> Not as hard > by FanOfSun > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Distortion. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's been an hour or so since Luna has raised the moon. Stars on the night sky were gleaming with serenity, allowing any creature who wasn't sleeping to see themselves. And while the whole Equestria should have been quiet by now, one particular pony was not. Twilight's curiosity was both her blessing and a curse. It has either saved the day, or got her friends and herself in trouble. However, she was never able to resist the urge to investigate. Today was not an exception. After Twilight finished with taking notes, she once again looked at the scene before her eyes. Some of the tree crowns were severely damaged. The moon light was able to go through with ease, the soil nearby to those trees had a weirdly shaped hole, and it also looked like some sphere-like object fell down from the sky and crashed right here. Quite a big one by the way. However, the 'object' itself was not there. Twilight examined the hole again "Interesting... There are no debris apart from the branches nearby" she looked around for the last time. Finding nothing that could explain the 'anomaly', Twilight put the notebook back in her saddlebags and frowned. Even if destruction could be explained by memorizing just WHAT kind of creatures lived in the Everfree, there was one particular detail that was worrying Twilight. This place had distinct, yet quite disturbing aura. It was not available for an ordinary eye, obviously, but Twilight was no ordinary pony. The said aura here was... Cold. As if a sudden winter hit this particular place, without advancing further. There was also something else, but Twilight couldn't put her hoof on it. As weird as it was however, it was an Everfree. Anything could happen here, and this could be just another not discovered phenomenon. After settling with this option, Twilight exhaled and turned around "I will have to notify Celestia about this place. Perhaps she might know something" With that being said, she started to go back into the town. She couldn't do much without propper equipment and a group of ponies, so all Twilight could do right now, was memorize the location of this place and come back later. And that she did. It took her quite some time, but Twilight was already approaching her tree house. Since it was quite late already, the only thing on her mind was going to sleep. After entering her house, Twilight dropped the saddlebags on the floor, and headed straight for her bedroom, yawning. "Twilight?" She opened her eyes and looked around. The voice belonged to Spike, who looked quite worried. He was standing below, with several books in his claws. The small dragon dropped those, and rushed towards the unicorn "Oh thank Celestia you are safe!" Spike hugged her, after quite literally leaping onto her. Twilight chuckled, tired "Sorry for making you worried..." she hugged her assistant back. Spike looked up, with a frown on his face "What took you so long? You were the one who told me that the Everfree was dangerous!" Twilight exhaled "You know me, Spike... I had to take some notes, and..." Her eyes were closing again "..and..." Spike sighed and jumped down "Fine, you better get some of that sleep right now" he then raised his finger "But you owe me an apology tomorrow!" Twilight giggled and trotted upstairs "Sure thing.." After she entered her bedroom l, Spike huffed and crossed arms on his chest "I swear, sometimes she is even more reckles than Rainbow Dash!" ... Spike raised his eyebrow in surprise "Wait, since when did I become so protective?" Meanwhile, at the Everfree... A lonely person was slowly walking through the forest. The attire he was wearing looked... Quite weird in terms of his surroundings. The dark, thick jacket with some rare tears, with a vest, holding an even more bizzare revolver in it, secured on the chest. The pants looked quite similar, with the only difference being the steel chain, attached to the pocket. Finally, the person's face was covered with the jacket collar, along with the sunglasses (with the red lenses instead of the black ones by the way) and... a cowboy hat. As weird as it looked though, he got used to this attire. It was warm and comfy enough for him to freely utilize his skills. However, right now, he had two other problems. The human looked down at his broken arm. As horrible as it sounds, but it wasn't the first time he got his hand broken... Not like it was making the pain any easier. His arm upgrades did. Thanks to the adaptive technology, the augmentation was keeping the arm in one pose, so that it wasn't wiggling. How did his arm get broken, you may ask? Well... The Artillerist made another direct shot, finishing off the last lunatic and looked around. He was able to eliminate all 7 Reikgon cultists in the room just in 12 seconds. Each of them with a head shot. The