Heads Or Tails?*
Heads Or Tails?
"I've made it quite clear I don't support this experiment," she said, laying on the bed of the room they'd occupied. The rain continued to pour, but the innkeeper was none the wiser as to their commandeering of his space.
"You were just as unsupportive the last time, Rosalind," he replied. "And just look how splendidly that turned out."
She turned her nose upwards as she munched on the complimentary peanuts provided on the bed. "Yes, well, I'd hardly call a dead man a resolute success." Her stallion companion sat quietly across from her in an dusty armchair, reading a book titled: A Brief History of Equestria
"Lest we forget the reason the man had to die in the first place?" He shot an accusing glance at her before continuing to read his book.
"Let's leave the past where it belongs, shall we?"
He nodded silently.
"What have you discovered about this place?" she asked.
"Quite a bit. As we earlier theorized, equine creatures are intelligent, but not exactly the dominant species; at least, not as men are where we've been." He closed the book and set it on his lap. "In fact, these creatures refer to themselves not as horses, but ponies."
Rosalind raised her eyebrows and flicked her tail. "I must admit, the term fits. By chance, did you notice the mark on the innkeeper’s flank?"
"Indeed, it is the mark of a special talent that pony possesses. Similar to the caste system of India, though not as rigid, it seems." She hummed in comprehension as he continued. "It appears they are ruled by a diarchy. Two creatures with both the wings of a pegasus and the horn of a unicorn, as we seem to have. The purpose of these horns seem to be... magic."
She couldn't help but laugh. "Magic? Have you gone mad?"
"Perhaps there is a scientific explanation, but in the context of this book, it simply states that unicorns are magic."
"So am I to suppose we're magic?"
He smiled gently. "I suppose so."
"Curious," she replied, eating a few more peanuts from a pile that seemed to never grow any smaller.
"I suppose we would seem magic to the uneducated. After all, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
"I daresay Arthur C. Clarke has not said that yet," Rosalind replied.
Ignoring her criticism, he continued to relay his findings. "It also appears these creatures name their offspring either using one word or two—usually a series of nouns and actions."
"Well, I assure I won't be changing my name."
"I don't know, I might give it a try," he said, relaxing in the armchair. "Robert is such a dull name."
"Nonsense. It's the proper name of a gentlemen," she countered.
"Semantics aside, is it time yet for us to meet the royalty?"
She checked the clock on the wall of their room. "Not yet. It will be a few more hours now."
Robert moaned. "It certainly is an inconvenience to wait on time."
She popped a few more peanuts in her mouth and replied. "Indeed."
Fluttershy was lost. No two ways about it. Worse still, it was dark. Ordinarily, she wasn't one to get lost in the woods. She knew her way around the Everfree almost as well as the animals that lived there. Fluttershy hadn't spent too much time in the Whitetail Woods, but she had enough to know the tastiest mushrooms could only be found there. That, and a particular variety of cabbage Angel seemed to love.
Unfortunately, she'd deviated from her standard route into the forest and gotten hopelessly turned around. She was certain she'd never gone this far before. In fact, now that it was dark, she doubted she'd recognize a familiar landmark if she came across one. She'd pulled a muscle trying to catch a trio of eagle chicks from falling out of their nest earlier in the week. It was nearly healed, but the doctor had recommended she not fly for at least two. The order was not something she had a problem following. Unlike Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy was patient.
Ordinarily, she took walks in the woods to ease her nerves, and this time was no exception. Though she was a friend to all creatures, she couldn't deny that some of her nocturnal friends could be quite scary. Their calls were unusual and their eyes usually reflected any light. Though she knew they meant her no harm, the thought did little to calm her nerves.
As she tread carefully through the underbrush, Fluttershy noticed her hoofsteps being echoed by something behind her.
She was being followed.
Fluttershy turned quickly and called out into the dark underbrush, only a few mushrooms and a head of cabbage to offer her attacker in exchange for her life. "H-hello?"
Her call received no reply. She stared into the darkness for a moment longer before deciding to continue onward. Though Pinkie's song about giggling at what scares you echoed in her ears, it did little to assuage her fear. After a few more shivering steps, the following began again. Before she knew it, she had broken into a run, her pursuer keeping up with her just as easily as she fled through the underbrush. Limbs and wiry branches snagged and grabbed at her wings and mane, though she sprinted through the pain.
