Chapters Hours rolled by and we approached Wawa where CP 1-9 split off and took a route that looped back toward the Barrier. While we hated to see them go they were needed elsewhere. I saluted them and waved as they thundered off into the distance. An eerie silence fell over the trailer during the next few hours. We pulled into Sault Ste. Marie and stopped a truck stop we trusted. While they may have been PER sympathizers we had struck a deal that we’d buy food and fuel every time we were nearby and in turn they wouldn’t douse us with potions.
They were quite thrilled to see that we were escorting the Mane 6 and insisted that supper was on them.
“For such loyal subjects it’s surprising how well they’re getting along with the PER,” Brody said as he sipped his coffee.
“Technically they’re not part of the PER,” I said before taking a swig of Barq’s, “Plus, being kind and compassionate is the pony thing to do.”
I finished of the bottle and headed over to the low table the ponies were sitting at.
“How’s dinner?” I asked as I got down and sat cross-legged next to them.
It wasn’t much of a surprise to hear that the food was quite good; I’d heard rave reviews from the numerous other ponies we’d taken there.
“Now, Pinkie, you’ve been unnaturally quiet this whole trip. Is there anything wrong?” I asked.
“Oh, nothing’s wrong,” she said, perky as ever, “I just know that it’s super duper important that I stay quiet so you guys can do your job. I know ‘cause some of the other guys who’ve escorted us got pretty upset when I didn’t just, ‘shut up and sit down.’”
As Pinkie finished speaking I noticed that she looked crestfallen and her mane had started to deflate.
“Hey, cheer up,” I said comfortingly, “I promise you that my team won’t yell at you. Well, except Brody, but he’s always had a short fuse.”
With that Pinkie perked up and tackled me in a hug saying, “Thank you! Brody’s a bit of a meanie isn’t he?”
“Only sometimes,” I said as I tried not to giggle, “We all know where his loyalties are though so we know that he’d only hurt someone if they threatened him personally. Now then, it’s time we got back on the road.”
I stood back up and walked over to the restaurant’s counter and ordered three of each of my group’s ‘usual’ to go. We then got everyone loaded onto the truck.
“Pepsi for John,” I said as I handed him the bottles trough the window, “And Coca-Cola for Andrew.”
I hopped onto the trailer.
“Coffee for Brody, it’s in your locker, Dr. Pepper for Brent, those are in your locker, and Barq’s for me,” I said as I stuck two in my locker and stuck the third in a special pouch hooked to my belt.
The truck’s engine roared to life and we were on our way to Sudbury. As the truck picked up speed I turned to the Mane 6, “I’ll tell you the first chapter of how we got here now, but you have to promise me you’ll try and get to sleep once I’m done. OK? Good. Keep this in mind; everything I’m about to tell you actually happened to me and my friends. Now, if you can try to keep your questions to yourselves until the end of a chapter I’ll begin.”
“Okie-dokie-lokie!” Pinkie replied.
“Alright,” I said, “Here we go.”
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Chapter 1: The Beginning
John is the unofficial leader of our group, he’s the one who makes snap decisions and tells us what to do. Brent is the funny one but when it comes down to it he becomes extremely focused and unwavering. Brody is the loud, obnoxious one but no one minds. He’s the most determined of the entire group and when he’s angry he channels all of his energy into taking care of the problem. I’m the quiet and nerdy member of our group; typically formulating plans and thinking things through logically. We all have a wonderful, if slightly morbid, sense of humour that has kept us together as friends throughout our high school careers.
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“What about Andrew?” Rainbow Dash demanded.
“What did I say about interrupting me?” I said, “Anyway, Andrew doesn’t show up until later and I can’t tell you any more than that right now, sorry.”
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John, Brody, Brent and I had met in the park to discuss what we were going to do to celebrate the end of the school year. We sat on the swings as we talked and I soon began to swing. Brent joined in and we silently started a contest to see who could swing the highest. John and Brody, being competitive, saw what we were doing and quickly followed suit. Soon we had all reached our maximum, none of us could go any higher, and surprisingly we were all equally matched. Suddenly I realized that the swing set we were on was starting to sway back and forth. I began to warn the others that we should stop, but before I could time seemed to slow. I watched as all four of us swung forward and as we all came level with the top bar at the same time everything went black.
I woke up in time to see that my friends were also just coming around. They all said they were fine and got up. That’s when we noticed where we were. We were standing in a vast white expanse with nothing in it. We turned full circle twice just to make sure that we really we alone.
“I am the reason why you are here,” said a deep eerie voice behind us.
We all jumped when we heard the voice; we were sure there was nothing around that could have done that. When we turned around we saw a man standing in front of us.
“I brought you four here to give each of you a gift,” he said as he took a step closer.
Suddenly four tall pillars shot up from the floor, one in front of each of us. Each pillar was a different colour and had a different symbol etched into it. The pillar in front of Brody was a blazing red and the symbol emblazoned upon it looked like leaping flames. Brent was standing before an aqua pillar with, what appeared to be, waves cut into its surface. John’s pillar was almost as white as the surrounding expanse; the symbol carved into it looked like curling strands of smoke. The pillar that stood before me was a dark, rusty brown and it was engraved with an image of mountains.
“Step forward and touch the pillar before you,” said the man.
It was almost like the man demanded it but his voice implied that it was more of an offer. We each looked at each other and put out our hands.
“On three,” John said, “Ready? One, two…THREE!” and we all slapped our hands onto our respective pillars.
A moment passed and nothing happened.
We were just about to say something when the man spoke, “You will each be given control of a different element.”
The moment he finished the sentence, a shockwave rippled through me and I was knocked unconscious, again. When I woke up I found myself lying flat on my back, on the ground, under the swing. I pushed the swing out of the way and sat up to find my friends doing the same thing.
Wondering if it had been real I asked, “Did you guys wind up in…”
“…an endless void…” John replied.
“…with four strange pillars…” Brent said.
“…and a creepy old dude?” Brody finished.
We all said, “Yeah” at the same time.
Figuring that the swings were no longer the best option for discussions we walked over to one of the picnic tables and sat down. We talked briefly about the endless void and the topic quickly turned to the four pillars and what the man had said.
“What did he mean, ‘you will each be given control of a different element’ and what was up with those pillars?” I asked.
John thought for a moment and said, “Each of those pillars was a different colour, right? And each one had a different symbol, correct?”
We all nodded.
“Well, what if each of those pillars represented a different element. You know, like earth air, water, and fire?”
“Of course!” I said, “It makes sense. And if we take that man’s word then that would mean I have control over Earth…”
“…I can control Water…” Brent said.
“…I can control Air…” John piped in.
“…and Brody can control Fire!” we all said in unison.
“So,” I said after a minute of silence, “How should we test to see if we do have control over the elements?”
They thought for a moment and John said, “How about just trying? What’s the worst that could happen?”
We all nodded, he had a point.
“I’ll go first,” I volunteered.
I turned my head and focused on a small section of ground just in front of the swing set. I held my arm out aiming at the small patch of gravel and willed it to lift. For one long, suspenseful moment nothing happened. Suddenly the gravel jumped slightly as a roughly two foot square section of the ground rose up, right where I’d wanted it to.
“It…it actually worked.” Brent said in astonishment, “I can’t wait to try my own powers!”
“This is the coolest thing ever!” Brody said, “We have superpowers!”
“What was that that someone said?” I said with a little sarcasm, “Something about great power and great responsibility.”
We all turned and gave Brody a he’s-talking-to-you look and he sulked slightly. We stood there for a few moments wondering what to do next, aside from John’s air powers we couldn’t really test anyone else’s powers. Brody’s fire powers were too dangerous and Brent’s water powers would be too conspicuous. There was also the fact that I couldn’t do much more than make gravel jump around without attracting attention.
Just then John spoke up, “How about we meet back in one week, right here, and in the meantime we all test out our powers and make notes on what we can and can’t control.”
“Great idea. That way we can test them in the safety of our own backyards,” Brent replied.
With that we all said good-bye and head for our own homes.
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“Alright,” I said, “Time to get some shut-eye. We’ll bet at Kitchener’s Bureau at around 4 in the morning.”
I got a few complaints in reply but I remained adamant; I didn’t need Equestrian ambassadors adopting a sleep schedule as stupid as ours. It didn’t take long for them to all fall asleep. Brody, Brent and I were then left to chat with each other as CP 2-2 broke off at around the same time. We sat down with our backs to the fence and discussed rumours we had heard and spoke of some of our fondest memories from previous trips. We managed to finish off all of our drinks just to stay awake and I drained mine as we pulled into the Bureau’s parking lot.
“Alright my little ponies,” I said in a hushed tone, trying to wake them as gently as possible, “We’ve arrived.”
“Couldn’t ya’ll jus’ give me five more minutes?” Applejack said drowsily as she fell back asleep.
I smiled and gently picked her up and carried her under my stronger arm.
“Oh, we’re here already?” Fluttershy said as she held back sleep.
I nodded as we headed inside with John carrying Rainbow Dash, the only other pony who was still asleep. By the time we got to the reception area Applejack managed to wake up enough to walk herself the rest of the way. The night receptionist gave us directions to two rooms where we could bunk until morning. As we headed that way I quietly called, “Thank you kindly.”
We got the Mane 6 settled into the one room before heading over to the other to make ourselves comfortable. We all wished each other a ‘good night’ before falling asleep; despite the caffeine.
The bell that signalled the start of lunch woke all of us up. We then groggily got dressed and staggered, half asleep, to the cafeteria. We ate a hearty lunch before heading to the lobby to see what our next assignment would be.
“We have been informed that the Princesses themselves would like you to stay here and help protect the ambassadors,” the day receptionist told us, “Just so long as it’s not a problem for you.”
“Oh, no, of course not,” I assured her, “We’re just going to head out to our truck to grab some supplies and lock up. We’ll only be a minute.”
We were kept busy with odd-jobs around the Bureau though we were never very far from the mane 6. While the work wasn’t very demanding we were all glad to hear the bell that signalled the start of supper. We kept mainly to ourselves but we agreed later that just having so many other people around was a nice change of pace. When we finished eating we escorted Twilight and her friends to their room. On the way I got an idea, “Would you like to hear chapter two? I’d be happy to tell you when we get to your room.”
“That would be wonderful. I-if you don’t mind that is. I wouldn’t want to waste your time,” Fluttershy said.
“It’s no trouble at all,” I replied cheerily, “Besides; I don’t offer to do something if I don’t plan on following through.”
When we got to the room I created a chair for myself from the concrete floor as they made themselves cushions from the bed sheets. As they got comfortable I glanced at the clock, “We may even have time for me to tell you chapter three; so long as there aren’t any interruptions.” At that Rainbow Dash became very interested in a corner of the room.
I snickered and said, “Alright then.”
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Chapter 2: The Testing
That week felt like it had lasted only an afternoon when we met back up. We talked and told each other what we found out about new powers. We all seemed to have gotten a power that “regular” heroes with our powers never got, however they were still related to our elements. John found that he could manipulate the content of the air, Brent found he had some control over objects that had water in them, Brody found that he could start flames just by rubbing his fingers together and I found that I could control metals. They all made logical sense, metals are made of minerals that came from the earth, but they were still slightly surprising.
“Do you want to see what I can do with metals?” I asked.
They all answered, “Yes” at the same time. I smiled and stuck my hand into my pocket and pulled out a block of metal about the size of my fist. I set it on the table and placed the fingertips of my right hand onto it. I focused and the metal began to flow around my fingers and up my arm, creating a metal glove that moved as freely as cotton.
I stretched my now silver fingers allowing the sun to glint off of them as John said, “Cool! But now it’s my turn!”
He waved his hand in Brent’s general direction and Brent collapsed. I rushed over to him, but he was fine he had only momentarily fainted. I laughed because I knew he had gotten the idea from the manga Fullmetal Alchemist ’s Colonel Roy Mustang.
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Seeing the puzzled faces on the ponies I explained, “A manga is a type of Japanese comic.”
When they nodded I took it as a sign that I’d guessed right and that was all they were wondering about. They didn’t really need to understand the reference.
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Brent showed us how he could control things with water in them by having Brody repeatedly smack himself in the face. We all laughed, even Brody. Then Brody entertained us by creating intricate flame trails that sprouted from his fingertips. But just as we were about to leave we heard sirens. We all looked toward the noise and saw several police cars pull up to the bank across the street; someone was robbing the bank. John, Brent, and Brody all pulled their hats down to disguise their faces while I ran over to the swing set and used it to create a suit of armour for myself.
“Stay behind me!” I called as we ran toward the bank, “I’m going to be your shield!”
We ran through the police blockade, much to the surprise of the officers, and up the steps of the bank. I pushed on the door but the bank robbers had already locked it. I took a half step back and twisted the metal hinges until they fell out and the doors crashed inward. I took one glance at the floor and sighed in relief, it was made of marble and would be easy to control if I needed to. We stepped inside to find the bank robbers waiting for us, guns drawn. They each fired multiple shots at me, creating many small holes in the floor. The bullets had bounced off my armour. They raised their guns to take more shots but their arms suddenly snapped to their sides.
Brent held the men’s arms at their sides while John altered the air content around them. You could see them begin to lose consciousness as John raised the oxygen and hydrogen levels. Brody snapped his fingers and the hydrogen combusted, creating a wet popping sound not unlike when you light hydrogen in a test tube. Brody then quickly dissipated the flames and we could see the robbers lying on the floor. They were unconscious and their skin was reddened from the heat but, other than that, they were fine. We snuck back out of the bank as the cops poured in to arrest the robbers. We gave each other high-fives as we walked back to my house.
When we got back to my house we all went downstairs into the rec room to watch some Fullmetal Alchemist . I popped the DVD into the player and turned on the TV. As the TV came on it displayed the news channel and the anchorwoman said, “…strange reports from the bank. We now go to Steven, live at the scene.”
“Thank you Debbie,” Steven said, “Earlier today the bank I’m standing in front of was subject to an attempted robbery. Three teens and someone in a suit of armour thwarted the robbers. The police are still trying to discover the identities of the teens, in hopes of finding out who was in that suit of armour. Back to you, Debbie.”
“In other news a swing set went missing from the park across the street from the bank…” Debbie began but I pressed the Input button on the remote and switched over to the DVD player.
“Cool, we made it onto the news!” Brent exclaimed.
“Yeah,” John replied, “but that’s not good. What if they find out our identities?”
“Well,” I said, “Let’s worry about that later. I’d really like to watch some FMA right now.”