Artillerist raised his revolver and looked at his right bracelet with a yellow display. He then proceeded to report "Sector 3 out of 6, cleared" after that Artillerist Right now he and his assigned team were on the EDEN-227, dealing with the Reikgon cultists. Usually, the Agency would make a detailed and complex plan, whenever they were doing mission THAT big. However, this time, they decided to simply overrun them with force... ..and it was working. Awkwardly enough, it seemed that the people of Reikgon were not ready for a blunt force attack. They must have been expecting infiltrations all over their place, which is must have been why they didn't even set up barriers. Not like the Artillerist was against it. As a matter of fact, after getting the authorization to use force, he was able to do the job even more effectively. He smirked, as he put his revolver into the vest "I'm gettin' used to this" he then picked up one of the rifles, and examined it's magazine "Welp, good to go" after inserting it back, he grasped it a bit better, since his body was a bit too small for this weapong. After successfully securing it, the Artillerist looked forward towards the next door. Artillerist wasn't one of those people who were enjoying massacres, not at all. And yet, here he was, killing dozens of the cultists. He knew good enough, what life actually was to people, and just what he was doing while taking it away. It was a crime, a big one. However, sometimes those crimes had to be commited, so that others can be safe. Ever since his training began, he was taught that. This was why he was mostly aiming for the head, so that the target does not suffer. Artillerist raised his bracelet "Ready to move forward. Awaiting further commands" as much as he wanted to continue, he still had to stay cautious. After all, they were dealing with the same people that created abominations, such as Sickler and Hanger... 30 minutes later... He was right. The entire team forgot that the cultists were complete psychos, which lead to one of them blowing up the facility. Obviously, the explosion must have killed him and the entire team, but at least those lunatics were done for for good. ... However, he was pretty sure that he was still alive. Not just that, but also the biting cold was no longer present. Instead, a (kinda) rough wind was blowing right into the Agent's backhead. It was pretty strong, but, (funnily enough), he was instinctively holding the hat with his hand. Artillerist opened his eyes, and saw something that he didn't see for a while now. A clear blue sky. For the first time in a few months, a genuine surprise could be seen on his face "Wh-..wha?" And then, he noticed that he was falling down into the forest... Artillerist winced a bit at the pain and decided to have a rest. After all, no matter how much training you went through, broken bones were not a joke. He was able to spot a good enough rock to sit on, and placed himself on top of it, carefully laying his hand onto his lap. So, what was the second problem for him currently? Obviously, finding his comrades. As it turned out, the whole squad was here... Wherever or whatever it is. How did he know it? Well, their talkie walkies were still intact and active, so they were going to meet somewhere together. Speaking of the device, it started to make sounds. The Artillerist didn't even look at it, though. "KRRR- ..an..KRR- ..spond" it wasn't hard for him to understand what had been said. Artillerist pressed on of the buttons on the talkie walkie "The Artillerist is reporting back. Apart from my arm injury, my condition is just fine. As for your previous instructions, I wasn't having any problems with 'em" he pulled the finger away, and waited for the response. The speaker from the talkie walkie seemed satisfied with this answer "Good. Remember to avoid hostile encounters at any cost." the voice was quite... Calming, as well as having a weird accent. "Aye.." this time, he didn't even press anything. Another, a bit lighter tone could be heard after that "Riskrunner and Survivalist here, reporting back. Everething is going smooth, for now..." A voice from a far could be heard speaking. Despite the distance, though, it was still loud and clear "Anything on the fauna here, fellas?" A new voice spoke up. It was quite powerful as well, though not as rough as the other one "Yes" That was it. One single word, followed with a long silence. It was getting quite awkward, so one of the voices decided to break the ice. "..so.. Mind telling us more?" Artillerist sighed and rubbed his head. Sometimes, he hated using talkie-walkies, despite them being quite useful. All those codes and protocols were way too hard for him to memorize. And unfortunately, one of his team members was not a fan of long words and sentences (Which was both good and annoying for the Artillerist). To put it simply, this conversation was going to take quite some time. So, not to waste any time, Artillerist decided to keep going. After all, there WAS something wrong with the fauna here, and he didn't want to find out the bad way... Especially when he was alone and vulnurable. > Introductions. