End Game

by Meep the Changeling

Rating: teen
Tags: Alternate Universe, Lyra, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Mystery, Adventure, Twilight Sparkle, DJ P0N-3
Length: 137043

When an Old One stakes the future of Equestria on a game, Vinyl Scratch vows to win at any cost. But can she win the game when Hastur the Unspeakable could be anyone at all within the gameworld? Even an ally?

[Third Person] Alternating Perspectives Equisverse β

A few short days ago, Vinyl, Lyra, and their friend Sherbert freed an ancient immortal being from his prison deep beneath the northern ice. Fortunately, Chemical Fire turned out to be quite friendly only wanting to spend time with Vinyl, whom he sees as an older sister, and play harmless games with friends.

Unfortunately, Chem was not the only one of his kind on Equis, and very few of his kin are peaceful beings. Vinyl, Lyra, and Chem quickly caught the attention of Hastur the Unspeakable, a Great Old One intent on ending all life on Equis as part of a business deal.

Thanks in part to Hastur’s greed, Chem’s cunning, and Lyra’s attempts to break a curse, the fate of Equestria now rests on a twisted parody of one of Chem’s games constructed by Hastur himself. This game is no more simulation. This game takes place in another world, one that is quite real. And the end of Equis is Hastur’s chosen prize.

Featured on Friday, December 1, 2017 at 3:55 pm UTC :yay:

Book three of the Equisverse: Season two.

Published 2017-12-01 08:50:06 UTC
Last updated 2018-04-04 04:35:42 UTC

2 - The Dark Fortress

Stonerake Exclusion Zone Entry to this area is prohibited due to the likelihood that any activity could resurrect an ancient evil which constitutes an immediate threat to all surrounding life. Zone is protected under Article 7, Paragraph 3 of the Numerica Naval Assistance Charter. Co-signed by Queen Halevic the Goldscaled of Wieav.

Signs placed on the beaches of Stonerake Island

Vinyl Scratch - Day 1

Stonerake Exclusion Zone - Wieav

The sun had been high when the team began to repair the derelict sailboat. The rotten old boat had taken more care and craftsmanship to make seaworthy than anyone could have known. Even underway, the boat leaked like a sieve, kept afloat only by a few well placed bunches of banana leaves and constant bailing. Now, as the distant island at last drew close, the sun kissed the horizon as the very last moments of twilight began to slip by.

Sky looked across the lake towards the mountain astern of their crudely repaired boat, doing his best to ignore the cold wind which kept blowing his cloak’s hood back, lowering his one protection against the very same chilly wind.

“Anyone else wish they had a camera? That sunset is really cool,” he said as he looked into the yellow-green glow which coated the lower half of the sky.

The alien sun’s fading rays created a sight much like an aurora, with a thick shimmering band of green light covering the horizon, with just a hint of yellow along the topmost ridge.

Lyra thrust a bucket up through one of the many holes in the deck, and quickly dumped it over the side before nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, it’s really cool. We seriously need more people bailing through!” She warned, jumping back down below deck with a splash.

“I’m steering,” Sky protested. “Besides, we’re nearly there. So calm your tits!”

“I can’t! I have to bail,” Lyra shot back playfully as she kicked her bucket back below decks, jumping after it with an audible splash.

Vinyl glanced up from her oar, looking towards the oddly barren island in front of them. A few scraggly trees met her gaze. Spaced oddly around the island.

The forest looked way thicker from a distance, she noted to herself. “It’s cool, Lyra. We’ve got about… Two hundred meters to go. Not a bad swim if it comes to that.”

Below the deck, Chem laughed triumphantly. A heartbeat later, a bucket seemingly floated on its own up from yet another hold in the deck to dump itself out. “It’s fine, Ly,” the Old One said happily. “I figured out how to use magic! If we can find another bucket I can do one myself, and one with sourcery.”

“It’s just a shame we couldn’t caulk the hull better,” Twilight sighed, her oar creaking as she pulled back on the hastily shaped log. “We would have been there by now with four rowers.”

“We literally just jammed banana leaves in the gaps. What did you expect to happen?” Sky snickered, moving the tiller slightly to avoid some rocks.

“For you to use those tools?” Lyra called from below decks. “Make some proper patches for the hull. Whip up some fast drying resin?”

“With what supplies?” Vinyl asked, shaking her head slightly before returning to look at the island.

I swore everything was more… Filled in, she mused, looking at the clumps of jarrah trees which dotted the island here and there. We used to be able to see the castle through the trees, but now I’ve got a mostly clear view of it. Distance couldn’t produce that kind of illusion, could it?

Her eyes continued to roam over the island and it’s castle, pondering what, if any, magical defenses the place might have.

The island jutted up from the lake at an odd angle. It wasn’t quite level with the ground upon which it sat; like the centerpiece on a feasting table. The castle’s central keep tilted ever so slightly to one side, as if the island had partially sunk, or rested atop an unstable base.

The trees too looked odd. They grew straight enough, making the odd angle of the castle much more obvious. Their problem was being scattered around the island in odd little clusters. FIve here, then there, all clusters growing in a completely unnatural pattern. Yet, who would plant trees in such a manner?

At least the grass between the trees grew in a fairly normal way. Long strands of blue grass waved in the breeze, with a few ferns and patches of flowers popping up in a fairly even distribution across the whole of the island.

Despite their patchy placement, the trees still managed to blanket every last patch of flowers in shadow.

Vinyl shivered slightly. It’s like dad designed this place and felt like making everything extra sinister, she thought before turning her eyes to the castle itself. That angle… Is that a star shaped wall design? Odd. Probably some sort of magical defense built into the walls requires that shape.

The castle’s ancient moss covered walls were indeed very angular. The outwards faces sloped downwards, giving the walls an eighty degree face. They were also laid in an angular pattern to form an eight sided star. Each corner had a tower to defend it. An odd, wedge shaped tower with the wedge pointing outwards, studded with defensive openings.

A tall tower-like keep loomed over the entirety of the fortifications. It’s simple hexagon shaped design fit the walls rather well, and it would have blended in seamlessly with the rest if not for one single feature.

A single window ran around the top of the keep. A glass window, one tall enough to be the entire wall for a floor. A glass wall behind which, amid the dismal shadows, one would swear they could see things… Moving.

Vinyl squinted at the window, lamenting the lack of her vampiric vision. I swear there’s something moving up in there… She grumbled to herself. Too bad there isn’t any lights on that I can see. Or… Is there? Maybe a few candles? Nah, that’s just sunlight reflecting on the glass.

“Nearly there! You guys should get up here so we can get off,” Sky called as the boat began to cut through the shallows.

Vinyl blinked herself back to reality, realizing she had been studying the island and castle for several minutes. “Whoa! I kinda zoned out there. Sorry! I didn’t mess up the rhythm, did I?” she asked turning to look across the boat at Twilight.

Twilight shook her head no, anything she might have said being cut off by Chem jumping up onto the deck through a hole in the bow, his boots and pants dripping water onto the deck.

“About time! This boat was not built for tall people… Wait, why the heck wasn’t I rowing? Twilight got to row because she wouldn’t fit below deck,” He complained as he popped his neck and stretched his shoulders. “Stupid body I can’t just block pain from…”

“You wanted to bail. You thought it would be ‘An important and noble duty’. Then you giggled at the word duty,” Lyra reminded as she pulled herself up through the hatch, grunting as she was forced to lever herself up due to the missing stairs. “I hope there’s a dock and some other boats on the far side of the island. I don't think this boat will make a return trip. It’s a big hunk of junk.”

Vinyl frowned and gave Lyra an apologetic look. “I’ve been checking the place out and I can’t see any signs that someone lives here. So, probably not.”

“Eh, if that’s true we’ll have stuff we scan salvage to make real repairs,” Sky reminded trembling slightly as the boat’s keel smacked into the muddy beach with a dull thud. “Whoa! Not used to two legs…”

Twilight let go of her oar and stood up, looking down at the beach. “Huh… It’s all mud. The lakeshore is sand. This island sank. And recently. Sand is deposited on beaches pretty quickly.”

Sky raised an eyebrow, giving Twilight an odd look. “Um, yeah. Quickly on a geological scale maybe. It’s more like, this mud should have been washed away in a few days. You don't get mudflats and sandy beaches in the same lake.”

Vinyl stood up and vaulted over the sailboat’s railing, wincing slightly as her boots hit the ground beneath the mug causing the weight of her armor to slam into her shoulders, sending her stumbling sideways. Okay, important note. This halburk is not fitted very we-

Vinyl’s hip struck something hard, a thin stick immediately snapping under the impact with a sharp crack.

“Huh?” Vinyl asked herself with a frown, turning to look for whatever she had struck.

“Great we broke part of the ship!” Lyra moaned as she climbed over the side herself.

“No, this is something different…” Vinyl said slowy as her hands felt a crudely woven silk fabric.

Vinyl grabbed the fabric, her claws digging into the material as she pulled on it as hard as she could. The cloth resisted. She ripped it free with a second yank, a large tarp-sized sheet of fabric ripping away, almost invisible save for a telltale shimmer in the air as it was removed.

Beneath the camouflage sheet lay a crude raft built from freshly cut banana trees, bound together by equally fresh vine ropes. A small scaffolding made from sticks had kept the fabric held up just enough for a person of Vinyl’s size to lay down on the raft, along with perhaps ten others.

Vinyl’s eyes narrowed. “That settles it. The castle is occupied,” she said firmly.

“Why’s that- Oh. That’s a stealthed raft,” Twilight said as she jumped overboard, her hooves sinking fairly deeply into the muddy beach on impact, prompting the mare to cringe. “... Ew… The mud is warm! Why is it warm?”

“What’s this about stealthed rafts?” Sky asked as he disembarked their boat by sensibly lowering himself over the side then letting go.

Vinyl hefted the camouflage tarp in her hands, her uncertainty growing as she looked off through the thin woodland towards the castle.

“This raft would hold enough people to make a commando team,” Vinyl analysed as she searched the area for any hidden soldiers. “The tarp couldn't have been made in the field, but the raft was. This is the sort of thing Luna would have us do on a mission where we needed to parachute out of an airship then approach some place unseen with a boat.”

Lyra nodded in agreement, immediately walking around the raft slowly, bending down to inspect the ground around it. “Yeah… You don’t need to approach an abandoned ruin while invisible. Animals and monsters don't care about something floating on the- There’s six more of them! Look at the water.”

Vinyl turned her head, looking at the waterline in the direction Lyra was pointing.It took her a moment, but then she saw it. The lake’s tiny waves lapped gently along the shore, except for in five rectangular patches a short distance down the coast.

“This bodes ill. Perhaps we should turn back,” Chem proposed worriedly. “Or are all of you ready to fight? I am, but I don't know if you’ve adjusted yet.”

“Mmm… There’s hoof- Uh, I mean footprints in the mud,” Lyra continued, her tail lashing as she walked around, stooped over to inspect the ground. “They were wearing shoes that obscured their prints but a LOT of people were here. Like… At least fifty. And these prints are fairly fresh.”

Twilight’s tail flicked in alarm as she looked off towards the forest. “Are you telling me that a platoon of comandos landed on the shore recently?”

Vinyl nodded once. “Yep. Looks like it. Which means that castle is occupied. Or at the very least someone thinks it is,” she said looking at the cloth one more time before drawing her sword.

This was the first time Vinyl had taken her blade out of its scabbard. Her sword was a very unassuming weapon, a simple disk pommel, a crossguard with a slight V shape to it. But the blade? The blade glittered and shone brightly even in the dim twilight. It’s bright white finish almost looked painted on, and the edges seemed to disappear from sight as you looked at them.

Huh, that’s pretty cool! Weird that a part of this sword is fancy when nothing else is though, Vinyl thought as she began to slice the cloth into large squares.

“I don’t like this,” Sky mumbled quietly. “Maybe we should turn back?”

Chem hummed and nodded in agreement. “Maybe, but then we don’t have any affiliations here. Perhaps we could ally with these commandos. We don't know they are hostile after all. And besides, the raft is sized for kobolds. Wieav is populated by them. They might be the military. In which case we, as lost travelers, could ask for assistance.”

Twilight hummed and tapped her chin thoughtfully. “That’s true. Or if they are bandits we could warn the castle, maybe even help a bit. Then have a favor owed to us!” She proposed.

“Yeah… Or we could get our plots kicked,” Lyra snorted. “Or did you figure out how your magic works on the ride over?”

“Yes, actually. It’s fairly simple,” Twilight replied. “I- Um, Vinyl? What are you doing?”

Vinyl finished cutting the cloth and looked up at Twilight giving her a huge grin. “Not abandoning the active camouflage cloth. Duh! Everyone, take a shitty cloak!” She announced, holding out the sheets of cloth she had cut. “We’ll need these.”

Sky frowned as he took his ‘cloak’. “Not that I don't like active camo but, I really don’t want to sneak over there and poke my head into a battle.”

Vinyl sighed and pointed to the rafts. “Fifty. Commandos,” she said slowly, emphasizing each word to make her statement clear as crystal. “We can't sail away from here. They will see us leaving. It’s basically a miracle they didn't see us coming. We know they didn’t because we’re not being shot full of arrows or magical firebolts.

“If we sail away form here they will see a boat leaving and assume whoever they are here to kill is getting away. Our only good options are to go to the castle and get more info, or we can hide.”

Sky nodded slowly, quickly fastening his new cloak over his old one. “And either way these help. Oh! We could cover our whole boat with the other tarps and leg it.”

Twilight an eyebrow. “Um, you cut up their tarp. They will know we’re here,” she said gesturing to the lightly shimmering patches in Vinyl’s hands before taking one for herself.

Lyra winked at her. “Yeah. But the BIG BOAT ON THE BEACH will give that away! This way they at least don't know where on the island we are. The only question is do we hide, or do we advance?”

Chem hummed and crossed his arms over his chest for a moment before taking one of the cloaks from Vinyl and putting it on, making him the last of the group to conceal themselves.

“I vote we at least look at what’s going on. We could stand to gain much,” he decided with a short nod.

“That’s true,” Sky agreed. “And Lyra’s right. They will know we’re here, or have been here if we sail off. The boat will leave a mark in the shore.”

“I think we could maybe make a run for it,” Lyra said uncertainty. “I mean they just have rafts… But, the boat is also pretty bad. I also vote we check things out first. We can always run and hide.”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah. There’s trees here and we know that the water is safe enough for crude rafts to cross. We can get back to shore. And splitting up would be the worst thing we could do. Especially if we’re being watched right now. Okay, let’s get going.”

“Lyra, take point. Everyone stay single file,” Vinyl ordered, flinching as she suddenly remembered exactly who was in the party. “Uh, sorry Princess Twilight. Force of habit.”

Twilight shook her head. “No no, it’s fine.This is your job. Commanding stealth operations. My heroics are more above board. Different tactics. Lead on,” Twilight insisted with a wave of her and before pulling as much of herself into her cloak as her large body would allow.

While her legs and some of her plot remained uncovered, the island’s grass was quite tall and would do the rest of the work. Eh, partial invisibility is better than none at all, Vinyl decided after a moment’s worry.

Wait, her heroics? Vi thought, raising an eyebrow slightly. Never heard her not give the credit to the Elements as a whole before. She must be trying to not think about them. It’s what I would do. Plan using the team you have. If we had Octy and Bonbon here this whole thing would be much easier.

Vinyl nodded, bundled herself up, and began to follow Lyra as she slowly made her way inland towards the castle.

The five made their way through the sparse woodland towards the castle, pausing briefly to allow Lyra and Vinyl to explain a few basic aspects of stealth to a certain Old One. Only a hundred yards of ground lay between the outer walls and the lake. Lyra’s slow methodical pace combined with the castle’s gate being located on the far side of the island made the relatively short trip take quite some time.

With each step taken towards the castle, a sense of dread grew ever stronger. If this were Equestria, everyone would have been fine. Twilight on her own could handle fifty opponents. But this was not Equestria, and they did not have an archmage with them.

We still need more information. Maybe I should I send Lyra in on her own? She is out best scout... No. Pairs are best. I’ll go with her, Vinyl decided, hoping that the others could remain unseen while they quickly scoped out the situation.

By the time the castle's gate was within the team’s view, the sun was just barely over the horizon, shining a mere sliver of light across the lake, making the tiny waves crests glitter and shine as if the water were a rippling silver mirror. The twin moons were setting as well, plunging the land into a much darker state than any of the five were familiar with. Within a few more minutes, the world would be plunged into near-total darkness.

Fortunately, a path of sorts had been found. The well trampled earthen pathway led around the wall at just the right distance to be a road, and after following it for just a few minutes the squarish outline of a gatehouse could at last be seen ahead.

“What kind of fantasy world doesn't have moons out during the night?” Chem grumbled quietly as he carefully stepped over a fallen branch to avoid getting yelled at again.

“I don’t even want to think about the nocturnal predators here,” Sky whispered back, nervously fidgeting with his rifle’s grip. “They’ve probably all got sonar or… Or… Huh… Did the world just turn green for everyone else?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “No?” She said quietly but curiously.

“I seriously just blinked and it’s like I’m looking through old school night vision goggles!” Sky exclaimed in a mixture of happiness and confusion. “I’m so glad that it’s not a spotlight. I guess these humans can see in the dark.”

“Shhh!” Lyra hissed. “I can see something ahead.”

Vinyl squinted nervously ahead, searching for possible enemies who might be lurking in the growing darkness. This is so not okay! I need my real eyes. Is this what night is like for normal ponies?

Everyone heard a soft scraping sound as Lyra moved something. “It’s a person. Humanoid. My size but not a kobold. It’s very very dead,” Lyra reported with a hint of sadness in her voice.

“Cause?” Twilight asked quietly as she crept over to Lyra, following the sound of her voice.

“Um… Executed?” Lyra suggested uncertainty. “He wasn’t hurt in battle. His throat and wrists have been slit. But like, surgically. This was done with a scalpel.”

Everyone moved forward slowly, the slight lump in the road becoming visible as they drew near, eventually resolving into a small humanoid creature. It was scrawny with an oversized head, pale green skin, knifepoint ears, and an absurdly wide mouth filled with needle-like teeth.

It had to have been intelligent in life. A camouflage patterned brigandine vest protected its torso, and its large head was clad in a simple domed helmet lacking any sort of face protection and held on with a leather chin strap.

Despite having the crudely fashioned armor no sign of a weapon could be found, nor any equipment for that matter save for two torches tucked into the creature’s belt. The corpse wore pair of boots with brushes around the edges, revealing it to for certain have been one of the people who had used the raft. A pair of green lensed brass goggles were its final accessory.

Just as Lyra had said, the creature lay in a pool of its own blood, his throat and wrists slit with a single expertly delivered cut each.

“It’s a goblin!” Chem exclaimed with genuine surprise.

“Shhh!” Vinyl urged quickly glancing up at the walltop to make sure they hadn’t been heard. “This guy’s only been dead a few minutes. The blood is still wet!”

“I’m sorry,” he quickly and quietly apologised. “These creatures are like humans, they occur in many worlds, but in much much less than humans. We’re in luck! I know their psychology well. I can easily convince them to help us with like, our entire quest. They make for excellent mooks.”

“They are friendly?” Twilight asked curiously. “In that case, let’s help them take the castle.”

Vinyl and Lyra shared a quick look of stunned disbelief. “A-are you nuts?” Lyra asked, raising an eyebrow.

“There’s no way their cultures are always identical,” Vinyl pointed out skeptically. “Maybe you can convince a few but we don’t know what this world is like. Maybe these goblins are a scourge on the world.”

“Oh they always are,” Chem agreed quietly. “But the promise of wealth and a few flashes of magic always get them to listen to you.”

Lyra frowned. “It’s a bad plan… I know you’ve done this a lot but-”

“Nineteen million, eighty seven thousand, five hundred, and forty seven times,” Chem informed proudly. “Goblins. Are. Easy. To. Recruit. And they are hard workers to boot! If I ever needed real things made, I used goblins. When available.”

“Yeah, how about we don’t recruit a people that everyone hates?” Sky suggested. “Also, we should keep moving. I don’t like this… They killed one of their own and dumped him here before a raid. What kind of people does that?

“Sure, maybe there’s a good reason. But we need more information. We came here to get information, let’s just do that and not make any dumb decisions. Hey, maybe we should befriend these guys. We don’t know. Whatever we do, let’s do it now.”

Chem sighed. “Alright… We’ll put a pin in it. Let’s keep moving.”

“I still think it’s a good idea,” Twilight pushed. “An army would make this mission a lot easier.”

Vinyl sighed and nodded at Lyra, the two quickly resuming the walk towards the gate. The two made it another fifteen steps before freezing in their tracks.

The castle’s gate had been blown open. Freshly splintered wood, charred timber, and ash filled the gaping hole in the ancient, foreleg thick, ironwood timber gate. A few motes of orange light glowed on the edges of the hole as the odd coal sill smoldered from the recent explosion.

I didn’t hear a Sisters’ damned thing! A blast big enough to put a hole in that… We would have heard it anywhere on the lake. They have silent explosives! There’s no way these guys are not backed by a major world power. Vinyl thought to herself, as her face twisted into a horrified expression at the thought of what creatures could do with soundless bombs.

“Vinyl,” Lyra whispered her left hand appearing out from under her camouflage cloak as she pointed to the entryway.

Vinyl squinted slightly, her eyes still not used to the ever growing darkness. “Oh…” She whispered at seeing five more goblin bodies laying just inside the ruined entrance.

Lyra and Vinyl slowly approached the five bodies, the shadow cast by the gatehouse concealing the courtyard’s blood slicked black marble tiles until the very last possible moment. Lyra bent down to inspect the bodies, wincing as she realized the bodies had fallen in battle.

“Just like the other. Wrists cut. Throat slit, one clean cut for ea…” Lyra trailed off, her tail raising in alarm.

“What?” Vinyl whispered, her hand reaching down beneath her cloak for her sword.

Lyra wordlessly pointed to one of the five bodies. Unlike the others, this one’s goggles were not covering both its eyes. The left eyepiece had been pushed upwards leaving the eye exposed for a large needle-like dart which had been plunged through the eye, presumably into the poor creatures brain.

... Hatty’s words aside, this is not a game. Stop treating it like a game, this is REAL! Vinyl yelled at herself before quickly starting to strip the goblin bodies of their goggles.

“What are you doing?” Sky hissed as he drew near. “O-oh.. What are they carrying that’s useful? I’ll help.”

“The goggles!” Vinyl yelped. “Put them on! Whatever is defending this keep goes for the eyes. With darts! They have a VERY good aim.”

“It’s… The tip is in the brain,” Lyra whispered quietly. “Right through the optic nerve. How… What has this kind of precision?”

Chem stepped forward, looking at the gruesomely butchered goblin and cringed. “Ooo, nasty! I don’t think the goggles will protect against that sort of force.”

Sky pulled a pair off the goblin closest to him and inspected the lenses. “There’s a reason they all wore these,” he said confidently. “If not for protection, then something else…”

“Maybe don’t put on something their attackers are using? I don’t want to mess with these people,” Lyra warned urgently as she took a torch from the goblin’s belt. “We’ll need light soon though. So, grab a torch.”

Vinyl immediately dropped the three pairs of goggles she had taken. “That’s a very good point. Thanks, Lyra. You probably saved my life.”

Sky debated with himself for a moment, and then stuffed the goggles he held into a pouch on his belt. “I think I’ll keep- Girls! Look, the courtyard,” he said pointing with his left hand while bringing his rifle to bear with his right.

Everyone looked up. The last pale light of the day shown over the walltop, casting long shadows over the battlefield which stretched across the courtyard. At least a dozen more bodies lay in twisted heaps, wherever a goblin had spasmed their last. No one had reclaimed their weapons. A few daggers, swords, and a bow or two lay on the ground, near or in its owner's hand.

Small lumps of ash dotted the spaces between the goblins, the fine gray powder blowing away slowly in the late evening breeze. Whatever had burned was a mystery, but the staggering number of spent torches which cluttered the entirety of the battlefield told exactly what had done the burning.

At the far end of the battlefield, the keep’s door lay ajar. Quietly, so quietly as to be nearly inaudible, a scream pierced the night, echoing as it left the interior of the keep.

Twilight’s eyes widened at the sound. “There’s still a fight happening! People are in danger, we have to help!” She shouted running for the open door, her hooves clicking loudly on the marble tiles.

“WAIT!” Vinyl hissed loudly, reaching out to try and grab her, but the four legged deertaur proved far too fast to grab hold of.

Twilight sprinted across the courtyard, nimbly forging the fallen goblins, arriving at the door and tossing it open before her friends made it even halfway across. Grabbing the edge of the open door with her hands, Twilight tossed it open, quickly muttering a few phrases in an arcane tongue, her body sparkling slightly as magical protections enveloped her graceful form.

Well, at least she has Mage Armor, Vinyl sighed as she drew her sword.

As her hand gripped the blade with the intent to do battle, alien memories flooded her mind. The way this body was meant to use the weapons she had been given seemed to come out of the scabbard alongside her sword. How to stand. How to move. It was all there.

Vinyl slipped the kiteshield off her back, quickly sliding her arm through the straps. Her stride not even breaking as she swept the shield in front of her.

Ponyfeathers! I should have checked my pack for any magical weapons. Vinyl cursed as Twilight rushed inside the castle.

The screams grew louder the moment everyone crossed the threshold and entered the ancient building. The five had entered directly into the castle’s great hall, if the massive size of the room was any indication. A major security flaw, poor castle design. Unless of course, something truly horrible protected this place.

The great hall’s wooden floor was slick with goblin blood. A terrifying amount of the poor creatures were piled up against a door on the right hand side of the great hall. Their living comrades having resorted to making a barricade from their fallen comrades.

“HAHAHA! NOPE!” Vinyl exclaimed the second her eyes locked onto the macabre barricade.

She spun around, boots slipping on the drenched floor. Vinyl stumbled falling to a knee. Chem stepped forwards, crossing the threshold, one hand extended to help her up.

No one else remained outside.

The Castle door slammed shut, plunging the room into total darkness with a sound more like steel slamming against steel than wood on stone. Large iron bars slid down from hidden recesses in the ceiling, moving through specially designed rails in the backs of the door and into the floor. Portcullis and door locks, all in one neat package.

We’re trapped! VInyl realized in horror. This is EXACTLY like what I’d do to my players… This is a real world operating on tabletop logic. We're doomed!

Then the gaps between the bars began to glow a pale blue, the fields springing to life between them filling the air with the sharp scent of ozone.

“Everyone! Weapons out,” Lyra snapped as she drew the large pole-sword form her back, immediately looking surprised as she held it in her hands, clearly also knowing exactly how to use it.

Chem whispered a few arcane words and held out his hand. The torch Lyra had looted slipped free from her tunic’s belt and floated into his waiting hand. He lit the torch with another quick word, making everyone wince.

“What?” Chem asked. “The castle knows we are here. I want to see what it throws at us and this is less mana use than a light spell.”

“Yeah, can’t shoot what you cant’ see,” Sky said grimly as he shouldered his rifle, grateful for those times he’d decided to do quick fire drills at the Pheonix’s shooting range.

With the torch lit, the carnage within the room was even more terrible to behold. The flickering orange light shown down on the pooled blood. It made every dropped weapon glitter and flash. It showed the extinguished torch in every last goblin’s hand.

“This door is still open,” Twilight said as she pointed to a door on the hall’s left hand side which sat right at the edge of their torch’s small bubble of light.

Vinyl looked over at the door Twilight indicated. A fallen Goblin’s body held the door open, preventing whatever magic had forced the other doors to close from sealing it. Not that it would have mattered. The door’s handle and lock had been chopped away, leaving frantic axe marks all over the door’s face.

“It didn’t want them to go that way,” Vinyl remarked.

“But they did,” Sky said as he began to walk towards the door. “I vote we follow the route they made. At least till we find an exterior window. Then we’re breaking that shit and getting out.”

With no other choice, the team slowly crept towards the open door. Vinyl reached it first and pushed her shield up into the gap between the door and the wall, kicking it open with her foot.

“Looks… Clear…” Lyra said uncertainty as she peered down the hallway.

“I’ve got the whole night vision thing going still,” Sky reminded everyone. “It’s clear. There’s a door on the far side of the hallway, and eight more, four on each side.”

“Okay,” Vinyl planned. “We check the rooms on the left. There has to be a window in one of them.”

It’s unlikely, but there’s a chance the windows won't be covered by plasma fields too, she dared to hope.

They crept into the hallway like terrified moths. Vinyl lead the way with her shield held in front of her to protect as much of the team as her stature would allow. Lyra followed along behind her with her sword held out like a spear, then Sky, rifle ready to go, Twilight behind him, hands held ready to cast a spell, and lastly Chem, who held their shockingly dim torch a loft, trying to light the way as best as the puny flame could manage.

With each step the tortured screams grew louder, but less frequent. Two more sounds joined in on the terrifying chorus. The occasional woosh of something flammable igniting. A dull buzzing like a distant woodshop full of circular saws. Yet the not too distant sounds of death were the least of their worries.

The shadows seemed to resist and defy their torch as they approached the end of the hall. They would move, making way for the light noticeably later than they should, even seeming to reach off of the wall for floor for a heartbeat or two. But every time someone looked directly at the strange shadows, everything snapped back to normal. Like predators, waiting for just the right moment to pounce, moving to strike, and then deciding not to.

“I think…” Chem said slowly as they reached the middle of the hallway. “I should watch behind us, and someone else, should keep watching the shadows ahead.”

“I love this plan,” Sky laughed nervously. “I’m excited to be a part of it.”

Chem began to turn around. The door at the far end of the hallway silently exploded, consumed in an instant by a bright ball of crackling orange flames. Shrapnel bounced off the walls and embedding itself into Vinyl’s shield. A single goblin clad from head to toe in a set of crudely crafted gothic plate armor stood in the ruined doorway, save for the faceplate, which had been partially torn off, and hung from one hinge at their left side.

The terrified goblin immediately sprinted through the doorway, not having broken their stride as they ran to the door. A cloud of multicolored lights raced towards the screeching creature. Cyan, pink, yellow, pale green, an inverted color rainbow which roared like a million saws and glittered like shards of glass in the sun.

The goblin’s eyes locked onto the group filling the hallway in front of her. “Fire!” She screamed in a wet, injured voice. “Alla fire! Burn! Burn quick!”

A part of the deadly light-cloud raced forwards, two individual points of light peeling away and racing directly for the running goblin. The lights caught up with her in an instant, helixing around her wrists, up her arms, and across ther throat with a shriek of metal on metal, trailing orange sparks the entire way. The entire attack took less than a heartbeat.

“HOLY SHIT!” Sky yelped, sweeping his rifle up to take aim at the lights, and pulling the trigger.

The rifle beeped. Nothing came out of the barrel. “Initializing… Ready to configure weapon profile!” A cheerful female voice exclaimed.

The goblin kept running, Twilight began to chant, trying to cast a spell but stammering too much for it to take effect.

“WHY!?” Sky screeched in panic, staring at his rifle in horror.

“If you prefer male companions, say ‘male companion’ now!” The voice continued.

Vinyl and Lyra shared a look. This was it. Nothing they had could hit anything that small, and even if they did, was it even a thing that could be killed?

Never thought I would be killed by a living spell, Vinyl sighed grimly as she raised her shield.

The cloud of lights surged forwards as one mass, engulfing the goblin before it could reach the team. She screamed once, her pained cry cut off halfway through as her body hit the floor, her eyes now empty sockets.

“Default voice accepted!” Sky’s rifle continued. “Please select an audio profile category! Ballistic or arcane?”

The lights turned to face the other living beings in the hallway, moving in rippling surges like an immense flock of birds. They began to move down the hallway, but then stopped. Hanging in the air as if analyzing their prey.

Vinyl gripped her sword tightly, raising it, ready for the swarming lights to advance.

A single pink light pulled away from the group and flew a few meters forward ,stopping just out of Vinyl’s reach. She looked at it, lines of sweat pouring down her face, searching for any possible sign of weakness in…

In the eight centimeter tall bioluminescent humanoid carrying a chef’s knife-like sword twice her size.

T-those are fairies!? Vinyl squeaked silently, her mind breaking a little.

The fairy squinted past Vinyl towards the rear of the group as if appraising them. “... Yes!” She chirped happily before zipping back to the group at a speed the eye could barely track.

The swarm of fairies surged down the hall in a chaotic swarm, engulfing the team in an instant, but not laying a finger on any of them. As the swarm flew past her, Vinyl turned around, wondering is she should run for the open room in front of her, her jaw dropping as she watched the swarm rush over to Chem, glomping the Old One as best as their tiny forms could allow.

The same pink faily let go after a heartbeat and flew up in front of the confused wizard’s face. “Hi, boss! Gosh, it’s been FOREVER! There’s still some nasty little goblins in the east wing, we’ll go get them! Sorry the place is such a mess. We ran out of cleaning supplies centuries ago. Bye!” She exclaimed happily before racing away, the swarm following along after her.

Everyone started at Chem in shock. Chem looked back at his friends in equal shock.

“I um… I guess I have been here before?” He admitted sheepishly. “I REALLY don’t remember any of this. No, seriously!”

“Ballistic or arcane?” Sky’s gun repeated as if nothing had happened.

“Uh… Ballistic?” He said slowly, as if working on autopilot.

Okay. We’re safe. But heart… Heart needs to calm the buck down. Vinyl groaned and sat down in the hallway. “I- I need a minute…”

“State desired caliber for auditory simulation,” the rifle continued.

3 - Forgotten Realms

There was a time when legends of Wieav rang true. / All over, their majesty everyone knew. / But now in the future, defeated by evil untold, / we yearn for the knights from stories of old. / Ancient ways long since spurned / Evil quakes as they return!

Excerpt from the Revival of Heroes, an educational song.

Sky Trigger - Day 1

The Dark Fortress - Wieav

A cloud of distress and confusion clung to the team as they stood in the dark hallway, watching as the fairy’s technicolor light vanished from sight entirely. Panic rooted them to the spot, with only Sky daring to make a sound, due to his weapon’s prompting.

“Uh, seven point six-two NATO?” Sky asked, staring at his weapon in stunned disbelief.

Why the hell didn’t I think to take some test shots when we were fixing the boat? He mentally groaned. Yeah, limited ammo, no resupply, but I should have at LEAST taken three rounds to sight her in and make sure there wasn’t any stupid safety systems… I could have gotten us all killed.

“Selection confirmed! Would you like force-feedback to simulate recoil?” It continued.

“Wait, what?” Sky, Vinyl, and Chem asked in unison.

“This weapon is a Screaming Eagle Model Four-Fifty-Three Psirifle with the optional assistant upgrade. In it’s typical configuration, the weapon lacks recoil due to keneric reflectors imparting all waste energy back into the projectile to maximize muzzle velocity. Recoil of varying degrees can be simulated via a linear actuator for the sake of operator comfort and tactile feedback,” the rifle said proudly.

“Um… Can I have like, some but not too much?” Sky asked, his voice trembling slightly. “And can we NEVER do this configuration ever again?”

“Setting recoil force to four point six pounds,” the rifle replied. “I will begin maintaining this weapon for you, sir. My job means you will not be required to perform any cleaning, calibration, or lubrication for this weapon. Additional features available upon request. Configuration complete.”

Oh thank Luna! Sky sighed in relief.

A metallic ping echoed off the walls as the rifle ejected a small piece of silver from a hidden shutter near the stock.

“Factory Safety Destroyed: This weapon is now armed and ready to kick some ass. I will not speak further until spoken to,” the rifle finished, at last growing silent.

Vinyl bent down and picked up the small piece of silver the weapon had ejected and turned it over in her fingers, squinting at it curiously in the dim light. After a few moments her face twisted into a confused frown.

“What sort of company uses an old gum wrapper as a temporary safety?” Vinyl asked, looking up at Sky, her frown deepening as she noticed something more. “With… Chewed gum inside the crumpled wrapper. Ew.”

Sky reached down and took the wrapper from Vinyl, looking at it for himself before breaking out into a huge grin. “HA! Okay, I like this company,” he declared amid quiet laughter.

“What,” Lyra asked, raising an eyebrow. “Because they used a piece of garbage creatively?”

Chem turned around, at last taking his eyes off the rout the fairies had taken, and shook his head at Lyra. “No. Because you see, the rifle is all out of bubble gum. It’s a- Actually we shouldn’t be explaining old jokes. We should find a way out of here.”

