It was a normal run of the mill day in Appleloosa, as gloomy as it has been for the past 1000 years. What was once a quaint, cozy and lively town in the southern equestrian area was now a dreary shell of its former self. When one walks down the road, they would expect to see a crowd of cheerful ponies having a good time or getting to where they need to be. Now, all would they see are ponies with their heads hanging as they walk by, lethargy and depression rules them. Most of the ponies that inhabit the area would often drink themselves into a stupor to forget the bad memories over the long, long years and places like Honey Barrel's saloon is booming in this regard.
It was business as usual in Honey's little corner of Appleloosa, ponies in an apathetic mood flocked into his saloon, looking for a glass of hard apple cider to wash away the pain they felt from the bad times. Though Honey Barrel was making a substantial sum of bits, he never felt a sense of pride out of it. He wanted to make a living, but not like this... profiting off of a pony's misery.
*Sigh* "Not like this." Honey somberly thought to himself as he was cleaning a few used glasses that were left by some patrons that came by hours ago. He would oft times thought of what a place like this would become if Tirek hadn't taken over. It would've been a place of merrymaking, joy, and friends gathering to have a good time. Instead, Honey couldn't do anything but watch the soul crushing sight as ponies drowned out their woes in liquor. It was his only way of making ends meet in this world.
Just then, the saloon doors swing open wide and through them came a cloaked figure. Nothing else could be ascertained about the stranger's identity apart from a light-cerulean coat of fur and a grass-green and red stripped mane and tail. The stranger's cloak looks tattered and moderately worn, indicative of the mysterious pony being an experienced fighter and wanting to retain anonymity. Barely anyone paid the stranger any attention, apart from Honey Barrel as he sees the stranger approaching the hightop and taking a seat.
"What would you like?" Honey says as he cleans up another glass. The mysterious pony then pulls off its hood revealing him as a unicorn stallion with eyes as orange as the eponymous fruit.
"One hard apple cider, please." The stranger says as looks at the table, drumming his fingers on the wooden bar counter.
"One cider, coming right up." Honey replies as he reaches for the tap and dispenses the delicious beverage into an shiny glass mug.
"Here ya go." Honey says as he hands the drink over to the mysterious stallion. "It'll be 4 bits please." The stallion grabbed 4 bits out of his pouch and hands them off to the barkeep. The stallion takes a big swig of the tangy and tart nectar with much gusto, making Honey raise an eyebrow.
"You're not from here, are ya?" Honey says as he props his arms on the counter in curiosity.
"No." The stallion replies in a neutral tone, taking another swig of his cider. "Just making a quick stop."
"Where to?"
"The mountains, due west of Ponyville."
"Why there?" Honey asks with curiosity. The Undiscovered West has not been explored yet and ponies fear what may tread in the area. It's the general fear of the unknown that would drive any novice explorers from exploring what lies in that land.
"A quiet place to settle down." The stallion replies as he finishes off the rest of his cider. As Honey observed the stallion closely, he took note of his eyes, brighter than what most pony eyes are. For a second, he notices that his eyes had flickered brightly like a broken street light. He was shocked that his new patron was not what he seemed. He looked like a pony, but wasn't a real pony.
"Y-You're, You're a robot, aren't ya?" Honey says with a sense of surprise. He never seen a robot quite like the stallion before. Whenever he say a robot like that, it was usually one of the War Bots from Tirek's many legions of enforcers. Whenever one saw a group of them in the area, it's never good news. They are deployed to quell any sign of dissent whenever it's found. They may be simple minded, but their relentlessness is truly to be feared. Honey wondered what type of robot was he: a special model or a prototype on a testing run. He never before saw one that had a coat of fur.
"What gave that away?" The stallion asks back with a slight smirk, pandering to his bewilderment.
"Your eyes." Honey says as he looks upon the stallion's face.
"What about them?"
"They say that eyes are an identifier for a pony, a portal that lets you peer into one's soul, so to say. As I observed your eyes, they flickered like a light. Even though you're not flesh and blood, I can see it in your eyes that you're not a malevolent pony or whatever kind of robot you are." Honey observes. He's seen a lot of the typical WarBot that Tirek sends throughout Equestria to enforce his will, cold and emotionless. The robot he sees before him looks more than what he usually sees in an automaton.
"Heh, I guess that much is true." The stallion chuckles as he makes a noticeable smirk. His semi-smile was interrupted by a disturbance. The crows that had been squawking outside for hours suddenly stopped, the air polluted with a cacophony of wings flapping away. This was usually a sign that a large group is on approach, never a good sign. The silence caused the stallion's ear to twitch, knowing of a possible danger to him. They have found him. Not wanting to put the other patrons at risk, he decides to leave, placing a pouch of bits on the counter.
"A round of drinks I take it?" Honey asks as the stranger walks towards the entrance.
"No, it's for the damages." The stallion says as he approaches the doors. Honey was confused by what he meant by 'damages'. As he saw a glimpse of what looks to be a gun attached to his belt, he began to put two and two together.
"Oh, and you might want to tell the patrons to duck." The stallion says as he puts his hands on the double doors. Without hesitation, Honey alerts the patrons to the imminent danger to their lives and orders them to "Duck!!!".
As The stallion walks out of the saloon, the brightness of the sun momentarily blinds him, a side effect of being in the building for a time. As his vision comes to, his eyes beheld a group of of heavily armed soldiers, a mix of unicorn and earth ponies, and warbots, their weapons trained on him. The way these soldiers were outfitted were familiar to him: It was a detachment of Tirek's Blackguard, his elite group of warriors.
"Attention fugitive!" one of the blackguard soldiers shouted. "By the supreme authority of Lord Tirek, you are to surrender immediately and come with us at once! Resist... and you will die!"
For the last two weeks, the stallion was pursued by Tirek's minions. For what reason, he knew all to well. Over the course of those days, He went from town to town, seeing the atrocities committed by Tirek's minions. The previous town he visited, he prevented a mass execution of innocent ponyfolk by dispatching enforcers that were sent to commit the vile act. Ever since that day, he's been on the run, only able to catch brief reprieves from the chase. At this point, he was through with running. He was going to make his stand.
"Obey the command! Stand down, now!"
The stallion's horn starts to flicker and spark, bolts of energy dance around. An orb of swirling blue energy builds up above his horn. In a moments notice he unleashes the energy at the aggressors, knocking them down and enveloping them in a dust cloud. The shockwave of the blast traveled in all directions, even reaching the saloon, shattering anything made of glass. Honey now knew what the stranger meant by damages.
*coughing and hacking noises* "Where in tartarus is he?!" one soldier says
"SCANNING... DUST CLOUD OBSCURING VISUAL SENSORS. RESULTS INCONCLUSIVE." one warbot informs the group as they desperately try to find their target.
"Where did he go?!!" one soldier panics. "I'm outta here!" As he attempts to flee, he met his demise from a glowing blade of energy, impaling his dark heart. It only took a bit for the dust cloud to clear up for the rest of the blackguard soldiers to be alerted to the threat. The veil was lifted and the game was on.
"There he is! Take him down!" one soldier barked as 4 of them move to melee range while the rest fired upon him with their energy rifles.
*Ratatatatatatata*
*Ratatatatatatata*
*Ratatatatatatata*
*Ratatatatatatata*
*Ratatatatatatata*
As the bladed soldiers came his way, the stranger soundly dispatched them with several mere slashes from his glowing blade, they never stood a chance. The 2 warbots charged him in a stampede-like rush, throwing punches that hit nothing but air. As one began to throw a forceful right hook, the stranger sliced off the arm before bringing his sword through the robot's neck, decapitating it. Almost immediately, he turned his pistol at the other warbot and took it down with a few shots to its central core.