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Four. That's how many craters they have found so far. As it turned out, there were, indeed, no records of the similar anomaly ever being witnessed by ponykind. That is exactly why Celestia sent the team of professionals to the Twilight's aid. However, the more craters they have found, the more ponies they needed to research those anomalies further. Ever since the science team has arrived in Ponyville around 2 months ago, they were able to learn a few things about those craters. First of all, each of them shared similar properties. These areas affected by the craters, had cold and oppressive aura. Second of all, almost all living beings nearby, excluding ponies, were getting aggressive as soon as they approached the 'crash site'. Even harmless bunnies and birds were starting to attack guards and scientists, which lead to many frustrating situations. Luckily, thanks to Twilight's help, they were able to set up basic barriers, to keep those animals at bay. And finally, whatever caused those craters to appear, was a living being. It was also obvious that there were several of those things, roaming the Everfree. At first, Twilight was extremely excited and manic about finding one of those creatures. She was, untill they have found something else. Right after the science team discovered the third crater, they sent several guards to scout the perimeter. Usually, that was done so that the team knew the possible dangers of the place they were at. After all, they were in the Everfree, and it was not a place for jokes. But despite this, most of the times there was nothing that could be dangerous to the scientists group, except the occasional Posion Jokes. This time wasn't that much different. They guards did not meet any hostile creatures while on patrol. Instead, they have found the mangled corpse of a Timberwolf. To be honest, it wasn't just 'mangled'. At least half of the Timberwolf's body was covered with tiny holes, which were just enough to see right through. Not only that, but also one of it's front claws was gone completely. What was even more terrifying though, was the fact that the Timberwolf was not able to regenerate back. It looked like this corpse had been lying there for at least a month or two. It's wooden parts were still, somehow, connected with each other, and it was something Twilight had to look at in the future. Nevertheless, this find made working in the Everfree even harder. Now, both scientists and guards were preparing for the worst, whenever they were entering the forest. And this, unfortunately, led to them being less efficient, to say it politely. Twilight exhaled and bumped her head against the table, after she finished her tale "I don't even know what to do anymore... Unless I somehow manage to either explain what it could have possible been, or capture whatever caused this, we won't go far in our research" Fluttershy lowered her teapot to pour some tea into Twilight's cup "Um... Were there any... Maybe... Traces around the place..?" To be honest, she was quite terrified. To think that there was something that could do THIS to the TIMBERWOLF? Besides, the way Twilight described it... It was defenitely not an animal, as far as Fluttershy could tell. At least not the one she knows about. The only thing that was keeping the poor pegasus kind of calm, was the tea... At least that was her theory. Twilight's horn lit up, as she looked up "That's the weirdest thing... There was absolutely nothing apart from Timberwolf's claw prints!" she then proceeded to drink some tea. After placing the cup on the table, she slightly raised her eyebrow "Well, there was, but we are yet to learn what it is..." Fluttershy slightly tilted her head, as she placed the teapot back on the table. She was getting more confused than scared now. Twilight's horn lit up, as she opened one of the saddlebags near to her chair "I understand that it's quite unlikely that you might know something about these things, but could you please take a look anyway?" Fluttershy smiled and nodded "Of course Twilight, I will be glad to help you if I can" The unicorn pulled a small napkin out of her saddlebag, clearly with something inside "Thank you, Fluttershy" she then placed the thing on the table "There were a lot of these near to the Timberwolf. They don't seem to be dangerous themselves though..." Fluttershy slowly and carefully raised her hoof. Then, she proceeded to move it towards the napkin edge, trying to reveal the content of it safely. 