Equestrian Void

Chapter 3: The First Spark, Justice

After being told what was going on in the world that she had awoken in, Twilight now knew that the world she was in was at war, and that she had befriended a strange, but helpful, man named Zack.

Twilight knows nothing about the layout of this world, so, in best interest of her survival, she decides to accompany Zack back to the place he calls the WPS Headquarters.

What awaits Twilight at the base? Can she trust Zack’s words about everyone at the base? And, more importantly, will she be able to find the locations of her lost friends in this world?

Only time will tell…

~~~~~~~~~

After what had seemed like hours, the trio of heroes start to approach a silhouette of what looks like a small town on the horizon.

Twilight squints her eyes in order to get a view of what lays on the horizon.

“W-What is that?" Asked Twilight questioningly.

Twilight had awoken Zack from what seemed like a power nap.

“Huh? Oh, that? That’s HQ." Zack said to Twilight.

She had quickly turned to Zack with dismay and disbelief.

“You can’t be serious. That place? That place is your home base?" Asked Twilight.

Zack quickly started to sit up in his seat.

“Hey, don’t judge a book by its cover, Twi. Once we get closer, you’ll be amazed." Zack said assuringly.

“15 minutes until arrival at destination, Master Zack." Stated Rosebud in her monotonous, robotic voice.

“Ah, wonderful." Zack stated.

Zack then turned to Twilight with a big grin on his face.

Zack then let out a small chuckle, as if he just heard a joke.

“What in the world are you laughing about?" Twilight questioned.

“Oh, nothing. I just can’t wait to see the look on everyone’s faces when they see you, is all."

Twilight was confused, but didn’t pry any farther, at risk of making Zack angry.

“I just hope that the people there can help me with what I need help with…" Muttered Twilight in a soft voice.

Zack then took a sudden interest in what she had just said.

“What exactly are you doing here?" Questioned Zack.

Twilight had looked at Zack, now with her expression changed from questioning to saddening.

“Truth be told, I have no idea. All I know is that I need to find my friends and get out of here as fast as we can. We have to get back home…"

Zack then sat on the edge of his chair, with his gaze fixed on Twilight, as if trying to read her mind.

“Find her friends? I didn’t know that she wasn’t alone." Zack thought to himself.

“Maybe they can-"

All of a sudden, the robot had come to a sudden halt, interrupting Zack’s thought process, launching him face-first into the back of Rosebud’s seat.

With no notice of the impact from her chair, Rosebud began to speak.

“We have reached our destination. The WPS Headquarters."

After struggling to get his face out of her seat, Zack shouts furiously.

“I wish you would’ve given me a warning or something first! Geez."

Upon seeing Zack like this, Twilight lets out a giggle.

Zack turns to Twilight and says, “Oh, ha ha, laugh it up."

After his little rebuttal, he stands up and regains his composure and looks sternly at the base.

An average sized house, just as Twilight had seen from far away.

Twilight unhooks herself from her seat and stands alongside Zack, also staring in the same direction.

“This is it." Zack stated in a serious tone. “The second we enter that base, there won’t be much time for messing around."

Zack then turned his head toward Twilight, and she did the same.

“Are you ready for what you’re about to see, Twi?"

Now filled with confidence and determination, Twilight clenched her fists and looks at Zack with passionate eyes

“I’m ready. More than I’ll ever be."

“Good." Zack replied. “Rosebud, go ahead and let us off here. Twilight and I will walk from here. Go ahead and go back to Docking Bay C and recharge."

Upon hearing his command, the latch beside Rosebud had clicked and the door next to Zack had opened.

“Yes, Master. I will also report our findings about the unknown enemy we encountered upon finding this woman to the Headmaster."

“Good idea." Replied Zack, as he took a leap out of the door onto the ground.

Just as Twilight had approached the door, she took a few moments to gaze at the one Zack kept calling Rosebud.

