"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." - Abraham Lincoln. A different take on human in Equestria. What happens when humans are given a power they are not meant to have?
Months ago, a tear opened up in the sky. Only through the intervention of the princess was the tear closed, but not before something came through. Something from another reality. Something not of Equus' soil.
They called themselves humans.
Only a handful were found, barely the amount of a few hundred. In the beginning, the humans were scared and afraid, but slowly they adjusted. Months passed and things finally appeared to return to a sense of normalcy.
Then it happened.
An incident that rocked Equestria to its core, shook its foundations more then the changeling attack on Canterlot.
It was a rather average cold night for the winter months in Michigan. Across the state, snow had blanketed almost every service of the ground, forcing many off the roads at the time of night. This however, was not a concern for the McArthur family of 1960 Flak Court, evident by the active sounds emitting from the family's home. Inside the house, much of the family was gathered around the large 56-inch TV screen, some enjoying the current dirt biking exhibition that was on.
One member of the family however, was not as he gazed out the window at the slowly falling snow outside, the darkness illuminated slightly by the lights of the family’s living room.
Derrick McArthur sat with his chin in his palm, silently watching the snow fall. Sitting across from him on the couch was his loving mother, Elizabeth McArthur, who was quietly texting her friend about the recent storm that had popped up. On the very far end of the L shaped couch sat Derrick's older brothers, Jon and David, who were bickering about the race that was on. Jon was stating that number 84 clearly was going to win, despite him taking an early wipeout.
Derrick's father, Thomas, sat on a recliner opposite the couch, typing away on the keyboard of his laptop, writing an email to a fellow workplace employee.
The 16 year old continued to stare out the window, contemplating something that only plagued him.
Something was...off.
It was difficult to describe. He had a feeling, though what that particular feeling was, he had no clue. It was as if he was forgetting something...
Had he finished all his homework? Definitely, he actually had double checked that. You don’t get to be an A- student by not being on top of things.
Forget some chores to do? No, his parents would have reminded him of that, oh they would have certainly reminded him of that.
Did his friends want him to join a game of Modern Warfare 3? He pulled out his Iphone and quickly tapped the message app.
No messages from his friends.
No messages at all.
That’s strange. He thought.
Had he deleted all his messages and forgotten about it? Possibly.
Shrugging, he returned his phone to his jean pocket.
Still the feeling remained, and it was beginning to concern Derrick.
What was going on with him?
He was just about to get off the couch when a sudden feeling overtook him.
He felt his throat contract involuntarily.
His eyes went wide, a hand instinctively reaching toward his throat. He tried to take in a gulp of air, only to realize nothing entered his lungs. Derrick moved to alert his parents, but only toppled to his knees on the carpeted floor.
“Mom! Dad! Help!” He cried out, the last words almost coming out in a croak. Yet, his parents remained where they were, seemingly to care little of the terror that was gripping him. He looked toward his brothers frantically; yet, they too chose to ignore his predicament.
Why were they not helping him!? Could they not see he was in pain!?
Despite this, they remained where they where, even as he continued to struggle on the floor. Each breath caught in his throat, the muscles futilely working in an attempt to grab at the precious life source. He couldn't even look up, his entire body focused on the sole thought of the next gulp of air that he would not receive.
It felt like he was drowning and all around him was the water.
As he continued to struggle, the room around him began to fade. His family, still oblivious to his distress, slowly began to fade, almost turning into dust as his torment continued. Their entire bodies, their very existence faded into nothing as if they never alive in the first place. But it would not end there. The walls themselves even started to fade, and whole furniture seemed to disappear as if it never existed.
Tears now freely poured from his eyes as his lungs burned with the pain of oxygen starvation. All coherent thoughts had ground to a halt at the impending doom that he was facing, his body still unable to take in a lifesaving breath. Without him realizing, the room seemed to almost spin, the walls falling away into whiteness.
"Is this what it feels like to die?" the cold, un-debatable thought shot through his mind. The pain increased, and he could feel his vision blurring. His lungs screamed now, desperate for someone to answer their cries for air.
This was it.
He would meet his end. Here and now.
Just as he collapsed completely onto the floor, a sudden sense of invertigo overtook him. For a moment, Derrick believed it was simply his brain losing all sense of right as its internal functions began to shut down and cease.
Then, just as it felt like his time had truly come, a miracle happened.
It was as if an arm had reached into the water he was drowning in and pulled with the force of life itself to bring him back from the brink.
He gasped and was rewarded with the indescribable feeling of air pouring into his lungs at an astounding rate.
He breathed. For a moment, he thought his trouble was over. He was able to breath. He was going to live.
Whiteness obscured his hazy vision and he could make out little of his surroundings.
Then, he felt it. The pain. The excruciating pain. The almighty lord above the pain.
It was as if someone was attempting to rip his entire being from his body, muscle, skin, bone and all. Yet at the same time, another force was crushing him, acting against the other entity to keep him intact. He was in a tugging match between powerful groups and it seemed like they cared not if he broke apart, only interested in winning the battle. His whole body was on fire, the millions of nerves screaming out in protest, his brain overloading from the onslaught of pain signals.
The teen screamed, his back arching slightly, yet his arms and legs remained stationary. Something was holding him down, pinning him in place. Instincts and impulses screamed at him to move. To get away. To flee from the pain. Yet it was for naught. His protests were rewarded with only more pain coursing through his wrists and ankles.
His screaming became so loud; it seemed to echo all around him. All he could do was scream, to let out the anguish that was slowly ripping him apart. His vision-when he wasn't clutching his eyes shut-was bombarded by the whiteness, and for a moment, he thought he saw colors.
Black, purple, pink, and green. They were colorful blobs in a sea of white.
But this mattered little to him; all that mattered was ending the pain. Stopping the pain.
He struggled again, fighting over the unbelievable feeling ripping him apart and thrashed against his restraints like an animal caught in a bear trap.
He screamed once more, and this time had to take in a gulp of air. Had he been scramming so feverishly that he couldn't even breathe??
Then he heard them.
The voices. The shouting.
His brain could understand they were words, but for the life of him, they refused to translate into something he could understand. Derrick cried out to them.
"Help me!' he screamed feverishly.”Help me!!"
The voices continued to shout and the pain continued to burn. He cried out again, hoping for some type of salvation against the pain. He looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the voices. The teen only saw the blobs, and connected the voices to them.
"Help me!! For the love of god help me!!" he cried out to the blob.
Suddenly, everything ceased. Time seemed to slow down as his bodies’ ordeal came to an abrupt end. A strangled sob emitted from him as he collapsed against whatever was restraining him. Slowly, darkness crept into his vision, but he cared not. The pain was gone. The pain had stopped.
"T-Thank you" he barely whispered, try to raise his voice so they could hear him. "Th-thank you. Thank you" He repeated, as tears rapidly descended down the sides of his face.
The blackness was now obscuring his entire view. His body seemed to collapse completely, going limp for all purposes. Everything felt good again, everything felt right.
He let the blackness consume him.
Silence descended upon the small white room, a stark contrast from the madness that had only been occurring moments before. The only sounds audible was the heavy and the same time shallow breaths of the two unicorns in lab coats, their faces contorting into looks of sadness and exhaustion. Their eyes however had never left the creature strapped to the large metal table that dominated the room's limited space, his chest heaving and falling in rhythm to its breathing. No longer was it fighting against its restraints. No longer did it cry out in pain. Its face was expressionless at best, and if they looked into its eyes, they would note a haze that should not be present in the bright eyes of a sentient being.
But they already knew this.
The two unicorns continued their breathing, attempting to absorb what had occurred seconds before. One, a pink mare with a violet mane, attempted to smooth out her short mane with a shaky hoof, only to knock her large rimmed glasses to the floor with an audible clack.
The other, a stallion with a lime green coat and onyx colored mane that sported a hint of grey, raised his own hoof to his chest, patting around his heart in an attempt to steady his own rapidly beating organ.
It’s not getting any easier. He thought bitterly.
Looking to the opposite wall, he gazed into the large glass window that dominated its entirety, save for a small white border. The glass window was a dark black that reflected all the room showed.
Them, the operating table, the creature, and the various other equipment that was placed around the room.
Finally, the stallion was spurred to move, calmly approaching the large glass window. He noticed in the mirror's reflection that his fellow doctor looked at him, her eyes locking onto his for but a moment before she turned away, approaching the biped that rested on the table.
The stallion stopped a hoofs length from the wall, and pressed a small blue button directly adjacent to the large black glass panel.
"T-Teees" The stallion’s voice came out scratch and dry, and he stopped for a moment to take a few gulps, only now realizing how dry his throat was. Clearing his throat experimentally a few times, the stallion spoke again, much more clearly this time.
“Test number twenty four dash B" he started, "Doctor Stitch and Doctor Feel Good presiding. Testing conclusion is-"
The stallion let out a rather deep sigh, looking back at the mare near the operating table who was shakily wiping the tears away that stained the biped's face.
"Testing conclusion is failure. Attempt to remove magic unsuccessful. Subject was dormant during initial trial run, but as the testing faze wore on, subject broke out of stasis dreaming, evident of coherent speech and...wailing"
Doctor Stitch ran a hoof through his own mane, a few grey hairs being reveled by his hoof.
"Subject Human Male will be returned to respective housing. Subject will be monitored for adverse effects. This will conclude today's testing."
Pausing once more, the stallion looked into his own reflection in the mirror, his hoof still on the button.
He gazed longingly for a moment, before adding one final phrase.
"Two hundred and forty seven days since human event"
"Open a little wider for me sweetie...there we go”, the pegasus mare spoke sweetly as she pulled the metal spoon out of the biped's mouth, free of its food. The biped that sat directly next to her made no move other then slowly chewing the food now in its mouth, as if not bothering to exert more energy then necessary.
Nurse Critical Care watched patiently as the biped assigned to her quietly and softly chewed its food before swallowing plainly. The nurse nodded happily before returning the spoon to the steaming bowl of oatmeal in between the two, carefully extracting some more of the porridge to offer to her patient. Blowing on the oatmeal a few times to ensure it would not be too hot, she offered the food once more to the biped, which after a small command opened its mouth to accept the food. Once again, the biped began to chew lazily, staring strait ahead as it ate at its calm pace.
Waiting once again for her patient to finish, Critical looked around her, spotting similar scenes all around her in the expansive room. Modeled similarly after a hospital cafeteria, the area was full of tables with groups of ponies and bipeds alike. Ranging from unicorns to earth ponies, all ponies were in the roll of the nurse, evident by the bright white caps and aprons upon their forms. The bipeds by contrast wore the plain gown of that of a patient, though a similar detail that each biped sported was a navy blue headband that glowed faintly in some areas. In all essence, it appeared like any regular hospital cafeteria-perhaps slightly different due to all the nurse's feeding their patients- if not for the fact that the amount of gold that struck out against the white of the room.
Golden armored ponies stood about, some walking in between the tables, others standing at attention near the multiple exits, and some even casually conversing with the nurses that monitored their patients.
Though Critical Care liked to avoid looking at the guards. It tended to ruin her good mood.
Smiling happily as the biped finished another bite, she once again repeated the process, the feeling of monotony all but lost to her. Occupied with the biped in her care, the pegasus once again looked over her patient. The biped under her care was faired skinned, no fur upon her form save her golden brown mane.
Yes she, rather the biped, was a female. A filly to be exact by Critical's standard. Apparently at the age of nine, the biped was no taller then her sitting at the table, though standing she was able to achieve a good half a head taller then her nurse. However, the height difference mattered little to Critical Care, considering some nurses found themselves with full grown bipeds that stood nearly double the height of a regular pony. Some even appeared to surpass the astounding height of Princess Celestia!
She wondered faintly how tall her charge would get, though that was a large unknown to mare.
She didn’t know too much about humans after all.
As the process of feeding her patient continued, the nurse looked over the biped's mane, which was ironically tied in a ponytail fashion. This allowed her own headband to easily stand out around her forehead. Up close, Critical Care could easily spot the several complex runic symbols that dotted the headbands length, each glowing a light cyan, evident of the active magic at work.
"Perhaps we should change that mane style sweetie, maybe try braiding your hair next time hmmm?" the pegasus spoke, as she returned the spoon to the bowl for another grab at the oatmeal.
The biped did not reply, instead continuing to stare blankly ahead. Of course, Critical didn’t expect a response; she knew her patient didn’t speak.
Or move around on her own.
Or do things that an actual patient should be doing.
No, she steeled herself suddenly, stop that train of thought.
