After destabilising the Citadel in Half-Life 2, G-Man gives Gordon some "Vacation", but is that his true intentions?
TRIGGER WARNING: Absolute garbage, will be rewritten in the future
After the events of Half-Life 2, Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance find themselves in Equestria. Apparantly the G-Man had given them some "vacation", but what is his true intentions? Will Gordon and Alyx be able to make it back to city 17? And is Gordon's ability to attract trouble still working in this world? (second-person fanfic featuring you as Gordon) (NO, this is not Episode 3. It takes place between Half-Life 2 and Episode 1)
"So, Mister Freeman. I think that your work here is done. Not that I am... disappointed with it, quite the opposite actually. Your, let's just call them services, are however not required in this world for the moment, Mister Freeman. I will give you some time without any, ahem... ALIEN interference. You can call it company vacation if you want to, Mister Freeman, so, take your time to rest, there are no hurries right now."
“Wake up, Gordon! Wake up!”
You slowly opened your eyes when you heard the familiar voice, expecting to look into the eyes of Alyx Vance. The reality however, turned out to be different. You where staring into the eyes of a pony, a rather concerned looking pony.
“Oh, thank God, you’re alright! I thought you were dead!”
The pony could talk? It also seemed to know your name. Not that very much surprised you anymore.
“It's me, Alyx. You do remember me, right?”
You tried to recall as much as you could, your name is Gordon Freeman, you are a theoretical physicist who worked at Black Mesa Research Facility when an alien race called The Combine invaded earth, the rest was foggy but the last thing you remembered was that you and Alyx Vance had successfully destabilized a Combine Citadel.
You took a look around, you seemed to be lying in some sort of train, the cart was empty and everything looked incredibly....cartoon-ish. You reached up with a hoof (it appeared as though you were a pony, as well) and adjusted your glasses.
The train slowed down and stopped at some town. The sign telling you that it was named "Ponyville".
“Maybe we should get off and talk to some of the locals. They might be able to tell us where we are.” Alyx was always the one who knew what to do in situations that did not include shooting, puzzle solving or Theoretical Physics (you also claimed dibs on flipping switches, pushing buttons, or moving carts).
You followed Alyx as she walked towards something that looked like an information desk, you noticed how the other ponies at the station was backing away from you as if you had just blasted a civilian in the face with your trusty shotgun. Come to think of it, where were all your weapons?
You noticed how a familiar bent metal object appeared in the air in front of you. Eureka! A crowbar! You tested it with all your equipment and the only one who did not work was the Gravity Gun. You also seemed to only be able to have one out at a time so you took the crowbar. You took the crowbar in your mouth and walked over to a large mirror hanging on a nearby wall.
Upon looking in the mirror you noticed that you still looked a lot like yourself, same hair-color, same beard and glasses, you even seemed to have your HEV-Suit. It looked like the original, only that it obviously was designed for your new form, the Lambda emblem had been replaced on the flank. What really caught your attention however, was a strange thing sticking out of your forehead. It looked like the horns that some of the ponies seemed to posses, however it appeared to be made of metal, and it was also hollow with a glowing orange core. You could only assume that’s where the Gravity Gun went.
You took a hoof and touched your Gravity Horn. Maybe you could use it? You looked at the crowbar laying on the ground and imagined that you were lifting it with the Gravity Gun, you felt a slight tickle in your forehead and the crowbar started floating in the air. You looked in the mirror and saw that your horns tip was glowing faintly orange, small sparks also arced across it.
“Looks fun, Gordon.” Alyx said in her usual detached and easy-going tone. “But hold off that for a sec, I’ve got some new information.” Alyx had walked up to you and was looking at your tricks and shaking her head in amusement.
“Apparently, this world is called "Equestria" and that we are in the town "Ponyville". We should get going, I heard that there was a library with more information in town.” Alyx seemed to have everything under control again.
You followed Alyx out on the street, what happened next was...interesting. As soon as the ponies saw you they ran away and the entire street was deserted in seconds. Alyx seemed to find it hard to believe what she had just witnessed. She turned to you and gave a shrug and look of bemusement.
You eyed the street and saw that there was a pony standing at some sort of herb store. The pony wore a long coat and seemed to be murmuring to herself.
You patted Alyx on the shoulder and pointed with an armor clad hoof towards the strange pony.
“Finally! Maybe we can talk to that one!” Alyx ran up to it and started asking questions. You started to move closer to the two talking ponies so that you could hear what they were saying.
“Do you know why all the ponies are fleeing when they see my friend?” Alyx asked the hooded pony.
“Perhaps I could see your friend, his appearance might be this current social end.” Apparently, the pony spoke in rhymes.
"Just great. I’m a physicist, not a poemist!"
The pony looked up at you and her pupils instantly shrunk in fear.
“I-Is tha-that one behind you, your friend?!”
“Well, yes he is.” Alyx suddenly sounded uneasy.
“Why are you companion with The Freemane!? Has your mind gone completely insane!?” The pony rushed away in the opposite direction of you.
“She sure likes to rhyme... “ Was all Alyx could say.
“Anyway, before she ran off she told me that the library is that tree further down the road, apparently, the owner might be able to help us.” Alyx started walking down the empty street, with you right behind her.
You were hovering your SMG in front of you, checking the area for hostiles, not a soul, however, was out on the street.
You reached a large tree-like structure and peeked in. The walls were filled with books. What caught your eye, however, was a lavender unicorn staring back at you from the other side of the room. Her eyes were filled with a mix of fear and curiosity. Apparently, she was just as curious of you as much as she was intimidated.
“The door’s locked, shouldn't libraries be open at this time of the day?” Alyx was equally annoyed and confounded.
You took a step towards the door and prepared to jolt it of its hinges if necessary.
“That won't be necessary. I have some toys too.” Alyx said with a smirk on her face.
She opened one of the pockets on her vest and brought out a familiar object, it was her EMP tool.
“It seems to be able to open magical locks in this world.” She said as a jolt of lightning jumped from the tool to the lock of the door. You could hear how it clicked as the door unlocked. You opened the door and was looking right into the eyes of the lavender unicorn.
“Hello, my name is Alyx Vance and this is my friend, Doctor Gordon Freeman. We heard that you are the town librarian, Twilight Sparkle, is that correct?” You thought that Alyx’s way of introducing you sounded a little like the beginning of an interrogation.
“ H-hello, y-yes i a-am Twilight S-Sparkle, what do you want with me?” The mare called Twilight Sparkle was constantly looking at you as if you were an Antlion Guard.
