Legacy: Season One

*Legacy

Episode Seven: Cold Steel*

Written By: Fluttashift

Hope. It’s something we cling to in times of desperation. It’s the light at the end of the tunnel; the happy ending to a story; the peace after the war. Humanity needs this feeling; this determination. It gives us the will to stand up; the strength to fight; the ability to push our limits. Hope is survival, and survival is hope. Hope can also be shattered, broken, or taken away. That is the will of the opposing side, the enemy, the villain. To break you and take away the hope of victory; of survival. This is something that must never be taken from a hero no matter how high the stakes or how tragic the loss. It is the only way we can do the one thing we so desperately need: deliver true justice.

LEGACY

I glanced up to see the sky filled with Gears, all sporting menacing weapons ranging from guns, to rockets, to swords, and even laser cannons. The robotic behemoths were soaring out of the top of the metallic pyramid known as the Spawner, like ants out of a humongous anthill. Some were the normal silver while a few were gold plated and their heads shaped more like a pyramid than a skull. These Gears known as Generals had glowing green eyes instead of red. Forming a large circle around Canterlot, one robot flew to the center of the group.

Celestia turned to face me, her eyes wide, her expression one of sheer panic, as she yelled, “Go! Now! All of you ponies! Luna and I will hold them off. Destroy the Spawner and find the answer to the riddle!” As if on cue, in the distance, Princess Luna came soaring toward us.

Twilight climbed into the carriage, followed by the rest. Octavia stopped, staring into the open vehicle. She was shaking, her eyes wide, a frightened look plastered on her face. I swung my head around to see her cowering as the others gestured her in with their hooves.

“Hurry! Octavia! We don’t have time for this!” I snapped, stomping a hoof.

“T-they’re all dead. The guards… they all… d-died…” she muttered, stock still, frozen in place, “T-the… sky… it’s… filled with…” Her eyes went that same ghostly white, beginning to roll back into her head.

“Oh, my!” Fluttershy gasped, putting a hoof to her mouth.

“Jus’ grab her and get her on the carriage. We need to get a move on if we wanna stop these Gears,” Applejack suggested.

Finally, somepony with some bucking common sense! Still, what’s wrong with her? Another premonition? Another message?

“Our death is certain! Only our past can stop the future! Cold Steel! Cold Steel!” Octavia hollered, turning her gaze toward me. I stared into her pupiless eyes, struck with a feeling of horror. “Cold Steel!” She screamed one last time as she fainted, falling onto her side once more.

Cold Steel? The hell is she talking about? Only the past can stop the future?

Then, everything around me froze, slowing to a halt. My eyes grew wider and wider, as I mumbled inaudible words under my breath. The world faded to blackness as I closed my eyes. Instantly they shot open as I stared into the infinite darkness. Forming around me was a vision of the past, I stood in the snow, my hooves crunching as I left hoofprints. The wind gusted violently, blowing my mane forward. I shivered, the cold chilling to the bone. Trying to trot, I found myself frozen in place.

A large rumbling shook the ground beneath me. Glancing forward, I saw a temple begin to form. It was a large ice-sculpted building that looked reminiscent of an old chinese design. Sculpted dragons made of ice sat like gargoyles on the slanted roof, the doors were gigantic and had the yin-yang symbol in the middle. A large row of steps led up to them. WIth another rumble, the doors slid open slowly.

Soaring out of them was a figure I’d never thought I’d see again. The mask, the cape, the boots. I’d know the outfit anywhere. Hovering in front of me was Mastermind. He wore a long flowing red cape, a green and orange suit with black boots, and a steel helmet with only eyeholes. I gritted my teeth as the villain approached, but soon realized he didn’t notice my presence. Mastermind stopped and raised both arms into the air, his head moving up in the same dramatic rhythm.

He doesn’t see me? How? What’s going on? This must be a look into the past? What Tavi saw. I must be getting the Recoil of the premonition. When psychics are close together Phase told me something about visions bouncing back and reflecting off the other psychic’s eyes. Weird…

“Windegos! I call upon you! Awake from your slumber!” He yelled as a blast of psychic energy shot from his hand. The best way to describe what psychic energy looks like is to compare it to a laser beam, much like the rays of unicorn magic as well, but different properties.

Windegos? What the hell is talking about? Why is he even here in Equestria to begin with?

From the ground around me, the snow shot upwards as three creatures flew out of it. It sounded as if an avalanche was happening around me as I held my ears with my hooves, the earth shaking beneath me. The creatures flew around Mastermind in a circular formation. They seemed to look like horses, not ponies, made out of wind itself in solidified form, their manes long and spike-like.

Three eerie voices whispered to Mastermind, sounding like the gusting wind, “Why do you awaken us? Who are you, human?”

