Broken Worlds: A Sea Of Tears

Chapters

Legacy Revealed [Twilight]
Behind Bars [Wayne]
Of The Same Blood [Cyrus]
Breakout [Gentle Blade]
First Contact [Allen]
Swimming Upstream [Wayne]
Keeping Up Morale [Twilight]
Asylum [Cyrus]
Losing Control [Allen]
Rising Tide [Wayne]
Where You Belong [Twilight]
Departure [Allen]
Whatever Floats Your Boat [Wayne]
A New Student [Celestia]
headshot.exe [Joseph] (Edited)
Portside [Wayne]
Fork In The Road [Crystal Midnight]
No Way To Switchback [Wayne]
Close Behind [Victor]

Legacy Revealed [Twilight]

Just a few days ago, I was reunited with two of my oldest friends, and I thought that nothing else could go wrong in the world.

Now, I was being shown that happy endings don’t exist in my world anymore, as another old friend was being executed right before my eyes.

I watched helplessly as the dark-coated man fired his gun at Drayke and then ordered his men to escort their prisoners to the factory. Hot tears streamed down my face as I sobbed noiselessly. I could hear Applejack crying beside me, but Fluttershy didn’t make a sound; she just sat in the tall grass, a sorrowful, uncertain look on her face. Spike stared grimly as the BlackTech soldiers dragged the three humans and two ponies away from Drayke’s body, when the teenage dragon suddenly gasped.

“Guys, it’s Rainbow Dash!” he whispered urgently, “she’s with them!”

I wiped my eyes with my foreleg and squinted, and I saw Spike was right; one of the ponies had a bright, six-colored mane and sky-blue pelt. “It is her,” I murmured.

Brave Wind let out a low, appreciative whistle as he peered over my shoulder. “Now there’s a mare I’d like to break the sound barrier with, if you know what I mean,” he said slyly. There was a loud “thud”, and I turned to see Applejack had smacked the stallion upside the head.

“Don’t be saying things like that around mares, especially about their friends!” she scolded him as he rubbed his head.

I turned to face forward once again as the prisoners were escorted into the factory. “But, if Drayke and Rainbow Dash are here, then where’s Pinkie Pie?” I wondered aloud. She, too, had went with my human friend when he left to form his Resistance against BlackTech, but the energetic pink earth pony was nowhere to be seen. “Maybe she’s back at their base?”

Just then, I heard some twigs snapping behind us, and we all turned around to see a human creeping up on us. He was tall and dark-skinned, with a surprised look on his face.

“Damn it,” he muttered as Applejack and Fluttershy tackled him. He struggled to break free, but even a human of his size couldn’t overcome the two powerful mares.

“Get off! I’m not here to hurt you!” he urged as he twisted under my friends’ iron grip. “I’m here to help you!”

I narrowed my eyes. “Are you another member of Drayke’s Resistance?” I asked slowly.

The human sighed heavily. “Not exactly,” he began. “I, too, was hired by BlackTech to assassinate Blackwood, but I was planning on warning him that Victor was hunting him,” he explained quickly.

Applejack snorted. “Yeah, right,” she growled, “Why would you sell out your friend like that?”

The human looked Applejack dead in the eyes. “Victor is not my friend,” he said in a cold voice. “Victor is a raging psychopath who needs to be stopped at all costs. We were in the military together, long ago, but he wasn’t interested in working with a squadron; he was quickly discharged, and I went on to receive many accolades for my service.”

I nodded. “So, you’re against that man, Victor; now tell us why you’re willing to help us,” I demanded.

The man turned his gaze to me. “A few years ago, my squadron was stationed at an Equestrian ruin on a cliffside, far away from here. There was a rockslide, and we were all buried in the rubble. I was the only one still alive when the dust cleared, but I had no way of digging myself out.

“But, a helping hand was sent my way, and it came from the most unexpected of places,” he continued. “A pony happened to wander near me, and it saw that I was unable to move. It was uncertain at first, but it eventually came close and removed some of the rubble that trapped me. Then, it quickly ran off, probably making sure it was far away from me when I finally pulled myself out.

“What I’m trying to say is,” he concluded, “I’ve seen that you ponies don’t want to hurt humanity like BlackTech says you do. So, I’ve vowed to make good on the second chance I was given, and help the Equestrian Empire fight BlackTech.”

I stared at the human for a long time, studying his eyes for any sign of deception. I quickly saw, however, that there was only truth and trust in his hazel eyes, and I nodded to Fluttershy and Applejack, who relaxed their grip and let the human stand. “It’s nice to meet you,” I said kindly. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. These are my friends, Applejack, Fluttershy, Spike, and Brave Wind,” I said, introducing my companions one by one.

The human smiled and nodded to each of us acknowledgingly. Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Spike, and Brave Wind,” he repeated. “My name is Marcus Ripley. You mentioned Drayke earlier; do you know where I can find him?” he inquired eagerly.

I looked at the field before us sadly, and Marcus saw Drayke’s body lying in the grass, his face falling when he saw what had happened to my old friend. "Oh,” he said quietly, “I am sorry. The children and ponies that were taken into the factory; were they more friends of yours?” he asked gently.

Applejack nodded. “One of them is; the others must have been more Resistance members,” she explained.

Marcus stood up and scanned the field slowly. “Alright, here’s what we’re going to do: I have a campsite set up less than a mile away from here; we can rest there for a while, and make a plan on how to break them out of there,” he said, motioning for us to follow him into the forest.

~-~-~-~-~

There was little chat during our walk; watching an old friend die has a pretty negative effect on a group’s enthusiasm. After a long, sombre silence, we emerged into a small clearing, where a tent and a burned-out campfire had been set up. “Welcome,” Marcus said cheerfully as we approached, “mi casa es su casa.”

We all gave him an odd look. “Make yourselves at home,” he corrected himself quickly, realizing we weren’t very familiar with most human euphemisms. “It isn’t much, but I wasn’t planning on having guests.”

I glanced at the firepit. “AJ, could you gather some firewood?” I asked pleasantly. The orange mare nodded as she trotted off into the trees.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Marcus insisted, but I shook my head.

“You’re sharing your campsite with us and helping us rescue our friends; the least we could do is help out a little,” I replied kindly.

Marcus nodded. “Speaking of which, why not discuss how to break your friends out of that factory?” he suggested, and retrieved a small, black device from his tent. It was flat and smooth, and no bigger than one of the books in the Castle Canterlot Library. He tapped the device once with his finger, and it was suddenly lit up with a blue light. I could see the device now displayed a three-dimensional model of the prison that Rainbow Dash had just been taken to.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen magic like this,” I said slowly, staring at the brightly glowing display in awe.

Marcus chuckled. “Humans may not have magic like you ponies, but we can still make some impressive gadgets,” he said humorously. “That’s one of the reasons I agree with the Resistance; our races have so much to offer each other, and BlackTech insists on enslaving or killing you. If we can take BlackTech out of the picture, then we might be able to convince the rest of mankind that they are being lied to.”

Brave Wind nodded stiffly. “Alright, then what’s your master plan?” he demanded hotly. “Because it looks to me that you were planning on having a small army on your side; now that the leader of the Resistance is dead, that doesn’t seem very likely anymore.”

Marcus sighed. “I know,” he said slowly, “I wasn’t expecting Victor to get here so quickly. I do have a backup plan, though, but to be honest, I just came up with it,” he explained uncertainly.

I stared at the human expectantly. “What is it?” I asked gently, “I’m sure any plan you have is worth hearing.”

Marcus glanced at me. “You’re a princess from Canterlot, correct? Once we’ve rescued your friends, we’ll have to go there before we can make our next move,” he explained.

I thought about the human’s plan for some time. “Canterlot is already in short supply,” I pointed out, “but you’re right; there are few other places we can go where help will be given to us so graciously. It will be risky, taking a human to the front gates, but if you’re accompanied by me and a guard, the soldiers might stand down long enough for you to explain your position.”

I heard Applejack approaching from behind, having returned from gathering firewood. Marcus got up and began to set up a campfire as the orange mare spoke up. “I agree that it’s important to get everypony to a safe place,” she said quietly, “but I’ve got my own troubles to worry about, too; every day I spent in that place, I swore that if I ever escaped I’d go find my family. Fluttershy says Granny Smith and Big Mac are…” her voice choked up for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure, “I have to find Applebloom. I’m not sure where she is, but there’s a chance she’s still alive, and that’s all the hope I have left in this world,” she finished sadly.

Fluttershy carefully trotted over to AJ and wrapped a gentle wing around her. “I’m sure Applebloom is okay,” she said reassuringly, “and finding her will be a lot easier if BlackTech is gone. Once the war is over, I’ll gladly help you search for her, but until then… we’ll just have to wait.”

Applejack stared at the ground sadly for a few moments. “Okay,” she said finally. “If we don’t have any choice, then I guess we’ve gotta stop BlackTech.”

As we sat around the blazing fire that Marcus had set up, I came to a realization; I felt a strange sensation, like a chill on the back of my neck. It was a sensation I only felt when I was near a source of magical energy.

I quickly stood up and began to wander around the campsite. “What’s up, Princess?” Brave Wind asked worriedly, “Is something wrong?”

I shook my head quickly. “No, it’s just… I feel something… something I haven’t felt in a long time…” I murmured. I closed my eyes and held my horn in the air as it glowed softly, and I let my magic guide me to the source of the sensation. Now that I was focused on it, I could easily identify where it was coming from; not just one, but five nearby sources. Two of them were incredibly strong, while the others seemed weak, as if they were some distance away.

“Um, Twilight? I’ll have to ask that you don’t stick your horn in my face,” I heard Marcus say politely. I opened my eyes and saw the tall human staring at me, leaning back slightly to avoid touching the light at the end of my horn.

I took an apologetic step back. “I’m sorry,” I said quickly, and closed my eyes as I turned towards the other nearby source. After a few moments, I heard Brave Wind speak up. “Hey, watch the magic, your highness,” he said quickly, and I opened my eyes once again to see him edging away from me and my glowing horn.

“What’s the matter, Twi?” Applejack asked slowly, “Is there something wrong with them?”

I shook my head, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. “We’ve just found two of the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony,” I declared triumphantly, “and there are three more nearby waiting to be found.”

Behind Bars [Wayne]

“I said, move your fucking ass, or I’ll hit you with the stun stick again!” a guard screamed in my face, and I felt his spit spatter on my nose and forehead. He was trying to get me to push this big, horizontal wheel so the machines in the factory I was imprisoned in could get power, and so BlackTech could get more parts for their weapons.

I rolled my eyes; I can out-scary-face anyone at the best of times. I gave the guard my most intimidating death glare. “And I said, go fuck yourself; I’m not moving,” I growled with coldness that could freeze hell.

The guard looked taken aback for a moment, and then he held up his cattle prod so the stick was inches from my face. “I’ve never hit someone in the head with one of these before; do you think it’ll give you brain damage, or will it just knock you out and give you a nasty burn?” he asked, smiling confidently.

I heard Gentle Blade gasp; the tan earth pony was on the same wheel as I was. I felt the handles budge a bit as she struggled to get the machinery moving. “Wayne, please, get moving,” she pleaded softly.

The guard continued to stare me down, and I could feel the heat radiating from the tip of his stun stick. “You’d better listen to your horsey girlfriend,” he said teasingly, “you’re gonna regret your tough-guy act once this thing hits you.”

I glanced down at the spoke that my hands were shackled to; since I had nothing better to do while I pushed this thing around for the past couple of days, I had studied the machinery and its components. This particular spoke was already pretty loose when I arrived, and as I ran the machine, I would regularly twist and jerk the handle, loosening it more and more until I could pop it out of place freely.

I sighed heavily and wrapped my hands around the handle, discreetly sliding the steel shaft from its slot. “Alright, I’ll get back to work,” I mumbled.

The guard nodded satisfactorily. “Good. Don’t get gutsy like that again, or I won’t be so nice next time,” he said, and started to walk away.

The moment his back was turned, I yanked the shaft completely from the wheel and rushed the guard with it, striking the base of his skull with the steel rod. The man dropped like a ton of lead, and I grabbed his cattle prod.

“Wayne, what are you doing?” Gentle Blade hissed as I marched for the doors, holding the handle I was shackled to in one hand, and the stun stick in the other.

“What does it look like?” I asked over my shoulder, ducking as a guard swung his stun stick at me, and then jabbed him in the side with my own, “I’m getting out of here. BlackTech did a shitty job making these wheels; jiggle the spokes, and they’ll come loose in no time,” I called to the other prisoners as I sprinted out of the work room, right into a hallway filled with BlackTech guards, each outfitted in standard-issue exoskeletons and armed with high-tech energy rifles.

“Back to work, kid,” one of them growled through his helmet’s speaker. “We’d gun you down, but we’re short on workers; it’d be a shame to lose another.”

I glared defiantly at the soldiers, but I knew I was beat; I dropped the stun stick and marched back to my wheel, where Gentle Blade was glaring at me sternly.

“You might want to get a welder to look at this,” I called nonchalantly as I began to march in a circle, pushing the heavy wheel, “The handles on these things are a little loose; someone could just walk away whenever they wanted to.”

~-~-~-~-~

When it was time for the prisoners to go to bed, the guards escorted us at gunpoint to the bunk rooms. The “beds” were literally just elevated slabs of concrete, all lined up with very little space between them, and obviously sized for a pony; I could barely lie straight on them without half of my legs hanging over the edge.

“Wayne, what were you thinking back there?” Gentle Blade hissed. Not only did she work next to me, but she slept next to me, too. “We all hate working here, but we don’t have much of a choice; if any of us try to break out, we’ll be dead before we can reach the treeline.”

I sighed heavily. “This isn’t how it was supposed to be!” I growled angrily. “I can’t believe I just let them take me prisoner like that. I should have fought back. I should have done something!”

In the moonlight that filtered in through the skylights, I could see Gentle Blade smile softly. “Sometimes you need to learn when to fight, and when to wait,” she said comfortingly. “There are others back at the base, and when they see that we haven’t returned, Cadence will send out a rescue party to find us.”

I rolled my eyes. “And you really think they’re going to make a difference?” I asked rhetorically, “with Drayke dead, there’s no way they’ll risk getting captured just to save a bunch of rookies.” I turned over in my “bed”. “Face it, G.B; we’re a lost cause.”

I heard the earth pony shuffle a bit, and I assumed she was sitting upright. “What did you just call me?” she asked with a slight laugh.

I looked back at her over my shoulder. “‘G.B.’” I repeated. “‘Gentle Blade’ is a mouthful, and just ‘Blade’ or ‘Gentle’ sounds ridiculous. So, I’m calling you G.B. from now on.”

I heard her chuckle softly and yawned. “I like it,” she murmured tiredly. “Goodnight, Wayne.”

And with that, I was alone. Joseph and Tess, the only other living things in this place who might willing to interact with me, were on the other side of the room, and trying to talk to them would just piss off the guards. So I laid on the uncomfortable stone slab and closed my eyes, trying to get what precious hours of sleep I could.

~-~-~-~-~

“Wake up…”

I snapped my eyes open to find myself lying in a brightly lit, white hallway. The walls were so garish that it hurt my eyes to look at them as I stood up. I felt like I was swimming in my own body; my movements were slow and erratic, and my vision refused to focus on the world around me.

Am I dreaming? I wondered as I staggered over to the wall and started making my way down the hallway.

“That’s it… You’re almost here…”

An ethereal, whispery voice was guiding me as I took shaky, forceful steps towards my destination. I saw a doctor walking in my direction, and I waved to get his attention. I tried speaking, but my mouth made no sound as my lips moved. I tried shouting, but he still couldn’t hear me.

“Don’t bother… Even if they could hear you, they wouldn’t be of any help to you… Keep going… you’re so close…”

I took a few more steps, until I felt my guiding hand touch a door handle. “There…” The voice said, sounding relieved. “Hurry… come inside…” I twisted the handle and pulled open the door, suddenly losing my balance as I fell inside the newly-opened room. I felt a little more focused, and my head wasn’t swimming as much as it was in the hallway. I rose to my feet and took a careful look around; I was in a laboratory of some sort, with all sorts of monitors and instruments on top of tables and desks that filled the room. In the center, there was a glass case with a creature lying inside of it. As I drew closer, I could see that it was an alicorn, like Drayke’s wife Cadence, except this one was a dark blue with a light purple mane. She must have sensed me getting closer, because her eyes snapped open in a flash, the blue-green orbs staring at me intensely.

“You must seek… the Crystal Prince…” she rasped. “Tell the other human boy you saw me… I don’t have much time… and I will not be able to contact you again…”

I looked around wildly as an alarm sounded, and a group of scientists flooded the room. They ignored me, instead focusing their attention on the pony as they began furiously typing on the computers. I heard one of them mention something about “stronger sedatives”, and the whole world went black.

~-~-~-~-~

I was awakened by a sharp pain in my side as I was pushed onto the floor. “You and me got a score to settle, kid!” I recognized the voice of the guard I had knocked out the previous day. “Surprised to see me?” he asked teasingly as he grabbed the collar of my prison jumpsuit and dragged me to the door, “BlackTech has some great medical equipment; that little bump you gave me the other day? Might as well have been a scratch,” he said with a laugh.

Keep laughing, jackass, I thought as he brought me out to the yard, where the others prisoners were waiting.

“As you all know, this little piece of shit tried starting a breakout yesterday. I’m here to make an example out of him, and show you all a much more tame version of what will happen to you if you try to follow his act!” With that, he struck me in the back of the knee, forcing me to the ground, and then slammed his kneecap into my chin, knocking me onto my back.

“Stop!” I heard Tess’s voice cry out. I glanced up to see the guard staring at her eagerly.

“Would you take his place?” he suggested sarcastically, and delivered a strong kick to my stomach. The guards had haphazardly stitched my abdomen after being stabbed during our raid on the factory, and that kick opened the wound up. I could feel the stinging sensation of my jumpsuit rubbing against the raw flesh of the cut, and I grinned as I felt my primal “fight-or-flight” instinct well up inside me. He tried to kick again, but I quickly grabbed his leg and wrapped myself around it as I went limp, my dead weight dragging him onto the ground next to me. I grabbed the guard’s head and pressed my thumbs into his eye sockets as hard as I could, and he screamed and thrashed in agony.

“YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT KIND OF HELL I’VE BEEN THROUGH!” I shouted as I grabbed his cattle prod from his belt. The other guards looked like they were about to interfere, but a stern whistle made them back down. I looked over and recognized Victor Lars standing behind the soldiers, eyeing me expectantly.

“What are you waiting for?” he asked impatiently. “He chose to fight you, and now he’s lost. Don’t you want to get even with him?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

I glared at the british-accented man, and glanced back at the guard I had just thrashed. He was looking up at me with one fearful eye; the other one was concealed by his hand, but I could see blood dripping down the side of his face. I turned back to Victor defiantly. “I’m not a murderer, like you,” I said clearly as I let the stun stick slip from my fingers, and it hit the ground with a light thud. I turned and walked away as a pair of guards escorted their wounded comrade inside the factory for medical attention.

“You. Boy,” I heard Victor call as he approached. I turned to face him as he smirked. “I know you’re upset at me for killing your leader, but I assure you it was nothing personal; BlackTech hired me to take him out. I’d also like to point out that we were engaged in combat, and he had the advantage with his sword,” he added smugly. “One could say I was acting in self-defense.”

I let out a single, empty laugh. “Self-defense,” I repeated sarcastically. “I know what self-defense looks like; you’re a coward that executes defenseless people in front of their friends.”

Victor’s eye twitched slightly, the same way it did before he shot Drayke, but he said nothing more as he turned and stalked back to the factory. I sighed and stood with my back against a wall, staring out into the horizon.

I’ll get out of here, I thought darkly. I’ll escape, I’ll get back to Earth, and no force from Earth or Equus will be able to stop me from having my revenge against BlackTech.

Of The Same Blood [Cyrus]

“Excellent work, Mr. Lars!” I said eagerly as I shook the tall, British man’s hand quickly. It had been one week since he had updated his mission status to “complete”, and had just stepped off of a helicopter that was dropping him off at BlackTech’s New Phoenix headquarters building. “My superiors are quite pleased with the results of your mission.” Victor had just informed me that he had successfully killed Drayke Blackwood. I handed him a polished briefcase that contained his promised payment of five-million dollars. Outside New Phoenix and other BlackTech occupied cities it was worthless, but the company had decided to use the former US currency as their own; a reminder to all of what they were fighting to avenge.

“Well, I must admit that it was rather pleasant working for your ‘superiors,” he said nonchalantly. “Should they need anything like this done again, do make sure they remember my name; I wouldn’t mind having a little more spending money in my pocket,” he added jokingly.

I nodded and smiled slightly. “Yes, about that,” I said slowly. “My superiors have instructed me to offer you a job as a full employee of the BlackTech Corporation,” I explained. “You will be making this amount of money on a regular basis, you will be working with as many or as few others as you choose, and you will get near-unrestricted access to all BlackTech facilities and armories.”

Victor rose an eyebrow. “‘Near-unrestricted’?” he repeated uncertainly.

I nodded. “The CEO’s office is off limits to all but himself,” I clarified. “He doesn’t even have a secretary or a janitor; the entire top floor of New Phoenix’s facility is kept tidy by androids.”

The mercenary thought about this for a long time. “I don’t usually like regular employment,” he said thoughtfully, “but I’d be a fool to turn down that kind of money and benefits package. I’m in,” he said with a proud grin.

I gave him a pleased nod. “Excellent,” I replied. “Your next mission statement should be arriving via your tablet by tomorrow; until then, feel free to sightsee around the city and enjoy yourself. You’re about to become a very busy man, Mr. Lars.”

As we parted ways, I dropped my false cheerfulness. I did not like that man; not because he was willing to kill people without question, but because of the way he felt about it, like it was all a big hunt.

“Take me to the lab,” I said heavily as I sat down in the back of my private limousine, and closed the shutters that separated me from the driver. I pressed a button on the console, causing a cabinet to open up, revealing a row of shot glasses and a bottle of enhanced vodka. I poured myself a glass and drank it quickly, rubbing my temples gingerly as we drew closer to our destination. “I hate this job,” I said aloud. “So much stress, so many unpleasant people…”

After a few minutes, the limo came to a halt outside my father’s lab. “We’re here, Mr. Anderson,” the driver reported cheerfully. “Have a nice day.”

“I’ll try my best,” I muttered as I exited the vehicle and went inside.

I went to the back room of the lab to find that my father was not present; he must have been called to the headquarters for a meeting. I was pleased by this; after the incident with Alice nearly a week prior, I wanted as little to do with that man as possible. I knew he was developing the Pandora Serum; it was his proudest project, a way to give humans incredible strength and resilience, but he could never work out the psychological effects it had on subjects.

This had been the third time I had kidnapped someone for my father’s experiments, but the first time I had watched them go through the process.

Alright, father, I thought carefully as I strode past the technicians into the main office, which was marked “Doctor Anderson - Authorized Personnel Only”, let’s see what else you’ve been keeping for me. As you may have guessed, the only “authorized personnel” that could enter my father’s office was him.

As I began to page through a filing cabinet for suspicious papers, I couldn’t help but think of Alice. I didn’t get many opportunities to talk to other people because of my job, so she was the only person in some time that I could call a friend. She trusted me, and her last moments were spent knowing that I had betrayed that trust.

As I scanned the files, I saw one curious-looking envelope; it looked like all the others that accompanied it, but the name on the tab was scribbled out with a black marker. I removed the folder from the drawer and opened it, revealing its contents: a yellow sticky-note that had one single word on it.

“‘Recursion’,” I said quietly, and I heard a pneumatic hiss behind me. I turned to see that the far wall of the office had slid away, revealing a narrow, spiraling, white staircase that led beneath the lab. I carefully placed the folder back in the drawer and closed it gently, and hesitantly descended the polished-looking steps. The walls and stairs were as smooth as glass, and I must have followed them for at least five minutes before they finally ended.

When I reached the bottom, I emerged into a long room that was lined with several large, column-like structures. I glanced to my right and saw a tablet-like device resting on a pedestal, its screen listing several commands.

-DISPLAY DIAGNOSTICS...

-UNCOVER CONTAINER...

-CREATE SPECIMEN

-REMOVE SPECIMEN

I reached a hand out, pulling back for just a moment, and pressed my finger against the “CREATE SPECIMEN” tab. I heard a soft bleep come from the device, and it asked me which container I wanted to use. It also said containers four through thirty were in use, so I decided to simply use the first one. There was a loud roaring noise and I cringed, wondering if anyone upstairs noticed the noise, and heard the sound of rushing water coming from one of the columns. I inspected it to see it, and all the others as well, was actually actually glass cylinders; the rest must have been concealed by some kind of protected casing.

