Blacklight Retribution: Stranger on a Stranger World

“So the city behind that field is the crystal empire?”

“Yes, and Celestia gave me a key spell to let us in,” Ditto responded.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” he shrugged, “Time’s a wastin’!”

“We need to wait for that group to pass,” Ditto started, “Let’s hope they forget to come back to check on you.”

“Yeah,” he responded lightly.

Five minutes, five minutes became ten as the group was getting their shit together, especially the white one. It was getting Freddie angered annoyed.

“Why does she grab all that winter gear, it’s not lik-”

“Shut up!” Ditto hissed at Freddie, “Somepony’s coming, hide!”

Freddie, being the lazy one, just activates cloak while giving her a smug look before he was sure the cloaking ability covered his face. The chittering was in a somewhat soundproof train car, so hopefully the pony didn’t hear it.

He approached the cargo hold, which was basically behind the car they were at.

Freddie decided to follow him.

The stallion arrived and looked for his box. After some rummaging, he found it. As he opened it, he was just as surprised as Freddie to see the contents inside.

A machete, looking too much like the one Freddie gave to... Ondra.

He just noticed that the helmet that was on him looked like... HRV, nightvision would look like you could see directly through it without operation.

“No way,” he thought to himself, as he ended up getting lost in what he was deducting, “Either I was not alive to witness the explosion... Or.”

He got himself lost to what we was deducting next, the mission was a failure. The human race depended on them to complete it... And they failed, the chain of command said there was no better choice than their team, he believed it as soon as he got word that The Order were hunting down high value allies and they were the underdogs.

They were no ordinary underdogs, weren’t they? The break through a facility that housed both militia and infected. They had cut the infected loose to the militia, they lost Tanny to that bravado. The Order had succumb to hiring younger individuals to their task, they lost Raven to a little girl that lost herself in the augmentations that went about in making the younger individuals ‘more effective’; the little girl had an extreme interest in autopsy, whether she had to get her subjects by force or scavenging. Nonetheless, Freddie thought he had the obligation to get back to Earth to recover what was left, in hopes of fixing what was broken.

He didn’t notice the stallion leaving the cargo hold until the door made an audible shut.

Freddie was staring at the doors that opened for that stallion to exit as he confirmed his deduction... It was Ondra, in this world; and he could be the answer to why they are in this world and how they are going to get back.

He uncloaked at he was approaching the doors, until Ditto stopped him.

“What are you doing?” she raised a brow, “He made enough distance.”

“I need to talk to him,” he said calmly.

“Why?”

“For stuff, Ditto,” he continued, “THINGS!”

“That is the last time you say that to me,” she approached with certain hostility, “Now tell me why you have to compromise my mission.”

“You’re supposed to remain anonymous to these ponies you watch over?”

With a firm nod, Freddie sighed in disappointment, “When are we supposed to intervene?”

“When something goes wrong,” she stated flatly.

He took a good look at the changeling.

“I really hope shit hits the fan,” he thought to himself.

“I think they’re gone,” he looks through the crack of the door, “Let’s hoof it.”

Freddie smiled at HIS use of the phrase.

***

On Snow

***

“How much longer? I’m freezing my ass off!” Freddie called out to Ditto.

She turned her head as they walked through the bitter winds, “Not too long, as long as we don’t run into any trouble!”

“Don’t jinx it!”

“What?”

“I SAID-”

A roar had interrupted what he was about to repeat.

“YOU DUMB BITCH!”

“Let’s GO!”

A black cloud had started forming, and Freddie was the first to notice.

“Is that supposed to be there?” it was a dumb question, but it was enough to get Ditto to actually take a look.

Upon seeing the cloud, Ditto became more frantic, “RUN!”

“What the fuck do you think I’m doin’?!” he yelled back, at the same time running with all his might. The yelling taking some fight out of him.

The running was relentless, so was that cloud it was fast. But Freddie only hoped, HOPED, that he was faster.

Ditto took another look behind her while running and her expression almost made Freddie lost hope of outrunning the cloud.

“What’s wrong?” he huffed, as Ditto only continued to run with the back of her head facing the front.

“STRANGER!” she slowed as Freddie’s peripheral vision was deteriorating into the darkness of the cloud.

As Freddie was noticing what was going on, he slowed slowly to a complete stop. Ragged breathing could only get this much out of him.

“Shit,” he huffed.

“It seems we have another visitor,” an ominous voice called out.

Freddie continued breathing, trying to return to normal pace.

“Where did you come from? Perhaps you are a friend of his,”

He swallowed sticky saliva, it was enough moisture to start talking.