She was a nurse, an extremely high ranking one at that. She was to care for the patient placed upon her with the utmost kindness and love, even if it meant ignoring the striking things that bothered Critical so much.
The young biped’s hazy eyes, looking almost devoid of life. Her blank look, no expressions present on her face despite the fact a filly her age would be a kaleidoscope of expressions every day. Nor did she point out how she had to command the biped to do simple tasks, it lazily moving to accomplish said tasks.
A sudden clank broke Critical out of her reprieve and she looked around, trying to spot the perpetrator of the noise. She quickly came to realize however, that the sound had emanated from the metal bowl in front of her, the oatmeal all but gone and the metal spoon resting inside it.
While she had been preoccupied inside her head, it appeared she had gone ahead and already finished feeding the girl, whose mouth was still half open, expecting another spoonful that would not come. Reaching up, she brought her hoof to gently touch the bipeds chin.
"Close you mouth honey, its not very ladylike" she spoke tenderly as she nudged the young humans mouth closed, meeting little resistance.
Humming softly, Critical Care hopped off the large bench that was the seating for the table, noting as she did so that several other nurses and their patients were already exiting the cafeteria as well. She did not bother to pay attention as a lone guard accompanied each duo at the double doors, instead instructing her patient to stand up. She watched calmly as the girl swung her legs around from the inside of the table to the outside in one quick motion, before standing to her full height.
"Come along Julia, let’s get you back to bed hmm?" the mare said, using the girl's name more actively.
The young human offered no reply, just calmly following her nurse that headed toward the door. Of course, the remaining guards quickly saw this, and one was dispatched to immediately join the duo.
The pegasus offered a casual glance at first at the encroaching guard, before her eyes narrowed slightly.
It had to be him today, she thought angrily.
For walking toward her at a slightly quick pace was a grey earth pony stallion, well under the guise of the armor's cloak spell.
She knew well from experience that this guard had a particular dislike for the patients here, and made a point to show it.
Sometimes verbally.
She decided to slow her pace ever so slightly, allowing Julia to walk nearly next to her, to which she raised a wing against the biped's back in a protective manner.
The earth pony fell in behind the two, his silver headed spear raised upward in a non combatant manner.
She still didnt like it though.
Passing through the doorways of the cafeteria, she was greeted by multiple crisscrossing hallways that other patients and nurse were already heading down, moving to their respective rooms.
With practiced ease, Critical began her walk down a rather long hallway toward the young human's room. She passed a few nurses and their charges on the way. She offered a warm smile to each, who offered it in turn. The guards simply saluted each other as they passed.
This was an attempt to distract herself from the burning gaze from the earth pony stallion, who was attempting to drill a hole right through her wing to get at the biped.
Sighing, she glanced back at the guard.
"Is there something the matter Sergeant Overwatch?" She asked plainly, no emotion in her usually sweet voice. The sergeant did not take his hazel eyes off the biped, but answered her question.
"Why are you even touching that thing nurse?" He spoke, anger clearly present.
Taking a deep breath and attempting to avoid the obvious comment of "thing" Critical calmly replied, "I believe it's called a human actually. And she is not a thing and her name is Julia"
Annunciating each word with more power, she glanced back once again at the guard, who was trying to hold back a snarl.
Trying and failing.
"Don't fraternize with the enemy nurse. It just makes em look more pony" he growled out.
That particular comment stopped Critical Care dead in her tracks, forcing Julia and the guard as well to halt their advance. Turning to face the guard muzzle to muzzle, she glared back at him.
"She is not an enemy Sergeant Overwatch. She is sick. She is being treated. And before you do, don’t you dare go comparing her to the event" she scolded.
Overwatch's eyes went wide for a moment, surprised by the brashness of the slightly smaller mare. Then his eyes narrowed in suppressed anger.
"I will Celestia bucking please compare it to whatever I bucking want to nurse. Especially the event, or did you already forget what their kind did?"
He spoke, glaring daggers at the biped that stood at equal height who retuned the expression with a blank one in turn.
Resisting the urge to flare her wings, the nurse instead turned away from the guardspony and placed a feathered wing against the girl's back to get her walking again.
"You should not blame the actions of a few on that of the many Overwatch. Especially on a filly like her" The mare said as she continued down the hallway, avoiding all formalities in speaking just the guard's name.
Just as they stopped at the entrance to Julia's room, the guard shaking his head as Critical led Julia inside. The room was extremely small, and padded on all sides. The only actual furniture was a bed large enough for a full grown human and a small nightstand.
The nurse didn’t take any pleasure that the room was reminiscent of a lavish jail cell, but that didn’t stop the guard.
"That ain’t a filly nurse. That there is a monster. An innocent pony killing monster" He spoke from the doorway, his spear blocking most of the entrance purposefully.
The mare prayed to Celestia to give her strength as she allowed the biped to rest on her bed, before moving the sheets over her form. The girl's eyes began to slowly close almost immediately as she laid in the bed.
In moments, Julia was already asleep. The pegasus resisted the urge to sing to her as she had done prior, if only to prevent Overwatch from opening his mouth. Exiting the room as calmly as she could, she allowed Overwatch to close the door behind her with a rather unnecessary slam.
Feeling her fur hackle, she resisted the urge to tear into the guard, choosing to walk away down the corridor.
Spitting once onto the floor, the guardspony headed a different direction, most likely toward the command center of the facility.
From a quick glance back, Critical eyed the stallion angrily. She did not like Overwatch at all. Though some shared her sentiment, they spoke that he was in his right to dislike them. He had lost his brother to the human event after all.
He is not the only one, she thought bitterly, and nor does it give him the right to act like that.
At the thought of the event, the mare was swarmed by memories of the past and for a moment she had to stop to place a hoof near her rapidly beating heart. She resisted the urge of oncoming tears, banishing them away.
"Even after months" she whispered, "It still hurts"
For a moment, Critical Care stood alone on the hallway, some passing nurses quickly leaving her alone.
However, the moment came and gone, and nurse Critical Care once again resumed her walk down the hallway, ready to start her day again in the morning. Like she had done the month prior. And the month prior to that.
The grand monarch of Equestria, the leader of her country for over a thousand years, and the raiser of the sun, Princess Celestia awoke on the new morning of Equus to do her duty once more. Again, just like so many times before, she grasped the cosmic being within her magical grasp and with untold strength, lifted the orb into the sky to begin the day anew.
However, the sight that greeted her this morning was not the one she had grown accustomed to. For instead of the gold, red, and white that was the beauty of her palace in Canterlot, Celestia awoke to the grey metropolis that was the Equestrian port city of Baltimare. From her vantage point in one of the higher buildings of Baltimare-standing out on a tall balcony- she could easily view the wide berth of ocean that was Horseshoe bay, noting the large amount of ships leaving an entering the bay. And if she decided to glance a little farther, she would notice that small blockade at the mouth of the bay, several royal frigates running boarding inspections.
Though, she chose not to look any farther.
Her long neck turned away from the glistening sunlight that reflected off the water to fall toward the cityscape, her magenta eyes calmly drifting over the sprawling city as its citizens were already underway with the new day. A smile formed unbeknownst as she looked over the vast modern cityscape. Baltimare had never been Equestria's most prominent city, nor had it been its most lavish. But unknown to even itself, the city had turned form a small fishing community that only had wooden shacks to support its residence, into the massive maze of stone and steel that its citizens thrived and flourished in. Much like its sister city of Manehattan, Baltimare stood on a level all its own, and she believed, could even rival Canterlot in its greatness.
The smile she wore slowly began to fade as the train of thought continued.
Now, though. Now that greatness had been shaken, and now was once again in danger.
To be specific, a threat had been made against Baltimare.
This was an all too familiar call that had once caused the Equestrian capital of Canterlot to fall to the hordes of the changeling invasion.
It seems like only yesterday... she quietly mused.
Despite that attack ending in resounding defeat to the forces of the changeling hive, its effects had been felt throughout Equestria. Ponies saw that their land was not as prosperous as many believed and realized that there were things that hid in the shadows. She had found that a large amount of new signups flooded guard positions across Equestria, and a military buildup had been petitioned multiple times in her day court.
She had refused each time. There was no need for further violence.
The changelings had been routed. Canterlot had sustained damage yes, but in the end it recovered just fine.
However though, one thing struck out to her more so then others.
Her little ponies had lost faith in her. Many where there that day to witness the wedding of her niece and her captain of the guard. Many where there to witness the shocking transformation of the alicorn princess Mi Amore Cadenza into the black hive queen of Chrysalis. And many where there to see her fall at the queen's hooves, battered and beaten. Only threw the intervention of her faithful student and her actual niece had the invasion been repulsed. But many did where more concerned with her defeat at the hooves of the invaders.
Word had spread quickly.
Ponies had learned that their princess, who many saw as infallible, crumbled before the invading forces of an unknown enemy. That the raiser of the sun had lost a battle was unthinkable.
This was perhaps the main reason she was in Baltimare personally.
True, she could have sent her commanders, Captain Shining Armor, General Ironsides, Navy Commander Sealegs, perhaps even the wonderbolt leader Spitfire.
But no, she would be here.
She would make a stand. She would not fail her little ponies again.
Yet, even she was unsure of her ability to keep that promise to herself.
Because as her eyes drifted over Baltimare, they soon came to rest upon the large construction area taking place near the cities outer edge. It was not difficult to spot.
For while the city was filled with many large buildings that steadily decreased in size as one moved away from the cities heart, the area she gazed at was still filled with buildings at least at a two story level.
Except for the construction zone.
The area was...a hole. A torn out area eight city blocks long at its length, and five at its berth which should have included many other buildings in its wake.
But, this was not to be.
For in the construction zone, work was taking place all around, some areas were looking to be underway for the foundation of new buildings, as well as some areas covered in large amounts of dirt, possibly the spaces where future gardens were to be planted.
Still, most of the effort was concentrated inwardly as most ponies were pouring large amounts of concrete near the very center of the zone.
It looks like they have almost brought it back to street level, she noted.
Princess Celestia let her head hang ever so slightly for but a moment, paying silent memorial as the construction ponies continued their work undisturbed.
Because, that area had once been home to plenty of her little ponies, as well as a few guests of Equestria.
And now lay a testament to the very thing that had rocked Equestria to its core.
The Human Event.
It was a bit ironic in a morbid sort of way, that the remains of the human event was...nothing.
No wreckage, no destruction, no bodies, just...nothing.
It made little difference in the end.
Humans had done this to Baltimare, to her ponies, and had done so in a way she had never thought possible.
With a force that had only been exclusively utilized by ponies for well over two centuries.
Magic.
However, even after all the months since the day of the event, she still had not found the how or the why.
The latter was beginning to matter little now.
The city, as well as she, had bigger problems to contend with. The city, which had once seen the worst disaster in Equestira's history, now stood once again the crosshairs of destruction. She could feel it too.
The citizenry was on edge. Ponies moved about doing their daily business yes, but an underlying tension marred their movements. They were much more aware, much more on the alert of possible danger. Even her presence barely calmed the fears of the citizens. Even the airships that patrolled the skies brought little assurance to the ponies on the ground.
The guard was not willing to let another Canterlot happen.
Or another human event for that matter.
She believed that was what ponies were truly afraid of. Afraid of the destruction that had once cut into their city like a knife.
Some even went as far to state the changeling invasion paled in comparison to the effect the human event had. For while Canterlot had sustained minimal damage overall, Baltimare had lost dozens of buildings, many the housing for the ponies that had ultimately lost their lives to the event. Celestia sighed and for a moment felt the weight of a thousand years on her back, crushing her soul.
I welcomed them with open hooves..., she thought deeply, Oh Luna, I know you had high hopes for them.
The thought of her sister gave the white alicorn pause for a moment, a debate on whether or not she should send a letter to her sister before she started the day's events.
But the letter would not go to her palace in Canterlot, but the city of Manehattan.
For Baltimare was not alone in the threat that plagued it.
Manehattan was being targeted as well.
This was where the lunar alicorn presided, guarding the city with a force similar in strength to Celestia's.
When the threats had arrived, both sisters had taken to move to the cities to support them directly.
Or as Luna put it, defend them personally.
While each sister headed to their respective city, the protection of Canterlot fell to her niece Princess Cadence and Captain of the Guard Shining Armor, fresh back from their honeymoon.
Celestia wished they had arrived back on more…pleasant circumstances.
Now, each city waited quietly, silently guarding against a threat looming.
Manehattan, Baltimare, and unintentionally Canterlot all stood at the ready as the rest of Equestria held its breath.
One of Celestia's ears suddenly flicked as it registered the sound of ponies approaching from her room that connected to the balcony.