Mastermind threw his head back laughing. “Who am I? Why I am no one, nobody, nopony important. I released you in hopes you would grant me a favor.”

“A favor?” The three stopped their circling, one leaning into Mastermind’s face. “What do you wish of us, stranger?”

“Simple, really,” Mastermind cleared his throat, “You can have all of this pitiful land, filled with bickering pony tribes, if you give me the one thing I desire most.”

“And what is that?” The voice whispered.

“Have you ever heard of Cold Steel?” Mastermind asked.

Blinking, the world had suddenly returned, in motion around me. My ears rang as my blurred vision became clearer. Turning my head slowly, I saw Twilight frantically waving her hooves and yelling something at me I couldn’t quite make out. Gazing up, I gulped as I my heart began to thud in my chest. Coming closer towards the carriage was five or so Gears, one a General, all toting gatling guns and shoulder rockets. Sound began to return as I heard Twilight’s pleading.

“Shift! Hurry! They’re coming!” She cried.

Oh, shit, I’m back here. I hate the after effects of those intense visions!

Noticing Luna and Celestia, I saw guards were lined behind them. All of them including the princesses had their horns glowing with a magical aura, ready for action. There eyes narrowed, teeth bared, as the robots descended down upon Canterlot. I couldn’t help but feel I should be staying here and helping them fight. I knew that only I could take out the Spawner, but seeing as there’s already so many of these Gears around it, I had to devise a plan.

Lead as many Gears as possible to the edge of town, lose them, round our way back, rush for the Spawner, take it out from the inside. Destabilizing it’s core should do the trick. Then there’s the whole mess with Octavia, training her while mastering my own powers. Why hasn't Gadget come for us yet or even escaped the Mindscape? Why send her lackies? Here and now? What’s the endgame?

Six loud yells snapped me to attention as I swung my head back around. I managed to catch a glimpse of Celestia tossing a carriage at a Gear, smashing into pieces on impact, sending the robot soaring backward just by the sheer force of the throw. Celestia was shielded, bullets bouncing off her and Luna’s as the Gears blasted their weapons at them.

I galloped forward, jerking the carriage into motion behind me. The weight strained my body, but I pressed on, keeping my head forward. Keeping the pace, I turned to see four Gears following, aiming their guns at the carriage. The barrels spun slowly, then faster, and faster, until bullets sprayed from their holes. Raining down a shower of lead, I galloped faster, swerving the carriage right as I took a sharp left. The bullets missed impacting the ground behind me, bringing up the debris from cobblestone street. Changing their aim, bullets began impacting the ground around my hooves. Glancing from side to side, I could see them shooting past me. As my eyes began to move back forward, I saw an alleyway to the left side of me. Grinning, I swerved the carriage once again as I sharply turned into it, the bullets missing me by mere inches.

That was close… and lucky. I won’t be able to outrun these things. Time to think of another plan… and fast!

“Ya sure this carriage can squeeze through the entire alleyway?” Applejack questioned doubtfully from behind me. “Looks a might narrow at the end.”

“Applejack, we’ll fit through, it’ll be fine, let me think,” I said emotionlessly.

“Ya that’s real… uh… reassurin’... if you say so.” She spoke sarcastically whilst shrugging.

Wait! Twilight’s magic! She can’t hit them with it, but she can use it against them for sure!

“Twilight! Use your magic to stall them! Teleport em, hit em with something, it doesn’t matter. Just distract them, until we get to the edge of town!” I ordered, quickly shooting my head around to look at her.

“Um...I could do that, but what about the carriage?” Twilight asked.

“Just slice the damn top off!” I snapped, galloping as fast as my hooves would take me.

“Are you nuts?!” Her and Dash cried in unison.

“Just do it!” I snapped back.

Geez, they complain yet they say they’ve gone on countless crazy adventures.

I heard the top of the carriage slowly rip off as Twilight held it in her magic, tossing it at the Gears, as I also heard the wood collide with their metallic plating. As I gazed forward, I saw the alley was in fact getting narrower.

Please make it, please make it. Damn it, we have to!

I galloped fast, my head and eyes trained forward, building speed. I heard smashing and explosions behind me which led me to think Twilight found a nice way of disposing of these metallic bozos. The sides of the carriage soon hit the walls, the ponies panicking, as I braced for what would happen. With a loud cracking, the back tires broke off, slamming the carriage onto the ground. I was now literally dragging it, slowing me down. I tried turning, but the carriage simply skidded to a halt as I was jerked backward by the reigns. I stared in horror as six rockets came soaring seemingly out of nowhere in our direction. The world around me began deforming and I knew I was being teleported as I watched the carriage explode into pieces.

