Rainbow Dash: Ponyville Assassinby sbloom85ChaptersSequence 1: CloudsdaleIntermission 1Sequence 2: PonyvilleIntermission 2Sequence 3: Ponyville 2Intermission 3Sequence 4: CanterlotSequence 5: Ponyville 3EpiloguePrologueSequence 1: CloudsdaleThe white screen faded and Silver Soldier was greeted with the presence of Rainbow Dash, a citizen of old Ponyville, the town's weather manager and was recently recruited into the Wonderbolts. Dash was just waking up and leaping off of her cloud. "She's got a nice ass." Silver Soldier commented, ignoring responses from Xander and FS. His wingboner was suppressed by the magic. The weather team decided to clear the sky of clouds and her bed was the first to go. Not long after she begins, Dash is accompanied by newly appointed princess Twilight Sparkle. "Good morning, Rainbow." She greeted. Silver Soldier didn't have a good look, so he rotates the camera to get that good look. "Oh shit! It's a winged Unicorn." He said openly. "So they did exist." He added to himself. Twilight and Dash cleared out the sky in record time. Twilight was aware of the Pegasi's rules about no magic and abided by them. After clearing the sky, the two approach the ground. Twilight lands while Dash hovered. "Thanks for the help, Twi. Now I'll be able to get to the training camp early." She said. "Would you like some company?" Twilight offered. "Thanks, Twi, but you've got your hooves full, remember?" Dash replied before taking off. The screen faded to white once again. The screen opened up to the Wonderbolts' training camp somewhere between Canterlot and Ponyville. Dash lands and approaches the captain of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire who was in her dress uniform. "You're here early today, Rainbow Dash." She noted. "Wow... were all Pegasi back then that hot?" Silver Soldier thought. Dash nodded. "Yeah. I had help clearing the skies in Ponyville, giving me enough time to relax before training." She explained. "Good." Spitfire flatly said. "Training won't start for another hour, so go ahead and make your rounds." Spitfire says before trotting away toward her office. The screen flickers and the camera shifts behind Dash. A popup message appears in the corner. "Speak to three Wonderbolt recruits and meet up with Spitfire." It read. Now was the opportune time for Silver Soldier to get acquainted with the flight mechanic. The first thing he did was figure out the ceiling for the current area. As he hit said ceiling, he rotated the camera downward and the training camp looked like a small island. He dove Dash and a gauge appeared underneath the health gauge which read 'Sonic Rainboom', followed by another popup. "Performing a Sonic Rainboom is simple: Fill up the Sonic Rainboom gauge-" which was pointed at, "by holding the accelerate button, change your trajectory to avoid impacting objects and press the action button when prompted." Yeah, performing it was simple, but he was more than halfway back to ground level and the gauge was only a third full and stalled. There was no way he could do it right now. He returns Dash to ground level and hovers her. "Had enough fun, Silver?" Xander queried, implying him to press on. Silver Soldier takes Dash to the first contact who went by the name "Snowflake", a buff Pegasus with small wings and big, red eyes and looked rabid as he was foaming at the mouth. "You ready to get started?" Dash asked. "YEAH!!" Snowflake replied. He took Dash to another Pegasus named "Cloudchaser", a fellow weather manager in Ponyville. Her presence was required a few days earlier, so Dash wasn't surprised to see her. "How's it going, Chaser?" Dash greeted her friend. "It's going. They had me running drills for the last couple of days. It was exhausting but I think I'm getting used to it." She replied. Dash patted Chaser on the shoulder and smiled. "Hang in there, we're almost through it." She assured Chaser. His last visit would be to Thunderlane. Dash cautiously approaches him as he's having a coughing fit. "You don't have the feather flu again, do you?" She asks suspiciously. "Not today." He says with a cough. "Water went down the wrong pipe. I'll be alright before training starts." Dash lets out a soft huff and nods. "Good." At this point, Dash was moving on her own and the screen flickers. The scene transitions to Spitfire's office. Dash enters and stands across from Spitfire. "Rainbow Dash. I'm glad you're here." She opens. "I'm afraid today's training session has been canceled." She continued. Dash raises an eyebrow. "Ma'am?" She aked. Spitfire got out of her chair and trotted to the door. The two leave the office and begin trotting to where the day's training session would begin. "It seems somepony infiltrated the Wonderbolts headquarters in Cloudsdale and made off with a pin we give to our new members." Dash steps up her trot to stand in front of Spitfire. "Ma'am, I'd like to help. I know the team better than the other recruits. If there's an imposter, I'll flush them out." Spitfire smiled and nodded. "Go ahead," she said, "but be careful when you confront the imposter. They knocked out the guards in that wing." She warned. Dash gave a salute and took off to Cloudsdale. The screen flickered once more and the camera shifted behind Dash. A minimap displays in the bottom right corner of the screen with a marked waypoint directly in front of the hovering Pegasus. A message appears on the left part of the screen and read "Make your way to Cloudsdale." Silver opens up the area map and notices several areas with the same Pegasus icon. "Those are viewpoints, Mister Soldier. You can use them to gain a better understanding of your surroundings. They may even open up side missions for you." Xander explained. "I don't suppose there's enough time for me to check one out, is there?" Silver asked. Xander chuckles. "Go ahead, Silver." He allowed. Silver marked a viewpoint and was on his way. He makes his way to the viewpoint and synchronizes with the area. As the camera slowly spins, he can see Ponyville's clock tower in the distance. Once the synch was completed, the map pops up and a part of the map reveals itself. The only side missions in the area were races and Silver knew he didn't have time for them, so he pressed on to Cloudsdale. Dash enters the city and Silver immediately notices a viewpoint. He moves Dash to it and synchs with it, revealing the entire Cloudsdale map. A marker indicating a primary mission was placed on top of what appeared to be an arena. That had to be the Wonderbolts' HQ. There were race markers as well, but his current focus was on the primary mission and he went to that marker. As he maneuvered Dash to the area, the device took control. There were some guards examining the crime scene. One stopped Dash. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but you're not allowed in here." The guard said. "Spitfire sent me to help investigate." She threw back. The guard shook his head. "I don't care if Celestia herself sent you." He said, pressuring Dash to leave. Another guard leaves the room with a bag containing a feather. The color was a lighter shade of Dash's own coat. She knew the color, but couldn't nail it down. Silver regained control of Dash. He decided to try to speak to the guard again. "Leave now or I'll have you escorted out of the building." He said harshly. Not wanting to press his luck, Silver left the building. He flew Dash to the roof and landed on an area looking over the city. He opens the map to see if any new missions popped up. In addition to the races, two investigation missions appeared, and both were eavesdropping missions. He marked the closest one and went to it. He approached the mission from above and locked onto two Pegasi who were at "ground" level and began the mission. "Somepony took a pin from the Wonderbolts' headquarters." One of them said. Both Silver and Dash knew this already. "Yeah. I heard that a light blue Pegasus came barreling out." The other said. The coat description matches that of the feather that was found. Was there anything else? "I hope they find who did it." The first said. This was going nowhere and Silver regained control of Dash. He marked the other mission and made his way to it. Silver comes in from above again and begins the mission. "I heard she got drummed out of the Wonderbolt Academy for being too reckless." One said. Dash's ears perked, this was starting to sound familiar to her. "It couldn't have been Rainbow Dash, she's still with them." The other added. "I know, but who could possibly be more reckless than her?" The first asked. Dash knew the answer to that. "I've got to find her." She said quietly to herself before shaking her head. A waypoint appeared. Silver opened the map and the marker was leading him outside of Cloudsdale. There was nothing else to do here, so he followed the marker. The marker led Silver and Dash back to the academy, where Dash was greeted by Spitfire. "Have you made any progress, Rainbow?" She asked. Dash nodded. "Yes. It sounds like Lightning Dust is the culprit, ma'am." Dash reported. "Ma'am, with your permission, I'd like to find her and bring her in." She added. Spitfire nodded. "Granted. Be careful." The screen flickered once more and faded. Silver found himself back in Cloudsdale. He opened the map and found a new mission. It was already marked so he made his way to it. Dash approached a light blue Pegasus with a dark blonde mane and tail and matching yellow eyes. She had a white lightning bolt and three stars as her cutie mark. "Lightning Dust." Dash said, surprising the other Pegasus. Dust looks over to Dash and grins menacingly. "You found me," she said, "but do you think you can catch me?" She asked before taking off. "DUST!!" Dash yells before beginning the chase. A popup appears reading, "Catch Lightning Dust before she escapes Cloudsdale. Use the high profile mode to fly faster." The popup disappears and the chase was on. It took Silver a few tries, but he managed to catch Dust and complete the mission. As he caught her, the two Pegasi tumble onto the ground. Dust drops the pin and it lands on the clouds in front of them. "What's so special about a stupid pin?" Dash asked. "It's more than just a pin, Dash. It's knowledge." Dust began explaining. "Whoever wears the pin is granted the knowledge of the Goddesses." She continued. Dash drags her and picks up the pin. "It doesn't look like it to me." She said with skepticism. "I'm taking you to Spitfire." She finished. The screen flickered once more and faded to white. Intermission 1The screen shuts down and slides open. "Is that it?" Silver asked, looking at Xander. "Hardly, Silver." Xander answered bluntly. "That was just the beginning. Time to get up." Silver complies and FS shuts the machine down. "I'll be back in a few hours." He tells Silver before looking at FS. "Take him to the gym, Miss Spirit and let him stretch his wings." He ordered. Xander left through one sliding door and Silver and FS leave through another. "Can I ask you something?" Silver asked. FS looks at him and nods. "Answer's probably obvious, but why do you keep my wings closed? It's not like I have any room to fly inside and you certainly won't let me out." It was the question that FS didn't want to hear, but it had to be asked sometime. "Xander ordered me to do it. Pure and simple answer is that the Griffons want to maintain control." She said. FS and Silver enter an enormous gym with an obstacle course on one side and various leveled structures on the other. "Where are you from, originally?" She finally asked, thinking he might've been born in Cloudsdale. "I don't know exactly, but I grew up in a community in the Badlands." He answered to the best of his knowledge. "They were always going on about their order had to fight the other and protect the lives of the other races." He added with a frustrated sigh. "I had no idea that the stories were true." FS placed a foreleg on Silver's shoulder. "I wish I could do more, but..." she says, firing up her horn to release Silver's wings, "all I can do for now is let you stretch your wings." She says. Silver flares open his wings and flutters them before lifting into the air. "Thanks. It's been a while since I did some flying." He says before taking on the obstacle course. After twenty minutes, Silver returned to FS and lands. "Stomach reminded me that I haven't ate anything yet today. Can you take me to the cafeteria?" He asked, closing his wings. FS nods and reactivates the spell before heading out of yet another sliding door. FS escorts Silver to the cafeteria. There were a lot of griffins in there, mixed in with some Diamond Dogs, Dragons, and Ponies. Silver was glad that there were other ponies, but at the same time he took no comfort into what they were doing to him and the others outside this facility. It was buffet style, so the food sucked, but it was better than nothing. Silver took some eggs which he figured out on day one that they were powdered, a couple of pancakes that were reheated and tasted like rubber, some cold hash browns a couple pieces of cold, soggy toast and a small glass of warm orange juice to wash the food down with. He couldn't stomach the food for the first couple of days, but he figured out a way. FS didn't take anything, good for her, she'll probably live longer than Silver. The two sit down at a small table, big enough for just the two of them. "I heard you were a baker at the doughnut shop." She said, hoping for some small talk before going back to whatever else Rainbow Dash had done in the past. Silver nodded. "Yeah. My folks taught me how to cook and bake." He said, munching on the toast. "Then I ran off to Canterlot. Biggest mistake of my life." He added, noticing the glares from the other employees. "What about you, Spirit? What brought you to these monsters?" He inquired. FS shifted in her seat. "I was studying neuroscience at Trottingham University. I wrote a thesis on what I had learned about genetic memory, but..." she trailed off. "The professors dismissed it and gave you the boot." Silver finished. FS nodded. "If only they were here right now." He said with a weak chuckle. He made FS smile as well. Silver finished his breakfast and the two trotted back to the gym. Silver had been flying around for the better part of an hour before Xander entered the gym. Silver took notice of this and landed next to him and FS. "I'm sorry for cutting this short, Silver, but my bosses demand that you go back into the machine." Xander said. Silver looks over to a forlorn FS who reactivates the binding spell on his wings. He knew the drill. Sequence 2: PonyvilleThe screen flickers back to the Wonderbolts' training grounds. Rainbow Dash presents Lightning Dust to Spitfire and hands her instructor the pin. The fiery Pegasus adjusts her sunglasses and lets out a low snort. "Last year you came here hoping to be recruited as a Wonderbolt, but your reckless behavior, reported by Rainbow Dash, got you kicked out." She said, pacing