Two solar guards in their golden armor approached her and after a moment, saluted.
"Princess, we have Mr. Kibitz waiting in the hall. He is ready to start the day. Shall we inform him you will be delayed?"
Princess Celestia took one last glance at the construction sight, noting that the progress continued without her.
She shook her head once.
"No, I’m more then ready. We are probably already behind as it is" Celestia offered a small smile.
The smile was mirrored by her guards, who together with their princess, left the openness of the balcony.
All the while, construction continued at the memorial, the crews continuing to work to repair what was left of the human event.
Inventory day.
Well, the librarian mused, that’s what I like to call it.
Inside the Hollow Shade's library, a tan brown unicorn was hard at work, moving about the various shelves that made up the length of her library. A clipboard hovered in her magical grasp as she perused the aisles of the building, paying close attention to the rows upon rows of books waiting to be checked. A quill flicked across the length of paper on the clipboard multiple times as her eyes scanned a shelf from top to bottom.
Once reaching the bottom, her chestnut colored eyes scanned her paper once more and finding everything correct, continued onto the next shelf to repeat the process anew.
She continued like this multiple times, till one section gave her pause.
A book was missing in a place it clearly should have been, the gaping hole in the shelf rather bothersome to the mare.
Stopping her train of work for a moment, she looked around the multiple other aisles, attempting to find the book. Perhaps it was left on the ground by a careless foal or just left on one of the various reading tables, all but forgotten.
She looked and looked again.
But could not find the missing book.
She even went as far to check the sign-out list at the very entrance to her library.
Still, nopony had signed out the apparent book.
The unicorn shook her head, more then likely it had been a foal hoping to unlock the secrets of the tome.
It was not a very important book anyway; she could easily order another from Canterlot or another city.
After all, multiple issues of A Foal's Guide to Magic were needed right?
She looked up through the bright green foliage, passed the maze of canopy to gaze up at the sky before her. It was a rich blue that seemed to spread outward for eternity. The clouds were there, not as many as before, but nonetheless there. Her eyes slowly moved between the cumulus forms, their shapes reminding her faintly of other items.
One looked like a arrow.
Another appeared like a dragon's head.
Her look soon transferred to a large group of birds that suddenly made their way into her field of vision, passing overhead without a care to her being there. She watched them go by, till their forms become indistinguishable as the tree's thick canopies blocked her view.
It looked so much like home.
She rubbed her hand along the bark of the tree adjacent to her form, feeling the ruff texture against the palm of her hand, occasionally getting the sensation of dried, sticky sap. Around her, the forest was alive with activity. The birds chirped, squirrels chittered, and even in the distance she could make out the sound of running water. Maybe a creek or small river.
She glanced all around her for a moment, taking in the lush green environment that was the woodland. Everything was...vibrant, in a word. The leaves, the plants, were alive and healthy with little blemishes to report. Small flowers that poked out here and there were stunning in the small colors they offered to the world. She spotted a small nest of blue jays nearby, the birds feathers beautifully expressive against the greens and browns of the forest.
A sudden blinding light came out from above her and she reflexively moved her arm to block the brightness. Her arm, covered in the fabric of home which was a deep brown, blended well with the wooden trunks of the trees. Her gloved hand was just in the right position to dampen the offending light source to manageable levels.
Around her, other areas of the forest brightened as the amount of light that was able to pass through the thick canopy increased. It took her less then a second to understand what she was looking at.
The sun.
Even now, as it passed overhead in the sky, it was still so much familiar. It still looked so much the same. Still that same ball of hydrogen gas that she had seen all her life. That she had gazed up at when she was younger, sometimes challenging her friends to see who could stare at it the longest. The ball of energy that she knew was the life source and the death to the planets that orbited it. The same light source that she had awoken to every morning and occasionally watched as it slowly fell over the horizon.
It looked so beautiful.
Everything was beautiful.
The sky. The trees. The sun. It was all beautiful. She felt she could stay in this place for eternity. It was a paradise.
Or so it seemed. But she knew better, or rather, had learned that there was no such thing as paradise.
And this land was not home.
It would never be home.
As if the universe had to prove this to her once again, she noticed two colorful forms making their way through the sky, their small wings carrying them effortlessly through the air. Her breath caught in her throat, and her entire body tensed as her eyes locked on the two. She watched the forms, which even from her distance on the ground, could easily tell resembled the forms of small equines.
Ponies, to be specific. And if one were to add the wings that the ponies sported, one might come to the inevitable conclusion that these were pegasi.
But pegasi didn't exist. They were myths, legends, written in fantasy novels or re-imagined in movies thanks to CGI.
At least back home, they were.
Here though, in this new land, they were real. They were very, very real.
She continued to watch the two pegasi fly through the sky, her eyes never once leaving them even as they began to disappear into the distance. Only after they had left her field of vision did the girl snap out of her trance, realizing how quickly her heart was beating. She clutched a hand against her chest, passing the thick cloak that adorned her form, resting against the still rapidly beating appendage.
It took her another moment to realize her hand was still digging into the bark of the tree she had rested against, her fingers easily destroying the shell of wood to break into the sensitive trunk of the tree. Her right had was illuminated in an icy aura, as her fingers twitched slightly, still embedding themselves into the wood.
She pulled her hand away immediately, the aura disappearing shortly afterward. In a haste, she used her teeth to remove her glove that still remained on her left hand, exsposing her pink flesh to the world. With the taste of fabric in her mouth and the glove still clenched tightly between her teeth, she ran her free hand over the hand the aura once claimed, feeling along her palm and digits, attempting to find something wrong. Again however, she was only rewarded with the feeling of her smooth skin as her fingers ran along the flesh. Sighing, she placed her gloves once more on her hands and returned her arms inside the cloak, masking nearly all of her form in the long plain robes.
A quick and audible snap suddenly sounded behind her and she reflexively ducked down,turning toward the sound in an abrupt twist.
Unbeknownst to her, inside her cloak her hand once again glowed its icy aura.
Standing in the forest nay ten feet behind her, stood a hooded creature in a similar robe to her own. It's only distinguishable trait was the small amount of skin exposed underneath the hood, lips and a slightly bearded chin peeking out. She was also quick to notice the three other forms behind this one as well, all hidden in thick brown-green cloaks almost like camouflage. While the closest one stood, the others leaned up against trees or were crouching down, one was even clutching an easily noticeable wooden bow as well as sporting a small quiver on its back, the tips of arrows jutting from its top.
The new biped looked at her for a moment, then approached much more calmly as she relaxed.
She stood to meet the newcomer, the adrenaline that had just entered her system already leaving.
When they stood only a few feet apart the other biped spoke, a masculine voice quietly coming from its lips.
"We need to go. They're getting close." he stated.
She nodded immediately, well aware of what he spoke of. The nod was repeated by him, and together, the two began to run in a predesignated direction as the others quickly fell in behind them. Their cloaks moved in the breeze they created, exposing some of their legs as they ran through the forest. All the while they made little to no sound, even as leaves crunched under their glowing boots, each one giving off a faint aura.
Soon, the bipeds disappeared into the maze of the forest, the only trace of their presence was the small cuts into a lone tree, some of its bark silently falling onto the forest floor.
Along the well traveled dirt trail that functioned as a road for travelers and merchants, two earth ponies were calmly heading in the direction of the quiet small town of Hollow Shades, where their family thrived on the business of selling produce. To confirm this, one of the ponies-who was significantly larger than his counterpart-was pulling a somewhat oldish wooden cart, its wheels creaking ever so slightly along the rough ground. The wagon was loaded with various food stuffs, though many if not all were of the vegetable variety.
Though this did bother them, considering their customers never minded.
The two continued along the path, the larger of the two calmly pulling the cart while the smaller pony attempted to keep pace.
The duo were none other then the brothers of a branch of the carrot family, who had a small farm on the far outskirts of Hollow Shades. The larger pony, an adolescent stallion that had a coat of a rather strange shade of white, which seemed to almost have a faint orange tint to it. His mane was a ruffled oak color that barely reached his shoulders, giving him a rather smooth look. Another notable feature about said pony was that he sported a checkered red and white handkerchief around his neck, tied in a loose fashion. This was the earth pony known as Red Core, a bit ironic given his coloration.
The colt, by contrast, was a bright purple with a short stark green mane, something he had inherited from his father. This was the brother of Red Core, Indigo.
The two were heading toward the local market to once again conduct business for their family while their parents managed the farm. Red Core was trusted enough by his mother and father to handle the selling the produce as well as keeping track of his brother.
The latter was the harder job in Red Core's opinion.
And like what any siblings would do when parental supervision was absent, the duo was bickering.
"But I'm tellin ya big bro! It was diamond dogs!" Indigo explained, having a rather loud voice for a colt.
Red Core rolled his eyes at his brother, finding the colt's theory rather...well, childish.
"Right...just like the time it was diamond dogs that broke the wagon wheel. Or the time diamond dog's ate mum's pie or when diamond dogs clogged the toilet. Oh wait! Cant forget the time diamond dogs ate your homework?"
"That time was true!" Indigo shouted, before quickly backpedaling at the knowing look from his brother. " I mean, just like all those other times..."
"Whatever ya say little brother" Core laughed, causing the cart to shift ever so slightly.
The colt looked away as small grumbles were heard.
A short silence was created from the duo's conversation ending abruptly, the sounds of the bustling forest around them clearly audible without their conversation.
Red Core however, felt that he ended the talk wrong and spoke up again. "I'm just sayin In. It can't be diamond dogs. Diamond dogs ain't known for stealing ponies stuff, 'cept for jewels and such. Na, more then likely just some thief pony" he nodded.
Indigo didn't look up from the dirt path but his brow furrowed somewhat cutely.
"But big bro, old stallion Horse Shoes said he saw em!" he stated to his brother.
Again, Red Cores eyes made a full rotation. "Right. You listnen to the stallion who licks to much salt and says the princess is a banana"
The colt blushed in slight embarrassment as the main point of his argument was torn apart like paper. Indigo, frustrated at his brother's indifference to the matter, decided to ask the older sibling his thoughts on the recent thefts of Hollow Shades.
"So, then who did it?!"
Core shrugged lazily. "Mhm, thief like ah said. Maybe changeling. I don't rightly know"
Indigo blanched at one part of his brother's explanation, ears splaying back as the color of his coat paled several shades. His brother seemed to take little notice of this, though he was in fact smiling on the inside. The colt in his shock, had stopped suddenly and had to put on a quick burst of speed to catch up to his sibling who continued on unperturbed.
"Ya..ya jokin right big bro? Aint no changelings around here right?" Indigo asked in a rather hushed whisper, his eyes darting about the forest wildly. Red grinned like a cheshire cat.
"Ohhhhh I don't know, maybe..." he held back a laugh, "In fact, I wouldn be surp-"
A sudden impact in front of the duo startled the brothers and Indigo, in a blind panic, dived under the safety of the cart. Red Core was too surprised, his ears standing at attention as his mandarin eyes locked on the object that had embedded itself into the path before him. He had to blink multiple times to confirm what was he was in fact seeing. Directly embedded into the dirt road in front of the duo was the object that had startled them so much.
It was..an arrow.
The remaining metal tip that wasn't buried into the ground made it clearly obvious as the wooden shaft rose up at an angle. Red quickly realized the direction it had come in had been from the forest to his right, yet he could see no pony.
Additionally, the forest had grown eerily silent, the animals seeming to hold their breath.
A small bead of sweat suddenly made its way down his forehead. Maybe the stories about diamond dogs weren't far off.
"B-big Bro?" Indigo's shaky voice asked from under the cart as his head poked out from its undercarriage. Another arrow suddenly flashed out from the forest, impacting the ground fairly close to the colts position, who instinctively dived back underneath the safety of the wood.
Red Core quickly realized what was occurring. Thoughts of protecting his brother flooded his mind.
"Stay under the cart In!" the older brother shouted as he scrambled to unlatch himself from the cart, his panic and fear playing in as his hooves fumbled with the restraints. He received only a whimper in response but cared little at the moment.
"We don't have any bits or gems ya hear?! All we got is food, an unless ya plan on sellin that, we don't have anythin!" Red shouted out to the forest around him as he continued to fight against his harness. His only reply was another arrow zipping toward him, hitting a hoof's length away from his right foreleg.
Fighting the instincts of flight or fight-the former of which he was leaning to- he nearly let out a triumphant yell when he unharnessed himself, just in time to avoid another arrow, this one actually hitting the cart with a thick thunk.