I stared in horror as a small object was deposited into the cylinder, now filled with a greenish-yellow liquid. It took me a moment that is was an unborn child, floating around in the container like some kind of life support system. I stared as the liquid turned a reddish color as a light on either end of the tube filtered through. The container began to hum loudly, and I watched, confused and appalled, as the child began to grow; whatever this device was, it was accelerating the baby’s aging process.

It didn’t take me long to realize, once the creature’s face and hair had grown a little more, what it was becoming.

“It’s a clone… of me,” I whispered.

A voice spoke from behind me, and I quickly turned to see my father standing behind me, looking annoyed. “Of me, actually,” he corrected. “Cyrus, what are you doing down here?”

I took a cautious step back, all the pieces slowly coming together in my mind. “That’s why I don’t have a mother,” I said quietly, my voice vibrating with anger. “That’s why I look so much like you; not as if I were simply your son…”

My father shifted his weight on his feet. “Go on, Cyrus,” he said coaxingly.

I looked him in the eye, feeling a slight pressure on my forehead. “...as if I were you,” I finished.

My father chuckled and took a step towards me, but I quickly took one away. “Why are there three empty containers?” I asked in a hostile tone. “Am I not the first?”

The old man nodded stiffly. “They were not as obedient as I would have liked them to be, so they were... discarded,” he explained simply.

I furrowed my brow, both out of anger and pain; now, not only was my forehead burning, by my shoulders were, too. I didn’t care, though; I wanted answers. “They’re living things,” I snapped, “and you feel as though you can kill them just like that?”

My father glared back at me. “I gave them life and purpose,” he said sternly. “They were not consummated through love, nor brought to life by a higher power; they were created by my hands and my blood alone. To them, and to you, I am God.

“But you are special compared to your siblings,” he continued. “You were the first who I decided to use the Pandora Serum on, and therefore the first successful test of the serum. It seems to have lain dormant within you, however; I’ve been researching some way to activate it,” he added disappointedly.

Right then, I realized what was happening, why this strange sensation had begun to overtake me. “Father, I think I just figured out how the serum works,” I reported dutifully, walking over to one of the containers. The old man listened intently as I went on: “You’re serum causes mutations because it was created using your blood as a base; that is why only I survived the bonding process with my mind intact. However, the other subjects did not instantly develop the serum’s enhanced strength; no, there was another factor. Something else the serum did that caused it to activate the other enhancements.”

My "father" looked intrigued. “Yes? What do you think it was?” he inquired.

I wrapped my fingers around one of the support beams that kept the container upright. “Anger,” I growled as I squeezed, the steel crumpling like aluminum foil in my hand. I ripped the beam free and hurled it at my father, spearing his shoulder and pinning him against the wall. He cried out in pain as I ran past, up the stairs, and out of the laboratory. The remote my father had, his little “contingency plan” in case I ever became disobedient, I knew it didn’t work if I was out of range. I ran as fast as I could for as long as I could, my vision blurring as I felt the Pandora Serum flowing through my veins, finally awakened after… how old was I, really? Have I really lived for 18 years, or did my father simply plant the memories of my predecessor in my head, as his predecessors were planted in his?

These thoughts plagued my mind as I continued running, until I realized that I was no longer in New Phoenix; I was several miles outside the gates, several yards away from a swirling vortex.

A portal to Equestria, I thought, awestruck. Despite my various jobs and accomplishments working under BlackTech, I had never seen one of these portals up close. It was a reddish-pink and swirled around like mist, becoming thicker and more condensed in the center. I could feel a slight breeze blowing in the direction of the portal. Or, more likely, I felt the portal tugging lightly at my body, as if it were a child pulling me along a path.

I glanced back at New Phoenix; my father would get out of that lab, and he would come looking for me. If I wanted to stay alive, I had to go to the one place he was unwilling to set foot.

“I really hope I know what I’m doing,” I said aloud, but as I stepped into the portal, that doubt got confirmation.

I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.

Breakout [Gentle Blade]

I could see that Wayne was getting anxious. We had been in the BlackTech Labor camp for several weeks now, and I could tell that imprisonment was beginning to affect his sanity. He was slacking off on his work, mocking the guards and almost inviting them to attack him, and starting fights with some of the other prisoners. If it hadn’t been for me, Joseph, and Tess getting him to back down and fall in line, he probably would have already been seriously hurt, or worse.

“I don’t need your help,” he said plainly as he stared ahead. We were in the yard outside the prison, waiting to be called back inside. He was sitting on the ground with his back pressed against the wall, while I stood in front of him. “I’ve made it on my own for eight months; I don’t need some talking horse to come along and act like my guardian angel.”

I rolled my eyes; I cared about the human, but his stubbornness was almost unbearable at times. “We just don’t want you get hurt,” I explained gently. “The Resistance has to stay together, right?”

Wayne glanced up at me, his lip slightly curled in a sarcastic grin. “‘The Resistance’? The Resistance is dead, G.B.” he snapped. “We have no leader, and I’ll bet you anything some BlackTech soldiers followed our trail back to the base and massacred everyone inside.” He sighed and continued staring into the distance. “Even if the Resistance had a snowball’s chance in hell of carrying on after this, it wouldn’t matter to me; as soon as we get out of this place, I’m heading for New Phoenix to accomplish what I had set out to do before I got caught up in all this insanity.”

“‘Insanity’?” I heard Joseph’s voice behind me as he approached, “You call a dream of two species living in peace ‘insanity’?”

Wayne looked up at him for a moment, an uncaring look crossing his face. “I call a ragtag group of misfits who think they can stand up to BlackTech on their own ‘insanity’,” he shot back.

Joseph let out an empty laugh. “Oh, and you’d do any better striking out on your own?” he challenged.

Wayne leaped to his feet and stared Joseph down with his dark, furious eyes. “Your plan was to weaken them; attack little factories and labor camps like this one until they were weak enough to mount an all-out assault,” he replied. “What would that have taken? Five more years, at least? This war has already lasted four. If you would just storm the castle and take out the king, it would be over in a heartbeat.”

I tried to force myself between the two arguing humans. “Come on, guys, we’ve gotta stick together!” I pleaded. “How can we have any hope of getting out of here if we’re too busy fighting each other?”

I saw Wayne’s and Joseph’s hands tighten into fists. “I’m not backing down,” Wayne growled.

Joseph nodded. “You take first swing, then,” he invited.

It all happened in a flash. Wayne swung a fist for Joseph’s head as his opponent ducked, and responded with a low sweep at Wayne’s legs. Wayne quickly rolled to the side moments before Joseph could plant a foot on his chest, and quickly rose to his feet as he took a readied stance.

“Nice try,” Wayne growled, and began to jab at Joseph with his fists, starting out slowly until it escalated into a flurry of punches. Joseph raised his hands to block the swift strikes, but it seemed like even that wouldn’t stop Wayne’s insistence on winning; he began to move forward, pushing his defending opponent backward as he showed no sign of slowing his assault.

I glanced to my side to see Tess standing next to me. “You might as well let them burn off their steam,” she sighed. “They’ll be on good terms again when they’re done.”

Suddenly, Wayne stopped his furious punching and thrust his right foot forward, striking Joseph in the stomach and knocking him back several feet. He landed on the ground, holding his stomach and gasping for breath.

Wayne watched and waited for his opponent to stand, and Joseph stared at him uncertainly as he took a defensive stance. “You ready to give up yet?” he called as Joseph wiped a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth.

Joseph cracked his knuckles and tightened his fists. “You wish,” he growled, and the two charged at each other, screaming, fists raised, as they knuckles met with a loud “crack”.

~-~-~-~-~

“That always looks so cool when it happens in movies!” Joseph complained as he stared at his bandaged fingers. Apparently they had punched so hard that the impact against each others knuckles had broken their hands. They had just gotten out of the infirmary after being rushed there by a pair of guards; they didn’t want to risk losing two perfectly good workers just because of some broken knuckles.

Wayne shrugged. “It was still pretty cool,” he pointed out. “It just looked really stupid when we fell to the ground, screaming and holding our hands in pain.”

Joseph chuckled as we began to walk down the hallway toward the labor room. “Look, I’m sorry for starting that shit back there,” he apologized. “It’s just… you can be kind of an asshole sometimes.”

Wayne laughed. “Well, you’re right about that,” he agreed. “I’m sorry for saying the Resistance was pointless; you know I think you’ve got a great operation going on. It’s just hard to believe there’s any chance of being able to make a difference now.”

Joseph nodded as we entered the room, where the other prisoners were already hard at work. “I’ve got a plan,” he said, lowering his voice. “Some of the others are planning a break out tonight; they said we could tag along as long as we moved quickly.”

I gasped. “We’re getting out?” I asked disbelievingly.

Joseph shushed me gently. “Yes, but we can’t talk about it right now; I’ll wake you three up when the plan is being put into action, and you just follow my lead.” He said nothing more as he and Tess headed off in the direction of their wheel, and a guard fastened their shackles. Another did the same to me and Wayne when we reached our wheel, and he stared as the guard left. “I told you we’d get out of here,” he said quietly.

I looked over at him worriedly. “Did you really mean what you said, about leaving when we got out?” I asked sadly.

Wayne glanced at me. “Yes,” he said flatly. “I can’t have friends; they just hold me back, slow me down. I can’t have any extra baggage when I go to take down BlackTech.”

I stared at my hooves as I marched in a circle. “I was hoping you’d rethink your decision,” I mumbled.

I heard the human boy sigh. “I’m sorry, but it’s not just best for me, but for your and the others as well, if I stay away from you all. I… I can’t have friends,” he explained. “Maybe once, long ago, but not after what I put myself through to survive. My mind is focused on my own survival, and anybody around me is expendable. That’s my survival instinct now.”

I gave him a confused look as he stared ahead, his face showing as little emotion as possible. “Why would you torture yourself like that?” I inquired, and I suddenly caught a glimpse of his hands; he usually wore gloves or kept them in his pockets back at the base, but now I could see them in full view; his knuckles were pitted and scarred, as if he had punched a brick wall day after day.

He glanced over and saw me staring at his hand. “The last thing my uncle told me was to look out for myself and never let anything hurt me,” he said simply. “So I broke myself and built myself back up, getting stronger every time. I guess every time I toughened up, I started to lose more and more of my humanity.”

I watched his eyes as he said this. “I don’t believe that,” I said cheerfully. “If you had really lost your good nature, then you wouldn’t feel bad about losing it. There’s still a part of you that cares about others; you just need to find it again.”

He smirked as we continued pushing the wheel around. “We’ll see about that,” he replied smoothly, and didn’t say another word until it was time for bed.

~-~-~-~-~

“Gentle Blade!” A stern voice whispered my name as a strong hand shook me awake. I snapped my eyes open to see Joseph standing over me. “We have to go, now!” he explained, and I wasted no time in leaping off of my bed and following him to the edge of the room, where Wayne and Tess were waiting. I saw the pair of guards that stood watch by the doorway were lying unconscious on the ground, and Joseph motioned for us to follow him into the hall.

“Two of the other prisoners has been cooking up this plan for some time,” he explained quietly as we rushed down the hall. “They were able to make some kind of EMP that would take out the guards’ electronics for a little while, and said they would take care of the guards; anybody who could get out before they woke up or before the jammer ran out of power was free to join.”

As we reached an intersection in the hallway, Wayne suddenly turned a corner and headed away from us. “I’ll catch up,” he called behind him, grabbing a stun stick from a guard lying in the middle of the hall. “There’s some things I need to find.”

I looked up at Joseph, who shrugged. “We can’t risk waiting for him,” he said quickly, and we continued our escape. A few of the guards had come to, but their exo-suits weren’t back on yet, causing them to stumble around awkwardly with the cumbersome metal framework weighing them down and restricting their movement. Joseph lifted a rifle from one of them and stayed in the lead, shooting any guards who tried to get in our way.

We eventually made it out of the prison, emerging into the crisp night air. I let out a sigh of relief, but my brief moment of hope was dashed by the sound of a BlackTech chopper’s whipping blades.

“ATTENTION PRISONERS: RETURN TO THE FACTORY, OR YOU WILL BE NEUTRALIZED,” a soldier commanded over the loudspeaker. I saw a pair of rotating machine guns on the front of of the helicopter and took a tense step back. There was no way I was going back inside with freedom so close, but I didn’t want to risk having to outrun those guns.

Just then, I heard another voice on a loudspeaker behind us. I saw Wayne standing there, a megaphone in one hand, a pair of pistols strapped to his sides, and a large firearm strapped to his back. He had retrieved the clothing he wore before we had been imprisoned, and his face was now concealed by his goggles and skull bandana. “Attention BlackTech assholes: go fuck yourselves!” he replied, dropping the megaphone and pulling the strange object from his back. It hummed loudly as the front sparked with magnetic energy, and it hurled a metal projectile at the helicopter, punching a hole in the center of the cockpit and sending it spinning into the nearby forest.

“Great shot!” Joseph cried as he motioned for the rest of us to follow, and we made our way into the woods. Just before I passed the treeline, I glanced behind me and saw Wayne staring after us; was he considering following? My heart sank as I watched him turn and run in the opposite direction, leaving the cumbersome railgun behind.

“You’re not getting away that easy,” I mumbled, and rushed after my human friend.

First Contact [Allen]

Four Years Ago...

“You know you don’t need to stand watch like this all the time, right?”

Drayke’s voice broke me from my daze. I had been standing on the balcony of Castle Canterlot, watching over the vast, wooded landscape that stretched out beneath us. It had been two weeks since we had returned from the Fissure; thanks to Drayke’s quick thinking, he was able to use the Elements of Harmony to destroy the spirit of an ancient warlord, Sanguis Cruciatus, that had taken control of my body and my powers. It cost us both our lives, but a spell from a forbidden spell book had brought us back from death.

I nodded stiffly. “I know,” I replied flatly, “but I’d feel better if I did.”

Drayke strode over by my side and looked over the balcony with me. “You feel bad about letting him take over, don’t you?” he asked quietly.

I gave my unlikely friend a serious look. “I have enough power inside to to rival Celestia,” I pointed out darkly. “That, combined with Twilight and the others, Discord, and all three princesses… I shouldn’t have let him get all that power.” I stared at my hooves. “I knew Sanguis was starting to gain control of my body… I shouldn’t have just hid in the Fissure; I should have left Equestria, travelled to some other country, or maybe just…” I shuddered.

Drayke sighed heavily. “Finish what brought you here in the first place?” He finished for me softly.

I nodded. “Everything that happened that week was my fault. I take full responsibility for it,” I said dutifully. “Now, I need to make sure I’m ready to defend Equestria from any new threats, before they find a way to overpower me, too.”

Drayke rolled his eyes. “Come on, Allen,” he said nonchalantly, “It wasn’t your fault. You were having your body and mind controlled by a long-dead warlord bent on killing everything in this world. That’s not you!” he cried. “You’re a heroic kid who has given his life to protect his friends, and don’t you ever forget that.” He smiled at me warmly, and I couldn’t help but grin back.

“Since when were you so cheerful?” I asked teasingly, “What happened to the asshole I stabbed through the chest?”

Drayke rolled his eyes. “Let’s be real here,” he said slowly, “We both know I would have won that fight if the Elements of Harmony didn’t show up at the last possible second. You got lucky,” he shot back.

I laughed, then turned my gaze back to the land beneath us. “You’re a good friend, Drayke,” I said after a long pause. “We may have met as enemies, but I think that just made the bond between us even stronger.”

Drayke rolled his eyes. “Don’t get all gay on me with the friendship bullshit,” he said in an annoyed tone. “But, for what it’s worth, you’re a pretty great friend, too,” he added with a slight grin.

~-~-~-~-~

“Allen! You have to wake up, now!”

I snapped my eyes open at the sound of Luna’s frantic voice. I snapped my eyes open and sat up in bed, seeing Luna wearing her royal armor; it was polished silver with black detail around the edges. “What’s going on?” I asked, already knowing what was happening; there was only one reason Luna would be wearing that armor.

Canterlot was under attack.

I stomped a forehoof on the ground as a white rune appeared around me, concealing me behind a wall of light for several moments as a suit of crystal armor formed around my body. My horn was covered in a sharped layer of crystal, allowing it to act as a broadsword. I followed my wife down the twisting hallway and out of the castle, where we saw the chaos ensuing in Canterlot Town. The streets were filled with guards fighting off humans wearing what looked similar to riot gear. They wielded machine guns and clubs, while the guards retaliated with spells and swords. The humans were clearly better-armed, but we were holding a decent resistance.

I knew we wouldn’t be able to hold them off for long, though. “Where is your personal detail?” I asked Luna with a glance over my shoulder.

“They’re holding a group of humans off at the western gate,” she reported quickly. “It may look like there’s a lot in the streets, but it’s nothing compared to how many are still trying to fight their way past the gates,” she added. “This is just what was able to get in before the alarm was sounded.”

I nodded. “You focus on keeping the rest of them out. Where’s Celestia?”

Just then, I heard a defiant battle cry, and turned to see the solar princess holding up a golden force field to protect a family and their foals from the humans’ gunfire. I swept my bladed horn downward, sending out a flurry of bladed crystals that struck the human soldiers down where they stood.

“Tia, are you okay?” I demanded just as a soldier dove at me with a knife, pinning me to the ground. I struggled against him, pushing him back as he tried to drive his blade between the plates of crystal that protected my neck. Just as I felt the very tip of the blade cut my skin, a beam of sunlight struck the soldier, knocking him away and disintegrating him as he flew through the air.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Celestia replied grimly, and then looked to Luna. “Do as Allen says; help your soldiers drive off the humans still outside the gates. Allen, the remaining guards, and I will focus on clearing the streets.”

Luna nodded as she took to the air, and Celestia and I turned to find ourselves face-to-face with a firing squad.

“Allen, have you been practicing your teleportation spells?” Celestia asked worriedly just before the soldiers opened fire.

There was a flash of light, and the two of us were standing behind the attacking soldiers as they shot at the empty space we occupied moments before. I acted quickly as my horn glowed white, and a massive spike of crystal exploded from the ground, completely leveling the firing squad.

“I may not have been very enthusiastic about Earth school, but you know I would never slack off on your lessons, Celestia,” I said as we ran through the streets, blasting any attacking humans who were unfortunate enough to cross our path.

~-~-~-~-~

It was a long and bloody battle, but we eventually heard the humans call for a retreat.

“We did it!” I heard a guard cry out victoriously, and a resounding cheer flooded the city streets. Just then, a blaring horn drowned out the cheering, and I stared in horror as several areas of the street began to crumble. From these holes emerged large, mechanized digging suits, armed with drills and cannons.

“Back on the defensive!” I cried as one stabbed a massive drill into the ground, just grazing my armor. “Keep your distance; unicorns, fire your bolts as fast as you can! Brute force is the only way to take these things down!” As I said this, I ran straight at the mech that had tried to skewer me and drove my horn into its center. The machine froze for a moment, and several crystal spikes exploded out of the back, stained black by the oil and grease inside.

It became quickly obvious, as the mechs focused their attacks on the city itself rather than the soldiers or civilians, that their main goal was to cause as much collateral damage as possible. They seemed to hardly defend themselves when attacked; one guard threw himself on top of one of the mechs in an attempt to slow its assault, but it simply pressed on as the poor soldier struggled to hang on.

“Allen, we need to stop them!” Celestia cried as she fired a beam of solar energy at one of the droids.

I nodded. “Get ready for the Refraction Protocol,” I said grimly, and leaped into the air as my wings carried me up just beneath the clouds. I could see all of Canterlot beneath me, many of its buildings already destroyed by the human assault.

“Let’s hope this works,” I said as my horn became bathed in a white light. As it did, I could begin to feel the growths of natural crystal that lay just beneath the city; I remembered seeing the episode of Friendship is Magic where Queen Chrysalis had disguised herself as Cadence and trapped Twilight within the crystal caves beneath the palace. I could feel every inch of the sparkling rock that waited for my command, and I used my magic to slowly push it to the surface. As I concentrated, several spires of crystal began to rise from the streets, breaking through the concrete and towering over the ponies who watched in awe.

“CELESTIA, NOW!” I screamed, my Royal Canterlot Voice fueled by the strain the spell was putting on me. As I watched from above, I saw a beam of light hit a spire in the center of the city, lancing out in all directions to the other spires. In just a second, the city was covered in a web of golden light that reduced any non-pony beings or constructs to ash.

I let out a relieved sigh as I released my focus, allowing the crystal spires to return into the earth. “That worked better than I thought it would,” I thought aloud, but a wave of nauseousness swept over me. I groaned as my wings locked up, and I began to fall to the streets below, my vision blurring and my thoughts swimming.

I was already unconscious by the time I slammed into the street below.

~-~-~-~-~

“...Why did you let him do something so dangerous?” I heard muffled voices as I slowly returned to consciousness. I was lying in my bed at the castle, and all my friends sat worriedly at my bedside. Luna’s angered voice had stirred my slumber, and I blinked my heavy eyelids.

“We needed to destroy those creatures!” Celestia shot back matter-of-factly. “How could I have known he was suffering from withdrawals?”

Luna snorted in annoyance. “Use your head, Tia; did you really think having all that power inside him wouldn’t have any side effects?”

I groaned as I sat up in bed, and Twilight and the others rushed to my side. “Don’t rush yourself, Allen,” Twilight said worriedly as she eased me back down. “We don’t know what the extent of your injuries are!”

I shook my head slightly, still disoriented. “Injuries…?” I asked, looking at my body. I didn’t look hurt; what was I not seeing? I looked up at Celestia. “You said something about ‘withdrawals’,” I said slowly. “What do you mean?”

Celestia sighed heavily; she had learned in the past that it was not wise to pull the wool over my eyes. “Magic is like an essence,” she began. “It fills magical creatures and gives them their powers. Non-magical creatures can be exposed to magical items or have spells cast on them with no ill effects, but pure magical energy is very volatile and dangerous.

“Sanguis Cruciatus was able to channel magic using the Element of Loyalty while he was alive, and was able to do so freely after his revival as a reanimated corpse. Drayke was able to channel his magic through his black crystal. You were able to survive exposure to the magic that returned you to us when you were partially transformed into a pony, but had you not been transformed, you would have died.”

I shrugged. “What does any of this have to do with me? I’m already an alicorn, so I shouldn’t have to worry about that.” I saw Luna and Celestia giving each other uncertain looks as I said this. “Right?” I asked worriedly.

Luna looked at me sadly. “When Sanguis possessed your body, he added his own magical essence to yours,” she started. “Then, through you, he stole mine, Celestia’s, Cadence’s Discord’s, and Twilight’s and her friend’s powers. As you absorbed all that power, your powers began to grow stronger as well, as you had a much larger amount of magic to draw power from.”

Celestia nodded. “However, when Drayke killed you, all of the stolen magic was released and returned to its original owners, so you’re essence was brought down to what it was before… but your strength did not.”

I nodded slowly. “So you’re saying that I am still just as powerful as when Sanguis was controlling me, but my body just doesn’t have the ability to channel all that power anymore?” I asked.

The two princesses looked at each other, then back to me. “Yes,” Celestia responded. “It will take some time for your powers to recede, but you will eventually be able to use magic like you were before,” she said with forced cheerfulness.

I narrowed my eyes. “How long will that be?” I asked suspiciously.

Celestia sighed. “Well, with the power of Sanguis, myself, my sister, my niece, a god of chaos, and the Elements of Harmony…” she trailed off nervously.

I clenched my teeth angrily. “Celestia. How. Long?” I demanded.

The princess of the sun sighed. “It would take about one thousand years for your magical essence and magical strength to balance out,” she said in a low voice. “Until then, you would have to be incredibly careful with how much magic you use.”

I stared in shock. “A thousand years?! What’s going to happen if I use my magic before then?” I asked, bewildered.

Twilight spoke up. “Side effects of overuse of magic can lead to sudden unconsciousness, like you experienced above Canterlot,” she explained. “It can also lead to all sorts of other conditions, many of which aren’t even confirmed,” she added hastily.

I nodded. “Such as?” I said expectantly.

Twilight kicked her hoof nervously. “Well, there are only two constant side effects; the others are all based on what the magic-user’s powers were,” she explained. “First was insanity, and later was death.” She was able to give me the symptoms rather matter-of-factly, almost like she was giving a lecture, but her voice broke when she said death.

I blinked. “Death?” I asked slowly, and laughed. “Come on, I’ve already died twice. You can just bring me back with the forbidden resurrection spell, like you used on me and Drayke! Right?” I looked around cheerfully, seeing everyone did not look as optimistic as me.

“Allen… that spell only works on somepony once,” Rainbow Dash said gently. “If we were to try and bring you back again, nothing would happen.”

I was starting to get shaky. “Alright, what about when I fought Drayke?” I pointed out. “I was brought back by going through the portal to Earth. Just toss me in one of those, and I’ll come back just fine!”

