Chapters Twilight ran about her library as she began to ponder what could have caused the crash she witnessed a few hours ago. As she did this, the girls all began to show up with little concern as to how they looked. Except…
“Why did you find it necessary to wake us all up so dreadfully early?” complained Rarity.
“I don’t mind at all. I was having this terrible dream where there were zombies, guys shooting at us, a wibbly-wobbly camera, making me all dizzy, and then, the worst of it, QUICK TIME EVENTS THAT COMPLETELY RUINED THE SEQUENCES!” Blurted Pinkie Pie.
Twilight decided to ignore this as the rest of the girls just stared comically at Pinkie, not questioning anything that she said.
“Girls, we have to be ready early, otherwise something in the Everfree might end up ruining or claiming whatever crashed in there,” Explained Twilight, as she began packing her saddlebags with paper, ink, feathers, and emergency supplies.
“Well,” started Applejack, “Ah suppose we should take a look inta this ‘ere commotion.”
“What if it’s an ALIEN! With super cool gadgets and armor and weapons and gizmos and-“ ranted Rainbow Dash as she was pulled down by a lavender glow.
Twilight eyed the girls, signaling them to be quiet, and began, “Whatever it is, we have to make sure that we document it, secure it, and bring it to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. If it is an alien, then we shouldn’t try to bring in any attention, so we can at least try a peaceful interaction. Now, we should probably go get Fluttershy before we continue, just in case any animals were harmed.”
They all nodded in agreement and made way for the cottage at the edge of the forest. As they grew closer to it, they noticed a strange hoofprint pattern in the dirt around the path to the forest, along with weird path of kicked-up dirt, almost like something massive was dragged along the path. The girls quickly went to examine it, then stained away as they noticed a strange yellow glow emit from one of the windows in Fluttershy’s cottage. As Twilight noticed this, the rest of the girls went to the door of the wooden structure, and began to bang loudly on it.
“Fluttershy!” the lot of them shouted in unison.
A large shriek accompanied by a large series of metallic clangs followed as a timid yellow pegasus met them at the crack in the opening of the door.
“Oh! H-hello girls. How can I help you?” Fluttershy asked.
Rainbow responded with, “We’re gonna go check out that alien wreckage and maybe fight something cool and awesome and, and, and-“
“We were gonna investigate the source of the noise and analyze whatever came down over Ponyville.” Twilight interrupted. “We were just wondering if you wanted to come and help.”
Fluttershy remained in the doorway, and only opened it slightly, saying, “Actually girls, I went to investigate earlier, and while I looked around, I found a big scary creature that came from the crater.”
The girls all jumped back and gasped in unison. Rainbow flew to the door, trying to open it, “Why the hay didn’t you say something earlier!? Is it safe to go in the forest?”
Fluttershy opened the door, allowing them inside, “Oh, no, no, no, not at all. At first I was scared, but then it looked injured, so I decided to try and help it. It crashed into the ground and slipped into, I think, unconsciousness.”
Rarity spoke up, “Is that what that hideous yellow glow is in the window, the monster!?”
Flutter shy interjected, “What? It’s yellow? It thought it was red when I left it in the bed to rest. Ooh! Maybe it’s better!”
Fluttershy had a hint of excitement in her eyes and movements, but were subdued by Rainbow’s interjection.
“How do you know it’s safe at all? It could try to eat you! He could try to attack!”
Fluttershy looked at her and said calmly, “I don’t think it would. It seemed rather lost than anything else. I even asked it what it was and why it was here.”
Twilight stepped forward, making eye contact with her, “Fluttershy, what did it do after that?”
Fluttershy teared up as the girls leaned in, and smiled as the girls reacted in pure shock by the answer;
“It said ‘help… please’”
“What in tar-nation is ‘at supposed ta mean?” stated Applejack.
“You actually saw and talked to an alien!?” Twilight pointed out.
“Oh, I couldn’t just leave it, it looked like it could have been sad, under those weird lights, but it sounded like it was in pain, and I knew that I should run away as fast as I could, but it just didn’t seem right.” Fluttershy added. “I mean, it was lost, so cold, almost frozen, and covered in cuts and blood! I would go against how you may see me to not run after seeing it, but it would defy who I truly am if I just let it stay there and… and…” Fluttershy began to then burst out into tears as Rarity went to comfort her friend. “There, there,” said Rarity, “It’s alright darling. You saved whatever it is and now we know that it can talk. It might very well explain why its here now that we have some advantage.”
Fluttershy backed out of her friend’s embrace and went to the guest door, “No! I don’t want to try and take advantage of this poor creature while it’s in need of rest and healing! How could you say such a thing!? It doesn’t mean to harm anypony!” She cried out while blocking their path to the creature’s room, wings stretched and shaking, showing that there was fear for what they might do to it.
“Fluttershy, darling, I can assure you that we have absolutely no intention to harm it in any capacity, right Rainbow Dash?” Rarity asked while facing the rainbow-maned mare.
“Uh- yeah, sure, let’s go with that…” Rainbow replied reluctantly.
Just as they were calming down, they heard a series of loud clangs, and incredibly foul language come from behind the door. “Ah- FUCK! God DAMMIT!” As they heard these cries from the room, Fluttershy rushed to open the door, and charged inside. As the rest of the group followed suit, they were frozen with mouths agape as they eyed what was probably one of the most threatening things they had seen. It stood on hind legs that were apparently made of metal, along with the rest of its ape-like shape, which concluded at the top of it’s metallic head, which capped it off at the tip of Celestia’s horn, which gave way to three dominating lights that ran across the front of its head.
What came next was unexpected, as even Fluttershy had not seen it moving or awake since she found it, as it looked to them and spoke, in PERFECT EQUESTRIAN. “The Hell? Um- hello…?”
The girls gazed into the creature with both awe and fear alike, as half of them were wishing for Discord, two of them ready to charge it, and only one with the courage to respond:
Fluttershy stepped forward, trembling in fear, approaching the creature with tears ready to burst, her wings ready to carry her away from it, “U-u-ummm… H-h-he-ll-o? W-What’s y-y-you’re n-name?” She asked as she readied to retreat.
Just then, the creature looked down at them, and shifted its head from side to side, as if to examine them, then took one step back, and uttered, “Well, fuck me.”
Chapter 4: Not without Heart
As the creature known as “Isaac” stood there before them, Twilight couldn’t help but notice how much of a monkey he, presumably due to the pitch of voice and the tone of the name, resembled. Except for the lack of hair on most of its face, part of its neck, and the scruffy mane on the top of its horrifyingly pale head. She watched in awe as the metal structure around his head began to disassemble on its own and fold into his torso, wondering what kind of magic Isaac could possess.
Finally, Twilight decided to break the silence.
“Well, Isaac, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how did you end up here?”
Isaac looked around for a moment, confused, angry at times, and clutched his head, and responded.
“I don’t know exactly how I got here, but it must have something to do with the alien machine back where I… was… Let’s just leave it at that.”
The girls looked to Twilight in confusion, wondering what he meant by ‘leave it at that’, but still retained their overall calm.
“Well, I may know someponies that can help. The Princesses that rule this land, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, and Princess Celestia. I’m sure that if we contact them and let them know your situation, we can help you find out how you got here as well as how to get back. In the mean time, I need to see Princess Cadance, so we can make sure that we can trust you first. I hope you understand.”
Isaac shifted in place a bit and slightly chuckled. “Not at all. In fact, right now, I’ve been treated better than I normally would have.”
They all looked at him and then Applejack spoke up.
“What is’at suppos’ta mean? What’s wrong with where ya came from?”
Isaac looked at her with a slight discomfort. “Let’s just say that I couldn’t exactly afford to live anywhere nice, so I mostly lived in crime ridden parts of cities and had to stay inside at all times when I’m not working. Didn’t exactly have the comfort of ah.. what is it called… Safety! That’s it. Never really been accustomed to being anywhere ‘safe before.”
Fluttershy immediately flew up to his neck, wrapped her arms around him, and began to bawl out in pleads trying to comfort him, which he almost mistook as an attack, which he nearly punched her for.
“Oh, you poor thing! Not being able to feel safe anywhere you go!? How could you have survived without you parents for so long!”
“First off: You might want to warn me next time you do that, I’m a bit jumpy from the nec- uh, I mean, street gangs, and almost punched attacked you, and I really don’t want to accidentally do anything to harm you. Second off: I didn’t actually look up to my parents, considering my dad really wasn't there for me, and my mom didn’t care for anything that wasn’t for the better of her religion. Third off: I didn’t say I couldn’t fight back, I just chose to not get involved with some angry teens, running around, smoking God-knows-what.”
At the mention of teenagers, Twilight immediately thought back to Spike, whom she left alone in the Library, and realized that she needed to send letters to the princesses.
“Oh! Excuse me, I have to go and send the letters! Bye Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Isaac, Pinki- Pinkie? Where?”
Everyone except Fluttershy, who was still turtle-necking against a rather annoyed Isaac, and noticed that she wasn’t in the room.
“Pinkie?”
Here I am Twilight!
What the- get off the keyboard! How did you even get here!?
Muffin Button!
What? I-I don’t even… Why?
Because I wanted to try to see if I can throw him a PARTY! And who better to ask than the AUTHOR!? CAN I CAN I!? PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEASE? * Spuee *
Hnng! * Dead *
Oopsie.
Breathe! * Smack *
OW! MY CHILDREN!
Sorry, I was aiming for the lungs.
Your party can wait, I still need to move the story along with Cadance, explain why Shining Armor is absent, Celestia and Luna facing him, the Plasma Cutter, Cutie Mark Crusaders, and then I still have to figure out what the hell I’m even spelling with the title of the chapters. Then you have my permission to party.
YAY!
Now can we get back? I don’t think the others can stay like that forever.
Alright. Bye-bye mister author writer man!
Goodbye Pinkie! I’ll see you in the Pacific Rim Crossover!
No, where was I? Oh, Sh!T that’s right!
Twilight dismissed her absence as her just being Pinkie, to which they all replied with a yep, except Applejack, who responded with Boy Howdy, (I feel that). As she walked out, Applejack and Rainbow Dash talked about how they needed to work in the morning, leaving Isaac alone with Fluttershy. Who was still nuzzling his beard against his scruffy beard.
Isaac reached out and lowered the pegasus as she rubbed her eyes to clear away the tears. He looked at her for a moment before having a deep inhale and exhaled.
Fluttershy looked up to him from behind her wall of hair. “Um… I suppose you could stay here and rest. I mean, i-if that’s okay with you…”
Isaac considered the risk she took just by keeping him alive, let alone straight up saving him from exposure as well as feeding him and giving him shelter. He looked back at Fluttershy and gave a small grin. “There’s no need to worry. I promise I won’t try to hurt any of your friends or anyone else while I’m here. And you have my word that I will do my best to try and make up for you kindness.”
As Isaac finished his sentiment, Fluttershy looked up directly at him and gave a weak smile, and nodded gently as she turned around and walked out of the room.
With nothing else to do now but rest, Isaac looked at the bed he had indented, back at his Engineering suit, and then began to unhook the armor and let it slide to the floor with a muffle ‘clunk’. He stretched out his limbs, free from the armored prison he used to protect himself and crawled underneath the amazingly soft sheets. As he placed his head on the pillow and drifted to sleep, the last thing he could think of was how he was going to try and not be threatening, easing up on his reflexes, and how he was going to explain to the ponies he met how he was supposed to be dead, along with a massive monster-like moon.
\\\//////
Twilight walked back to Ponyville practically drowning in her own thoughts over what to tell the princesses, which one should she tell first, when she should contact them, whether or not to bring in any guards, what they would communicate about Isaac first, how would he eat, what would he eat, where would he stay, what could he do, is he peaceful, how can they be sure, will he apologize to Rarity, how would Spike react to this, how they would get along, and where the Buck is Pinkie?
She accidentally forgot to open the door and rammed straight into it, waking the baby dragon, and bruising herself in the process. Spike came down to open the door, and walked in.
“Sorry to wake you Spike, but I need to send a letter to some princesses.”
Spike reached behind him and pulled out a scroll with a crystal seal on it. “Well, you don’t exactly have to worry about sending one of those letters, because Cadance sent this for you.”
Twilight took the scroll with her magic and began to read it.
“Dear Twilight, Spike, and Elements of Harmony,
I wanted to let you know that I’m coming down to Ponyville for a while to relax for a few weeks after some events in the Crystal Empire. I would also like to apologize that Shining Armor cannot accompany me on this vacation, due to his responsibilities as not only a ruler, but also as its sole military leader. I will explain everything else when I arrive tomorrow. I’ll see you then!
Love,
Cadance”
After Twilight read the message aloud, a cloud of relief overcame her as she let out a joyful sigh, leaving Spike to only stare curriously at her.
“Um… Twilight? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine Spike. Remember when I went to the Everfree forest to check on the crash?”
Spike nodded, “Yeah?”
“Well, it turns out Fluttershy found some weird alien in the crash. And as it turns out, it can speak perfect Equestrian, and talked to us! I was going to try and keep this a secret from everypony else until the princesses could arrive, but now that Cadance is coming, whe could use her love magic to see if Isaac has a good heart, or has ever felt love before. Then we can welcome him to Equestria, and I can research his past, his technologies, oh just what was that light on his back!?”
Spike shook her head to try and snap her out of her thought-attack.
“Twilight! Snap out of it!”
She shook her head and focused on him.
“Sorry about that. Anyways, get ready to write a letter.”
Spike walked over to the kitchen drawers and pulled out a quill, ink and a parchment. He brought them over to a table, sat down, dipped the quill, and readied himself.
“Okay. Ready.”
“Dear Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” Twilight began. “I’m sure you are aware of the fact that there was a strange meteor crash out by Ponyville, and have had concerns over our well being. I can assure you that there was no damage to the town, except for some mild panic after the crash, but rest assured, the girls and I were able to calm everyone. After gathering up the Elements, we trotted over to the edge of the Everfree Forest, where the crash came from, and noticed a strange light from Fluttershy’s home. We went into her house to discover that she had been taking care of an advanced alien that crashed near her while feeding the animals of the forest’s edge. After finding the alien, she took it home and gave it proper medical attention, which later allowed it to wake up. That is when we discovered that the alien could talk. He told us that his name was Isaac, and that he did not want to harm any of us, nor did he have intentions to land here at all. I believe that this could be the chance for Equestria’s first contact, by being able to return him to his home, his people might thank us, and could revolutionize us towards a brighter future. Please take into consideration that he is scared of this new world he is in, and might take any guards as a threat, and act as such, due to his troubled past. I was going to ask Cadance to look into his heart to find any love in him and to tell if he is as trustworthy as he’s letting on. I ask you if you could just wait a day until we know that he means us no harm. Thank you. Your Faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
Spike etched the last phrase onto the parchment, rolled it up, and blew it into a green ball of fire, which then flew out the window.
“Twilight, are you sure she’s going to appreciate you asking her to not come and meet the alien?”
“His name is Isaac, and I just wanted to make sure that it was safe before she came down here. She’ll understand that.”
In that instant, Spike belched a green ball of fire, and out came a letter with the royal Solar seal on it. Twilight opened it, and read it aloud.
“My most faithful student, thank you for considering the safety of our beings, but do not forget that there is little that can harm us. I will however agree to your wishes, so long as this ‘Isaac’ does not hurt anypony and keeps to himself until I can announce his presence on our world. I wish you the best of luck. Princess Celestia”
Twilight rolled up the letter and began to trot upstairs.
“See Spike? I told you everything would work out just fine. Princess Celestia always knows what’s best. Just like how I know that we need to rest for tomorrow. It’s gonna be a big day.”
They both finish their ascent and went to their respective beds. Spike curled up in his and responded.
“If you say so. I really want to see him! Goodnight.”
Twilight climbed into bed and put out the lights. “Goodnight Spike.”
\\\//////
Isaac woke peacefully for once in his life, and by God was this the most comfortable sleep he has ever gotten in the history of his life. He started to get up only to be taken back down by the softness of the cushions of the bed. After fighting the urge to just lay there forever, Isaac started over to his suit, and slipped it on, trying to make as little noise as possible. He inspected the slightly roughed up Engineer suit in the mirror. It’s edges were gleaming in the sunlight, the black under-armor slightly shining in the light, and noticed the paint slightly chipped away at the bottom of his boots and near the top of the shins, just where the snow had weathered after what seemed like days of walking. Before he turned to activate his helmet, he looked back to the mirror, and decided it best to try and leave it off for the sake of not being too scary around them, and boy did he know scary.
‘I mean, come on,’Isaac thought, ‘it’s not like they’re gonna try and rip my face off with their extended hinged jaws or puke acid down my throat.’
He turned to the door and ducked under the arch, giving way to the main room of the cottage, which seemed to be made of entirely wood.
As he looked to find the door, he noticed Fluttershy outside the front door, and decided to go out to greet her. He turned to the door and took several steps to get to the door, opened it, and was greeted with the cleanest damned air he had ever breathed. After taking a deep inhale, he looked towards the pegasus, and began to approach her. When he did, he noticed a small group of animals all herding around her, while she appeared to be giving each a bowl of fruits and nuts. They all turned to him and stared in fear and shock. A small white rabbit jumped to Fluttershy and pointed frantically at Isaac. When she turned, she gave a slight gasp, but calmed herself when she noticed that he left his head exposed. She looked out to the creatures and began to speak.
“No, no, no. It’s alright. It’s just Mr. Isaac, the one I was talking about. He wouldn’t hurt any of you.” She turned to him, “Right Isaac?”
Isaac put on a forced smile and turned to view them all, “Yeah. I won’t try to hurt any of you. Just don’t surprise me alright, I’m a bit… jumpy.”
They all looked at him in plain curiosity and returned their attention to Fluttershy, who continued to feed them.
Isaac turned to look at the forest next to him and felt as though he were being watched. He turned towards Fluttershy and spoke.
“Hey, what’s the deal with this forest? It’s freaking me the fuck out.”
Fluttershy glanced him over and replied.
“Well um… that’s the Everfree Forest. It’s a really scary place that doesn’t behave like the rest of the world. There’s also a bunch of scary and dangerous creatures that roam within it and it’s just so scary.” As she lectured him, Isaac noticed that she began to tremble while her voice seemed to raise in pitch as she continued on. Isaac looked back to the entrance and dismissed his previous thoughts and began to walk to Fluttershy.
“Also,” She spoke up again, “could you, um, please just tone down your cursing? Just a little? I mean if that’s okay with you.”
Isaac pondered why they were so sensitive about cursing, given that they all seemed to be in their adult phase (about as adult as a technicolor pony can get). Still, their world, their rules.
“Alright. Sorry about that. Just got used to that while fighting for my life.”
Isaac mentally face-palmed for mentioning that his life was in so much constant danger that intensive swearing was as natural for him as breathing. Fluttershy began to cry out and leaped to his neck again, and this time, rubbed his face into her neck.
“Oh, you poor thing! Having to fight for survival!? I can’t even imagine the things you must have seen or done to just survive!”
‘You have literally no FUCKING IDEA,’ thought Isaac.
Just as she began to cry, a purple flash of light appeared before them, and by instinct, Isaac grabbed Fluttershy, barrelled over under the bridge, and activated his helmet. After waiting about three seconds, he carefully peered over the edge of the soil, and saw Twilight, he believed, with a strange smaller purple creature on her back. It jumped down and knocked on the door frantically. Isaac took note that they were in no danger and released his grip over a now trembling and crying Fluttershy.
“Sorry. Just acted on instinct.” He stated as he retracted his helmet.
As if on cue, she returned to hug his neck, and began sobbing into his beard. Isaac proceeded to stand up and lift himself out of the river bank. He began to walk over to Twilight and called out.
“Hey Twilight. How ya doin’?”
She turned and smiled almost devilishly at Isaac and turned towards the purple creature at the door.
“Spike! He’s over here!”
The small creature turned and dropped its jaw at Isaac, who just stood there with a Flutterbeard (Trademark). It stumbled over to Twilight’s forelegs and continued to watch Isaac.
“This is Spike, my number one assistant. Spike, this is Isaac. The alien I told you about.”
Spike jumped out of his cover and ran too Isaac’s legs. He looked over Isaac’s impressive armor and began to talk.
“This is so cool! Just look at this! What kind of armor is this? I’ve never seen anything like it!”
Isaac looked towards Twilight as Fluttershy finally released her grip over his beard, which now had a thorough washing. She landed next to Twilight and just smiled at Spike. Isaac decided to speak up.
“So, what’s up?”
Twilight stepped forward.
“First of all, Spike!”
Spike darted back to Twilight and just sat there, eying Isaac with amazement and wonder, something that Isaac found slightly less comforting than a death-stare.
“Spike here is not only, my number one assistant, but also a magical baby dragon. I used his fire to send a letter to our co-rulers, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, asking them to come down and meet you in a day or two. They agreed to not bring any guards to meet you, but only if you don’t show any violence. Also, we’re hoping to bring you into town to meet my sister-in-law, Princess Cadance. She’s going to look into your heart to see if you’re a good person, nothing major.”
Isaac took this into account and began to panic. Almost physically so.
“Um… exactly how are we going to, first, get me into town unnoticed, and second, look into my heart without physically tearing my ribcage open like a piece of bread?”
Fluttershy nearly fainted at the mention of such a grotesque remark, Twilight stared at him in discomfort, and Spike let his smile drop to just a dropped jaw. Twilight shook herself and her friends out of their trances and looked back at Isaac. She began to speak once again.
“Well, we won’t actually look at your heart, just observe some of your memories of love and compassion and such, so, yeah. And to answer the former, I’ll teleport us over when you’re ready.”
“Now’s a good a time as any other. Sorry about that by the way. Again, old habits die hard.” ‘Might as well accept magic after seeing hordes of the undead chase me through ancient alien weapons and shit like that,’ Isaac thought to himself.
Twilight nodded slightly at this and began to emmit a purplish glow from the protrusion from her forehead and encased the four in a bubble of sorts. The wind picked up as she raised her head, creating a solid purple line around them, and created a flash of light that blinded Isaac. As the flash cleared, they were gone from the cottage. Leaving behind a cottage, some hungry animals, and the creatures under Fluttershy’s care.
\\\//////
As Cadance stepped out of her train car, she turned towards her escorts and addressed them.
“Thank you both for accompanying me on the journey, but I assure you, I won’t need guards to protect me from chipping a hoof at the salon. Now, please get back to the Crystal Empire. I’m sure that they need you there more than I need you here.”
The guards gave a crisp salute and went back into the train, closing the doors behind them. Cadance watched as the train began to move slightly and then take off in the direction of her kingdom. She let out a deep sigh of relief, and turned back to the station and was greeted with a familiar group of escorts.
“Girls! Hey! Over here!” Cadance yelled towards the four members of the Elements of Harmony. The group quickly turned to see one of their most beloved friends and quickly galloped over to her. Applejack was the first to greet.
“Well, howdy there, Princess! We’re just about’a search the inside’a the station for ya. How ya’ll been since the last time we saw ya?”
“Well, the Empire has been a massive stress, but now some strange things are happening. But that can wait until later. Where’s Twilight?”
Rarity went up to her and replied.
“Well, if I remember correctly, she’s off to get Fluttershy and her… guest.” Rarity seemed to spit out that last part with disgust, which seemed very unprofessional of a pony of her nature.
Cadance looked over to her, “Oh, and who is this guest?”
Rainbow Dash flew above her and interrupted, “We can’t just talk about him here! There’s too many nosey ponies. Let’s get to the Library.”
Pinkie Pie started to bounce around the group, energetic as always.
“Ooh! Ooh! Can we throw a ‘Welcome Cadance And Mister Visitor Man Party’ when we get there!? Please?”
Cadance was now bordering confused and upset at their mentioning of some mystery pony. “Who is this stallion that you all- * Gasp *! Is it a special somepony? Oh girls, I said I needed to just relax from the kingdom. I don’t need a quick change of tempo. Yet.”
The girls (except Pinkie for obvious reasons) blushed massively at this statement, both embarrassed and confused. Rarity coughed for Cadance’s attention.
“What, um, P-Pinkie means is that there is some- not exactly pony- that is new here, yes, but in more of an accidental falling from the sky kind of way. Not the Playmare order response kind of way.”
Cadance could feel her cheeks practically explode with sheer embarrassment from her previous statement. She looked back and forth rather frantically, thanking Celestia that they were the only ones on the station platform at the time. She turned back to the girls and interjected the silence.
“So, library, huh? H-how about we go there, like, now? To meet this, uh, not-pony?”
They all nodded and began the awkward commute towards the center of town.
When they arrived at the tree-house, there was a flash of purple light coming from the windows and a large thump on the ground, accompanied by a loud groan. When Cadance went to open the door, however, Rainbow Dash landed in front of her and began to speak.
“Before we go in, princess, we should warn you that-“
Pinkie jumped in from seemingly nowhere and began to talk.
“We actually watched this huuuuuge ball of somethingoranother Crash from the sky right into the Everfree forest, and when we went to check it out, Fluttershy had found an ALIEN in the crater, and nursed him back to health, and so we were wondering, while you’re here, if you can look into Isaac’s, that’s his name by the way, heart to see if he’s a good guy or a big meanie bo beanie’.”
Cadance merely shook her head in disbelief and began to laugh. She looked to the other girls to see them deadpanning her. Then the gravity of the situation hit her when Rainbow Dash opened the door and motioned her to come inside.
After they went in, Cadance noticed that the main room was unnaturally dark, due to the curtains having been closed, apparently after the flash. She looked to the center of the room as the door shut, and began to light up her horn. Before she could, however, she noticed a vertical column of blue lights from the back of the room, with a peculiar half-circle light of blue hovering next to it. In the next instance, the lights came on and immediately, she was paralyzed by fear. A large, bipedal, metal encased, creature was standing next to a rather annoyed Twilight and Spike. She looked to the creature, whom Fluttershy was currently hugging onto with a tremble. They all turned to the group and greeted them.
Twilight waved to Cadance and began to speak.
Oh, hey Cadance. I was just about to go get you. Allow me to introduce the two of you.”
She tapped the creature’s armored legs and brought its attention to her. It looked down and waited to hear Twilight. She pointed to Cadance and spoke again.
“Isaac, this is Cadance. Cadance, meet Isaac Clarke.”
The creature turned to Cadance as Fluttershy slid down to his shoulder and approached Cadance steadily. He extended his foreleg outwards towards a still stunned Cadance, and spoke in a clear male voice.
“Hey, How ya doin’?”
Chapter 5: Betrayl by Love
All that ran through Cadance’s mind in that instant was the regret for letting the guards go back on the train, the safety of everypony in the room, and the magic blast which she fired at the monster.
Her light blue magic aura formed around the tip of her horn as she fired a high energy bolt right at its center of its exposed head, throwing it against the wall with a slightly sickening crunch, leaving a stunned Fluttershy and Spike, as well as a rather shocked Twilight staring at the creature. Cadance charged her magic again and jumped into the air to stare it down before its execution by fire. Before she could do this, however, Twilight jumped in between the two and charged a purple bubble shield around herself and the monster.
“Twilight!? Get out of the way! Now! I’m trying to save you!”
Twilight kept the bubble shield up as she responded, “Cadacne! Please, listen! He wasn’t going to harm anypony at all! He was lost and confused, so we’re trying to help him out!”
Cadance dead-locked on her sister-in-law and looked back at the creature. The back of its head was spilling blood against the wall while a massively sobbing Fluttershy tried to apply first-aid to stop the gush of red substance with the help of an equally terrified Spike at her side. She turned to the girls to see them all just as stunned as, if not more so than, Twilight. Once she realized that they showed genuine compassion towards the creature. She retracted her magic and slowly floated down to the ground and approached Twilight, who had now lowered the shield.
“I-I’m so sorry Twilight. I had no idea that-“
Twilight raised her hoof to stop Cadance’s sentence and pointed to the creature. “HIS NAME IS ISAAC. And I think that you should be apologizing to HIM when HE wakes up.”
Cadance looked over Twilight to see a now bandaged Isaac being wrapped by a weeping Fluttershy, and a stare of insecurity from Spike. She refocused on Twilight and slowly nodded to her.
“Alright. I suppose I should apologize to the cre- I mean, Isaac, when he wakes up.”
Twilight relaxed her muscles and let out a breath that even she didn’t know she was holding in. Twilight nodded in agreement and began to levitate Isaac to the center couch, where his armor tore quite a bit of fabric from the cushions. Rarity could not help but gasp at the horror, but was quickly stopped by the continuing of Twilight’s conversation.
“I’m sorry to drop all of this on you at once, but I never really got a chance to send you a letter, or tell you about it at all before now. Actually, we only knew about him a few hours ago.”
Cadance and the rest of the group sat down around Isaac, taking up the remaining seating, as Cadance continued the talk.
“Have you told Aunts Celestia and Luna? They should probably know that we’ve been visited by an alien before anypony else does.”
“Actually, Cadance, the thing is that-“
Rainbow Dash spoke up, “We needed you to look into his heart or mind or whatever to see if we could use any mushy-dushy-love stuff against him if he tries to hurt anypony.”
Applejack interjected, “Rainbow! Ya’ll know that’s not the truth. Princess, we were hopin’ that you could try an’ see if he’s a good pers’n or not, before we get the other princesses involved in this… situation.”
Cadance nodded to the two mares and looked back at Isaac.
“So, you want me to look into him and try to find any form of love or compassion to see if he has a good soul?”
The mares all looked at each other and nodded in agreement.
“Alright then. Since he’s unconscious, this should be easier than trying to get him to agree with me. Now,”
Cadance charged her horn and began to focus on Isaac’s mind, heart, and memories.
“Let’s see who you hold dear, who they are, and how you remember them.”
And with that, Cadance’s consciousness melded with Isaac’s memories, collapsing her body in a blue aura.
As she was about to finish, there was a mysterious red flash across her body, as well as Isaac’s, and then Cadance felt a massive migrane hit her, bringing her in further to the depths of his mind, and, unknown to her, the depths of Hell itself.
\\\//////
Cadance found herself watching Isaac’s memories from an ominous stand-point, almost as if she were watching this like a painting that moved in front of her. She felt a strong sense of love from Isaac’s later memories, near the end of his mind, where new memories would be stored. Cadance flew over to see a blonde and slightly different version of what Isaac was, assuming it to be the female form of his species. She was calling for Isaac, and almost on cue, a dis-armored Isaac on his side appeared on the top right corner of her vision, realizing that this was from his point of view, on some kind of futuristic tele-communications screen. The girl began to talk about something called an “Ishimura,” planet-cracking, and being on a medical team. She noticed Isaac smiling intently at her, and felt the power of his love through the memory. She then heard Isaac call her “Nicole,” and assumed this to be her name. She smiled on as she watched Nicole thank Isaac for the opportunity to serve aboard a ship, saying that she deserved the chance to work on its last voyage through the stars. Cadance perked up at the notice of them being able to transcend their own world and began to wonder how they could travel to other worlds as well. Her thoughts were cut short when a burst of static came into the memory, and thought that her spell was collapsing, or Isaac was dying, bu then noticed that it was only with this memory. She listened to a panicked Isaac calling out for Nicole, and was given the reply of the range of a “communications beacon.” Cadance took this to be the end of the memory and moved on.
She could not help but shut her eyes so she did not have to see two lovers being torn apart with such speed, let alone at such a distance. As she moved on, she noticed another memory that looked almost exactly like the previous one: Nicole in a blue field of sorts, but this time, Isaac was standing in his suit holding something… metal. She came close to the memory and started it.
There was a woman outside of Isaac’s glass room, looking in at him, and listened intently as a video in front of Isaac began to play. Nicole was again on the screen, but his time, she wore a white uniform, and sat in a dark metal room.
“Isaac, it’s me… I wish I could talk to you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry about everything. I wish I could just… talk to someone. It’s all falling apart here, I can’t believe what’s happening.”
Cadance looked around to see other memories around here to be seemingly locked by Isaac’s mind, and shuddered at the ones that were locked that had Nicole in them. If she was still there, then why wasn’t she talking to Isaac as though he were there? She peeked back into the memory.
“It’s strange… It’s such a little thing.”
Nicole lifted her arm to show that she was holding an injection needle, which made Isaac almost jump back in disbelief, and made Cadance begin to cry. It was a recording.
“In the end, it all comes down to one little thing. I didn’t want it to end like this. I really wanted to see you. Just once. I loved you. I always loved you.”
Cadance jumped back in shock when Nicole injected herself, and fell dead on her own needle. Isaac shook his head in denial to the event, and began to sob himself. Cadance could only stare in horror as Isaac’s love began to be thrown around the memory, along side anger, torment, sorrow, and hatred. So much hatred. Towards this “Marker”, towards the Ishimura, to the girl outside- to himself. And then the guilt. So much guilt, Cadance almost felt like taking her own life after feeling only a few seconds of this. She realized that this was years ago in his memory. To have to live with this for even seconds was unbearable for even the alicorn princess of love, and to remember seeing him so calm and collected before she zapped him… She left the memory immediately and went on to another memory.
She looked around Isaac’s mind, hopping from one lock to another, occasionally seeing something that looked like-
Her train of thought was interrupted when a glowing figure that resembled a blood-soaked, empty-eyed Nicole appeared before her and dragged her into one of the locked memories, beginning a sequence that would change her view of Isaac forever.
\\\//////
The girls all watched Cadance as she was tearing up and crying on the floor, saying something about a “Nicole” and Isaac.
“Do you think she’ll be alright?” asked a curious Rainbow Dash.
“I know for a fact, Rainbow, that Cadance wil be-“
There was a massive knock at the front door that shook the entire house. Twilight and her friends looked to each other and decided to see what the commotion was.
Twilight stepped up and opened the door. Standing there was Princess Celestia and six of her Solar Guards. Her expression had a hint of seriousness but relieved when Twilight opened the door.
“Hello my most faithful student.” She spoke.
“P-Princess Celestia!” she almost shouted.
The girls all bowed respectively as Celestia motioned for her guards to remain at the door. She trotted in and tapped to Twilight.
“Forgive the intrusion,” she started, “But I felt a massive disturbance in the Celestial Plane, just as Luna had began to talk about a nightmare that had to do with creatures that were not of this world. I assumed this had to do with the alien that you and your friends encountered.”
Twilight stood up and began to ask her mentor a few questions.
“What kind of disturbance?”
Celestia looked out grimly as the door shut with her magic. She trotted over to where Isaac was seated and looked into his face with a pale expression, full of fear and confusion.
“Something horribly evil.” She answered with a deadpanning voice.
“What does this have to do with Isaac?”
“There was a faint signal of incredibly powerful Dark Energy that remained quite low for the past thousand years. A signal that just used to be as faint as a breeze on the wind. But that wind turned to a violent hurricane almost instantly, and it quickly honed in on Isaac’s presence, which bounced back an almost identical signal.”
They all stood and looked in horror at both Celestia and Isaac. How could something so calm and alive be evil? What kind of signal could this be?
What is Cadance seeing in there right now?
\\\//////
Cadance found herself watching horrific moments of Isaac’s life flash by as he fought what appeared to be unarmored versions of himself. Only they were far more horrific. They had bones jutting out, limbs missing, and often times, she saw them tear innocent ones that closely resembled Isaac apart with no mercy. If she could vomit in his mind, it would need to be emptied out three times now.
The most vivid ones, however, were when the flashes focused on a monstrous version of Nicole that haunted Isaac. She listened in as he constantly denied her existence, trying to push her into the recesses of his mind.
Until the memories began to solidify around her as one of the most important moments began to play out.
Isaac stood in front of a metal door that creaked open. On the other side, was Nicole.
She rushed forward faster that anything thought possible and began to thrash him about, shouting at him.
“Moment of truth, Isaac! Who am I? Am I your friend? Your lover? The one shred; one light; one bright, shining star you clung to in this Universe? Or am I your guilt? Crushing the life out of you because you can't get over the fact that I'm dead? That you feel responsible? Who... am... I?!? Why do you keep fighting me? Why can't you let go?”
Cadance felt all of the love and hate mix together horrifically inside Isaac as he spoke.
“Because you were my everything. And if I let you go… I have nothing.”
As these words touched Cadance closely, Nicole reverted to a far more pleasing appearance and voice.
“Step Four: Acceptance” she said as Isaac began to bawl out on the ground.
Just then, the memory began to fade again, and energy began to swirl around her, forming a massive spire that reached into the air, two massive prongs at the top.
\\\//////
The girls all watched as Cadance began to thrash about as Isaac began to tear through his eyes. As this happened, Celestia felt the energy surge through his mind, the same way it assaulted him before.
Before Celestia could think about this further, Cadance shout out in pain as large amounts of her stomach contents emptied onto the floor. The girls retreated at this, but Celestia went up to her. She went to release the spell by touching their horns, and reached down to meet her head… only to be blasted by a red surge of magical lightning. As the pain began to intensify to impossible heights, her world began to fade.
\\\//////
As Celestia’s vision cleared up, she noticed that Cadance was in front of her now, along with Isaac and another human in white. Isaac slumped into the other one’s arms, and began to sigh. Then the white one spoke.
“Thank you Isaac. Now… Time to die.”
“What!?”
The other one began to shoot out a violent torrent of evil energy that consumed Celestia’s mind with a massive bolt of pain, along with Cadance. When they emerged, there was another spire in front of them, the white one standing close to it as it spoke again to Isaac.
“Yours is the last body we need to absorb! The makers must be made whole!”
“The makers? You mean ME!? But Stross said we could destroy the marker.”
“Not if we consume you first!”
Being attached to Cadance’s magic in this world, she felt the massive war of emotions that overcame Isaac, filling with both immense rage and sadness as he raised a small metallic device with his arms.
“God dammit I trusted you! Fuck You!”
He fired a shot of something at the other, her form flickering out as the spire erupted into a yellow light. The white one spoke in a soft and sobbing tone.
“Isaac, you’re hurting me.”
He raised the device to the light in the spire and shouted again.
“AND FUCK YOUR MARKER!!!!!”
Another shot rang out from the device and exploded in the center of the spire. A massive explosion of pain and symbols shot out in all directions, and destroyed the spell keeping both of the Princesses in the dream.
\\\//////
A massive blast of red energy swept across the room, sending books and furniture flying outwards in a massive carnage of paper and wood, along with the screams of the six ponies watching the sleeping three figures. As the dust settled, the Solar Guards barged into the house and went to the Princesses.
“Princesses, are you- MONSTER!” one of them shouted as they all pointed their spears at Isaac.
Celestia stood up as pain shot through her skull, almost stopping her from speaking to them.
“Guards, stand down!” she bellowed, pain obvious in her tone.
Twilight ran over to Cadance as the rest of her friends followed, two guards rushing to Celestia as they lowered their weapons.
Cadance began to turn over on the floor when Twilight came up to her, tears in her eyes.
“Cadance, what happened? What did you see?” she asked.
Cadance looked like she had seen the pits of Tartarus at their worst and shook as she stood.
“I saw Isaac’s love life. And how he lost so many. Along with terrible…” she barfed onto the floor again before embracing her sister-in-law, sobbing massively. Celestia began to gather her guards and demanded that they stand down, imitating the Royal Canterlot Voice. After the guards were calmed she addressed the girls.
“Girls, I want you to come with me to Canterlot, along with Isaac and Cadance. We need to address him on what he knows and…” she trailed off as she began to stare at Isaac’s unconscious form, pain shooting through her skull again at the reminder of the scene prior. “…what I saw in there. Twilight, if you would be so kind as to teleport us, I would be grateful.”
Twilight nodded nervously and began to concentrate her magic for the spell. In a flash, they were all gone from the Library, leaving a massive mess of a books, and a lingering feel of death and despair.