back and forth in front of the blue Pegasi. "They must have known about the artifact. I commend them for sending a Pegasus for direct infiltration. Your actions in Cloudsdale however, will not be overlooked." Dust kept her head down, knowing the end was coming. A blade appears from under Spitfire's foreleg and Dash was shocked to see this. "I wish there was another way, but your organization gives us no alternative." She says before stabbing Dust in the chest, piercing her heart. "May your next life bring you the peace you desire." She continues, closing the newly deceased Pegasus' eyes. "Holy crap! I didn't see that coming!" Silver thought upon witnessing the death of yet another hot mare. Spitfire's blade retracts back into her uniform. "You did exceptionally well, Rainbow Dash." She says, praising the recruit's performance. "I believe you have earned the right to carry one of these blades." She adds, detaching the blade from her leg and giving it to Dash, who was still shocked about the murder she witnessed. "I know you're confused. Please, follow me." The screen flickers and shifts behind Dash. "Follow Spitfire to her office." A popup displays. Silver moves Dash as instructed. "Rainbow, you must be wondering why I killed her." Well duh. "The organization she worked for has been trying to obtain the pin you delivered to me since before I became a Wonderbolt." She began explaining. "She said that it was knowledge. What did she mean by that?" Dash asked. Spitfire slowly nods. "I was just about to get to that." She answered. "The pin, when worn on a magically enchanted suit, like my uniform, will allow the wearer to access what ever information its creators stored into it. Medicine, technology, the list goes on." She continued, then they arrived at her office. The screen flickers into the office. The two Pegasi enter and sit down. "The pin's creators were none other than the winged Unicorns, or as many of us dub them, Alicorns." Spitfire added. Dash recalled an object Trixie had worn earlier that year. "The Alicorn Amulet." She finally said. Spitfire nods. "Yes. They designed and built the amulet, but had no idea about its need to feed on the wielder's spirit until King Sombra brought it to their attention in the worst possible way." She concluded. Dash was still unsure about how to make of all this new information. "What about Lightning Dust though? Did she need to die like that?" Dash asked. "Maybe not. If I had let her live and leave, she would've brought in reinforcements. Then again, she might have just gone about her own business, but I doubt that. The people she worked for don't let their own leave that easily. They would've killed her eventually." She answered grimly. "Some ponies call us assassins." Spitfire continued. "While the terminology is correct, their views on us are demonized by our enemies. They believe us to be indiscriminate murderers, but the truth is quite different." She finished. Dash nods. "It's becoming clearer." She seems to be getting a better understanding of the situation, but that doesn't mean she liked it. "What about the princesses? Couldn't they take better care of these artifacts?" She asked. Spitfire taps her hoof on the table rhythmically. "Perhaps, but Canterlot has turned into a haven for this group. The only reason neither Celestia nor Luna have acted is because our enemies haven't and have no reason to either as the pin is in Pegasi posession." She explained. "We could surmise that they have infiltrated the royal guard as well." She continued. Dash realized what she said. "What about Shining Armor? Twilight's brother?" Dash inquired. "He was captain of the guard before he and Princess Cadance left for the Crystal Empire." Spitfire smiled and nodded. "Don't worry about him. He and his family have been our allies for a long time." She said, relieving Dash from the worry. There was a knock at the door. "Come in." Spitfire said. The door opens and in comes Cloudchaser. "Can I help you?" Spitfire asked. Cloudchaser nodded. "Maybe Rainbow Dash can." She said, looking over at Dash. "That Griffon Gilda has come back to Ponyville and is making a mess of things." She said with a tremble in her voice. Dash examines the device on her foreleg. She tightens a muscle in it and the blade pops out, still covered with Dust's blood. She tightens her leg muscle again and the blade retracts. "I'm on my way." Cloudchaser leaves the office. Dash stands up and heads to the door. "Go to the tailor." Spitfire ordered. "You don't want to draw any attention to yourself with that weapon." She added. Dash nods and leaves the office. The screen flickers behind a fluttering Rainbow Dash. "Go to the tailor." A popup reads. As instructed, Silver starts moving Dash to her destination. Silver hadn't noticed before, but the way Dash flew through the air was graceful for such a reckless Pegasus. Dash arrives at the tailor. "Spitfire sent me to get some clothes." The tailor nods. "Rainbow Dash, right?" He asks. "Yeah, that's me." She confirmed. The tailor went into the back of his shop and came out with a near typical Wonderbolt suit, the only difference being that it has Dash's new employers' emblem as well as a hole that fits over the hidden blade. The screen flickers once more. Silver finds Dash to be outside of the tailor's with her new Wonderbolt Assassin suit on. A marker appears on the mini map. Silver opens the map and pans it to the marker. "To Ponyville", it read. There was a viewpoint on the way, so he places a marker on and heads to it. Syncing with the viewpoint opened up more races. This hub area must love its races, Silver thought, continuing onto Ponyville. A cinematic took over as Dash made her way to Twilight Sparkle's home, the town's library. Silver found it odd that the... "Alicorn", as Spitfire phrased it, would choose to live in such a place. He didn't think it was bad though, it just showed him that Twilight liked to mingle with the others. Dash knocks on Twilight's door before opening it. The princess trots up to Dash. "Welcome back, Rainbow. How was your stay?" She asks before noticing the Wonderbolt Assassin emblem on the suit. "Oh Rainbow! You've been accepted as a Wonderbolt! Congratulations!" Twilight says cheerfully. Dash didn't share her friend's enthusiasm. "Yeah, but there's more to it." She said. Twilight nodded, maintaining her smile. "Oh I know. You're an assassin." Dash darted her head around. "Jeez, Twi. Give me away, why don't ya." She said irritably. "Now, where's Gilda? I heard she was causing trouble." She continued, moving out of the way as Twilight trots to the door. "Follow me, my little assassin." She said. Dash groans and the screen flickers. Silver was once again controlling Dash as she follows Twilight. "Don't worry, Rainbow. Ponyville is a haven for the assassins and has been since the town was founded." She explained. Hearing this relieved Dash a little bit, but realizes something. "Wait a sec... the Apple family. They're not...?" She tries asking. Twilight nods. "Yes, but Apple Bloom doesn't know yet." Dash nods, intending to keep the secret. The two have arrived at the town square. Dash immediately sees Gilda harrassing a Unicorn. Twilight stops Dash from killing Gilda right now. "Not in the open." Twilight ordered. "She doesn't know you're here, so follow her and confront her in an isolated part of town." She added. Dash darted upward quietly. The camera follows Dash until she lands on top of a cloud, then it rotates to view the ground. "Follow Gilda to an isolated part of town and assassinate her." A popup displayed. Silver kept his focus on Gilda as the Griffon was flipping carts that were in her way. The screen flickers. "Maintain distance from target to prevent desync." Another popup reads. Silver moves Dash off of the cloud, diving to a building underneath. "I got this." Silver said to himself, landing Dash softly and quietly on the roof. It took roughly five minutes before Gilda was on her own. Silver rotates the camera to make sure there were no other ponies in the area before striking. Quickly and efficiently, Dash pins Gilda to the ground. "Get off me, dweeb!" She squawked. Dash flips the Griffon over and sees the flip-flop was holding a blade to her neck. "Why are you here?" Dash demanded. "What's it to ya? You're not on the winning team anyway." Gilda threw back. "If this is about the Alicorn Pin, it's in Pegasus posession. The amulet is protected as well." Dash said. Gilda chuckles. "Do you really think those are the only two artifacts? You really are a noob. We'll have full control of Equestria before you even realize what's going on." She says before breaking into a full laugh. "You and your organization will never control Equestria. I'll see to it personally." Dash says before sinking the blade into Gilda's throat. Dash retracts the blade, closes Gilda's eyes and puts her in a dignified position. Twilight pops up behind her. "I really didn't think you had it in you, Rainbow." Dash begins hovering above Twilight. "Neither did I." She said. Twilight hovers next to Dash and places a hoof on her shoulder. "Take a breather, Dash. I'll take care of Gilda." Twilight says, returning to the ground. Dash rubs the back of her neck slowly. "Yeah... I'm going to report back to Spitfire." She says. Just as Dash was about to take off, Twilight stopped her. "Wait!" She yells, floating one of Gilda's feathers to her. "Take this with you and present it to Spitfire." Dash takes the feather and inserts it into her suit. "Good luck!" Twilight said as Dash took off. The screen flickers once more. The training grounds loaded up once more and Dash standing outside of Spitfire's office. She knocks on the door a couple of times. "Enter." Spitfire said and Dash does. Spitfire turns around from the window. "What's the situation in Ponyville?" She asks. Dash pulls out Gilda's feather and places it on the desk. "The town is safe for the time being." Dash says grimly. "Excellent. I'm glad to hear that you were able to do it." Spitfire says, acknowledging the gift and putting it into a small chest with Lightning Dust's feather. "You must feel like a monster after taking another's life. I know, I've been there." She adds. "I take it Twilight is cleaning things up in Ponyville." She concludes. Dash nods in affirmation. "She also suggested I take a break." Dash requested. Spitfire nods. "Do it." Spitfire ordered. "I'd stay away from Cloudsdale and Canterlot for a while. Things are starting to heat up." She warned. The conversation was over. Dash leaves the office and the screen flickers white. Intermission 2The screen slides open and Xander was standing over Silver Soldier once again. "Time to get out, Silver." The Griffon said calmly and almost friendly. "Miss Spirit feels that you're spending too much time in the device." Silver Soldier looks over to a window and realizes the Griffon was right as it's been dark for a while. He looks over to Xander, who is opening the door to his room. He lets out an annoyed groan and trots to his room. "I guess I'll see you in the morning." "Do get some rest, Silver. We have a long way to go yet." Xander says before closing and locking up the door. Silver Soldier grumbles before trotting to the bathroom. "Helluva month, Silver." He says to himself, examining himself in the mirror briefly before heading to the shower stall. During his shower, Silver would think back to the Badlands. His mother died when he was still a young colt and was never on the best terms with his father. They had always been secretive about this battle of theirs and would never explain it to him. Until he left the settlement, he was always taught that the Alicorns of old would return some day and return order to Equestria. When or how, nopony knew. Why they left was never revealed, but Silver thought that it had something to do with Lightning Dust and Gilda's bosses. Time to dry off. It would be easier if he could use his wings to handle the towel. His father would always warn him of the dangers of the outside world, but Silver never listened. He got bored of seeing the same group of Pegasi and Unicorns day after day and vowed to himself that he would live his life as a normal pony. He could've picked Cloudsdale, Fillydelphia, Manehattan or even Baltimare to live in. Ponyville, Appleloosa and Dodge Junction were no longer on the map and they hadn't been in nearly five hundred years. So why Canterlot, Unicorn capitol of Equestria? Call it historical interest. He always wanted to enter the old castle, see the stained glass artwork that depicted Equestria's many victories, from Discord's first defeat to the liberation of the Crystal Empire, another place that had been long abandoned. Silver climbs into his bed, his world was a bleak one at best. Every creature, Pony, Dragon, Minotaur, Griffon, were all being controlled by this select few, but the one thing they still had was their free will, which this organization wanted to eliminate as well. Why though? What purpose would it serve them if everyone was a mindless drone like an average Changeling was? The Changelings... another fabled species and one of the few species that resisted to the very end. Through stories, he learned they suffered a major defeat at the hooves of Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, but they were able to secure a peace treaty with Princess Celestia, but it wasn't enough for protection. Morning came and no Xander to wake him up. Silver trots to the door and opens it up, seeing Xander at his computer in the back and FS calibrating the device. "Good morning." The groggy Pegasus says. "Good morning, Silver." A chipper FS says. "There's some coffee on the table." Silver approaches the table and pours himself a cup of coffee that was definitely from the outside. "You shouldn't have." He says. "What's with the special treatment?" Xander scoffs. "You'll find out soon, Mister Soldier." The Griffon says, moving away from his computer. "Now get in the device." Silver groans. "Really? I haven't been up for ten minutes." Xander waves him over. "You'll have plenty of time to wake up later. This next part should be quick enough." Silver finishes his cup of coffee and climbs onto the device. "Whatever you say, Xander." The screen slides over his face and flickers to a white screen. Author's Note Sorry it took so long to get back to this. Expect the next sequence within the next day or two. Sequence 3: Ponyville 2The screen loads up and Rainbow Dash is with her friends at Ponyville's town square after helping Applejack and Big Macintosh pick apples for cider season. Since she started two years ago, she was guaranteed one barrel for herself, as were the other girls for their efforts. "Thanks for yer help, girls." Applejack said with a very pleased tone. "This year's cider season is going to be the best yet." She added, until the group sees a bunch of ponies in a trance, trotting to somewhere. AJ looks up to Dash. "Could ya see what the fuss is about?" Dash