"Great, yet another scared pony, what is it with them?" It was seriously starting to piss you off. “Excuse me, but why does everyone seem to be intimidated by my friend?” Alyx asked Ms. Sparkle.
The lavender unicorn just stared at both you and Alyx, she seemed unsure about what to say.
You walked up to a blackboard and started to write equations, it was a while since you had done that, it had always helped you take your mind of pressing matters. Sure, it wasn’t “normal”, but hell, you’re a theoretical physicist who spent his free time killing aliens in a post-apocalyptic fascism, what the hell was normal anymore?
Twilight Sparkle walked up to you and stared as the equations grew longer and more complicated.
“What in Equestria are you? These are too complicated even for me.” She seemed to have bested her fear and appeared to be genuinely interested.
“He is a theoretical physicist. Also, we have company, Gordon!” Alyx was loading her automatic pistol while looking out of the window.
Before Twilight Sparkle could question your profession, you took up your crowbar. You looked around, searching the room for a power outlet. You saw some kind of power jack in the wall. You ran up to it and put your hoof on it.
“Suit charging... HEV-Suit fully powered.” The female voice assured you that everything was working.
You opened the door and found yourself eye to eye with seven armored ponies. The leader, a unicorn, took a step forward and stared you right in the eyes.
“Are you the one they call "The Freemane"?” This unicorn didn't waste time on formalities.
You silently nodded, although the way they pronounced it was really weird.
"They pronounce the "man" in my last name as "mane". Heh, funny." You smirked to yourself as you thought about it.
“As the captain of the Royal Guard, it is my duty to inform you that you are under arrest by order of the Royal Sisters. If you do not choose to cooperate, we will use force to put you down. The unicorn appeared to be serious.
"Do they really think that they can take me on?" You thought to yourself while raising the crowbar, ready to strike.
One of the guards took a step towards you with some sort of cuffs. As soon as he got close, you hit him hard in the head with your crowbar. The guard collapsed with a small wound in the forehead.
The captain looked like he had seen a Combine interrogation, he had a look of mixed shock and disgust on his face.
“How dare you attack a member of the royal guard! Take him down!” The captain was obviously not used to resistance.
As soon as the other guards charged at you, it felt like a fog was filling your mind. When you looked, the ponies were replaced with Metro-cops, the spears replaced with stunsticks. As soon as you saw the gas masks you were filled with a rage, a rage so powerful it silenced your ability to reason.
“Combine...must...DIE!” Was the only thing in your head at the moment.
You took the shotgun and blasted the head off of one of the Metro-cops, the remains of the head splattered on the Combine Elite that was leading the squad, he backed off a little and the others staggered when they realised what had just happened.
“Strange, I’ve never Combine Soldiers react like that to a fallen comrade before” You thought before snapping back into combat, you drew a grenade and dropped it at the other Metro-cops before jumping away, the shock of the explosion knocked all the remaining guards away, sending them into the walls of nearby buildings and knocking them unconscious. The Combine Elite, who was the only one standing, looked at you.
“Y-YOU MONSTER! I, SHINING ARMOR, CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD WILL DESTROY YOU IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA!” Now THAT was something you had not expected a Combine Elite to say.
The Elite drew a OSIPR and started to charge the dark energy ball launcher. The sphere fired was not the typical dark energy ball that you regularly saw, it was in a bright, pink color. You realised you wouldn’t be able to dodge the shot, and braced for impact. When the sphere impacted, you felt it like a concussion, you lost focus for long enough to drop your shotgun. When you finally looked up, you were looking right into the single, red eye of the Combine Elites gas mask. When you stared into that one eye, only one thought entered your mind, “survive”. You slammed your head into the face of the Elite, dazing it. You quickly got to your hooves and lifted a nearby barrel with your Gravity Horn and launched it into the face of the Combine.
“That oughta do it” You thought to yourself, almost instantly regretting that you stopped and let your guard down as you were hit by a beam of pure energy, completely knocking you out.
You groaned as you slowly woke up. Whatever attacked you hadn't been holding back. You winced as a sharp pain rose from your cheek. You put a hoof to it, it felt like your coat had disappeared in the area and that the skin had felt "crispy". “Medium burns detected, vital signs are stable, administering morphine. *WARNING* Suit batteries has been depleted, user is unprotected against hostile environment.” The female voice of the HEV-Suit confirmed that you had been attacked. "What kind of enemy was it anyway? It attacked from a position above me, i think, and it attacked with... heat?" As you opened your eyes you noticed that you had been brought inside a building, probably the library. You turned your head and noticed Alyx laying next to you, she was being held to the ground by a golden aura. She looked back at you with a questioning glare. “What have you gotten us into?” She whispered. You turned your head and looked at the door of the room, it opened and in stepped a four legged, winged Combine that you had never seen the likes of before. The creature spread its wings, probably to look more intimidating and stared right into your eyes. “You, what are you doing here? What are your intentions in this world?” The creature spoke with a soft, female voice, it was probably fake. “We came to this world through *GAAH*!” Alyx collapsed as the creature fired a bright yellow energy pulse at her. “I am not addressing you, you may only speak if i say so!” The creature spoke as if it regarded itself as the leader of everything. You didn’t like leaders, so far you hadn't met many that hadn't been wanting you dead. “I ask again, why have you intruded in this world and killed innocent soldiers?” Apparently, the Metro-Cops that tried to capture you were innocent now. All you did was stare into the two glowing blue eyes of the alien. “Stop your resistance this instant! I had hoped I wasn't going to have to force the answer out of your miserable body.” The creature prepared to attack. You