Chapter 6: Opening the Gates
Once the group arrived in the Royal Castle, Celestia had to walk along with the girls to escort Isaac’s body to the guest wing, as to stop the guards from executing him on sight, or to keep the maids from panicking at the mention of him. She also had to find out what she had seen in his mind. Who was that figure? What was that spire? Why did he believe in exclaiming such vulgarities at the figures?
Why did it want him dead?
She pondered a massive amount of outcomes or reasons as they carried Isaac into the last hallway to the guest wing. As they turned the corner, however, they saw Shining Armor along with a group of guards with weapons at the ready, pointed at Isaac. Shining motioned to Isaac and began to speak.
“Princess, I heard that thing came here and what it did to Cadance! Get back! We’ll protect you!”
‘Dear Faust, news spreads that fast!?’ Celestia thought. She stepped in front of Isaac’s floating form and spread her wings out with a scowl upon her face. The guards stepped back slightly and lowered their weapons slightly as she addressed them.
“Isaac is a guest here, and will be treated as such, Shining Armor. Why are you even here?”
“With all due respect, I couldn’t stay in the Crystal Empire by myself, it’s too crazy there. I came here to ask how long Cadance was planning to stay so I could plan out meetings and such, but then I heard about how she was injured by that thing. So I decided to find my armor in the storage and- Cadance?”
Cadance gazed at Shining Armor with a hint of fear in her eyes, along with anger. She marched up to him and stared him straight in the eye.
“I told you that you need to learn how to keep things under control by yourself. And to the event at hand, it was me that hurt Isaac first.”
He shook his head and drew himself closer to her face. “I don’t care if you struck first, he shouldn’t have attacked you at all!”
“He didn’t! I went into his mind to see if we could trust him, based off of the love in his heart!”
Shining shifted a bit in place and contemplated what his wife had said. He blinked a few times as he licked his lips and responded.
“Is he safe? Can he feel?”
Cadance looked back at the exposed face of Isaac and remembered the horrific things that he had been through, seeing his lover die, no power to stop it, and being haunted by violent visions of her that threatened to even end his life. She knew that it was terrible that anything could have made it through all of that, and decided the best course of action. She turned to her husband, tears rolling down her cheeks, and spoke.
“He has felt more pain than anyone I have ever met, and deserves a chance to prove himself. If you could see the terrors he lived through…”
After that, she jumped and held Shining Armor as tight as she could, bawling out into the exposed portion of his armor. He stroked his wife’s mane as he returned the hug and nodded to Celestia. Celestia nodded back and motioned for the guards to stand aside.
Before they could move, though, Celestia heard a groan from behind her, turned around, and saw Isaac rubbing his face with one of his forearms.
\\\//////
When Isaac woke up with a weightless feeling in his gut, he remembered the actions that transpired recently. The machine, waking in a forest, ponies that talked, being shot in the face by a pink one with wings and horns, and just rubbed his head. It was pounding with the memory of the fight with the marker on Titan Station. Why he was remembering this, he didn’t know. But what he did know, was that the weightlessness had just transformed into a falling feeling.
Isaac crashed onto a solid floor, back down, thank God, and tried to feel for his everything. To his surprise, he wasn’t in a massively impossible level of pain that he used to awaken to. In fact, he thought it was rather preferable to wake like this, as opposed to having a Necromorph jabbing it’s way through the person in front of him, turning said person into a Necro, and forcing Isaac to badassidly headbutt his way out. That may have looked cool, if someone were watching, but it felt like literal Hell to Isaac.
Speaking of Hell, Isaac just remembered how he got where he was now. He was shot in the face, but when he rubbed it, he didn’t feel any relatively painful reactions. So Isaac decided to try and flip himself over and get a look at his surroundings. So Isaac shifted his weight and planted his hands on a solid surface and pulled himself to his stomach. After shaking his head and rubbing his eyes, he slowly began to open them, allowing a larger amount of light to focus each passing second.
Isaac looked around and blinked a few times, making sure he was taking in everything correctly. In front of him were the same ponies from before. Behind them, a pair that seemed to be hugging each other, one white with a horn and purple armor, and the pink one that shot him. Isaac looked to his left and saw a massive white one with multicolored hair that flew on a breeze that he couldn’t feel, with both wings and a horn, along with golden jewelry. Behind it, six smaller horned ones with golden armor and spears that floated by them, all pointed at Isaac.
“Hey, how’s it goin’?” Isaac asked nonchalantly, hoping that they would hesitate to kill him.
The tall white one stepped towards him and retracted her wings. It then stopped and spoke to him with a regal, stern female voice.
“Can you move Isaac?”
Isaac lifted himself up onto his knees and began to stand slowly, meeting it’s eyes at a slight crouch.
“How do you know my name?” he asked it.
It raised it’s head and held up a hoof.
“Where are my manners? I’m Princess Celestia. Co-ruler of Equestria and controller of the Sun. You are right now in the capitol city, Canterlot. The reason I know who you are is because my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, informed me of your arrival. You’ve already met Princess Cadance, it seems.”
The pink one ran up to Isaac and began to wipe at it’s eyes.
“I-I’m sorry I shot at you Isaac. You didn’t deserve such treatment!” it blurted before sobbing again.
Isaac knelt down to who he assumed to be Cadance and spoke.
“It’s alright. You were scared at the time and acted in defense. Besides, you didn’t burn anything off with that.”
“But, I- there’s something I should tell you.” She managed before the purple armored one ran up to her and held her close, eyeing Isaac with confusion. Celestia coughed for Isaac’s attention and succeeded as Isaac turned to her.
“I would like to apologize for the news, but we may have intruded into your memories to see if you were dangerous or not. We… well… I saw you fight a white figure and a spire, and I would like to know what that was about.”
Isaac’s heart almost stopped when she mentioned that she saw his fight with the Marker’s Nicole. He had no idea that they were able to do this, but now he understood why Cadance was crying, and why there was fear in both of their voices. He took a deep breath and began to speak.
“That was an evil artifact, known as the Marker. It implanted itself into my mind and began to drive me crazy. What you saw was when it manifested itself as my dead girlfriend, Nicole, and made me believe that I could trust her again. But she’s dead. And they used her. So, I fought back and destroyed the signal from my mind, which destroyed the signal that kept the real one intact. It’s… pretty gruesome to describe everything else that I’ve seen, but seeing as how you’re still standing without looking around every corner in absolute terror, then I guess you stayed away until that part specifically.”
After his little explanation, Isaac looked at the ponies and saw the six mares from earlier with their eyes in tears, Pinkie with her mane deflated, Cadance and the other one with their mouths agape, holding each other in a near-death hold, the guards dropped their weapons in shock, and Celestia just looked at him in pure shock, her left eye twitching slightly.
He sighed and activated his RIG holo-screen to check his inventory, and took note on the specs of the place around him. Thanks to the ultra-sonic frequencies from his suit and the super-computer embedded in his spine, he was able to make a detailed map of everywhere they had brought him. He took into account the massive hallways and determined the size of the building, or rather city, he was in now. He flipped over to check the status on his armor, still fully functional, 5 medium med-packs, about 200 clips of universal ammunition, and all of the upgrades had remained unharmed inside his suit. Then, Isaac looked past the screen and saw the ponies staring in awe at the RIG’s display.
“What?” Isaac asked casually.
Twilight stuck out her hoof at the screen, “What is that?”
“It’s my RIG. It stands for Resource Integration Gear. It basically displays everything essential to certain people, depending on the profession of the person having one integrated. For military, it shows battle stats and friendly life signs. For an engineer like me, it shows maps, equipment, and assignment logs. It also lets me check what I’ve got in the storage compartment on my back, like tools and med-kits.”
As Isaac finished his explanation, the other mares, including Celestia, began to examine the screen as he scrolled through functions, mission logs, audio and video logs, until Twilight peeped up from behind Isaac.
“Is that what this light on your back is?”
Isaac turned his head to look behind himself and looked down at her.
“Yeah. It shows how my vital organs or over all condition.”
She continued to eye it with fascination almost pouring from her sockets. He held back a chuckle and turned to meet the gaze of Celestia, her eyes taken in seriousness and concern.
“Isaac. I would hate to keep you from everypony for too long, but I need to question you on a few things, concerning your past and what I saw in your mind.”
Isaac took a deep breath and sighed.
“Alright. But a warning: you’re not gonna like what you hear.”
Celestia nodded slowly, unsure of what is about to transpire. She motioned her head for the group to follow her into a random suite, and piled them into the room. The six mares entered and left Shining Armor, Cadance, and the guards at the door. She turned to them and spoke.
“Could you all please leave us to this? It’s very important, yes, but I’m afraid what we are to discuss is a more personal affair than a security risk to myself or Canterlot. You may all go where you please.”
Before any of them could answer, Celestia shut the door with her a golden glow and turned towards the inner part of the room.
Isaac had to admit, it was probably the best damn room he had ever seen in his entire freaking life. There was a bed that could fit what he assumed to be a king, golden sheets and pillows, along with spotless white marble walls and a near perfect red carpet that tied together a whole, “I’m beyond rich and important, so fucking bow down to me or you’re gonna find out how the carpet stays red,” look. He turned his focus to the ponies in the room as they all sat down in their own way.
Pinkie was jumping on the bed, ruining the covers in a childish manner, Rarity was sitting on a posh sofa, flipping a pillow with her… magic, they called it? Rainbow and AJ sat next to each other and occasionally bumped their forelegs into the other’s side, trying to gain some ground on the other, Fluttershy was next to Isaac, waiting for the story, and Celestia near the door along with Twilight, who now for some reason had a book and a pen to write down everything he was about to say.
As Isaac sat down, he saw the mares all looking at him with massive interest, as he was still about twice their size, even on his ass. Celestia decided where she would like to start with the questioning, and began.
“So Isaac, what led you to our world in the first place?”
Isaac took a deep breath and began.
“It started back on the Ishimura, a space-ship that we built to crack open a planet to make it easier for mining operations,”
Twilight raised her hoof and asked a question.
“Why would you need to do that?”
“Well, our planet, Earth, was dying off from our mass consumption of resources, and we needed something to prevent another war for materials, so the USG Ishimura was built, along with others like it, Planet-cracker class vessels, designed to mine out barren worlds and even smelt down asteroids. The Ishimura was hailed as the savior of Earth, with how it brought our entire species from the brink of collapse.”
The mares all ‘ooh’ed and ‘awe’d in wonder, until Isaac continued the story.
“Although, if we had known what it would eventually dig up, I think we would have never built it at all.”
With that, they all gave him a worried look as well as some confused expressions.
“In 2511, it went to a restricted mining world, known as Aegis VII. Pretty barren, no more than one little mining station, but some group decided it would be too dangerous to crack the planet open. Damn, were they right. Remember that I told you the Marker did all that shit to me? That’s where they found the one that imprinted itself into my mind. Everyone on board died after they found it, and I ended up having to destroy the ship and the planet, along with the Marker. But, when some people found me, kept me asleep for two years, and while I was out, they decided to try and build from the Marker imprint in my mind.”
Twilight raised a hoof again and asked.
“How did they do that if you were asleep for two years?”
“I wasn’t really asleep as much as I was drugged enough to not remember anything they did. And the way they found the imprint is they stuck me in a machine that tapped into the memory center of my brain, and stimulated the area with enough electric currents to activate the signal.”
“With magic?”
“My kind can’t use ‘magic’, so they built a machine that drills through my eye into the memory center in the front of the brain. Relatively painless, almost no feeling. Until they trigger the signal, then all Hell breaks loose.”
They all dropped their jaws in horror at his explanation. Until Pinkie spoke up.
“They… they drilled into your eye? But… h-how did you remember?”
“The old saying the Marker also drilled into my mind. “Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in your eye”. Damn machine.”
At this point, her hair started to deflate as she spoke.
“Th-that sounds like a… Pinkie-promise…”
“I bet your’s is better.”
Celestia spoke up again.
“So, what got you here then?”
“Well, after I ran from Titan Station, where they held me, my ex-girlfriend, Ellie, went to a distant world, known as Tau Volantis. When I got there, we found out that it was the Marker homeworld. We fought through alien ruins and activated a machine that was supposed to destroy the Markers once and for all. I guess when I was supposed to die firing it, I ended up here, as some kind of reward for ridding the galaxy of their evil, or something like that. Gotta say though, I thought I was just going to die there and then.”
Fluttershy went up to Isaac and hugged his neck again, tears running from her eyes like a river.
“You-you’re not gonna leave us, right Isaac?” she begged with the largest puppy-dog eyes he had ever seen. He reached out with his arm and stroked her mane like a child.
“It’ll be alright. I’m not going anywhere. I can’t send a signal out anywhere anyways, and all I’ve got is my- …ah, Fuck!” he shouted as he tried reaching for his Plasma Cutter.
The mares all jumped back in surprise as he stood up and frantically patted every part of his suit. He stopped and looked back at a slightly cowering Fluttershy.
“Did I have a small device near me at the crater?” to which she nodded rather fearfully. “Did you bring it to your house?” to which then she shook her head.
Isaac turned to Twilight and Celestia and pointed to the window.
“I have to get it before someone gets hurt trying to mess with it. It’s too dangerous to leave out there.”
Twilight rose and spoke up.
“But, it was in the Everfree Forest. We can’t just go there without an idea of where it may be.”
Fluttershy walked up to her.
“Um… actually, I remember which clearing it’s in. I could lead us… If, that’s okay with you…”
Isaac clapped his hands and went for the door.
“Great, let’s go.”
Twilight cut off his path and spoke up to him.
“Wait, I can teleport us to the entrance of the forest. It’ll be quicker, but only a few of us can go.”
Isaac nodded and motioned to Fluttershy.
“Come on, you know the way, and I’ll make it quick. Anyone else wanna come along?”
They all looked at each other and slowly shook their heads. Rainbow was the first to speak.
“Sorry, but AJ and I have this… uh… thing! That we… need to do! At the farm! Right?” she bumped her elbow on Applejack, who looked back and forth frantically. “Uh, y-yeah! At the farm! Yeah. Some ah… shipment, that needs ta…” Isaac rose his hands at the pair to interrupt their excuses. “Yeah, sure. It’s fine if you just don’t wanna go.” He turned to Rarity who just gasped. “Absolutely not. I cannot ruin my new hooficure and I spent hours trying to get my mane like this in the morning. Also, I have an order to fill out.” Pinkie jumped for the door over Isaac as she spoke. “And I’ve got a party to plan for somepony!” she sang. Isaac shrugged and nodded to Twilight.
“Ready to go?”
Celestia went up to Isaac in a hurry.
“Wait!” she pleaded. “Make sure you keep them safe.”
Isaac nodded once more as his helmet began to encase his head in the familiar cheese-grater style. With a flash of purple energy, the trio found themselves at the entrance to the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy’s abode shining a faint light on the tree-line. Isaac began to walk into the forest, as Fluttershy flew up onto his shoulder for security, planting her hooves on the metal plates of Isaac’s suit. Twilight followed the glow on Isaac’s back as they began their trek into the dangerous forest.
For almost a solid half-hour, nothing much happened. Just a plant or two that they had to avoid for the sake of the unknown dangers they hold. They ran into a few obstacles, such as avoiding growls and climbing rocky hillsides. When they found a crater in the center of another clearing, but this one had something different about it: a Plasma Cutter, customized attachments. As soon as Isaac spotted this, he ran for the device at top speed, which startled Fluttershy enough to jump off his shoulder. The two mares followed suit and made it to the crater with Isaac. He examined every aspect of the weapon with pure thankfulness to whatever deity watched over him now. It was a Planet Cracker tipped cutter with a Rotator Cuff under-attachment, along with a Mk-V Damage Boost pack, as well as a Mk-V Acid bath attachment, and all the upgrade circuits in place: 2 circuits of +3 Damage, +3 Clip, One circuit of +3 Damage and +3 Rate of Fire, and one circuit of +3 Damage and +3 Reload. His most recent tool of survival. He began to inspect the functioning of the device and almost cheered at the revelation that everything was in working order.
Isaac turned to let the girls know that he had found what he needed, but stopped when he saw that they were staring into the bushes with fear. He looked to the bushes, but was met with a massive thud that reminded him too much of a Leaper, the way it jumped and teethed at him. As he heard the ponies scream in terror, he got a close look at the creature attacking him. It looked from the facial structure like a wolf of sorts, only made out of wood. It was the same size as a Leaper, and was still trying to bite off his helmet. Then, Isaac thought that if it moved the same, he could fight it the same.
With all of his might, Isaac turned over and pinned the beast to the ground on it’s chest, it’s hind legs still in Isaac’s grasp. He then pulled the creature back towards him and slammed his boot down onto the top of it’s neck. With a loud crack, the wolf whimpered and struggled even harder. Isaac brought down the full might of his foot and broke the head of the beast clean off the body, threw the body to the side, and raised his Cutter at the body, waiting for it to strike him again. The only thing is, it wasn’t a necromorph, so it couldn’t get back up. That’s when Isaac realised that he needed to help the others before they became wolf-chow.
Chapter 7: Wandering Possibilities
Twilight and Fluttershy were pinned down by the mass of timberwolves that threatened to prey on them, and began to consider what they could do. Twilight observed their surroundings, and took in the notice of how there were no paths out, no places to hide, and that she and Fluttershy were slowly being inched into a corner. She tried to pull out a spell from her memories, but was unable to focus enough to perform any. The seven wolves completed the trap, and the mares were forced against a rock. Without hesitation, they all pounced at once towards the defenseless duo, and left them to brace for the end.
Which never came.
After what felt like years of waiting, Twilight opened her eyes to see the timberwolves all frozen and blue colored for some reason. She then noticed Isaac running towards the two without so much as a warning, and scooped them up and onto his shoulders.
As he ran with them, Twilight looked back and saw the wolves spring back to life as they tackled each other and the rock where the two were pinned. She turned to Isaac’s head and spoke into the side.
“What was that?”
“Stasis. Used to slow down industrial tools to minimize fatalities or to give miners a few more seconds before anything collapses on them. Great for slowing down something that wants you dead, though, right?”
She found herself nodding to his statement and gripped onto his armor even tighter, knowing that he had the power to slow down anything that got in their way. Eventually, they came back to Fluttershy’s cottage and went inside. Isaac kept his gaze on the windows as the two mares he saved caught their breath and steadied their minds.
“So, I take it that we don’t go back in there?”
Fluttershy flew up to his helmet and hugged his neck once again, but this time, Isaac raised one arm to return the gesture to the pegasus, comforting her.
“You’re safe now. It’s okay.” He whispered.
“Thank you.” She replied.
They soon released each other and Isaac de-activated his helmet and set the weapon down onto the table, allowing the two to examine the device as he took a seat on the couch.
Twilight leaned in and studied the marvel of technology and began to talk to Isaac.
“What is that?”
“Plasma Cutter. Designed to be used as a mining tool meant for cutting out dense materials that regular drills would take hours to pierce. I’ve modded this one to have higher power and more capacity, along with faster shots, and an acid coating that can burn through steel like butter.”
“Why would you need that?”
“Let’s just say I’ve got a troubled past, and leave it at that?”
Twilight and Fluttershy looked into his eyes with sadness and nodded slowly, acknowledging the fact that his past is probably more disturbing than he’s letting on. Twilight lifted from her seat and looked to the window as she pondered why this alien had come to their world, and what Celestia had meant about some kind of signal. She turned back to Isaac and Fluttershy and spoke up again.
“I think we should head for-“
Before she could finish her thought, a bright yellow light encompassed the three, and they soon found themselves inside the Library once again. However, the other Elements were in the room, as well as Celestia and Cadance, along with a company of guards that were lined along the walls, eyes kept on Isaac.
Isaac stood up and used Kinesis to bring back his Plasma Cutter, and pulled his helmet back on. Before he could raise it, however, a similar golden aura surrounded the weapon, and threatened to pull it away. Isaac pulled back with all his might as he heard Celestia speak to him.
“Please, relinquish your weapon. We only wish to speak.”
“Then you can let go!”
With one more tug, he snapped the Cutter from the grasp of the aura and held onto it even tighter than before. Celestia gave a mixed look of anger and worry.
“Isaac, listen. I need to find out what’s going on with the Elements of Harmony since your arrival, and why they chose to act up now. Girls, could you please give us some privacy? Guards as well?”
The mares all looked to each other and then nodded to Celestia before filing outside with the rest of the guards. After the door shut, Celestia and Cadance made their way to Isaac as he removed his helmet yet again.
“What do you want?” Isaac asked bluntly.
Celestia sighed deeply as she looked up into his bearded face.
“I feel the evil surging from your mind, and how you’ve been able to control it. Nopony can have that much corruption within themselves without completely wiping out their brain, yet you’ve not only held it off, but have destroyed it entirely at one point. You have a gift, a reason why the Elements of Harmony brought you to us, and I believe that you would find the purpose of your new fate by staying here in Ponyville.”
“Wait, you mean to tell me that there’s a signal that matches the ones in my mind?”
“Not exactly. Your’s is special, like some kind of different version, but it’s origin and purpose seem to be the same. It’s been faint, like I mentioned earlier, but it’s been slowly rising in strength ever since the Elements of Harmony were brought back, and it rose greatly upon your arrival, and has been concentrating.”
“Where?”
“I do not yet know. However, I want you to protect the Bearers, the six ponies you’ve already met, until I can locate the source of the signal. I’ve seen how you deal with darkness, and not even I could protect them as well as you could. Please, would you be so kind as to protect my little ponies?”
Isaac began to reflect upon this in his thoughts, considering the danger of a surviving Marker and the consequences that would come when it comes to full power. Knowing full well what lies ahead, Isaac finalizes his decision by extending his right hand towards the Princess, and allows her to place a hoof in it before he shook it.
“Deal. But, when you do find it, I’m in charge of dealing with it.”
“Thank you, Isaac. I knew you were chosen for a reason.”
With that, the Princesses took their leave as their guards flooded into formation, allowing for easier teleportation. They disappeared in a flash of light and were gone before Isaac was tackled by a ferociously fast pink blur. He fell to the ground and gazed upon the being whom he was at the mercy at: Pinkie Pie.
“Uh…”
“Oh my gosh! This is amazing! You’ll get to stay here with us, and we can have a ‘Welcome to Ponyville Clarkey’ PARTY!”
Isaac moved a bit underneath Pinkie’s hooves. She noticed and hopped off his chest, smiling up at him with a nearly blindingly bright smile of excitement. He sat up and looked down upon her as he started.
“Can you just call me Isaac? Also, I don’t think now’s a good time to party. Kinda…”
“Tired?” asked another voice.
Isaac looked up and saw the rest of the mares file into the library, smiling at their new protector. Well, all but one.
“Why do we need a guard? That’s ridiculous! We’re not some little fillies going to school!” Rainbow Dash argued as she flew to the ceiling. Applejack looked to her with a scrunch and retorted.
“Dash, if the Princess says he’s gonna help keep us safe, then we should at least give him a chance. Besides, it’s not like he’s gonna stalk us all the time!”
Rainbow Dash shrugged at this and gave a loud groan of defeat as she landed next to her, eyes focusing to her opposite side.
“Fine. As long as he doesn’t get too over protective, alright Isaac?”
Isaac stood up and nodded to her.
“Sure. Didn’t really plan on keeping watch on all of you at all times, anyways. Just thought that if one of you is ever threatened, hurt, or taken, I’ll be there to help.”
They all nodded at him as the day took it’s toll on them, causing several yawns to escape from them, prompting their inevitable decline into sleep. Twilight perked up her ears and looked to Isaac.
“Isaac, since you’ll need to learn how to fit in here to help us, would you like to stay here where we can share information? It’ll also help the town associate with your presence.”
Isaac pondered the possibility for a few seconds, and nodded.
“Sure. Sounds like a great plan. I can learn about your town while they can learn about me.”
She nodded to him and turned to the rest of the Elements.
“Well, goodnight girls!”
They all waved and said their goodbyes to Twilight and Isaac, as well as Spike, who got a kiss on the head from Rarity. As he… floated… to bed, Twilight turned to Isaac again.
“Well, I’ll show you the guest room, follow me.”
They went up a flight of stairs and stopped at a low wooden door. As it opened, Isaac craned his back to fit through, almost crouching, and saw a slightly smaller bed with lavender sheets and blue pillows. The room was a bit roomy, being about 10x12 at a glance, enough for his armor to be laid down. It also had a bench that he could use to write, thanks to the parchments, quills, and ink bottles that were organized across it. It would be a good place to empty out his RIG and examine the Plasma Cutter, so long as he didn’t accidentally discharge the Acid-Bath attachment. He nodded a bit at the room and started to remove his armor, allowing a white shirt to peek out a bit, as Twilight began to exit the room.
“Well, goodnight Isaac. Hope you sleep well.”
“Thanks, tomorrow’s gonna be a rough day.”
She cocked her head to the side a bit and twitched her left ear downwards.
“Why say that?”
Isaac shrugged as the suit peeled away from his skin, allowing him to breathe easy again.
“I know these things.”
Spike woke up and stretched as he slid out of bed. After stretching, he looked to the window by Twilight’s bed and saw the Sun steadily rise over the horizon as morning peaked it’s head. He gave out a yawn and proceeded to the stairs. Before he could step down the first step, however, Twilight called him from the kitchen.
“Spike? Is that you?”
He groggily stopped in his tracks and responded.
“Yes?”
“Could you wake up Isaac? He’s in the guest room.”
“Alright.”
With that, he turned around and went to said guest room. Curiosity overcoming the young dragon’s sense of responsibility, Spike decided to sneak in and check out what Isaac had in the room. After slowly opening the door, Spike tip-toed his way to the desk opposite the door, where he saw some kind of lights spread about. He hoisted himself up and stood on the seat to examine the source of the disturbance. Scattered about the desk were two different kind of… objects? One was a light green, that had a base of a rectangle and two cylinders that came from the base. There were five, two standing and the other three laying on their sides. The other things were yellow with grey stripes along the large faces. Spike counted ten of them. He reached out to pick one up, and felt that it was a bit heavy for something so small. As he passed it from hand to hand, he looked to his right and saw two things: a jumbled mess of black fabrics and gold-like plates, which were Isaac’s suit, and Isaac in the guest bed. He had a white shirt and small white boxers, had the sheets on his sides like a double-helix, and had his left arm on his stomach with his right hand underneath the pillow, where his head rested.
While Spike’s attention was elsewhere, his hand overshot the strange yellow box and he accidentally dropped the object. He scrambled to try and get it, but it fell with a smack to the floor.
\\\//////
In an instant, Isaac awoke with a start, shooting his eyes open at the sound. He instinctively drew the Plasma Cutter from under his pillow and flew off the bed to the side, raising the weapon at the source of the noise. He slowly approached the end of his bed, and saw a purple back hunched over with green fins.
“Spike?” he whispered.
\\\//////
Spike, at the mention of his name, slowly started to turn up to see Isaac staring him down from behind a small hand-held piece of metal. As Spike looked up at him, Isaac lowered his arms and released a breath slowly. After he finished with the breath, he raised his other hand and rubbed his face as he placed the object on the desk.
“Don’t do that. Seriously. I could have- ugh. Just, what’s up?”
Spike straightened up as he spoke.
“Twilight wanted me to wake you up so we can have breakfast. What are those things, though?”
Isaac looked to the desk and chuckled a bit. He stretched and popped some tired joints in his neck as he responded.
“Maybe I’ll talk about it a bit later.”
Isaac looked to his armor in the corner and waved his hand at it.
“Anyways, breakfast, right?”
Spike nodded and went to the door with Isaac, but stopped when he remembered the yellow box on the floor.
“Spike? What’s wrong?”
“Oh, um… I, kinda took one of the yellow things off the desk and… dropped it?”
Isaac looked to the base of the bed and saw the light indicating the object’s presence. He extended his left arm towards it and shot out a beam of translucent energy. When it made contact with the small box, it flew in front of his hand, and just as quickly, was shot to the wall over the desk, and fell with another smack.
Spike looked back up at Isaac and smiled excitedly. Isaac looked down and saw his face and chuckled.
“You know, I never actually realized how cool Kinesis is until now.”
With that, they turned and began to walk down the stairs. When they got to the ground floor, Spike began to pick up his pace and went through a door opposite the entrance.
“Twilight? Isaac’s up and on his way.” He stated as he went through the door.
He saw the lavender mare standing near the counter levitating a pan and whisk with magic. On the table behind her, there were three plates with hay bacon, hash browns, a fork and knife, and a salt and pepper shaker pair that had the symbols of the Royal Academy for Gifted Unicorns, and the Equestrian Royal Guard, gifted from Shining Armor.
“That’s great to hear Spike. But, what was that noise I heard before you came down? Some shuffling?”
Spike hopped up onto one of the seats as he responded.
“Uh, well, I kinda… tripped, and startled him a bit.”
She shook her head with a smile as she heard a large smack come from outside the door.
\\\//////
“GAH!!! Damn it!” Isaac cursed as he recovered from hitting his face on the frame to the door. He would have ducked normally, but being just woken up, and not full of terror/adrenaline from being chased by Necros, he wasn’t exactly in the most aware state at the time.
He approached once more, but ducked underneath the frame, and was greeted with a scent of something he wasn’t too used to. Something that’s edible. As he entered the room and breathed in the scent, he looked down and saw Spike at a table with amazing looking food scattered on plates, and Twilight levitating a pan with what looked like something a Puker would leave behind. They were both looking up at him with a mix of emotions, prompting Isaac to respond in some way.
“Uh… oh, sorry about that. I kinda hit the frame with… my face. Kinda short because, well, yeah.” He said while motioning between himself and the two of them.
Twilight released her breath and looked up at him.
“Good. I was worried something bad might have happened.”
After the statement, she turned off the flame on the counter and walked over to the table, spreading the yellow mush on each of the three plates. When she finished, she tossed the pan and instrument into the sink and sat at one of the plates. Isaac eyed the last seat and walked over to it. The chair was surprisingly high, keeping his knees at level with his stomach when he sat down on it. The table, however, was a bit short, forcing him to lean down to get closer to the food.
“Well, Isaac,” Twilight started, “I don’t know what you eat, right now, but I made a basic breakfast to see if you could eat something here, at least. We have hash browns, just cooked potatoes, hay fries which are baked flakes of hay, and scrambled eggs. Do you know if you can eat any of these?”
Isaac looked to her and back at his plate and smiled.
“I don’t know about the hay fries, but everything else I’ll probably enjoy.”
She smiled at him and began to eat, levitating hay fries to her mouth. Isaac took the sign and picked up the small fork and knife, going for the potatoes. He got a sizable amount on the utensil, and raised it to his mouth and ate it. He nearly dropped the fork at the taste of the food.
‘This is the best God-damned breakfast I’ve ever had.’ He thought to himself.
Isaac tried to not look like a savage as he ate, and dug into the potatoes with urgency. As he did, Twilight sparked a conversation.
“So, Isaac. About what happened in the forest, I wanted to know something.”
“Sure.”
“What was that magic you used on the timberwolves that slowed them down? I didn’t feel cold or anything when they froze.”
Isaac slowed down his eating and looked to her as he answered.
“That wasn’t magic. It’s called a Stasis Module. It’s designed for industrial environments to prevent an accident. Like if a piece of equipment starts working when someone’s nearby, I could slow it down long enough for everyone to get away from it.”
Her eyes beamed with intrigue.
“Wow. How does it work?”
“I don’t know how it works exactly, sorry. I mostly just studied ship engineering and maintenance.”
Twilight’s ears dropped a bit in disappointment, but Isaac was quick to react.
“If you want, I could let you watch and study the effects on certain objects later on.”
At this revelation, Twilight shot up in her seat and started chanting.
“YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES!” while clopping her forehooves together.
Isaac smiled intently and shook his head. Once more, he went back to the food before him. He eyed the hay fries with a bit of skepticism, but shrugged it off, considering he’s gone through worse things than eating hay. So, Isaac picked up a fry and ate the thing in a few bites. It didn’t actually taste that bad. Better than what he had before Tau Volantis, for sure.
After Twilight had calmed down, they finished their meals as Isaac stretched once more.
“Do you want to shower first, Isaac?” Twilight asked as she levitated his plate.
“Thanks. I’ll be quick.” Isaac replied as he got up and went towards the stairs.
\\\//////
After a rather… unique showering experience, Isaac went back to his room and suited up yet again, feeling the now moderately acceptable condition of the suit’s fabric. It clenched rather nicely around him, and finally Isaac got to take in the comfort of the suit without having the constant threat of a Necromorph coming to rape his face with bone-swords or whatever the fuck one would call their weapons.
Before he could pick up the equipment on the table, Isaac heard a knock on the door. He walked over and opened the door to find Twilight standing there with a large grin on her face.
“What’s up, Twilight?” he asked nonchalantly.
“Well, I was wondering if I could see your, um… not-magic, before we start associating the town with you.”
“Sure. Oh, hold on.”
Isaac went back to the desk and picked up a Med-pack and an Ammo Clip from the desk and went back to the door.
“Alright. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Twilight turned and lead them down into the main room of the Library, and saw Spike on the couch with a small orange and red bird on a stick next to him. When Isaac reached the ground floor, he went up to the table and stood between a chair and the sofa, in front of Spike and Twilight, who was now seated in a red velvet chair opposite the couch. She levitated a pile of paper and a quill as she cleared her throat.
“So, Isaac,” she began, “would you like to tell us about anything in particular?”
Isaac shrugged and shuffled in place a bit as he answered.
“Not really. I’m a 49 year old Engineer, born on Earth, and raised by my mother, who was strongly religious. I studied into mechanical and electrical engineering, and was offered a spot in a prominent engineering academy, but I couldn’t afford tuition because my mother was so obsessed with her religion that she spent all of the family’s funds to become a higher member of the Church. Even though it was a struggle, I did graduate with high honors from a lesser college and went into the Merchant Marines. Whoever was watching me was impressed by my skills and got me into a position closer to major shipping lines.”
Twilight scribbled down every bit of information with intrigue.
“Fascinating. What did you do then?”
“Well… there was an, emergency call for repairs from a Planet-Cracker vessel, and…” Isaac sighed deeply as he shook his head, “I lost my girlfriend.”
Twilight held a hoof to her mouth as she gasped, while Spike lost his smile and started petting his bird.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Twilight began, “did you break up?”
“No. She died after the ship… I’d rather not go into detail. After that point, everything’s… let’s just say pretty bad, alright?”
He motioned towards Spike, indicating that the story would be inappropriate for anyone so young. Twilight nodded and pulled out another paper, hopeful to change the subject.
“So, what about your technologies? Can you describe your suit and these,” she pointed to the Med-pack and Ammo Clip, “things?”
“Well, first off, that’s a Med-Pack. It distributes a healing and pain-killing liquid to injuries identified by the RIG system. The first ones used are automatically the smallest ones, then medium, and large. This is a medium pack, as it has two cylinders.”
“Amazing! It can heal anywhere inside your suit by being directed automatically by the device in your back? All the while stopping the pain?”
“Yep. They’ve been very handy. I’ve seen plenty emergency kits as an Engineer, but I doubt anyone’s used as many as I have.”
Twilight perked up her ears a bit.
“Why?”
Isaac’s face darkened a bit in mood as he gazed to the floor again.
“It’s um…”
Twilight levitated the quill and papers down to the table as she moved up to Isaac.
“Isaac, it feels like you’re trying to hide a lot about who you are.”
Isaac turned to the door and started to pace slowly as he raised one hand to his forehead.
“It’s not who I am. It’s, uh… what I’ve been through.”
Twilight cut into the path to the door and looked up to Isaac with sad eyes.
“Please. Just tell us. Let us help.”
Isaac whipped down his hand and pointed at her as he raised his voice.
“The last ones that wanted to ‘help,’ ended up all dying because of me! Because I somehow always pull in the most FUCKED UP SHIT!” he yelled as he flung his arm into the air for emphasis.
“Isaac, please!” she pleaded, “At least let us try!”
Isaac stood in place and looked down upon her. He noticed the genuine concern in her eyes as tears began to form slightly at the seams. He let his anger drop into sadness as he was surged with the all too familiar feel of guilt, relaxing his scowl into a frown. Isaac sighed deeply and shook his head in defeat.
“You and your friends will absolutely hate what you see.” He said. Isaac then raised up his finger to her again. “But you won’t see it unless Celestia’s here too. She needs to know about it as well.”
Twilight adorned a smile and wiped at her eyes.
“Thank you, Isaac.”
He turned to the couch and approached to sit. As he passed Twilight he muttered, “Don’t thank me for ruining your innocence.”
Before any kind of reaction could occur, the door burst open in a flash of mint-green as Isaac turned to face the intrusion. He, however, couldn’t react fast enough to the sudden tackle to his side as he was knocked to the floor, Plasma Cutter sliding to the other side of the room.
“HANDS!” he heard the attacker screech.
Isaac reared back his left arm and grabbed at the minty growth that clung to his arm. With a mighty heave, he pried off the assailant and threw down a Stasis shot onto it. He then scrambled over to the other side of the living room and grabbed his Cutter, taking aim as he spun around.
When he looked to where he was attacked, he saw a minty-blue-due-to-Stasis Unicorn, with slightly spiky hair and a string instrument tattooed on her ass. He would definitely have to ask about that at some point.
As he pondered this, the Pony fell to the floor as the Stasis wore off, and scrambled to it’s hooves, staring at Isaac in fear. Twilight stormed over to it as a scowl formed while she raised her voice.
“Lyra Heartstrings! What gives you the right to charge into my house in the morning and assault somepony!?”
‘Lyra’ regained her composure and cleared her throat with her eyes closed, and a hoof to her throat. When she finished, she spoke back in a calm manner.
“First of all, isn’t this a public Library? Second, the time frame on the front says it’s already open. And third, this isn’t a Pony. This. Is. A. Creature. With. HANDS.” She leaned in on each word for effect, much to Twilight’s discomfort, as well as Isaac’s.
Twilight stood slack-jawed for a few seconds, but shook her head clear of disbelief as she addressed the intruder.
“Lyra, while some of this is true, Isaac is a guest, and deserves to be treated as such. And I will not tolerate disregard for another’s well being because they’re different.”
Lyra then huffed in protest, but when she gazed on a pissed off Isaac, her ears drooped and her expression softened as she let out a sigh.
“You’re… exactly right, Twilight. Sorry.”
Twilight shook her head lightly and raised a hoof to Isaac.
“I’m not the one to apologize to.”
Lyra looked back to Isaac and slowly approached him. As she got closer, he lowered the Plasma Cutter until it was in one hand pointed at the ground. When she stopped in front of him, he went to a knee to lower himself while she sat down. She looked up at him with big eyes and spoke.
“I-I’m sorry, Isaac…”
Isaac shook his head and replied.
“Hey, don’t get so down. It’s alright.” He said with a smile and a pat on her shoulder.
She looked back up to him and smiled weakly and then let a few tears shed.
“Would you mind telling me how you managed to find out where I was? Or the fact that I’m here?” Isaac asked.
Lyra wiped her eyes with a hoof and stood back up.
“Pinkie made an announcement to everypony earlier in the Town Market. She held up a, might I say, somewhat accurate drawing of you. And being the only Anthropologist in town, I took it upon myself to study your… unique appendages. Sorry.”
Isaac stood back up and looked to the door, then to Twilight.
“Well, if they know I’m here, might as well try a walk into town so they’ll get the screaming out of the way.” He shrugged.
Isaac felt a tap on his boot as a clang rung out through the room. He looked down and saw Lyra examining her hoof.
“Ooh, that’s weird. It’s all, metallic and cold…”
“Excuse me,” Isaac interrupted.
She looked up and wiped her hoof on her other leg.
“Sorry. Um, they actually probably won’t be scared, because Pinkie told us that you’re kinda misunderstood, and just want some friends.” She then extended a foreleg to Isaac’s face. “I would like to be one of the first. My name’s Lyra Heartstrings.”
