Lyra tuned her harp, but her mind was on other things.
Humans. The almost mythical beings that she had been fascinated with for as long as she could remember. She had tirelessly searched for years, looking for any evidence that humans had ever existed. And for years she had found nothing. Other than myth and legend, humans were barely mentioned. The only pony who had ever seen one was princess Twilight Sparkle, and she didn't want to talk to anypony about it. So Lyra searched fruitlessly for ages.
And then, one day, everything changed. Lyra was not the first to see them. The Elements of Harmony got that honor. One year ago, the Marked of Kane came to Equestria. The Marked were originally hostile, they were new to this world and were suspicious of the six ponies that attempted to welcome them. But soon, the Marked offered to work for the Equestrians. At first, they were only used in ceremonial roles, providing an imposing honor guard, but eventually, they were assigned to the front lines. Their military career began at a small border post. There was three Marked and 15 Royal Guard against 200 griffins. Only five griffins survived.
"This is going to be so easy."
"Don't get too cocky." The griffin sergeant said.
"Yeah, yeah. You tell me every time."
He looked at the private beside him. "You can never be too careful."
"You tell me that every time as well."
"Attack!!" A lieutenant yelled.
The 200 griffins charged toward the small outpost, the soldiers inside scrambling to get weapons and man weapon posts. The sergeant grinned. This was going to be easy. Suddenly, from inside the fort, there came a loud humming noise. The sergeant paused, wondering what the sound was. Then came a blinding flash, and a scream. When the spots faded from his vision, the sergeant looked in horror at the scene. Three griffins had been cut in half, the edges of the wounds seared and blackened. The ground was scorched in a line, leading from one griffin to the next, in an unstoppable march of heat. And where the line had come from- that was the part that made his blood run cold. It had begun at one of three nightmares brought to life. The three terrifying monsters were bipedal, and appeared to be completely encased in armor. Unlike the humans from myth and legend, these things lacked hands, instead their arms ended in large, round boxes. One glowed blue, while the other shone red. The large creatures appeared to have no face, instead their heads bore the symbol of a cross, glowing bright red. One of the six foot tall beings strode towards the griffins.
"Stop, creature!" The lieutenant said.
"The Marked of Kane do not stop for griffins." The walking nightmare said.
"What are you, monster?" The lieutenant demanded.
"We are the Marked of Kane, Equestria's shock troops and most dangerous weapon."
"Equestrian, are you?"
"Yes."
"Kill them!!!" The lieutenant screamed.
The griffins lunged, but the Marked were faster. As one, they raised their glowing left arms and fired powerful energy beams at the griffin soldiers. Twenty griffins died in seconds. The rest looked in horror at the Marked, at the powerful things that had killed them with cold efficiency. The first Marked walked up to a griffin, who looked at it, unflinching. The Marked leaned down- and punched the griffin. Hard.
As the griffin's head flew away, the Marked looked over the rest of the griffins, who slowly backed away in terror.
"Go. Now."
The sergeant ran as fast as he could. Glancing back, he saw four other griffins running after him, including the private he had been beside. He resumed looking ahead. He didn't want to see what happened to the ones who stayed behind.
After that, the Marked became an Equestrian superweapon, only used in times of great need. The Marked slowly improved themselves, becoming more and more powerful as time went on. Lyra only got one chance to meet the Marked. It was possibly the best day of her life.
"Um, hi."
"Greetings. What can I do for you?"
"Um, I was wondering if you could answer some questions for me, please." Lyra said.
"Of course."
"Thanks!" Lyra exclaimed.
"Anything for an admirer." The Marked responded.
"What exactly are you?"
"We are the Marked of Kane, Equestria's shock troops and most dangerous weapon. Does that answer your question, and what is your name, by the way?"
"Yes, it does, and my name is Lyra, Lyra Heartstrings."
"Pleased to meet you, Lyra."
"Thank you, and are you a human?"
"Not anymore."
"How?"
"The Marked are cyborgs, part human, part machine. We were designed to be the ultimate combat machines, unyielding, unpitying, undying."
"By who?"
"Other humans."
"Which humans?"
"We are not allowed to say."
"National security reasons, and all that?"
"Yes."
"Okay, thanks!"
"You are welcome, Lyra Heartstrings. I hope we meet again."
Lyra smiled at the memory. She had wondered how the humans had gotten the Marked into their suits of armor. The Marked she had briefly talked to had said that they were cyborgs, blends of human and robot. They were almost completely sealed in the battle armour, and they never appeared to take it off. It was almost like- they were permanently in the armor. Sealed in it. Their skin grafted to it. And if it was possible to turn a human into an invincible death machine, was it possible to turn a pony into one too?
Lyra abandoned her harp. She had things to do.
"Bon Bon, I'm going out! I'll be back in a while." Lyra called as she ran downstairs.
"Where are you off to now, Lyra?" Came the inevitable response.
"To see the Marked, again."
"Lyra!!"
"What?"