“Fine, but I still don’t like that we may have been caught on film.” John said.
I nodded in agreement and selected ‘Play All’. Part way into the pilot episode I began to wonder if I could create Automail with my new powers. I quickly jotted it down on a piece of notepaper and pushed the thought out of my mind. Just as I did however I began to wonder if we might be able to heal our wounds with our elements.
I pressed pause just after the episode ended and asked my friends the same question, “Do you think that we could heal ourselves with our elements?”
“It makes logical sense that we should,” John replied, “but how do we test it without putting anyone’s life on the line?”
“What if we cut off someone’s hand?” Brody asked, “That way we can see if it works and if it doesn’t, well, at least they’re not likely to die.”
“Real comforting thought there, Brody,” I said sarcastically.
“Well,” Brent said, “we wouldn’t have to go to such extreme measures. We could, say, stab someone in the arm with a pen.”
“He has a point. It would create a fairly severe wound that would not heal quickly yet not cause problems if we can’t heal ourselves,” I replied, “Besides, we can always make it look like an accident.”
“But there’s always a risk of infection.” John said, “If I wind up doing this and getting an infection, I really don’t want to live life with only one hand.”
“Well, I was thinking that I might be able to create Automail.” I told them, “I’ll see if I can. If not, we have to come up with a safer option.”
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Knowing they wouldn’t have understood I took the liberty of explaining, “Automail is a metal prosthetic designed to replace and replicate a missing limb. In fact my friends and I each sport at least two.”
I pulled off my glove and showed them my left hand in all its metallic glory.
“Any questions?” I asked.
Twilight and Rarity both raised a hoof.
“Yes?” I said as I pointed to Twilight.
“How does Automail work?” she asked.
“Well, it works much like your own muscles in that it takes the electrical signals from your brain and uses them to trigger artificial muscles to make the limb do what an identical, flesh-and-blood limb would,” I explained before turning to Rarity, “You too had a question?”
“Yes,” she replied, “I was wondering if you could tell me how far your abilities go?”
“Of course,” I replied, “Though our findings are rather, inaccurate and quite circumstantial in either case. Range wise, we’re not sure but I did once pull a piece of metallic space debris out of low Earth orbit; so that could have been anywhere from 200 to 2000 kilometres straight up. As for the actual ability itself, I guess ‘spectrum’ would be a good word to use; I can basically manipulate anything made of minerals that can be found in the Earth’s crust. So things like; gems, glass, coal, alloys, concrete, asphalt, you name it, are all within my power. I assure you that my friends likely have similar ranges and ‘spectrums’. But to be honest, you really don’t need to worry; we’re too caring to purposely injure anyone who comes in peace. It’s only when someone approaches using force do we reply in kind. And even then it’s only for defence. Are there any other questions?”
When they all shook their heads I took it as a sign to continue.
“Very well then,” I said.
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Chapter 3: The Robotic
They all nodded in agreement and we watched one more episode of FMA before they left. The moment they were out the door I dived into my basement workshop and dug out all the scrap metal I could find. I put my laptop onto the workbench and put a number of screenshots from various FMA episodes so that I could try and recreate Ed’s artificial arm. I spent the next three days holed up in my workshop constantly tinkering and only “surfacing” to get food and go to the bathroom. At around noon on the fourth day I put the final piece of armour on the limb and sat back. I actually recreated it, I thought to myself, a perfect replica of Ed’s Automail.
“However, I still need to test it and I really don’t want to cut off my own arm to do it.” I said to myself, “There has to be a better way.”
I looked around my workshop and spotted an old, 1995 vintage computer.
"Of course," I said as I slapped my forehead, "I should have thought of it before. The parallel port on that old thing would do perfectly."
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“What in tarnation is a ‘Parallel Port’?” Applejack asked.
“It’s a little something that was used to connect the computer to printers or monitors back then. It could also provide power to specific pins when told to by a program,” I replied, “May I continue?”
“Right. Mighty sorry ‘bout that,” she said sheepishly.
“Quite alright,” I said, “Now, as I was saying.”
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I quickly grabbed the computer and placed it onto my workbench.
“Wait a minute. I should really get some sleep. Plus, I could probably get Brent over here tomorrow to help me hook up the wiring.”
I went upstairs and lay on my bed. I stared at the ceiling for a moment before falling asleep. The next morning I woke at around 10:00, yawned, and walked over to the phone. I dialled Brent’s number and he answered on the third ring.
“Hi, Conner. Did you finish the Automail?” he asked.
“Almost,” I replied, “I have it completed but I need you to help me hook it up to this old computer I have so I can test it.”
“Sure, I’d love to help. I’ll be over in half an hour.”
Thirty-five minutes later Brent and I started hooking up most of the major wires from the arm to the computer. After a few unsuccessful programs I finally managed to create one that would move the arm in such a way that we could see if anything was wrong with it. As I finished, Brent placed the arm into the table-mounted bracket that I had created while waiting for him. Seeing that everything was ready I ran the program and much to my surprise, it worked! The Automail worked just the way it was supposed to even if it was a bit slow.
Figuring Brent would be wondering about the speed I said, “I’ll replace the wires I have in there now with some superconductors. The lag will completely disappear, I guarantee it.”
The next day I managed to perfect the Automail and promptly called my friends. When they arrived they told me everything about what they did while I was working. They had managed to figure out how to fly using their respective elements. I was slightly upset at that knowledge but I didn’t say anything. Instead I showed them the Automail.
“So anytime you’re ready to try the healing thing I’m ready to go.” I said, “Who wants to go first?”
“I will,” John volunteered, “My element is all around us and we can actually see through it too.”
“Ready?” I asked.
John nodded and held his left arm forward. I picked up a small block of steel, transformed it into a knife, and sliced into his arm. John let out a stifled yelp and clutched his arm. A moment later the large 4” gash in his arm stopped bleeding and started to close up. Seconds later the wound was healed and, to our astonishment, there wasn’t even a scar. But that’s where things started looking bad. Immediately after the wound had healed John started to sway and he clutched his head. Brent immediately grabbed John’s arm to steady him.
“Are you OK?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” John replied, “Just a little light-headed is all.”
“That just indicates how much energy is required to regenerate using our elements,” I said, “If we tried to regenerate even a single hand we’d likely be out for a week!”
We sat in silence for a minute before Brody said; “Well at least you can create Automail for that.”
I nodded before replying, “I agree. At least this way we would only have to try and seal the wound.”
We all walked to the rec room in order to watch TV. When I turned the TV on I saw that ‘Steven’ was live at the scene of some crime.
“I am standing in front of a bank with a supposed bomb threat inside,” Steve told the camera, “Apparently the robbers are looking for ransom on the hostages they have taken…”
Not needing to hear any more we all dashed outside and went to confront the bank robbers. As we raced toward the scene I created steel masks for the four of us, each one with a pattern displaying our element. I passed them to John, Brent, and Brody telling them to put them on so as to conceal our identities. We didn’t need anyone coming after our families and friends. We carefully skirted around the crowd and police perimeter and snuck down the alley between the bank and the neighbouring building. Fortunately there was a back door into the bank, however it seemed the cops didn’t know about it. Quietly twisting the steel door off its hinges I pulled it toward us and turned it into a shield that we then used as we carefully snuck into the bank. Once inside we hid behind one of the counters, the door/shield hidden by the tall work surface. John carefully made each of the criminals pass out. I then took the opportunity and carefully brought the door/shield over the counter and out in front of us we then raced over and stood guard over the criminals as Brent ushered the hostages out of the bank. He quickly returned and dragged the unconscious criminals outside with the help of John and Brody. I stooped down and tried to figure out how to defuse the bomb. John, Brent and Brody all rushed back in to see if they could help me.
Suddenly a digital timer flashed on and began counting down, 51:00, h1:00, E1:00, 21:00. Suddenly I realized that the stupid criminals had wired the display on UPSIDE DOWN! Panicking we raced toward the door with 8 seconds on the timer unfortunately we didn’t quite make it. The bomb exploded and we were engulfed in light. To my surprise I woke up. What wasn’t so surprising was that I found myself in ‘The Void’, as I had decided to call it. I sat up and rubbed my aching head. My hand felt surprisingly cold and when I looked at it I found it was made of metal. My entire left arm and right leg had been replaced by Automail. Spotting my friends nearby I found, to my astonishment, that my friends had Automail limbs too. John’s right arm and leg had been replaced with Automail as well as Brody’s left arm and leg, and Brent’s right arm and left leg.
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“And that, is the end of chapter three,” I said, “Well, time for me to be off.”
I walked to the door and turned the handle preparing to open the door when Rainbow Dash spoke up, “Can’t you stay and tell us just one more chapter?”
I turned back to them to see them all grinning hopefully.
I smiled, “Alright, you talked me into it. But only one more chapter tonight, OK?”
They all nodded feverishly and I sat back down.
I focused on the bombs and used my powers to check the wiring, “Pressure sensitive. Poorly done though, only goes off if there’s an increase in pressure. I can just pull them off but I want you two to stay alert.”
I carefully reached out with my power and unscrewed every bolt they had put in. Then I levitated the bombs out and away making sure there was always a minimum clearance of 100 metres between me and them. I then sent them flying in a high, nearly orbital arc toward the Barrier, knowing that they’d be turned into flowers or pudding when they hit it.
“We’ll probably be attacked by the HLF tomorrow,” John said, “And they’ll likely try to force us to the truck. What’s say we let them?”
“Grand idea,” I said as we walked back inside.
John and Brody continued on to our room while I stayed back and explained my plan to move the Mane 6 to Sudbury’s main Bureau to the receptionist and he agreed to let them know. I then thanked him and headed off.
I knocked on the Mane 6’s door, “Mind if I come in?”
Applejack said I could and as I stepped in I began to explain what would be happening the next day.
“For the most part I’d like you all to stay in this room until Andrew comes to get you. We’re expecting and HLF attack on this Bureau tomorrow. I’ll need you, Twilight, to use your magic to make a shield while you’re on the way to the truck, I can protect you after that. Then, depending on the situation I may be able to tell you a few chapters while we’re on the road. We’ll be staying in Sudbury for a while after that. See you tomorrow!”
I closed the door behind me and walked into my team’s room. I sat down on my bunk and started changing for bed.
“We’ll be stopping in Sudbury and staying there for a while,” I said, “We’re moving the Mane 6 there once the HLF start their attack.”
“Alright then,” John said, “Andrew, I want you to escort the Mane 6 to Ol’ Blue Eyes and get her warmed up. Brody, Brent and Conner, you’ll be coming with me to lead an assault out the front door at the HLF. They’ll try and force us to the truck in order to get rid of us with the bombs they planted. And, of course, we’ll let them. By the way, Conner, do you think you could replicate those bombs to make it look like we didn’t mess with them?”
“I’ll get right on that,” I said.
I closed my eyes and reached out with my power. I borrowed some steel from some of the abandoned construction projects nearby and reshaped it into two empty boxes. Once I was sure they were the right size and shape I set them into place and bolted them to the truck.
As I opened my eyes I said, “Done.”
“Good,” John said, “Everything’s ready to go for tomorrow. Now let’s get some sleep so we’ll all be bright and alert for when the HLF finally show up.”
With that we all settled into our beds and wrapped ourselves in blankets. Andrew then turned out the light as he fell asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Breakfast time!” I called into the ponies’ room, “They’re serving pancakes and hay-bacon strips today.”
I was bowled over as Pinkie bolted out of the room and rocketed down the hall.
“Sorry!” she called as she skidded to a halt just before the cafeteria doors.
“That’s OK,” I said as she started to turn back toward me, “I’ll be fine. Now, grab yourself some breakfast before it’s gone.”
“OK!” was all I heard her say before she disappeared into the cafeteria. As I got back to my feet the others wandered out of their room at a more leisurely pace.
“Thank you ever so much for the wake-up call,” Rarity said.
“My pleasure,” I said, “Besides, breakfast doesn’t officially start for another 10 minutes. Of course the Equestrian Ambassadors and their escorts do get SOME special privilege.”
We then walked to the cafeteria and got breakfast. I have to admit though that hay-bacon strips taste pretty good, and I was a serious fan of real bacon. Eventually the newfoals and ponies-to-be filed in and started eating. At around 8:00 I suddenly got a feeling, “It’s time.”
“Ok then,” John said, “You all know what to do.”
I dashed back to my team’s room and gathered all the weapons we had pulled from the truck along with their ammunition. I handed each their weapon of choice and Andrew lead the Mane 6 out the side door as the rest of us charged out the front. Just as we had expected the HLF had grouped up to our right and directly in front of us.
They HLF were apparently smart enough to keep tabs on the different Railroad teams and devised plans of attack for each. They had learned over time that they couldn’t really hurt us directly with anything metal. That was why they had planted the bombs and the first volley of shots slammed into the wall to our right. John HAD read their minds; they were forcing us to Ol’ Blue Eyes.
We returned fire as we skittered sideways. We managed to hit several of them before getting to the truck. I then threw up a large concrete wall between us and the HLF. I then helped the ponies onto the trailer.
“John, Brody, think you can replicate an explosion similar to the one the bombs woulda made?” I called.
“Yep,” they chorused.
“Good. Then on my count,” I said, “And get ready to floor it. Three, two, one!”
Just as I said ‘one’ a gas explosion went off as I disintegrated the wall I had made. I heard a moment of cheering from the HLF before Ol’ Blue Eyes roared and surged through the flames. John and Brody kept the heat and flames off of us as we barrelled through the HLF barricade.
As we broke through the like of HLF Brody, Brent and I managed to take out several more gun-toting Americans. A few returned fire but I just deflected the shots and sank down behind the fence.
“Tell me,” I said with my head on my knees, “Are the rumours true? Do humans get the choice to move on or become ponies when they die?”
The mares before me looked at me with confused faces until one by one they understood the pained expression on my face.
“Princess Celestia told me herself,” Twilight said, “That they do get that choice. I hope that helps.”
“More than you know,” I said weakly, “Thank you. I feel a little better now knowing that I’m not the one that’s really ending it for them.”
“Not to sound rude,” Applejack said after a moment of silence, “But would ya mind tellin’ me when ya’ll are gonna continue that story? Ya’ll got me hooked an’ ahm dyin’ to hear what comes next.”
“Oh, that’s Ok,” I said, “Knock on wood, we’ll be outta the worst of it by the time we’re halfway to Toronto. I’ll continue the story then.”