________________________

“Cold Steel? Why would a human be interested in Cold Steel?” The eerie, wind-like voice of the wendigo asked.

Back here? The vision isn’t finished? Octavia must be having these while unconscious. It’s trying to show her something, but... what?

“Cold Steel has a unique use. You could say it really is quite the lively metal, is it not?” Mastermind answered with another question, his cape blowing as the wind gusted with such furiosity.

“Ahhh… The human knows of the metal’s awareness,” The creature mocked, glancing at both the others before he returned his gaze upon Mastermind. How do you know such things?”

“I see all, through the Mindscape. I am a psychic, not just a mere human, you see. Why keep an evil so powerful locked away? Why not harness it, use it?”

Evil? Cold Steel? Metal? Wait… the Omega Metal! Octavia must be seeing a glimpse of Mastermind’s past! Why?

“It is uncontrollable, those who did seek to harness it, were driven mad. Tell us human, what makes you think it will not do the same to you?”

Mastermind began laughing hysterically, throwing his head back. “Because… you see… I am mad.”

“Very well, for our release, you may have the metal.” The wendigo began circling again, a small ghostly mist of purple formed from the wendigos slowly creeping it’s way toward the temple.

Slithering out of the temple, was a long snake like metal. It slinked down the steps and crept it’s way to Mastermind. Curling up, the metal formed itself into a ball, hovered off the ground and landed in Mastermind’s hand.

“What do you seek the metal for? Great evil? Or just a collector’s item?” The voice curiously asked.

“Well, as one being of evil to another, yes in fact, you see, the Omega Metal, or Cold Steel, as it’s codenamed in this realm, is an ancient psychic relic. Long ago, the first generation of psychics were at war with the first generation of mages; magic users. This metal was forged as a super suit to enhance  psychics’ powers, but was soon taking over their minds as it developed one of its own. As a result, after peace was restored, the metal was cast out into a dimensional rift, never to be seen again. It wandered and wandered, making it’s little home right here in lil’ ol’ Equestria. How humble, how sweet, how pathetic. A god damned abomination of a realm, a happy-go-fucking-lucky little hellhole. A succubus of peace and harmony littered with evil hidden from it’s own citizens’ eyes. Oh, how this world will change,” He paused his rant, balling his fist.  raising it into the air.

That’s when I noticed he was human, not a pony. Why am I a pony then? What is going on exactly? What is the damn endgame? Why am I seeing this? What’s going on back in Canterlot? My brain was racing with riddles I could not solve on my own. I needed help, I needed allies, I needed friends.

I can’t... How? How do I let anypony in? Wait... the wendigos are evil? Twilight said their were villains, these wendigos, maybe... our pasts! They must be linked! It’s a bucking Dual Vision!

“How they all will change, Mastermind continued on with his speech, “Psychics haven’t been able to forge with the suits since the first generation, though, it’s a sad little detail. A minor speed bump, then my daughter was born…” Mastermind paused for dramatic effect.

Violet! He... this bastard! He... h-he... planned this whole thing. With Violet, with the collapse, he wanted his own daughter to fuse with the metal. Idiot, his plan backfired, of course, metal made her a psycho, or is that what he wanted? This guy, always with the damn head games. These wendigos don't even care about his plan, he knows that. Mastermind always did like to put on a show.

“... and now everything is set into motion. I see the past, present, future. The only psychic who could ever see it like this. Now, I’m off. Thank you, kindly,” Mastermind laughed and disappeared as the wendigos flew off, disappearing in the distance. With that, the vision ended.

________________________

Around me, the world reformed, my vision clouded once again and my ears rang. I shook my head and closed my eyes, composing myself and taking a deep breath. Looking up, I saw Twilight and the others standing in front of me, Octavia lay on Applejack’s back, still unconscious. Fire crackled from the demolished cart next to me as smoke drifted up into the air. Above the ponies, hovering with aimed weapons, was a dozen Gears, two Generals.

“What happened, we were so worri-” Twilight began saying frantically; I cut her off, pointing my hoof upwards. “What?” She asked as she followed my hoof, gazing up to see the menacing robots. “Oh… run!” Twilight yelled.

The ponies gathered behind me, as I gritted my teeth, staring up at the mechanical henchmen. “Make your move, scumbag,” I spat at the robot.

“Shift, darling, maybe it wouldn’t be best to anger the giant robots,” Rarity sounded scared, her voice shaking as she spoke.

“Right, ‘cause you’re the superhero here,” I muttered sarcastically under my breath, rolling my eyes.

Suddenly, Dash shot into the air, flying fast, gaining speed. The cyan pegasus turned around and used her wings to fly backward. Her back hooves outstretched, she flew down at lightning fast speed, bucking one of the robots in the chest. On impact, it’s entire chest was dented inward, making the sound of metal crunching. The chest piece shattered, glass and purple plating falling to the floor. The Gear flew backward, impacting another, the two titans smashing into each other as they toppled onto the ground, rolling as they fell apart, exploding into a ball of flame.