"You see them every week, for Celestia's sake! Can't you do something else!"
"No."
"Arrgh!!"
"Sorry, Bon Bon!"
"Okay, fine. But I'm making candies just for you, so ensure that you're back soon!"
"Okay, thanks Bon Bon!"
"See ya!"
Lyra ran out the door, very excited. She had a plan. Or did she? Lyra paused. She had no idea.
"Hello, Lyra!!" Came a recognizable voice.
"Hello, Pinkie." Lyra absent-mindedly responded.
"Wacha doin?!?!?"
"Nothing in particular, Pinkie."
"Really??!??"
"Yes, Pinkie."
"We should do it together!! Or maybe... I dunno. Something, I guess."
"Thanks, Pinkie."
"Anything for a friend!!"
Lyra smiled at Pinkie's antics. She was the weirdest pony in town for sure. Lyra continued on. She was going to see the Marked, even if she had no idea what to say.
Lyra approached the HQ of the Marked, an imposing concrete fortress lurking in the shadow of Twilight Sparkle's castle. It was low but tough. Lyra took a deep breath and walked up to the fort. She knocked on the massive frontal blast door that protected the fortress.
"Yes?"
"May I come in?"
"Who is it?"
"Lyra Heartstrings."
There was a pause.
"Wait here."
She heard the sound of metallic footsteps moving away from her. She waited for a minute or two. Then, the footsteps returned.
"Come in, please."
"Thank you."
There was no response from the voice, but the door creaked open. Lyra decided that there was no turning back now, so she entered the giant fortress. She walked through the door- and came face to face with an Awakened. The cyborg was not as large as their imposing cousins, the Enlightened, which were the best known Marked, but it was even more terrifying, if that was possible when it came to the Marked of Kane. The Awakened appeared to wear less armor, and some of its skin was exposed. Its eyes were just barely visible, sunken in the Awakened's helmet. Instead of a glowing red particle beam on the right arm of the Marked, the Awakened had a multi barreled chaingun, a deadly anti-infantry weapon.
"Follow me, please." The Marked intoned.
Lyra cautiously followed the Marked, looking around the fortress as she walked. The place was huge! It seemed to go on forever. The stronghold was very utilitarian and militaristic, an imposing blend of concrete and metal. Mechanics hummed constantly, doing a million things at once. Inside the fortress Lyra felt as if she was the last pony in Equestria, for she had not seen another living thing apart from the Marked, and they didn't really count.
"This way, please." Her guide said, startling Lyra. The Awakened hadn't spoken since it had asked her to follow it.
"In here." The Awakened continued.
Lyra nervously entered the room. However, she relaxed once she looked inside. It appeared to be a normal sitting room. It was well decorated with wallpaper and furniture, a simple set of four chairs and a table.
"Welcome, Lyra Heartstrings. What can I do for you?" The voice had come from a very familiar being, a Marked of Kane. But this Marked seemed familiar to Lyra. She suddenly realized that the Marked was the one she had talked to!
"Hello. Um, I think we met before. Did we?" Lyra nervously responded.
"You are correct, Lyra Heartstrings. We have indeed met before. I commend you for recognizing me."
The Marked leaned back in a large metal chair that Lyra hadn't noticed before somehow, despite the fact that it was absolutely huge.
"So, why are you here, Lyra Heartstrings?" The Marked spoke. It slowly and deliberately rotated the particle beam cannon mounted on its right arm. "Is it more questions, perhaps?"
"No, I want to ask a favor."
"What kind of favor?" The Marked carefully asked.
Lyra took a deep breath. This was it. There was no backing out after this.
"I want to become one of you."
"One of us?"
"Yes. I want to become a Marked of Kane."
"All right."
Lyra looked at the Marked in surprise. "Really?!"
"Yes, Lyra Heartstrings. The Marked of Kane do not lie."
Lyra was speechless. She hadn't expected the Marked to say yes immediately. "Are you absolutely sure?"
"Of course."
"Wow, thanks."
"You have no need to thank us, Lyra." Suddenly, the Marked stood up, leaving its chair. Its voice hardened. "I did not agree for your sake."
Lyra scrambled back, startled by the Marked's unexpected movement. "Then, why did you agree?"
The Marked gave a heavy, metallic sigh and sat back down with an agonized groan of metal from the clearly not very happy chair. "What I am about to tell you is a very dangerous secret. You must not tell anyone about this."
Lyra wordlessly nodded.
"Good. I would hate to kill you."
Lyra gulped.
"The truth is, we have been hoping that somepony would come asking to become a Marked for some time now. We need more troops and honestly, no one else has come, Lyra."
"But, why do you need more soldiers? You seem to have plenty."
"Yes, we do appear to have enough Marked at first glance. But, in actuality, we only have 30 Marked in total, and only nine of those are Enlightened."
"Only 30?!?"
"Yes, I am afraid it is not much. That is why we need you."
"You need me to??"
Reinforce us."
"Reinforce you."
"Yes."