*Ratatatatatatata*
*Ratatatatatatata*
*Ratatatatatatata*
*Ratatatatatatata*
*Ratatatatatatata*
The rifleponies resumed their vollies of energy bolts as the stranger charged them, blocking their shots. As the stranger drew near, he sent out a big slash, dropping them like flies. He looks on at the carnage, pony and machine all lie in ruin amidst the sand, blood and oil soak the ground. His observation was interrupted by a faint sound coming from behind one of the transports.
"...lease, send help! He's killing us, We're dropping like flies! Backu-" *Blang* before the blackguard soldier could complete his plea, the radio was disabled by the stranger's pistol. He then hovers over the surviving soldier, observing him.
"Hmph, did you really think it would end well?" The stranger says, before out of the corner of his eye, seeing a dust trail out in the distance and it was approaching fast. He knew that was additional forces coming to take him down. In that moment, the stranger decided to spare the wounded minion and hijack one of the bikes he saw. His only route of escape is the railway leading out of the region.
"All units, target is heading towards the bridge crossing Ghastly Gorge. Do we have anyone in the area?" One pegasus trooper says, flying to intercept the stranger.
"We do. We have a blockade set up on the other side of the bridge. He won't get away." Another voice radios in. "Unit-047, I need you to fly to a hill near the bridge and wait for the word!"
"You got it!" Unit-047 agrees as she flies to a hill overlooking the bridge, taking position and waiting for her prey. The chase was an intense game of catch the mouse. The stranger was keeping up his speed as he rode to the bridge, shooting down anyone that got in his path or caught up to him. As he neared the bridge, a warbot suddenly appeared and fired a rocket. Not being able to save his stolen ride in time, The stallion jumped from his bike just as it was hit by the rocket and slashed the robot across its visor, disabling it.
"I.. really don't have time for this!" The stranger says as he makes a run towards the bridge. Only when he got half way across did he realize it was a trap. Another group was waiting across the bridge for him, having anticipated his escape route. With the other force moving in from behind him, he was surrounded with his back against the bridge railing, no way of escape.
"Don't even try!" One of the blackguard enforcers said. "Pull a weapon on us and we will end you right here!" The stranger looked on at the crowd of soldiers and warbots surrounding him. He could take on a fairly big group of them by himself, but not one this big before he falls.
As the commander observed the fugitive robot, he got new orders... from Tirek himself. Knowing what to do, he decided to relay the orders to Unit-047.
"Unit-047, do you read? Mission parameters have changed. You know what to do."
"Roger." she replies as she gets her sights on The stranger, putting her finger on the trigger. "Nighty night, sweet prince."
*Bang*
"URRGh!!"
Before he could react, the stranger was hit by a energy bolt to the chest, causing him to stagger back and bleed an oil-like substance. His visual field was ridden with messages of damage reports from the injury. This was the opportunity the blackguard needed to finish him off.
"Okay ponies, finish him off!" the commander says as they pepper him with energy blasts, damaging him all over his metal frame, further staggering him back and eventually sending him over the edge of the railing and down to the river below. The soldiers were pleased with their results as the fugitive they've been trailing for weeks has now been dealt with.
"Fugitive is down. I repeat, fugitive is down." the commander says over the radio.
"We read you. Good job, Zeal." another voice radios in. "What about Captain Branch?"
"He's here with us. Why?" Commander Zeal asks the radio operator.
"Lord Tirek requests him to be brought before him... and he isn't happy with him."
"Okay. Zeal out." Zeal knew that whenever somepony is brought to see Tirek, it never is a good thing. Usually, when somepony in the ranks of his army has failed so many times, he has that pony brought to him to be made an example of and how he does it, ponies would shudder to imagine how he deals with these kind of problems.
As the stranger got dragged through the river current, his visual field starts to flicker sporadically, showing a flurry of lines of code. A video then starts to play. It was a recording from two weeks ago:
==============Flashback:==============
The stranger was in a capsule in a room, his view was foggy from the glass of his metallic tomb. Then, the capsule opens up, clarifying his view of the room. It was a mess to say the least. Papers, tools, and blood litter the floor. Electrical wires dangle from the ceiling and pieces of it also hang and dangle. The door to the room was also a mess due to it looking like it had been blown open from the outside. Bodies of ponies litter the ground outside which indicated a battle took place here. To his left, the stranger notices a unicorn stallion in a lab coat slouched over a desk, blood was dripping from him. The stranger got up from his capsule and set the stallion against the wall. He notices that the computer monitor is asking to play some sort of 'message'. Was it intended for him? What was the purpose of it? Being curious, he plays the message which causes a hologram of the dead stallion next to him to appear.
X-0451, If you are reading this, the worst has come to pass. Tirek has sent his armies after us and we didn't survive. I wish your activation were under better circumstances, but the situation calls for you to be hibernating for a set amount of time. I wish that we all could see and marvel at you, our greatest creation: an android that can evolve and think like any other pony in equestria. We built you to be our last hope in these dark days. We built you so that you can inspire others to stand up and set things right. Our hopes and dreams now lie with you.
======================================
With that, X-0451's vision starts to fade to black. This was the end of him. The cold grip of death comes, even for an android.
"Found something!"
"Let me see... Yes, this is him!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure of it! Help me get him out of the water.
"Damn, this thing is heavy."
"Just drag him to the vehicle and let's go. I don't want to chance it out here for much longer."
==============Meanwhile at Tirek's Palace:==============
Tirek sat in his throne room. It was a place of gloom and despair made manifest. The walls adorned the pictures of his greatest triumph, his slaying of the 9 ponies that would've caused him trouble in his rise to power. The only sources of light in his throne room is a chandelier and some torches that flanked the pathway to the throne and the only living ponies in the room besides Tirek himself are his 4 personal guards and the disgraced Captain Branch in chains before him.
"So, You've failed me over the last two weeks," Tirek's voice booms from his throne. "taking that long to fine one pony, only to later lose all of troops under your command." His voice was intimidating to say the least. A mere whisper from him can petrify any mortal being with fear, such is the case with Captain Branch and his failure.
"Bbb-b-but sire," Captain branch stutters in fear of Tirek's rage. "we were completely unprepared for how stro-"
"SILENCE WHELP!!!" Tirek interrupts Branch with a yell that shook him and the flames from the candles. The personal guards however, were not shaken at all. When they were selected to be his guards, Tirek himself used some form magical incantation to wipe any semblance of empathy and emotion from them with the purpose of instilling unquestionable obedience.
"You have failed me too many times." Tirek says as he gets up from his throne and walks towards Captain Branch who is shaking in fear. "You are unworthy of holding the title of Captain in the Blackguard."
"Please, My lord! Grant me mercy, I beg you!" Branch begs with tears flowing down his face fur. He knew that he was going to be punished for his error and what would happen to him puts a great depth of fear in his soul.
"There is one way for redemption." Tirek says as he circles the fearful pony. His remark was unusual of him to say. He ruled through fear and now he offers a chance for the disgraced captain to atone for his error.
"What?!" Branch says, shocked as a terrifying being like Tirek was showing a willingness to show mercy when he would just execute somepony at the drop of a hat if crossed.