Scrambling on his hooves, Red Core dived under the cart next to his terrified brother, the dirt scraping against his fur at the forcefulness of his dive. Indigo was shaking in his hooves as his brother scanned the treeline in an attempt to find their would be aggressors.
"B-B-B-Big B-r-ro?" Indigo whispered, but Red payed him no attention. His eyes were rapidly trying to find where their attackers were coming from, hopefully being able see them would mean they could avoid them. His breathing was heavy and his heartbeat pounded in his ears as he looked about.
He scanned the horde of tree trunks, eyed the bushes and foliage, even looking toward the sky as best he could. Though it was all a blur, everything looked the same.
He could see nothing, and that worried him to no avail.
"B-big Br-ro?" the younger brother whispered, this time carrying a hint of trepidation. This was however lost to the other panicked sibling, his attention solely on attempting to spot the attackers of the duo. What the older one failed to notice that Indigo had in fact heard, was the muffled noises that was emanating from the ground below the two.
Scrtich Sritch Scrtach Scritch
Despite his younger mind, the colt was quick to understand that these sounds weren't coming from the ground, but rather beneath it. This revelation had only done to shatter his remaining courage, leaving him a bundle of unstable nerves.
The sound continued beneath the two with gusto, increasing in both volume and to Indigo's horror, proximity. The colt reflexively inched away from the epicenter of the terrifying noise, though quickly found himself caught between leaving the safety of the cart or staying near the noise.
Another arrow impacted the cart just as the noise was begging to reach a crescendo, both ponies flinching and bracing against the impact. Suddenly, Indigo felt the horrible feeling of weightlessness that no earth pony should experience, and felt two strong forces pull him downwards. His scream died in his throat as he was pulled into the confines of the earth itself, as both ponies failed to notice the hole that appeared underneath their positions.
"BRO!!"
His brother's severely muffled cry immediately brought Red Core's attention away from the treeline, just to watch in sheer terror as his brother was pulled into a mouth of the ground by a pair of thick, grey paws.
Before Core could even dive to save his brother, he too found himself being pulled against his will into the ground below. In a feverish attempt to escape, he bucked wildly, earning a pained yipe from his attacker. This was followed by a slight release of the pressure pulling him down and he took the moment of freedom to rush forward, hoping to escape from the confines of the small space.
But it was all for not.
The feeling returned in earnest, and he was pulled back under with much greater force. He couldn't even scream as a paw wrapped painfully tight around his muzzle, yanking him back into the hole.
For a moment, silence rained over the dirt path to Hollow Shades, the sounds of struggle completely absent to the world.
Then ever so quietly, five bipedal shapes emerged from the forest. Garbed in thick brown cloaks that made their forms impossible to define, they looked down both sides of the road quickly and finding no one in sight, sprinted toward the now unattended cart. Two of the bipeds quickly detached themselves from the others and went over to the cart, pushing it slightly forward to reveal a large hole in the earth.
The other three, with practiced skill, immediately jumped into the hole without a care, their cloaks parting for moments to reveal their slim legs.
The remaining two once again checked the road and finding nothing approaching, jumped into the unknown that was the hole.
Silence once again descended upon the the area, the animals still unsure as to whether the threat had passed.
This would not be the end however, as the cart loaded with produce slowly teetered back as the hole expanded, before being engulfed entirely into the earth itself.
Then, just as it formed, the cut in the dirt path began to close as if the ground was repairing itself. In minutes, the hole, the cart, and its earth pony operators were gone.
The only signs of their presence was a small piece of disturbed dirt, which in a few days, would blend back perfectly into the path, all traces of the struggle before gone forever.
The name given to the small but rather tall mountain range that laid at the heart of Equestria. With the city of the same name resting upon its slopes, the horn was represented as a bastion of pony kind for centuries since its construction. The gleaming spires that displayed Canterlot's majesty could be seen for miles around and made the city seem like a jewel to those around it.
And up till the unforeseen events months before, this would still be true. Now however, the city was but a front for the true jewel that it hid from the world. The creation of pony kind that was a marvel in engineering and with the latest mechanics that technology had to offer. The facility that had rose from a simple parchment blueprint to a fully constructed building of metal and stone within months of its planning. Though, one would never find this spoken facility inside Canterlot's city limits. Or spoken about by its citizens.
In fact, only a rare few inside the gleaming cityscape were even aware of its construction. Even fewer then those were aware of its true purpose. For the facility was not meant to be a laboratory for science, hoping to reach newfound knowledge and information. Nor was it an area where pony kind could expand in a field many found they lacked in, weaponry and technology, to boost their strength that magic could not offer. It wasn’t even a personal retreat for the princesses, or a bunker to protect them in times of war.
Because, the main purpose of the facility was not to keep something out, but rather, something in.
To label the building's purpose in simplicity, it was a prison. A detention center made to house creatures that ponies had once seen as aliens, then friends, and now enemies.
This facility was designed to contain the humans that had come to Equestria through means that to the day were still not fully understood.
Due to the special prisoners, the facility had to be kept away from the populace, to avoid any fiasco caused by an attempted breakout. As such, few places in Equestria could be found were they would garner little attention. It's final placement for construction would later come after being simply overlooked, and proved to be a perfect spot to keep watch on the prisoners and respond in a quick manner should the need arise.
The facility was constructed inside the Canterlot Horn, inside the mountain were thousands of tons of rock and stone would shelter it away form the world. Where no pony could enter without passing through its many guarded entrances. Sidestep the rows of enchantments that denied spells like teleportation. Or deal with the contingent of guards that called the facility home.
And in one particular area of the facility, one such guard was already busy with the day's events.
He sat at a metal desk in his small office that made up a part of the structure's control center, responsible for observing and responding to any occurrence inside the building.
In a slightly hunched position, something he was not well aware of, the guard was breezing through paperwork, his eyes dancing across the parchment as his quill attempted to keep pace. Reaching the bottom of the current report he was on, the quill dashed across the edge of the paper, a signature left behind as proof of his completion.
Lifting the paper in his ivory magic, the thin sheet rolled up into a more compact state for easy delivery, and was placed on the right side of his desk, joining multiple other reports that had already been read through. The stallion turned his attention to the opposite side of the desktop, where more reports calmly waited to be completed.
Noticing the 'in' stack seemed to have received no damage despite the numerous parchments he had taken from it, the guard sighed, leaning back into his plush office chair in a moment of reprieve, despite the protest of his stiff muscles.
I’m getting old. The thought echoed in his mind.
True to his own admittance, the stallion appeared to be well in the years of age, as his dull ash coat seemed to have lost the luster that had once been the inviting feature of his younger self. His mane, once a brilliant ivory much like his aura, now sported a mix of grey streaks in it, noting the ageing of the stallion. Even his beard in recent months seemed to mention the guard's age in earnest, as he had to trim it numerously to keep him from becoming a Starswirl the Bearded look-alike. Even his armor had somewhat increased ever so slightly in weight overt the years, despite in still well built physique.
Propping his forelegs on the desk, he rested his chin on his connected hooves, contemplating his years in the guard, and how many more he had in them.
Heh, back then it was all about chasing some tail.
This was a statement he was unashamed to admit, as he found many new recruits were just like him, believing the guard was a simple yet easy way to establish a career through life. Stand guard here, patrol over there, look intimidating here, all play and no work. Not to mention thoughts of impressing mares as they strutted around in their fancy armor, their bulk falsely looking larger in part to the golden metal.
He would sometimes find it comical when the drill sergeants crushed those ideas of the rookies like bugs. How their smug faces contorted into exhausted and weary expressions as they trained.
The stallion chuckled slightly, shaking his head at the memories.
Returning his attention back to his work, he had just smoothly placed another parchment in front of him when a rapping at the door to his office drew his attention away.
"Lieutenant? Sir are you busy? We have Doctor Stein here with the supply report"
Recognizing the voice as belonging to his subordinate, an earth pony by the name of Overwatch, the stallion sighed, placing his levitating quill delicately back in its inkwell, ready to be used when necessary. His brow furrowed as his eyes drifted to the 'in' box of his paperwork, and the door to his office. A small mental debate erupted inside his head, but the opposing side was quickly crushed.
Doctor Stein's reports were crucial to the patient’s conditions, and needed to be addressed at once. He could continue his paperwork afterward.
Clearing his throat, the pony ordered, "Bring him in Overwatch"
At once, his door opened to allow a pony in coloration strikingly similar to himself walk in as a brown coated guard looked on. The newcomer dressed in a drab white lab coat as well as sporting a small grey goatee, could easily be classified as the stallion's brother, his grey coat color as well as pure alabaster mane strikingly akin to his own. They were even both unicorns in kind.
But that was where the similarities ended, something that he was happy for.
Nodding his head, he motioned a foreleg to the new arrival.
"Dr.Stein, please. Take a seat" he motioned to the two chairs stationed before his desk. The other stallion smiled, and took a seat in the leftmost chair.
"That will be all Overwatch" the guard called to his comrade, who still stood at attention in the open doorway. With a quick salute, the door was closed with an audible click, leaving the two stallions alone in the well lit office.
His eyes glanced over the slightly leaner stallion for a moment before he spoke up. "Doctor, you have the latest supply report for me?"
The other pony seemed to be startled somewhat by his sudden question and answered hastily, even as he reached into his lab coat.
"Yes yes, that I do Lieutenant Obelisk" the unicorn said, his voice sounding a mix between a Gerneighan and Stalliongard accent. In a moment, a manila folder was removed from his coat, before being placed into the waiting hoof of the lieutenant.
Accepting the paperwork with a nod, Obelisk opened up the folder to review its contents. Dr. Stein however appeared to fidget in his seat by a fraction, something noted by the guard. The 'good' doctor always was squirmy around the other stallion, something that always made Obelisk narrow his eyes.
"Lieutenant, if it is not too much trouble, I would like to return to my su-patients as soon as possible. We are attempting another run at the removal process. I would like to be there to supervise this. “Stein insisted.
"In a moment Doctor Stein. I will be finished with this soon enough" the ash grey pony replied, his eyes never once leaving the paper before him.
His eyes were working across the current page he was on, moving between the various lists of supplies that were needed. Most were quite standard, the basics and necessities.
Food, water, sheets, gowns, medical equipment...
Shifting the page over to the next one, the lieutenant decided to make some idle conversation as well as using it to find out certain things Dr. Stein always seemed to fail to mention in his report.
"So, Doctor. I've heard the latest attempts at removing the magic of the patients has resulted in numerous failures. How are the routes to suppress or dampen their magic going?" he asked, looking up at Stein for the briefest of moments, his eyes boring into the doctor.
"Ah well, ze success is non existent I assure you. It is proving fruitless to continue zat route"
"Mhm" Obelisk simply hummed.
"It is truly a mystery these humans, the magic zey posses! It is a marvel. A true anomaly! So raw, so untamed! We have yet to unlock their secrets!" the doctor suddenly blurted out, as a glimmer appeared in his eye.
The lieutenant raised an eyebrow at this but kept reading through the report. "Was that not the purpose of this facility Doctor? To find how they have magic and to find away to remove it?"
"Yes yes, which is ze truth" Stein shrugged the question off. "But I think nopony was prepared to find that-"
As the scientist/doctor talked away, the older stallion found his attention firmly absorbed in the latest page of the report and after rereading the page numerous times, found his brow furrowing in a displeasurable gesture.
"Doctor" his hard voice rang out, authority laced in as his eyes bored into the other pony. The thinner stallion wilted under his hard gaze, sinking into his chair more so then before.
"Ah...yes?" Dr.Stein inquired.
"You are asking for four more stasis headbands. This is the sixth time you have asked for more. Its starting to become a concerning matter. Need I remind you these bands are not only hard to create, but you are aware of their source correct?"
The lab coat pony nodded diligently. “I am aware zat Princess Luna must be specially requested to make zem. However, some nurses have informed me that their su-patients are functioning normally, doing things on their own. Ze may be becoming immune to ze effects or the band is defective. I lean toward the latter. This is why we need more" the doctor stated, if slightly irritantly.
For a moment, it was a staring match between the two, Obelisk searching Stein's features for any sigh of deceit while the doctor remained impassive. Though, finding nothing, the stallion nodded.
"Very well, I will make sure the Princess is informed of the need. Other then that, this report is complete. You may leave at your leisure Doctor" the guardspony spoke to which Dr.Stein was more then willing to end the conversation.
"Excellent. A good day to you Lieutenant. I shall inform you of any further developments" the doctor called as he left, the door opening as he approached it.
"I will be waiting to accept those reports" the other pony replied, expectation hidden in his voice.
The door closed behind Stein, leaving Obelisk alone once more.