It was Applejack’s turn to shoot down my plan. “Allen, you weren’t really dead when you went through the portal, just dying,” she explained. “Besides, now that it’s obvious the humans aren’t too fond of us ponies, going to Earth isn’t the smartest idea right now, even if it could save your life.”

I looked down sadly. “So I’m useless,” I said sadly. “Our kingdom is at war, and there’s nothing I can do to help.”

Celestia shook her head. “Perhaps not,” she said hopefully. “There is one thing we could do, something that was never even possible until you arrived in Equestria, Allen.”

I gave her a hopeful look. “What is it?” I asked eagerly.

Celestia frowned. “It may be dangerous, but… I could make you human again, Allen,” she explained. “You would still have your alicorn energies, but you wouldn’t be able to access them, eliminating the risk of overspending yourself. I could also place a protective spell on you that would prevent the stored energy from affecting your human body.”

I nodded quickly. “Yes,” I said immediately, “Do it. If it will keep my powers in check and still allow me to protect Equestria, then it’s worth the risk.”

Celestia turned to Luna with a questioning look; she obviously thought my wife would have some argument about this.

Luna sighed. “We all know there’s no point in me arguing with him,” she pointed out. “Even if I say I don’t want you to do this, he’ll find a way to convince me it’s for the best.” She smiled at me slightly. “If you think this is what has to be done, then so be it. Besides,” she added with a flirty wink, “I always thought you looked cute as a human.”

I grinned. “Oh, am I not cute enough for you as a pony?” I asked teasingly, and turned back to Celestia. “I’m ready when you are, Tia,” I said confidently.

The white alicorn nodded. “Okay. Everypony else, stand back and be still; I must have complete concentration for this to work.” As she spoke, the others all retreated to the edge of the room, and Celestia held her horn high in the air as it took on a golden glow.

“Allen,” Celestia murmured, “I must confess… I’m not entirely sure how well this will turn out. I’ve never cast this kind of spell before.”

I nodded understandingly. “When has anything we’ve ever done not carried some great risk?” I asked rhetorically. “I trust you, Celestia. You can do this.”

She nodded and closed her eyes as the golden light brightened, and my body took on a similar aura. I felt a hazy feeling throughout my body, almost like when your foot falls asleep and you get that pins and needles feeling, and suddenly the world dropped away into a sea of endless darkness.

Swimming Upstream [Wayne]

I ran through the forest like a bat out of hell, leaping over fallen logs and pushing stray branches out of my path. I could hardly believe it; I was out! I knew that BlackTech wouldn’t be able to hold me for long, but I hadn’t expected to break out as quickly as I had. There was little time for celebration, though; more soldiers would be showing up soon to clean up the mess, and I had to be as far away from the labor factory as possible when they arrived.

“Hey! Wait up!” a familiar voice broke my brief moment of joy, and I looked over my shoulder to see Gentle Blade chasing after me, her four-legged gallop allowing her to quickly catch up, seemingly unbothered by the sword she carried in a holster at her side. “Where are you headed?” she asked cheerfully as we sprinted through the brush.

I glanced over at her through my tinted lenses. “You know exactly where I’m going,” I huffed between breaths, “Where are you going?”

She shrugged as she kept up her unfaltering pace. “Following you, I guess,” she said nonchalantly. “What, you thought I was going to just up and leave you on your own just like that?”

I slowed my pace and came to a stop next to an old oak. “I told you, I prefer to travel alone,” I said angrily. “Besides, what about Joseph and Tess? I’m sure they’d be happy to have you with them.”

Gentle Blade kicked her forehoof shyly. “I know they would, but…” she trailed off. “I just want to stay with you.”

This made me flinch. After all, I was a cold, distant asshole; who in the world would be so eager to stay by my side?

No, I thought suddenly as I actually started to consider letting her stay, she’s just going to get hurt. I pulled one of my machetes from my belt and pointed it in the opposite direction I had been running. “You need to go with the others,” I insisted. “You’ll be way safer with them than you will with me. Stick to the trees, and keep your distance from the factory.”

The tan earth pony rolled her eyes and pulled her sword from its sheath with her teeth. “You really think a blade is going to scare me?” she challenged, striking my machete and causing me to jump back in surprise.

I lowered my head and stared up at her, holding the massive knife at my side loose and ready. “You don’t want to do this,” I said in a deathly flat voice. “I am a danger to everyone around me, and others just hold me back.”

Gentle Blade took a ready stance as she stared me down. “My cutie mark means more than just being good at swordfighting, you know,” she said boldly. “No matter how much you deny it, you do have emotions, Wayne, and you do want to have friends. I can tell,” she charged at me, and our weapons let out a metallic clang as they met between us. “You’ve surrounded yourself in a shell of solitude and coldness, convincing yourself that you’re a danger and that you can survive by yourself!” she swung at my legs, and I jumped over her strike. “Well, you’re wrong; you can have friends, and you will never be able to survive in this world without friends by your side!”

I felt my eye twitch as a wave of anger washed over me. “LIAR!” I roared, and without thinking, I brought my machete down with all my strength.

There was no metallic ringing when my blade met its target.

~-~-~-~-~

“Wayne…?”

Gentle Blade stared at me with tearful, pain-filled eyes as blood poured from a deep gash in her left foreleg. I glanced down and saw that my machete was dripping with crimson liquid; the same blood that stained the earth pony’s tan pelt. I looked up as she began to waver, and collapsed on the ground.

“Oh, God,” I dropped to my knees at her side and quickly did a diagnostic check. I didn’t know much about Equestrian anatomy, but I was able to feel a pulse in her neck. I tore off my jacket and cut a wide strip of fabric from the back and carefully wrapped it around Gentle Blade’s wound, taking care not to press it against the cut. My heart pounded in my chest as I placed both of my arms underneath her and lifted her up. I was surprised to find that she weighed about as much as an average-sized human; no more than 180 pounds, but even that might have been generous.

“I told you to stay behind,” I scolded the unconscious pony as I hefted her through the forest. I wasn’t yelling at her, though; my voice was full of anxiety and regret. “I told you I was dangerous. Why didn’t you listen?”

I continued to talk to her for several moments, as if trying to reassure myself that she was still alive, when I heard rustling in the branches nearby. I whirled around to see a group of soldiers in black armor stalking towards me, rifles held at the ready; BlackTech scouts.

I quickly lowered G.B. to the ground and drew a pair of pistols from my belt, stepping between her and the approaching troops.

“Give us the horse, kid, and we’ll let you go free without any trouble,” one of them said in a calming tone. “We don’t like to shoot humans, but we’ll do what we have to in order to ensure their kind is dealt with properly.”

I raised the pistols and planted my feet firmly in the ground. “I am not leaving her,” I growled, my fingers twitching as I took careful aim.

The lead soldier glanced back at his companions, who all shrugged. “If you say so,” he sighed. “Don’t expect us to haul your bodies back to civilization, though; we’re leaving you for the timberwolves.” He raised his rifle as if to fire on me, but he suddenly dropped his gun and clutched his throat. He fell to the ground, choking and spasming, and his allies rushed to see what was wrong. I slowly lowered my guns as I saw blood dripping from between his fingers, and realized that someone - or something - had slashed the man’s throat.

“What in the-” one of them started to speak, but his confusion was interrupted when a shard of glass buried itself in his spine, causing him to scream in agony and drop to the ground as well. The remaining soldiers all stood in a circular formation, ready to fire at the unseen threat. “Forget the kid and the horse!” one of them cried, “Crystal Midnight is here!”

I hardly believed what happened next. This… thing, a human-shaped mass of what looked like frosted glass,emerged from the very air, as if it had stepped out from a higher dimension, and walked right through the squad, waving a pair of crystal swords in a flurry as he decimated them all in mere moments. He turned to me, his body and blades stained scarlet by the blood of his fallen enemies, and spoke in a voice filled with raw hate.

“Die, human.”

He began to chase me, waving his swords around just as he had when he appeared, and I quickly fled. Although getting out of this alive was my primary goal at this point, I couldn’t help but focus on getting this thing as far away from G.B. as possible; hopefully it would lose her location, or forget about her altogether.

I turned and fired a round at the creature, my bullet grazing the jagged spikes on its shoulder. I heard it let out a cry of pain, and I realized triumphantly that I was actually able to hurt this thing.

“Alright, you bastard,” I growled as I took aim for the creature’s head, “Let’s see how well you handle a headache!”

Just as my sights lined up with their target, I tripped over a root that interrupted my shot, and the bullet buried itself in a nearby tree. I fell forward, rolling down a rocky hill and into a rushing river. The ice-cold water soaked my clothing as I thrashed to stay above the surface, the rapids throwing me against boulders and forcing me under. I was never a very strong swimmer, but I don’t think even a professional could have been able to keep their head above water in this mess.

In a stroke of luck, I felt my fingers grasp a thick, sturdy piece of timber, buoyant enough to be used to keep from drowning, and I climbed on top of it and held on for dear life.

~-~-~-~-~

Crystal Midnight did, indeed leave Gentle Blade alone after he took pursuit of Wayne Douglas; after all, Twilight Sparkle had told him that ponies did not mean him any harm.

As she lay there, unconscious, an Equestrian figure approached her; slender, with both a pair of wings and a horn, and dressed in a suit of black armor. The visor folded away, and Princess Cadance’s violet eyes stared at Gentle Blade’s still form with relief.

“At least some of us got away,” she said grimly as she levitated the slumbering earth pony onto her back. “Let’s get you somewhere safe,” she murmured, and took off into the night sky, making sure to keep her body steady so her passenger would have a comfortable flight.

Keeping Up Morale [Twilight]

I stirred to wakefulness at the sound of running feet and rustling branches. We were still at Marcus Ripley’s camp, near the BlackTech labor factory; had the guards located us? I leaped out of the tent, my horn glowing as I prepared an offensive spell, but dismissed it when I saw a familiar face in the trees.

“Rainbow Dash!” I called out happily, and my old friend turned to me at the sound of her name. “Twilight!” she cried back, and motioned for her companions to follow her. “Guys, over here!”

Minutes later, she and two humans joined our campsite; a brother and sister, who were named Joseph and Tess Moore. I recognized them from several nights ago, when we saw them get captured by BlackTech. I introduced them to Marcus and Brave Wind, and Rainbow Dash had a tearful reunion with Applejack, Fluttershy, and Spike.

“So… Drayke is really gone?” I asked sadly once everyone had been reaquainted. Even though I had seen him executed right before my eyes, it was hard to believe he wasn’t coming back; especially since he had already died three times before, but still managed to shake it off.

Rainbow Dash nodded solemnly. “He was a great leader, and a better friend,” she said wistfully. “We’re heading back to the Resistance headquarters, and we’re going to keep fighting, not just for our goal of unity, but for Drayke, too.”

A new and familiar voice spoke from behind us as we sat around a campfire. “That is no longer an option,” a synthetic voice said darkly, and we turned to see Cadence, dressed in her semi-mechanical Black Heart armor, approaching from deeper in the woods. “BlackTech followed your trail back to the base shortly after you were captured. They killed or chased off everyone inside, and then burned it to the ground. I was barely able to escape, but I do not know how many of us are left.” She sighed sadly as her helmet folded away, and looked back at us with teary eyes. “The Resistance is dead.”

We all stared into the twisting fire for a long time, unsure of what to say or do. Suddenly, I came to a realization, and stood up with newfound energy. “Like hell it is,” I said, using some of my old human friends’ slang. “Rainbow Dash is right; we have to keep fighting! You all come back with us to Canterlot; we’d be happy to have some extra help.”

Just then, I remembered something; the whole reason we had waited at the campsite in the first place. I closed my eyes and activated my magic locating spell, and turned to face Joseph and Tess. Just as I had suspected, I could detect faint Harmony magic within them, confirming that they were two of the individuals that were destined to wield the Elements of Harmony.

“Joseph, Tess, Brave Wind, Marcus Ripley; you four are destined to change the fate of Equestria, and perhaps this very war,” I explained proudly. “You are the chosen bearers of a legacy once owned by myself and several friends of my own.

“Many years ago, we held a set of six gemstones known as the Elements of Harmony. They held great magic, and whoever controlled even one of them could use that power to bend the world to their will. Only those worthy of them and of pure heart and mind could avoid being consumed by their power, as many had done before our time.

“Now it’s your turn,” I finished, looking at each of them one by one. “I know not which Elements you have been chosen by; that is for you each to find on your own. If you come with us to Canterlot, we can help you find your destinies.”

There was a stunned silence, until Brave Wind rose to his hooves. “What are we waiting for?” he asked nonchalantly, “I’ve been waiting years for this war to end; the sooner, the better.”

I nodded, and realized that there was one more Element nearby. “Cadence, do you have somepony with you?” I asked, glancing at my sister-in-law’s back. She turned her body to display her cargo: a young, unconscious earth pony, with a long gash running down one of her forelegs that was haphazardly bandaged in torn leather.

“I don’t know how she got that wound, but it was still fresh when I found her,” she explained. “There were also several BlackTech soldiers nearby that looked as though they had been ripped to shreds. There’s no way she could have done that, is there?”

I shook my head slowly. “I think I know who it was,” I said quietly, remembering the unlikely friend I had made several days earlier. “There is a Crystal Knight roaming these woods that goes by the name of ‘Crystal Midnight’. He hates humans, but shouldn’t bother you if I’m around,” I added, looking at Joseph, Tess, and Marcus. I carefully unwrapped the blood-soaked leather and held my horn inches away from the gash as it began to glow a gentle lavender. The cut also glowed a matching color, and slowly began to fade away as my healing magic undid the damage done to the earth pony’s tissue.

“She’s going to be just fine,” I reported to Cadence. “We should leave immediately, though; there’s no telling how many squads of BlackTech soldiers are swarming these woods. You and Rainbow Dash take to the skies, and lead us safely to Canterlot,” I instructed. “I’ll do what I can with my magic to keep us safe or hidden, but we’ll need your help if we get into a struggle.”

Marcus let out a hearty laugh. “Miss Sparkle, you are travelling with a seasoned gunman,” he said confidently as he retrieved and assault rifle from his tent. “If any BlackTech troops get close, I’ll take them out with little trouble.”

Joseph raised a hand. “You wouldn’t happen to have a sniper rifle in there, would you?” he asked with a grin, “I’m not too bad of a shot, myself.” Marcus grabbed a long rifle and handed it to the boy, and gave Tess a smaller machine gun.

“Can you use this?” he asked the young girl gently.

Tess rolled her eyes and pointed at the barrel. “This is where the bullets come out, right?” she asked dryly.

Joseph chuckled lightly. “We’ve been training together,” he explained. “She’s pretty good with a weapon, too.”

We all turned at the sound of somepony clearing their throat, and saw the strange earth pony standing before us, a sword clutched in her teeth. “I may not be able to use a gun,” she said boldly, “but I am great with one of these.” She swung her neck, the blade slicing a clean scar through the trunk of a tree.

Brave Wind stretched his legs eagerly. “I’ll stay in the sky with Cadence and Rainbow Dash,” he said dutifully. “Having an extra pair of eyes up there wouldn’t hurt, would it?” He was about to take off, but he crashed into the ground as somepony planted a sturdy hoof on his tail.

“You can stay with us, ‘ladies man’,” Applejack said smugly. “Too many airborne ponies will attract unwanted attention; you, Dash, Twilight, and Cadence can take the air surveyance in shifts. Besides,” she added, leaning in close and lowering her voice, “Rainbow Dash appreciates being hit on even less than Twilight does.”

Brave Wind blushed as Cadence and Rainbow Dash took to the sky, and after we helped Marcus pack up his tent, we began the long trek through the woods. We were quite a ways from Canterlot, but it was our best shot at safety.

~-~-~-~-~

“Are you okay?” I asked Cadence as she walked beside me silently. She hadn’t said a single word since she landed from her shift in the sky.

“I’m fine,” she insisted, her modulated voice hiding her emotions quite well.

I gave my former foalsitter a quizzical look. “Are you sure?” I inquired gently, “I know you and Drayke were close.”

Cadence let out an empty laugh. “Close?” she asked sarcastically, “He was my husband, Twilight. It’s bad enough that Shining Armor…” she paused and fell silent. “I told that idiot not to go on this mission. He promised me that he would come back…”

I pressed against her side comfortingly. “You’re not the only one who lost something when Drayke Blackwood died,” I said softly.

Cadence nodded after a long silence. “You’re right, Twilight,” she said quietly. “He was an incredible leader and a better friend to many, and we are not going to let him die in vain. He stood for the unification of humans and Equestrians, and we are going to continue that struggle in his honor.”

I smiled at my oldest friend. “That's the spirit,” I said happily.

Just then, Brave Wind came soaring down from the air. “Whew! My wings are beat!” He exclaimed. “Would you care to trade spots, Princess Cadence?” He asked politely. “Rainbow Dash is still up there; she doesn't seem to want to come down just yet,” the pegasus added.

Cadence nodded as the mechanical framework on her suit folded out, revealing a set of armored wings. “She's been locked up for a few days,” she explained, her voice having gained a new level of confidence and cheerfulness after her talk with me. “It makes sense that she would want to stay in the air.”

With a great leap, Cadence soared into the sky, leaving me with the flirty pegasus.

“Listen, Twilight,” he said, picking up his pace as I attempted to outrun him, “I wanted to apologize for my behavior over these past few days,” he explained ashamedly. “It was uncalled for, especially since I am a member of the guard. It is my task to protect you and your friends, not flirt with and bully you.”

He bowed his head respectfully, and I gave him an impressed look. “Well, thank you, Brave Wind,” I replied. “I accept your apology.”

The pegasus guard looked as pleased as a foal with a new Joy-Boy. “Thank you, Princess,” he said thankfully. “Now that that's out of the way, I wanted to talk to you about Rainbow Dash…”

I sighed. “An apology doesn't mean anything if you go and ruin it right away,” I said slowly.

Brave Wind grinned sheepishly. “Hey, I'm not hitting on anyone,” he pointed out, “I just want to get to know her. Of course, Applejack told her about my ‘breaking the sound barrier’ remark, and now she won't talk to me,” he explained. “The last hour up there was so awkward.”

I shrugged. “She’s brave, loyal, and smart,” I replied. “She can be a little hot-headed and full of herself sometimes, but her time with the Resistance seems to have matured her some.

“Just apologize for what you said,” I suggested kindly. “Just make sure you actually stick to that apology,” I added.

Brave Wind nodded. “I think I'm going to go apologize to Spike and Applejack next,” he said quickly. “Thanks, Princess.”

I giggled. “You can just call me ‘Twilight’, I said gently. “Wait, what did you say to Applejack that needs apologizing for?”

Brave Wind shrugged. “I dunno. She seemed upset that I was talking to you all so rudely, so I figured I'd make up for it.” He paused for a moment. “I also may or may not have told the others that she wanted to ‘buck my apples’,” he added slowly.

I sighed and shook my head. “You'd better get started, Brave Wind,” I said with a small laugh. “You've got a lot of work to do if you want to earn everyone's trust back.”

Asylum [Cyrus]

I groaned as I stirred to wakefulness, glancing around in a daze as I tried to figure out just what the hell was going on. The last thing I remembered, I had emerged from the portal into an Equestrian military camp, and everything ended there.

They must have knocked me out, I thought as I staggered to my feet, leaning against the wall for support. “Water…” I mumbled, and looked up to see a water trough in the corner of the room. It looked clean enough, and after taking a sampling sip I deduced it was safe enough to drink. At least they treat their prisoners well enough, I thought as I thirstily drank the clear liquid, taking a break every so often to catch my breath.

“Ah, so you’re finally awake,” I heard a mocking voice call out from outside my cell. I looked over my shoulder to see a unicorn guard staring at me through the barred door. “You’re a lot softer than most human spies they send through the portal; you fell like a sack of potatoes when one of our weakest recruits hit you in the head!” he laughed. “How’s it feel to be on the other side of a cage, huh? I’ve got a cousin who’s trapped in one of your human labor camps, you know, and I’ve been itching to return in kind what’s being done to him.”

I looked at my reflection in the clear water. I couldn’t even recognize the face that stared back at me; finding out you’re just a disposable clone is a good way to make you question everything you’ve ever known. “I’m… I’m not with BlackTech,” I said softly. “I mean… I was, but not anymore…”

The guard snorted. “Well, don’t expect any handouts around here; the only thing worse than a human is a disloyal human,” he snapped.

I sighed heavily, when something came to me. “Wait… you said I was easily knocked unconscious?” I asked, remembering that the Pandora Serum was still coursing through my veins, supposedly increasing my strength beyond the limits of normal human beings.

The guard chuckled. “It was hilarious,” he said, fondly recalling the memory. “I wish I had a video recorder at the time; I’d like to see it again a few more times.”

I stared at my hands and flexed my fingers. Perhaps the serum only has temporary effects, I thought slowly. No, wait… I still feel quite strong. Maybe it increases muscular strength, but does not improve vitality and vulnerability? After all, father said that the serum was still imperfect. I tested this theory by gently pushing the water trough. It was definitely made of some sort of dense metal, but easily moved when I applied pressure to it. Okay, so that explains that, I thought affirmatively. “Excuse me, guard? I have to use the bathroom,” I said innocently.

The guard glanced at me over his shoulder for a moment before sighing begrudgingly. “I don’t want to have to clean up your cell when we finally get rid of you,” he grumbled as he levitated a ring of keys from a nearby coatrack over to the door and unlocked it. “Right this way,” he ordered.

As soon as I had exited the cell, however, I quickly grabbed the guard and tossed him in the now-vacant cell and slammed the door, crushing the lock like a wad of clay and sealing the door.

“What? Help! Prisoner escape!” the guard cried out as I sprinted down the hallway, keeping a wary eye out for other guards. I eventually found myself in the main section of the castle, tiptoeing through the quiet halls to avoid raising any more alarms.

As I traversed the castle, I stared in wonder at the paintings and statues that depicted great heroes and battles. I found myself captivated by one in particular; a dark-blue alicorn with a star-filled pelt, as though he was made of the night sky, that stood next to a human dressed in silver-and-gold armor.

“Beautiful, isn't it?” I heard a gentle voice say. I jumped and turned around, surprised to see Princess Celestia, leader of the Equestrian Alliance, slowly trotting towards me. “An old friend convinced me to hang it here,” she said fondly, gazing at the painting with eyes full of admiration. “A reminder of what once was, and could be again.”

I turned back to the painting and stared at its beautiful accents and details. “Who were they?” I asked quietly.

Celestia let out a deep breath. “My father, King Cosmos,” she said, gesturing to the alicorn. “He led his people bravely and fiercely, and I hope that i may one day be remembered as half the great hero he was.

“By his side is Argentum Vindex,” she continued, gesturing to the armored human. “He was the leader of the group of humans that arrived in this world, who were given the Elements of Harmony by my father. They were corrupted by their power, and Argentum set out to stop their conquest.”

Celestia turned to me. “I know who you are, Cyrus Anderson,” she said simply. “You are the spokesman for BlackTech Incorporated, aren't you?”

I nodded slightly.

“I have lost much because of the war your company started,” she said grimly. “Friends, subjects, cities… What is it all for?”

I stared at her like one would regard a god. I suppose it was an appropriate reaction; after all, she was one of the primary deites of the Equestrian Pantheon. “I… I'm not sure,” I admitted, looking away from the regal pony. “BlackTech claims that it was because of the destruction that the opening of the portals caused; that it was part of an intentional attack. Others say it's just so humans can have a new world to live in, since so much of our own has been ravaged.” I looked back into her soft, purple eyes. “I don't know what to believe anymore. I just found out that I'm not a real person, but a clone of the man I thought was my father,” I explained. “The disposable end result of a hare-brained science project.”

Celestia nodded understandingly. “So why run here, to Equestria?” she asked gently. “Humans are not usually taken in with open arms these days.”

I stared helplessly at the ground. “I… I don't know,” I admitted sadly. “I just had to get out of there, and this was the only place I could think of that my father shouldn't be able to find me.” I let out a heavy sigh. “I apologize for intruding on your kingdom, Princess Celestia, and I know it doesn't mean much, but I am sorry for all the trouble humanity has caused you. With your blessing, I will depart from Canterlot and never bother your people again.”

Celestia was silent for a few moments. “Do… do you take me for some kind of careless savage?” she asked, taken aback and slightly amused by my statement. “You have exiled yourself from your world because remaining there would mean death, or worse. You clearly do not seek to cause trouble with myself and my subjects, so I see no harm in allowing you to stay.” She gave me an inquisitive look. “You do mean no harm to my subjects, correct?” She asked carefully.

I shook my head. “I don't want to cause trouble; I just want asylum from BlackTech,” I said affirmatively. “And, if it isn’t too much trouble, I would be interested in learning more about Equestrian society,” I added hopefully.