nods and takes off. Lots of ponies were in a trance Dash noted as she was making her way to the front of the line. Far ahead she sees what looks like Flim and Flam's harvester. That can't be right, she thought, those two were run out of Ponyville for this exact same thing. Unwillingly, her vision changed and as it did, she nearly fell to the ground from the pain, but it quickly subsided. Using this new vision, she checked out the harvester again, this time she was able to see something pulsing from the front before her vision normalized. "What the hay?" She asked herself quietly before returning to the others. Dash returns, stopping in midair. "I've got some bad news." She says, rubbing the back of her neck. "Flim and Flam are back, and they have some freaky thing attached to their harvester making the other ponies the way they are." She concluded. AJ grumbled. "If it ain't one thing, it's another." She says before galloping off. Dash lands next to Twilight and closes her wings. "Hey, Twi. I know you know a thing or two about the order, so I gotta ask if you know anything about my vision changing." She inquired, shocking the princess. "You have Second Sight?" She asked, getting a shrug from Dash. "Did everything get dark, and all you could see was an aura around everypony?" Dash nodded at this question. "Yeah... and I could see something pulsing out from the harvester." She added. Twilight stops and rubs her chin. "Follow me." She ordered. The screen flickers and loads up a new area for Silver. Dash was underneath Twilight's library. "Why am I here?" She asks. Twilight lights up the room with her magic. "It's rare for a non-Alicorn pony to have Second Sight. So I'm going to teach you how to use it." She says. Dash cocks her head and lifts an eyebrow. "Twilight, you weren't born an Alicorn." She noted. "So how can you know about this... Second Sight?" Twilight giggles. "Nopony is born an Alicorn, Rainbow. Princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadance all went through the same process I did." Twilight levitates a piece of cloth to Dash and covers her eyes, blinding Silver as well. "I'm going to place an invisible marker on the wall, Rainbow." She says. "When I tell you, take off the blind fold and look for the marker using Second Sight." She continued. Dash groans. "How am I supposed to use it?" Dash asked. "Focus on it, Dash." Twilight answers. After a few moments, Twilight finishes placing the marker and darkens the room. "Okay, Dash. You can take the blind fold off." She says. Dash does as she instructed. "It's too dark in here, Twi. How am I su-" Dash says, interrupting herself. "Second Sight..." She finishes. The screen flickers and Silver is once again in control of Dash. "Activate Second Sight and find Twilight Sparkle's marker." A popup read. Fortunately for Silver, Second Sight was easy enough to activate and does. Not only does he see the marker, but he also sees Twilight's aura in blue. Silver makes his way to the marker and interacts with it. Second Sight deactivates and the light from the candles returns. "Congratulations, Rainbow." Twilight says proudly. "I'm surprised that you were able to catch on so quickly." She adds. Applejack opens the door above them and enters. "Girls, we've got a major problem." She says. The screen flickers and the group stands outside of the library. They see many hypnotized ponies trotting off to who knows where. "What are they doing?" Dash asks openly. "If I were to guess, it looks like they're raisin' an army." AJ answers. "An army for what, though?" Twilight asks. "It's not like we're at war with anyone." She adds. AJ nods. "I know." She says, looking over to Dash. "Let's find out, shall we?" Dash nods and the two take off. Silver regains control of Dash. "Follow Applejack to Flim and Flam." A popup reads. A marker is placed on the minimap, on top of AJ. Silver follows her closely as they make their way to the town square. The screen flickers, Dash lands next to AJ and look over to Flim and Flam. "Let's do this." Applejack says, hoofbumping Dash. "Just don't get caught." "Destroy the harvester using an Atomic Rainbomb." A popup reads. Silver takes Dash to an isolated part of town and flies her to the town's ceiling. As quickly as he ascended, Silver plunged Dash on to the harvester. When prompted, he activated the Atomic Rainbomb, destroying the harvester and the magical device attached to it, as well as sending the two Unicorns flying in opposite directions. "Oh for two, Flim!" Flam yells to his twin brother. "Time to get a move on!" Flim yells back. Applejack catches up to Rainbow Dash. "I'll go after Flim, you get Flam!" She ordered. Dash nods and begins her pursuit. As per usual, Silver chased after Flam as he had chased previous ponies. This time was a little different. Since he was a Unicorn, Flam was able to use spells to evade Dash and would hurl various objects to try and slow her down and teleport from side to side, but his tricks weren't enough and Silver caught up with the Unicorn and tackled him. Dash had the Unicorn pinned down and pressed the blade against his neck. "Why would you two do it?" She asked, pressing the blade more firm against his neck. "Why would you brainwash these ponies?" She continued. Flam simply laughs. "For the bits, of course." Dash grumbles. "Is money the only thing you and your brother care about?" She asked. Flam feigned being in thought for a second before grinning. "Yes." He answered. Dash was more than a little upset hearing this. "Why are you collecting the bits?" Flam laughs some more. "All part of our project, my dear." Dash plunged the blade into his neck. "Hopefully this will slow down your project." She says, removing the blade from his neck and cutting off a chunk of his moustache. The screen flickers and fades to white. Intermission 3The screen slides open, Silver looks around the room and the only one he sees is FS. "Hop out, Silver." She requests. He complies. "What's going on, Freedom?" He asks. "Where's Xander?" FS uses her magic to close the lid on the device's terminal and slides it inside. "Xander is a tad busy convincing his bosses to let him keep his job." This piques Silver's interest. "Was it something I did?" FS shakes her head. "No. Besides, he knows they won't let him go, he's too valuable for the project." Silver hops off of the device. "A bit cocky, isn't he?" FS giggles. "Just a bit. I'll be running out for some food, let you eat something fresh for a change." Silver smiles. "Thanks, Freedom." He says. "I didn't know you liked me that much. Next we'll be goin' to a movie." He jokes. She trots to the door. "Don't flatter yourself." She says with a wink. "Now you be good and don't touch anything while I'm gone. It should only be ten minutes." Silver nods. "Yes, ma'am." FS returns to Silver with their meal and finds him in his room. "Alright, you come out here." She orders. Silver exits his room. FS is at a table and he trots to it, sitting himself across from her. "Thanks again, Freedom." He says as she floats a container next to him. "Don't mention it." She says warmly. "You've gone too long without any real food and it's not like we can't bring takeout into the building." Silver picks up his sandwich, takes a bite and nods. "So why was I chosen for this project, anyway?" He asks after swallowing his food. "You are a direct descendant of Rainbow Dash." She answers, taking a scond bite from her own sandwich. "It's very rare to find a direct descendant of one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony." Silver nods. "I bet. But I also imagine there are quite a few of them that split." FS nods. "Of course." She says flatly. "But the project needed a direct descendant. I'm a direct descendant of Sweetie Belle." She explains, taking a sip of her drink. Silver gives her a curious glance. "If you're wondering if I've ever seen her life, yes, I have. Her youth was quite dangerous." Silver takes a sip from his drink and a bite from his sandwich. "I bet." He agreed. "With her being one of the... what'd they call themselves?" He asks, trying to remember the group's name. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders, that's it." FS laughs. "Yeah. After many years of trial and error..." she says, resting a hoof against her chin, "five, I think, the trio finally came around to earning their cutie marks." Silver glances at her blank flank, then over to his own. "Not much use for 'em now, is there?" He asks, finishing up his sandwich. FS finishes hers up also. "It's as rare to find a pony with one today as it was to find one without one back then, aside from the foals." She comments, cleaning up their lunch. Xander enters the room just as FS finishes the cleanup. "Mister Soldier." He greets. "I suppose you had a chance to rest up?" He asks. Silver nods. "Excellent." He says, pointing a claw to the device. "Would you mind?" Silver climbs back onto the device. "Now that I've had a proper meal, I feel like I can take over the world." He jokes. The screen slides back over his face and flickers on. Sequence 4: CanterlotIt had been months since Flim and Flam were killed. The screen fades to a carriage that Rainbow Dash and the others were riding on the way to the gala. Dash had Rarity modify her dress to accomodate the hidden blade. Fluttershy looked tense as she watches Dash play with the blade. Twilight Sparkle and Rarity were running their mouths, leaving Applejack, who was sitting across from her. Dash finally looked away from the blade and to AJ. "You're not nervous about this gala, are ya?" She asked. Dash sighs. "A little bit, yeah." She answered, still playing with the blade. "Y'all have nothin' to be nervous about, Rainbow, as long as you stop playin' with yer weapon." AJ said, snapping Dash out of her bubble. She'd been playing with it since they stepped into the carriage. The carriage stops in front of Canterlot Castle and the girls exit it. The screen flickers and the group circles up. "Aside from the usual business..." Twilight began, "let's try to have a little bit of fun." She continued with a cheerful tone. "Dash, you know the Wonderbolts are attending, so go ahead and mingle with them for a while." She adds. Dash nods. "I'll be with Celestia greeting guests." She concluded. "I heard Fancy Pants is going to be here, so I'll probably be with him." Rarity added. "I'll be in the ballroom livening up the party." Pinkie Pie added with her usual energy before skipping off. Dash starts hovering over the others. "Well, I'm going to report to Spitfire." She said. "Let's try not to make this a repeat of our first gala." She added with a chuckle. The screen flickers and the group had dispersed. High profile movement had been disabled at the moment, so Silver has to suffer through the slow movement. Silver tried to gain access to other parts of the castle, but couldn't because the guards were acting as invisible walls, so he continued on, looking for the Wonderbolts. On the way he saw Rarity with a blue maned stallion wearing a monocle alongside a slender mare. Fluttershy was being escorted to the garden and as usual looked scared out of her mind by the escort. He looked out of a window and saw AJ at her apple stand. He continues toward the marker, which leads him to the ballroom. Dash enters the ballroom and approaches Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts. "I'm surprised to see you here." Dash casually says. Spitfire and the others are in their show uniforms. "Likewise." Spitfire responded. "Considering all you've accomplished." She adds with a smile. "Business or pleasure?" Dash inquired, curious about their presence at the gala. Spitfire giggles before looking over at Soarin who was carrying an apple pie in. "A little bit of both." She says, clearing her throat. "Follow me, Dash." It was time for another follow mission. Silver kept Dash next to Spitfire. "We didn't expect you to be here, Dash." She said. "But it is a good surprise as your presence will make our job easier." She continued. The two pass the entry hall, Twilight could be seen in the back greeting guests with Princess Celestia. The two exit the castle and proceed to a secluded area. Spitfire looks all over, making sure they weren't followed. "Alright, here's what's going on." She began. "Since you brought in Lightning Dust, we were considering taking the pin to Celestia, but we needed a reason to be in Canterlot." She added. "The gala happens once a year, so that was the ticket in." Dash says. Spitfire taps her nose. "Exactly. And the Wonderbolts are always invited." She continued. "But the princess is always too busy greeting guests." Dash adds, looking inside toward Celestia and Twilight. "Even with Twi at her side." She concludes. "Right. Since you're friends with the Ponyville princess, you'll have a better chance in passing it off." Spitfire suggests, pulling out the pin from her uniform and passing it to Dash, who hides it in her dress. With the conversation over, Spitfire returns to the ballroom to rejoin her fellow wonderbolts. Silver guides Dash to the line to greet Celestia. It would be a long and boring process, but Dash eventually makes her way to Celestia. Dash shakes Twilight's hoof first. "Hello, Rainbow Dash." The sun princess greets. "Are you enjoying your evening?" She asks. Dash nods. "So far so good, Your Majesty." She says, digging into her dress. "I have a gift for you." She continues, pulling out the pin. Celestia's eyes widen and she darts her head around. "Where did you get this?" She asked, taking the artifact away from Dash. And what seemed like convenient timing, Princess Luna enters the room and stands next to Celestia, Twilight and Dash. She sees the pin and her own eyes widened. She quickly calms though. "Dear sister, why don't you take a break and allow us to greet the guests." She suggests. Celestia agreed and the three leave the scene. Celestia, Twilight and Dash enter a secluded area of the castle. "Thank you for returning the pin, Rainbow Dash." She says. Dash nods. "No problem. It was in Wonderbolt possession. For how long though, I don't know. I do know that it was almost captured by one of our enemies." She responds. Celestia nodded. "Then we must not let them get their hooves on it." She ordered. Prince Blueblood wanders into the room. "There you are, auntie. I've been looking for you." He says, trotting up pretentiously to the three. Celestia facehoofs and shakes her head. "The guests are waiting for your speech, auntie." He continues. "That right, I almost forgot. Thank you for reminding me." She says, letting out an annoyed groan. She hands over the pin when Dash's Second Sight kicks in. It wasn't painful the second time, but the change wasn't comfortable either. She looks at Blueblood who was covered in a red aura. Her normal vision returns. "Princess, don't!" She yells, but it was too late. Blueblood already possesses the pin and was galloping away and Dash was flying to catch up. "Catch Blueblood before he escapes