"Fret not, There is still a way to serve me,..." Tirek says as he walks away from Captain branch with a faint glow being visible from his hand. Within seconds, Branch starts to convulse wildly.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHRRRRRGHHH!!! AHHHH AHHHHHGHHH!!!" Branch screams out in unimaginable pain as his very soul is ripped from his body, moving to and being absorbed by Lord Tirek. Within seconds, Captain Branch of the Blackguard is no more, all that remains of him is the lifeless husk that is his body.
"...even in death." Tirek finishes as the glow fades away. "Take the body down to the lab and have him prepped for surgery."
Without so much as a sound, the two guards that were flanking Branch took his body to the Cyber Lab, where those who suffered similar fates like Branch get converted into 'Gestalts', soulless bodies bound forever to serve under mechanical influence. Cyber augmentations are grafted onto a subject with motor functions being directed by a chip implant. Their bodies never perishing or wasting away, a fate worse than death. Tirek walks back to his throne to ponder what the significance of the android that had been killed in applelossa. What was its purpose? What threat did it pose to his rule? Is it still alive?
"My rule will not be challenged... even by a mechanical golem."
Author's Note
Well, here is another story from me. I really wanted to make a dark tale of an alternate future equestria and I came up with this after binging on Wolfenstein: TNO. I hope you like it and this will be the start of a long series. Stay tuned for more.
Chapter 2: The world that weeps
"What was the damage, doc?"
“Nothing major, sans the hole in his chest chassis.”
“Were you able to repair him?”
“Yes, though it took a while. I was able to fix his power core and repair the damaged portions of his chassis. All of that was trivial. The Skin and furcoat layer, however, took a bit longer. I had to get extra help for it.”
“Dr. Stitches?”
“Yeah, she’s been rather helpful with that part. Now, he should run and look like new.”
“Ok, but why is he still powered down?”
“I have to perform diagnostics to ensure system integrity. Don’t worry, Arbor. It won’t take too long.”
“I hope so, Wrench.”
His eyes opening, X-0451 found himself in a small metallic room, tables of various tools surround him. He looks around to find that he is on some sort of table, no signs of restrains being used. He tries to move his legs but they didn't budge an inch. The only thing he could move was his head. He thrashes his head around until 2 ponies came in: an orange earth pony with a short white mane wearing a tattered coat with armor and a bandoleer adorning it and a yellow, maneless unicorn in a lab coat.
"Calm down, just relax." pleads the unicorn. X-0451 desperately thrashes his head around in a vain effort to break free. "I only disabled your motor functions from the neck down. We needed to run some diagnostics." X-0451 looks at the scientist for a few seconds and his eyes widened as if he recognized him.
"Wait, I remember you..." X-0451 says as his memory bank shows him another recording of his past.
========================================================
X-0451 lies in a familiar room, the same one from his awakening. It wasn't in shambles or a mess, it was neatly organized. A few scientists are seen walking around the room while exchanging words.
"According to the hourly status reports, the A.I. matrix integration into the host shell has so far been successful with no errors of note." the yellow unicorn "What's the status of his power core?"
"Well Wrench, I've ran the simulations and It looks rather promising." says a blue unicorn pony, the same one from his flashback and he's alive and well. "The power source we obtained is capable of generating an unlimited supply of energy. We did have to put certain limitations in place though."
"What kind of limits, Spark?" Wrench inquires.
"While the power supply can produce an unlimited supply of energy, an overabundance can prove to be catastrophic for him. We had to put a regulatory lock on the core to prevent an overload from occurring. We did manage to stress test it to determine minimum tolerance levels. We've determined that it can reach 400% capacity before structural deterioration takes place." Spark explains to wrench, handing him a paper with the statistics. Wrench takes a good look at it and nods in approval.
"Excellent! How soon can we expect him to be ready?" Wrench asks with a hit of eagerness.
"I would say... about a week or so, depending on if we don't get interrupted." Spark states. "I can have the process automated and we can monitor the progress at a regular frequency." In a congratulatory gesture, they exchange a handshake while they marvel at their creation and eagerly await its activation. As Spark leaves the room, Wrench turns to X-0451 and pats him on the head.
"You're gonna be a bad motherbucker!" Wrench says as X-0451's vision comes back to reality with his memory of the scientist now jogged.
========================================================
"...You're the scientist who worked on me." X-0451 says as Wrench looks through his paper pad and jots down some notes.
"Ability to remember is indicative of intact CPU and memory bank. Marvelous!" Wrench says. "System diagnostics complete, time to reactivate your limbs.
With a few button presses on a nearby monitor, X-0451 is once again mobile and gets off the table. He wiggles his limbs around to check for any locked joints. He takes a sigh of relief that he's alive after yesterday's brush with death.
"Okay X-0451." Wrench starts as he paces around while looking at his clipboard. "There are a lot of thi-"
"Iron Heart" X-0451 interrupts, startling Wrench. "My name... is Iron Heart" Wrench is amazed at how his creation has evolved mentally to the point of developing his own personality.
"Incredible, the development of an identity is the sign of of a highly evolved A.I.!" Wrench says as he excitedly writes on his clipboard. "Android has developed farther than we initially hypothesized." The orange earth pony approaches while nodding his head in disapproval at the sight of Wrench's excitement.
"He always gets like this whenever something interesting happens." the earth stallion says while extending his arm with an open hand. "The name is Arbor Shield. I'm the one who pulled you out of Ghastly Gorge." As if by a pre-programmed instinct, Iron Heart responds by doing the same, shaking Arbor's hand.
"No doubt you have a lot of questions... about this... about everything." Arbor says. "Come with me." Both he and Iron Heart exit the room into an open hall of natural stone. The activity throughout the hall is very lively: Wires streaming along the cavernous walls, ponies tinkering with various things like weapons and others huddling around with their friends or families. It was a shelter to escape from Tirek's despotic rule.
"We call ourselves the Harmony Restoration Front." Arbor started as they walk through the hall. "When Tirek conquered all of equestria, groups of various creatures went into hiding to escape his wrath. They all formed resistance groups that range from small cells to large ones like us. We've been spread too far apart to unite under one banner, so just about anypony can take up arms against Tirek if they choose to. We choose to strike from the shadows to not draw attention to ourselves and that has been our MO for years."
"You ponies have been at this for years fighting Tirek." Iron Heart remarked as Arbor turned to him with a solemn expression.
*Sigh* "We've been doing this for the past 100 years." says Arbor. "We've held on to the hope that we'll one day retake equestria from this nightmare. But, we're starting to lose morale and ponies more unwilling to fight which means we'll see less ponies joining our ranks. Though, I have a feeling that we'll see a turnaround coming soon. Would you like to meet him?"
"Meet who?"
"Come with me." Arbor says as they approach a door in a corner of the hall. "He's been our historian and mystic for the last 30 years and he's been of great help to us. He'll answer almost any question you have."
*Knock*
*Knock*
*Knock*
"Who knocks on my door?" a gravely voice booms from the other side of the door.
"It's me." Arbor responds.
"Ahhh, Arbor. What is it that you need?"
"That android me and Wrench pulled out of the river has some questions."
"Oh, well... send him in." The doors open to a candlelit room with shelves of books on the walls and a bed upon which an elderly purple unicorn sat. The unicorn looked to be well over 80 or perhaps maybe even older than that. His mane is long, scraggly and yellow.
"Who are you?" Iron Heart asks in confusion.
"'Who am I?', asks the automaton. My name is Pageturner, the farseer and historian for this group." Pageturner introduces himself. He slowly walks over to the bewildered android. "What might your name be, android?"