The princess looked surprised. “A former BlackTech employee wants to learn about ponies?” she asked incredulously.

I nodded. “All my life, I’ve been told that you and your people meant to destroy us, and that you should be feared. After spending so long surrounded by lies and xenophobia… I want to learn the truth,” I explained. “I want to know what you’re really like.”

Celestia nodded, a small smile appearing on her face. “I would be happy to teach you,” she said kindly. “What would you like to learn first?” she asked, beckoning for me to follow her as she began to trot down the hallway.

I jogged lightly to catch up. “Well, what about the Disaster?” I asked slowly. “What really caused it?”

Celestia proceeded to tell me the tale of Allen Greathouse, a young man who arrived in Equestria nearly five years ago and saved their world from enslavement at the hands of - and I didn’t believe her at first - Drayke Blackwood.

“Is something the matter?” she asked when she saw my face fall when she mentioned Drayke.

I sighed. “Princess Celestia,” I began, “I’m afraid that Drayke Blackwood has been killed.”

Celestia gasped. “No!” she said fearfully.

I nodded sadly. “I… my superiors hired a mercenary to hunt him down and kill him,” I explained quietly. “I was the one who brought him his orders,” I added shamefully.

Celestia looked horrified. I hoped her horror was directed at the news I told her, and not my actions. “I… I don’t believe it…” she whispered. “What of the others? Drayke had some humans and ponies working with him. What became of them?” she was sounding frantic now.

I shrugged honestly. “I am not entirely sure,” I explained. “After his death, there was a squad with him that was brought to a nearby prison factory. Some soldiers followed the trail back to Drayke’s base, and destroyed it.” I couldn’t bring myself to look up at the regal alicorn. “Anything that was unable to escape was executed.”

Celestia stayed silent for a long time. “Well, at least there is hope that Cadence survived,” she said quietly, and continued to walk down the hall with a grim expression on her face. I once again found myself fogging to catch up with her.

“Celestia, I…” I froze when she glanced to look at me. “I am sorry,” I said softly. “I am directly responsible for what has happened to your friends and subjects, and I understand if you are angry with me.” I wasn’t entirely sure why I regarded her with such respect and admiration; after all, just a few days ago, I wouldn’t go near one of these horses if it meant refusing to do so meant death. Perhaps the incident with my father and the awakening of the Pandora Serum had altered my thought processes? Or maybe it was just a minor case of post-traumatic shock.

Celestia nodded slightly. “I do not blame you, Cyrus,” she said softly. “You were merely following orders from those whose motives you did not know.” She looked over and gave me a comforting smile. “You have no reason to fear me, like your former superiors would have you believe.” As we approached a pair of massive double doors, Celestia directed her attention to a pair of guards that stood on either side of them. “Guards! This is Cyrus Anderson,” she explained in a clear voice. “He is a defector from the BlackTech Corporation, and is to be treated as a valued guest. Bring him to the living quarters and help him settle into a vacant room.” She then turned to me. "I'm afraid I must return to some royal buissiness, Cyrus. Shall we continue our conversation later?"

I nodded quickly. "It would be an honor, your highness," I replied.

The guards nodded dutifully and trotted to my side. “Right this way, sir,” one of them said with a respectful nod, and I followed them deeper into the castle. They led me to a long hallway lined with identical doors, stopping at one and motioning for me to step inside. “This will be your room during your stay,” one of the guards explained. “Should you need anything, there is a bell right here above the door; ring it, and one of us will come to assist you,” he added, pointing a hoof at a golden bell that hung just above the doorframe, with a thread hanging down from it. “Please enjoy your stay in Castle Canterlot,” he said, and they both gave me a respectful nod before leaving me to explore my new dwelling place.

I stared after them, a pleasantly surprised expression glued to my face. All my life I had been ordered, praised, questioned, and even threatened, but that had been the first time anyone had regarded me with genuine respect.

Losing Control [Allen]

Four Years Ago...

“I’m pinned down over here!” I shouted, peering over a boulder at the advancing human soldiers. The fired a spray of bullets that ricocheted off of my stony cover, and I quickly ducked back into safety. “Damn it… I’d prefer to not use very many of these,” I said grimly, pulling a handful of crystals out of my pocket and inspecting them carefully. Shortly after my transformation into a human, I had Celestia channel some of my dormant alicorn powers into a set of Spirit Crystals so that I could still fight and use some of my powers in my human form while my dormant powers receded to levels that my alicorn body could handle. However, since my spells were still immensely powerful after the whole Sanguis ordeal, using each one would expend the crystal’s charge, turning it to dust and rendering it useless.

On top of this, around my neck I also wore a Spirit Crystal pendant that suppressed the magical energy that still contaminated my body, keeping it from killing me. I was pretty limited on how well I could fight, but at least I wasn't useless or a liability to my friends.

I tossed one of the crystals at the humans, and in a flash of light they were frozen inside a jagged mass of crystal. I grinned darkly, but quickly ducked when another squad of soldiers set their sights on me. I crouched back behind the boulder once again, preparing another crystal.

“I'd really rather not use this one so soon,” I growled, clutching the crystal tightly as it's energy flowed out of it and surrounded me. In moments, I was equipped with a wingless variant of my Crystal Paladin armor and a smooth crystal greatsword. I sprinted out from behind the rock and charged forward as the soldiers opened fire, their bullets bouncing off of my impenetrable armor harmlessly as I attacked. With a mighty sweep of my blade, I carved the earth beneath my enemies and sent them flying backward several feet. With the squad disarmed, I quickly destroyed each of their weapons before they could stand again.

“I didn't sign up for this shit,” I heard one of them mutter as I pointed my blade at their leader’s throat.

“Why are you attacking our city?” I demanded.

The soldier narrowed his eyes. “You should learn whose side you're on, kid,” he growled angrily. “Don't you know what's happened back on Earth?”

I raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?” I asked, confused.

The soldier laughed derisively. “I thought as much,” he replied, amused. “Earth is a wasteland now. When those portals opened, it overloaded pretty much any electronic devices near the epicenters. The energy they released had a massively destructive reaction with nuclear weapons and reactors, and now half of the US is gone. I dont know how badly the rest of the world is doing, but I'd assume it isnt much better.”

I stared blankly, the impact of this statement hitting me like a train. So many people, so many cities, destroyed in the blink of an eye.

And I made it happen.

Just then, my armor and sword faded away as I continued to stare ahead at the soldiers. “You have to listen to me,” I said calmly. “The Equestrians don’t mean you any harm. Come with me, and you’ll see for yourself.” I held out an empty hand for the squad leader to take.

The soldier scoffed. “Like hell!” he said, and pulled a combat knife from his belt. “Any last words, traitor?”

I nodded. “Flash!” I cried, and an orange pegasus swooped past, knocking the soldier to the ground. He quickly turned and shot back, sliding to a halt by my side.

“You should probably wear some Royal Guard armor instead of relying on your crystal armor all the time,” Flash Sentry said dryly. “Metal is a little more permanent than magic.”

I shrugged. “Yes, but my armor is a little more bulletproof,” I pointed out. “That, and crystal is kinda my thing.”

Flash rolled his eyes. “Stubborn as always,” he said with a laugh as the rest of his squadron approached. “What do you want us to do with these guys, your highness?”

I glanced at the group of human soldiers. “Escort them to Canterlot, and keep them under close watch,” I ordered. “They are to be treated as guests, not prisoners.”

The lead soldier gritted his teeth angrily. “We aren’t going anywhere with you horses,” he spat.

Flash gave the soldier a smug look. “What choice do you have?” he asked rhetorically.

The soldier grinned and held his wrist near his mouth, and began to speak into his wristwatch. “Sentinels, now!” he cried, and several of the large, mechanical behemoths that attacked Canterlot several days prior emerged from the nearby treeline. Rather than equipped with drills, however, these ones carried missile launchers and gatling guns.

“Take cover!” I cried, tossing down a crystal that exploded in a flash of blinding light, freezing me inside a protective shell of crystal. I wasn’t much use in battle without my armor, and without a crystal that could cast such a spell, my only option was to remove myself from the fight.

I watched grimly as the Equestrian soldiers battled against the humans’ mechs valiantly. The unicorns attacked from afar with their magic while the earth ponies held them at bay with their incredible strength, and the pegasi drew their fire with their swooping dive bombs and distracting aerial maneuvers. Although numbers were on our side, however, it seemed obvious that we would not win this fight.

“Allen, we need to retreat!” I heard Flash cry. I shifted my eyes to see him battling the soldier that lead the squadron we nearly captured, frantically blocking the human’s knife strikes with his armored hoof-guards. It looked as though Flash had the upper hand for a moment, but a wave of dread washed over me when I saw another soldier circling around behind the orange pegasus. I wanted to cry out to warn him, but I still needed to wait for my safety shell to fade away before I could act. I watched in horror as the other soldier wrapped his arms around Flash Sentry and lifted him over his shoulder and slammed him on the ground like a professional wrestler.

I screwed my eyes shut when I saw the other soldier draw near with his knife, his eyes wide with anticipation at the sight of Flash’s exposed stomach. I couldn’t watch this; I had already seen so many others I cared about, killed or tormented right before my own eyes.

I can’t protect anyone… I thought sadly, anyone I try to save ends up getting hurt; anyone who tries to save me ends up no better. I could feel the crystal shell around me beginning to disintegrate, and the Spirit Crystal around my neck began to burn like a hot ember against my chest. Very well, I thought as my anger began to blur my thoughts, and I began to regress into a state of mind not entirely unlike the one I was trapped in when Sanguis was in control of my body. If I’m not meant to save my friends… then maybe I’ll be better at destroying my enemies...

When I was freed, I wrapped my fingers around my Spirit Crystal and channeled its magic, as well as the magic from the other crystals I carried, and channeled it straight into my body. My whole body felt as though my veins were pumping liquid fire through them rather than blood, and the tears streaming down my cheeks froze like ice.

“Hey, the kid finally came out of the shield!” the human who had just butchered Flash was rushing at me now, obviously bloodthirsty after his recent kill. He thrust his knife at my chest, but the steel blade turned to dust as soon as it touched me.

I grinned psychotically as I grabbed the soldier by the neck and lifted him in the air. “You thought you needed to fear the Equestrians,” I said ominously, my voice vibrating with raw energy as the man’s body began to spasm as I channeled some of my energy into him, the foreign magical energies wreaking havoc on his systems. “I am the one you should be afraid of.”

When the man finally stopped moving, I let his body fall to the ground and turned to the mechs that my allies were still distracting. I waved a hand at the ground beneath one of them, turning the grassy soil into a mass of liquid crystal that quickly enveloped the mech, and then solidified once it was beneath the surface. I then stalked over to the other, which had noticed me at this point, and concentrated its fire on me.

I held out my arm as a jagged, crystalline greatsword materialized in my hand. I held the blade vertically so the flat side blocked the storm of bullets and continued to march forward as the mech actually began to step backwards. I grinned savagely and hurled the sword forward, and it's trajectory sent it flying into my robotic enemy’s torso, ripping it in two.

I stood there, alone in the field. My allies had fled, either because I had distracted the soldiers, or out of fear of me and my rage. They had nothing to fear from me, but the humans…

I'll kill them all, I thought hazily.

“Allen!” I heard a fearful voice cry out, and I turned to see Twilight Sparkle descending from the air, coming to a halt a few yards away.

I smiled and held out my arms warmly. “Twilight, it's so good to see you!” I said happily. “I'm… I'm a little tired, but I just need to sit down a moment.” I gasped as I fell to my knees, my breath suddenly coming in short gasps.

“You need to surrender your magic, Allen,” Twilight said carefully. “Celestia gave you that crystal to suppress your powers, not as a conduit to make it usable in your human form. You know what happens when humans use magic,” she added worriedly.

I nodded slowly. “I know, but…” I was breathing hard, and my muscles felt as though they were strained to the greatest extreme. “They killed Flash, Twilight,” I said sadly. “So much death, so much destruction, all because of these damn humans!”

Twilight nodded sadly. “I've lost loved ones because of all this, too,” she said, drawing closer now. “Flash was my friend, too, you know. Shining Armor is gone… Did I tell you my father was killed in the initial attack on Canterlot?” she asked, keeping her tone as calm as possible.

I shook my head. “You never told me that,” I whispered. So tired…

Twilight nodded. “He was protecting my mother from a soldier… I got there in time to save her, but it was too late for him.” She looked me right in the eyes. “I didn't want to burden you or any of the other princesses with my problems; least of all you, Allen.”

I looked up at her worriedly. “Why would you keep something like that from us?” I asked quietly. “Why wouldn't you tell me?”

Twilight sighed and sat down next to me. “Because you already blame yourself for so much that has happened, Allen, and I didn't want you to hold yoursef responsible for this, too,” she replied softly. “You keep trying to blame yourself for what happened with Sanguis, but there's nothing you could have done; you're strong, Allen, but not even Celestia could defeat him.

“Do you remember when we first met?” she asked fondly.

I nodded, the screaming feeling in my muscles beginning to fade. “You tied me to your bed and dropped books on me… and then you tried to turn me into a zombie,” I said with a weak laugh. “We've come a long way since then, huh?”

Twilight nodded, and I could now see that she was crying. “Those were the days,” she said softly.

I reached out weakly and rested my hand on her back. “We can… we can fix this,” I said calmly. “We can drive the humans back to Earth, and make everything the way it before.”

Twilight looked at me sadly. “How can anything go back to the way it was before?” she asked hopelessly.

I shrugged. “I have no idea,” I admitted sleepily, “but if there's anyone who can figure out how, it's you. You’re the smartest friend I've ever had...”

Twilight stared at me for a long time, and before I could react, she darted forward and kissed me. I widened my eyes for a moment and tried to struggle, but the sudden rush of energy that I no longer had caused me to fall into blissful unconsciousness.

~-~-~-~-~

“We need to talk, Allen.”

I felt my heart jump into my throat at the sound of Luna’s disappointed voice. Oh, crap, I thought as I stood up. “Hey, Luna,” I said nervously as I looked around at our surroundings, “what’s up?”. We were on the moon, Luna’s nightmare landscape. Needless to say, I was in trouble.

My wife materialized in front of me, an angry scowl on her face. “You know exactly ‘what’s up’!” she snapped, “How could you let something like this happen?!”

I shrugged sheepishly. “Look, it meant absolutely nothing,” I assured her. “I was out of it because of my outburst, and Twilight was feeling kinda emotional, and it just happened!”

Luna narrowed her eyes. “It is not out of the ordinary for Equestrian males to have more than one spouse, so I’m not incredibly bothered by your kiss with Twilight,” she explained in a low voice, “what’s bothering me is you intentionally put yourself in harm’s way by absorbing magic directly into your body!”

I looked at the ground. “I’m sorry, Luna,” I said softly. “It was reckless, but… I’m tired of people - and ponies - dying because of me.” I sat down on the white, rocky ground. “I’m supposed to keep the citizens of Equestria safe, but doing that means I can’t protect the ones who mean the most to me. When I try to protect my loved ones, everyone else suffers.” I sighed heavily. “I just lost control. We all have a breaking point, and I finally reached mine.”

Luna stepped over and sat next to me. “I know, Allen,” she said softly. “I broke once, long ago, and even with your help, I still haven’t picked up all my pieces. Even if we do make it that far, the fractures of our internal struggles will never fade.” She looked deep into my eyes. “You know that, right?”

I nodded. “I can still feel him,” I said openly. “Even though he left after Drayke defeated me, I can still feel his presence.”

Luna nodded. “And I can feel hers,” she replied. “We will never be rid of our demons, but perhaps that is a good thing.” She was smiling now. “They can be discouraging at times, but they can also serve as a reminder of how much we’ve accomplished; the effort we’ve made to move past our mistakes.”

I nodded as I grinned and wrapped my arms around the midnight-blue alicorn. “I love you so much,” I said happily as Luna nuzzled my neck.

“Hey, Luna?”

“Yes?”

“What was that you said about Equestrian males taking multiple wives?”

“Don’t push your luck, Allen. I’m not sharing you with anyone.”

“Sorry.”

Rising Tide [Wayne]

I was awakened by a mind-numbing pain that flooded my senses, sending what I initially thought was the waking world into a hazy blur. I could tell that I was dreaming, but the sensation that attacked my every nerve felt real.

I was on my hands and knees, breathing heavily. I glanced around at my surroundings, finding myself trapped inside a glass cage. The outside room was bleach-white, the brightness of which strained my unfocused eyes. I saw shapes moving around outside, some of them appearing to be watching me, and others were operating consoles that lined the walls.

“Turn up the voltage,” an echoey voice ordered, and I felt another painful shock rack my body. I cried out in agony as I fell to the floor, breathing hard as I stared straight ahead.

“I am sorry for this,” a familiar and gentle voice said, “but I had to be sure you were listening.”

I looked up to see that the room around me had vanished, being replaced with an endless, star-filled void. “You…” I growled, “You said you wouldn't be able to speak with me again…” I turned my gaze upward to see Princess Luna standing over me, her eyes filled with pain and sorrow. I don't know why, but although I had just experienced what could probably be considered the most mind-destroyingly painful, her presence made me feel strangely at peace.

“BlackTech is transferring me to a more secure location,” she explained. “I'm taking advantage of the break in my torment to contact you one last time. After this, however, I'm afraid I will be unable to contact anyone until I am freed from BlackTech’s clutches.”

I shakily rose to my feet, having recovered enough strength to stand. “Last time we spoke, you mentioned something about a ‘Crystal Prince’,” I said slowly. “The last thing I remember before waking up here, I was attacked by a creature made of crystal; is that who you were talking about?”

Luna shook her head. “No, the Crystal Prince is my husband, not this creature you speak of,” she said fondly. “I haven't been able to locate him with my powers, but I can feel in my heart that he is still alive.

“I fear, however, that something terrible happened to him after I was captured,” she concluded sadly. “You must reunite with your friends and seek him out; he will be of great help not only in freeing me, but also in stopping BlackTech.”

I scowled. “They aren't my friends,” I said angrily, “I don't have any friends.”

Luna looked unconvinced. “Indeed?” She asked, and the starscape changed to a clearing in the forest, watching a boy run through the forest as he carried an unconscious pony in his arms. “It certainly seems that you care for her,” Luna's voice filled my mind like a narration, as she was no longer by my side.

I watched as my past self placed G.B. on the ground and drew a pair of guns, taking shaky aim at the advancing soldiers. “What was I supposed to do, just leave her there?” I asked aloud.

“You felt ashamed for lashing out at her,” Luna said simply. “You did not save her just out of morality; it was also out of guilt.”

I clenched my fists. “Stop it,” I demanded.

The scene froze as Luna stepped out of the air in front of me, and the world returned to its starry state. “You must stop this charade, Wayne,” she said sadly. “I can see your innermost thoughts, even though you cannot yet. You are broken, and the only way you will ever be truly fixed is by letting friends into your heart. “

I rolled my eyes. “I don't need friends!” I snapped, “I've handled myself just fine so far! What makes you think that I can't keep going on my own?”

Luna looked me in the eyes, and hers were so filled with nothing but sorrowful sympathy. “Because you know you can't,” she replied softly. “You call yourself lucky, but you still find it hard to believe that you've gotten so far on your own. You know, deep down, that your luck is going to run out someday, and you fear that it will be soon.”

I stood there, trembling with anger; or was it fear? There was no way that could be true. I knew how I felt, and what I wanted: I wanted to destroy BlackTech, and I didn't care if I had friends to help me reach that goal or not.

“Shut up,” I growled.

Luna took a step forward. “I can help you, Wayne,” she offered gently. “I can fix you, if you'd like; here in your mind, I could realign your emotions and clear the fog blocking your senses.” As she spoke, a warm, blue light formed at the tip of her horn. “I cannot force you to accept this gift, however; it must be taken willingly.”

I scoffed. “Well, then I refuse,” I replied angrily. “I'm pretty damn sure I'm fine the way I am without you rooting around in my head.”

Luna raised a quizzical eyebrow. “Is that what Tony would have wanted for you?” she inquired, “For you to be all alone with no one to care for you?”

I scowled and snatched a pistol from my belt. “Get out of my fucking head!” I screamed, and fired at the alicorn. As soon as the bullet hit its target, Luna and the star-filled illusion shattered like a stained-glass window, and I fell through a vortex of blurred memories.

As I fell, I could hear Luna’s gentle voice whispering, so close that it sounded like she was right next to my ear.

We will meet again, and you will accept the gift I have offered you here today. Her voice was getting quieter now. You will accept who you really are.

You will accept what you are meant to be.

With that final word, the sea of memories exploded in blinding white light, and I suddenly found myself in the physical world. It was nighttime, and I was being tossed around in a stormy sea as I gripped a fallen tree for dear life. I coughed up lungfulls of seawater and blinked the salt out of my burning eyes.

I clinged the log with all of my strength, unsure if I'd be able to hang on for much longer, when I suddenly found myself covered in rope; a net had been thrown over me! I gasped and coughed as the net was hoisted out of the water, and I turned my head to see where the net had come from. It was a massive ship, like one you’d see in a pirate movie, with huge, billowing sails and a pitted, wooden hull.

“Reel him in, boys!” I heard a hearty, gruff voice call out. “This human won’t be reporting to BlackTech anytime soon!”

I was dropped onto the deck with a thud, and I wasted no time in scrambling out of the net and drawing my machetes. “Come on!” I shouted, my teeth bared and my eyes wide as saltwater stung my eyes and blurred my vision. “Who wants the first go?!”

“Hey, it's just some kid! He doesn't work for BlackTech!” I heard a voice call out.

Another scoffed, and I quickly turned to face the source of the sound; it was too dark and my eyes were too unfocused to make out who was speaking, but I could tell they were quadrupeds. Great, more horses, I thought angrily.

“Throw him in the brig,” the first voice said dismissively, “we'll figure out what to do with him at first light.” I felt two pairs of forelegs wrap around my arms and force me to drop my machetes as I was dragged backwards.

I struggled to break free from my captors’ grip. “Let go of me, you stupid horses!” I snapped, thrashing around pointlessly as I was suddenly tossed down a small set of stairs into a dark room.

“We aren't horses, you numbskull!” A female voice snapped, and I heard the sound of a slamming door. I scrambled up the stairs and banged on the door.

“Let me out!” I screamed, slamming my shoulder against the sturdy wood with all my strength. After a few charges, the door swung open, and I found myself face-to-face with a grinning creature with an eagle’s head, wings, and forelegs, and a lion’s body, hind legs, and tail.

“Shut up and go to sleep, ape,” the bulky gryphon growled threateningly as he pointed a cutlass at my throat. “Cap’n has got enough to worry about without your bellyaching.” With that, he withdrew the blade and slammed the door in my face.

I descended the stairs and sat down with my back against the wall, shivering in the darkness. “Could've at least given me a towel or a blanket,” I muttered as I rubbed my arms to conserve heat.

I heard a voice in the darkness chuckle smugly. “Even if they had one to spare, they wouldn't give it to you after the way you acted, you dweeb,” a girl’s voice said with a laugh. I watched as a match struck on the floor and lit a lantern, illuminating the room and revealing my company: a single, white-and-brown gryphon. She brought the light over by me and set it on the ground, and I wasted no time in holding my hands around it so I could at least get the feeling back in my fingers. “So, how'd you end up on this floating hunk of junk?” she asked, blowing out the match and tossing it aside.

I glared at the gryphon angrily. “Why in the hell would you care?” I snapped, continuing to recover from hypothermia.

The gryphon shrugged and lied down on the opposite side of the lantern like a cat. “Just curious is all,” she replied nonchalantly. “It's been a while since I've had some fresh company.”

Just then, a voice called out from the corner. “Come on, Gilda, we’re trying to sleep over here!”

The gryphon rolled her eyes. “I can only be so quiet, Scootaloo!” she replied. “Why don't you three come meet our guest?”

There was some frantic scrambling, and a trio of young ponies ran over from a darkened corner to join us. One of them was yellow with a red mane, another was white with a two-toned lavender mane, and the last was orange with a deep purple mane. They all stared at me with wide eyes that would have tugged at my heartstrings if I still had those.

Alright, I'll admit that even I thought it was pretty fucking cute.

“It's been a while since I've seen a human so close,” the yellow one said nervously.

Gilda laughed. “I'm sure he won't try to hurt you three,” she said with a friendly tossel of the filly’s mane. “‘Cuz if he does, I'll throttle him,” she added in a low voice as she gave me a death glare.

I nodded stiffly. “Even if I wanted to hurt any of you, I couldn't; I'm so damn cold…” I said, my voice trembling as I continued to rub my arms and hug my sides; I was pretty sure I wouldn't last much longer like this, even with the warm lantern so close.

Just then, I let a shocked gasp as something small and warm pressed against my side. “Come on, girls,” Applebloom urged as she nestled against me, “can't you see he's freezing?”