the castle property." A popup reads. Silver was immediately on it. Being that Silver was chasing a Unicorn, this was going to be more problematic as Blueblood knew a short range teleportation spell. The chase led them outside the castle. Silver took this opportunity to gain altitude. He activates Second Sight, spots Blueblood in a gold aura and resumes the chase. Dash was much faster in the open and he used it to his advantage. Blueblood would teleport from one side of the road to another, but Dash was gaining a lot of speed and suddenly broke the sound barrier, finishing the chase. When Dash hits Blueblood, the two tumble, with Dash pinning him down at the end. Silver knew it was that time again as Dash had the blade resting against Blueblood's neck. The stallion seemed to be genuinely troubled. He was at the brink of tears. "Give it up, Blueblood." She orders, pressing the blade against his throat. "You can have it!" He responds, fishing for the pin. "The knowledge recorded on it..." he continues, pulling out the pin. "It's too much to bear." Celestia, Luna and Twilight catch up to the two. Dash releases him. "Blueblood! What is the meaning of this?" Luna demanded. "I was hired to obtain the pin." He says, kneeling before Luna. "Had I known what was on it, I never would've taken it. Forgive me, auntie." He finishes before getting hit in the back with magic. Death was instant. The pin was being lifted off of Dash's hoof and it was brought to a blue Unicorn. "Is that a wizard hat and cape?" Silver commented on the mare's bizarre costume. "Trixie!" Dash yells. "That's 'The Great and POWERFUL Trixie' to you!" Dash, and by extension Silver, examine Trixie and she appears to be wearing something else. Dash gasps. "The Alicorn Amulet!" She exclaimed. She was about to ask how she got it, but she looks down at Blueblood's corpse. "Naturally." She huffs under her breath before taking chase. "Catch Trixie and reclaim the pin and the amulet." A popup read, but something strange occurs during the chase, Trixie somehow cloned herself. Silver activates Second Sight, but both Trixies were covered in a gold aura. Unsure of which one to go after, he picks one Trixie and focuses on catching her. Silver catches up to this Trixie and tackles her. The two tumble and Dash already had the hidden blade planted firmly on her neck. When the dust settles, Dash notices that this Trixie was in fact a Canterlot citizen. She retracts the blade and helps the distraught Unicorn up. "Are you alright, ma'am?" Dash asks. The Unicorn screams and calls for guards. A group of Pegasus guards arrive, but so does Princess Celestia. "Let her go." The princess demanded. "But your majesty, she was going to kill this pony." The guard said. Celestia shakes her head. "No. Rainbow Dash was tricked. Let her go." She explained. The guards didn't like it, but they obeyed her. "Find her, Rainbow Dash." The princess orders. Dash nods. Sequence 5: Ponyville 3Rainbow Dash had chased Trixie back to Ponyville. She manages to get inside the town proper before Trixie raised a barrier. She turns and sees her friends trapped on the outside. Dash was on her own with a crazy and powerful Unicorn dominating the will of the citizens. Dash approaches Lyra, who was sitting upright on the park bench as usual. "Lyra! Are you alright?" She asks, grabbing the entranced Unicorn. "Join us, Rainbow Dash." She said monotonously. "Join the Great and Powerful Trixie and end your torment." She continued, freaking out Dash. The screen flickers and Silver regains control of Dash. He takes her up as high as he can and uses Second Sight to find Trixie's trail and examines the magical barrier. He finds a golden trail leading up to Twilight's library. He returns to ground level and approaches the barrier with Dash's friends on the outside and interacts with it. Dash slams a hoof on the barrier and starts tearing up. "I'll stop her, girls!" She says with very little confidence. "You do what you need to do." Twilight said. "We have faith in you!" She adds, increasing Dash's confidence. The screen flickers. Dash is turned around and hovering in the air. "Locate and assassinate Trixie without killing any Ponyville citizens." Silver makes his way to the library, but Ponyville Pegasi were determined to stop Dash from getting to it. He was undeterred though and plows through the Pegasi, being careful not to hurt any of them. Dash enters the library's basement, the same place Twilight taught her how to use Second Sight. The place was lit up, but there was no fire to provide the light and was almost cyberpunk-ish. Silver notices a pair of prominent lights and investigates the area, finding yet another staircase going down. It wasn't a big staircase, but it led Dash to a long corridor with the same lighting theme. The corridor ends in a large open room. Silver can hear Trixie chanting something. Silver was no linguist, but from the documentaries he watched, he knew that it was an ancient pony language. He moves Dash to the marker, the screen flickers and the device took over. "Trixie!" Dash yells. The Unicorn turns around and laughs maniacally. "You foal." She opens. "Do you honestly think that you can stop the Great and Powerful Trixie?" Dash swallows hard. "I have both the Alicorn Pin and Alicorn Amulet." She boasts. "There is nothing you can do to stop me." The screen flickers. Dash is hovering. Silver can hear Trixie begin casting her magic. "Assassinate Trixie." A popup read. "How though?" He asks himself quietly. Silver started by trying to directly attack the Unicorn, but Dash would get knocked back, eliciting laughter from Trixie; the room was too small to try using an atomic rainbomb, but even if it wasn't, he wouldn't risk using it underground. After minutes of trial and error, he noticed mirrors lining either side of the room. He placed Dash in front of a mirror, waited until Trixie cast an attack spell. Once the spell was cast, he waited to the last second before rolling Dash out of its path. He wasn't sure if it was possible, but the event proved otherwise: Trixie's spell bounced off of the mirror right back to its caster., knocking her back. Trixie lets out a low groan. "HOW DARE YOU!" Lather, rinse, repeat. Silver continued the assault until a cutscene plays. "You will never gain the pin nor the amulet!" She yells out before concentrating on yet another spell. The amulet powers up and Trixie appears to be making clones of herself. "What the hay?!" Silver exclaims. "Can you find the real Great and Powerful Trixie?" All the Trixies say at the same time. There were seven Trixies, each powering up a magic spell. Silver quickly activates Second Sight, the result was predictable as he was able to identify the real Trixie, who had a gold aura. He was moving Dash around to buy him some time to get in front of a mirror ahead of the real Trixie. He finds his window of opportunity and takes it. The Trixies cast their spell at Dash and Silver once again waits to the last second before moving Dash upward and again, the spell bounces off of the mirror and hits the real Trixie, knocking her onto her back. Dash knocks the pin away from Trixie, pinning the Unicorn to the ground. Trixie tries using her magic, but her reserves were depleted. "This isn't possible!" She cries out. Dash cuts the amulet off of Trixie and tosses it to the side. "We gave you a third chance, Trixie." Dash says, holding the blade to her neck. "It's quite obvious that you can't resist the lust for power. While I have no such ambition, I do know the feeling." She adds. "How could you? How could you understand what it feels like to be in control?" Trixie interjects. "It's a euphoric feeling when you're on somepony's pedestal." Dash says. "But the expectation that comes with that feeling must ground you. If you fail to live up to that pony's expectation, they become disappointed and resentful." She continued, eliciting a tear from Trixie. "I don't know who you failed to become the mare you are now, but I imagine you did everything you could to earn back their respect." She adds, burying the blade into Trixie's neck. The Unicorn's eyes slowly dim and become lifeless. "I hope you find that respect in the next life." She concludes, closing the Unicorn's eyes and takes a lock of the Unicorn's mane. The screen flickers back to where the barrier had kept the others out. Dash slowly trots up to the crowd. She tosses the Alicorn Amulet and Alicorn Pin onto the ground in front of Celestia. "So... it's over." Celestia says in a troubled tone. Dash adds the lock of hair to the pile. "Unfortunately, yes." Dash says, trotting to Spitfire. "I'm sorry, captain, but I can't do this anymore." She says, removing the blade from her foreleg. Spitfire rests her foreleg on Dash. "You did well, Rainbow Dash." She says, but the words didn't comfort her. "But remember, there are others out there who will continue this pursuit." She adds. "There will always be a place for you with us." The scene slows down and the screen flickers white. It was all over. EpilogueThe screen shuts down and slides open. Silver Soldier hops off the table, looks around and notices that he's the only one in the room. Where are they? He thought. The outer door slides open and in comes Freedom's Spirit covered in blood. "Come on, Silver. We gotta get out of here." She says quietly, using her magic to remove the barrier holding Silver's wings closed. The Pegasus flares them open and flaps them a few times before hovering. The door slides open, Freedom's Spirit is resting on Silver Soldier's back as he hurriedly leaves the room, beginning their escape. "Freedom... whose blood is that?" He asks, evading Griffons and Pegasi. "Unfortunately not Xander's." She responded. "Make a left at this next corridor." She advises. Silver complies, making the turn, but the path is blocked by a Minotaur. Silver punches up his speed, knocking down the Minotaur. "Keep going," She instructed, "there's a duct that will take us to an air shaft and we can get out that way." Silver plows his way through the air duct and into the shaft FS mentioned. The path upward was clear, the only thing in the way was the massive fan above and some guards behind. Silver starts his ascent through the shaft, the wind from the fan was strong to keep the ascent at a slow pace. Second Sight is unintentionally activated and for a brief moment, it allowed Silver to see structural weaknesses in the shaft, with the major one connecting to the fan. He kicks the rotor holding the fan until he hears some cracking sounds, then continues upward. The rotor fails completely, the fan begins coming down, but Silver was quick enough to evade the fan. Fortunately, or unfortunately, those who were chasing him were not. Now without the constraint of the fan, Silver and FS leave the facility and head skyward. "Okay, now what?" Silver asks as calmly as he could, but the adrenaline rush made that almost impossible. "Now we gotta hide." Silver nodded and knew exactly where to go: into the clouds. Hours pass. Griffons and Pegasi were searching the clouds in the immediate area. As soon as he saw a clearing, Silver moved to another cloud, waited and repeated the process until they gave up. Dawn approached quickly and they had to continue. "Okay..." FS said with a sigh of relief, "now we head to the Everfree Forest." She ordered, getting a questioning look from Silver. "You sure? That's not exactly the safest place in Equestria." He commented. FS nods. "I know, but the creatures there are indiscriminate about what they kill." Silver took note and took off to the forest. "Besides, we have friends there." She added. Silver Soldier starts flying to the Everfree Forest. What did his captors want with the Alicorn artifacts? Should he trust this Unicorn? Author's Note Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. I plan on two more parts, and #2 needs to be fleshed out before I begin. Click here to download the PDF version of this story. PrologueIt's not the Equestria you thought it was. No, that was almost a thousand years ago. It's an era of technological, medical, social, economic and philosophical advancements. Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Twilight Sparkle are nowhere to be found. The consensus is that they are either long dead, or have never existed in the first place. Many believe the latter, some believe the former, but others believe that the mythical winged Unicorns are hiding somewhere, biding their time for something. "Rise and shine, mister Soldier." A male Griffon's voice says, waking up a Pegasus named Silver Soldier. "What is it today, Xander?" The Pegasus says with an irritated tone before rolling out of his cot. He would have fluttered off of it, but his wings were bound by magic. He had been in isolation for a week after the company abducted him from work. "Don't take that tone, Silver. We prepped the machine for you." Xander responds as he escorts Silver Soldier into the antechamber housing the company's prized machine, a virtual reality device that accesses the users' genetic memory. The consensus on the matter is that it's nothing more than pseudoscience. Memories can't be stored within a pony's DNA and are only stored within the living pony's brain as electrical impulses. Silver Soldier knew this after watching several shows on the subject of memory. This company though... they managed to prove the science community wrong, but haven't released their data to the public yet. The two approach the table with Silver Soldier trotting next to Xander. "Hop on, Silver." Xander requested. Silver complied, laying on his back. "What exactly are you guys looking for?" He asked, not expecting an answer. "The key to our future." Xander replied cryptically. He looks over to his assistant, Freedom's Spirit, a pale blue Unicorn with beautiful light brown eyes and two-tone blue mane and tail. "Activate the machine, Miss Spirit." He ordered before patting Silver Soldier on the shoulder. "Just relax." He suggested before the screen slid across, arcing over Silver's face. The screen flickered on and he was greeted with a loading screen with a generic Pegasus that Silver Soldier was able to play around with until the screen fades to white. "Subject 6: Silver Soldier" was displayed in the upper left corner of the screen briefly before flickering away. The screen loaded an incomplete area. Was it Canterlot? He made the generic Pegasus wander through the area, passing by other generic ponies, some Earth Ponies and Pegasi, but mostly Unicorns. It had to be Canterlot. The screen flickered and was out of focus. "We must not let them get their hooves on it." A strong, yet feminine voice uttered coherently enough for Silver Soldier to understand. "What's going on?" Xander demanded. "I'm not sure, but I'm guessing Silver Soldier's mind can't access this particular memory yet." FS answered. "Well then take him back to one that he can." Xander demanded again. FS complied and the screen went white again.