She had noticed that the way her body was built looked too much like a pony, like what she herself had looked like before coming to the unknown world.

“There’s no way it can just a coincidence. There has to be a reason for this."

Just as she was beginning to finish her focus, she heard Zack yell at her from the ground.

“Hey! What’s the matter, afraid of heights?"

Upon inspection, the jump did seem awfully high.

“N-No! I’m not afraid." Twilight said in a shaky voice.

“Don’t worry! Jump! I’ll catch you, I promise!" Zack replied to her.

With that not-so-promising statement in mind, Twilight leapt out of the vehicular robot, ready and braced to hit the ground.

After falling for what seems like an hour, she was suddenly stopped.

“Gotcha!" Said Zack.

Twilight opened her eyes to see that Zack had caught her.

“See? I told you I’d catch you. You can trust me." Zack said to Twilight.

After hearing him, Twilight turned her head, with her face being somewhat red.

Zack then started to put Twilight down, as she started to regain her footing.

“T-Thanks." Twilight spoke. “I’m still not afraid of heights, just a reminder."

Zack chuckled and started to walk towards the house, with Twilight following closely behind him.

“Don’t worry. You’ll get over your fears eventually. Hell, you overcame that monster earlier, so you’re fine."

“Yeah, I guess you’re right." Replied Twilight.

“Come on, it’s just a little farther to HQ. Just follow my lead.

After a small walk, Zack and Twilight approach the house.

“I’m still having second thoughts about this being your base." Stated Twilight.

“Oh, don’t worry." Replied Zack as he unlocked and opened the door.

“The real surprise is what’s inside."

Twilight had glanced inside from where she was standing, and looked at what the contents of house held.

“Go ahead on in. Ladies first." Zack had said in a relaxed voice.

Twilight had slowly made her way inside the house, making sure not to step on anything.

To her surprise, the house was filled to the brim with technological gadgets and gizmos that would make a scientist scream in excitement.

“I-I can’t believe what I’m seeing… This is amazing." Twilight said with astonishment.

Zack followed Twilight inside and closed and locked the door behind him.

“Like it? It’s some samples of what our scientists are able to cook up in the labs. Actually, the stuff in here are the things they don’t have room for in storage."

Zack placed his hand on Twilight’s shoulder as she was gazing at the tech.

“You’ll have plenty of time to inspect this stuff later. Right now, we need to get down to the real HQ." Zack stated as he headed into another room.

Twilight nodded her head and quickly followed behind.

Zack then took the top off of a nearby light switch that revealed a sort of keypad.

“Wait, what in the world did you just do?" Twilight questioned.

Zack turned his head to Twi, while imputing a code into the keypad and stated, “Just stand close to me and watch the magic happen."

With a raised eyebrow, Twilight stood close to Zack, waiting for something to happen.

After a few seconds, Twilight had heard a quiet beeping sound.

“What was that sound?" She asked Zack.

Suddenly, the floor had slightly shifted.

“That, Twilight, was the sound of progress." Zack replied.

Suddenly, the floor was now moving down at a slow and steady pace.

“See? This room is merely an elevator. The real lab is underground."

Twilight now wore a face of relief to hear that from Zack.

“Good," She said as she sighed, “I thought that something was wrong and the house was sinking or something."

“Don’t worry, Twi. It’s only a matter of time now." Stated Zack.

“A matter of time until what?" Twilight replied.

“Until we can find your friends. And get you home." Zack said in a determined tone of voice.

Twilight looked at Zack and replied in a thankful voice. "Thanks, Zack."

Now that Zack and Twilight are now heading to the inner sanctum of the Headquarters, with her head held high, questions begin to fill Twilight’s head. What awaits her down at the bottom of the elevator? What kind of people are waiting for her? Will they be able to help her with finding her friends and safely getting home? Alongside the only person she’s trusted until now in this unknown world at war, these thoughts fill her head as the elevator slowly descends into the underground abyss below…