"All by myself?!?"
"Hopefully, no. We really hope that your example will convince other ponies to join the Marked."
"Wow, that is a lot of pressure on me. How can you be sure that this will work?"
"I cannot. But in the meantime, we must concentrate on what small victory we have here." The Marked rose and pointed its particle beam at Lyra, making her a little nervous. "You."
"And?"
"You will probably need some time to say farewell to your friends and family members before you undergo the process to become a Marked, correct?"
"Yes. I need to tell Bon Bon. She'll kill me if I don't."
"That seems a bit extreme."
"She wouldn't actually kill me, it's just an expression."
"Ah." Was the only response the Marked offered.
"So, I should probably go now."
"Goodbye, Lyra Heartstrings. I will see you soon."
"You did what?!?!?!?"
Lyra cringed under the explosion of words Bon Bon was unleashing upon her.
"How could you without asking me first?"
"Bon Bon, I-"
"I don't care!!"
Bon Bon broke down crying. She could barely manage to say "Why?".
"I'm sorry, Bon Bon. But, I just didn't really fit in and... I don't know. I'm really sorry for not asking you first."
"I know." Bon Bon looked at Lyra through tear-filled eyes. "I guess that there's no turning back now."
The leader of the Marked of Kane stared out the window, into the dark night. The wind blew past him, filling the room and washing over the Marked that had just entered the room. "Sir?"
"Yes?" The leader of the Marked responded.
"We are ready now, sir."
"Excellent." He responded. "Send for miss Heartstrings."
"Yes sir." The second Marked responded, walking out of the room.
The lead Marked resumed staring outside into the cold and dark night. "Soon, my Marked. Soon."
Lyra walked up to the massive gates of the Marked's fortress. The huge structure looked more like a tomb than the key to ascension. But Lyra was determined to become a human, and the Marked of Kane were the only ones that could grant her wish. So Lyra walked up to the stronghold of the Marked for the second time. The giant gates opened as she approached. Three Enlightened exited the base and walked over to her. "Follow us please." The Enlightened intoned as one.
Lyra entered the massive fortress with the three Marked. The fort was absolutely filled with Marked. There were a ton of Marked and they were all looking at Lyra. She started to get nervous. As the three Enlightened led her through the base, Lyra saw every Marked stop and look at her as they passed her. Lyra was feeling a little creeped out by the time they arrived at their destination. It was a simple door marked simply:
Surgery Room
Lyra walked into the room, expecting to find... Well, anything. She was not expecting an actual surgery room. It looked like a high-tech doctors office. The surgeons were the only thing out of place. They were a trio of Ascended that had been modified to be surgeons. Their cannons had been replaced with a number of surgery instruments. There was a fourth figure in the room, as Lyra realized as her eyes adjusted to the light. It was a very familiar Enlightened, the one that Lyra had talked to. "Are you ready to begin, Lyra Heartstrings?" The leader of the Marked of Kane intoned.
Lyra nodded. "I'm ready."
Lyra felt free. She felt as if she could fly, which was ridiculous because she was a unicorn. But she still felt as if she could fly. She could see her body, but she couldn't feel it. It was like everything was happening to somepony else. She saw blades sliding in and out of her flesh, her organs being removed and replaced with mechanical parts, her skin and fur being cut off and replaced with beautifully curved pieces of metal. Her front hooves were replaced with cannons, her rear hooves fitted with metal feet. Finally, a gleaming faceplate was slotted into place on her face and welded into position. Lyra felt everything beginning to rush back to her and.... The pain. It hurt, oh by Celestia it hurt. The pain consumed her, there was nowhere to hide and it hurt so much and there was no escape and it was terrible and why did she want this? Why did she want so much pain? Why? Why?
And then she woke up.
Lyra slowly sat up. A heads up display hovered in front of her face, sending her a message:
{Welcome to the Marked of Kane, Unit 31, Former Name: Lyra Heartstrings.}
"Where... Am I?" Lyra asked. Her voice sounded different. "What am I?" Lyra asked. "Am I a human?"
"No, Lyra Heartstrings, you are not." A voice boomed. Lyra turned around to see a Marked that her HUD helpfully told her was Unit 01, the leader of the Marked, Former name unknown. "You are a Marked of Kane now. You're one of us."
Epilogue:
"...And so, may I present the newest member of the Marked of Kane, Unit 31, former name Lyra Heartstrings!" Everyone applauded as a shiny new Marked walked onstage. The former griffin soldier, who had once been a sergeant, turned and spoke quietly to himself. "They do indeed have a new unit. She used to be named Lyra Heartstrings. Orders?" He paused and seemed to listen. "Yes sir. At once sir." He turned to look at the Marked once more.
The End... Or is it?
Author's Note
Well, that took a long time to complete. I hope everyone likes this. Feel free to comment and tell me what you think. And there will be a sequel eventually! Yay! And in case you are wondering, the Marked are C&C 3 edition. They will eventually become C&C 4, though so be warned!