Sequence 1: CloudsdaleThe white screen faded and Silver Soldier was greeted with the presence of Rainbow Dash, a citizen of old Ponyville, the town's weather manager and was recently recruited into the Wonderbolts. Dash was just waking up and leaping off of her cloud. "She's got a nice ass." Silver Soldier commented, ignoring responses from Xander and FS. His wingboner was suppressed by the magic. The weather team decided to clear the sky of clouds and her bed was the first to go. Not long after she begins, Dash is accompanied by newly appointed princess Twilight Sparkle. "Good morning, Rainbow." She greeted. Silver Soldier didn't have a good look, so he rotates the camera to get that good look. "Oh shit! It's a winged Unicorn." He said openly. "So they did exist." He added to himself. Twilight and Dash cleared out the sky in record time. Twilight was aware of the Pegasi's rules about no magic and abided by them. After clearing the sky, the two approach the ground. Twilight lands while Dash hovered. "Thanks for the help, Twi. Now I'll be able to get to the training camp early." She said. "Would you like some company?" Twilight offered. "Thanks, Twi, but you've got your hooves full, remember?" Dash replied before taking off. The screen faded to white once again. The screen opened up to the Wonderbolts' training camp somewhere between Canterlot and Ponyville. Dash lands and approaches the captain of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire who was in her dress uniform. "You're here early today, Rainbow Dash." She noted. "Wow... were all Pegasi back then that hot?" Silver Soldier thought. Dash nodded. "Yeah. I had help clearing the skies in Ponyville, giving me enough time to relax before training." She explained. "Good." Spitfire flatly said. "Training won't start for another hour, so go ahead and make your rounds." Spitfire says before trotting away toward her office. The screen flickers and the camera shifts behind Dash. A popup message appears in the corner. "Speak to three Wonderbolt recruits and meet up with Spitfire." It read. Now was the opportune time for Silver Soldier to get acquainted with the flight mechanic. The first thing he did was figure out the ceiling for the current area. As he hit said ceiling, he rotated the camera downward and the training camp looked like a small island. He dove Dash and a gauge appeared underneath the health gauge which read 'Sonic Rainboom', followed by another popup. "Performing a Sonic Rainboom is simple: Fill up the Sonic Rainboom gauge-" which was pointed at, "by holding the accelerate button, change your trajectory to avoid impacting objects and press the action button when prompted." Yeah, performing it was simple, but he was more than halfway back to ground level and the gauge was only a third full and stalled. There was no way he could do it right now. He returns Dash to ground level and hovers her. "Had enough fun, Silver?" Xander queried, implying him to press on. Silver Soldier takes Dash to the first contact who went by the name "Snowflake", a buff Pegasus with small wings and big, red eyes and looked rabid as he was foaming at the mouth. "You ready to get started?" Dash asked. "YEAH!!" Snowflake replied. He took Dash to another Pegasus named "Cloudchaser", a fellow weather manager in Ponyville. Her presence was required a few days earlier, so Dash wasn't surprised to see her. "How's it going, Chaser?" Dash greeted her friend. "It's going. They had me running drills for the last couple of days. It was exhausting but I think I'm getting used to it." She replied. Dash patted Chaser on the shoulder and smiled. "Hang in there, we're almost through it." She assured Chaser. His last visit would be to Thunderlane. Dash cautiously approaches him as he's having a coughing fit. "You don't have the feather flu again, do you?" She asks suspiciously. "Not today." He says with a cough. "Water went down the wrong pipe. I'll be alright before training starts." Dash lets out a soft huff and nods. "Good." At this point, Dash was moving on her own and the screen flickers. The scene transitions to Spitfire's office. Dash enters and stands across from Spitfire. "Rainbow Dash. I'm glad you're here." She opens. "I'm afraid today's training session has been canceled." She continued. Dash raises an eyebrow. "Ma'am?" She aked. Spitfire got out of her chair and trotted to the door. The two leave the office and begin trotting to where the day's training session would begin. "It seems somepony infiltrated the Wonderbolts headquarters in Cloudsdale and made off with a pin we give to our new members." Dash steps up her trot to stand in front of Spitfire. "Ma'am, I'd like to help. I know the team better than the other recruits. If there's an imposter, I'll flush them out." Spitfire smiled and nodded. "Go ahead," she said, "but be careful when you confront the imposter. They knocked out the guards in that wing." She warned. Dash gave a salute and took off to Cloudsdale. The screen flickered once more and the camera shifted behind Dash. A minimap displays in the bottom right corner of the screen with a marked waypoint directly in front of the hovering Pegasus. A message appears on the left part of the screen and read "Make your way to Cloudsdale." Silver opens up the area map and notices several areas with the same Pegasus icon. "Those are viewpoints, Mister Soldier. You can use them to gain a better understanding of your surroundings. They may even open up side missions for you." Xander explained. "I don't suppose there's enough time for me to check one out, is there?" Silver asked. Xander chuckles. "Go ahead, Silver." He allowed. Silver marked a viewpoint and was on his way. He makes his way to the viewpoint and synchronizes with the area. As the camera slowly spins, he can see Ponyville's clock tower in the distance. Once the synch was completed, the map pops up and a part of the map reveals itself. The only side missions in the area were races and Silver knew he didn't have time for them, so he pressed on to Cloudsdale. Dash enters the city and Silver immediately notices a viewpoint. He moves Dash to it and synchs with it, revealing the entire Cloudsdale map. A marker indicating a primary mission was placed on top of what appeared to be an arena. That had to be the Wonderbolts' HQ. There were race markers as well, but his current focus was on the primary mission and he went to that marker. As he maneuvered Dash to the area, the device took control. There were some guards examining the crime scene. One stopped Dash. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but you're not allowed in here." The guard said. "Spitfire sent me to help investigate." She threw back. The guard shook his head. "I don't care if Celestia herself sent you." He said, pressuring Dash to leave. Another guard leaves the room with a bag containing a feather. The color was a lighter shade of Dash's own coat. She knew the color, but couldn't nail it down. Silver regained control of Dash. He decided to try to speak to the guard again. "Leave now or I'll have you escorted out of the building." He said harshly. Not wanting to press his luck, Silver left the building. He flew Dash to the roof and landed on an area looking over the city. He opens the map to see if any new missions popped up. In addition to the races, two investigation missions appeared, and both were eavesdropping missions. He marked the closest one and went to it. He approached the mission from above and locked onto two Pegasi who were at "ground" level and began the mission. "Somepony took a pin from the Wonderbolts' headquarters." One of them said. Both Silver and Dash knew this already. "Yeah. I heard that a light blue Pegasus came barreling out." The other said. The coat description matches that of the feather that was found. Was there anything else? "I hope they find who did it." The first said. This was going nowhere and Silver regained control of Dash. He marked the other mission and made his way to it. Silver comes in from above again and begins the mission. "I heard she got drummed out of the Wonderbolt Academy for being too reckless." One said. Dash's ears perked, this was starting to sound familiar to her. "It couldn't have been Rainbow Dash, she's still with them." The other added. "I know, but who could possibly be more reckless than her?" The first asked. Dash knew the answer to that. "I've got to find her." She said quietly to herself before shaking her head. A waypoint appeared. Silver opened the map and the marker was leading him outside of Cloudsdale. There was nothing else to do here, so he followed the marker. The marker led Silver and Dash back to the academy, where Dash was greeted by Spitfire. "Have you made any progress, Rainbow?" She asked. Dash nodded. "Yes. It sounds like Lightning Dust is the culprit, ma'am." Dash reported. "Ma'am, with your permission, I'd like to find her and bring her in." She added. Spitfire nodded. "Granted. Be careful." The screen flickered once more and faded. Silver found himself back in Cloudsdale. He opened the map and found a new mission. It was already marked so he made his way to it. Dash approached a light blue Pegasus with a dark blonde mane and tail and matching yellow eyes. She had a white lightning bolt and three stars as her cutie mark. "Lightning Dust." Dash said, surprising the other Pegasus. Dust looks over to Dash and grins menacingly. "You found me," she said, "but do you think you can catch me?" She asked before taking off. "DUST!!" Dash yells before beginning the chase. A popup appears reading, "Catch Lightning Dust before she escapes Cloudsdale. Use the high profile mode to fly faster." The popup disappears and the chase was on. It took Silver a few tries, but he managed to catch Dust and complete the mission. As he caught her, the two Pegasi tumble onto the ground. Dust drops the pin and it lands on the clouds in front of them. "What's so special about a stupid pin?" Dash asked. "It's more than just a pin, Dash. It's knowledge." Dust began explaining. "Whoever wears the pin is granted the knowledge of the Goddesses." She continued. Dash drags her and picks up the pin. "It doesn't look like it to me." She said with skepticism. "I'm taking you to Spitfire." She finished. The screen flickered once more and faded to white.
Intermission 1The screen shuts down and slides open. "Is that it?" Silver asked, looking at Xander. "Hardly, Silver." Xander answered bluntly. "That was just the beginning. Time to get up." Silver complies and FS shuts the machine down. "I'll be back in a few hours." He tells Silver before looking at FS. "Take him to the gym, Miss Spirit and let him stretch his wings." He ordered. Xander left through one sliding door and Silver and FS leave through another. "Can I ask you something?" Silver asked. FS looks at him and nods. "Answer's probably obvious, but why do you keep my wings closed? It's not like I have any room to fly inside and you certainly won't let me out." It was the question that FS didn't want to hear, but it had to be asked sometime. "Xander ordered me to do it. Pure and simple answer is that the Griffons want to maintain control." She said. FS and Silver enter an enormous gym with an obstacle course on one side and various leveled structures on the other. "Where are you from, originally?" She finally asked, thinking he might've been born in Cloudsdale. "I don't know exactly, but I grew up in a community in the Badlands." He answered to the best of his knowledge. "They were always going on about their order had to fight the other and protect the lives of the other races." He added with a frustrated sigh. "I had no idea that the stories were true." FS placed a foreleg on Silver's shoulder. "I wish I could do more, but..." she says, firing up her horn to release Silver's wings, "all I can do for now is let you stretch your wings." She says. Silver flares open his wings and flutters them before lifting into the air. "Thanks. It's been a while since I did some flying." He says before taking on the obstacle course. After twenty minutes, Silver returned to FS and lands. "Stomach reminded me that I haven't ate anything yet today. Can you take me to the cafeteria?" He asked, closing his wings. FS nods and reactivates the spell before heading out of yet another sliding door. FS escorts Silver to the cafeteria. There were a lot of griffins in there, mixed in with some Diamond Dogs, Dragons, and Ponies. Silver was glad that there were other ponies, but at the same time he took no comfort into what they were doing to him and the others outside this facility. It was buffet style, so the food sucked, but it was better than nothing. Silver took some eggs which he figured out on day one that they were powdered, a couple of pancakes that were reheated and tasted like rubber, some cold hash browns a couple pieces of cold, soggy toast and a small glass of warm orange juice to wash the food down with. He couldn't stomach the food for the first couple of days, but he figured out a way. FS didn't take anything, good for her, she'll probably live longer than Silver. The two sit down at a small table, big enough for just the two of them. "I heard you were a baker at the doughnut shop." She said, hoping for some small talk before going back to whatever else Rainbow Dash had done in the past. Silver nodded. "Yeah. My folks taught me how to cook and bake." He said, munching on the toast. "Then I ran off to Canterlot. Biggest mistake of my life." He added, noticing the glares from the other employees. "What about you, Spirit? What brought you to these monsters?" He inquired. FS shifted in her seat. "I was studying neuroscience at Trottingham University. I wrote a thesis on what I had learned about genetic memory, but..." she trailed off. "The professors dismissed it and gave you the boot." Silver finished. FS nodded. "If only they were here right now." He said with a weak chuckle. He made FS smile as well. Silver finished his breakfast and the two trotted back to the gym. Silver had been flying around for the better part of an hour before Xander entered the gym. Silver took notice of this and landed next to him and FS. "I'm sorry for cutting this short, Silver, but my bosses demand that you go back into the machine." Xander said. Silver looks over to a forlorn FS who reactivates the binding spell on his wings. He knew the drill.