brought up your Magnum, you weren’t going down without a fight at least. The creature fired a beam of energy at you, when you were hit you were forced to the ground and could only watch as your weapons appeared in the air in front of you and flew away to a table, out of reach for you. That was when you felt a tingle rush through your body, your HEV-Suit was charging its batteries over their max capacity and the excess energy was filling you, speeding up your body’s natural regeneration so much that you could feel the burn on your cheek heal. "This is just like the confiscation fields inside the citadel!" You realised as the energy bombardment stopped. “I drained you of all of the magic power in your body. So there is no reason for you to even try using your dark spells.” The Combine seemed to have thought of everything. You noticed that your forehead was itching, you looked up and noticed that your horn had changed in appearance, it now had a bright blue core and white sparks arced across it. Maybe the Combine forgot to take in consideration that you might not be using magic. "Almost like in the Citadel again." You thought while staring into the Combine's eyes with a confident smile. You slowly rose to your hooves and started to walk closer to it until you were practically touching it with your face. “Stay back! As the Princess of the sun, i will use any means necessary to stop you!” The Combine didn't sound too confident anymore, and panic could be heard in the voice. You stared right at the Combine for about 10 seconds before making your move, with your now supercharged Gravity Horn, you jolted the Combine, launching it straight through the wall of the room. The Combine continued flying and crashed through the wall of the library's main room and into the wall of a building on the opposite side of the library. The alien slowly rose, limping heavily with blood running out of the small bruises all over it. It fired an energy bolt at you, the same type that had you knocked out before. This time however, it only fizzled away when it hit your overcharged HEV-Suit. You took the crossbow and readied a shot, the creature tried to lift a wing but you quickly fired the crossbow bolt into it, nailing the wing to the wall behind it. The Combine screamed as the heated rebar burrowed its way through the delicate wing structure. You loaded your Magnum with one bullet, you wouldn’t need more. You slowly walked through the hole in the wall. You glanced to the side and saw a group of shocked ponies on the outside. You paid them little attention as you made your way towards the crippled Combine. It looked at you with eyes flooded with pure fear. The look it gave you pleaded for mercy.You ignored the look and lifted the Magnum to it's forehead. "Finally an actual Combine will pay for what they have done." You simply stared at the pathetic alien and slowly pulled the trigger. Only to be interrupted by something striking you like a rocket in the side, you were sent flying at least 2 meters and even though the HEV-Suit absorbed most of the force, it still hurt like hell. “Minor rib fracture detected, morphine administered.” The Suit told you that the damage wasn't severe, which was good. You looked at the attacker and saw a blue pegasus with a rainbow colored mane stare at you with anger burning in it's eyes. “I will not let you harm our Princess any more!” These ponies seemed to have been brainwashed into believing that the Combine was their leader. Much like the Combine soldiers back home, they had been regular humans, maybe with families. You realised that you practically freed them when you planted lead in their bodies. You brought up your crowbar, a civilian was always a civilian, and you were not going to try to deliberately kill a civilian. The pegasus charged at you with a fierce cry, you just sidestepped and hit it in the head as it passed by you. The pegasus crashed into the ground unconscious, but otherwise unharmed. You took out the Magnum and walked over to the Combine, it had fainted, probably due to the pain. You raised the Magnum and pulled the trigger... “STOOOOOP!” Right before the bullet left the barrel you realised that the scream was from Twilight Sparkle, who had positioned herself between yourself and the Combine. It was too late, you heard the shot fire and you saw how Ms Sparkle's body were flung back from the raw force of the slug. You never got that far however, time slowed down to a crawl and then stopped completely. “So, Mister Freeman. It seems like you have made a... mistake or two already.” You looked at the mass of frozen ponies and saw one that moved, it was gray with a black mane, it wore a business suit and carried a saddlebag on the back. The mark on the flank was a purple vortex. "G-Man!" You recognized him instantly, even in his equine form. He walked up to the bullet hanging in the air. “Mister Freeman, i gave you this "vacation" so that you could relax and get away from all the stress associated with your... *ahem* regular duties. If you do not fulfill these regulations I will have to report you to... the board, for being overstressed. I don't think you would want to make your future contractors rethink their choice.” He sounded very annoyed and disappointed, which was new since he always had addressed you with respect before. He took the stasis bullet and put it in his saddlebag. He then walked into the crowd and disappeared as time started flowing again. You heard the gunshot, but there was no bullet impact. "I... I just opened fire against an unarmed, innocent civilian. What is happening to me!?" You clenched your temples as you felt the fog in your mind clear. What you saw frightened you, the metro-cops had been reverted back into royal guards, the Combine Elite was a unicorn with a blue mane and white coat. You took a look at the Combine creature that you almost had killed, it was a white pony with both wings and a horn, the parts of the mane that were not covered in dirt were colored in green, blue and pink. One of the wings had a red hot rebar going through it, nailing it to the wall, the other wing was snapped and hanging limp, the pony was also bleeding from several smaller wounds all over its body. The last thing you heard before you blacked out was Alyx yelling to the other ponies to move out of the way.
“Hey! Move it! I need to help Gordon! Yes, i meant the "Freemane"! OW! Stop hitting me you pink maniac! NO, we don’t want a party! GET YOUR HOOVES OFF OF MY FLANK YOU PERV! Gordon, can you hear me? Just hang in there! I will get help... HEY! Let go of me! Was your name Twilight Sparkle? Just let me explain everything Ms Sparkle! H-Hey! Are you trying to tie a cloth over my mou... MMMMPH!”