Fluttershy wished she'd taken up Rainbow on her offers to train with her, as soon she found herself out of breath and beginning to slow down. Her hoof caught on a root, and she skidded against the dirt, cutting her face against the twigs and rocks on the ground. With a whimper, she brought herself to her hooves, turning to face her attacker with nowhere else to run.
Out of the darkness stepped a timberwolf. Its loose twigs and branches jutted out in all directions as it took a step forward, wooden fangs bared. She knew very well timberwolves had no interest in vegetables or fungi. She squealed piercingly as the timberwolf swiped a paw across her body, flinging her into the underbrush and causing her cries to change pitch as she tumbled.
The air now completely out of her lungs, she gasped for breath as the hungry creature began towards her. "P-please Mr. timberwolf... I don't mean to hurt you..." she gasped, though her pleas fell on deaf ears. She could feel the hot breath of the beast over her face as it prepared to make a meal of her.
Then, as if it came from the forest itself, a shriek like that of an eagle, falcon, and buzzard all mixed into one split the quiet night. The timberwolf froze in place, looking toward the sky in time to see a bright red eye swooping down from the heavens. The silver glow of the moon illuminated the dragon-sized creature’s bat-like wings and bird-like head.
Fluttershy caught a glimpse in slow motion of the massive thing from the sky as it snatched the timberwolf in its claws and took it a few feet into the air before ripping it in two, showering her with splinters and twigs. She watched in terror as the beast circled around for another pass, landing with an earth shattering thud on the ground next to her. It seemed to look at her closely, its head moving like a pigeon's would; in short, punctuated movements as an eerie light shone from its eyes.
The creature’s body was like nothing she'd ever seen. It was dark, no fur to be seen. No feathers, either. A few areas seemed to be held on by belts and clasps. Was this... a real animal? Was she seeing this thing correctly? The sickeningly mechanical sound of metal on metal echoed through the woods as the creature's eyes went from red, to yellow, and then to green. The light intensity never changed, but the colors certainly had. Whether through confusion or sheer terror, Fluttershy lost consciousness. The last thing she remembered was the creature's cold grip around her sore torso.
Celestia had studied early into the morning, though it was still not time for the daylight to arrive. Unfortunately, she had fallen asleep during her research. It seemed her faithful student was a bit more well suited for late night reading than a thousand year old princess.
Curiously, she was awakened not by one of her guards, as requested, but by... music. A repetitive song being played by a pipe organ of all things! In a library! She shook the sleep from her eyes and began to trace the source of the noise. As far as she knew, there were no organs in the library. Or anywhere in the castle, for that matter.
Thought the storm had cleared, the sound of a light rain still echoed around the library as she peered down a long hallway. At the end, sat one pony in an olive dress, while another stood by the organ, seeming to criticize her playing.
As Celestia approached, they seemed to be arguing.
"I've already told you, it's 'C', 'A', 'G', and then 'E'. How can you not remember this when I can?" he asked.
"It has been a long time since I've needed to play it, you know," she replied, not at all ruffled by his criticisms.
"Just what do the two of you think you're doing playing an organ in my library?" Celestia demanded. How had they even managed to get such a large instrument inside in the first place? The mare on the organ bench checked a watch on her foreleg.
"Oh dear, it seems it's about that time, brother."
"Time for us to meet a diarch?" he asked, paying Celestia no attention.
"Time indeed." They turned to face her, extremely calm in the face of the unamused deity. "Princess Celestia, is it?" she asked with complete disregard for proper etiquette.
Celestia was about to reprimand them for addressing royalty in such a casual manner, especially after trespassing in the private library, when the feeling of unease she'd felt in her chamber came rushing back.
"You... you two are the things that don't belong..." she whispered.
They glanced at each other with a smile. "She's sharper than we gave credit," the stallion said.
"Quite, but I suppose it wouldn't be the first time we underestimated someone's intelligence," she replied.
"You two are not ponies, are you?" Celestia asked.
"Right you are, Your Majesty," Rosalind answered. "We're travelers... of a sort. It is safe to assume that we are not from around here."
"From a considerable distance, in fact," the stallion added. "But we've come here—"
"To give you something. We have researched the troubles of your kingdom, and we know of the encroaching nations of the other species looking with envious eyes towards the lands your people—er... ponies claim."
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What do you know of the struggles of my kingdom?"
"We know that you cannot defend the kingdom by yourself, and without an army to match the empires that threaten you, your kind will need a weapon to use for defense—"
"Or perhaps offense," Rosalind completed. "What you do with the weapon we give to you is entirely up to you."