"I'm Iron Heart, sir." Iron heart says nervously as the elderly unicorn approached him. "I have some questions i want to ask. I know of the one named Tirek, but not the history of what had happened and why the world is what it is." Pageturner ponders the android's words and is amused at how a robot is able to express real pony emotions. Never in his long life had he seen or heard of such a thing.
"I can sense you're feeling confusion." says the elder. "Confusion is a natural response to things we have yet to understand. You are of machine and metal and yet... you experience emotions in the same manner as normal ponies do." Iron Heart starts to feel anxiety course through his mind.
"I want to know the history of how Tirek came into power!" Iron Heart blurted out. After a few seconds of deliberation, Pageturner turns to Iron heart with his horn glowing a green aura and one arm outstretched towards his head. Iron Heart nervously steps back a bit.
"What are you doing?" Iron Heart asks in a nervous tone.
"Imparting upon you the history that I had prerserved." Pageturner says as he places his hand upon Iron's forehead, his horn glowing brighter. His horn suddenly flashes as bright as the sun, revealing a void and a rift that shows the events of the past.
"Thousands of years ago, Tirek attempted to conquer equestria. Along with the help of his brother, Scorpan, the princess sisters were able to imprison him in tartarus. A millennia later, he attempted to do so again, only to be stopped by the actions of another princess named Twilight Sparkle. By the combined actions of her and her friends, using the elements of harmony, were able to imprison him once more. However, a cult was formed in the wake of his defeat.
They called them selves the Disciples of Hatred, a group of unicorns that practiced dark magic and were dedicated to releasing their idol from his shackles. When the cult grew to 100 members strong, they slowly coalesced in tartarus, using dark magic to keep Cerberus complacent of their prescience. Once they gathered, they used their combined magic to set their master free. They sacrificed themselves afterwards, offering their souls and magic essences to return their master to strength.
Celestia, having sensed his reawakening, signed a truce with him, giving him dominion only to tartarus so as to avoid another catastrophe befalling equestria. However, Tirek anticipated this and began to bide his time and wait for a time to exact his revenge. He got his opportunity 2 years after. He stealthily sent shadows of himself to hunt down the ponies who would pose a threat to his conquest. One by one, Twilight Sparkle, her friends and her sister Cadence all died by his hands.
Celestia and her sister Luna weren't able to prevent this tragedy from happening, but they had a contingency in place in order to preserve hope. They gathered the elements of harmony and scattered them across equestria in rifts with magical incantations to keep them hidden from Tirek's gaze. Unfortunately, Tirek found them soon after. A battle was waged between the three... and the two sisters all fell at Tirek's blade. With no one to oppose him, Tirek unleashed his armies and conquered equestria, country by country. Thus began... the 1000 years of darkness."
The room-wide vision snaps back to normal with Iron kneeling down from the experience of such a strong vision.
"What... are the elements of harmony and why does he want them?" Iron inquires as his cybernetic brain recovers from the surge of historical knowledge.
"They are focal points of magic that embodies the greatest virtues of equestria: Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Kindness, Laughter and Magic. They are only accessible to the alicorn sisters or those who demonstrate the virtues each element is associated with. If Tirek finds all of the elements, he'll use them to increase his already immense powers to the level of godhood, effectively making him unbeatable. Only when the six are united can he be defeated and the nightmarish veil be lifted." Pageturner monologues.
"How come you can use magic while Wrench can't?"
"When Tirek conquered the land and absorbed the magic of the creatures, there are still those who are born with the gift. Tirek finds most of them and absorbs their powers or makes them his thralls. Because of this, the few who can chose to leave their friends and family to protect them and themselves from Tirek's lust for power. I'm one of those sorrowful few."
"Where do I factor into this?"
"You are made by ponies, but not within the confines of nature. You are not tethered by the chains of fate, but I sense a growing desire to right a wrong. You may be the one breathe life back into hope." Pageturner says as weakness overcomes him, his knees and hooves buckling as Iron Heart catches his fall.
"Are you alright?!" Iron asks with a sense of worry.
"Though I'm wise and saw a great many events unfold, my age has made me tired and weary. I just need my rest, that's all." Pageturner says as Iron Heart escorts him to his bed and helps him rest. "Go on now, pony of iron. Go and bring hope back." With this, he drifts off to slumber. Iron heart takes a few to scan his vitals to ensure that he is alive.
Vitals: Nominal
Status: Alive
"Oh thank goodness." Iron mutters to himself as he exits the room with Arbor waiting for him at a nearby wall.
"You got the answers you wanted?" Arbor says as he puts his hand on Iron's shoulder.
"Yeah... I did." Iron says as he's still recovering from such a strong vision.
"Now you understand we fight... why we can't give up. Our hope lies in obtaining the elements of harmony. We get them and we can delivered from this evil. With you on our side, we can-"
Just then, a teal pegasus stallion with a short cerulean mane enters the hall and rushes towards Branch with great haste.
"Ah, Storm Breeze. How goes your reconnaissance?" Arbor greets Storm Breeze as the latter is huffing and puffing from exhaustion.
*huff* *puff* "I've *huff* found her. But I'm afraid its not..." As Storm Breeze was about to finish, he notices Iron Heart standing next to his commander, as if he knows of him somehow. "Wait, I know you. you're... nevermind, we'll talk about that later. As I was saying, I'm afraid it's not good, sir." This causes Arbor to feel a slight sense of dread. He sent Storm out to find someone and to hear those words knows that it's not going to end well at all.
"Just spit it out." Arbor says with a hint of disappointment.
"I've found Gemspark. She's being held in Duskstone Prison. She'll more than likely be tortured for information." Duskstone Prison is one of the many prisons that Tirek established in the aftermath of his ascension to power. They were made to keep ponies or any creature that dare defy his authority or those who were to be drained of their magic to be sent to Tirek and the victim made a slave of the evil centaur. Duskstone Prison was one of the most fortified prisons in his domain, set in the middle of the desert with no hope for escape.
"Damn it. We needed her to find the elements." Arbor reacts to the bad news of losing the only lead to finding the elements of harmony. "We can't spare the ponies for a rescue mission at place with that much fortification, let alone a single agen-" As Arbor turned towards Iron Heart during his soliloquy, his mind hatches an idea. He saw Storm's scout reports on the android and was impressed as to how he could hold his own against Tirek's minions. He could pull off the rescue mission.
"Sir, why don't we send in this tin can to bail her out?" Storm Breeze says as he pats Iron on the back.
"We could." Arbor somewhat agrees. "A hell of a gamble, but it could work." Arbor turns towards Iron Heart to instruct him on what needed to be done.
"Iron, I know you just recovered from your injuries, but we need your help. We need you to infiltrate Duskstone Prison and get our archaeologist Gemspark out of the mess. If you accept it, be aware that you'll be going in alone." It took Iron to ponder the request of his newfound ally. He saved him from being an inert hunk of metal floating along the Ghastly River. He felt indebted to him and wanted to return the favor.
"Ok, I'm in." Iron Heart agrees. "When do I start?"
"As soon as you're ready."
Wrench approaches the group, having heard the conversation unfold from a distance saw this as an opportunity. He wanted to see how his creation would perform before his eyes, an exciting prospect for him.
"X-045-, er, I mean Iron Heart, before you head out, you'll need your weapons." Wrench stammers as he tries to remember to refer to his creation by his self decided name. "Come with me." Iron and Wrench walked over to the latter's lab which was strewn with all sorts of scientific gadgetry that would make any pony of science scream with glee. On one table, Iron notices his Pistol and Sword, all looking like they were recently built... almost like they were new.