“Ow, my head! What happened to me? How long have i been out? What is that buzzing sound?” You groaned as you slowly opened your eyes. The first thing you noticed was that you were in some sort of laboratory, you were strapped with iron bands to some sort of examining table. A beige pony with a brown mane were moving some sort of metallic stick with a green glowing tip over your body. “Oh, good morning Freemane, did you sleep well? Your suit is hanging on the wall over there, along with your weapons, impressive craftsmanship I must say. Now, who is the blacksmith responsible for this amazing piece of technology?” He pointed to your horn with his glowing stick. You simply shrugged, you didn’t know who had created the Gravity Gun in the first place anyways. “I am Time Turner by the way.” You looked over at the wall and saw your HEV-Suit and all your weapons neatly hanging on the wall. You noticed a big, blue box that was standing next to them. “Wait a second, what is wrong with this picture? There is an old Police Telephone Box in the middle of a laboratory?” You tried to move, but the bands holding your legs to the table wouldn’t budge. You then tried to move them with your Gravity Horn, but nothing happened. “Oh sorry about you being tied up, Ms Sparkle kind of forced me to do it, she said you almost killed her, her brother, and the Princess. That only raises the next question, if you are what your actions tell me that you are, then why does your cutie mark say that your special talent is physics?” “Well, i guess you can say i am a master of physics, considering all the things i have done with the Gravity Gun.” You remembered that he couldn’t hear you since you were thinking, why didn’t you speak anyway? It had never occurred to you that you might have needed it, all your friends understood you anyway. Your thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. Twilight Sparkle was carrying Alyx in a purple aura. She took Alyx and dropped her on the floor next to you. It looked like Alyx was more than annoyed by the lavender unicorn. Twilight took the EMP Tool and the automatic pistol from Alyx and gave them to Time Turner. “Could you please examine these artifacts and tell me what they are used for Time Turner?” Time Turner took the two tools from Ms Sparkle and moved his glowing stick over them. “Well, i can see that one of them is indeed a weapon, it is a so called pistol. A projectile weapon that outclasses any weapon manufactured by any Equestrian for at least the next 500 years. I know of one species who uses these, they are called "Humans" or "Homo Sapiens".” Time Turner knew surprisingly much about human technology, almost as if... No, he couldn’t have seen a human before. He scanned the EMP Tool and it seemed to catch more of his interest than the pistol. “Interesting, this is some sort of tool for manipulating magical circuits.” Time Turner pushed a small button on the device and the EMP antennae sprung out. "Fantastic" you heard him mutter. “It also seems to be able to store large amounts of binary data, don't look so confused Twilight, binary code will not be used in Equestria for another 361 years.” It seemed like Time Turner knew pretty much everything about your technology. “Are you saying that these... MURDERERS are from the future? Th-That is absurd, why would someone from the future want to kill Celestia? Is he a changeling? Or maybe a member of some sick cult?” Twilight Sparkle had appeared to be a understanding and smart pony at first, but nooooo, she wouldn’t even listen when Alyx tried to explain where you came from. She just assumed that you were here to kill their leaders and that you was the one who had attacked first, well... technically you did attack first, but it was only in self defense, they had tried to put you down without a reason. “No, they have just been having resonance troubles. What brought them here must have been caused by a cascade of energy.” What nonsense was Time talking now? Resonance troubles? Cascade of energy? That didn't make any sense whatsoever. Or, was he trying to give you some sort of hint? “Anyways, would you like me to show you what The Freemane's equipment is exactly, would you like to know Twilight?” Twilight Sparkle looked at your suit and your weapons with curiosity. “Actually, i am curious of what these things are capable of, also could you brief me on... THAT.” Twilight waved at your Gravity Horn with a hoof. She seemed to be half-disgusted by the metal horn. She moved up next to you. “Look, i don't know who you are or why you are here. But your crimes against the princess will not go unpunished... Fake-Unicorn.” She spat out the last words as if they were polluting her mouth. "Wow, did she really say that?" The sudden outburst from Twilight Sparkle took you and Time Turner completely by surprise. You gave each other a quick glance before Time went on and started to show your equipment to the lavender mare. “First Ms Sparkle, i would like to show you his suit. It is a so called HEV-Suit or Hazardous Environment Suit, an incredibly advanced Hazmat suit.” How did Time know about the HEV-Suit? “Are you saying that he protected himself from both the magic of Celestia and Shining Armor, as well as taking a direct hit to the side from Rainbow Dash, with a chemical suit?” Twilight looked at the suit and Time with disbelief. “Yes indeed Ms Sparkle, but this is not just some chemical suit, this is designed for work in areas where the environment actively fights back. It appears to have some sort of powered protection plates that can absorb up to 2 thirds of the force taken from stabs, cuts, arrows, energy bolts and other blunt traumas, if sufficiently charged of course. It also has a built in medical system that administers morphine and different types of antidotes when necessary. Oh, it also displays the wearers current medical condition on a scale of 0-100. 100 means healthy as a filly and 0 means dead. I would actually dare to say that this "Hazmat suit" is superior to the armor used by the royal guard.” Apparently, your suit was a better combat armor than the actual armor used by their military. Twilight glanced at you, and then the HEV-Suit with disbelief in her eyes. “Would you like me to brief you on all his weapons, or would you rather see them in action? I built a shooting range in the back for just that purpose.” Time Turner was the type of pony who thought of everything it seemed. “Yes, i would like that very much. How am i otherwise supposed to know what kind of magic these... Things use. Rarity would kill the creator if she saw how blunt and unrefined the design is.” Twilight would probably get a shock when she saw how dangerous those "blunt and unrefined" tools really are. She lifted the weapons with her telekinesis and followed Time Turner out from the lab. You heard muffled voices and the occasional sound of a weapon being fired, always followed by a high pitched scream, probably from Twilight Sparkle. After using the weapons for as long as you had, you could hear in which order they were used, the order was: Pistol, Magnum, SMG, OSIPR, shotgun, crossbow, grenades and finally RPG. Time Turner entered the lab again, a very shocked Twilight was tailing him. She went up to you and stared at you, she must have stared for a good 2 minutes before she took action, she grabbed your Gravity Horn with her telekinesis and yanked hard. She had tears in her eyes. “H-How!? How can you use these things against other ponies! You are a monster, and you will be punished! Tell me who sent you or i will yank this fake horn right out of your forehead! It is an insult against Unicorn kind!” She hated you, Twilight Sparkle hated you with every cell in her body. But she was bluffing when she said she was going to yank your horn out of your forehead, she didn’t have the guts to kill. Time Turner leaped forward and pulled Twilight Sparkle away from you, breaking the grip she had of your horn. “Calm down Ms Sparkle! I understand if you are angry, but murder should not be an option! By the way, we do not harm ponies who can't defend themselves. If you want to hurt him, at least give him a chance to defend himself.” Time Turner was trying to keep you alive it seemed, a wise decision. “Fine, Princess Luna is on her way here as we speak anyway. Could you tell me something about that... Horn thingy? What exactly is it?” Twilight had calmed herself and was poking at your horn with a hoof. She was both interested and disgusted by it at the same time. “Ah yes, the horn. I have scanned it and it appears to be hardwired to his brain in a way similar to that of a unicorn horn. The difference however, is that he doesn’t have any magic in his body to cast spells. The horn is a zero-point energy field manipulator, a Gravity Horn if you want to. It seems to be able to lift non organic matter heavier than even the strongest earth pony could lift. It isn't magic, it is technology.” You noticed how Time Turner's eyes sparkled when he talked about the horn, almost as if he thought it was a diamond. “But he managed to launch Celestia through 2 walls with it, Celestia