“What the- get off of me!” I snapped, but made no move to push the pony away; she was so warm, and it was so relieving to have something soft nestled against my aching muscles. I stared with shocked eyes as the other two fillies trotted over and lied with me, each of them pressed against me like I was a big stuffed teddy bear.

“Come on, Gilda!” The white unicorn insisted. “The three of us alone won't be able to warm him up fast enough; you're really soft and fluffy, and will probably heat him up like a radiator!”

The gryphon stared at me with a shocked expression that matched my own, and I gave her a look displaying my disgust of being cuddled by so many strange creatures. “Look, pal, I don't want to do it, either, but if I don't, you'll die, and I don't want to have that on my conscience,” she explained exasperatedly, and carefully stepped over as the fillies repositioned themselves so she could join.

“Try anything funny, and I swear I'll flay you with my bare talons,” Gilda growled as she pressed her side against my back. I felt a wave of pleasurable relaxation wash over me, and I found myself drowsily putting my weight on my unorthodox, feathery, breathing bed. I blinked my eyes sleepily, each close becoming longer and longer until I finally fell into the most comfortable sleep I had ever experienced.

Where You Belong [Twilight]

I sighed happily as we drew near the gates of Canterlot, having finally returned home after our crazy adventure. “Guards, open the gates!” I called happily, and the city’s gate slowly cranked upwards. “Marcus Ripley, Tess Moore, Joseph Moore, welcome to Canterlot,” I said cheerfully to my human friends. “This city was built thousands of years ago as one of the very first settlements in Equestria, and is now the capitol of-”

Spike interrupted me by clearing his throat. “Uh, Twilight? I don't think this is the time for a history lesson,” he pointed out gently. I turned around to see that everyone in the group, human and pony alike, was exhausted. Even Marcus, with his physical augmentations and excellent shape, looked like he needed serious recovery.

Cadence trotted up as her visor folded away, a comforting smile on her face. “Don't worry, Twilight,” she said as she wrapped a comforting wing around me, “we'll have plenty of time to give them the grand tour later. For now, we should focus on the mission at hand.” She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “It's been a while since I've stepped through these gates,” she murmured as she proceeded inside the city walls.

I looked back to the others, who were all following close behind except for Tess, Marcus, and Joseph.

“We've had plenty of experience with Equestrians before,” Joseph said slowly, “but are you sure we'll be welcome here?”

“And will we be safe?” Marcus added. “I don't mean to sound selfish, but I'm taking a big risk helping you return to Canterlot like this; BlackTech does not react kindly to betrayal and desertion.”

I nodded. “Canterlot is extremely well-fortified,” I explained proudly. “We have a powerful protective shield that can blanket the entire city in moments in the event of an attack, and its cliffside location makes it difficult for attackers to surround and surprise us.

“As for the welcoming issue, you're being accompanied by a princess! We'll head up to the castle, explain to Princess Celestia why I've brought you here, and get you all settled in.”

“Speaking of settling,” I heard Brave Wind call from the front, “can we get moving? My legs feel like they're made of dry spaghetti after all this walking.”

“For once, we agree on something,” Rainbow Dash replied, and the two exchanged a friendly hoof-bump.

I looked at Fluttershy and Applejack. “How are you two holding up?” I asked gently.

The orange earth pony mare shrugged. “I'm fine, all things considered,” she said cheerfully. “I'm just happy to be out of that prison and back with my friends.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. “Nothing is going to separate us again, right Twilight?” she asked hopefully.

I nodded with certainty. “For the first time since before this war began, things are finally starting to look bright,” I said hopefully.

~-~-~-~-~

“...as you can see, Princess, each of these individuals that I have brought before you have been chosen by the Elements of Harmony to usher in a new era of peace and prosperity for Equestria,” I explained proudly.

Celestia nodded slowly. ”I see,” she said thoughtfully, “but there are only five individuals here; you're missing one Element, Twilight.”

My face fell. “Well, yes, but I'm sure the final bearer will come to us eventually,” I said hopefully. “After all, myself and the other former bearers were all brought together by chance; I'm sure the last bearer will find us on their own eventually.”

“I've got a feeling I know who the last bearer will be,” I heard Joseph say quietly. “There was this kid, Wayne Douglas, who we met a few days before we were captured. He went off on his own after we broke out.” He looked over at the brown earth pony, Gentle Blade. “Didn't you follow him? What happened?”

Gentle Blade looked upset. “I don't want to talk about it right now,” she responded sadly, glancing at the wound on her foreleg.

Celestia nodded. “I'll spread word throughout the Royal Guard and the Equestrian Army,” she said quickly. “If they come across him, they will deliver him to Canterlot as fast as possible.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door. “Princess Celestia, is something wrong?”

We all turned to see a white haired human standing in the door. He had a concerned expression, and looked quite young; he was clearly an adult, but still had a nervous naive look to him.

Marcus leaped up and tackled the young man. “Everyone get back!” He shouted urgently, “this guy is with BlackTech.”

The man struggled under the supersoldier's grip. “I am not with BlackTech,” he growled angrily. “Not anymore.” I must have been imagining things, but it looked like Marcus was actually having trouble keeping the man pinned, even with his physical augmentation.

Joseph and Tess stepped forward. “I recognize him,” Tess said darkly. “He gave a speech at the BlackTech banquet we infiltrated.”

Joseph nodded. “He’s in good with those bastards,” he said angrily. “We should get rid of him now, while we have the chance.”

Celestia stood up sharply from her throne. “He will not be harmed!” She snapped, her tone bordering on the Royal Canterlot Voice, and she quickly cleared her throat in embarrassment. “Cyrus has defected from BlackTech out of fear for his own safety,” she explained. “He is staying in Canterlot and learning about our world, and at the same time he is teaching me a bit about Earth and informing me of some BlackTech secrets.”

Cyrus nodded, pushing Marcus off of him. “It's true,” he said, catching his breath. “I'm finished with BlackTech and their lies. I see now that you ponies are the ‘good guys’ in this war, and I want to help you in any way I can.”

Joseph let out a derisive laugh. “Like we should trust someone associated with BlackTech? For all we know, he could be a spy.”

Gentle Blade walked up to the man and stared at him scrutinizingly. “Uh, could you please not stand so close to me?” he asked politely, “I have boundary issues.”

Gentle Blade walked around Cyrus and looked him up and down, as if she was studying some new, fascinating creature. “He’s telling the truth,” she said finally.

Joseph raised an eyebrow. “How can you tell?” he asked disbelievingly.

The tan earth pony simply shrugged. “I trust him,” she said plainly.

Tess nodded in agreement. “Come on, Joseph,” she pleaded, “can't you see he's been through a lot?”

Joseph stared at his sister for a long time, before letting out a hopeless sigh. “I know there’s no point in arguing with you,” he said with an exasperated groan.

Tess gave her older brother a sunny smile, not entirely unlike Pinkie Pie would. “Yep!” she replied. “So, Twilight, what’s the plan now?”

I looked at the others in confusion. “I… I brought us here so Princess Celestia could guide us,” I said nervously. “We should be asking her what she needs of us.”

I heard Celestia give an amused chuckle. “Twilight, I think we are beyond my area of expertise at this point in time.” My former teacher stepped down from her throne and proceeded toward us. “New Elements of Harmony, come forward,” she said commandingly.

Joseph, Tess, Marcus, Brave Wind, and Gentle Blade stood in front of Celestia respectfully as she studied them one by one. “Hmm… not the most heroic looking bunch, but that is to be expected; it is quite often that the greatest of heroes come from the humblest of origins.

“I must apologize, however, for I know that you were expecting to be granted the Elements of Harmomy upon your arrival here in Canterlot; I'm afraid I cannot give them to you unless all six of the destined bearers are present and accounted for,” she explained. “You have my word, however, that when your final companion arrives at my doorstep, you shall each be granted the Element that corresponds with your spirit.”

“Alright! I hope you get the Element of Loyalty, Moore; the one I held during my time as a bearer!” Rainbow Dash said excitedly.

Celestia cleared her throat. “I'm afraid that won't be the case, Rainbow Dash,” she said, interrupting the pegasus’ victory cheer. “The Elements are rather sensitive to changes in the magical energies of Equus, and are drastically affected by significant disturbances in those energies. Ever since the Convergence, the Elements of Harmony have been… changed.

“You have detected that they are the ones destined to wield the Elements, Twilight, but due to my greater experience with them, having used all six on multiple occasions in the past, I can tell which of these individuals you have brought here is bound to which Element,” she continued. “Sadly, I cannot directly state which Element you have been chosen by; that must be discovered on your own. I can however, point you in the right direction,” she added, and stepped over to Marcus.

“Your Element is one I myself could have possessed many years ago,” she murmured, a reminiscent gleam shining in her eye as she spoke. “Be sure to use it to guide those in your care.

“The Element you have been chosen to hold will not come easy,” she told Tess apologetically. “You will experience great changes in the weeks to come, both in yourself and the world around you; how you react to them will determine whether you are ready for its power.

“Yours is a great Element, but its cost is also quite severe, I'm afraid,” she told Joseph apologetically. “You must become stronger than you are now; not only in physical prowess, but also in your mind and will. When these aspects of your spirit are focused, you shall gain your Element’s power.”

She stared at Gentle Blade for a long time. “Such a kind heart,” she said softly. “You've been alone for so long, yet you can tell who is worthy of your companionship; you do not associate with those who would seek to harm you, no matter how severely you desire company.

“You, my esteemed member of the Royal Guard,” she said when she approached Brave Wind, “must simply grow up and stop thinking about your own safety,” she said with a hint of humor in her voice. The blue pegasus lowered his head and smiled embarrassedly as the others chuckled. “Twilight Sparkle, I am placing you in charge of the Bearers until their missing member has been found and are capable of using their Elements to defend themselves and fight BlackTech.”

Joseph stepped forward. “Princess Celestia, with all due respect, I have one condition for myself and my sister to use the Elements of Harmony in your name,” he explained.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Indeed?” She inquired.

Joseph nodded. “Our leader, Drayke Blackwood, died for the belief that, if BlackTech and their corrupt ideals were removed from the picture, humans and Equestrians could live together in a united society,” he explained. “We'll gladly help you fight BlackTech, but only if you swear to allow human refugees not affiliated with BlackTech to live in Equestria.”

Celestia nodded thoughtfully. “I was informed of Drayke’s passing not very long ago,” she said sadly. “I helped his Resistance in whatever ways I could, though I couldn't spare many resources. He was a good friend of mine, and I would gladly continue the effort to unify the human and Equestrian ways of life in his honor.”

Tess let out a happy cheer and dashed over to Celestia, wrapping her arms around the solar princess in a warm hug. Celestia looked shocked at first, but after a moment her eyes softened and she placed a wing around the human’s shoulder to return the embrace.

I felt something tap my shoulder, and turned to see Spike standing behind me. “So, now that that's all taken care of, what do we do now?”

I smiled and sighed as I looked out a nearby window. “Well, we've done what we've set out to do; now we just need to wait for the guards to find ‘Wayne’, and then we'll have all six of the Bearers. I guess until then, we can just relax.”

I glanced over at Spike, who was staring at me with an odd expression. “Spike? Is something wrong?”

The teenage dragon shook his head to snap out of his daze. No, nothing's wrong,” he said with forced nonchalance. “Just… thinking. About stuff.”

I nodded, interested. “What kind of 'stuff'?” I inquired hopefully.

Spike shuffled his feet nervously. “I'd… I'd rather not talk about it with the others around,” he mumbled, discreetly pointing a talon at the others.

I nodded and turned to Princess Celestia. “Excuse us,” I said politely, and she nodded as Spike led me out into the hallway. “Alright, Spike, now you can tell me what’s bothering - huh?” I made a surprised noise when Spike cut me off by wrapping me in a tight hug. “Okay, what gives?” I asked with a laugh, but my amusement vanished when I realized Spike was… crying? “Spike, really, what's the matter?”

My oldest friend wiped his eyes. “I don't know how much longer I could have held this in,” he said softly. “I mean, finally reuniting with Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack finally made me realize what is really at stake in this war; even the ones who make it through are never the same again.”

I nodded sadly and brought him in for another hug. “I know, Spike,” I said gently, “that's why we're fighting; so no one else has to suffer.”

Spike looked at me, tears still welling in his eyes. “I know, but… I don't want you to change,” he explained. “You're my only friend whose personality hasn't been completely changed by this mess; you're all I've got to lose now…” he hugged me tighter than before, burying his face in my neck. I couldn't help but shed a tear myself; Spike had been my rock for most of the war so far, and now I was being reminded that even he had a breaking point.

We stood there silently for a long time before Spike finally let go of me. “Thanks, Twi,” he said quietly.

I nodded. “You don't have to stay strong all the time just for me, you know,” I said gently. “We're supposed to look out for each other; it shouldn't just be one of us doing all the work.”

The purple dragon smiled embarrassedly. “I'm not the one helping Celestia run the kingdom,” he pointed out. “You're more important than I am.”

I rolled my eyes and gave him another hug. “You're just as important as I am,” I said cheerfully. “I don't know what I'd do without you by my side.”

I felt Spike suddenly grow hot as he blushed. “Uh, I think I left something out by the gate!” He said quickly, and sprinted down the hall without another word.

I smirked. “I wonder what he's so worried about?” I asked myself aloud, and returned to the throne room to see what the others were up to.

~-~-~-~-~

Spike took a deep breath as he exited the castle, suddenly bathed in fresh air. “What's wrong with you?” He growled to himself. “Twilight's your oldest friend, literally since the moment you were born; why is she making you so nervous?”

His mind flashed back to my conversation with Brave Wind several days prior; he was certainthat he didn’t have any romantic feelings for her, so why did his comment have such a lasting effect on him? “You’re just overreacting,” the teenage dragon insisted. “He’s just got you riled up; that’s what he wants! Just relax,” he said, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. “You’ve dealt with worse things in the past; uncertain emotions should be a walk in the park.” Spike smiled slightly. “There, feeling better already!”

A guard saluted as he patrolled past. “Hail, Spike!” He greeted dutifully.

“I DON’T HAVE A CRUSH ON TWILIGHT!” He shouted and scurried back inside the castle, leaving the guard confused and disoriented.

Departure [Allen]

Three Years Ago...

“This is it,” Celestia said bravely as she stood before the army of Canterlot, her back turned to her soldiers. “This is the moment you’ve been training for; BlackTech, the organization spearheading the human efforts in this war, has mustered a large offensive force in the plains outside of the Canterlot Woods in preparation for a massive assault on our city; we stand here as the first line of defense against their mechanized abominations and barbaric, human soldiers.”

The regal alicorn turned, her mane billowing behind her dramatically as her fierce gaze swept her army. “Today is a day of reckoning for all of us,” she declared proudly. “You have all trained hard over the course of your military careers, but the challenge you face today will be no mere practice drill; the risk is real, but the glory shall be greater than any of you could possibly imagine. So, mighty soldiers of Canterlot, I have only one question to ask you.” She stepped forward with one hoof as several points of light surrounded her, taking on the shape of curved plates that clamped onto her body as a suit of royal armor that sparkled in the light of the dawn sunrise. “DO YOU STAND WITH ME?!”

A resounding chorus of cheers swept the ranks of soldiers, and I couldn’t help but let a feeling of pride swell in my chest. Sure, I probably wasn’t going to be directly participating in this battle, but these were my people, standing valiantly against a force that sought to wipe them out and take their lands. It was like a scene straight out of a medieval movie.

The plan was simple: Celestia and Luna were each to lead an army of their finest troops against BlackTech’s own force, which we found had been mustering for some time just a few miles from Canterlot’s outskirts. I had stayed behind both out of choice and necessity; having returned to my alicorn form and thus at risk of overusing my magic, I was only to be used as a last resort, in case BlackTech was able to force our side to retreat to safety and tried to capture the city.

Of course, we were not entirely defenseless; I had been meditating on my powers since the hostile army was first noticed, and thanks to some extra help from Luna, Celestia, and Twilight, I was prepared to cast a spell that no pony had ever dared to attempt in thousands of years, since the days of the first Human-Pony war.

A spell that even Starswirl the Bearded himself was reluctant to use.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Twilight asked worriedly as I stood on the eastern balcony of Castle Canterlot, overlooking the city. I had brought Luna’s telescope with me so I could keep a close eye on the army so I would know the precise moment I would need to activate the spell.

I nodded stiffly. “I’ve looked over Starswirl’s secret journal forwards and backwards, Twilight,” I said confidently. “BlackTech won’t know what hit them.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “Yes, but you’ve never cast this level of magic before,” she pointed out. “You refused to practice it even once, despite my recommendation-”

I cut the purple alicorn off. “I couldn’t risk a misfire, Twilight,” I said quickly. “With my unnatural magical strength, I am the only one of us who is even remotely capable of casting the spell successfully. Luna and Celestia have been giving me boosts in my energy over the past few months, and I haven’t cast a single spell during that time. My magical energies are at the fullest they’ve been since Sanguis was in possession of my body, and I have no doubt that I will be able to perform as valiantly as Starswirl did.”

I turned and saw Twilight giving me a worried look. “I know, but… what if you don’t?” she asked in a hushed voice. “I mean, I don’t doubt that you’re nearly as powerful as Starswirl was, but there’s always a risk. You could misfire the spell, or use it too late, or…” she trailed off, looking away from me.

I nodded understanding and stepped over to her side, wrapping a comforting wing around her. “You’re worried that I still won’t have enough energy to cast this spell, even after all my preparation,” I said softly. “You’re worried that if I try this, I’ll die.”

Twilight nodded, her eyes scrunched closed as if she were trying to ignore the reality of my statement. “Just like my father... and my brother... and Flash,” she whispered, and looked up at me. “Please, don’t let me lose anypony else that I care about.”

I stared into her eyes for a long time, wondering if I could actually promise that nothing would happen. She was right; there was a good chance that I wouldn’t be able to cast this spell, and even if I did, there was also a chance that I wouldn’t be able to walk away from it. “I’ll try my best,” I said softly, “but remember that even if things do go wrong, and something does happen to me, it will have been a necessary sacrifice. I won’t promise that I’ll be around to see tomorrow, but I can promise that we will win this fight.”

I heard the sound of a war trumpet being blown in the distance, and Twilight and I rushed to the balcony to watch the battle. The two armies of Canterlot charged at the BlackTech offensive with swords and shields raised, and the human troops rushed them, donning metal exoskeletons and carrying rifles. We watched grimly as the battle raged, and many soldiers on both sides were killed. I watched as one stallion leaped in the path of a firing human, taking a bullet that would have surely killed one of his allies. In vengeance, that ally rushed the human and speared him on the blade of his helmet that reinforced his horn.

“You know, back on Earth, I played a lot of war games,” I said darkly. “It was intense and exciting when it was simulated, but in real life…”

Twilight nodded. “It’s like something out of a nightmare,” she finished for me.

I peered through the telescope and scanned the battlefield for the two commanders of our armies. I found Celestia bravely combating a squad of BlackTech troops with a combination of beams of solar magic and her signature white-and-gold halberd, while at the same time maintaining a shield that protected a few wounded stallions from further harm while the paramedics helped heal them.

“How's Luna doing?” I asked, and Twilight helped me turn the telescope over to the army my wife commanded. She and her soldiers fought as bravely as Celestia's, albeit more ruthlessly. I thought it fitting, since her bat pony soldiers were creatures of the night. Although it was a horrifying sight, I couldn't help but smile when she blasted a soldier with a beam of magic that melted his exo with him still inside it.

“Allen,” Twilight said worriedly, “I think it's time for the spell.”

I gave the violet mare a confused look. “What makes you say that?”

Twilight responded by pointing a hoof in the direction of the city gate. “Look!” she cried frantically. I turned and saw that there was an entirely separate army marching on the city itself; although the energy shield surrounding the city was raised, it would only sustain a direct assault for so long.

I nodded grimly. “Stand back,” I growled, and I stamped my hoof on the ground as a spellcasting rune burst on the balcony floor beneath me, releasing a gust that blew my name back. The edges of the rune glowed brightly and enveloped me in a cylindrical screen as I levitated into the air and focused my thoughts on my spell.

Ancient mineral, hear my call…

The ground beneath Canterlot shook slightly.

Save our world from its fall…

Several crystal spires roses from beneath the streets.

Obey what order you're summoned for…

The spires began to fire beams of blue light, which began to take on solid shapes.

Crystal Guardians, defend Equestria once more!

A shockwave blasted from each of the pillars, and the shapes they had generated took on the appearance of Crystal Sentinels, Valkyries, and assassins, each of them raring for battle.

“Go now, defend your city!” I commanded, my voice projected to each of the creatures I had summoned. Nearly two years prior, I would have run in terror at the sight of one of the Guardians, and I found it incredibly ironic that they were now under my command.

I slowly floated to the ground, now beginning to feel the burning sensation in my veins that came with taxing my magic. Twilight rushed over as her horn took on a glowing aura, and began channeling magic into body to speed my recovery. “This isn't part of the plan,” I mumbled with weak humor.

Twilight gritted her teeth as she poured more and more energy into me. “I’m improvising,” she said in a strained voice, and collapsed next to me when she could no longer hold the transfer. “You did it,” she mumbled weakly, and I quickly held up a hoof when she leaned forward to kiss me.

“I'm pretty sure Luna's going to get mad if you keep doing that,” I said with a chuckle.

Twilight blushed. “Sorry,” she mumbled apologetically, “it was just in the heat of the moment, same as last time.”

“I know.”

“I mean, you're a handsome stallion, and a good friend, but that's all we are: friends.”

“Right.”

I sighed deeply. “So, now what? Since the battle is pretty much won at this point-” I was cut off by a sudden rushing feeling in my head. I looked into the telescope and gasped when I saw that the humans were actually repelling the Guardians with their gunfire. “How is that possible?” I said in a hushed voice. As each Sentinel, Valkyrie, and Assassin died, I could feel another wave of dizziness sweep over me. I staggered as Twilight quickly leaned on me to hold me upright.

“They were prepared,” I mumbled weakly, “they must have used the remains of Drayke’s Guardians to research what could be used to hurt them…”

Twilight nodded grimly. “Should I give the signal to retreat?”

I grunted affirmatively, too dazed to even speak, as Twilight fired a Bolt Spell into the air that exploded like a firework, a sign to all Equestrian soldiers that they were needed in Canterlot. I forced myself to my feet and looked through the telescope at our two armies battling on the plains. I could see Celestia’s troops leading a bold retreat, but Luna and her comrades weren’t as lucky. “Luna’s pinned down out there,” I growled, “I have to help her!”

Twilight placed a cautionary hoof on my shoulder. “Allen, you can’t go out there! You can’t risk casting a teleport spell after using Starswirl’s Guardian Spell!”

I looked the alicorn in the eyes. “Yes, but you can,” I pointed out urgently. “I need to get down there, now.” I wasted no time in rushing to my bedroom and donning a suit of Canterlot Guard armor. Seeing myself wearing it in the mirror sent a wave of guilt washing over me; I had it modeled after Shining Armor’s own personal armor, in honor of his sacrifice to protect me, but now it just served as a reminder of how many lives I had put in danger during my time here.

“Alright, Twilight, I’m ready,” I said certainly, and the violet alicorn wasted no time in casting her magic. I was enveloped by a bright purple screen that faded away moments later to reveal the battlefield before me.

“Help!” I heard Luna’s panicked cry sound from the distance. I stamped my forehoof, activating my suit’s spring-locked blades that protruded from the shoulderplates, hooves, and helmet, and charged into the battlefield with a cry of outrage.

“I’m coming, Luna!” I shouted, growling as I bucked a fallen soldier who was trying to use his last moments to slow me down by grabbing at my hind legs. When I arrived at Luna’s location, I saw the distress she was in; a group of heavily-armored BlackTech soldiers had her surrounded, and it appeared as though their enhanced armor made them resistant, if not outright immune, to her defensive spells.

I let out an infuriated scream and tackled one of them, headbutting the suit’s helmet and shattering the visor. I heard the operator inside cry out in agony, and I wasted no time in leaving him to die as I charged at another soldier.

“Get the nets!” I heard one of them cry, and we found ourselves tangled in thick, black cables. “Get them out of here, quickly! We’ll hold off the others,” he commanded, and the armored troops dragged us over to some kind of aircraft and hooked us onto it. “Go, go, go!” he shouted, and we began to ascend.

“Allen, I’m stuck!” Luna cried, and I looked over to see that the net containing her was bunched up in some places, constricting her legs and twisting her body in an odd contortion.

“Teleport back to Canterlot,” I growled, beginning to use my blades to saw through the cables, “I’ll catch up!”

Luna looked around fearfully. “I can’t use my magic!” she cried, “this net is preventing me from gathering my energies!”