My jaw was unhinged as I stared at the mare now looking down upon me. She flapped her wings, a cocky smile on her face. “Let’s get this battle over with! We’re with you, Shift!” Rainbow said as she landed in front of me giving me a warm smile.

“Alright,” I nodded, “Let’s do this, but you might wanna watch out for the robot swinging it’s sword at you,” I warned nonchalantly with a smile, pointing my hoof, watching as the robot reared it’s right hand back, morphing it into a sword, and swinging it down upon her. The polychromatic mare was predictably stunned by the turn of events, she was clearly expecting the metal behemoths to be the ones stayed after her offensive.

They won’t hurt her! They won’t hurt them! They won’t hurt my friends!

My mane began deforming and morphing around looking like plasmic goo. As I spun the image wheel, I stopped at Spiked-Mane. Drawing the image from my mind, energy surging from my brain to my nerves, my mane began to solidify into sharp spikes.

Lowering my head, I blasted them at the Gear threatening Rainbow with a blow from it’s deadly blade. The spikes impacted it’s head and chest, causing it to stumble backwards, skidding across the cobblestone road, and finally smashing into a building. The building collapsed on top of the chromed construct, chunks of it collapsing along with smaller debris and dust, mutilating the mechanical monstrosity.

“Woah! Thanks! Guess I... owe ya one…” Dash said, chuckling.

“There’s about half a dozen more, don’t thank me yet, Dash,” I frowned, transforming my mane back.

The mare nodded and flew to the sky, going for another robot. I turned to Twilight. “We need a plan and fast!” I said to her with concerned eyes.

“I got just the thing!” Twilight exclaimed. “Old tunnels under Canterlot built during the Tribes era for war purposes. we can use them to get to the Spawner without Gear interference!” I couldn’t tell if she was more excited to explain the history or save Canterlot, but I nodded.

“I’ll get these rustbuckets outta the way and you take us to these tunnels,” I said, spinning around to see a gatling gun in my face.

Buck no, it’s on!

In the blink of an eye, my back hooves were propellers and I was now hovering at a similar height to the ‘bots. My forehooves were now weapons, the right a long silver blade, the left a metal shield with the H.E.R.O logo imprinted in the middle. I opened my eyes, smiling cockily at the Gears. The one thing you don’t do is push me or threaten people or ponies I care about. These bastards crossed those lines and Octavia’s powers coming in at full force were boosting my powers even further, still, I had to be careful.

I’m only human-- pony, as the case may be. I still have limits. Plus, my powers aren’t fully back under my control yet.

Letting out a battle cry, I sped forward, soaring at the Gear in front of me. I stabbed my sword through it, the robot exploding as another began shooting from ahead. Bullets soared in my direction as I zig-zagged toward it, dodging the shower of lead. As I reared the my left hoof back, the Gear slammed me from the side with a robotic hand. Pain impacted the entire right side of my body as I yelped, flying toward a shop window. Shattering the glass, I skidded to a halt on the shop floor, up against the counter. More pain exploded through my senses as the glass shards cut into my skin, blood trickling from the cuts.

Struggling to my hooves, I fell again, hitting the ground with a meaty thud. Once again, I pushed myself up, finally standing up, teetering a little. I turned to see a rocket flying in my direction, my eyes widening in fear. A purple aura of magic surrounded it and it was redirected back at the Gear, blowing it to a thousand bits of metal shrapnel. Then, I saw Dash come soaring, bucking another behemoth into oblivion, now only two Generals stood in our way. I smirked as a light bulb flicked on in my head.

I galloped forward leaping out of the demolished window and back onto the road. “Twilight!” I called to her, turning my head to face her. The unicorn met my gaze as I said, “Send a blast of magic my way, full force!”

“Are you nuts?! Why do you want me to hit you with magic?” Twilight gasped, shocked at my request.

“Just do it!”

With that, the mare nodded soaring into the sky, igniting her horn with a magical aura. Closing her eyes, she strained herself, charging the blast causing it grow larger and larger. Twilight let the blast go as the Generals trained the weapons upward, raining a hellfire of bullets into the sky. Dash zig-zagged in the air distracting and taunting them. I morphed my hoof into a slender tentacle, worming between the crevices in the Gear’s chest plating and into its inner workings, while  absorbing Twilight’s magic within my body. The rush I got was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I knew the timing had to be perfect, so I struggled to hold back the ever more restless tide of energy that was permeating my very being.

“Now!” I yelled up at Dash, “Smash their chest plating!”

