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The information inside is public. I want my people to hear
about what happened while I was gone that period of time...
I apologize for not being here for you.
I apologize for hurting you.
I apologize for the wrong I have done.
But I am a new man now. One that can fully meet the needs
of his people.
I am whole.
EGO vadum gero is
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Prologue.mem (755.8 MB)
FIMFICTION VERSION BELOW
Being the leader of an empire is difficult. Being the leader of said empire while being actively hated, feared, or shunned by a great deal of the populace is even more so. Dorian had filled this role for many years, gaining experience, power, and even some satisfaction at his work.
But not love.
He was never good at winning the hearts and minds of the people he lead. His soulless silver eyes, lack of emotion, and place in life each giving him a slight disadvantage, but when you added his past life... it sealed his fate. No one would act normal around him because of his power and his past. It was neigh impossible to gain a friend, let alone think about dating.
In the end, he had given up on the idea of love in any form, and focused solely on his duties as the defender of his country. His people deserved to be safe from fear of invasion. Dorian looked at the screen, the light reflecting off of his armor. He had been eager to go on a field mission with the newest ship in the fleet, sporting a prototype warp drive and a qualified crew. The mission was simple. Establish a forward operating base in a T1 planet. Smooth sailing. A little too smooth for him, but his security wouldn't allow anything more strenuous. Understandable, due to the peoples current thoughts of him.
“I wish it didn’t have to be this way.” He muttered, his emotions catching up to him for a split second. A glimmer of sorrow entering his silver eyes.
A small chime emitted from the ceiling.
“Warp drive first ignition sequence activating.” A robotic voice stated.
“What? It’s still being repaired!” A muffled voice came from outside the entrance to the room he was in.
Dorian sighed.
“It’s never a simple trip, is it?”
Fluttershy found herself in a pitch black room, oppressive grey walls intimidating her. She was the most colorful thing in the room, her butter-yellow coat and light pink mane emitting vitality. Being a Pegasus pony, she wasn’t that large, reaching only three and a half feet tall when standing on her four hooves.
“H-Hello?” She hesitantly asked the darkness with her timid tone of voice, her head turning left to right in an attempt to find life.
“Be quiet and listen.” A stern, female voice echoed off the walls.
Uttering a small squeak in fright, Fluttershy cowered in the middle of the room, her body shivering in fright, and the eye not covered by her pink mane tracing the walls of the room.
“Someone wants to hurt you.” The voice spoke once more.
“W-w-why?”
“It does not matter. Listen.”
It paused, leaving the room empty of sound before starting again.
“He is a monster, a murderer, torturer, and a force of evil. He will hurt you and your friends... if you let him.”
Fluttershy remained silent. She had stopped her shivering, and grew more attentive, taking in the gravity of the situation before her.
“He himself has killed thousands of people. He has grown powerful through dark ways, shifting power towards him, disregarding who he kills.”
The shadows shifted, and a figure appeared out of the shadows, it stood on its hind legs, almost twice as tall as Fluttershy. Grey soulless eyes peered at her as the figure’s pale face contorted into a cruel sneer.
“W-what do we do?”
The figure dissolved at her words, rushing back into the shadows from whence it came.
“Be prepared.”
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Equestria was alien to me.
Others were joyous, I was suspicious.
People relaxed, I searched for the monster.
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DR: Worlds Away.mem (1344 MB)
FIMFICTION VERSION BELOW
Author’s Note:
Hey guys! First time fanfic writing and I am positively excited! I thank you all for your support and help with my writing, and I hope I am able to write something that you will enjoy reading. If you haven’t noticed, there is a “technical sheet” up. Not much else to say here, so without further delay:
Dorian’s Redemption
Worlds Away
The Everfree Forest was going about its nightly cycle, the ecosystem maintaining itself even through the night. A soft ambient song of rustles, chitters, and growls resonating through the trees. The sounds of the forest were suddenly interrupted by a sudden explosion deep within the forest.
The forest grew silent for but a moment, then began to emit its cacophony once more.
A certain purple unicorn stared into the trees.
Dorian found himself in a white room, completely square. He gazed over at the door, and read the faint black writing. “Subject E...” he slowly mouthed. Then it hit him.
I’M STILL IN THE LAB.
He attempted to get up and find a way out, but he found himself bound onto a table with steel cords. He struggled against the steel and the rising panic inside of him.
“HELP ME!” He screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Well, looks like we’ve got a screamer, don’t we?” A young woman cooed as she walked slowly around the table, and into his vision.
“What the heck are you doing?” He managed to spit out, his panic and heart rate still rising.
“Im conducting a test, what does it look like?” She smoothly replied, casually running her hands through her hair.