The princess was growing tired of their cryptic talk. "What weapon? Speak plainly, or I shall have you imprisoned!"
The duo simply smiled at her, as though she had told a mildly amusing joke. "Come now, no need for that. We have what you need right here. But before we give it to you, we must ask you a question," said the stallion. "Heads or tails?"
The princess grew more irritated, though they insisted they would give her this fantastic new weapon, so long as she answered this simple question. She paused for a moment. Looking at the coin being held out to her, and then back to the two unicorns. "Heads." She flipped the coin, the strange pair allowing it to land on the ground.
"Heads it is," the stallion said smugly. "Not as satisfying as it usually is, honestly."
"How can heads be a constant, even in this universe?" the mare complained.
"If you’re going to be a sore loser, I won't participate again," he replied before facing the princess. "Here is the key to your weapon." He levitated a small piece of parchment with four letters written on it. Celestia briefly stared down at it.
Cage? she thought to herself. "What does this—" By the time she'd raised her head, the two ponies had vanished. Celestia scoured the library, sensing no trace of a teleportation spell. She even called in her guards to search the premises, but they found nothing. Celestia took the parchment back to her chambers, wondering whom she'd just encountered, and how the word cage could be the key to any weapon.
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A Bioshock: Infinite crossover that doesn't suck and is actually interesting!
Oh my, now I'm craving for more!
This is briliant!
I always wondered about the songbird, and the letuce "Siblings" are my favorite characters in my favorite game of this year.
That you combine them with MLP in a well written and believable manner makes me grin like an idiot
Looking forward to seeing where you are going with this
Dear lord. It's beautiful.
Have all my YES!
And a cookie.
Good job, the first two chapters seem alright. I'll be watching this; looking forward to more of those
2377834 "Letuce"... This really should be their name around here.
Rose and Bob Lettuce.
Any ideas for Bob? Herbert, Herb Lettuce?
2377996
Uhm, Lutece
hehe...
I have only two words...
BLOODY BRILLIANT!
Celestia's got Songbird's Key, but... it's a bit too late; he's already found a new charge... tee hee!
Hey, can I put this in my group 'Bioshock: Equestria'? It looks pretty good, and I myself am writing an Infinite story.
2378076 yes.
Crossovers are showing up for Infinite already another first quality on isn't HiE? Must be Christmas!
Fluttershy fic ? hmm; I'll pass. :/
2378296 You're going to pass on Fluttershy AND Bioshock!? You crazy
2378374
Don't get me wrong, I love Bioshock.
But I don't really think I'll like a fluttershy Bioshock fic :P
It's because I think it'll be a lot like: 'Oh...hey mister! Can I ask you something ? ..If you don't mind, that is' Or when she hit's someone (with her eyes closed) I'm sorry!
So yeah, but Bronius is a great writer. I read a lot of his fics
Fluttershock?
Songbird in Equestria. I think the only thing scarier than it when viewed through the eyes of pretty much every single pony is what Pinkie is going to try and do to make it understand the concept of "parties". I very much want to see that happen.
I likey so far. But please edit the part when lutece says heads or tails. Have Robert say "heads" and Rosalind say "or tails".
get to writting NOW.
I really liked this, waiting for more
A friggin Bioshock crossover.
You can't have all my yes's because you took them when I first saw the title.
Luteces are best interdimensional travelers. They have so much great potential for storytelling.
I think this has inspired me to do my own Bioshock/MLP fic.
Hmm...I need a lighthouse.
I still need to beat the game, but I've gotten far enough to get the gist of the story so far.
Would you kindly post the next chapter.
How did I knew that it will be Fluttershy.
I thought Song Bird died. Wait only one timeline of Song Bird died I keep forgetting what those weird ass twins keep saying.... time to play Infinite again.
Pretty cool! Good job with the twins, I got my eye on this one. Also, have this:
i.imgur.com/KWASVbe.jpg
This... is surprisingly good. Faved and upvoted. I'll be waiting for more Lutece madness...