~~~~~~~~~

As Zack and Twilight ride the elevator deeper underground, their surroundings began to change significantly. The pit in which they were descending down was no longer showing dirt, but rather some sort of futuristic translucent glass that was surrounding them. The view of the base then became clear to the two, and Twilight couldn’t help but gaze in amazement.

“I… I don’t believe it. This whole facility was built underground?" Questioned Twilight.

“Yep. From the ‘ground up' I should say." Answered Zack as he chuckled a little at the pun he made.

“The whole place you’re looking at took months to build. Matter of fact, we just put the finishing touches in here not too long ago."

As Zack finishes his statement, the elevator slowly comes to a halt and the doors in front of them open.

Zack begins to walk out of the elevator, grabbing Twilight’s hand as he walked past her.

“Come on, follow me. We need to visit the chief so we can figure out what to do next."

“All right. Maybe he can answer a few of the questions I have about this place." Replied Twilight.

“Don’t worry, the chief’ll take care of anything you got to throw at him." Said Zack confidently.

After their short walk out of the elevator, Zack pulls Twilight onto a device that started to glow underneath them.

“This’ll get us to the chief in a jiffy. Just don’t let go, got it?" Zack said as he turned his head to Twilight.

“Got it!" Twilight replied as she turned her head to Zack and gave him a little smile.

Suddenly, a glowing light enveloped the two of them and levitated them into the air.

Twilight gasped, as if she already knew what was happening to them.

“Are we teleporting?" She questioned.

“Right on the money!" Zack replied.

After he answered, the two of them were warped directly into the main command room of HQ.

The two of them were slowly dropped down and the light enveloping them had disappeared.

In front of them were a room full of workers, with two people conversing in front of what looked like a giant monitor.

Zack began to walk towards the two, motioning for Twilight to follow him.

“Yo, Chief Michaels! I’m back from scouting." Zack shouted.

The two people in front of them paused for a moment and turned towards Zack and Twilight.

“Ah, yes. Young Master Zack. Rosebud informed me that you would be here soon." Answered the chief.

“Hey come on now. I feel weird when you call me that. Can’t you just call me by my first name and leave it at that?" Shrugged Zack.

“Oh, come now, lad. I address everyone here that way. Old habits die hard, you know." The chief answered as he started chuckling wholeheartedly.

Twilight wasn’t feeling so hospitable, as the woman next to the chief was giving her a gaze as if she wasn’t welcome here, or as if she was an enemy spy.

The woman next to the chief cleared her throat and gently nudged the chief and began to whisper to him.

“Sir, aren’t you going to ask the Lieutenant here about the woman that’s with him? The one from the report? ESaid the woman.

“Ah, of course, Commander Dauntless. Thank you for reminding me." Clarified Chief Michaels.

“So, Lieutenant," the chief started, “You say you found this woman in Sector 16, the one near the Industrial District. In the report, you stated that you felt an earthquake at around 1700 hours and went to investigate what had happened at the epicenter, correct?"

“Affirmative, Sir." Zack said in a stern voice.

“And when you came across this woman, miss ‘Twilight' was it?" The chief asked as he leaned past Zack and looked over at Twilight.

“That’s correct. My name is Twilight. Twilight Sparkle."

“Right, Right. So, after getting close to the epicenter, you said that you found her confronting her shadow. Is this true, Young Master?" The chief asked with a now serious look on his face.

“Yes, sir. After a little scuffle I had with it, Twilight and I managed to subdue and defeat it." Replied Zack.

“And in turn, she herself gained her own Arcana, correct? The Priestess, if I recall?" Asked the chief.

“That’s correct sir. A somewhat rarity during these times." Zack stated.

The chief pushed Zack aside and started to walk towards Twilight, stroking his beard as he was walking.

Twilight couldn’t help but slowly back away as he was walking towards her.

“Y-Yes? Is there something I can help you with?" Twilight said nervously.

The chief suddenly stopped in front of her, stopped stroking his beard, and stared directly into Twilight’s eyes for a second.

As he was staring, Twilight swallowed out of fear of what he was thinking.

The chief quickly turned around and started walking towards the monitor in the front of the room.

“So? What’s the final verdict, Chief? She a keeper or not?" Questioned Commander Dauntless.

The chief stopped in front of Zack and placed both of his hands on his shoulders.

“She’s perfect." Said the chief in a stern voice.

Zack smiled and Twilight let out a huge sigh of relief.

“…You can’t be serious." Mumbled Commander Dauntless.

“But first…" Stated the chief.

He turned towards Twilight and reached into his shirt pocket, but this time, she didn’t feel as much hostility as she did before, when he was examining her.

“I hate to ask this of you, seeing as if all of this is still a bit new to you, but on behalf of the World Peace Syndicate, would you be willing to join us?" Asked the chief as he pulled out a small device that looked unfamiliar to her.

“Join you?" Twilight asked in a somewhat startled voice.

“Come on, Twi." Stated Zack. “We could always use an extra helping hand around here. You’ll feel right at home, I promise."

Hearing Zack say the word ‘home' reminded Twilight of what her purpose was in following Zack in the first place.

But something kept her from saying yes.

She went deep into thought about what could happen if she joined.

Suddenly, without warning, an alarm started to go off throughout the entire base.

Chief Michaels, Commander Dauntless, and Zack, startled by the alarm, suddenly turned around to see that there was something being shown on the large monitor.

“What in the blue bloody blazes is going on?!" Shouted the chief. “Commander Dauntless!"