“What... *GASP* did you give me?” The chemical played havoc with his breathing
“A new experimental neurotoxin, why?” Her sickly sweet voice never breaking tune.
“*GASP* Urh, auh, *GASP* STOP IT!” Dorian barely managed to yell.
“Oh, you mean, the antidote?” The woman innocently asked as she waved a needle.
“YES YES YE-GHTGHS” Dorian stopped breathing, his throat refusing to co-operate.
“Okay then!” She said as the needle plunged into his arm.
Dorian felt his throat muscles relax, allowing him to breath once more.
“Oopsie.”
He stared at her, nervous.
“What do you mean by ‘oopsie’?”
“I think I mixed the antidote with the experimental hallucinogen. Or did I mix it with the virus? Hmm...” Her face twisted in mock concern.
“You...” Dorian’s face darkened, anger accompanying his fear.
“I like having fun with my job, it lightens the mood up!”
“Your idea of fun isn't my idea of fun, you sick sadistic MONSTER.”
“I guess I’ll just have to have even MORE fun with my job in order to make up for you then!” She said cheerfully as she pulled out a serrated knife.
“STAY AWAY FROM ME.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t hear you clearly. Did you say ‘please cut my throat’? Okay then!” Her face contorted in the macabre imitation of a smile.
“OH GOD SOMEONE HELP-”
The knife plunged into his neck.
!SYSTEM ALERT!
BIEIM://Mental Status: CRITICAL
BIEIM://Activating Stabilizer.
T-Minus 5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
VREEEEEEEEE-WHAM!
The world came into focus as his eyes opened. Dorian merely froze in shock for a few seconds, color rushing back into his sweat covered face.
“What the hell happened?” A gruff, deep voice questioned.
“The drive got screwy. Someone forgot it was being worked on.” Another voice answered. This one obviously female.
“Great, we get screwed over by some moron who forgot about the damn repairman.” A final voice muttered.
Dorian winced in pain as a massive headache tore through him, disorienting him.
“Who’s with me?” he cautiously questioned, looking at the three soldiers sitting with him.
“Oh, you're up sir!” The third person exclaimed. “Um, I'm Specialist Newton, that’s Sergeant Brown,” He pointed to the first man. “And that’s Specialist Ivring.” He pointed to the female.
“Okay, whats our situation, Sergeant?”
“We have no idea where we are, and we are stranded indefinitely on this planet with no current way of contacting friendly forces.” Brown grimly stated.
“Alright then, lets get used to our surroundings.”
Dorian finally took a good look around him. It was a typical forest, not unlike one you would find on Earth. The leaves were a lush dark green, and the bark a rich brown. The dirt was also a healthy brown color, except for the scorched parts, where the... craft had landed. The sky was a nice shade of blue, and the sun was directly overhead.
The thing they had landed with appeared to be a chunk of the ship. He saw 2 floors above ground, and judging by what else he saw, 1 floor below ground level. It looked like it would hold. For now.
Dorian thought to himself for a moment, his brain calculating the plan that would fit this situation; the processors working hard to compensate for his brain, which was still jarred from the crash. He couldn’t focus properly, which meant energy manipulation was out of the question. He would have to do this manually.
“Alright, I'm going to find out what exactly is out there.” He finally spoke. “Sergeant, establish a defensive perimeter, and list our resources.”
“Yes sir.”
BIEIM://Activating Adaptive Camouflage System.
BIEIM://Activating Recon-4 Sensory System.
BIEIM://Activating Recon-4 Automatic Routefinder.
BIEIM://Setting RIIM to AUTOMATIC.
Dorian un-slung his rifle, and disappeared into the woods, sprinting through effortlessly. His armor automatically adjusted its camouflage to its surroundings, making him nearly invisible.
Twilight Sparkle is not an average pony.
She was the personal pupil of Princess Celestia, an Alicorn who ruled Equestria, and arguably the most powerful being on the planet. No pony on the planet could hope to challenge her, except for maybe Princess Luna, her sister.
Twilight was also very powerful. Being a unicorn, she had magic. But she was much more adept at magic than most unicorns, and constantly improved.
She was the owner of the library in the town she lived in and as a result, had gained considerable knowledge.
None of which would prepare her for what she would find, of course.
“What was that?” She asked herself, in awe of the energy that initially rippled from the site of the flash.
“I dunno Twilight, maybe its a meteor or something.” Her helpful dragon assistant Spike suggested.
“Don’t be silly Spike, there was no tail! It’s... strange.” Twilight turned from the window and put a hoof to her chin while she pondered.
She finally put her hoof on the wooden floor. She had to inform Celestia.
“Spike, take a letter.”