'Oh sweet Celestia... What could possibly be inside..?' Fluttreshy pulled her whole body as far as she could, while still trying to push the cloth edge upwards. The poor mare was trembling in fear. "Th-.. There I go..!" At last, she inhaled a lot of air, pulling every single particle of bravery into this single move and- Twilight simoly sighed, as her horn glew up "Fluttershy, you could simply ask me to unwrap it you know?" The pegasus slightly blushed, while standing in her hind hooves in a bizzare pose "O-Oh..." she then quickly positioned herself back onto the chair and averted her gaze "U-Um... If you could..?" Twilight smiled "Of course" she then proceeded to unwrap the napkin carefully with her magic. Some could even find the precision hypnotizing. As the final edge of the napkin was layed on the table, both ponies were able to see it's contents. It was a small, grey cylinder, seemingly made out of metal. It had a hole on one of it's end, revealing that the object was hollow inside. It didn't look intimidating at all. Fluttershy slightly lowered her head to better see this object "How bizzare..." she then looked up, seemingly with a guilty expression "I'm sorry Twilight, but I simply have no idea what that might be..." Twilight sighed and shook her head "Don't worry Fluttershy, at least you tried to help" she simply raised the cup with magic one more time "I have already sent several of these to Princess Celestia. I just really hope that she has some sort of idea what could that thing be" Fluttershy nodded and grabbed a tea pot "Well, while we are waiting, do you mind if I ask you something?" Twilight smiled, as she pushed her empty cup forward "Of course, what is your question?" The mares quite easily switched the topics, and started to talk about something else, completely forgetting about the mysterious metal thing. Unfortunately, Twilight got a bit too excited during her speech, and accidentally dropped it on the floor with a napkin. The latter object was enough to soften the fall of the cylinder, and it didn't make any noices. Obviously, some of the animals got interested in the mentioned earlier object. After all, it was kinda gleaming, which basically meant that it's pretty. One of them in particular approached it with caution. It was Angel the bunny. Carefully, he leaned forward and smelled it. Instantly, Angel jerked away from it, and, while covering his nose, kicked the metal object away. He quickly jumped outside, as if trying to get some fresh air. Obviously, other animals hurried to follow after Angel. After all, even if the toughest animal in the house was not happy with the object, then others wouldn't be too. That's what Fluttershy thought after seeing her beloved animals stay away from the object. She knew well enough, that Angel wasn't the type of bunny to run away after hearing random branch snap. Instead, he was the type who would beat the poor thing with the same stick they stepped on. Actually, there was a story- ..Point is, she was quite concerned about this reaction. Twilight was able to notice this as well. After all, when the majority of usually calm and kind animals try to stay away from something seemingly harmless... Well, then it's not that harmless, obviously. Both mares looked at each other. Fluttershy was the one to speak up "Uhm... Twilight, I-I think I might know why animals became so aggressive..." Twilight used her magic to pick up the metal object "We might want to clean the forest from these..." The Survivalist carefully added some salt into the metal kettle and closed it, standing up. The pottage was almost ready. Thanks to the last supplies he took from home, and some of the animals they caught here, the Survivalist was able to prepare not just a decent meal, but an actual dish to enjoy! To say that the man was happy, was an understatement. He stared at the campfire for a few moments and turned around to face his comrades. Riskrunner was sitting on a rock, calibrating his huge cannon. He was holding it vertical, with the muzzle facing the sky. This man was always carrying his tools around, just in case something (mostly his weapon) needs repairs. Riskrunner himself was a strong and reliable man. The second strongest in the team. He was wearing an unzipped thick black down-jacket, with a grey sweater peeking out of it. On his legs, were dark pants with many pockets for ammunition. Finally, his hair was dark brown and extremely messy. The metal holder for his cannon was laying nearby, since it was hard to sit with this thing on. The Riskrunner raised his head from his work and grinned "Aw I can 'lready feel the food" he removed the toothpick from his mouth "Ya know, takin' ya was probably the best d'cision we've made!" The Survivalist put his hand behind his head, feeling flattered "For real? Heh..." "When will the food be ready?" Survivalist lowered his head, to see another one of his allies, The Artillerist. To say that he was the youngest out of the team simply wouldn't be enough. Not only was the youngest in the WHOLE Agency, but he was also way too small for his own age. Unless you knew just