"Well my creation, while I was waiting for your system diagnostics to finish, I took the liberty of installing some upgrades into your weapons." Wrench explains as he picks up the pistol and presses a button on the grip, turning it into a bigger weapon, a rifle similar to soldiers he faced in appleloosa a week ago and an even longer rifle that look like it could take out targets from a long distance. He then picks up the sword and flicks it to retract the blade. Seeing Iron Heart satisfied with the results, he proudly hands them back to the android.
"I must say it's exciting to finally meet you, standing... HERE before me!" Wrench says as he gives his creation a hug, akin to one a father would give to his son. Iron heart was confused by this gesture and expressed slight discomfort. Eventually, Wrench relents and nervously chuckles about the moment.
"Well... go on and do what you need to do." Wrench says as Iron Heart walks out of the lab. In the hall, he saw Storm Breeze waiting for him, gesturing him to follow him to another room where a crudely put-together 4-seat vehicle is parked. They climb into the vehicle and Storm pushes a button that opens the wall to the outside world. Within moments, the vehicle sped off into the desert towards the one of the most dreaded places known to ponykind.
Dawn has broken and the sky starts to light up a light blue color. It was truly a truly beautiful sight to which many creatures would enjoy more than anything. The sun starts to cast its light upon the desert landscape as Storm and Iron ride on through the desert.
"So, you were made by that egghead Wrench and his crew, right?" Storm asks as he has his eyes fixed on the desert plain.
"Yeah." Iron started as he turned towards Storm. "I woke up about 3 weeks ago to the sight of dead ponies and a warzone of a lab." This answer made Storm shudder, confirming that none of his friends had made it out of the facility alive. Some of the scientists there were known to be acquaintances of Storm. The only one of the scientists that was spared was Wrench. Not wanting despair to cloud his mind, he quickly regains his composure and rejoins the conversation.
"I knew Wrench for a long time. I saved his tail from being processed and turned into a mindless slave when he was 17. But, I couldn't stop them from stealing his magic. I was able to get him out, but I took quite a beating." Storm explained as he steered the buggy onto a hill slope.
"How bad is it?" Iron Heart asks out of curiosity. The question prompts Storm Breeze to pull back part of his jacket to reveal his furcoat tarnished by a scar that from the middle of his chest and down to his abdomen. It was the sign of a heavy price to pay to save one's life.
"Nearly died after that. Damned warbot got me good, but I knocked his tin plated ass into a canyon and got Wrench back to base while trying to keep my guts in. I was in a coma for... damn nearly a year afterwards and when I woke up, I was glad to find out that Wrench is doing alright. The stallion's a genius and I'm glad my efforts paid off..." before Storm could finish his story, he stops the car on the hill top as he turns his gaze towards his robotic ally "...and I'm looking at said pay off."
Iron's door opens and he gets out and looks on at the arid desert landscape. He eyes a walled fortress complex a little was away from the foot of the hill. This was his objective, one of the most feared places in equestria: Duskstone Prison.
"This is where you get off. If I take you any further, It'll set off an alarm." Storm Breeze says as puts his hands back on the wheel. "You'll be going in alone and you'll need to fin your own way out because we can't extract you out of there. But, I know you can do it."
"Don' worry about me, I've been through a lot of binds before." Iron says as he shakes Storm's hand in respect. After an exchange of a few farewells, Storm drives off, back to base with Iron Heart ready to take on such a daunting task by himself: Rescuing one pony from such a fortress that it might as well be Tirek's Fortress if it was. As Iron Heart Slid down the hill towards the prison, he begins to feel a wide array of emotions ranging from Anxiety, Fear and Worry, worry about a possible outcome, should he fail. In order to not put the mission at risk, he mentally braces himself for a great challenge and proceeds onward to his goal. Just as he got half way to the prison, he hears a buzzing sound in his head with a message in his vision:
Incoming Transmission
Frequency ID: Unknown
Iron Heart's onboard comms device was recieving a transmission from someone not known to him. The only other pony who knows his frequency is Wrench. Taking the risk, he answers the call.
"Iron Heart, are you there?" Arbor's voice rings through the reciever. Only Iron Heart is able to hear the transmission.
"Yes, but how did you get this number?" Iron inquires as he ducks behind a rock to remain hidden.
"Wrench gave it to me. He also allowed me to monitor you via a feed from your optical systems."
"Okay," Iron Heart says as he looks toward the walled prison. "so what are my options?"
"As it stands, a full-on assault is a no-go. You'll be turned to scrap in short order and they might move Gemspark somewhere else. You'll have to find an alternate route in." As Iron heard those words, He got nearer to the prison and made out what appears to be a sewage pipe of sorts, big enough for a full grown pony to walk through. He walks through the pipe to what appears to be some sort of room with stairs. It was musty and dingy to say the least. This part of the prison was easily hundreds of years old and bones of prisoners litter the area.
"So, you've found a way in. Now all you need is a way to blend in." Arbor says as Iron walks through the pathway of sewage and death. It was almost like a maze, It can be easy to get lost if one doesn't know the place at the back of their heads. As Iron neared another hall, he hears a faint noise coming from ahead of him. It was a lone guard, patrolling sewers for intruders or any pony that might try to escape. Once he caught sight of the lone guard, the CPU in Iron's mechanical head kicks into high gear. As the guard turns his back, Iron lunges at him and delivers a sharp punch to the back of his head, sending him on a trip to dreamland. Without hesitation, He dons the guard's armor and stows his unconscious body in an alcove adorned with broken metal bars.
"A disguise? That might work. You'll have to look around to find which cellblock Gemspark is being kept in." Arbor advises Iron as the latter exits the sewers and into the prison courtyard. The walls were towering and peaked high above the cellblocks which served as a form of mental torture, depriving the prisoners of ever seeing the outside world again. A whole regiment of armed guards patrol the area and always made their presence known to the inmates to serve as a deterrent to any thoughts of leaving. It was a brutal place to be stuck in and such is the fate of those who would defy Tirek's Empire. As he walks forward, another guard approaches him. This one stood out from the rest, appeared to be a captain and his armor was meant to instill intimidation and reverence to hi subordinates.
"PG-421, Why have you left the sewer patrol?" the guard asks, making Iron very nervous. he had to say something quickly, least his cover be blown.
"Just completed it, err.. nothing out of the ordinary." Iron meekly says as the captain tilts his head sideways. He anticipates whether or not he'll quiz him further. To Iron's relief, he doesn't.
"Alright, satisfactory job, 421. The interrogator in Cellblock 3 needs an assistant and you just drew the shortest stick." The captain quips as the two guards with him share a chuckle for a reason unknown to Iron Heart. Seeing as how this will be his clue to finding out where Gemspark is, he decides to play along.
"Okay, just tell me where Cellblock 3 is." Iron's words were met with frustrated groans from the captain at how one of those he commands can be so clueless.
"Enter through the main building and keep going through the main hall until you see a doorway with a big 3 above it. Even an idiot like you can figure it out." With that Iron Heart trekked towards the cellblock, brandishing the guard's rifle in hand as he looked on at the sights: Forced Labor and ponies, come innocent, being executed for their crimes. It filled Iron with a heart most heavy, but he knew that he had to see this to the end and stop this madness.