“On it!” He took a quill and sheet of paper from a desk, and was about to say that he was ready, when he burped up a letter from the Princess herself. He cleared his throat and began to read.
'To my faithful student,
I noticed a sudden burst of energy emanating from the Everfree forest. I want you to go investigate the source of this disturbance and report your findings to me. Be careful though, there appears to be a source of intense magical energy moving through the forest. It doesn't decrease my confidence in your ability and your skill however, and I am more than confident that you can handle this. Take somepony with you when you leave, I suggest someone who knows the forest more
Princess Celestia'
“Huh, that’s weird. She responded to this really fast.” Spike said.
“It doesn't matter. We’ll leave in the morning, it’s too dangerous at night.” Twilight replied firmly, hiding the fact that she was rather scared of the forest in any light.
Spike yawned in reply, and trudged off to bed, mumbling only a “goodnight” before going to sleep.
Twilight turned to look through the window one last time, before going to bed as well. Her mind pondering what lay in the forest.
Dorian stopped for a moment, seeing the edge of the forest in sight.
“Can you hear me?” He spoke into his communication unit that was nestled in his helmet.
“Affirmative.”
“I’ve reached what appears to be the edge of this forest, have you made any progress?”
“Yes sir. We have only some computer terminals with blueprints in them, your computer in the quarters, an’ a storage room with some weapons, ammo, bots, and some engineering stuff.” Sergeant Brown’s voice rumbled through his helmet. “As for the defences, we got a few sentries set up, along with some cams.”
“Any food?” Dorian said as he crept towards the edge of the forest, stopping prone at a bush to rest for a second.
“No sir. We’ll need to find food here.”
“Okay, hold on the food for now, we don’t know what’s poisonous or not. I’m going to try to find some natives that could help us with that. Continue to secure the area and hold your position there.
“Affirmative.”
Dorian focused on the bush ahead of him, almost right on the edge of the forest.
BIEIM:// Primary Objective: Attempt to find intelligent native populace while maintaining stealth. Secondary Objective: Gather intelligence successfully while maintaining stealth.
BIEIM:// ::KSPM:: STN-PR MODE-STE ACT-MOV[12OC,3m,LCR]|STN-CR END
His movement plotted out, he crawled as quietly as possible to the bush, and slowly moved into a crouch. He began slowly sweeping the landscape, keeping his rifle steady.
What looked like a 17th century village covered in technicolor paint was spread out before him, not farther than 200 meters.
He increased the magnification of his scope, and tried to find the inhabitants of this strange land.
He saw what appeared to be horses moving through the town, doing various activities.
All I can see are horses so far. No other animals in town.
He continued to look for an intelligent species, but found nothing but the horses.
No people? No intelligent species? He said, growing a little confused. “What happened to the-”
Then, it hit him.
The horses ARE the intelligent species.
He zoomed even closer, making out the distinct details of the horses. They had large eyes and colorful coats that went through every range of the spectrum. It looked like something from a fairy tale. Furthermore, pretty much everyone in the town seemed to be happy. He had soon stared at the town for 2 hours, catching every detail visible to him. Not a single mugging in the streets, a fight, heck, there had not even been more than 3 arguments in the time he had-
“I’m going to get diabetes if we keep looking at it.”
He turned to his side, and noticed a person who looked like him (albeit in a drill sergeant’s uniform staring at the town with a sour expression on his face.
“You don’t really have a choice, Determination.” Dorian went back to scouting the town. “You’re one of my Fractures, after all.”
BIEIM:// Test complete. Negative for concussion. Negative for diabetes. Negative for insanity.
He was about to plan how to contact the natives without sparking panic when he felt an energy burst right in front of him.
Oh. Great.
A purple Unicorn, a yellow Pegasus, and a large lizard appeared right in front of him.
“The energy source is right here!” The purple Unicorn exclaimed.
They speak English. What are the chances?
BIEIM:// Calculations estimate there is 1 in 1 googol of a chance that a undiscovered intelligent species will speak the English language.
“What, where? I don’t see anything.” The lizard piped up.
The yellow Pegasus was almost inaudible. “A-are you sure this is safe?.”
Dorian carefully considered his options, and made a decision.
BIEIM:// Primary Objective: *COMPLETE* Secondary Objective: *COMPLETE* Mission Success!
BIEIM:// Setting new objectives...
BIEIM:// Primary Objective: Gather intelligence from the native populace if possible. Secondary Objective: Investigate
BIEIM:// Deactivating Adaptive Camouflage System.
BIEIM:// ::KSPM:: MODE-CAS END
He slowly stood up from the bush and cleared his throat.
This yielded 3 interesting reactions.
The Pegasus’ pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks at the sight of him, and she flew off after uttering a shriek of terror.