WHO he was, you wouldn't even let this little man touch the knife. The Artillerist was wearing a custom-made jacket made out of the flexible and light material, his dark pants lacked his favorite chain (he decided to get rid of it for some reason) and lastly, his goofy cowboy hat and glasses were laying in the huge tent they set up a while ago. Honestly, changing the outfit was a good thing for him. Those tears in his clothes were quite irritating for the Survivalist. His hair was purely black, and consisted of curles. Though, the most noticeable detail about the Artillerist were his eyes. The left one was brown, but the right one was dark purple. He was supposed to wear special lense to hide it by the way. The Survivalist pointed towards the kettle "Just in a few minutes" he then put his hand on the Artillerist's head "Don't worry little man, I made sure there is no pepper in the food this time!" Artillerist hissed and slapped the hand away "I told you to stop calling me that!" he then turned around and was about to go into the tent but stopped mid-way "..Thanks for making sure..." and then, he quickly hid into the shelter without waiting for the cook to answer. The Survivalist simply rolled his eyes in amusement. And then, his gaze fell on him. The Strongest Man Alive, The Machina, The Beast. The Berserker. Noone knew anything about him or his past. He barely ever spoke and noone spoke to him without any buisness. Despite this lack of communication, The Berserker was still able to singlehandedly complete any mission he has ever being assigned to. Cold-Blooded, Stromg, Fierce, those were the words by people who saw him in action. He was simply standing under one of the trees, smoking a cigarette. Tight black T-Shirt with a long light brown jacket falling to his legs, trousers with the same color and dark brown shoes, each made out of an extremely flexible material. Those were the clothes that Berserker would wear whenever he was supposed to go on a mission. The only parts of his body that were exposed, were his strong hands and his mighty looking neck. Though, both of them were far from looking normal. His 'Skin' had a grey metallic color, his arms looked like they were actually turned into weapons. However, probably the most eye-catching thing about the Berserker was his face. To be more precise, his lack of one. Instead, his entire head was coated with metal, save for the dark monitor that took half of the face. Survivalist has never seen it being somehow used, so he had different ideas on what it's function was. As for the mouth, it was quite simple. Just underneath the monitor, there was a zig-zag line. As you might have already guessed, it was a metal jaw. Scary, deadly, effective, that's what some people say. Though, Survivalist didn't know what they meant by 'effective'. Not like he was willing to find out either. Honestly, Survivalist wasn't even sure why did Berserker need this part of the body at all. After all, the verbal communication could be easily included in the monitor, and- "What is it?" Survivalist nearly jumped in his placed at this voice. He didn't even need to look up to realise who was standing before him. Still he did just that, with a forced smile on his face "Uhm... Hey there, Berserker. I was just uh... Thinking about what kind of brand you are using!" Honestly, now Survivalist could tell just HOW big the Berserker was. He was towering above the poor newbie, as is he was about to fall on him. Survivalist could swear that he could hear the mighty heart-beat this huge body was making. There was just a bit of cigarette smoke coming out of the Berserker's jaws. Obviously, Survivalist was nervous, to say the least. Finally, Berserker spoke up, while holding the cigarette in his free hand "Koldera Black" he stopped to stare down at the Agent for a moment and turned around. The Survivalist blinked two times, before acknowledging what his comrade just said "W-Wait, but aren't these too dangerous for consumption?" it was true. Thse cigarettes were strong to the point, where most men would lose their consciousness after breathing in the smoke. This lead to some incidents in the past, so these have been banned from most of the countries in the world. Berserker simply shrugged, as he put the cigarette back into his mout and walked back to the tree. Survivalist just stared at him, dumbfounded "O-Oh..." he never actually got to talk to the Berserker before, so it was a new experience for him... Not a pleasant one. "Don't mind his behaviour, champ" "Huh?" As Survivalist turned around, he saw Riskrunner approach him with a grin on his face. His cannon was already on his back, and the tools seemed to be hidden in it already. He continued on with talking, while moving his hand in a circular manner "As a matter 'f fact, try to ignore most of our actions" he stopped near to the Survivalist "I'm jus' warnin' , yer still new after all" Survivalist chuckled "It's nothing, really. Thanks anyway" despite him being with them for almost 3 months now, Survivalist was still considered to be an inexpirienced rookie. He couldn't blae them, after all, he really was the weakest out of his team. As a matter of fact, he didn't even know how he ended up in the team consisting of the one of the best men in the Agency. However, his thoughts were interrupted by the kettle starting to vibrate "OH JEEZ!" he isntantly lowered himself and opened the lid. Luckily, the pottage didn't end up being overcooked this time. The Survivalist exhaled in relief. The Riskrunner glanced into the kettle and licked his lips "Well now THAT looks scrumptious!" The Artillerist poked his head out of the tent "I belive that the food is ready now?" Survivalist raised his head and nodded "Yeah, I guess so" he then hummed "But we still need to wait for the-" He was interrupted by the calm and soothing voice "There is no need for that" As everyone (Including Berserker) turned their heads towards the edge of the camp, they saw a man emerging from the trees. He was wearing a dark long coat, with a white thick shirt underneath it. His simple pants were light brown, and his long boots were dark brown. His hair was the same color, along with his beard, and his eyes were covered with fully transparent glasses. However, it wasn't the appearance that made this man stand out. For he was one of the founders of the Agency. For he was the man who achieved impossible several times. For he was Dr. Wolfgang Lazarus The Third, or simply Dr. Lazarus. Oh, and he was also the leader of the current party. What a shocker. As you've probably guessed by now, this man was one of the most important figures in the Agency. He wasn't afraid of using his actual name, since he didn't have a family. Even if he did, there was little to no information about Dr. Lazarus. The only thing that others knew about him, was that he is a genius doctor. Obviously, you'd think that others should respect and fear him, ESPECIALLY since he was supposed to be a leader, but.. Survivalist turned around, and casually raised his hand "Ah, there you are, Mr. Lazarus! How was the walk?" The newcomer warmly smiled, as he held his wrist up "I'm glad you asked" There, attached to his hand, was a weird looking bracelet, with a tiny built-in yellow square in the middle of it. Survivalist stared at it for a few moments "I don't seem to quite get it, sir?" Suddenly Riskrunner, who was quietly listening, spoke up "Lemme guess, ye tried to contact the Agency and got no answer again, eh?" Lazarus nodded and placed his hands behind his back "That is correct" he was still wearing his smile. Artillerist seemed to snicker, as he fully emerged out of the tent "Pft, you've been doing this for what? 2 or 3 months already?" he then raised his own bracelet, and poked it "I know that you gotta follow instructions and all, but come on. You know well enough that this place is unreachable for them!" Riskrunner shook his head, as he raised his finger "Nuh uh! R'member A-888 incident?" Artillerist wanted to say something to counter that, but couldn't come up with anything. Riskrunner seemed pleased with that reaction, and turned to face Lazarus, with a raised eyebrow "Pipsqueak has a point tho. It's benn quite a while since we crashed 'ere" As Artillerist proceeded to attack the Riskrunner by leaping at him, Lazarus approached the kettle and opened it "And that is exactly what I wanted to tell you all. You see, ever since my allies and I founded the Agency, we have established several peculiar rules for Agents" he then grabbed one of the bowls nearby and poured some porridge into it "One of them states, that after not coming in contact with the Agency for several months, the Agent is read as 'dead'. A weird rule honestly, but it was only mentioned a handful of times, since there were very few cases of Agents dissapearing without any trace" The Survivalist glanced towards two fighting Agents, and then back at Lazarus "I see... Are you trying to say that others think that we are dead?" Lazarus snapped his fingers "Exactly" he was trying to find something around himself. Survivalist put a finger to his chin "That... Conserning, to say the least" he then raised his head to face Lazarus "But what does it mean for us?" Lazarus stopped looking around and chuckled to himself "Well, it means that they will no longer try to find us, since we are now considered dead. In other words... ..We are finally free" These four words caught the attention of everyone in the camp. Artillerist and Riskrunner stopped fighting. Even Berserker stopped leaning against the tree, as he realized WHAT was said. The only one confused, was the Survivalist. He was glancing between everyone, as if trying to realize why everyone went quiet. Finally, Lazarus broke the silence, as he took a spoon out of his pocket "Oh wow, didn't expect it to be here out of all places!"