Dash zoomed down and quickly bucked the plating, destroying it and denting the robots chests, but only slightly. Generals had tougher armor than average Gears. I blasted the magic into the golden robots, now that I had circumvented the magic-absorbing plate armor the Gears are equipped with, blowing them to bits and  engulfing their entire bodies in a ball of fire. My hoof changed back and I smiled, then turned my head to look back at the group, only to see more Gears heading in our direction.

“Twilight!” I yelled, rushing up to her, “We have to get to the tunnels, now!”

She nodded and almost immediately, I found myself getting that annoying  nauseous feeling once more. I saw her horn light up, the world dissipating around me as it spun, swirling in a strange vortex. Then, just like that, as if on cue, I was immersed within another vision.

_______________________

“Don’t you dare speak to me that way, Susan!” Mastermind’s voice was raised as I watched him slap an middle-aged, heavily pregnant woman who looked nigh exactly like Phase.

Glancing around, I found myself in a small room, painted to look like the night sky. Next to me was a crib, a small, human baby, crying from the noise. To my other side, was a bed, on it, a small girl clutching a teddy bear. Her eyes were wide as she sat up, her bedsheets still partially covering her. I could hear her breathing heavily, sensing she was frightened beyond belief. I tried to speak, tried to comfort her, tell her everything was alright, but no words came out of my open mouth.

I could see Mastermind, not dressed in his normal super villain attire, but in  turtleneck sweater, thick rim glasses, and khakis, standing in the hallway. He had short black hair from what I could make out, it was dark in the room, the moon could be seen out of Violet’s bedside window. The woman was standing in front of him, her petite hand holding the side of her face where she had been struck. She had long blonde hair and freckles, she looked like Phase’s mother, but I guess  that’s because it was her mother.

V-V-Violet... and... Sarah‽ What is going on? Am I in their room... when they were young? What does this have to do with anything?

“Arthur! Don’t do this, you’re drunk!” She cried back.

“You think I’m drunk, woman? Mad? No! I’ve found what we as a race, we as psychics need!” He pointed his finger at her, screaming, his face red with anger.

“That is your daughter! The metal is dangerous! I can’t risk my Violet’s sanity for some crusade! The mages have kept the peace!” Susan argued back, placing her hand on her hip.

“For how long do you suppose? The mages are below us to begin with! We are the master race in the legions of Supers, not those potion-brewing, demonic spawns! We need to strike the first blow to them, for it will be the last!” Arthur spat back, slapping his wife once more after he finished. “You whore! You care for that mage friend of yours! Slutting around with the magic users, what a pathetic excuse for a psychic you are!”

“Arthur, stop this! I would never cheat on you! I love you! Don’t, the kids will hear us!” She sighed, lowering her voice to a whisper, “I can’t be a part of this. I can’t risk Violet’s life or sanity. She’s my daughter.”

Arthur simply threw his head back and laughed. “It’s a good thing I can risk it.” He looked at her, unsheathing a blade from his pocket.

Susan’s eyes went wide as she began slowly backing away, placing her hand in front of her. “N-N-No Arthur, not again, don’t hurt me.”

“I’m not going to hurt you, sweetheart,” Arthur spoke in a sickly sweet tone of mock sincerity as he walked forward staring at her, “I’m going to kill you. And you know what? I’ll enjoy it, too, you whore.” His voice gradually lost its sweetness and quickly became a bloodchilling growl. He cackled maniacally as he grabbed his wife’s arm, pulling her forward.

“Arthur! Please! Stop this!” She screamed as she struggled to get out of his grip.

“Don’t worry, sweetie, Daddy will make this nice and quick. You’ll barely feel a thing… Maybe…” He whispered as he slit his wife’s throat and began stabbing her in the stomach repeatedly, a demonic gleam in his eye.

I stood stock still, eyes wide and stomach churning, as I watched every gruesome detail in horror. There was so much b-blood… so much. I numbly heard Violet screaming next to me, while Sarah wailed pitifully in her crib. The poor thing was probably unable to comprehend anything beyond ‘scared’ and ‘danger’. Mastermind turned and began stomping out of the room. With that, everything faded and the vision ended in the color red.

_________________________

I found myself standing in cold, murky water, my hooves drenched in it. As the side effects of the vision wore off, I looked around noticing, we were in what looked like a sewer. It even had rats and roaches scurrying about. I heard a shriek from behind and saw Rarity panicking, her mane drenched in water.

“Twilight, darling, next time, maybe, tell me when we going into a sewer!” Rarity yelped shaking her hooves. “It’s so filthy down here. And I just got a new manedo, too! Why ever would they build these tunnels?”