Twilight’s tail twitched oddly, she took a step forward, a frown forming on her face. “No! That’s a terrible idea,” she insisted. “We should stay here. The fairies think you’re their old master, and since they didn’t hurt us, they must assume we’re working for you. You’ve been the evil overlord your whole life. You can sell the act here and we will have this entire castle to use on our mission.”

Sky raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Okay, Vinyl and Lyra calling this a castle I can understand. But there’s no way Twilight doesn't know about the military fortresses in Minos. Or, you know, the formal definition of the word castle.

Sky cleared his throat. “Twilight, are you okay?” He asked slowly.

“Other than being very stressed, yes,” the mage replied instantly, turning her head to face Sky and brushing her bangs out of her eyes. “Why do you ask?”

“Because this isn’t a castle,” Sky informed. “It’s a fortress.”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow. “Uhhh… Sky I hate to break it to you, but I grew up in a castle and-” she trailed off, pursing her lips then nodding. “It lacks any sort of personal amenities in the grounds. He’s right. It’s a fort.”

“What’s the difference?” Lyra asked skeptically. “They are both big fortified buildings. Aren’t castles forts too?

“Did anyone see anything besides this keep behind the walls?” Sky asked looking at everyone in turn.

Chem cleared his throat. “Well, now that you mention it, no,” he answered, stroking his chin. “Which is odd, assuming I built this place.”

“Well, maybe you can enlighten everyone, Sky,” Twilight said politely, through a hint of irritation flashed behind her eyes.

Yeah, she’s not coping with this well, Sky noted to himself. I’ll have to talk to her in private later. The two of us are the ones drug into this out of the blue, but she had it way worse.

“A castle is first and foremost the home of a noble that happens to have been fortified,” Sky greatly summarized. “It’s a rich person's house with defenses. It’s fancy as fuck, AND defended. This place has stone floors, no carpets, no wall decorations, no outbuildings, no garden...

“Now a fort is a military structure designed to be a military structure. We’re talking Spartan. No frills. No chills. I’m surprised you didn’t notice how this place is a dead ringer for a Minocian Bastion Fortress. It’s just one big fighting platform with an HQ in the middle. It’s not a castle.

“Don’t worry, Twi. This is a messed up situation and all of us are big bundles of nerves. I’m pretty sure there’s obvious things I’m missing.”

Twilight nodded slowly, and sighed. “Thank you, Sky. I still think we should stay here and make use of the Fortress,” she insisted.

Chem took a deep breath. “Twilight, will all due respect, I’m mortal right now. If I’m not truly their master, and they find out, they will kill me. I don’t mean to brag, but without my experience, our team will have a much harder time stopping Hatty.”

Lyra hummed thoughtfully. “They mentioned there’s a painting of their master hanging in a bedroom,” she said, looking up the corridor. “I could go find it…”

“That’s right!” Twilight agreed with an eager nod. “Don’t you want to know WHY this mistake has been made? What if your chosen form is almost identical to some ancient evil sorcerer? Wouldn’t you like to know that BEFORE we stroll into a town?”

Chem’s glowing eyes widened slightly. “You're right! But… This is a team. Their opinions matter too,” he said, sweeping a hand across the rest of the team.

Sky pursed his lips in thought. Are Lyra and Vinyl certain Chem is an Old One? He seems more like a normal guy to me. Maybe he’s just a bit nuts and thinks he is one.

“How about we debate this in one of the side rooms?” Vinyl suggested as she took a few steps over to the nearest door and turned the brass knob, opening it.

“That way we have a window to bail from if we decide to go,” Vinyl added as the ancient timber door creaked loudly.

Lyra nodded and wordlessly walked through the now open doorway. Chem and Twilight shared a look for a moment, with Twilight eventually nodding and walking in after Lyra. Leaving Sky and Vinyl alone in the hallway together for a moment.

Sky took a step towards the doorway. Vinyl grabbed his wrist gently, tugging the much taller person downwards.

“Hey!” Lyra exclaimed excitedly from inside the room. “They have typewriters!”

Typewriters? Okay, so they aren't medieval. Early industrial age, perhaps? Swince swords are more- Wait, Vinyl. Sky thought before asking. “Yes?”

“Something’s wrong with Twilight,” Vinyl whispered quietly. “You noticed it too. The way she ran ahead of us? That’s not her style. I think she might be having flashbacks to when she was banished to that extra dimensional prison you busted her out of. We should keep an eye on her. Help her through this.”

Sky nodded once. “Good point. I didn’t think about that. I just thought the reality of our situation hadn’t sunk in yet.”

Vinyl shook her head slowly. “Can’t be that. This is Twilight. Miss “Monthly Adventure: Ponyville Disasters Stopped in Twenty Two Minutes or Less.”

“Yeah,” Sky agreed after a moment’s thought. “She told me she got eaten once. Like, swallowed whole by an Allosaurus. That place respawned you over and over. Just for some fucked up torture the inmates bullshit... That would screw anyone up.

“Don’t worry. If we keep an eye on things, with a few nudges everything should be fine.”

Sky waked into the sideroom as he finished talking. Or rather, the communications room.

The room was quite large and so filled with furniture and devices that only small, person-wide corridors existed between the maze-like configuration of tables which encircled a central dais. Atop the dais was a single massive block-like set of drawers which formed a square warmap table depicting a large area. An area labeled ‘The Queendom of Wieav’.

The national map was made from a single sheet of wood, carved to form the sprawling topographical map in three dimensions. It had divided into individual hexagonal zones, each one no bigger than an two centimeters across, and each one colored in a way which showed what sorts of terrain lay within a given hex.

Lots of small tokens sat in various places on the map, with one glowing a dull red. That one sat smack dab in the middle of a large island off the southern coast, within the middle of a massive lake which had almost but not quite become a bay. A more clear ‘You are here’ sign simply couldn’t exist.

Perhaps more interesting than the room’s central feature was the equipment which sprawled across the tables surrounding it. Banks of black iron typewriters with odd silver mirrors attached to them, a few telegraph sets, three ticker tape machines, large, boxy wood-and-brass radio stations complete with handsets and protruding vacuum tubes, and even some small, spindly, oddly elegant yet elaborate devices which Sky immediately identified as-

“Are those telephones!?” Sky exclaimed, his cloaks billowing as she ran across the room to examine one of the gold-inlaid devices, lifting the handset in his hand in disbelief. “They are! This is straight up an old school crank phone! Like, one of the ‘operator, connect me to’ phones. What is with this world and their technology?”

No dial tone. No operator’s voice. It’s dead, Sky observed.

“Phone?” Vinyl asked curiously as she entered the room.

“Old human tech. The precursor to the comm units I build into my watches. This is like, the very very first ones ever made. Before they were portable!” Sky said, genuinely taken aback.

This means they know about electricity. The fort is designed to repel canons. They have blackpowder, electricity, and one nation is cranking out pulse-rifles with AIs in them. Magic will never become obsolete. It will always find something new to enhance. But tools do. Weapons especially. Why do Lyra and Vinyl have swords? Is our ‘DM’ trying to screw us?

“Forget the phone, Sky!” Lyra called eagerly. “Check out these ‘typewriters’ Just look at them for a sec, okay?”

Raising an eyebrow at the odd emphasis his friend put on the word typewriter, Sky set the phone’s receiver back onto the cradle. A few steps brought him over to the typewriter around which Chem, Twilight, and Lyra had gathered. Or rather, the device which resembled a typewriter.

The device’s silver mirror wasn’t mounted to the back of the typewriter, rather it protruded from the top in the way a sheet of paper would if loaded into a typewriter. What’s more, rather than a ribbon coated in ink with which to stamp text onto a paper, this device had a circular copper pad, with a pair of slender wires artfully running from the pad into the guts of the machine.

But most telling of all was the keyboard. Amongst the silver rimmed round keys were some very familiar sights to the Chief engineer. Control, Alt, Insert, Home, Pause|Break, Escape, Arrows for all four basic directions, and a full set of twenty four function keys. All arranged in what Sky recognised as a two handed Maltron layout, compleat with centered number pad.

Sky’s eyes widened in shock. He took a few steps back, bumping into the hardwood table behind him. “It- it’s a computer!” He practically yelped.

What. The. Actual. FUCK!?

“Not JUST a computer,” Lyra said her voice mixing awe and curiosity. “I can FEEL the magic coming off this thing. There are so many layers… It’s a magic computer.”

Vinyl turned around, bending down to examine another of the arcane computers which was next to her. “How layered? What can these do?” She wondered.

“All of the layers,” Chem said simply, giving the device he was inspecting a respectful nod.

Sky cleared his throat, doing his best to get over the growing surreality of the world around him. “I like the joke, but that’s a serious question,” he said, stepping forward to hunch over the device with Lyra, his eyes looking at the device in much more detail than he had before.

“He’s not joking,” Twilight said defensively. “Seeing Magic must be a Wizard thing here. Every possibly layer to this device is enchanted. It’s all layered atop the previous layer. Each nut is enchanted… I can’t tell you how, but they are.”

“I think it’s a strengthening charm,” Chem proposed, squinting closely at one of the typewriter’s bolts. “Yes. Yes it is! The nuts and bolts are enchanted to be stronger than the metal is on its own. Everything else is similarly enhanced. As in, every individual separate piece of this is just… Magically improved.”

“Then a top that layer of enchantments, the components made from those pieces are enchanted with something bigger, more robust, Probably improving how they work,” Twilight added. “And then the entire device itself, the collection of components, is also magical.

“This is some extremely advanced sorcery. There are hundreds, maybe even a thousand different spells in this thing. Equestria couldn’t make this. We could do the top two layers, but the spell matrices would become unstable if we overlapped this many in one device.”

“I’m pretty sure this thing would explode if we turned it on,” Lyra said in agreement as Vinyl flipped a switch on the side of her arcane computer.

“Oh... Uh…” Vinyl eeped, her eyes widening in alarm as Lyra's words hit home.

Formerly unseen crystals installed beneath the keyboard began to glow an ominous green. The silver mirror rippled, then began to shine as a series of seemingly random text scrolled across the screen left to right.

In an instant the chaotic jumble of text vanished, the screen going blank for a moment before displaying a vector image consisting of an extremely happy looking Chibi female Araka giving a thumbs up. The arcane computer emitted a series of five metallic yet musical notes.

The screen blanked again, displaying one final block of text which simply remained on the mirror, entirely static.

**** WebOS ‘59 v2.34 ****
512eb AAM SYSTEM 29,8902 SLOTS FREE

Questing for Shared Items...
ERROR! Dungeon Unavailable.

Displaying Local Items...

Battle Simulator

Field Reports - Juria Campaign

Field Report - Battlefield Salvage Reports: Næn, Null, & Jurin

Hero Dossiers

DOOM

█

Everyone started at the monitor for several long moments, each thinking their own thoughts about the world they found themselves in.

“... I REEEEEAAAAALY want to enter five and see what happens,” Lyra murmured quietly, breaking the silence.

“DON'T YOU DARE!” Sky shouted, quickly stepping between Lyra and the active computer, turning the device off with a precision lunge for it’s switch.

Okay, Sky. You can see they have computers. There’s just one thing left to check, Sky thought as he took a deep breath and turned towards Vinyl.

“Vinyl, may I please examine you sword?” Sky asked.

Vinyl nodded and drew her blade from its scabbard, presenting it hilt first to Sky. “Sure.”

Taking the sword with one hand, Sky reached beneath his cloak with the other and retrieved a small probe from his toolbelt. Taking a moment to carefully move a radio out of the way, Sky lay the sword on the table and retrieved a small display panel, linking it with the probe with a quick button press.

“Time to see what you're made of,” Sky mumbled to the blade as he hunched over his improvised workbench.

The probe’s tip glowed green as Sky swept it over the sword, focusing first on the pommel, then the hilt, and lastly the blade. With the data gathered, he turned his attention to the display, flicking through the screen’s contents with his thumb.

Hokay…. The pommel is packed full of something resembling Ayna’s Rose Quartz batteries, but at a much lower energy output. This thing is meant to run for decades or more between charges. The hilt contains electronics. Very very small ones, which are driving… Very, very, tiny things.

The blade is mostly composed of an alloy I can’t identify. But the little things don't seem to interface with- Wait this is a belt of some kind. It runs along the edge? What’s it do-

“Oh,” Sky said simply.

“Oh?” Vinyl asked tilting her head slightly.

Sky cleared his throat and put his tools back into his belt’s pouches. “Well, what we have is a world with at least two highly advanced societies. Which have drastically different senses of fashion,” he informed.

“Fashion?” Twilight asked curiously, stepping closer to look at the sword over Sky’s shoulder. “What do you mean?”

Sky gingerly picked up Vinyl’s sword by it’s guard and handed it back to her with extreme care. “Here’s your superalloy micro-serration chainsword back,” Sky said with a nervous grin. “Please be careful about swinging this near me.”

Vinyl grabbed the blade by the hilt and froze, aside from her lips, which slowly spread into a very wide grin. “Are you telling me that I have an actual chainsword?!” She asked eagerly.

“Yes. Yes I am,” Sky answered with a sage nod.

Vinyl carefully returned it to its holster, and gave the sword a little pat.

“Lucky,” Lyra mumbled, half disappointed.

Sky rolled his eyes. “Lyra, there’s no doubt your… Weapon uses the same magical tech. For whatever reason, Wieav must really love older designs. That blade’s mundane parts could NOT be created without advanced technology, but more importantly, the sword couldn’t work without some pretty serious magic improving the materials and powerting the thing.

“Seeing as how Vi’s sword is just a thing any given knight in this world is supposed to have… Yeah! Wieav just likes it’s stuff to be all old looking, or whatever.”

“I can only assume that your chainmail and shield are also made from superalloy, and the shield probably has an actual forcefield generator in it, or magical protections,” Chem noted, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “A high speed saw type edge… With how finely it cut the camouflage tarp it must be extremely high speed. And silent too.”

Sky nodded in agreement. “Absolutely. Vinyl, I’m pretty sure that sword of yours would cut through normal steel like soft wood. There’s no way your armor isn’t some sort of superalloy as well. A sword like this makes it fairly pointless.”

“We should check her armor out next,” Twilight urged. “It’s best for all of us if we know how protected we can be, as well as how tough our enemies might be.”

Odd way to phrase that, Sky noted as he turned around to face the group, a serious look on his face. “It’s safe to assume that nothing we see here is what it seems to be on the surface.”

“Agreed,” Chem said firmly, raising a hand as if he had something to say.

But the dull buzzing of the faerie swarm silenced him.

“Horseapples!” Lyra cursed. “We forgot to decide to flee or not!”

“We should stay! We’re perfectly safe,” Twilight urged, her lips pulling into a worried grimace.

Sky raised an eyebrow. “Looks like you don’t really believe that,” he said slowly.

The room suddenly glowed like a late Solar Era Disco as the swarm raced in, flying around in seemingly random paths as each individual took a seat someplace in the room. Each individual save for the bright pink one who had spoken earlier. She remained aloft, and flew over to Chem, remaining on his eye level so she could snap him a salute.

“The Fortress is clear, sir!” She proclaimed proudly. “I must apologize for the state of the Keep, my swarm is the last one remaining here and we’ve been lacking males for a couple years now… Numbers are becoming an issue.”

Don’t blow this, dude… Sky thought nervously, his eyes roving across the thousands of glowing creatures sitting eerily still all around him.

“It’s quite alright,” Chem said smoothly. “You’ve said it’s been a long time. Just how long are we talking?”

“Nearly four hundred seasons- Er, I THINK that’s two centuries on the common calendar... Don’t quote me,” the little creature said awkwardly, her dragonfly-like wings becoming visible for a moment as she she nervously slowed her flapping.

Chem nodded twice. “Yes, a long time. What happened to the others?” He asked, looking around the room slowly, pausing to dramatically sweep his hand across his field of view. “Are these all that are left of my forces?”

Sky smiled slightly, glad that his hood would hide his expression. Not bad. Atleast he can rollplay.

“Yes, sir,” the fairy sighed. “Most of the other swarms moved their hives over the years, but ten seasons ago, the Numericns began sending Commando teams to destroy the Fortress’s systems. I had another queen with me until then, but they killed her. I tried to take her drones into my hive but it didn’t work out.”

“Drones?” Twilight asked curiously.

The fairy turned, rotating in place as if she were standing atop a swivel chair to face the other woman. “Yes… You’re a mage. How do you not know about my people?” She asked, flaring brighter in shock.

“Apologies. My friends are from elsewhere,” Chem said quickly. “I’m also afraid that my method of return has left some holes in my memory-”

“That’s not surprising. I remember my great great great grandmother seeing your head explode!” the fairy exclaimed eagerly. “It was awesome!”

“Erm, awesome?” Chem asked, his glowing eyes widening as he was completely taken aback.

She nodded eagerly, looking almost like a bobblehead. “Yeah! You were all, ‘You’ll never take back your land, FOOL!’ and that inconceivably lucky Murderhobo was all, ‘If I had a dick, I’d tell you to suck it!’, and then, WOOM! She throws that spiral color ray at your face, and you backhanded it into the floor, but it was all a distraction and her Amazon friend snuck up behind you and she was all POW! Double warhammer! Right on either side of the head. Popped like a coconut full of gunpowder!”

Chem’s mask distorted as he grinned. “Okay, I’m not even mad. That is pretty awesome. I like you!” He chuckled.

“But… How do you remember that? Your grandmother telling you the story?” Lyra asked curiously.

“Nah! I never knew my mom. No Fae does. They are all mindless animals, but they keep bits of my memory alive, and when I die, one of the hatchlings will become the new queen and she’ll know everything that was especially vivid in my memory because it’s remembered by the swarm… It would be nice to have had someone to tell me stories as a little fae though! Big-people’s ways seem kinda nice.”

Chem cleared his throat. “Mmm, yes. Well! I must commend you for remaining here for so long. Do you know what these goblins were doing here?”

“Yeah, that’s a bit of an important question,” Sky said in agreement.

“Not exactly,” the fairy admitted.

“Do you have a name?” Vinyl asked, blushing lightly. “I- Sorry, Lord. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Lord? OH! She’s doing a bit. Yes! Good mare, Sky mentally exclaimed, quickly plotting his own next move.

“Now now, General,” Chem said in a comforting tone of voice, taking to his knee to look Vinyl in the eyes. “I gave you permission to speak freely at all times. Incase I wasn’t clear that privilege extends to all of you… And I suppose you too, miss… ?”

“Oh, um…” The fairy looked around the room for a few seconds, quickly spotting a sprig of holly growing into the room through the window as well as a pair of red panties which lay next to a bowl of soapy water as an improvised washrag. “Call me… Holly, um… Shorts?”

Chem gave her a blank look. “You don’t do names, do you?”

“Not, really, no,” she admitted, her wings slowing in embarrassment.

“See, I knew a Holly Short, and you’re way less aggressive than her. So you can’t have that name. She’d probably self-resurrect and punch you for falling short. Heh heh.” Chem squinted at the fairy for a moment. “Hmm, if only I had access to a color hex picker… Orchid Pink. Will that do for a name? I can’t just call you fairy all the time.”

“You could, sir. But that name will do,” Orchid replied with a short mid-air curtsy.

“Now then, Orchid,” Chem continued, turning around and crossing his arms behind his back. “I imagine I did something to pay for your ancestor’s services. If you’re hoping for back-pay I am afraid I am not in a position to give you anything at the moment. That won't be a problem, will it?”

Orchid shook her head. “Oh no, not at all! I know it takes time to build things,” she replied with a little nod. “It took my swarm so long to construct my Féin Mór that I haven't dared use it in battle. I can wait for payment, and I require no back-pay… Didn’t you wish to know about the goblins, M’lord?”

Chem nodded. “I did, but what’s a Féin Mór? That word didn’t translate for me.”

“Me either,” Twilight added, sitting down on her haunches.

“Well I said it in Squee, not Mar’rathian,” Orchid explained. “It means Large Self. It’s an artificial body a little bigger than a kobold. We stole the technology from the Ritirans, their Sorrus population makes use of larger sized versions to safely interact with the Nagi majority.

“I wanted one for myself so I could go to Wieav sometimes and steal supplies for the hive. Most people can tolerate our little bug cousins, bees, but fae? Not a chance! We’re a bit too deadly and aggressive, hehe!”

Mother of Luna… Hive based social insect-like creatures which are hyper aggressive and kill people. They are this world’s wasps! Sky realized, the sudden connection making him more than a little nervous due to being entirely surrounded by thousands of the creatures.

Untill… Wasps that build mechs to interact with normal sized people. That’s… That’s actually kinda awesome. And adorable. Awedorible. Adorisome? Hmmm… I’ll ask the Ponk later.

“Ah! Very clever,” Chem praised, turning back around to look at Orchid. “Now… About these goblins. You said they have been attacking for some time?”

“Yes, sir. Every few seasons. Sometimes twice in one season,” Orchid reported. “I made one talk to me and learned the Admirals think something in the Fortress is what would have allowed you to come back, so they were sending teams to destroy the Fort’s systems.

“O-Our defense hasn’t been entirely successful… For instance, the shields, main power, backup power, forge, and septic system are all down… But the pantry is well stocked with goblin steaks and everything is dust free! W-well, well stocked for a swarm of my size.”

Okay. They are carnivores. Lovely… Sky thought with a wince as he remembered Orchid’s prior comments. Make that predators.

Lyra winced more than Sky, even gulping nervously. “S-sooo you have no problem eating sentient beings, then?” She asked with worried eyes.

“None at all,” Orchid replied. “Why would I? If I don’t the worms will. Everything that dies gets eaten.”

“Yeah,” Vinyl agreed. “But you should still respect a person’s remains.”

Orchid shook her head slowly. “Kobolds…” She murmured clicking her tongue. “When will you learn that every species has a different idea of respect? We cook them. We don’t let their body become feed for prey creatures. We preserve our foe’s honor! I respect your ways, you respect mine.”

Twilight cleared her throat, and held up a hand. “Miss? I think what Lyra and Vinyl are worried about is that you will decide to eat them.”

Orchid laughed, dipping down in altitude slightly as she giggled. “Why would I do that? You haven’t attacked me, hurt my nest, or threatened to. Besides, you work for my Lord and there’s plenty of fruit, berries, and herbs outside. And also far easier prey like insects. Not to mention tasty tasty goblin!”

“Ah!” Chem said, leaning over with interest. “You’re omniverious? Do you require too much protein to subsist on vegetation alone? I imagine that would be more sustainable for you on this island.”

“No, we can live on anything,” Orchid said simply.

“T-then why eat meat?” Lyra asked with a confused frown.

Orchid facepalmed and groaned. “Oh, Goddesses… A vegan Kobold. How are you alive?!”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow. “It’s a valid question. Would you mind answering it for her?” She asked diplomatically.

Orchid signed and nodded once. “Fine… The ‘It’s immoral’ arguments are total skack! Listen with your nose, not your ears next time you pick a carrot. Plants scream too. They fear destruction too. You just don’t hear them because they dont’ speak with sound, and they talk REAL slow.

“Everything suffers when you kill it. There’s no ‘moral option’. So just eat what you find tasty like everything else does. That’s how nature works.”

“Oh…” Lyra said quietly, her eyes dilating as she began to think about whether or not that fact was true on her own world as well.

“Look, just be happy I’m not a Nagi, or a Sorrus who would eat you whole just for being a jerk. Or, so they say. I’ve never been away from the island. And If I get to go, I won't go south,” Orchid said shuddering violently. “Not-snakes should not eat like snakes…”

“Wut?” Chem asked, a ripple of worry passing over his face, breaking the mask he had constructed for just a single moment.

“Well, the Nagi are half snake, so that makes sense. But the little mice-folk who live with them… My grandma saw one eat an Arakan soldier whole. You know, like a snake does. Or like their bigger blood-brothers do but that makes sense cuz part snake and big-huge. I um… I hope she was high from that cloud of magic gas she’d just flown through…” Orchid explained, slightly shaken from the memory.

We’re trapped in a small room with carnivorous fairies, with another predatory species to the south which is definitely magic. Okay. Moving right along!

“Ah! Well, moving along from THAT!” Sky exclaimed, looking at the computer to his left. “If the generator is down, then this computer has its own power supply?”

“Um, we call those kythers. It’s short for something… Annakee, no! Um, Anti… Antikythera mecha- Foc it! It’s a big word. I don't get to speak much. Sorry,” Orchid sighed. “But um, yeah. Anything small gets its power from the earth and sky, just like I do.”

Lyra cleared her throat. “Um, Orchid? What’s option five on this machine do?” She asked, pointing to the computer they had switched on earlier.

“Oh, that runs a game someone snuck on there a long time ago!” Orchid replied with a grin. “I just wish my drones were better at pushing keys for me…”

Sky and Vinyl immediately snickered, having to put a hand over their mouths to avoid laughing at the image of time humanoids jumping on keys to play a video game. Lyra wasn't so lucky.

“Hehehehe! That’s just adorable!” She giggled. “Didn’t you say you have a big body? Why not use that?”

“Because I like to keep my drones in shape and pushing those keys down is good exercise,” Orchid answered before clearing her throat and trying to adopt a more formal pose. “Is there a point to these questions? Our Lord is present. We should be more professional, Miss… ?”

“That is Lady Heartstrings,” Chem introduced, starting to point ot his friends one by one. “She is fine scout and warrior… You’ve met Miss Vinyl, we also have the Wizard Twilight Sparkle, and the great Doctor Trigger. The Doctor is of the engineering kind rather than the medical persuasion.”

“Nice to meet you all!” Orchid said cheerfully.

Twilight nodded offering the fairy a smile. “It is very nice to meet you,” she said politely.

Sky nodded. “Yep. I’d shake your hand but I’m pretty certain I’d crush it,” he said apologetically.

The fairy’s tiny left eye twitched. “Oh, yeah?!” She said angrily, zipping over to Sky, hovering just in front of his face. “You think that just because you’re super big you can squish me!?”

The tiny humanoid glared into Sky’s eyes. Her bright pink aura wasn’t enough to conceal her appearance at this distance. Orchid looked like a tiny glossy jetstone black human woman, with dragonfly wings, mischievous yellow eyes, bright pink hair cut into a faux hawk, and matching bioluminescent runic tattoos covering her arms, legs, and chest.

More importantly, Sky could clearly see the straight razor blade Orchid had converted into a glave of sorts which was held to her back by unseen magic. A weapon with a blade just as tall and wide as it’s six centimeter tall wielder. A blade engraved with the name Nombringer.

Sky’s eyes widened with horror as the fae floated menacingly towards his face. Oh-shit-this-is-going-south-real-

“Cuz’ you’re totally right!” Orchid exclaimed, flipping from angry to happy in an instant.

She flew down and gently took hold of the tip of Sky’s left index finger, shaking it before returning to eye level. “Hi!”

“... Touche, fairy,” Sky said, glaring at the tiny woman.

She snickered and grinned at Sky, giving him a wink. “Don’t be so tense. If I wanted to kill you I wouldn’t be talking. I won't hurt you.”

“Good to know,” Sky replied, shaking his head slowly. “I sorta like you. You remind me of my friend Sai.”

Chem cleared his throat into his fist, calling for Orchid’s attention. The Fae turned around immediately.

“Yes, sir?” She exclaimed, snapping to attention again.

“Now that my friend’s fears are allayed, I would like to know precisely what agreement I struck with your ancestors. After all, if I am to restore this fortress to working order, I will require your services,” Chem said slowly stroking his chin in thought. “Was it food? I think I’d offer a person such as yourself food.”

“Oh no! Far more than that,” Orchid said, shaking her head back and forth before blushing with embarrassment. “Um, well… For us. It was never much of a bother for you. Because proportional sizes.

“You provided the swarms with safe nestinggrounds. Each of them had a room in the keep to make into a nest. I uh, I sort of made three into swimming pools… But yes! Safe nesting grounds, magical weapons, raw materials for construction, armor, hair dye, tattoo pens and ink, good music, and big-huge amazing piles of treasure!”

Sky bit his lip, trying not to laugh as he pictured the ‘big-huge-pile of treasure.

“So, I tossed you a few coins and a handful of tiny stones from time to time?” Chem asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah! My hive’s treasure room is so big! You could fit a goblin’s head into it,” Orchid boasted proudly, then her slender pointed ears drooped. “I know that’s nothing for someone your size, so shut up!”

“We didn't say anything!” Lyra giggled, biting her lip to keep the giggle from growing.

“Yeah, but you’re thinking it!” Orchid grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

“It would seem like I had something of an equal pay issue,” Chem said decisively, nodding his head slowly. “I would like you to return to my service at full price. To be paid when funds are available. Just like my other friends.”

“W-what?” Orchid asked, actually dropping to the floor in shock, her body making a tiny ‘thup’ as she impacted.

“Are you alright?” Sky exclaimed, bending down to look at the tiny creature.

“Totally fine. Too small to hurt myself falling. Square-cube-law. I repeat, what?” Orchid stated in shock.

“I’ll pay you what I pay them. Because fair is fair,” Chem replied simply as he straightened his conical hat.

Should probably keep the fact that we’re not being paid to myself… Heh heh! Sky thought to himself.

“Besides, you waited around this fortress for goodness knows how long, waiting for me, when the others did not,” Chem added, kneeling down to look at the little Fae as she sat back up and returned to the air.

“W-well my great great great grandmother wasn’t just a guard. She was kinda close to you,” Orchid elaborated timidly. “I can’t remember the details but you guys were like, actual friends. I think. Soooo, I felt I should honor the heritage I remembered. I feel like this is my fortress too, M’lord. I-I hope that’s okay.”

“It’s completely understandable. At this point you've lived here longer than I have,” Chem said politely, standing back up and looking at everyone else. “Well! I believe we should decide upon our first course of action. I propose we all get used to the layout of this fortress and enjoy a meal. What are your thoughts?”

The little fae glowed warmly, presumably pleased. Not that anyone had observed her long enough to be certain of her emotions.

Twilight cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. “May I ask a question before we do that?” She asked.

“You just did. Clearly you can,” Chem snickered.

Twilight narrowed her eyes, glaring at Chem irritably before turning her attention to Orchid. “How did you recognise him? Your ancestral memory seems to be foggy at best. Do you remember a good deal about him? I’d like to pick your brain, find out what led to his previous defeat so we can avoid that this time around.”

“Oh!” Orchid exclaimed sadly. “I-I’m afraid not. There’s a portrait of his Lordship hanging in the throne room. I can show you later! It’s rather nice. But um, sir? I have a proposal.”

Chem nodded, gesturing with one hand for her to go ahead.

“Instead of giving a tour of the fortress to everyone right away, we could solve a more immediate problem. When the backup generator was taken out last tenday the fortress began to sink. An earthquake messed with the ground below us, sir, but the Fortress was able to remain stable… Till the power ran out.

“We’ll be underwater in a month if we don’t do something, and the longer we wait, the worse the damage will be. If I could borrow the services of the Great Doctor Trigger, I am certain he could repair the main generator. He is after all a Numerican, and it’s his people’s technology. It’s not extensively damaged, but I don’t know anything about how it works… Nor did any of my ancestors, to my knowledge.”

Wait, this place is slowly sinking? Yeah that’s a priority. Luna knows how long it will take us to find Hatty… And this place did sort of gift wrap itself for us.

Sky cleared his throat. “Sir, I agree with Orchid’s idea. Besides, she implied this place has electric lighting. I would like to be able to see the fortress when being shown the fortress,” he said with a wink followed immediately by a frown.

“Though, if the generator uses magical components, and the fault is with them, I won't be able to repair it,” he added apologetically. “I can’t do magic.”

Orchid shook her head rapidly. “Oh nonononono! I wouldn’t have suggested you help fix it if it was magitech. I know that The Tainted are allergic to magic and can’t use it. It’s just technology. And not even psionically enhanced! No need to worry about the integrated poltergeist being re-dead or something.”

Sky blinked once. “The what?” He asked.

Orchid tilted her head. “But… Your gun has one…” She said slowly, entirely confused.

“Ch- Uh, Lord Z mentioned we’re not from around here. We only LOOK like species that belong on this world,” Vinyl explained calmly. “We accompanied him on his return.”

Orchid’s glow pulsed as her lips made a small o. “Ohhh, you’re aliens. Okay, now things make more sense! Um, Numerican technology sometimes is intentionally made so it’s haunted by a poltergeist. Don’t worry! They are friendly and only want to help because that person was so badly mutated in life due to magic exposure as a baby they couldn’t actually be of use to anyone. So they are super happy to be of help now, and they are bound to items to make them work on their own.

“It’s sad, but they are happy now. So I guess it’s okay? Apparently the idea came from their ancestors having stories of machines called robots which did things on their own. But they weren't able to make those machines a reality. So they had psykers find a solution.”

... I have a hunted gun. Grrreeeeat… Sky moaned inturnaly. Wait. That means it’s a people.

Sky lifted his rifle on it’s strap, taking it out from under his cloak. “Um, hello? Gun? Do you have a name?”

“Sheila,” the ghost in the gun replied.

“Are you um, you know… Cool with being a gun?” Sky asked worriedly.

“It beats being a blind pile of slime,” she answered casually. “You haven't used me for anything yet. The fairy is correct, I do want to be useful to someone. So like, can we go kill some monsters? Please? I don't have a real idea if I like being a gun specifically, I chose it mostly because they said I would be able to see through my scope.

“I like being able to see! Is binocular vision as cool as you normies claim? Could we stick a second scope on here so I can try it? Also, a grenade launcher would be nice. Explosions always felt and sounded awesome! I want to see one.”

OKAY! SO, Tainted’s lives can RRRREEEALY suck. Sky observed. “Alright, last question… Did you intentionally troll me with that fucking configuration bullshit instead of JUST FUCKING SHOOTING!?”

“No. I had to do that. Sorry. I’m bound by rules and stuff. I uh, I’m not technically supposed to be talking to you either. You didn’t say I could,” Sheila mumbled quietly.

“You can do that. Whenever you want,” Sky instructed quickly. “I’d feel bad if you didn’t. And uh, I’ll see about those mods. Putting you away now? Is that okay?”

Sheila laughed. “Honestly, you’re treating me better than my parents did. I’m a gun. Use me like any normal gun. This is what I wanted. It’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” Sky asked with a frown, glancing down at the weapon in his hand.

“Yeah! I’m fine, everything’s fine,” Sheila applied comfortingly.

“But what about-”

“It’s fine. It’s fine,” she dismissed with a giggle.

“Are you sure?” Sky asked, still quite worried. “Because this has serious ethical-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” She dismissed, sounding a bit irritated at the continued questioning, but still perfectly content. “It’s fine, I’m fine. It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine! Go fix that genny and then let’s go shoot stuff!”

Wait… Did she just Adventure Time me? Sky realized his eyes widening in surprise. “Heh heh. Maybe it is fine.” Reference complete.

Orchid cleared her throat. The tiny sound more akin to a mouse’s squeak than a proper ‘a-hem’. Chem, Lyra, and Twilight immediately dawwwed at the noise, prompting a glare form the Fae.

“I’m a proud warrior! I am not cute!” She huffed irritably.

The hell you’re not, Sky hid his grin behind his hood. “Well, we have a job to do. Can you lead me to the generator, Orchid?”

The fae nodded, her drones immediately taking to the air in unison and swiftly flying out of the room. “Yeah, just let me put them back on their normal tasks… There! Okay, follow me!” She exclaimed starting to slowly fly out of the room.

Vinyl stood up and began to walk after her. “I’ll go too. You may need a hand, Sky. Besides. If there’s more Goblins about that they don’t know about, it would be best to work in pairs.” She said with a serious look stamped across her face.

Sky nodded. “Good idea,” he said as the two began to follow the excitable fairy through the dark stone corridors deep into the bowels of the keep.

Orchid led Sky and Vinyl along a fairly twisting path which moved ever dowards. Below the floor they had been on lay the keep’s dungeons. Rows upon rows of stone cells capped with solid metal doors sprawled for what seemed like miles. The three passed through four separate floors of cells, the dismal cellblock looking downright hellish when lit only by the bright glow of a single fairy.