“Who’s he?” Freddie asked, assuming the darkness expects him to answer that way.

“You don’t know?” a slight chuckled elicited from the darkness, “You will see soon enough.”

Silence, a lengthy silence.

“Answer me!” he called out.

Cold bitter winds of the north were coming back as he heard it whistling.

“Oh thank go-AAAAAGGGGHHHH,” the winds were becoming more sharp and were starting to get lethal.

He needed to run, so he ran, doing so meant his life. Stopping would let the winds finish him, running would let him live with - at most - flesh wounds.

“You think this will stop me? HUH?!” he taunted the darkness as the winds continued cutting him all over.

“This will not be the end of me,” he repeated in his own head, “This will not be the end of me.”

Winds were not stopping, he had to go faster. He had a lot of close calls, but this was the kind he could tell that if he didn’t haul ass, he would die... A second, painful time.

“THIS WILL NOT BE THE END OF ME!” he bellowed and ran with all his might, his anger filling his energy. There came an opening, a blue light that came from him was opening a path. Those lights came from his eyes? The rest of his body is black...

Running towards his freedom, his last move was doing an equine jump then pulling his body together to prepare a roll throw the cold soft snow. He gave a grunt in slight pain as he made his epic escape from the darkness. He looked around to be faced with an awestruck Ditto.

“How did you escape?” she started, “And made that cloud go away?!”

The cloud did go away, Freddie chuckled at his luck, “I guess I really am no ordinary changeling.”

Ditto only rolled her eyes at how seriously Freddie took this situation, “You almost lost yourself in that, and all you do is laugh?”

“Laughter is the best medicine,” he remarked, and before Ditto could protest, “And you best let that be MY best medicine.”

Ditto opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Laughter was going to HAVE to be his best medicine. She groaned in annoyance at her partner.

“How close are we now?”

“We’re right at the wall,” Ditto then charged her horn, aiming at the field.

“This field,” Freddie started, “Is that what this thing is keeping that cloud away?”

Ditto nodded as she was finalizing the spell.

“How are you holding up?” she asked with a hint of worry.

He scoffed at the question, “Oh these? ‘Tis but a flesh wound.”

They certainly were, they were bleeding and continuing to blood.

“I’m fine, bitch, just,” there was that irritation, the irritation of being parented, “please get us inside.”

She had a slightly broken hearted look, luckily Freddie took notice.

“I’m sorry, okay?” he sighed, “I’m just... I almost got killed and I really, really want to be somewhere safe. For at least five hours.”

“I understand,” she looked back at her work, “It’s done, we’re in.”

“Alright,” he huffed, shrugging the blood out, the slight pains of his first encounter with dark magic, “Let’s get this foal sitting done.”

"You ready?" Ditto asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," the subordinate responded.

"You need to be serious about this," she glared, "You're very important to me, you're another changeling that is not attached to any queen, don't you feel anything about that?"

He shrugged, "I can care less, let's just get to him. If he's my friend, he might know something about how we BOTH got here."

Ditto knew he was talking about him and that strange Pegasus.

"If this friend of yours really knows you, then you need to act quick about it," Ditto sighed, “What made him significant among the crowd besides his wings?”

He shrugged, "I don't know, I just notice something chemically interesting about him if that makes any sense."

Ditto groaned, "Please don't tell me you have a thing about stallions."

"NO! I'm not HOMOSEXUAL! That's sick, that's just rude!"

Ditto chuckled, "Now that was funny."

She looked into the landscape that was completely different from the bitter north, "We'll shall we?"

"Ladies first," he mocked.

"Lady? You must be thinking of someone else, Stranger..."

***

Moments Later

***

“What’s with these pony’s?” he remarked, “They don’t even respond to us, I’m more normal looking than you for that matter.”

He laughed heartily at that last part, Ditto took no offense and shrugged at his question.

“How should I know? I was only given orders to protect,”

“Ah, you’re no help,” he chuckled, “Do you even know where they are?”

She tapped her hoof, Freddie took this as cluelessness

He chuckled, “You don’t even know where they are, huh?”

Ditto glared at the changeling who burst out in laughter, “We’ll find them, I just need to blend in, these ponies are not normal.”

“Well how about you turn invisible like me?” Freddie suggested.

Ditto placed a dead-panned look on her face, “I can’t, you’re not a regular changeling remember?”

“Yeah,” he sighed with a bit of pride, “Find a way to blend in, I should be able to see under your disguise since... You know? You’re a fellow changeling.”

“We don’t have the same signature,” she stated flatly, Freddie tilted his head.