Sequence 2: PonyvilleThe screen flickers back to the Wonderbolts' training grounds. Rainbow Dash presents Lightning Dust to Spitfire and hands her instructor the pin. The fiery Pegasus adjusts her sunglasses and lets out a low snort. "Last year you came here hoping to be recruited as a Wonderbolt, but your reckless behavior, reported by Rainbow Dash, got you kicked out." She said, pacing back and forth in front of the blue Pegasi. "They must have known about the artifact. I commend them for sending a Pegasus for direct infiltration. Your actions in Cloudsdale however, will not be overlooked." Dust kept her head down, knowing the end was coming. A blade appears from under Spitfire's foreleg and Dash was shocked to see this. "I wish there was another way, but your organization gives us no alternative." She says before stabbing Dust in the chest, piercing her heart. "May your next life bring you the peace you desire." She continues, closing the newly deceased Pegasus' eyes. "Holy crap! I didn't see that coming!" Silver thought upon witnessing the death of yet another hot mare. Spitfire's blade retracts back into her uniform. "You did exceptionally well, Rainbow Dash." She says, praising the recruit's performance. "I believe you have earned the right to carry one of these blades." She adds, detaching the blade from her leg and giving it to Dash, who was still shocked about the murder she witnessed. "I know you're confused. Please, follow me." The screen flickers and shifts behind Dash. "Follow Spitfire to her office." A popup displays. Silver moves Dash as instructed. "Rainbow, you must be wondering why I killed her." Well duh. "The organization she worked for has been trying to obtain the pin you delivered to me since before I became a Wonderbolt." She began explaining. "She said that it was knowledge. What did she mean by that?" Dash asked. Spitfire slowly nods. "I was just about to get to that." She answered. "The pin, when worn on a magically enchanted suit, like my uniform, will allow the wearer to access what ever information its creators stored into it. Medicine, technology, the list goes on." She continued, then they arrived at her office. The screen flickers into the office. The two Pegasi enter and sit down. "The pin's creators were none other than the winged Unicorns, or as many of us dub them, Alicorns." Spitfire added. Dash recalled an object Trixie had worn earlier that year. "The Alicorn Amulet." She finally said. Spitfire nods. "Yes. They designed and built the amulet, but had no idea about its need to feed on the wielder's spirit until King Sombra brought it to their attention in the worst possible way." She concluded. Dash was still unsure about how to make of all this new information. "What about Lightning Dust though? Did she need to die like that?" Dash asked. "Maybe not. If I had let her live and leave, she would've brought in reinforcements. Then again, she might have just gone about her own business, but I doubt that. The people she worked for don't let their own leave that easily. They would've killed her eventually." She answered grimly. "Some ponies call us assassins." Spitfire continued. "While the terminology is correct, their views on us are demonized by our enemies. They believe us to be indiscriminate murderers, but the truth is quite different." She finished. Dash nods. "It's becoming clearer." She seems to be getting a better understanding of the situation, but that doesn't mean she liked it. "What about the princesses? Couldn't they take better care of these artifacts?" She asked. Spitfire taps her hoof on the table rhythmically. "Perhaps, but Canterlot has turned into a haven for this group. The only reason neither Celestia nor Luna have acted is because our enemies haven't and have no reason to either as the pin is in Pegasi posession." She explained. "We could surmise that they have infiltrated the royal guard as well." She continued. Dash realized what she said. "What about Shining Armor? Twilight's brother?" Dash inquired. "He was captain of the guard before he and Princess Cadance left for the Crystal Empire." Spitfire smiled and nodded. "Don't worry about him. He and his family have been our allies for a long time." She said, relieving Dash from the worry. There was a knock at the door. "Come in." Spitfire said. The door opens and in comes Cloudchaser. "Can I help you?" Spitfire asked. Cloudchaser nodded. "Maybe Rainbow Dash can." She said, looking over at Dash. "That Griffon Gilda has come back to Ponyville and is making a mess of things." She said with a tremble in her voice. Dash examines the device on her foreleg. She tightens a muscle in it and the blade pops out, still covered with Dust's blood. She tightens her leg muscle again and the blade retracts. "I'm on my way." Cloudchaser leaves the office. Dash stands up and heads to the door. "Go to the tailor." Spitfire ordered. "You don't want to draw any attention to yourself with that weapon." She added. Dash nods and leaves the office. The screen flickers behind a fluttering Rainbow Dash. "Go to the tailor." A popup reads. As instructed, Silver starts moving Dash to her destination. Silver hadn't noticed before, but the way Dash flew through the air was graceful for such a reckless Pegasus. Dash arrives at the tailor. "Spitfire sent me to get some clothes." The tailor nods. "Rainbow Dash, right?" He asks. "Yeah, that's me." She confirmed. The tailor went into the back of his shop and came out with a near typical Wonderbolt suit, the only difference being that it has Dash's new employers' emblem as well as a hole that fits over the hidden blade. The screen flickers once more. Silver finds Dash to be outside of the tailor's with her new Wonderbolt Assassin suit on. A marker appears on the mini map. Silver opens the map and pans it to the marker. "To Ponyville", it read. There was a viewpoint on the way, so he places a marker on and heads to it. Syncing with the viewpoint opened up more races. This hub area must love its races, Silver thought, continuing onto Ponyville. A cinematic took over as Dash made her way to Twilight Sparkle's home, the town's library. Silver found it odd that the... "Alicorn", as Spitfire phrased it, would choose to live in such a place. He didn't think it was bad though, it just showed him that Twilight liked to mingle with the others. Dash knocks on Twilight's door before opening it. The princess trots up to Dash. "Welcome back, Rainbow. How was your stay?" She asks before noticing the Wonderbolt Assassin emblem on the suit. "Oh Rainbow! You've been accepted as a Wonderbolt! Congratulations!" Twilight says cheerfully. Dash didn't share her friend's enthusiasm. "Yeah, but there's more to it." She said. Twilight nodded, maintaining her smile. "Oh I know. You're an assassin." Dash darted her head around. "Jeez, Twi. Give me away, why don't ya." She said irritably. "Now, where's Gilda? I heard she was causing trouble." She continued, moving out of the way as Twilight trots to the door. "Follow me, my little assassin." She said. Dash groans and the screen flickers. Silver was once again controlling Dash as she follows Twilight. "Don't worry, Rainbow. Ponyville is a haven for the assassins and has been since the town was founded." She explained. Hearing this relieved Dash a little bit, but realizes something. "Wait a sec... the Apple family. They're not...?" She tries asking. Twilight nods. "Yes, but Apple Bloom doesn't know yet." Dash nods, intending to keep the secret. The two have arrived at the town square. Dash immediately sees Gilda harrassing a Unicorn. Twilight stops Dash from killing Gilda right now. "Not in the open." Twilight ordered. "She doesn't know you're here, so follow her and confront her in an isolated part of town." She added. Dash darted upward quietly. The camera follows Dash until she lands on top of a cloud, then it rotates to view the ground. "Follow Gilda to an isolated part of town and assassinate her." A popup displayed. Silver kept his focus on Gilda as the Griffon was flipping carts that were in her way. The screen flickers. "Maintain distance from target to prevent desync." Another popup reads. Silver moves Dash off of the cloud, diving to a building underneath. "I got this." Silver said to himself, landing Dash softly and quietly on the roof. It took roughly five minutes before Gilda was on her own. Silver rotates the camera to make sure there were no other ponies in the area before striking. Quickly and efficiently, Dash pins Gilda to the ground. "Get off me, dweeb!" She squawked. Dash flips the Griffon over and sees the flip-flop was holding a blade to her neck. "Why are you here?" Dash demanded. "What's it to ya? You're not on the winning team anyway." Gilda threw back. "If this is about the Alicorn Pin, it's in Pegasus posession. The amulet is protected as well." Dash said. Gilda chuckles. "Do you really think those are the only two artifacts? You really are a noob. We'll have full control of Equestria before you even realize what's going on." She says before breaking into a full laugh. "You and your organization will never control Equestria. I'll see to it personally." Dash says before sinking the blade into Gilda's throat. Dash retracts the blade, closes Gilda's eyes and puts her in a dignified position. Twilight pops up behind her. "I really didn't think you had it in you, Rainbow." Dash begins hovering above Twilight. "Neither did I." She said. Twilight hovers next to Dash and places a hoof on her shoulder. "Take a breather, Dash. I'll take care of Gilda." Twilight says, returning to the ground. Dash rubs the back of her neck slowly. "Yeah... I'm going to report back to Spitfire." She says. Just as Dash was about to take off, Twilight stopped her. "Wait!" She yells, floating one of Gilda's feathers to her. "Take this with you and present it to Spitfire." Dash takes the feather and inserts it into her suit. "Good luck!" Twilight said as Dash took off. The screen flickers once more. The training grounds loaded up once more and Dash standing outside of Spitfire's office. She knocks on the door a couple of times. "Enter." Spitfire said and Dash does. Spitfire turns around from the window. "What's the situation in Ponyville?" She asks. Dash pulls out Gilda's feather and places it on the desk. "The town is safe for the time being." Dash says grimly. "Excellent. I'm glad to hear that you were able to do it." Spitfire says, acknowledging the gift and putting it into a small chest with Lightning Dust's feather. "You must feel like a monster after taking another's life. I know, I've been there." She adds. "I take it Twilight is cleaning things up in Ponyville." She concludes. Dash nods in affirmation. "She also suggested I take a break." Dash requested. Spitfire nods. "Do it." Spitfire ordered. "I'd stay away from Cloudsdale and Canterlot for a while. Things are starting to heat up." She warned. The conversation was over. Dash leaves the office and the screen flickers white.
Intermission 2The screen slides open and Xander was standing over Silver Soldier once again. "Time to get out, Silver." The Griffon said calmly and almost friendly. "Miss Spirit feels that you're spending too much time in the device." Silver Soldier looks over to a window and realizes the Griffon was right as it's been dark for a while. He looks over to Xander, who is opening the door to his room. He lets out an annoyed groan and trots to his room. "I guess I'll see you in the morning." "Do get some rest, Silver. We have a long way to go yet." Xander says before closing and locking up the door. Silver Soldier grumbles before trotting to the bathroom. "Helluva month, Silver." He says to himself, examining himself in the mirror briefly before heading to the shower stall. During his shower, Silver would think back to the Badlands. His mother died when he was still a young colt and was never on the best terms with his father. They had always been secretive about this battle of theirs and would never explain it to him. Until he left the settlement, he was always taught that the Alicorns of old would return some day and return order to Equestria. When or how, nopony knew. Why they left was never revealed, but Silver thought that it had something to do with Lightning Dust and Gilda's bosses. Time to dry off. It would be easier if he could use his wings to handle the towel. His father would always warn him of the dangers of the outside world, but Silver never listened. He got bored of seeing the same group of Pegasi and Unicorns day after day and vowed to himself that he would live his life as a normal pony. He could've picked Cloudsdale, Fillydelphia, Manehattan or even Baltimare to live in. Ponyville, Appleloosa and Dodge Junction were no longer on the map and they hadn't been in nearly five hundred years. So why Canterlot, Unicorn capitol of Equestria? Call it historical interest. He always wanted to enter the old castle, see the stained glass artwork that depicted Equestria's many victories, from Discord's first defeat to the liberation of the Crystal Empire, another place that had been long abandoned. Silver climbs into his bed, his world was a bleak one at best. Every creature, Pony, Dragon, Minotaur, Griffon, were all being controlled by this select few, but the one thing they still had was their free will, which this organization wanted to eliminate as well. Why though? What purpose would it serve them if everyone was a mindless drone like an average Changeling was? The Changelings... another fabled species and one of the few species that resisted to the very end. Through stories, he learned they suffered a major defeat at the hooves of Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, but they were able to secure a peace treaty with Princess Celestia, but it wasn't enough for protection. Morning came and no Xander to wake him up. Silver trots to the door and opens it up, seeing Xander at his computer in the back and FS calibrating the device. "Good morning." The groggy Pegasus says. "Good morning, Silver." A chipper FS says. "There's some coffee on the table." Silver approaches the table and pours himself a cup of coffee that was definitely from the outside. "You shouldn't have." He says. "What's with the special treatment?" Xander scoffs. "You'll find out soon, Mister Soldier." The Griffon says, moving away from his computer. "Now get in the device." Silver groans. "Really? I haven't been up for ten minutes." Xander waves him over. "You'll have plenty of time to wake up later. This next part should be quick enough." Silver finishes his cup of coffee and climbs onto the device. "Whatever you say, Xander." The screen slides over his face and flickers to a white screen. Author's Note Sorry it took so long to get back to this. Expect the next sequence within the next day or two.
