, well played.
I lost it when I saw the Thomas The Train Reference.
Anyway, listing my league favs from most to least. (Though I love them all)
Silver Tongue (she is a lot like me, always wanting to know everything about everypony, and is an unpredictable pony)
The Doctor (his personality and just overall craziness and being able to think in and out of the box)
Vinyl Scratch (cause she's just cool like that, and I like vamponies)
Carnage (badflankery to the max, and knows how and when to make witty remarks)
Ulysses (I like that silent mysterious type)
Shadow (I love the luna guard)
Hot Cheeks (her backstory)
Fade (obvious reasons. He's funny)
Guardian (no apparent reason)
Sees my art finally up there at the cover...
*MFW*
images.4chan.org/mlp/src/1383042457453.gif
3425221
3425221 Captain Nemo was part of the original league in Alan Moore's novel.
3453715 Keep reading to find out.
3488177 It was to set up the world and demonstrate what this place was like. I do agree though, but they are not as frequent later on.
3513776 Ya know what, I nearly wrote that as well. I decided it against it though since Carnage was acting all serious at the time.