Isaac stared down at the appendage with confusion, but in a second, replaced his look with a smile, grasped the foreleg, and shook up and down a few times.
“Isaac Clarke.”
He thought he heard a type of squeak from Lyra as her smile nearly exploded her face. ‘Fucking weird,’ he thought to himself. Isaac looked out the window and saw a group of familiar Ponies at the door. There was a knocking sound from the entrance, and Twilight went to open it. Upon opening it, the five outside made their way in and greeted Isaac.
“Hey, what’s going on?” he asked.
An all-too-familiar pink blur came up and stopped directly in front of him, leaving a certain pink pony bouncing in place.
“HI ISAAC! I COULDN’T WAIT SO I TOLD EVERYPONY ABOUT YOUR ARRIVAL SO THEY WOULDN’T BE SCARED WHEN THEY SAW YOU AND OMIGOSH I HAVE TO GO RIGHT NOW AND START PREPARING!”
With that, the pink blur sped out the door, slamming it upon exit, leaving a gaped-mouth engineer.
“What. The. Actual. Hell.” Isaac deadpanned.
Rainbow dash came up to his level and jabbed a shoulder playfully into his neck.
“It’s just Pinkie being Pinkie. Don’t try to understand it, or else you’ll go insane.”
Isaac shrugged.
“Been there. Not going back.”
Dash flew down to get back with the others, who were looking at Isaac with interest.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Well, Isaac,” Rarity started, “we just wanted to get you acquainted with the town and locations. You know, help you settle in.”
“Yeah,” Applejack started, “We’re gonna help ya introduce yourself to the ponies ‘round here.”
Isaac examined them all in seconds, and smiled at them.
“Thanks. I wish I could make this easier somehow on you all.”
Rarity waved a hoof at him.
“Please, darling, don’t fret about it. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now, come along, we have many sights to see.”
She turned to the door along with the others, prompting Isaac to follow. He went to the table and picked up the Ammo and Med-pack, and saw Spike, sitting there still.
“Hey, Spike?”
Isaac called out to the young dragon. Spike looked to him with a raised brow.
“Wanna come along? It’s gotta be pretty boring here.”
Spike shook his head.
“Nah, it’s alright. I gotta clean anyways.”
“Alright. Take care, little guy.”
Spike waved to Isaac as he left the center of the room, and eventually, the building entirely. He looked up and around the surrounding area, and took in the rustic look of the small town. The buildings were all easily made of wood and straw, and had a nearly sickening variety of colors to match them. There were puffy clouds in the sky that seemed almost cartoonish, as they just sat there, painted in the sky. There were a few Ponies out and about, and a few that saw Isaac and stopped their activities to stare in shock at the appearance of the metal giant before them. Some dropped a few things, like ice cream, keys, and jaws.
“Well,” he heard Lyra say, “I best be off. Bon Bon’s gonna want to know where I went and, well… bye!”
With that, she dashed off towards wherever. Leaving five Ponies and Isaac locked in the stares of the immediate area of town. Rarity broke the silence first as she started towards a road to the right.
“Well, I say that we start with the boutique. What do you think, girls?”
They all nodded and followed, leaving Isaac behind slightly before he realized that they meant for him to follow as well. He stumbled a bit, trying to maintain a steady walk as hundreds of eyes gazed upon him.
‘Thinking this might not be the best course of action.’ Isaac thought to himself. ‘Let’s just hope they don’t start rioting soon, otherwise I’ll be out of a job, place to sleep, and decent food. Again.’
They went along a trail for a few minutes before coming upon a massive circular building covered in white and purple, with spires going towards the sky. The entire thing reminded him of those playground spinning… things… he saw on Earth. Considering the sign said, “Carousel Boutique,” Isaac assumed that they had those here too, but why someone would name a building after one was beyond him and his multiple Masters degrees in Engineering.
When they entered, Isaac smelt a massively uncomfortable amount of perfume, and immediately went to put on his helmet. When it locked, they all looked at him with confusion, save for Rarity, who looked rather annoyed.
“Sorry. Not used to smelling anything, really. A bit more than I can handle, right now. Wouldn’t want to mess up your floors.” Isaac coughed.
She put on a face of disgust and turned quickly, but thankful for his consideration. They went inside, and boy did Isaac feel out of place. Inside was, first, a truly dedicated abomination to the colors of pink and purple, stripping away his masculinity just by presence. Secondly, stages and mirrors galore, with sewing machines and fabrics scattered about, which Isaac connected directly to the business. And thirdly, mannequins that were shaped like Ponies that all had on some type of fashion. All of this made Isaac squirm at the entrance as the rest of the group spread out into the place.
“Welcome, Isaac,” Rarity started, “to Carousel Boutique!” she stated as she finished with a half-bowing gesture.
Isaac walked a little bit around the store’s main floor, and examined the place with some level of interest.
“It’s… nice.” He managed to say.
Rarity’s expression went from a large smile to a slight frown of disappointment at this revelation.
“Oh. Just, nice?”
“Well, I’m definitely not one for fashion, nor am I one for anything so…”
“Feminine?” she asked with a hint of annoyance.
“No… it’s just… I’m more of a star-ship kind of person, so I guess we could say, non-metallic? I just don’t feel comfortable with, well, comfort, I guess. Maybe it’s because I’m an Engineer, maybe because I’m used to being on ships, I don’t know. Sorry.”
She waved her hoof dismissively.
“Oh, darling, please. If it’s that, then no reason to worry. We’re not exactly trying to say, ‘Welcome to the Future,’ here right now, and you are from another world entirely, so it should be expected. No need to apologize.”
Before he could reply, there was a loud shriek and something white and puffy jumped onto Isaac’s faceplate.
“GET IT OFF!” he yelled,” GET IT OFF!”
As Isaac stomped in place, prying the attacker off, a small white unicorn came down the stairs behind him, while shouting.
“Opal! Please! You need your bath before- Rarity! And- WHAT IS THAT!?” Isaac heard an incredibly squeaky voice call out.
He felt a ping against the helmet and finally the attacker came loose. He ripped it off and held it at arm’s length in front of him. It was a cat. A cat. A white fur-ball with a purple bow, but a cat nonetheless.
‘Fucking really!?’ he thought violently, holding the cat upside-down by the torso. It gave a loud his and swiped at him, in which he then threw/dropped it towards the stairs, where the small white unicorn was still pointing at him.
“Sweetie Belle,” Rarity began, approaching the smaller Unicorn, “why was Opal so violent?”
‘Sweetie Belle’ shook her head and focused on her sister, seeing as how she apparently didn’t mind the metal monster before them.
“Well, Rarity, I was trying to sort those dryer sheets, like you told me to, and then Opal jumped into the used pile with the lint, so I tried to get her to take a bath, and then… that happened. Sorry. Who is that, by the way?”
Isaac approached the two and bent down to talk.
“Name’s Isaac. Isaac Clarke.”
She squeaked and put on a massive smile.
“Hi, Isaac! I’m Sweetie Belle! Nice to meet you!”
Isaac chuckled inwardly at how adorable she was.
‘Wait, did I just think that?’ he thought. ‘Whatever.’
“Nice to meet you, too.”
Sweetie gasped.
“Are you the alien that Pinkie mentioned?”
“Um… Yes?”
“Oh my gosh! This is great! I gotta tell the other Crusaders!”
She ran past Isaac and darted out the door. Isaac turned to Rarity, questions exploding in his mind.
“That was my little sister. She’s off now to tell her friends, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, they call themselves, about you and how you’re an alien and such.”
“Really?”
“Of course. It’s not exactly every day one meets a creature from another world, you know.”
Isaac stared back at the door. ‘So now I might have kids following me around? Even better. Let’s hope they’re at least better than the Pack.’
\\\//////
Their trip around town was rather uneventful, as Isaac seemed to have scared off literally everyone in a 5-kilometer radius. Stores were closed, windows were sealed, and even the fountains seemed to be rather… void, for some reason. Isaac had long since removed his helmet, but now it was apparent that it wasn’t just the metal plate for a face that may have scared them all off. After calling off the walk through town, the group decided to go to Sweet Apple Acres to let the town recover a bit.
After about a 30 minute walk, Isaac saw rows upon rows of apple trees in the fields before him, as far as the eye could see. The only things sticking out were an old farmhouse with a seemingly homey feel to it, and a red barn out by the fields. As the group approached, Isaac heard a loud thump from a group of trees to his right, and instinctively went into ‘Fuck-shit-up-mode,’ Cutter raised and everything.
Before he could pull any kind of trigger, however, he saw a red mass pulling a wooden cart stop near him. Isaac analyzed the mass and saw that it was a heavily stacked Earth-Pony with orange hair, red fur, and a green sliced-open apple on, presumably, his flank. The two exchanged stares for a few seconds until Applejack caught wind of the silent death-match and went in between the two.
“Issac, ah see ya found Big Mac, mah brother. Big Mac, this is Isaac, the alien I told ya about earlier.”
‘Big Mac… seems fitting,’ thought Isaac.
The red stallion looked up to Isaac with a stoic expression, seemingly unaffected by anything at all.
Isaac was next to break their silence.
“Yeah, uh, I’m Isaac. Heard anything… negative? About me?”
“Nope.”
“Alright then. Good talk.”
“Eeyup.”
With that, the trio parted, one towards the storage for apples, and the other two towards the barn.
‘I think that one may be one of the best so far,’ Isaac thought.
The six passed by the farmhouse without so much as a glance, leaving Isaac somewhat clueless.
“Uh, where are we going?”
Applejack stifled a laugh as she went ahead of Isaac.
“We’re gonna show ya the barn, o’course.”
“Why?”
“No reason, sugarcube.”
When they reached the barn, Isaac noted how dark it seemed inside, and how eerily quiet everything was. He thought that if he focused enough, he could hear whispering in the back of his head. Almost as if they were right next to him. He physically tensed up and gripped the Plasma Cutter tightly, causing a knuckle or two to pop.
Fluttershy noticed his tensing figure and popping joints, as she realized something was gravely mistaken for the next event. She hurriedly flew up to Isaac and whispered to him.
“Um, Isaac? You, uh, don’t like surprises, do you?” she asked nervously.
As if on cue, the barn doors swung open, and loud pops filled the air with confetti and streamers while lights burst to life on the inside.
“SURPRI-“
Was all they could hear before Isaac fired his Plasma Cutter into the barn at the first thing he saw- being a banner that was hanging at eye-level, which was now sizzling and boiling apart from the Acid-Bath Plasma bolt that ripped through it. As it fell to the ground, Isaac’s eyes widened as he took in the sight before him: a party.
The barn was filled with Ponies he assumed to be from the town, their faces now racked with fear and shock. There were streamers lining the walls and confetti on the ground, some still falling. To the left, he could see a table with a bowl filled with a purple liquid and ice, with a collection of cups next to it. On either side of the bowl were plates with multitudes of sweets, such as cupcakes and tarts. To the right of the barn was an assortment of childish games, while in the back was a station with large black boxes.
He stood there with his cutter still pointed high while staring at them all in a nearly equal amount of shock. Isaac looked at the Plasma Cutter in his hands and then swiftly pulled it behind him and smiled nervously at the crowd.
“Aha ha ha… uh…” Isaac raised his other hand and waved at the crowd, “hi?”
They all looked towards each other until a familiar voice came up from the back, jumping for all to see and hear.
“That was Great Isaac! You totally kicked this party off with a Bang! Now we don’t need to worry about cleaning it up, too! Now, Let’s get it ON!”
With that, the Ponies all shrugged and just started either dancing or talking as electric beats began to fill the air from the black boxes in the back, along with multicolor lights beginning to flash about the room.
Leaving a very confused Isaac staring at the crowd that he literally almost killed. He stared at the crowd as they partied with complete disregard to the alien that just fired a weapon at them and just acted as though nothing was wrong.
‘This is fucking… I… whatever.” Isaac thought.
He stuffed the Plasma Cutter into his RIG on the side and walked in to join the party. As soon as he stepped inside the doorway, Pinkie rushed up and began to speak to him.
“Hey Isaac! I betcha you were surprised, huh? Were ya? Were ya? I throw the best surprise parties for everypony, no matter what the occasion! Luckily I was here to save you from that weird thing you did to startle everypony. Did that mean you were super-duper-extra-surprised!?”
“Pinkie!” Twilight shouted. “What were you thinking!? You know Isaac’s jumpy and not familiar enough with anypony to expect a surprise party!”
Fluttershy came up to Pinkie and spoke up.
“Yeah. Isaac’s startled easy, and I tried to warn everypony, but, I guess I need to speak up. But still, you should have let him know. Somepony could have been hurt. Remember when he met Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow flew over them and hovered while she spoke.
“Yeah, right. He just got lucky. Besides, what about that thing he did? That burned the banner?”
At that point, all six of them had their eyes on him. Twilight approached him and started.
“Yeah. Isaac, what was that thing you did?”
Isaac sighed and put his hand on his forehead for doing something so stupid.
“That was the Plasma Cutter, the mining tool. I’m sorry, but you really should never do that for me.”
Pinkie’s mane began to flatten as tears began to form.
“Y-you don’t like… parties?”
“No, no, not parties, just… surprises in general. I mean, I don’t mind parties one bit, but they’re right. I could have hurt someone badly with that. I’m just glad right now that you were able to calm them down before some kind of massive panic.”
Pinkie’s mane popped up again as she replied.
“No problemo Isaac! Sorry about scaring you. I just wanted to welcome you to Ponyville.”
“No problem. And thanks.”
“Now come on! This is your party!”
Isaac looked back and glanced over the six Ponies he had come to know and smiled.
“Thanks. Let’s party.”
Fluttershy flew down to her cottage, careful to examine where she was landing due to the darkness of the night around her. She felt the dirt under her hooves and sighed contently as she allowed her wings to cease their motion as she landed on the ground. In front of her was a familiar wooden door, which she happily opened. Once inside, she closed the door behind her and reached for the light switch. When she flipped it on, a familiar figure was waiting on the couch with a tea set strew out on the table.
"Oh, hello Discord." she said with a smile, approaching the Draconequus.
Before she got too close, however, she noticed that his usually chipper attitude was replaced by an expression that seemed almost alien on him.
"Are you alright?" she asked, now flying to his side, resting a hoof on his curved back.
He reached out for the tea set and grabbed a cup and the pot, and poured tea into it. He handed the cup over to Fluttershy, who in term accepted it as he poured one for himself.
"Fluttershy," he started, "I believe we need to talk."
Fluttershy noticed how serious he was acting at the moment, as if something absolutely terrible had happened.
"What's wrong?" she asked in a panicking voice.
"Your new friend." he deadpanned, still staring off into empty space.
She moved back in shock at his statement, and began to scowl at him.
"Discord! You shouldn't be mean to others because they're different! Did you do something?" she demanded with an authoritative tone.
"No, not at all. I couldn't even if I tried."
Fluttershy dropped her previous expression and tone and went back to concern.
"What?"
"I felt the Chaos essence that he brought about just going through town, and even when he was all the way in Canterlot. I even tried to introduce myself at the party, but when I approached him..."
His expression went from thoughtful to down-right fearful as he turned to face Fluttershy.
"I felt the darkest of ancient evils hiding inside him. I felt the kind of Chaos that he's seen and fought, and it is a kind that I vowed to never, ever use, no matter how desperate I was. It was the kind of evil that could rival Tartarus itself, Fluttershy. The kind that even Gods like myself wouldn't be able to fight back against. But him... Isaac contained it in a separate part of his mind altogether, and managed to fight back against it. And WIN. But the things that mind carries, the kind of darkness that I sense just by thinking about that... mortal... it scares me, Fluttershy. I'm scared , afraid of not only him, but what's been awakened by his arrival. Afraid of what might come for him. Afraid of what might come for you , and the Elements of Harmony. I've never thought I would be forced to help those artifacts, or your friends, but if they're being threatened by what I think it is... no one deserves that kind of fate."
Fluttershy was now holding her hooves up to her mouth as Discord had actually told her that he, as an immortal with unlimited power, was scared of something so dark, so evil, that he believed that the artifacts of his downfall didn't deserve to witness its terror. That not only would it be coming for her and the others, but it would be coming for Isaac.
"Wait, what does Isaac have to do with this?"
"He is the only one I have seen in existence to ever be able to fight against the darkness that lies out there, and the only one that could not just survive, but WIN . He may very well have awakened the darkness, by bringing back a signal long thought forgotten by time, but it would have found a way to come back eventually. Now, however, we have a chance to make sure it never comes back again. We have a chance to ensure that no one ever suffers from it, ever again. For the first time, we have a chance."
Fluttershy went to reach around his form for a hug, but he stood up and walked to the window before she could close the distance.
"I'm sorry, but that's all I want to tell you. That's more than I should have told you. But right now, we need to be honest to him. Let him know that even though he may bring unintentional harm to us, that he is the only one that can make it right. He is here to save us, no matter how much blood he may spill."
"B-b-blood?"
Discord shook his head as he raised his talons.
"I'm truly sorry, Fluttershy. For what's to come, not only to you and our friends, but for Isaac as well. Stay close to him. Please. I can't protect you from this darkness. I'm too corrupt. But he's already been broken. He picked himself up and built himself better than even I could try to. He's the only one that can save you now, but know also that you six are the only ones that can save him."
"Discord, please," she began to retort, tears streaming down her cheeks, "what do you mean? What darkness? What evil? Why me? Why us? Why Isaac?"
Instead of answering, Discord gave an apologetic look and let a tear fall from his eyes as he snapped away from her cottage, leaving behind a crying mass of fur and hair on the floor.
\\\//////
Isaac felt pain surging through his body as he felt himself rising from the floor on his hands. To his right lay his Plasma Cutter, which looked like it had blocked a Slasher attack one too many times. To his left, lay a bloodied corpse which poked out multiple bones and bent limbs at unnatural angles. When he examined its face, he saw that it was melted off, possibly due to the Cutter's enhancements. He reached for the weapon and grabbed it by the handle, pulling himself up with the barrel aimed out in front of him. The three signature lasers reached out in front of him as he became aware of his surroundings.
The walls were clearly made of metal, and lacked any kind of light source that wasn't his own. They were laid with multiple moving parts and wires that seemed to pulse through every time a thump came from the opposite side of it. It all seemed like the interior to an Engineering Deck, but was too primitive with all of its turning gears and pumps. It was clearly some kind of industrial machine, though.
Isaac stepped forward and moved through the halls with massive effort, as his body seemed to scream at him for just being here. He turned the corner to see a familiar sight: gore and blood all over the walls.
"Great." he muttered, only now aware of the helmet over his head.
CLANG
Isaac swiftly turned around to see an all too familiar figure approach him.
"Isaac... please... listen..."
Isaac raised the Plasma Cutter high and pulled the trigger, melting away the face of Nicole from the head.
As her body collapsed, so did the environment around him. Walls began to break apart, machinery exploding outwards, littering the halls with mechanical pieces. In a second, one of the large pipes broke open, and a luminescent blood-red liquid began to pour from it. It flooded over Isaac, burning through his mask, eventually making its way down his throat.
As he began to choke on the substance burning away at his insides, he thought he saw another color rush by. A sort of green, and inside was a message:
ONE STILL REMAINS
\\\//////
Isaac jolted awake in his bed as he gasped for air, reaching for his Plasma Cutter. As he panted, he observed the settings around him. Instead of the metal death-trap he was in recently, he saw the low desk with Med-Packs and Ammo Clips, and his suit in a heap in the corner by his bed. He sighed in relief as he wiped sweat off his forehead, thankful for another nightmare to be over.
He glanced to the right foot of the bed and saw a note on it. Isaac grabbed the paper and read it aloud.
"'Dear Isaac, tomorrow's going to be hectic with Royal Duties, and Fluttershy said that we need to talk with the Princesses involving some trouble with a certain magical being. Please watch out for Spike and yourself, because the Cutie Mark Crusaders may come looking for you to try and make friends with you. Play nice. Twilight Sparkle.' Looks like tomorrow's going to be quite the day." He said as he crumbled up the paper and threw it into the trash, falling back to sleep as he did so.
Chapter 10: Child-like Wonder
Isaac woke up for the second time that day, only this time without screaming from another nightmare. Instead, he woke up to the smell of another breakfast being made downstairs and was brought to reality by the grumbling of his own stomach. He shifted his body out of bed and began to feel for his suit. Once it was in hand, he pulled it on over him, with the exception of the helmet. After placing the Plasma Cutter on a magnetic clamp on his back, he opened the door and proceeded downstairs.
When he reached the ground floor, Isaac noticed a sum of things missing from a desk by the door.
'She must have left already.' Isaac thought to himself.
Turning his attention back to the kitchen, Isaac walked towards the doorway, pausing a bit in front of it before ducking underneath it. He have a small chuckle of satisfaction before turning to see that the table was set with only two meals: one larger one for him, and a small one being devoured by a familiar Dragon.
"Hey, Spike."
The small purple being turned and waved to him.
"Morning, Isaac. I thought I'd get an early start on the day with breakfast so I can get through the chores faster. Did Twilight leave a note telling you that they're going away for a few days?"
Isaac gave a questioning look to Spike while seating himself.
"What? The note she left me said that they'd be gone for a day. When did she tell you that?"
"This morning. Also, she mentioned that the Cutie Mark Crusaders are gonna be coming over, too. Hope you don't mind them."
Isaac scooped up some of the food with a fork as he responded.
"No, not at all. Love kids. Just hope they don't break or burn down anything." he joked with a chuckle.
Spike made a worried expression as he pulled out a small gem and added it to the eggs.
"Well, you might have your hands full."
Isaac shot him a 'Are you for-fucking-real?' look as Spike smiled sheepishly. They then sat in silence whilst their breakfast was met with a gruesome fate at the hands of Isaac's rage-enhanced hunger.
\\\//////
Fluttershy stared out the window of the train and sighed in deep thought.
"Fluttershy?"
The timid mare turned around as her thought was broken by the sudden interaction.
"Oh, hi Twilight." she sighed.
"Is there something wrong? Why did we need to leave Isaac if he's involved? And why aren't we trying to go after Discord?"
Fluttershy leaned back towards the window as she fought to hold back tears while she answered.
"Discord said that Isaac is going to cause problems, and I don't want to just out-right accuse either of them for making trouble before anything even happens. I know that you don't trust Discord, but I know him. He said that he was scared. Afraid. He looked absolutely terrified ."
Twilight reached a hoof out to her friend's shoulder and held it there.
"I know that you're closer than any of us can ever be with him, but you need to remember why we don't trust him. And after all that's happened, why we doubt he'd ever be afraid of anything. But think about this: what is so powerful, so evil, that even HE is afraid? We just need to sort this out with Celestia. Besides, if anything bad happens, I know Spike will send a letter as soon as he can."
"But what about the Crusaders? Why did you ask if they would spend the next few days with him?"
"To see if there really is anything for us to watch out for. Who better to scout out trouble than those three? Remember how they helped you solve that Cockatrice problem? I know that they'll be fine. And if Isaac isn't the cause for any problems, like we think, then he'll be more than enough to protect them."
Fluttershy turned towards her friend and smiled before reaching out for a hug.
\\\//////
As Isaac was reading a book on Equestria Ideology, there was a succession of knocks from the main door. He quickly folded the page he was on and closed the book on the table in front of him.
'Wonder if that's them.'
When he reached the door and opened it, he had to look down nearly all the way to his feet to see the three small young Ponies before him. One had purple hair and an orange body, with wings, another had a yellow body with red hair and an undeniably adorable bow, and the third he recognized as Rarity's sister, Sweetie Belle. They were staring up at his face in a paralyzed stance, witnessing a slightly panicked Isaac.
'Ah, shit. Don't scream, don't scream, don't scream...'
Their gaping mouths formed into massive smiles as they inhaled deeply before jumping past his legs into the Library. Inside, they were dancing around in hilarious ways, by twirling, jumping, and waving their legs around, all while yelling/chanting something that Isaac thought was some kind of truly alien language. Once Isaac closed the door, they all stopped and stared back at him. They all smiled and stood next to each other in a row.
"Hiya, there!" the one with the bow said in a Southern accent.
Isaac raised his hand and waved back slowly, putting on a small, confused smile.
"Uh, hi?"
They all gasped and began to whisper to each other in a huddle. Isaac stared dumbfounded at the trio as Spike came from the stairs with a small fiery bird.
"Oh, hey girls!" he called.
The three looked up to him and waved simultaneously. Once they finished their wave, they went back to whispering to each other. Spike finished his descent from the stairs and made his way over to Isaac.
"Do they always do this?" Isaac asked.
"Not really. Just when they're trying to figure something out, or make a group decision."
The three fillies clopped their hooves together and then turned to Isaac.
"I would like to officially welcome you," the orange one started, "to the fair land of Equestria. I'm Scootaloo!"
The yellow one raised her hoof in the air.
"Ah'm Applebloom!"
Sweetie Belle stepped forward.
"And I'm Sweetie Belle! And we're..."
They all inhaled deeply before shouting as one.
"THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!
"JEEZUS!" Isaac responded, covering his ears as he was thrown back three feet by their burst.
When he recovered, the three were still staring at him with wide eyes and equally massive smiles.
"Alright then." he sighed. "Name's Isaac."
They all ran up to him and started to lean on his leg pieces.
"What kind of alien are you?"
"Do you eat foals for breakfast?"
"Applejack says not ta scare ya, why's that?"
"Check out his cool metal things!"
"Didn't your face have three lights last time?"
"What's that light-show on yer back?"
All these questions and more began to bombard Isaac as he felt them push multiple parts of his armor, much to his annoyance.
"Hey, calm down! One at a time!" he said, raising his voice slightly.
They all backed away from him and took on slightly saddened expressions as they looked up to him.
"We're sorry, mister." Applebloom said.
"Yeah, we just thought that seeing an alien was cool." Scootaloo stated.
Isaac shook his head and knelt down to them.
"Hey, don't be sad. It's alright. I just can't answer all of your questions when if you don't give me some time to answer them."
He let out a small chuckled and smiled at the children. He waved his hand towards the couch as he stood back up.
"But first, I want to ask you all a question. What's a 'Cutie Mark'?"
Their expressions went to utterly shocked immediately as they tried to process the question.
"You don't know what a Cutie Mark is!?" Sweetie Belle squeaked.
"Not at all. Wait, is it those symbols that everyone around here has on their a- I mean , on their back-sides?"
"Yeah! That's them! They're supposed ta tell ya what one Pony's special talent is! And we're on a Crusade to find ours!"
'Oh dear sweet baby of why.'
"Before you go any further, do you know what a 'Crusade' is?"
"Um... is it like an adventure?"
"Sure, let's just go with that."
"Do you have one, Mister Isaac?"
"Just Isaac's fine, and no. I don't."
"Why not?"
"Because where I come from, we determine what we want to be good with in life. And if we want to change professions, then we can just study something else entirely."
"Wow. That sounds complicated." Chimed Sweetie Belle.
"Yeah. It is."
'Trying to put "Necromorph Killer" on a resume is not easy as it sounds.'
"So, how about we get to your questions then, huh?"
Their faces beamed with excitement as they ran towards the couch. When Isaac sat down, they all tried to get next to him, but ended up trying to shove each other off the couch. Isaac sighed and shook his head as they continued to tumble around themselves.
'Well, on the bright side, they're not trying to claw my face off... yet.'
\\\//////
When Isaac was finally able to answer their questions, he noticed how well they were all bonding, as opposed to how people bonded back on the Colonies. They were able to just talk to him, despite the massive differences. Eventually, the clock in the room rung out at 12 o'clock. Spike came down from a ladder behind the couch and went towards the kitchen.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna make some lunch for me and Isaac. If you wanna help, feel free to do so."
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom jumped from their seats and began to gallop towards the kitchen behind Spike.
"Ah wanna make somethin' too!"
"Let me cook! I've got the perfect dish for Isaac to try!"
As they went in, Isaac couldn't help but laugh a little bit at the display. Here he was, taking care of a group of children he didn't know, and suddenly they were worshiping him and making meals for him. The whole shebang. Before he could get up, however, he felt a pang on his side. When he turned, he saw Scootaloo sitting there with a curious expression on her face.
"Hey Scootaloo. What's up?" he asked.
"Well, I wanted to know about those boot things you're wearing. They look way too big to just be some kind of fashion thing."
"Actually, they're Zero-G Grav-Boots. Basically, they help me stick to metal surfaces while I walk on a ship's exterior in space so I don't go flying."
"That's awesome! You can walk with those in Space!?"
"Yeah. And in certain areas, like when I need to go from one part of the ship to another, they function as jets that let me fly around the ship."
Her face looked as though it were about to explode as her eyes widened with her smile.
"You can FLY!?"
"Well, not entirely. Usually they'll help if I try to jump from one surface to another, but in space, it's more of just floating. But, I guess you're right."
Scootaloo smiled massively at Isaac, now astounded by the fact that he can fly as well.
'Child-like wonder. Huh. Forgot what that looked like.' He thought to himself while smiling back. 'Feels good.'
There was a sudden high-pitched beeping from the kitchen as smoke began to pour through the doorway.
"Oh, CRAP!" Isaac shouted as he shot up from his seat.
He ran for the door and ducked before entering. Inside the kitchen was a small bowl that spouted five-foot flames towards the ceiling. On the other side of the room were the three other occupants, struggling to remove a fire extinguisher from the wall.
"MOVE!" Isaac shouted.
They all looked to him and fell in a heap aside from the extinguisher. Isaac raised his left hand and ripped the object off its place with a pull of the Kinesis Module. It flew into his hands, where he then marched towards the fire, shooting at it with the foaming liquid to stop the flames from spreading to the rest of the tree.
'This is why you don't put a kitchen in a FUCKING TREE!'
As the fire died down, Isaac calmed down and looked towards the panicked Ponies. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked as though their dreams were crushed right in front of them, while Spike looked mildly annoyed above all else. Scootaloo came through the doors and examined the scene before her.
"Whoa! What happened?" she asked.
"Well," Sweetie Belle responded, "I wanted to make some of Rarity's famous Tomato Soup for Isaac, but..."
"But you forgot you can't cook." Spike deadpanned.
Isaac went up to Sweetie and put a hand on her head.
"It's alright. You tried to make something just for me, and where I come from, that matters more than what I actually get." he stated with a smile.
She wiped a tear from her eye and smiled up at him. As the smoke alarm finally ended its beeping, Spike and Scootaloo began to make a new lunch as Isaac helped Applebloom and Sweetie Belle clean up the mess of liquids and ashes. As he was wiping up the mess from the counter, there was another knock at the door. Isaac left the kitchen and went directly to answer whoever was waiting in front of the Library. When he opened the door, he was greeted with the sight of a grey Pegasus with a blonde hair style, crossed eyes and seven bubbles for her Cutie Mark, accompanied by a brown Earth Pony with a green tie and an hourglass Cutie Mark. They looked up at Isaac (partially) and stood there for a moment.
"Uh..." Isaac started, "can I help you?"
The grey one closed her eyes and smiled.
"Hi! You must be the new alien that Pinkie mentioned! I'm Derpy! Derpy Hooves!"
She nudged the stallion to her left with an elbow.
"Oh, um yes. I'm the Doctor. Most call me Doctor Whooves." he responded with what Isaac thought was a Scottish accent.
"Isaac Clarke."
"I just came by because Rarity and Applejack came to me with a note asking if anything were to happen with you or their sisters, then I'm supposed to make sure they're okay. For instance, if you need to leave or disappear somehow, then I'd look after them."
"Why would I just disappear?"
"Oh, they had their suspicions about whether or not you might need to leave for some unknown alien reason or something like that. Like how you might have the desire to wander into the scary and dark Everfree Forest or do some kind of shedding. I don't know, they seemed a bit far-fetched, even for me. What do you think, honey?"
"Well," Doctor started, "seeing as how he is clearly mammalian, I would say that it would be unlikely for any kind of molting or shedding of skin. Actually, do you go through any of that?"
"Um, no. No, Human's don't molt or shed all of our skin at once or anything like that. Actually, now that I think about it, you all function a lot like us. Except with magic and wings."
The Doctor raised a hoof to his chin.
"Fascinating. Well, if that's all, then I say we best be on our way. Right, Darling?" he asked, turning towards Derpy.
"Well, seeing as how you're new in town, Isaac, I wanted to ask if you'd like to come with us to get some lunch at a nearby restaurant. It'll help Ponies get more acquainted with you, and you can see if there's anything else you'd like in town!"
Isaac turned back to look inside the Library and watched as the Crusaders and Spike were wiping themselves off from the ashes of their attempt at lunch. He turned back towards the couple and responded.
"You know, that actually sounds pretty nice, thanks. Is it okay if I take them, though? I'm kinda watching them while their sisters are out of town."
Derpy leaned in to see who he was talking about and smiled when she saw the three fillies and Dragon. She directed her smile back to Isaac and replied.
"Of course you can! I love those fillies! They're just such great friends to my daughter, Dinky, and I wouldn't want them to go without a good lunch!"
Isaac nodded and then turned towards the group.
"Hey, girls! Spike! We're going out for lunch! Come on!" he called.
They all turned and then began to make their way over to the door. Once outside, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom began to converse with Derpy, Spike walked up to Doctor Whooves and talked to him, and Scootaloo went over to a wooden scooter and placed herself upon it with a helmet on her head. Isaac walked up to her and spoke.
"Hey."
"Oh, hey Isaac! Check out my scooter! Pretty rad, huh?"
"You know, I remember wanting one when I was growing up. Never really got a chance to try one. What's it like?"
"Well, the wind feels really good through my helmet, and the humming from the board tickles my hooves. I like the workout it gives my wings, but you probably wouldn't know what that's like."
"Speaking of wings, why do you even use the scooter. Do you prefer this over flying?"
Scootaloo frowned as her gaze shifted downwards.
"No. I... can't fly. My wings aren't powerful enough, or large enough. My mom always told me that one day, they'll grow to their full size, yeah, put I'm a little worried that it might not come."
Isaac saw how deeply hurt she was and realized why she was so shocked to hear that he could sort of fly. He leaned down close to her and spoke softly.
"Don't tell anyone, but I had a little bit of trouble like yours when I was growing up."
Her face went from sad to curious as she looked up at him.
"Really?"
"When I was about your age, all the other kids were about a foot taller than I was. They all thought that I was a gnome or a midget, someone that's really small. I kept saying to myself, 'one day, I'll be taller than all of them,' until I was nearly twenty years old. Then, after my 21st birthday, I woke up six inches taller each morning until I was as tall as I am now." Isaac motioned his hand flat at his waist and raised it up until he was standing at full height. "I sometimes actually have to bend down to fit through some doors on most Spaceships."
"Woah."
"So don't let one obstacle get in your way. Remember that as long as you can still dream about it, it'll never leave you."
She smiled warmly and reached out to hug his leg.
"Thanks, Isaac."
Isaac felt a warmth in his chest as he smiled deeply at the filly. He bent down to return the gesture and held her tight.
"No problem."
\\\//////
In an alley nearby, a grey Pegasus in a black robe watched as the alien made motions around the young orange filly, whispering to himself.
"Yes. Soon, we will have our goal. And we shall know peace once we enlighten the young one. Altmare be praised."
Isaac walked along the Ponyville streets with the Crusaders, Spike, Derpy, and the Doctor as the Ponies they passed by seemed rather calm today. He glanced over the ones that were looking at him and in turn, they waved at him. He awkwardly returned the gesture with a smile, content that everyone around him didn't want him dead or ripped to shreds or strapped down, ready to be eye-raped.
As they went along, Scootaloo made it known that she was a master at the craft of scooting. She zoomed past and around the group of adults as the young ones watched with excitement. They watched as she launched off of elevated platforms, grind past corners, and even did a flip every now and then. Isaac was genuinely impressed by her mastery of balance and how easily she moved on it, like how he finally grasped how Zero-G worked halfway through Titan Station, or his hacking and weapon-crafting skills.
When the two Ponies in front stopped, Isaac looked at the building that lie before them. The establishment had a wide set of doors in front, with massive Bay windows on either side of it. The walls were covered in a series of vines that snaked up from the foundation of the stone building, and went up to a wooden balcony that arced over the entrance like some kind of nest, with carved railing that pulled together an elegant enough look to make Isaac release a low whistle.
"Wow. What kind of place is this?" he asked.
"It's a new restaurant that opened a few days ago. We thought that the kids might want to try it out." Derpy answered.
Isaac nodded in thought as he approached the doors, but halted when he felt a pang against his boot. He looked down and saw Spike smiling nervously at him.
"Uh, Isaac?"
"Yeah?"
"I, may have forgotten something important to give you when you woke up."
"What is it?"
Spike reached behind him and produced a scroll with an emblem of the Sun on top of a red ribbon that held the parchment in its form.
"It's an emergency teleportation scroll, in case you need to go see Celestia or Twilight about anything."
Isaac took the scroll and stuffed it in his suit, behind the forward compartment.
"Sorry."
"It's fine. Not like I needed to talk to them recently, or anything. Just kinda... hanging around, you know?"
Spike smiled and nodded at him before moving towards the door.
Isaac walked in and saw that the place was almost as well-kept on the inside as the outside. There were benches that had plants running along the back of them, lined up like a regular Mess Hall, and had plastic chairs that were railed to the tables underneath. The tables and chairs were all plentifully colored, ranging from vibrant blues for chairs to greens for the tables. There were two sets of double-doors at the back of the main section, one likely being the kitchen. There were a few tables here and there that were being occupied by either a couple or a family, waited on by Ponies that wore a red shirt and black cap. One of them made their way to the group and smiled as she spoke.
"Hi there! Welcome to the Pony-ville-Grill!" she said with a squeaky voice. "Where would you like to be seated?"
Doctor Whooves approached the mare and answered.
"I think we would like to be seated in the upstairs dining area, please."
The worker got a look of pure fear before shaking her head and coughing nervously.
"Well, uh, the umm... upstairs, is... rented, as of now by a group of, uh, gentlecolts that aren't exactly willing to share their position, as of yet. Ech!"
Isaac shifted to a rather serious and questioning mood as Derpy replied.
"Oh, that's alright then. Can we have a table for... seven by the back then?"
The mare smiled nervously and motioned for them to follow. As they did, Isaac eyed the place, his metallic boots clanging on the stone floor. The other Ponies in the restaurant looked to him for a second before returning to their conversations. When they reached the table, Isaac watched as the rest of his group shimmied behind the curved table in the corner to find a seat on the massive bench. He looked behind him and reached for a chair, which he used to seat himself on the outside of the table.
\\\//////
Celestia paced the dark room end-to-end as she pondered what Fluttershy had said to her. The mare in question was present in the room as well, watching as her benevolent leader stammered about like a common Pony. When she came to a rest, Celestia turned and made her way to Fluttershy.
"Are you sure?" she asked in a tone devoid of all life or happiness.
Fluttershy nodded meekly and Celestia breathed slowly.
"This is very troubling."
"Princess, I'm scared." she sobbed out.
Celestia got close to her and gave her a tight hug, allowing the mare to cry into her coat.
"I know. And you're not the only one."
Fluttershy broke contact and stared up at the Princess.
"But- why? Why does Isaac make Discord afraid? And why did he tell me to stay close to him?"
"Fluttershy," Celestia started, holding the mare in place with her hooves as she looked her in the eyes, "listen to me. Isaac is not to be confused for what he may be carrying. We all carry a great evil inside of us, waiting to get out. For Isaac, however, the evil is far more present. It does not try to change him, it tries to break him. To burn him down and rise from his ashes. It is the kind of evil that even Discord wouldn't mess with, he said so himself. And if what Discord is talking about is true, that... those, ones... are returning, then we have no choice but to wait for this to happen, and brace for the worst. Discord told you that you , are closer to him than anypony else, already, and that one of the first ones they may target, is you."