Just then the trailer swayed and peering over the railing I saw that an HLF truck was trying to ram us off the road.
“Why didn’t you warn me?” I yelled at Brody and Brent.
“We were just as curious about that pony thing as you,” Brent shouted at me as he squeezed off a few shots.
“Figures!” I said as I jumped up and put a couple shots into each of the HLF’s right side tires; tearing them to shreds and reducing them to just rims.
The HLF truck veered sharply right and turned itself almost perpendicular to the road before its left side tires bit into the asphalt, throwing it into a rollover.
As the distance between us and the self flattening truck increased I felt my eyes begin to water and my nose start running.
“Don’t tell me I didn’t…” I said as I looked at my watch, “Bugger. I did.”
“What did you do?” Twilight asked.
“I forgot to take my allergy meds this morning,” I said as I rummaged through my locker, “Just my luck too; I have none left.”
I banged on the back of the cab and John rolled down his window.
“We need to pull into the nearest pharmacy,” I called, “I’ve run out of meds and you remember what happened the last time I ran out.”
“Alright,” John sighed.
I turned around to find the ponies staring at me.
“I’ve found over the years that I’m allergic to most animals with fur,” I explained, “And unfortunately, as much as I like you ponies, you set off my allergies. Which means my eyes water, my nose runs almost constantly and I lose my finesse with my powers.”
“What were you talking about when you reminded John about the last time this happened?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well, we were about 20 kilometres from the Barrier when the truck broke down,” I recalled, “And the rest of them had to walk the ponies to the Barrier while my allergies cleared up enough for me to fix the truck. I did manage to get it running again in time to pick them up from the Barrier though.”
I then cleared my nose into a tissue and tossed it over the railing. A few minutes later we pulled into the parking lot of a pharmacy and I dashed inside. When I got back they all asked me why I hadn’t just stockpiled right there.
“I have a feeling I won’t be needing them for too much longer,” I told them.
Soon enough we were back on our way and I was feeling like myself again.
Chapter 5: The Reparations
“So,” I said, “Who wants to hear more of the story?”
“Oh, oh! I do! I do!” Pinkie said as she bounced about excitedly.
I chuckled at the extreme display of energy and said, “Ok then. Here goes.”
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Chapter 5: The Reparations
I immediately began repair work on my hand so that I could fix everyone else’s Automail more effectively. As I did I asked the obvious question, “What did we do wrong?”
“I think I know,” Brent replied as he lifted his left leg onto the couch, “We made the same mistake like every movie where the good guys have to fight their mirrored selves. We fought our reflections and not one another’s”
“Makes sense,” Brody said as he held an ice pack to his head, “Our elements are useless against themselves. We need to swap out who’s fighting who.”
“I have a plan,” John said as he slipped his right arm into a sling, “Once we’ve recovered we’ll call on the Niners again. This time Conner fights Brody, Brody fights Brent, Brent fights me, and I fight Conner. With the Niners being so naive they’ll think that they’re the ones with the advantage.”
“But in reality we’re the ones who will have the upper hand,” I said finishing John’s thought, “Brilliant.”
It took all afternoon and part of the evening for me to fix my hand and get it functioning again. Brody had gone to sleep off the concussion in the guest room and John and Brent were keeping themselves busy playing numerous card games. I then packed up my tool kit and carried it over to where Brent was sitting.
“You’re probably going to experience some discomfort while I’m fixing your leg. Thought I might warn you,” I said, “In the mean time, John, you may want to get some sleep. It’ll take some time before Brent’s leg is repaired.”
John nodded and got up. “Do you mind if I sleep in your bed?” he asked.
“No, not at all. Besides what are friends for if not to be there when you need them?” I replied.
“Thanks,” John said as he climbed the stairs, “See you in the morning.”
Dawn came late the next morning because a heavy storm had sprung up at around 3 o’clock. Finishing Brent’s repairs at 7:00 I got up and went to the linen closet and pulled out some blankets. I left John a note telling him to make sure that Brody got plenty of rest. As I came back into the rec room I noticed that Brent had dozed off on the couch. I threw a few covers over him and carried the rest with me over to the armchair. After wrapping the blankets around myself I curled up in the armchair and fell asleep.
When I woke up it was dark outside and the clock said that it was 2:35 in the morning. I yawned and stretched, “Wow, I must have really been beat. Looks like getting the stuffing knocked out of you really wears a person down. I probably shouldn’t push my luck but I think I should at least try and doze off again.”
With that I turned over in the chair and fell asleep again. I woke again at 8:00 to the wonderful smell of pancakes and maple syrup. When I stepped into the dining room I found that Brent and John had cooked breakfast.
“Thanks guys,” I said, “I appreciate what you’ve done.”
“You didn’t get any food yesterday and we figured you’d be hungry,” John replied.
“Besides, you’re the one repairing all our Automail,” Brent said, “We figured it would be a nice way to say thank you.”
I smiled at my friends and bid them to grab some of the food themselves. “Once we’re done here I’ll fix your arm,” I told John. He nodded in agreement.
It was almost a full week after our skirmish with the Niners before we felt almost well enough try and enact John’s plan. In the meantime though the Niners had destroyed our standing as heroes and had left the city’s population on the brink of becoming an angry mob bent on destroying us.
“It’s now or never,” I told my friends, “Either we stand up, destroy the Niners and save the city or we get run out of town by a rioting crowd.”
“I’m not sure if we’re ready,” John replied, “Plus Brody really needs to continue to recover from that concussion.”
“John’s right, but we can’t afford to be kicked out of the city,” Brent said, “We need to confront the Niners and we need to do it as soon as possible.”
“We can expect to be fighting by high noon tomorrow,” I replied.
I emailed ‘myself’ and told him to meet me in front of City Hall and to bring the other Niners at 1:00. I immediately went back to my friends and explained what I had said in the email and told them that we were going to get there at 10:00.
“In the mean time,” I said, “I’m going to create swords that we will then imbue with our respective elements. That way we can get in close and hit them with the full power of our elements.”
“Good idea, Conner,” John complimented, “However I think that when we defeat our opponent we need to step back so that we don’t get in each other’s way.”
We all agreed.
I then went into my workshop and pulled out all the scrap metal I could find. I separated the steel into four piles, none of which were the same size. It took about an hour to complete the swords and another two to get them comfortably balanced for everyone. I made everyone’s sword fit their personalities and fighting styles. Brent’s was a katana, Brody got a pair of machetes, John’s was a large broadsword, and I made myself a rapier. I then grabbed my dad’s old leather working kit and carefully created a sheath for each weapon before attaching the sheaths to belts.
The next morning I brought all the weapons upstairs and set them out on the table. When we imbued our weapons with our elements the swords began to glow. Brody’s looked like they were made of molten metal, John’s had become translucent, Brent’s was coated with a thin layer of condensation, and mine looked like it had rusted from point to hilt. We all strapped our weapons on and threw large overcoats on to hide them. We took our time walking toward City Hall. As we did we were met with hundreds of angry glares and when we got within a block of City Hall a television news crew had appeared and were following us. But we kept walking with purpose and, what was left of, our dignity.
As I had expected the Niners showed up not long after we got to City Hall, they had been watching TV. The Niners approached with evil smirks on their faces, they still thought they could beat us. They stopped twenty feet from us and waited.
I whispered, “Three, two, one.”
And on “one” we all pulled off our overcoats to display our swords. The Niners to a half step back when they saw our weapons. We then pulled out our swords. Holding them at arm’s length we ignited them and they became encased in our elements. I looked again at the Niners and saw that their smug smiles had been erased. Lifting our weapons to attack position we charged at the Niners.
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“Any questions?” I asked.
The ponies quickly shook their heads.
“Good, I won’t keep you waiting then,” I said.
Chapter 6: The Revelation
Chapter 6: The Revelation
I swung at Niner-Brody only to have him leap backwards and out of the way. Niner-Brody then dragged his partners back and Niner-Conner created a large, rock wall between them and us. I immediately knew what they were doing and began to laugh. I told my friends that the Niners were making their own swords behind the wall and they started laughing too. We all knew that with such little time their weapons would be poorly crafted and terribly unbalanced. Suddenly the wall sank into the ground and the Niners stepped forward, all four of them looked scared.
“FOR THE CITIZENS!!!” we cried as we charged again. “Eep” was the reply from the Niners.
Our swords collided with the Niners’ and sparks flew. With every hit after that our sword would spew small amounts of our elements at the Niners, pebbles, water and fire flew in every direction as gusts of wind swept through. The fight raged on as the wind began to pick up, rain pelted the ground, rocks flew and flames all engulfed the Niners. All of a sudden everything stopped, the Niners had been defeated. As they lay there bleeding they shimmered out of existence and we knew it could only mean one thing. The world faded into a white expanse and we found ourselves in the Void again.
We stuck our weapons back into their sheaths as the Writer appeared.
“You performed admirably,” the Writer said, “To honour you, and fulfil the promise made by the title, I will give you a new ally.”
“Wait,” I said, “What do you mean ‘fulfil the promise made by the title’? This is our entire existence there is no title for that.”
The Writer didn’t answer right away; instead he made a sweeping gesture with his hand and our friend Andrew appeared in the void.
“Who, what, when, where, why, how?” he sputtered incomprehensibly.
“I will give your friend powers too,” said the Writer, “Then I will explain everything. Well, almost everything.”
A pillar shot from the floor in front of Andrew. One half was as yellow as the sun, the other half was as black as the void of space, and tracing down the centre of the pillar was an engraving of a lightning bolt. The Writer spoke to Andrew privately and moments later there was a flash of light.
Andrew turned around and said, “This is why you guys weren’t hanging out with me. You were too busy being the Elemental Four.”
“I guess we’ll have to change it to the Elemental Five now,” I said, “Hey, wait a minute. The ‘title’ wouldn’t be ‘The Elemental Five’ now would it?”
“Indeed it is. I guess I should elaborate,” the Writer sighed, “It began a long time ago; I got an idea for a story and wrote it down. I then transferred it to my laptop and that’s where it gets weird. As I was typing it out the story began to take on a life of its own, I could influence what happened but otherwise it wrote itself. I then realized that I could, quite literally, put myself into the story. The story I’m talking about, is this one.”
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“WHAT!?!” the ponies yelled.
“That’s exactly what me and my friends said,” I told them.
“But then that would mean…” Twilight trailed off as her eyes grew wide.
“Yeah, don’t dwell on that for too long,” I said, “Just don’t think about it and you’ll be fine.”
“Ok,” Twilight said, still sounding a little bewildered.
“Mind if I continue?” I asked.
“No, go ahead,” she replied.
“Alright then,” I said.
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“WHAT!?!” we all yelled.
“Yes,” the Writer continued as he began to change shape, “You’re nothing but fictional versions of me and my friends. My real name…is Conner McFadden.”
“But…that’s…you…” I sputtered. I was looking at a perfect replica of me minus the Automail I had acquired.
“Please, let me finish,” Conner said, “This is going to get confusing if this goes on any longer so, here it is. This ‘Void’ is the monitor of my laptop and your world is the hard drive. All of this was my idea except for adding Andrew to the mix and setting your Niner selves on you; those were my friend’s ideas. Now like I said before our time in the ‘Void’, I like that name better by the way, is limited and I must send you back. But before you go I must tell you that there will be a following set of chapters written about you. It will be set about a month from now and, like in my world, you will be going back to school for a fifth year. So you will have to balance saving the world and doing homework. Goodbye, for now.”
Suddenly we found ourselves standing in front of City hall again. We turned to see a cheering crowd that surged forward and hoisted us onto their shoulders. They carried us into City Hall and deposited us in front of the Mayor. The Mayor personally thanked us for ridding the city of evil and apologized for blaming us for what the Niners did. We thanked the Mayor and citizens before we left, flying off to my house. On the way back however I took a detour and picked up a ton of scrap metal from the junkyard, I knew I’d need it for something. After we landed at my house my friends went into the rec room to watch TV. I continued on, unloaded the scrap metal into my workshop and began working on a bladed weapon for Andrew.
I should tell you that when I create swords I think of what the person is like, what their fighting style is like and their personality. In doing so the sword seems to create itself and I’m basically the middleman of the operation. As I thought of Andrew I thought of how his fighting style is a bit like a fencer’s except with more power and a little less finesse. As the hilt came together like that of a hand-and-a-half sword I began to dwell upon his powers. As the blade began to form I realized that the colours of his pillar meant that he could control both light and dark, and likely electricity too due to the clash between his major elements. Moments after beginning to ponder on the implications of what I had just realized I noticed that the sword had finished itself. It was a unique sword that looked like a scaled down broadsword save for one major difference. It had two blades instead of one.
The blades ran parallel to each other about half an inch apart. The cross guard looked as if it had been taken from a Scottish claymore. Sitting in the centre of the guard at the point where the hilt met the blades was a circular indentation and in it was engraved a yin-yang. I looked over the sword one more time and called Andrew into my workshop. I placed the sword in his hands and I redistributed the metal within the sword until he said that it felt perfectly balanced to him. I then had him imbue each blade of the sword with one of his powers. He started with light and when he did the left side of the yin-yang lit up white. Two things happened when he put darkness into the other blade; first the right side of the yin-yang lit up black and just after it did a crackle of electricity ran up between the blades like a Jacob’s ladder. As electricity continued to slowly arc its way up the blades I set about making the sword a leather sheath just like I had done for the others.
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“What did you think?” I asked.
“Pretty cool,” Rainbow Dash said, “But do you think you could show us the swords? I mean, you explained what they looked like really well but…”
You’d like to see them for yourselves,” I said, “Sure thing. Just give me a minute.”
I then walked over and gathered each of our swords from a hidden compartment in the back of each of our lockers.
“Here they are,” I said as I displayed the swords,
As the ponies looked over the swords I checked my watch.
“We’ve got a while before we get to Parry Sound, where we’ll be having lunch,” I said, “so we’ve got the time if you’d like to hear chapter 7.”
“There’s more?” Fluttershy asked.
“Yep,” I replied, “While that was rather impressive that wasn’t what gave us our reputation. That event occurs later in the story.”
“Well what are you waiting for?” Rainbow Dash challenged, “Get on with the story!”
“Ok, ok,” I said, “I was getting there.”