I widened my eyes as the net gave way, and I found myself gripping it with my teeth. “I’m coming!” I growled, struggling to climb the cables and get closer to my ensnared wife. “I’ll cut you out!” My grip wasn’t holding very well, though, and Luna could see this.

Luna shook her head. “Just let go, Allen. I’ll be fine,” she said reassuringly.

I let out a pained growl as the my jaw muscles strained to hold the cable. “I’m not losing you again!” I screamed, struggling to get every extra inch I could.

Luna looked at me with her beautiful, green eyes, and I could feel my heart snap in two when she spoke. “I love you,” she whispered.

Just then, the cable finally slipped from my teeth, and I plummeted to the ground as the craft sped off towards BlackTech’s base. “NO!” I screamed, spreading my wings and catching the wind as I sped off after the craft. After an hour of chasing, however, I felt my wings suddenly lock up from fatigue, and I plummeted into the forest below. The pines softened my landing, but even if they didn’t I probably wouldn’t have felt the impact; I was already in so much pain. My mind was ablaze, and my heart was shattered into numerous pieces.

I gritted my teeth and teleported to the Canterlot throne room.

~-~-~-~-~

“Why the hell did you abandon her?!” I screamed when I fully materialized in front of the throne, where Celestia sat tiredly. My blood was on fire again, but my fury numbed the pain.

Celestia looked down at me angrily. “I am as upset as you are, Allen, but the other soldiers and I are lucky to be here ourselves!” she snapped. “Had we gone back to save Luna, the rest of our army would have fallen, and Canterlot would be entirely defenseless.”

“Shut up! Don’t you dare tell me the logistics of your strategy!” I shot back, my blood boiling like lava and my mind churning like a stormy ocean. “That was my wife, and she’s gone because of you!”

Twilight spoke up. “Allen, please, calm down,” she said gently.

I whirled around and stomped up to her so our noses touched. “Do not tell me to calm down, horse,” I growled, and the lavender alicorn flinched. “Where were you when I was trying to save her? You’re just as guilty as Celestia!”

Twilight gave me a defiant look. “I had to stay back and keep watch on the city!” she protested. “Since you took off to save Luna, I was the only alicorn here to command the few soldiers we had!”

I gritted my teeth and let out an enraged roar, whipping my horn at one of the stained glass windows that decorated the room and shattering it with a magically generated crystal spike. “Allen, please,” Celestia said insistently, “now is not the time for lashing out!”

I looked Celestia in the eyes, and she looked fearful when she saw mine were now glowing white as my magic became more and more unstable. “The mare I care about more than anything could be dead, or worse,” I growled, “and I am holding you, and you alone, personally accountable!” I stalked over to her, my every step leaving behind a jagged, crystallized hoofprint. “Mark my words, Celestia: I will make you pay for what your irresponsibility has caused!”

Celestia narrowed her eyes. “And just how do you plan to do that?” she asked, sounding like an amuse parent challenging a disobedient child.

I grinned craftily as my horn took on a bright glow, and I marched to the center of the room. “Let’s see how long Canterlot lasts with only two alicorns defending it,” I replied, and the room was enveloped in a sea of blinding white light.

~-~-~-~-~

“Allen?” Twilight called worriedly as she regained consciousness, “Celestia?”

Twilight heard her former teacher’s voice. “I’m here, Twilight,” she said worriedly, “but I think we are alone now.”

Twilight looked over and saw a large mass of jagged crystal had formed in the center of the room, almost like a frozen explosion. “No,” she whispered disbelievingly, “he can’t…”

Celestia nodded mournfully. “His powers finally got the best of him,” she said plainly. “His emotions, his magic, they were always connected. I feared it would only be a matter of time before something horrible happened.”

Twilight couldn’t look away from the glittering mess that Allen had left behind. “Was there anything that could be done?” She asked sadly.

Celestia shook her head. “Not anymore,” she replied quietly. “Though he was already broken, Sanguis’s possession only further damaged Allen’s mind. It was not a matter of ‘if’ he would lose control of his power, but ‘when’.”

Celestia walked over to Twilight and placed a comforting wing around her. “Go and rest, Twilight,” she said comfortingly. “I’ll take care of this mess.”

Twilight nodded and began to walk away. “Wait,” she said, pausing and staring at one of the crystal masses sadly. Taking careful aim, she fired a thin beam of magic at it and carved a small chunk away. “He’ll come back,” she said to herself as she exited the throne room, carrying the shard of white glass with a gentle telekinetic grasp. “He always does…”

Whatever Floats Your Boat [Wayne]

I yawned tiredly as I readjusted myself against my feathery pillow, smiling contently at its warm fluffiness. So comfy, I thought pleasantly, and felt a comforting arm wrap around me. “Hmm… don’t touch me,” I stubbornly said half-lucidly, “I don’t like being touched…”

Just then I snapped my eyes open and looked over to see Gilda blinking the sleep out of her eyes, a look of surprise plastered on her face; clearly she had realized what was going on at about the same moment that I did. “AHHH!” I screamed as I jumped up and ran to the opposite wall of the brig. “What the hell?!” I snapped angrily as I blushed.

Gilda was just as red. “Why were you burying your face in my feathers?” She asked hotly.

“Why were you cuddling me?” I shot back.

“Aw, come on, you two,” Sweetie Belle said tiredly as she rubbed her eyes, “I was having a nice dream…”

Gilda glanced over at Sweetie Belle, then back at me. “We don’t speak of this. Ever,” she growled.

I shrugged and stretched my arms. “You don’t scare me,” I said with a yawn, and began shuffling through my bag.

Gilda stalked over by me, a clever look on her face as she held a talon near my throat. “Are you scared now, tough guy?” She asked smugly.

I motioned downward with my eyes, and Gilda saw that I was now holding the Smith and Wesson that Drayke had given me back at the Resistance base. It was aimed directly at her head. “I’m never scared,” I replied. “I’ve always got a plan to cover my ass when shit hits the fan.”

Gilda withdrew her claw and snorted. “Then how’d you end up stranded in the middle of the ocean and picked up by pirates?” She asked teasingly.

I rolled my eyes. “The only other option was getting ripped apart by a sword-wielding chunk of glass,” I retorted, and went back to shuffling through my belongings. “Well, most of this shit is soaked, but I can just lay it out to dry…”

“Hey! There’s foals in here! Watch your language!” Gilda snapped.

Scootaloo looked insulted. “We are not foals!” She cried defiantly. “We are proud and strong mares!”

Gilda smiled and wrapped the orange pegasus in a warm hug. “You’ll always be a foal to me, Scoots,” she said with a laugh as she rubbed a knuckle in Scootaloo’s mane.

I stared blankly, the scene reminding me of when Tony was alive; when I was younger, if he could manage to catch me, he’d always wrap me up in his arms and give me noogies until I begged for mercy.

“Hey, kid? You okay?”

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “Huh?” I asked, confused.

Gilda was staring at me with a raised eyebrow. “You… you were crying.”

I reached up and touched the upper region of my cheek and found that a small stream of tears had leaked out of my eyes. “Saltwater,” I grunted simply, and went back to investigating my pack.

“Is everything okay, mister?” Applebloom asked as she carefully drew near.

I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. “I’m fine,” I said plainly, and continued shuffling through my belongings. “If only I bothered to seal this stuff in plastic wrap or something,” I muttered as I laid the dripping clothes on the floor to dry.

Applebloom took a few steps closer. “Are you sure?” she pressed on, “If something's bothering you, you should talk about it with a friend instead of keeping it bottled up inside you.”

I sighed heavily and glanced over at the horse. “Look, Applebloom, was it? I don't need to talk about my ‘feelings’. I just need to get off of this ship and back to Earth,” I explained as I continued to rummage through my bag.

Sweetie Belle trotted over and peered over my shoulder. “Wow, how much stuff do you have in there?” She asked.

I began to wring out a cloth I had originally figured would make a decent bandage, but made a disgusted noise and tossed it aside when I realized that the seawater had completely ruined it. “Not enough,” I grumbled. “All things to help me survive over the past eight months.”

Scootaloo sat down on the opposite side of the bag, and Gilda took a spot next to her. I was annoyed that they wouldn't leave me alone, but I tried my best to keep my cool; the scene of the last time I lost control played like a movie in my mind. “We've been traveling together for almost three years,” she replied simply, clearly trying her best to not sound as though she was bragging.

I glanced up at the three ponies and their gryphon companion. “Three years? Just the four of you?” I inquired.

They all nodded solemnly.

I stared at the junk I had been able to salvage from my pack. “That's pretty impressive,” I said with a slight chuckle. “You don't hold each other back or get on each other’s nerves?”

“Well, sometimes,” Gilda said with a teasing wink at the others, “but I don’t think I could have made it this long without them. They’re great company, you know?”

Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle all made that weird, high-pitched noise that Equestrian ponies made when they were happy, and hugged Gilda. I was about to throw up from the sickening sweetness of it all, but I heard the sound of the door to the brig opening. The muscular gryphon stood at the top of the steps and pointed to me. “Cap’n wants to have a word with you,” you growled, and motioned for me to follow him. I grabbed my bag and ascended the steps, shielding my eyes at the sudden change in light.

“What the hell does your captain want with me?” I asked, glancing coolly at the crew members who stared at me as the buccaneer led me to the captain’s cabin.

The buccaneer grinned. “I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise,” he growled, and shoved me through the door, the latch clicking behind me.

“So,” a feminine voice spoke from the darkness of the cabin, “a lone human clinging to a piece of driftwood in the middle of the ocean crosses paths with my great and powerful ship? You’ve got spirit, I’ll give you that.” Just then, I realized that I couldn’t move; it was almost like I was paralyzed, but I could still feel my muscles. “Maybe I’ll cut it out of you?” The voice asked, and I could barely see a sliver of light as a blade glimmered faintly in the darkness.

I struggled to break free from the invisible force. “You really don’t want to do that,” I growled in a strained voice.

The blade drew back, and I could hear it scrape against its sheath. “Well, you’re right on that part; I’m not a murderer,” the captain chuckled. “Your defiance is quite foolish, however; what would have stopped me from cuttingnyour life short if I wasn’t so merciful?”

A match struck in the darkness and floated around the room, lighting several oil lamps to reveal the captain: a light-blue unicorn with a white mane and violet eyes. She had a clever, smug look to her, and was dressed in your stereotypical pirate captain’s duster, which was a soft violet and decorated with different celestial shapes. “So, what brings you so far out here? You humans tend to stick to your cities and military bases; it’s quite rare to see one in Equestria at all, in fact,” she added, and then chuckled. “Well, it’s rare to be able to live to tell the tale, at least.”

I shrugged nonchalantly. “I'd be a little more talkative if I was allowed to move a little more,” I pointed out struggling against the invisible grip. “I also prefer to start conversations with an introduction.”

The unicorn waved her head slightly as her horn glowed for a brief moment, and I suddenly found myself able to move again. “My name is Trixie Lulamoon,” she said, rolling her “R”s in a rather annoying fashion, and began to pour herself a cup of tea from a kettle that sat on her desk. “Would you care for a cup? This is some of the finest tea in the world; imported from Indoneighsia, brewed from the most succulent wild tea leaves anypony has laid eyes on,” she said, almost sounding like she was bragging.

I pulled up a chair and sat down, placing my feet on the edge of the desk. “Not much of a tea guy, but thanks,” I replied. “I'm Wayne Douglas, by the way,” I added.

Trixie glared at my feet and waved her horn, causing an invisible force to push my legs to the side. “I return your movement to you, and you repay me with such impolite behavior? Don't make me regret my decision to remove you from the brig, Wayne,” she said threateningly.

I nodded and leaned forward as Trixie sat in the chair opposite me. “Very well then, let's get down to business; why did you call me up here in the first place?” I inquired suspiciously.

Trixie took a thoughtful sip of tea. “I find you… intriguing,” she said finally. “I wasn't just teasing when I said you had spirit; after all, what sort of human survives floating in the ocean, clinging to a log with nothing but his clothes and a duffle bag filled with junk? Speaking of which, these were in the net with you, but you didn't get a chance to pick them up before my crew threw you in the brig; I assume you'd like them back?” She asked, and placed my skull bandana and goggles on the table.

I reached out for them, but found my hand was unable to reach out more than a foot before bumping into a force field; more fucking magic. “Tut-tut,” Trixie said with a clever smile. “Before you go hiding your face from me, I want to know more about the real you. Who is ‘Wayne Douglas’, really?”

I sighed. “Can we please skip storytime?” I requested hopelessly.

Trixie stared at me, her expression unamused.

I rolled my eyes and told Trixie my story, starting from when I left Tony’s farm, my run-in with the Resistance, all the way to the previous night when her crew picked me up. She listened intently to every word, as though I was delivering the words of Shakespeare or something. When I concluded my story, I sat silently and awaited her reaction.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

I raised an eyebrow; I can't say that was the reaction I was expecting.

“You had so many friends who cared about you… why would you just cast them off like that?” She looked confused and concerned as she said this.

I rolled my eyes; why was everyone in this word so obsessed with friendship? “I can take care of myself just fine,” I said stubbornly. “Having others around just holds me back.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Well, how do you explain why I'm doing so well?” She asked incredulously. “I have a whole crew of friends helping me run this ship, and we've gotten along just fine.”

I rose to my feet and stretched my arms. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't; it all depends on the individual,” I replied nonchalantly. “Now, if that's all you wanted, I'll be returning to the brig.”

I turned to leave, but found myself once again stopped by an invisible force. “Wait,” Trixie said solemnly, “I have a proposition for you.”

I turned back to the unicorn mare. “That would be…?”

Trixie cleared her throat. “Wayne Douglas, I would like to offer you an honorary spot in my crew,” she offered kindly. “You can go wherever you like in the world, but should you need any kind of help,” she opened a drawer on her desk and received an ancient-looking flute, “simply play this, and we’ll come to your aid as fast as we can.”

I stared at the flute for a long time, before carefully reaching out and taking it. “Although I prefer to go it alone, I can't argue with some free help in a fight,” I admitted. “Why are you doing this for me?”

Trixie shrugged. “I used to be the same way, thinking that I didn't need friendship to be happy,” she explained. “Maybe this will help show you what it took me so long to see.

“We'll be arriving in Wingapore in about three days’ time; we'll drop you off there, and then you can let destiny guide you,” she said finally. “When you go down to the brig, tell Gilda and the others that they will be departing with you, unless they wish to stay on the ship.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why are they down there, anyways?” I inquired curiously.

Trixie shrugged. “Our brig is more of a time-out room than an actual jail cell,” she explained. “Gilda wasn't getting along with the rest of the crew, so I sent her down there for a couple of nights; the three mares with her insisted on joining her for some reason.”

I nodded understandingly. “Well, thanks for the lift and everything,” I said thankfully, putting on my bandana and goggles.

Trixie nodded acknowledgingly. “It was a pleasure talking with you, Wayne,” she replied. “Also, you mentioned meeting someone named ‘Rainbow Dash’ during your travels, correct? Should you run into her again, could you pass along a message?”

I shrugged. “I doubt I'll be seeing her any time soon, but sure,” I said.

Trixie sighed. “Have her tell Twilight Sparkle that I said ‘thank you’,” she said quietly. “Also, make sure she, Applejack, and Rarity know that Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle are safe.”

I nodded once again. “I'll try to remember that,” I replied, and exited the cabin without another word.

A New Student [Celestia]

“You cannot win, human,” I growled as Cyrus closed in for his attack. I felt so foolish; I had let my guard down so willingly, so unquestioningly, and now he could strike at me entirely unimpeded.

The human smirked cleverly. “I’m afraid I already have,” he pointed out. “The pieces are all set in my favor, and there is no hope for you to escape.” Cyrus cracked his knuckles in preparation for what he was about to do. “Any last words, Princess Celestia?”

I frowned and bowed my head shamefully. “Make it quick,” I said numbly.

Cyrus nodded and reached forward. “Checkmate!” he cried happily as he moved his queen into position on the chessboard. “That’s three, Celestia. Now will you show me the royal archives?”

I sighed heavily. “I suppose that was our agreement, wasn’t it?” I asked aloud. “Fine, I’ll bring you to the archives, but I would appreciate if you didn’t go around bragging about this,” I added quickly. Twilight would never let me live it down, seeing as how I had trounced her in chess time and again during my time tutoring her.

Cyrus looked like he didn’t care about the victory itself, though; he had enjoyed my teaching him about Equestria, as well teaching me new things about Earth. It felt good to be a teacher again, for I finally had the distraction I needed from this unending war. Rather than looking at the carnage and destruction going on outside our door, I was instead showing a young mind the fascinating history of a world foreign to him.

If only Allen had been more willing to learn history; he was a rather eager magic student, but having known so much about our world through the children’s program he watched that depicted us, he claimed to already know enough of our history to get by.

“Tell me the story of the discovery of rock candy,” Cyrus pleaded eagerly.

I raised an eyebrow as we walked down the hallway. “Again?” I asked incredulously, “I’ve already told you that story a hundred times!”

Cyrus shrugged. “It’s hilarious!” he cried. “A pony living on the edge of a town is regarded as crazy for eating rocks; a bugbear attacks the town, and he offers it some rocks if it goes away; the other ponies finally try them and ask where he got them, and he brings them to the hills where the surface is littered with chocolate rocks!”

I smiled warmly at Cyrus’s enthusiasm. He was like a curious foal, always asking questions and wanting to hear stories. I suppose he was telling the truth when he said that his father never took the time to properly raise him. Being a speed-grown clone of his parent clearly had some rather adverse psychological effects.

There’s also the strength issue, I reminded myself, remembering his astounding physical capabilities. He told me it was because of an experiment his father performed on him; now he had to be very careful around others, since he didn’t know how to control how powerful his movements were just yet. I had made him release the guard he trapped in the cell by crushing the lock with the key still inside and, and the two apologised for the way they treated each other.

“Celestia… may I ask you something?”

I gave Cyrus a surprised look. “Goodness, you're actually giving me a warning this time?” I asked, and chuckled to let him know I was joking. “Of course you can,” I said comfortingly.

Cyrus looked nervous. “I mean, this could be a personal question, so you don't have to answer if you don't want to,” he explained, “but… do you have any children?”

I lowered my head and stared at the floor intensely. “No,” I said simply.

Cyrus nodded slowly. “Why not?” He inquired.

I signed. “I never really got the chance to,” I explained. “After all, I was the sole ruler of this kingdom for nearly a thousand years, so I didn't have time to start a family or get married. Luna always had to worry more about suitors, anyways,” I added nonchalantly.

The human looked surprised. “Really?” He asked, his voice full of disbelief.

I nodded. “Despite what my sister may have claimed before her fall from grace, she was the one who ponies loved more; they may have cowered in the darkness that she brought in the hours of night, but her physical beauty was always the envy of our subjects. Stallions wanted her, and mares wanted to be her. It was never about what she was, though; she wanted to be loved for what she did, what she represented.

“I did have my fair share of suitors, though,” I added. “However, like I said, I was never interested in starting a family; I was afraid that raising a child would distract me from my duties as a princess.”

Cyrus nodded slowly. “That could be why my father made me,” he said sadly. “Raising a child from infancy would be too much work; easier to speed-grow a clone, and pre-program it with false memories.”

I smiled sympathetically. “You know, just because I never had children does not mean I never raised anypony,” I said kindly. “Although her parents were still a large part of her life, I was one of Twilight Sparkle’s primary influences when she was young. I've had many students over the years who are like children to me, despite already having parents of their own.”

Cyrus nodded slightly. “I must admit, Celestia, I never expected Equestrians to be so… well, like us. Humans, I mean.” He smiled sadly. “Before I came here, I didn't really care one way or another who won this war; I was too focused on keeping my father appeased by making the company look good. Now that I've spent some time here in Equestria, I can now see that you're all… well, so human! We have such similar customs, we're both intelligent and thoughtful… I'm beginning to see that Drayke Blackwood and his followers were right; without BlackTech in the picture, humans and ponies would get along astonishingly well.” Cyrus smiled, possibly thinking of what a world where humanity and Equestrian had successfully melded their cultures.

I nodded, also smiling. “Indeed,” I replied, remembering how well earlier visitors, like Allen and Drayke, got along with my subjects.

Well, the latter took some time to adjust, but he grew quite fond of his new allies rather quickly.

~-~-~-~-~

Cyrus and I spent the rest of the day in the archives, and I taught him about the history of Equestria and its people. He listened intently, and I couldn't help but think of when I would teach Twilight about magic and friendship. He may have been uncertain about his purpose in life, having found that he was an expendable clone, but I could tell he was a scholar at heart. He listened to my words intently, asked many thoughtful questions, and gazed at the artifacts and works of art with wonder.

“Celestia, what is this?”

I turned to what he was pointing at, and saw a pile of broken, metal fragments, accompanying a red-and-gold handle.

“Those are the fragments of the Sword of Harmony,” I explained. “It was created by Starswirl the Bearded, as a way for the hero Argentum Vindex to harness the Elements of Harmony and defeat Sanguis Cruciatus.

“The sword was broken when Drayke Blackwood attempted to combat Sanguis while he possessed the body of my brother-in-law, Allen Greathouse,” I concluded. “Before returning to the physical world after their battle, I recovered the shards in hopes that they may one day be reforged to their former glory.”

Cyrus nodded thoughtfully. “May I…?” He asked, gesturing to the handle.

I nodded. “I see no harm in it,” I replied.

Cyrus carefully reached out, but quickly withdrew his hand with a pained cry. “I cut myself on the blade shards,” he explained, wincing. I quickly stepped over and investigated his wound; there was a shallow gash running across two of his fingers, and a small stream of blood flowed from the cut. “I've never been cut before,” he said, dumbstruck.

I smiled caringly and carefully sealed the cut with a beam of golden magic. “There,” I said gently, and Cyrus inspected his hand, flexing his fingers and smiling.

Just then, Cyrus did something that caught me by surprise; he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around me in a tender hug. “Thank you, Celestia,” he said softly, “for everything.”

I smiled and returned the embrace with my wings. “You're very welcome, my little human,” I replied, but narrowed my eyes when I saw something strange on his lower neck. Using my magic, I pulled at the fabric, and saw a strange, black device embedded in his skin.

“Tracking device,” I murmured fearfully, and the building shook. “We're under attack!” I cried, and dashed out of the archives with Cyrus in close pursuit. “BlackTech must traced your location here; they've come to collect you,” I explained grimly.

Cyrus looked panicked. “What?! Celestia, I swear I didn't mean for any of this to happen!”

I nodded. “I understand, but that doesn't matter right now,” I said, slowing my pace to a halt as we reached the staircase that led to the bedroom wing of the palace. “Go up these steps, and hide in the fifth room on the right,” I commanded.

Cyrus looked uncertain. “But, I-”

I glared at the young man. “Cyrus, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you; now get upstairs!” I snapped, trying to keep my voice at a normal volume. Cyrus nodded and quickly sprinted upstairs.

~-~-~-~-~

Twilight approached as I entered the throne room. “Celestia, it's BlackTech! What do we do?” She cried.

I nodded to two guards that stood by the entryway to the room. “Raise the shield, and order every guard in the city to assemble at their emergency posts!” I turned to Twilight as she and her friends gathered before me. “You must all take shelter in the bedroom wing of the castle,” I ordered. “Cyrus is already there; you must stay safe, or Equestria is doomed!”

The human girl named Tess looked distraught. “You mean we can’t fight?” she asked sadly.

Her older brother Joseph took a determined step forward. “With all due respect, Princess, we’ve been training to fight BlackTech for months; we could be valuable soldiers in this battle!”

I thought about this tensely. “I suppose,” I said finally, knowing that there was no time to waste arguing. “Gather your equipment and meet near the north gate, but stay together; do not let each other out of your sight!”

The group nodded as Marcus led them to the door. “My equipment is at the castle gate,” he explained. “We can gear up there and meet the guards at the checkpoint.”

~-~-~-~-~

I teleported to the north gate after I made sure the castle’s defenses were in order, and Twilight, her old friends, and the new Elements of Harmony were already working on driving back BlackTech’s forces. They stood together in a tight circle, with the humans firing their weapons, the earth ponies holding the line with melee combat, and the pegasi doing quick, striking maneuvers as they flew past defenseless and distracted soldiers.

I summoned my royal solar armor as I galloped through the shield, letting out a mighty battle cry as I emerged into battle. A white-and-gold halberd materialized by my side, controlled by my magic as it deflected bullets and slashed hostile humans that tried to approach. “They must not have known that Cyrus would lead them directly to Canterlot,” I called triumphantly, “these soldiers are clearly not organized enough to warrant a planned assault!” One soldier threw a grenade at me, but I simply knocked it back with my weapon as it detonated a safe distance away.