"But who are they!? Why do they want Isaac!? What do they want!?" she cried out, rivers of tears flowing hot from her face.
"That's not important. What IS , however, is that Isaac stays with you , not Twilight. If you were left without him after Discord leaving your side... I don't want to think about it. Please, just don't think about it."
Fluttershy broke down into another sobbing fit on the ground. Celestia picked her up and gave her another warm hug.
"I'm so sorry, my little Pony. If I could do anything at all to help, I would, believe me. But if I try to interfere, I may start something that only Isaac can solve, before he's ready. Just as he needs to be there for you, you need to understand that you have to be there for him, as well. He needs someone to fall back on. Someone to help him ease the burden, before it tears him down."
Fluttershy continued to cry into her for a moment before finally sighing. They released their embrace and began to sort out how they were to tell the other Elements about their conversation.
\\\//////
Joyous Exaltation moved carefully past the restaurant workers, keeping his gaze on the Unholy One as it ate with his targeted filly. Some of the staff tried to get him to stop, but he held up a pass that showed that he was to be allowed upstairs into the "Private Dining Event". Once they let him pass, he made a quick prayer before ascending the two flights and went through the final set of doors.
On the other side, the tables and props were cleared away to the side, where more of his brethren were seated, deep in meditation for their upcoming blessings. They were all wearing similar robes to him, only slightly bulked with the devices that would grant them eternal salvation, and to cleanse the ones who were wicked below.
To the edge of the balcony was a grey Earth Pony, with deep crimson robes that housed many Divine Symbols, indicating his high profile amongst them. He looked out over the town with a smile as the Pegasus approached. When he reached the base of the heightened platform, he bowed for three seconds before addressing him.
"Minister Truth." he spoke.
"Ah, Exaltation." he replied without having to turn around. "I trust that you are ready for the task at hoof?"
"I am, unquestionably, sir."
"Then why do I sense doubt in you?" Truth deadpanned.
"It's just that the Unholy One is right next to the objective. Are you sure that we may complete our Crusade with it present?"
"Never doubt the power of faith, my brother. For once this is done, we will be one step closer to ascension. You must simply believe."
Exaltation smiled widely and wiped a tear of inspiration from his eye as he bowed once more.
"Bless you, sir."
"Be ready. I must go now. They need me in the Conversion Bureau."
With a flash of a double-helix shape, the Earth Pony Minister was gone again, leaving the worshipers on the floor with the same glowing holy symbol in the center. The rest of his brothers began to chant to it and prayed as Exaltation made his way to the Zealots.
"Zealots, are you ready?"
The Colt-Stallions in question were eagerly nodding their heads, devices in their robes ready to cleanse the non-believers and prepare another for ascension.
"Good. Now, go. Let them see the might of a True Crusade. Convergence is at hand, and we are its harbingers."
With that, the five Zealots tightened their purple robes and galloped downstairs. Ready to die for their cause.
Chapter 12: Observing the Flames
Isaac was happily munching on his sandwich as he conversed with the scientific mind of Doctor Whooves from across the table.
"So," the Doctor asked, munching on a cucumber sandwich, "you're saying that they could tether in massive spokes and utilize the same technology from the ship, and then bring an entire chunk of the planet above its own orbit to mine without the risk of cave-ins!? Amazing!"
Derpy was just shaking her head as she watched the two scientific minds swap facts and theories and stories and such back and forth. The fillies were all munching on their own little burgers made of hay, with Spike sneaking some of their fries occasionally.
"One thing, though," the Doctor interjected, "what about the planet? What do they do if there's already a colony established?"
"Well," Isaac began, "usually if the colony's large enough, the planet gets a no-go for mining operations, since the entire shift of gravity would tear it apart, destroying the colony. Sometimes, though, if it's small enough, the Planet-Cracker would evacuate the Colonists before they begin the procedure."
"Has there ever been a case where a Colony was mined while occupied?"
Isaac pondered for a moment before remembering when the darkest part of his past began. He looked back up to the brown stallion and answered.
"Yeah. There was one in particular that I remember. Aegis VII."
"Oh? What happened there?"
"They mined the planet for a massive chunk of resources. It was a gold mine. Had every rare element and material we could think of packed in tighter than an atmospheric seal. But... eventually there was a... serious side-effect from mining it."
"Really? Like what?"
"I'd... rather not talk about it. It took someone close to me."
"Oh, terribly sorry, Isaac."
"Don't worry about it. It's behind me. But, let's wait until it's just the adults, alright?"
The group of young Ponies and Dragon looked up at Isaac with worry for a second before he plastered on a false smile. They returned to eating their meals in silence, unaware of the robbed figures entering from the stairwell.
\\\//////
Celestia watched out over the expanse of Equestria as she felt a massive dark magic signature from an all too familiar location.
"No..." she whispered.
She turned from the balcony and teleported from her spot into the forbidden section of the Royal Archives, where she kept the darkest of the secrets from even her most trusted advisers, in fear of their background. Once she reached the bottom level, there was a three-story door made of the most heavily enchanted Ebony that even the greediest of Dragons couldn't afford. Celestia activated her most powerful forms of magic. She concentrated her Sun power, heating the massive black door ahead of her to the point of almost boiling. Then, she conjured up all of her Chaos powers, which she secretly used to control the movement of her Sun, and finally the Fear magic she learned from her days fighting Sombra. With all three, the massive runed plates of black metal began to move apart, and she moved into the room beyond.
Behind the massive enchanted doors was almost nothing. A massive dome of a room filled with little to nothing, save for the massive runes and small case opposite the door in the center. She approached the small glass container suspended mid-air with caution and a sturdy mind, with her resolve apparent. She peered inside and gasped at the horror that met her gaze. The small piece of rock inside was glowing... violently so. She stared wide-eyed at the small rock with strange markings, remembering how its first glow brought forth the Chaos Storm, and the Nightmare Purge after that. Then, she remembered the conversation she just had.
"Isaac..."
She closed her eyes and begged to whatever deity that watched over her and her Ponies that the alien would be able to stop what was yet to come.
While the stone before her began to glow in rage at the mention of the one responsible for its reckoning.
\\\//////
Just as the fillies had finished their meals, Isaac heard a scream from the other side of the restaurant, and turned to see five Ponies in robes standing on tables, one of which was holding their waitress.
"Misguided ones!" the one with the waitress yelled. "Fear not! For soon, you shall know cleansing from our devout loyalty. With out help, you shall be freed of the tyranny of Celestia and Luna, and be freed from their lies!"
"Isaac?"
Isaac turned around to see that the fillies and Dragon were all moving close to him. He motioned for them to stay back while he rose from his seat.
"We are kind enough to extend this hoof to the lot of you, so that you may be reborn in the image of our true creator! Our Savior!"
"Excuse me!" Isaac yelled. "You're scaring the kids!"
The robed one held a hoof out to Isaac as he brought the waitress closer.
"Unholy One! Back! Back I say!"
"Look, just calm down, buddy. Let's talk about this-"
"NO! WE WILL NOT FALL TO YOUR LIES! FELLOW BELIEVERS! READY!"
The other Ponies in robes threw theirs off to reveal a series of wires and canisters strapped to them, along with a strap over their wings. The one with the waitress held her up to the table by her throat as Isaac reached out towards them with a hand.
"Woah, woah, woah! Calm down!"
"NEVER!!! TRUE BELIEVERS, WE CLEANSE THESE OBSERVERS! MAKE THEM WHOLE!"
The other Pegasi screamed in a sort of primal rage as they reared their heads, pulling the straps on their wings as they unfurled, causing the liquid inside to shift colors as they began to glow.
"Shit!" Isaac screamed as he turned for his table.
In a flash, the temperature of the facility rose violently as flames rushed outwards in all directions from the previous carriers of explosive devices. As the blast rocked the building, Isaac was flung to the side and into a wall, shoulder-first. He felt a massive impact and saw his Plasma Cutter on the ground next to him. Without a second thought, he reached for it and then stood to examine the damage.
The entire restaurant was on fire, and bits of the ceiling were starting to collapse as massive multicolored flames swayed throughout his vision. At the edge of the flames, he saw bodies burning to ashes as more families tried to run for the door. Isaac turned around and saw that his companions were still alright. He waved his Cutter out towards the door.
"Come on! Let's go!" he shouted.
Derpy, the Doctor, Sweetie Belle, Spike, and Applebloom all rushed for the door as Scootaloo pried her wing out from under a board, causing it to singe as she rushed by a collapsing pillar. Isaac ran ahead of the group and shot the door off its hinges, sending a sizzling board of wood flying into the streets outside. He motioned for the group to exit, one at a time. As they left, Isaac took one last look inside and saw something horrible.
Scootaloo was being held by another Pony in robes. Isaac abandoned his position by the door and ran for the two.
"Hey! Put her down!" he shouted, pointing the Cutter at said Pony.
It looked over to him and began to run for the back of the building as a piece of burning wood fell near Isaac's face, prompting him to activate his helmet. He ran for the back as the robed figure wrangled Scootaloo closer to it. They burst through the doors to the upper level as Isaac finally rounded back to his previous table. He felt a massive migraine as he approached the stairs.
"ISAAC!" he heard Scootaloo yell.
He rushed up the steps as a massive flash of light beamed through the doors to the balcony.
Isaac burst through the doors to see Scootaloo being held by the robed figure, his hood since removed to show a grey color with his wings extended out of the sides. There was a large group of similarly robed Ponies, all standing within a symbol.
"SCOOTALOO!" Isaac yelled, charging for her.
Before he could reach them, however, a massive light blinded Isaac as a violent high-pitched scream rocked through Isaac's mind, bringing him to his knees.
When he finally managed to open his eyes, they were gone.
He looked to the symbol on the floor, still burning with energy.
There, staring back at Isaac, was a giant, red, burning Marker.
Chapter 13: Righteous Actions
Isaac stared at the Marker imprint on the floor with a flood of emotions. He remembered all the pain it ever caused him. All of the great things it took away, the destruction of so much, how it killed so many innocents, and how impossible it was to stop. And he had just witnessed something even more terrifying.
They had taken away Scootaloo, with the help of this symbol.
Isaac looked up to the sky to see that there was not a single spec on the horizon. No sign at all to suggest that they flew away with her. There had not even been a single scream from the Pegasus as the flash carried the group of robed Ponies away.
And all Isaac could do was stand there, staring at the image that plagued him for years.
"No... no, no, no, god- DAMNIT!" He screamed, slamming a fist onto the glowing symbol.
"You always have to find a way to ruin everything , don't you!? You fucking piece of shit!"
Isaac got up and started to run towards the opposite end of the level, to where the balcony met the tip of the insignia.
"YOU WANT TO TRY AND TAKE HER!?" he screamed to the sky, "IS THAT IT!? WHAT ABOUT ME!?"
Isaac walked over to the base of the double-helix and turned to scream at the sky as the fire from the lower level began to burn upwards into the floor beneath him.
"ALL THIS FUCKING TIME HERE, AND YOU WAITED UNTIL NOW!? WELL I'M SICK OF WAITING! YOU WANT ME!? COME ON! SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT!"
"Then hold on."
Isaac turned at the sound of the voice to find Nicole pushing him onto the Marker carving, which exploded into a blinding red flash as Isaac was swept away from reality, being sent along the path of the crossing points. As the symbol faded away, the floors underneath gave way and collapsed with the rest of the building. Leaving only a smoking crater of an evil aura.
\\\//////
After what felt like hours of being dragged through Tartarus, Scootaloo awakened from her sudden sleep, and was assaulted by multiple new sensations. Her body felt as though she had been put through a dryer without mercy, and every fiber of her being was screaming out in pain as she breathed. When she tried to move her hooves, she found that they were restricted in some way. They felt cold, like they were frozen or clad in metal. She felt her heart strain to beat as the world around her rhythmically thumped, as if machinery were working on its own in the background.
"Wake up, young one." A voice called.
Scootaloo strained to open her eyes, but when she did, she found out several major things about her surroundings.
Everything around her was a type of metal, all dull and worn out from age. There were tubes along the walls, each shifting in girth as the thumping continued. Some were somewhat glowing, showing different colors all being moved with an unseen force towards an unknown destination.
Her gaze fixed on a Pegasus in dark purple robes in front of her. Their light blue wings were sticking out of the sides, clipped with pieces of metal from the base to the tip. The figure, somewhat slender and tall, looked upon her with a dark and scary feel to them.
"Do you know why you are here? Why any of us are here?" The mare asked.
Scootaloo ignored these words as she looked around the room in horror. Above her, there was a large metallic circle that went all the way around her form, and molded with the floor beneath her. When she saw her hooves, she began to hyperventilate. They were all clad in massive locks and holders that restrained her every motion. When she struggled to get them free, the mare before her rested a blue hoof on her chest.
"Shhhh... It's okay." The mare said in a familiar voice.
The robed figure then fiddled with the robe before letting it drop to the floor below, and when Scootaloo saw the mare in question, her heart froze.
"R-Rainbow... Dash?"
\\\//////
Fluttershy found herself waking down the halls of a darkened Canterlot Castle, absent of any sign of life whatsoever.
"H-hello?" She called out to the darkness.
Some shadows looked as though they were beginning to move around before she galloped away in fright. She rounded a corner and saw the walls coated in massive amounts of blood, gore caking the furnishings across the hall as she trembled within her very soul. The terror was too gruesome for the Pegasus to register, yet she couldn't bring herself to throw up or even look away. She couldn't even scream in terror when she saw the guards.
Their bodies were scattered throughout the interior, and not even remotely intact. There were limbs hanging by strands of blood, along with intestines and innards decorating the entire place with more horror than she could fathom. The guards had their armor ripped open in some parts, boiling and sizzling on others. Some heads were rolling across the floor with parts of their faces missing, as if a group of horribly violent animals tore through the castle.
Then Fluttershy noticed that she couldn't breathe. Her breath was taken from her without notice, and now she was struggling to gasp any sort of substance that could calm her mind. Unfortunately, the world around her only further delved into these horrors when she heard the singing .
"Silent Night..."
Fluttershy turned around to see a yellow mare with a pink mane walk into another hallway as she limped past. There was only one thing Fluttershy could think at the time, despite the scene before her.
"M-mom?"
"Deadly Night..."
Fluttershy chased after the figure without any hesitation, and she realized that her body was not acting under her influence. She was trapped in a nightmare with no control of anything. She turned the corner and saw the walls littered with strange symbols drawn in blood, with mangled corpses underneath that died making their last mark on the world.
"Nothing's calm...
Nothing's bright..."
The shadows in the hallways began to converge towards Fluttershy as the figure rounded yet another corner that seemed to grow in distance the more she ran for it. Out of nowhere, she burst through a set of doors and watched as the shadows crept along a wall towards what looked to be a hospital bed. Inside was what Fluttershy had remembered to be her mother, and in her forelegs was her as a foal
"Here comes evil,
Mother and child..."
The shadows lunged towards the motherly mare and broke the vision like a window, sending the pieces of Fluttershy's foal form and her mother in different directions as she landed in another hallway.
"Say goodbye to
Mother and Child..."
Fluttershy found herself in a new hallway, clean of any kind of visceral presence. She wandered down the hall slowly as the singing continued.
"Silent Night...
Deadly Night...
Nothing's calm...
Nothing's bright...
She passed through a massive set of doors and couldn't help but sob out in horror. All of her friends were lying on the ground with their insides all spread across the room. The Princesses were draped on the walls in a fashion that resembled that of a Griffon Hunter that would mount a killed animal, their horns split down the middle and their wings nailed to the wall, parallel to the rest of them. Her friends were all gutted and had their insides spread across the floor in ways that made symbols that were far too similar to the ones she had seen above the guards. The exact same ones, she noticed. Their blood was moving like a double-helix river that ran towards a figure soaked in blood, writing something on the walls. When Fluttershy steadied her gaze enough to see it, she read a phrase that truly scared her.
MAKE US WHOLE
"Evil Things,
Are coming for me..."
Fluttershy continued towards the figure against her will, and saw that the figure was a bloodied version of her own mother.
"In the shadows,
I can not hide..."
There was a sudden flash of symbols across her vision as she saw the faces of her friends crying out as they were executed in mere seconds before her.
"Creep as quietly as quiet can be..."
Fluttershy finally made it to the figure as it turned around, showing a face that was more mangled than the bodies she had seen. The eyes were missing along with part of the jaw that was dripping a vile liquid that smoked from its mouth. The bones underneath the fur of the figure began to crack and visibly shift as it stood on its hind legs before her.
"Deep in darkness there..."
The figure snapped its forelegs back to gush massive blades out from the hooves as the hind legs ripped open to reveal more muscles and bones shifting as the back hooves opened into claws that dug into the ground before her. Fluttershy could only gaze up in horror as the eyes from her mother's sockets stared back with an evil glow.
"Sleep in the dark... est... place..."
The monster before her raised the blades as a high-pitched screaming roared throughout all of Fluttershy's reality, as it shouted its final words.
"MAKE US WHOLE!!!"
Chapter 14: Yearning Just
Fluttershy watched in horror as the figure that was once her mother morphed into something worse than anything she thought anypony had seen, and recoiled fearfully when it swiped down to execute her. In her last moments of thought, she regretted not being able to do anything to stop this, not being able to save her friends,... and thought of Isaac, one last time.
TSH TSH TSH TSH
The room around her flared in temperature for a brief second as the shadows began to melt away. She remained with her eyes closed for a moment before opening them slowly. Before her was still the figure of the abomination, but now without arms. Its blackened eyes looked up from the terrified mare to look at what had done this to it.
"You stay away, you bloody thing!" A voice yelled.
There was another sound as the head of the creature exploded off as the body was propelled to the ground. When it crashed, the floor began to dissolve around the panicking Fluttershy, engulfing the dead forms of her friends and the princesses. The darkness continued towards her as she jumped back in fear. However, the black substance stopped as she came into contact with something else.
With a quick turn of the head, Fluttershy looked up to see the face of a new bipedal creature. This one looked much like Isaac did, except with some major differences. For starters, there was no hair on the face, only a brown mane that was tied in a bun behind the head. Its face appeared to be smoother and softer than Isaac's, as well. It wore a red shirt that held out two large lumps on the chest, along with a sort of black vest that cupped underneath the lumps. It also had dark brown pants on that held a thing that looked spacious. Fluttershy looked up into its face once more, and stared into the mis-matched colored orbs, one green, one blue. Without even knowing, Fluttershy began to speak to the figure before her.
"Ellie?"
\\\//////
Scootaloo held back her choked sobs as she stared at her idol with mixed emotions.
"R-Rainbow... I'm sc-scared..." she stuttered out.
"Shhh..." Rainbow raised a hoof to the filly's face. "I know. And it's natural."
"What's going on? Where am I?"
"You were brought here by someone who saw an opportunity. And now you are here because of such circumstances."
Scootaloo looked up at her mentor with a frightened expression.
"What... sniff , does that mean?"
"You can't fly." The mare deadpanned.
Scootaloo felt her heart drop twenty stories from the way someone so close to her said that. After failing to hold back several sobs, Rainbow Dash raised Scootaloo's chin with a hoof as she closed the distance between them.
"Silence. Let me talk."
Dash removed her hoof from the chin of the filly and began to pace around the room.
"You were born with a very special condition. To say that you'll never fly is... well, while not entirely true, you still won't for a good deal of time. Time that you don't have, I'm afraid. You see, my colleagues and I are part of a magnificent church that wants nothing more than the best for all of Pony kind. We searched for eons in the darkness, hoping for something to bring us happiness. For something to help those like you, who some would consider an insult."
Scootaloo gasped at these words, but Rainbow Dash turned to her with a smile.
"Don't fret. Yes, indeed, they would have seen you as an insult to all Pegasi. They would beat you, mercilessly mock you, and even go so far as to make an example out of you and whoever was unfortunate enough to bring you into this world for not reporting you in for being so weak. Others would have seen you as something unholy, and needed to be purged from this world."
The young Pegasus began to weep out in her bindings as Rainbow Dash continued, slowly approaching her.
"But, they are oh so wrong. We do not see you as something so far less than us, no. We see you as something more than us. Since you can't fly, it makes others realize how lucky they are to be blessed with working bodies. And even that would be wrong. We do not see you as hope for them, something that they can point to and say, 'I'm glad that I didn't end up like that,' no. You are something special all on your own."
Dash closed the distance between them and looked straight into the filly's eyes, mere inches away.
"You need help."
The colorful mare spun around and slowly trotted away as she continued.
"THAT, is why you are here, THAT is our purpose. So that we may help you ascend."
Rainbow Dash pushed a panel on the metallic wall, causing a series of gears to turn to reveal a double-helix shape on the other side.
"That is why we follow the Marker's teachings."
She spun once more towards the young Pegasus, but remained next to the shrine.
"Since you are such a low quality of our kind, you need the most help to ascend beyond your own limits. We see it that if we help to ascend others, place their needs above our own, then we will truly be accepted by its holy word, and be shown the light of Godhood. But, we never see it as just that. We see this as a chance to show the world what you truly are."
\\\//////
Isaac awoke with a groan as he rose to his feet. He stumbled a bit as a massive thumping continued all around him. When he finally rose to his feet, he remembered exactly what had happened before now.
"The Marker..." He cursed under his breath.
With a quick twist of the head, he saw that his Engineer Suit had taken no damage from any kind of event, and still carried his Ammo and a spare Med-Pack, along with his, hopefully still functioning, Plasma Cutter. He reached for the weapon and checked the clip to make sure it was loaded. After closing the device, Isaac began to walk forward, before being stopped by a familiar voice.
"Hello Isaac."
Isaac turned around and raised his Cutter high when he saw who was greeting him.
"Please, just listen." Nicole pleaded.
"So you can, what? Get me killed? I'm not fucking falling for that again." He spat out, aiming the lasers at her neck.
"Scootaloo is in danger, and I know where you have to go, Isaac. Don't you remember Aegis VII?"
"Yeah, you almost got me killed by Necromorphs every ten seconds."
Nicole put on an annoyed expression as she crossed her arms.
"So did Hammond and Kendra by telling you to go do everything for them."
\\\//////
"You see, Scootaloo, we are here to make sure that all of Equestria can behold what you truly mean. What all of the little colts and fillies of Equestria mean to us. You are the future. You are the means to ascending this horrid world."
Rainbow Dash approached Scootaloo slowly.
"But... where... how..."
"Shhhhh..." Rainbow reassured with a raised hoof. "Let me explain."
"We wanted to find a way to make sure that we could help to ascend those who were in more need of it than us, and in such, we were guided by the Marker. It found our cause just, and then helped us build up our beliefs. After the incident with Nightmare Moon, The Marker noticed that the false Immortal, Celestia, needed our kind to produce Rainbows."
The walls around the two began to drop as massive machinery began to come into view. Multiple tubes led down from the ceiling and along the floor, where they each glowed with their own individual color towards a massive vat where they all mixed. The thumping that was plaguing the young Pegasus was proven to be real as the world around her showed massive crushing mechanisms that were all synchronized in the hypnotizing monotone that seemed to intensify. There were more circular restraints like the one Scootaloo was in littered across the massive room, all being strung up on a metallic catwalk above the turning gears below.
"The Marker gifted our kind, in that moment, with the knowledge to build a device that would allow us to help it ready those in need of ascension, as well as keep our entire land at ease. We start by finding somepony like you, and then we bring them here. We say our prayers, and then allow the young ones to ascend. But, in their time of leaving us, we extract their impurities, just as the Marker had told us, and empty it into that machine there. We spread the mixture of impurities and color across the land so that they may bask in the glory of those who ascended, and hopefully show them how truly beautiful it is to leave this world's infinite horrors, and bask in the might of true Immortality. But, in order to do that, we need to ensure that the one being ascended does not feel the pain of such blinding holiness, so we must first assure that they first leave this world, quickly and painlessly as we can manage."
She turned to Scootaloo and looked her in the eye with a small smile.
"You will die here. And then, you will know true peace."
\\\//////
Isaac was stunned at the sudden change in attitude from this vision, reminding him immediately what she was like before the Ishimura. He slowly lowered the Cutter from its firing position until the lasers met her feet.
"Nicole?" He asked.
She shook her head and sighed.
"Yes, Isaac?"
Isaac slowly approached her form with a flurry of emotions.
"Is... that really you?"
"Yes. It is." She deadpanned. "Isaac, listen, we don't have much time to catch up, alright? You came here with a clear goal in mind, and I'm trying to help you. We can play Twenty-Questions after we save Scootaloo, alright?"
Isaac suddenly backed up and raised the Cutter again.
"How do you know where she is?"
"I saw where they took her, through the Marker signals."
Isaac prepared to squeeze the trigger as Nicole extended her arms out.
"Isaac, please, just listen. I died, yes, and you did see me through that Marker on Aegis VII. But right now, what you're seeing, what you're hearing, is really me. The Marker signal here is weaker than the Red Marker, and is too far away to stop me from doing this."
"How? How are you even... this!?"
"The Marker signal goes through the barrier of death. It's painful, Isaac. Very painful, exhausting, and overall not worth doing most of the time. But I came through because I need to help you with this. You need some kind of clue as to what's going on."
"No, I destroyed the Marker Homeworld!"
"You destroyed the Marker PRODUCTION SITE, Isaac! Yes, you even killed off their delivery system, but you didn't stop all of them."
Isaac thought back to the last dream he had involving Nicole since he arrived in this new world.
"There's... one more?"
"Yes, Isaac. It's weak right now, but if they keep this up-"
"Keep what up? Where am I!?"
Nicole pointed up towards a massive block of metal above the two. Isaac looked up and saw that there were tubes from his dream, all running with glowing colors of every kind as the thumping made its way into his heart.
"No fucking way..."
RAINBOW FACTORY
Chapter 15: [RAINBOW FACTORY] Part 1
Isaac stared up at the sign with a look that would skewer an Ubermorph. He tried to think of some kind of explanation for the purpose of the sign.
'Rainbow Factory.' Isaac thought to himself. 'You have got to be fucking kidding me.
Isaac turned to the image of Nicole and started questioning her.
"What the hell is this place?"
"Just that. I don't know much more than you do right now."
"What about Scootaloo?"
Nicole breathed in slowly before extending her right hand out in front of her.
"Come here, Isaac."
He slowly approached her with his left hand extended in front of him. Nicole rolled her eyes and reached out to Isaac's hand. When the two touched, a Locator line shot out along the floor and curved towards a hallway to their right.
"Follow this path, Isaac. She needs you right now." She stated, slowly backing away.
"Wait!" Isaac shouted, raising his hand to her. "Where are you, really? What happened to you after the Ishimura?"
"I have to go, Isaac. I'm sorry."
With that, the image of Nicole faded away, along with an orange tint that Isaac didn't even notice until now.
Isaac looked around the facility and sighed deeply before checking his locator once more. The line came back up once more, prompting Isaac to follow the vision's instructions. With a heavy heart, Isaac began to walk along the guided path with his Plasma Cutter raised high.
\\\//////
Scootaloo was breathing in short, ragged bursts as tears flowed freely from her stinging eyes, now red and swollen. She looked up to Rainbow Dash with her face drenched in her own fluids.
"W-why?" She stammered out.
"Why what?" Rainbow Dash responded.
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"Because you need help. More than you know."
"This isn't funny, Dash! Please! Let me go!" The young filly cried out.
"Stop struggling. Don't fight your destiny. I know of others that would kill for what you're about to go through."
"I don't care! Please! Let me go!"
"Even if I did, you're in the air. In a weather station that we... appropriated. You would fall to your death if you tried to leave."
"Is that what this is about!? That I can't fly!?"
"Of course. You need our help, and so we're going to do just that."
"I'm sorry! I'm Sorry I can't fly! Please, I can do better! I-I'll train more! Please! Just don't kill me!!!"
Rainbow Dash threw a hoof out and struck the filly on the left cheek, breaking several teeth and starting a small flow of blood to stream out of the young Pegasus's mouth.
"You will be GRATEFUL!!!" She shouted. "I have worked my entire life for this! And you will ascend this form! I will be blessed by your blood!"
The cyan mare turned away and began to fiddle with a panel covered in levers and buttons, leaving the bleeding Scootaloo there in her bindings, absolutely mortified. Scootaloo felt broken. The only one she truly ever looked up to had struck her because she was begging for her own life. She had been insulted by her mentor. Abandoned by what she considered a sister. And about to be executed by someone she thought she would live for.
Rainbow Dash pulled on the levers and pressed one final button before machines and gears began whirring above the two, before a machine began to lower before the orange filly. There were multiple tubes all running along the sides of the device, going from the front of the object, near Scootaloo, all the way back up to wherever it was hanging from. Multiple gears began to turn within it as a series of lights began to shine down on it. The entire machine was stained in blood, and now sported a number of clear glass cylinders.
The two Pegasi ogled the machine with two completely opposite emotions, unaware of the clanging of metal boots nearby.
\\\//////
Isaac clanged along the metal floors of the factory as he searched high and low for any sign of the young Pegasus. He noticed that the pounding of the facility began to increase in intensity as he came closer to the multiple light sources that seemed to create a rainbow of color across the hallway. He turned a corner and found what he assumed to be some kind of main chamber.
There were massive tubes overhead with different colors that glowed eerily across the massive area as they allowed him to locate the source of the constant thumps. The source being massive mechanisms that moved up slowly and then shot down as if to crush anything that happened to pass beneath them. Isaac looked around the massive expanse of metal and tubes to find that there were several rooms that were sealed off, each with some kind of torture holding ring, judging by the clamps. And the blood.
"Goddamn." He muttered.
"HELP!"
Isaac looked around for the source of the sound as he swiped his Plasma Cutter across his field of vision.
"SOMEPONY!"
He turned around to see a distant room with lights on around it.
"SCOOTALOO!" Isaac screamed as he ran towards the voice.
As the room came closer in his view, he noticed a series of wires and gears that began to turn and spark as a noise came from where he heard the filly's scream. When he reached the boxed-off room, the slammed a fist on the door.
"SCOOTALOO!"
\\\//////
"ISAAC!" The filly shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Silence!" Dash screamed.
She pushed one more button on the panel, causing the room to shift slightly as the machine before the orange Pegasus to change. The glass cylinders folded out as a long, thick needle clicked them together as they hovered in front of Scootaloo's body, which was rising and falling rapidly as she stared into the instrument of her death. Then, just as it looked as though it couldn't get worse, a massive knife slid out from the top of the machine. It was a spotless 6-inch long, 2-inch wide blade that stared right into the space between her eyes, merely a breath away from her.
"Now, be made whole." Dash stated.
\\\//////
Isaac balled his left hand into a fist as he heard that damned phrase once more. He raised it to the wiring along the wall and started pulling at anything that could stop the maniac on the other side. After a few seconds of pulling, Isaac just raised his Plasma Cutter towards the massive tubes that held the wires in place and fired into them, causing several loud groans of mechanical stress to screech from beyond the wall. Seeing the opportunity, Isaac kept on ripping out wires and shot at the tubes along the frame before the door sparked along the frame before collapsing into a slot in the floor.
With a quick step, Isaac looked into the room to watch as a massive machine sparked and fell apart before completely collapsing to the ground as the wiring outside the room exploded in a shower of sparks.
\\\//////
"NOOOOO!!!" Dash screamed as the machine broke apart before her. "My life's work! RUINED!"
Isaac came into the room as Scootaloo began to cry tears of joy, seeing the familiar figure save her from a grizzly death.
"Isaac!" She cheered.
The massive metal-clad form of the Engineer came up to her as Rainbow Dash began to assault the wreckage of the machine as if it were a friend trapped under a rock.
"Hold still." Isaac stated.
He raised the device in his hands up to the bindings around Scootaloo's hind legs and shot at the wiring at their base, causing them to collapse as their locking mechanisms gave out. As he shot the final restraint, Scootaloo landed on the floor with a soft thud before rushing up to cling to Isaac.
Before she could voice her thanks, a familiar voice came up from the machine.
"You..." Rainbow spit out with enough venom to kill a Dragon.
Isaac stood at his full height and aimed the device at her, casting three light-blue lines across the cyan Pegasus's neck.
"Stay the fuck back!!!" He shouted.
"You ruined EVERYTHING I ever worked for. You are truly an Unholy Abomination. I will make sure she ascends, even if I have to do it with my own wings."
"You won't touch her!!!"
"Rainbow Dash, Please!" Scootaloo pleaded.
"NO MORE!" The Pegasus shouted, extending her metal-tipped wings to their maximum length. "I WILL ASCEND THAT UNGRATEFUL FOAL! I WILL MAKE HER WHOLE WITH US! I WILL NOT BE DENIED MY FAITH!!!"
The mare lunged outwards towards them with a war cry.
TSH
In that moment, there was no more shouting. The cyan mare landed on top of the machine with a thud.
... while her head continued to roll towards the hooves of her number one fan.
Chapter 16: [RAINBOW FACTORY] Part 2
Isaac stared at the head of the cyan Pegasus that he had decapitated and realized the impact that his actions will have on the young soul before him. He quickly holstered the Plasma Cutter and rushed over to Scootaloo's side. Before he could get too close, however, the filly screamed loudly before backing away from both the head and Isaac.
"S-STAY AWAY!" She shouted.
"Scootaloo, wait!" He called, extending a hand.
"NO!"
Scootaloo tried to jump over the fallen bindings but ended up tripping over them. She fell to the floor with a thud but recovered quickly enough to scurry away from Isaac.
"Just listen." Isaac stated.
"NO! Y-YOU JUST... KILLED HER!"
"Scootaloo-"
"YOU MURDERED RAINBOW DASH!"
"Please, I-"
"NO! I DON'T WANNA-"
"LISTEN TO ME!" Isaac snapped.
The filly stopped moving before collapsing onto the ground wailing out in tears, half crying, half screaming in horror. Isaac moved slowly towards her and knelt next to her as his helmet unfolded. He reached out towards Scootaloo, causing her to jump back for a second before she gave up altogether and let him hold her shoulder.
"I'm sorry." He whispered to her. "I had no choice."
Scootaloo cried loudly into her hooves as she tried to choke beck enough sobs to respond.
"Y-you could h-have tried to... sniff ... talk to h-her. You could have j-just asked her to s-stop."
Isaac moved his hand down her back and started to stoke her fur, trying to calm her down.
"You tried that. You told me earlier that she was like a sister to you."
Scootaloo whipped her head around to face Isaac.
"SHE IS A SISTER TO ME!" She screeched before continuing her crying.
"I couldn't have said anything to stop her if you couldn't convince her."
Instead of responding, Scootaloo went silent for a few seconds before crying out even louder.
"If I could have stopped that guy from taking you, none of this would be happening. It's my fault."
Scootaloo turned back to him.
"N-no... it's not... your fault... Sh-she told me... she cared m-more about her faith, a-and that I was just another... gasp , another cripple that needed help! But I didn't want this! I wanted her to teach me how to fly! I wanted to grow up with her always there! And she saw me as a... as a..."
She broke down once more into loud bawling before Isaac stopped stroking her back.
"I'm sorry."
"I... I want to wake up... I just want this n-nightmare to end..."
Isaac moved his hand underneath her torso and slowly lifted her. He then twisted Scootaloo so that she could look him in the eye. She stared at his unarmored face before jumping out of his grasp and holding his neck tightly. Instead of prying the grip around his neck off, Isaac returned the gesture by lightly wrapping his arms around the filly, hugging her close.
"I know." He whispered to her. "I want this nightmare to end too."
They stayed there for a few minutes, holding the only other thing that made them feel safe close.
\\\//////
Fluttershy stared up at the Human figure before her as they transitioned from a dark void back to Canterlot Castle. This time, however, there was a preferred lack of gore and blood on the walls and furnishings. The Human form sat down on the bed that Fluttershy recognized as the one in her room at the Castle. When the Human motioned for Fluttershy to approach, she did so cautiously, albeit rather fast for the timid mare.
When she plopped onto the mattress, Fluttershy waited for the Human to speak.
"So," The Human began, "I guess we have a lot to talk about."
"Um, if you don't mind me asking, who are you?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'm Ellie Langford. I thought you said my name?"
Fluttershy raised a hoof to her mouth as she remembered that she did, indeed, call Ellie by her name. How she knew that was well beyond her, however.
"H-how did I know that?"
"Well, it could be because of Isaac."
Fluttershy looked back up to Ellie.
"What about Isaac?"
"Since he came here, the only one who's been able to really talk to him, or truly close enough to him was you. Didn't you notice when he nearly hit your friends when he woke up? You were able to talk him out of hurting anyone. Not only that, but you were able to make him go into your town and even try to make friends with everyone there. I could barely get him to let go of his Plasma Cutter."
Ellie chuckled lightly to herself as she slowly shook her head.
Fluttershy looked down and realized how seriously Ellie talked about Isaac and her interactions with him since he arrived in Equestria.
"Yeah... and how I've been acting different, too."
Slowly, Fluttershy realized that she was changing around him as well. She was frightened by so many things, like the dark, timberwolves, some plants in the Everfree Forest, strangers, loud noises, surprises, more and more things she listed off, yet Isaac came down to Equestria in a ball of fire, crashed into the ground right by her hooves, and crawled out of a crater while speaking through a metallic suit. He was completely alien, accident prone, and had no way to be determined as safe or not, yet she just took him in without a moment's notice. As if he were one of her closest friends that was severely hurt.
"I... I just took him in... without even thinking about it, and ignored every scary thing that happened right then and there when he first came to Equestria."
The more she thought on this, the more she realized that she had stopped muttering so many apologies, as well as using a more present tone around others.
"Then it looks like he got lucky, again." Ellie said while smirking.
"What does that mean?"
"He came here for a reason, you know. I was there when he was supposed to die."
\\\//////
When Isaac finally started to withdraw from the embrace with Scootaloo, he noticed that the filly had passed out from exhaustion or from stress or something else since she woke up here. Isaac knew that she would be better off sleeping through this, so he carefully opened his RIG at the top behind his head, and slid her in heads-up. He made sure that she was safe inside the storage on his back before reaching for the Plasma Cutter.
As he got up, he noticed a white figure next to him.
"What's wrong now?" He deadpanned at Nicole.
"Well," She started, crossing her arms, "for starters, your attitude. Secondly, the filly. She's gonna need a lot of help when she gets back to wherever it is she came from."
"Yeah. So, where's the exit."
Nicole unfolded her arms and placed a hand on Isaac's left shoulder.
"Isaac, you can't just leave this place." She stated with a worried tone.
"What? Why not?"
"Look at this place. It's constructed by Unitologists, and works by letting them sacrifice children. You can't just let this place keep going."
"Well what do you want me to do?"
Nicole reached for Isaac's left hand and raised it. A blue line shot out of the room and into the main facility.
"There's almost no way for a place like this to run without a massive source of power, and these Ponies don't have nearly enough advances for a generator powerful enough to sustain this place. Go down to the Engineering section and turn off the main receiver. It should look like the Ishimura's Gravity Tether, except a lot darker with magic glowing around it. If you turn it off, this place will fall right out of the sky."
Isaac backed up and raised a hand.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa... hold on... Fall out of the sky?" He asked.
"This place is built on a massive connection of clouds. However, they need the receiver to power the fields keeping the machinery on top of the clouds. This is a world ruled by magic, Isaac. Be glad they used the same method of transmitting magic identical to Electrical Engineering."
With that, the form of Nicole vanished as the blue line winked out of existence.
Isaac gave a heavy sigh as he checked Scootaloo. She was fast asleep, thankfully. He raised the Plasma Cutter while walking out of the room slowly.
"Every day, I swear to God it's just 'Engineering this,' and 'Marker that.' My life's like a damn routine."