is organic matter, right?” You saw how Twilight slowly extended a hoof to your chest, then she pressed it hard at you, forcing all air out of your lungs. “Tell me, just who or what are you? I command you to talk!” You just stared at Twilight, nothing she did would make you talk. “He won't talk. He never talks, i have known him for a while now and i have never seen him utter a word.” You saw how Alyx had regained her senses and was now staring Twilight in the eyes from the other side of the table. “You! Exactly who are you? Why are you helping the Freemane? He is evil.” You didn’t even care about what she said, it was just wild assumptions without any proof. Twilight suddenly stopped accusing you and started to stammer, you looked at Alyx and saw that she was pointing her gun at Twilight’s horn. “Wh-What are you doing, don't point it at me! I am innocent!” Twilight was sweating, she obviously knew how dangerous the little device was. “Look here Ms Sparkle, I don't know how it works in your world but from our point of view you are the guilty, We appeared in this world without knowing where we were, one of the first things that happened was that your leader tried to capture us for no apparent reason, and you helped them. You also seem to be torturing this scientist. If you ask me, I could easily shoot you now without feeling any guilt.” You simply stared at Alyx, what she had just said was harsh, true but harsh. You looked at Twilight Sparkle as she tried to process what she had just heard, she was probably used of being seen as the "good guy". “Well... Uh, I SUPPOSE you haven't really done anything illegal... I guess I could let you go free, if you promise not to hurt anypony, and that you will not leave Ponyville.” Twilight Sparkle didn't completely trust Alyx yet, but Alyx was trying to befriend her it seemed. “Thanks Ms Sparkle, is it okay if i call you Twilight? I have so many questions for you! For example, what are these tattoos everyone seems to have on their butts? Even Gordon has one, but i don't.” You saw how Alyx brightened up instantly, she was starting a conversation with Twilight. “They are cutie marks, they represent what a pony’s special talent is. For example...” Alyx and Twilight left the lab, chatting casually. At least you knew she was safe for now. Time Turner came up to you with a "sorry-for-Twilight-Sparkle's-behaviour" look on his face. “Well, now you know the town librarian i suppose. She may seem to jump to conclusions but she means well at heart, you have to excuse her behaviour earlier, I should've stopped her earlier.” If he was lying you had to accommodate him for an expertly made mask of fake guilt. He started fiddling around with your gear, constantly returning to take an extra look at the OSIPR, it seemed like he found it infinitely more interesting than, say the grenades. He took it up, removed the magazine and scanned it. He then tried to fit it back in for a good 15 minutes, you knew you should help him, but that is hard when you are a tied up theoretical physicist who doesn’t talk. He finally managed to fit the magazine back inside the weapon, He tried to give you a look of victory and superiority, but his blush of embarrassment ruined the moment. “Now, I know that Twilight told me to keep you tied up but I think I can let you move around freely in my lab, if you promise to not escape or hurt anypony.” You gave him an acknowledging nod. He walked over and took your weapons and your suit and locked them into a large cabinet. He then came up to you and pointed at the metal bands with his glowing stick, you heard a click as they unlocked and you were allowed to move again. You stretched before jumping down from the table, the first thing you did was to move over to a mirror on one of the walls and inspect yourself. You looked overall fine, you were a little red around your horn from Twilight’s rough "treatment" and the area felt sore when you touched it. “Feel free to look around, but stay inside the lab. And do not enter the TARDIS!” He pointed towards the big blue box, you nodded in acknowledgement. Time Turner left the lab and you heard him lock the door. After taking a quick look around you decided that there wasn't any way for you to get out of here. So you started to examine some of the things Time Turner had. He had some things on display as if it were a museum. There was a pony head made out of metal, something that looked like an oversized salt shaker, and something that looked like a futuristic surfboard. The items weren’t labeled so you could only assume what they were. One item however was labeled, it was a sphere the size of a football that looked like it was made out of glass, it had shapes swirling inside of it that formed constellations and other things you couldn’t make out. "Tacitus" you read on the label. “That is probably my most valuable treasure, a database with almost unlimited information about practically everything in the universe. I salvaged it from a desolated timeline, one where war ravaged a contaminated earth and had plunged humanity into a desperate fight for survival.” You hadn't noticed that Time Turner had returned, he was carrying a plate with a muffin on. He put the plate down in front of you. “I figured you were probably hungry. Sorry if it is more of a snack, it is the only thing my partner ever eats, I am considering the possibility that she might be addicted to them.” You just stared at the treat, a muffin? You hadn’t eaten one of those since... Since you got your PhD or something like that. You carefully took a bite out of it, Time Turner didn’t look like he had much common sense so who knows where the muffin came from. It was a banana muffin with chocolate chips, and you made sure to savour every bite. When you were finished Time brought up a small chalk board and a chalk. “Since it seems like you don't talk, maybe you could write instead? I got this small chalk board for you, and this enchanted chalk that will never run out.” You took the board and the chalk and started writing a question. "Why does Everyone seem to be afraid of me?" It was a question you had been wondering since you got off the train in Ponyville. Time Turner read the question and he seemed to think about the answer for a while. “That is a good question, if i recall correctly Princess Luna had a nightmare about a unicorn with a metal horn and metal skin coming to Equestria, followed by a disaster. She said that the pony was called things like "The Freemane" and "The One Free Colt".” You were suprised of how accurate the names were. The metal skin probably meant your HEV-Suit and you had to admit that bad things did have a habit of occurring when you were around. "Who is this “Luna”?" “Princess Luna is one of the two rulers of this world, she is a goddess who rules over the night, it was her sister you almost killed.” Time Turner didn’t seem to hold any hate against you for it. “Great, i might have angered a goddess. What more am i going to have to fight? A race of some parasitic insect like creatures who can change their appearance? Not that anything like that exists, that would be ridiculous .” "Can i have my suit back? Only the suit, not the weapons or the crowbar." Time looked at the blackboard for a while, then he shrugged and opened the locker where the suit was, he gave it to you and you put it on. It felt good to have it, you felt powerless without it. Suddenly, all the lights in the lab went out. You quickly turned the flashlight on and took a look around, Time Turner was nowhere to be seen and you swore you could hear a moaning noise. “YABBA! MY ICING!” You turned around and saw the one thing you might be able to have nightmares about. It was a Headcrab zombie, a pony zombie. You lunged at it in an attempt to take it down. You hit the headcrab and it flew off, underneath it was Alyx. She seemed to have a hard time containing her laughter. “AHAHA! You should've seen the look on your face Gordon!” “Where did you find a headcrab, and whose bright idea was it to prank me?” The headcrab jumped up on Alyx’s back and fell asleep. “Oh, i take Time Turner gave you that chalk board? Anyway, don’t you recognize the headcrab? It’s Lamarr. She seemed to have ended up here after the teleportation accident. I found her over at Fluttershy's, she loves to take care of animals. As for the prank, you can thank me for that, although i got some help from Rainbow Dash to come up with something.” Alyx had calmed down and was talking to you with her regular tone. You looked behind her and saw how a butter colored pegasus with a pink mane and a cyan pegasus with a rainbow colored mane was peeking through the door. Alyx looked over at them and waved for them to come in. They slowly walked towards you. The rainbow one didn't look super happy to see you while the butter colored one was hiding behind it's mane. "Gordon, i would like to introduce two friends i have made, meet Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash." You extended a hoof to greet them when you were thrown off balance by a booming voice. "Surrender now Freemane! You are under arrest!"