Sequence 3: Ponyville 2The screen loads up and Rainbow Dash is with her friends at Ponyville's town square after helping Applejack and Big Macintosh pick apples for cider season. Since she started two years ago, she was guaranteed one barrel for herself, as were the other girls for their efforts. "Thanks for yer help, girls." Applejack said with a very pleased tone. "This year's cider season is going to be the best yet." She added, until the group sees a bunch of ponies in a trance, trotting to somewhere. AJ looks up to Dash. "Could ya see what the fuss is about?" Dash nods and takes off. Lots of ponies were in a trance Dash noted as she was making her way to the front of the line. Far ahead she sees what looks like Flim and Flam's harvester. That can't be right, she thought, those two were run out of Ponyville for this exact same thing. Unwillingly, her vision changed and as it did, she nearly fell to the ground from the pain, but it quickly subsided. Using this new vision, she checked out the harvester again, this time she was able to see something pulsing from the front before her vision normalized. "What the hay?" She asked herself quietly before returning to the others. Dash returns, stopping in midair. "I've got some bad news." She says, rubbing the back of her neck. "Flim and Flam are back, and they have some freaky thing attached to their harvester making the other ponies the way they are." She concluded. AJ grumbled. "If it ain't one thing, it's another." She says before galloping off. Dash lands next to Twilight and closes her wings. "Hey, Twi. I know you know a thing or two about the order, so I gotta ask if you know anything about my vision changing." She inquired, shocking the princess. "You have Second Sight?" She asked, getting a shrug from Dash. "Did everything get dark, and all you could see was an aura around everypony?" Dash nodded at this question. "Yeah... and I could see something pulsing out from the harvester." She added. Twilight stops and rubs her chin. "Follow me." She ordered. The screen flickers and loads up a new area for Silver. Dash was underneath Twilight's library. "Why am I here?" She asks. Twilight lights up the room with her magic. "It's rare for a non-Alicorn pony to have Second Sight. So I'm going to teach you how to use it." She says. Dash cocks her head and lifts an eyebrow. "Twilight, you weren't born an Alicorn." She noted. "So how can you know about this... Second Sight?" Twilight giggles. "Nopony is born an Alicorn, Rainbow. Princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadance all went through the same process I did." Twilight levitates a piece of cloth to Dash and covers her eyes, blinding Silver as well. "I'm going to place an invisible marker on the wall, Rainbow." She says. "When I tell you, take off the blind fold and look for the marker using Second Sight." She continued. Dash groans. "How am I supposed to use it?" Dash asked. "Focus on it, Dash." Twilight answers. After a few moments, Twilight finishes placing the marker and darkens the room. "Okay, Dash. You can take the blind fold off." She says. Dash does as she instructed. "It's too dark in here, Twi. How am I su-" Dash says, interrupting herself. "Second Sight..." She finishes. The screen flickers and Silver is once again in control of Dash. "Activate Second Sight and find Twilight Sparkle's marker." A popup read. Fortunately for Silver, Second Sight was easy enough to activate and does. Not only does he see the marker, but he also sees Twilight's aura in blue. Silver makes his way to the marker and interacts with it. Second Sight deactivates and the light from the candles returns. "Congratulations, Rainbow." Twilight says proudly. "I'm surprised that you were able to catch on so quickly." She adds. Applejack opens the door above them and enters. "Girls, we've got a major problem." She says. The screen flickers and the group stands outside of the library. They see many hypnotized ponies trotting off to who knows where. "What are they doing?" Dash asks openly. "If I were to guess, it looks like they're raisin' an army." AJ answers. "An army for what, though?" Twilight asks. "It's not like we're at war with anyone." She adds. AJ nods. "I know." She says, looking over to Dash. "Let's find out, shall we?" Dash nods and the two take off. Silver regains control of Dash. "Follow Applejack to Flim and Flam." A popup reads. A marker is placed on the minimap, on top of AJ. Silver follows her closely as they make their way to the town square. The screen flickers, Dash lands next to AJ and look over to Flim and Flam. "Let's do this." Applejack says, hoofbumping Dash. "Just don't get caught." "Destroy the harvester using an Atomic Rainbomb." A popup reads. Silver takes Dash to an isolated part of town and flies her to the town's ceiling. As quickly as he ascended, Silver plunged Dash on to the harvester. When prompted, he activated the Atomic Rainbomb, destroying the harvester and the magical device attached to it, as well as sending the two Unicorns flying in opposite directions. "Oh for two, Flim!" Flam yells to his twin brother. "Time to get a move on!" Flim yells back. Applejack catches up to Rainbow Dash. "I'll go after Flim, you get Flam!" She ordered. Dash nods and begins her pursuit. As per usual, Silver chased after Flam as he had chased previous ponies. This time was a little different. Since he was a Unicorn, Flam was able to use spells to evade Dash and would hurl various objects to try and slow her down and teleport from side to side, but his tricks weren't enough and Silver caught up with the Unicorn and tackled him. Dash had the Unicorn pinned down and pressed the blade against his neck. "Why would you two do it?" She asked, pressing the blade more firm against his neck. "Why would you brainwash these ponies?" She continued. Flam simply laughs. "For the bits, of course." Dash grumbles. "Is money the only thing you and your brother care about?" She asked. Flam feigned being in thought for a second before grinning. "Yes." He answered. Dash was more than a little upset hearing this. "Why are you collecting the bits?" Flam laughs some more. "All part of our project, my dear." Dash plunged the blade into his neck. "Hopefully this will slow down your project." She says, removing the blade from his neck and cutting off a chunk of his moustache. The screen flickers and fades to white.
Intermission 3The screen slides open, Silver looks around the room and the only one he sees is FS. "Hop out, Silver." She requests. He complies. "What's going on, Freedom?" He asks. "Where's Xander?" FS uses her magic to close the lid on the device's terminal and slides it inside. "Xander is a tad busy convincing his bosses to let him keep his job." This piques Silver's interest. "Was it something I did?" FS shakes her head. "No. Besides, he knows they won't let him go, he's too valuable for the project." Silver hops off of the device. "A bit cocky, isn't he?" FS giggles. "Just a bit. I'll be running out for some food, let you eat something fresh for a change." Silver smiles. "Thanks, Freedom." He says. "I didn't know you liked me that much. Next we'll be goin' to a movie." He jokes. She trots to the door. "Don't flatter yourself." She says with a wink. "Now you be good and don't touch anything while I'm gone. It should only be ten minutes." Silver nods. "Yes, ma'am." FS returns to Silver with their meal and finds him in his room. "Alright, you come out here." She orders. Silver exits his room. FS is at a table and he trots to it, sitting himself across from her. "Thanks again, Freedom." He says as she floats a container next to him. "Don't mention it." She says warmly. "You've gone too long without any real food and it's not like we can't bring takeout into the building." Silver picks up his sandwich, takes a bite and nods. "So why was I chosen for this project, anyway?" He asks after swallowing his food. "You are a direct descendant of Rainbow Dash." She answers, taking a scond bite from her own sandwich. "It's very rare to find a direct descendant of one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony." Silver nods. "I bet. But I also imagine there are quite a few of them that split." FS nods. "Of course." She says flatly. "But the project needed a direct descendant. I'm a direct descendant of Sweetie Belle." She explains, taking a sip of her drink. Silver gives her a curious glance. "If you're wondering if I've ever seen her life, yes, I have. Her youth was quite dangerous." Silver takes a sip from his drink and a bite from his sandwich. "I bet." He agreed. "With her being one of the... what'd they call themselves?" He asks, trying to remember the group's name. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders, that's it." FS laughs. "Yeah. After many years of trial and error..." she says, resting a hoof against her chin, "five, I think, the trio finally came around to earning their cutie marks." Silver glances at her blank flank, then over to his own. "Not much use for 'em now, is there?" He asks, finishing up his sandwich. FS finishes hers up also. "It's as rare to find a pony with one today as it was to find one without one back then, aside from the foals." She comments, cleaning up their lunch. Xander enters the room just as FS finishes the cleanup. "Mister Soldier." He greets. "I suppose you had a chance to rest up?" He asks. Silver nods. "Excellent." He says, pointing a claw to the device. "Would you mind?" Silver climbs back onto the device. "Now that I've had a proper meal, I feel like I can take over the world." He jokes. The screen slides back over his face and flickers on.
Sequence 4: CanterlotIt had been months since Flim and Flam were killed. The screen fades to a carriage that Rainbow Dash and the others were riding on the way to the gala. Dash had Rarity modify her dress to accomodate the hidden blade. Fluttershy looked tense as she watches Dash play with the blade. Twilight Sparkle and Rarity were running their mouths, leaving Applejack, who was sitting across from her. Dash finally looked away from the blade and to AJ. "You're not nervous about this gala, are ya?" She asked. Dash sighs. "A little bit, yeah." She answered, still playing with the blade. "Y'all have nothin' to be nervous about, Rainbow, as long as you stop playin' with yer weapon." AJ said, snapping Dash out of her bubble. She'd been playing with it since they stepped into the carriage. The carriage stops in front of Canterlot Castle and the girls exit it. The screen flickers and the group circles up. "Aside from the usual business..." Twilight began, "let's try to have a little bit of fun." She continued with a cheerful tone. "Dash, you know the Wonderbolts are attending, so go ahead and mingle with them for a while." She adds. Dash nods. "I'll be with Celestia greeting guests." She concluded. "I heard Fancy Pants is going to be here, so I'll probably be with him." Rarity added. "I'll be in the ballroom livening up the party." Pinkie Pie added with her usual energy before skipping off. Dash starts hovering over the others. "Well, I'm going to report to Spitfire." She said. "Let's try not to make this a repeat of our first gala." She added with a chuckle. The screen flickers and the group had dispersed. High profile movement had been disabled at the moment, so Silver has to suffer through the slow movement. Silver tried to gain access to other parts of the castle, but couldn't because the guards were acting as invisible walls, so he continued on, looking for the Wonderbolts. On the way he saw Rarity with a blue maned stallion wearing a monocle alongside a slender mare. Fluttershy was being escorted to the garden and as usual looked scared out of her mind by the escort. He looked out of a window and saw AJ at her apple stand. He continues toward the marker, which leads him to the ballroom. Dash enters the ballroom and approaches Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts. "I'm surprised to see you here." Dash casually says. Spitfire and the others are in their show uniforms. "Likewise." Spitfire responded. "Considering all you've accomplished." She adds with a smile. "Business or pleasure?" Dash inquired, curious about their presence at the gala. Spitfire giggles before looking over at Soarin who was carrying an apple pie in. "A little bit of both." She says, clearing her throat. "Follow me, Dash." It was time for another follow mission. Silver kept Dash next to Spitfire. "We didn't expect you to be here, Dash." She said. "But it is a good surprise as your presence will make our job easier." She continued. The two pass the entry hall, Twilight could be seen in the back greeting guests with Princess Celestia. The two exit the castle and proceed to a secluded area. Spitfire looks all over, making sure they weren't followed. "Alright, here's what's going on." She began. "Since you brought in Lightning Dust, we were considering taking the pin to Celestia, but we needed a reason to be in Canterlot." She added. "The gala happens once a year, so that was the ticket in." Dash says. Spitfire taps her nose. "Exactly. And the Wonderbolts are always invited." She continued. "But the princess is always too busy greeting guests." Dash adds, looking inside toward Celestia and Twilight. "Even with Twi at her side." She concludes. "Right. Since you're friends with the Ponyville princess, you'll have a better chance in passing it off." Spitfire suggests, pulling out the pin from her uniform and passing it to Dash, who hides it in her dress. With the conversation over, Spitfire returns to the ballroom to rejoin her fellow wonderbolts. Silver guides Dash to the line to greet Celestia. It would be a long and boring process, but Dash eventually makes her way to Celestia. Dash shakes Twilight's hoof first. "Hello, Rainbow Dash." The sun princess greets. "Are you enjoying your evening?" She asks. Dash nods. "So far so good, Your Majesty." She says, digging into her dress. "I have a gift for you." She continues, pulling out the pin. Celestia's eyes widen and she darts her head around. "Where did you get this?" She asked, taking the artifact away from Dash. And what seemed like convenient timing, Princess Luna enters the room and stands next to Celestia, Twilight and Dash. She sees the pin and her own eyes widened. She quickly calms though. "Dear sister, why don't you take a break and allow us to greet the guests." She suggests. Celestia agreed and the three leave the scene. Celestia, Twilight and Dash enter a secluded area of the castle. "Thank you for returning the pin, Rainbow Dash." She says. Dash nods. "No problem. It was in Wonderbolt possession. For how long though, I don't know. I do know that it was almost captured by one of our enemies." She responds. Celestia nodded. "Then we must not let them get their hooves on it." She ordered. Prince Blueblood wanders into the room. "There you are, auntie. I've been looking for you." He says, trotting up pretentiously to the three. Celestia facehoofs and shakes her head. "The guests are waiting for your speech, auntie." He continues. "That right, I almost forgot. Thank you for reminding me." She says, letting out an annoyed groan. She hands over the pin when Dash's Second Sight kicks in. It wasn't painful the second time, but the change wasn't comfortable either. She looks at Blueblood who was covered in a red aura. Her normal vision returns. "Princess, don't!" She yells, but it was too late. Blueblood already possesses the pin and was galloping away and Dash was flying to catch up. "Catch Blueblood before he escapes the castle property." A popup reads. Silver was immediately on it. Being that Silver was chasing a Unicorn, this was going to be more problematic as Blueblood knew a short range teleportation spell. The chase led them outside the castle. Silver took this opportunity to gain altitude. He activates Second Sight, spots Blueblood in a gold aura and resumes the chase. Dash was much faster in the open and he used it to his advantage. Blueblood would teleport from one side of the road to another, but Dash was gaining a lot of speed and suddenly broke the sound barrier, finishing the chase. When Dash hits Blueblood, the two tumble, with Dash pinning him down at the end. Silver knew it was that time again as Dash had the blade resting against Blueblood's neck. The stallion seemed to be genuinely troubled. He was at the brink of tears. "Give it up, Blueblood." She orders, pressing the blade against his throat. "You can have it!" He responds, fishing for the pin. "The knowledge recorded on it..." he continues, pulling out the pin. "It's too much to bear." Celestia, Luna and Twilight catch up to the two. Dash releases him. "Blueblood! What is the meaning of this?" Luna demanded. "I was hired to obtain the pin." He says, kneeling before Luna. "Had I known what was on it, I never would've taken it. Forgive me, auntie." He finishes before getting hit in the back with magic. Death was instant. The pin was being lifted off of Dash's hoof and it was brought to a blue Unicorn. "Is that a wizard hat and cape?" Silver commented on the mare's bizarre costume. "Trixie!" Dash yells. "That's 'The Great and POWERFUL Trixie' to you!" Dash, and by extension Silver, examine Trixie and she appears to be wearing something else. Dash gasps. "The Alicorn Amulet!" She exclaimed. She was about to ask how she got it, but she looks down at Blueblood's corpse. "Naturally." She huffs under her breath before taking chase. "Catch Trixie and reclaim the pin and the amulet." A popup read, but something strange occurs during the chase, Trixie somehow cloned herself. Silver activates Second Sight, but both Trixies were covered in a gold aura. Unsure of which one to go after, he picks one Trixie and focuses on catching her. Silver catches up to this Trixie and tackles her. The two tumble and Dash already had the hidden blade planted firmly on her neck. When the dust settles, Dash notices that this Trixie was in fact a Canterlot citizen. She retracts the blade and helps the distraught Unicorn up. "Are you alright, ma'am?" Dash asks. The Unicorn screams and calls for guards. A group of Pegasus guards arrive, but so does Princess Celestia. "Let her go." The princess demanded. "But your majesty, she was going to kill this pony." The guard said. Celestia shakes her head. "No. Rainbow Dash was tricked. Let her go." She explained. The guards didn't like it, but they obeyed her. "Find her, Rainbow Dash." The princess orders. Dash nods.