The stallion's eyes never left the door to his office, as if believing they could still track Stein through the door.
One thought remained in his mind.
I never liked that pony.
Deep within the mountain, far away from where the facility laid, a cavern was breached.
Similar to the crystal caverns that was long forgotten below Canterlot; this cavern sported a dim lime green luminescent glow, evident by the thousands of small stalagmites and stalactites that dotted its surface. While not enough to stem the tide of darkness that flooded the mountain feature, it provided enough light for those to see unassisted. This however, was blasted away as a golden glow encroached upon it, rays of light piercing the dark veil from a spot in a near wall.
Only small holes of light were seen at first, peeking through the little holes that were not formed naturally.
Then a few more holes, the sounds of medium sized rocks and stones falling to the floor echoing around the expanse of the area.
Shadows moved behind the light, blocking it for seconds before resuming.
If one was nearby enough to hear, voices whispered behind the cracks in the wall. The voices seemed to increase in a moment before going silent once more.
Then, a blast.
Rocks and pebbles sprayed across the cavern as the wall lost a moderate size of its area, a hole now opened into the cavern, the artificial light now illuminating near the entire structure. The echoes deafened all sound as the effects from the blast settled down.
For a moment, nothing else occurred.
Then the shadows reemerged from the hole, their sources bipedal and quadrupedal figures.
The tallest entered the cavern slowly, followed by the hunched form of the other biped and the quadruped in turn.
The biped looked around, taking in the area around it. Then it spoke, even as its hands lost their glowing aura.
His muscles were burning with the amount of effort they were releasing, his mind alerting him that he should take a moment for rest. Yet he did not, he refused to allow a stoppage now, even if he couldn't remember when he had last had a water break. Through the exhaustion he had found a rhythm, a flow to the continuous work that seemed to lessen the burden, and stopping now chanced the idea that he may not be able to continue for awhile. Again, he hefted another rock before him, its rough edges scrapping against the hardened skin of his palms. But he paid it no attention, and like the repetitive times before, tossed the rock into an awaiting mine cart with a resounding clang. The sounds of other work followed his own, the clang of picks and axes as well as the sound of crumbling rock creating a symphony of noise.
Letting out a sigh at the momentary reprieve, his ice blue eyes flicked over to the others around him, each busy at work with their own digging. Various humans in different clothes that expressed working in any profession other mining continued their work unperturbed, some even making jokes here and there.
Ed Darson reflexively tried to avoid looking at the strange dog like creatures were also present, the ones that were doing most of the digging; nor the smaller yet somehow more unnerving equine bug like figures that moved to and fro.
Even after the past months, he still hadn’t got used to them.
This was not to say that the 21 year old was racist, or speciesist, whichever was the correct term. It was just difficult for one to take all the changes that had occurred with a grain of salt, especially in dealing with the creatures known as changelings. The idea that their body was more insect in regards to that of a mammal made them seem even more disturbing, barring the fact that they wielded fangs and had a hard chitin armor as simple evolutionary structure. He didn’t even want to consider their ability to morph into other beings with an unnerving precision. Sometimes he wondered if the movie series of Alien was somehow inspired by them.
And the Diamond dogs...the bipedal canines that stood nearly as tall as the average human male, though carrying the bulk and muscle of a large canine made them additionally intimidating yet at the same time they were ridiculously st-uneducated, speaking like the cliché acting of a caveman. It was even difficult at times not to relate them to the dogs back home, hell; he even was able to make out some breeds between the various mutts.
And their ability to dig was something amazing in itself. Their whole journey had been spearheaded by the dogs, their claws tearing through dirt and rock better then a jackhammer on overdrive. Not to mention their skill to make the tunnel perfectly supported without the need for beams even as it reached dozens of feet across and multiple meters high.
It was in these very tunnels that he found himself working, ripping into the mountainside of the ponies’ capital in probably the ballsiest move he could think of. Ed certainly would have never suggested it, but then again, that’s probably why he wasn’t in charge or even one of the supply runners for that matter.
Though, he knew the main reason why he wasn’t in the runners, but didn’t bother to acknowledge it.
His body jerked momentarily as he felt a poke on his side, and he yelped slightly in surprise. Despite the large amount of noise overtaking the tunnel, more then a few individuals paused in their work to offer him a curious glance, causing him to blush in embarrassment at the attention on him. Not to mention getting a few shivers down his spine from the blank looks of the iris-less changelings.
"I...uh...rock. Fell on my…foot" He stuttered, pointing to his right foot with an index finger. There was a small pause as those that bothered to give him a glance contemplated this rather strange explanation before some simply just returned to their work with a roll of the eyes or looked him over for just a moment longer before shrugging. Regardless, the outburst was soon forgotten and the sounds of work once again filled the area of the tunnel. Ed let out a sigh, and returned to his attention to the person next to him, the one that had no doubt startled him.
The individual, a petite girl that he had to guess was between fifteen and sixteen was busy moving more rock than some at a rather rapid pace, though this was significantly due in part to her right hand glowing a bright lilac, a large piece of dirt floating into the mine cart in the same color. Her brow was furrowed in deep concentration as she didn’t hesitate to release a grunt at the obvious strain on herself, the glowing hand lifting handfuls of rocks while the other grabbed what it could in a physical grip. Adorning her form was a dirtied cyan tank top while she wore a pair of jean shorts that had clearly seen better days. He wouldn’t be surprised if this was one of her few sets of clothes. Though, one could say the same about his now dirtied white dress shirt and his damaged slacks.
An involuntary sigh escaped him.
Necessities had been scarce lately.
Observations aside, he returned back to his own work, though looked over to her as he grabbed another large rock. "So, what's up?" He asked, referring to the poke earlier. She paused halfway in crouching to pick up some more rocks, her brown eyes looking up to him in a look of annoyance. Just as she did this, her other hand lost its glowing aura, the small rocks hovering in front of its collapsing back onto the ground. She was caught slightly off guard by this at first; having a shocked look, before shooting a glare back at him.
"You weren’t working, you were just lying against the wall for too long" Her rather mature sounding voice caught him off guard coming from her smaller form, before he shrugged, dumping another rock into the mine cart.
"How long?" He inquired casually.
"Too long" She replied quickly, her attention focused on the fallen rocks from before, her hand pulsing with its lilac light, dampening and lightening as her eyebrows furrowed even further in agitation. He was well aware that her tone was betraying a fair hint of annoyance and only talking to her increased it.
But, there was not exactly much to do and while he was content to work quietly alongside her as he already had, he didn’t want to do it now that she was going to be constantly shooting glares at him.
"You do know, you can use your arms as well, not just…that?" he said, rolling his right shoulder experimentally before picking up another rock, flexing his muscles for extra emphasis. She didn’t care to look up, continuing to focus on the rocks before her.
"First. Don’t call it ‘that’. We both know what it is. Second. This way is easier" She used her rather quick and abrupt tone again, which held no chance of debate. Her hand was still attempting to get the rocks back into the air but all she received for her efforts was a small vibration from the stones. Gritting her teeth at the unruly rocks, she pushed her outstretched hand closer to the rocks, the aura gaining a momentary boost of light. The small stones in return began vibrating at an increasing tempo, but still refused to rise upwards.
Ed couldn’t help but smile at her seriousness over the situation; she looked entirely too focused on the use of the magic to realize she could just use her god given arms to carry the rocks.
"You know, if I saw you on the street a year ago I would’ve thought you were crazy doing that" He laughed, dusting a part of his shirt that had become increasingly dirty.
It actually appeared she was about to blow a gasket from the death glare she was offering him, but this was cut off as a loud and sharp bang echoing down the tunnel. All at once, the entire workforce composed of dozens of bipeds and quadrupeds paused in mixed curiosity, fear, and even excitement. He looked on worriedly for a moment, his eyes darting to the opposite end of the tunnel. The silence was only interrupted when a hard female voice rang out from the front of the tunnel.
"Another cavern breached! We're getting close!!"
This caused uproar of hoops and hollers from many of the human workers, many slapping each other on the back or offering cheers here and there. The diamond dogs just seemed confused by the whole situation while the changelings continued their work as if nothing had occurred. He simply muttered a 'Nice' before returning to his work, though it seemed he was more invigorated as he hefted another rock.
He also noted that the girl's expression had done a nearly complete 180 as she seemed to have the biggest smile on her face, her eyes seeming to gleam with unshed tears. It was no doubt what they were doing here seemed to mean many times more important to her then to him. But he supposed it was because of the fact that everyone here was a stranger to each other, and he could not honestly say he was emotionally invested in the mission.
He got lucky or perhaps unlucky, to come to this world alone…
It appeared the girl was the exact opposite.
The rocks lay forgotten as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, the small smile she had still present. Despite the two's earlier clashing, he decided to ask a question he hopefully would get a positive answer to.
"I take it you have someone in there?" He spoke kindly, trying to relay a warm feeling to the girl.
Her reply carried no hint of anger, or agitation, but relayed a rather sad undertone. "My cousin. His name's Derrick. He's all I have left"
The answer struck a cord for the man, and he was momentarily forced to stop to offer her an apologetic look. He hadn’t meant to cause a painful moment for the girl and he felt unsure of how to respond properly.
He didn’t get the chance however as she shook herself once and began to pick up the rocks from before, this time without a problem to use her hands... He smiled as together they began to carry rocks into the mine cart, both noting how full it had become in short time. In addition, the rubble that had littered their sides of the wall had been nearly entirely cleared. No doubt they would have to move elsewhere for work, or perhaps return to the makeshift base camp for the remainder of the day..? Night?
He actually hadn't been informed of the outside world in awhile. Though, that probably came with working with tech and resources equivalent to the dark ages. He would have to remember to ask when he went back to camp, his 'bunkmates' would probably know.
Ruffling his blond hair, he eyed the cart appraisingly, unsure if they could put anymore rocks in it without running the risk of overloading it for the changelings. As if to speak of the devil, a large black equine figure approached the two. Larger then most changelings he saw, its jagged horn reaching his upper chest compared to his lower stomach area. It calmly walked up to the duo, and he subconsciously moved to stand a bit closer to the girl, inadvertently shielding her from the equine like insect.
"This one has been informed you have completed work here. This one will move the rocks away" It said, looking up toward him with a neutral expression. Its voice caused a shiver to run down his spine as he was able to make out almost numerous voices coming from the drone.
"This one also alerts that you may return to..." It paused for a moment, and he was able understand it seemed confused, "The base camp...as others call it...or resume work with others. Do not overwork yourselves if you choose the latter. It is unwise" With that, the mine cart was enveloped in a sickly green glow as the changelings horn alighted in a similar color, and as if on its own power, began to roll toward the far end of the tunnel, the equine insect right behind.
The odd duo watched the changeling make its way down the tunnel line, staying in the center of the tunnel to avoid disturbing the other workers. Taking a glance at each other, the two clearly seemed unsure about whether to continue their work or return to the camp.
“I can go a little longer if you can. I’m not really tired that much” The man stated looking around for any other promising choices for work. The girl shrugged, offering a small smile.
“I haven’t exactly been using my muscles, well besides this one anyways” She said, pointing to her head. The older human laughed at her small joke and motioned over to a fellow pair of workers.
“Looks like they could use some help. You willing?”
She nodded. “Definitely”
The city of tents, Ember, Red Rock, base camp, or rather simply, 'that fucking hole in the ground' was the affectionate and rather demeaning set of nicknames given to the largest settlement of coalition forces that made up the bold group of miners digging and in some cases blasting their way through the ancient rock. Located in a cavern capable of fitting a five story building comfortably as well as holding six tractor trailers laid out end to end, the comparatively massive rocky structure housed the near entirety of the human, changeling, and diamond dog workers that had spent the last months in almost nonstop activity, barreling through rock and stone as if childsplay. This was of course, well in part to the human's combined fear and anger of the equines that had come to hold many of their fellow humans captive, their drive to get the operation done as quickly as possible to avoid any chance of complications occurring.
There was also the factors of the diamond dog’s natural affinity for digging and mining, coupled with the changelings assistance throughout the process allowed for an unbelievable speed of efficiency that left many well educated human engineers gawking at the progress the three races had managed to make in such a short time.
Some would claim this would be a bit too short.
One such person, or human to be specific, had this very exact thought, and had openly voiced her growing agitation at the races' progress. While not directly angry or upset at the missions chance of success growing increasingly better, it was the very destination of the operation that brought her great unease. Thanks to the various agents of the black insect equines, they had come to know nearly all the information they would need to know about their mission's goal, the facility that housed nearly a third of the total human population that had come to find itself on Equestrian soil.