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Chapter 7: The Surprise
My sword clashed with Brody’s as John’s broadsword met Brent’s katana. Suddenly Andrew jumped in and knocked all of our blades back in one quick slash. We were sparring just to make sure that we were in peak fighting condition. We all looked at each other for a moment and then attacked, a free-for-all of flailing swords and clashing elements. We sparred for a good fifteen minutes before we all collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. The ground around us was littered with cracks, puddles, scorch marks, and windswept leaves but we didn’t mind. It just meant that our powers still worked.
I went inside and brought out five cans of root beer. We popped the tops at the same time and toasted to great practises from then on. After we finished our root beers we picked up our weapons again, this time igniting the power within them. We swung at each other and all seven blades made contact at the same time; the surge of power knocked us out. When we came to we found that we were in the Void. The meeting in the void must have surprised Conner too because he appeared sitting at a desk typing on a laptop. He paused for a moment before frantically tapping at the keyboard. Suddenly the entire desk and the chair he was sitting on disappeared.
Defying gravity he sat there with nothing supporting him for a moment. Finally he got up and turned toward us.
“How did we get here?” Conner asked, “No, wait, smarter question. What were you doing just before you arrived here?”
“We were just sparring,” Brent said.
“I think I know how we got here,” I said, “Our elements react with one another in real life but they’ve never all connected at the same time.”
“Which means that the power, of all the elements put together, might be capable of opening portals,” John finished.
“If it is, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t try it again,” Conner commented, “Suddenly getting pulled into this word could put a real damper on my social life.”
He stood there for a minute thinking.
“I’d feel terrible if I sent you back to your world without giving you something…I wonder,” said Conner just before he disappeared.
We all looked at each other for a minute to see if anyone had any idea on why Conner had suddenly left us. After a long moment of silence John opened his mouth to say something when Conner suddenly reappeared.
“I’m going to give you the ability to teleport into my world in order to contact me. You must, however, only use it for emergencies.”
“But why did you have to disappear first?” I asked.
“I had to make sure that what happens in this world can be transferred into mine,” Conner replied. He then gave us a quick salute before we reappeared in our own world.
We looked at each other for a moment before Brody spoke up, “We should try out our new power.”
“Might as well. Conner’s probably expecting us to anyway,” John agreed.
I focused and suddenly I saw the whole world start to ripple and shift and when it settled down I saw that I was standing in front of Conner. He was sitting on a chair with his arms crossed and a knowing smirk on his face. My friends appeared around me a moment later.
“I figured you’d try out your new power,” Conner said, “Which is why I called up my friends and invited them over. I thought it would be cool if they got to meet their alternate selves. Plus you guys get to meet the people you were based on.”
It was about fifteen minutes later when everyone finally arrived. Conner then handed out a can of root beer to everybody. We talked for hours and played some video games against ourselves. Not surprisingly we tied with ourselves only ever wining if the other made a slight slip up. Afternoon became evening all too soon and we had to go home. We waved a swift goodbye before teleporting home. When we arrived we found that the same amount of time had passed in our world.
“We’ll have to remember to tell Conner about it the next time we see him,” Andrew commented.
The next day we all got together at lunch like we usually did. It was an assembly day schedule and we had an extra half hour to our lunch.
“Well,” John said, “We have an hour and a half for lunch. Should we grab some food from the cafeteria or head over to the McDonald’s?”
“I’ve got some extra money,” I volunteered, “So we can afford to go to either.”
“McDonald’s isn’t great but the caf’s food is worse,” Brent replied.
Andrew and Brody also agreed and we left for the restaurant. On our way however we had to make a small detour. As we walked by an alleyway we saw two men trying to steal an elderly lady’s purse.
“That is just so. Not. Right,” Brody said.
“Andrew, shadows. John, ominous breeze. Brent, Brody, this is a thru alley, guard the other end,” I said calmly.
Brent and Brody immediately headed for the other end of the alley while the buildings’ shadows darkened and began to flow over the criminal’s shoes. A stiff, unnatural breeze came up and the perpetrators paused for a moment. Looking to see where the strange gust of wind came from they spotted us standing at the end of the alley. They turned to run the other direction but froze when they saw Brent and Brody at the other end. The elderly lady took the advantage and yanked her purse from the men’s hands. She then walked past us and thanked us as she went on her way.
“Your thieving days are over,” I said, “Now come along quietly and we won’t have to hurt you.”
The men stood there for a minute obviously trying to figure out their next move. They went to run toward Brent and Brody but Andrew stopped them by solidifying the shadows around their feet. I then lifted two keyboard-sized chunks of rock out of the ground. Brent moved their hands behind their backs and I clamped the rocks around their wrists like handcuffs. With the men subdued Andrew stepped forward and drew his sword. He then used the flat of the blades to lightly and repeatedly tap the men’s groins. Andrew was, in effect, “tazing their nuts”.
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I saw the horrified looks on the ponies’ faces and realized what they were thinking.
“Now before you say anything,” I told them, “No, he is not really like that and he never was. Plus he was only that way for a little while.”
“We’re here,” Brody said just then.
Sure enough we had entered Parry Sound and were stopping outside a diner.
“Alright, food,” I said, “Don’t worry, I’ll tell you chapter 8 while we eat.”
“A table for seven and a table for four,” I said pointing to the ponies and my friends respectively.
The waiter’s expression never changed as she said, “Right this way.”
The place was rather busy but we got tables pretty close together. The server took our drink orders and I began to continue the story.
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Chapter 8: The Turning
Andrew stopped when he saw the horrified looks on our faces.
“What?” he asked, “I just wanted to make sure that they got the message. Plus I kind of enjoyed it.”
“WHAT!?” I exclaimed, “First, that was totally uncalled for. Second, if you enjoyed doing that there must be something wrong with you. Besides how did you get your sword? You know we’re not allowed to bring weapons to school.”
“Well, I can use the shadows like portals. In theory I can step into a shadow here and step out of a shadow in Japan,” Andrew replied, “Now, if you won’t let me enjoy tazing their nuts as a friend I’ll just have to enjoy it as your enemy!”
And with that he stepped into a shadow and disappeared.
A moment later a piece of paper fluttered down from above. I grabbed it and saw that there was a letter written on it. The letter read:
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“Excuse me but are you ready to order?” our server asked.
She wrote down the Mane 6’s orders before turning to me.
“I’ll have the pancake combo please,” I said, selecting from their all-day breakfast menu, “With a side of bacon. But could you send the bacon to my friends?”
I pointed to their table before the server said, “sure”.
As she walked away I noticed the ponies staring at me.
“What?” I said defensively, “I think that eating meat in front of ponies is rather uncouth.”
“We just think that it’s really sweet of you to do that,” Rarity said.
“Aw shucks,” I said blushing a little, “Now as I was saying earlier...”
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The letter read:
Dear Friends;
I’m sorry about Andrew’s sudden personality change. I had created an “Evil Andrew” reference document for one of my friends and Andrew took to it like a moth to a flame. Unfortunately I cannot get rid of the file until he stops using it. Plus, Windows claims that it is now a “read-only” file and I can’t modify it. But there is some good news everyone; I was unable to give Evil Andrew the ability to teleport into my world before he took control. I’m sorry I can’t offer more help right now.
Sincere Apologies;
The Writer
“Well that explains a lot,” I said, “At least we know that the real Andrew would not have gotten that much pleasure out of torturing those men like that.”
We then stood there for a long moment.
John broke the silence when he asked, “Still feel like going to McDonald’s?”
We all nodded and said “yeah, sure.”
Late Wednesday night I got an email from Andrew. The e-mail said to meet him at the abandoned oil field just outside of town at noon on Saturday. The e-mail also said to come alone. Naturally I had to tell John, Brent and Brody about it. They figured it was probably a plan to lure me to the dark side. We figured that it would be best if they came along but stayed out of sight. Saturday rolled around all too quickly and at 10:00 we suited up. We grabbed our swords and sheaths off their wall hooks and hooked them to our belts.
We then grabbed the trench coats given to us by the city as sorry/thank you presents. John’s coat was dark grey, Brody’s was burgundy, Brent’s was a shadowy teal and mine was made from brown leather. I looked over and saw Andrew’s trench coat still hanging there on its hook. It was made of black leather with golden trim. It saddened me to see it just hanging there but it hardened my resolve to bring Andrew back to the side of good. We then walked out to the bus stop and waited for the next bus out of town.
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“Oh, food’s here,” I said, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Our server replied.
As she set down the last plate I doused my pancakes in maple syrup.
“Now where was I?” I said as I chopped my pancakes into bits with my fork, “Oh, yes...”
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We climbed on and paid our fares before taking standing positions in the buses aisle. Two stops before the stop nearest the oil field my friends got off and gave me a small salute as the bus pulled away. When the bus let me off later I was a nervous wreck. I paced back and forth for a minute just trying to steady my nerves. I then folded the chain link fence back. The new hole in the fence was wide enough to drive a car through.
As I walked farther and farther into the oil field I felt an increasing sense of foreboding with every step I took. Soon I was standing amidst the numerous pieces of machinery. I looked up and saw Andrew standing atop one of the derelict oil derricks. As I approached he leapt down and landed in front of me.
“You are extremely smart,” Andrew began, “However the others are holding you back. If you join me I can help you unleash your full potential.”
“I figured you’d say that, Andrew,” I replied, “I can’t stand by and watch you be evil without trying to bring you back first.”
Suddenly John, Brent, and Brody leapt out from behind some of the disused machinery. As my friends drew their swords I stepped back and placed my hands on the pile of rusted steel. I suddenly realized that I had acquired a sort of sense that allowed me to tell where a metal object was. As I reshaped the rust covered machinery I had the irresistible urge to duck. As I dropped closer to the ground I felt the presence of iron race past me, right where my head had been the moment before.
Then I stepped back and admired my creation for a second before turning to Andrew and calling, “You’re grounded!”
Andrew turned to look at me and saw that I was pointing to a 1000-foot tall lightning rod. Andrew became furious and attempted to conjure lightning nevertheless. His attempt was fruitless though as the bolt struck the towering piece of steel and dissipated harmlessly into the ground.
“You haven’t seen the last of me!” Andrew vowed as he blinded us with shadows. When the shadows dissolved a moment later we saw that Andrew had disappeared leaving behind one of his signature fedoras.
“WHAT THE…”Brody began.
I put my hand on his shoulder and said, “There’s nothing more we can do at this point and there’s really no need to get worked up over it either.”
“Come on,” John said, “We should get home. Besides, I’d like you know how Conner dodged that piece of metal. I mean, you weren’t even looking in our direction.”
“I’m not entirely sure myself,” I replied as I began walking, “I think we all may have some sort of sense related to our element…”
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I finished the chapter as the ponies finished their lunches. I then grabbed a spare menu and ran some quick calculations as I found everyone’s meal. Digging out my wallet I figured out the tax and a tip before rounding up to the nearest dollar. I tucked the money beneath the edge of one of the plates before standing up.
“Alright,” I said, “Time to go.”
“Woo!” Pinkie exclaimed, “Let’s get this show on the road!”
Pinkie Pie then bounced out the front door and onto the truck.
“Craziest. Pony. Ever,” Brent said as the rest of the E5 caught up to me.
“And never runs out of energy,” Brody added, “I swear that thing’s just a pony shaped, nuclear powered insanity generator.”
“Don’t be daft!” I replied laughing, “That’s just the tip of the squirrel-shaped iceberg.”
As I hopped onto the trailer Twilight spoke up.
“I didn’t want to interrupt you earlier but why doesn’t Andrew just use his shadow portals to take us where we need to be?”
“Good question,” I replied, “It’s not because he only had it while he was evil but because of Equestria. Something about Equestria itself is throwing off his portal’s quantum waveform due to Equestria’s radically different physics. The whole thing has rendered his portals extremely dangerous to use. He even showed us why. He created portals on either side of my house’s basement and chucked a bundle of pencils through. Normally they would have exited at the same time they were entering but they completely disappeared for a few moments. When they did start re-appearing they materialized in random locations between the two portals. Out of the 100 Andrew tossed in about twenty wound up fused to the central, cinderblock wall and another 12 disappeared for good.”
“Ok…” Twilight said, eyes wide, “Um…what about making an airplane or giant disc for them to stand on?”
“I’m going to have to cover all the plot holes, aren’t I?” I sighed, “Well, first off you have no idea just how claustrophobic a lot of ponies are, especially Newfoals. Second, imagine how draining it would be to levitate 20 to 30 ponies over long distances. See why we do what we do?”
“Alright,” Twilight replied, “I guess that’s all I’ve got. Thank you.”
“Anyone else?” I asked.
“Well……” Rarity said more dramatically than necessary, “I was just wondering why the Writer doesn’t just give you unlimited energy.”
I sighed again, “Look, we’re already overpowered as it is. The Writer didn’t want to produce five ‘Superman’ characters in the same story. That and the whole ‘conservation of energy’ thing means that we have to draw the energy from the area around us. We can only do that so fast and if we exceed that we start draining our own energy reserves. When that runs out we hit the metaphorical wall. Face it we’re already flying in the face of conventional physics. If we broke any more universal laws we’d probably begin falling up!”
“Well, actually…” Twilight began.
“I know, I know,” I interrupted, “We’d actually be launched due east along a tangent line at a velocity equivalent to the earth’s rotational speed. I was just trying to make a point. Any other questions?”
“Actually Ah do,” Applejack said, “I get the emotional reason why yer flyin’ yer flag but what doesn’t make sense is why you’d advertise yerselves like that. It’s almost like yer beggin’ fer a fight.”
“Quite simple AJ,” Brent said, “Scares off the few and makes the many too cocky.”
We all stared at him for a moment before I spoke up, “Let me translate. The flag warns small groups of HLF that they won’t be able to take us on. In the reverse it makes larger groups of HLF too cocky in that they figure their superior numbers will be able to take us on. They make more mistakes that way.”
We sat in silence for a while before Fluttershy spoke up.
“I hope I’m not bothering you, Mr. Earth Magnet sir,” she started.
“‘Conner’ will be just fine,” I said.
“Ok,” she said timidly, “I was wondering why you haven’t fixed your arm and leg using the Automail you have.”
“Oh, you mean why haven’t I made my limbs human again?” I said, Fluttershy nodded, “Well there’s a few reasons but it goes something like this. In the time shortly after I got my Automail I honestly didn’t think of that. Later, when I did, we were a little preoccupied saving the world and I couldn’t afford being out of the picture for two weeks. Eventually it got to the point that I honestly just kept putting it off. When Equestria showed up I knew then that I would never get the chance to. I also realized why else I wouldn’t trade it in. These things are way too useful.”