As he entered Cellblock 3, he saw cells with walls of energy that kept the prisoners from leaving at all. The prisoner population encompassed the wide range of creatures that roam the lands of equestria: Ponies, Yaks and all. As he climbed the tower in the center of the large interior of the cellblock, Iron Heart saw a door that stood out from the rest. From it, a faint feminine scream came from it's direction. It surely could be her, the one Iron was sent to rescue. His visor displayed images of her likeness: a tan unicorn mare with a pink long and curly mane, a cute looking mare in a dorkish sort of way. To be sure it's her, he peeks through the small keyhole in the door and the screaming mare is a perfect match in the pictures. It was time for Iron Heart to make his move.
*Knock*
*Knock*
*Knock*
"Who is it?" The interrogator asks.
"The guard sent me to help you." Iron says as the interrogator opens the door, motioning for Iron to come in. The room had noting but a chair, a table with tools of varying pain on it, and Gemspark herself looking battered and bruised. She must've been here maybe a day or two and for her to not mentally cave under such torture must've taken a strong will that could only last for so long.
"Here's your job: you'll hand me the tools when I ask for them and you can sit back and watch an artist at work." The interrogator says as reaches for his electro-baton to shock the answers out of his guest. His smile forms a grin most devious with the intention of listening to the sweet symphony of screams.
"Okay Missy, you WILL tell us where the guidestone is!" the interrogator says as he readies his baton for a salvo of electric pain.
"I'm not telling you anything!" Gemspark grunts in pain as she keeps her gaze from the guard that's been abusing her.
"Oh, I DO believe you will. Every mind will eventually crack, it's just a matter of when YOURS will. Again, where is the guidestone?" In an act of defiance, she spits in the guard's face, angering him.
"Buck You!" Gemspark growls in angered defiance. Iron watched on and admired her courage, only for it to be interrupted by her screams.
"ARRRRGGGH!!!"
"WHERE IS THE STONE?!!"
"NEVER!!"
*ZZZZZAAAP*
"EEERRRRRRRGGGHH!"
"WHERE IS IT?!!!"
*ZZZZZAAAP*
"RRRAAAAAAGGGGH!!!"
"WHERE IS THE DAMNED GUIDESTO-"
*Ssschlink*
The guard gasps and looks down in pain to see a blade of metal and energy protruding through his abdomen. As he struggles to comprehend the situation, the blade exits out of him, leaving him limp and lifeless on the floor.
"Who are you?" Gemspark asks in confusion.
"Iron Heart, I'm here to get you out of here." Iron introduces himself as he unlocks the binds keeping Gemspark confined to the chair. As she climbs out of the chair, Gemspark feels a rush of soreness coursing through her body. After a few stretches, she feels limbered up enough to run in a race.
"Who sent you?"
"Arbor did, I owe him a favor." Gemspark felt glad that a friend of her friend had come to get her out of a dire situation. How they would escape is known only to her rescuer.
"I do appreciate the gesture Iron Heart, but I hope you have a plan of getting us out of here" Gemspark says as she grabs the guard's rifle and follows Iron out of the room.
"I do, trust me on this. I have a plan." Iron Heart says as he and Gemspark climb the stairs to the top of the tower. As they reach the control room, they spotted 2 guards having a conversation about what sounds like weaponry. As the door opens, the guards were completely unprepared for what happened next. Iron and Gemspark managed to get the drop on the guards and brought them down with fire from their respective rifles. Once the guards had been accounted for, it was time for a jailbreak.
"Ok, what now?" Gemspark as she looks out the window towards the patrolling guards. As Iron looks around the room he notices touchscreen consoles.
"Grab that other guard an put his hand on the other console there." Iron Heart says as he grabs one of the guards and places his hand on the panel. As both of the guards hands were read, a terminal rises from the floor and flickers on to reveal an option to open all cell doors.
"I'm going to open the cell doors and we'll use the commotion as smokescreen to slip away to the garage where we'll use one of their cruisers to escape." Iron says as he places his hand on the console, his horn rapidly glowing a cerulean color as screen glitches for a brief moment. "Just so we can get past the main gate, I put in a little something I can use to make sure the door stays open."
At first, Gemspark was confused by how her rescuer was able to pull of something like hacking through touch. But as she began to put two and two together, her suspicions of Iron's identity was roused. But, she cared not to dwell on that notion as escape was their top priority. As Iron was about to open all cell doors, he looks towards Gemspark in a asking her if she was ready. She nods her head, giving Iron the signal to open all the cell doors in the block, prisoners immediately taking notice. As the prisoners start to walk out of their cells and start yelling and chanting in celebration of their freedom, the guards start to mobilize and leave their posts to handle the escalating situation.
As the guards start to yell at the prisoners to go back to their cells, some of the more unruly inmates start throwing stones at the guards and rush them with makeshift weaponry. Within seconds, the whole cellblock erupted into a full-blown riot, a grand display of chaos that would make even discord himself smirk in amusement. Not wasting anymore time, the two ran out of the cellblock, using the riot as cover. In the confusion and the guards rushing to the disturbance to quell the ever escalating prisoner uprising, Iron Heart and Gemspark had no trouble reaching the garage... until they ran into one obstacle.
"PG-421, where are you taking this prisoner?" a familiar guard captain approaches Iron, the same one from before.
"Transferring her to a secure location as a security measure, sir." Iron says to the captain as he begins to grip his blaster.
"I was not aware of any such orders, 421." the captain says as an angry frown develops in his face. "I'm also not aware of giving the go ahead for prisoners to have weapons! Who are you?!" Within seconds, Iron quickly drew his pistol and shot the captain, knocking him to the floor. It was official, their cover was blown and now every guard is aware of them. Wasting no time, they appropriated a cruiser and began to speed off towards the still closed gate with blaster fire and angry guards chasing them.
"THE GATE'S STILL CLOSED!!" Gemspark panics as Iron Heart's visor starts to be filled with lines upon lines of code until the following is displayed:
Payload: Activated
Exploit: Successful
Opening Gate...
The gates start to slowly open as Iron heart keeps the cruiser on course, Within a minute, they zoomed past gates and sped along the dusty desert terrain, freedom at last, but they still have to fight for it. As they zoomed away from the prison, Iron notices on the side mirror that a squadron of cruisers are right behind them and they were open for business.
"Gemspark, take the wheel!" Iron says as he deploys his rifle and climbs to the top of the cruiser. Gemspark was nervous to say the least as she gets nervous when other ponies start shooting at her. She's been in situations as perilous as this before but she never overcame her stress about them. She took control of the vehicle as the squadron grew ever closer to them.
"Let's rock!" Iron growled as he opens fire on the pursuers, managing to takeout one of the five cruisers as one started to gain on them, ramming the side of the vehicle. Iron responded in kind by shooting one of its hover stabilizers, sending it crashing into a nearby rock formation. As two other pursuers start gaining on them, Iron's horn starts to spark and glow and he unleashes a blast of energy that sends the two pursuers flying back. With but one cruiser trailing them, It seems that victory was near. Then, the last pursuer disengages speeds away from its target, confusing Iron as to why it was happening.
"What in tartarus is going on?" Iron mutters as he notices a silhouette off in the distance... and it was getting bigger. Within seconds, the unknown object starts firing, forcing Iron to take cover in the vehicle. Iron immediately deduced it as a gunship sent to take them out. They weren't going to loose them unless they got rid of the thing.
"We've got a gunship on our flanks!" Iron says to Gemspark as the gunship got ever closer to them and their time is running out.
"What are we going to do?!" Gemspark panics as Iron Heart took a few moments of deliberation to come up with a plan to shake the flying death machine dogging them.