Just when Sky was about to ask how much further they had to go and light one of the torches he’d taken from the slain commandos, the dark stone gave way to illuminated concrete and steel. At the bottom of the fifth staircase, the flagstone floor ended, and a smooth, but cracked with age concrete floor began. The square walls gave way to a large, rounded tunnel design with metal plated walls painted white and accented with a purple and bright green stripe at the midpoint of the wall.

Said midpoint was at least four feet above Sky’s head, making him feel quite small as the three entered the truly massive, and entirely separate feeling part of the fortress.

“What is this and why is it so massive?” Vinyl asked curiously, blinking as her eyes tried to get used to the dull red glow of the emergency lights which ran along the floor.

“His Lordship built the Dark Fortress atop an old Draconic Ranger Station. We’re entering it now. Can one of you push the button up there? It’s REALLY heavy,” Orchid admitted with embarrassment as he pointed to a large red button set into the wall next to the huge circular door which capped the hallway.

Sky nodded and reached up, pressing the button in as hard as he could. “Sooo, I guess this place is dragon sized, huh?” He asked casually. Makes sense. I’ve been in dragon homes before.

“Yep! I like it because it makes people understand how I feel in your buildings,” Orchid said as the thick steel blast door irised open with a loud creak.

“Why doesn't the keep’s lights stay on if this still has power?” Vinyl asked.

“That’s an excellent question,” Sky agreed with a short nod. “Orchid?”

“Um… I guess the emergency power thingie isn’t connected to the keep? It’s just the red lights and the doors that still work. Everything else is dead,” she explained, flying through the doorway into a large open room.

Large was something of an understatement. The room seemed to be half the size of the keep’s bottom floor. The white, purple, and green theme continued around the room, which had more doors arranged around it like the spokes of a giant wheel. The room itself was round, and empty, with only a massive logo stuck into the floor for decoration.

Sky looked down at the logo, managing to make it out after a few seconds. A dragon’s head and wing above one of this planet’s two moons… That would be a good logo for a space agency! Please be a space agency and not some lunar dragon cult thing, he silently begged.

Orchid zipped across the large room, vanishing into a corridor on their left, coming back a moment later upon realizing she’d outran her comrades. Without any real difficulty, the three made their way through the Draconic section to an old elevator shaft, and climbed down three floors. A short walk later, and the three had arrived at the generator room.

Like all rooms in this section of the fortress, it was round. Unlike the large central hub area, it was almost entirely full. Banks of computer equipment and control consoles lined every square inch of the wall, with the majority of the room filled up by a large transparent, aluminium cylinder containing a cylindrical tower of copper tubing, silver wires, ceramic tiles, and steel support structures which fed into or held aloft a large toroidal ring centered around a glowing green chunk of crystal..

Sky blinked once as he took the enormous device in, his eyes noticing the many bullet holes in two critical looking components. A large tesla-coil near the base on one side, and a big insulated coolant pump just to the coil’s left.

“Is… Is that some sort of crystallic fusion core?” He asked Orcid with a frown. Ayna and I haven't built anything like this… Though she did show me a paper on this concept a while ago. I think I remember it enough to- Mmm, no need to remember it. It’s just those two parts that need fixed. Easy peasy.

The fae shrugged. “Beats me. I just remember that the ring thing powers up the crystal which feeds energy to the Fortress,” she answered.

“Mmm,” Sky said, taking several tools out of his belt pouches as he walked towards the transparent cylinders open door. “So it would be a boring conversation, eh? Whelp, let’s fix this reactor.”

“Sounds like fun! Can I lend a hand?” An unknown woman’s voice asked from the doorway.

4 - Trouble Follows Fortune

”... therefore, we can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt the impossibility of temporal displacement beyond sixty seconds, forward or backward.” *Audience applause* *warbling arcane humming* “Nevermind what I just said. Especially you, me. Your hypothesis is obviously entirely wrong, you’ll learn why in about two decades.” “You… You overturn our own work, then travel years into the past in order to embarrass your past self in front of thousands? Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize. I appear to be a gong-farmer!” “Ouch, that slang is extremely out of date. Well, this should be more than enough to cause whatever paradoxes might arise from proper time travel. Want me to come back in a bit to let you know if the Self-Consistency of Time applies to long distance temporal displacement?” “No!” “Understood, and farewell! Oh! You should think twice about having dinner at our cousin’s house next month.” *warbling arcane humming* “Ahem… Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the interruption. I propose we turn this convention into a think tank focused on discovering the mechanism to allow for long range temporal displacement. There’s a particular nose I would like to punch.” *warbling arcane humming* “That plan fails, by the-” *meaty thwack*

Partial transcript of Hawking Brown’s State of Applied Arcana speech in 1023

Vinyl Scratch - Day 1

The Dark Fortress - Wieav

“Sounds like fun! Can I lend a hand?” A mysterious woman asked from behind the three.

Vinyl reacted instantly, but out of panic. Her sword flew from its scabbard while she spun around as Vinyl performed a flawless iaijutsu strike by pure chance. The end of her blade sliced cleany through the speaker without a single ounce of resistance, leaving behind only a gray smoky-rift in the woman’s face.

An impressive feat considering the humanoid stood two feet taller than Vinyl. One which was made much less impressive by the way the cut didn’t phase her in the least. And completely reduced to nothing when the gray smoke oozing wound simply closed even as the woman’s clothing knitted itself back together slightly behind her “flesh”.

“HOLY SHIT!” Sky swore, sweeping his rifle up into the firing position, his finger hovering over the trigger but not pulling it. Not yet.

Terror still firmly gripping her mind, Vinyl took a few steps back, her sword held in front of her as she tried to take in exactly what they were facing.

The terror stood just over five feet tall, with a body one could best describe as remarkably human in general appearance. Two arms, two legs, one head, a curvy torso, small but noticeable breasts, visibly toned muscles giving an athletic look. Even the proportions were close, though she was over all much thinner than would be healthy for a human of her height, her fingers and arms were slightly longer than they would be for a human woman. She even had hair.

That’s where the similarities ended. The most noticeable difference was her skin. While not metallic or reflective in any way, it resembled gold if that gold was covered by a thin layer of brownish grime. Then of course there was her face. A tiny nose, thin lips, large slanted purely black eyes like pools of crude oil.

If it hadn't been for the way she was dressed, she would have been terrifying.

The alien woman was dressed in a pair of oil stained denim overalls and once-white-now-gray t-shirt, along with a pair of brown leather work boots. Not one piece of her outfit was clean, every inch of it was stained with grease, oil, metal dust, soot, or small flecks of sawdust.

Her hair wasn’t any better off, in cleanliness or style. The raven strands had clearly been grabbed, bunched into a bun, then pinned in place with a pair of carpenter’s pencils with absolutely no care for how it looked. Then buried under a purple newsboy cap, leaving some bangs poking out in a way which while cute, was clearly accidental.

The handle of a wrench protruded from her overalls left hand pocket, a few screwdrivers were tucked into her breast pocket, and her left hand held a beat up, slightly rusty, red toolbox marked with a silver logo consisting of the word PROTO in bold letters.

“YOU JUST ATTACKED-” Orchid squeaked, trembling mid air.

The woman waved a hand dismissively. “Hey, no harm no foul. This happens more than you’d think, what with appearing out of thin air and all,” the woman interrupted, offering the three an amused grin. “I’m guessing you’ve never built anything before, eh? Adventurers. Heh, you'll need my help if you want to get that thing working. By the way, I’m diggin those brass balls of yours! Coming to the Dark Fortress for an adventure. Who does that?”

“T-they’re aliens, ma’am,” Orchid informed before Sky or Vi could do anything.

“Who is this random greasemonkey and how the FUCK does she have a goddamn Proto toolbox?!” Sky demanded dropping is rifle throwing his hands up in a mixture of surprise, distress, and adrenaline.

“I’m so happy I have a sling,” Sheila said quietly as she swung from Sky’s shoulder.

The woman lifted her toolbox slightly. “This? A friend of mine picked it up in a town called Roswell a long time ago. He knew I liked tools so he grabbed me a souvenir. More importantly, you’re clearly an enginerd. How come you don’t know me?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. “Please tell me you’re not about to fix a fusion reactor as your first tool using task, EVER.”

“They're actually sort of, um, aliens,” Orchid said quietly.

The woman groaned and ran a hand down her face, wiping off enough shop grime and dirt to show her skin was in fact just normal gold in color.

“Oh, fer fack’s sake…” She moaned. “Look, we’re fine with offwolders who want to have a little fun on our rock, but you gotta go through my sister. She’s the head honcho here. You can’t just land any place you like, whip up some disguises, and wander around looking for adventure. She has rules!”

W-wait. That’s a thing that happens here? Vinyl thought to herself. Lyra would LOVE this!

“I’ve had this same what the fuck moment before!” Sky exclaimed in shock, still focusing on the woman’s toolbox. “With the same toolbox!”

“What?” Vi, Orchid, and the woman asked in unison, each of them also sprouting identical confused frowns.

A most impressive feat, considering their entirely different species.

Sky looked the woman dead in her eyes. “Your name is NaN. Derpy introduced you to me thirty years go. You brought that toolbox with you. I’m Sky Trigger. You helped my sister and I fix a porta-” Sky’s half astonished half accusatory ramble mutated into an incredulous yelp. “- You picked it up in ROSWELL and look exactly like a Gray. WHAT?!”

Derpy… Knows someone from… Another universe? HUH!? Vinyl silently asked, her brain shutting down slightly. I know she can get lost delivering mail but this is ridiculous!

NaN’s eyes brightened in recognition, or at least, they became more glossy. “Yeah! I remember that. It was about a century ago on this side. Anyways, I didn’t get this. A friend of mine got it for me. More importantly, that didn’t happen in a parallel universe.

“What are the odds of two disconnected universes having planets with towns called Roswell and tool manufactures called Proto who both presumably experienced a spacecraft crash?”

“Really, really, REALLY low!” Sky snapped, shaking his head for a moment before holding it. “Well, I mean, technically they are a hundred percent because infinite universes. But the odds of a given instance of yourself encountering one are astronomically im-fucking-possible!”

NaN shrugged dismissively. “It happened. Doesn't really matter how unlikely it is, does it?” She asked rhetorically. “Sooo, you guys here to visit Derpy? There’s two problems with that. First, she’s not home. I’d know. Trust me. Second, you’re WAY out in the sticks if you were looking for her mom’s place. Want directions?”

“Excuse me,” Vinyl said, her head finally clearing. “But why does Derpy’s mom live in another dimension?”

And how does she get here? Can we evacuate Equestria if it comes to that? Vinyl wondered, her officer's mind quickly formulating several possible backup plans.

“Lyra didn’t tell you?” Sky asked as he gave Vinyl a surprised look.

Vi shook her head. “Nooooope!”

“She got lost as a filly, breached the universal barrier, somehow, and was adopted by a dragoness. Spent years of her adult life hopping from universe to universe trying to find her homeworld,” Sky informed quickly. “More importantly we can trust NaN here to help! She helped Lyra and I rescue Twilight.”

“Oh, well great!” Vi said with a relieved smile as she returned her sword to its scabbard. “We need all the help we can get.

“Uh, anywho, NaN,” Sky continued, turning to face the newly apperated woman, “We’re NOT here to visit Derps, and I am COMPLETELY sure that a certain enemy of ours has no idea that this world is connected to our own. We wouldn’t be here if he did.”

“Then what’s the situation?” NaN asked with a frown, setting her toolbox down on a computer console within her arms’ reach. “I’ll help if I can, but um… You remember me bitching about my sister never letting me do jack shit? About all I’m allowed to do is help folks build things.”

Sky opened his mouth to reply, and a jolt of fear raced down Vi’s spine clean down to her tail tip.

If Sky tells her the EXACT reason we're here Orchid will find out we’re lying and probably have her swarm kill us all!

“We’re in the middle of a challenge forced on us by an Old One,” Vinyl blurted out, the nature of her statement likely the only thing hiding the true reasons for her fear. “If we can find out who he is in this world and kill him, he has to leave our world alone. If we die for any reason, he gets to have his way with the place.

“We have no idea who he is, and if he dies any way other than if someone kills him knowing he’s actually an Old One and is in on the quote unquote game, he’ll respawn as someone else.”

NaN groaned sympathetically and yet also irritably as she pulled herself up onto the console to sit beside her toolbox.

“Well, shit,” NaN said grimly. “Mar’rath is a really big rock floating in space covered in billions of people. Do you have ANY leads? Is it just you two? How totally screwed are we talking here?”

Vinyl nodded, looking up at NaN with an apologetic scrunch of her face. “We know he’s somewhere in Wieav, but that’s like, it. As for other people, we have three. Twilight and Lyra, and my little brother. Who apparently made this fort a long time ago,” she answered deciding to be completely honest.

NaN frowned, her thin lips parting enough to reveal small tombstone shaped teeth. “Come again?”

Sky cleared his throat. “Vinyl is his Lordship’s sister. That is to say, the owner of this fortress. Although, he’s not quite sure as to exactly what he was doing here all those years ago. Or if he was even really here. Though, you know, it seems like he was.”

Orchid twitched mid air at Sky’s words. “His memory is that damaged? Poor guy…”

NaN took a deep breath. “Oooohhhkay… And that’s a big ol pile of frozen shit right in the cunning linguals. Upside, my sister will be PISSED that her usual formula of ‘seal the evil away’ failed.”

Vi’s brow furrowed angrily. “He’s not evil! He just pretends to be so hero's come to fight him. He’s just a bord dork who likes to play the hammy villain.”

NaN waved a hand in an odd rolling gesture. It took a moment for Sky and Vi to realize the gesture was equivalent to rolling one’s eyes.

“Oh yeah, the supermage who almost manages to kill me was just playing. Mmmmmhm… Weird that he was an Equestrian, though.” NaN muttered angrily before looking Vinyl dead in her eyes. “Usually I don’t mind when evil fight’s evil, but this is personal. So. Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t have you thrown off my rock right into deep space?”

Sky looked over at Vinyl uncertainty. “Just how certain are you that he’s not actually evil?” Sky asked skeptically.

“Completely,” Vinyl answered with sincerity. “I’ve seen what he tried to get Lyra, Sherbert and I to play. I saw what he played with Twilight. He does to the villain stuff, yeah. But he PLAYS. Chem doesn't really hurt anything. He doesn't want to. If he did he would have the moment we set him free.”

Vinyl looked back at NaN and took a deep nervous breath. “If he tried to kill you, then it was in a simulated reality. There’s no way he’d really kill a uh… Teleporting mechanic? What are you?”

NaN slid her lips across each other for a moment then nodded. “Well, you believe what you’re saying is true. I’ll give you that. I’ll tell you something else, though. If that really is how your brother operates, then someone was impersonating him. Because I’d know if I were being fed false data. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeves.”

“Like what?” Sky asked curiously, stroking his chin in thought. “By the way, you never answered Vi’s question. What are you?”

“Be polite!” Orchid hissed urgently. “You’re talking to Her Divine Grace’s own sister!”

Sky blinked in surprise. “The Space Pope’s sister is a mechanic? That’s random,” he exclaimed with a snicker.

NaN smirked, shaking her head slowly. “Space Pope. That’s great! Pope. Love it! Silly sounding word. Ima steal it. Please tell me it means,” NaN paused for a moment to take a deep breath. “The First Divine, Mother of the Goddesses, Goddesses of Passion, The Great Bard, She Who Delights In Strangers, The Guide on the Path of Love, The World’s Creator, Her Divine Grace, Null.”

She paused a gain, taking a second breath, seemingly to recover from the long list of titles. “Because then I’d actually be allowed to call her that, and it would just be great because HOLY FUCK her insistence on me using her titles every, single, time I want to refer to her by name is just the WORST!”

“It uh, it doesn't,” Sky said blinking twice. “Is this like a Ming the Merciless thing? Because that would SO explain the weird past-future tech and magic.”

Vinyl cringed. “Oh… Oh, Luna… Did she take over the world to go all ‘Space Empress’ or something? You know, so everyone has to wait on her mouth over hoof?”

Orchid flew over to Vinyl, moving down to whisper directly in her ear. “No. You’re talking to an actual deity!”

NaN giggled. “Hehe! Mouth over Hoof. Too bad Lyra never activated that crystal I gave her. I’d love to get to explore Horse World sometime,” she sighed wistfully. “Nah, as your little fae friend said, we’re actually deities. Not the all-powerful kind, that can’t actually exist. They are logically impossible and all that.”

“Uh, no,” Vi said slowly. “Discord’s clearly omnipotent.”

NaN shook her head. “Guarantee he’s not. Have him try making a rock so big he can’t lift it. If he can, then he’s not able to do anything. If he can’t then he’s not able to do anything. Everything has limits. Nothing can truly be all powerful. It’s the same as saying something is more north than north.

“All the omni-powers are paradoxes like that. Except for omnipresence, if and only if you’re talking about a creature that is literally the fabric of existence itself.”

Sky hummed. “Sooo, then what are you? A God of Creation all Greek Style? And for the record, if Discord has limits they hardly matter from the ‘mere mortal’s’ point of view.”

NaN shrugged. “Hey, cool. Maybe you’re world is different and allows for logical paradoxes. This one doesn't. And I’m not a creator-deity. I’m basically just an immortal engineer, because SCREW making people kiss my ass all the time!

“What kind of vapid bitch wants to be worshiped? Oh, right, my sister. Though since she made this world what it is, I guess she kinda does fit the ‘god’ niche.”

Vi raised an eyebrow. “You sound REALLY bitter about that.”

NaN gave Vinyl a simple look. One Vi had seen many times before. The look of an emotionally exhausted person who wanted to scream ‘No bucking horseapples, featherbrain!’ but was holding the outburst in.

“Let me put it this way. I live forever. I am meant to invent, construct, and assist people in making all things technological. I’m immortal, incapable of suicide, and I don't have the authority to override my sister’s will.

“She’s the head honcho and wants this world to be all trapped in medieval stasis forever and ever because that’s her idea of nice home decor. No spacecraft, no internet, no major computing, no Artificial intelligence, and ESPECIALLY no holographic tech. Nothing fun. Let me say it again, my sole purpose is creating machines. I’m in hell!

“I’ve pissed her off so much over the years that all I am allowed to do anymore is hang out with my fellow engineers and talk shop. So, I have friends. People treat me like a fucking PERSON!

“I can’t imagine why she likes having people wait on her hand and foot, so blinded by cultural indoctrination that they’ll go down on her regardless of their own sexual preferences if she so much as vaguely hints she wants them to, cuz ‘we must please her Divine Grace!’ Ugh!”

NaN shivered in much the same way anyone would upon finding out they were swimming in a septic tank for the last half hour.

“She sounds lovely,” Sky said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “But this conversation has gotten WAY off track here. So uh, how can you help us? If you even still want to help us since her little bro tried to kill a goddess. Huh… Did he threaten too, or did he actually physically try? How would you even do that?”

“He tried. Got pretty close to doing it too. Sis stopped him,” NaN clarified, looking away to hide her wishful look, and failing. “And no, it wasn’t in a false reality. I can be in many places at once.

“I’m in three million different workshops in empire of dirt right now. Just hanging out with my fellow enginerds and having a laugh in the shop. That’s why I know he couldn’t have fooled me with illusions or sensory relaying.”

“Because you’ve got more than one body,” Vinyl said with an understanding nod and a horrified frown. “Then he did really try to hurt you.”

“It’s less I have more than one body, and more like I can make an avatar anywhere someone picks up a tool and starts talking shop. I don't have a centralized mind, or body. I’m therefore immune to that sort of deception.” NaN said, looking off into space as if lost in thought. “You really do think he’s innocent. I can tell. Why do you think he’s been here before?”

Orchid cleared her throat. “I identified him, your grace.”

NaN’s left eye twitched. “Don’t call me that,” she instructed. “I’m just an immortal dork who likes to tinker.”

“B-but all of the divines are to be revered as per Her Divine Grace’s wishes!” Orchid protested.

“Then make it a joke. Like, ‘Your Grease’ or something. Damnit, fae. I’m an engineer, not a idol.” NaN griped as she slid off the console and onto her feet. “I assume he’s close by?”

Vinyl nodded. “Yeah, upstairs in a communications room. Please, don’t hurt him!”

“I’m just going to look,” NaN said as she closed her eyes for a moment.

Vinyl and Sky looked sidelong at eachother, each of them fearing what might happen in the next few seconds.

“Good, only one guy up there. I hate having to do remote viewing. This kinda hurts. Always nice to not have to look at everything,” NaN said aloud, but not to anyone in particular.

If she mistakes him for the real evil Equestria is doomed. I know Chem wouldn’t have done this but… She seems like Discord. And he’s not infallible.

NaN nodded to herself and opened her eyes. “Okay. If that is the same person, he’s pulled a total one eighty,” she said half to herself and half to Sky and Vi.

“Meaning?” Sky prompted.

“Meaning he’s not evil,” she answered. “Either he was framed, or he’s completely reformed. Either way, I can’t hate him. Especially if he’s forgotten putting a fist into my metaphorical heart. Everyone deserves a second chance if they turn themselves around… Though admittedly this pushes that notion to its limits.

“Right then! I’ll lend you all a hand. It will take me a while to come up with a way to help you find your target. While I think about that one, why were you trying to fix this genny?”

Oh thank goodness! We have some help from someone with real power! Even if she is only able to influence carpenters and machinists and stuff that’s a HUGE deal. Vinyl thought as she sighed in relief.

“We decided to use this fortress as a base of operations, since it appears to be owned by one of us… Though if there is some question about his status as owner I uh, Orchid? I like you. Can we just leave? No violence?”

Orchid shook her head. “You don’t have to. Like Her Grace said, either he’s become a different sort of person, or I was serving someone framing him,” she said calmly. “If the first is true, he’s a much nicer person now and gave me a huge raise. Yay for his Lordship’s new outlook!

“If it’s the other thing, well, my ancestor swore an oath to Lord Zeneanus, the Ever-Living. Who is really this guy, and not the guy she was speaking too when she made the oath I’m abiding by. I’ll have to apologize for serving the wrong person for a while. But that’s it.”

“You’ve got an interesting perspective there,” Sky noted.

Vinyl nodded in agreement. “Yeah,” she said with a relieved smile. “I’m glad we’re not suddenly enemies. I have no idea hwo I’d fight you.”

“Hey, whoever he really is, he’s paying me like, A LOT!” Orchid giggled, her pink glow brightening a good deal.

NaN cleared her throat. “It may not be the best idea to use the Dark Fortress as a base of operations. Buuuut, my sister will force you to take an even dumber choice for her own perverse pleasure and I can’t exactly give you a better place. Your brother will be recognised anywhere he goes here and the joint alliance watching this place probably already know he’s back…”

The goddess hummed, tapping her toe in thought for a long while. “Eh, yeah this will have to do,” she said at long last. “A base of operation is definitely something you need for a nationwide manhunt. You won't find another one that’s up for grabs and might withstand an Old One for a bit either.

“Here’s what I’m going to do for you. I’m going to restore this place to working order. Power, shields, weapons, everything. I’ll even put fresh paint on it. While I’m doing all that, I’ll try and figure out a way for you to find your Old One.

“You get just this one favor though. I’m going to be in deep enough shit for this. Dontcha worry. I won't let a whole world die for the sake of not being yelled at. You guys go upstairs and fill your teammates in on what’s happening. I’ll drop by once I’m done in ‘bout an hour.”

“An hour?” Sky asked skeptically. “To fully overhaul an old fort, fix a reactor, and do whatever else this place needs?”

A dozen new instances of the Goddess of Engineering appeared amid pale shimmering gold sparks and immediately beginning to work on different tasks. Opening computer panels, inspecting the reactor’s components, even cleaning a stain off the floor.

“Yeah,” the collective NaNs answered with various friendly grins.

“Talk to you soon, ol buddy! I’ll have this heap proper skookum in a jiffy,” the original NaN said as she picked up her toolbox and straightened her cap.

Lyra Heartstrings - Day 1

The Dark Fortress - Wieav

“Well, while they attend to that I suppose the three of us should also do something productive,” Chem said as Vinyl, Sky, and Orchid left the communications room.

Twilight nodded in agreement, standing up as she looked around the room thoughtfully, her eyes turning to one of the arcane computers.

“There’s probably quite a lot we could learn about Wieav’s military in these. If we’re going to be hunting down someone in a Kingdom, we should know how it’s warriors do their jobs,” she said quite firmly.

Lyra nodded in agreement. “Yeah. If Vinyl’s sword can be some sort of chainsaw, we need to know, I don’t know… If their arrows have lock-on capabilities,” she said with a worried frown as she turned to look out into the hallway. “I hope there isn’t any goblins Orchid missed. It’s pretty easy to set up ambushes in this kind of darkness.”

Chem curled the fingers on his left hand into his palm, murmuring a quick spell before tossing a still forming ball of yellow energy up into the air. The ball burst like a balloon, bathing the room in a warm yellow light.

“Speaking of Darkness,” he chuckled to himself. “I find it funny that most of the magic I’ve been given is light based.”

Twilight blinked in surprise as the warm steady light breathed life into the room. “Why didn’t you do that when we came inside in the first place?” She asked throwing a slightly upset glare Chem’s way as she switched on one of the computers.

Is she for real?! Lyra exclaimed to herself as her jaw dropped.

“Because if you can see, so can the enemy,” Lyra exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief. “Twilight, you- I don’t… You’re smarter than this. What’s wrong?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow as she turned to look at Lyra. “What’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong! We’re stranded in another universe until we can KILL a particular person. As if that moral issue wasn’t enough, all of Equestria is on the line, we don’t know how long we will be gone from our own world and the disasters that may cause.

“There’s the little thing I happen to know about dimensional travel, namly that you can carry magic across worlds and it works just fine, but none of us can use our natural born powers, implying some very very serious magic is affecting us in unknown ways.

“The odds are stacked against us because local law enforcement is a total unknown and may be allowed to kill us if we ‘Attack a citizen at random’ which is how they will see our mission. It’s not like we can explain our mission to local leaders and be taken seriously. This isn’t Ponyville, they’re not going to find ‘Extradimensional game of O&O for keeps’ to be anything more than an insane person’s dribble.

“There’s more! Want me to continue?” Twilight at last finished, her right eye twitching despie the entirety of the rest of her face remaining eerily calm.

Oohhh, ponyfeathers! She’s barely holding that crazy in and it’s the Late Homework variety. Okay, do NOT poke!

Lyra held up her hands defensively, remembering the time she came to blows with Bonbon thanks to Twilight’s panicking over something as trivial as a homework assignment.

“No! No it’s totally fine. I just meant, you know, that I’m here for you,” Lyra gulped, glancing around the room in search of a distraction.

Her eyes feel upon the map table. One of the sides was pulled away from the map slightly.

“Oh! Hey, guys! The map-table has drawers in it.” Lyra announced.

Chem looked up from the radio he had been examining, pushing the brim of his hat up to see the table more clearly. “So it does! And those drawers look like they are holding files. I’m willing to bet that’s where I kept all the intel on this Kingdom.”

“You read up on that. I’m going to look through these dossiers,” Twilight informed as she sat down once more, her fingers quickly finding the keys and entering commands with sharp metallic clicks.

Lyra frowned as she watched Chem walk around the radio-station’s table to stand next to he map.

“You know, invading a real world doesn't really seem like something you would do. I mean, um, now,” she said as she followed him to the table, wanting to see what was inside the files for herself.

“Well… Yes, that would be,” Chem agreed with a nod as he took a folder from the drawer at random. “But there are two distinct possibilities which I find plusable. This world could be one I visited before, but so long ago that the few structures I created to draw attention to myself and find players have combined with the stories told of my game to make this particular world believe it was all for real.”

“DIdn’t you say you wanted that to happen?” Lyra remade uncertainty. “So there would be heros to inspire future generations?”

Chem nodded and smiled down at Lyra. “That’s right! Did that slip your mind? If true, that means this ‘mission’ was a success. The other possibility is that we are within a world created for one of my games.”

Luna’s mane I hope not! Lyra thought with a shudder. Those giant squid things he made to fight Twilight with… Uuuuuugghhh…

“How could we tell? And isn’t this world supposed to be real? I thought that was part of the contract you signed with Hastur,” Lyra wondered reaching up to stroke her chin with a hand.

This gesture feels much better without hooves.

Chem shruged. “None that I know of,” he answered. “And nothing in the contract would have prevented Hatty from taking a world I had made from illusion, shadows, and potential and breathing true life into it.

“That sort of thing is quite easy, really. I can do it on small scales. A few hundred people, an small island sized area of plants and basic animals. Hatty is far, far more powerful than I am. Older too. He could probably cause a “big bang” if he wanted to. But…”

Lyra tilted her head as Chem trailed off.

“But what?” She asked.

“He’s not the type to create something like that,” Chem said quietly. “We all have our roles. We can’t escape them only twist them. He’s what you would call corporate evil. The sort of evil which comes from cold uncaring callousness and greed. He isn’t enough of an artist to make an entire universe and have it feel, look, or function in a particular way.

“But since he is doing this to mock me for what he finds to be a waste of time and power, using one of my own creations against me, and making me have to destroy things I once created would make perfect sense.”

“That’s what I would do if I were an all powerful evil,” Twilight said in agreement, nodding as she read. “It’s not a good idea to underestimate him like that though.”

“Like what?” Chem asked, turning around. “Oh, saying he’s not creative?”

Twilight nodded again. “Mhm. You don’t need to be creative to be a genius. Some of the greatest minds were great because they put existing pieces together. They saw things others simply didn’t. You also don’t need to be an artist to create things. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that many artists don’t create useful things.”

Lyra nodded, wincing slightly. “Yeah… What was with that whole Quazi-Solar Realism art movement sixty years ago? Random squares welded together are not art!”

“No, Lyra,” Twilight disagreed, still not looking up from the screen. “They are art. Art is a very broad and vague term. Pretty much anything anyone calls art is art. The real question is: ‘Does this art have value?’ and often enough the answer is no.

“It doesn't say anything about an idea. It doesn't convey an emotion. Perhaps it looks visually interesting to someone, but it’s not a representation of an idea. It doesn't have a cultural impact because it shows something from a perspective unique to a culture. It has no value outside what someone will pay for it.”

“Wouldn’t that be a statement about the nature of societies which are both individualistic and capitalist in and of itself?” Chem wondered allowed as he opened the file he was holding.

“Only if the artist intended it to be, and created something which clearly presents that message to the viewer. We’re getting off topic,” Twilight said with a giggle. “My point is you don’t need to be creative to turn an idea on its head for the purposes of creating a mockery out of something.”

Lyra hummed. “Well, I guess not. I’ve read plenty of badly written parodies which are insulting to the original story. It is definitely better if you were creative about it, though. Sometimes parodies of ideas can be better than the original.”

“It would also be better if we knew one thing about this land,” Chem said as he looked down at the map for a moment before pointing to a small illuminated Hex on the map with one finger. “For instance, that this place is called Lipon Village.”

“Is the entire file system an index?” Lyra and Twilight asked together.

Chem nodded and quickly flipped through the folder in his hands. “Yes. According to this, Lipon is a predominantly Arakan village which sustains itself via hunting. It’s got a pretty high population, but lacks a nearby garrison so it’s not well defended. Officially. Unofficially, it’s a hunting village, and the notes here say some big game hunters are more dangerous than special forces operatives.

“Lipon is mostly known as a major source for exotic meats which the local nobility enjoys. The Kaston Clan has gotten rich off this trade, but the village’s destruction or occupation would do little more than deprive nobles of a treat. It’s not a breadbasket.”

Lyra grinned. “So those papers go into detail about each town in the whole country? Like, enough to tell whether or not a place is of strategic importance, who exactly lives there, everything?”

Chem nodded, grinning behind his mask. “Everything. At least, everything we need to find out how this place works socially and economically. Care to help me read through these?”

“Sure,” Lyra said, reaching into the open drawer to take out a file.

Wait a minute… Lyra thought to herself as an idea began to take form. Twilight’s right! We can’t just say we’re on a quest to save our world. They WILL think that’s crazy. Anypony not from Equestria would find that completely insane, and even in Equestria, the further you go from Ponyville, the less they would be willing to believe you.

“Chem, if you find any small villages that are also remote and of like, no real importance, leave that file on top of the map,” Lyra instructed.

Chem paused for a moment, then nodded understandingly. “Ah! So we can make plausible cover identities. Good call, Lyra.”

“Mmm, I hadn’t thought of that,” Twilight said allowed. “Good idea, Lyra.”

Chem raised an eyebrow. “You hadn’t thought of that? Really? But you made that whole family history for our game,” he said with a frown. “Lyra’s right. You’re definitely stressed out. It’s a shame you didn’t choose to bring Gadget with you. We did design her to help you with exactly these sorts of problems.”

“I figured she would be too anachronistic,” Twilight sighed. “I appear to have been wrong. According to this, even the more ‘primitive’ appearing cultures have powered armor.”

Twilight twisted the arcane computer so Lyra and Chem could see the mirror. The image in the screen showed a full suit of gothic plate armor, with the joints completely covered. No sign of servos or motors cold be seen on the suit, but the text which went along with the armor detailed the environmental protection capabilities, and the strength, speed, and agility boosting capabilities of this and similar suits of armor.

Lyra shook her head slowly. “You know, there’s a saying in the Human Memoirs stories. ‘Magic is technology’s older brother.’ This place looks like that saying is it’s official mot-”

The sound of something scraping against stone came from the doorway, barely managing to make itself heard over the three’s quiet conversation.

Sky couldn’t be back already, coul- I would have heard his boots clicking on the stone.

Lyra wheeled around, looking into the doorway, her hands reaching up for her left shoulder out of reflex, where the railbow she used on her missions normally sat. Horse-apples! You don’t have a bow, Lyra. This sword needs to be put on my other side asap!

Chem looked up in alarm as Lyra wheeled around. Lyra squinted at the doorway, her eyes picking up a faint ripple, as if light bent suddenly.

That’s the same effect as the cloth which hid the rafts… And how our improvised camo cloaks would work too!

“What is-” Chem began, only for Lyra to instantly cut him off.

“Orchid missed a goblin, it’s been listening. I’ll stop it!” Lyra called as she vaulted over.

“Good luck!” Twilight called after her, as Lyra’s bare talons clicked against the stone floor.

“Help her!” Chem called angrily as he began to jog around the table.

“Don’t help her!” Twilight refuted angrily. “She’s special forces! This is her job. You’ll get in her way.”

“Twilight’s right, I got this!” Lyra called as she reached the doorway and turned left, recalling the ripple had moved that way.

We’ll go over Vi’s tactics later so we don't cause each other problems later. Lyra decided as she drew her weapon.

Not wanting to trip on the long weapon while running with it, Lyra swept the spear-like sword up in front of her, holding it diagonally across her chest, the flat facing her.

Sparks flew, metal rang against metal, a jolt rand through Lyra's arms as something smashed into her blade. Lyra barely had the time to register the crossbow bolt bouncing off her weapon before a second whistled past her left ear.

Lyra immediately lunged to her left, moving as far as she could with the single step and crouching down, minimizing her shape. The faint ripple at the end of the hallway parted for a moment, a sliver of black body armor showing in the crack as a hand reached out to slide a rack of bolts into a small black crossbow with vestigial limbs.

He’s reloading! Lyra noted to herself, taking off at a full sprint towards the shooter, lowering her blade to hold it point first like a spear. We can't let him go. Even if he didn’t overhear everything we said, he’ll tell his commander that the wizard is back and a whole army will attack!

Lyra aimed her blade downwards, the point lining up with the goblin’s belly. But there’s no need to kill him.

The blade rushed forwards, the force of lyra’s entire body behind the impossibly sharp point. The goblin rammed his bolts into his hand-crossbow. Lyra’s lunged forwards, putting all of her might into one desperate strike, and missed.

The goblin spun on his heal, Lyra’s blade screaching as it cut a groove into his armor and stuck into his cloak. The goblin turned his upper body with impossible grace, bringing his bow to bear on Lyra even as he dodged. The bow cracked, electromagnets hidden in the vestigial arms blasting the steel bolt out of the barrel

NO! she screamed internally, eyes wide with terror, her stance giving the goblin a clear shot at her heart.

The bolt slammed into Lyra’s ribs, ripping a hole in her tunic and sending a jolt of intense pain through her chest. A pony would have been killed from a shot like that. But Lyra wasn’t a pony, not here. The bolt bounced off Lyra’s dense kobold hide, cracking a rib and ensuring she would have a rather nasty bruise in the morning.