To demonstrate I reconfigured my arm and leg into large bore cannons, chainsaws, a pair of machine guns, and finally I turned the plating on my arm into a large, wide blade.
“Ok,” Fluttershy said, “Sorry I brought it up.”
“No, that’s ok,” I said, gently lifting her chin, “To tell you the truth; I wouldn’t have done it even if I had the chance.”
I smiled and, eventually, she smiled back.
“Hey guys,” Andrew called, leaning out his window, “There’s a roadblock ahead and it’s not friendly.”
“Which does it look like?” Brody asked.
“HLF,” Andrew replied.
“Grab the tarp,” Brent said.
“Eeyup,” I replied.
We quickly pulled out the tarpaulin that we kept for just such emergencies and I strapped it to the deck.
“What are you doing this for? Shouldn’t you be out and ready to fight any HLF?” Fluttershy asked.
“That’s just it,” I replied, “Most of the roadblocks we’ve encountered that look like they were made by the HLF are actually crewed by the PER. Besides, we’ll be flying through it fast enough that…”
CRUNCH!
“There’s the sawhorses and…” I said.
Smash, crash, clatter, SPLAT.
“…Those are the potions,” I finished, “Brent would you mind washing the tarp?”
“Sure thing,” he replied as the sound of rain hitting the tarpaulin reached our ears.
“How long?” I asked.
“Judging by the colour of the water running off right now, I’d say about five minutes,” Brent said, “Might be best to wait seven though.”
“Alright,” I said, “We’ve still got plenty of time till we get to Sudbury. I was at chapter 9, correct?”
“Yep,” Brody replied.
“I’ll get to it then,” I said.
Chapter 9: The Inverted
When we went back to school on Monday we were quite surprised to actually see Andrew there. He waved ‘hi’ and continued to class like the weekend had never happened. We stood there for a minute pondering how Andrew’s behaviour could be so wildly different when someone stepped forward and stood beside us and said, “I can’t explain it either.” We looked over and saw Conner standing there looking at the spot where Andrew had disappeared around the corner. “What are you doing at our school?” John asked. “I figured that I should check up on how you’re doing. And you know, this is my school too,” Conner replied.
“I have a theory,” I said, “What if Andrew has a bit of a guilty conscience? It would override his evil side just long enough to get him to school.” “Sounds about right,” John replied, “He’s never missed a day if he could avoid it.” “But would that mean that his ‘evil reference sheet’ could be deleted while he’s here?” Brent asked. “I doubt it,” Conner replied, “The evil side of him probably still has control, and his conscience is just overriding some of his actions.” After a moment of silence Conner spoke again, “Well I have to go but I’m sure you’ll find out more at lunch.” With that he disappeared and left us to our day.
Sure enough at lunch Andrew met up with us. He seemed extremely agreeable and as though he had never even thought of being evil. “Hey guys,” Andrew said as he walked to the cafetorium with us, “I found something recently that I want to show you.” “Is this some trick to try and destroy us?” Brent asked. “No! No. I just can’t seem to be evil while at school. Stupid conscience!” Andrew replied. “Well then seeing as we can sort of trust you, what did you want to show us?” I queried. “Something really cool. Here, step into this shadow,” Andrew said as he gestured to the wall. As we did what he asked we found ourselves transported into a strange world.
The world we stepped into looked like the negatives from a film camera. We also noticed that it was filled with pixelated characters. “I call it the N-Zone,” Andrew said as he stepped through the portal. “Why?” I asked, “Because it’s full of Nintendo characters?” “Well…” Andrew sheepishly replied, “Yeah, that and it looks like a film negative.” “So,” John asked, “Does time pass equivalently in our world and this one?” “Actually I’m not too sure,” Andrew replied. “Why don’t we find out?” Brody said. “Shouldn’t be too hard,” I said, “My watch said 11:10 when we stepped in and we’ve been here about five minutes ‘N-Zone’ time so all we have to do is leave and check one of the school clocks.”
We did as I had said and found, surprisingly enough, that time passed the same in our world and the ‘N-Zone’. “Well that’s good news,” Brent said, “at least there won’t be any serious consequences to loosing track of time in the ‘N-Zone’.” “Well,” I said, “We have a while before lunch is over so why don’t we see what else goes on in the ‘N-Zone’?” “Sounds like a good idea,” John replied, “Can you take us back in, Andrew?” “Sure,” Andrew said as he opened the shadow portal again.
John, Brody, Brent and I had just barely stepped through when Andrew laughed maniacally. As the portal to our world closed the last thing we heard Andrew say was, “SPITE!” “Well ain’t that just wonderful!” I said. “Way to hide your sarcasm,” John said, “Looks like we could be stuck here.” “Maybe our teleporting powers still work!” Brent said hopefully, “Can’t hurt to try right?” We all shrugged and agreed before focusing on the world outside our own. Sure enough the ‘N-Zone’ lost focus and Conner’s world came into view. When we arrived we were surprised to find ourselves in school. Just then we realized that Conner was standing in front of us and looking at us with an exasperated look on his face.
“Why are you here?” he asked. “Well, Andrew locked us in the ‘N-Zone’ and this was the only way we could get out,” I replied. For a moment he just stared at us with an unimpressed expression on his face. “‘N-Zone’?” he asked, “Never mind, I’ll find out later. So just head back to your world and please don’t bother me again today. I’ve not had the greatest day.” With that we sheepishly focussed on our world and teleported back. When we arrived I started planning how we could try and get Andrew back to our side. I knew that there was no way a simple plan could possibly fool him. The rest of the school day was uneventful and I was home before I knew it.
The week flew by as my plan grew. I spent the entirety of Friday night putting the finishing touches on it. Finally turning my light out at 3:45 am I went to sleep planning on exposing my plan to the one person who could really help me. I awoke at noon that Saturday and, after having lunch, teleported to Conner’s world. When I arrived I found him installing two new light bulbs into a ceiling lamp while singing John McDermott’s ‘Scotland the Brave’. I could see in the misty reflection of the bulb that he was watching me so I stepped forward and began to present my plan. I showed him the diagrams I had made that I would later show my friends as well as the detailed list of things that needed to happen and when they were to happen.
He eyed over the plans and said, “Is it OK if I check over these tonight and see if there are any issues that I might be able to point out? I doubt I’ll find any though. You’ve done really well with this plan.” “Sure! That’s why I brought these to you. I wanted to make sure they were almost foolproof. Plus I feel I’ve missed something,” I replied. The next day Conner met up with me in the afternoon. “Plan looks good,” he said, “You’ve covered any sort of scenario I could think of. I’m going to show my friends this and see if they can spot any issues but I think you could start putting that plan into action right away.” With that he disappeared and I began to make a copy of part of the plan to show my friends.
Monday at lunch I got John, Brent, and Brody to follow me to a locked classroom. I opened the door and we went in. Laying out the diagrams on the table I gave them all the information they needed to know. I pointed out where each one needed to be and at what time. They all agreed to the plan and we set up to enact the plan on Thursday after school. We ran through the plan once more before heading to class. As I left the room and locked it again I saw Andrew disappear from a corner of the room and knew he had been watching the whole time.
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We pulled into the parking lot of Sudbury’s Conversion Bureau a little while after I finished. We had long since put away the tarp and swept off the remaining Serum. We put some of our stuff into the room we were assigned before heading back out to the truck.
“We’re going to get an early dinner. Wanna come?” I asked the Mane 6.
“Sure, we’d love to,” Rarity said.
“Alright, then,” John said, “Hop on!”
Chapter 10: The Convoluted
“Fancy dining tonight?” I asked John through the window.
“Oh yeah,” he replied.
“I’ll get the suits,” I said, “Just remember to park down the street.”
“I know,” John sighed, “They don’t take too kindly to dingy trucks in their parking lot.”
“Hey! I keep this thing spotless,” I said with mock indignation.
We both burst out laughing a moment later.
“Oooh, ha ha,” I chuckled as I wiped tears from my eyes, “OK, yours will be in your locker. See you inside.”
With that John pulled over and I ushered everyone off. I hopped off myself and reached under the truck bed. I pulled out our suits from a hidden container strapped to the underside of the deck. All five suits were quite similar save for a few common differences. The tie for each was a different colour; crimson, sapphire, light green, sepia, and ash grey. The other difference was that the buttons on the suits were styled like the images we saw printed on the pillars we got our powers from.
I asked the Mane 6 if they could get a table for all of us since we were going to go change. They agreed and I tossed everyone their suit bag before putting John’s where I said I would. We put them on just around the corner of the building so we wouldn’t be seen. I then took everyone’s street clothes and headed over to where John was just getting out of the truck. As I packed away the clothes I slapped my forehead.
“I knew I forgot something,” I muttered.
I quickly finished and grabbed our monogrammed gloves out of the glove box. Dashing back to the restaurant I handed them over just before we went inside. We soon found the table they had put the ambassadors at and sat down with them. We ordered and while we waited I began the next chapter in our tale.
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Chapter 10: The Convoluted
Tuesday after school we met just outside Nova Bakery. I handed each of them a walkie-talkie and we split up to take our positions. I had watched Andrew for the past week and had a pretty good idea of where he was going to be. I hoped that Andrew’s spying on us wouldn’t prompt him to do something totally different that day. I quickly climbed up the side of the school’s smokestack and sat down on the upper rim. I looked at the paper on the back of the walkie-talkie and reminded myself of everyone’s codenames and ‘Hero’ names.
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“I’ve got a copy here,” I said fishing it out of my pocket, “Identical to the ones on the back of our walkie-talkies.”
I flattened the paper out and slid it across the table.
Name Codename ‘Hero’ Name
Brent Ice Tray Hydra
Brody Sparx Firefly
Conner Wrought Iron Earth Magnet
John Spartan Airborn
Andrew Origin Karma
After they all got a good look at it I stuffed it back into my pocket and continued the story.
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I set the walkie-talkie down next to me and pulled out a pair of binoculars. I focused on the corner right in front of our school. I didn’t have to wait long before Andrew walked out the front door. I grabbed the walkie-talkie and pressed talk, “Origin has left the building. Give me an E.T.A. on your target location.” I let go of the button and waited for the response. “Ice Tray, in position.” “Sparx, in position.” “Spartan, two minutes to target.” “Origin is on course,” I said, “E.T.A. for Sparx, one minute. Be ready.” With that I slid down the outside of the smokestack and snuck along the side of the building, trying to stay in the half-shadows.
As I followed him I realized that he passed his usual bus stop. “Origin is walking. Got to 20. Spartan, set intercept course,” I whispered into the walkie-talkie. “En-route,” John replied, “E.T.I., three minutes.” Until john intercepted Andrew I had to keep a close eye on him. I grabbed a tin can off the street and turned it into a crude transmitter. I was glad that the electronics classes I had taken were proving their worth. I carefully floated it into his backpack. I grabbed a discarded computer monitor and converted it into a handheld receiver with a screen. I am still thankful that sand is a major ingredient in glass. I tuned the receiver slightly and got a lock on the transmitter. I kept one eye on Andrew and the other on the receiver as I followed him.
Suddenly I lost him in a crowd of people. Glancing at the receiver I saw that he was right where he should be. As John radioed, “One minute to intercept,” Andrew disappeared from the receiver’s screen only to reappear well away from where he should have been. I checked the distance and direction on my iPod and realized that he had shadow jumped. He was now only a block from his house. “We have a problem,” I called into my walkie-talkie, “We need to Go To 17.” “What?!” came the reply from Brody. “No time to argue. FLY!” I yelled. With that I leapt into the air and used my steel-shank boots to basically throw myself toward Andrew’s house.
I landed 100 metres from Andrew’s house and turned to see Andrew rounding the corner at the end of the street. He and I drew our swords as the others landed around us. “We don’t need to fight you know,” I called to Andrew. “But it’s so much fun to kick your butts!” he replied. “Fine,” John responded, “But not here and not now. Panorama Field: Saturday at noon.” “I’ll give you the rest of the details Thursday night in an e-mail,” I continued, “Until then, Truce?” “Very well,” Andrew said a little reluctantly. In the e-mail I told Andrew where everyone would need to stand in order to make it a relatively fair fight.
Panorama Field is an odd patch of natural landscape. The field itself is roughly square and 400 metres across in both directions. Bordering the north side of the field is a large pond, to the south a stout cliff face, and to the east a kilometre wide canyon. On the west side lays a road that we would use to get there. I told Andrew that he would stand in the centre of the field while the rest of us would stand on each of the different sides. We would stand where our element would be the best boosted. The week passed quickly and Saturday came a little too soon.
We arrived at Panorama Field at two minutes to twelve to find Andrew waiting for us. We all then walked to our pre-designated locations. I stood with my back to the cliff, Brent with his back to the lake, John with his back to the canyon, and Brody stood on the roadway’s shoulder. We all took off out trench coats at the same time and unsheathed our swords. As we moved into an attack stance Andrew conjured a wall of shadows around Panorama Field. Before we could do anything else Andrew conjured lightning and struck the shadow-wall with the bolt effectively creating an electric fence. Laughing maniacally he forced the wall inward like a hydraulic press threatening to crush and electrocute us.
In the space of a second the shadows stopped and dissipated along with everything else in our world. “Perfect timing,” I commented. We stood in the Void with Conner calmly standing to one side. Andrew became enraged at Conner for disrupting his plan and attempted to conjure lightning and hurl it at Conner. We stood waiting for several moments before Conner spoke, “The ‘Void’ is a completely neutral field. None of your elemental powers will work here.” This got Andrew even angrier and he lunged at Conner with his sword.
As Andrew’s blade raced toward its mark time seemed to slow. Conner deftly sidestepped Andrew’s attack. Andrew turned and swung his blade in a horizontal arc at Conner’s stomach but he merely leapt backwards. This exchange of swings and dodges continued for almost two minutes before Conner slipped in under Andrew’s guard and shoved him backwards a good twenty feet. After skidding to a stop Andrew leapt up and threw his sword at Conner’s head. The blades pierced Conner’s forehead but his figure curled away like strands of smoke as the sword continued through. “I will watch from afar. Problem?” Conner’s disembodied voice proclaimed with an overtone of smugness, “If you can sway Andrew to the side of good I can then delete the Evil-Andrew reference document.”
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“Awww,” the ponies said collectively, “Don’t stop there!”
“Give us time to get you all back to the Bureau,” I said, “Cliff can hold on just a little longer.”
I got confused looks from all but Pinkie Pie so I said, “Never mind. At least the readers will get it.”