"I have an idea, but you're not gonna like it!" Iron says which garners confusion from Gemspark.
"What?!" Gemspark blurts out as Iron climbs to the top of the cruiser again.
"Just slow this thing down until I say so!"
"This is Crazy! What are you up to?!"
The cruiser starts to slow down, allowing the gunship to catch up to them. The noise from its engines is deafening and maddening. As the aerial metallic monstrosity resumes firing on the cruiser, Iron deploys his blade and leaps towards the gunship, latching on to its top with his sword. He proceeds to climb on to the top and starts slashing away at a spot with his sword, exposing the aircraft's power core. As he unfurls his pistol, a sense of nervousness and excitement overtakes him. Could this possibly be his version of what Wrench calls an 'adrenaline rush'? In an impulse, he starts firing at the core, turning it into scrap and causing the gunship to take a nose dive. This prompted Iron to jump off the crashing gunship back to the the cruiser, barely managing to grab on to a rail, his hooves stopped just short of touching the fast rushing rocky road.
They finally shook their pursuers, they're almost in the clear. There is one more thing they have to do in order make sure they lost them.
"Find us a cave where we can park this!" Iron barked as he climbs back into the cruiser. "We need to scuttle this thing if we're gonna be sure!" After a good five minutes of driving, they reached a cave where they can ditch their escape vehicle. As Gemspark got out, Iron Heart planted a device on the vehicle's engine. As he joined Gemspark out side of the cave, he pulls out a stick with a button on it.
"You might wanna cover your ears." Iron Heart casually says as he pushes the button.
*BOOOOMM*
*BOOMBOOMBOOM*
In a matter of seconds, the vehicle was no more and so was the cave. It was like if they didn't exist at all. As the dust settled, Iron heart Lays out their next move.
"Okay, from what Arbor told me, you know of the location of this 'guidestone'."
"Yes, I know where it is. In fact, It's 30 minutes north of us. Why?"
"I need to send the coordinates off to Arbor so he can meet us there."
Knowing that she could trust him, what ever she thinks this stranger in her eyes could be, complies with his request. Within seconds, he sent the location of the guidestone to Arbor.
"Thanks, Iron. We'll rendezvous with you two over there. Safe travel." Arbor radios in as Iron starts heading towards the coordinates, but Gemspark is hesitant about going. She needed to know who he is.
"Okay, before we go any further, I want to know, if you're not really a pony... who in celestia's name are you?!" With a long sigh, she complies to her request, but on his own terms.
"We might as well continue on while I explain, it's a long story." Over the course of their journey, Iron revealed to his new companion his life's story: his awakening 4 weeks ago, his identity, his brush with death and coming into the service of their mutual friend, Arbor. Needless to say, Gemspark was astonished that her colleague, Wrench, could create something so advanced in the form of a robot that desired to be a pony, even though it would be biologically impossible to happen.
"Wow," Gemspark begins in awe. "it's incredible how you can think and feel like us. I guess that Wrench spent a lot of time on the A.I. in your metallic noggin." She knew Wrench for years and became fast friends despite the both of them having focused on a differing expertise. She always held him in high regard for being a problem solver sort of pony, even harboring a romantic interest towards him. She has been to nervous to confess her feelings to him and always waited on him to make the first move. But, time will tell if the romance will be recognized. After a few more minutes of walking and friendly banter, they made their way to the location given to Iron Heart where Wrench, Arbor, Storm and 1 HRF fighter wait. Once Storm caught sight of his mechanical brother in arms, He rushed towards him and gave him a congratulatory punch to the shoulder.
"You slick son of a mare!" Storm enthusiastically yelled. "You managed that solo op so well, it even made me sweat." Storm was impressed by his comrade's success in the mission, he nearly gave up on any chance of success, considering the nature of Duskstone.
"I did what I had to, no biggie." Iron replied as Wrench approached him with what appears to some sort of device in his hand. What this could be had Iron's CPU processing a great many questions.
"Here, Iron Heart. Let me install this in your system." Wrench says with Iron reluctantly agreeing to his request. A section of his back chassis opens up to reveal his mechanical, metallic insides where his power core is kept. After taking a few seconds of careful installation, He shuts the the panel and walks toward Arbor, putting a hand on his shoulder and nodding. Without warning, Arbor pulled out his pistol and aims it at Iron.
"Whoawhoawhoawhoawhoawhoawhoawhoawhoa, WAIT!"
*Blang*
Iron flinched in a seemingly instinctive impulse that was coded in to his A.I. He checks to see if there was any damage to his furcoat or chassis and to his surprise, found none of those.
*Blang*
The second shot hit him, but this time he didn't flinch much, enough to notice that a field of energy had dissipated the blast. Iron looked around in a confused state wondering if that device that Wrench had installed earlier could be responsible.
"That... is a personal shield emitter." Wrench says in a neutral tone. " I was developing it around the same time as I was building you. I never got around to finishing it, but, your near death experience last week necessitated me to finish it. It can take a decent amount of abuse before the field dissipates. So, don't get overconfident with this." Iron Heart was amazed at this new device he has and how it will help him in the fight to save equestria. Without waiting... and some advisement from Gemspark, the group entered into the cavern where a faint source of magic lingers in the very air around them. The cut stone formations around them looked to be dated around the time before darkness engulfed the world in sorrow, the very world that now weeps. Iron took readings of the area and found that the source of the magic energy to be in a large room with a single object within. That could be it, the 'guidestone' they've been looking for... the artifact that will deliver them into salvation.
They come across a door that doesn't appear t have any opening mechanism, save for a jewel-like object on top. The group was confused as to how they were going to get though to the artifact they seek. As Gemspark approached the door, the jewel starts to flicker in the wake of her approach. Just then, the ground starts to quake and shake as the door sinks into the earth. Through the doorway, lies a room with a pedestal with a single gem adorning it.
"Here it is, the Eye of Friendship." Gemspark says as the rest of the group flocks into the room. "Our key to finding the elements." The magical energy emitted by the artifact as so powerful that its currents could be visible to the naked eye. Iron proceeded to scan the room and found the energy concentration to be high to where his scanner read "Inconclusive".
"Okay," Arbor started as he began to walk toward the Eye of Friendship. "Let's grab this thing and scram before we risk Tirek's forces showing up." His approach was stopped with Gemspark grabbing her boss by the arm.
"Hold on a second! We don't even know if there's a trap rigged to protect it. We have to be cautious." The archaeologist's warnings drew ire from both Arbor and Storm who wanted to grab the stone and leave.
"Every second we waste is potentially less time we have to evade the enemy! We need to grab that trinket and skedaddle on out of here."
"Now Now." Wrench says, joining the side of his colleague. "We need to approach this in a reasonable manner and we need to be sure it's safe to leave with it."
Within seconds, the group, save for Iron Heart, started engaging in a shouting match, a war of words that got loud. As Iron starts looking towards the stone in the midst of the argument, his vision starts to glitch up slightly and he began to hear voices... voices of ponies that weren't there echoing in his mechanical head.
"Come now, don't be frightened."
"Come hither, golem."
"Strange, I have never seen something quite like that."
"Interesting, if I had a body, I would gladly study it."
"Wh-wh-what is th-th-that thing?"
"Simmer down, sugarcube. I'd reckon this one won't bite."
'"IIIIIII seriously have my doubts about that."
"Come now, darling. I can sense a gentle soul and he seriously needs a touchup on his mane."
"OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH!!! A NEW FRIEND!"