The battle seemed to be going well in our favor at first, but BlackTech quickly decided that it was time to bring out a trump card. “MISSILE!” I heard Marcus cry, and a massive explosion blasted me away from the battle, consciousness leaving me instantly.

headshot.exe [Joseph] (Edited)

I groaned as I looked around, dazed and confused as I shook my head to recollect my senses; my ears were ringing, my vision was blurred, and my head was pounding like a jackhammer. I narrowed my eyes and surveyed the battlefield around me with my still-blurred vision; many of the guards who were near me when the explosion went off had been thrown aside like toys, and there was a thick smokescreen blocking my view of the treeline.

That's when I saw it.

A slender, humanoid shape stalked out of the curtain of smoke, taking long, slow, deliberate steps, and sweeping the field with its vision. It had an angular blood-red, glowing eye on the left side of its face, and the right was dominated by a trio of different-sized telescopic lenses. The entirety of it's face was skeletal in nature, almost looking as though it was smiling pleasantly at the devastation around it.

I began to crawl backwards, hoping that the cybernetic horror wouldn't notice me, but the moment I shifted my legs, its gaze pointed directly at me.

“Time to run,” I groaned as it aimed its arm at me, which had a rifle-like barrel mounted on its wrist, and I quickly scrambled to my feet and began to haul ass as it fired several shots in my direction, and I could feel the wind as the bullets whizzed by my head.

I took cover behind a tree to catch my breath, and noticed that Rainbow Dash was also hiding behind another tree near me. “Dash!” I hissed urgently, “what is that thing?”

Rainbow Dash looked over at me, and I saw a look I had never seen on her face before: a combination of fear and hopelessness. It filled me with dread to see the usually brave, cocky pegasus in such a state.

“BlackTech Assassin Android,” she said plainly. “I thought this thing was destroyed the last time we fought it.”

I was confused at first, but then my mind flashed back to when Drayke told me the story of his greatest personal failure. “This thing killed your friend?” I asked quietly, “this thing killed Pinkie Pie?”

Dash nodded, her eyes screwed shut. “Headshot,” she whispered. “They call it Headshot.”

I peered around the tree and saw the android about to execute a soldier that it had pinned under its foot. I aimed my rifle at its head and fired, but it quickly jerked its head and fired it's wrist-rifle at me, barely giving me enough time to take cover again. “Twilight!” I called out, “Now would be the time to call in your friend!”

There was a pause, and I saw a violet ball of magic fly up into the air and burst like a firework. “He should be on his way; just sit tight!” I heard the princess reply.

Just then, I heard a familiar voice speak in Headshot’s direction. “Excellent work, Headshot,” a British-accented man said pleasantly. “Your reputation was no exaggeration.” I peeked around the corner and saw Victor Lars surveying the field proudly. “Nothing like a good safari,” he sighed, and fired a killing shot, without looking, at a guard who was preparing to charge at him.

I gritted my teeth angrily, and was just about to run out and challenge him, when I heard an angry cry sound from behind the man and the android. Headshot turned it's head as a blade extended from its wrist, and it raised the newly-unveiled weapon to block a downward slash from a crystal katana, which was held by a newcomer to the fight: a creature who I assumed was Twilight Sparkle’s friend, Crystal Midnight.

“You shall not harm my friends, human construct!” It screamed angrily, and began to duel with Headshot as the android extended a second blade to keep up with its dual-wielding opponent.

Victor was about to intervene, when Marcus’s cry rang out from behind me. “VICTOR!” he shouted, and the mercenary turned and grinned like he was seeing an old friend.

“Marcus! Small world, eh?” He called back kindly. “What brings you to Canterlot?”

Marcus dropped his rifle and rolled up his sleeves as he approached Victor. “I'm doing the right thing,” he replied angrily. “BlackTech’s goal is a lie, Victor; this war isn't for revenge on the devastation on Earth; they want to harvest Equestrian magic!”

Victor shrugged as he holstered his revolver and began to walk towards his old comrade. “It doesn't matter if their mission is to invent a delicious snack food that doesn't leave any grease or residue on your fingers; as long as I'm getting paid, I'm doing what they tell me!” He snapped, and ducked as Marcus swung a fist at him.

The two began to trade blows; punching, kicking, blocking, dodging, and perfectly countering each other as if they knew their opponent’s strategy just as well as they knew their own.

I glanced over at Crystal Midnight and Headshot, and saw that their fight was a little more one-sided; the android was much more focused and decisive in its strikes, and the glass monster seemed to be simply waving it's blades wildly in hopes that it might get one good hit. As the fight progressed and Headshot continued to push Crystal Midnight backward, I saw that Princess Celestia was struggling to stand behind them, her horn beginning to glow a bright yellow. “Knight, hold still!” She commanded, and Crystal Midnight froze as Celestia fired a beam of concentrated sunlight at the creature’s back. It let out a low growl as it crossed its arms over its chest and began to glow brightly, before thrusting its arms outward and unleashing a blast of multi-colored energy at the android, blasting it into the air and beyond the treeline; it was safe to assume that it wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

I turned back to the fistfight between Victor and Marcus, where things were looking grim; Victor had drawn one of his knives and was trying to go for a downward slash on his enemy’s head, while Marcus held the blade at bay by crossing both of his arms. I took aim with my rifle and pulled the trigger, but it just let out the agonizing “click” of an empty magazine. I rolled my eyes and held the firearm by the base like a club, and rushed Victor with the intent of getting one clean hit at that crew-cut wearing British bastard. He glanced at me and acted quickly, planting a boot in Marcus’s chest and knocking him backward, and then grabbing the rifle from my hands and sweeping my legs out from under me.

“You've got a lot of courage, kid,” he growled, drawing a revolver from his vest and taking aim at my head. “Just like your leader.”

I glared at him, feeling a trickle of blood pouring from my nose. “What are you gonna do, kill me?” I growled, “Like you killed Drayke?”

Victor looked thoughtful for a moment. “No,” he replied as a helicopter hovered over the clearing, and fired a shot into each of my legs. I screamed in agony and looked down in horror. “Annihilator rounds,” he explained as I gaped at the damage; my legs had been completely cut off at the knees! “Courtesy of the BlackTech corporation. Good luck walking after your Equestrian friends heal that. Until next time!” He said, grabbing a rope ladder that had been tossed to him from above, and he was gone in moments.

I screamed in a combination of anger and pain as I tried to move, and I heard frantic hoofsteps approaching. “Joseph, calm down!” Princess Celestia said urgently, and fired a beam of golden magic at my bleeding stumps. The bones began to knit themselves and my mutilated flesh began to regenerate, but something was still wrong.

“I can't feel my legs!” I screamed, a new wave of panic replacing the old one.

Celestia looked concerned. “I've seen something like this before,” she explained, keeping her voice low and calming. “A rare type of ammunition used by BlackTech that completely destroys body parts; healing magic can undo the physical damage, but nothing can be done to restore the use of the injured limb.”

I let out a shaky breath. “So you're telling me I'm useless now?” I whispered, struggling to keep my cool. This couldn't be real; my legs were right there in front of me, but I couldn't move them. I reached out a shaky hand and slapped my thigh, but I couldn't feel the impact.

“Joseph, I'm sorry, but-” Celestia was about to continue confiding me, but she was cut off when a frenzied soldier donning a BlackTech exoskeleton tackled her and began to strangle her.

“I bet I'll get a Medal of Honor for killing an alicorn!” He laughed madly, and I struggled to crawl over and help in some way. Just then, a man grabbed the soldier and pulled him off of Celestia, tossing him aside like a wet towel. I looked up and saw Cyrus standing between the mad soldier and Celestia, a look of raw fury on his face as the soldier charged. The crazed soldier darted forward, but Cyrus grabbed him by wrists and pushed him away from the solar princess.

“Leave… Celestia… ALONE!” he screamed, and tore the soldier’s arms off with relatively little effort. He let the armored troop panic for a few moments, and then smashed the top of his skull with one of the severed arms like a club.

We all gathered our senses for a moment as everyone regrouped. “Where's Tess?” I asked worriedly.

Fluttershy looked around with narrowed eyes. “Did… did BlackTech take her?” She suggested sadly.

There was a loud whooshing as Cadence landed beside us, and her visor folded away to reveal a look of horror. “That's exactly what happened!” She explained frantically. “I saw some soldiers grab her; I tried to help, but I couldn't get close without risking getting shot or captured myself. Joseph, I'm so sorry,” she apologized.

I gritted my teeth. “Get the exo off of that soldier,” I growled angrily. Marcus and Cyrus quickly obliged, undoing the harnesses from the exo and bringing it to me. After helping me into the metal framework, Marcus lightly pressed the neural implant against the back of my neck, and I barely felt the connection points poke my skin. “This is going to hurt,” he warned.

I grabbed a stick and stuck it between my teeth. “DO IT!” I screamed in a muffled voice, and I felt an indescribable pain rush through my head and spine as Marcus connected the implant with my brain stem, and I shot up to my feet as feeling returned to my legs. Not my legs I thought as I recovered my thoughts; the armored frame that now surrounded my legs was now an extension of myself, and with it I was able to walk as well as I had been before Victor had shot me.

“Sorry about the arms,” Cyrus said apologetically. “I don't know what came over me.”

I shrugged. “All I really need are the legs, anyways,” I replied nonchalantly.

Marcus grinned and reached into his bag and retrieved a propane torch. “While I admire your bravery, I'm not going to let you wander around in a broken exo. I've done some work on vehicles and machinery in the past,” he explained. “An exoskeleton without the arms is just going to leave you unable to support your own weight if you need to climb or mantle. It'll take some time, but when we've got this baby back in working order, we can go and find your sister.”

I nodded stiffly. “Alright,” I said plainly, and looked up at Cyrus. “You know New Phoenix better than any of us; would you be able to get us behind the wall?”

Cyrus shook his head, his face taking on an expression of panic. “If I enter the city’s walls, I'll be at the mercy of my father,” he explained, and turned around to show us a small, black chip embedded in the base of his skull, right where his neck peaked. “This is more than a tracking device; it also contains an explosive charge that will destroy my brain stem and most of my brain. A contingency plan my father uses in case any of his experiments fall out of line.”

Celestial took a careful step forward. “I may be able to help you with that,” she said slowly.

Cyrus’s eyes lit up as she said this. “Really?” He asked excitedly, “How?”

Celestia looked strangely upset. “It's going to hurt,” she warned. “I could use my magic to safely remove the chip from your head, but it will not be a painless process; it's embedded rather deep in your skin.” She scarcely met Cyrus’s eyes as she said this.

The white-haired man nodded slightly. “I can handle it,” he replied confidently. “Anything to be free of my father’s influence.”

Celestia sighed heavily. “Come here, Cyrus,” she requested, and Cyrus stepped over to Celestia as she wrapped her wings around him in a fond embrace. “You know I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you, right?” She whispered softly.

Chris nodded slowly. “I know,” he whispered in reply. The chip in the back of his neck became bathed in golden light, and Cyrus’s face twisted with discomfort as the chip began to wriggle ever so slightly, and a small trickle of blood flowed from the area. After a few seconds of Cyrus's cringing and Celestia’s comforting words, the chip began to slide from the man’s skin, leaving behind a raw wound that Celestia quickly healed, leaving behind no trace that there had been a dangerous explosive device there.

Cyrus moved away from Celestia and wiped a few tears from his eyes, smiling at the sight of the chip that had acted as a shackle for his whole life. “I'm free,” he whispered disbelievingly. “I'm free!” He gave Celestia a quick, tight hug as cheered, moving to each of us and also sharing an excited squeeze.

Even though I was worried about Tess, this little moment of joy helped brighten my spirits, and made me realize for the first time in weeks that we really had a chance at winning this war. After all, Cyrus Anderson was the former spokesman for a company who wanted Equestrians enslaved or exterminated; if he can see that they weren't that bad, then maybe we had a shot at winning this war after all.

I glanced down at my legs and gritted my teeth. Before it ends, though, I'm gonna make sure I have my chance to take out that murdering son of a bitch, first, I though angrily. I don't care if he and Marcus are old rivals; Victor Lars is mine.

Portside [Wayne]

“Come on, give me your best!”

I rolled my shoulders and gripped my machete as the burly gryphon that had bullied me during my time on Trixie’s ship and I circled each other. He grinned craftily as he twirled a cutlass and slashed down at me, but I quickly parried and pushed the curved blade aside. I kept my stance low and reserved, and my movements were almost like those of a snake; I took long strides, kept my arms close to my sides, and slouched a bit, but my strikes were quick and deliberate. After a lunge, I would immediately return to my resting pose and await my next opportunity to strike.

“Come on, Sid, he's walking all over you!” A spectator cried as I delivered a slash that just barely grazed my opponent’s forearm, only snipping off a few feathers.

The gryphon gritted his teeth. “Why don't you face me like a real opponent?” He challenged. “This sly, sneaky business is getting on my nerves!”

I shrugged nonchalantly. “You can always give up,” I pointed out.

Sid growled in annoyance. “I bet I'll look good in those sunglasses you've got,” he said thoughtfully. “That facewrap will make a decent handkerchief, too.”

Just then, a sharp cry sounded from across the deck. “Back to work, you dogs!” Trixie snapped. “We're making port in Wingapore in less than two hours, and I'll flog every one of you if this vessel isn't ship-shape upon our arrival!”

Sid dropped his cutlass and began to bark out orders. “Tie down the cargo! Hoist the sails!” I wasted no time in sheathing my machete and grabbing a frayed rope to help the crew secure their goods. Gilda rushed to my side and helped hold some crates in place while I fastened them, and Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo tried their best to stay out of the way; I had heard more than a few tales of them trying and failing to help with securing cargo, each of which ending with someone being flung overboard, a few crates being smashed, and apparently one time they even managed to attract a kraken to the ship.

After we had finished preparations, Trixie inspected every inch of the deck, nodding every so often to show her impressment with our job. “Not bad, crew,” she said finally. “Everyone take a rest while I steer us into port, and Sid, try not to start any fights with the locals this time.”

Sid shrugged next to me. “Not my fault they can’t take a little teasing,” he replied smugly.

I raised an eyebrow from behind my sunglasses. “Didn’t you say you threw a pony through a window last time you came to Wingapore?” I inquired flatly.

Sid frowned. “Come on, he didn’t even break through the glass,” he said defensively.

“Yes he did!” Trixie called as she stood behind the wheel. “Speaking of which, I’ve still got a payment to make to that poor, old shopkeeper; it’s coming out of your cut, you know!”

Sid grumbled as he stalked away, probably to find somebody else to haze, as Gilda and her three companions walked over to my side. “So, you got any plans once we reach port?” she asked nonchalantly.

I shrugged. “Get back to New Phoenix, take down BlackTech,” I replied.

Gilda rolled her eyes. “So straightforward,” she sighed. “I was asking because I wanted to know if you were looking to have a few travelling buddies, at least for a little while.” I was about to speak, but she went on: “I know you’ve said you prefer to travel alone, but the girls have really taken a liking to you for some reason, and I guess I can tolerate you, for their sake,” she added teasingly. “We’re all heading in the same direction, anyway; you’ll have to get back to the mainland in Equestria in order to reach a portal close to New Phoenix, right?”

I nodded slowly. “I guess,” I said uncertainly. I knew there had to be a portal somewhere near Wingapore - there was supposed to be a particularly dense human population compared to other settlements in Equus- but I didn't want to risk ending up on the other side of the world that I wanted to be on.

Gilda nodded, satisfied. “Then it's settled,” she said, patting me on the shoulder. “Just don't leave Wingapore without us, or I'll have to beat you up.” With that, she turned and began to walk away as the three fillies tackled me in a big hug.

“We'll be the best traveling companions ever!” They promised.

I squirmed in the grip of the three mares. “Stuff like this isn't going to convince me to keep you around, you know,” I growled as I struggled to break free. The ponies released me from their embrace and rushed into the crew's quarters to prepare for their departure. I sighed as I leaned over the railing and gazed at the city we were fast approaching: Wingapore.

These horses’ habit of naming their cities based on puns was getting on my nerves.

~-~-~-~-~

“It's been a pleasure having you aboard, girls,” Trixie said as she addressed Gilda, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo on the docks. “It will be strange not having you around, I must admit.”

Sid stepped forward and placed a casual arm around Gilda’s shoulders. “Here’s hoping we meet up again on the road of life, you salty bitch,” he growled teasingly.

Gilda smirked and, with a swift movement, grabbed Sir's invasive limb and flipped him onto his back. “I've gotta admit, your ugly mug is one of the few things I won't miss about this ship,” she said coyly.

I cleared my throat and adjusted my shoulder holster that carried my rifle. “I'm not a huge fan of goodbyes, and I have an agenda to catch up on, so is there any chance we could hurry this up?” I suggested brightly.

Sid rose to his feet and brought his face right up to mine. “Careful of this one, Gilda,” he said cautioningly. “My pa always said to never trust someone who always wears a mask.”

I sighed as I pulled down my bandana and lifted my sunglasses, giving the muscle-bound gryphon a front-row seat to my resting bitch face. “Better?” I replied.

Sid stared for a moment. “Could you…” he lifted a careful talon and placed my sunglasses back over my face, and I lifted my bandana back up over my mouth and nose. “Thanks,” he said quickly. “I'm just going to go help the others unload the cargo… best of luck!” He called as he rushed back onto the ship.

Trixie stared as Sid ran off, and then turned to me. “Any chance I could get a picture of you?” She requested with a laugh. “It might come in handy for whenever he falls out of line.

“It was a privilege having you aboard, Wayne,” Trixie called over her shoulder, giving me an acknowledging nod as she returned to her ship. “Remember, there's always a spot open in my crew if you're looking for work.”

I nodded, feeling just a little bit touched by the sincerity in the blue unicorn’s words. “I'll keep that in mind, Trixie,” I replied thankfully, returning the nod, and then turned my attention to my newfound companions. “Now, if you four want to come with me, then we need to leave now.”

Gilda rolled her eyes as she led the three fillies down the pier. “Come on, Wayne; one day off of your big 'Destroy BlackTech’ scheme won't ruin things for you. Let's spend a day in Wingapore and relax for a bit before we head out onto the road.” I took a step forward to follow and protest with the sassy gryphon, but let out a pained groan when the muscles in my leg locked up and became filled with a searing pain, causing me to drop to my knees.

“Wayne, are you alright?” Applebloom asked worriedly as she and the others rushed to my side and helped me stand upright.

I nodded slightly. “Yeah,” I said uncertainly through gritted teeth. “I think I pulled a muscle, is all.”

Gilda gave me a serious look. “When was the last time you got a decent night's sleep on an actual bed?” She asked slowly.

I calculated how many days I had spent in the BlackTech labor factory. “At least a week,” I muttered.

I felt a pony head pressing against my back, and turned to see Scootaloo urging me along the pier. “Let's get you to a bed, tough guy,” she said teasingly. “If you're going to be falling apart on us this early in the journey, then we might as well hand ourselves over to BlackTech and skip the fight!”

~-~-~-~-~

That evening, I found myself lying in a hammock at an inn called “The Split Feather”. Gilda was able to convince the owners to let a human spend the night, but I had to act like I was her dim-witted manservant. Not my proudest moment, but I'm sure I've made it clear that I don't really give a shit about my reputation, and will do whatever I can to get by.

Of course, even I was hesitant about pretending to be a brain-dead pack mule for a gryphon and her three friends.

Gilda and the others were asleep in their own bunks, each scattered across the room with Gilda being closest to me. The three fillies had argued for some time about who would get the hammock, until they eventually and unanimously agreed to surrender it to me so my strained body could recover faster. I was more than happy to claim the comfiest bed for myself, but I couldn't help but feel touched by their kindness and generosity.

“Damn horses are making me lose my edge,” I muttered to myself.

I heard Gilda chuckle softly nearby. “You know, I said those exact same words not too long before I met these three,” she said thoughtfully. “I used to be a bit like you, Wayne; I acted tough and cool, didn't care what anybody thought of me or who got hurt. All that mattered was me.”

I yawned tiredly. “What changed you?” I asked.

Gilda sighed. “This war,” she said sadly. “It made me realize how temporary everything is; harmony, friendship, life… you've gotta cherish it while you've still got it, or one day, you'll just…”

I squirmed slightly in my suspended bed. “You'll end up like me,” I finished bitterly. “No peace because I'm so used to fighting. No friends because I forgot how to make them. No life because I died long ago.”

Gilda paused for a moment. “I was going to say 'whither away to nothing', but you can take it down a personal route if you want,” she said slowly.

“Sorry, I'm just…” I trailed off as my last conversation with Luna filled my thoughts. I can fix you. “Broken.”

Gilda made an affirmative sound. “A lot of things are broken these days, pal,” she said tiredly, “but the nice thing about broken stuff is that it usually isn't too hard to find someone who can fix it.”

I digested this. Was I meant to accept Luna's “gift”? Had I made the wrong choice in pushing her away so forcefully? I had made it this far on my instincts and luck alone; was it finally time to learn how to feel again, too? I didn't know, but the answer kept me up for nearly the whole night. I just stared out the window to see a crescent moon shining over the sea, as the peaceful snores of three young mares and a gryphon slowly lulled me into a relaxing slumber.

Fork In The Road [Crystal Midnight]

My arms were crossed over my chest as I stood in the doorway of the Castle Canterlot conference room. Twilight Sparkle was holding a meeting with her friends to discuss what they would be doing in the immediate future as I watched over them dutifully. I knew there was no reason to stand watch, but I felt disconnected from their group and decided it was best to keep my distance for now.

So, I watched.

“Well, I'm going to New Phoenix,” Joseph said plainly. “Anyone who wants to join me is more than welcome, but nothing is stopping me from saving Tess from those sick fucks.”

Princess Twilight nodded. “I wasn't going to stop you; I'm supporting your mission because not only is Tess an Element of Harmony and therefore and irreplaceable asset in our fight against BlackTech, but she's also your sister. I know my older brother would have done the same thing for me if he were in your place,” she added fondly with a hint of sadness.

Shining Armor. I had listened to Twilight talk about him late at night when neither of us could sleep. He was a strong, confident stallion with bright, blue eyes and a wavy blue mane; she had shown me a picture of him from when he was made captain of Canterlot’s royal guard, and he looked like a strong and heroic figure. I would have been glad to have met him, but Twilight regretfully informed me that he was killed in battle many years ago.

I didn't ask any more questions after that.

“I already volunteered to go with Joseph,” Cyrus reminded us. “I know the layout of New Phoenix like the back of my hand, so I can sneak us past the perimeter undetected. There's a few catches, though,” he added uncertainly. “One, we can't bring anything electronic devices or magical artifacts with us; anything with microchips or circuit boards can be tracked and hacked, and anything with magic can be detected and identified as an Equestrian threat.” He turned his attention to Princess Twilight. “Which brings up the issue of his connection with the Elements of Harmony,” he continued worriedly. “Would this link have any affect on his genetic makeup, making him out-of-the-ordinary from other humans?”

Princess Twilight nodded. “Yes, BlackTech would be able to see that Joseph was not an ordinary human if they had the equipment to detect magical sources,” she said affirmatively. “However, with a special dampening spell, I could temporarily nullify that connection.”

Joseph nodded. “I'll take anything I can get,” he said thankfully, shifting in his chair as his exoskeleton was causing him some visible discomfort.

I felt sorry for him; he could no longer walk unaided, and his sister had been abducted by BlackTech, who was probably torturing or experimenting on her. BlackTech. Just thinking that word made me bristle with rage, and I could feel the blades sheathed in my back loosen in preparation for combat. Even I didn't fully understand my abilities or what I was capable of, but I knew that whatever tools I had at my disposal were going to be focused on fighting BlackTech and protecting my friends.

“I'll join you as well,” Marcus said dutifully. “Cyrus may know the layout of the city and be strong enough to rip both of a man's arms off, but you'll need my stealth and combat expertise if you're going to be sneaking around in the heaviest BlackTech-occupied city in the world.”

Twilight nodded. “I hate to put so many bearers in danger, but our resources are very limited right now; we don't have very many humans in Canterlot that would be able to take your place, after all,” she explained uncertainly, and then looked at me. “As for you, Crystal Midnight…”

I stepped forward respectfully. “Yes, Princess?” I responded.

Twilight giggled. “Now I know how Celestia and Cadence felt when I habitually called them by their title rather than their name,” she remarked. “Little over four years ago, my friends and I ventured to a place called 'The Fissure’,” she began. “It was inhabited by creatures like yourself, other Crystal Knights. If you would like, I could travel there with you and help you search for answers about who you really are, and what made you lose your memories.”

A surge of hope rushed through my body. “Really? That would be wonderful, Princess!” I exclaimed eagerly.

Twilight giggled once again. “Just ‘Twilight’ is fine, Midnight,” she reminded me humorously, and addressed the group as a whole. “It's getting late, everyone; I'd suggest getting as much sleep as you can tonight, for we all have long journeys ahead of us tomorrow.”