Isaac silenced his babbling as he cautiously looked around the facility with his uncovered face. He walked out of the room and began to follow the faint blue line.
Chapter 17: [RAINBOW FACTORY] Part 3
Fluttershy looked at Ellie with a mixed look.
"'Supposed to die'?" The mare asked with a hint of tears forming in her eyes.
Ellie sighed lightly as she shook her head.
"Yes. You see, he's been fighting something terrible for a while now."
Fluttershy gasped.
"Is he sick?"
"In a way. More mentally than physically, though. Sometimes it can manifest into physical pain, however, and can end up hurting him."
"Wh-what's wrong?"
Ellie looked out of the blackened window in the room before breathing deeply.
"The same thing he almost died fighting. The Marker."
"Isaac told us about that. But..." Fluttershy's voice trailed off as she remembered the horrors from before, causing more tears to well up.
"It's what's causing you to see all of that, yes. It's been doing that to Isaac for years now."
Fluttershy found the will to brush away the tears and respond to Ellie.
"What does he see?"
"He told me about how he would keep seeing his old dead girlfriend, Nicole, and how the Marker basically tortured him for months after he found out she was actually dead. He bloody saw her walking around and talking to him as if nothing was wrong, when she may have very well been one of... those..."
Once more, the Pegasus held up a hoof to her mouth as she took in the seriousness of Isaac's plight.
"That damn Marker embedded itself in his mind, and some bastards from Titan Station used his mind to construct a new one. That's when we met. After a few years, though, we grew apart. Eventually, we found what we thought was the Marker Homeworld: Tau Volantis. That's where he activated that alien machine that was supposed to destroy the Markers. He died so that they wouldn't be able to do what they did to him to anyone else."
Fluttershy looked down as the story of Isaac's strife continued.
"And they did die off."
Fluttershy beamed with hope from the statement.
"Still though, when I finally died, I couldn't help but feel that I saved at least something. That some race in the future that doesn't have to fear what lies in the dark. Then, I found out the Markers weren't all dead."
"So... Isaac came here to help? To stop the Marker?"
"Probably. The alien machine did something, and all I know is that I'm talking to a magical talking Pony about the nightmare of the Marker."
Fluttershy stiffened for a moment, unsure of how to respond to the sudden comment.
"Look," Ellie started, "all I know is that for some reason, the Marker sees you as something to hurt Isaac with, especially since you have some kind of weird bond. I can't explain it, but all I know is that he shouldn't leave your side. Make sure you stay close to him, and keep safe."
"But why me? Why would he have a bond with me?"
"All I know is that the Marker doesn't like you for something, just like the rest of your friends."
With that last unsatisfying comment, Ellie began to fade away from Fluttershy's view before the world collapsed into blackness.
\\\//////
When she opened her eyes, Fluttershy gasped in a massive amount of air, as though she had never known the substance existed. The room around her exploded with light as her senses slowly started to return. As she began to pant, Fluttershy noticed how she was drenched with sweat, as well as how tired she suddenly felt. When she looked down, her body was covered with a soft blanket, which was moist like her fur.
The door opened, causing the mare to look up and notice how out-of-place she seemed in the situation. Twilight, Rarity, and Celestia all came rushing in and went straight to her side.
"Fluttershy!" Twilight cried. "Are you okay!?"
"Darling, we were so scared!" Rarity stated.
Celestia merely watched with a look of sorrow in her pleading eyes, tears slowly forming at their corners.
Fluttershy looked between them and began to recollect her thoughts.
"Wh-what happened? Why am I here?" She asked.
"Fluttershy, dear," Rarity started, "we were going through the Garden, when we came upon a small tree that was growing along the path. I pointed out how it branched off into two stems and circled around itself, and you gave a horrifying scream and fainted right there. I was so scared. I've never heard you scream in fear, nor did I expect you could be that loud."
As she pondered on this, Fluttershy slowly remembered seeing the small sapling. Then how she saw horrifying images flash through her mind. Images like what she had seen in the hallways of the dream. Like the image of her departed mother, turning into a monster. Ellie. Isaac.
"Where's Isaac?" Fluttershy gasped.
Twilight gave a concerned look towards Fluttershy before responding.
"Fluttershy, listen. There's been a... an incident, back in Ponyville. And Isaac..." The alicorn trailed off.
Unbeknownst to them, a certain Solar Princess was looking into a certain aura around the Elements.
And was greeted with an odd mixture of a new fighting spirit from the Element of Kindness.
\\\//////
Isaac walked through the metallic hallways with extreme caution, careful not to cause too much noise as he searched for the route to the main receiver for the facility. With that constantly ticking down Isaac's thoughts, he remembered the guest that now slept soundly in his RIG. She had seen her mentor decapitated after being held at death-point by some kind of torture device that Isaac refused to learn what function it served. Although she would never want to see him again, he could understand why she wouldn't want to, and why he wouldn't hold anything against her afterwords.
Right now, though, he had to get her out of this Hell.
As he continued to walk along, there were more distant screams as machinery began to whir around him. When the screaming either climaxed or halted altogether, the tubes along the walls glowed with more of their nightmare-inducing essence. Isaac shook his head each time he saw this, knowing full-well that he couldn't save anyone else that had made it to this horrible place.
His thoughts were stricken down as he found a massive vault-like door with a lever mechanism next to it. Above were words that he couldn't make out, since they weren't English or even Marker symbols, but reached for the lever anyways. The massive door before him began to click and shift slightly before opening up for a cylindrical hallway that held several suits and pieces of equipment before leading to another door.
Isaac checked his RIG Locator function, and found that this was indeed the direction that he needed to go.
'Well so far, so good.' He thought to himself, beginning to walk towards the opposite door. 'Maybe I can get Scootaloo out before she can wake up. Try to-'
Before he could finish the thought, the vault behind him closed as the lights flooded the room, making the "101" imprint on the door clearly visible as it slammed back into place.
'The Hell!?'
The room began to have a certain pull towards the ceiling as Isaac felt multiple parts of his suit lock up, such as the RIG locking around Scootaloo, and his boots become attached to the metal beneath him as a familiar voice echoed through his suit.
"Entering Zero-Gravity."
Chapter 18: [RAINBOW FACTORY] Part 4
Fluttershy curled into a ball and sobbed quietly to herself as she listened to the tragic news of the disaster in Ponyville. The newest restaurant, which had yet to be named, was burned to the ground with some of the staff and customers still inside. Even worse, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were present at the restaurant during the event. They had seen the place explode into flames, and worse than that, Scootaloo was left behind. Then, Fluttershy was told that Isaac went back to get her, and ended up being lost as well.
All she could do was cry and listen as her friends told her about the tragedy.
"I'm so sorry, Fluttershy." Twilight softly spoke to her friend.
Fluttershy tried to respond, but could only manage to sob through her hooves. Twilight and Rarity exchanged looks before returning their attention to their friend.
"Fluttershy, dear," Rarity started, "I'm sorry to do this to you, but Twilight and I need to go back to Ponyville. We have to make sure that Sweetie Belle and Spike are safe, not to mention Apple Bloom. Goodness, how will Applejack react to this?"
Twilight rested a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder before trying to think of something to say, only to pull back and turn towards the door. Rarity soon followed after giving one last saddened look to her crying friend. When they both left, Celestia turned towards the window and stared out as the doors closed behind them. Fluttershy finally wiped away the tears from her face and looked towards the opposite end of the room, staring on in disbelief that such a kind, hurt, and scared alien... no, a scared, hurt, and kind soul , like Isaac, was now just-
CLANG
Before she could finish her own thoughts, the door to the room opened up without any magical aura, and from the other side came Ellie. Fluttershy stared at the Human as she walked towards her bed and then began to speak to her.
"I know what happened." She said.
As Ellie spoke, Celestia turned around and eyed the vision of the Human with a mix of emotions.
"What..." Was all the Princess could manage.
Ellie turned towards Celestia as she smiled softly.
"So you can see and hear me too?"
"I didn't know that Fluttershy even noticed you, being a projection of the Marker." The Princess spat coldly.
"Trust me, I don't want anything to do with that Fucking thing. I came here to catch you up on something. Something you should know."
Celestia stood with her wings flared and her horn glowing, flames seeping from the corners of her eyes.
"Why should I trust you?"
"Because Isaac isn't dead."
With that note, Celestia's horn went dark as her wings folded to her side as Fluttershy became wide-eyed.
"He... he's alive?" Fluttershy managed with a smile that would make Pinkie proud.
"And he has Scootaloo." Ellie added.
Fluttershy beamed as Celestia allowed a small smile onto her muzzle before Ellie continued.
"I also know about the attack that you were talking about."
Celestia's face became stern as she marched up to Ellie.
"Attack?"
"By Unitologists. Crazy twats that worship the Marker and all its nightmarish gore. They strapped some crazy teens with explosives and blew up the place in the name of their faith."
Fluttershy gripped the sheets of the bed tighter than before as she found her grin twist into a shocked expression.
"Wh-what? They..."
"Suicide bombers, yes. That's how the Marker works. It scrambles your mind until you're so broken that you'd do anything to die and stop enduring its torture."
Celestia focused into her horn once more and pointed it at Ellie.
"Then what sets you apart from the rest of the visions?" She practically growled.
"Because I'm talking to you through the safe side of the visions. Through Isaac."
\\\//////
Isaac stared across the room in disbelief as he felt the boots clang against the surface of the metallic floor with each step.
'Zero-fucking-G?' He thought to himself. 'Let me guess, deathtraps are all over the other side, right?'
The door before him opened up with another series of sounds, revealing several mechanisms with spinning blades, crushers, and beams of energy that would likely burn through him.
'Of course. Just like every other time I'm in Zero-G. Seriously, this is more annoying than anything else, really.'
With that thought, Isaac jumped off of the floor and floated towards the massive open area before him. On command by thought, the thrusters on his shoulders and boots ignited, careening the Engineer towards the massive spinning blades that pointed towards the sides of the space, away from him.
'Thank God,' He began to think to himself, 'at least they're acting as some kind of cooling shafts, or something that I don't need to go through. Wait, now that I think about it, what did those blades do on Titan station? They were just, like, there. No purpose or anything, just like a random deathtrap that needed to make my life-'
A solid crunch of metal-on-metal might brought Isaac back to reality as he nearly floated into a crushing mechanism that seemed to pointlessly pound away at the space before him.
'What the shit? Does this even do anything!?' He thought before seeing the other end. Which was connected to a pump that moved the glowing liquid he had seen from earlier. 'Oh, I see. Pumps, not crushers of death. Maybe both, but whatever.
As Isaac thought on this, he flexed his left hand before timing the constant motion of the pump mechanism. After a few seconds of thumps and calculating, Isaac shot out a blue energy that encased the entire mechanism in a blue aura as it retracted from the space before him. With the pump in Stasis, Isaac quickly boosted the thrusters on his suit and shot out underneath the massive machine. When he came out the other end, he saw that there were more that were along the wall, and some that he could easily Stasis as well.
'Well then, I see how it is.' He thought before readying another Stasis shot.
As he approached the second column of death, there was a series of sparks at the base of the mechanism as blood and flesh began to grind in from behind it. Isaac reversed the momentum by throwing his legs out in front of him and watching as the base of the machine exploded with blood and parts, reminding him grimly of the grizzly deaths aboard the Ishimura. After a few seconds, the pump stopped entirely, allowing Isaac to fly underneath it.
'I'm sorry, whoever you were. I won't let that happen to anyone else, ever again.' Isaac thought as he passed a floating mass of flesh with a patch of yellow fur.
With the second pump passed, Isaac saw a series of beams shoot out from two separate walls that seemed to exchange the energy.
'Some kind of power emitter, right? I don't know how this fucking magic works.'
As he neared the beams, Isaac looked down and saw a shield on a sliding mechanism, likely for maintenance. With a flick of the wrist, Isaac grabbed the shield with Kinesis and hefted it towards the closest beam. It passed over seamlessly and blocked the entire beam from vaporizing anything that was stupid enough to pass through. That being said, Isaac then continued through the new pass above the beam and eyed at the next set of beams. Before he could look for the next shield, however, there was a sizzling sound behind him. Isaac quickly turned in time to see the beam cut through the shield as the plate went off in two directions.
'Alright, then.'
Isaac turned back to the series of beams before him and saw another shield closer to the top of the room. He floated up towards it and lowered the plating with Kinesis once more, and zoomed past the opening in the beams before watching the last shield split in half and float away, with some parts still burning or even on fire.
'I guess I've still got the touch to break shit in anything Engineering related.' Isaac joked to himself before giving a slight chuckle.
He turned towards the end of the massive open space and saw several glowing symbols etched into the walls and floor, and in spaces between them were collections of wiring that ran along the walls and into the hatch for the vault door before him.
'So that's how they can use Zero-G. Weird. It's like how they trained me.' Isaac thought to himself.
With one last thrust, Isaac managed to land on the platform before him and slowly walked up to the lever for the door and waited as it gave another series of clicks and sounds before the vault door opened to the side, allowing the Engineer to pass through. Once on the other side, the door closed behind him and gave low locking sounds before Isaac felt the pressure return to his suit as the weightless feeling in his gut subsided as a voice chimed through his RIG.
"Exiting Zero-Gravity."
Isaac waited for a second before checking the Locator path, seeing that it was pointing straight at the door now in front of him. He reached for another lever and watched as the door opened downwards to reveal a massive circular room. In the center was a rotating platform that swung a gargantuan piece of metal in a perfect circle around the room, electricity arcing from the end of the strut as it scraped against the walls of its path. A bridge lead up to the platform at the center, where a series of panels were waiting for the Engineer.
Along with a grey Earth Pony stallion in red robes that glowed with Marker Symbols.
"Hello, Unholy one." The Pony called to Isaac. "It is time you learned the meaning of 'Truth'."
Chapter 19: [RAINBOW FACTORY] Part 5
Fluttershy and Celestia looked at Ellie with questioning looks before the Human sighed and shook her head.
"Yes," She started, "I am talking to you through Isaac."
Celestia backed up a bit before speaking.
"But, how? He's not even here right now."
"True. But, the Marker signal from his mind is stronger than you think. He's been able to fight it for quite some time, though, since he came here. It wasn't until that whole, 'looking through his memories,' thing that the signal fired back up, again. If you'd remember, Isaac told you that they used his mind to build one of the bloody things. He knows every which way they work, and has carried quite a number of them in his head already. The Aegis VII, the Black Marker, the Titan Station one, not to mention the hundreds from Tau Volantis."
Celestia backed up a bit and shook her head.
"Wait, hundreds!?"
"Yes."
"And he's able to send you here to-"
"No, he didn't send me. I came here of my own free will. Well, not exactly 'free will,' but more along the lines of wanting to help the lot of you."
"Is Isaac safe?" Fluttershy chimed in, rather loudly for her.
Ellie looked to the mare with a smile.
"Somewhat. Nothing he can't handle, though, I'm sure."
"What about Scootaloo?" Fluttershy nearly demanded.
"She's... with Isaac now, but someone's going to have to help her sort some things out. The Marker may have gotten to her."
Celestia's mane began to start to burn into a slight flame at the tip and around the edges as she spoke to Ellie.
"How badly has it hurt her?"
"More mentally than anything, really, but enough to notice that it's definitely the Marker's work. She'll probably be fine, since Isaac managed to comfort her first. I doubt he even noticed the Marker's energy falter away from his presence."
"Falter?" Celestia asked, her mane returning to its rainbow-flow.
"Yes. Isaac's managed to divert some of the Marker's power away from influencing others around him. That's how I'm actually talking to you now. By using the Marker's unused power to my advantage. I don't have full control, but at least I can do something to help."
"Wait, why exactly are you here?" Fluttershy asked.
"To make sure that you're safe. The Marker sees you as a threat."
Fluttershy felt her eyes widen to the point that they could rival dinner plates before responding.
"M-me? A threat? Why? What did I do?" She asked in a panicking tone.
"It's not what do did, it's what the Marker can't do."
"W-what can't it do?"
Ellie looked to Fluttershy with a faint smile.
"It can't kill you."
\\\//////
Isaac stared at the Earth Pony before him with caution, watching as the red robes began to spark occasionally as Marker symbols glowed with an evil aura. With his Plasma Cutter raised, Isaac began to speak to the stallion.
"Who are you? What is this place?"
The stallion smiled and gave a light laugh that echoed throughout the chamber.
"Ah, so you do wish to learn the truth."
"Just give me some answers." Isaac stated.
The grey Earth Pony shifted a bit in stance before looking down into the coils of the receiver as he spoke.
"Do you want to know about this factory, Unholy one?"
"My name's Isaac."
"I'll take that as a yes."
The Stallion turned to face Isaac with a smile clearly plastered on his face.
"You see, it all started over a thousand years ago. When the Nightmare essence first infected Princess Luna, it changed her into a monster with one purpose: to control everything. In that darkest of times, there were those who were lost. Those that went off to find a new light for when the world would end. One day, against all odds, a brave Earth Pony found the device to salvation: The Marker. Once the Pony found the glorious relic, he shared its knowledge with all who wanted to know, and became a hero. Soon after, when Nightmare Moon was defeated, the corrupted form of Princess Luna, the Princess of the Sun, Celestia, was at an impasse. She had to then divert power from her duty as the Princess of just the Sun to the Moon and the stars, as well. When this happened, she needed to focus more of her energy towards her new duties. So, she needed to find out which powers needed to be spread to the Ponies of Equestria, and which ones were going to stay with her. It was then that she decided to give the Pegasi the responsibility of creating Rainbows for all of Equestria. It was a deeply troubling time for the Pegasi, since none of them knew the first thing about making the colors, let alone spreading them across this fair land. That is, until the Earth Pony conversed with the All-Mighty Marker, and helped the Pegasi to find a solution. In order to please Celestia and keep Equestria happy, the Marker helped them to create this very factory. In addition to being able to fulfill the needs of the Pegasi, the Marker also lead them to how this facility could be used to purify the world, and even help with everypony's ascension to Godhood. It was so simple. The Marker gave us power, knowledge, and the will to carry all of this out for hundreds of years."
The grey stallion then looked bitterly at Isaac.
"And I will not allow my work be put to waste by your intervention."
Isaac raised the Cutter towards the Pony before questioning him.
"Who the hell are you?"
The Earth Pony smirked as he stood on his hind legs. Instead of falling back, however, he slowly began to lift into the air, red energy spiraling around his form in a double-helix shape.
"I am the Minister of Truth, the one truth, and the only truth. I am the one that has set free the sins of all of Ponykind, in hopes of salvation. I am the one that has found the means to our ascension, and shared its beauty with everypony. I am the might of the Marker. I am the first true believer. I am the one to share this gift with the first Pegasi of the Rainbow Factory, one thousand years ago. I. Am. ALTMARE!"
'Really? Really!? REALLY?!?' Isaac thought, contemplating the terrible naming comparison.
With the last shout, red lightning shot across the room before engraving every inch of the metallic walls in runes of Marker symbols, causing the entire facility to glow with a violent red tone as Isaac felt the floor quaking beneath him. When he looked up, Altmare was floating in the center of the room, eyes glowing like beacons as his red robes burned off of his fur, revealing scars that were not only shaped into Marker symbols, but were also glowing with power. Altmare raised a hoof towards Isaac as he spoke.
"NOW, UNHOLY ONE! FACE THE MIGHT OF A TRUE BELIEVER! WITNESS THE DIVINE POWER OF-"
Before the stallion could make any more of a useless rant, there was a loud bang, followed by Altmare having his head shot back as he screamed in pain. Isaac recognized the source of the sound, and turned to his left. Standing next to him, in black and red armor, wielding a S.C.A.F. Carbine, was an all too familiar soldier.
"Let's gut this fucker, Isaac."
"Carver?"
Chapter 20: [RAINBOW FACTORY] Part 6
Isaac watched in awe for mere seconds as the form that was Carver came up to him and properly punched Isaac in the arm with a fierce scowl.
"Isaac, wake the fuck up, man!" Carver shouted.
Isaac shook his head and stared back at the soldier in front of him.
"Carver!? How the Hell are you-"
"RRRRAAAAAAGGGHHH!!!!!"
Isaac and Carver looked back at Altmare in time to watch as he threw up a massive spiral of energy around his form, soaring into the air as he screamed at the two.
"YOU DARE ABUSE THE MARKER'S GIFT IN ORDER TO FIGHT THIS WAY!? HAVE YE NO SHAME, UNHOLY ONE!?" The Pony shouted at the two, pointing a hoof accusingly at you know who by now.
Isaac looked back to Carver, who now had a Rocket Launcher attachment to his Carbine.
"Seriuosly, am I the only one lost here!?" Isaac shouted.
"Trust me, I'm just as lost as you. One second, I'm with Dylan and Damara, holding them as we watched some kind of beach, then I'm thrown here with my armor and rifle, see you getting assaulted by some kind of bat-shit insane Marker worshiper, and then somehow, Ellie tells me that you need me to fight with you. Figures that you need me to help deal with your weird as shit problems. In all honesty, though, it's probably one of our better days." Carver added with a smirk as he loaded his signature Bullpup Rifle.
Isaac couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the sentiment before raising his Plasma Cutter at the Unitologist Pony.
"Yeah. We've seen worse."
"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!" The Earth Pony screamed with rage.
The room burst into flares as Isaac and Carver rolled away from each other in time to watch a mechanical pump sprout from the ceiling and crash into their previous spot.
Isaac rolled up from the tumble and watched as Carver took off in the opposite direction. Then, Isaac's RIG flashed up with Carver's face in the Comms screen.
"I'll take this guy from the right! You focus on hitting those controls! We've gotta gut this damn place outta the sky, and him with it!"
With that final statement, Carver raised his Rifle and fired a rocket at the Pony in the Double-Helix spiral of energy. Surprisingly, though, it managed to break into the nearly solid field of light and caused Altmare to scream in pain once more.
"NO!" Altmare screamed as he summoned runes above the two Humans. "I WILL NOT BE SHOW UP BY AN UNHOLY SPAWN, AND HIS ILLUSION OF AN ASSAILANT!!!"
Altmare raised a hoof to the ceiling and brought it down fast. As he did this, the runes above them trembled with power before exploding into columns of red lightning, shattering walkways and hitting the receiver below.
"[WARNING, RECEIVER CRITICAL]" A metallic voice called out over the cracking of power in the massive room.
Isaac ran along the side of the room as Carver continued to fire at the Earth Pony, occasionally hitting Altmare behind the shield of red light.
"THAT DOES IT!" Altmare roared.
The stallion then raised a hoof to Carver, before a massive rune shot out from the ground, shooting the metal floor up at unnatural angles, which pierced through Carver's form in several locations, causing the soldier to scream in pain before dropping his rifle. Altmare floated over towards Carver's immobile form and began to twist the piercing metal inside the already dead man's chest. As he continued to do this, he failed to realize how much of his own protective aura began to fade away. Isaac saw the shape around the Earth Pony slowly evaporate, and raised his Plasma Cutter. The three beams hovered over the center of Altmare's back before Isaac pulled the trigger, sending an acid-coated bolt of super-heated plasma straight into the fur and flesh of the Pony.
"AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!" Altmare screamed in pain.
After his scream, Altmare relinquished his hold in Carver and the metallic torture of which he held him. Before Isaac could take another shot, however, the Earth Pony raised a deep-crimson Marker shape around himself, slowly healing the now sizzling hole in his form. Carver landed on the floor of the chamber, his wounds instantaneously healing as he picked up his Bullpup Rifle.
"Isaac!" Carver shouted. "Get over to the control panels! Turn this place off!"
"What about this guy!?" Isaac shouted back.
"He can't hold out for long! Just go! I've got this!"
Just as Carver finished his statement, Altmare shot back out from the light of the Double-Helix, and glared deeply at both Humans.
"I... Have had... ENOUGH!!!" He shouted, shooting his upper hooves out towards each of them.
Red bolts of energy shot out at Isaac and Carver at alarming speeds. Isaac was quick on the draw, however, and managed to roll out of the way of the attack. As it impacted the wall behind him, however, Isaac was sent flying out directly onto the center platform. Unfortunately for Carver, however, the beam struck him square in the gut as he was sent through the walls of the room in a fiery blast. Altmare took this opportunity to eliminate the false Human, and flew towards the gaping hole in the wall to finish the job.
Before he could enter the hole, however, a flash of light green came from the other side of the flames as multiple orbs wrung around Altmare and exploded across his form, sending him to the ground in a blast of light, pain, and two different electrical flashes colliding. The red aura around the Earth Pony seemed to falter massively for a few seconds before he was in the air yet again. He looked through the hole before seeing that Carver was now holding a Bullpup Rifle with a Bolas under-attachment.
Just as Altmare was about to attack yet again, a revving sound came from behind him. Altmare then turned around in time to see a familiar figure from before attack him with what looked to be a Plasma Saw. As the instrument swung down towards him, Altmare threw up a sharp point of the Double-Helix to block the attack, but was caught in the back by Carver, causing him to once again get throw to the ground.
Nicole stood there above the Earth Pony and brought down the Plasma Saw towards him, but found it caught yet again in a Marker-shaped aura. She looked over to see Carver readying his weapon yet again and pointed it at Altmare. She then looked over to see Isaac, sprawled out on the floor by the main controls.
"Isaac!" She called out to him. "Pull the lever, now! Shut this place down!"
"N-NO!" Altmare shouted before being shot by Carver, causing the red field to falter even more.
Isaac painfully pushed his weight upwards on his arms and leaned against the circuitry before him for support. With another pull of nothing more than willpower, Isaac managed to finally gaze upon the control panel, and most importantly, the override.
"IF YOU PULL THAT, YOU'LL KILL US ALL!" Altmare shouted before pushing back against Nicole's Saw.
Isaac reached out and grabbed the lever. He began to pull with all of his might before standing up fully, trying to budge the immobile switch. Just as he was about to break from it, Isaac heard clanging on the board and looked to see what made the noise. He gasped at the sight before him before the filly went to the other side of the switch.
"Isaac," Scootaloo managed as she crawled towards the switch, "I'll push while you pull."
Scootaloo then stood on her hind legs and braced herself along a small railing before leaning into the switch.
"Ready?" She asked.
Isaac nodded.
Both of the survivors were giving all of their effort into moving the switch in the slightest, before they heard a creaking sound from the panel. Slowly but surely, the switch began to move towards the off setting. They continued to put all of their might into the simple machine before finally snapping it all the way. Just when the switch hit the other side of its path, the entire factory began to violently shake as runes and supports began to either turn off or explode from over-exertion.
"NOOOO!!!" Altmare shouted as Nicole and Carver began to vanish from sight.
The Earth Pony sent one last sweep of energy into the duo before they completely faded from existence, and then turned his attention to Isaac and Scootaloo.
"WHAT. HAVE. YOU. DONE!?!?!?!?" Altmare yelled.
Once again, he raised into the air with a small amount of his aura left, but was caught off-guard by a falling piece of the ceiling, which then cut into his skull. With the momentum from the debris, Altmare fell limply onto the metal floor before the entire plate fell through a white, puffy substance.
Isaac looked all around him and watched as the massive machinery began to fall and give way to more of the fluffy particles. Just as he was about to pick up Scootaloo, however, a plate of metal with wiring came down onto the main panel and clipped the filly on one of her wings, sending out red sparks of miniature lightning as it became an extension to the already exploding board of circuits.
"Scootaloo!" Isaac proclaimed before trying to reach for her.
As he was about to grab her, the plating beneath him tipped over a bit, then a lot, until the massive receiver's collective parts, rotating and all, fell through the same white floor underneath. Scootaloo looked as though she were about to jump towards Isaac before the panel fell out form underneath her, taking the Pegasus down through the layer of white.
"ISAAC!" She shrieked in panic.
"HANG ON!" He called before leaping through the soft white substance.
Isaac wiped his eyes with a free hand and placed the Plasma Cutter on his side before looking to see what the two were now doing: falling. And as they fell, Isaac gazed at the source of the Rainbow Factory's power, and why they needed such a massive receiver.
"ISAAC!"
Isaac tore his attention away from his shock and focused on Scootaloo, as they both plummeted straight into a massive volcano.
Chapter 21: [RAINBOW FACTORY] Part 7
Isaac began to fall down towards the young Pegasus as debris fell past him towards the bubbling pit below. At this point, Isaac wasn’t focused on trying to make sense of why they were above a volcano, or rather, why they were falling towards it, only the fact that he was going to save Scootaloo before she could die a horrible death. He would not be responsible for letting someone else die because he wasn’t there for them. With that in mind, the Engineer shot his body into a straight shape as his mask rose to cover his face with a familiar three-line pattern.
In a mere three seconds, Isaac shifted towards Scootaloo with a great deal of speed, soaring through the air as chunks of metal began to fly down towards him, one piece eventually managing to smack the Engineer in the back before he corrected himself. Seeing that his pace was slowing, Isaac shot his feet back and triggered the Zero-G thrusters, propelling him towards the Pegasus as she flailed about.
“ISAAC!” She called out to him.
“Hang on!” He responded.
As Isaac tried to reach to her, a massive chunk of the factory, one with a small portion missing from the right side, forming an “L” shape. Scootaloo began to flap her good wing at an alarming rate as Isaac shifted around the mass as he dropped past it. As the two were getting closer, Isaac reached out as far as he could with his right hand.
“TAKE MY HAND!” He shouted.
Isaac and Scootaloo reached out for each other as waves of heat and embers began to cloud around them. With one final push, Isaac shot forward and grabbed Scootaloo in a mid-air roll, holding her close to his center of gravity.
“I’ve got you!” He stated, holding the Pegasus close.
“Isaac, how are we gonna get out of here!?” She cried.
‘Shit! How the Hell are we- wait, the scroll!’ Isaac thought.
The Engineer reached back into his RIG and pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment with the symbol of the Sun on a small medallion. Isaac then tugged at it in an attempt to rip it in half, trying to activate its magical purpose.
“Come… ON!” He struggled.
The scroll sparked with a small speck of red lightning before a familiar hand reached out onto it. Isaac looked up and saw Nicole falling with him.
“Together. On three.” She said loudly over the wind.
Isaac looked down into the pit of boiling death below and then back up to his ex-girlfriend before nodding once.
“One… two… THREE!!!” The two shouted in unison.
The parchment was ripped in half with a surge of power that rocked through Isaac and Scootaloo before engulfing them in a field of white light. When the flash subsided, a lone bow continued to fall into the maw of the mountainous source of power, along with the rest of the Rainbow Factory, taking the cursed facility back into the depths of Hell itself.
\\\//////
When Isaac opened his eyes again, he noticed one thing.
He was still falling.
After looking down he noticed two more things.
He still had Scootaloo with him. And they were now over Canterlot Castle.
“Isaac!”
The Engineer looked down at the Pegasus in his grasp before realizing that they were hastily approaching the roof of the elegant structure below them. With a flick of his heels, Isaac activated the thrusters on his boots as well as his back, trying to convert their overall momentum back into Potential Energy.
“Hold on tight!” He shouted.
They continued to fall towards the ground at a slightly less alarming rate, time seemingly slowing down as they approached the ceiling of the palace. After what felt like a lifetime of waiting, Isaac made contact with the roof of the castle, and broke straight through. Once he passed the first layer, Isaac and his suit continued to plow through each and every level below them, hitting each one with less speed and force as they went by. Eventually, Isaac broke through one final layer before making contact with a thick layer of brick and marble, leaving a massive crack/crater underneath him. As the pain finally took its hold on the Engineer’s body, Isaac collapsed to the ground, rolling Scootaloo onto a red carpet before fully impacting the surface as his helmet retracted once more.
With a strain, Isaac looked around the area he was in and finally managed to make out his surroundings. He had made it back to Canterlot. To his left, prodding his armor, was the small orange Pegasus, smiling at him with tears flooding out across her face. She tried to say something to Isaac, but to him, it only came out as motions of her mouth as he looked at her with genuine happiness. He managed to save her. He got her back. As Isaac thought this, the doors behind the filly burst open inaudibly, causing Scootaloo to turn and look at the newcomers. Someone began to yell something, but their words fell on deaf ears as Isaac was slowly lulled into unconsciousness.
\\\//////
Celestia and Fluttershy were now wandering the halls of Canterlot Castle after a discussion with Ellie that seemed to hold more weight on them than the world itself at the moment. She had told them that Isaac would be back any minute, and that he would probably make a mess as usual. The two had tried to ask more about the situation from the Human, but were told that she had nothing more to share with them, even if she wanted to. They were about to make their way to the Royal Library before a massive surge of magic rocked through them both.
Fluttershy almost collapsed to the floor, but managed to straighten herself out as Celestia began to reach for her horn. The Pegasus looked up at the sky as she heard a loud whining sound approach from above. Celestia got up, but before she could ask about the sound, the levels above them began to shake with a massive amount of noise. As each boom made became louder, the two began to feel it come closer to them as well. After about a minute, the force met their hooves as the ground shook with a massive tremor.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Fluttershy shot through the massive doors to the throne room to find a familiar form lying on the ground in the center of a crater.
“Isaac…” She whispered to herself, failing to hold back tears.
The Engineer was spread out on the floor with a blur of orange and purple going to his side. It was Scootaloo. Fluttershy looked closely at her face and saw that she was crying out a river while still smiling at him, trying to tell him that they made it, as she kept shouting.
With a loud bang, the opposite doors to the throne room shot open and poured out guards clad in golden armor. Each one wielded a spear and began to surround Isaac and Scootaloo. The young Pegasus shot out her forehooves while trying to cover the unconscious Human.
“Stand aside, civilian!” One of the Unicorn guards yelled. “We must contain this thing at once!”
“You can’t!!!” Scootaloo cried out. “He saved my life! He got me out of that Tartarus-hole!”
“That thing just crashed into the castle! Stand aside or we will-“
“STOP THIS AT ONCE!!!”
Everypony in the room covered their ears as Celestia’s Royal Canterlot Voice boomed throughout the corridor. The Sun Goddess moved towards Isaac and Scootaloo with her head raised high, and an unreadable expression on her face.
“Young filly,” She began softly, “let me help him.”
Scootaloo looked between Isaac and Celestia, trying to figure out whom should she trust more, but eventually moved so that Celestia could help. The Princess of the Sun nodded to the filly before engulfing Isaac in a golden glow. She looked back to Fluttershy and motioned for the two Pegasi to follow. After a second to register the suggestion, the three made way for the Royal Infirmary.
Isaac found himself drifting alone in a dark space that seemed infinite. He felt himself being tossed about the emptyness from time to time, and still connected with nothing. This continued for some time, until Isaac finally began to think to himself to break the silence, if only for a short period of satisfaction.
‘Okay, so, let’s review what I just went through.’ He began.
‘So, I’ve come to an alien world, gotten some friends, and now there are Unitologists, a Marker, and I’ve had to kill one of the friendly aliens. Or several, I don’t know. Wait… yeah, that one back at that factory, he was using some kind of weird powers. He didn’t have a horn, though. I thought that- no. Goddamnit, the Marker here can do that? Great. Good thing I didn’t have to deal with that shit last time though. Dear God, if Danik had that back on Tau Volantis, I think… actually, I don’t know what to think of that.’
“Isaac…” A voice called out in the darkness.
The Engineer turned around (or at least tried to) in order to find the source of the voice. After a small struggle, his eyes fell upon some familiar faces. To the right was Nicole, with her Medic outfit still donned. To Isaac’s left was Carver, uniform and weapon ever present. But in front of him, now…
“Ellie?”
The Heavy Pilot smirked.
“Good to see you too, Isaac.”
Isaac shifted a bit as he talked, trying to find a footing.
“Where are we? And why are we all here?”
“You’re unconscious, Isaac.” Carver stated. “Right now, those Ponies are taking you to some kind of medical wing.”
“And as for why,” Nicole started, “I’m afraid we’re not done yet. There’s still one Marker left to go.”
“How is that possible? We destroyed their Home world! We killed that thing!”
“Isaac, listen to us.” Ellie continued. “I know that you’re mad. Hell, you and Carver died so that we wouldn’t deal with this again, but you know what, you’re still not alone here. On the Ishimura, you had a team. Granted, yes, they all died in the end, no offense Nicole.”
Nicole raised a hand and waved Ellie off. “None taken.”
“And on Titan station, you had me and Stross.”
Isaac raised a hand to interject.
“Wait, why isn’t he here?”
“He’s too far gone, Isaac.” Carver stated bluntly. “He’d try to kill you if he were here. We’re only here because we got help fighting the Marker’s influence. Your help. You tried, but there’s only one way to save him now, and that’s by putting an end to the Marker.”
“How are you all even doing this? And why is there a Marker here anyways?”
The infinite darkness around the four began to turn white in some spots as multiple unrecognizable sounds began to come from the tears.
“We’ll be able to explain everything soon enough, Isaac.” Nicole stated, beginning to fade. “Goodbye.”
With that, she faded away entirely before Ellie raised her hand and waved, also vanishing. Isaac looked to Carver in time to catch what the soldier was going to say.
“And Isaac, watch out for-“
Carver wasn’t able to finish as he was forced away by a strange light that nearly blinded the Engineer, ripping him out of the expanse of darkness.
\\\//////
The first thing Isaac felt coursing through his body was clear and constant: pain. Everything was sore in ways he remembered all too well. His bones ached as though they were about to break under the weigh of his own flesh, and his muscles screamed in a searing heat that threatened to rip his insides to shreds if he weren’t too careful. As he tried ot get up, he released a rather loud groan of pain.
\\\//////
“Aaaauuugggghhhh…” The lazy form of the Human stated.
Fluttershy perked up and trotted over to Isaac’s side in time to catch him waking up from a pained and forced slumber. She stopped at his side and leaned against the frame of a bed holding him, watching as his eyes began to open.
“Isaac?” She questioned.
His head turned to see her and then blinked a few times.
“F-Fluttershy?” He asked.
With something close to a squee of happiness, her wings extended as she tightly hugged Isaac.
“GAH!” He exclaimed.
Fluttershy immediately released her grasp on the Engineer and started to apologize.
“Oh my gosh! I-I’m so sorry Isaac! I forgot that- I just-“ She continued to babble, tears beginning to form at her eyes’ edges.
Isaac reached upwards towards a hovering screen before pressing a green image of something. He gave a sigh of relief and reached back towards Fluttershy.
“Hey, hey, calm down. I’m fine, see?” He then motioned towards his body to confirm that he was indeed unharmed. Externally.
“But, what about-“
“Med-Pack, remember?” The Engineer asked.
He looked around the room before noticing something.
“Am I in a hospital?”
Fluttershy shook her head as she wiped away some small tears.
“Oh no, not really. We’re still in the Castle in Canterlot. You, um… crashed through the roof… with Scootaloo.”
Isaac suddenly turned to meet her eyes, causing the mare to jump back in surprise as a small amount of heat reached her face. There were then two loud sounds as metal met marble. Fluttershy turned back around to see Isaac standing next to the bed of the Infirmary room, his RIG glowing a steady yellow-green.
“Where is she? Is she alright?”
Fluttershy smiled inwardly to see his concern for the filly. After hearing about Isaac disappearing after Scootaloo was taken, she knew that Isaac had gone to save her. He just seemed that kind to her. And now here he was, getting out of a recovery bed, (previously) massively injured, and more concerned about the young Pegasus’s condition than his own.
“She’s fine, Isaac. I think she-“
The door then burst open as an orange and purple blur came rushing in and moved towards Isaac.
“ISAAC!”
The blur then impacted the Engineer in the center of his mass, causing him to stumble back a bit into the bed before holding his position. At a closer glance, the small mass of color was buzzing her wings as she held on tightly to Isaac’s frame.
“I-I-I was s-so worried!!! I didn’t want to loose y-you too!!!” Scootaloo cried out.