It was if by another force of will that compelled him, Iron found himself approaching the artifact. As the rest of the group continued to argue over their next course of action. Iron Heart went ahead and picked up the Eye of Friendship, sending an energy wave that pushed Iron backed towards a wall and knocked over the rest of the group. As the group got back on their feet and tries to process the situation, the Eye of Friendship starts to generate a strange cloud that continues to grow bigger and bigger until a screen of light develops on its surface. From out of the light came a spiritual manifestation of a white alicorn mare with a flowing rainbow mane and a crown adorning her head. As the rest of the group knelt before the ghostly incarnation like they held the spirit in high reverence, Iron Heart sties to ascertain the identity of the spirit before him. The, it came to him. Remembering the vision that he experienced with Pageturner, he recognized the figure from his vision and could only utter in astonishment:
"Princess Celestia."
There she was... the spirit of their long dead matriarch, right there before them. It filled them with a mix of both pride and sorrow to see their old leader once more.
"No need to kneel." Celestia says, imploring for the ponies before her to rise to their feet. "I'm just glad to see the descendants of my subjects in my midst. It brings my spirit much warmth and hope."
"You're the one I saw in my vision, the former ruler of this land!" Iron Heart says as Celestia turns towards him with a smile of amusement. Then, out of the light came another alicorn much like Celestia, but slightly shorter with dark blue fur and a mane as dark and sparkly as a star-filled night sky. It was Princess Luna, Celestia's younger sister.
"As I am alongside my sister." Luna explains as yet another 2 alicorns stepped through: one with purple fur and a neat stripped purple and pink mane and one other, but she was pink with a curled, tricolor mane. They were the other princesses from his vision: Twilight sparkle and Princess Cadence. It was a wondrous sight to have the spirits of all four of the pony princesses to guide them in their darkest days.
"We knew one day that ponies would come to this sanctuary." Cadence says as she walks alongside her sister, Twilight.
"And Celestia prepared for this moment since Tirek's Uprising." Twilight Sparkle says as 5 more ponies stepped forth. The original bearers of the Elements of Harmony: Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy have all came to help out Equestria, but in spirit.
"W-w-we're glad that you sought us out when you did." Fluttershy stutters.
"It really did ache being stuck in that thing!" Rainbow Dash said as she was giving her ghostly limbs a stretch.
"We know y'all've been seeking them elements, right?" Applejack says with a solemn expression.
"And we'll help you all out all the way! Pinkie Promise!" Pinkie Pie says with optimism, despite the bleak world around her.
"The way this world is ever so dreary really needs a helping hand." Rarity says as Iron and company look on at the most incredulous sight. Salvation may finally be a reality for the both of them
"How will you help us find the elements of harmony?" Iron asks. Celestia and Luna both nodded at each other, acknowledging to each both acknowledging that they shall impart the knowledge of how to find the elements to the the group before them.
"The elements are the only way to bring down Tirek in his current state of power, nothing else will work. If he obtains the elements, he can corrupt them with his powers and use their power to amplify his own, effectively making him a god. It was for this reason that I had hid them in rifts that are attuned to the bearers of the elements at the time, the ponies before you, barring Me, Luna and Cadence." Celestia starts.
"When the elements were back in her possession, My sister modified them to be able to draw the souls of the bearers to the Eye of Friendship so that only the presence of their souls would lift the shroud and grant one access to the rifts where each element lies. When Tirek carried out his plan and felled each of the bearers with his sword an cunning, their souls were pulled to the artifact to be used as part of a plan to revive hope when it is lost." Luna continues her sister's explanation.
"The elements could only be used by those who demonstrated the 6 virtues this land was founded upon. With the power of the elements, we can vanish this evil that plagues this world and begin a new dawn." Celestia then walks towards Iron Heart, eliciting a nervous response from him.
"You, Iron Heart... one that is not made from nature, I can sense a desire for justice, a desire to defeat Tirek. You are not pony, yet you have the heart of one. I've chosen you to be the bearer of the Eye of Friendship. You'll help guide your friends to the rifts." Celestia says as she hands Iron the artifact. He grips the gemmed pendant, feeling warm to the touch. "The fate of equestria is in all of your hands." With those words, all of the ghostly manifestations of those ponies vanish. Sensing a new purpose... a new directive, Iron puts the pendant on his neck, becoming the Pathfinder, the one who will lead the way to the rifts.
"Well, let's get back to base, we're already chancing it enough as it is." Arbor says with mutual nods of approval from his subordinates. They then made their way back to their hideout with the knowledge of hope in their hands. Now, the liberation of equestria can truly begin in earnest.
(Meanwhile, in Tirek's throne room)
"Sire, your grand advisor, Thane, has arrived with news." One guard says to Tirek
"Send him in!" Tirek's voice booms through the room. The doors open and through them emerges Thane, one of the few unicorns he trusts enough to wield magic. His furcoat is grey as the stormiest of clouds and his mane is non-existant. He wears a hooded robe that is red as blood he occasionally orders shed in his masters name. He wields a staff that was given to him by his master for his long years of service.
"Ah, Thane. What news have you brought me?" Tirek's voice booms again.
"Your omnipotence, It's about that mare you ordered interrogated in Duskstone." Thane says in a scratchy voice.
"What have you found out?"
"Well, We weren't able obtain anything."
"What?! Explain yourself!"
"There was a prison break that occurred there hours ago. She was reportedly liberated by a lone unicorn who used the cover of a prison riot to escape where they were able to shake off a pursuit."
"Who is the identity of this lone unicorn?" Tirek asked in puzzled frustration.
"Several guards at that prison gave their description of the perpetrator and they all matched one belonging to an android that was supposedly killed over Ghastly Gorge last week. We are doing our best to determine if this unicorn and that android could be one and the same." Tirek was angered to hear that the android that was killed a week ago could possibly still be alive out there. It was one pest that has proven to be the most annoying to him as of late.
"Order the warden of that prison executed for incompetence." Tirek orders to Thane as the latter bows before his master.
"Thy will be done." Thane says with reserved glee as he begins walk out of the throne room, only to be stopped by Tirek.
"Tell me... have you him yet?" Tirek asks
"The android?"
"No, not that walking mass of metal! HIM!" Thane knew what Tirek meant by 'him'. He was one creature that has been sought after by Tirek for 2 millennia. He desired to have this one brought to him. It was of a personal affair that's sentimental in nature.
"We've recently reported sightings of him in the Everfree Forest. I've sent my forces to investigate and capture him, but he wasn't anywhere in that area. He must've left without a trace... as if he was a ghost." Tirek was annoyed by the news that the recent search for the one he seeks turned up nothing.
"Keep searching any areas you find him in. I want HIM found!!!"
"Yes, sire." Thane then departs the throne room, leaving an angered Tirek on his perch to ponder about the current situation. Bored, He then proceeds to wander the halls of his palace alone without an entourage of guards to accompany him. As he reached the room where he erected an enormous portrait depicting his story, up to the point he became emperor. He walked along the painting that stretched the length of the room's north wall until he came across a section that depicted a gargoyle-like creature. This creature must've held meaning to him if he was on the painting.
"I'll keep finding you, even if it takes me another millennia..."
"...brother."
Author's Note
Sorry if it took me longer than usual to put this one chapter, between college and life in general, but I do hope it is worth the wait. To confirm if any of you readers are wondering about the ending part of this chapter: Yes, I do plan to have Scorpan in the story at some points. I'm going to set up a scene that i'm sure will be a tearjerker. If you guys have any questions regarding any of the charactors, ask them in the comments.