“I’m on it, Sir!" She replied back as she rushed to the computer panel that was below the monitor. “I’m locating the source of the energy spike immediately!"

“Energy Spike? What’s going on, Zack?!" Twilight asked in a panicky voice.

“It’s just like what happened before I found you! Suddenly, a HUGE spike in energy was found in the area right before the earthquake had happened!" Explained Zack.

“T-Then it could be one of my friends!" Shouted Twilight.

“That’s preposterous! Borderline insane even!" Shouted Commander Dauntless.

“Ember, the reading we’re getting is exactly what happened in the scenario as Zack was in. For all we know, she could be telling the truth." Explained the chief.

“Ember? Who’s that?" Twilight whispered to Zack.

“It’s Commander Dauntless' first name. She doesn’t like to be called that around the chief.  Gets real pissy about it if you do. Trust me. Learned from experience." Zack whispered back.

A large beeping noise could be heard from the monitor in front of Commander Dauntless.

“Sir! I’ve pinpointed the location of the energy spike! It looks like it’s coming from Sector 12!" Shouted Commander Dauntless.

“Sector 12? Where the old Town Hall used to be?" Asked Zack.

“Precisely that same one, my boy." Said the chief.

“I’ve scanned the area to see if any agents are within the area, and the only one close enough is… Commander Ryuuesi, Sir!" Ember shouted.

“Get him onscreen, Commander Dauntless." Ordered the chief.

“At once, Sir. Opening communication channels." Said Ember as she started working the controls on the panel.

“Ryuusei… Ryuusei…" Mumbled Twilight. “Oh! Zack! Isn’t that your last name, too?"

“Right. The one Ember and the Chief are talking about is my father."Zack answered.

The monitor in the room started to change as it had open communications with Commander Ryuusei.

“About time you guys called me. I was getting tired of just wasting the weak-ass punks in this area. What’s up?" Replied the man onscreen.

The chief started to speak to relay orders to him.

“Ace. I have some important news for you. This is serious."

“Ace?" Asked Twilight.

“My dad’s first name." Answered Zack.

“All right, then. Spill it. What’cha got for me?" Replied Ace.

“We’ve detected a large energy spike near Sector 12 back at HQ."

“And let me guess. I’m the only guy available to go and check it out, right?" Asked Ace.

“Correct." Said the chief. “But be careful. It’s possible that an earthquake is likely to happen within the next few moments."

“How the hell would you guys know that? You guys get a fortune-teller I don’t know about?" Ace said with a snarky voice.

“We don’t. This is just the theory we got from a similar situation we got involving your son not too long ago." Said the chief in a snarky voice of his own.

“My boy? And what’d he say about it?" Asked Ace.

“That after the spike in energy, an earthquake had happened not too long afterwards, and when he went to investigate it, he found a woman that was confronting her shadow." Explained the chief.

“Wait, her shadow?" Ace suddenly took more interest.  “You better not be bullshittin' be here."

“We wouldn’t ‘bullshit' you about something this serious, Ace. Be on your guard." Said the chief in a very serious tone.

“All right. I’ll keep my guard up for anything that might happen and call back if I see catch anything suspicious. Ace out."

The monitor suddenly switched back to the screen before Ace was called.

The chief started to mumble something under his breath. “Ace, don’t do anything too reckless. We don’t want a repeat with Ruby. None of us do..."

The monitor suddenly switched back on.

“Yo, chief!"

It was Ace, but only his voice can be heard.

“What is it, Commander Ryuusei?" The chief replied.

“You were right. An earthquake happened right after I hung up on you guys." Said Ace. “Looks like the impact happened quite a ways north from the energy spike. I’ll head that way and see what I can find. Ace out."

After the monitor switched off, Twilight began to walk towards the chief with a look of determination.

“Chief Michaels, was it?" Twilight said sternly. “After considering the possibilities, I’ve made a decision."

“Oh? And what might that be, Miss Twilight?" The chief said with a bit of humor in his voice.

“I’ll join you. If I’m going to find my friends, I’ll need as much help as I can get."

The chief clapped his hands together with joy.

“Splendid!" Said the chief as he grabbed the device from earlier.

“Now, hold out your hands, my dear."

Twilight did just as the chief had told her.

The chief grabbed Twilight’s wrist and placed the device in her hand.

“This, my dear, is a personal telecommunications device. It’s something that every member carries around with them. It allows us to track and talk to each other, as well as scan materials to send back here for our scientists to analyze."