“For quick escapes and ambushes during war times back in the three tribes era,” Twilight explained, “Sorry about that, Rarity, I didn’t know these things were sewers. I’ve never used them myself before, but I’ve seen the Princesses use them.”

I swung my head around. “Did you say three tribes era?” I asked, cocking a brow.

“Yes, why?” Twilight asked tilting her head in confusion.

“Well, Octavia seems to be having visions in her unconscious state. They’re lucid and vivid because of how close we are to one another and with her powers coming out at full force like this, I’d say she’s in the same boat as me right now.” I explained, sighing. “I keep going all frozen because I’m getting the recoil of her visions. Our pasts are intertwined, so we both get glimpses of the past, it’s commonly referred to as a Dual Vision.” I walked up to Twilight as I spoke. “I saw Mastermind awaken some creatures called ‘windigos’ and get the Omega Metal from them.”

“Our pasts?! Windigos?! Wait, a minute, you’re telling me that Mastermind released the windigos and they gave him the metal? How? That was more than a thousand years ago?” Twilight looked dumbfounded and shocked at the same time.

“One thousand years ago?!” I repeated with a gasp, “Mastermind can see all he said. Past, present, future or some crap. He must’ve projected himself back in time to get the metal… but why?”

Twilight shrugged, “Why would the windigos give it to him in the first place?”

“There was no use for it in Equestria. Apparently, it’s some psychic artifact that was lost to this world after some war between mages and psychics, long ago. It was a favor for their release. Mastermind spoke of tribes, I’m guessing they’re the three tribes you’re referring to,” I explained, recalling the vision.

“Hmmm… if our pasts are connected, maybe that’s why Gadget is attacking Equestria too. We need more information especially to know why Mastermind went to such great lengths to ensure Equestria’s fate be tied with yours. Can you purposefully enter these visions?” Twilight asked, looking at me, although she was distant, as if deep in thought.

“No, they come and go. Besides, we still have to get to the Spawner and destroy it before Canterlot is a wasteland.” I turned to face forward, “You know how to get there?”

“I can guide us there,” a voice spoke up that made all of us gasp. Rolling off of Applejack’s back, Octavia stretched out, rubbing her head with a hoof.

“How?!” My jaw dropped. I had thought that Octavia would be unconscious for a large portion of this ordeal, if not the entire thing. She had still missed a good chunk of action, but that was probably for the better.

“These tunnels aren’t exactly secret. My roommate, Vinyl, and I used to venture through these tunnels all the time when we were fillies. I can get us to the Spawner thing.” I gazed into her eyes as she spoke, her lips forming into a warm smile.

She’s...

“Shift! We should go, ya know,’ Dash nudged me with a smile.

“Right, sorry, I was... thinking.” I turned back around as Octavia walked up to the front and led us.

I stayed close behind her, wanting to talk to her about our powers, the visions, the apprenticeship, about everything. Still, no words came out of my mouth and anything that came to mind sounded borderline idiotic to say the least. Truth be told, I had no bucking idea what to even think of having my own apprentice. I’ve trained heroes for a specific mission or two, but never once had a full on apprentice.

How do I train her to save the world? How do I know I can even learn about my powers, myself? How should I even approach this situation?

“So... uhh... Octavia,” I spoke up, glancing around as I spoke, trying to think of the right words to say.

“Yes?” The mare asked, turning her head to face me as she continued to trot.

“We need to… well… talk about this apprentice thing…” I said unsure of myself, as my eyes flicked around the dull tunnels, trying not to look at her directly.

“What about it? The Princess was pretty clear about the whole thing, besides, I’m moving to Ponyville anyways and Vinyl and I could use some friendly faces in a new town,” She smiled as she turned her head back around.

“So, you’re okay with it?” I asked, stopping, my jaw nearly hitting the dirty, damp floor.

Octavia giggled. “It’s not that I’m okay with it, it’s more like my hooves are tied. What am I going to do, right? You’re a superhero, I figure when you first got your powers, you couldn’t do much with ‘em. Am I correct?” Octavia shot me a curious glance.

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense…” I chuckled stupidly and fell silent, trotting along.

She’s taking this a lot better than I expected her to. Maybe I shouldn’t judge just cause she’s some fancy looking classical musician. I mean usually anyone with this kind of gig is a stuck up snob.

Twilight and Rarity’s horns were glowing as their magical auras, pink and blue, respectively, lit up the path ahead. It was still quite dark and damp, a draft coming from seemingly nowhere. Our hooves splashed in the water as we trotted through it. Rarity still complained every now and again, though soon the water became solid ground. The strange, sewer-like path lead to a small cave with a low ceiling, quite narrow, but the right size to just barely fit a pony. It spiraled up as we trotted along until a tunnel could be made out up ahead, moonlight pouring in.