“OW!” Lyra yelped, staggering back from her attacker, barely managing to keep hold of her weapon. “How am I not dead?”

The goblin cursed, the specific word lost as it twisted, pulling away from Lyra’s spear so violently his cloak was ripped in half. The bottom half of the cloak fell to the cold stone floor, revealing a tight black bodysuit with a few armored panels sewn into the garment at the critical spots. As well as a toolbelt festooned with pouches, and a sheathed kilij hanging at the Goblin’s right side.

Lyra didn’t get a close look at the goblin’s equipment. The small creature turned and bolted through a door to his left the instant after his shot failed to have an effect. The sounds of his boots scraping against a staircase echoing down the hallway as he raced to make an escape.

“AP bolts my ass!” The goblin growled to itself as it ran, apparently not caring about giving his opponent critical information.

You’re not getting away from me, Lyra said to herself with a grim frown as she raced up the spiraling staircase after her lone attacker. And now I know your bow can’t kill me… Well, unless you hit me in an eye. How about you don’t do that? Please?

The two sprinted up the staircase, boots and talons thundering throughout the stairwell as the chace led ever higher. The goblin avoided every last landing on his way up, not sparing so much as a glance at the doorways leading off into the keep’s many floors.

Am I too close for him to want to make a break for it? Or is this a trap? Lyra wondered to herself.

Putting on a fresh burst of speed Lyra rounded the next turn in the spiral stairway, the goblin coming back into view. The diminutive creature was sprinting full tilt up the stairs, occasionally glancing at a small metal box held in it’s left hand mumbling something lost amid the clatter of boots on stone.

Straining her ears, Lyra just barely managed to make out what sounded like cursing broken up by ocasional muttered pleas before suddenly the stairs ran out and the goblin ran into the glass walled room atop the keep.

Unlike every other room in the fortress, this one was lit with very dim yellow light, coming from large flat pieces of crystal embedded in the ceiling. The dim light provided just enough light to see the room was filled with desk-like places to sit arranged in a circle with the staircase coming up slightly off center along the north side of the room.

As Lyra raced into the dark room after him, a light on the goblin’s device lit up green.

“Praise the gods!” The Goblin exclaimed, quickly jumping over a desk in front of him before bringing the device up to his mouth. “Code Brown! Code Brown! The Dark Lord is Risen!”

BUCK! How the hay didn’t I recognise that as a radio?! Lyra screamed at herself.

She shot towards the table, vaulting over it in a fluid motion. The Goblin twisted as he ran, firing two shots widely over his shoulder. The first whistled through the air, bouncing off the wraparound glass with a loud metallic clink. The second hit Lyra in her right hip mid vault.

“OW!” Lyra cried as the bolt managed to stick into her for a moment before bouncing out, a tiny drop of blood bubbling out from the ‘wound’.

Lyra landed on the floor again, a jolt of pain radiating out from her hip and ribs. Oooowww… It’s like that time I taught Big Mac how to box, she silently whimpered.

“Those may not be deadly but they still hurt! Do you really want to make me mad?” She yelled hoping to taunt the goblin into surrendering.

The goblin hopped up onto another desk, turning around to take aim and firing three more shots in rapid succession. Lyra threw an arm up to protect her eyes, feeling three swift ‘punches’ to her gut a heartbeat after.

Urk! Don’t puke, don’t puke, don’t puke, Lyra chanted to herself as her guts screamed in agony.

“We both know you won't let me leave here alive,” the Goblin replied, eerily calm. “I called it in. We all know now. I’m a deadman, but I just might be able to take one of his generals down with me.”

Lyra lowered her arm, and raised her blade cautiously. “You don’t know what’s really happening. None of us want to kill you,” she said hoping she sounded honest.

The goblin dropped his hand crossbow. Lyra’s heart surged with hope.

Hope which was dashed as the goblin withdrew a small potion bottle from a pocket, uncorked it with his needle-like teeth and swallowed the contents. The effect was instantaneous.

The goblin's eyes dilated, the whites turning a bright red as they began to glow. His muscles bulged and rippled, quadrupling in size. Flecks of foam formed at the corners of his mouth as he ripped his curved sword from its scabbard hard enough to slice through it entirely.

“RIP AND TEAR! RIP AND TEAR YOUR GUTS!” He roared with unnatural amounts of bass for something so small.

Lyra yelped a wordless cry of terror as the goblin jumped towards her, blade slicing downward in a crude but powerful bone crushing chop. She dove to the side. The goblin’s blade hit the stone floor, shattering with an ear-splitting shriek of distressed metal.

Lyra scrambled away on her back, swearing left and right as the Goblin turned and threw his broken hilt at her, laughing uproariously. The hilt smashed into her chest, bone snapping on impact. Lyra gurgled, tasting blood.

The Goblin began to sprint for her again, bellowing a wordless cry of hatred and malice.

Only one chance! Lyra’s pain-filled mind screamed.

Seizing her pole-sword with both hands, Lyra held the blade up and out, bracing the dull end against the floor. The goblin, blinded by its drug fueled rage didn’t care and continued to run forwards, impaling itself with a loud wet squelch.

It’s ov- Lyra began to think only for her eyes to widen in horror as the Goblin simply growled and continued to walk down the length of her blade, hand extended towards her throat as he began to laugh maniacally.

“Luna’s-tits! Please-die!” Lyra shrieked as she began to jerk and twist her blade to no effect.

In desperation, Lyra let go of her blade, and began to feel around herself for absolutely anything she could use to protect herself. Need another weapon, need another weapon, need another- Hello!

Her hand closed around the the discarded crossbow’s grip. The Goblin at last slid free of the blade. His gaping stomach wound semeing to at last register as the weapon’s shaft began to slide through its innards. He growled louder, pain rolling along with his rage.

Lyra whipped the crossbow up, jammed it against the goblin’s head and fired. The bolt impacted with a loud crunch, the goblin wordlessly fell over, thrashing for several seconds before laying still. Leaving Lyra sitting on the floor, eyes wide, hands trembling with panic.

“That… Was the hardest fight ever,” she said to herself after several long moments.

After giving herself another few moments to rest, Lyra stood up, clenched her teeth in pain as her broken ribs protested her movement, then tucked the crossbow into her belt, retrieved her blade, and began to limp back down the stairs.

They need to know, that he called for help, Lyra thought to herself, moaning with each step.

Vinyl Scratch - Day 1

The Dark Fortress - Wieav

Vinyl, Sky, and Orchid returned to the communications room as quickly as they could. The fairly long and gloomy walk did nothing to dampen their good mood. After all, while the mission was nearly impossible, they had at least made good progress in just a few hours.

The three walked through the door, immediately looking around at the now magically illuminated room, taking in details such as the desks gold inlay, and the subtle decorative etchings in the room’s stonework which gave the room an air of aristocracy.

“Oh wow, this place looks great when lit up!” Vinyl couldn’t help but say aloud as she drank everything in.

Chem looked up in surprise at the sound of her voice, his eyes widening substantial. “DId you already fix the generator, or is it completely shot? I’m guessing the latter since the normal lights are- WOAH! What on earth happened to you?!”

Chem’s distressed cry made everyone turn around immediately.

Lyra stood in the doorway, holding her ribs with one hand, and leaning against the doorway with the other, completely drenched in black blood from her chest down.

“Got… The last goblin,” she moaned as she limped over to a chair. “He had a can… Of whoopass.”

The exhausted mare flopped down in the chair, instantly hissing in pain and holding her ribs tighter.

“Medic, please,” Lyra groaned.

“Well, at least you got him,” Twilight said sympathetically. “Now no one will know were here.”

“Actually,” Sky corrected. “Someone does know! But that’s a good thing. We sort of met a local who's currently fixing the reactor downstairs for us. We came up to let you know.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “And you trust them?”

Sky nodded and opened his mouth, but Lyra cut him off with a bitter laugh. “Oh man, it doesn't matter. That goblin had a radio. Got a message off. It’s like your dad said, Twi. ‘Trouble follows… Ah crap. What was the quote?”

Twilight frowned, her lips pursing slightly. “I don't recall dad having any sayings about trouble.”

Vinyl’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Um, yeah he does. It’s ‘Trouble follows fortune two fold.’” She said, watching Twilight suspiciously. “How do YOU forget your dad’s most famous quote?”

“Um, that’s not something my dad said,” Twilight replied with a concerned frown.

“Oh!” Lyra said with a wince. “I get it, you’re confused by wording. We mean Starswirl, not your adopted dad.”

“Twilight’s” perplexed face said it all.

Vinyl whipped her sword from its scabbard and pointed the gleaming blade at the deertaur’s throat. Sky followed suit, aiming Sheila dead between her eyes.

Emotional distress or not, Twilight wouldn’t EVER forget a Starswirl quote. Not one the general public knows.

“Hi, Hatty,” Vi said with a grim smile.

6 - Azrael Reaps

“Uhhh, sir? We um… Seem to have moved. To uh, a place with purple water… And a pink sky. Sir? Can I be relieved of duty? I think I've been drugged.” “If you have, then so I have I, Mister Blake. Switch off that egghead’s gizmo.” “No effect, sir.” “Get the Admiral on the line, he’ll want to know about this hallucination immediately.” “Uh, sir? My compass is pointing east.” “What?” “My compass is pointing east. We were facing north, now the needle is pointing east. And the sun’s at a different- Uh, forget the sun. There’s two moons.” “Well, shit.”

Captain Van Allen, USS Eldridge - Drakehand Bay, Mar’rath - October 28, 1943

Lyra Heartstrings - Day 1

The Dark Fortress - Wieav

Lyra’s footsteps furiously thudded against the stairs as she took them two at a time. Her aching body cried out in distress, each frantic movement deepening the cracks in her bones.

I don’t think I’ve ever been hurt this bad, she observed silently as she rounded the corner and exited the stairs into the third floor hallway. Not on the job at least. I miss regeneration.

The keep appeared almost alien with the lights on. The dim gray stonework and maze-like corridors had been frightening, but were easily understood by someone with experience in navigating ancient ruins.

The lights transformed this ruin into a normal place. One she had never been to before. The little details such as the vinework carved into the walls made the passages Lyra had begun to mentally map out feel alien once more.

She said her room was on the third floor. But is it on the right or the left? Lyra asked herself in desperation as she started to run to each door and quickly poke her head inside.

Her every motion was born of panic distilled through her sense of duty into pure energy. The details of her search had no chance to stick in her mind. A door would open, there would be no fae nest within whatever room she happened to look into, and so Lyra would move on, never truly seeing inside the rooms.

A foolish strategy perhaps, but an understandable one given the situation at hand.

Sky briefed us on nuclear weapons when Phoenix started to build them. Lyra remembered as she began to reach the end of the hallway. I thought the point of having them was you never use them. It’s like the ultimate threat. Attack us and none of you will survive. Our last act will be to end your entire nation.

Evil things… But admittedly necessary for a tiny country to protect itself from big ones. Or from threats from space. Besides, Equestria has five Alicorns protecting her. We could unleash way worse evil. If we wanted.

You can’t hold it against a tiny industrial powerhouse which keeps pissing off the griffons to want a way to even the odds. Even Sky’s tech wouldn’t hold off millions upon millions. I can see the griffons deciding they want that super science for themselves… Peace just isn’t free, sadly. At least threats are a better price for it than all out war.

Lyra began to run for the last two rooms in the hallway, her mental clock ticking away the few remaining seconds of safety. Orchid had to be in one of the two rooms. If she wasn’t there, there wouldn't be time to get away.

Sky always said he’d never show us one go off. We’d have to be okay with watching video of past detonations. Because if he blew one up, everyone half a country over would be poisoned and a city sized area would be uninhabitable for decades.

These guys have to know what those bombs do. They built them. They put them into launchers on their subs. They shot twenty at us. Twenty “All is lost, take them with us so no more shall suffer their wrath.” bombs. What did Hatty do to them?

Lyra threw the left hand door open wide. Her eyes scanned the room, noting a distinct lack of anything like a nest and immediately leaving the doorway. She spun on her heel, losing her balance and falling over as her damaged hip simply couldn’t take her full weight.

Ponyfeathers! I just had to want an escape from my normal life, didn’t I? She moaned. I’m a sniper, why did I pick a melee class? I didn't even go rogue like I normally play… Maybe Hatty is right.

That thought sat in her mind for exactly one tenth of a second. The buck he is, Lyra. This is a new challenge. Overcome it! Let’s do this!

Lyra scrambled upwards, moving across the hall before she had properly stop, back up, and throw the last door open. She didn’t need to look around to find a nest.

The entirety of the large bedroom had been completely transformed by Orchid’s ancestors. Rich black soil had been brought into the room and used to terraform the stone box into a lush hilly valley covered in neatly trimmed grass. Plants grew in the room thanks to the special lense which replaced the window’s glass, allowing the sun’s warmth to flood the entire room.

Miniature trees were planted everywhere, some even growing tiny fruit. A doll-sized barn sat at the base of a hill where fae drones tended to a herd of shrews. A water pipe in the wall had been cut into, allowing a itty bitty river to flow through the valley along clay banks and then drain into a lake complete with a water treatment plant.

Small lumps of magical stones had been stuck to the ceiling, creating a night sky. Hidden amongst the pale glowing chips of a light-stone were silver and copper medallions. Once tools in a spy’s arsenal, the magical tokens now created a number of tiny smokescreens, simulating clouds or playing quiet sounds of nature.

Birdsong, distant rainfall, the chirping of crickets. These sounds poured from the room the moment the door had been wrenched open.

Lyra stood at the edge of the room-sized mountain-valley, so stunned by her discovery she briefly forgot about the incoming doomsday barrage which even now plunged down through the stratosphere.

T-there’s even a little town! Lyra stammered mentally as her gold eyes locked onto the hundred or so miniature dollhouses arranged in the valley’s center.

There was a post office, and a fire house, and a little general store. A schoolhouse, a library, and a town square complete with a clock tower, fountains and a “big” pine tree as the centerpiece. The swarm of Fae walked along the town’s sandy streets, performing minor maintenance on buildings, and otherwise maintaining the town but never once interacting with one another.

Like an estranged stallion’s model train set, the only missing feature of the fae nest was people truly living within it.

This is what Neighpone’s kaiju feel like. How can they bring themselves to smash cities?! Lyra asked herself as her eyes took in the countless tiny oil lamps set atop toothpicks to form street lamps. Are tiny things disgusting to them?

Lyra didn’t notice as one of the house’s doors creaked open and a pink ball of light sleepily flew out from the Victorian styled townhouse. Orchid made it up to Lyra’s eye level before the minty mare snapped out of her incredulous marveling.

“Hey… So… I need two things,” Orchid asked with a yawn far too adorable for someone who insisted on being a tough warrior. “I need you to brew me a you sized mug of coffee, cuz I’m not gonna get back to sleep. I also need you to open the door WAY less fast from now on. The wind that makes is really really loud for someone my size.”

Lyra shook her head once to fully clear her mind. “We need to get to the basement now! Those goblin’s friends just launched nukes!” Lyra warned.

The sleepy fae frowned. She’d never left the fortress, nor had any of her ancestors within her swarms’ memory.

“What’s a nuke?” She asked, rubbing her eyes with her hands in a vain attempt to dislodge the sleep trapped within her eyelids.

“Big, terrifying, city-destroying bombs!” Lyra warned urgently. “We have like, a minute left! NaN says there’s a chance we can survive down there.”

Orchid’s eyes peeled open properly. “Come again?” she asked.

“This whole place is going to be flattened! We need to go!” Lyra shouted, jerking a thumb over her shoulder at the hallway.

The sleepy fae turned around, looking at her “hive” for a short moment before simply shaking her head. “Lyra, the fort’s walls are thicker than you are tall. We’re fine.”

Lyra’s jaw dropped at Orchid’s display of shocking naive. “I- but-”

“Goblins throw bombs at me all the time. Those things never do anything to the walls. If they are throwing from outside, we’re fine,” Orchid continued, fluttering down towards her house.

“A ME SIZED CITY, YOU IDIOT!” Lyra shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Wait, what?” Orchid asked, turning back around.

“We’re being shelled, with bombs, big enough, to destroy a whole city, made for people MY size,” Lyra clarified.

Orchid’s eyes nearly popped out of her head as she came to understand the immediate danger. Then she grinned ear to ear.

“That sounds awesome!” Orchid said happily.

... Can’t tell if stupid, or just likes explosions. Lyra silently groaned. “I can’t grab you and run without crushing you. Move it!”

Orchid nodded and waved Lyra down the hall. “Go! I’ll be right behind you. I need to get-”

“WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO PACK VALUABLES!” Lyra shouted, her left eye starting to twitch.

“I’m getting mission critical equipment!” Orchid explained as she flew back into her hive.

While the two had been speaking, a large percentage of Orchid’s swarm had cleared the ground in front of the room’s closet door, and pried the “colossal” oak slab open to reveal a wooden gantry constructed from random bits of driftwood and old tree branches.

Supported by the wooden structure was the single most intelligent creation of all time.

The golem stood two feet tall. Most of its skin was made from the assorted segments of sixteen different suits of armor stitched together with scrap thread made from loose cloth fibers. One patch might be thick leather, it’s neighbor might be chainmail, and it’s neighbor’s neighbor could very well be a piece of brigandine.

Pieces of household objects made up larger portions. The face seemed to have been made from a bronze statue, but had been battered so much to make it fit with the rest of the skull you couldn’t tell the sex of the statue’s original subject. What’s more the eyes had been cut out and replaced with chunks of crystal, and the creation had been given a faux-hawk using feathers from four differently colored feather dusters.

Orchid raced towards the Random Crap I Found Around the House Golum, heading right towards a small open hatch on the chest.

“We don’t have time to start up anything! We need to run!” Lyra urged.

“It won't take long! NaN showed me how Numerican Marine’s armor works. I just need to give it a little psionic juice and-”

Lyra groaned and facepalmed. “Why is this important to you?”

“I can’t ever make another one! I may need a larger body to help our master!” Orchid shot back.

Unwilling to argue with the fairy, Lyra stepped into the room, carefully avoiding stepping on anything or anyone, and ripped the golem away from its moorings. It was much heavier than she expected. A sharp and wet crack followed by an agonized scream nearly deafened Orchid as one of Lyra’s ribs shattered under the stress.

Lyra closed her eyes, blocking out the pain as she shouldered the massively heavy miniature mecha and began to firestallion carry it out of the room, pain significantly slowing her steps.

Orchid gasped and raced along after Lyra, her swarm following as one.

“I’m so sorry!” She apologised. “I’m not very alert when woken up, I didn’t notice you were wounded. I’ll fix you up! I just need three minutes.”

“You… Can heal?” Lyra groaned, staggering back down the hallway, her eyes intently focused on the stairs.

“Yes! Any swarm of my size could heal you.” Orchid said worriedly. “If we get the chance.”

They reached the stairs before Lyra decided to reply. “I haven’t been hurt like this in… In a long time. Back home, in my real body, I would have healed from a beating like that in minutes,” Lyra said convercationaly, using her words to distract from the pain burning along her side.

“What happened?” Orchid asked as they began to spiral down the stairs.

“You missed a goblin. I got him though,” Lyra grunted as the shock of a particularly hard footfall sent a shooting pain up her side.

First chance, get some real armor. Kobold hide may be tough but I think something inside…

“Oh,” Orchid said sadly, losing a bit of altitude as she realized the danger was her fault. “He called for help and now they’re-”

Her words were lost as the world was consumed with a light so bright the sun seemed like a candle.

The Dark Fortress - Day 1

Stonerake Island - Wieve

Twenty warheads fell from the heavens and transformed the moonless night into day. A hundred miles east, Landfall Isle was the first to know of the explosion. The town guards on the western side of Noma who were unfortunate enough have been looking out to sea were struck blind by the firestorm. Everyone in town with a west facing bedroom window woke from the impossible flash just in time to see every piece of glass in town shatter.

Even further away from the manmade star, on the mainland, the entirety of the port city of Tulwar lept from their beds in fright as the world’s loudest thunderclap sent the city into a panic. The bombardment’s shockwave battered the port’s sea walls with immense waves. The few ships leaving or entering the port at the late hour were dashed against the brick sea walls or capsized.

High in the air above the sea, the blast’s winds ripped at the cloth-skinned airships carrying Fort Helm’s soldiers towards the center of the temporary sun. No one in living memory had seen a nuclear blast, and that statement remained true. Every soul within the fleet dared not look upon the hell before them, choosing instead to hunker down and beg their patron deity for forgiveness as they were caught in the storm.

A storm which swept Stonerake Island into the annals of history.

The warheads exploded in the air, allowing the full force of their combined blasts to hammer the fortress below using the isle itself as an anvil. The fortress, its island, and the lake around it vanished inside a ball of flame hotter than the core of the stars themselves.

The lake evaporated instantly.

Everything on the lakeshore vaporized. Every plant. Every animal. Every scrap of stone within the fireball. Gone.

Everything on the island unfortunate enough to not have been inside the man-made hellfire burst into flame.

But only for the tiny fraction of an instant before winds more powerful than anything in nature’s arsenal pulverized the island, blasting everything other than the bedrock to dust and scattering it all to the winds.

The once lush island was now a bare lump of stone protruding from the sea. The lake had become a crater three times as deep as the former lake. In a few days, a week at most, the sea’s relentless waves would smash aside the nearly annihilated seawall, and a new bay would be born.

In the coming weeks every nation to the east would experience black rain. Clerics around the world would deal with a spike in birth defects this year, and many more cases of cancer in the coming decades.

Yet the true horror was this: Every mother cradling her deformed child, every untreated person dying from fallout induced cancer, every last person struck blind, they all knew of The Blight in the west. Only the most selfish them wouldn’t be happy with the price they paid to stop its creator.

Five hundred meters below the sea, near the blast epicenter, the Sea Dragon rocked and swayed as the submersible weathered the storm, it’s psionic shields and the shear mass of water between the starburst and her hull resulting in only a few bumps and bruises for careless members of her crew who refused to brace for impact.

The submersible slowly rose upwards, even as the blast wave shook the ship. She rose to just below the surface and set sail for the shoreline, moving towards the aftermath of the hell she had created.

The journey was short, even with the Sea Dragons ageing engines, and a mere three minutes after the island ceased to be, the order was given.

“Up periscope,” Captain Harrel ordered calmly as he stood up to inspect the carnage.

With the flip of a switch, the Sea Dragon’s eye raised above the surface, and turned towards the crater.

Captain Harrel peered into the scope, turning it left and right to survey the devastated area. Not a scrap of life remained on the island, just as expected. Stonerake had become a place of the dead, without a living thing upon it. Nor was the fortress sitting on it’s small isle amid the lake.

The fortress hovered mid air, its ancient arcane engines keeping the entire islet the fortress was built atop aloft. Or at least, bairly aloft. The flying fortress swayed in the air, more than a little unsteady as she listed to one side and rotated slowly counterclockwise.

Her shield was visible as a crackling pale green orb which spat the ocasional bolt of lightning. The universal sign of a shield generator on it’s last circuit screaming out for a mother it didn’t have.

“She’s airborn,” the Captain reported to his crew with horror. “If you ever wanted proof that Command agreeing to lower our nukes yields was a bad idea, here it is.”

Then the Captain’s eyes found something which brought hope back into his world.

A massive jagged looking patch of shield near the top sparked and flickered maddeningly. A weak spot, perhaps even a breach where a direct hit had thoroughly disintegrated at least one shield emitter.

“Gentlemen, we have scored a direct hit,” the Captain announced the moment the breach entered his field of vision. “With some luck, the fireball leaked inside, or the gamma pulse will have scoured the fortress.”

Captain Harrel was not a man to let luck speak, not when the enemy fortification still stood.

And stand the fortress did. The crackling shield made it next to impossible to see the extent of any damages, but at the moment that was not important.

The Dark Fortress had been hit with more than twice the warheads which had at last breached her shields a hundred years ago. Yet she stood. Every last soldier on the Dragon’s bridge felt an intense wave of hatred deep within their hearts, directed at long dead diplomats who had negotiated certain treaties just now unintentionaly doomed the world.

Not just the reduction of their nuclear arsenal, but also the ones prohibiting fielding Marines on foreign soil without express permission months in advance.

“It’s a good thing we’ll never go to war with the Dragons,” the navigator murmured nervously. “Imagine if that place’s shield weren’t six thousand years old…”

“Never say never. It could happen,” the tactical officer disagreed grimly.

Captain Harrel stepped away from the periscope. “I’m afraid that Mister Johnson is correct, Mister Brown. We will never go to war with the Dragons. It would be more along the lines of pest control.

“That being said, this ancient Ranger Station is only slightly more advanced than the Sea Dragon. It can be breached. It can be destroyed using our weapons, and destroy it we shall.”

Mister Brown cleared his throat. “Will all due respect, Captain, I doubt we can do much to it with it still standing after a Full Strike. Not with this ship being as old as she is. I recommend we observe until reinforcements arrive then provide assistance with whatever arcane weapons they will field. The spiders should be along soon, and the fortress isn't returning fire. I believe we have time.”

Captain Harrel nodded and begun walking back to his chair. “I agree, Mister Brown. However I want to see if our secondary guns can take that shield fully down. That generator is on its last legs.

“Helm: Bring us to the surface and transition to attack mode. We will bombard the fortress with our secondary guns until the Rider and his knights arrive.

“Miss Thompson, request our allies reroute an airship to help us deploy some Marines, and make sure our best Assault Marines are ready to deploy as soon as the spiders can get an airship to us.”

“Aye, sir!” The communications officer answered, immediately getting to work.

The Captain sat back down and closed his eyes sadly. “Charlot,” he said quietly, looking off into the distance. “I’m afraid you’ll have to try and bring the main gun online. We’ll need it now that our silos are empty.”

The ship’s Poltergeist was silent for several minutes. Not because she was following orders, rather because she was afraid.

“I don't think we can fire it without me exploding, sir,” she answered at last.

“Would we get off a shot?” Captain Harrel asked her calmly.

“I think so.”

“Then do it. I’m certain everyone aboard would rather die than see a nation transformed into more Blightlands,” the Captain said while letting his eyes roam across the fifteen crewmen on his bridge.

Not a one of them objected.

Dragon Riders are a rather unconventional lot. If asked, most people without a military background would say the Riders are akin to a knight order, with the Dragon clearly acting as a knight errant to prove their worth to their eignamatic kin while their Rider is a humble squire, attending to the dragon’s needs.

This is entirely untrue.

Those with a military background, especially officers, would politely correct you on the matter, saying the pair are a police force. Equal partners with the non-dragon serving as an expert in the ways of the more primitive species living outside the dragons homeland. Some might let it slip that their service as mercenaries can be purchased through Weive’s military.

This is only mostly untrue.

To the non-dragons who enlisted in the Riders as a cadet, the opportunity of a lifetime awaited. The great honor of working alongside a Dragon to bring peace and safety to all the world was something most people could only dream of. Especially since the true test of a Rider was one of character, not of strength.

The non-dragon in the pair had to be a hero with a heart of gold. The cream of the crop, for courage. As well as capable enough to be trained as a skilled warrior.

According to the official documents, only one in ten thousand initiates passed the Council’s judgment and were admitted as full riders.

One would expect the dragons to be similarly vetted. Not so. For the dragon in a Rider team was a failure. Someone who flunked out of Ranger training, but allowed to take on less serious work helping to maintain relations with their world’s primitives by serving them.

Like most dragons within the Riders, Zorgoth the Shadowscale had long since made his peace and even found a measure of honor in his work.

Zorg was a fairly runty dragon, short in height and length and quite thin as well as being very narrow and angular. In all, he stood about as high as a large horse, and counting his tail was only twice as long. Such a build would have allowed him to be a very stealthy Ranger, if it didn’t also make him a very slow flier due to his little wings.

His scales were a dark black, dark and glossy enough to be highly reflective and hide nearly every one of the features unique to Mar’rathian dragons. The black coloring had to be some form of mutation, covering him scale, fang, claw, and flesh. His flesh, both carbon and silicone based, it was all black.

Even his wing membranes were too dark to see the tessellating patterns of the natural solar cells which lay beneath his skin.

His eyes too were black, not that mere color could mask the uniqueness of his people’s eyes. The wet granite colored orbs were ringed in concentric circles of glowing light, yellow in Zorg’s case, the ever shifting and rotating circles screamed ‘cybernetics’, especially when the ocasional fleck of a HUD element popped up in them.

Yet they were natural. All Dragon’s eyes were

Amusingly enough, Jago matched his partner. The Kobold was also small, very short, lithe, and nearly monochromatic, being almost entirely platinum gray with only yellow eyes and tiny black horns to provide any sort of accent.

One would expect the kobold to dress in colors which complemented his hide. Unfortunately for people who believed in the importance of fashion, Jago’s clothing, platemail, and tabard were all his favorite color. White. The only color given to his ensemble was the red and gold the Rider’s coat of arms on his pauldrons.

The two were almost entirely certain the Council paired them simply because Maru the Colossus thought it would be adorable to make the tiny white kobold ride the tiny black dragon.

And ride he did. Better than most Riders, in fact. While Zargoth was slow for a dragon, Jago weighed next to nothing, and thus slowed his partner down not at all.

The two flew ahead of the Wevian fleet, having decided to scout ground zero themselves before the men under their command could even get near to the Dark Fortress. Fort Helm wasn’t a very important military outpost, the small fleet maintained there held only older ships. They hadn't a prayer of keeping up even a slow dragon like Zorg.

A very good thing when you were uncertain if the landing zone was a radioactive hell or not.

Jago asked telepathically, grateful as always for the magics granted to them by their bond allowing clear communication despite the wind roaring past their ears and the loud creak of his leather saddle.

Zago answered.

Jago nodded and closed his eyes, centering himself and quickly layering the extra ward atop their usual beefy protections. He slumped slightly, the effort taxing him more than he’d ever admit.

Zago announced just as jago reopened his eyes.

the kobold said, closing his eyes again and reaching out to his partner through their soul link.

Zargoth reached back, and his friend instantly saw the world through his eyes.

The Dark Fortress filled the Dragon’s view. It sat in the air above the skeletal remains of Stonereake Isle, surrounded by the crackling opaque green shield and slowly drifting, like a wounded animal.

Jago observed, wincing as he watched the arcane energy swirling across its surface.

Zargoth agreed wearily.

The dragon interrupted.

Jago frowned, uncertain as to the meaning of the draconic word though the message was quite clear. He continued to study the damaged shield, searching for any safe way to breach it. Like all Riders, he was trained in the use of magic. Unfortunately, this felt like a problem for a proper wizard.

Jago began.

Zargoth’s eyes flicked right as he noticed a black shape in the water. WIthout the moons in the sky even draconic eyes could only see the Sea Dragon as a dark rectangular blotch on the surface of the sea. A dark blotch which was slowly changing shape as recessed gun turrets were raised into position.

The dragon urged.

Jago groaned internally by reflex, once again wishing that his partner didn’t know about certain elements of Kobold society. Specifically, the extreme rarity of male kobold warriors.

Jago grumbled as he took the portable radio out of his saddlebag and switched it on.

“Rider Jago to the Sea Dragon: Abort bombardment, repeat abort bombardment! The fort’s shields are highly unstable and could open a Voidgate if collapsed., he called loudly, hoping his voice would carry over the wind.

A few long moments passed. Zargoth stared at the ship, eyes locked on the turrets, dreading the violet beam of psionic energy which could doom them all.

“We hear you Rider,” the radio crackled, Miss Thompson’s voice nearly lost to the winds. “The Captain wishes to speak with you. Standby.”

Jago nodded, blushed as he realized he forgot the Numerican’s toys didn’t send pictures yet again, then waited.

“Rider?” Captain Harrel asked over the radio. “Are you there?”

“I am. We’re scouting the Fortress, roughly a thousand yards above and to the east. Do not fire on the fortress! It’s shields are reacting to the local magic in a very bad way. We can’t bring them down violently,” he warned.

“Yes, so I’ve been told. What exactly is a Voidgate? We’re not quite familiar with arcane terminology,” the Captain understated.

Zargoth reminded.

Jago grumbled silently. “I believe you call them psiportals. You know, gaping holes into the void from which demons like to spew out? One of those.”

“Ah,” Harrel said calmly. “Let’s not do that.”

“Yes. Let’s not,” Jago agreed with a relieved sigh.

“Unfortunately, this means we will need to find another way inside the Fortress. My orders state it must be swept and cleared if it continues to stand after the Full Strike. What’s more, I’d do that anyways. This is… Personal,” the Captain admitted.

Jago nodded, his mind flashing back to the three months he and Zargoth had spent attempting to retrieve a lost ambassador from a town swallowed by the Blight.

The fleshy ooze which replaced the ground and grew out until it neared water. The grotesque horrors which grew from the living ooze like plants, only to break free and hunt down anything with a pulse like an apex predator. The distinct feeling that the Blight and it’s Spawn were all the same organism, working together to feed on your flesh and soul.

The fact that not even the gods could destroy the Blight. Just how much money and men did it cost Numerica to contain.

“Yeah… Yeah I imagine it would be for anyone living next to that place,” Jago agreed grimly. “I don't have a plan, but I have the start of an idea. There’s a weak spot in the shield up top. It flickers out of existence entirely for a few moments only to come back on. We MIGHT be able to do something there.”

“Did you get our message requesting an airship?” Captain Harrel asked curiously. “I intend to land as many Marines as possible on the Fortress. It might be possible for a squad to jump down through the breach and disable the shields from within.”

Zargoth exclaimed so urgently that Jago didn’t even think about preventing him.

“That’s not a good idea. Too much mass hitting the shield could overload it. I recall your Marines being quite large. What’s more, if they missed the breach touching the shield itself would almost certainly disintegrate them. Though I think the breach itself may be safe to pass through. Well, somewhat safe,” the dragon said through his rider.

“Could a single Marine make it without causing a third demonic invasion?” The Captain wondered.

Jago asked his partner as the Dragon remained silent.

“That could work,” Jago said, passing on the message since Zar was seemingly done relaying through him.

Zar said defensively.

“Then we do have the start to a plan. But only a start. Ordinarily, one Marine would be more than enough to turn off a shield, but this is the Dark Lord,” the Captain said grimly.

Jago’s eyes brightened as an idea sprang fully formed into his mind. “Ah ha! I’ve got it,” he exclaimed eagerly. “I brought a gate charm with me incase we attacked only to be trapped inside the Fortress. If we get someone inside, they can use it to open a portal and allow a large force to enter who can then take down the shield!”

“You only just now remembered this?” Captain Harrel asked incredulously. “I’ve seen those in action, one will do nicely.”

Jago nodded. “Well, I brought it as a contingency, not a means of assault. What’s more there’s a catch. Arcane portals tend to spew mana everywhere while open. With how unstable that shield is-”

“It would overload them. Right, back to square one. What if we drop a squad through one at a time?” the Captain asked.

Zar warned.

“Zargoth says that’s no good, Captain,” Jago relayed. “But I wasn’t done. As long as the gate charm was activated towards the middle of the shield it should be okay. The energy overflow is localized. Trust me, I’ve used these to slip around wards before.”

“Then if we can get a man inside the Fort itself, we can get a squad inside. Excellent! How soon can you have an airship pick my men up?” The Captain asked.

Zar advised.

Jago agreed. “Not sure if that’s the best idea, sir. It would leave my fleet exposed and within attack range of the Fortress for however long the shields remained up, plus the time it would take to begin dropping paratroopers.

“We have uh, ten minutes? Ten or twelve. Let’s go with ten to be safe. I think we could lift one Marine up to the breech and drop them in, right Zar?”

The dragon nodded.

“Yeah, Zar’s up for it,” Jago added quickly. “We can be at your sub in three minutes, at the breach in say, two more, giving your soldier five minutes to open the gate, and then the squad would have a few more minutes to take down the shield. If they can be fast, we might not have to circle the Fort at all. What do you say?”

The Captain was silent for a few moments as he tried to think of a better plan. “It’s worth a shot. We can always try bombardment and magically containing the psiportal once your fleet arrives. How many battlemages do you have?”

“Sixteen, and two wizards,” Jago replied. “Along with fifty knights. Nearly our whole garrison.”

Jago flinched as a loud snap crackled into his ear as the Captain flipped a switch on the Sea Dragon’s bridge.