~-~-~-~-~

“Princess Twilight?” I whispered quietly, “I'm sorry to bother you, but I can't sleep tonight.”

The lavender alicorn sat up in her bed and patted a spot beside her, giving me a tired but warm smile. “Bad dream?” She asked kindly as I sat down on the plush mattress.

I shrugged. “Sort of,” I explained worriedly. “I was visited by an alicorn.”

Twilight gasped. “Princess Luna?!” She exclaimed quietly, being careful to not wake Spike, who was stretched out at the lower end of the bed.

I shook my head. “No, this alicorn was a Prince,” he informed me. “His pelt was grey, and his mane and eyes were brown.” I shuddered at the thought of his eyes. “He seemed so… angry,” I continued. “He gave off such an overpowering feeling of hostility, and I tried to run away from him, but these walls of crystal rose up behind me and boxed me in…”

Twilight gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder. “Well, normally I'd be terrified of anything that could give you nightmares, but I think I know who that alicorn was,” she explained comfortingly. “He was an alicorn named Allen. He actually used to be a human, but that's a long story. He had control over crystals, and vanished from Canterlot about two years ago.” The princess sighed sadly. “I miss him so much…”

I shifted slightly. “I'm sorry I upset you, Princess,” I said apologetically as I began to stand, but Twilight placed a hoof on my arm that told me to stay.

“It's okay, Midnight,” she said quietly. “To be honest, I haven't missed him quite as much since I met you,” she added. “He was such a passionate and devoted stallion when it came to protecting his friends and stopping villains, just like you.”

I nodded slowly. “Thank you, Princess,” I replied humbly.

Twilight smiled and placed her head on her pillow, holding me in a warm hug. She had done this many nights before, when I had lain beside her, and it always helped calm me down. There was a sort of familiarity in the embrace, like something from my forgotten memories would spring forth at any moment if she just held on a little bit longer.

I figured it wouldn't do anything for my amnesia, but that night I tried something new.

As we both laid there, blanketed in starlight from the nearby window, I wrapped my arms around Princess Twilight and returned her embrace, and for the first time I felt at peace. No tension, no anger, no fear; I no longer even felt bothered by my nightmare.

~-~-~-~-~

Breathe in.

I stared at my target: a crude bundle of tree limbs and twigs shaped like a human. I even salvaged a helmet from the battlefield outside the city gates.

Breathe out.

“Stand down, human,” I said in a low, calming voice. “I don't want to hurt you.” I circled the figure slowly, my blades held readied at my sides. “Lower your weapons and come with me, and you will not be harmed.”

The dummy stood motionless, and I tilted my head slightly. “You dare to challenge me?” I growled angrily, “you've tried my patience and stretched the limits of my mercy!” I charged forward to attack, imagining my strikes before they landed; my right blade slashing down the human's chest, and the left one cutting through his neck. Just as my mental image was about to become a reality, my crudely-made target raised an arm and grabbed my wrist mid-swing. The arm grabbing me wasn't made of wood, though; it was made of gray, decayed-looking flesh. I looked up at the “head”, and saw a scowling face looking back at me, it's ice-blue eyes staring back at me through a mess of tangled, white hair.

“You will never be free of me,” it growled, reaching with its free arm to grab my throat. “I'll finish what I started thousands of years ago, and your Elements of Harmony won't stop me this time!”

I let out a choked cry and slashed with my unrestrained arm, chopping the head off and falling to the ground as I gasped for breath. When I looked up, the training dummy was just as wooden as it had been when I built it, now a head shorter.

“Midnight, are you okay?” I turned around and saw Marcus approaching me at a brisk jog, a concerned look on his face. “I heard you shouting, thought something was wrong.”

I looked back at my hand-made mannequin. “Yes, I'm fine,” I said uncertainly. “Thank you.”

Marcus gave me a friendly pat on the shoulder, being gentle not to cut himself on my jagged edges. “You know, I never got a chance to thank you for your help the other day,” he said slowly. “I can usually handle Victor in a one-on-one fight, but if you hadn't taken out that android that he had with him…” the human sighed heavily. “Well, I probably wouldn't be standing here right now. So, thank you, really.”

I nodded, still staring at the wooden statue fearfully. “Don't mention it,” I reassured him breathlessly, and Marcus continued on his jog. When he was out of earshot, I grabbed a handful of shards from my forearm and hurled them at the dummy with an angry yell, causing it to tip over backwards and break apart. “I don't know who you are, or what I was,” I growled at the broken branches, “but I can promise you this: nothing is going to hurt my friends as long as I'm still standing.”

“Crystal Midnight?” Twilight's voice startled me, and I spun round apprehensively to see her, Spike, and Brave Wind watching me. “Sorry; your appearance and attitude make it easy to forget how easy it is to scare you,” she apologized with a slight chuckle. “Are you ready? Marcus, Joseph, and Cyrus are doing some last-minute preparations for their mission, so I figured we'd get started.”

I sheathed my blades in my back and gazed at my companions as Brave Wind spoke up. “A beautiful alicorn princess, an incredibly handsome pegasus soldier, an adolescent dragon, and a freaky-ass Crystal Knight,” he said thoughtfully. “I pity any human asshole who tries to stand in our way!”

No Way To Switchback [Wayne]

I scowled beneath my shades and bandana as I stood in the middle of a bustling crowd in the Wingapore marketplace. “You told me one night,” I said angrily to Gilda, who stood by my side as the two of us watched Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo dart from shop counter to shop counter, gazing in awe at the various trinkets that were for sale.

“They just want to do a little sightseeing,” the gryphon reassured me. “We'll be on our way in no time so you can get back to your big 'destroying BlackTech’ scheme, okay? Just let them be kids for a little while.” She let out a sad sigh. “That's quite the luxury for them these days.

“You remember being a kid?” She inquired cheerfully. “I know we're from different worlds, but I know human children, gryphon children, and pony children all enjoy playing and messing around.”

I shrugged. “I guess,” I replied nonchalantly. “I liked running around, climbing shit, jumping… I guess what I used to call 'fun’, I now call 'survival skills’.”

Gilda nodded. “Yeah, I used to like playing, too,” she said wistfully. “As time went on I usually stayed alone, but that's probably because I was a rotten bitch,” she added with a laugh.

I cracked a small smile, but narrowed my eyes when something caught my eye. “What the hell…” I pushed through the crowd toward a strange object hovering at the edge of the crowd, and eventually found it was some kind of RC helicopter. “Uh…” I said aloud.

The drone turned in mid-air and I saw a small camera affixed to the skids. “Oh, hello!” The drone said through a speaker, “you must be a tourist. Or perhaps a traveling merchant? Oh, it doesn't matter; everyone's looking to make a quick buck. You wanna make a little pocket change?” It's voice was quick and short-winded, almost as though it was moving from one subject to another as soon as it started.

“Uh…”

“Great!” The drone said excitedly. “Alright, just follow me, and try to keep up, okay?” Without another word, the drone whizzed off above the crowd. I stared for a moment, before the drone turned around and hovered in my face. “Come on, I'm working with some very sensitive equipment right now, and I could use a quick hand! Just a minute of your time, and I'll give you one hundred American dollars,” it offered pleadingly.

This caught my attention; US currency was still good in New Phoenix. “Alright, I'm coming,” I said, following the drone through the crowd and into the back alleys. It eventually led me to a run-down factory at the edge of town. It had two huge, industrial smokestacks on top of it, and roughly one-third of the building looked like it had been thoroughly scorched by a fire. I continued to follow the drone inside, through the grimy hallways until we emerged onto the factory floor.

I saw a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye, and before I could react there was a blade pressed against my throat. “One more step, and the floor gets a fresh coat of red,” a feminine voice growled.

I glanced at the figure, and saw she was wearing armor crafted from scraps of metal and leather. The blade she used also appeared to be improvised from a couple of metal fragments that had been welded together. “Hey, let's just be calm,” I said slowly, wrapping my fingers around the handle of my machete. “I followed a little remote control helicopter here. I just wanna-” I quickly leaned backwards and grabbed the girl's wrist, twisting it until she dropped her weapon. I quickly kicked the blade away and aimed my machete at her chest. “Alright, answers. Now.”

Just then, a voice echoed throughout the room. “Hold it, hold it!” A set of lights clicked on overhead, illuminating the factory floor. There were several conveyor belts littered with scrap metal and electronic parts, and a mess of catwalks and cords hung overhead. “No need for hostility, Kai; I invited this guy here for some help.”

There were rapid footsteps on the catwalk above us, eventually descending until their owner arrived on the ground floor. He was a dusky-gray unicorn with a silver mane, and regarded me with a nervous but hopeful gaze. “Good to have you! I'm Wishful Sky, this is Kai Lin. I promise I'll give a more proper introduction in good time, but for now I have an experiment to finish!” He motioned for us to follow him up the stairs through the spiraling catwalk. “Quickly, now, we may not get another chance like this!”

We emerged onto the rooftop, where a strange contraption awaited us. It was almost indescribable, but it appeared to be connected to a pair of large wheels. Each of these wheels were connected to a large, ten-foot-tall antenna that pointed directly into the sky. The main portion looked like some kind of box, with a pair of rifles attached to it via spiraling cords; it looked like an arcade cabinet for one of those deer hunting games. “Okay, there's a storm brewing directly overhead,” Wishful Sky explained quickly. “I need each of you to stand on those wheels. The lightning will strike the antennas, at which point you'll both need to run as fast as you can to channel the electricity into this machine, which I've modified into a special energy weapons system!” He then pointed to a row of clothing store mannequins he had arranged at the other end of the roof.

The lightning crackled overhead, and Wishful Sky grinned eagerly as he booted up the console. “Here it comes!” He cried, pressing a series of buttons on a keyboard that had been sloppily welded to the counter. I looked at Kai, who shrugged as she began running, and I followed suit. When the lightning struck the antennas, I saw a power meter on the screen of the console fill and change from red to green, until the display flashed “Critical Capacity”. Wishful Sky used his magic to lift both rifles and take aim at the mannequins, and waited.

“Is something supposed to happen?” I called as I sprinted on the wheel.

Wishful Sky looked worried. “This isn't right,” he said, glancing at the screen for a moment. “Oh, wait, got it,” he laughed, and turned a dial on the side of the console. As soon as he touched it, a pair of twin beams erupted from the rifles, decimating the small army of mannequins he had arranged. I watched with wide eyes as the beams continued to bleed energy until the charge was depleted.

“Any chance you can make a more compact version of that?” I inquired with an impressed tone.

The unicorn looked uncertain. “At this point in time, I'm afraid not,” he reported dejectedly. “The energy requirements are a bit dodgy; it likes to suck up all the power at once, but doing that can overload the capacitors and cause it to explode. That's why I had you two running like hamsters; the energy can be channeled into the machine at a controlled rate rather than absorbed all at once. It's pretty cool, though, isn't it?” He let out a heavy sigh. “Just one of many pet projects I've been working on…

“Anyways, I promised you a payment for your assistance, didn't I?” He said suddenly, his tone brightening. “I have to confess, I don't have the money right now, but I can get it. I need to deliver a commissioned project I've been tinkering with to a colleague of mine, and while we're there I can give you your promised funds.” He seemed a bit nervous and awkward, but at the same time he had a layer of eagerness and hopefulness to him.

It reminded me of how I acted before I went out on my own.

“Yeah, I think I can deal with that,” I replied, remembering that Gilda and her friends were still waiting for me in the market. This won't take long, I assured myself as Wishful Sky led us back through his workshop and out onto the streets. Kai accompanied us, and I glanced at her every so often through my tinted lenses. She almost seemed to parallel me, with her mask and heavy clothing. She wore a faded denim jacket under her improvised armor that was probably blue at some point, but was covered in grease and stains that effectively dyed it a patchy brown. Her scrap knife was adhered to a magnet on her belt, which was also adorned with various pouches.

“A picture would last longer, you know,” she murmured with a quick glance my way. Her tone was venomous, but I could detect a hint of flirtation in her voice.

“Sorry, but I left my camera at home,” I replied smoothly. “Might as well take in what I can, while I can.”

Wishful Sky glanced back at us. “Be nice, you two,” he said sternly. “This will be over soon, and then you can pretend you never met.”

We reached a disheveled little shack near the edge of the docks, with a broken window and sagging roof. There was a faded sign out front that read “Ostentatious Oddities” that was barely hanging on by one nail, and the whole place reeked of mold. “Not the most inviting place, I know, but if you can't get something you're looking for here, you simply can't get it,” Sky explained. “Right this way.”

The inside of the shop was nothing short of peculiar. It looked like a small convenience store with wooden shelves and carpeted floors, but the shelves were lined with strange trinkets and dusty books, as well as a variety of other unusual objects. I scanned the shelves slowly, observing each item with interest. A monkey's palm, a skull with a rune carved in its forehead, and even a book labeled “Royal Courtship Rituals: Volume 2”. It appeared as though a chapter’s worth of pages had been ripped out, though, and I wasn't much of a reader, so I let it be.

“Discord?” Sky called out as he peered over the counter and into the back room. “I have those photos you asked for!”

There was a scrambling sound, and a bit of groaning, before a ridiculous-looking creature that looked like an amalgamation of a goat, dragon, eagle, lion, and who knows what other animals, staggered out and leaned on the counter. He had a long, shaggy beard, and yellow eyes with red irises. Well, one eye was this way; the other was much paler and intersected by a nasty-looking scar.

“Wishful Sky, my friend, so good to see you!” He cried fondly as the unicorn slid a thin stack of polaroids across the counter for the creature to receive. “Oh, I cannot thank you enough for this,” he said happily as he gazed at the photos with immeasurable fondness. “You and your friends may take any item you'd like from the shop, free of charge; my treat!”

Kai’s eyes lit up behind her mask as she immediately set off to find something to take, and Wishful Sky cleared his throat nervously. “Ah, actually, Discord, I was wondering if you had any more American bills? My associate here,” he explained, gesturing to me, “is planning on heading to New Phoenix, and needs some cash. I promised him one-hundred dollars for helping me with a project.”

Discord smirked at me. “Only a hundred? Honestly, the risk of lead poisoning and tetanus in that old workshop of his is so high, you should have demanded at least two-hundred fifty,” he chuckled. “Yes, I do believe I can help you with your financial situation… please, do look around; this money is worthless in Equestria, and I'd feel like I was cheating you if you didn't get something of value for these.” He continued to stare longingly at the photos as I turned my gaze to the shelves.

“Does this do anything special?” I asked, reaching out for an hourglass filled with silver sand and lined with gold.

Discord glanced up at me. “I'm actually not sure,” he said thoughtfully. “It's supposed to be an hourglass owned by Star Swirl the Bearded, infused with his legendary time travel spell, but I could never figure out how to make it work.”

I gently picked up the hourglass and studied it closer, finding that it was decorated with intricate designs that were etched into the metal. “Did you try flipping it upside down?” I suggested sarcastically as Kai came over to investigate.

Discord rolled his eyes. “I may be insane, but I'm not stupid,” he retorted. “If that were the way it worked, I would have gone back in time every time I needed to bake something. Fun fact, the sand in the glass takes exactly one hour to fall; not a moment more or less,” he added.

Kai held out a hand. “May I?” She requested. I handed her the glass and she studied it carefully. “It's beautiful,” she said softly. “Wish I had seen it first.”

I shrugged. “Take it,” I said nonchalantly. “I also had my eye on a mask around here…”

Just then, the glass began to glow a bright yellow, bathing me and Kai in a golden aura. “What the hell?” She cried, and gave me a fearful look. “What's happening?”

I looked at the girl and noticed she was beginning to fade away, her body now mostly transparent. My head began to swim as I looked at my hands, finding they had nearly disappeared, before the world vanished in a flash of gold. Moments later, everything went black as I was lost in a sea of memories.

~-~-~-~-~

You should not be here.

Well, I am.

Indeed. Tell me, where you come from, what has become of Allen Greathouse?

He's a prince or something, married to Princess Luna. He's missing right now, though.

Hm. I want to give you this; it contains a portion of my power.

Won't it just vanish when I return home?

My power extends far beyond the rules of reality; it will remain in your possession.

Uh… thank you.

No, thank you. You have given me the first chance in a long time to do some good. Now, return to where you came from, and set right what has been altered.

~-~-~-~-~

I snapped my eyes open to find myself lying on my back, looking up at a cloudy sky. My spine was aching, my bandana and sunglasses were gone, and a glance down revealed I was lying in a large trash container filled with debris from a nearby construction site. Kai was lying nearby, looking just as bewildered as I was. “What happened?” I asked.

Kai examined her body, probably searching for injuries and finding none, but was visibly confused and panicked that her armor and mask were gone. “Not sure,” she replied uncertainly. “I saw what you saw: the bright light, us disappearing, and then this.”

I nodded, and looked around. “No way,” I whispered. “This is… this is Detroit!” I cried. “I vacationed here years ago, with my family; it was destroyed during the Disaster!”

Kai looked around at the buildings surrounding us. “Huh,” she said aloud. “Maybe it wasn't?”

I shook my head. “No, I'm certain it was,” I said, leaping out of the bin. I saw a newspaper drifting down the street, and I sprinted after it. It probably isn't what I'm thinking, but I have to be sure, I thought as I pushed past a pedestrian. I snatched up the paper and frantically searched for the date. “No fucking way,” I breathed as I read the date.

April 17th, 2013.

Almost two years before the Disaster ever happened.

“This can't be real,” I told myself. “It's got to be an old paper, probably from someone who hoards them…” I felt a tap on my shoulder, and turned around to see the man I had shoved while running for the paper. Now that I got a good look at him, though, my blood turned to ice as an uneasy feeling filled my stomach.

Drayke Blackwood was glaring at me angrily. “What in the fuck is your problem, kid?” He demanded, pushing a strand of his blond hair out of his face.

Close Behind [Victor]

“What the bloody hell happened here?” I demanded as I leaped from the helicopter that had transported me, which was still hovering a good twenty-five feet above the ground before I exited the craft. There was an assault-class BlackTech attack helicopter crashed nearby, and some of the debris had knocked yet another hole in the already-damaged labor factory.

“Damn horses must love attacking this particular outpost,” I museed as I pushed passed a squad of guards that were rushing out of the base. I grabbed one of them by the shoulder of his exo-suit’s framework and held him back. “What happened here?” I repeated, glaring at the young soldier impatiently. I had been saying this quite a lot lately.

“I’m not sure; I just got here!” he quickly explained. “All I know is that there was a huge blackout and a lot of prisoners escaped. They must have rigged up some kind of EMP that took out all the security systems and exos,” he explained. “We don’t have any security feed that captured anything that happened here over the past four hours.”

I nodded and released the guard. “Back to your squad, soldier,” I ordered, nodding toward his comrades, and he happily obliged.

As I entered the base to search for clues, I couldn’t help but think back to my meeting with the BlackTech CEO earlier that morning. It was such an unnerving experience; if I had ever thought that I thought I could give off a cold vibe, this man was the arctic tundra.

~-~-~-~-~

“Ah, Mister Lars, such a pleasure to finally meet you!”

I squinted to adjust my eyes to the darkness of the CEO’s office; other than a faint light near the doorway, you couldn’t see anything in the deeper areas of the office. “Uh, it’s good to meet you as well, Mister…?” I took a hesitant step forward.

There was a low chuckle. “You can just stay right there, Mister Lars, and you can just call me ‘Boss’; anonymity is one of my greatest assets these days. Nobody in this company, or the city, form that matter, has seen my face or heard my real name, and I would prefer it be kept that way. I can freely walk the streets of this city without fear of being mobbed by paparazzi or captured by Equestrian spies, because nobody recognizes me as the CEO of the most powerful company in the world,” he explained. “Excellent job taking out Drayke Blackwood, by the way; such a masterful execution. I’m excited to see what else you can do for us in the near future.”

I nodded, still trying to scan the darkness for any signs of life or movement. “Thank you, Boss,” I said with uneasy gratitude. “I’m always happy to hear that my employers are pleased by my work.”

My new boss chuckled again. “Don’t bother trying to see anything; my office is outfitted with special gadgets that work via a hybrid of human technology and Equestrian magic. You are currently looking at what I like to call a ‘light shield’,” he said cleverly. “It prevents light from passing through it on one side, making it appear as if there is absolutely nothing there at all. You cannot see me, but I can see you clear as day, Mister Lars.”

I cleared my throat; few people could make me nervous, but something about this guy was way off. There was an icy chill in the room that matched his voice. I knew that he was the only one in the room with me, but I could feel like I was being watched by something else. “Just ‘Victor’ is fine, Boss,” I suggested quietly. What the hell? I thought suddenly, Why am I acting so meek?

The Boss let out another blood-freezing laugh. “I must apologise, for I am a very formal person. I shall indeed refer to you as ‘Victor’ from this point forward. Tell me, have you ever considered being outfitted with one of our Mark-VII exoskeletons?” he inquired, suddenly changing the subject. “I know you don’t need one, what with your already superhuman strength, but it’s just something I would like you to consider; I’m hoping to start production on the latest model soon, once our soldiers get the blueprints back from those filthy equines that stole them,” he added, spitting the word “equine” like it was a sip of spoiled milk.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to refuse your generous offer, sir,” I replied respectfully. “I understand that they provide increased strength, but I find armor to be a bit cumbersome.”

“Ah, I understand,” the Boss said simply. “So be it. You are dismissed, Mister Lars. I have just received word that the BlackTech facility near which you executed your target has been attacked once again; we’ve lost communication, and an attack helicopter was sent to investigate, but it has not reported what the situation is. I want you to supervise the investigation,” he explained stiffly. “Do you have any other questions or concerns?”

I shook my head. “No, sir,” I said dutifully. “I will be off.”

As I left, I lingered in the doorway for just a moment more, as something caught my attention; it could have just been my imagination, or maybe the CEO talking to himself, but I could have sworn I heard… whispering. I shook my head and closed the door, practically sprinting down the halls; I wanted to get as far the hell away from that office as I could.

~-~-~-~-~

I stared grimly at the site that lay before me. “You expect me to believe that a child and a horse butchered an entire squad of BlackTech soldiers?” I said aloud to no one in particular. This couldn’t be possible; they had just broken out of prison, and the soldiers had been equipped with standard issue BlackTech exoskeletons and rifles. How could they have stood any chance?

I scanned the gory scene scrutinizingly, when I found a spark of hope for this mystery: an intact helmet lay at the base of a nearby tree, and I could clearly see the camera mounted on top of it. I pulled out my tablet and plugged it into the helmet cam, fast forwarding the footage to the previous night.

I watched the events that had transpired before the squad had been torn to shreds, and saw the briefest glimpses of their killer; it was just like one of the crystal creatures that had first appeared on Earth little over a year before the Disaster occurred. “I knew the Equestrians were somehow responsible for those, too,” I growled angrily. “Damn horses must use them like guard dogs or something. So why haven’t we seen any of them until now?”

I watched and rewatched the footage again and again, studying every detail I could about the creature. I wasn't planning on picking a fight with it, but I knew it would be a good idea to learn its maneuvers in case I needed to defend myself. I could tell it was angry, the way it slashed wildly with no pattern or strategy. It also seemed to possess some level of camouflage, as it would shimmer in and out of view like a ghost to confuse the soldiers.

After the others had been slain came the part that confused me the most; the creature turned its sights on the escaped prisoner. I heard its deadly, whispering voice utter “die, human,” and then it gave chase. I heard the sound of retreating footsteps, and everything went quiet and still until the camera’s battery ran out, and the video file ended.

“This makes no sense,” I muttered. In annoyance. I didn't like it when things didn't line up. “The creatures work with the horses, and the Resistance fighters work with the horses, but the creatures are attacking the Resistance fighters?”

I stared ahead for a long time. Well, I thought passively, I had better start making good use of those “special privileges”, I thought, reaching for my radio. I may not like working with other people, but then again, this isn't exactly a “person", is it? This is Victor Lars to BlackTech Manufacturing Plant Number Zero-Zero-Nine-Eight. Come in, Zero-Zero-Nine-Eight,” I barked into the communicator. There was some static on the other line, and a human voice spoke.

“Sorry, Mister Lars, we just got the radios back on, so there's probably going to be some interference for a while. Whattya need?”

“Firstly, call me Victor,” I began politely. “Second, there is something in that factory that I need worked on. High-priority, understand?”

There was a pause on the other end. “Uh, if you're talking about what I think you're talking about, then I'm afraid I can't comply,” he said apologetically. “I don't have the necessary clearance to authorize repairs on the Headshot unit.”

I sighed. “Well, I'm giving you the clearance right now,” I replied. “Anyone who has a problem with that can take it up with me. Now, get your best technicians on that droid. I don't care what else you engineers are fixing over there; I want the Headshot unit ready for combat in one week!”

I hung up the walkie without another word.