We raced out onto a grassy field, eager to escape the dreary sewers, a few trees and some shrubbery lined about. Around us, animal life bustled, birds chirping in the trees and flying from one branch to another. Deer, skunks, rabbits and other woodland critters could be seen, some looking at us, while others scurrying about. There was even a fair sized pond with a small school of herring going about their business.

“Hmmm...yup, I was right,” Octavia said, a smile forming on her face. The mare twirled around to face us all as she spoke happily, “This tunnel led to the small cave that leads up into the garden surrounding the Gala. One time,” she said trailing off, looking away, smiling as she reminisced, “Vinyl and I snuck into the Gala when we were younger. We got caught, but it was still fun. Stupid, but fun.” She giggled.

“That’s a funny story and all Octavia, but maybe the time for smalltalk could be saved for after we defeat the Gears invading Canterlot,” I said teasingly.

“Haha, very funny, hero. You’re right, though, we need to stop these things,” The mare nodded, turning as we began trotting further out of the Garden. Soon, instead of beautiful trees and lush grass, we saw debris, dust, rocks, and cracked earth. Gazing up, we all gasped, as we laid our eyes upon the Spawner more closely. It was a large silver pyramid, three green rings suspended around it with a large opening at the top of the pyramid, letting the Gears out.

Octavia turned to me, eyes wide, as she asked, “So, what’s the plan, then?”

“Well, we find a way in this thing and buck the shit out of it’s core, destabilize it, and then we haul flank out before the thing explodes. Simple stuff, actually, compared to what missions I’ve been on before,” I explained, brushing my hoof against my chest in a slightly self-important manner.

Octavia frowned, cocking her brow, “Simple stuff? There’s nothing simple about blowing up a giant pyramid with robots coming out of it!” She snapped, her breathing becoming heavy as she turned away, “I… I’m sorry… I-I’m just nervous about all this. It’s borderline insanity to say the least.”

I shook my head, holding my smile, “It is crazy. I understand how you feel. I’ve just been doing this for a long time. There are some things that you see enough that nothing seems truly insane or shocking anymore. You get used to it.”

Twilight muttered a short “Don’t I know it,” under her breath, though any further statement was ignored in favor of paying attention to the giant pyramid spewing out a fresh wave of Gears.

“I see… well... we should get going inside.” The mare trotted on as I followed her with my eyes before getting up and trotting onward, following closely behind.

Why does she seem so... familiar?

We came up to the Spawner, which, as I predicted, had no door or means of entering it. It wasn’t really built to be entered. I smirked as I closed my eyes, spinning the image wheel. Stone Hoof, Shield, Sword, Propellers, Stop. I drew the image of the propellers, tugging at it, pulling it from the pool of energy in my mind. My back hooves began to deform, morphing around as the energy surged from my brain to my nerves. The propellers formed, solidifying as I know hovered above the ground.

“Wow,” Octavia exclaimed staring at my transformed hooves.

“I reckon ya got a plan, right Shift? There ain’t exactly a doorway into this place,” Applejack pointed at the Spawner with a hoof to further her point.

“Well, yeah, now, that there isn’t Gears surrounding us, I can soar up, take em by surprise, soar back down into this thing, buck the core, and fly back out before it blows up.” I smirked, making it sound as if it were but a simple, mundane task.

“And you’re certain your powers won’t act up?” Twilight asked sounding worried.

“Well, I’m not exactly sure, per se, but I have to try,” I sighed, soaring up, ascending higher and higher. I watched as Gears continued pouring out of the top of the Spawner while I miraculously remained unnoticed. As I neared the top, I morphed my left hoof into a sword and the right into a shield. I flew up until I could gaze down at the flood of robots and the hole at the top of the pyramid. It was a large circular hole leading into a metallic tube. Diving downward, I slashed at the robots, slicing them to pieces as I descended into the Spawner. I dismantled any Gear coming forward as I flew deeper and deeper into the tube. Gears passed me by passively, continuing their ascent to the top as they were programmed.

Soon, I saw a faint glowing of blue. It became brighter and brighter until I came to a large blue sphere held up in the center of the tube. The Gears were spawning from it, multiple tubes connected all leading to the same destination. I gazed at the blue object, a smirk forming on my face.

Time to save Canterlot! This... this is for Phase’s mom.

Speeding forward, I gained speed, slicing and dicing Gears as I made my way to the center. At the last possible second, I shifted my back hooves back into hooves, letting momentum do the work for me, and, spinning around in mid-flight, I bucked the sphere with force as I could muster, fracturing it. I heard it cracking as the Spawner began to shake violently and rumble. The Gears ceased movements and not a single new one spawned. The stock still robots began exploding like popcorn as the Spawner became increasingly unstable. I knew that the exploding robots would catalyze the chain reaction to destroy the Spawner from the inside out, so I shifted my hooves back to propellers so I could make my timely escape.