“Sergeant Horrigan, report to the upper deck and prepare to be airlifted. We need someone to help the spiders open a portal so we can take the Fortress’s shields down safely. A Rider will be along shortly to transport you. You’ll be briefed in flight.” The click thundred once more as the Captain flipped the intercom off. “Godspeed, Rider. Sea Dragon out.”

Jago asked as he tucked the radio back into his saddlebag.

Zargoth admitted as he banked left and begun to dive down towards the Sea Dragon.

“Orders received sir,” Gunnery Sergeant Francine Horrigan said as the intercom crackled off.

The assault deck was a single massive airlock with dozens of individual hatches and ladders. A space meant to shelter troops before they rapidly deployed onto the upper deck. It a fairly cramped place for a Marine.

Especially one of her size. Even more so when the Sea Dragon’s entire Marine complement was standing armed and armored on the deck, clustered around the hatches, making each hatch and ladder glow a pale purple.

Not intentionally. Each squad’s collective psionic might combined with their eagerness to fight almost always caused a little Saint Elmo’s fire to manifest nearby.

“Damnit!” One of Francine’s squadmates cursed, frowning behind his helmet’s faceplate. “There goes our shot at some fun this year.”

“Save some for us, Sister?” Another asked hopefully.

“I don’t know… It’s just ONE Dark Lord,” she joked, sending each of her squaddies a quick telepathic smile. “We’ll see.”

The Marine gave her armor one last quick check, pulling her currently green adaptive camouflage robe aside to check for each of her weapons and tools.

Very few people would call a Marine’s kit Power Armor. It was sleek, nearly form fitting, with very minimal visible plates. Most people would describe it as a black catsuit with a hydraulic exoskeleton attached to it. Those people never saw the armor in proper use, when psionic energy ran through the armor’s systems like the lifeblood it was.

Most people also found the marine’s eyeholeless helmets to be beyond stupid. Not because of their simple blank-face aesthetics. But because they offered no physical or magical way to see. The Marines had no need of such shortcuts. Francine could see herself just fine.

Her equipment was all there. She was good to go.

With the most trivial of thoughts, Francine directed her power to her armor. Energy poured into its systems. The armor hummed quietly, purple energy flashing across its surface for an instant as perfectly form fitting plates of hardened ectoplasm formed over and around the armor’s hydraulics, creating a full body suit of dull green armor that was just as tough as the marine who conjured it.

Francine didn't need the ladder. Reaching up and twisting the hatch open, the Marine hoisted herself up the fifteen feet to the upper deck, pulled her robe’s hood up, activated its’ camouflage mode with a thought, and waited for her ride.

“Better not be a tomb already. There’s only so much sitting around meditating a girl can do,” she grumbled to herself.

7 - The Halls of Montazuma

”Your world is ours. We will return.”

The Whispers of Demons, as reported by all psykers who peer into the void

Vinyl Scratch - Day 1

The Dark Fortress - Wieav

“They’re too late,” NaN cried in warning. “Close the doors!”

Sky started to pull the lever, but there was no time. The Dark Fortress did not shake as the warheads struck home. It fell.

The entire island plunged dowards a full meter, throwing Sky, Chem and Vinyl into the air as if the fortress itself yanked the floor out from under them. The lights flashed and flickered. The ancient machines bellow screamed in mechanical agony. The equally ancient magicks above crackled and crumpled under the bombardment’s terrifying might.

The bare steel room began to shimmer and ripple as intense heat scorched everything within the shields. The firestorm outside could not be held back, not in its entirety. Not by this shield.

The ancient generator screeched as the impossible power outside pushed against it, forcing but the tiniest fraction of itself through. The generators electric cry deafening the three as they lay in a heap upon the floor.

Throughout it all, NaN remained standing, her face twisted in sympathetic pain as she stared down through the floor towards the slowly melting shield generator.

“I’m sorry little guy. I know… I’d help you if she wouldn’t kill me. You can do it, come on,” she encouraged in the voice one might use to encourage a puppy to climb atop a chair.

But her voice was lost amid the chaos. Smoke billowed up from the depths, thick, black, and inky. It filled the fortress’s ceilings, leaking up through the open blast doors into the stone part of the keep, where paint cracked and peeled under the impossible sun’s deadly heat.

Then, as soon as the hell on earth began, it stopped.

Vinyl moaned and slowly sat up, wincing as her armor brushed against her skin. The chain links felt like a pan which had only just recently been pulled out of an oven. Not quite hot enough to burn, but certainly hot enough to make you worry about being burned.

She blinked, wincing as her eyes and mouth tingled in the dry air, as the fortress greedily sucked up all the moisture it could.

Chem and Sky slowly sat up as well. The Old One looked especially staggered as he used the wall to pull himself up to his feet, stumbling awkwardly.

“It feels like the room is spinning,” he groaned. “Is this what it feels like to be knocked silly? I need a time machine. And apology gift baskets.”

Vinyl nodded once. “Yeah. It is,” she said before looking over at Sky. “So, Sky. This is why you never let Luna see what nukes do. Good call.”

“Nnn,” Sky moaned, holding his head with both hands as he remained sitting on the floor.

“Concussed?” Chem guessed.

“Feels like it,” Sky mumbled. “Hope not. And yeah, Vi. This is why.”

NaN smiled as she saw everyone getting up. “Whew! I thought the rads would cook you guys. Don’t worry, as soon as you can get to any town near the railroad, you can get a healing potion and fix any radiation sickness right up.”

“And we will do that, how exactly?” Chem asked, still leaning against the wall. “We’re no match for that submarine if it fires again, nor do we have any boat… Unless… Sky? Think we can commit piracy?”

Sky smirked but said nothing. He didn’t need to.

NaN smiled like the dork she was and patted the room’s side. “I fixed everything I could in this old girl. Including the Magitek interface. The Fort’s float units are controlled form the top of the keep. You can fly her right on out of here. Uh, if the float units are okay. We seem to be spinning a bit.”

Vi snickered and managed to stand up completely. “Oh. I thought that was just me,” she said bitterly. “W-what are the odds that Lyra’s okay?”

NaN frowned. “Low… Not zero, but low. With the doors open… She’ll be hotter longer than we are. Stone oven vs metal oven. But…”

Vinyl looked down, closing her eyes tightly. “It’s alright. If we die here, we’re not dead for good.”

Lyra… I’m sorry. If we lose, you’ll die for good. Without you… Our team’s down a trained soldier. It’s my fault. Bucking- ARGH! I shouldn’t have let you try that stupid Nightmare plan in the first place! She cursed to herself.

“No more mistakes.” Vinyl said as she opened her eyes and turned towards The Engineer. “Not. One. More. Mistake. NaN, you said you’d work on a game plan for us. What do you have?”

“Lyra will be fine, Vinyl,” Chem promised. “If we fail at this game I swear to you I will do everything in my power to save you. There’s always time for another last minute.”

NaN nodded and pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “You won't fail. I’ve got a plan. Not a whole plan, but what I have will give you a fighting chance,” she informed, reaching into the front pocket of her coveralls and removing a spiral bound notebook. “Our world has faced extra-dimensional threats before. I don't personally have the power to sense their presence, but I can make a machine that can! These are the plans.”

“What, like, an Eldritch Radar?” Sky and Chem asked in unison. Sky out of technical curiosity, Chem out of simple amusement.

“More like sonar, only with Other Space instead of wat- Uh, this would get super technical. I don't have time. Sis will have heard that boom,” NaN corrected quickly, her eyes flashing with an urgent light. “This fortress’s secondary systems can be scavenged to make most of what’s needed. There’s a parts list in here because I can’t keep helping you guys. I will do what I can though, I mean it when I say I won't let a world die.

“There’s three critical components you won't be able to make. You MIGHT get the Dragons to trade with ou for them, but I doubt it. More likely you’ll have to find them. My sister’s temples will have some, I don't recommend going to them. Call that a last resort.

“You MIGHT be able to scavenge them from some of Wieve’s ancient ruins. You can get one for certain, specifically the subspace ionizer. You’ll find one in the back of Arrex’s eyes, his tomb is in Wieve’s north. But adventuring for these components is a REALLY bad idea. Weave isn’t the safest place on-”

“NaN!” A woman’s voice bellowed seemingly from everywhere at once. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!”

NaN’s terrified look returned. “I didn’t do anything wrong! I just fixed things like I’m allowed to-”

“I KNOW YOU CHARGED THE DARK FORTRESS’S SHIELDS WITH MAGIC! I SENSE YOUR AVATAR THERE. DISARM THE HELL GATE YOU HAVE PRIMED OR I SWEAR YOU’LL NEVER FORGET WHAT I’LL DO TO YOU!” Null shrieked with a mixture of fear and fury unlike anything Vinyl had heard before or sence.

NaN’s terrified expression shifted up a gear. “I- I didn’t-”

”JUST BECAUSE HE NEARLY KILLED YOU DOESN'T GIVE YOU LICENCE TO ENDANGER MY WORLD. DO YOU WANT THEM TO COME BACK?! DISARM IT. NOW.” Null demanded, her voice starting to drip with venom.

“I can’t! I didn’t do it! I’ll just set it off without knowing how it was-”

All across the world, NaN’s faces twisted into a soundless scream. Her forms flickered, fragmented, and dissolved into static, leaving behind a ghostly gray outline of a collapsing woman, wracked with agony before fading away entirely.

Her tortured expression was witnessed by millions. Tools clattered to the ground in workshops, on street corners, in bedrooms, and offices as children's bicycles remained broken, countless projects ground to a halt, and young couples no longer had help hanging their new bedroom door. The world over, frightened children ran to their parents with questions, and the Engineer’s Guild ordered their first strike in five hundred years.

Vinyl, Sky, and Chem stared in horror at the spot where NaN had stood a second before, her notebook falling to the ground with a heavy thud.

The three stood stock still, waiting for a divine bolt from the blue to strike them down, but none came.

“We’re-never-going-anywhere-near-any-temple,” Vinyl babbled, her eyes wide with horror as she slowly stepped forwards and picked up the dropped notebook.

“Hahaha! Yeah, FUUUUUCK that!” Sky agreed. “Did you see that- Of course you saw that. The flicker!”

“SHHH! It may still be listening,” Chem hushed urgently. “We’re in a crippled fortress, nuclear subs out there, evil gods in here, and presumably crippled power. She said this thing is mobile. We’re out of here.”

Vinyl nodded in agreement and held the book out to Sky. “So out of here! Sky, take the book. Read it. You can make the thing, right?”

Sky nodded and took the book from her, tucking it into a jacket pocket.

“Yeah. Yeah I can,” he said absently, filing away what he had just seen. “This tech is close to the Pheonix’s. It may take a bit, but I’ll pull it off.

Vinyl nodded, grateful for the slight break lady luck had given them. “Okay. In that case, Chem, what do we do?”

Chem blinked in surprise. “Uh, why are you asking me?”

“Because I’ve made too many mistakes. I can’t lead us. I’m way too used to a very different group,” Vinyl admitted, looking down at the ground in shame.

“You’re not-” Chem began, only for Vinyl to cut him off with a raised hand.

“I let Hatty get away. If Lyra’s dead, it’s because of me. I made the wrong decisions and endangered us all. I’m not fit for command,” she adamantly insisted, clenching her hand tightly enough for her claws to draw blood.

Chem raised an eyebrow. “Uh, sis? I’ve been sort of just following your lead for a very good reason… I ALWAYS LOSE! I’ve never played the hero! I’m the bad guy! If I plan something I plan to fail. I plan to make it super hard, but I plan to fail. That’s- It’s… Sky should lead us.”

Sky sighed and shook his head in disagreement. “Someone has to lead us, but it shouldn’t be me. Sure, I’m a leader, but like… I don't have any of my tools! Sure I can pull off some serious shit but that’s when I have a whole starship worth of supplies that I know like the back of my hoof.

“Vi, you’re the only actual military officer here. You’re the only one of us with experience at small unit tactics behind enemy lines with like, no supplies. This is YOUR job. Just don't fuck up again.”

Vi took a deep breath. “Fine. Then as leader, Chem, you’re in charge of everything involving this fort. Now, what do we do?!” She ordered.

“Get out of here, find a safe harbor, and build a skull on the side of the island portion,” Chem answered without hesitation.

Sky tilted his head at Chem. “A… Skull?”

“Yes! This place isn’t nearly cool enough to-” Chem trailed off then reached up and rubbed his eyes slowly. “That’s why I shouldn't be in charge. I’d wind up installing a self destruct on this place that’s accessible after you beat five guardian monsters and acquire the crystal key.”

Well, if we survive this, at least Chem has a promising future as a game designer… Vi mumbled to herself.

“We should get the hell out of here though,” Sky agreed, holding in a laugh at Chem’s blunt honesty.

Chem nodded. “Yes. If Hatty designed this place to mimic me, then I think I know how this place is flown. There will be a throne in the flightdeck, and control will be mental. We climb up top, fly out of here heading, say, east by north east and we’ll make landfall at a small town.”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow. “Do you remember the map downstairs that well?” She asked.

Chem nodded. “Yes. From that town we can fly inland about a hundred kilometers to a place referred to as ‘Safeton’. Perhaps fleeing to a place called ‘Safe Town’ is a bit cliche, but Hatty’s notes state he was unable to attack it for the entire fifty years he was in operation. We will be safe from him, and presumably anyone else, if we can gain sanctuary there.”

“But how can we do that? They know who “we” are,” Vi asked with a sad sigh, air quoting the word we.

Chem grinned. “Nooo, they know who I am. It’s been two hundred years. They won't remember “my” minions. Or at least, they won't recognise you right away. You can simply ask for refuge for us, and I will hone my magic until I can disguise myself. It’s… A poor plan, but it’s something we can try, right?”

Sky nodded. “It’s better than nothing. Was there any reason why the town is Old One proof in the report?”

“The report said something about a dragon living there,” Chem answered with a shrug. “Given they are a much much more advanced race, and apparently not under the Goddess’s dominion, I assume the town is protected by an insurmountable techgap.”

Vinyl laughed, shaking her head back and forth slowly.

“What?” Chem asked with a confused frown.

“You just pulled a great plan right out of your plot but think you’re not suited to lead us,” she said with a smirk.

“Well, no. I’ve been thinking about it since I read that report fifteen minutes ago,” Chem admitted.

“Who cares? Let’s go! Oh, and keep an eye out for Lyra. We can look for her more thoroughly once we’re underway,” Sky said, gently grabbing Chem and Vi by their shoulders and starting to march them forwards. “Odds are good that Sub has another volley of nukes. If they gave it twenty, why not fifty? It’s what I’d do if I was making a “Make the World Glow Again” boat.”

Vi nodded, her face pulling into a mostly blank serious expression. “That makes sense. Alright, let’s move,” she said.

The three turned and left the basement’s entrance behind. Heading into the still sweltering stone keep above.

Sky Trigger - Day 1

The Dark Fortress - Wieav

Okay, Sky. You’ll be out of danger soon. The moment you are, we’re going to work out exactly what this place is and how to exploit it, Sky thought to himself as he, Chem, and Vi walked up the stairs leading from the keep’s dungeon to the first floor.

NaN insisted she wasn’t a god, and pretty heavily implied her sister wasn’t. And with how she was… Taken away, it makes her true nature very obvious. Leading to a very poignant question. What does god need with a hologram?

The three emerged from the stairwell into the hall. Despite the still blistering heat, the Keep seemed to be in fairly good shape. The walls were cracked. The paint peeled back. Some spots blackened. But over all the shields did their job fairly well. Nothing here couldn’t be salvaged with a little work and things found in your typical Equestrian hardware store.

They had a short walk ahead of them. The stairwell to the keep’s bridge was positioned at the opposite end of the keep. After all, no one wanted escaped prisoners having a quick route to the throne room.

Yog said divine magic came from the gods, Sky continued monologuing to himself, as he always did when he planned. And if I am right about NaN as well as her sister, then their magic is something I can exploit with my tools and just a little bit of time spent tinkering. I’ll need a book on divine magic or something else to get me started. I’ll reverse engineer the hell out of-

Sky’s thoughts were interrupted as Vinyl unsheathed her sword. With a rustle of metal on leather, the gleaming blade flew into a low guard as it wielder’s eyes narrowed, trying to pierce the darkness.

“Who's there?” Vinyl demanded. “Lyra? If that’s you, say something.”

Sky wasted no time. Sheila was shouldered in a flash, trained down the long stone hallway ahead.

“What was it?” Sky asked with uncertainty.

Vinyl continued squinting down the hallway. “There’s a shimmer,” she replied.

“Well, the air was just superheated,” Chem remarked.

“No, not like that. It had a biped’s general shape too…” Vinyl trailed off as her eyes finally found what she had been looking for. “There!”

Vinyl pointed with the tip of her blade at one patch of wall a good distance ahead of them and to the left. Sky’s eyes followed her blade’s point, following them to what was distinctly not a heat shimmer.

A large shape. Vaguely human, but massive. Twice the size one would expect, one which fit inside the keep’s halls only thanks to their high ceilings. Pressed firmly against the wall exactly in the way someone would try to hide when they saw someone coming down a hallway they were sneaking down.

it’s got to be a soldier. A scout sent to make sure they killed us. Meaning there’s holes in the shield. I hope Lyra didn’t get roasted, Sky thought to himself worriedly. Man he’s huge!

“We see you!” Sky said as he trained his rifle on the figure. “This isn’t what you think it is. Come out and let’s talk!”

The figure slowly pulled away from the wall, footfalls echoing off the silent stone walls like thunderclaps. It seemed to warp and shimmer as the figure tore off an active camouflage cloak, revealing a twelve foot tall athletic built humanoid clad from head to toe in an exosuit sheathed in glowing dull green ectoplasm. The very slight extra bulk on the exosuit’s breastplate suggested the soldier was female.

The Marine’s helmet was not only featureless but lacked eye holes. A brass badge in the form of an eagle perching atop a planet with an anchor in the background decorated her breastplate above her heart. Five stripes decorated each shoulder, two pointing down, three pointing up.

She held a gun in her free hand. At first it seemed to be a standard sized rifle. Some sort of twin barreled, large drum magazines, open sight, auto rifle. A terrifying enough weapon, but when you her sheer size...

Oh, she’s got a twenty millimeter autocannon, Sky noted calmly. Then a heartbeat passed. OH SHIT! She’s got a twenty millimeter autocannon!

The Marine spoke, her voice distinctly female, but rolling, thunderous, as if a supernova pressed against each word she said, held back by her will alone.

Like all Marines, Francine could feel no fear. The emotion long since stripped away during basic training leaving only cold logic behind that favored duty over self preservation. A boon. A bane.

Stealth had failed, her death was inevitable and she knew it was so. The honorable thing to do was to go down swinging. This was the reality Francine calmly accepted.

“You’ve gotten a lot further than you should have, but then again you haven't met Francine Horrigan either. Your return is over, Dark Lord. Time to die,” she said solemnly, without a hint of fear despite slowly advancing upon the greatest threat her nation ever knew.

“U-Uh, who?” Vi asked, her voice quivering as she eyed the massive gun and became acutely aware of the fact that she was wearing chainmail.

“Me,” Francine asked, sweeping her twin-linked cannon up to take aim directly at Chem’s center mass. “Numerica sends her regards.”

“Wait!” Sky begged really not wanting to see if his armor could withstand a hit from that cannon. “Can’t we please talk about this?!”

“We just did,” Francine said.

The Marine took another step towards the three terrified heros, violet psychokinetic flames swirling around her like frogs snapping at a swarm of flies. Sky fired a round at her in desperation. Sheila's energy bolt warped mid air, sliding off target like water sliding across an umbrella as it struck an invisible shield.

“I- I’m useless?” Sheila sniffled, sending a wave of depression down her stock into Sky’s mind.

A thunderclap suddenly shook the heavens, light around the marine dimmed, only the bright flames and her silhouette stood out from the darkened hallway. A dramatic chorus began to verbally intone a simple vocal chant. The melody timed to the marine's steps.

Vinyl grabbed Chem by the belt and pulling on him, desperately trying to get him to move back towards the dungeons. The chorus stopped quickly as it came.

"Sorry! Reflex!" Chem apologised sheepishly.

"RUN, YOU IDIOT!" Vi shouted at the top of her lungs.

The Marine fired.

Her cannon roared, two high explosive incendiary shells lanced forth, psychic energy sheathing each shell as they left the barrels, telling them exactly when to explode. Chem threw himself to the side, allowing his body to fall flat. The shells exploded over his head in a flash of white hot fire.

Still holding her weapon in one hand despite firing the massive cannon, the Marine extended her free hand as if reaching out to grab something.

Sky started to squeeze Sheila’s trigger, seeking to return fire, only to find his hand paralyzed, held in a rock solid telekelenetic grip. Sky couldn’t even look down, his eyes also frozen, his entire body encased in a pale purple glow.

Vinyl found herself similarly paralyzed. But unlike Sky, she was only suffering a single form of psychic attack.

Shit shit shit shit! NOT GOOD! Sky screamed inside his head as he felt Francine’s mind probing at his own, seeking any crack or crevice to slip into, seeking to pry him open like a locked library door.

“You… Dodged it?” Francine asked Chem, sounding genuinely surprised.

“I did!” Chem laughed nervously. “How did I manage that?”

“You, the Scourge of Sandu, dodged an attack your most weak wards could negate?” Francine continued, taking a few more steps forward. “Well, what do you know. It looks like trying to kill you isn’t suicide. Bad luck for…”

The Marine trailed off, her towering figure stopping dead in her advancing tracks as her mental probe began to break through Sky’s will.

“You’re NOT the Dark Lord!” Francine exclaimed as the first little trickle of Sky’s memories entered her grasp. “I- w- what?! You’re each only as powerful as a highschool senior- YOU LITERALLY THINK THIS IS A GAME!?”

A visible pulse of violet light slammed against the walls, floor, and ceiling around the Marine, cracking the stone work and sending a ripple of blind fury through the three heroes.

“Is this your idea of a graduation prank!?” Francine roared. “You thought it would be a laugh to slip through a joint military blockade, trick a dying commando team with those costumes, and-”

Chem winced, and held up his hands defensively. “Wait! It’s not what you think! Please keep reading whoever's mind you’re-”

Francine dropped her weapon, letting it swing into position on her back via her telekinesis. The colossal Marine, laced her fingers, cracked her knuckles, followed by her neck, and curled her hands into fists.

“You’re in the deepest possible shit, kiddos. I’m going to beat you till you piss blood!” Francine growled, her eye twitching behind her helmet.

The telekinetic grips holding Vinyl and Sky in place vanished. Vi and Chem immediately resumed their headlong sprint for the starwell, seeking any form of cover from the deadly weapon trained on them.

“Run,” Francine commanded.

Sky looked into the glowing green faceplate where the Marine’s eyes would be. She’s able to deflect energy weapons. She can read minds. She can pin me in one place effortlessly. She’s wearing an exosuit armored with her own mental power. Nope. Not doing this. Not today.

Sky shifted Sheila’s barrel up and fired into the cracked ceiling. The stone overhead cracked and groaned as the ceiling caved in, showering the marine with several tons of rubble as a truly massive chunk of the ceiling collapsed.

Shards of stone skipped off Francine’s shield at first, but her simple barrier was no match for the avalanche, and they collapsed. Stone after stone smashed against her armor, driving her to a knee, and then flat against the ground.

Sky jogged backwards, keeping his weapon aimed at the pile of rubble. Ready for the marine to rise, shrinking off the shower of stone.

“Huh,” Sky said to himself in surprise. I thought I’d have to take the floor out too.

“That actually stopped her?” Chem called from down the hall.

“Seems to,” Sky confirmed heastently. “I smell a trap thou-”

Sky’s question was cut off as his feet were ripped out from under him, his entire body slamming spine first into the stone floor as if he’d been tied to the end of a whip. Stars exploded in his eyes. His lungs gasped for air. Stone scraped against stone as the marine stood back up.

“Alright, you’re not that stupid. Good to know,” she said coldly, holding out one hand which bled violet energy as she pulled her victim towards her.

Sky slid across the ground, too winded to act as he was hoisted up until Francine had him by the throat, her hand only just barely fitting in the space between his jaw and shoulders.

If she weren't levitating me still, this would really hurt, Sky observed in his daze.

“So, a Marksman huh?” She asked as she stared into Sky’s eyes. “Your friends get to go to court, but you? You’re a traitor, soldier. You’re going to die here.”

“Not… Soldier,” Sky gasped, his body twisting, muscles sliding under his skin but otherwise refusing to move even as he did his best to try and wriggle free.

“You can’t fool me. You’re almost perfectly human. Like me. I used to wear scout armor too. I know what your deal is,” she said, shaking her head sadly. “Is that why you helped them with this? Failed some stage of Basic, got routed into the Scouts, harbored a grudge?”

“Not… A soldier,” Sky croaked again. Can’t break free! No one else can build the radar. If I die we’re screwed! Gotta-

The Marine sighed, her grip on Sky’s throat tightening, seemingly content to simply choke him to death. “It was psionics, wasn’t it? You’re pretty shit with them. Either you can’t form any kind of barrier at all, or one so weak I didn’t notice it while in my full kit operating on ESP only.

“So, you for sure got chosen to be a Marine because of your pure genes, figure it’s your birthright to be one of us, but it turns out your psychology important so you’re washed out into the Marksmen Core. Is that it? Do I have you all figured out?”

“No!” Sky gasped “You’re… Mistake…”

Sky’s vision began to turn gray at the edges. I’m blacking out. Like on the centrifuge at Flight Camp. Ayna better not laugh at me this time.

“Am I? Seems like the kind of motivation the kind of traitor who would help punks pull this kind of stunt would have. Why don’t I check?” Francine asked mockingly.

For the first time in his life, Sky was completely fine with the idea of someone reading his mind.

“Yes! Check!” He pleaded.

The marine paused. She couldn’t see the fear in his eyes, but she could feel it in his heart. There was the desperate churning terror of someone about to die, but beneath that was something more. The creeping despair of failing to protect something far bigger than one’s self.

“Kay,” Francine said uncertainty, taken aback by that second deeper fear.

Relaxing her grip slightly, she forced a mental probe into the deepest recesses of Sky’s mind. A probe which Sky grabbed hold of, desperately throwing every last memory which came to mind down that passage, each one hopefully more than enough to prove he wasn’t from her world and what she thought was happening was not at all the truth.

A torrent of memories flashed through the mental link, decades of memories shown as fragmented images, bursts of sound, and pulses of emotion.

“The fuck is this!?” Francine demanded, dropping Sky to the ground in surprise at the torrent of memory fragments, never before having been unable to extract a prefect picture of what she was looking for.

“The fuck is that?” She asked, her eyes widening in surprise as Sky’s memory of the first Sonic Rainboom played back within her mind.

Then, like a bolt from the blue, the Marine found her mind completely consumed by countless memories of adorable pastel equines doing adorable pastel equine things.

“The fuck are those?!” The poor completely confused psyker pleaded.

Then, everything became clear. In one moment the nature of the game being played, it’s steaks, it’s rules, and the world at risk crystallized within her mind.

“Ohhh…” Francine said slowly, her face melting into the very image of regret and sorrow before twisting back into an enraged snarl. “So. Just to make me a pawn and do his dirty work for him, Hatty hops back in time and fucks a half a continent six ways to Sunday. Gotta admit, good plan. Really good plan. Too good.”

Francine waved her hand as if lifting an apple from atop a table, gently picking Sky up and setting him on his feet.

“Sorry,” she apologized, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. “I uh… You need to understand. Half of the continent I live on is covered in a meter thick layer of living flesh that births monsters all day every day. He did that. So well, you know. We nuke you, I am completely happy to die trying to stomp you all into salsa. Guess he didn’t know we read our enemies minds to outmaneuver them… I should have finished earlier instead of just. Getting mad. You okay, Sky? Throat working? I’ve got a few heal pots on me.”

Sky reached up and rubbed his throat, taking a few painful breaths before shaking his head. “No. Not okay.”

“I can’t undo what I did. I’d say I’m completely justified given the situation- Oh, you mean your throat isn’t fine. Here,” Francine said with an embarrassed cough, then reached into a pouch on her belt, taking out a small green test tube and handing it down to Sky. “Drink that. You’ll be fine.”

Sky hesitated for a moment, staring at the tube apprehensively. If she wanted me dead, she’s have kept choking me, he decided after a moment, then took the vial, popped it open, and drank down the contents.

“LUNA’S TITS!” Sky screeched the second the liquid touched his tongue. “What is this?! Liquid ass mixed with evil and old feet?!”

Francine laughed and shrugged. “Could be. Alchemy is… I don't ask about ingredients. Worked though, didn’t it?”

Sky opened his mouth to argue, and suddenly realized the pulsing pain was gone. “Uh, well, yeah. But holy shit that is the WORST!”

“It’s that or “cherry” flavor, apparently,” the marine said with a shrug. “Personally, cherry is worse. And also totally not cherry flavor.”

Sky shuddered, unwilling to comprehend how bad this world’s cherry medicine flavoring must be when the “better” tasting flavor was a thousand times worse than the not-cherry he was used to.

A short awkward silence followed Sky’s shiver, broken eventually by Francine asking. “Oh um, so I sorta know all about your phobia against having your mind read. I can’t delete what I know, but I promise I won't do it again. You’re not the enemy, it’s not moral. You’re species is… How did it evolve? Is cuteness a defense on your planet, somehow?”

“How much do you know about me?” Sky asked slowly.

“Basically everything about you,” she admitted, quickly holding up her hand to shush Sky’s objection so she could continue. “I’ll make it fair and give you all of mine later if you wish, and I won't act against you. You’re a Chief Engineer on a human vessel. I respect that. Furthermore, as a Marine, I have a duty to find a certain smug buisnessfuck and RIP HIS FUCKING SPINE OUT HIS ASSHOLE!”

Sky jumped as the massive woman exploded into a rage. “I- uh, calm down? Please? He’s not here right now.”

“I know. It’s just, you see, I swore this oath, which includes protecting the innocent and assisting the enemy of my enemies,” she explained.

“Annnd you almost killed me,” Sky said slowly with an understanding nod.

“Mmmmhm, which would have screwed your whole team,” she replied rhetorical before looking down the hall and calling. “Hey, Chem? Vinyl? Finished reading Sky’s mind. Sorry! I’m up to speed now.”

Sky’s ears perked as a thought occurred to him. With her on our side…

“Soooo how about you call your friends up and tell them they can, you know, not nuke us again?” He asked hopefully.

Francine sighed and shook her head. “Not a chance. Lord Zen... Uh Hatty, was a master of mental domination. They won't believe me. They won't allow another marine to fact check. They’ll open fire and kill all of us. I’m in your boat now, because the only other option for me is to open the gate I came here to open…”

“And you’re not okay with dooming a world,” Sky said with a relieved nod. “Well, at least that’s the immediate problem solved.”

“Especially not a world of-” Francine trailed off for a moment only to clear her throat. “Your wife is god damn adorable! But at least I’ve got her out pinked in terms of hair.”

The fuck you do! Sky thought, narrowing his eyes into a critical glare.

“Hey? Sky? Is she for real?” Vinyl’s voice called from down the hall.

“Yeah! Once again, being adorable saved ponykind,” Sky yelled back down the hall.

“How do we know she cant meat puppet you?” Chem called worriedly.

“I wish I could do that! That would make dealing with bureaucrats WAY easier,” Francine shouted down the hallway. “If I was still trying to kill you, you’d know. Marines are not subtle after we’re spotted.”

Chem poked his head around the corner, looking out from the stairwell. Spotting Sky and Francine standing relatively calmly in the hallway atop the rubble, he nodded once and vanished back down the stairwell, emerging a moment later with Vinyl at his side.

Vi still had her sword drawn, and was advancing slowly, purposely keeping her eyes locked onto the Marine, ready to strike if needed.

“Vi, seriously, I can just smash you into the ceiling till the twitching stops if I want to,” Francine sighed as she noticed the drawn sword. “I don’t want to kill you. You’re fine. I’m up to speed. The only person I want to kill is the puppetmaster that put us all here. Also my ex-fiance.”

“Still… Edgy,” Vinyl said slowly, her blade lowering just slightly.

“Hey, I get it. I’m scary. I was in full rage mode a moment ago. I’m sorry about that. We’ve all been played for chumps and I’m just as pissed about it as you,” Francine growled, crossing her arms over her chest. “ESPECIALLY because my carrier is FUBAR now. If I report back to tell them you’re all meter tall members of the species Equus Adorablus who are playing a round of LARP against an Old One to save your homeworld, I’ll be shot under the assumption I’ve been mind slaved.

“If I finish my mission and let my squad in here, they’ll kill you all and I’ll have been the tool of an immoral genocide-”

“As opposed to all those moral genocides?” Sky snorted, his lips pulling back in disgust.

Francine paused, then with a small application of her will sent each of the hero's one of her own memories.

The creature’s skeleton was on its outside. The slender white bones were not like those of an insect. This creature was like any other mammal, except turned inside out. Bone lay atop muscles, organs and skin beneath that.

The monster was bipedal, but nothing like any creature outside of nightmares. It had four arms, each ending in clawed pincers. It’s face was that of a bird of prey and a wolf with eyes like something from the deepest recesses of the sea.

In its talons it held four children, their skulls cracked open, their brains staining the creature’s fangs.

It looked directly at Francine, its twisted mind radiating delight, joy, and total contentment as it found yet another thing to kill, partially consume, and then mutilate.

“That’s a blightspawn. Absolutely all of them need to die. It’s a moral imperative. There is therefore one and only one moral genocide,” the marine said matter of factly.

“I uh… I wouldn’t call that genocide,” Chem said, more than a little taken aback. “I mean I agree, it’s just… Who would do that to a REAL place?!”

“Hatty, apparently,” Francine said with a shrug.

Vinyl looked up at her incredulously. “Y- you show us he’s unleashed that kind of horror on- That monster was actually HAPPY devouring children’s brains and you’re nonchalant about it?!” She stammered.

“Well, yeah. That’s just another day at the office. Or it was till my Ex moved me off active duty and onto that stupid sub because god forbid we just break up and go about our- Look, I want to join you on your quest. Dibs on first blood. I’ve lived through his hell for sixty years,” Francine said as she took a knee to get as low as she could, which wasn’t anywhere near Vi’s eye level.

The Marine held out her hand. “I know you don’t want to lead this group. How about I help whip your team into shape? I’ve been a drill instructor before. Deal?” She asked.

Vi frowned, looking up at her friends uncertainty. “We JUST got fooled by Hatty. How can we trust her?”

Sky frowned. “Mmm, good point. He did play us all for fools with the whole Twilight thing.”

“Recycling a plan like that is something he’d do,” Chem added. “But he doesn't lie. He said he was giving us one last chance to just give up. If she were Hatty, she’d be killing us.”

“He also said he’d hang back and watch as we killed you guys for him,” Francine pointed out. “If he really doesn't lie, then I can’t be him. I hope I’m not. Then I’d have to rip my own ass out through my navel.”

Vinyl bit her lip in thought, then sighed. “I trust you, Chem. Okay. She’s not Hatty. Probably. But-”

Francine jerked her thumb at Sky. “You need me. He’s got no idea Marksmen are minor psykers.”

“... I can’t help but feel that Yog should have snuck us a Class Guide Book or something,” Sky grumbled irritably.

“I can teach him. And if Lyra is just unconscious, not dead, I’ve got a spare gun she can use,” the Marine added. “I know I attacked you. I was tricked just like you. The whole world is still fooled, it’s us against it and him. Let me atone by doing the right thing.”

Vi nodded, understanding the other’s motive at last. “Alright… Wait, unconscious? You know where Lyra is?”

“Yeah. She’s laying on a landing two floors up next to a pile of dead fae. She’s burned pretty bad. I was sneaking in so I didn’t check her vitals or finish her off. But she’s got a Kobold’s body right now. You guys are pretty heat resistant,” France elaborated as she stood back up.

“Francine was it?” Chem asked.

She nodded. “That’s right. We can do proper introductions later. Right now, you should fly this keep out of here. You’ll be slower than the dragon and airships outside, but you can out climb them. Take us up twelve kilometers and we’ll be out of their flight range and sight. Except for the Dragon but he was a REALLY slow one, this old thing should out run him. Safeton is a great plan. No one fucks with Safeton. Let’s roll.”