The ride back to the Bureau was calm. The Five and I rode back in out suits because we planned on changing straight into our sleep wear when we got there. When we got there we saw that the parking lot was fairly full so John let us off at the front door before finding a place to park.
Eventually I stepped back out of our room in my pajamas and went to tell the ponies the next chapter. Before I did though there was a question.
“Why did you codename each of your plans with a number? And why did you keep saying ‘Go To’ before each one?” Twilight asked.
“Well, I took some computer programming back in high school and one of the commands is ‘Go To’ followed by a number,” I answered, “It makes the program jump straight to the line of code with the same number. It was an easy way to identify each plan without giving anything away in a real codename. Programming class is also the reason why I write my zeros with a diagonal slash through them. Distinguish them from letter O’s”
The ponies all nodded and I figured I should continue with the story.
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Chapter 11: The Return
Knowing just what to do Brody and I attacked Andrew from either side forcing him to leap backward as he parried our blades. He turned and blocked Brent’s skilled swing and used the momentum to catch John’s attack between his blades. Twisting John’s sword out of his hands Andrew returned his attention to the rest of us. Side stepping my vertical slice he opened an opportunity. We all swung together at the same time and all of our blades collided as one for the second time. A noticeable pulse shook through the Void and large cracks began to appear in the ‘ground’. Shortly thereafter the cracks began to meet one another and large sections of the ‘ground’ began to fall away.
Carefully dropping back from the rest of the group I peered over the edge where a large chunk of ‘ground’ had fallen. What I saw was distressing. There, at the ‘core’ of the Void, was a miniature black hole. We were far enough away and it was small enough that we only felt it’s pull as equal to earth’s gravity. Nonetheless it sat there, a disconcerting darkness huddled amid the whiteness of the Void. I turned back to the fight hoping to end it quickly. As I returned to the fight I heard Conner’s voice, “Don’t hold back. You’ve not much time. I’ll keep him alive no matter what. Just finish this NOW!” With that I steeled my resolve and fought more viciously. Throwing all the force I could muster into the swing I brought my sword up in a slashing arc and managed to slice through Andrew’s right arm between the elbow and shoulder.
Andrew stumbled back in shock and in that moment John and Brent cut off his left and right legs respectively. Andrew fell backward onto the ‘ground’ and as I stepped toward him the ‘ground’ under him fell away. I managed to grab his left hand before he plummeted into the ‘core’. It took a few moments but I manage to drag Andrew back up onto the ‘ground’. I stepped back with the others to give Andrew some room. Andrew then reached over and grabbed his sword that he had dropped when I had cut off his arm. As I went to unsheathe my sword the ‘ground’ below John, Brent, Brody, and I fell away. We managed to grab onto the edge of the ‘ground’. As we hung there trying to pull ourselves back up Andrew dragged himself over to us and lifted his sword above his head preparing to smash the pommel into our hands.
Andrew froze just before he brought down his hilt. He looked each of us in the eye and stayed frozen for, what felt like, an eternity. Then his eyes softened and he lowered his sword. In a heartbeat Automail limbs appeared to replace the limbs that he had lost. He then helped each of us back up just before Conner reappeared. “Good news everyone,” he said, “The Evil-Andrew reference document has been successfully removed from my laptop’s hard drive.” Just then the ‘ground’ shook and we were reminded of the predicament we were in. “I’ve got this,” Conner said. The Void disappeared from view and Conner’s world came into focus. I turned to see the monitor on his laptop flash brightly for a split-second and immediately go black.
I turned back to see Conner talking on the phone, “Yeah…yeah…right away if you can. They just arrived.” He then hung up and turned to us. I asked, “What are you going to do about your laptop. We destroyed the screen.” “Don’t worry,” he replied, “I’ve got actual monitors to replace it with. By the way I was just getting a party together for you guys to congratulate you on your perseverance. While we wait for the others to arrive why don’t you elaborate a little, Conner?” “I’d be glad to,” I replied, “The plan I told you guys was not the whole plan I had laid out.” From there I went on to explain the numerous details, back-up plans, and contingencies that I had prepared and designed for. I told them of what I let slip to Andrew and what I told no one but Conner. Finally I asked, “For a plan so convoluted, half backwards, and with such a cliché ending, did it not go rather well?”
My friends whole-heartedly agreed and even complimented me on thinking of stuff that never would have crossed their minds. Suddenly I remembered something, “Hey, Andrew. How did you find the ‘N-Zone’?” “Funny you should ask,” he replied, “The Sunday after the fight in the oil field I was trying to outdo you guys by creating a minion that utilized both light and shadows. I barely succeeded and the only one I managed to create swallowed me whole shortly after I made it. It was dark for a moment but then I could suddenly see and there I was staring at the ‘N-Zone’.”
“I think,” Andrew continued, “that the ‘N-Zone’ may have been created when our swords all connected the first time. When the combined elements pulled us through the portal it may have created the ‘N-Zone’ in response.” “That would make sense,” John said, “Newton’s third law of motion.” Everyone nodded in agreement. Just then the doorbell rang. “That will be the party arriving,” Conner said, “Bring my stereo and cassettes with you.” The party lasted through the afternoon and well into the evening during which we recounted numerous aspects of my plan and what all happened in the Void. By the time the party was over the ten of us had drained 8 2L bottles of soda; 3 bottles of A&W root beer, 2 bottles of Pepsi, and one each of Barq’s, Coca Cola, and Sprite.
Our real world selves left at around 10:00 pm shortly before we headed back to our world. When we got back I invited my friends to stay the night and play video games for most of it. None of them said ‘No’. As we played we pondered on what Conner might throw at us next. Through all of our discussions we came up with dozens of ideas ranging from a zombie apocalypse to an alien invasion. With no way to be certain we assured each other that, no matter the villain, we would face the issue with the same vigour as we had so far. Continuing to play we exhausted our topics of conversation while the wee hours of the morning crawled past.
We eventually let sleep overcome us and woke only at noon to a beautiful fall Sunday. We went our separate ways for the time being, knowing that we’d meet at school the next day. The months rolled by as life continued as normally as it had been since that fateful day in June. Winter dragged on as it is wont to do in Canada and March was as snowy as ever. Something about that winter felt different though, but none of us could place why. We wouldn’t even know why until April was well underway.
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“Equestria,” Twilight muttered.
“What was that?” I asked.
“Oh! I was just saying that what was different was Equestria, right?” she replied.
“Actually no,” I said, “It was something very different. I can start telling you about it if you’d like. We have the time.”
“That would be great,” Twilight said.
“Ok. Here we go,” I grinned.
Chapter 12: The Unnatural
Chapter 12: The Unnatural
A week into April I was walking to school when I caught a glimpse of something running on the school’s soccer field. I had almost dismissed it as someone from one of the Outdoor-Ed classes when I did a double take. There were no footprints where whoever it was had run through. When I arrived at school I went looking for my friends and found them almost immediately. They must have seen the lingering look of confusion on my face because Andrew asked, “What’s up, Conner?” The question caught me off guard for how much concern it held. “Well,” I said hesitantly, “I saw something strange on my way to school today.” “Did it leave any foot prints?” Brent asked.
I was surprised at the question until I realized that I might not have been the only one to see something that morning. “No, it didn’t,” I replied, “Did you see something similar?” “We all did,” was the answer Brody gave. We agreed to keep our eyes open and report any other strange occurrences. The next day I was walking to school as usual when something caught my eye on the football field. I turned and made a beeline for it, always keeping visual contact with it. Before I could get close enough to identify it a tree slipped into my view between me and whatever the running thing was. In that split second it disappeared. The thing had vanished into thin air.
This time it had left footprints and I started to follow them hoping to find more clues. There was nothing outstanding about the footprints. They looked like whatever it was had been wearing snow boots. All I found was that the footprints just stopped where I had lost sight of the strange creature. I reported my findings and we came to the conclusion that, whatever it or they were, they must have the ability to teleport. These strange sightings continued for about a week before Conner spoke to us about it.
He brought us into the Void to speak to us in private. The Void seemed larger this time but I didn’t dwell on the feeling for too long. “Why did you bring us here?” I asked. “I’ll answer that with a question,” Conner replied, “Have you ever heard of Ghosts with respect to computers.” We all thought for a moment before John replied, “I think so. Isn’t that when random segments of code write themselves together to create tiny programs that don’t usually do much?” “Yes, that’s it exactly,” Conner replied, “That thing that has been following you guys around is one of them.
“Normally it wouldn’t pose much of a threat but I believe that this one managed to grab sections of the Evil-Andrew reference document as I deleted it.” “Why didn’t we encounter it earlier?” I asked. Conner thought for a moment before replying, “I think that’s because the program has only just recently acquired enough data to manifest itself in your world. I have no idea what it’ll be capable of but I can hopefully make you more prepared. In order to do so I will give you five the ability to transform into a mythical creature that relates to your element. Brody will become a Phoenix, John a Griffon, Conner will become a Golem, Brent a Hydra, and Andrew will get to be Cerberus.”
“That’s awesome,” Andrew exclaimed, “But why did you give me Cerberus? Why not jus let us turn into dragons of our own element?” “Are you complaining about the abilities I gave you?” Conner asked as he glared at Andrew. “No! No. Not at all!” Andrew said defensively as he cringed slightly. “Good,” Conner sighed, “Thing is, I haven’t been able to find many mythical creatures that relate to Light or Dark.” We all stood in silence for a moment before Conner suddenly turned his head and looked up. It looked as though he had heard something. A look of recognition swept across his face. “We need to go,” he said, “I’ll try and contact you later.”
We were thrown back into our own world and left to our own devices. As we turned to go to class Andrew stuck his hands into his pockets and he paused for a second looking puzzled. He pulled out a piece of paper that obviously wasn’t there moments before. Andrew read it aloud.
Dear E 5;
I advise you to carry your swords with you at all times from now until ‘The Wraith’ is defeated. Yes that’s what I’m calling it. Deal with it. Don’t worry about being found out. Your sheathes now have phase cloak abilities. This means that it will harmlessly pass through any object it touches when the cloak is active. The only things unaffected by the cloak are your swords’ hilt and the crest on the sheath. All you have to do is tap the crest once to activate the cloak and twice to deactivate. Best of luck to you all. I’ll try and figure out some way to defeat ‘The Wraith’.
Sincerely, The Writer
We stood for a moment ingesting what Conner had told us. “Would you mind grabbing our swords?” I asked Andrew. “Huh? Oh! Yeah, sure,” he replied as he stuck his hand into the shadow under the school’s trophy case. He handed each of us our swords as he pulled them from the shadow. After putting on our sheathes and adjusting them so that they fit comfortably we activated the cloaks. Sure enough the sheathes and swords completely disappeared save for the crests and hilts which were relatively inconspicuous. We told each other that we’d see them later and went to our separate classes.
While in my construction class I asked my friend Michael if he would write down one of the adventures we ‘Five’ had. He was one of the few that knew of our powers and he did well to keep it secret. He agreed to transcribe and I began to tell him the details of what had happened. Details I do not care to explain here. I told him that Andrew, Brody, Brent, John and I had all agreed to keep it secret and to not tell them about me commissioning him to put it on paper.
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“What sort of adventure?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“It’s a rather embarrassing story that the others wouldn’t want me telling,” I replied, “Besides, that was in an alternate universe a long time ago.”
“I understand,” Pinkie replied.
“That’s enough for tonight,” I said, “Time to head to the bunks. Goodnight!”
The Mane 6 chorused a ‘goodnight’ and we went our separate ways.
The next day required me and my friends to do several construction projects and as a result we weren’t able to meet up with the Mane 6 until supper. We had been near enough but not close enough for conversation.
“Would you girls like to come with us, to a bar, tonight?” I asked, “The rest of the Five and I were looking to get a little drink on and we were wondering if you’d like to come along. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’m just offering.”
“What kind of bar?” Twilight asked.
“Oh, nothing too rowdy,” John replied, “Just a little place with a karaoke machine. It’s not too far. We’ll be walking though.”
“Sounds like fun!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“I’m in,” Rainbow Dash said.
“A few drinks couldn’t hurt,” Applejack replied.
“I wonder what I could learn,” Twilight muttered before turning to me, “I’m in.”
“Well, if you’re all going…” Rarity said.
“If you don’t mind,” Fluttershy whispered.
“Alright then!” Brent grinned, “Let’s go!”
We walked the three blocks to the quaint little pub and ordered a round of light beer for our group. An hour or two later John, Andrew and I had each emptied two bottles and were starting to feel braver.
“Time to sing,” John said, “Who’s first? …Not Me!”
“Not me!” Andrew said just before me, leaving me to take to the karaoke machine.
“This one has WiFi!” I said when I got up there, “Sweet!”
I flicked through YouTube for a moment before finding the right song.
I laughed as I walked off stage, “Man. That felt good. You’re next John!”
“Fine,” he grumbled as he got up.
He fiddled with the machine for a moment or two before he belted out Great Big Sea’s ‘Consequence Free’.
“He’s singing right into my territory,” I told the ponies before I started singing along with the song. I was interrupted shortly thereafter by Fluttershy.
“Um, I was wondering why you sang that song,” she said, “Don’t you have a family? Not to sound rude or anything. I-I’m just curious.”
“Oh, that’s OK,” I replied, “I do have a family. And I really do love them. I just really like that song. That and it’s gotten a little truer recently. The rest of my family went pony and moved to Equestria about a month-and-a-half ago.”
“Oh,” Fluttershy said, eyes wide, “I’m sorry I…”
“No, it’s fine,” I said, “I miss them but I do have a feeling I’ll be able to find them when I get to Equestria.”
Just then Andrew started singing Allan Jackson’s ‘Mercury Blues’.
Not long after Twilight got curious.
“Why is he singing about mercury like that?” she asked, “Doesn’t he know it’s a toxic substance?”
“He’s not singing about the element,” I replied, “There used to be a car manufacturer named Mercury. They built very beautiful cars.”
I then showed her some photos of Mercurys on my iPod. It wasn’t too long after that Andrew finished and it was my turn again. I sang Toby Keith’s ‘Wish I Didn’t Know Now’
and found myself well applauded. I was surprised that anyone other than the Mane 6 and the Five had been paying attention.
I then made my way back to the table as John sang the Bellamy Brother’s ‘Let Your Love Flow’.
When I got there it was Applejack’s turn to ask a question.