While some would fail to understand her unease at the chance of freeing fellow humans from captivity, those that were in her position could easily sympathize with her feelings. For the born and raised English woman of the United Kingdom, the mantel of leadership that she had found herself thrust upon-and partially self elected, much to her own internal protests-had left her with increasing amounts of stress, being nearly the de-facto leader of the mission. Despite her position already solidified as a leader to the slap-job that was the so called 'New Government' of human races, her original posting had been practically all but a title, with no actual authority to back it up. Now however, she had the unbelievable task of managing the combined efforts of three races that had nearly nothing to no similarities, save for the time honored classic of a common enemy.
And now, even as the digging continued in earnest, she found herself conflicted, her morals pulling her this way and that to answer a question that would lead to a decision she was unsure she was capable of making. The greater fact was, it was her decision. Isolated from the larger authority of the new government, the mission's success and failure was entirely dependant on her and the fellow humans that made up the chain of command, a cold realization that had left her up for many 'nights' inside the cavern.
Victoria Allastiar found herself attempting to avoid these thoughts, the 36 year old calmly watching the flow of movement to and from the tunnel entrance to the tip of the digging team. From her elevated view at the 'command tent'-the largest tent structure to make up the settlement- she was easily able to make out the various human, equine, and canine workers move in and out of the tunnel. Holding the tend flap aside, she noted the looks of her fellow human beings that exited the hole.
She was surprised to note many appeared to be in high spirits, in particular a rather tall teen or young adult and what appeared to be a 15 or 16 year old girl, the taller figure making wild gestures about something only the two would know about.
Indeed, she had found that after the initial debacle of claustrophobia and 'space madness' that had originally affected a surprising number of her fellow humans during the first weeks of the operation, many had grown to enjoy the steady progress of the digging.
This was clearly not due in part to the ra-supply groups finding a rather larger base of targets to att-scavenge, no, not at all due to that.
Especially after one such group had returned from their raid with a surprising number of bottles of the alcoholic variety...
She practically groaned at the thought. She had nearly lost her voice yelling at the bastards.
Though she couldn’t deny the moral boost that been achieved from that. The Englishwoman had almost been terrified the ponies would hear the drunken singing of nearly 30 inebriated men and women, coupled with a few changers and dogs.
Ah well, she did have a slight difficulty remembering that night…she had woken up after all cradling a bottle of supposed wine like a newborn child.
Finding herself getting off track ,no longer interested in watching her fellow workers, she released her grip on the weathered beige tent flap, allowing it to limply fall back into place as she turned to the inside of the cloth structure.
A somewhat reminder of the older style tent structures used by armies of ancient times, the circular area before her was the relative lobby of the tent, as it branched off into several smaller rooms designated by additional tent doors or flaps, one in particular her own personal quarters. The lobby floor was made up of various carpets, allowing for someone to walk around barefoot compared to the rest of the tent city that lacked this comfort.
Hugging the sides of the tent was various furniture pieces, most however just simple wooden chairs for extra seating. Lighting the cloth structure was the familiar kerosene lanterns that had practically been hoarded by the humans for this operation, not to mention lighting the massive structure of the 'hive', humanity's latest home away from home.
The golden glow did well to illuminate the lobby to display its main feature, a massive rectangular table that was squarely positioned in its center, and where the rest of the human leadership found itself occupying.
Three other humans were sitting at the table, each in varying positions as well as various states of emotion.
A man with a clearly Asian decent sat at the far end of the table, hunched over with a bored expression as he twirled a ruby the size of a goliath beetle on the tabletop. She had originally come to believe he was from China or Taiwan, but had discovered upon him speaking that he lacked any form of an accent and had stated very plainly that he was born in the good old US of A, Cleveland to be exact. Wherever that was. He had introduced himself as Eric Lee, a ‘former’ banker.
Exactly opposite of him was another man, who was leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on the table, eyes closed and brow furrowed in what appeared to be annoyance. Dressed in a thick brown cloak with its hood lowered, he had a somewhat annoyed look as his arms were crossed indifferently. Anton Belnov, a Ukrainian/Russian born was the leader of the recently christened ‘supply runners’- the individuals that chanced discovery everyday to get needed supplies for the coalition. Not to mention the most experienced in using, for a better term, magic.
She almost felt like a child again thinking about it like that.
The last human at the table was a stressed looking woman very similar in age to Victoria, seated at the middle, most of her concentration focused on her twiddling thumbs. Despite her finding out that this woman, Jessica Valentine, had maintained a job as an actual representative of small government, a mayor she stated; she found that the woman was borderline incompetent at times.
She assumed she didn’t stay in office for long.
Deciding then and there that their was no prolonging this anymore, she sighed, begrudgingly making her way toward said table, her footsteps almost non-existent against the fabric of the carpet. Only when she was relatively close to the table did the Asian man actually look up to her, soon followed by the woman in turn.
"So are we actually going to discuss this now or what?" He asked, the tip of his index finger pinning the top of the ruby to the tabletop. Letting out a much deeper sigh, Victoria practically collapsed into the seat in front of her, allowing the chair to take the full brunt of her weight at once. She rested her hands on the table, taking a moment to admire its smooth finish.
"It’s now or never" she replied, her focus still directed on the tabletop as her hands glided along its wooden surface. Her answer was followed by the Russian at the far end of the table to remove his feet abruptly, his arms nearly slamming down on the table in an audible slap.
"We should have done this long ago, not pull a plan out of our asses at the last possible second" he stated coldly, offering a glare at the other three in anger.
While Valentine shrunk back slightly at his glare and simply left Lee shrugging his shoulders, the Englishwoman returned the glare.
"So we're just going to be so willing to toss people headlong into danger?" She rebuked. The man simply rolled his green eyes.
"And sending them blindly in to a potential clusterfuck is such a better alternative" Belnov pointed out.
Victoria winced at the truth of his words, her gaze drifting back down to the table before her. It was not an idea she was fond of by any means, though that could be send about most of her situation. It was something she just felt was far out of her league, but had never decided to voice this.
They needed leaders.
She had volunteered to step up to the plate and now, she was a leader. A leader who had to face the challenges of potentially sending those under her command into a very likely hostile situation. Where people could get hurt, where they could die. It was not something she was interested in doing.
But she had to.
Someone had to.
Lee suddenly spoke up, his voice laced with anger. "Easy for you to say Ivan considering you’re the practical leader of your little raiding parties. If you’re so tough, how about we send in the raiders first hmm?" He sneered, twirling the ruby once more, it causing a small chattering along the wooden surface.
This was followed by the cloaked human glaring at the speaker, an index finger raised in indignation. Just for a moment, his finger glowed a faint crimson and coincidentally, the ruby stopped spinning. "Supply runners. We,are, supply runners. And for your information durak, those are the people feeding you. One should take a moment to offer some appreciation" He stated, his thick Ukrainian accent only adding to the strength of his statement. The second he was finished, the ruby fell on its axis, landing into the waiting hands of the American man, who offered a small glare.
Jessica Valentine, experience telling her the rising tension between the two sides was becoming dangerous, held her hands up in a placating gesture to the men.
"Now boys, lets try to keep this civil" She gestured calmly, the slightly oversized blouse she was wearing slumping somewhat along her shoulders. This caused a rather dramatic eye roll from Victoria, who rested her chin on her knuckles. Now she decided to speak up, where was that voice in all their other meetings?
"Well, look who decided to grow a backbone for once" She mocked, earring a glare from the woman before her.
"I’m just trying to keep us together thankyouverymuch" She huffed, only getting a grin from Victoria in turn. She found Valentine had a rather annoying ‘I am holier then thou’ attitude', something that rubbed the housewife in all the wrong ways.
"Really? Because all you seem to do is sit in the corner while the grown ups talk" She laughed, causing a huffed outrage from the other female. The momentary back and forth that had been caused by the two men had seemingly come to a halt as the two women traded insults, and to the surprise of most of the group, found that they could not refuse a moment of stoppage. Insults based on race, nationality, birth, one’s mother, and a variety of other things not spoken about in polite company erupted out of the mouths of the two women, the men joining in shortly after. While one nearby could probably hear the various slanderous comments, thanks to its elevated position in the cavern, the tents shouting contest did not reach the ears of the humans workers, though it was unclear if the other species picked it up.
Finally, after many tense moments, there was a small pause in the shouting match, each member stopping for a second to catch their breath. Slumping back in his chair, Belnov sighed.
"Yebat menya..." He groaned. "We are all fucked aren’t we?"
The remaining three all glanced at their companion, the shouting match coming to an halt as his words sunk in. And in those words, much of what little power that had fueled the anger between the group melted away, resulting in everyone returning to their seats. A pregnant silence descended amongst the group, each contemplating the brutal truth of his statement. Thoughts raced through each of their minds, some of the stress from before returning anew.
Finally, though, the Englishwoman spoke up.
"Anton?" she asked, using the man's real name, immediately grabbing his attention.
"What are our chances of winning if your runners go in first? Do you think we could beat them with what you’ve got?" She said, running a hand through her shoulder length chestnut hair.
At this, Anton sighed, shaking his head in a negative. "No. We just don’t have the numbers. We only stand at 32 and that is hardly enough. That facility is supposedly housing hundreds of guards. Trained soldiers. Not the militia we claim ourselves to be. Even with te dogs and changers assisting us, we still would be at a disadvantage"
"Not to mention the queen is likely not to send any backup for this. You know how she has already 'invested so much into us'" Lee spoke up, emphasizing the last part of his speech with air quotes.
Victoria grimaced slightly at his words. Truth be told, most of the free human population owed its freedom largely in part to the changelings, their agents finding and bringing them to safety before the roundup-the time when many humans were arrested unjustly- began. The changeling queen, Chrysalis, if she remembered correctly, was generous enough to give humanity a place away from the prosecution that fell upon them.
Apparently, the changelings could relate.
They were more or less enemies of the state of Equestria, and were practically jailed upon sighting. This was supposedly due in massive part to the their attack on the capital city from which they found themselves more or less beneath, the siege spurred on by the fact that the changelings were starving from lack of emotional food sources, especially love. They said they attacked in desperation after diplomacy failed, Celestia refusing to help the black equines.
Well, that was their side of the story of course.
And there were rumors...
Thoughts aside, the queen had already supported the human operation with droves from the hive, but had stated vehemently that the attack was to fall on the shoulders of the humans. And what with the free humans being sheltered by her majesty, they had little power to overrule her.
"Maybe send in the dogs first? They seem pretty tough" The ex-mayor spoke.
Victoria scoffed at this suggestion. "So what? They’re the cannon fodder?". Sure, she wasn’t a diamond dog fan, but she at least held some affinity for them, especially considering they had made them get this far.
Valentine raised an eyebrow. "What?" She asked confused, her silver eyes narrowing.
Anton face-palmed in a rather uncharacteristic way. "Its soldiers you have no problem sacrificing for te greater good. They get shot up, you stay alive. Understand? Da?"
Valentine visibly paled at this. "I-I didn’t mean like that! Just, you know…they have natural defenses! Claws! Fangs! They could put up a fight!"
"But the ugh...can't believe I’m saying this... the ponies have magic! We know most of that facility houses unicorns! Ugh... stupidass fantasy land... We are the only ones that can fight that! Sending the others in first would more then likely cause more harm then good!" Lee intoned.
"Then we go all out" Victoria suddenly whispered, something clicking inside her head.
"What?" The two closest to her said simultaneously, looking on in disbelief, while the Russian simply raised an eyebrow.
"You heard me" She stated, her gaze locking onto the two. "We go all out. We send in everyone we can that can fight. We overwhelm them. Cause too much chaos they won’t be able to function properly. And in the confusion, we grab as many prisoners as we can" Silence hung in the air as the others digested their compatriots plan. Their thoughts racing through their heads as they attempted to fully understand her plan. And in conclusion, did not find it satisfactory.
"So? That’s it?!" Valentine spoke, incredulous. "Just send in everyone and hope for the best?!? It’s practically suicide!"
"Da. It is" Anton muttered, causing a smirk from Jessica and a frown from Victoria.
"I like it" He grinned suddenly.
The ex-mayor's jaw nearly hit the table as she sputtered; her gaze switching from Victoria to Anton.
"Screw it. I’m in" Lee grumbled, still focused on his ruby. This caused his fellow America to look at him as if he had grown a second head, while he shrugged in indifference, his eyes practically stating ‘You got a better idea?’. Another silence followed as the lone naysayers’ gaze drifted across her companions.
"You’re all insane!" She finally spoke.