The Unicorn’s jaw dropped as she stared wide-eyed at Dorian.
The lizard simply stood there, his eyes glazing over.
“Salutations, I am Dorian, Leader of a faraway empire known as Anicaria.” Dorian said.
Silence.
“I have accidentally stranded myself on your planet, and would like some assistance from you and your people. I apologize for this inconvenience, and promise to provide compensation for your aid.”
The purple Unicorn was the first to snap out of the fear that held her rooted to the ground.
“Um... hi.” She finally answered. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.”
Dorian nodded. “Good to meet you, Miss Sparkle.”
I can’t believe I’m asking for help from a purple Unicorn named “Twilight Sparkle.” Dorian said to himself.
I can’t believe I’m getting asked for help from some metal creature from some distant land. Twilight said to herself.
“Err, if you need help, then why don’t you come to my house with me?” She continued, carefully choosing her words. She didn’t know what the thing was capable of, and she didn’t want to offend it for various reasons.
“Lead the way, Miss Sparkle.”
“Please, call me Twilight.” She didn’t like being called “miss”, it made her feel slightly awkward.
She turned to Spike, who had finally snapped out of his trance.
“Twilight, how did I- AHHHHHHHHHH-MMPH!” Spike was interrupted mid-scream by Twilight’s hoof, which she had promptly shoved in his mouth.
“Spike, this is... Dorian. He needs our help, so he’s coming to the library with us.” she said, withdrawing her hoof.
“You live in a library?”
“Yes, with my dragon assistant Spike.” Twilight said.
“Uhhh... Hi?” Spike said to Dorian, staring at his face, or more accurately, where his face was covered by his helmet.
Dorian simply nodded.
“Alright, lets go!” Twilight’s horn lit up as she prepared for a spell.
“Wait, what are you-”
POOF!
Interlude 1: Audio Tape 1
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AUDIO TRANSCRIPT "OGRF03822CoLog2/24/2200"
START 11:30:22
Woman1: I have a bad feeling about what we're doing here, Charles.
Man1: If you can't handle making money, then you can resign.
Woman1: It's not that, I just think we are creating something we can't control.
Man1: Candice, don't worry about a thing. It's impossible to break out. The last time someone tried to, they got blown to bits by security.
11:38:32
*Heavy breathing, cursing. Unidentified source.*
Man1: We have a security breach on main street. Be advised.
Woman1: What subject?
*Pause.*
11:40:10
Man1: Subject E.
Woman1: *Curses* Alert all the security personnel. We cant let it escape. It will be almost impossible track it then.
Man1: I don't think IT needs that much, a patrol should take it down.
Woman1: You shouldn't underestimate IT Charles. We've invested a lot of money and time into that thing.
*Dull thud*
Man2: GAAAAH!
*Gunshots, Pistol*
SubE: *Laughter*
Man3: WHAT IS THAT THING?
Man4: Shoot it!
Man1: Alright. ALL SECURITY PERSONNEL, THERE IS A BREACH ON MAIN STREET. ALL AVAILABLE GUARDS ARE TO CIRCUMVENT THE SUBJECT IN QUESTION.
11:42:00
*Gunshots, Small Arms*
Man8: It's grabbed me! HEL-
*Splatters, cursing*
Man3: I see it!
Man5: I'm in pursuit.
*More Small Arms Fire, screams and thuds.*
Woman2: My squads dead, help me out here! It's reached sector C's far side.
*Boot steps*
11:48:38
Man3: We've got it cornered next to the window!
Man1: Hurry up and capture it before it can cause any more damage.
Man6: PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD AND LAY ON YOUR STOMACH. NOW.
SubE: *Laughter* I don't think so.
Man5: GET DOWN!
*Pause*
11:50:04
Man1: Hurry up and get it restrained, we have a schedule to follow.
Man6: Alright, surround it. NOW.
*Bootsteps*
SubE: I'll be back for you, Charles.
*Glass Shattering*
*Silence*
11:50:30
Man6: It... jumped out the window sir.
Man1: Well, it's as good as dead. As you were. Other people will handle the rest.
*Boot Steps, unintelligible mutterings*
11:53:11
Woman1: Well?
Man1: Well what?
Woman1: What are you going to do about this?
Man1: I'll send a few repairmen to replace the glass and sweep up the place.
Woman1: What about subject E?
Man1: Hah, it was just a cog in the machine. I can easily replace it with another.
Woman1: Who do you have in mind?
Man1: What about that cheeky little assistant?
Woman1: The girl that attended to him between treatments?
Man1: Yes, she's about the same age, and in fact, we might be able to replicate the results we got with him.
Woman1: You really think so?
*Silence*
Man1: Worth a shot. Prep her for treatment right away.
END 11:55:14
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