“What ya’ll are singin’ sounds an awful lot like the country music we got,” she said, “Is that what this is? And why are all ya’ll singin’ it?”
“Yeah this is country music,” I replied, “Though I don’t know why we’re all singing it. Hey, Andy. How come you two are singing what I like?”
“’Cause you do the same for us almost every other time,” Andrew said, “High time we returned the favour.”
“Thanks,” I said, “Well there’s your answer.”
“You know I’m surprised you listen to this stuff,” Rainbow Dash said, “It’s all sappy and lonesome and melancholy. I figured you’d listen to music that’s as adventurous as you.”
“ ‘Melancholy’? I didn’t think you knew that word,” I joked, “Probably got it from a Daring Doo novel, eh? As for why I like the music…Andy! Mind if I take your place?”
“Go ahead,” he replied, “I’ve had one too many drinks now to sing again.”
“Thanks,” I said, “Rainbow, this one should answer your question.”
I made my way to the karaoke machine and hit up the one song I knew would be right. I belted out Trace Adkin’s ‘Songs About Me’.
“Does that answer your question?” I asked as I returned to the group.
“Yeah,” Dash said, “I can see why you like it.”
“We should probably be getting back,” Brent said, “It’s rather late.”
“You’re right,” John said, “We’ll likely be doing more of the same tomorrow. We’ll need the sleep.”
We then rounded everybody up and staggered our way back to the Bureau.
Chapter 13: The Inevitable
Sure enough, when we woke the next morning my crew was tasked a job we could keep the Mane 6 close by while doing. We were assigned the task of cleaning out left-behind vehicles. When done we had a sticker to apply to the vehicle’s hood that said “Ponified” signaling for one of the other volunteers to drive it out of the parking lot. All Canadian Bureaus had a policy that required those signing up for conversion to leave behind any car keys so they could keep the lot relatively clear. Inevitably there was always about a row or two of cars that still needed to be cleared. As we got started on the task at hand I asked them if they would like me to continue telling them the story. After a unanimous decision I began to recount as I worked.
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Chapter 13: The Inevitable
Later that day I headed to the caf to meet up with my friends. I got to the foyer as it began to clear due to the leaving teens. I saw Brody and Andrew walk into the foyer from one of the other hallways moments after I arrived. Spotting John and Brent walking toward us from the caf I stopped to talk with Andrew and Brody. Just after John and Brent stepped away from the caf doors they slammed shut along with the front doors that had been slowly swinging closed. I turned to the sudden movement of steel and glass and felt a presence behind me. I turned as I took a half step away from whoever it was.
It took me a split second to realize that what I was looking at was the Wraith and less time to draw my sword. I got a good look at Wraith as the others drew their swords. It looked almost exactly like Andrew except for the fact that the Wraith was translucent and made up of flickering 1s and 0s. We all stood for a moment pondering the Wraith’s first move. We were unprepared for what it did next. The Wraith took a flying leap over my head and ran out the front doors. We stood stunned for a split second before chasing after it.
“Anyone else see a 2 in that thing?” Brody asked as we chased the Wraith out onto the school’s front yard. The Wraith kept running though and we were forced to follow it around to the football field behind the school. Brody got fed up with chasing the Wraith and ignited a quick burst of flame that launched him well over the Wraith to the far side of the field. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks and stared at one another. Just then the Wraith emitted a blinding flash of light. When I looked back I saw a beast standing in the middle of the football field. I knew it had to be the Wraith because it was also made of binary digits. “It’s a Sphinx,” Brent said, “Why is it a Sphinx?” “I don’t know,” I replied, “But I think it’s time to get mythical.”
“That was terrible,” John commented as we all sheathed our swords. “I know,” I said as I laughed, “Just thought I’d try.” As the others shook their heads at how bad my joke was they transformed into their mythical creatures. Brody burst into flame as he grew to twice his original size and remained alight as his arms became wings. Shadows swirled up and around Andrew hiding his transformation. The shadows fell around him like settling dust revealing the three heads he now possessed. A dense dome of fog formed over John to conceal his transformation. The fog dispersed instantly with one immense downbeat from John’s wings as he gained lift.
Brent was swallowed by a small tornado of water that vaporized as he revealed all seven of his heads. Inspired by the show my friends had put on I focused on becoming a golem. In an instant I was caught between two large boulders and the world disappeared for a moment. When light returned I realized that I now stood around fifteen feet tall and was made entirely of iron. I looked to John as he hovered at my head level and I could have sworn he’d managed to grin. He nodded and I took that to mean a direct attack from all sides. I turned my right hand into a massive sword and lunged at the Wraith with speed and agility that surprised even me. To my dismay the Wraith easily sidestepped my attack and sent me flying with a swift paw to the head.
The next thing I knew I was being woken up on the hill beside the schoolyard. As my friends stood over me I realized that I was human again. “We got our butts kicked again didn’t we?” I asked. “Yep,” John replied, “Happens every time doesn’t it?” “Seems so,” Brent commented. “Any damage?” I asked.
“Nothing here. Just bruises.”
I’m OK.”
“Just a few dents. Nothing critical.”
“I’m fine. Know how to fix a torn sleeve?”
I laughed a little and patted Brent on the shoulder, “Not a clue. Come on we should get back. What time is it?” Just before anyone could answer my watch’s alarm went off. I chuckled at the timing, “Ten to twelve. Full lunch, eh? Come over to my place after school, I’ll straighten out any dents you may have.” As we walked back toward school I noticed something odd about Brody. “How come Brody’s walking funny?” I asked. “The Wraith nailed him in the nuts,” Brent answered. “But I didn’t think birds…” I trailed off. “Not exposed ones,” John said, “The Wraith had already dunked him in the pool which turned him back into a human.” “We learned something from that battle at least,” Andrew said, “Brent can keep Brody in line. Besides I don’t think he’ll be doing anything too brash in the near future.” We all chuckled and headed to our separate classes.
After school the five of us walked together to my house. As we walked the others recounted the brief and demoralizing battle that had occurred while I was out of it. “Shortly after the Wraith sent you flying it knocked Brody through the school’s wall and into the pool,” John began. “So I climbed out of the pool and said, “I don’t go down without a fight!”” Brody continued, “But it kicked me in the balls just before I said ‘fight’.” “In other words, he said ‘fight’ about an octave higher than he should have,” Brent chuckled, “Just then though, it grabbed the rest of us and body slammed us into the ground. With all of those heads being knocked around; I blacked out.”
“I wasn’t too much better off,” Andrew sighed, “I didn’t get knocked out but I did black out for a split-second which changed me back to human just before the Wraith swatted me with the back of its paw. That’s why I’m the only one with dents.” “The Wraith then threw me onto Brent so it could teleport away,” John said, finishing the story, “I got right back up but one of my talons got caught in Brent’s shirt before I turned back. That’s why there was a rip.” “Wow,” I replied, “Sounds like I missed out on some quality butt kick! Seems like John’s the only one who got off lightly.” “What about you?” Brody complained to me. “He got knocked out for half an hour!” John exclaimed in my defence, “In truth, I think he should go see a doctor!” “No,” I sighed, “Brody’s right. I think I was only unconscious for a moment or two after that I was just asleep. I’ve not been getting a good night’s rest recently and I think that knock to the head helped me catch up. Thanks for your concern though."
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“Wow,” Fluttershy said, “It really does sound like you were knocked out for a long time. Maybe you should have seen a doctor.”
“No, no,” I said as I adhered the sticker to the car’s hood, “I knew what I was talking about and I’ll explain it in just a moment. First I have to tell my friends that I never told them this before now because…well…I wasn’t sure what to make of it.”
Chapter 14: The Imagined
One thing I wouldn’t mention directly to my friends was what I saw in a dream while I was asleep on the hill after the Wraith knocked me out.
In the dream I saw myself standing on a bridge of alien design. Outside the window I saw the inky expanse of outer space. As quiet as space is the scene was anything but still. Several large ships each several kilometres long battled against one another. Somehow I could tell that each one of my friends commanded one of the other vessels. The ships we were on were typical of human engineering; function over form. They were steel grey hulks with irregular, boxy protrusions all over their rectangular hulls. The other ships were quite different being sleek, oval shaped behemoths each painted a slightly different shade of blood red.
I watched the battle unfold. There was weapons fire from all directions the shot’s colour being the only way to tell who fired it. Some of the attacks looked like the turbolasers from Star Wars while other, more lancing shots, looked more like the phasers from Star Trek. As I looked closer I could see glinting streaks between the ships and tiny exhaust trails racing in every direction. Rail guns, missiles and things that could only be classified as photon torpedoes were all being used. I was surprised at how advanced the technology was. I couldn’t believe we’d come that far only a few years. That is, until I saw the date on the watch I was wearing. 12:35 on November 15, 2318. I stared in disbelief. How had we aged so little in three hundred years? Or were these our descendants of generations to come who only looked like us? If so, who were they? How did they manage to get together like that? Would fate bring them together like it had with us? Or was the Writer behind everything again?
I didn’t have long to ponder these questions because one of the oval ships detonated, its power plant going critical. The super-heated debris reached one of the other ships in its fleet. It was just enough, apparently, to set off that ship too. Before I could react a chain reaction broke out and their entire fleet exploded into clouds of boiling vapours.
I didn’t get to see what happened after that because that was when John woke me up.
There are a few reasons why I wouldn’t tell my friends about the dream. First is that I really didn’t want to worry them too much with the details. Secondly, I’ve found that, in movies, the more people that know of the future the worse the outcome. Third is that the infinitely infinite number of possible futures arising from every decision made between now and then would render the likeliness of that happening nigh-on null and void. Finally, and it took me quite some time to figure this one out, is the seemingly obvious fact that it could have all been nothing but a dream.
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“Makes sense doesn’t it?” I said.
“Yeah, I get where you’re coming from there,” John said, “But the question is; how real did it feel?”
“Extremely real,” I said, “And I can’t count how many times I’ve watched a scene in a dream and then watch it play out in real life.”
“Alright,” Brent said, “I think we can give you the benefit of the doubt for that one. Besides, that’s a future for an alternate version of us.”
“You’re right,” I said, “At least we won’t have to worry about getting blown up in the icy depths of space. Now where was I? Oh right…
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Over the next several weeks we would get into skirmishes with the Wraith, often one on one. While we would manage to do damage to the Wraith it would always teleport away before anything decisive could be done. It seemed to be either sparring with us to hone its battle skills or testing us to see just how far we could, or even would, go and how much control of our powers we had. Either way its battles with us were helping us too as it was constantly pushing our limits and forcing us to create new fighting techniques as well as hone old ones.
One such battle that I recall quite vividly is one that occurred about a week after our mythical fight with the Wraith.
I was walking home from school when the Wraith jumped me. It caught me in a flying tackle but I managed to push it off when I hit the ground. I leapt to my feet and chased after the Wraith who had begun running into the heart of the city. I chased it for about a block before it leapt into the air and soared off. Not one to let an adversary go that easily I followed suit and flew after it. The Wraith then landed near where they were building a high-rise and I set down right next to it.
“Let’s see just what you’ve got,” It said. Its voice was that creepy two-tone you get in TV shows when someone’s been possessed. The Wraith then ran towards a tower crane and started climbing. “That thing’s nuts if it thinks I’m gonna follow it,” I muttered. I dug out my iPod to start listening to some tunes on my walk back home when a small block of plastic knocked it out of my hand and into a nearby pile of loose dirt. It was quite unharmed but as I turned to look at the Wraith a larger chunk of plastic landed right on top of my iPod.
“Oh hell no,” I said, glaring out under my glasses. I snapped around and saw the Wraith halfway up the crane laughing its head off. Pointing at the Wraith I yelled, “You’ll pay for that!” I dashed to the crane and scaled the ladders two rungs at a time. Reaching the top of the crane, twenty stories up, I drew my sword. I fought the Wraith with all the fury I had and forced it to back up along the crane’s boom. Our swords clattered together as the Wraith fended off my attacks until we were almost three quarters of the way along the boom.
Then I drew back my left arm and swung my fist at the Wraith with all the power I could muster. It jumped back just before my fist connected with it. It didn’t jump far enough back because my punch slammed into the cross-guard of its sword and sent it flying out of the Wraith’s hand. I reach out with my powers and drew the sword back hilt first as the Wraith dashed for the end of the crane arm. Catching the sword in my left hand I dashed toward the Wraith and forced it off the crane. My momentum took me with it.
As we plummeted together I stabbed and slashed at the Wraith. Then I heard the Wraith’s voice ring through my head, “Watch your temper, numpty.” Then it vanished and left me to stare at the rapidly approaching ground. “Aw nuts,” I said as I heaved on my steel arm and leg to slow myself. I managed to reduce the impact so it was like I had belly flopped off a chair. Dusting myself off I walked over to the ball of plastic that sat on my iPod. Heaving it off, I saw that there was absolutely no damage to it. I looked back and saw an indent in the plastic ball the exact size and shape of my iPod. For a moment I looked between it, my iPod and the end of the crane’s boom. I then took a deep calming breath, and face-palmed.
I then picked up my iPod and trudged home..
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“You did all that just because you thought it trashed an iPod?” Twilight asked, “Isn’t that a little excessive?”
“Maybe, but it’s one of the few material things I actually cared about,” I replied, I got it as a grad present from my parents. Now, before we get too distracted, I’ll get back to the story.”
My name’s Conner and I’m going to tell you a story that happened to my friends and I. My friends are Andrew, Brent, Brody and John. Some of you may know us as the Elemental Five. Or at least we were before Equestria appeared. You see the Writer was trying to create a crossover fic but got a little more than he bargained for. He didn’t realize that when he brought in ‘My Little Pony, The Conversion Bureau, and Railroads that he’d lose some of his power due to the fact that they were created by other authors. He filled us all in on this and on how he was trying to figure out a way to reverse it or get us out of the story without causing the world to collapse in on itself. Meanwhile the Barrier and the veritable no-man’s land that inevitably preceded it reached Ontario’s western border. He also gave us nearly free reign when it came to things involving Equestria. The only thing he wouldn’t let us do was get ponified. He said that, due to the laws of the other universes, he wouldn’t be able to bring us back from that.