Victoria rolled her eyes. "That was just the rough outline. If we work on it, we could turn it into a real strategy" The Englishwoman motioned.
A sudden buzzing noise, similar to a bee but at a drastically higher volume, caught the group’s attention, and after a moment, a familiar black carpaced equine entered the lobby through its largest tent flap. It approached the table before stopping a few feet away, its iris-less eyes regarding everyone coolly.
"This one would like to report that the night cycle has begun for the time being. Shall this one alert the camp to 'Lights out'?" It asked, its tone indicating that of a female. Victoria nodded quickly, recognizing the changeling that was more or less her secretary thanks to ‘orders’ by the changeling command. How she recognized her was lost to even herself.
"Yes please, if you can. We'll be right here if you need us" She warmly answered.
The changeling shuddered slightly before nodding its head, seemingly ignoring the effect before.
"Understood. This one wishes you a 'good nights rest'" The changeling spoke again before it departed just as quickly as it had arrived.
Victoria turned back to the group, her gaze falling on all present. Stepping around the interruption, she found herself speaking sternly.
"So I'm going to just ask this just to be clear. Who's with me?"
"You have my vote" Lee spoke, the American saluting her with quick thumbs up.
"It’s a bold plan that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Of course I’m in" Anton smirked, the Russian stroking the small growing goatee on his face.
"I still think you’re all crazy" Victoria’s biggest annoyance, Jessica Valentine spoke, but for once had a playful smirk on her face. The Englishwoman found her respect suddenly rising for the woman, if only barely.
She nodded at each in turn. Her confidence rising at the support she had received.
That 'night' inside the cavern, long after the most of the lanterns that lit it dimmed to simulate night, a golden glow could be seen from the inside of the command tent, its occupants hard at work analyzing everything they had on their objective. Many times that night, angry shouting could once again be heard from the tent and multiply times did two women exit it in a shouting match of insults. However, the work would continue on, and by 'sunrise' the next morning, the four would lay exhausted at the table, but they would each have smiles on their faces.
For they had something that could potentially change everything.
The stern female voice barked, her command resonating against the smaller caverns’ walls, almost causing a few of the new recruits to flinch at its tone. The line of various humans gave each other questioning looks, many simply shrugging in uncertainty. Each however, raised a certain arm, many relying on their writing hand to determine their choice.
“Aim!” Again, the voice ordered, many of the different people along the firing line already imagining her stern expression, arms crossed in what was probably very thinning patience. Every single cloak garbed human moved their outstretched arm forward, palm out as they focused on the small, but nicely sized stones placed on the opposite side of the tiny oval sized cavern. Many found their palms directly blocking their view of the stones, some hoping that that was the correct aim for their attack. They were looking to hit the stones dead on, avoiding the upside-down wooden cart on which they rested.
“Focus!” Her voice stated, the single word causing numerous thoughts of doubt to explode in the minds of the trainees. It was not a command easily followed. For how does one summon an energy they had never had before, didn’t understand, and was alien in all aspects of its existence?
Some closed their eyes, hoping that blocking out the distractions around them would allow for concentration, and through that, allow them to bring forth their magic. Others steadied their breathing, taking smooth controlled breaths to calm their frayed nerves. While a few managed to maintain some order of inner peace, much of the group was experiencing various degrees of uncertainty, their bodies reacting visibly to their nervous thoughts.
One woman was sweating profusely under her cloak, her body feeling like a furnace despite the fact that the chilling night air flowed through the cavern at a continuous rate, at times a wind blowing through.
Two teens found their legs to be slightly weak, their wobbling and failing attempts to control it only causing more concern in themselves and their comrades.
One adolescent teen found his palms to become rather sweaty, multiple times he had to wipe the sweat off them and readjust his aim on the rocks. He found it was much harder to use the magic when actually ordered to.
Their instructor, surprisingly a young adult by her looks, stood perpendicular to the twelve others that made up the firing line, her eyebrows furrowed in irritation, her eyes cold, her face stern, and with a general energy of no nonsense, found the lack of anything happening to be unacceptable.
“I said focus! Don’t be afraid of it! It’s a part of you! Bring it up! Bring it out! Focus!” she yelled, causing several indignant looks from the older members of the group, seemingly upset at the younger woman more or less ordering them around. Personally though, she couldn’t give too many fucks about that at the moment.
Despite the irritation at their instructor, many swallowed their pride and took heed of her words, hoping to bring forth the elusive energy inside them. Once again, they directed their attention to the waiting targets, their palms outstretched and ready. Again for several tense moments, nothing happened, and the young woman was nearly ready to bark out another order to get them in line when she saw it.
A small glow at first, something she might have not spotted in the daylight, but in the darkened cavern where few glowing lanterns where spread about, this new light was an outcropping against the sea of black. Its magenta glow increased as seconds passed, the light easily casting away the shadows around its bearer. One of the teen’s hands was illuminated with this light, their eyes closed and faced scrunched in agitation.
Slowly but surely, others seemed to achieve some sort of success; each of their palms developing what the woman had come to understand as their own personal magic color.
Noticing that each was appeared to be actively wielding their magic, she knew now was the time to take the next step while they still could.
“That’s it…” she stated coolly, neither to loud nor too quick, for fear of disrupting this breakthrough. She couldn’t take another hour of yelling at them.
“You’ve got it. Now aim it. Direct it. It’s a part of you as you are a part of it”, she spoke, her voice actually adopting a somewhat kinder tone backed with reassurance. While the trainees heeded her words, most found them to almost be condescending, as if they couldn’t spot her false kindness to get results. What they didn’t know is that was her natural self coming out, not the hardened visage she originally wore.
Whether her words were taken or simply went in one ear and out the other, there was a shift in the overall progress of the group. No longer did many display the nervous traits that they had bore at the beginning of this training session, rather, they all seemed relatively calm, even as their magic continued to increase in its potency.
Taking her eyes off her students for the moment, she quickly glanced at one of the entrances to this particular cavern, easily illuminated thanks to the two cloaked humans holding their own lanterns. The two supply runners were not what she looked at however, instead her attention was directed at the additional human in the cavern, the supply runners more or less commander, Anton Belnov.
The Ukrainian was leaning against a smooth outcropping of the cavern, one foot pressed into the cavern wall to steady himself, his arms crossed in indifference. He had been silently following her and the groups progression from the very beginning, but had yet to make any means of intervention, due in part to his decision to let her handle this herself. She had wanted to prove that she was more then just a kid, that she was above the simple glance that many gave her, that she could fight, that she could make a difference.
This tenacity is what had been driving her throughout her time away from her sisters, one of which was being held by the very equines she had grown to despise. The other...she still didn’t know. It had been months since she even had heard a trace from her. That loss she had suffered had slowly formed into the fighting drive she now wielded. That very tenacity had translated-in her opinion at least- her development of her magical abilities.
Her magic was strong; stronger then many that had decided to actually try to use the magic inside them. She was powerful and she knew that. Anton knew that. Perhaps that was why she was in the supply runners despite its age requirement of 18 and above. But then again, who would really care about one year at this point?
She certainly didn’t. She had long passed the point of playing by the rules. For how could you, in a world where science was always second best when it came to magic? Where mythical creatures dominated the landscape, actually creating entire civilizations! Where those who would seem so caring would so callously stab you in the back simply because some stupid bastard decided to play terrorist! Where you would have what little of your old life was left ripped away from you by fucking midget horses!!!
The woman released a rather heated breath out her nostrils, her right arm actually shaking within the confines of her cloak. Her body had gone rigid and if she bothered, she would have noted her magic had begun to flare in her hands, the fingers digging into the palms.
Calm down. She scolded herself. You don’t want to lose it again. That gets you absolutely nowhere.
Taking in a deep breath, admittedly with some resistance, she allowed herself a few calming breaths before returning her attention back toward her trainees.
Anton still remained at his position, though one hand had begun to stroke his small beard. He had taken notice of her small irritation. He seemed to have a knack for spotting them, and had only gotten better as she spent more time in the runners. He reminded her too much of her father, constantly able to spot the small shifts in her emotions with her unawares.
Hoping to cast out the now distracting thought of her family, the young adult directed her attention solely on the new recruits, each still managing to maintain their magic.
Good. She thought. Now were getting somewhere.
“Now” She spoke. “This is the hardest part of what where doing here. You’re going to unleash that magic. You’re going to let it go, in a single outlet, a beam to be specific” She noted that rather incredulous looks she was being given, some irritation already rising up once more. They thought it was probably impossible. Well. It wasn’t.
She was more then willing to demonstrate it could be done. Raising her arm out of her cloak, she let out a low groan as she noted the shocked looks of the trainees as they gazed at her glowing hand, some losing focus on their own magic to direct their attention to her.
She moved her arm outward, rotating it slightly so everyone could clearly see the emerald energy gathering around her clenched fist, it almost seeming to move with a life of its own.
“This” she gestured, “Is how you use your magic. Your power” She quickly whirled on the targets that had been set up, the rocks illuminated by the blazing light. The igneous forms could not be possibly aware of the power the teen was holding as her vision narrowed on the rocks.
She could faintly make out the trainees looking at her with some trepidation, and her back was to Anton, so she couldn’t see his face. Thoughts raced through her head as she felt the magic gather, a heat beginning to churn inside her, slowly flowing at an increasing rate into her palm. She opened her hand, the palm a pool of gathering magical energy.
Images of her sisters smiling faces, the moments when she first had stumbled onto Equis’s soil, her eldest sister clutching her and her sibling protectively. The moments when the ponies came for her, and the moment she had lost nearly everything she held dear.
With a feral yell, she pulled her arm back, and not a moment later, thrust it forward, a beam of energy unleashing from her palm and in seconds struck one of the rock targets, shattering it to pieces. The sound of skittering pieces resounded across the cavern, everyone’s attention on the space that once was occupied by the target rock.
As the pieces came to a rest on their new positions on the ground, their gazes were soon drawn to the slightly heavy breathing woman, a smug smile on her face.
“And that” she breathed, “Is how you use your magic”
Straightening herself up, she collected herself, her magic dissipating into nothingness.
“Now then…” She ran a hand through her hair. “Let’s focus one more time shall we??”
Many were surprised at her suddenly angry tone again, before realizing that each one of them had lost their magic.
He heard the crunch of boots upon gravel before he saw her shadow slowly encroach upon the cavern’s entrance, the lanterns hanging inside the connecting tunnel no doubt playing a part. The two men he had within him, a burly Greek by the name of Alexander and an American called Jacob, both turned to give the new arrival a glance before they both offered a quick salute, their boots snapping together in a mockery of military fashion.
He knew exactly then and there who had decided to join in on the training session.
There was an audible grown and the sound of a hand more then likely connecting to a face. An accented woman’s voice, distinctly British, spoke after a moment.
“I swear boys, you keep doing that and I’m going to create a jail just to throw you in it”
Stepping out into the light of the lanterns was none other then the now official leader of the group, Victoria Allisitar. The Englishwoman took a quick glance around and upon spotting Anton just a few meters away, began moving to him immediately, the guards behind her chuckling lightly. Smiling ever so slightly at the new arrival, the Russian stood tall, removing all form of a relaxed posture as the woman approached. Dressed in a thick plaid jacket that helped insulate her against the cold night air, she also sported rather fitting denim jeans. Covering most of her head was a short beanie, her light oak colored hair flowing out its back. Her arms were crossed as she approached and he was able to make out the form of a…kitten? - snuggling against her chest.
“So, this is where your training group decided to run off too” She lightly laughed, looking to the new trainees with a smile. “Well, at least you had the courtesy to do it several caverns down. The last thing we need is the royal guards bursting in here due to a noise complaint”
Nodding, he directed his attention back to the training, Victoria stepping directly next to him, eyeing the recruits herself.
“So, to what do I owe this honor supreme commander?” He asked, his mouth fighting hard to not break out into a smile. Another groan erupted next to him, his bait more then taken, and this time he did allow a smile.
“That is a very creative title you bloody Russian. Leader wasn’t enough, now I’m president and commander and all this other nonsense! It’s already spreading like wildfire! Frankly I had no idea that everyone would react like that, least of all find some inspiration out of it!” She huffed, glaring at the man who was deliberately avoiding her gaze.
“Da. Neither did the rest of us. Miss Valentine was certainly ready to kill you herself” He laughed a few times, before turning his gaze on her. “But it was the very honesty that they liked. You gave it to them, the good, the bad, and most certainly the ugly. You showed passion, you had conviction, you cared. That is what they saw. That is what they liked”
The housewife absorbed his words, content to scratch the kitten’s ears as her mind replayed earlier events, connecting the Russians thoughts to her own on the matter.