“Look, Stranger,” she paused, “we’re really going to need to change your name.”

“Just call me Freddie,” he dismissed with a hoof.

Ditto shrugged, “Fine, we-”

“I’ll walk around this place invisible,” digital chittering spreading all over his body as he spoke, “You find out a way, I’ll help you protect these ponies. Give me a significant signal for me to go back to you, I’m sure you’ll figure that one out.”

The last word ended with no mouth.

“That’s,” Ditto trailed off, “Actually not a bad idea.”

There was silence.

“Freddie?” she was building up an irritated face, “You left me.”

She sighed and placed a brown cloak - the cloak of cloth - and started her way to ‘figure’ this shit out.

***

Ondra’s Fall

***

Darkness... Again.

“Whoever’s doin’ that, it’s gettin’ old and you know it,” he called out what ever was causing his predicament; he hung his head down in defeat, “I’m dead aren’t I?”

“No,” a simple and echoing voice breathed through the dark.

“Who’s there?” he asked simply, there was no point in fighting. He lost.

“Follow the light,” it ignored his question, a said light emitting ahead. Ondra decided to walk towards it.

Upon reaching it, he could hear distinct noises of child’s laughter and clanging of plastics and random metals.

The light was bright, but Ondra decided not to go slowly. It took some time to register the new environment but before he could.

“ONDRA!” a girl’s voice beamed... Sarah.

“Sarah?”

“ONDRA! You’re here!” an embrace caught him off guard, he decided not to push the embrace back, because he certainly was tired of pushing back these hallucinations, “How?”

“I died,” he replied flatly, hoping that the hallucination would take the hint to kindly fuck right off.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy to see your sister?”

He kept a straight face staring right into Sarah’s pleading eyes. Ondra had seen a lot of things, bad things so he could certainly handle those eyes.

“You aren’t real,” he finally huffed, making Sarah pout.

“MOM!” she called out, “DAD! ONDRA’S HERE AND HE THINKS WE’RE FAKES!”

“Oh reelleh?” a female voice replied from a short distance. Internet slang... He hadn’t heard talking like that in a long time

“I’ll come right over,” a male voice followed. The next two people he saw were his mom and dad.

“How should I know that you three are real?” Ondra said firmly, keeping his stoic expression.

The three looked at each other and gave a disappointed nod.

“You don’t,” Sarah said, “Please believe us, we missed you.”

He sighed, he had enough of this. He was just going to have to embrace the fact that he had to live with these three, after all he had done; in earth, in Equestria. He lived a good life, he supposed.

“I have something to say,” another female voice cut in the silence... Linda.

“Poet?”

“Oh please don’t call me that, you know I can’t speak in rhymes to save my life,” she chuckled, and Ondra hung his head in shame.

“I should have taken the other hardsuit,” he huffed, Linda lifting his chin with soft knuckles.

“Chin up,” she gave a gentle smile, “You’re going to need it when you get back there.”

Ondra looked confused, “Back where?”

“I have someone who would want to speak to you,” she gestured to the darkness and out came a man... The same man who shot Linda.

“Well well well, we finally meet again,” he chuckled.

“Linda,” Ondra was losing it, “HE SHOT YOU.”

“For good reason,” Linda patiently replied, Ondra took the hint and stayed silent, only mumbling to himself, “It was to make you strong.”

“Strong?” he asked, he understood how losing a friend would make you mentally strong, but, “Why?”

“So you can protect the new world,” she sighed in relief that he understood, “Earth had gone too far in corruption. We had given up.”

“You wanted to get shot?” I asked with a deadpanned expression.

“Nah, it was pretty painful,” she shrugged, “Though I wish it was Stranger who got shot. He was a friend of your too, right?”

“That’s a twisted way of putting it,” Ondra chuckled at the hypothetical justification of which life had more value, “VERY twisted way.”

“I know,” she said, “This man would like to have some words with you, can you accept?”

Ondra shrugged, “What happened to earth?”

Linda closed her eyes and slowly shook her head, “I don’t know. But you and I know best that Earth has no hope. Resources have been drained, money doesn’t let us cooperate with each other, and the infection will take the rest of the world to start over.”

“You think the infected will evolve?” he asked with a hint of hope.

“Definitely not like us,” she sighed, “Still beasts with no intelligence, only following their hunger. They are never satisfied.”

Ondra could only bow his head solemnly at the closure that he REALLY failed his mission.

“Do you want to know what makes you special, Fredricks?” the man asked.

Ondra could only continue to look down blinking. And finally, he looked towards the man.