Sequence 5: Ponyville 3Rainbow Dash had chased Trixie back to Ponyville. She manages to get inside the town proper before Trixie raised a barrier. She turns and sees her friends trapped on the outside. Dash was on her own with a crazy and powerful Unicorn dominating the will of the citizens. Dash approaches Lyra, who was sitting upright on the park bench as usual. "Lyra! Are you alright?" She asks, grabbing the entranced Unicorn. "Join us, Rainbow Dash." She said monotonously. "Join the Great and Powerful Trixie and end your torment." She continued, freaking out Dash. The screen flickers and Silver regains control of Dash. He takes her up as high as he can and uses Second Sight to find Trixie's trail and examines the magical barrier. He finds a golden trail leading up to Twilight's library. He returns to ground level and approaches the barrier with Dash's friends on the outside and interacts with it. Dash slams a hoof on the barrier and starts tearing up. "I'll stop her, girls!" She says with very little confidence. "You do what you need to do." Twilight said. "We have faith in you!" She adds, increasing Dash's confidence. The screen flickers. Dash is turned around and hovering in the air. "Locate and assassinate Trixie without killing any Ponyville citizens." Silver makes his way to the library, but Ponyville Pegasi were determined to stop Dash from getting to it. He was undeterred though and plows through the Pegasi, being careful not to hurt any of them. Dash enters the library's basement, the same place Twilight taught her how to use Second Sight. The place was lit up, but there was no fire to provide the light and was almost cyberpunk-ish. Silver notices a pair of prominent lights and investigates the area, finding yet another staircase going down. It wasn't a big staircase, but it led Dash to a long corridor with the same lighting theme. The corridor ends in a large open room. Silver can hear Trixie chanting something. Silver was no linguist, but from the documentaries he watched, he knew that it was an ancient pony language. He moves Dash to the marker, the screen flickers and the device took over. "Trixie!" Dash yells. The Unicorn turns around and laughs maniacally. "You foal." She opens. "Do you honestly think that you can stop the Great and Powerful Trixie?" Dash swallows hard. "I have both the Alicorn Pin and Alicorn Amulet." She boasts. "There is nothing you can do to stop me." The screen flickers. Dash is hovering. Silver can hear Trixie begin casting her magic. "Assassinate Trixie." A popup read. "How though?" He asks himself quietly. Silver started by trying to directly attack the Unicorn, but Dash would get knocked back, eliciting laughter from Trixie; the room was too small to try using an atomic rainbomb, but even if it wasn't, he wouldn't risk using it underground. After minutes of trial and error, he noticed mirrors lining either side of the room. He placed Dash in front of a mirror, waited until Trixie cast an attack spell. Once the spell was cast, he waited to the last second before rolling Dash out of its path. He wasn't sure if it was possible, but the event proved otherwise: Trixie's spell bounced off of the mirror right back to its caster., knocking her back. Trixie lets out a low groan. "HOW DARE YOU!" Lather, rinse, repeat. Silver continued the assault until a cutscene plays. "You will never gain the pin nor the amulet!" She yells out before concentrating on yet another spell. The amulet powers up and Trixie appears to be making clones of herself. "What the hay?!" Silver exclaims. "Can you find the real Great and Powerful Trixie?" All the Trixies say at the same time. There were seven Trixies, each powering up a magic spell. Silver quickly activates Second Sight, the result was predictable as he was able to identify the real Trixie, who had a gold aura. He was moving Dash around to buy him some time to get in front of a mirror ahead of the real Trixie. He finds his window of opportunity and takes it. The Trixies cast their spell at Dash and Silver once again waits to the last second before moving Dash upward and again, the spell bounces off of the mirror and hits the real Trixie, knocking her onto her back. Dash knocks the pin away from Trixie, pinning the Unicorn to the ground. Trixie tries using her magic, but her reserves were depleted. "This isn't possible!" She cries out. Dash cuts the amulet off of Trixie and tosses it to the side. "We gave you a third chance, Trixie." Dash says, holding the blade to her neck. "It's quite obvious that you can't resist the lust for power. While I have no such ambition, I do know the feeling." She adds. "How could you? How could you understand what it feels like to be in control?" Trixie interjects. "It's a euphoric feeling when you're on somepony's pedestal." Dash says. "But the expectation that comes with that feeling must ground you. If you fail to live up to that pony's expectation, they become disappointed and resentful." She continued, eliciting a tear from Trixie. "I don't know who you failed to become the mare you are now, but I imagine you did everything you could to earn back their respect." She adds, burying the blade into Trixie's neck. The Unicorn's eyes slowly dim and become lifeless. "I hope you find that respect in the next life." She concludes, closing the Unicorn's eyes and takes a lock of the Unicorn's mane. The screen flickers back to where the barrier had kept the others out. Dash slowly trots up to the crowd. She tosses the Alicorn Amulet and Alicorn Pin onto the ground in front of Celestia. "So... it's over." Celestia says in a troubled tone. Dash adds the lock of hair to the pile. "Unfortunately, yes." Dash says, trotting to Spitfire. "I'm sorry, captain, but I can't do this anymore." She says, removing the blade from her foreleg. Spitfire rests her foreleg on Dash. "You did well, Rainbow Dash." She says, but the words didn't comfort her. "But remember, there are others out there who will continue this pursuit." She adds. "There will always be a place for you with us." The scene slows down and the screen flickers white. It was all over.
EpilogueThe screen shuts down and slides open. Silver Soldier hops off the table, looks around and notices that he's the only one in the room. Where are they? He thought. The outer door slides open and in comes Freedom's Spirit covered in blood. "Come on, Silver. We gotta get out of here." She says quietly, using her magic to remove the barrier holding Silver's wings closed. The Pegasus flares them open and flaps them a few times before hovering. The door slides open, Freedom's Spirit is resting on Silver Soldier's back as he hurriedly leaves the room, beginning their escape. "Freedom... whose blood is that?" He asks, evading Griffons and Pegasi. "Unfortunately not Xander's." She responded. "Make a left at this next corridor." She advises. Silver complies, making the turn, but the path is blocked by a Minotaur. Silver punches up his speed, knocking down the Minotaur. "Keep going," She instructed, "there's a duct that will take us to an air shaft and we can get out that way." Silver plows his way through the air duct and into the shaft FS mentioned. The path upward was clear, the only thing in the way was the massive fan above and some guards behind. Silver starts his ascent through the shaft, the wind from the fan was strong to keep the ascent at a slow pace. Second Sight is unintentionally activated and for a brief moment, it allowed Silver to see structural weaknesses in the shaft, with the major one connecting to the fan. He kicks the rotor holding the fan until he hears some cracking sounds, then continues upward. The rotor fails completely, the fan begins coming down, but Silver was quick enough to evade the fan. Fortunately, or unfortunately, those who were chasing him were not. Now without the constraint of the fan, Silver and FS leave the facility and head skyward. "Okay, now what?" Silver asks as calmly as he could, but the adrenaline rush made that almost impossible. "Now we gotta hide." Silver nodded and knew exactly where to go: into the clouds. Hours pass. Griffons and Pegasi were searching the clouds in the immediate area. As soon as he saw a clearing, Silver moved to another cloud, waited and repeated the process until they gave up. Dawn approached quickly and they had to continue. "Okay..." FS said with a sigh of relief, "now we head to the Everfree Forest." She ordered, getting a questioning look from Silver. "You sure? That's not exactly the safest place in Equestria." He commented. FS nods. "I know, but the creatures there are indiscriminate about what they kill." Silver took note and took off to the forest. "Besides, we have friends there." She added. Silver Soldier starts flying to the Everfree Forest. What did his captors want with the Alicorn artifacts? Should he trust this Unicorn? Author's Note Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. I plan on two more parts, and #2 needs to be fleshed out before I begin. Click here to download the PDF version of this story.
PrologueIt's not the Equestria you thought it was. No, that was almost a thousand years ago. It's an era of technological, medical, social, economic and philosophical advancements. Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Twilight Sparkle are nowhere to be found. The consensus is that they are either long dead, or have never existed in the first place. Many believe the latter, some believe the former, but others believe that the mythical winged Unicorns are hiding somewhere, biding their time for something. "Rise and shine, mister Soldier." A male Griffon's voice says, waking up a Pegasus named Silver Soldier. "What is it today, Xander?" The Pegasus says with an irritated tone before rolling out of his cot. He would have fluttered off of it, but his wings were bound by magic. He had been in isolation for a week after the company abducted him from work. "Don't take that tone, Silver. We prepped the machine for you." Xander responds as he escorts Silver Soldier into the antechamber housing the company's prized machine, a virtual reality device that accesses the users' genetic memory. The consensus on the matter is that it's nothing more than pseudoscience. Memories can't be stored within a pony's DNA and are only stored within the living pony's brain as electrical impulses. Silver Soldier knew this after watching several shows on the subject of memory. This company though... they managed to prove the science community wrong, but haven't released their data to the public yet. The two approach the table with Silver Soldier trotting next to Xander. "Hop on, Silver." Xander requested. Silver complied, laying on his back. "What exactly are you guys looking for?" He asked, not expecting an answer. "The key to our future." Xander replied cryptically. He looks over to his assistant, Freedom's Spirit, a pale blue Unicorn with beautiful light brown eyes and two-tone blue mane and tail. "Activate the machine, Miss Spirit." He ordered before patting Silver Soldier on the shoulder. "Just relax." He suggested before the screen slid across, arcing over Silver's face. The screen flickered on and he was greeted with a loading screen with a generic Pegasus that Silver Soldier was able to play around with until the screen fades to white. "Subject 6: Silver Soldier" was displayed in the upper left corner of the screen briefly before flickering away. The screen loaded an incomplete area. Was it Canterlot? He made the generic Pegasus wander through the area, passing by other generic ponies, some Earth Ponies and Pegasi, but mostly Unicorns. It had to be Canterlot. The screen flickered and was out of focus. "We must not let them get their hooves on it." A strong, yet feminine voice uttered coherently enough for Silver Soldier to understand. "What's going on?" Xander demanded. "I'm not sure, but I'm guessing Silver Soldier's mind can't access this particular memory yet." FS answered. "Well then take him back to one that he can." Xander demanded again. FS complied and the screen went white again.