After nine years in development, hopefully it would have been worth the weight.
You saw how Luna charged her horn and fired a bolt of dark blue energy at you. The energy engulfed you and Alyx as your bodies were incinerated. *Warning* "Extreme heat damage detected!" White, everything was white. A voice could be heard talking to you.
You slowly opened your eyes and saw DOG digging you out of a pile of rubble, the melting Citadel was towering towards the red sky. You rose to your feet and saw Alyx, human Alyx. She smiled at you. Thank god it is over. Even Xen felt normal compared to being a small pony...
You took a look at the doorway and was met with the infuriated gaze from a large midnight blue pony.
Great, I suppose that is Princess Luna. Hey Ms Goddess! Can't you see that i am making friends here?
The large blue pony stormed into the room followed by a dozen guards. They quickly surrounded you. You and Alyx were cuffed and escorted out to a carriage. It was a prison carriage with barred windows and simple seats opposite of each other. Every pony in Ponyville seemed to have taken the time to watch and you felt them judge you with their looks, some hateful and some fearful.
Time Turner followed you and Alyx out and into the carriage. "I'm coming too since I know more about you than the others, save for your companion of course." He took a seat opposite to you and Alyx, next to Princess Luna. You saw how Alyx shifted nervously when the large, midnight blue princess looked at her.
“So, why were we arrested? It would be nice if someone could give us an explanation.” Alyx asked in her typical confident voice. You looked a Princess Luna as she seemed to think about the answer for a bit.
Is it a difficult question to answer? Maybe Turner was right, she only had a dream about it. Now that wouldn’t be an acceptable excuse, even if it came from a goddess. You felt a small shudder as the carriage started moving, it was probably going to some sort of prison.
"We had a dream one month ago about a pony with metal skin and a metal horn. He would be followed by a disaster too devastating even for the royal sisters to handle. We know it may sound far fetched but every time we had a dream like this, it has been a true dream." Alyx and you looked at each other, she didn’t seem too convinced that it was a legit reason.
You looked out of the window, you could see how you just passed the library. Twilight Sparkle was looking at you through a window. You looked out through the other window and, wait a second... Twilight Sparkle was looking back at you from across the street. You rubbed your eyes, did you just see two of her? You brought up your chalk board and wrote a question. "Does Twilight Sparkle have a twin sister?" Luna and Turner looked at the question and shook their heads. "Then why did I see two of them?" Turner and Luna looked at the other question and their eyes widened. "Everypony! Take cov-" Luna didn’t get longer before a powerful explosion struck the carriage, green flames surrounded it and you could feel how you were thrown high into the air, you crashed down hard into the ground and the last thing you heard before you fell unconscious was explosions and screams.
You grunted as you woke up, you saw Alyx laying next to you. Time Turner and Princess Luna were waking up too. "By our sister's beard, the changelings are back, and the Elements of Harmony are over at Canterlot Castle!" Luna groaned as she recovered. Alyx opened her eyes and stood up on shaking legs.
"Princess, remove our cuffs. We can help you." Luna looked at you and Alyx before shaking her head. "Ehm... Princess, I think we should listen to them. We don't have much of a choice." it was Time Turner who spoke up, Luna met his gaze before releasing a small sigh and unlocking the cuffs. You rose and looked at the door of the carriage, it had been bent and could probably not be opened. You stood and jolted it with your horn, the door flew away and landed in the dirt. You climbed out followed by Alyx, Turner and the Princess. The town was almost in ruins, the only building that seemed at least relatively untouched was the library.
The streets were deserted, not a single sign of life was present apart from a flicker of light from inside the library's upper floor. As you and your companions made your way towards the library, you noticed that the ground around it was strewn with black, insect-like bodies. At least whoever was inside knew how to defend themselves.
You slowly made your way up to the door when you heard a faint, electrical sound. You barely managed to roll away before a purple bolt scorched the ground where you had been standing less than a second ago. You looked up and saw a device sticking out of a window, it looked a lot like the Biological Sterilization Systems from the Black Mesa Advanced Biological Research Lab. You rolled away from another bolt and cursed Twilight for taking your weapons.
Why didn’t I try to get them back first? There is no way for me to stop this defensive mechanism... Or is there?
You dodged another shot and picked up a nearby rock from the ground with your horn, you launched it at the device and heard the satisfying *CRASH* of delicate equipment meeting the floor. “Good work Gordon! Time, Princess, hurry over to the door!” Alyx and your companions ran across the street and pushed up against the wall of the library, Alyx went up to the door and tugged at it. it didn’t budge.
“Damn, the door is locked. I wish I had my EMP-Tool now.” Time reached into a pocket (where the hell did that one come from?) and pulled out Alyx’s tool. You saw how she brightened up as she took it. She activated the antennae and pointed it to the door, a bright white bolt of lightning struck the handle and you heard the door unlock with a click. You walked into the main room slowly, Alyx, Time Turner and Princess Luna followed right after. The room was completely shrouded in darkness, it made you feel uneasy. You turned on the flashlight in your suit and turned around towards the staircase. You walked towards it and heard something from the floor above, it sounded like someone was scribbling on paper.
“D-Dear Shiny. If you read this I h-have probably been abducted or k-killed by changelings. I want you to tell mom, dad and Cadence h-how much I love them and that I d-died defending Equestria. - Twilight Sparkle, your little sister forever.”
The voice talking as it probably was writing was trembling, the one talking was afraid, sad and had lost all hope. You looked up in the room and saw Twilight Sparkle inclined over a writing desk. She was holding a quill in her aura and she was visibly sobbing. She slowly turned around and met your gaze. "S-So you m-made it inside c-changeling... I w-will not l-let you take E-Equestria!" She launched the quill at you with her magic, you caught it an inch away from your eye with your Gravity Horn. Twilight just stared at you for a second, then her horn began to glow. A purple lightning bolt struck you in the chest and knocked you down the stairs.
"Ow, I bet she isn't married... Just what kind of librarian is she?"
You rolled away from a purple fireball and dodged into the main room of the library. Twilight was quickly after you and teleported up to you, she let loose a shockwave knocking you away into a corner. "Just die you evil changeling! I will not let you hurt any more ponies!" Twilight walked up to you, her horn was pulsing brightly.