2379027 Its a great game, you'll love it. It gets real interesting when you--
*gets pulled off the stage and beaten to death at the hands of an angry mob*
I'm sure this is going to be epic, but why can't you spoil stuff eventually? I played through Infinite and I want a proper crossover! *whines*
derpicdn.net/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMTMvMDQvMDEvMTVfMDhfNTRfOTQ1XzI4NTI1N19fVU5PUFRfX3NhZmVfdHdpbGlnaHRfc3BhcmtsZV9ydWxlXzYzX2R1c2tfc2hpbmVfYXJ0aXN0X2NoaWNhc29uaWNfYmlvc2hvY2tfNTBlMzJmZDNhNGM3MmQ0NTJiMDAwZTY1XzUxNTlhMzAzYTRjNzJkM2JhMDAwMDQ4YV81MTU5YTMwM2E0YzcyZDNiYTAwMDA0OGJfNTE1OWEzMDNhNGM3MmQzYmEwMDAwNDhjLnBuZyJdXQ/285257__safe_twilight-sparkle_rule-63_dusk-shine_artist-chicasonic_bioshock_50e32fd3a4c72d452b000e65_5159a303a4c72d3ba000048a_5159a303a4c72d3ba000048b_5159a303a4c72d3ba000048c.png
Just sayin'....
2379453 eventually stuff will get spoiled. but there will be a warning first.
YES! Oh you beat me to it though
I'm slow at writing. Anyway MOAR! 
Of the story please 
2379472
Unless you want to spoil Bioschok Infinite, no looky below. Also unless you've beaten it it won't make much sense anyway.
I'm not sure about this, since there are two ways to take the killing a man thing but I just want to make a few things clear. First everything I'm about about to say might be wrong but I don't think it is. The main point is that Booker is only half dead. Yes he was certainly killed, but the end scene with Anna after the credits shows not all versions of him are dead. Elizabeth just killed all versions of Booker that accepted the baptism, and therefore eliminated not just Comstock, but Elizabeth as well, since Booker never had even the option to sell her, and she never grew up in the wrong reality. Instead all that's left is the set of realities where Booker gets to raise his daughter himself. (Possibly alone since Anna's mother is never mentioned.) The point is they might actually be more upset about Columbia never being built, than killing someone since it's only sort of true. The city is after all can only exist because of their work.
2379793 That comment actually made me laugh
Daaaaamn this is good man.
Brilliant. Positively brilliant
Fav to keep it on eye. Even if I have no way to play this game (XP is doomed, even if this could work with this game with no problem...) there are always LP's on youtube, especially amusing one done by ChaoticMonki
I might read it.
I might not.
I don't even know.
Read, will read, reading.
the songbird has such a sad backstory, Despite Songbird being robotic in nature, Songbird feels a sense of betrayal by Elizabeth's need and ongoing attempts to escape Columbia with Booker DeWitt. (only speculation)
one thing i dont understand is, when the luchese twins gave Celestia the note with the commands to controll songbird, won't she need the right instrument?
in the game the Luchese twins are spotted playing a piano in the rubble left over behind after the crash of an airship (that Booker and Elizabeth tried to escape on)
Elizabeth tries to stop the twins from playing the notes to attract Songbird. The twins tell her that it doesn't matter even if they got the notes right - the correct instrument is needed to call the Songbird.
Wait ... after BioShock Infinite the Comstock timeline is erased. Even if there could be timelines where Columbia was built without Comstock, the Songbird would not have existed, because it was created by Fink solely to guard Elizabeth using technology viewed through a tear (presumably, technology from Rapture). How can the Songbird exist, even in one remaining timeline, if all Comstock/Elizabeth timelines were erased from history? The Luteces' presence I can buy, because they were supposedly entirely unbound from all realities and timelines due to the sabotage of their machine, but not the Songbird.
2381256 Because there are an infinite number of alternate realities. Infinity is a rather large number.
2381256
Well, since the Songbird was sent here in this story, maybe it survived the reality redaction by not being in any of the realities being altered?
2381256 As stated before, passage of time is merely A matter of perspective. The song bird could be in a time where the passage of time between equestria and bioshock has ceased to a halt. Theoretically, the song bird could exist forever if the passage of time between the two universes was screeched to a halt.
He has a point, I get what you mean but there is a possible outcome where anything is possible including something as crazy as say Andrew Ryan showing up in Equestria for no reason.
2381353
2381256 There is always a city, there is always a man and there is always a bird.
2381122
It's established in Apple Bloom's story that Songbird responds to notes played on Mr. Carrot's organ (which Songbird promptly annihilates). My only guess as to why the Luteces didn't stick around to play it on Celestia's organ is because they trust her enough to figure it out.
Its not cage... it is the notes C A G and E. or the song bird's trigger.
2382310 and someone who was unaware of how to control the songbird would think it's a word, not a series of notes.
2381670
Love it!