Sky frowned worriedly. “So uh… If you know about our plans, then you really DO know everything about us… You’ll keep everything I don't want other people to know quiet, right?”

“Of course I will! ALL Marines are telepaths. We all know everything about everyone we ever go near if they happen to be loud thinkers. You don't talk about people’s thoughts. Now let’s get going before they decide to send a few more in after me.”

Sky shook his head firmly. “That’s not good enough. Delete them.”

Francine frowned. “Sorry. I can’t forget anything. Not that I won’t, I can’t. Not capable. But you have my word that I will die before I betray anything you want to stay hidden. You’re not the enemy, the mind is sacred. You haven’t forfeited your right to privacy, and I have my vows of honor.”

Sky frowned, picking apart her words, tone, and emotions as best he could. “Okay… I’ll trust you for now. It’s not like Hatty couldn’t have got the same info if he wanted to. And it’s also not like you could do anything with my launch codes, passwords, or anything.”

She nodded. “Exactly. And like I said, I’ll make things square by giving you all of mine later. For now, how about you and I retrieve Lyra while they get us out of here?” The Marine proposed.

Chem nodded in agreement. “We can sort everything out properly once we’re no longer in danger. Oh, and Sky? I’m pretty sure I can wipe our memories from her once this game’s all wrapped up. Come on sis. Let’s get out of here before they accidentally open a hellgate like the God was worried about.”

The Dark Fortress - Day 1

Stonerake Island - Wieve

“It’s been nearly fifteen minutes,” Jago said worriedly as he and Zorgoth continued to circle the sky above the wounded fortress.

“So it has,” the dragon agreed. “We should give her another five minutes. There’s been no noise. Not one shot, no screams. It hasn’t been too long for the delay to be something as simple as a locked door, or-”

The dead island trembled and the air beneath the fortress warped amid crystalline shrieks as the ancient fortress ripped free of it’s arcane anchor and began to float upwards.

“Frack!” The two swore together.

Jago’s hand plunged into his bag, retrieving his radio. “Jago to Captain Harrel, Jago to Captain Harrel! The fortress is underway!”

“We see it too, Rider,” the captain replied immediately. “Can your men hold a Hellgate until reinforcements arrive?”

The silver ring on Jago’s left hand glowed brightly as the voice of his second in command filled the air. “Sir, we need orders. Are we risking demons or tracking the fortress?”

Jago closed his eyes in thought, trying to discern the best course of action. Which threat would lead to less suffering if they failed to stop it?

The fortress began to pick up speed, a metallic groan splitting the air was its float units began to shake off the dust of ages, mana beginning to flow freely through their ancient coils.

“At its present speed, they can out run our airships,” Zorgoth noted. “We haven't much time to decide. I believe we should track them. It’s only logical they will lower the shield themselves soon. After all, they too risk rupturing it.”

“What did your partner say, Rider?” The Captain asked.

“He thinks we should track the fortress, wait for it to lower its shields, then attack. He’s right about them needing to take those shields down, but-”

“But nothing. That’s an excellent point. They can’t shoot back with their shields in that state, and not even the Dark Lord could control Demons. I’m with him on this,” the Captain agreed.

Jago hummed in thought. He didn’t know too much about tech based shields, but he did know they took quite some time to repair. However…

“My airships can’t keep up with it. I don’t know how much time it will take for them to arrive once they stop for repairs,” Jago warned.

“Better that risk than breaching the veil,” the Captain said firmly. “Is Wieav mobilizing her armies?”

“Yes, I sent the warning before we left,” Jago answered. “But our orders are to stop them as soon as possible.”

“No one wants demons. Can your partner keep up with the fortress? If we can engage them later it will be safer for everyone. After all, if we attack now we could wind up having to face demons and the Dark Lord at the same time,” the Captain warned.

“Can you?” Jago asked Zorgoth after a short moment.

“I can do my best,” the dragon answered.

Jago gave it one more moment’s thought, then nodded. “We’ll track them. Keep an ear out, I’ll update you with their course every few minutes. That way if we lose sight of them we can guess where they are headed,” Jago said before brushing his hand across his ring. “All forces: Stand down and prepare to follow the Sea Dragon. We’re going to follow the Fortress and blast her to dust the second they lower those shields for repairs.”

The Dark fortress ascended into the heavens, slipping free of danger for the moment, completely unaware of the small black dragon tailing along behind.

8 - Meanwhile, on Catachan...

What is it to be a Ranger? ”To serve the public trust.” Why are you a Ranger? “To protect the innocent.” What does a Ranger do? “Uphold the law.”

The Ranger’s Oath, est 295 S.R.

Twilight Sparkle - Day 1

Avici Jungle - The Imperial Provinces of Minic

The Avici Jungle is quite possibly the worst habitable place in the galaxy. That thought should be noted as stretching the word habitable to the very last point before it breaks. The Avici Jungle is without a doubt the absolute worst place one could find themselves in on all of Mar’rath, and that includes the Blightlands.

The jungle stretches three hundred and ninety five kilometers from the Alterian Sea to the edge of the Dragon’s Mountains. At its thickest, the jungle is over two hundred kilometers wide, and at the thinnest point it covers sixty six kilometers. While thin, the region is a natural wall. One which the entirety of the Imperial Provinces could not penetrate in thousands of years with billions of soldiers.

The only other force to stop the superpower’s expansion is Mar’rath’s other superpower. The Avici Jungle: strong as a global superpower with an army of wizards with god on their side.

Few people are capable of believing this fact. Every year thousands die attempting to find a way through Avici.

“Forget the legends,” they say. “Our caravan can make a road. We’ll charge a toll and make millions!”

Their bodies are never found. Their property is found on rare occasions. It inevitably has bites taken out of it.

The Avici’s entire ecosystem seems consciously hostile to all foreign life. Cut some vines to clear a trail, and a dozen more will grow in their place, and will somehow become harder to cut. Burn down a section, and within a year the jungle will have grown back, it’s trees appearing to be all old growth.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, every known plant species found within the Avici is toxic, making foraging for native food impossible. Most plant species are also carnivorous.

Some plants secrete pollen into the air which is poisonous and also highly corrosive. Others secrete sticky liquid to capture passing animals and slowly dissolve them, much like giant Venus Fly-Traps. If Fly-Traps were man sized and utilized neurotoxins to ensure it hurts the entire time you’re dying. Other plants poison the ground and turn the immediate area around them into boggy wastelands to trap prey.

Then there’s the animal life.

Legends speak of a frog-like creature, no bigger than a quarter of a meter, which will explode if threatened, spraying fertilized eggs and a supertoxin across an entire kilometer of land which is so potent it kills species normally immune to poisons and toxins within hours, and essentially everything else upon contact.

People living near the Avici have never seen such a creature, but do not doubt it’s existence. Frankly it’s much less mind shatteringly dangerous than half the things lurking within the vines. Many are large enough to simply take a bite out of a train car, or a caravan waggon. Some are person sized, and fast enough to catch up to high speed transports.

Every single animal species found in the Avici is an apex predator. There are no herbivores. There are no omnivores. Only carnivores. Here, predators feeds on predators, and as a result all predatory species breed like the common rabbit.

It’s little wonder that the Imperial Provinces of Minic, a nation populated almost entirely by a race arcanely engineered to be the perfect predators for the undead, and their impossibly stealthy arcanotech-genius allies, have decided their empire’s northern expansion stops at the Avici.

The Cartographer’s Guild, famed for their perfectly accurate maps of all the world, including the Dragon’s lands, have officially stated they will never map the Avici and consider their maps to be fully complete due to the Jungle being “not a part of the world. The Avici is located within the deepest recesses of Hell.”

The Goddess Null once led the other five Divines on a Crusade to purge the Avici of all life. Not a one of their avatars survived the first night. NaN was allowed to unleash her full arsonal upon the Jungle after this. Yet the Avici remains where it’s always been.

No force on Mar’rath could tame it. The Jungle was beyond all possible conquest, even by the gods.

Twilight Sparkle sat on a log somewhere near the middle of the Avici Jungle, idly munching on a slice of “Celestia Knows What This Abomination Is, But It Smells Tasty” steak which she had roasted over her camp’s fire and seasoned with the bark of a “But Why Does it Bleed?” tree, giving it a nice punchy flavor.

Against all logic, chance, and conceivability, the mare had managed to construct a camp for herself within the Jungle. She had a tent made from the leaves of a plant which had gotten a bit too invasive for Twilight’s comfort (hence why she’d ripped it to shreds with her bare hands), a nice stone fire pit (made from the remains of the rock-creature she’d headbutted to death), a nice bone stand to support the cauldron which had come with her starting equipment, a small tent made from the hide of a truly massive snake she'd killed from the inside, and a nice table made from a fallen tree upon which sat the tools and equipment form her half dozen different character classes.

It had taken Twilight a while to work out that her game’s avatar was in fact a carnivore rather than an herbivore. It would have taken less time if Scorrus vomit didn’t attract packs of “Celestia Knows What This Abomination Is, But It Smells Tasty”. CKWTAIBIST for short.

After her six and a half hour character creation session with Yog, who had warned her of Hastur’s plans to separate her from the group (and given her much greater choice in her avatar’s construction so as to keep the game fair) Twilight had at last chosen to be a Scorrus.

The Mice-folk, as most people called them, were humanoid rodents, something between a rat and a jerboa. They stood about as tall as a pony, even though they walked on two legs, and were all very slender through their long fur inevitably made them appear to be chubby.

Amusingly enough, the Scorrus shared another thing with ponies other than their size. Their coloration.

Twilight had lavender fur, with a bright magenta pattern running down her back exactly identical to a king cobra’s scale pattern. Her hair was long, reaching the base of her tail, and bright blue, with an identically blue tuft of fur at the tip of her furless tail.

Her skin was a light pink, and visible on her tail, nose, hands, and feet. All in all, she looked as if someone had painted a mouse-like creature her colors, and then for some reason gave them a snakeskin pattern.

She would have fit right in with any Scorrus community, even after she trimmed her fur back to reveal her very lean athletic shape, and even with the incredibly well built legs she had. Those legs were the genetic hallmark of the Hoplight family, and while Twilight would therefore be banned from any sport involving jumping she would otherwise have been a normal person.

Except for her skills and physical prowers. And the animated set of rusty-orange colored half plate which covered her back, shoulders, and arms. But not her legs, chest, or stomach.

Twilight understood her legs being left bare. While enguaged with the pack of Ckwtaibists she’d had to make a small jump. A small jump which had allowed her to clear the tree canopy by several meters. Aside from boots, any restriction of her legs movement range would prove disastrous during landings. But the belly?

Why? This makes no sense. There’s TONS of vital organs there. But this armor doesn't even have a chain belly-skirt! Twilight grumbled to herself. And this is just normal for a whole species! I get that we can turn invisible by making our fur change color, but stealth isn’t an excuse to not be protected. It only delays enemies trying finding you.

“I seriously don’t get how we survived this…” Gadget said incredulously, again.

Twilight blinked, pulled out of her contemplation by her friend’s words.

It’s so weird hearing her voice come from the back of my neck. As soon as my potion finishes cooking I’ll see if I can start to modify her into something more...logical. Twilight thought as she gave Gadget a pat on the left pauldron.

“What part of incredibly unbalanced min-maxing don’t you understand?” Twilight asked with a giggle as she kicked the last of the twelve Ckwtaibists skulls out of her camp and into the jungle.

I thought I’d cleaned all of them up… I hope they aren't like Timberwolves and can rebuild around the head once broken apart. Or have some sort of post-mortem mobility... Twilight worried with a wince.

“Your only weapon is a big knife. I ran out of ammo after the second giant snake. You killed TWELVE of those… Gorilla-pig-lizard things with just a big knife; without any of my help!” Gadget exclaimed, waving the crossbows attached to her shoulders in disbelief.

Twilight flicked the knife she’d been given upwards, slicing a bite size piece the large chunk of Ckwtaibist. It was most definitely a “big knife” as shortsword might have been a more accurate term.

Long, thin, clip point blade forged from pattern steel, a simple brass guard, leather handle. The sort of thing which compelled young boys who owned them to proclaim, “That’s not a knife. This is a knife,” while drawing it before waving the thing about like some kind of magic wand.

Twilight, like any adult who knew what such knifes could do, set it down atop her improvised table without any flourish and resumed eating.

“Yes. But while this is a reality, I got to choose who I am here in terms of O&O logic, with no stated level cap. And this “game” has the entire future of my world riding on it, so of course I break the game to ensure I’ll win,” Twilight explained yet again, doing her best not to roll her eyes in frustration.

“But you failed! You asked Scary-old-man if you could start with a Candle of Invodiction and he said no,” Gadget protested irritably.

It’s oddly quiet… There’s got to be something big around. Best keep an eye out for it, Twilight noted to herself before continuing.

“Candle of Invocation,” Twilight corrected with a grin. “Too bad they don’t exist in this “setting”. I’d have Pun-puned my way to victory in ten seconds flat! I'm still cheating though. The whole world’s at stake, Gadget.”

“But if we break the contract, he wins,” Gadget protested yet again.

“Yes. But the contract doesn't say we can’t break the RPG mechanics or he’ll automatically win. It says we simply act as if these rules are laws of physics for the duration of this challenge. Therefore any hole within the the RPG rules is a loophole in physics, and is fair play.

“In this case, since I couldn’t use the most broken character build in all of existence, I’ve gone for a set of classes which- Uh, long story short, I’m the one mare party, a self healing, self buffing, utility casting, item crafting, fighter. Which is game breaking even though it’s legal because then no one else at the table will get to do anything.

“It’s not really cheating… I’m only saying cheating because that’s what this is… Well, when I used to play at least.”

“Then, you killed those gorilla pig-”

“Ckwtaibists,” Twilight reminded, easily pronouncing the consonant salad due to her experience with speaking in dead languages.

“Those I-can’t-pronounce-thats, using abilities you have because of how you set your avatar up? Some sort of “kill anything” ability?” Gadget asked, hoping for any sort of clarification.

“Nah,” Twilight giggled before sitting back and adopting a more serious expression. “I don’t think everything is working quite as intended. I don't magically have a lifetime’s knowledge in how to use this knife, for example. Nor do I know why you only cover my back, shoulders, and arms. Or if Scorrus normally don't wear clothing since you’re all the ‘clothing’ I have.

“I may have the abilities of an Archer, Serpentine Knight, Druid, Witch, Engineer, and Psion all at twentieth level, but if I didn’t know the specific powers I had via the character sheet Yog gave me, I’d have no idea how to use them, or even that I could.”

Gadget was quiet for several minutes during which Twilight continued to eat her steak, and Gadget recalled Twilight’s whirlwind of death which dispatched the 12 monstrous creatures with apparent ease.

“But… But you’re a wizard, not a warrior! You told me everything about the real you! You’re not the kind of person who can take on a pack of overmusciled death boars with just a knife and a grin,” Gadget wined, her spell-nexus begging to overheat as she simply couldn’t accept reality.

“Gadget, I’ve been talking to you off and on for a week. There’s no way I could possibly have told you everything about me. But yes, I am first and foremost an Archmage of Eques-”

Twilight jumped to her feet mid sentence as a loud boom hundred to the west. This was a mistake. The mass drivers her avatar’s Hoplight blood called leg muscles fired, sending her upwards at a good fifty five kilometers per hour, twerking her head solidly into the branch of an overhanging tree.

She fell back down, landing the forty meter fall on pure instinct, despite being completely preoccupied with clutching her aching head.

“Ooooowww… So happy Yog told me these guys bones don't break,” Twilight groaned. “Why don't you have a helmet, Gadget?”

“Why don’t I have a fucking breastplate?!” Gadget added, perhaps a bit more angrily than the situation warranted. “That was an explosion. A big one. We should check it out.”

Twilight shook her head. “No can do. The world can't be under a pre-existing crisis. Odds are that explosion is our friends already in battle. If we go to them, then my plan fails.”

Gadget pointed one of her crossbows at the bubbling cauldron, using her magical scenes to watch the pale lavender liquid as it bubbled and simmered.

“You really think we can just out wait an Old One?” She asked hesitantly.

Twilight nodded, immediately gurgling a surprise as her jaw popped out of place, having been slightly dislodged by the impact.

No sooner than Twilight thought about reaching up to relocate the bone, but before she could, her jaw popped cleanly back into place of its own accord via muscle groups she hadn't felt before.

“You okay?” Gadget asked nervously. “I need ammo… These repeaters only hold five rounds you know.”

Twilight nodded and focused on the muscle groups she’d felt move. A quick thought and her jaw popped back out of place, allowing her mouth to stretch open impossibly wide for a-

Oh! Twilight exclaimed as puzzle pieces fell into place. That’s why they are carnivores! The snake patterns! They are not purely rodents they are part serpent as well. That explains the reptilian camouflage, and climbing abilities as-

“Ohhh… THAT’S why you don't protect any of my front side,” Twilight said allowed, her jaw sliding back into the normal position as she spoke. “And also why four of those steaks haven't filled me up. Fun fact, these guys eat like snakes so. I should be swallowing an entire small animal in one go and just letting it sit for a week or a few days.

“And that means, well, good luck making armor that can stretch to fit properly when your belly changes measurements form day to day.”

“Oh! That does make sense,” Gadget agreed. “In which case, you’d have many sets of armor depending on how far along you were with digesting a weekly meal. Assuming you were wealthy. You’d also want to be able to eat while in armor, and if I covered your chest that would prevent your ribs from, uh, whatever they do to let you swallow something.

“Didn’t Yog mention the Scorrus being famous as arblists? Perhaps they fire from the prone position most of the time?”

Twilight nodded, smiling happily as the mystery came to a close. “Yeah! Well that or Scorrus are known to eat people they fight with mid-battle. But that seems ridiculous. I can’t see any large animal fitting in here.”

Gadget nodded her crossbows, thoroughly wishing this body allowed her to move off her wearer and have an equinoid form so as to allow for a proper conversation.

“Well, since that mystery is settled, how about you explain to me exactly why we’re not rushing to help your friends? What is your plan? You haven’t really told me anything,” Gadget asked, feeling jsut a little hurt.

Twilight blinked. “I… Haven't? Sorry! I guess I got caught up in the actual planning.”

Clearing her throat, Twilight began her explanation. “Since this jungle seems to be quite far away from civilization, as my first jumping accident indicates, it’s a location where there’s very little chance of innocents getting hurt. As such, we’re going to sit here and prepare for battle until “The King” arrives to fight us.”

Twilight stopped, giving Gadget the opportunity to ask a question. “He’ll just wait for you to die. It’s a bad plan.” Gadget said fatly.

Twilight’s lips pulled back into a sinister smile. “Yog said there was nothing preventing me from taking a class at any level I wanted. Witches in this world, the truly powerful ones who can reach the pinnacle of their power and wisdom, are immortal.

“I’ve got all the time in the world. I won't die until something kills me. Just like back home! And with Equestria’s entire future on the line, I am more than happy to sit here for a thousand years because that means Equestria gets a thousand more years of existing.”

Gadget nodded her bows once more. “Okay, fair point. But that doesn't explain why you're not taking your OP self over to help them fight him now and stop the problem NOW instead of in a millennia or two.”

“Never put all of your eggs in one basket,” Twilight said firmly. “Lyra and Vinyl are long time O&O players too. They will have done the same thing I did and likely helped Sky and Chem through whipping up absurdly powerful avatars. If they fail to stop whatever a certain evil jerk creates, then simply adding me to the fold wouldn’t have changed much.

“In other words, if he can stop four game breaking builds at once, then he could likely stop five at once. Therefore the best option is for me to sit here, wait, and amass power. I’m not going to die of old age. If my friends lose, they will be safe in stasis until the game is over, however long that takes.

“King Jerkface will get angry of waiting eventually and come for me, since if they are all dead and the game is ongoing, then I must be alive. Between now and that possible future date, we are going to break this build even more than it already is. Before you ask, we’re going to do that by using the abilities I picked via this class selection.”

“What’s stopping him from doing the same once your friends are defeated?” Gadget asked sagely.

“Nothing. Which is why it’s good this is so far from civilization. More than Equestria is at stake here, Gadget. All of Equis is. I’m not holding anything back,” Twilight explained as she stood up and walked over to her cauldron. “Step one: Brew a huge batch of Legend Lore potions. Step Two, drink them and use the revelations to, amongst many other things, find the names of this world’s own Elder Things and learn all about them. Step Three, use Psychic powers to contact said things and ask if they are happy with a foreign Elder Thing messing with their home.

“Step Four… Well that depends on how all that goes.”

Gadget wished she could blink. “Uh, do you think that’s the best idea?” She asked worriedly.

“I won't do it if the knowledge I gain says they will just kill me.” Twilight scoffed. “I’m not that dumb!”

“Nonono!” Gadget protested quickly. “That’s not what I meant. You’re an Archmage. I assume you know how to safely commune with ancient beings. Heck, you made Yog grumpy with your constant questions but he was still FRIENDLY to you and seems to like you.

“I meant that while your in your trance, using those portions of Shrooms to learn all the forbidden lore, what’s to stop some huge snake from eating you?”

“Gadget,” Twilight said shaking her head slowly. “I’m also an Engineer. Based on the portable forge and workshop I started with from that, well, I’m going to take you off and make you a proper body before I drink those. I’m planning on getting started right after I feel full.”

Twilight paused for a moment, eyeballing the large leg she’d been cutting steaks from. It was all roasted, and smaller than her torso…

Right. First note to self. Do NOT tell Cadence about this part using the phrase ‘Suddenly I wanted to swallow a huge piece of tasty meat’.

“Okay, but do you think we can survive here? Sure you killed that pack of monsters but can you CONSISTENTLY do that? All day? Every day? For years?” Gadget asked skeptical.

Twilight giggled and picked up the roast with both hands. “Did I ever tell you about the the time, I got stuck inside another dimension’s space-prison which they had filled full of dinosaurs and covered with an antimagic field?”

“Uh, no. No you did not,” Gadget said, inwardly cringing as Twilight unhinged her jaw and swallowed a chunk of meat slightly larger than her own head in one go. “Guuuh! Your current species is creepy!”

More than you think, Twilight thought to herself as she felt the meat chunk go down super easily. Opinion revised. I can probably eat something as big as I am. That felt like nothing… Though I do feel like I had an okay meal now. Their hunger must be psychological and not biological.

“Well,” Twilight said, pausing to wipe her lips clean. “Suffice to say, things like this in a place like this was Tuesd-”

Trees cracked, the ground trembled, claws scraped at dirt and stone. Twilight wheeled around, snatching her knife from her work table as a colossal monstrosity barged into her clearing.

The beast’s taloned hands featured claws as long as Twilight was tall. It’s thick leathery hide was covered in plates like an armadillo’s, it’s square head was filled with saber-like teeth. It’s burning eyes knew no fear, only hunger. Two great horns protruding from it’s head, notched and chipped from countless battles with others of its kind from which it had emerged victorious, and with a full belly.

It looked upon the tiny thing standing between itself and the tasty smelling thing upon the fire, and roared. It’s roar was not a challenge, but a statement: Your day is bad now.

Gadget screamed, her integrated bows twanging away futility as she fired, ignoring their empty magazines in desperation, praying that providence would magically allow her to send steel bolts of death into the monster’s immense, gaping maw.

Twilight casually reached back and picked up her cauldron. So this is what made everything all quiet. Bigger than I expected. Kinda cute though.

Using her tail tip to quickly form the arcane runes, Twilight cast a multitude of spells. All of which were directed at her. All of which were related to persuasion and interacting with animals.

“Hey, big guy!” Twilight cooed, holding up the cauldron. “Do you want some? It’s okay, I can make more.”

The Tarrasque growled, eyeing the cauldron suspiciously. Whatever compelled it to not simply eat the tiny thing was a mystery to it. As big a mystery as why that particular water smelled so good.

“If you hang around I can make you some as treats once in awhile,” Twilight said persuasively, giving the monster a huge grin.

Gadget continued to scream and dry fire.

The Tarrasque bared its fangs, confused as to why the tiny thing did not flee and leave it the tasty water. Confused until an ancient memory surfaced, of even tinier yellow and black things which made tasty thick water inside little balls. This less tiny thing had a little ball too, it must make the tasty water too. Only instead of making an annoying buzzing sound, this tiny thing offered it’s bounty to the Tarrasque, clearly recognising it’s station as king of all it saw.

The Tarrasque was pleased.

“Go on, lay down,” Twilight commanded, a bead of sweat dripping down her forehead.

The great beast lay down, chuffed once, and tapped he cauldron with its nose. The tiny thing would live. For now.

“What?” Gadget asked, falling silent.

Twilight quickly but gently poured the half finished potion into the beast’s mouth, then returned her cauldron to the fire, immediately beginning to brew a second batch.

“Charm Monster, Charm Animal, Glibness, several hexes, and a good old fashioned dose of Fluttershy’s kindness,” Twilight said in answer to Gadget’s question. “Keep an eye on him, would you? I think it will take a few more pots before he decides to not eat us for good. We’ll be needing a mount to explore this place. I mean, no need to set up permanent shop RIGHT here, right?”

“What?” Gadget asked again.

Twilight giggled. “As I was saying before, this guy wanted a treat, about thirty years ago I was trapped in a space-prison full of dinosaurs.”

“THIS EXPLAINS NOTHING!?” Gadget screamed uncertainty.

“It totally does,” Twilight disagreed, starting to chop up more of the root sand herbs her potion required. Good thing the ingredients are part of the witch's starting gear. “Trust me, after you tame a T-Rex, everything else is cake. And that’s without a lifetime of helping out a best friend who loves all sorts of monstrous creatures and magical assistance via spellcraft!

“What’s more, in this world I have the power of O&O physics despite it being a real place! I just buffed the hay out of a Handle Animal check. It’s not tamed, only calmed. By the rules it will take about two weeks and five checks to actually tame this guy. The “fun” thing is, I can't actually fail the check since I can buff myself to a plus ninety on any Charisma based check. I think I’ll call him Bitey. Welcome to incredibly broken character builds.

“Oh! That’s right! I was telling you the story of that time I lived through this exact situation once before but without magic. So, I woke up on this beach…”

Veena the Challenger - Day 2

The Hoard - P 12,364.2 km & A 12,403.7 km by 89.4 degrees at 9.25 km/s

It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Mar’rath, the various peoples had always assumed their sun was the only sun in all of existence.

After all, those little pinpricks of light in the night sky couldn’t possibly shine with enough light to make flowers bloom on some strange place not of their world. No, clearly only the sun was bright enough to be a source of life, and any hypothetical other place would be so far away that none could see it. Therefore the sun would be too dim to be seen, after all everyone’s seen the circle of light produced by an oil lamp. The sun must work the same way only larger, naturally.

Hospices have taken to citing this fact as the reason behind Astronomers' statistically significant increase in concussions and their irrational need to smash their face into walls and desks.

Those Astronomers sitting in their beds while nursing their particular variety of skull fracture most likely would not be happy to know the dragons never had such problems understanding cosmology, while their own people continue to insist the other planets in their star system are ‘mere decorations’. It’s fairly hard to not understand the diminutive appearance of stars is due to the simple fact that distant things appear to be small when you can simply fly to them.

Not naturally of course. Your average dragon can only hold their breath for an hour or so, and without air to press down upon flapping, your wings won't get you anywhere. But get enough draconic heads together and eventually someone will hit upon the idea that the mysterious space above the sky is sort of like the ocean, only very very thin. Allow some time to pass and you have adventurous dragons with scuba tanks and rocket packs walking about on the moons in search of treasure.

Mar’rath’s dragons had emerged from the old world’s ashes part animal and part mechanical, but more importantly, not bound by the Will of Null. With no need for space suits, an instinctive grasp of technological systems, and the ability to tell a certain person to shut up and go home, the dragons were having moon adventures while their homeworld’s other species were starting to figure out what a good idea planting crops is.

In the modern age, with the “Primitives” having developed the railroad, indoor plumbing, and worked out what a good idea doctors washing their hands between patients is, Mar’rath’s dragons held dominion over a cosmic empire. Encompassing thirty seven starsystems and a little rogue planet just up the galactic “coast”.

Over time, the dragons had left their homeworld for the other planets in their empire. Some out of boredom, some out of wanderlust, but most out of disgust. The few million dragons remaining on their homeworld were there for one reason and one reason only.

Ensuring the safety of their primitive siblings.

The dragons know two things to be true. First, space is big, really big, bigger than anyone can ever properly describe. With all the impossible bigness of space to happen in, everything that can happen does happen, and it happens all day every day. Which meant it was only a matter of time before some other species worked out how to fly between stars and decided, “If those primitives can't protect their world they don't deserve it.”

Second, someone needed to keep a talon firmly pressed down upon a certain person’s non-existent throat. Someone had to ensure that same person remained firmly rooted to the ground, and never set sail upon the cosmic sea. The Hoard was that talon.

A thousand million tons of titanium, gold, and carbon shaped into a graceful saucer shape. The Ranger Base orbited across Mar’rath’s poles, high up enough to be invisible to the primitive instruments below them, but close enough to help if needed. Helping people was precisely what the Hoard was built for.

In simple terms, it was a police station. In less lame terms, it was a space police station manned by cybernetic dragons. It was also a busy police station. The dragons cared little about their homeworld in terms of politics. It’s not where their center of power was, it was merely a world they protected out of a sense of duty to their terrestrial kin. As a result, Mar’rath was a Draconic border world.

All sorts of interstellar scum wound up in or near the system. Smugglers, pirates, pirate smugglers, roaming bands of militant hippies, Rouge fleets, alien probes seeking intellectual discourse with random sea life, one-of-a-kind advanced starships crewed by actors from science fiction TV shows, interstellar Hitchhikers and drifters, overly religious farmboys believing they are fighting some kind of Galactic Empire, Captain Harlock…

The galaxy was full of scum, crazies, and predators. And while Veena had not chosen the life of a Space Ranger, she enjoyed it. She enjoyed it, even though today was her first day as a full fledged Ranger. Her time as a Cadet undertaking every ride along she could manage filled her heart’s primary solenoid with pride.

I may not get to go on adventures with my sister, but this is almost as good. I think, Veena thought to herself as she walked down the packed corridor.

Dragons were not the only species to make up the Ranger Corps. There were a dozen or so others, mostly humanoids (including Humans themselves), but dragons still held the vast majority. How could they not?

Veena stood one and a half meters tall, talon to head and was seven meters nose to tail tip, the perfect size to fit into nearly every major species vessels. Her polished white scales were a natural radiation barrier and strong enough to prevent pressure issues, forming a natural spacesuit. Like all dragons, her wing membrain’s solar cells worked much more efficiently in vacuum allowing photosynthesis to feed her well enough to survive until her water ran out.

Her gold eyes didn’t have issues with cosmic rays and adjusted to the brightness of direct sunlight just fine. Veena was sleeker than most dragons, minimizing her silhouette, making it hard for targeting systems to spot her. Her tungsten talons could eventually rip through a ship’s hull. Her breath could be used in vacuum almost as efficiently as in atmosphere.

With only light armor, a few gadgets, a jetpack, and an oxygen mask, Veena was the prefect starfighter. All dragons were. That’s why Rangers simply had such things permanently attached to them.

Veena’s armoring was simple, after all she was just a Trooper. A standard deployable helmet, breastplate with standard manual equipment toggles, bracers with the standard issue computer system and display, greaves, and the tri-thruster jet pack attached to her spine, with wing slats to protect her wing’s leading edge. All naturally formed from tapering organic shapes which blended in to her own body, making her look just the tiniest bit bulkier in places.

Since a Ranger’s armor never came off, the Ranger Corps didn’t regulate its color, but Veena had gone for the traditional green with electric purple accents. The traditional colors went well with her all white scales and she was thankful for the complementary colors.

“Excuse me,” Veena said as she scrunched up against the left hand wall to slip past a human and an agarthan ranger who for some unknown (presumably stupid) reason had decided to stop for a conversation in the middle of the main corridor.

The pair ignored her, continuing to discuss some routine something or other which slipped by Veena’s mind just as easily as she slipped by them. She had more important things to do.

It’s gotta be to assign me to my first partner, right? the dragoness asked herself as she continued moving towards the Commander’s office. I’m a special case. Maybe they want to assign me to someone in particular now instead of waiting till the graduation ceremony at the end of the month.

She progressed down the white, smooth, cylindrical hallway for a few more moments until arriving at a burnished durasteel door bearing the label:

Mantle the Adamant, Base Commander

Veena silently giggled as she noticed someone had scratched out the Base and carved the word Space into the brass nameplate above it.

I swear that matches the Commander’s talon writing. she thought to herself as she pressed the doorbell below the plate with a knuckle to avoid impaling the plastic button on a claw tip.

Most people watching dragons interact with physical controls never understood how they managed to have any sort of dexterity with their fingers curled inwards like that. Unfortunately, it was just one of those things you couldn’t verbally explain to another species.

“Trooper reporting as ordered, sir,” Veena said before releasing the button.

There was no need to say her name. Her voiceprint would be more than enough.

The circular door irised open a moment later, granting her access to the quiet small room. The commander’s office was large enough for the Commander himself, his desk, a computer console, and one young dragon such as Veena. It was decorated sparsely, the circular room’s light blue paint job being essentially the only decoration/distraction.

The commander was an older dragon, and as such he was three times Veena’s size. Too large for most fieldwork, just like most dragons in their five digit years. His silver and yellow bulk filled half the room as he sat coiled comfortably but professionally so his head was centered above his desk.

“Be seated,” the Commander ordered, nodding to the spot in front of his desk.

Veena complied, entering taking a seat as the door closed behind her. She immediately offered a salute, holding herself at attention.

“At ease,” the Commander said in a rehearsed voice. “Trooper the Challenger, you have been selected for a special assignment given your unique qualifications. We do not have enough intel to compose a mission briefing for you, as such I will personally dictate your assignment too you. Do you understand?”

Veena nodded and let her left hand drop as she adopted an attentive quadrupedal pose. “Yes, sir! I’m grateful, sir, but what qualifications? Does the mission require stunt flying?”

“Negative, Trooper,” the Commander informed with a shake of his head. “Your qualifications are the circumstances regarding your recruitment and your lack of experience. To put things bluntly, Trooper, you’re still expendable and this assignment will be of personal interest to you. It’s also the sort of operation which benefits from having the agent involved be emotionally attached.

“Last night at twenty-one fifty-two hours a barrage of nuclear weapons was detonated off the shore of Weave. The target was the Dark Fortress, which according to reports from the Riders not only survived the strike, but regained mobility and is currently on course for the mainland.

“The strikes came after a Numerican commando team reported the Dark Lord had revived. Given the structure survived the nuclear strike via magical reinforcement of it’s shields, there are few other explanations. The Rider on the scene was able to give his organization a full report, which they passed on to us along with a request due to something… Well, interesting.”

“Interesting, sir?” Veena asked tilting her head to the side before her eyes widened. “Oh! Am I to attach an artillery beacon to the Fortress, sir?”

“Negative,” the Commander said firmly. “At least, not as it stands currently. According to the Riders, one of Lord Zennious’s generals, a kobold by the name of Lyra Heartstring, has somehow been listed as an initiate to their Order. More interestingly, the Council examined the entry and determined it had not been placed there via foreign agents. The entry is genuine.

“This would be a curiosity and nothing more if the Rider’s Council had not decided to use the Initiate's hearing as a means to gather intelligence on the Dark Lord. While most of Lyra’s memories are too fogged to examine, they were able to get clear instances of many things happening on the night of the bombing.”

“What did they learn, sir?” Veena asked eagerly, her heart burning hotter and hotter as she eagerly awaited her first proper mission. Her first chance to make a name for herself.

“You’re aware of how the Council selects a Rider’s partner, correct?” The Commander asked.

Veena nodded. “Of course I am sir, my mother’s on the Council.”

“Then you’ll understand that upon witnessing Lyra risk her own life for the sake of her friends, and then not twenty minutes later do the same for a stranger qualifies her as a Rider.” The Commander stated calmly. “I was told it is quite common for stasis spells to result in the Council’s Mind Walking spell to return fogged memories at best, however since Lyra was willing to risk nuclear annihilation to save the life of someone she had only just met, and the Council is required to vote after using their spell, the Rider’s Council has elected to induct Lyra into the Riders.”

Veena bit her lip as she suddenly came to understand why she had been called her.