“You have gone through many obstacles that would deem any man broken to the point of no return. Or as you military say: FUBAR,”

Ondra chuckled at his use of FUBAR, “What are you going to do to me?”

He looked at Linda then, “You’re going back. To Equestria.”

He sighed in response, “I understand.”

“Just keep in mind you are dead,” the man remarked, “I gave you something tht would be a fail safe to that.”

“Revive? I thought I was going back in a different body or something,” Ondra tiled his head.

“Oh no, don’t worry about that. Your friend just has to come to you, he knows what to do,”

“Friend? Another agent?” that last question thrown towards Linda, who nodded in response.

It took some time to register, and Ondra groaned after a pause, “It’s Freddie, isn’t it?”

Linda couldn’t stifle a giggle at his deduction, “Yes.”

“Can I say good bye to my family first?” he requested, “You know, before I leave them again?”

The two looked at each other and gave him a nod, “Five minutes tops.”

Ondra smiled, “I only need two.”

It was getting to his mind that: what if this is his real family. Either way he couldn’t just leave anyone without saying goodbye would he? It was his best chance at really letting go of the past. Letting go of what happened before, during, and after his life was taken away from him.

Walking towards his family, Sarah was the first to notice and started her way towards him with a smile of a child.

“So what happened? Are you staying? With us?!” she was excited for the answer, this hurt Ondra because it really sounded like Sarah... And he was leaving her and his family.

He solemnly shook his head, “I still got to kick bad guy butt.”

Sarah ‘oh’d and she looked like she understood completely, she was welling up tears.

She reached into her pocket and took something he hadn’t seen since he was in Equestria: The Chibi HRV.

She handed it over to Ondra and gave a smile while trying to hold back sobbing, “Something to remember me by?” she pleaded.

The voice was genuine, this was his real family. The more he heard that voice the harder it was to leave and help the ones who needed it most, he gave a soft chuckle and lightly took the chibi, “Something to remember you by.”

“Don’t forget, Ondra,” his mother started, “We’re here.”

“And it was never your fault,” his father added, “What happened to all of us. You need to let go.”

“I know dad,” he sighed, “I know.”

“Two minutes, Ondra! Or are you going to need the other three?”

“I’ll be right there, Linda!” Ondra felt a tugging at his arm.

“Can I get a last hug?” this was her last request, before her big brother takes his leave for another long time.

Ondra took a lengthy look at the pleading eyes and broke into light sobs, “Yeah.”

The hug, it no longer mattered if the family was real or not, it felt right. It felt right and there was nothing that could change his mind.

“Thank you,” she sighed.

They broke embrace with some tears streaming down their cheeks, tears full of hope, of Dreams.

“Well? Thirty seconds la-”

“Just get me back,”

“I will warn you,” the man spoke, “It will be quite painful coming back to life; as you would imagine, you’re coming back to life, and this magic spell was difficult because it actually needed chemical conduits to conduct.”

“I get it,” he looked back at his family that was standing there, taking in every detail of their boy leaving them for another long period of time. They even started waving goodbye, which made him turn forward. The more he looked at them, the more difficult it was to leaving them.

“You will go through some transformation, nothing serious I assure you,” he continued.

“What Transformations?”

“You will see,” he replied, “But please take my word that it is nothing serious.”

Ondra huffed, “Fine.”

Linda placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, “You’ll be fine.”

“You’re always good with the hand to the shoulder thing.”

“You know you love it,” Linda teased, “Now make us proud.”

Ondra turned towards the man, “How is it supposed to start?”

“Oh another anomaly; not of the new world, must be in close proximity with you to activate the chemical to conduct the magic spell I placed.”

“Magic,” he sighed with a slow, humored shake of his head, “So cliche.”

“How do you think I felt when I was making the spell?” he gave a sheepish grin.

“What’s your name anyway?” he asked the man, “You shot her, so I think I’m at least entitled to know it.”

“Hmm,” he hummed in response, “Just call me Surrogate.”

“Fine don’t tell me your name then, jeez,” he chuckled.

“It’s better than calling me: the man who shot your best friend, right?”

Ondra took a distasteful look at him.

Surrogate made another sheepish grin, “Too soon.”

He narrowed his eyes as he shook his head disappointedly at him.

A light began appearing above them.

“Oh that must be him!” he beamed like a mad scientist on a verge of a breakthrough.

“How will this work?”

“Like rapture!” he squealed excitedly, “Good luck.”

Ondra was getting lifted, from the ground, without doing anything.

Reaching the light above, he noticed it was a ring of fire.

“Oh SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII,” he trailed off in an echoed scream.