Suddenly about a halfway up the large, central chamber, my propellers began acting up and jerking me in different directions, before they morphed back again. My fore hooves changed to normal as well, causing my eyes to go wide. All I remember is a bright white light as the Spawner erupted in a ball of flame and sharpnel.

__________________________

“What connects our worlds?” A familiar voice asked. It was Elliott. I found myself in his office, gazing around. He had an oakwood chair and desk, piled with papers and various files, a gold name plate sat at the edge. Filing cabinets lined the back walls as well as large windows overlooking a grassy meadow. Next to the desk was a trash can and a fake plant sat in the corner of the room near the door. The office itself was painted the same shiny gold the rest of the building was coated with whilst also being large and quite roomy.

Elliot was standing by the window, arms folded, gazing out of it, speaking to a long red haired girl. It was Swan, or Jessica Waves when off duty. She was dressed in her white gown, cut to look like a skirt, wearing her black mask.

“Yes,” she nodded, “I visited Equestria, again, per your instructions. The reason I ask this question is because… well… we sent Shift in there blind, lying to him about Gadget. Why hasn’t she come yet? What does she care about Equestria? What connects us to that realm so much?”

“You see,” Elliot turned to face her, “Mastermind intertwined our fates for reasons unknown. Shift needed to be sent in blind, he’ll understand, eventually… or at least stop trying to find out why. Gadget hasn’t escaped the Mindscape because she cannot until Merging Day. It’s the only time the Mindscape will be connected to the Earth itself along with Equestria,” He explained to her.

Equestria?! What does he mean? Merging Day is between worlds as well? I must be having some form of vision. This must be something I need to see, to further connect the dots.

“Merging Day isn’t for another couple thousand years Elliott, Gadget isn't that patient!” Swan snapped, “And what’s this I hear about Canterlot being under attack?!”

“Gadget has plans to escape early and I believe after some digging I found out what it is. We need to contact Celestia right after I tell you this,” Elliot walked over to his computer, moving the monitor as Swan leaned in to look.

“Soul of an immortal? What the hell is that supposed to mean? It’s sounds like a bunch of supernatural gibberish to me,” Swan waved a dismissive hand.

“Gadget needs the soul of a being who can live for eternity to unlock the gates to the Mindscape before it’s natural occurrence. Equestria more than its fair share of those, remember, the princesses and the chimera? And it’s easy pickings, considering those ponies don’t have a clue nearly how insane this woman really is or what she’s truly capable of.” Elliot shook his head, sighing.

“What shall I tell, Celestia?” Swan asked, folding her arms.

“Tell her their lives are in danger and the only lead I have is from the Dual Vision readings. Tell them Antrotica is where the snow falls.”

I gasped, my jaw nearly dropping to the floor, as I was frozen stock still. He was studying the vision... but... how? It doesn’t matter... I need to get to Antrotica.

Then, everything around changed, morphing around in a similar fashion as when my hooves or hands transformed. Still, it was awkward and strange to see magnified times ten in the world around you. The world began changing from Elliot’s Office, to a dark factory. Gears turned, metal workings making loud noises below, machines manufacturing Gears and other weapons lay under me, below the catwalk I found myself upon. Behind me was an expansive pathway leading to a few flights of stairs that lead down to the mess of conveyor belts and engineering machinery below. In front of me was none other than Queen Gadget. A Gear General was knelt before her.

“My queen, Canterlot was a success, the Dual Vision generated enough energy to power the Gear Factory,” The robotic voice emotionlessly reported to her,

This isn’t a vision of the past, this is happening, right now. Same thing when I saw Elliot. Something’s up... but what?

“Excellent, General!” Gadget exclaimed, a wicked smile forming on her face, that same demonic gleam I had seen in Mastermind’s eyes shimmered in hers. “Shift, the fool, didn’t even know I had dispatched legions of Gears to other dimensions long ago to store up for Merging Day. The Spawner was right under the Gala the entire time! Now, onward,” Gadget looked at me cackling maniacally, “...to Antrotica, before it’s too late and I rip the hearts out of everypony you care about.” Gadget threw her entire body back holding herself up with her claw, laughing a laugh I’ve heard many a time before The laugh that sounded just like Mastermind’s. Her father’s laugh.

_________________

My eyes shot open, as I breathed heavily. I could see the ponies all looking down at me, even Luna and Celestia. They all had worried eyes whilst mine darted around in different directions. My mind raced as I tried to process the intense vision I was just pulled into, while my heart thudded in my chest.

“They’re dead… the princesses… they’re going to die!” I screamed.

To Be Continued…