“Sir, with all due respect, I am very much looking forward to being a Ranger. I passed training. I finished my time as a Cadet with honors, sir. What’s more, I’m not exactly allowed to enter the God’s territory anymore… Technically, I’m not supposed to set talon on Mar’rath at all.”

The Commander nodded. “I am aware, Trooper. However, this is a special case. You see… Lyra does not register as belonging to Null’s little kingdom.”

Veena blinked. “Excuse me, sir?” she asked in surprise.

“Her arcane signature is not of any documented type and isn’t bound to Mar’rath. She can leave the world without dying yet would retain her ‘magic’.” The Commander said, falling silent to see if his Trooper could put it together.

Veena’s mind churned for just a few milliseconds before she understood. “Then she’s either an alien, or Null’s trying to get part of herself offworld.”

“Exactly, Trooper,” The Commander sighed. “We need an agent to figure this out. The Riders can’t send one of their own to handle this due to the possibility of the event being staged to allow Null to escape containment is quite high.

“Space isn’t the Rider’s jurisdiction, it’s ours. The Rider’s can’t blow her out of orbit if she reaches it, we can. What’s more, being planet bound, the Rider’s don't have a means of keeping in constant contact with us. Therefore they have requested a Ranger bond with Lyra as a means of observing her.”

Veena coughed into her left talon awkwardly. “Um, sir? Are you somehow not aware of how I gained my title?” she asked heastently.

The Commander’s lips twitched slightly, forming for a brief instant the smile a father would have upon seeing his hatchling’s first steps.

“I am very much aware of your attempts to obtain permission for your sister to return home by force, Trooper,” the Commander said, returning to his serious face.

“Then you know I’m banned from going planetside. So, why are you giving me this assignment sir?” Veena asked for a second time.

“I told you,” the Commander replied with a light smile. “You’re the right person for the job. You have a personal stake, you are intelligent, and since you have no service record nor ongoing assigned duties, you’re expendable.”

Veena flinched slightly at the word ‘expendable’. “Just how likely is my death on this assignment, sir?” If Lyra is an Avatar of Null, then she’ll recognise me on sight and probably remember that time I tried to put my tallon up her ass…

“To put it bluntly, Trooper, we’re hoping she has a reaction upon seeing you specifically which blows her cover. What we do in that scenario is classified above your clearance level, Trooper. However, if there is no reaction, we will require a spy. It’s a risky assignment but I think you’re suited for it. There’s also the chance that this Lyra is an alien. In which case after being bonded too her, you’d have your Patrol Partner.”

They are literally hoping I’ll be attacked on site. Well, if I am, that’s a whole world potentially saved… I can live with that. Veena nodded. “I understand, sir,” she said with a nod. “I- I did sign up for this sort of thing. Didn’t I?”

The Commander smiled. “That’s a good Ranger. Once more, for the record: Given your history with a certain wannabe goddess, I feel you are determined enough to stop her plans, and given your training record you’re emotionally stable enough and intelligent enough to be able to do so stealthily.

“Your mission is to go planetside and ascertain the truth of the ongoing situation. For this reason you will be bonded to Lyra using a modified version of the Rider’s Bond. The modified bond will not disable your technological abilities, but you will still be soul linked to your partner. We can’t guarantee you will not die if they do, but the Riders have given us a prototype device which might prevent the Feedback from killing you if they die.

“If this is an escape attempt, you need to stop it but also remain undetected if possible. It’s best for all if Null has no idea we interfered. As such, while we will not be removing your equipment, nor switching off your inorganic capabilities for the sake of the mission, you are to deactivate all non-essential systems for the duration of the mission unless the need to use them arises.

“Said need will likely arise as if this is NOT an escape attempt, then the Dark Lord has returned. As you will be in the position of someone close to one of his generals, you are to assassinate him at the first opportunity. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Veena agreed with a nod. “When will the bond be made? I would like to try and acquire some better weapons before I’m sent out, sir. When I challenged Null I uh, I sort of just had my scales and claws, sir. I think I might have done more than annoy her if say, I had a reciprocating plasmoid launcher?”

The Commander rolled his eyes. “Request denied. You’ll have your standard lasers and your natural weapons but nothing else. The base Ranger armor isn’t something a Planetbound Dragon couldn’t have but if we gave you any advanced equipment it would be suspicious.

“As for deployment, it’s to be performed immediately. Lyra was sent into a coma during the blast, but the Rider’s report she is recovering and will be up and about within a few days. We want her to become aware of your bond upon awakening. It will feel like she earned her dragon during the rescue attempt. You’ll be able to meet up with her easily enough.”

“How so, sir?” Veena asked with a tilt of her head. “I mean, I know my family lives in Wieav but it’s a large country and-”

The Commander chuckled. “If the Fortress doesn't deviate from its current course, it will arrive at the village of Safeton within two days.”

Veena’s eyes widened in surprise. “T-they’re going to my hometown?”

“Correct,” the commander answered. “Since Safeton is well known for offering sanctuary to anyone who asks, it’s almost certain given the Fortress’s course that Lord Zeneanus intends to disguise himself and use the town to finish awakening, repairing, healing, or whatever it is that he need do.

“As your mother is capable of performing the Bonding ritual, and the target is heading for her location, her request to perform the ritual herself has been granted. You are to report to her as soon as possible.”

Veena nodded and stood up on her hind legs to offer a salute (an easy thing for her particular species of dragon to do), “Yes, sir. I’ll find out what’s going on as quickly as possible.”

The Commander nodded in satisfaction and turned his head to check a monitor on his console.

“Given our current position, you could fly home on your own if you like. Or would you prefer a transport? There’s a disaster relief shipment scheduled for-”

Veena lowered her talon. “I’d like to fly on my own sir. It may be the last time I get to re-enter,” she interrupted, hoping her Commander wouldn’t be too set.

The Commander nodded one final time. “Very well. Proceed to the nearest airlock and do your duty, Trooper,” he offered Veena one salute of his own. “Dismissed.”

Veena turned to leave, a grim but determined look on her face. This isn’t the career move I had in mind… But at least I’ll wind up with a place in the history books. Maybe one day sis will get to read about me. Too bad we never got to meet…

Veena opened the door to the hallway and began to walk out.

“Oh, and Veena,” the Commander said quietly. “Off the record, if you do get the chance, show that Paperclip Maximiser what we think of her little theme park.”

The Challenger grinned. “I’m up for a rematch, sir!”

Ten minutes later saw the white bay doors of a launch airlock his open, depositing Veena gently into the vacuum of space. Her helmet had long since been activated, the telltale shimmer of its oxygen-containing forcefield visible around her face and neck as she floated within the airlock.

On a whim, Veena instructed the mechanical portion of her mind to shuffle her music selection. The song Radar Rider filled her mind.

Not bad, Veena thought as she pushed off the space station’s wall and shot down towards the planet below

A few precision pulses from her jetpack and Veena was on target to reenter somewhere near her hometown. No more than an hour’s flight or so. This was only her fifth reentry, landing precisely is an art that takes years to master.

Veena’s mental count reached zero. It was time. Flicking her pack on with a thought, the dragoness initiated a full power retrograde burn, slowing herself until she begun to fall sharply into the atmosphere below.

Minutes later she hit the first layers of the atmosphere, the air gripped at her bare scales, pulling at her, slowing her down. Within mere moments the air around her caught fire covering Veena in a blazing streak of red-orange plasma, making her visible as a shooting star to the primitives below.

If she were any other species, this would have been Veena’s end. If not now then surely when she plowed into the ground at several times the speed of sound. But for a winged creature with the thermal shielding of a dragon?

Few people knew why the dragons had continued going into space after discovering there was no treasure for them on the moons.

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Vena mentally cried as she plunged through the heavens, having the time of her life.

9 - Safeton

Vinyl Scratch - Day 5

Safeton - Mount Mercy, Wieav

Vinyl sat hunched over in the uncomfortable wooden chair next to Lyra’s infirmary bed. The last three days had been more than a little stressful, to say the least. Francine’s “help”, was only partially to blame, most of the stress came instead from the Safeton itself.

It’s safe alright… But I think the Fortress was safer, Vinyl thought to herself as she looked out the window at the mountaintop city and the forests far below.

The ancient village, which Safeton had been built around, sat on the very top of Mount Mercy. An ancient volcano which had died mid-eruption. Safeton took its name from this event long ago, and had been constructed within the newly “plugged” crater. The ancient village had once used the carved crater rim as a defensive wall but over the years the village had grown and the wall had been knocked down.

Now anyone who stood within the edge of the city center could look down across the terracotta tile roofs which stretched down the mountainside, each individual building seeming to flow together, merging into a dull orange uneven slab. From a distance, Safeton looked like a clay deposit atop its mountain. Her building’s rooves contributed a lot to this illusion, but not as much as the granite walled buildings.

Safeton had been constructed from the mountain it rested upon. Even its farms were hidden in mountain valleys and placed behind natural-looking artificial walls. In less ancient times this was its defense. If one did not know exactly which mountain in the small range the village was one, you wouldn’t see it until you were almost on top of it.

Safeton was well known about now. That ancient defense had also failed. In the end, something can only remain hidden until it is found, and found Safeton was. There had been a time when the Araka and Elbez living within the village had been slaves to the orks. That time ended in fire three thousand years ago.

Vinyl looked down the mountainside at Safeton’s current “wall” and took a nervous breath for the thousandth time. The wall was a brick red, a common color for walls, but not so much for this particular family of wall. The wall was around three kilometers long, an average length for a fortified wall around a small community, an extremely freakish length for this particular kind of “wall”.

If Chem’s disguise spell fails, we’re so dead! Why was this a good idea again? Why are we staying here?! Vinyl worried to herself, fidgeting slightly in her seat. I’d say I was worrying about nothing, but let’s be honest. The Sisters with Twilight and Cadence’s help would have a hard time surviving that… That thing!

Perhaps it was a little silly to be worried about something three days after first encountering it, even if that thing was unfathomably powerful. At least, it might be silly when a couple thousand people lived their entire lives close enough to walk over and touch the absurdly dangerous thing without any difficulties whatsoever.

Under any other circumstances, Safeton’s wall would warrant the fear a dozen times over. But this particular “wall” wasn’t going to be attacking anyone it encircled today.

Safeton's current protection came from it resting within the shadow of a colossus. Maru the Colossus, specifically.

Maru being a mutant cloud dragon, who unlike every other dragon known to their race, had never stopped growing. To the point where she now formed a very handy defensive wall when she curled up around the village which just so happened to be atop her favorite napping mountain. While her sheer bulk provided a material wall, Maru also doubled as a metaphorical wall.

Anyone with a half working pair of eyes could see her atop her “bed” from a good forty leagues away, assuming the sky was clear that day. Over the many years Maru had chosen to live within The Colossus’ Range (named for her, naturally), and many warlords had approached Safeton intent upon raiding what must be a bountiful village.

In the modern age the general consensus amongst bandit tribes is to marinate anyone foolish enough to attack Safeton so as to appease the Great Dragon.

Vinyl turned away from the window, needing to think about anything else other than the inconceivably large juggernaut napping outside. A task which became much more difficult as the sun dimmed as if a cloud had passed in front of the sun.

But it wasn’t a cloud.

The rustle of scales on stone mixing with sleepy draconic murmurings and the light’s reddish tint made it clear Maru had stretched out a wing in her sleep.

“Hey! Hey, Maru!” A distant voice called, its tinny quality indicating it came through a primitive megaphone.

Vinyl jumped, her heart hammering at a million miles an hour. Don’t-wake-the-dragon. Don’t-wake-the-dragon. PLEASE, don’t-

“Nyeh?” A booming yet feminine voice responded sleepily.

“Would you please retract your left wing? We’re trying to do some weather magic and need to see the sky,” Mister Megaphone asked with immaculate politeness

The immense dragoness made a few sleepy sounds, and the sunlight streaming through the window returned to a cheerful white.

“Thank you,” Mister Megaphone concluded, as if he hadn’t just given a mountain sized creature an order.

Sisters… This is what Ponyville is like to normal ponies, isn’t it? Vinyl asked herself.

Vinyl stood up and began to pace the room. Her shift was going to be over soon. Sky would be here to watch over Lyra in just a few minutes. Someone she knew had to be here when she woke up, and Vi was happy to be that someone.

But there was also mission critical things to do. Which thankfully will get us away from here. I’ll take a tomb over this place any day, Vinyl said with a shiver. It’s just a decorative wall, he said. We’ll just set down a few leagues away and walk on in, he said. Ugh… I can’t mock Chem’s line of thought. It made sense. Who the hay would look at her and think “Yeah, that’s a living being and not a sculpture.”

Maybe I should take a double shift here, give Sky more time to work on fixing the Fortress’s shields and float units. Then we can leave faster.

As she paced, Vi looked around the room again. The hospice room felt familiar, in a good way. Its simple wood floor, dark hardwood cabinets, shelves filled with glass bottles in a multitude of colors, and the large bed covered in hoof made blankets and pillows could have been found in any Equestrian village.

Her homeland might be an arcane and industrial superpower with some of the most advanced cities on the planet, but by far most ponies lived in the smaller rural villages dotting Equestria’s face like sprinkles atop a cake. Maybe it was a desire for a simpler life, maybe it was simply a love of open areas, but this village (minus the dragon) could have been anywhere back home.

Including the spiderfolk, Vinyl admitted with an internal laugh. There’s probably some place back home with people like them.

Coincidently the tac-tac-tac of Arkan claws on wood echoed through the hospice’s corridors. One would think the sound of a six foot tall spider creature walking would be truly terrifying, and that is absolutely correct. Except of the case of Araka, their clawsteps sound almost exactly like an excited dog running on stone.

Speak of Cerberus… Vinyl snorted in amusement, grateful for the comic timing in light of the colossus outside.

The room’s iron shod wooden door creaked open as the Arakan Apothecary, Erna stepped inside. Vinyl had gotten to know her fairly well over the last few days. Erna was a very cheerful and fun person to be around, if you weren't bothered by the lower half of her body. Which Vinyl wasn’t.

Erna was of the Chromium Clan, meaning her lower body was that of a Chromium spider. From the waist down, Erna’s chitinous exoskeleton was harless, smooth as glass, silver in color, and extremely glossy. The room reflected in her body like a mirror.

From the waist up she looked almost exactly like the Humans Lyra obsessed over. Only with pale cream colored skin, long silvery-ashen hair tucked up under a very silly hat which Vi had been assured was traditional doctor’s attire, and wrapped up in an outfit best described as the top of a pale orange kimono with green highlights.

Of course, there were also her small fangs, and the extra eyes located just above and to the sides of her main eyes. The compound orbs surrounding her mammalian eyes making it look like someone had implanted small sapphires around her eyes.

The spider girl slipped into the room, doing her best to prevent the heavy door from slamming shut, which wasn’t too much due to her somewhat lacking physique. In fact the door dragged her across the floor in her attempts to prevent it from slamming shut and disturbing her patients. Just how much or even if this helped rescue the loud thud the door made as the iron edge hit the stone door jam was very debatable.

Erna blushed lightly at her failure, then shrugged and rotated in place exactly like a tank, her legs skittering side to side during the odd movement.

“Good morning, Vinyl!” The spider girl said cheerfully as she skittered across the floor to Lyra’s bed, her hands automatically beginning to weave the gestures for her healing spells. “Are you still spooked by Maru?”

Vinyl flushed red for a moment in embarrassment. “Y-yeah.”

“Hehe! Don’t worry, she’s nice! Unless you attack us,” Erna said, starting to hum as she worked, the occasional flash of green, blue, and white magic flicking between her fingers as they spun her spell.

Vinyl shook her head. “She’s still a huge predator,” Vinyl mumbled. “Like, a REALLY huge one. That I’m near.”

“Oh! That. Don’t worry about that. Maru can’t actually get enough meat to fill herself up. Hasn’t in thousands of years. She lost he taste for it and is into stone, wood, other things like that. I’ve got a friend whose uncle grows redmoss for her as a seasoning. You’re off the menu, you silly little lizzie!” Erna giggled suddenly flicking her left hand to send her completed spell straight into Lyra’s heart.

Vinyl paused, standing silently for three full seconds. “She’s a lithovore?” Vi asked incredulously.

“Yeah! It’s not like we live near the Avici Jungle and she can catch like… Eight? Yeah probably eight. Eight Terra Rescues everyday to have enough meat to eat. I asked what she’s been eating once. I think I was…seven? She burrows down into the old volcanic tunnels and eats any volcanic rock at the top of the crust. Apparently it’s similar in flavor to monkey bread. Ever have Monkey bread?” The spider girl babbled as she began to weave her second spell.

“Yeah a few times,” Vinyl said as she turned to look out the window at the large wall of red scales. “Se SERIOUSLY only eats rocks?”

“Well… She’s popped a few raiders down like after dinner mints, but only orks. I guess they taste good enough to make up for being like, nothing?” Erna said with a shrug.

“Still… She could decide to eat your village, you know? I mean the actual village. These buildings are all rock,” Vi pointed out timidly.

“Sure, but then she’d be lonely. She had a daughter a few thousand years ago, came here after she left home. If you’re still afraid, wait for her to wake up and go chat. She’s super friendly! Makes great muffins too.”

“She… Makes muffins?” Vinyl asked skeptically. “You’re messing with me.”

“I’m totally not. She’s got these really big surgical tools and uses them to make muffins that are our size. It’s really funny looking but she takes it seriously so don’t laugh,” Erna snickered, her main eyes closing for a moment in remembrance of amusements past. “Hold on, spell’s done gotta read her lifesigns an- Okay, good! Your friend’s still on schedule for a proper recovery. If we’re lucky she’ll be up in just a few more minutes, if we’re not, she’ll be up and about by evening.”

Vinyl looked over at Lyra’s still but now healthy looking form, slightly envying how snugly and tucked into the extremely comfortable looking blanket she was.

“Thanks. You’re really good. We could use healers like you back home,” Vinyl said with sincerity.

Erna winced. “You keep saying that, and I’m actually not very good at this yet. Wherever your from, you should head to Metho. There’s a Healer’s Commune there, it’s where I got my medical liencene. If your village, city, or even nation has no good doctors they will send at least one to you. Everyone deserves proper care.”

Vi sighed. “It’s a bit complicated… But we do have doctors. It’s just you’re really fast. Half her skin was missing, and you’ve got her looking like it never happened in just three days. Besides Doctor Lily, there isn’t anyone who could do that in less than three weeks.”

Erna forwned, her eyes closing again as she shuddered. “I said it before, but just to be safe I do not want to know how she got hurt… I had enough nightmares after treating the adventuring company before you. Their wizard got swallowed by a Vespergaunt and- The things it’s digestive enzymes do to- I just-”

Erna shivered and ran a hand across her eyes before continuing. “I don't want to know how people got hurt anymore. I’m happy just patching you guys up.”

Vinyl nodded, her eyes darkening as she thought back to the worst she’d ever seen. The Everfree Forest. Night. The blue light of the moon filtered by trees. Six timberwolves, bigger than any on record. One lost griffon chick. A diplomat’s daughter. Talked into exploring the Everfree by some stupid, stupid colts.

They tore her clean in half. Like a wet paper bag full of pasta… Because I gave the wrong orders. We failed because I made the wrong call. Vinyl bit her tongue, stopping the flashback before it went any further.

“I know how you feel,” Vinyl said quietly.

Erna paused for a moment, then crouched down to lay a hand on Vi’s shoulder. “Whoever you lost, I’m sorry I wasn’t there to save them. But at least Lyra will be fine, yeah?”

Vinyl nodded. “Yeah.”

Erna idly ran her fingers across each other for a moment then cleared her throat. “I’ll leave you two alone. Last time I treated a kobold he woke up and freaked out because his view was nothing but huge spider butt.”

Vi smirked and shook her head. “Lyra is… Well, actually it’s probably best if it’s just a friend here when she wakes up. But there’s no way she won't think you’re cool.”

“But… It’s summer?” Erna said raising an eyebrow as she frowned. “Oh, is that an expression? Sorry we’re a bit isolated here. I don’t hear many other dialects.”

Vi nodded. “Yeah, it means she’ll think your interesting. Sort of. Better than interesting. I uh, I don't know how to translate the slang. You think I would. I was a musician before I was a soldier.”

Erna shrugged. “We all forget things if we don’t do them for a while.”

“It’s not that. I still write music, do remixes, It’s just the style I like went out of fashion so there’s not that many gigs anymore and-” Vinyl trailed off and gave the spider girl an apologetic smile. “Eh, sorry I didn’t mean to ramble like that. I’ll let you get to your other patients.”

Erna nodded once and offered Vi a friendly smile. “It’s okay! Part of a healer’s job is to listen to people. If you want to talk more later I’ll be tending to Mister “I can totally survive that drop” in the other room. His wounds… Well, sorcerer's usually respond to arcane healing weirdly. Knock if you need anything!”

Vinyl winced as Erna skittered out of the room. She’d given her a hand with that particular patient the other day. The young Arkan man had decided to personally test a “safe Fall” spell on himself. Now most of his non-vital organs were literally mud. How he wasn’t dead was as of yet unknown.

“Good luck!” Vi called as the spider girl once again struggled with the heavy door.

Vinyl smiled. “You too,” she said turning back towards Lyra. Unaware of the faint ripple in the air which passed through the momentarily open door before it banged shut.

Grand Legion - Day 5

Safeton - Mount Mercy, Wieav

The Grand Legion of Wieav isn’t a very storied military, not compared to the great nations of the world. Minic and Ritir set the bar far too high for any small nation to be seen as having a potent military force, or even a proud military tradition. When half the world is controlled by two ancient nations, there’s little a few million soldiers can do that hasn’t been done more impressively already.

The Archaeidae were Wieav’s one exception. The Legion may spend most of its time fighting monsters bigger nations would have eradicated already. The Thunderstorm may be puny compared to other air forces. The Numericans may put Wieav’s meger coast guard to shame. But none of them could beat the Archaeidae at their game.

There was no mystery to Wieav’s superiority in the field of assassination. Modern Wieav was stable, multi-species, and open to international trade. For the last two hundred years.

Before then, only Araka lived in Wieav, and their old way of clan based governance had forged the most twisted web of politics ever seen. No outsider could comprehend it, and few born within the system knew how it worked, even as they were a part of it.

For thousands of years the easiest way for a clan to do what it felt was best was to kill anyone who opposed them. Not openly of course. That would start a war. A war would hurt your clan. No, far better to kill them… And make it look like one of the countless other clans also opposing you did it.

While such barbarisms were now behind the Araka, the traditions which kept their people alive for thousands of years had never fallen out of practice. Modern Wieav might be one big clan, but that pirate fleet was another clan, and so were all those other nations. And sometimes, well, sometimes trade and compromise just can’t get the job done.

Sometimes you just need to put an arrow into a specific head and not get blamed for it.

Also they are spiders.

Honestly, that’s the real reason most people were not surprised by the skill of Wieav’s assassins.

Seras was a member of Clan Banana in the service of the Archaeidae. A much feared clan, for if their little cousins bite induces an agonizing four hour erection followed by drowning in your own bile, what hell can fangs a thousand times larger unleash?

The same, only you also itch everywhere. Including on the inside.

The Assassin walked calmly through Safeton’s streets, easily flexing, bending and adjusting his stance to avoid touching anyone. If he were not hidden by the hypnotic powers of his ring, the mere sight of an Archaeidae would have sent the villagers running screaming for their homes. Yellow and black striped legs, with all other features hidden behind tight fitting black silk cloth wraps, and a featureless white porcelain mask.

The Archaeidae’s traditional outfit. When seen by Arakan eyes, the heat, the light, the ultraviolet reflections, all of these things combined to form the image of a long dead predator. One too deeply ingrained within the Arakan mind for extinction to take the terror it inflicted to the grave with it.

In order to ensure only the target would ever feel that terror, the Archaeidae wore their rings. And all who saw them simply decided not to. As long as they were not touched or directly interacted with. While advantageous this did make moving rather time consuming.

However, Seras had no constraints on time. The targets had not moved in days. He had plenty of time to finish completely mapping Safeton and the area around it. The key word being had, for that task had been completed.

Safeton was most certainly not the optimal place to attempt to neutralize an enemy, escape would be very difficult. Perhaps impossible. Seras was unconcerned.

The Dark Lord had returned. Seras would happily die to return him to his grave. The assassin would happily die to cripple the Dark Lord’s operations. He would gladly die even to stop one of the Lord’s generals.

The needs of the many make the life of one into a pittance. Even if that one was one of the Archaeidae’s own.

Seras made his way through town, walking up walls and across roofs to avoid thicker crowds, spiraling ever closer to the village’s clocktower. The tall limestone tower with its massive brass clock face offered the perfect vantage point to survey his target.

He arrived without difficulty, effortlessly scaling the tower’s wall in need total silence. Had anyone been paying attention, the light rattle of wood on leather, the quiet shushing of silk on silk, and the soft scraping of a slowly climbing Araka might have broken Seras’s concealment. But Safeton’s people would never have looked for such things.

They were completely safe. Nothing could ever attack them in their own homes. Not with their guardian laying around their village.

Seras reached the top of the tower and turned east, looking down at the hospice he’d watched the kobold general check her friend into mere days ago. His vantage point was prefect, the tower’s view directly into Lyra’s room was completely unobstructed. The enchanted lenses grafted to his upper eyes easily allowed him to watch everything occurring within the room.

The armored kobold pacing nervously. The wounded one’s chest heaving as she drew breath.

That would end soon.

Seras reached up and brushed a finger across the clay amulet hanging around his neck. Its magic immediately linked his mind to his superior officer, Captain Jago.

Seras reported, his claws finding a more solid purchase on the tower’s side as he drew the enchanted rosewood longbow from his back.

Jago said urgently.

The assassin asked, frowning slightly behind his featureless porcelain mask.

Jago’s voice informed.

Seras said, his words triggering his amulet’s secondary effect.

The spell began to strip all the emotion from Jago’s words, even altering what Jago said to use better words if needed. The spell did not care about what words were spoken, but rather the intent behind them. The Archaeidae refused to make mistakes because someone misspoke.

the spell translated, stopping as it sensed Jago had conveyed all the contract required.

Seras asked calmly.

Jago said, falling silent for several long minutes.

The Assassin calmly stood on the wall. Never taking his eyes off his targets. His left hand gently ran over the arrows in his quiver as he waited, ensuring they were all in place.

Jago said after listening to Captain Harrel’s explanation for a second time. <They are mostly empty shells, psychology conditioned to obey strict military protocols. That programming is very delicate.

<Marines constantly assimilate all thoughts within their sensory range into their own minds. If one’s within a civilian area without special handlers to block her telepathy, they will absorb the fear, anxiety, and other fear based emotions of those they encounter. Their conditioning isn’t perfect. They don't know how to handle fear in any way other than to lash out and attack the source of that fear.

<If the Sargent wasn’t killed during her infiltration, but has been mentally dominated and now serves the Dark Lord, and she is also in that village, she is a ticking time bomb of rage and frustration. The Colossus can only react so fast and a marine can do a lot of damage in a very short amount of time.

The Assassin nodded to himself.

Jago wished as their connection ended.

Seras focused his gaze on the room’s door. His mind awhirl as he calculated several new plans.

“I hope they are ready to die,” he whispered, reciting his order’s sacred mantra. “For I am ready to kill.”

Vinyl Scratch - Day 5

Safeton - Mount Mercy, Wieav

The hospice room door slammed shut, its echoing crunch scarcely finishing before someone spoke.

“Sky wants you to sit here for another few hours. He’s onto something.”

Vi jumped, her eyes widening and her hand reaching for her sword, which wasn’t on her hip but instead hanging in the lockup near the Hospice’s entrance with other patients personal weapons.

Her heart racing even before she landed, Vi turned to where the sound had come from and gladed upwards even though she couldn’t see anything.

“Damnit, Francine! You could let me know you’re there first.”

“It’s not my fault you’re not perceptive enough to spot active camo,” the marine said flatly as she lowered her hood, bringing her head into view. “Does this help?”

Vi looked up at her “face”. The Marine had refused to allow anyone to see her body in any way, typically remaining in her full armor until it needed to be recharged. She didn't have her armor on at the moment, instead wearing a fairly bland looking uniform with the addition of gloves, and a head and neck concealing mask.

The only part of Francine Vinyl could see was a small strip of skin and her unnaturally blue eyes. Everything else was black fabric, with a few strands of ultra pink hair sticking out from under her balaclava here and there.

The more I see her eyes, the more I buy her ‘my mutation family is hypnotically beautiful’ excuse. Vi though tot herself as she avoided looking into those infinite pools of soothing, compelling, charming...

“Yeah. Also you know you could just walk in, right? You didn’t have to slip in on her… Spider tail equivalent… Butt?” Vi said trailing off slightly as her question distracted her.

“Did you get the message?” Francine asked. “I’ve noticed that fear causes forgetfulness. I didn’t know that before.”

“Yeah, I got it,” Vi confirmed with a nod as she sat down on the edge of Lyra’s bed. “I was already thinking about telling Sky I’d stay longer. And that’s before the nurse just said Lyra should be awake soon.

“Now seriously, why are you sneaking around?”

Vi’s final question carried an air of authority to it, something she’d started doing out of reflex thanks to Francine’s attempts to get everyone working as a team. Francine’s “help” was little more than a sudden return to bootcamp for early morning. Vi had tried to get out of it by informing Francine that as an officer, she outranked a sargent and didn’t need to put up with that nonsense.

The Marine’s response? ‘Then act like it.’

Sometimes, words just hit home.

“I’m… Uncomfortable here, ma’am,” Francine replied after a slight pause.

“Yeah, the dragon has me jumpy too,” Vi agreed with a sympathetic sigh as she turned to look out the window once more.

Francine shook her head and walked up to the window, looking out over the city. “That’s not it. I’m not afraid. I can’t be. They take that away from you when you sign up. I’m not meant to be here, in a civilian area. This just too… Peaceful, you know? Nothings aflame, no one is dying, there’s no danger, nothing to do. It’s weird. I don’t feel like I should be here.”

Vi frowned and leaned forwards on the bed slightly. “What do you mean they take ‘that’ away from you. You keep saying you can’t be afraid. Do you mean you’re given a fear suppressing drug, or what? Because if you ask me, being uncomfortable is the very bottom of the fear scale.”

“Not emotionally uncomfortable, physically,” Francine corrected. “Being here feels like I’ve got my kit on wrong. It’s not okay, you know? Ah! Annoying. That’s the word. This is annoying. I want to be in and out quickly. Minimal interaction. Go back to a nice place. Somewhere quiet or somewhere in peril.”

Vi nodded slowly. “Okay, but you didn’t answer my whole question.”

“Sorry, ma’am. It’s… Classified. But it’s not drugs. It’s part of your conditioning. I don’t remember ever being afraid. I don't experiance it when others do… I didn’t even really know what it was other than ‘that force which compels enemies to run away’ till a few days ago. Mostly from listening to your loud thoughts.”

Vi’s eyes narrowed angrily. “I thought I told you to stay out of my head.”

“I am. But I can’t not hear you if you’re shouting and I’m in the next room. It’s that kind of thing, but with thoughts. It’s always on, were programed to absorb everything, process it quickly, and react accordingly. It’s how we stay ahead of the enemy in battle. We know what they are doing slightly before or as they do it.

“I guess this is why they keep us alone and away from other people. I… There’s about a hundred people in my range. I can hear all of them. I know where they are, what they are doing, who they are and why. You people are really loud, you know that, right?”

Ohhhh, buck! She’s got no capability to use the ‘flight’ response to danger. She can ONLY fight! Not good! Vinyl realized, her cheeks going pale as the implications hit her out of the blue.

She’s got no idea what fear is, so she has no sense of self preservation or danger avoidance, and doesn't realize how stressful this has to be. If she really can’t turn her ability off then she’s got to be about five minutes from a panic attack.

Vinyl stood up slowly, moving towards the door. “Why don’t you go back to the Fort? Let Sky know I’ll stay here and that Lyra will be up soon.”

Francine nodded, took one step towards the door, then stopped. “Before I go, can I ask you something?” She asked hopefully.

Vinyl nodded. “Sure.”

Please be something quick and easy… If you can’t be afraid, that means you can’t panic. So if you freak out over overstimulation the only option you have left is fight.

“I know you're worrying about me,” Francine said casually. “You’ve got some interesting logic there. I can’t say that won’t happen but I dont… I dont understand how or why it could. Could you explain what fear’s like? Why it changes your behavior?”

“That’s a pretty big question,” Vinyl said slowly, glancing sidelong at the door. “Can it wait for later?”

“No. I need to know why you think I’m a danger to the town. It’s… I agree but I don't know why I do. This is a problem. Help,” Francine ordered, her voice not carrying any worry, but starting to drip with aggression.

“Okay,” Vi said again, looking around the room in search of any blunt objects. Just in case. “Well, normal people don’t want to die. For any reason. So when exposed to something that’s dangerous, they will have two basic options. Run, or fight.

“Fear is what compels people to run. Courage is what compels people to fight. In most people, those two forces are… They fight with each other. Some people are runners, some people will fight, but no matter what they do they won't always do that. Sometimes they do things besides their normal-”

“Yeah. I get that. But that’s just logic. That’s not an emotion,” Francine interrupted irritably. “Like, why did seeing that griffon die damage your logic so much? THAT’S what I want to know. How does that work? Why?”

Vinyl cringed, gritting her teeth the moment the question was asked. “I- I don’t want to talk about that,” she began, before remembering she was effectively talking to a ticking time bomb. “I uh, I’ll make it quick.

“I failed. I had a mission, and I failed. I failed bad, and I failed because I messed up. No one and nothing else is to blame. No random accidents. No freak malfunctions. No spell flops. Just me and my bad decisions.

“I directly caused the death of a child. Those wolves aren't to blame. You can’t blame nature for being nature and doing what nature does. Nature can’t be at fault. It’s just a thing that happens.

“I had us wait for mission specific supplies because I was worried about losing my team to super wolves, and a child died because of that.

“But even worse, my team almost died anyways because the equipment we got didn’t help at all. I WASTED her time on something that made no difference. If we were just one minute earlier we could have saved her.

“I made the perfectly wrong call. Things could not have gone worse than they did. We’re alive exclusively because on our homeworld, we’re vampires. Mortals would have been screwed. We almost died anyways because those wolves claws were white oak.

“It’s not my first mistake. But it’s the worst. If I can make a call that bad when I was feeling completely normal, well… Now I’m worried about making the perfectly wrong call again. I don’t think I can lead anymore. I know that I can mess up really bad and that worrying about doing exactly that makes me more likely to mess up really bad because I can’t focus.

“That’s fear.”

Francine frowned, her cloth mask warping as sher face and jaw moved beneath. “I think I get it. A little bit.”

“Enough to get out of the place that’s slowly driving you up the wall?” Vinyl asked hopefully. No point beating around the bush with the always on telepath.

The Marine shook her head.

“No. I still don't know why I agree with you. That explains fear. A little. But I’m immune to that logic failure. I don't experience it. Why do I agree with your corrupted logic?” Francine growled, turning sharply to look out the window again, her eyes staring out at the village’s clocktower suspiciously for a moment before turning to look out across the lands stretching out below the mountain..

Buuuuck this is BAD! Vinyl screamed inturnaly.

“IT IS!” Francine snapped. “But WHY is it?!”

“Who are you and why are we yelling?” Lyra asked weakly from her cozy place on the bed.

Vinyl’s stumpy tail lifted in alarm at the sound of Lyra’s voice. Quickly rushing to her friend’s side, Vi gently held her hand.

“It’s okay. That’s Francine. She’s a friend we picked up. But she’s having a bit of an emotional crisis right now. We need to get her sorted out,” she explained.

Lyra noded, tried to sit up, moved a few inches, and moaned before managing to slowly sit up all the way.

“Okay… Did Orchid make it?” Lyra asked hopefully.

Vinyl paused and looked down at the walnut floor. “No,” she said softly. “She used all of her swarm’s magic to shield you. At least, that’s what Chem thinks. He… He checked the remains.”

Francine turned around, putting her back to the window.

“That’s fear again,” the marine grumbled. “Why? Why feel it over the loss of a soldier? Our deaths are inevitable. Expendable. That’s… That’s what we are to them… I-”

She froze, her eyes widening then shrinking to pinpricks as decades of conditioning snapped like a twig. Everyone within three blocks felt Francine’s rage as her old personality violently resurfaced, logic tossed aside as there was simply too much rage for her to carry.