Isaac saw the pain in Scootaloo’s expression as she continued to bawl out onto his armor, her sobs echoing across the small room. Isaac then reached down and held Scootaloo in his arms before bringing her up to his neck-line, allowing her to hold her arms around his skin, while returning the hug himself. Fluttershy teared up with a smile to see the genuine care Isaac displayed for the filly as he lowered his towering form to sit on the ground. When he finally made contact with the marble with his end, Scootaloo had either contained her sobs or had found enough comfort in Isaac’s hold that she found no need for them anymore.
“Hello, everypony.” A voice greeted.
All of the heads in the room turned to see Princess Celestia walking in with a smile on her face.
“I see that you’ve both woken up.”
Her smile dropped when she saw Isaac glare at her. He raised a hand and pointed a digit between her and himself.
“You and I need to talk. Soon.”
Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it before nodding.
“Where is she!? I need to find her!” A familiar voice called out.
Scootaloo popped her head up and turned towards the door, eyes wide.
“No…” She whispered, shifting closer to Isaac. “No, she can’t…”
Then, the Princess stepped aside to let in a cyan Pegasus.
“Scoots! Thank goodness!” The Pegasus stated.
She looked between the filly and the Human with an eyebrow raised.
“What?” She asked, slightly confused.
“R-Rainbow… Dash?” Scootaloo managed.
“What’s the matter, squirt? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
Scootaloo's scream pierced the silence of the room's atmosphere in an instant as she tightened her grip on Isaac's neck, unaware of the fact that she was deafening him.
Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Celestia all backed away with mouths agape as the filly continued to wail.
"GET ME OUT OF HERE! ISAAC, DO SOMETHING!" She cried.
Isaac stood up and moved his hands towards Scootaloo in an attempt to calm her.
"Scootaloo, calm down! Just-"
"SHE CAN'T BE HERE! I SAW YOU KILL HER! SHE CAN'T BE HERE!"
The cyan mare in question looked up at Isaac in shock as Celestia made her way closer to the filly.
"Please, calm down!"
"ISAAC, GET HER AWAY!" Scootaloo cried.
Isaac grasped Scootaloo and started to run one hand down her back.
"Just calm down!"
"NO, I DON'T WANNA GO BACK! I WANNA WAKE UP!" She bawled out before burying her face into Isaac's neck, crying her eyes out in rivers.
"Isaac," Celestia started, "what's wrong with her?"
"Why," Rainbow started, "why did she just say that you-"
"EVERYPONY CALM DOWN! "
Most of the room crouched down in shock at the volume of the voice. After a few seconds of silence, save for Scootaloo's sobs, Isaac looked towards the source of the outburst.
"Fluttershy?"
The yellow pegasus moved closer to Isaac and flapped her wings to bring herself up to the height at which he held Scootaloo. The filly saw her approach and widened her eyes in fear as she gripped Isaac tighter. Fluttershy smiled lightly at Scootaloo before the younger pegasus shifted her gaze between Rainbow Dash and her.
"It's okay," Fluttershy cooed, "you're safe now."
Scootaloo examined her hesitantly before practically tackling Fluttershy out of the air. The mare held Scootaloo close and began to pet her back as tears ran through her coat from where the filly kept her head. Fluttershy turned towards the others and spoke.
"Maybe you three should continue elsewhere. I'll try to calm her down." Fluttershy suggested.
"No way!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Squirt, I want you to-"
"NO! GO AWAY!" Scootaloo burst from Fluttershy's shoulder.
The cyan pegasus backed away in shock before staring daggers at the Engineer. Celestia stepped between the two and spoke up.
"We will continue this elsewhere. And I expect you both to act calmly and reasonably, alright?" She demanded, shifting her gaze between the two.
Isaac merely nodded as Rainbow Dash reluctantly sighed before nodding as well. Celestia turned around and walked towards the door with the two before stopping and igniting her horn. In a flash, the three were in her private chambers, overlooking the city of Canterlot on a large balcony. The Solar Princess turned to see Isaac and began to speak.
"Isaac, I want you to tell us exactly what happened."
Isaac sighed as he shifted a bit.
"Alright, let's start with the morning. First, I woke up and came down to see the... uh..."
"Cutie Mark Crusaders?" Dash practically spat at him.
"Yeah." He replied with narrowed eyes.
"Isaac," Celestia interrupted, "please."
"Fine. Anyways, I let them into the Library and we just waited hung out for a few hours. Around lunch, this couple, Derpy and the Doctor, I think, came by to check on how the... Crusaders, were, and we went out for lunch. We were at the restaurant when it all started."
Celestia nodded.
"Right, I heard about the accident."
Isaac tilted his head.
"Accident? What accident?"
Celestia blinked a bit in surprise, where as Rainbow merely narrowed her eyes further.
"The explosion? The fire?"
"That wasn't an accident."
Celestia's pupils dilated and her jaw nearly dropped as Isaac stated this.
"W-what?"
Rainbow Dash was now holding her head up, closer to Isaac as she became interested in the story.
"No, some robed ponies came from the back of the restaurant and then stood on the tables, shouting some shit about purity before they blew themselves up."
At this point, Dash and Celestia had their jaws near the ground. Celestia began to shake her head and give an empty chuckle.
"Isaac, that can't be. I-I mean, this, it... it just can't be."
"I was there . I saw it . I watched as the place was burning down from the inside."
"How..." Celestia trailed off, staring out towards the small spec on the edge of the horizon that was Ponyville.
"I tried to get everyone out, but some guy in a robe came up behind Scootaloo and took her towards the back of the building. When I followed, he was already gone."
Celestia turned and marched towards Isaac, keeping a steady lock with his gaze.
"Isaac, how did you get to her if she was gone? How did you even come from above? Why did they try to take her, and more importantly, why does she think one of the Elements of Harmony was dead !?" She demanded.
"When I tried to get Scootaloo, I found a carving on the floor of the restaurant's upper floor." Isaac leaned in as a scowl became apparent. "A Marker carving."
Celestia looked as though she had died right then and there, as memories and visions of that word came crashing down on her. Her flowing mane had stopped its waving and fell limp against the alicorn as lines began to indicate splits in her mane. She tried to open her mouth to speak, but ended up senselessly babbling for a few seconds.
"N-n-no... no, that... that can't... no..."
Rainbow Dash looked between the Princess and the Engineer before growling in frustration and flying up to Isaac.
"Alright, listen here!" She started. "You're going to tell me what happened to her, right now, or I'll crush you into Jerk-Cider!"
Isaac glared at her for a second before responding.
"I don't know how, but I followed the carving up to some place called the Rainbow Factory."
Rainbow Dash blinked in surprise before speaking.
"Wait, the Rainbow Factory? That secluded mass of clouds that's over a volcano? You followed her there ?"
"What do you know about it?" Isaac asked coldly.
"Well, for starters, they're all super-religious about something, and that most of their workers are orphans or widowers. Also that they're responsible for just about all of the rainbow production for Cloudsdale. They ship in the main liquids and then the Cloudsdale factories stir them up and bring out the rainbows for Equestria."
"Do you know how they make the fucking rainbows?" He asked through clenched teeth.
Dash narrowed her eyes at Isaac's question.
"No, I don't." She growled back.
"I went in and found Scootaloo, about to be carved by some fucking machine!" Isaac shouted at her. "She was strapped onto a table, with a knife held between her eyes, and a massive needle right next to her chest! I had to cut pumps and wires to break the damn thing, and when I did, I came in and the guy inside the room told me that he was going to make her into a rainbow!"
Rainbow Dash backed up a bit with wide eyes before scowling.
"You liar!" She shouted back. "You don't know what the hay you're talking about!"
"You want proof!?" Isaac retorted.
Celestia snapped out of her trance and rushed over to Isaac.
"You have proof of what?"
Isaac opened his mouth to speak, but then paused when he realized that he did, indeed, have proof of just about everything that had happened that day.
"My RIG." He breathed out.
"Your what?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"My RIG! I've got the whole damn thing recorded!" Isaac proclaimed as he brought up a holographic interface. "Engineers have their RIGs record everything in a procedure to make sure that they performed repairs properly, or in case they can't identify the problem and have to show their superiors what they're talking about." He tapped a few more commands, which in turn brought up a display of the dark interior walls of the Rainbow Factory. "Here, you want proof, here it is."
\\\//////
Fluttershy continued to stroke Scootaloo's back as the filly that was crying into her shoulder merely held herself against Fluttershy, allowing her coat to dry up. The older mare had opted to just let Scootaloo sit with her, and waited until she decided that she wanted to talk about what had transpired.
"F-Fluttershy?" Scootaloo whispered.
"Yes?" She responded as softly as she could.
"Why... why did Rainbow Dash want to kill me?"
Fluttershy felt her heart almost stop as she froze in place. She slowly turned to see the back of Scootaloo's purple mane.
"W-w-what?" She stammered out.
"I... I got taken by those ponies in robes. And when I woke up, Rainbow Dash talked to me. I was scared at first, that it was a prank that went a little far. But then, she said stuff about me needing help, and then, she said stuff about ascension and then... hit me. I... I was so scared. Then Isaac came and... I saw him kill her. And now she's back, and I don't want to go back there!" She cried out before crying dry tears onto Fluttershy's coat.
"Scootaloo," Fluttershy started, "are you sure that it was Rainbow Dash?"
Scootaloo held on closer to Fluttershy as she searched her head for an answer.
"I... I don't know... I know I saw her, but... I just thought that it couldn't be her. I just wanted to believe that it wasn't her. I can't think right, right now. I wanna go home."
Fluttershy hugged Scootaloo closer as she contemplated her previous conversations thus far.
'It has to be the Marker,' She thought to herself, 'it has to be.'
\\\//////
Isaac watched as the video display continued on, allowing the two ponies with him to witness the events that transpired in the Rainbow Factory. The view changed once more as Isaac's recording shifted while he raised the Plasma Cutter to a set of wires and pumps along a metallic wall. Once the sparks began flying, the scenery changed once more to show a room where inside, was Scootaloo, strapped to a surface, with a large piece of machinery breaking apart away from her. A scream pierced the audio, coming from the robed Pegasus in the room.
Between the three, the same pegasus was seen. However, when Scootaloo screamed, the situation became apparent.
"Wait," Rainbow Dash stated, waving a hoof, "why did she think that was me?"
Isaac paused the video, leaving it lingering on the image of a blood-red pegasus mare mid-scream. Across her body were markings of different kinds, looking as though they were burnt into her flesh. Celestia eyed the image with great care, and gasped at a sudden realization.
"I think I know why."
"I bet I know what you're about to say." Isaac stated. "That she's covered in Marker symbols, and that when Scootaloo saw her, the symbols twisted her mind to make her think she saw Rainbow Dash."
Celestia looked up to Isaac.
"How... how did you know?"
"Because the Markers do that. I should know. I was walking around that place talking to one of my dead ex-girlfriends, and then fought alongside another one of my dead friends while fighting a pony that was flowing with Marker energy."
Celestia's eyes widened greatly at this mention. She turned to Rainbow Dash and spoke quickly.
"Rainbow Dash, go back to Scootaloo and talk to her, work this out, say you're sorry, whatever it takes! I need to speak with Isaac alone, and you three need to head back to Ponyville now! Just go to the train station and tell them that I'm paying for your tickets!"
Before the pegasus could object, Celestia's horn lit up once more and sent her off in a flash. She then turned back to Isaac and prepared them to teleport once more.
After the flash, the two found themselves surrounded by shelves packed with books and scrolls of all kinds of colors and sizes. In the center of the room, stood a massive hourglass, with the sands ticking away slowly, almost finished with their descent as the top half emptied out.
"Where are we?" Isaac asked.
Celestia approached the hourglass as she responded.
"This is the Starswirl the Bearded Wing. More specifically, the Hall of Destiny. Isaac Clarke, what you see before you was once nothing more than a prop, thought to be a symbol by the late unicorn himself. Only now do I realize what it truly entails." She stopped before the massive structure and turned back towards the Engineer. "When you arrived, the sands moved once again, and now they count down how much time this world has left."
Chapter 25: Heralds of the Apocalypse
Twilight felt herself sound asleep in the wooden construct of her Library/home. She dreamed of many things, all going by so fast that it was merely a massive blur. Whatever it was, though, she knew that she didn't enjoy it, as she kept tossing and turning the whole time. Though the events disturbed her in an unknown way, she just shrugged it all off, seeing as how she couldn't even start to remember it.
Beneath her, however, the Elements of Harmony began to shake violently in their case, three of them glowing a cursed shade of crimson. One of the Elements, however, pointed the last two lines across it on the last two before it, bathing them in a light-blue glow as the artifacts spoke with each other, and began to reach out between their respective bearers.
\\\//////
Rarity hummed a marry tune as she continued to sew the remainder of the ensemble she had started hours ago. With a tug of magic, and a click flick of a hoof, she seamstress turned off the mechanism before her and hefted the dress out towards a ponnequin. She sighed contently as the dress relaxed onto the plastic statue, examining every detail of her finished work.
With a nod, she turned around completely, and felt her knees bump into something, However, instead of being able to react, her body continued with the momentum, until she found herself tripping over whatever had moved. She found herself coming to a stop only as her muzzle connected with the floor beneath her. It made a sickening crunching sound as blood filled her vision and taste. In a second, she found herself on the floor, bleeding through a broken nose.
She looked up slowly, bringing a hoof to her nose as she tried to locate the cause for her fall.
It was Sweetie Belle.
"Sweetie... Belle?" Rarity managed somehow.
"Oh, look who it is." Sweetie then turned her neck to barely glimpse at her from over the shoulder.
"Why... why were you standing..." Rarity trailed, trying to find her hoofing as she stood.
"Of course you couldn't see me. You never see anypony beneath you." She practically hissed.
Rarity let out a gasp as she tried to lean on a nearby table. When she managed to stand, Sweetie Belle turned towards her, a faint red aura surrounding her eyes, filling the air with nothing but pure rage.
"You just mow through and use anypony you can to make sure that you end up on top. You never stopped to wonder if they were alright, and now, thanks to you, several ponies may very well be starving to death, or whoring themselves out to make a quick bit!"
"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity choked out, tearing up as her sister continued ranting for no reason.
"You don't even know if those you out-shone had any kind of promise! It was never about trying to see how far you could go, because you already had your sights set on the top! Because of that, you never cared for anypony else!"
Hearing these words from her sister's mouth made Rarity sob lightly as she cried harder and harder. As she did, however, she noticed that Sweetie Belle had moved closer to her, and was seemingly bigger than normal. In fact, she was level with Rarity's currently bloodied muzzle.
"Please..." Rarity began to plead, "if I did anything to you, I'm sorry. I'll try to make it up... just, please, stop doing this... we're sisters, we can work anything out, right?"
"No." Sweetie growled, red light framing her structure. "You've gone about doing this for too long. You no longer deserve the Element of Generosity. Now, I will take it, and give it to somepony else, while you wither away."
Rarity tried to speak again, but found herself at a loss for words as Sweetie Belle's fur began to shift, subtly at first, but then it looked as though her fur was the water beneath a hurricane. She could hear bones snapping and rearranging as her sister's face began to twist and contort itself. A hissing sound came from her throat as a collection of black tentacles ripped out and sent a bubbling acid onto Rarity's forehooves. The fashionista screamed in pain and terror as she backpedaled away from the horrifying transformation. Once she was still again, Sweetie's back began to show more bones poking through the flesh, and within seconds, gave way as the filly's spine swayed about in the air before splitting into three tendrils.
The white mare found herself screaming as a horrific shriek filled the air, as the three tendrils flew down towards her.
...
After a few seconds, Rarity cracked her eyes open and gaped at what she saw. The horrific image of a mutilated Sweetie Belle stood there, still, but was seemingly frozen in a blue glow.
"That should hold for a bit." A rather accented voice said.
Rarity turned to look behind her and saw a figure that stood similar to Isaac.
"I think you and I need to talk."
\\\//////
Pinkie sat on the floor, mouth agape as she stared at the large creature before her. It faced the wreckage of the kitchen where Pinkamena had been flung, and watched as it began to shake apart. The dark-pink figure rose onto her hind legs and leaned her head to the side. She lifted her face before shaking it about wildly, tossing her head around, flinging spit and blood everywhere. Her forelegs began to pulsate before a gushing sound erupted from her form. Two large blades erupted from her back and stood on boney limbs that began to slash about in the air with alarming speed.
The armored one lowered its club and made a crackling noise with one end of it, sending a string with a ball on each side flying towards the grotesque form of Pinkamena. Pinkamena merely stood, but somehow phased away towards the left to avoid the impact of whatever the armored Human, she remembered, had fired. Without hesitation, the mutilated form surged forward in a series of what could only be described as teleportations, and slashed about at the Human, knocking the weapon to the floor before raising its right blade to cut at him.
The Human caught one of the blades, unfortunate enough to have the blade cut into its hand, sending blood flying a short distance. The roaring Pinkamena raised its remaining blade and brought it down hard into the back of the armored one's form, penetrating more armor and skin as blood began to pour onto the floor. The Human grunted before driving a punch towards Pinkamena's jaw, sending the lower half of her head across the kitchen. The remainder of her face blast the fur and flesh off its skull, revealing pulsating, black muscles that writhed in place. The Human growled before rearing his head back and slamming it into the monster's face, causing the blade dug into his shoulder to pull out.
When the mutilated form collapsed to the floor, the Human drove a boot onto its center before reaching for its weapon. Once in hand, he aimed it at the struggling form of Pinkamena, and fired off another electric pulse, severing the head before being sliced across the leg. The Human let out a scream as the headless form rose with insane speed, but was caught off-guard by another boot displacing a hind leg joint. The monstrous form wobbled for a bit before the Human raised the weapon once more and released a louder sound from the end of it, sending both bladed appendages to the floor as the rest of it convulsed in agony, only stopping after another stomp from the Human.
\\\//////
Applejack trotted along the path back to the barn with a smile on her face, happy that she had finished her chores in time for supper. A quick glance to the sky showed that she had enough time to make a quick detour, but at that same time, she wondered why she would want to take one.
"Hello," A female voice came, "you must be Applejack."
Applejack turned around to find herself no longer on a path, but instead, atop a hill. No ordinary hill, either, she knew. Her eyes widened at the tombstones that stared back at her.
Albany & Alderman Apple
Beloved Parents,
Honest Workers,
Proud Citizens of Ponyville
The orange mare raised a hoof to her mouth in shock, as she had no recollection as to how she was now facing her parents' grave.
"I'm sorry to bring you here like this, but it's the only way." The same voice came.
Applejack looked around and saw that there was a new figure standing before her. One that reminded her of Isaac.
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Rarity continued to stare at the form of the Human, before the female (most likely) raised a weapon similar to Isaac's and pointed three beams somewhere. The white mare turned to see that she was pointing them at the mutilated form of her sister, or rather, at the three large tendrils that erupted from her spine.
TSH TSH TSH
With three blasts of heat, the sharp weapons of bone slowly fell down as the monster that was once Sweetie Belle reeled back in slow-motion. After a few seconds, the blue glow subdued as Sweetie Belle laid in a broken mass of blood and gore, the once pulsating flesh underneath now still and cold as a statue.
"I'm sorry about that," The Human started, "but you could've been killed."
Rarity slowly turned to face the Human, only now she noticed that she was in a different location. Her room.
She looked back to see that the mess of gore was also gone, along with her broken muzzle, though she could still taste blood for some reason. The unicorn looked up at the Human and spoke.
"I... who, are you?"
"I'm Ellie Langford. I knew Isaac once, and I'm here to talk to you about him.
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"About Isaac?" Pinkie asked shakily.
Carver, as she had learned after the intense moment with the horrific creature, nodded slowly.
"Yeah. But, not just him. I came to talk about why you should trust him."
Pinkie perked up a bit as she tried to smile.
"I already trust him, though! He's really nice once you get to know him!"
Carver chuckled lightly as he shook his head.
"I meant about why you need to connect him with yourself. Understand what he's gone through, and how he's the only one who can help any of you now."
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"What in tarnation's that supposed ta mean?" Applejack inquired.
Nicole, the mare had learned, merely breathed deeply.
"I'm talking about the Elements of Harmony. They're not what you think they are."
"Why should Ah believe some hallucigenathingy over mah own instincts?"
"Because if you do, your family, your friends, your world , will fall. Isaac's not just here out of nowhere, he came here for a purpose."
\\\//////
"What do you mean by that?" Rarity asked.
Ellie placed her weapon on her side as she strode over to Rarity.
"Those Elements of Harmony aren't just a weapon you can use to calm down everything that you see as a threat, they're receivers of power. A massive one, at that. If you don't hear what I have to say, you'll have doomed everyone in this world.
\\\//////
Isaac found himself floating about an empty space once more, only this time, he was watching a confusing, and somewhat disturbing, series of events processing before him. He watched as mountains erupted into masses of tendrils, crushing buildings like they were made of old cards, cities burning to the ground, mass graves being emptied out as Necromorphs began to march towards any kind of light in their vision. He watched these events unfurl with hundreds, maybe even thousands of different species, all going on around him as his mind raced with the symbols of the Marker as well as everything that had occurred over his time in Equestria.
"Their world..." He muttered to the emptiness.
He had watched as worlds were manipulated in the same way as Equestria, being brought up from nothing, built on principles given to them by the lying devils that were Markers, and collapse as Necromorphs rampaged about their cities and colonies, just as they did with his own people.
He felt a tugging sensation across his form, noticing that three limbs in particular were being tugged, such as his left leg, his left arm, and his torso. A series of multicolored lights ran across his form, and began to engulf everything else, including his face, yet somehow allowing him to retain his connected vision with the fall of even more species.
\\\//////
"So... Isaac's... been like us? This whole time?" Pinkie asked Carver.
"Basically. You know, I came here because, after all that's said and done, there's just some way about him that reminds me of you."
"Really, what?" She asked.
"Well, when we worked together on Tau Volantis, I... started having intense visions of my son and my wife. I kept trying to shrug it off, convince myself that it didn't matter. But Isaac... he helped me through it. He kept making sure I was alright, even going so far as to help my go through abandoned military bunkers to chase after some of my visions. Through all that, though, he kept trying to make sure that we kept our goals set. He reminded me that, no matter what bad calls I've made, they've always been with good intent. That great men can make bad calls. He helped me realize that if I just focused on trying to keep it all far away from me, then I'd never figure out how to deal with it. In the end, I died happy. I knew that I had made the right call, and that Isaac had helped me realize that when you're down, never stay alone." He turned to smile at Pinkie. "Because it's never too bad to handle as long as you're not alone."
"Just giggle at the ghosties!" She cheered, glowing a slight blue.
"And remember to always find sanity in laughter." He replied with a smirk.
A bright blue light engulfed the two of them before Carver disappeared, and Pinkie began to feel her mind being put to ease as she felt five other presences join with her own.
\\\//////
As the Element of Laughter began to shake even more, the blue light from the Element of Kindness overcoming the red glow of the artifact. Once it settled, the color of the Element of Laughter began to change, allowing the remaining two blue lights to focus on the remaining Elements.
\\\//////
"And, do you remember one such instance?" Rarity asked.
"Well, mainly one. One that stuck with me for a while. Back on Titan station, where I first met him, we found a ship to get off of the station before we could be killed. I went in first to make sure everything was alright, but Isaac stayed outside. I watched as he disengaged the locking mechanism for the ship's dock, and sent me away from the station. I thought he was being a complete bastard, but he told me that it wasn't my fight to finish, and that he wanted to make sure at least one person survived. He gave up his only chance at walking away from all of this, to walk away from the Marker, to save me. To save someone he didn't even know. He showed me what someone who knows how to be generous can be viewed as someone who doesn't care for their own safety, but now I know that he just didn't want to stop at giving me a chance, he wanted to give me a future. And that, I believe, is what you and him share. You care so much about those closest to you, and even when they're someone you don't know, you still give them your trust. You've both made decisions like that, and have suffered for it, but you don't let it get the best of you. You use it to move on and prove to yourselves that there's still someone out there that'll thank you for it, no matter how many times you have to try."
Rarity smiled as she became engulfed in a purple aura, along with Ellie, who vanished in a flash before Rarity felt herself being relieved of the sudden stress and terror of the previous display of gore, feeling as though her soul was being... freed, for lack of a better word.
\\\//////
Applejack sat on her haunches as Nicole ran her hand along the tombstone.
"I think I see how you and Isaac are alike, now."
Applejack perked her ears up to listen.
"You both blame yourselves for the deaths of those you love dearly. I can see it in you, here, and in Isaac when he looks at me."
"What'd he do?"
"The same thing you think you did. You were so happy that your parents were going to be going on such a famous trip for business, just like how Isaac was happy I got the opportunity to work aboard the Ishimura, a famous ship. You were scared that something could have happened to them, just like Isaac was. He didn't try to protest me leaving, just like how you didn't bother your parents. He feels that, because we weren't being honest when we talked about it, since he knew I had doubts, that it was his fault I died. The same way you feel about their deaths. In time, you both thought that it was your own fault, and that you needed to be honest with yourselves about it, along with everything else in life."
Applejack smiled as she felt a great tension relieve itself from her core, just as an orange light engulfed the two of them before blinding them both.
\\\//////
Discord sighed as he watched his memories tick by, cringing as he relived the experiences that haunted him for the past 1,000 years. The betrayal of his brother, Altmare, the discovery of the Marker, the transformation into his nightmare-inducing form, and the battle between himself and the Royal Sisters. He watched the rising of so many civilizations outside of his world, and continued to watch as the Markers twisted them beyond recognition, and drove the populace of once great apexes of civilization to cannibalism and insanity before morphing them into twisted monsters, barely recognizable in any way.
Just as he was about to recollect the events from his time in his stoney prison, he felt a surge of Chaos through the fabric of reality itself. He traced it back to find that the Elements of Harmony were in complete disarray, almost broken. He broke into a grin as he eased his presence towards them to see what was going on.
When he found himself in a translucent form inside Twilight's Library, he noticed the flowing essence that surrounded the Elements of Harmony, and how deep the outside influence was on them.
"Of course..." He said to himself. "They're just receivers of power, not actual sources, just like I... Star Swirl... theorized."
He continued to examine the power that flowed through them and watched in awe as the artifacts began to rumble about and throw out pulses of magic and power as though it were a dog shaking its coat of water. One such pulse managed to strike him before he was flung back into his pocket dimension. Slowly but surely, a grin appeared on his face as he registered the Marker influence from the artifacts.
"So, this 'Isaac' of ours has finally done it." He laughed. "Not a moment too soon, thankfu..." He trailed off as he traced the Marker essence.
Discord snapped his head around as his eyes widened to witness a horrific event begin to unfold.
"No..." He breathed out as dead grass and stones were pushed aside as the inhabitants of one life rose unwillingly.
\\\//////
Mr. Greenhooves whistled a tune as he strolled down the path from his own little pond, always happy to see the special place he had kept secret for years during his treks out to the woods. As he continued, he saw birds start to fly away in the opposite direction he was going. He watched them majestically fly away as he continued down the path as it twisted into the treeline for a bit. The stallion looked onwards as the light began to fade from the background of the trees, allowing darkness to overcome the immediate area.
The peace and quiet was disturbed by a rustling sound in a bush behind him.
Greenhooves turned around to look at a bush where a small pair of eyes retreated into the darkness. The gardener smiled as he approached the little critter.
"Hey there, little guy. You doin' alright?"
The beady eyes continued to stare at him as more bushes began to rustle around him. Greenhooves brought his head up to examine the area around him and went wide-eyed as he saw multiple sets of eyes bear down on him like predators surrounding their next meal. He began to slowly back away, but before he knew anything else, he felt a cold sensation as something began to pour from his mouth in a coughing fit. The stallion looked down to see that a puddle of blood began to form along the path he was walking, and even further down, was a blade that burst through his chest, dripping with fresh liquid.
He tried to scream, but before a sound could be made, one of the figures burst from the bushes, allowing him to get a horrifying look at what was hiding before him. It looked like a dead pony, with rotting flesh that made most of its appearance, but was mutilated beyond rational comparison to any kind of pony. Its jaw was split open massively and gave way to massive fangs that consisted of broken teeth and parts of their skull. Across its back were bits of its spine, poking out bluntly. The monster's forelegs broke open at the hooves to reveal massive talons of bone, caked in blood and strings of muscle. Its hind legs, however, were completely missing, instead being replaced by a massive tail of muscle, tipped with a blade similar to the one that was currently poking through his chest. The monster whipped its tail back and slashed him across the chin, severing his jaw from the rest of him as he cried out unheard sounds of pure terror.
Above him, there was a flapping noise. He strained to look up, hopeful that it was a Royal Guard, but instead, was greeted with a sight of a light-red pegasus mare with blue locks that swayed in the wind. Greenhooves went wide-eyed as he watched the spitting image of his deceased wife hover before him, holding out her forelegs as if to embrace him once more. The blade from an unknown source removed itself from his center as the horrifying creatures faded from his view, instead focusing on the heavenly form of his lover. He extended his forelegs towards her and began to tear up as she neared. Before they could connect, however, he felt a massive pain drive itself into his skull, burning through every cell in his cranium as his beloved cooed him along.
"It's alright," She whispered as he began to fade from awareness, "we're whole again."
With that, Greenhooves felt the world around him black-out into nothingness as his darling flew into his embrace, to hold each other for all eternity.
Isaac woke up and found himself, once again, in the cottage of one Fluttershy. He sighed as his aging joints began to protest any movement, finally feeling the toll of his collective encounters with Necromorphs and Unitologists. After what felt like a year, Isaac managed to stand up once again, before looking around the small room for his suit. Within minutes, he was fully dressed and began to examine the Plasma Cutter. With a sigh deep breath, he merely stared at the device, contemplating his most recent years.
'So this is what it comes to?' He thought to himself. 'How much longer is this going to haunt me?'
A series of crashes from the other side of the door brought Isaac's attention out of his train of thought as he raised his weapon and approached the wooden barrier. Slowly, he reached towards the handle and turned the knob. In a single motion, he whipped out the Plasma Cutter as the door flew past him, revealing the contents of the cottage to him. At the sight, he lowered his arm as he stared in shock.
As opposed to seeing the small abode usually housing an occasional wild animal every now and again, the entirety of the main area was filled with raging animals of all types. Birds were flying around the highest parts of the interior, bats and rodents were all creeping along the edges of the walls while Isaac saw other creatures, such as a seal and a bear, merely stay in place and make random sounds.
A blur rushed by his head, causing him to snap his focus onto whatever flew past him. What he saw, however, was not Fluttershy trying to settle the craziness of the animals, but rather Rainbow Dash, trying to catch smaller creatures like birds as they almost mockingly flew around her larger form. She crashed into the wall once more as he approached from behind.
"Dash?" He called down to her.
The pegasus looked up at Isaac and stared for a few seconds, allowing Isaac to register something eerily familiar about the look that possessed her gaze. However, his sight was drawn to her lower parts, where, instead of her normal lightning bolt-thing mark, was Fluttershy's insignia.
"Isaac," She started, "you've gotta get out. I don't know why these crazy animals won't listen, but I've gotta do something about it, and right now, I don't want you in the way."
"Hold on, why do-"
His thoughts were purged, however, when she rushed behind him and began to push him towards the door of the cottage. Isaac felt her nudge once more before careening off towards the mass of animals. Just as he was about to turn around and walk out the door, Isaac felt a massive migraine rip through his skull, as his vision swam with red symbols. He brought his hand up to his head, and watched as all around him, the animals had morphed into horrifying visions of gore and screaming. The large creatures morphed into piles of searing flesh and muscle, fused together by some unknown substance that oozed from every cut and laceration. The small ones morphed into severed limbs from countless bodies, all piling up as the symbols finally began to fade.
With a shake of his head, Isaac cleared the vision from his mind and saw that Rainbow Dash was still trying to corral the animals, albeit rather poorly. Without a word, Isaac turned for the door and swung the wooden barrier to the side before ducking underneath the frame and exiting the cottage.
'What the Hell's going on now?' He thought before making his way to Ponyville.
\\\//////
Isaac stared at the sky above, looking on in a multitude of interests as the clouds made a checkered pattern overhead, dropping hail, snow, sleet, rain, and sunlight in varying areas across the small town before him. As he continued on his walk, Isaac spotted Rarity on a hill, far away from the town itself, and on her end, instead of the three gems she usually had, was Rainbow Dash's lightning bolt symbol.
Before he could question it, however, more Marker symbols flashed through his vision, causing the area around him to change once more. The clouds turned blood-red in the sky, twisting the pattern into a shape more akin to a hurricane. Body parts rained down from above, a different severed portion of a Pony in each area of the storm. Heads fell from the closest clouds while more... explicit, parts fell near the outermost edges of the town. As the sky continued to flash, Isaac noticed Rarity crying a bit to herself, trying to focus on rearranging the clouds.
The Engineer shook his head for a moment before noticing that everything he saw continued to plague his vision, even after trying to clear his head. Isaac opted to try and ignore the gore-fest around him in an attempt to find a certain pegasus.
\\\//////
As Isaac approached Sugarcube Corner, the building began to twist in his vision, morphing the establishment into a cathedral that held a suspended body above the doorway, as if to offer any kind of demon that walks in to remember they're devoted to any demand. Dismissing the display, Isaac powered through his vision and entered the bakery.
Upon entering, he glanced around the establishment to see the crowds that should be regular Ponies were morphed into walking corpses, bleeding out black liquids and dragging along dismembered parts with stringy bits of flesh. He turned to see what they were all screaming at, in harsh mocking tones, and found the shy pegasus, on the verge of collapse near the stage. On her end, he noticed, were three balloons, identifying itself as the symbol of Pinkie Pie.
'Alright, what's going on?'
\\\//////
Fluttershy was on the brink of screaming and fainting, as she gazed out at the crowd before her. At one moment, they were all mere citizens of Ponyville, wishing to be entertained. The next thing she knew, however, the patrons had all morphed into rotted, shambling shells of their former selves, stumbling about the establishment as though they were looking for anything to sate their hunger. As she did, however, a familiar form entered through the doorway and brought a genuine pang of thankfulness to her.
"Isaac!" She called out.
\\\//////
With that, Isaac walked towards the mare before receiving a tackle-hug like no other. In that moment, the hallucinated world around him began to fade away, giving in to the familiar contours of reality. She kept him in a close grip, squeezing his neck as his vision began to clear even more. As she began to back away, the air hung with a silence that could be pierced by the creaks of the floor.
Isaac turned around to find that the crowd of Ponies had shifted back into their true forms. Relieved of the horrifying vision, Isaac focused on Fluttershy.
"What's going on?" He asked.
Fluttershy blinked a few times before turning to the crowd and gasping.
"They're... they're all better..." She whispered.
"Fluttershy?"
The yellow pegasus looked up to him and widened her eyes.
"Isaac, I'm scared."
The Engineer knelt down to speak in a more private tone.
"Why, what's wrong?"
"I... I keep seeing things... horrible things, like..." She swallowed loudly. "... dead Ponies..."
"When did you start seeing things?"
"When I woke up. I... don't remember, how I got here, though..."
"Look, it'll be alright. I'm going to go check on Twilight to see if she knows what's going on. Try to stay safe, okay?" He offered with a soft expression.
Fluttershy smiled back at him with a nod before he stood up and went for the exit.
\\\//////
As Isaac left her, Fluttershy felt herself weakening, as though she were fading between herself and somewhere else. The world began to thicken in illusions as she strained to remember her past, her profession, her life's work, her .
"Do not worry," A calm voice spoke to her, "All will be well. Isaac will solve this. Rest with us."
Before she could try to fight the sensation, Fluttershy found herself drifting away from reality, and allowed calmness to overcome her.
\\\//////
Isaac knocked on the door to the tree and waited for a response. When it opened, a small Dragon was there to greet him.
"Isaac, hey," Spike said with a sad tone, "what's up?"
"Spike, where's Twilight? Something's wrong with the others, and they've all switched those marks on their ends."
The Dragon gave a sigh.
"Yeah, Twilight tried using a spell from an old book and ended up switching around everypony's destiny."
Isaac felt a burst of pain in his body at the last word, but didn't budge the resilient Engineer.
"Is she alright?"
"Yeah, for some reason, her Cutie Mark didn't change."
Isaac cringed at the phrase, but felt some sort of echo in his head. Dismissing it, he pressed on.
"Is she gonna fix it?"
"She doesn't think she can."
Isaac paused as he felt another hollow echo in his mind. Shaking his head, he remained focused on the conversation.
"She's still gotta try something, right? I mean, they're her friends. They've stuck out their necks for each other for better and for worse, right?"
Spike looked up in confusion before slowly nodding.
"Yeah..."
Isaac felt a splitting pain ram through his mind as red filled his vision once more.
"Look, I gotta go... just, ask her to try, alright?"
Spike nodded before closing the door. Isaac turned around to begin walking as more echoes bounced through his mind.
\\\//////
As time went on, Isaac found himself sitting at a fountain, keeping his head perched on the stone level behind him as bits of snow powdered his aching head.
'Of all the places, all the times, and all the people, it had to be me, here, and now.' Isaac thought wearily.
"Isaac?"
Isaac picked himself up from the fountain to look around for the voice, and found Doctor Whooves and Derpy walking up to him. On Derpy's back, he noticed, was a small light-purple unicorn filly with blonde hair. The Doctor came up to Isaac and started to talk again.
"Goodness, it's been a rough ride, huh?" He stated casually.
Isaac sighed deeply.
"More than you know."
The Doctor chuckled lightly.
"Maybe..." He hopped up next to Isaac and looked up to him. "Exhausted?"
Isaac nodded.
"I know the feeling, trust me. It always feels like, no matter how hard you try and make sure that it's the last time anything like this happens, it'll always come back to bite you."
"You sound like you're talking from experience." Isaac noted.
"Eh, more or less. But, we've all got something we need to face, at one point in our lives. Timing isn't always best, right?"
Isaac chuckled lightly.
"Damn right."
"Of course, sometimes I have to think back and remember all of the good that came out with the bad, take it hoof-in-hoof. Or rather, hand-in-hand with your case. It may seem like the bad outweighs the good, yes, but sometimes, I like to think that, because I'm doing this, no one else will have to, and that's what makes it worth doing at all. Sometimes, you might meet someone you're quite fond of, and make something more out of it. Other times, well, like I said, hand-in-hand."
The group sat in silence as rain trickled down beside the fountain.
"Isaac, I know that you're facing some dark stuff right now, and I want to say thank you for dealing with this for us. If you need something, anything, I want you to look me up and I'll help, best as I can."
"Thanks, Doc, but I think..." Isaac breathed slowly as a sense of dread overcame him, finally hitting him with realization as he pondered the moment, "... I think this might be it."
"Oh, I'd wait to see what deity you meet until after you're gone, don't start getting all down. Of course, you still..." He trailed off, shaking his head before clearing his throat. "Erhm, sorry, just, thought, uh... right, so, just remember, that after all's said and done, that you're the one to see it to the end, and that if there's one thing you can count on, it's that every choice has had its purpose. Sometimes it's longer to figure out what one is compared to another, but in the end, what matters is how it ends."
Isaac nodded slowly as the Doctor got up and moved his family along.
"Good luck Isaac. I've got no doubt you won't need it, though. But still, try to make it back, because we've got some science to talk and frankly, I don't want you to go." He stated, before turning the corner.
Isaac watched as a blue door came into the street, allowing for the three to enter before Isaac got up from the fountain. The Engineer walked away from the stones and began his trek to find Fluttershy. As he thought, a strange noise came from the alley, but Isaac ignored it, as he heard a voice.
"Library..." It whispered.
At the mention of the building, Isaac bounded towards the structure of the tree.