“Wow…" Said Twilight in amazement as she gazed at the device.

“Now then, as an official member, we need to get you the proper attire. Ember!" Shouted the chief.

“What is it, sir?" Ember replied.

“Take Twilight here to the wardrobe department for a quick change up, please. Then bring her back here for her briefing." The chief ordered.

“At once, sir." Ember replied with a sour look on her face.

Ember walked towards Twilight and quickly pat her on the back.

“Come on, follow me." Ember instructed Twilight as she was walking towards the teleporter She and Zack used before.

Twilight began to follow behind Ember.

“Oh, and Zack!" Twilight said as she stopped and turned around.

Zack looked at Twilight as she called him. “What’s up?"

“I’ll bring back your jacket after I’m done. Promise."

“Hey, don’t sweat it." Zack replied as he blushed a little.

Twilight smiled and got on the teleporter with Ember and teleported away to another part of the HQ.

~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, north of Sector 12, two miles from the epicenter of the earthquake, Ace comes closer to what may have caused the huge energy spike that Headquarters had picked up earlier.

“Jeez, whatever I find better be worth my while. I don’t want to waste my time with another meaningless task." Mumbled Ace.

After a few more minutes of running, Ace reaches what appears to be a large crater.

“Holy…" Ace says as he stands in amazement.

“What in the hell could’ve caused this?" He questioned.

After examining the crater, he sees what looks like a human silhouette at the center.

“Is that?... No way. It can’t be." Says Ace as he slides down the crater to further investigate the center.

He stops himself a few feet from the center and slowly walks towards what lies in the center.

“I don’t believe it." He says.

Upon closer examination, a human woman with long bright yellow hair lies in the center of the crater.

“Huh. Who’da thought a person could cause this much damage to the landscape…" Ace mumbled to himself.

Suddenly the woman started to groan and open her eyes.

“Hey, there. You all right?" Ace said to the woman.

“Where… Where in the hay am ah?" The woman replied to him in a southern accent.

“You’re right outside where the old Town Hall used to be." Answered Ace.

“Where it used to be? Ah don’t remember there being a new one. Did Mayor Mare make a new one?" Asked the woman.

Ace raised an eyebrow upon hearing the name.

“Mayor… Mare? Sorry, but that doesn’t ring any bells." Said Ace.

“What? But…" Said the woman as she moved her head around and started to open her eyes even more.

Upon fully opening her eyes, she was startled by Ace’s appearance and let out a shout.

“Holy butter on a biscuit! Who in the hay are you?!" She shouted as she tried to pull herself back, but couldn’t.

“Calm down, lady. My name’s Ace. Ace Ryuusei. I’m here to help." Answered Ace.

“Wha… What’s goin' on here? Wha-"

“How’s about you start with your name? Then we’ll go from there." Said Ace to the woman.

“Mah name? It’s-"

She looked down, cutting herself off and let out another horrified shriek.

“Wha…What happened to me?! What happened to mah body?! Where are mah hooves?! And tail?!"

“Whoa, warn me before you freak out, why don’t ya?!" Shouted Ace.

“Wh… What’s happened to me?!" Said the woman in a terrified voice.

“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know, huh?" Said a mysterious voice out of nowhere in a southern accent.

“Hey, where’d that voice come from?"

Ace held out his hand and a glowing card, just like the one Twilight acquired, rotated in his hand.

He broke it with both his arms in an X motion, and as he did, his arms became covered his forearms with flame-like tattoos and assumed a battle stance.

“Come on out, you little coward! Show yourself!" Shouted Ace.

“Relax, meat bag. Ah ain’t interested in YOU. My business is with that girl behind you." Said the mysterious voice from behind Ace.

Ace quickly turned around to see the same woman he saw on the ground, but as a black silhouette with piercing yellow eyes.

“Who… Who are you?!" Said the woman on the ground behind Ace as she kept trying to back up.

The woman started to slowly walk towards Ace and the woman behind him.

“You already know who ah am… don’t you?"

The woman on the ground started to shake her head wildly.

“N-No… No, I don’t know who you are…" She said as she was panicking.

The shadow suddenly smiled widely.

“Thou art ah… and Thou art me…" Said the woman who slowly started walking towards her and Ace.

“Ah don’t know what you mean… Stay away from me"

“You do… DON’T YOU? Ah don’t need to spell it out for ya, right?"

“RIGHT?... APPLEJACK?!"