Due to our nature we couldn’t just sit by and do nothing so we decided to join one of Canada’s two Railroad factions. We enrolled in the Canadian Pacific faction as they needed more fighters to deal with the HLF and PER. The other faction, Canadian National, had an easier job because they shuttled ponies along a more northern route through the back woods of Northern Ontario where few HLF cared to go and the PER weren’t quite as fanatic. You see Canada has always been a rather accepting country overall and when Equestria appeared there were few who had an issue with it. In fact, the general consensus of the Canadian Railroads was that almost 90% of the HLF presence consisted of Americans that had crossed the border. The PER were a little different story in that, while there were organized groups of them, most of the PER consisted of folks who figured it was a good idea to try and help others get ponified. Most of them would never force you to get converted though.
Another reason why the CN had an easier time was that CP teams 3-1 to 3-9 patrolled east to west to try and keep the HLF within a couple hundred kilometers of the border. While there were only three sections to each faction my friends and I marked ourselves as CP 5-5. And while most teams had three members and one truck (or bus in the CN’s case) we had five members loaded onto a customized 18-wheeler. The truck itself was fairly standard though I had made a few adjustments to improve power, speed and fuel capacity. The trailer was a different story. It had been a flatbed to begin with. I added a four foot tall fence of steel with a railing on top with a wall of lockers mounted at the front of the trailer, protected from the wind by the cab. I also added hinged panels that hung down beside the tires in an effort to protect them from being shot out. With three of us on the trailer with numerous weapons at our disposal we were a force to be reckoned with.
We painted our Railroad sign on just about every free surface. There was one on both of the doors, one on each of the four tire guards, the fuel tanks and the lockers. We’d even managed to grab a pair of road signs that we gave a new coat of paint before bolting them to the trailer’s tailgate and the truck’s grille. Flying proudly from a flag pole mounted to the trailer was a flag with the Elemental Five logo emblazoned upon it. We were proud of that truck and took the utmost care of it making sure it got checked over every time we returned to base.
Our trips consisted of running from Kitchener up and around Lake Huron to Sudbury where we’d pick up some more ponies before heading to Sault Ste. Marie. Once there we’d usually pick up a couple more and, in the first month, the stragglers from Thunder Bay’s own Bureau. We could safely transport up to 35 ponies but didn’t usually load more than 25. So in our first month of runs we managed 6 trips with almost 150 ponies in total. We beat our record the next month with 8 trips and 200 ponies. But to tell you the truth it would be trips 15 and 16 that we would remember for quite some time.
~~~~~~~~~~
We were about to get our assignment when the Writer showed up.
“The best I can do,” he said, “is copy you guys and drop them into an Equestria-free storyline.”
“Which means we’ll still be here,” John said.
“Pretty much,” the Writer replied, “I hope that won’t be a problem.”
“Not at all,” I reassured him, “We get to keep doing what we do best: protect the citizens.”
“Well, as long as there are no hard feelings,” the Writer said, “it’s time to clone you.”
Just then a horizontal beam of soft blue light appeared under our feet. As it passed over us an identical beam of light moved in tandem a meter away: producing exact duplicates of ourselves as it went. The whole process took about a minute.
“Now that was cool,” Andrew said.
“Thank you,” the Writer replied, “Well, we have to be going now. See you guys later.”
With that he disappeared along with the other Elemental Five.
“Well, that’s that over with,” Brody said, “Let’s go get that assignment.”
We all laughed at the fact that Brody was eager to get an assignment as we headed into the Bureau.
~~~~~~~~~~
“You are to take the thirteen newfoals from here,” the secretary said, “and pick up nine more from Sudbury’s main Bureau as well as three from Sault Ste. Marie. The Princesses themselves have requested that you pick up all 6 of Equestria’s ambassadors from the abandoned Bureau in Thunder Bay.”
“I presume that’s because we’re the only team equipped to carry that may ponies safely in one trip,” I said, “That and the CN’s getting backed up as it is with all those folks getting converted in Quebec.”
“Correct,” the secretary replied, “As a side note, CP teams 1-9 and 2-2 will meet you in Thunder Bay and escort you part of the way back here.”
The secretary handed Andrew a clipboard with the ponies’ names on it and we headed to the lunch room. Andrew called out the names and checked them off in the first of three columns as they walked over to us. Double checking that we had gathered all the correct ponies we headed out side and got them loaded on the truck as Andrew checked off their names for a second time. The final column would get checked off when we dropped them off near the Barrier. The ponies were all very excited not only because they were finally headed to Equestria but also because they were being taken there by the 5-5. You see we had made quite the name for ourselves as being the most reliable and amicable. We also held the record for the lowest casualty to trip ratio: only five injured in total.
This trip wasn’t very different from the rest of them. There was a lot of chatting between the newfoals all the way up to around Terrace Bay when they started talking a little quieter. The trailer full of ponies became eerily silent as we drove through Nipigon as we all knew that the HLF loved to patrol close to the Barrier. Brody, Brent and I went to high-alert at the same time as we were the ones on the trailer, John was driving and Andrew was riding shotgun. Surprisingly the HLF left us alone through the last dozen kilometres even while we off-loaded the ponies. I was grateful for the peace that we had been afforded. We all then climbed back onto the truck and turned back to Thunder Bay.
~~~~~~~~~~
We arrived a little after dawn and found CP 2-2 already waiting for us. About an hour later CP 1-9 showed up. They explained that their transmission was damaged and couldn’t get any higher than second gear. I told them I’d fix it and have it ready by the time the Ambassadors arrived. Sure enough I had no sooner gotten done when Brent pointed out the royal chariot. I slid out from under the truck and saw that the pegasi pulling the chariot were flying quite close to the ground. ‘All in the name of safety,’ I thought, ‘Boy that is one fine piece of construction.’ I admired the chariot for a little while longer before heading back over to the truck and beginning my own routine inspection.
“They seem to like the work you’ve done on old ‘Blue-Eyes’,” Brent said as he checked tire pressures, “They may even want to shower you with praise!”
Brent and I chuckled at that while I checked the fence to ensure it was still well secured and that none of the support posts had been jarred loose. Soon enough we were ready to go and we all took our positions. I introduced myself before warning them, “We’ll be well past the northern-most point of Lake Superior before we start to relax so it’s in your best interest to keep to yourselves. I’d also like you to keep as low as possible until we’re in Sault Ste. Marie.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Almost 300 km later we started to feel a little safer; the four hours had seemed to take an eternity. Finally deciding to relax a little I sat down and leaned against the fence. Twilight took the opportunity to ask some questions.
“I noticed the flag you’re flying but in all my studies of human culture I’ve never seen that particular one,” she said, “What country’s is it?”
“It’s not actually the flag of any country,” I replied, “It’s our group’s old emblem. The one we had before we joined the CP.”
“Interesting,” Twilight said, “Now, I have a few questions. First, what does ‘CP’ stand for? This is the first time we haven’t been transported via air in Canada. Second, what’s the symbolism of your flag? Finally, what is it about you team that has earned you your reputation?”
I was impressed with the questions she had come up with, “OK, your first question. I presume you’ve heard of the American Railroad teams? Good. Well, Canada has two different Factions based off of old rail companies that both built a line across the country; Canadian Pacific, ‘CP’, and Canadian National, ‘CN’. CN teams take a more northern route that has little to no interaction with the HLF and PER for how far north they drive. In fact, they had to build new roads just for the CN’s use. Now, the CP has to deal with the HLF and PER for how closely we work to the border between Canada and the US. Normally a CN team has three members to a bus and can escort 20 to 25 ponies depending on the type of bus. The CP however usually have three to a pick-up truck, like those escorting us, and can only take three at a time. However we also have to deal with the HLF.”
“Very interesting,” Twilight said, “Now, about my other questions?”
“I’ll save those for later,” I replied.
“Why’s that?” Rainbow Dash retorted.
“Because, to be quite frank, it’s a long story. In the meantime; do you have any simpler questions?”
“Well,” Twilight queried, “Would you mind explaining a little more about the railway?”
“Not at all,” I said, “Canada’s factions are split into three sectors each with nine teams in each sector labelled 1-1 to 3-9. The reason why they let us have 5-5 as our team number is because we used to be called the Elemental Five or E5 for short. And since ‘E’ is the fifth letter of the alphabet it seemed natural to go for 5-5. And before you ask; yes, I will explain why we were called the Elemental Five. Later. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Each team has a set of code names. Usually characters from books that come in sets of three. We didn’t follow that rule and our code names should become self-evident later. I’m Wrought Iron, Brody there in the red jacket is Sparx, Brent in the blue one is Ice Tray, John, the one driving the truck, is Spartan, and our navigator Andrew, the other one in the cab, is Origin. Now, I need to get back to my post. We’ve had some issues with the PER in this area.”
“But why?” Applejack asked, “It’s not like yer HLF.”
“I know, but it’s hard to protect ponies when you are ponies. And I don’t mean that you folks can’t fend for yourselves, it’s just that you can’t bring yourselves to use deadly force,” I replied as I stood up and started scanning the skies for signs of pegasi.
Chapter 4: The Mirrored
I walked toward them and asked if they were OK. Fortunately they too were fine except for the fact that they too had headaches. As I helped Brody to his feet the strange man appeared before us.
“Who are you?” I demanded, “And why do you keep bringing us here?”
“All in due time,” he replied, “But for now you may call me ‘The Writer’.”
“Ok, mister ‘The Writer’.” John said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “Why have you brought us here this time?”
“Simple,” the Writer said, “I have brought you here to show you the new faces of evil that will plague your city. You have just finished grade twelve so I will have to make them quite challenging. The new faces of evil will have to be…you four.”
“What?!” we all exclaimed.
“I have deemed that the most powerful villains you could ever face are yourselves from grade nine. Your younger reflections given the powers you wield today should pose an adequate threat.”
And with that the air shimmered next to him in four different places. The shimmers solidified and we saw our reflections from three years previous.
“The time we can spend in this ‘Void’ is limited and I must send you back however we will meet again,” the Writer said.
A moment later I awoke at home lying on my bed, almost as if it had been an elaborate dream. However when I saw my Automail arm and leg all doubt that it was real was erased from my mind. Then an idea popped into my head, what if the Writer did this to indicate that we need to rest for what is to come? Figuring sleep would be a good idea either way I rolled over and drifted off.
The next two weeks were relatively normal. We saved some citizens and put several criminals behind bars. By Thursday of the second week we were being called ‘The Elemental Four’. It was late the next Wednesday night when our first issues with our Niner selves arose. I was channel flipping and found myself looking at a destroyed supermarket. From what I could make out from the footage the ground beneath it had risen up and turned over completely. Adding insult to injury it had then been sunk into the ground and flooded with water. I quickly called up John and asked if he had seen the news.
“Yeah, I did,” he replied, “And I just got off the phone with Brent and Brody, they say that they saw the footage too.”
The TV camera panned across the street. The TV now displayed a small office building with people running out of it. The escaping office workers were covering their noses and clutching their stomachs. Suddenly the entire building exploded and burst into flames.
“Methane,” I muttered, “Niner-John filled the place with methane and Niner-Brody set it on fire.”
“We are so getting blamed for this,” John said. I had forgotten for a moment that he was still on the line.
“Call up Brody and Brent. We need to meet at the park and deal with our Niner selves,” I told John, “11:00 should do it. In the mean time I’m going to try and contact the Niners.”
I paced back and forth in my room as I wracked my brain trying to figure out how I could contact my younger self.
“Can’t call them, don’t know where they’re staying, the only way to contact them is though the Internet. But, how? I never used Facebook, I only discovered Writing.com in grade eleven, didn’t have a DeviantArt account then either…wait, that’s IT!” I exclaimed.
I realized that I could just email myself; I checked my email all the time back then. I dashed to my computer and quickly wrote up an email that I promptly mailed to my own account knowing that I’d wind up checking it sometime within the next hour. I told ‘myself’ to meet me at 12:00 at the park and a message that said ‘I’ should check my email every night at 10:00, just to ensure that any future messages would get through.
Brody, Brent, John and I met at the park at precisely 11:00. The unfortunate thing was that my Niner self had gotten the same brilliant idea as I had. So as we stepped into the park from the south end the Niners entered from the north end. Creating a stone sword and shield I stepped forward to confront myself. That was probably my biggest mistake. I charged into battle as John, Brent, and Brody all prepared to face themselves. I swung my sword and caused huge chunks of stone to shatter off of my rival’s shield. He took three leaping steps backward, repaired his shield and lunged. His sword caught mine with such force that I was knocked to the ground. I glanced around before getting up only to find that my friends were doing no better.
Moments later the entire park was a devastated wasteland. Fires had begun to burn uncontrolled on some of trees while hurricane winds from both directions ripped up the smaller saplings. Huge craters pockmarked the ground, many filled with water from the ruptured sewer pipes. As I stepped back to attack my Niner self, he too stepped back. However he was not preparing to attack. The other Niners stepped back with him. The wind picked up and large droplets of rain mixed with it cutting our visibility to almost zero. I felt the ground shake as a large section of it tore itself lose. As quickly as the whirlwind had started it stopped and we were left to watch our Niner selves float off into the distance. I went to give chase but we were pelted by several large rocks and knocked out.
I awoke not too long after and picked myself up. I then noticed that my friends had been knocked out as well. Shaking each one awake, I told them we had to get out of there as someone was bound to arrive and try to arrest us. I helped support Brent home seeing as his Automail leg had become damaged in the fight. The rest of us weren’t any better off. John’s arm had lost much of its protective plating and a few wires were severed. Brody had suffered a severe concussion and my left hand had been all but smashed beyond repair. Fortunately we made it back to my house without too much trouble considering the state we were in.
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“Well?” I said.
“The Niner’s exit was pretty awesome,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Let me guess,” I said, “Could have been 20% cooler?”
Rainbow Dash just glared at me.
“Alright then,” I said, “I’ll just take that as my cue to leave. Good night!”
I walked out the door and closed it behind me. I then stuck my head into my team’s room and said, “John, Brody, come with me. Andrew, Brent, keep an eye on the ladies. Something’s off but I’m not sure what. I’m pretty sure it’s outside though.”
I then stepped back from the door and let John take the lead. When we got outside we saw that there was absolutely no-one there. I still had that feeling though. I scanned the area and, though it was hard to see in the dim light of the moon, I saw two box shaped objects strapped to the underbelly of our truck. One under the cab, the other under the trailer’s centre.
Nothing good can come of those, I thought to myself, “Hey! John! Tell me I’m not seeing what I think I’m seeing.”
“I’m seeing two boxes strapped under Ol’ Blue-Eyes that we didn’t install,” he said.
“Same here,” Brody said.
“What are the odds, that they’re bombs?” I asked.
“Pretty good I’d say,” John replied.