"Stop this nonsense now, Twilight Sparkle!"
Luna emerged from the shadows with Alyx and Time, they ran up to you and helped you get up on your hoofs. "P-Princess L-Luna? I-Is it r-really you? I-I'm so s-sorry, I d-didn’t know... P-Please don't *gulp* b-banish m-me." You could swear that Twilight’s coat turned multiple shades paler when she met the Princess's gaze. "You are not to be banished today Twilight Sparkle. We need your help." Luna looked at you and you brought up your chalk and board. "We need to get to Time Turner's home, my weapons are there." Twilight read the board and looked at you. "How can I trust you?" "You can't, but it is your only chance" Twilight read the message and nodded slowly. She went over to Luna and they whispered about something. "No, I won't trust them... What do you mean "Only chance"? Time Turner told you? That pony isn't entirely healthy in the head. Well, if you trust him..." Twilight turned around, glaring daggers at you and Alyx. "Okay, me and Luna will defend you on your way there, Time Turner shall lead the way." Twilight walked out the door and motioned for you to follow. "Freemane, you have never met changelings before, right? There is one rule: any pony that nears us is a threat and must be stopped.” You nodded at Luna’s words and walked out on the street, darkness was falling fast over the town as you started to follow Turner.
Damn, this feels a lot like Ravenholm, too much like Ravenholm.
You looked into a hole in one of the houses, half expecting a zombie to pounce at you, there was nothing there except a green fluorescent goo covering pretty much everything.
"H-Help, is a-anyp-pony th-there?" You flinched when you heard the sound, a cream colored pony with a pink and blue mane was crawling towards you through the goo-filled ruin, it was beaten and sported several burns across it's body. You walked closer to the pony and extended a hoof to help it up. Right before you touched it however, a dark blue beam of energy struck the pony in the side. The pony gasped and stopped moving, it had a smoldering hole going through it. You looked at Luna, her horn was still smoking. She nodded towards the dead body and you looked at it in a mix of confusion and shock, it was engulfed in green flames that subsided to reveal a black insect like pony, with a jagged horn and insectoid wings.
"That, is a changeling. Now you understand why we told you to be careful, they take the shape of ponies, often replacing the real one, and tries to steal love from others. They are parasites of this world." Princess Luna's voice was cold. You nodded in acknowledgement and began walking again.
"Stallion of few words are you? Or is it something else?" You ignored Luna’s question and kept walking. The next half hour or so you spent walking through the empty streets, occasionally meeting a disguised changeling that Luna or Twilight made quick work of. You couldn’t help but to stare at the bodies as they changed from pony to changeling, it was an interesting process. At least until one of the victims of Luna’s magical strikes didn’t change, you realised what it meant and increased your pace.
"Here is my lab, hurry in and grab your gear. We have to get out of Ponyville." Time Turner opened a door and almost shoved you and Alyx inside. You turned on your flashlight and searched the dark room, you saw the locker where Time had placed your weapons. You walked over to it and ripped the door off it's hinges with your Gravity Horn. You quickly grabbed all your weapons and equipped the OSIPR. You saw Alyx slide a fresh clip into her pistol, she nodded at you and you walked out to Twilight, Luna and Time. There was a few dead changeling bodies on the ground and Luna and Twilight looked very tired, they were sweating and their horns were smoking.
"Luna and Twilight, let me and Gordon do the fighting. You look a bit tired." Luna and Twilight exhaled and powered down their horns. You stepped forward and began walking again, taking the lead. Your goal was the train station, it was probably the safest way out of the town. As you stepped out in a junction, you noticed that ponies were approaching your group from every street. The closest one looked at you with glowing green eyes before pouncing at you with a loud hiss.
*DUDUDUDU*
The body of the changeling had transformed back before it hit the ground, the automatic reload system of the OSIPR made sure you could take on the next one.
I hope these creatures are smarter than Antlions, they should understand what happens if they attack.
You relaxed slightly as the other changelings started to back away, they turned around and ran away.
Heh, fear the captain of the intergalactic house of pancakes!
As you and your "friends" continued through the ruins, you noticed that not a single changeling was to be seen, maybe they had told each other how dangerous you were.
You looked out at a plaza, the train station was at the other side of it. "There! The train station! Let's go already!" Twilight exclaimed and started galloping forwards, you held out a hoof and stopped her. This was too easy. You gestured for the others to go into a nearby house, you climbed up on the roof and used the zoom function in your suit to check the station.
The train station was being protected by a group of guards in white armor. They were killing changelings with the help of crossbows and lances. What really caught your attention however, was a large unicorn completely covered in white armor. It fired a blue-white beam on a changeling, the changeling slowed down to a crawl before stopping completely, a guard hurled a lance at it and the body was shattered into small frozen chunks of meat.
Some sort of cryo-technology? I hope they are friendly, I wouldn’t want to get caught in that.
You heard a yell from a house and repositioned your zoom on it, a dark-gray earth pony with a green mane and red eyes charged out towards the train station. "Help me! The changelings are after me! W-Wait, what are you doing? I am a po..." You watched as the armored cryo-pony fired against the mare until she was completely frozen solid, it then activated some sort of jump-pack and smashed the frozen pony with it's hoofs.
No! What are they doing? She was an innocent pony! I thought only HECU and the Combine were that cruel!
Your stomach turned as you saw the remains of the pony thaw. You brought up your RPG, these soldiers were obviously not trying to save ponies. You launched a rocket into the air and directed it towards the cryo-pony.
*BOOOM*
The cryo-pony were ripped apart from the explosion and the suit it wore exploded in a cloud of liquid nitrogen, the other guards tried to get away but they were engulfed in the cloud. When the nitrogen subsided you saw the guards frozen solid, you quickly dispatched them with the crossbow.
You climbed down from the roof. It seemed like Alyx, Time and Luna had seen everything through a window. They all bore shocked expressions, Luna and Twilight looked like they had been taking a tour in a washing machine. "Umm... Freemane, what was that... freeze-pony-thing? Why did they k-kill her?" Twilight looked at you with questioning eyes, you simply shrugged and looked at Time, he had a very concerned look on his face. "If those are here, then... No, i stopped him... But, Rupert was slippery like an eel... No, he can't be here, not after the Sigma accident... But maybe... No, he was unprotected when he tried to shift..." You couldn’t really make anything out of Time Turner's mumbling so you didn’t give it a second thought.