It had been only days after the initial plan had been formed between the four appointed ‘leaders’ and one of the first things they got to work to make the plan a reality was a fighting force.
They needed a militia. A legitimate militia, willing to fight by any means necessary. The supply runners were already technically militia, but they didn’t have the numbers to stand up to the enemy that they would soon face.
So, a meeting was called, center stage in the cavern. Mining that day halted for the first time since the operation began. Truly stopped. The entirety of the mining force was gathered in the central cavern, barring of course the changelings and supply runners that stood guard around the tunnel entrances, ever cautious of what lay behind the cavern walls.
She had stood tall on the elevated position of the command tent, clearly able to see out to the large crowd that murmured below her, anxious and ever curious at what she had to say. The sea of faces unnerved her at times, she having to gulp repeatedly to keep her nerves steady.
Eventually, they had to start, and she had spoken out to the crowd, silencing all as the first of her words echoed around the immediate vicinity.
“Attention please. I think we are ready to begin” at receiving no objection from either her fellow leaders or anyone in the crowd, she continued.
“Firstly, Id just like to thank all our hard workers, be they human, diamond dog, or changeling. I truly appreciate what you’ve done for us, and you have my thanks” This was followed by a short round of applause and self congratulation, the crowd murmuring happily.
“Second, I would like to thank our supply runners for what they’ve been doing to keep us fed. Without you, we might be enjoying rat soup with tree leaves”, she joked, causing a few laughs here and there. The few cloaked humans nearby gave a quick two fingered salute at her, and Anton was no doubt nodding his head.
She took in a deep breath, for the next part was no doubt the most important part of her speech, and would fall on her shoulders to complete.
“Now, I would like to tell you all the real reason we have assembled here. That’s more important then the mining, more important then stopping the progress at freeing our fellow humans” There were several grumbles in the audience, but she ignored them for the moment. “We are in desperate need of a fighting force. A more or less militia. A civilian army. Now before you ask questions, please hold on for just a moment”. She had barely managed to get the statement out as several people looked to protest.
“The changelings, diamond dogs, and supply runners are the ones who have been doing most of the fighting for us yes, but they aren’t enough. They don’t have the numbers to stand against the enemy by themselves, they need help. They need us” Victoria gestured to the crowd, some giving her pointed looks.
“We need to fight. We no longer have the privilege to keep our hands unsoiled; we will have to get them dirty if we wish to free our fellow humans. Our friends, our families, maybe even people you formed a connection with before the event” She couldn’t help but taste the bitterness of that last word. It was no small secret that everyone held some anger towards that day.
“If we don’t do this, we may never have another chance like this again. This is our moment! Our time to make a stand!” Her voice rose in conviction, her shouts causing the crowd to stir.
“We need to stand together, we need to band together! We need to fight together!” The crowd became more and more riled as she spoke, cheers and yells spreading across it like wildfire, and she briefly wondered if the ponies would hear their noise before casting the thought out.
“The reason we called this meeting is too ask for any volunteers, those willing to fight against the creatures that would jail us, imprison us for the crimes of a few! This isn’t just a fight for survival; it’s a fight for justice! For freedom! Who among you will fight with us!?!” The housewife was nearly taken aback by her own roaring voice, the crowd roaring back in turn.
Shouts of commitment and approval echoed around the cavern, numerous hands rising into the air signifying the countless volunteers. Those willing to show that they would not be beaten down without offering a few shots in return.
She could count at least 40 if not more.
She took a momentary breath, realizing that she was slightly starved for air. Yet, her job was done, those nights rehearsing the speech with Valentine seemingly paying off. It was nothing like some nationalism, or specism? - In this case- to rile up everyone to a fighting state.
Now she would just let Anton take over, and he would handle the signups and other questions revolving around the recruitment. Her job had been done. She was all but finished with her part. And yet…
Yet she couldn’t turn away, because the same thoughts that had plagued her from taking action before started up once again, thoughts of throwing people headfirst into danger. Thoughts of caring little for their lives, for their beings, for their friends and families.
That was exactly what she was doing, and she hated it.
“Wait!” She called, her voice more strained then she realized, causing a murmuring to descend into the crowd as they quieted down once more. She quickly turned back to Anton, Valentine and Lee, each giving her confused looks. Victoria tried to read their faces, see if they showed the same concerns as her, but they did not.
At least, not at her level. They clearly had no plans to address this soon, and it seemed that she alone was the only one capable of doing it. Sighing, she returned her attention to the crowd.
“I would just like to add, that I want everyone to realize what they are signing up for” She paused, looking soberly at the crowd. “This is not for the lighthearted. This is not going to be fun and games. What were are asking of you, is that you fight.
She swallowed hard, her next statement on the tip of her tongue.
“And die if necessary”
To say there was a gasp in the crowd would have been an understatement. Rather, the entire audience had seemed to have lost its breath, taken aback by her words. Several of the humans that had raised their hands once before now looked on in fear, trepidation at what exactly they had signed up for truly sinking in.
“Our struggle is real. Very real. More real and tangible then many of you could have once possibly imagined. This affects all of us. Your decision will affects us all. You are choosing to fight an army. To fight a nation. This isn’t just a sign up; it’s a declaration of war. If you fight for us, you will fight the equines, trained soldiers, who will see you as their enemy and will do everything in their power to stop you”
“By lethal force if it comes to it” She emphasized.
She could more or less feel the shocked faces gazing at her, and she wanted to wilt under their combined total. But she pressed on.
“If you fight for us, you have the chance to be injured, maimed, and maybe even mauled” she joked at the last part, but found it fell flat. So much for attempting to diffuse some stress.
“I just wanted all of you to know that before you sign up to be the militia. This isn’t a game. This is real life. There are no do overs. If you want to be safe, if you don’t want to fight, don’t join. No one will hold it against you”
The Englishwoman nodded once. “Thank you for your time”
Her nerves frayed, she was just about to turn around to the scrutiny of her peers, when a voice spoke out from the crowd, forcing her to pause mid turn.
“Excuse me?” the voice asked, and she was forced to scan the see of faces before the surrounding spectators freed up the speaker. Traced to its owner, a familiar blond haired adult stood out from the crowd.
“If we don’t fight now, when do we start fighting?” He asked, the simple question leaving Victoria rather stumped. She hadn’t expected someone to ask something like that.
“If we don’t fight now, will we ever fight?” He asked again, seemingly more to himself and the crowd then just her. A small silence rained as people looked between one another, unsure of how to answer.
“Bullshit! We’ll fight!” A thick south American accent yelled, followed by several hoots and cheers from the vicinity.
“Hell yeah, to the end! Viva la revolucion!” Another female voice cried out, fists raising into the air.
“Fight!” Someone yelled, several chanting the same word as well. It started low at first, the word spreading as more and more side conversations died down to transition to this empowering phrase. Spreading like wildfire, the chant rose, fists raised into the air in the cheer. The cavern walls reverberated with the single phrase over and over. In any other context, Victoria would have thought a brawl was breaking out, but this was not the case. This was not a call to announce a fight, this was a call that they would fight.
“Fight!”
“Fight!”
“Fight!”
Victoria, too shocked to understand how things had done a nearly 180 turn, simply stared dumbstruck as the crowd chanted at her, their voices resonating in her bones.
And so, this was why she found herself in this particular cavern tonight, with the latest batches of recruits the supply runners had been working with non stop to whip into a fighting shape. She had to admit, watching the group try to summon their magic into a useful force, the ability for humans to come together and put all their effort into a cause was astounding.
Clearing her throat, she addressed her Russian counterpart.
“So, how is the training going? Are we making good progress?” she asked, idly playing with one of the kitten’s ears, it mewing in return.
“Honestly?” he spoke, his attention focused on the young woman directing the trainees, “Yes, and I’m surprised to say that”. She raised a questioning eyebrow as he suddenly dug into his cloak, pulling out a thin but obvious hard back book. It wasn’t difficult to make out the title despite the darkness, the brightly colored letters spelling out: A Foal’s Guide to Magic.
“You see this?” He asked rhetorically, “This says it can take months, years even, to pull off a basic levitation spell. The basic spell all unicorns learn. And yet… many have already used it within weeks of practicing magic. We are learning magic at an unbelievable rate. Using it just as easily” The book soon found itself returned to the confines of his cloak, no doubt into some satchel or other.
“That’s a good thing, is it not?” she questioned, looking down morosely. Some part of her knew the answer to that, but another part silenced her.
“Mhhm” he hummed, looking back at her with a blank expression. She couldn’t look him directly in the eye, deciding to turn away as the kitten let out a curious meow.
“You disagree don’t you?” He asked. It was not a question. It was a statement.
Her brows furrowed in agitation, and she glanced at him with an un-amused frown. “Its not that I disagree. Its not that at all” she looked back toward the group, noting for the first time one of the trainees had fired off their magic, striking the cart, leaving a small scorch mark. There was several hoops and hollers, and for the first time the young teacher let out a congratulations.
“I’m afraid of what we’ll become” she almost whispered, causing the Russian’s eyes to widen.
“This power we have now, whether we like to think of it as a gift or a curse, is dangerous. We, are dangerous. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe we are a violent race, but we are prone to fighting. But this…” she cocked her head toward the training group, “This is a whole new level of strength we are dealing with. No longer does size matter in a fight, if you are magically strong you could simply blast them away. Fighting is going to change. We are going to change.
“Will small grudges turn into full blown magical fights? Are simple arguments going to lead to people hurling boulders at each other? Will we fear nothing simply because we can blast it away?”
She turned to Anton, a fire in her eyes. “Power is dangerous Anton. A wise man once said that ‘Nearly all men can withstand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power” She finished her attention falling back on the group once more. She seemed to not want to take her eyes off the training. As he registered her words, he could understand where she was coming from, but at the same time found himself disagreeing with her.
“You seem to have thought about this for a while” he finally spoke.
She let out a laugh; a laugh that sounded almost as forced as it sounded sad. “More then I would have liked” she simply spoke, calmly petting the kitten that had suddenly pawed at her chest.
An awkward silence descended between the two, the kitten’s purring seemingly the only noise emanating from their immediate area. Even the two guards not far from them were silent, no doubt catching much of the conversation between the two. Now, the main event was solely the drilling of the young woman.
Finally though, Anton broke the tension, glancing toward the kitten held calmly to Victoria’s chest.
“Were did you find her off all places?” He asked, leaning over to move a finger to scratch under the kitten’s chin, who purred even louder at the attention.
“How did you know it was a she?” The Englishwoman asked confused, causing the Russian to smile broadly. “Would you believe I was a veterinarian?” he looked up to her, his finger not ceasing its scratching.
She scoffed, a smile on her face as well.
“And here I thought you were a Russian spy”
“That’s racist and you know this”
…
Both broke off into a small laughter, the kitten between them looking on curiously. They laughed longer then they should have, and felt some tension dissipate in the air as well as from inside them.
“But in all seriousness” Anton started, “Were did you find this little one?”
Before Victoria could answer, the kitten suddenly turned its head towards the cloaked human, locking eyes with him immediately. A shiver suddenly descended down his spine as the kitten’s eyes flashed a sickly green. That lone action had certainly answered his question.
“Dyah! A changer. Of course” He spoke, the small smile he had once had evaporating as he eyed the cat with newfound suspicion.
“Yes, it’s the best way for her to acquire love. Which, considering the internet rated cats number one since ever, was probably a good idea” she joked, not at all affected by the kittens antics.
A sudden lightshow distracted them both from the recently uncovered changeling, as three of the trainees had managed to fire off their own magical blasts, two out of the three hitting their rock targets. Several cheers rose up, and even Anton offered a celebratory clap, his gloved hands muffling the sound.
After the small congratulations was over, the training resumed in earnest, confident trainees now more then willing to try and perfect their newfound technique.
Victoria couldn’t help but shake her head. They had been down here for hours, and yet in that time, were already learning how to control their magic, something they had been without with since the dawn of time. That simple fact was both astonishing and terrifying.
“Anton?” The woman whispered, causing a glance from her male counterpart. Her voice was low, and cared a hint of sadness.
“You know where getting close right? Any day now…” she spoke again in her hushed tone, leaving off exactly where he knew she was going.
“Yes” he whispered back, knowing to keep his own voice low. “The time for action is fast approaching”
“Things are going to change very soon”
“I know. Let us hope it is for the better”
His last words left the two alone with their thoughts, as the training group continued undisturbed, its participants failing to realize that the targets they were shooting would soon become living breathing enemies in the coming days.