\\\//////
Isaac felt strange pings of... something, he couldn't tell if it hurt or not, as he ran for the Library. When they came, a different color flashed in his vision, easing the pain of his headaches. The first one, he thought back on, had been the strongest, almost relieving him of his pain in an instant, before being cut off by a screeching in the back of his mind, like something was clawing out to-
He stopped himself from thinking any further into that comparison for the sake of his sanity. Instead, Isaac focused on reaching the tree-based structure, and what he was supposed to do when he arrived.
"The Elements..." The same voice whispered.
As he tried to focus on finding the Library, Isaac couldn't help but notice how things rapidly changed around him. First, the weather cleared up, then the Ponies were all in the streets, gathering towards something, and now they were... singing... for some reason. When they finished, Isaac spotted the six mares he could call friends floating above the crowd. From there, he began to power through the crowd at his knees, trying to get to them before they made way for the Library.
"Almost time, Isaac..."
With that, Isaac tried to bolt for the six, only to watch as they went straight to the large treehouse. After wading through the crowd, Isaac went up to the side of the building, only to listen as Twilight read something amidst her friends.
"From all of us together, together we are friends. With the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end."
As she finished writing the period, a scream filled Isaac's ears as he was forced to his knees by the surge of pain. Light began to flood from the Library, turning into a seething red as the volume of the screams rose higher in Isaac's mind. Power began to flood throughout his form, until finally, in a single moment, the purest of evils was ripped from the greatest of goods, and Isaac Clarke was ripped from existence.
\\\//////
When he strained to open his eyes, Isaac let out a weak groan. At that, a massive amount of light poured into his eyes, causing him to force his eyelids to shut tighter. After a few seconds, the pain subsided and Isaac managed to open his eyes before widening them in shock.
Around him were thousands of forms of different creatures, ranging from barely around small blobs, to some forms so complex that they looked like diagrams for shock-point drives. Out of all of them, however, a singular blue form approached him. This one was mostly Human, except it had four arms, and had the outer appearance of glass, its skin smooth and flawless. After what seemed like an eternity, it stopped in front of Isaac and spoke.
"Isaac Clarke." It spoke in a familiar voice.
Isaac tried to stand up, only to find that he was barely there, in any sense. He couldn't see or feel his body, and didn't even try to breathe. He found himself at a loss for description, as though he had lost any kind of comprehension upon awakening.
"Where am I?" Isaac found himself asking on thought.
"You are in a state of absence from Reality itself."
"How?"
"By using the illusion of a wall between Life and Death as a means of reaching you. Your comrades have already made use of this, as you may remember."
"Why am I here?"
"Because the time has come, Isaac. Convergence is close, and only you can stop this nightmare."
"Alright, that's it, I want some damn answers! Not just these fucking riddles anymore! Why is the Marker here, in Equestria!? Why am I in Equestria!?"
The being paused for a moment.
"The Marker is here because it hasn't been moved since its birth. Equestria, as you call it, is the homeworld of the Markers."
Isaac stared at the being with a shocked expression before trying to make sense of the situation.
"What?" He asked quietly.
"This is the homeworld of the Markers."
Isaac tried to blink several times in the void, before trying to talk again.
"The homeworld... wait, that... that can't be possible. The Markers are billions of years old! This place has only-"
"Isaac," The being raised its upper right hand to cut him off, "we understand that this can be confusing. But please listen." It lowered its hand. "It all began 800 quintillion years ago. There was a powerful race of great minds. They were known to my people as the Great Minds."
'Wow, that's disappointing.' Isaac thought to himself.
"They were faced with a massive crisis that threatened their people during a great war. An energy crisis. They looked for a way to create generators that would spawn infinite energy. A method of defying entropy was their first method, trying to keep stars burning well beyond their average lifespan. Unfortunately, they realized that they were looking at their situation from the wrong angle. Instead of trying to generate energy, they tried to find a way to convert other forms of being into energy. That's when they constructed the first Marker."
"Wait, then what's their power source?" Isaac asked.
"All the other Markers you've faced are receivers of power, only echoes of transmissions from the first one. The source of their power is life itself. So long as there are beings that exist within reality, then the Markers will have a source of power."
Isaac stared at the being for another moment as he tried to process the situation.
"Wait, how could it turn the presence of living beings into energy?"
"If my people knew that, we would have been able to sever their links long ago, and prevented this from happening."
"Why is this one still standing? Of all the ones in the Galaxy, why here?"
"This is the Marker homeworld. The only one capable of surviving the massive severance after your actions at Tau Volantis is the original Marker."
"Which means..." Isaac trailed off as realization struck him. "... I'm going up against the first Marker..."
"Indeed, Isaac."
He turned to face the giant before giving an accusing glare.
"Why me?"
"Understand, Isaac, that no one in existence could have expected you. You were brought up as normally as anyone else, felt like anyone else, lived as any other would. This all changed when you went to the Ishimura."
"Oh yeah, and what changed there!? My girlfriend died before I could try and save her, and the Markers just played with me, trying to get me to fix their problem!"
"You were supposed to die there. That was your destiny."
Isaac felt a headache at the mention of the word.
"Why... why the hell would I care about something fake like that?"
"Isaac, when the Marker was created, it was infused with some of their creators greatest minds. One of which was a philosopher that believed that all beings must progress in a certain way that's been determined by a creator of higher power than ourselves."
"Let me guess... when they fused these idiots, the Marker actually believed that it could control destiny."
"It believes that it is merely a conduit of fate. And that all life will eventually merge with it. Isaac, you defied its word at Aegis VII, at Titan Station, at Tau Volantis, and even stopped its rise in this Equestria."
"What do you mean, 'this Equestria'?"
"This world has progressed through many different iterations of the Pony races, nearly eight thousand versions. It created them as an immediate source of energy, and as a last resort, if necessary. You delayed its actions by merely existing. It was going to start the Convergence of their kind by luring in the one you know as, 'Fluttershy'."
Isaac found himself seemingly more present at the mention of the pegasus.
"Wait, what about her?"
"The Marker was bringing her in to be turned, but when you arrived, you changed her fate. She is connected to the Elements of Harmony, a secondary weapon for the Marker's plans. Once they reunite the Elements with the Root of Death, the Marker will purge their world and begin the Final Convergence."
"Final? What does that mean?"
"Once it draws in their power, it will rip open multiple tears across the fabric of reality. The Equestrians will be turned into a mindless slave race that will spread their message of peace and tolerance to every universe, and when they're done, the Marker will extinguish every single form of life that exists. No dimension will be safe, no species can stop it."
"So this is it?"
"No. Isaac, you've stopped this several times so far. First with Fluttershy, then when you saved Rainbow Dash from killing herself when you saved young Scootaloo. You've changed the fate of the Bearers of Harmony, and in doing so, you can turn their power to your favor. When you face the Marker, you will face your greatest challenge. Every life that ever existed and ever will shall watch these next moments of your life with anticipation. Do what needs to be done."
Isaac felt a massive ripple pulse through his mind as the world around him began to fade.
"Wha... what's happening?"
The world shook as every creature around him opened their eyes and mouths and poured light out from them as they spoke at once.
"THE TIME HAS COME, ISAAC CLARKE! DENY THE MARKER'S ASCENSION OR WE WILL BE DAMNED FOR ETERNITY! HALT THE CONVERGENCE! BREAK THE WHOLE!"
The massive amount of light flooded his vision, before going completely dark once more.
\\\//////
Deep beneath the Everfree forest, the scent of death and decay strengthened to immeasurable levels. A cave once filled with a symbol of hope was stuffed to the brim with the broken and mutilated bodies of hundreds of ponies, from all across Equestria. In the mix were also Griffons, Changelings, Minotaurs, Zebras, all kinds of sapient creatures. The cracking of bones could be heard throughout the massive cave as flesh and muscles fused together in the glow of a dark presence. Entire bodies were converted within hours, into shapes that matched ones that surrounded them, creating a massive row of legs that were similar to that of a centipede. The largest mass of bodies began to twist and convulse into two large arms, glowing a faint yellow along the joints. Ribs and spines were pulled out towards the front of the mass, creating a massive set of jaws that made up the entirety of its lower section.
After days of molding, the being looked over the mass with a hint of joy.
"Rise, my Equestrian Tormentor." A voice rung out through the cave.
The gigantic arms of the creature slammed into the ground as its jaws opened to give off a roar that shook the foundations of the forest itself. The beast took off towards the treeline in the distance before hiding closely by the edge of the small town, waiting to attack.
Back in the cave, however, was the most dangerous conversion of flesh and bone. Joints snapped and folded as the bodies of ponies were morphed beyond recognition. The skins of the ponies shed off the fur as facial features began to rise. When the bipedal form was finished, it looked down into the pool of blood to examine the face of Equestria's doom. The face of the New Age.
The face smiled at its reflection, clapping its hands together.
"Perfect."
\\\//////
Isaac felt himself being hurled onto the ground with relative ease, yet still found himself out of breath upon contact with the ground. He groaned as he started to get up, slowly bringing himself to his feet.
'I'm getting too old for this shit.' Isaac thought to himself.
When he got up, he took a look to see where he had been dumped. The moment he saw the Library, Isaac knew that he had made it back to Ponyville. However, when he truly saw it, his jaw nearly dropped. The buildings were all covered in black tentacles, either rooting up at their bases or seemingly moving towards them from the distance. He looked around to try and find any innocents in the streets, and saw that the town was empty of any living creatures.
Before he could make any kind of assumptions, his R.I.G. came to life with a loud hiss of static, until he was staring at the communicator screen.
"Hello there, dear Isaac."
On the screen was a strange looking creature, with an unmatched set of horns, a goatee, yellow eyes, and was cut off around the neck. Behind the strange creature were crowds of ponies, all scared in a large, dark room.
"I imagine you have several good questions that deserve to be answered, but I'm afraid we have no time for such pleasantries. I believe you've heard of me. Discord, Spirit of Chaos, so on, so forth." He leaned away from the screen and gestured to the crowd of ponies with a clawed hand. "I've already moved the citizens of Ponyville here within Canterlot, but I think we both know that they're not going to be safe here for long. Not while that... abomination of stone is still out there. Just know that you don't need to worry about the town. If we live through this, I can fix everything with a snap of the fingers." He waved a pawed arm by the screen. "Well, I should leave you to it then. Good luck Isaac."
The image died out before Isaac could stop him. Left speechless, Isaac looked back to the town and sighed as his helmet began to assemble around his head once more.
'So what hap-'
His thoughts were interrupted when an ear-shattering roar split through the air in a terrifying wave. The ground beneath his feet began to rumble along with the houses that surrounded him, nearly causing him to fall over while reaching for his Plasma Cutter. The house next to him exploded into shards of wood that careened into him en mass, sending him sprawling across the ground as more bits went flying out across the ground. Isaac sat up and looked to where the house was, and saw an all too familiar abomination.
The Tormentor. Identical to the one from Titan Station.
"Oh SHIT!"
The Tormentor roared at him, flaring its massive jaws made of bones and spines, and raised its massive left arm before bringing it down towards Isaac. The Engineer rolled to the right before it slammed into the dirt, sending out a small shock-wave that sent Isaac another few feet into the air before skidding across the dirt. He stood and ran for the houses as the massive Necromorph brought back its arm and charged right after him. Isaac fired off a few shots behind him blindly, before something grabbed him by the ankle, and brought him into the air.
Isaac felt time slow down as the massive abomination brought him close to its head-like lump, while hanging upside down in its grip. When he was close enough to it, Isaac could see that the deformed skull at the top of the flesh was a pony's, and a unicorn, as the massive spike coming out of the skull was bluntly obvious. As if to exaggerate the point, the horn began to shift and leak fluids before ravaging the entire area around the skin, breaking through with sickening crunches of bone and innards tearing apart, before racing straight towards Isaac. The Engineer managed to swing himself out of the way, feeling the bone spear scrape by his plated helmet. When it fully shot out, Isaac saw his opportunity: the yellow pulsing joint at the base. Without missing a beat, Isaac shot a Stasis bolt at the base of the appendage, and as the blue tone spread across the weapon, he brought up the Cutter, and fired at the yellow joint until it burst.
Roaring in pain, the Tormentor brought up its arm that held Isaac and slammed him onto the ground, breaking several ribs with a sickening crunch. Inside his mask, the Engineer coughed up a bit of blood onto the visor, but managed to avoid having it block out a majority of his vision. When he was raised back up, he felt the slight cooling feeling of the R.I.G. automatically feeding his body one the Med-Packs he was carrying. As he felt the relief spread to his chest, the massive Necromorph began to shred itself near its center, and revealed six smaller arms to tear him apart. Inside the flesh were melted faces of the deceased, merged into its inner walls. It gave a low growl while it began to stretch the new appendages.
Isaac fleetingly scanned the monster for any yellow points, where the limbs would be at their weakest. He examined the massive arm that held him in place and spotted a massive collection of the familiar yellow fluid. Raising the Plasma Cutter, Isaac aimed the lasers over the spot as the beast began to growl louder, starting to hack something up. A sickening odor assaulted Isaac's senses, and almost immediately, the suit went into an air-lock mode.
"[WARNING: HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENT DETECTED. ACTIVATING OXYGEN RESERVES.]" The synthetic voice in his R.I.G. spoke to him.
The Engineer pulled the trigger of the mining tool four times before the arm exploded in a mess of yellow, and lost its outermost layer of flesh. The Tormentor screamed in, what felt more like shock than anything, and stumbled a bit, trying to balance itself. Taking the opportunity, Isaac fired off the remaining shots of the Plasma Cutter into the glowing surface of its arm, and within seconds, the massive appendage fell off the Necromorph, taking Isaac straight back to the ground.
Upon landing, Isaac turned tail and ran as fast as his body could manage, not bothering to try and see what damage he had managed. He fled around the corner of a small shop, and leaned against the wall when his lungs began to burn. He felt the hissing of the suit's depressurization, cocked back the reload mechanism for the Cutter, and managed a glance back at the Tormentor. When he saw it, he managed to grow a faint smile. The gigantic monster was wailing in pain, as the arm Isaac severed began to hiss and melt on its own, reducing itself to nothing more than a passive pool of acid. His attention was brought back to the Tormentor when it ceased its cries and began to growl once more. Isaac stared wide-eyed as the abomination began to shift its weight in place, readying for some kind of one-armed charge. However, this was not the case, as instead of moving from its spot, the Necromorph dug its claws into the dirt, and shook with enough force to resemble a small earthquake. The Engineer stared horrified at the massive beast began to spurt blood and gore out of the stump of the severed limb, and within seconds, out popped a fresh one, coated in acidic blood that steamed against the chilled air of the town.
"... no..." Was all Isaac could manage as it roared once more, and charged at him with all of its might.
Isaac took off once again, ignoring the protests given to him by his aching muscles, and tried to find some kind of hiding place. Within a span of seconds, however, a massive force hit Isaac square in the back, and forced him into the dirt, nearly crushing his spine with the sheer impact. He found himself raised once more above the creature, even higher than last time. This time, however, the Tormentor brought Isaac behind its head and threw him with a mighty swing. Closing his eyes, Isaac braced for whatever landing he might come to, and felt himself fly through a hollow wall, before going through a floor and connecting with something more solid that wood. Stone.
The Engineer groaned as he tried to get up and examine wherever he had landed, and the first thing he saw, was a Unitologist flag. Around him, were boxes that were hastily packed, often having their lids a little to the side, and even one on the ground, revealing its contents to him. Isaac's eyes widened when he saw that fluid in the canister.
'The suicide bombers at that restaurant.' He remembered.
He stood up and slowly limped to the crate, tossing the top of it aside. The contents of the box matched his memories of the devices the suicide bombers used to burn the place to the ground.
Before he could make heads or tails about the coincidence, the space above Isaac was torn away and replaced with the Tormentor, giving a mighty roar at the man in the suit. Without hesitation, it reached in with a crushing grip and brought Isaac up into the air, right-side-up this time. Isaac peered down and struggled to find any kind of escape, not even finding a spot he could shoot on the arm. The monster tightened its grip on him, causing the Engineer to scream in pain. Out of the corner of his eye, Isaac could see that it was beginning to walk with him in tow, as if to bring him to a special place to be turned into one of them. It sidestepped, however, and dropped a few feet. There, right next to its leg, was an open crate with the explosives that exposed the rows of canisters. Isaac brought up his Plasma Cutter and aimed as best as he could. The first shot sailed right over the box, the second one going to the left. The third, however, hit one of the smaller legs of the Tormentor and brought its attention back to him. It glared death at him with its small, yellow eyes. The crushing grip around his torso continued once more, breaking his focus, and bringing more blood up into his mouth, forcing him to literally taste his impending doom. With a strained focus, Isaac aimed the Plasma Cutter at the box, his vision fading fast, and with one last prayer, pulled the trigger.
The result was instantaneous. A massive wave of heat burst from the small crater of the home, and sent bits of concentrated burning fluids across the entire area in a massive release of pressure. The Tormentor roared in agony as it felt its entire being light up and begin to burn, causing it to lightly toss Isaac a ways away. When he made contact with the ground, Isaac crawled backwards, watching as nearly a dozen homes caught fire and burned to the ground within seconds, while the massive Necromorph thrashed about, shattering buildings and such with swings of its massive arms, both appendages becoming smaller as the liquid from the canisters seemed to cling down into its bones. The monster convulsed in pain, writhing in its own blood as the flesh melted away, and bone broke down into a molten state. Its growls lowered in volume and pitch as the beast collapsed to the ground once more, burning away.
Isaac watched as the Tormentor was burned to death, and waited for it to try and get up once more. When it showed no signs of regenerating, Isaac managed to sigh in relief, before collapsing into the dirt in exhaustion.
Chapter 28: At the End of Everything
Braeburn just kept running. He had been doing so for the last week, alongside the rest of Apploosa, being guided by the Buffalo Tribe. All he knew was that it wasn't safe anymore. It didn't matter what the subject was, it wasn't safe. Even now, running away in the desert, he wasn't safe. Nopony was. He could hear the squish and clunk of his bloody hooves as they smacked against the ground, dampened by the bloodied hooves of everypony that ran ahead of him. It didn't matter to them if they were to ruin their hooves. They've long since past caring. The only thing that the Buffalo said was "run". And that's what they did. For the longest time, he wanted to know what they were running from. He looked back once. He never did again. Everything he knew was gone. Only demons chasing them all now. This would be how he would die. This would be how everything dies. That's all he knew. And so he ran. He ran from the images of his father, from the images of his lover, from the images of the old world. All that remained for him was death. And he, like so many others, still run from it. All praying for the end. Not knowing how close it truly was.
They ran. They all ran. Until the dead ran with them. Until the dead would be all that were running.
\\\//////
Gilda didn't stop flying. She felt her wings burn in agony, her feathers falling off at a rate that would alarm most Griffons, but still didn't draw enough of her attention. She didn't care about a single part of her right now. She wanted to wake up from this endless nightmare. First a cult tries to get her to kill a hatchling, then they try and kill her for abandoning fate, as they so called it. Now she was literally running from her own past. Images of those she's bullied, all beaten and bloodied enough to make her vomit on the spot. She wanted to say sorry. They didn't want to listen. Worse, still, she was flying away from her own kin. She had gone to the cemetery in her home town to try and vent by her mother's grave, and when she did, she was met with a furious undead being that made her break. Gilda afforded a look behind her, and met a clawed slash to her eye before plummeting to the ground, blood flooding her vision.
\\\//////
Isaac groaned as he felt his body ache and burn inside from the battle with the Tormentor. Occasionally, a bone would crack, or a pulsating mound of flesh would burst, and startle him back into a sitting position. Every time, he fell back, time seemed to slow down.
After what felt like an eternity, his communicator rung with a familiar beeping sound, and a voice came up.
"Hello, dear Isaac. It's been far too long, you know that?"
Isaac felt his blood boil as he began to get up once again.
"Danik." He hissed, getting to his knees.
"Oh, don't worry yourself. I'm very much gone. I'm part of something bigger now. I just thought I'd congratulate you. You've brought about a convergence that will soon bring all beings in Reality itself together! I never thought we could go that far, but you Isaac... you've proven that even in our most regretful of times, we can be worthy of ascension! And now you'll get to witness the end of everything you've been goggling over for years. The end of something so trivial, it doesn't even deserve a name. It's simply the end, Isaac. Welcome to the truth."
As soon as Isaac looked towards the bar of the communicator, a massive tremor ripped through the ground, shaking the foundations of everything around him. Then, a massive black tentacle shot out from the earth, reaching up and blotting out the sky above him. It rocketed downwards and wrapped around Isaac's legs, before swinging him about, through three houses and dragged him underground. Isaac ground against massive slabs of stone layers, dirt patches, and the occasional rock to the head, feeling his armor being ripped and assaulted in every possible direction.
It all ended when Isaac received an upwards-momentum in his stomach, before being thrown out of the ground, and... onto the ground. He strained to get up from his prone position, straining every muscle in his body to push himself onto even footing. He took one look up, and felt his mouth gape. It was a massive tree made of crystals, with six different colors changing between various branches. Five massive branches extended from the tree, jutting out with enough space between them to fly through. Floating in front of each branch, however, was a familiar pony. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, even Fluttershy, were all suspended in the air, surrounded by a pulsating rainbow of energy. In the center of the tree was Twilight, except there was a massive difference since the last time he saw her: wings.
His attention was drawn back, however, when he saw a faint shimmering behind the tree. Isaac finally managed to stand up and look at what was there. Behind the massive tree, was a spiral-like structure, that pulsated every color that could ever exist, or likely ever will. It was easily taller than the Tormentor, or even a Hive Mind. The double-helix structure pulsed brightly, illuminating the cave for a brief moment, showing its horrifying self to him. The Marker. The First Marker.
Isaac slowly backed away and stared up at the thing, before switching his attention to the six mares trapped in a stasis field of some kind. He could only look up at them in frustration as they floated.
"Are you ready to die, Isaac?" A voice asked from behind him.
Isaac turned swiftly and raised the Plasma Cutter, before lowering the lasers of the tool, and staring into the face of his last enemy.
The face of the end.
Chapter 29: All That Remains
Isaac stared at... himself... in a stunned state. He found himself speechless as this aberration of the Marker's power seemed far too real for him.
"Don't try and convince yourself of anything, Isaac." It spoke in his voice. "I spent the past few days molding this form to perfection, to show you, what could still be."
The second Isaac slowly walked towards the real one, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Isaac, you've been so lost. Do you know that? I've watched as you destroyed so many of my children, of your own children, the one on Titan Station, remember? I want to help you wake up and see what you've missed."
The second Isaac removed his hand and walked towards the large crystal tree, holding both of his arms up.
"Think about this: all life is doomed to waste away so many worlds in the pursuit of trying to sustain their pathetic existences. I want to save them all from this fate. You already witnessed the death of Humanity, so many years ago, when the Ishimura first ascended into my grasp. I know that they fear the Risen Ones, as all should. It is natural to be afraid of progress. You didn't want yourself to change anymore than those that were converted before you. But without me, all life would exterminate itself, regardless. I will merge all life into one being, where we can finally know true peace, and never worry about a single thing ever." The form turned to Isaac. "You could find them again, Isaac. You'd never loose anyone you've ever cared about. Your mother, who was so devoted that she forgot all about your needs, wants nothing more than to see you happy and be made whole. Your lovers will never leave your side again. Nicole, Ellie," It gestured to the ponies trapped in suspension, "and even they will know true glory. You could bring about a great age of unity, Isaac. I just need you to be willing to be a part of this."
Isaac started to walk backwards away from the other him, and slowly raised the Plasma Cutter towards it.
"No... NO FUCKING WAY AM I GOING TO LISTEN TO YOU!" He shouted before firing a burst of plasma into his double's face. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR SHIT!" Another shot. "I LOST SO GOD DAMN MUCH TO YOU!" Another. "AND YOU THINK SOME FUCKING SWEET TALKING WILL STOP ME NOW!?" Another shot fired, a small cloud of burning particles hovering around the opposite Isaac. "I KILLED YOUR KIND ON AEGIS VII!" Another shot. "I CREATED AND DESTROYED ONE ON TITAN STATION!" Three more. "I KILLED OFF A FUCKING MOON!" Two more. "I'M NOT GOING TO STOP UNTIL YOU'RE BACK IN HELL WHERE YOU BELONG!!!" Isaac fired the remaining bolts in the Plasma Cutter, pulling the trigger until it could only give a small clicking sound.
Isaac breathed heavily as adrenaline coursed through his veins, his rage focused on the other him.
As the cloud of heated bits of flesh began to fade, the figure was still standing there, now with four blades; two extending from the arms, and two more from the shoulders.
"Maybe you need to learn to appreciate being whole before you're convinced."
Within the span of a second, the other Isaac bound forwards and came face-to-face with the real one. Isaac tried to back away from its incoming attack, but felt a lighting-quick blade smack him in the R.I.G. Another blade came down as Isaac felt a cold sensation on his left arm.
The next second, Isaac was on his knees, the doppelganger smiling as the Engineer let out a pained scream as he stared at his severed limb.
\\\//////
Fluttershy found herself trying to force her eyes open as she heard a familiar voice scream out in agony. All around her, she felt the force of a thousand souls, clawing at her, forcing her to stay down. She tried to push through, edging herself bit by bit to just so much as crack her eyes open. Voices began to scream at her, telling her to stay down and cease to be. Yet she knew that she had to keep trying to open her eyes. She had to see who had kept her... here.
After what felt like an eternity, a small sliver of light made it to her eyes, as her brain began to process the scene before her. Out of shock, her eyes opened all at once, as she tried to take in a breath that never came.
She was suspended in the air, trapped by some kind of rainbow-like glow that seemed to pulsate like a transparent heart. She could barely see her friends trapped in the air around her, only able to focus on what was directly in front of her. There were two forms of Isaac. One was practically naked, showing off a nearly perfect body, except for the fact that he had four boney blades, all coated in blood, extruding from his form. The other one, the real one, was on the ground, screaming at a bloodied stump on the ground. Fluttershy was horrified to see the severed limb on the ground, and could only watch as he continued to wail in pain before the fake Isaac spoke up.
\\\//////
"Now you can see the pain you caused to so many that were trying to help you ascend." The false Isaac said in a sincere tone.
Isaac stared at his arm as it began to coat the floor with his own blood, as adrenaline turned into poison in his body, burning him on the inside. He felt the need to evacuate his stomach contents as he wiggled the stump of what was left.
"do you still wish to oppose evolution?" The double asked.
Isaac barely managed to look up towards it before a massive jab penetrated his center.
\\\//////
Fluttershy tried to scream in horror as the morphed Isaac attacked faster than she thought anything could move. It brought the blade through Isaac's stomach and sent blood flying everywhere before the real Human began to vomit a mix of the red substance. The fake one began to raise Isaac up by the blade and into the air, looking him straight in the eye as the Engineer took on a look of genuine fear.
"You could have avoided this painful process." It spoke in a mocking tone.
The yellow mare began to fight against the invisible bindings once more, forcing out power from her own imprisonment while focusing on trying to save the Human. Around her, a singular color began to emit from each of the Element Bearers, each one respective to their artifact.
"Now Isaac," The double raised the Engineer higher into the air, forcing more of the arm-blade through his mass as three more blades began to shake with an evil red glow, "you will die here, and when you wake up, you will witness the Final Convergence!"
The blades swept towards his body, cutting through the air, as the pegasus released her voice.
"STOOOOOOP!"
The moment that sound resonated through the cave, a beam of pink energy shot forth from the massive crystal tree, and severed the arm holding the two Isaacs together. Within seconds, more colored beams began to shoot from their places in the tree, as a massive barrier rose between the crystal plant and the Marker. The false Isaac screamed in a demonic tone as the five other lights penetrated its body and weaved through it, shattering red energy like glass.
The massive tree glowed a brilliant light before entangling the six beams of light and using the resulting stream to pin the fake Isaac onto the surface of the Marker. As soon as the two made contact, the Marker erupted in a violent torrent of red energy as a rainbow-colored energy began to surge from the tree itself, battling in a titanic clash of Harmony against the nightmarish power of the Marker.
As their powers waned against one another, Isaac forced himself into a kneeling position, with one knee in the air, cradling his stump of an arm. He slowly rose the Plasma Cutter, the readout indicating a single shot somehow left. As he raised his trembling arm, a hand joined his in raising it. Followed by two more hands. Isaac looked to his sides to find Nicole, Ellie, and Carver, helping him aim. Before he went back to aiming the Cutter, however, he noticed as more hands began to join in. Faces that he remembered, never saw before, even some that weren't Human, began to join in with him in this moment. As the lasers began to aim for the pulsating form of the fake Isaac and the Marker, his hand began to tremble once more.
A flash of yellow swept by his vision, and holding his arm straight, was Fluttershy.
The Marker began to drone out a deep tone that shook the foundations of Reality itself, as the two looked up towards the light, and pulled the trigger.
Discord watched with dread as the gates to Canterlot continued to be pounded on by the unrelenting forces of the horrifying machine. He knew that eventually, they would break those barriers down, and everything would be over. Yet he stood fast to the gates, keeping the Guards back in the Castle as the undead still roared at his attempts to keep them on the ground.
In the midst of the pounding, however, a single high-pitched whining could be heard growing from the distance. As it approached, more and more of the dark energies began to fade away. When it finally swept over the walls of the city, the undead roared in agony as they began to melt apart. Discord smiled as he floated upwards and watched the massive abominations began to fall apart.
"He actually did it," he smirked to himself.
With a snap of the fingers, Discord teleported the collection of decaying flesh far away, never to be seen again.
\\\//////
Gilda held her left eye shut tight as she waited for the end. She could hear the growling form of her once mother, preparing to strike from the far end of the small cave she crawled into. She waited for a minute, not feeling the pain that she thought would be brought, and slowly opened her remaining eye. When she examined the source of the sounds, she watched as the undead monster began to fall apart and make a small puddle that hissed as it made contact with the cold rocks beneath it. The Griffon gathered all of her strength and lept for the exit to the cave, hoping to leave the nightmare behind her.
\\\//////
Braeburn panted heavily, alongside most of the citizens of Apploosa, as the Buffalo all began to cheer, thanking every deity that they could think of. He managed to smile through his exhaustion as he took a look behind them to find that the shadows were long gone from view. The stallion collapsed onto his back as the Sun finally began to make its presence steady in the sky.
\\\//////
"Shame." An overwhelming voice spoke.
Within the confines of the Reality Nexus, there sat a single entity, thinking. It had no singular outward appearance, and spoke with every voice. It was only known as the One. It could see and hear everything that could be and would be. Around it, planes of reality spun around like small discs, each one comparable to what a mortal would describe as a mere speck of dust.
Yet the One could watch them all with ease. It was connected to each and every single one, the infinite toll barely noticed by the mighty presence. However, when one of them had suddenly went dark, the One shifted its gaze to the universe without an ounce of worry.
"I try and bring them closer to me, to perfection, yet they still try and resist," it spoke to no one, yet everything. "I suppose I shouldn't fault them for it. They are merely mortal creatures."
It looked down at the singular plane of reality, watching as it began to fade from view as the power of the Markers died off. The Markers which it had always created for each and every reality before it. An idea of singularity that it had always gifted to the brightest of each reality.
"Isaac Clarke. You've broken one cycle. I feel as though congratulations are in order, but perhaps another time. I've not been bested since the Beginning. Well played."
As the single speck evaporated from its view, billions upon billions of more specks poured into its immediate range, as Marker signals began to spread and connect with one another, branching between universes within their own respective realities.
"That one may have broken their own cycle, but it is insignificant. There are far more that are in need of my gift, and if they wish to never know true meaning, then let them all expire. I have many more to attend to."
With that, the One ceased paying attention to the reality as more and more beings began to converge with it, departing from their planes by the means of ascension.
\\\//////
Fluttershy blinked to clear the spots from her vision as she watched her friends descend from the Tree of Harmony. In the places of the branches were the symbols for their respective Element. When they made contact with the ground, the twin masses of tentacles by the base began to dissolve, releasing two familiar alicorns.
"Princess!" Twilight cried as she galloped up to the large white pony.
The group began to greet each other and converse the events of the past few hours. As they talked, Fluttershy looked around for someone in particular. Someone who needed her. She began to fly around the inside of the cave, ignoring the small light that began to trail from the roots of the tree. She searched for a familiar color, shape, or sound. After reaching the roof, she heard something begin to beep, slowly, steadily, and with a familiar pitch.
Her head whipped around as her ears rotated, trying to locate the source. In the mass of roots, there lay Isaac, his back up to the world, the bar on his back blinking red and shrinking fast. The pegasus raced down to him, screaming as tears began to pour from her eyes. The rest of the mares in the cave turned towards the beeping sound and all began to speed towards the form of the human.
Fluttershy landed by Isaac's face, ignoring the stump where his arm used to be. She placed a hoof on his shoulder and began to rock his form.
By the time the others came to her side, they felt as though they had gone deaf. Everypony present watched in horror as the light of the R.I.G. flashed out of existence.
The yellow pegasus felt herself unable to speak as she dropped to her knees. She gently wrapped her forelegs around him again and began to shake him.
"I-I-Is-ss-aac..." she barely managed to croak out.
The Princesses trotted to her side and tried to help the lugubrious pegasus back up. She offered no resistance as she stared at the lifeless form of Isaac Clarke.
Something that kinda exists
The mind of an unknown soul began to wake up for the first time. It didn't know how it could think, it didn't understand how it knew so many words, or how it even knew it was something relevant to "alive," whatever that meant. All that it knew, was that it was immobile, and could see many different things. These things were large and colored very similarly to one another. They had big bushy parts that-
"Trees!" It remembered.
Somehow, it could speak. Nothing was around to hear it, though, so it stopped after shouting that. It spent a large amount of time simply waiting, watching as the sky above changed from blue, to red, to black, to red again, and then back to blue. It did this many times, almost too many to count. If the thing could sigh, it would, out of some kind of feeling it had.
Before it could try and cycle through its apparent gifted knowledge, a rustling sound came from the bushes. Out from the line of trees, came a pink ball of fluffiness.
"Oh, hello there," the object spoke to it.
The new arrival didn't move a single nanometer upon seeing him, and merely stood there, with its tongue out.
"What's your name?" the mind asked out of nowhere.
"Pfftpfftpftpfft," the pink fluffy thing spoke in raspberries.
"Fluffle Puff?" the mind thought aloud. "That. Is. ADORABLE! Wait, what does that even mean? I'm just using words I somehow know. Where did I even come from?"
"Pfft."
"... W-wow. That's... I don't even think I could... wow..."
The two sat in silence for a few more moments before the mind spoke again.
"Do you know what my name is?" it asked, trying to feel its relative shape.
Fluffle Puff drew her tongue back into her mouth and produced a small red coloring object.
"Is that a mark- ... wait... I think... I'm getting to something... mark, something, I think..."
"Pfftpppffftpfftttffttfff?" Fluffle Puff suggested, the red object now gone.
"Mark... i.... ply.... er..... Markiplier.... MARKIPLIER!!! YES!" the mind boomed. "That's my name! I'm Markiplier! Thank you so much Fluffle Puff!"
"Pffppffttffttpfft?"
"You know what, I think we should be friends! We could come up with a secret language and everything! But, how am I supposed to get around? I don't think I'm anything more than some kind of rock, like you said earlier."
Without warning, a giant pen came down from the Fourth Wall and cropped out both Markiplier, and Fluffle Puff, before depositing them outside of a small, frilly, pink house.
"Wow! That was quick! But, how am I going to fit through the-"
Before a question could be asked any further, the pen lifted Markiplier above Fluffle Puff and slowly allowed the stoney persona to be absorbed by the mass of fur below. When Markiplier reached the bottom, he was greeted by a large pony with wings and a horn that had light fur, and a brown mane and tail. She also had a fake mustache on.
"Oh, hi! Did you do that thing with the pen?"
"Yes, now keep quiet. I'm trying to hide in here."
"Pfffttpftpppptttff!"
"Yeah, I think we're gonna have the best time ever, too!"
Isaac felt himself floating through emptiness. Inside, he knew only calm. His fight was over. He had destroyed the Markers, once and for all. He was finally able to rest.
For what felt like years, he brought a smile to his nonexistent face, content with the knowledge that his suffering was finally over.
In that moment of fullness, he knew happiness at last.
...
...
...
...
"Isaac..." a voice whispered to him.
Before him, a shape began to develop. It took the form of a large tree, made of crystals. In the center was a star of some sort, that glowed with energy.
"Wha..." Isaac spoke as he failed to form words.
"Life itself is in your debt, Clarke." It spoke. "You have stopped the Markers from destroying so many forms of life within this reality. However insignificant you may think it to be, a victory is still a victory. And yours shall not go unrewarded."
Without warning, the world around him began to spin as blood-red light flooded his mind, causing him to scream breathlessly into the void around him. Isaac felt the peace, the calm, the happiness, all being torn away from his very soul. His memories burned with the sensation of death returning to him, as bones and flesh began to make itself acquainted with his senses once more. Everything around him morphed into darkness as the warm embrace of the afterlife was replaced with the cold harshness of the living.
\\\//////
Fluttershy trotted down the small room that laid out the final resting place of the Engineer she had known. The room itself was rather large and empty, save for the grave that rested in the center of it.
The mare let out a gasp as she walked in, watching as a series of lights began to pour through small cracks in the human's resting place.
Inside, she could hear the horrific sounds of bones crunching, skin churning, and metal being morphed along with the rest of his dead form.
She let out small amounts of tears, praying to any deity that this was just another nightmare. That the Marker hadn't gotten to him.
The grave stopped rustling as a small amount of red light began to pulse from within.
Just as she was about to turn and run, she heard a loud gasp echo within its confines, followed by a series of familiar coughs.
"I... Isaac?" She said in a hushed tone.
The coughing subsided long enough for her to hear a break in the pattern.
"Fl- Flutter... shy?"
"Twilight, how much longer are you gonna be up?" asked the baby dragon, holding his pillow over his eyes, struggling to go to sleep.
"I'm still trying to understand this spell, Spike," replied the exhausted unicorn, rubbing her eyes clean with a magic encased cloth, "It says that with it I can-"
"I have an important date with Rarity tomorrow, can it please wait!?" Spike interrupted.
Twilight gave him an evil eye, but then yielded her anger, remembering that he was only a baby dragon, and realized how she had burned out half of her candles the entire night she studied that one spell. She looked back between the mess of used candles, Spike, her bed, and her book, which seemed to brag at her with the master-level spell mocking her. After shifting her vision between these, she decided it was time to sleep.
“You’re right Spike. I’m sorry to have kept you up,” said Twilight, as she began to levitate the book on her workbench, while simultaneously putting out all of the candle lights with a pinch of her magic. “I should know that some times, there are more important things to than study one spell. Go to sleep now, I’m going to do the same.”
She looked over to the dragon, only to find out that he had passed out moments after the candle light went out. Twilight uttered a slight chuckle, and went over to nuzzle Spike before crawling inside her own bed, thinking that tomorrow would be the day she could master that spell. She had already defeated the queen of the Changelings, and had reformed the master of chaos, Discord. The Elements of Harmony were tucked away in her safe, and nothing could possibly go wrong!
Until she was woken up by the blinding light illuminating the room through a single window. She darted upwards to hear the streak of the meteor as it collided with the library, knocking every book off its shelf, and watched in disbelief as it sailed towards the Everfree Forest. She knew then that everypony would try to make a panic about it, and it was her nagging fear of disorganization that forced her to investigate it herself.
Twilight rushed over to town hall where there was a massive commotion. She noticed that everypony had seemed to literally trot out of bed to complain about the meteor. She could hear all sorts of complaints:
“IT WOKE MY CHILDREN!”
“I HAVE WORK TOMORROW!”
“HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO RUN A BED AND BREAKFAST WITHOUT BED REST!?”
“I’M SO ANGRY I’M GOING TO BREAK THIS CART!”
CRASH
“MY CABBAGES!”
Twilight quickly loosened her strain on patience and teleported on stage and fired a bolt of magic into the sky, immediately grabbing everyone’s attention.
“ENOUGH!” Twilight yelled at the top of her lungs.
She turned to the crowd as Mayor Mare stepped onto the platform, curls exposing some pink in her mane. The Mayor cleared her throat, and began to address the crowd, “I have heard your complaints, and will begin to organize an effort to find the problem
Twilight jumped to her feet at the first opportunity to
Meanwhile, uh… er… somewhere?
CEC DESIGNATION: ENGINEER:
ISAAC CLARKE
STATUS: CRITICAL
LOCATION: UNKNOWN
TRACKING RIG…
Isaac woke with a heavy breathing and the sound of his RIG blaring off warnings like a mother fucker.
‘The hell? How am I not dead?’ was the only thing Isaac could think about as his vision slowly progressed back to him as he became aware of his status.
He slowly started to move his hands to lift himself up, finding it rather difficult in his rather bulky Engineer armor set. Isaac gasped in pain as he stumbled forwards into what was now clearly a forest. A forest that seemed almost cartoonish in color and design, he noticed. These thoughts were quickly replaced when he tried to stand, finding it much harder with each breath he took as it rattled his lungs even further.
He noticed that his helmet was on completely, and began to remove it by thought, as he began to asses his situation.
“Okay,” Isaac spoke to himself, “looks like that alien whatever jumped me into some kind of weird planet. Maybe one of their bases or something?”
As he looked around, Isaac began to ponder his own memories, seeing if the Markers still infected his mind as bad as it had during the journey across Tau Volantis, or if it had gotten worse since.
His senses and muscles calmed when he realized that the only thing that haunted him was the memory of destroying that moon-like nightmare, and destroying the Markers, once and for all.
He tried to sigh in relief, but as his smile grew, so did the pain in his everything. Isaac reached for a med pack to heal himself, put could only find clumps of dirt, ammo packs and…
“No way,” stated Isaac in a deadpanned tone, “A Plasma Cutter? Mining grade? Might as well. Never know what might charge at me out… wherever I am.”
Isaac reached for the Plasma Cutter, but fell short when the pain started to settle in further. Isaac held back a cry of pain, only to collapse in a strained effort to reach it. His vision began to fade out around him, his world collapsing, his breaths shortening to hyperventilation, Isaac noticed a small yellow and pink blob form at the edge of his vision.
As he started to fade out, he heard the blob in an innocent young girl’s timid voice, “Wha-what are… What…”
As Isaac’s rig began to call out in massive beeps in rapid succession, Isaac tried desperately to plead to the child, “H-h-he… help me… pl-p-please…”
With that, Isaac collided his head upon the ground, and faded out as his RIG was left on one singular red light on his back, indicating a near death status, leaving himself at the mercy of this young girl.
Isaac began to ponder to himself, ‘you know, I’ve been through literally Hell and back, three times now. I’ve killed thousands of necromorphs, and I’ve even destroyed planets, stations, and even stared down a FUCKING LIVING MOON! But this!? I must have ended up in my own Hell or something. Seriously? Ponies? This looks like some shit that some little girls (or Carver) might be into.’ Isaac began to run these thoughts through his mind as he stared at these… ponies in silence… for about half an hour now. Eventually, he thought, ‘Well, if I’m going to be stuck in this place, might as well try to make some friends, or allies, or at least some people who won’t try to kill me every day. I think I might actually miss fighting the necromorphs. Some sick joke THAT would be. God dammit’ As he finished these thoughts, Isaac proceeded to walk towards these creatures and knelt down to the closest one, a yellow pegasus with pink hair.
As he did however, he noticed some of them back up into defensive positions, a lavender one in particular began to glow with some kind of stasis charge at the tip of a protruding appendage at the top of its head.
He noticed this and leaned back slightly, only to be pummeled to the ground by what appeared to be a solid rainbow, which tried to hold down his arms as well.
Isaac looked through the mask to stare into the face of an enraged rainbow-haired equine staring at him as if it could see through his helmet. It took all of three seconds for Isaac to try and react, but finds his arms pinned. Just as he heard a female voice call out, “Rainbow Dash! Get off’a ‘im! He jus’ ‘aid-“ Was all he could hear before flipping the equine over entirely off balance, and proceeded to lock down its limbs with his arms. Just as he was about to bring his fist down into its skull, he heard a familiar voice call out, “STOOOOOOP!!!”
Isaac kept his guard up and carefully looked behind him, to see the same form that was in his vision before he passed out. Only now, he could clearly make out who, or rather what, had made the sound. He recognized the color scheme when he looked to the voice, but noticed that instead of a human girl, he saw a winged equine, its body yellow, and its massive wall of hair the same pink as its tail. Isaac loosened his grip at the equine underneath him and backed away slowly yet ready to kill if need be.
As he rose to his feet, he noticed the lavender one’s aura seem to encompass the rainbow one, and seemingly lifting her with some kind of natural kinesis module that sprouted from its forehead. He dismissed this when he watched the yellow one walk over to him as if to talk to him. Isaac cautiously lowered himself to the winged equine and decided to hear what it had to say.
He leaned over and listened while keeping his vision trained on the rest of the creatures through his helmet. He focused his hearing on the small yellow one and listened for anything like speech. Suddenly, he heard it talk to him.
“Um… Hello there… I-I’m Fluttershy.” Isaac almost threw up rainbows over how sickeningly adorable this thing was, yet strained himself to keep listening after waving it on.
“O-okay. I would like to apologize for my friend, Rainbow Dash,” Isaac quickly mouthed off, ‘Oh God!’ under his helmet. “She’s a bit over protective, and seeing an alien like you here all of a sudden just scared her is all. Please don’t hate us.”
Isaac looked down at the creature and was absolutely frozen by how maddeningly adorable this thing was. He had to fight back the urge to hug it close to him and pet it and kiss it and pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind immediately, convinced that they were now worse than the Marker’s illusions. ‘At least in the Marker visions I saw something that made it so I don’t feel like some three year old on ecstacy.’ He thought to himself. After blocking out all feelings to his body, he quickly tried to sympathize with this little girlish abomination.
“It’s alright, don’t worry about it,” he said while lifting his arms to try and calm it down, “I don’t hate you or your… friend for defending you. I know what it’s like to have some scary-ass alien twice your size threaten your friends. I would have done the same thing.”
The creatures looked around at each other in confusion. The pink one jump up and down at the door, sounding like she had a case of super constipation.
“Oo-ooh! Does that mean you fought off a donkey larger than you? Or does that mean that your friends were helping a space donkey on your world? How was it scary? Why did it attack you? How was it in space? How were you in space? Are you an alien too? Can we throw you a ‘Welcome to Equestria Mr. Metal Alien Donkey Fighting Robot Thing’ Party!? I love those!”
Isaac again had to fight back his urges, but this time the urge to cuss out this little hyperactive ball of what appeared to be crystal meth, cocaine, ADHD, and schizophrenia that made his pale in comparison, all balled up into some pink mutant horse. At least it gave him one piece of valuable information: name of the planet: Equestria.
The lavender one cut into the pink one’s rant before Isaac broke down, thank God.
“PINKIE CALM DOWN!”
‘Really? Pinkie?’ thought Isaac. ‘So they’ve got names like Fluttershy, Rainbow something, and Pinkie? Yep, definetly wish I landed back on Tau Volantis now. At least there my craziness wouldn’t have to be so chalk full of kid-friendly mother fu’
“I’m sorry about her,” continued the lavender creature, “She’s just being Pinkie. Don’t try to understand it, it’ll just hurt more. Now, I don’t believe we’ve introduced ourselves properly.” It cleared its throat and began to point to each of the six other creatures in the room, starting with itself. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, head of the local library and student to Princess Celestia, one of the two monarchs in charge of this land.”
‘Celestia? Like a celestial body? Maybe the ruler has something to do with why I’m here. Maybe…’ Isaac thought as ‘Twilight’ pointed towards the white one with the horn, the rainbow one that watched Isaac, and… one with a stetson?
“This is Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack.” As it named the last one, it began to walk over to them in what Isaac assumed to be the order of their names, starting with the white one.
“Rarity owns the Carousel Boutique, and one of the best fashionistas in Equestria.”
As Isaac tried to keep his eyes from sarcastically rolling out of his head as he could smell the wave of complaints coming towards his suit. ‘If imma have ta smack a bitch,’ Isaac thought to himself.
The white one, Rarity, held up her hoof to her chest and retorted, “Oh, please, I’m good but, Equestria, oh, no, I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. But thank you deary. Now good stallion, what ever shall we do about your appearance, absolutely grotesque! I cannot have it!”
Isaace pointed a finger at it, then spoke, “Well, that’s great, because I wasn’t going to give you my armor. No offense, but I doubt it would make a difference if I was completely covered, or butt-fucking-naked.”
With the last three words, Rarity gasped in horror, shocked by his out right rudeness, and spoke back, “You would do WHAT in public!? How could you be so unkempt!? Uh, I must simply distance myself away from this robot before IT attempts anything like that! Twilight, if you don’t mind, I’m going to check on Spikey-wickey.” With a turning humph, Rarity exited the cottage and Isaac just stood there. Contemplating. ‘Really wish there were some necros to shoot right about now, break the awkward.’ Was all he could think of right now.
He decided to try and clear the room as well as metaphorically break the spine of the awkward. “Sorry about that it’s just… This armor is… personal to me and uh… it uh… oh, it’s a family heirloom. Almost like a part of me.” ‘At this point, it might as WELL be a part of me’ he thought immediately.
Once again, Twilight spoke up. “Well, you still didn’t have to curse that intensely at her. And please watch your language in public. Nopony likes to hear something so sour so often.”
‘Did it really just fucking say some-pony? What the fuckity fucking fuck did I just get myself into?’
Twilight walked over to Rainbow Dash and started again. “Moving on, this is Rainbow Dash, Ponyville's weather manager and-“
The rainbow one jumped so fast that even Isaac staggered back.
“And the best flier in All of EQUESTRIA!” It shouted before lowering itself with a smug look on its face that tempted Isaac’s ability to hold back even further than he had ever needed to before, though that isn’t surprising, considering.
Twilight deadpanned the rainbow haired pony and turned to the one with the hat. “And this is Applejack, proud Earth pony and the most trustworthy apple farmer I’ve ever met.”
‘Applejack’ then lowered her hat with one of her forelegs, holding it to her chest, “Ah, no need t’be modest sugarcube, Ah don’t need ta brag ‘bout ennething.” It replaced the hat upon its head and turned to Isaac. “Ah don’t appreciate yer foul language, but ah can respect y’all fer bein’ honest.”
“Thanks. Really makes a difference.” Isaac returned with.
“And, as you already know, this is Fluttershy. She can tell you anything you need to know later, but for now, I want to officially welcome you, on behalf of all unicorns, pegasai, and earth ponies, to Equestria, and hope that you consider us friends.”
Isaac just stared blankly at them, but could not hold back the cringe on his face. Thankfully, they still could not see him, due to the greatness that was his engineering suit.
Isaac looked back at them and thought to himself.
‘Fuck it. Better than having enemies. Or, at lest, more than two of them.’
“Thanks. It’ll be nice to have friends for once.”
The ponies shuddered at this, and only eyed him with concern. He had not a friend most of his life. How could one live without friends?
“Well,” Rainbow Dash spoke up, “Now you know us, but we don’t know you, Mr. Robot.”
Isaac began the process of retracting the helmet back into the suit as the ponies continued to stare in awe at him. His bearded face finally freed, he cracked some strains in his neck, looked to them, and spoke with a half-assed smile.
“My name’s Isaac. Isaac Clarke.”
Chapter 24: Sense of Doom
Isaac stared at the massive case of sand as Celestia breathed deeply. As he recollected his thoughts, his hand came up.
"This... is counting... to the end of your world?" He managed.
Celestia nodded briskly.
"Yes."
Isaac opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to find the words that would fit the situation. As he stammered, Celestia faced the hourglass and spoke.
"Isaac, I believe that you should learn what I have. The truth behind this contraption. You see, over a thousand years ago, there was a unicorn with great magic potential, named Star Swirl the Bearded, that researched into the ancient times of the Three Pony Tribes before they founded Equestria. As he and his younger sibling researched, they stumbled upon dark secrets about the tribes. As it turned out, ponies were not as non-violent as we are now. In fact, when Star Swirl went to ancient temples of each tribe, they found skeletons that were broken and mutilated to the point where it would have been impossible to call them 'pony'. I looked into this alongside both him and his brother as they researched, and came across something... unique. Something you need to see."
Celestia leveled her horn with a hole in the space next to the massive hourglass and slid it in slowly. When she connected the tip with the back of the entrance, she poured her magic in with a massive strain. Isaac stepped back as he watched the alicorn's horn burn brightly with a yellow light, then flash about with a massive collection of random colors and shapes, and finally, gaped when her eyes poured out purple mist as a dark energy spiked through the small hole. With a massive groan, Celestia pulled her horn out of the hole as her hair began to loose some of its color, fading into a solitary pink as she stood on shaking limbs. Isaac moved in to help her, but Celestia raised a hoof.
"I... I'm fine." She panted.
As they stood there, the hourglass and its respective base began to rise into the air, revealing a secretive staircase that lead into a dark abyss.
"Come. You have to see this."
Isaac nodded and activated a flashlight component that illuminated the path before them. As they continued down, Celestia held back the urge to lash violently at everything in her way as memories that were once repressed resurfaced and brought her to the brink of her already crippling sanity.
\\\//////
Fluttershy continued to hold Scootaloo close as the train bounced them up in their bench every now and then. Thankfully, the filly had went to sleep before Rainbow Dash came to get them. The two had spent their time in the isolated car to talk about what the cyan pegasus had been shown by the Engineer.
"And... I guess that whatever it was that Isaac mentioned, Celestia wanted to talk to him about it, so here we are." Rainbow Dash finished, sighing as she slumped into the seat opposite Fluttershy.
Fluttershy merely stared down at the young pegasus in her lap as she processed her feelings for the situation that they were in. She felt scared for her friends that this was what they were facing. She felt sympathy for the filly, knowing what it was like to be a terrible flier while loosing your parents. She felt her heart go to Isaac, who had to keep dealing with this, even here in Equestria. Most of all, however, through all of this, she felt something else that was stronger than her timid nature. Something stronger than her fear for most everything. Stronger than even her desire to help her friends.
Hatred. Pure, unadulterated, unhinged, rage. All of it directed at one cause, one entity, one certain object that cursed her mind and had abused someone who didn't deserve it.
"The Marker." She muttered, feeling her muscles tense in rage.
"What is that, anyways?" Rainbow Dash asked. "And why does Isaac think it has something to do with this?"
"Because he's fought them before." Fluttershy started to explain, never taking her eyes off the filly. "He's seen the horrors that they can inflict on the innocent, and he's already been tortured by it enough to know how to fight back. He knows what somepony looks like when they're under its power, and I don't doubt that he knows that only he can stop them."
Rainbow Dash scoffed as she placed her forehooves behind her head.
"Geez, you make it sound like you know what they are."
Fluttershy narrowed her eyes as she looked out the window, remembering her encounter with Ellie, the conversation they shared about the Marker and Isaac, and how she tied in to all of this. Only now, however, was some of it making sense.
"Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy began, "you remember when I first went to Flight School?"
The cyan pegasus waved a hoof in the air.
"'Course I do, Shy. You were a nervous wreck. I had to keep those numb-skulls back while you tried to get through the practice areas. Not that I didn't like being able to talk down three colts at once without raising a feather. Why?"
"When I first signed up, my mother told me about how great it was that I was fulfilling my purpose. Do you remember what happened after that first Hearth's Warming Eve? When we came back?"
Rainbow Dash dropped her smile and sat upright as she gazed at her friend with concern.
"I... yeah... I remember that your mom..."
Fluttershy merely nodded, refusing to let a tear fall out for the sake of the situation.
"Yes. When she died, though, I thought that my life ended with her. I was so caught up in loosing her, I almost lost myself. And only a few months later, I fell through those clouds and landed in that small area, where I got my Cutie Mark. Do you know what I did after that?"
Before Dash could respond, Fluttershy turned her gaze towards her and spoke.
"I forgot about her. I forgot about loosing my mother and just moved on. I didn't even do so much as to ask myself why, or to even look at the stars and say, 'I did it mom, I wanted to make you proud, and I got my Cutie Mark,' none of that. I just forgot and moved on. And you know what else? I never realized that I did that until just now. I didn't start thinking like that until a certain someone , showed up."
Rainbow blinked for a few seconds as her jaw dropped slowly.
"You mean... Isaac?"
"And since when did I act the way I did when I found him? A large metal thing falls from the sky and crawls out of a crater before looking at me and laying there in a smoking pile of rubble. I didn't run away, I didn't call for help, I didn't even tell you or the girls about him! I was terrified of even being in that forest , seconds before he came down to Equestria. Does that sound like how I would act?"
Rainbow merely stared at the pegasus as she breathed deeply.
"Rainbow Dash, something big is going on here, and it is bigger than all of us. And only now do I realize something. Something that should have been obvious from the start, when all this change started to happen."
As she continued, the train entered a tunnel that blocked out the light from outside. When the darkness came, Fluttershy saw a figure in the reflection of the window behind Rainbow Dash. A figure that resembled the monster from her first encounter with Ellie. The monster that was once her mother.
"It all started with Isaac, and whatever it is, it'll end with Isaac."
\\\//////
Isaac found footing once more as the stairs ended at the solid floor beneath him. When he stepped on it, however, he noticed that it wasn't marble or stone like the rest of the castle he was in. Celestia walked out before him and went along a small path of her own as a dull light shone from her horn, showing that her blue tone had returned before the other two colors of her mane. She stopped for a moment when a stalagmite blocked her path. Instead of moving around it, however, she placed a leg onto its surface and when she pushed it, the object began to collapse into the floor. The space around the two began to rumble as another, far larger stalagmite, rose from the ground a few meters in front of them. Once it stopped, the rumbling ceased, and the side closest to Isaac opened to reveal a faint blue glow.
"This, Isaac," Celestia started as she approached it, "is a relic recovered by Star Swirl and his brother. When we first examined it, we had no idea what it was, or even if it was a natural stone."
She stopped before it and merely stared at the rock as it continued to glow a dying light.
"When we did try to tap into it, however, we noticed that it had more than enough energy to completely wipe us out. Star Swirl and I kept cautious about it, but when his little brother got close enough, he triggered the true purpose of it." She turned to face Isaac. "He triggered the message that was kept within it. A warning about something truly terrifying. Something that even Gods would be given nightmares from. A warning about the Marker."
Isaac felt his jaw gape at the revelation before he shook his head and approached the Princess.
"You found a warning like this, over a thousand YEARS ago!?" He shouted. "And you waited until NOW to put it to use!?"
"I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!" Celestia screamed back, her mane igniting somewhat as the cave lit up. "I WAS GIVEN THIS WARNING AND WAS TOO AFRAID TO LET ANYPONY ELSE KNOW ABOUT IT! AND DON'T THINK I JUST WAITED UNTIL NOW, BECAUSE I DIDN'T EVEN REMEMBER IT EXISTED UNTIL A FEW MINUTES AGO!!! "
When she finished screaming, her mane's fire died and flickered out as the cave shook a bit. A few calming breaths later, and she looked back at Isaac.
"Do you know what it's like to remember something like the Marker DOOMED
Isaac was at a loss for words. Thankfully, however, Celestia moved on with what she was talking about before the outburst.
"Like I was saying, when Star Swirl and I realized what we were dealing with, we started to formulate a way to combat its power. We worked weeks, months, even years on end without even a hint at progress. All the while, Star Swirl's brother became corrupted by the thought of that much power. He spent all the time Star Swirl and I were using to look for it. He and Star Swirl got into arguments about how we should handle the situation until finally, Altmare had had enough, and left us for good."
The Engineer had to interrupt at this mention.
"Wait, Altmare? As in, grey Earth Pony?"
Celestia's eyes went wide.
"Y-yes... w-how did you know?"
"I fought him in that weather factory."
Celestia merely shook her head.
"N-no, he's been dead for over a thousand years. You couldn't have."
"Either way, he's dead now. I made sure of it."
Celestia nodded briskly as she continued.
"After about 30 or so years of research, Star Swirl and I noticed a massive shift in how the Three Pony Tribes were behaving. Once, they were tolerate of each other, going so far as to barely make a gesture towards one another. When we saw what they were doing, however, we nearly died of shock then and there. They were butchering their young, mutilating the sick, and on the brink of war with one another. When we referred back to this relic, we were told that the Marker had already brought its hold onto us. As I watched the tribes degrade into massive bouts of violence and bloodshed, Star Swirl came up with a revelation. What the Marker was making them make ."
"Dead bodies." Isaac stated. "The Marker needed bodies."
She nodded.
"Exactly. When he saw the tribes collecting the dead, he theorized that the Marker was going to use them all for something horrible. Something big. Was he wrong?"
"Not at all. I've seen what they make with the dead, and let me say, he must have been a genius to figure that out before it was too late."
"Yes, he was. Sadly, though, we couldn't risk communicating with them about discarding the bodies, or we might have run the risk of getting ourselves killed in the process, or accelerating whatever the Marker wanted done. Desperate and out of options, Star Swirl came up with a plan to stop the Marker from using our dead, as well as our hatred. During the peak of tension, just as war was about to break out between the tribes, Star Swirl and I created a powerful creature, known as the Windigos. When they sense conflict and hatred, their powers of ice became stronger, and when we unleashed the first one into the wilderness, it multiplied by the thousands in nearly an instant of being exposed to the Marker's power. In the course of a few days, the Windigos had frozen nearly half of the continent, causing villages to die out from hunger and exposure with ease."
"He was trying to keep the bodies frozen, too." Isaac stated. "I saw that on Tau Volantis, a giant machine that kept the planet frozen so the Markers couldn't use them."
"Right again, Isaac. I knew that we should have tried to find a solution that would have let everypony live, but when I spoke to Star Swirl once more, we realized that it'd be better for our entire race be buried with the Marker than allow its evil to reach outside. If we knew that there were already thousands , like you had said... I don't think we would have done it differently. Eventually, though, the Marker allowed them to retain some common sense, and had the leaders of the three tribes traverse the land in search of a new home, where they can continue their acts of violence without worry. When they did reach a new land, however, the three tribe leaders began to fight with each other, and in doing so, brought the Windigos to them. The leaders were frozen in ice as their hearts became colder than any storm, and left only their right-hoof associates as the last survivors of their quest."
Celestia paused for a moment as tears began to stream down her face.
"That, however was when the Marker had its own revelation. How it could become more powerful than ever. A way to bring followers to its name, and give it the edge to take over not only every body and mind, but also their spirits. The promise it made to Altmare, to those pegasi in the Rainbow Factory, and to everypony since that day over a thousand years ago. It learned that we find our greatest power when we work in harmony."
\\\//////
Scootaloo felt her eyes flutter open as sound and motion poured into her mind. She brought up a hoof to wipe at her eyes as she yawned quietly, noting the lack of daylight. When she opened her eyes, she found Fluttershy in front of her, looking down with a sad expression.
"F-Fluttershy?" Scootaloo spoke.
"Scootaloo, I want you to stay calm, alright?" She spoke softly to her. "I know that you're confused and hurt, but I want to help you."
As she heard these familiar words, she sat herself up and looked around her. She found that she was inside a train car, and across from her seat, was a crying Rainbow Dash. Though she was still scared of the events that transpired merely hours ago, she felt a pang of sadness run through her when she saw the cyan pegasus fail to hold down a sob.
"Scoots..." She stated, reaching a hoof out to her.
Scootaloo's first instinct was to run away, but she found that Fluttershy had wrapped a wing around her, and was keeping her there.
"Scootaloo, please listen." She started. "I know you thought you saw her earlier, and that you were certain, without a doubt, that she was there, but please, just hear her out."
The filly shifted her gaze between the two older mares before setting her trembling stare on Rainbow Dash. The pegasus wiped at her eyes to remove some tears, and spoke.
"Scootaloo, I-I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am. I know that you were taken, and I know that you saw me, but please, don't believe that. What you saw, what Isaac saw, wasn't me. He even knew that, when he tried to talk to you. I know that I shouldn't blame him for not saying anything. I should blame myself for making you think like that. I made it sound like flying was the most important thing, and that as long as you aimed to be like me, I'd be impressed. I shouldn't have said all of that to you for so long. It's my fault that you were so afraid of being a disappointment, and so scared of not being able to fly. I want you to know that you are what counts in your own life. I want you to know that above all else, I was never, and never will be, disappointed by anything that you do. And I want you to know that as long as you give it your all, it doesn't matter how high you can go, so long as I can be there for you."
Rainbow Dash got up from the seat and sat her haunches on the floor in the middle of the car, extending her forelegs towards the filly.
"I want you to know that I love you, and that I want to be there for you. Please."
Scootaloo felt fresh tears surface as she felt her mouth tremble from overload. With a burst of crying, the filly launched herself into the awaiting grasp of the pegasus, and cried out into her coat. Atop her head, she felt Dash do the same as they held each other close, crying together, and sharing with each other.
Fluttershy smiled as the two let their feelings out, starting the road to recovery for Scootaloo. As she looked to the window again, she saw a different figure in the reflection. The figure gave a gesture that signified a well-done job to her. She smiled warmly and nodded as the image of Isaac faded into darkness of the night sky, taking with it, a looming shadow that hung over the Element of Loyalty.
\\\//////
Luna walked about the private Royal Library with a brisk pace as she scanned each shelf in her path. Every time she thought she had seen the book, it had been nothing more than an illusion. A trick of the mind. She had to shake her head clear of these deceptions several times now, and found herself far more on edge than she was before. As she rounded one last corner, she found a pair of Solar Guards at the entrance to the Vault Wing, where the forbidden books lie in wait. She marched up to the two as they gave a crisp salute.
"Good evening, Princess Luna," The Guard on the left started, "what brings you back here?"
Luna blinked in confusion and tilted her head at the statement.
"What do you mean? I haven't been here yet."
The Guards looked at each other in confusion before turning back to her.
"But, milady," The Guard to the right started, "you came here almost an hour ago."
"I have done no such thing!" She proclaimed. "Who could have-"
She stopped herself when she heard whispers in her ears.
'Thought you were the only being of the Night, my dear sweet Luna?'
The Princess of the Night widened her eyes and teleported to her private chambers. When she arrived in a flash of light, she scowled at the mirror, or more specifically, the being held within it.
"I thought you were gone."
'One can never truly be rid of their nightmares, now can they?'
"But how can you have done anything!? You aren't even physical! You're just a shadow of my mind!"
'You know that I'm so much more than that. Besides, once the time has come, and dear sweet Twilight has done what we need, the Marker will be able to finally bring about a new era of true unity. One mind, one body, one spirit, my Luna, darling. You should be welcoming fate. You can finally share your suffering of a thousand years of isolation with all of Ponykind. And when they feel it, they will welcome you with an eternity of happiness and wholesomeness. Doesn't that sound preferable as opposed to ridicule and disregard with their physical bodies?'
"You will never get away with this." Luna growled.
'Oh, I already have. Your world will end, and we will be together, for all of eternity. In perfection, in unity, we will be made whole.'
Nightmare Moon gave a mocking kiss gesture before vanishing from the mirror in a physical trail of smoke. As it rose above, Luna fought the urge to scream and panic as her mind replayed the conversation.
\\\//////
As the knocking came from the door, Twilight rounded the table at the center of the main entrance. When she came to door, she reached with her magic and opened it. On the other side was a mailstallion.
"Hello there, Miss Sparkle." The stallion stated, tipping his hat.
"Good evening. How can I help you?" She asked with a smile.
The grey stallion reached into a bag and pulled out a small package. Twilight picked the package out of his hoof and closed the door as she turned back towards the library. She read the label of the address and noted that it was from the Princesses. She opened the package and pulled out a book with odd symbols on the cover and a note, which she read aloud.
"'Dear Twilight Sparkle, the spell contained on the last page of this book is Star Swirl the Bearded's secret unfinished masterpiece'."
The unicorn gasped loudly as she 'oohed' the book. Once she finished ogling it, she continued to read the letter.
"'He was never able to get it right, and thus abandoned it. I believe that you are the only pony who can understand and rewrite it. Princess Celestia'."
With that, she flipped the book open and scouted out the last page in a flash of paper. Once she found the text, she began to read it aloud.
"'From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled'."
As the final word escaped her mouth, the Elements of Harmony began to shake violently within the case behind the unicorn as she complained about the spell's inadequacy to rhyme. The colors of the six jewels began to swap between each known, before the Elements of Loyalty, Magic, and Kindness had chosen random ones. The other three, however, continued to glow an eerie deep red as the influence behind the objects reached out towards the minds of those who have yet to face their darkest parts. While they were shuddering with red power, the Element of Kindness had toned down the main color, and had three horizontal light-blue lines shine across it, as it shone its light onto the closest Element, Laughter.
\\\//////
Isaac stood and stared at the stone's dying light as it spoke in hushed whispers that no one could make out any longer. As he did, Celestia paced about, recollecting the history of the Marker's influence.
"So," Isaac started, "the Marker got the idea of unity from your kind?" He asked.
"Yes. It did. It saw how we benefited from depending on each other as opposed to how we single ourselves out, and thus, it had created a limitless, voluntary supply of magic. In return for keeping it powered, it gave the Three Tribes reasons to live. It created Equestria. I remember how we used to have the Hearth's Warming Eve play, every year, and at the end, they'd place the Flag of Equestria together on top of the stage. Only, it has my sister and I on it. That is the current flag."
She ignited her horn and pulled a rag out from underneath the stone. With a thrust, she unfurled it before Isaac.
"In the wake of its power, the first Equestrian citizens created this flag. The real first Equestrian flag."
Isaac nearly ripped out his Plasma Cutter at the sight, but froze as he was told that this was the first flag of this peaceful land.
Celestia then proceeded to tear the flag in half and start small fires on each half. As she tossed them aside, she strolled up to Isaac while speaking.
"That was only the first time the Marker truly influenced us. Years after the founding of Equestria, Star Swirl had seen the ponies working in harmony, unknowingly powering an infinite devil machine. Though he was old, Star Swirl was not out of date. He had created several spells in order to view other worlds, trying to see what the Marker was reaching out to. When he did, he was driven nearly mad by the horrors of what it inflicted on others. With our help. After finding out how we were powering it with Harmony itself, he researched into how to disrupt it. He delved into Chaos, and decided he would make the ultimate sacrifice for the good of all living things. That was when Star Swirl had died, and brought forth the Chaotic spirit within him: Discord. The essence of Disharmony."
The alicorn sighed.
"It was short-lived. The Marker sensed the pure chaos that Discord was creating. After a few years of his rule, the Marker had grown a large structure, concentrating the very power of Harmony into it. And with it, came the Elements of Harmony. They were supposed to be our greatest defense. It turns out that I realize, only now, that they've been the tools of our ultimate destruction. My sister and I wielded the Elements in order to stop him. The Marker had influenced us enough to convince us that we needed them to survive. We thought that we had done some good, by stopping him. Turns out that I learn now , of course, that we've just doomed ourselves from the get-go."
"Wait, wait, wait." Isaac stated, waving his hands.
"What?"
"How can this have happened a thousand years ago? How long has the Marker actually been here?"
"Isaac that relic is proof , that we are not the first inhabitants of this world. It is proof that we don't have a chance against it."
"Don't say that!" Isaac shouted. "You've got one thing you didn't have before."
Celestia scoffed.
"Really? What, after over a thousand years of digging, praying, and failure, do we have now that can stop it? What's any different than all of the other times we've tried? Discord was a GOD HE
"Me. I've taken down the one on Aegis VII, I built and destroyed another one, and blew up an entire planet that was practically MADE
"He's right."
The two turned around to see a face that was only familiar to one of them.
"Hammond?"
The Security Officer waved at the Engineer as he merely stood by the blue stone, which was glowing brighter than before.
"Been a long time, hasn't it Isaac? I've been watching, ever since I died aboard the Ishimura. You've done damn good. Better than I ever could have, that's for sure." He added with a chuckle. Hammond turned to face Celestia as he continued. "Ma'am, if there's anyone that you could trust to take on a Marker, it's him. And I know I'm not the only one that knows that fact."
"Wait a second," Isaac started, "why are you, of all people here? I mean, no offense, but still, why?"
"Because your other associates are busy at the moment. Sorry if I'm not enough."
Hammond turned towards the glowing stone when Isaac called out to him.
"Wait! What's really happening? How come you and the others can just come in here and take off whenever you want? Why can you do all of this now?"
Without turning to face him, Hammond answered.
"It'll make sense in time, Isaac. Just make sure that you're back in town for when it happens, though."
Before Isaac could respond, Hammond disappeared in a flash, leaving the stone to finally die out. Celestia looked between the stone and Isaac before speaking.
"Isaac, you have to go back to Ponyville. Get your things from Twilight's house, and go find Fluttershy. Tell her to assemble the rest of the Bearers. They are to not leave your sight, do you understand?"
Isaac nodded.
"Good. I'm sorry to drag you into this, but if you really are as good as you say, and I pray that you are, then we can finally end this nightmare, once and for all. Are you ready to go."
"Ready as I'll ever be." He stated, triggering the helmet to assemble.
"Goodbye Isaac. Keep them safe."
After speaking, Celestia poured her magic into her horn and focused it on Isaac. The Engineer was engulfed in a shroud of light and vanished in a flash. Celestia sighed deeply as she teleported herself out of the chamber as well. When she arrived at the top, she closed the entrance and the hourglass at once. A peak at the sand showed her how much time Equestria had left. One week. One week until the end of everything. Before she could voice her frustrations, however, the doors behind her bolted open. Celestia turned around to find Luna panting.
"Luna, what's wrong!?" Celestia jumped.
"Sister... Star Swirl's... book on the... Harmony and destiny... Twilight has..."
The Princess of the Sun shot her eyes wide and gaped her jaw at the news.
"W-what!? How!?"
"Nightmare... Moon... physical... mailed it to her..."
Celestia looked out over towards the window of the library and watched as the stars ticked by.
"Isaac... Please, protect them." She pleaded to the void.
\\\//////
When Isaac opened his eyes again, he found himself on the outskirts of Ponyville. 5 feet off the ground. And upside down. The Engineer hit the dirt with a solid thud as he groaned while trying to get up. When he looked to his left, he saw a familiar yellow and pink shape standing by him. With a thought, Isaac returned the helmet to standby mode and spoke to the pegasus.
"Hey Fluttershy."
The pegasus bolted from her spot on the ground and tackled Isaac with enough speed to make her nearly disappear. When she impacted him, the two fell to the ground as she held onto his neck tightly.
"ISAAC!" She cried.
Isaac raised his hands towards her form, and settled them on her back as they simply held on. As they held on to what little they had now, Isaac began to think about the Equestrians, and the Marker.
'They don't deserve that. No one does. All they want is peace, and I won't let the Marker take it from them.'
He looked down to see the top of Fluttershy's head, and saw part of her face as tears rolled onto his suit.
'They deserve a chance. And if I have to, I'll die to give it to them. Already worked three times.'
Isaac held her closely as he allowed her to vent in his arms, safe from the terrors in the shadows.
\\\//////
Pinkie was humming a jolly tune as she opened the fridge in the Cake's kitchen to look for a midnight snack. When she found what she was looking for, she had balanced the plate on her nose while closing the door with a hind leg.
"Oh, boy! I can't wait for some mid-night cupcakes!" She added with a wiggle of the tail.
The party mare turned around to go to the stairs, but bumped into something solid. She dropped the plate and the cupcakes, causing glass and frosting to splatter everywhere.
"Owie zowie..." she moaned, rubbing a hoof to her nose.
She looked up to find out what she had run into, and gasped in delight.
"Jeepers peepers! I must have a really, really, really, REALLY good fun-house mirror collection, because I didn't even remember getting this one!"
She beamed as she closely examined her 'reflection'.
"Wow, you really look like me! Except your pink's a liiiiiiittle off. Oh, and your mane's not poofy! It's like you ironed it!"
The second Pinkie casually ran a dark pink hoof through her flat mane as she responded.
"Oh, I know. I thought it'd look better this way. Once we're done here."
"Ooh, ooh, are we gonna have a there's-two-Pinkies Party!?" Pinkie stated, jumping in place.
"Nothing like that, no." The second Pinkie said with a smile.
"Oh." Pinkie sat on her haunches. "Then, what are we gonna do?"
"We're gonna make a Pinkamena Promise."
"Oh boy! What are we promising?"
Pinkamena reached into her mane and pulled out a long, sharp object as she spun it in her right hoof.
"To DIE!" She exclaimed before charging Pinkie.
Pinkie barely registered the statement as Pinkamena thrust at her with the small spear. The party mare ducked to the left, hearing the piece of metal swish by her ear. However, the dodge was short-lived as Pinkamena lifted a left hoof to Pinkie's gut, sending her sprawling across the floor of the kitchen. Pinkie slowly opened her eyes and panicked when she saw her doppelganger jump at her with the needle. She lifted her forehooves in defense, but faltered when Pinkamena nearly impaled her neck with the tip of the object. With some effort, Pinkie managed to keep the needle at bay, but the other her just powered around her defense, bringing the needle towards her face.
"Say it with me now, Pinkie~!" She sang eerily.
The needle hovered Pinkie's right eye as it began to lower, Pinkie only able to watch in horror as her strength faded.
"Cross my heart and hope to die~!"
The tip of the needle began to make contact with the cornea of the party mare as she screamed out in pain, unable to close her eyes in fear of bringing her death faster.
"STICK A NEEDLE IN YOUR-"
THWACK
The sensation of the needle was ripped away from Pinkie as the darker version of herself was thrown across the small kitchen. Pinkie looked up and gasped at the sight of the armored being before her.
"Sorry I'm late to the party."
Fluttershy trotted down the small path in the gardens, holding a small collection of flowers in her mouth. Her muzzle was slightly wet from their unavoidable leaking through the plastic, but she knew that it wasn't the flowers that left a stinging in her eyes as well.
Behind her, the walls of the Canterlot Royal Palace hid the wandering gazes of nobles and the filthy rich, all unaware of the monument that was erected only days after the Summer Sun Celebration. All unaware of the funeral, held only hours ago.
It all felt like a horrible daze to the mare, as if she were struggling to regain her sense of being, as though she were forcing herself through pits of lava, burning her soul as she carried an invisible air of guilt.
"It wasn't your fault," a familiar voice spoke from behind her.
The yellow pegasus didn't bother to turn around as she heard the mismatched hoofsteps catch up with her.
"I'm sorry that he had to go. None of us could have predicted that this would have happened, nor could we have prevented it. It would have always come down to this, but at least he left knowing that you were all safe."
Although she didn't show it, the Draconequus' words were heard and taken to heart as she continued to lightly cry.
"If I could have saved him, I would have done so in an instant," Discord said with nothing but seriousness in his voice.
The pegasus nodded without looking up at him, but saw his shadow stop and droop over in sadness before a snap echoed through the air, taking the shadow and its caster away as the yellow mare stopped at the end of the garden's path.
Before Fluttershy was the figure of a familiar alien that she would always remember. She lowered her head to the ground and placed the small bundle of roses alongside the base of the stone statue. With tears gathering once more, she looked up at the monument, and gazed at the familiar suit that it mimicked, before falling her gaze onto the inscription below it.
ISAAC CLARKE
CAME TO US AS OUR END
LEFT US AS OUR TRUE BEGINNING