When you stepped out on the plaza in front of the train station you realised what a mistake you had done, changelings appeared in every street, blocking your ways of escape. "Damnit! A trap! Princess, Twilight, Time! Take shelter in the station, I and Gordon will fend them off! Alyx brought out her pistol and aimed it at the nearest changeling, a quick burst from the pistol and the changeling slumped over with some holes in its forehead. You brought up your SMG.
"Get ready Gordon, here they come!" You emptied your magazine into one of the clusters of changelings, they collapsed with small holes in their bodies. You turned around just as another group charged at you, this one was bigger than the other. You launched an SMG-Grenade into the group and watched as the bodies were flung away from the blast. Instead of reloading you took your OSIPR and dashed over to Alyx’s side, she was shooting into a really large and compact group of changelings slowly advancing on her, you jumped in between her and the changelings and fired a dark energy ball at them, the entire group disintegrated in an instant. "Now that is what i call fireworks, thanks Gordon." Alyx smiled at you, you didn't return it.
That was too easy.
Suddenly, a changeling appeared from one of the alleys. The difference was that this changeling must have been 15 times larger than a regular one.
Speak of the devil, a quite ugly devil...
The changeling roared and moved out on the plaza, you didn't even think twice before emptying the OSIPR on it. The shots just pinged of the creature's thick chitin without even denting it. The OSIPR clicked empty, you drew the SMG and unloaded the entire clip as well as the grenades in the side of the changeling. Angered by the explosives, the giant changeling spat a green glob at you. You rolled away and heard the street behind you fizzle as the corrosive goo impacted on it. A small splatter of the goo hit your suit and you heard it drip off from the plating.
*WARNING* "Hazardous chemicals detected." The soft voice said, you rolled away from a green flame coming from the changeling's horn. You drew the shotgun and took aim at the changeling's wings, it roared in rage and pain as they were ripped to shreds from the shells.
The Changeling charged at you and headbutted you, you flew across the plaza and crashed through a house. “Internal bleeding detected. Automatic medical systems engaged.” the suit said as you coughed up a little blood and a small crimson glob.
I hope that wasn’t important.
You slowly rose, the Changeling had turned away from you. You drew a grenade and threw it across the plaza, the explosion gave you enough time to run over to Alyx on the other side of the plaza.
“You okay Gordon?" Alyx asked, concern was filling her voice. You nodded and winced slightly, at least one rib was broken. The changeling turned around when it heard Alyx's voice, it roared at you before an emerald flame engulfed it's horn. You quickly drew the crossbow and fired a bolt into each eye, they burrowed themselves deep into the blue globes and caused the changeling to go completely insane. You threw in Alyx behind a rock as the now blinded changeling began to scorch everything around it with flames from it's horn. *WARNING* "Extreme heat damage detected." The suit said as the flames flushed over your body.
No shit HEVlock! Do you think i'm retarded or something?
You saw the counter on the suit power drop to 26% as you threw yourself away from the flames and in behind the rock Alyx was crouching behind. "You sure we can take it down?" Alyx yelled, it was hard to hear her over the roaring fire. You nodded and threw a grenade at the other end of the plaza, the explosion caused the changeling to redirect it’s attention away from you. You jumped out with the RPG and fired a rocket, you redirected it so that it impacted on the changelings horn.
*CRACK*
The horn cracked and unstable energy began to erupt from it, it exploded in a large wave of heat, knocking over you and Alyx, as well as completely knocking out the changeling. The changeling slowly got on it’s feet, howling in rage. It heard you as you fired at it with the Magnum and you saw it open it’s mouth and prepare some corrosive goo to spit at you. You felt the world around you slow down, all sounds were muffled. You took a grenade in your mouth. The mouth of the changeling was wide open and you threw yourself towards it, you flew into the mouth and right into the stomach of the changeling. *WARNING* “Hazardous chemicals detected, immediate user evacuation recommended.”
I’m on it!
You ignored the continued warnings from the suit and pulled the pin from the grenade. You spat it out of your mouth and curled into a ball so that an armored part of the suit faced the grenade and waited for the explosion.
*BOOOOM*
You were flung away from the explosion, everything around you got covered in a layer of green changeling intestines. You rose and met Alyx’s relieved face. Luna and Twilight was looking at you from within the station, Twilight was watching in awe. You wiped off some goo from your glasses and walked into the station, Time was standing with his glowing green stick and was moving it across the controls of one of the trains. It was a freight train. The train started to hum as the engine came alive. "Aha! Ahem... The train to Canterlot will be departing shortly. Actually, if you all are aboard, I would like to leave now." Time gestured to you and Alyx to get in the train, you went aboard and took a seat opposite of the entrance, next to Luna. You brought up your blackboard and started writing. "Luna, sorry for what I did against your sister. It was inexcusable. Anyway, who were those soldiers at the station?" Luna read your excuse and your question. "I can't accept your excuse, the reason that you are yet unpunished is the fact that I need your help with repelling the changelings. As for the soldiers, I do not know... Celestia's guards wear golden armor and mine wear dark purple armor, I fear that something has happened at the castle." The train rocked slightly as it started to move. You could feel the tension between Luna and yourself, it was understandable though, you had almost killed her sister in cold blood.
The train started to slow down, you felt that the ride had felt much longer than it had actually been. “Okay, we will shortly arrive at Canterlot Train station. Everypony ready? I think I know what we're up against.” Time Turner walked into the wagon and sat down next to you. You reloaded your SMG an extra time just to be sure, you had no idea of how many enemies you would have to face. The train slowed down to a complete stop, you walked up to the door and slowly pulled it open. You were staring into the faceplate of one of those armored cryo-ponies.
Oh but for Sandy’s sake...
The cryo-pony’s horn powered up with a white glow, the white glow showered over you and everyone inside the wagon. You felt everything go incredibly cold before blacking out.
“Careful when you thaw them! The commander wants them alive!” The barking voice was hard to hear because of how groggy you felt. You could feel how your body went numb again after the cryo-freezing. You allowed yourself to slip back into unconsciousness.
"Oh, you are awake. Perfect! Harmonykeepers, dismissed." You heard a new voice, it was warm and friendly, yet commanding and calculating. It was the kind of voice you expected a good politician to have. You opened your eyes, you were strapped to a wall in some sort of holder, it reminded you of the one that had given you a tour of the Combine Citadel. "Nnngh, wh-who are y-you?" You heard Luna’s voice next to you, she sounded just as dazed as you. "Oh, hello Your Highness. Have I not introduced myself? I'm sorry, I should have known better. My name is Future Tech."