Francine grabbed her head, rocked backwards, and screamed. Purple flames engulfing her body as her psionic might screamed with her.

That’s it then… Vinyl thought knowing there wasn’t a thing she could do to save herself, or Lyra.

A flash of green. A wet squelch. For one instant a long, barb-headed arrow could be seen protruding from Francine’s forehead, it’s shaft and head glowing a bright green as arcane energy bled from the weapons very essence.

Then it exploded. The bright green flash nearly blinded the two mares as viscera splashed across the hospices walls.

“LOOK OUT!” Lyra shouted as leapt up from her bed and tackled Vinyl to the floor.

A second arrow whizzed through the air, slicing a path right through where Vinyl’s head and embedded itself in the wall where it blasted a meter wide hole into the solid slab of stone.

10 - Getting over it.

Lyra Heartstrings - Day 5

Safeton - Mount Mercy, Wieav

Lyra squirmed slightly beneath the heavy blanket she had been placed under. The cause of her distress? A thousand metaphorical pins and needles gently sliding point first across her skin all along her left side. All of her left side. With nearly perfect bilateral symmetry.

If the girls brushed itching powder on me again I am going to put a hoof firmly up each of their plots. Lyra vowed as she did her best to try and move.

Try being the key word. Every part of her body felt numb and stiff. As if she’d been laying down for actual days pre-vampirism.

Wait, we can get stiff? How long was I out? Months? Years? Lyra wondered, finally managing to peel her eyes open slightly.

Only to instantly shut them and wince thanks to the bright sunlight streaming into the rustic room she found herself in through a rather inconveniently placed window.

A voice shouted within the depths of Lyra’s mind.

Many people would have panicked at the sudden appearance of a foreign voice in their head. Those people don’t have changeling friends.

Lyra focused her foggy mind, doing her best to reach back along the telepathic link. she said silently.

Then the part of her brain responsible for remembering what people sounded like piped up, informing Lyra that particular voice was not in fact her old friend Meep of Amber. It was too mid-pitched and breathy. No this was someone else.

The voice screamed rapidly with the sort of urgency one might have if someone held a knife to their sexorgans.

“IT IS!” Someone snapped audibly. “But WHY is it?!”

Did I just imagine them using telepathy? Was she speaking out loud? Ow… Head foggy… Why? Lyra wondered to herself as her fogged brain was still busy looking up what the word “assassin” meant and wondering why you need to train a decorative tired piece of ribbon.

“Who are you and why are we yelling?” Lyra asked weakly from her cozy place on the bed.

The telepathic voice shouted.

Wut? Lyra asked herself groggily. The word “die” registered properly a heartbeat later, her body doing it’s best to shake off days of inactivity for the sake of survival. Adrenaline began to flow through her veins, pushing things back into place. Slowly.

Lyra twitched in surprise as what felt like a hand grabbed hold of-

I have a hand?! SWEET! Lyra thought to herself, the little bit of happiness shaking a good chunk of the fog out of her mind. Lets not question this.

“It’s okay. That’s Francine. She’s a friend we picked up. But she’s having a bit of an emotional crisis right now. We need to get her sorted out,” Vinyl’s voice quietly and calmly explained, though Lyra could hear cracks in that facade. Something was wrong..

Lyra noded, tried to sit up moaning as she slowly pulled herself upright. Owww… I feel like I got hit by a flying oven, and Bulk Biceps threw it. Lyra internally moaned. What in Tartarus happened to-

She froze for a moment, taking in the fact that her best friend’ voice had come out of a small white humanoid lizard creature. UHHHHHHHH! OH! RIGHT!

Memories of a hellish day came flooding back in a flash. Nearly finishing her machine. Accidentally summoning a particular evil dick. Vinyl’s little brother cunningly manipulating said dick into a game of LARP with the world at stake.

And of course, jamming herself and a junk-golum into a castle window frame to try and prevent a nuke’s heatwave from frying a particularly frightening yet nice fairy.

That- that was dumb. Really dumb. Did it work? Lyra wondered, her face slowly pulling into a frown.

“Okay…” Lyra said before looking up at Vinyl. “Did Orchid make it?”

Lyra’s eyes quickly flicked over her surroundings. There was a very very tall humanoid creature standing near the window, who looked agitated but not like a threat. The room she was in looked like a hospital room given a rustic makeover, almost as if Fluttershy had chosen to dabble in interior design but had chosen to not incorporate living plants into... Well, everything.

Vinyl paused and looked down at the walnut floor. “No,” she said softly. “She used all of her swarm’s magic to shield yo-”

The telepathic voice screeched again.

This time a picture accompanied her word. Everything Lyra had been thinking vanished with that word. Everything she was able to see disappeared in an instant. Only the image and the word accompanying it remained, smashing all else aside like a length of two-by-four swung by a major league baseball player.

An aerial view of a rustic town, something you’d see anywhere in Equestria except full of spider-people which ranged from cool to cute to creepy. Everything centralized around a town square with a clocktower on the far side. A really cool stone wall carved and painted to look like a sleeping dragon encircling the maze of streets and rounded-rectangle granite buildings.

All of that was tinted blue, shaded away. Save for the clocktower and one small two story building. The building was interesting due to having a highlighted shape within it located just behind a window facing the clocktower. A big arrow pointed to the figure and was labeled “you”.

The clocktower also had a dot on it. It’s dot was located near the top, on the side facing the small building. More importantly it was labeled “Assassin!” A box drawn around the assassin's dot showed a view of said assassin in a magnified ‘window’ of sorts.

A very slender long legged spider-person dressed up in a costume which made them look like a huge wasp with a white face. They were busy knocking an arrow to a bowstring. An arrow which was labeled with a handy box listing a scan’s data showing the arrow to be infused with magic, specifically an Evocation spell, and configured to explode with a force equal to twenty five grams of something called semtex.

Of much more concern to Lyra was the large but narrow red cone which started at the assassin and moved through the open window towards her. And was labeled “Estimated projectile trajectory”.

Ohhhh, buck we’re boned! Lyra yelped mentally, coiling her legs beneath the blanket to try and dive out of the way.

Something exploded. Something wet squelched. Lyra dove forwards, the image sent to her fading from her mind an instant before she saw Vinyl was directly in her path. Lyra twisted left, reaching out to tackle her friend to the floor.

“LOOK OUT!” Lyra shouted as she carried Vinyl to the blood drenched floor.

Another arrow hissed overheard, striking the wall behind them and exploding, sending shards of stone whizzing every which way.

Lyra silently asked, hoping her unseen benefactor would have a plan.

“Celestia!” Vinyl swore in shock, her eyes widening in horror.

“Snap out of it, Vi, we’ve been in worse than this!” Lyra said as she gently shook Vinyl’s shoulder.

Her words seemed to sink in as Vinyls’ terrified face calmed somewhat. “You’re right. Come on. We need to get to the hallway,” Vinyl decided as she began crawling towards the room’s door.

“Good pla-” Lyra began as the voice interrupted her again.

she said.

Lyra was about to protest as a third arrow sailed through the window, trailing green arcane light behind it. The arrow shot into the door, embedding itself deep into the wood before exploding, the green flames blasting a person-sized hole in the thick timbers like a rearhoof through thin paper mache.

Vinyl moved by instinct, rolling to her side, pressing herself up against the wall into which the window was set.

If he can't see, he’ll have to guess. Even though those arrows will make these walls into Stable Cheese, I don't think he’ll waste them, Lyra thought as she scrambled towards the wall herself.

As she turned, Lyra saw she was looking directly out the window. In this instant she was completely exposed, and those arrows flew like lightning.

She could see the assassin now. A large black and yellow shape, clinging to the side of the tower like a tick on somepony’s flank. His bow flashed, faint white light tracing patterns on its surface as its magic prepared to lend speed to the glowing green arrow.

Horseapples, Lyra internally groaned.

A ruby ray of light burned across the sky, shrieking like an electric hawk as the scintillating beam sliced its way towards the assassin's heart. The ray slammed into a previously invisible barrier which turned opaque as it absorbed the attacks’ energy, transforming into a luminescent ball of strobing red and blue light.

An arrow flew out of the ball, it’s path taking it away from the window where it exploded against the eerily calm street below.

the mystery voice remarked, more than a little impressed by the sound of things.

Lyra had just enough time to watch the people in the immediate area calmly take whatever cover they could, then wonder Who on Equis can be this calm with a maniac shooting explosive arrows around?! Before a large bell nearby rang three times.

The bell was located somewhere behind the building Lyra was in. Her head turned reflexively to look for the sound, bringing Vinyl into view for a moment.

Vinyl had gotten down on her belly and was looking through a hole blasted in the wall towards the clocktower. Her tail twitched left and right, a sure sign that she was planning.

She’ll work something out, Lyra said to herself with a quick nod

Lyra looked back out the window. Lyra said, directing her thoughts as best she could.

came the reply.

Mom? Lyra wondered.

The ground rumbled slightly as a male voice spoke through a giant megaphone. “Maru, there’s a ne'er-do-well on the clocktower shooting at people. Could you take care of it before your hatchling damages it? The tower that is.”

“Of course,” an impossibly large female voice boomed, making both Lyra and Vinyl jump as they realized it was a voice and not thunder.

Lyra scanned the horizon and sky, searching for anything which could have possibly spoken at such an impossible volume, and saw the white gleam in the sky as her benefactor began her dive.

A dragon, mostly white, with electric green highlights, and a splash of purple, and not much bigger than Lyra remembered Empress Ember being. She came flying down from the heavens like a bird of prey, her dive perfectly angled to let her sink her claws into her prey.

Oh yeah, my “class” gets a dragon mount, Lyra thought.

Then the white dragon slammed into the assassin, and Lyra stopped thinking.

The dragon smashed into the assassin, his shield flared brightly then popped like a water balloon somepony stepped on, unable to withstand a ton of biomechanical flesh ramming into it at near-mach speeds. The impact alone would certainly have crushed her target, but the shield did its job well enough, absorbing just enough energy to prevent him from being squished like an arachnid, and also from being plowed straight through the tower.

What it didn’t stop was the dragon hooking her forelegs under the Araka’s arms, bracing her rear talons against the clocktower wall, wrenching the smooth stone surface from her prey’s grasp and then flipping him skull downwards over the back of her head and launching herself along with her screaming assailant to the ground below in a perfectly executed suplex.

The crack of Arakan skull against cobblestone was drowned out by the dull wumph of the dragon hitting the ground a heartbeat after.

Vinyl and Lyra stared out the window, mouths agape as they took in the entirety of what had just happened.

Then the wall moved.

The city wall shifted, glinting in the sunlight in a way painted stone never could as it rose up into the heavens, revealing itself to be, in fact, an actual dragon of unfathomable size. The Colossus turned, very carefully and gingerly moving so as not to hit nor step on any part of the village she had been curled around, her head plunging the entire town square into shadow as she tilted her head so one eye could face downwards, looking intently at the comparatively microscopic dragon below.

The immense red dragoness sighed a horrific sigh. The sigh every child has heard at least once. The sigh of a very frustrated mother whose caught you in the cookie jar for the fifth time today.

The white dragon rolled over onto her legs, then held up the mangled Assassin's remains by the neck with her left talon.

“I got him for you, mom!” She informed proudly, her tail lashing like a dog presenting its master with the day’s paper.

Lyra held her breath as the monstrously large person reached down with two talons, gingerly plucking the broken remnants from her daughter's grasp, lifting them to the heavens, then flicking them away like a bit of snot.

“Veena,” the red dragoness rumbled irritably as the corpse vanished into the distance. “What have I told you about attacking things like that?”

“I- I didn’t damage the tower!” Veena protested, her mouth curling into a frown.

Maru the Colossus snorted, blowing a few clouds off course, then pointed down at the ground with one talon. “You march right up to the mayor’s office and tell him your sorry for denting his poor road!” She commanded. “Do you know how hard it is for them to carry those little pebbles all the way up here? They have to work so hard to fix their roads and you’ve put that big dent right into their town square. What if you broke one of their pipes? They use stone pipes. Not everyone has power tools or construction magic you know!”

“... I was just trying to protect my Rider. You know, so I don't die when her frail little meat-only body gets a hole shot in it!” Veena huffed, turning around and angrily marching towards the large manor house to the left of the clocktower.

Maru rolled her eyes. “You and I both know you could have easily dispatched that bully without suplexing him hard enough to- Oh! Is she awake now?”

“Yeah,” Veena called grumpily. “I still haven't met her yet… Almost never did. I’ll go apologize to the mayor for protecting my life now.”

“Muffin never gave me this much trouble,” the red dragoness sighed, shaking the ground as she shifted position once more, returning to where she’d been laying before the ruckus began.

Vinyl backed away from the window, bumping into the bed and sitting down on it by accident. Lyra continued to stare out the window, a wide grin spreading across her face.

“That was,” the two said in unison.

“Terrifying!” Vinyl squealed, her heart hammering away at a million kilometers an hour.

“Awesome!” Lyra shouted, grinning ear to ear as decades of fear based thinking and personality crumbled away.

A week of dreamless sleep in a place far from her home dimension had taken its toll on the general state of negativity Lyra had been living in for so long. The pure childlike-glee which filled Lyra’s mind as she saw something unfold before her eyes which could have come straight out of Lyra’s wildest dreams was its deathblow.

Though she didn’t realize it, Lyra herself was free. Reborn after her near death experience. No longer did she feel the desperate need be driven to constantly undo what had been done to her amid a spiral of depression and dread. At least, not for the moment.

I wonder if giant dragon-mom makes giant cookies? Lyra thought, giggling to herself like a schoolfilly. OH-my-gosh! Maybe she’ll let me have one! I could spend a whole decade eating a her sized cookie! That would be the coolest thing ever!

No depressive state is a match for an awakened inner child. At least, not one of Lyra’s caliber.

Vinyl Scratch - Day 5

Safeton - Mount Mercy, Wieav

Vinyl’s heart beat at a million miles an hour. Seeing Maru move was almost more than she could take.

Her talonsteps actually shook the ground! Vinyl squealed fearfully, the audible sound drawing Lyra’s attention.

Lyra turned from the window, her mouth still spread wide in a grin as she cocked her head to the side. “What? Really? Vi, come on, you're not scared of her, are you?”

Vinyl’s jaw dropped in shock. “Y-you’re not?!” She sputtered.

Lyra laughed, putting a hand to her lips to silence herself. “Hehe, sorry, it’s just… How? How can you be scared of Dragon-mom?”

Vinyl jumped up from the bed, raising both arms to point at the sky. “She’s huge!” Vinyl shouted. “What if we have to fight her? What could we possibly do? We couldn’t even run! Big creatures may be slower than smaller ones, but her sheer reach is so big we won't ever be fast enough to move out of her grabbing distance!”

Lyra frowned, her lips pursing in thought. “Fight her? Are you kidding? Why would we?”

“Are you forgetting the situation we’re in?” Vinyl asked, reaching up to rub her temples. “The entire world knows us as servants of the Dark Lord. Yeah, these people don’t. But if that lie gets out while we’re here, she’ll just reach down with a talon and stab us from the sky and there is NOTHING we can do!”

Lyra smirked. “Heh, you know… I remember you used to be a lot more chill. Like, even just a year ago. Look, we’re fine. She wont do anything to us.”

Vinyl looked down at the floor for a moment. Lyra’s starting to notice… I guess I couldn’t keep looking strong for them forever.

“I…” Vinyl began slowly. “Remember when I failed to save Baron Irontalon’s filly?”

“You mean we?” Lyra asked with a sad nod. “Yeah, I remember. That sucked.”

Vinyl looked up at Lyra, her jaw dropping slightly. “That’s all you have to say about it? ‘That sucked’? We watched a little fill- chick get torn in half by timberwolves then watched as all of our closest friends were almost killed, and all you can say about it is ‘that sucked’?”

Lyra’s eyebrows raised in a mixture of alarm and sympathy. “Well, yeah! That’s not the worst thing we’ve been in, and it was like, almost a year ago now. Has it just stuck with you? Vi, get help. And this is coming from a mare whose definitely insane since she’s spent three decades delving into forbidden magic to-”

Lyra blinked twice then frowned. “WOOOOOOW! I’ve been wasting SO MUCH of my life!” She said before returning her gaze to VInyl. “Look, just… I’m here for you. This is a bad time to play therapist, you know, trapped in another universe, forced to LARP with the fate of the world at stake, but I’ll help! What are friends for?”

Vinyl cleared her throat. Talking to a stranger was one thing, but a friend? Her moment of courage was over and a topic change was desperately needed. “Did, uh, did you just get over thirty years of trauma in literally a second with just one realization?”

“Yep!” Lyra confirmed with a grin. “Well, that’s probably been building subconsciously for a while. But that’s not the point. The point is you’re in pain and need help. What’s the problem? We’ve failed before. We’ve even failed to save little ones before. Tartarus, one of our first missions was to break up that foalnapping ring and we saw plenty of colts and fillies who had wound up WORSE than dead.”

Vinyl’s stomach turned. “Yeah, I thought we agreed to not bring that up again. Ever.”

Lyra shrugged. “Just pointing out you’ve seen worse. So it’s not losing that one chick that’s eating away at you. If it was you’d have been like this before. So what is it? And yes I’ll keep prying.”

“Please drop it,” Vinyl begged, looking down at the floor. “We’ve got more important stuff to do.”

Lyra shook her head. “We totally don’t. You’re messed up enough to actually be afraid of a mom who just happens to be really big, and therefore really adorable when scolding her hatchling. What happens if we get into actual battle?”

Vinyl closed her eyes tightly and gripped the blankets beneath her. “Drop it.”

“Remember that time I broke into the Royal Library’s Classified Wing in middle school?” Lyra asked. “They still have no idea that was me. But more importantly, I planned it for a whole year. You thought I was joking and then BAM! I’m reading a book you knew had been destroyed save for that one copy.

“I’m Lyra motherbucking Heartstrings! You think you can keep a secret from me if I want to know it? Please! The whole world did their best to purge all knowledge of Dream Magic from it and I pieced together a complete spellbook from what few scraps survi-.”

Lyra’s eyes shot wide in pure horror as she realized what she was saying. “WOAH! Uhh… I REALLY need to burn that book the MINUTE we get back!”

What the buck? Are nukes medicinal or something?! Vinyl asked herself incredulously. “Did you de-age like sixty years just now?!”

Lyra shrugged. “Maybe! I feel great, better than I have in a really long time. And now that I don't feel all crappy I can see that you feel all crappy. So, what’s up? What’s wrong? Was it watching us all nearly die? That’s happened a few times for each of us. We always pull through.”

Vinyl sighed, and rubbed her temples again. I’d forgotten just how tenacious she is…

“She’s afraid she can no longer lead, because she’s afraid she will fail in a similar way again,” Francine’s voice whispered softly, and seemingly in great pain.

Vinyl yelped and jumped up onto the bed, immediately turning to look at the mangled, skulless body on the floor in horror. “HOLY SISTERS, THIS UNIVERSE HAS ZOMBIES!”

Lyra blinked and looked over as well. “Uh, no, it’s not-” Then she turned back to Vinyl with a deadpan expression on her face. “You really think THAT would work to get me to stop nagging you? Come on, what is it?”

“She’s afraid she can no longer lead, because she’s afraid she will fail in a similar way again,” Francine repeated, louder this time, and with more pain behind her words.

Lyra blinked and looked down at Vinyl’s chest. “Uhhh, okay. Talking armor will do the trick for a bit. Hello?”

Vinyl gently poked the chain links of her armor, frowning uncertainty. “Uh, Francine?”

“Some of her,” Francine whispered. “I anchored my consciousness to your armor. The bulk of it. The rest was lost. I don’t… I don’t know how I did this. Psions do it, it is possible. But I was never trained for this.”

Vinyl nodded slowly. “You sound like you’re really badly hurt. Do you need anything?”

“I died. Of course I’m hurt,” Francine mumbled. “Speaking is… Difficult. I think I need time to heal. We’ll speak later… Your subordinate is right. Seek help. Fear… Fear needs to be slain. It’s… Terrible.”

Vinyl tapped at her armor again. “Hey, wait. Is there anything we need to do for you?” She asked, frowning as she waited for an answer.

But none came.

“Okay,” Vi said decisively after several seconds. “Lyra, we need to get her body to Chem and Sky. Between the two of them they can probably repair it, and since she can just chuck her consciousness into anything she wants, we can get her back in there.”

“Okay,” Lyra said with an agreeable nod. “I don't think I’m physically capable of carrying it, but I’ll try.”

Vinyl nodded. “Okay. Maybe between the two of us we can move it.”

“Or you could let me repair it,” Erna said from the doorway.

That’s right. The door is no longer blocking sound. Cuz there’s a hole in it. Vinyl realized, immediately pushing aside any mention of Chem or their game.

Turning to face the spidergirl Vinyl smiled. “That would be great! I’m not sure if we really could. Our Wizard is… Eh? And our Engineer is already busy. How much are we talking?”

Lyra raised a hand. “Quick question, are you half robot-spider or just really awesomely shiny?” she asked in regards to the Araka’s chrome lower body.

“This is just how the spider my Clan shares our bloodline with looks… Not sure what a Robot is. Is that some Kobold term for metallic creatures?” Erna asked as she slipped through the gaping hole in the door.

A rather impressive feat, given her size.

Okay, better remember that Araka can slip through a hole about half their size. And find that more convenient than opening a door. VI noted.

“As for my fee… I’m not certain. I know that I can regrow a creatures’ head. I’ve done it several times before, and like all Healers we begin work with corpses, it’s not really important if our patients are alive or not. But I have no idea how long it will take me to restore a Tainted’s body. How long will you be in the area?” Erna asked curiously.

Vinyl raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

“Didn’t you say you regretted losing a patient? How’s that a problem for you if you can work on someone dead or alive?” Vinyl asked slowly.

Erna smiled. “Well, I can fix the body. I can’t bring it back to life. But I can make it look pretty. It’s quite common for people to hire me to freshen up someone before their funeral. So they look nice in the casket.

“Actually returning to life is on your friend, not me. I can’t put someone back into a body. I can just fix the body.”

Lyra nodded to herself. “Seems legit.”

“How much are we talking?” Vinyl asked. “Ballpark estimate. We can always come back this way.”

Erma hummned and stroked her chin with her fingers in thought. “Weeellll, you guys ARE adventurers, and you didn’t even bother to negotiate my fee for healing Lyra which I stated upfront as something completely outrageous-”

Lyra facepalmed, grabbed Vinyl by the shoulder, and turned her to face her. “Vi, how much did you pay for this?”

“Uh, well, two hundred and fifty thousand Sheks seemed reasonable. We worked out that two Sheks is equal to a bit, and she takes treasure as well as coin, and we had plenty of it laying about soo-”

“My fee for this is two and a half million,” Erna informed proudly. “It includes the bill for wall and door repair. After all, if someone hadn’t been shooting for you my establishment wouldn’t have been damaged.”

Vinyl sighed. “You let me know about negotiating just to let me know there’s no negotiating this time, right?”

The spider girl nodded, and gave Vinyl a wink. “Right.”

Lyra sighed. “Please tell me we’re heading to some place with a ton of lost treasure laying about.”

Erna snickered. “Uh, of course you are? You’re adventurers. You risk your lives delving into forgotten places of the world, the gods reward you with treasure for amusing them. Come on, you guy are planning to slay the Watchamadoodle at the bottom most level of the Lost King’s Somethingorther, right?”

Vinyl reached up to scratch at the back of her head in embarrassment. “Is adventure really just this casual here?”

Erma giggled. “Well, you did say it was your first time here,” she said shaking her head slowly. “Yes. There’s four or five hundred adventuring groups in Wieav at any given time. Even we hear about them on the radio. There’s certain stations which help people bet on which groups will perish, or get wealthy.”

Lyra’s tail flicked up in excitement. “Are you telling me that adventuring is a SPORT here?” She asked, grinning ear to ear.

“Isn’t it a sport where you come from too?” Erma asked curiously.

Vinyl shook her head. “Not really. It’s more of a necessity there. Uh, anyways, we’ll pay. When we can.”

“I like this place,” Lyra sighed wistfully.

At least one of us is having fun, Vinyl sighed mentally.

“Excellent. I’ll keep your friend’s body as collateral. Since Lyra’s fee was paid upfront, you’re free to leave. Which you should. Right now,” Erma said with a somewhat worried frown. “Maru’s daughter is asking for you… She’s not a normal dragon. She has the extra things. I don’t know what it means but if other Dragons treat them with respect, well… Yeah.”

“And you made her wait?!” Vinyl eeped as she quickly raced for the door.

Erma turned and put a hand on the door handle to open it, only to laugh as she saw the hole in it once more. “Oops! No sense opening this for you, is there? And of course I did. There’s always time for a little business. Good luck you two!”

Vinyl nodded once. “Thank you,” she said sincerly as she ducked through the hole in the door and turned to race down the hallway before realizing she needed to wait for Lyra.

The minty mare stepped through the doorway a second later, took one look at Vinyl’s worried face and gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder.

“It’s FINE Vi. We’re completely safe,” she said with a giggle.

“You can’t know that,” VInyl countered.

“I totally can,” Lyra refuted.

“How?” Vinyl questioned with a raised eyebrow as she began to jog down the hallway.

Right! My sword’s in the lock up next to the front door. Don’t forget it.

“What class did I pick at the start of all this?” Lyra asked with a grin.

Vinyl paused for a moment, doing her best to remember that conversation from days ago. Given the events immediately following it, it was a little fuzzy.

“Uh, dragon ride- Oh. Is she your dragon? How could you possibly know?” Vinyl asked a little less worriedly.

“Telepathic link. We’re chatting,” Lyra answered. “Also seriously, she can’t hurt me. There’s some kinda horseapples “Soul Link” thing. If I die, she dies.”

“Wait, what?” Vinyl asked raising an eyebrow worriedly.

“Yeah. Which is why her mom’s harmless. If her mom hurts me, she hurts her kid too. Also her mom’s apparently like… Well, she’s pretty much a Hoofball Mom,” Lyra summarized. “Just really really big.”

Well that does make things better. Not completely okay, but better.

“Why is she so big? Do they all get that big?” Vinyl asked curiously.

Lyra shrugged and remained quiet for a few seconds silently communicating with her new acquaintance.

“Veena says her mom’s a mutant. Not like, comic book style, but you know the “I’ve got a gene that doesn't work” variety. Most dragons stop growing at about two to three meters ground to shoulder, but her mom just didn’t stop. So she’s been growing like she’s still an adolescent for about four thousand years now.” Lyra answered.

The two turned a corner as Vinyl nodded in understanding. The turn brought them into the lobby, wherein Lyra’s partner waited.

Vinyl took one look at Veena up close and took a deep breath. “This world makes NO, SISTERS, DAMNED, SENSE!” Vinyl proclaimed to the heavens.

There was little else she could say when looking at a dragon who was clearly wearing a jetpack, a wrist laser and wrist computer, and had a helmet on which based on it’s design deployed a simple clear bubble-visor to cover her face.

“WHY!” Vinyl demanded, her left eye twitching. “Why, for the love of Luna, is this place populated in one area with a bunch of industrialized people who look like they buy all their technology from Hound, and then another full of people who still think it’s still the Renaissance, and then NOW we’ve got late Solar Era cheezy B-science fiction movie dragons!”

Veena raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “What’s with her?” The dragoness asked, pointing a talon at Vinyl.

Lyra shrugged. “I guess she hates classic science fiction. Come on, space dragons. That’s cool! The only way things could get better is if- Eh, you know what I’m about to say, Vi. Just enjoy it!”

“To answer your question,” Veena said, lowering her head to Vinyl’s eye level. “My people thrived while this world was made to stand still. We’ve left this world for others, aside from a few of us who either can’t leave or like a more primitive lifestyle. The Numericans are aliens, brought here by some accident they caused.”

Veena paused a moment and pointed to the large crest on Vinyl’s tabard. “I’m not sure how you don’t know all of this by virtue of being alive… Especially since you’re a Knight Errant. It’s not like you’ve been living under a rock, you have to be well traveled to graduate from being a squire.”

“It’s just… Really jaring, you know?” Vinyl mumbled to herself. Right, sword. Don’t forget it.

Her inner Dungeon Master more than a little miffed at the anachronistic nature of reality, Vinyl walked over to the locked cabinet on the far side of the wall. Her touch unlocked the magic cabinet, which opened into a space which contained specifically her sword and none of the cabinet's other contents.

“Pff, this is nothing,” Lyra giggled. “I should talk Derpy into taking you to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe sometime. THAT’S a jarringly diverse place.”

“Maybe. You did say their food was amazing,” Vinyl said as she picked up her sword and closed the cabinet. You know, if we ever get the chance to…

Veena turned to look at Lyra, amusement flashing behind her eyes.

“I’ve got a sister named Derpy,” she said wistfully. “Half-sister technically. Mom adopted her because tiny things are adorable. That’s why she takes care of this town.”

Vinyl froze, hands halfway through buckling on her sword belt.

No… There’s ABSOLUTELY no way, She insisted to herself. At least until that little nagging doubt finally forced her to ask. “She doesn't happen to be a meter tall gray furred pegasi with a lazy eye and-”

Vinyl was cut off as Veena spun around and lifted her off the ground with both foretalons. Her sword fell to the floor with a clatter.

“You know my big sis?! I’ve never gotten to meet her because of time dilation differentials! What’s she like? Mom said she’s the sweetest thing ever but she says that about me and I got kicked off the planet for trying to fight Null with a big stick because she’s prohibited dimensional travelers from returning home!” The dragoness blurted out rapidly, her tail swishing across the floor.

Vinyl squirmed in the dragon’s eagerly tight grip. “Ask… Lyra… They’re best… Friends!” She gasped.

“S-seriously?” Veena asked as she set Vinyl down, a look of shock spreading across her face.

“Yeah!” Lyra said with a grin. “This is one tartarus of a coincidence but, well, yeah! We lived in the same town for a long time. I even helped her hook up with a few mares she liked and-”

Lyra trailed off for a moment as a realization hit her. “And she REALLY understated just how big her mom was…”

“Tell me about it,” Vinyl muttered irritably as she picked up her sword again.

“Speaking of mom, she wanted to meet you guys since well, you’re part of the family now,” Veena said as she nodded towards the door. “She’s going to get REALLY chatty though. She really misses Derps. Come on, she planned a lunch- Uh, and no you're not lunch, Vinyl. Lyra’s filled me in.”

That doesn't reassure me much, Vinyl thought to herself.

“Sounds great! Does she make cookies?” Lyra asked hopefully.

“No, but her muffins are pretty great. Come on, it’s not far. We just got to go towards mom’s nose,” Veena said as she pushed the hospice’ doors open and walked outside, Lyra following along at her talons.

Vinyl shook her head as she followed the other two out the door. Sometimes, I swear that my life is just one long series of weird events...

11 - Evocant Deus Mechanicus...

Sky Trigger - Day 5

Roseanger Gorge - Mount Mercy, Wieav

One particularly potent problem with flying fortresses is just how difficult they are to hide. Parking spaces are easy, you simply find a large flat spot, a lake, a field, a forest, and set down atop it, crushing anything beneath you. But finding a space to park where everyone for miles can not find you?

That’s another thing entirely. A thing most impossible by all accounts.

Especially when you are trying to park within a few hours walk of a particular location, and don’t want the colossal dragon napping there to look down and wonder just how long that fortress has been there.

Fortunately for the team, Mount Mercy’s lower southern slope had a particularly deep gorge running along it for a few miles. The mountain valley wasn't natural, showing signs of having been blasted out of the mountainside by powerful magic, presumably in a battle long long ago. The resulting valley thus had a large chunk of the mountain overhanging a portion of it.

Chem had flown the Dark Fortress beneath this overhang under the cover of nightfall. A Nightfall with two full moons, but a nightfall nonetheless.

The fortress’ position beneath the overhang ensured it would not be seen by the villagers above, nor their draconic guardian. For five long days it had remained concealed, providing Francine, Sky, and Chem with ample time to hone their skills.

Francine had spent those five days relaying messages between the Fortress and Vinyl. Mostly because her idea of team building exercises were exhausting and prohibited anyone from performing other duties.

Chem had discovered the wealth of spellbooks and scrolls within the keep’s armory and decided to memorize everything he could about Mar’rath’s magic. The Old One was a quick study, and had already mastered a large number of illusion spells and had begun to dabble in transmutation.

He’d repeatedly insisted he wouldn’t fail their team again, and vowed to recreate his old bag of tricks using local magic.

Sky had spent those days overhauling various equipment, repairing and cleaning dusty tools, and otherwise creating a small workshop within the keep itself. There was a lot of work to do, not just in creating the parts for NaN’s Eldritch Radar, but also in repairing the Fortress.

The Fortress was still quite damaged from being nuked. Her shields were still offline, primarily thanks to the piece of rebar NaN had used to bridge the generator’s power terminals slagging under stress and taking one of the terminals with it.

Fortunately the Fortress’s float system had proven easy to recalibrate. She could move, but only just barely. Which was an especially good thing because while the fortress was hidden from the threat above, she was parked within the middle of a boulder-strewn field with a clear view of the mountainside below.

Anyone simply flying along at a reasonable altitude could find it easily.

A Wevian military airship had done just that half an hour ago.

Sky Trigger stood in the glass walled Command Room, leaning on the perimeter defense console’s crystal-mirror surface. His eyes were locked upon the glowing lights within the mirror, his face falling as ever more individual motes of light blinked into existence within the enchanted mirror. Each one red.

The sound of ten thousand marching soldiers rumbled in the distance. The Fortress’ thick stone walls did nothing to deaden the dreadful sound. The dull rumbling moved ever closer, sounding an awful lot like a reverse-avalanche.

Sky’s left hand clenched the bell shaped brass radio headset tightly as he repeated his earlier message. “Francine, this is an emergency! We’re under attack. You NEED to pick up!”

Static hissed in the radio’s earpiece. Silence. Again. The Marine wasn’t answering.

The Command Room’s recently installed trap-door creaked as Chem pushed it open and stepped onto the bridge.

“Any luck?” The wizard asked hopefully.

“Not a goddamn drop!” Sky growled, setting the radio down atop the life-sight display. “How about you?”

Chem shook his head. “There isn’t an intact enough corpse in the place for raising, let alone enough to make sizeable undead for a defense force.”

I’m just a little bit glad that plan didn’t pan out, Sky thought with a shiver. No need to start the zombie apocalypse while we’re saving the world.

Chem turned and stepped over to the glass wall and looked out at the marching army below.

Its seemingly endless rows of infantry brandished pikes, crossbows, and shields each of which were covered in dozens of glowing arcane sigils. About a third of the soldiers were clad in full suits of plate armor, their position within the centermost regiment and the blue tapestries bearing a crest in the shape of a red dragon at the center of a spider’s web made it quite clear they were knights.

The rest of the soldiers wore simple cloth uniforms, a long blue jacket, a black tricorn hat, and a rather spiffy red sash upon which most if not all of them displayed medals and other commendations. While they didn’t appear to have any form of protective gear, Sky had a feeling those jackets were much more than they seemed to be.

The advancing ranks formed a sort of rainbow shape as they marched forwards, clearly intent upon encircling the Fortress completely. The formation contained distinct bands of soldiers, with a good ten meters between each rank. The rainbow term came from the unsettling way the ranks glowed brightly even in the noonday sun as the arcane power bound in their wargear created a series of colorful coronas due to the sheer amount of similar arcane power within each rank.

These two forces were what the two had been expecting to face. What had not been expected was the mechanized cavalry and air support.

The arakan forces had a squadron of eight large airships. The wood-clad dirigibles hovered behind the infantry formation, perhaps five hundred meters back and another two hundred up. Each one had turned to present their sides to the Fortress. A tactic Sky ahd found rather stupid until he’d remembered a particular element of ancient naval combat. Full broadside bombardment.

And as if the airforce wasn’t enough, there was also ground vehicles to contend with. Specifically, a sizable detachment of thirty meter tall iron and stone golems. At least three dozen of them were deployed at the army’s rear, forming the back most “band” of their rainbow shaped encirclement formation.

Naturally the arcane machines resemble their creators to a degree. Colossal iron spiders with cannons for mandibles, surrounded by shimmering protective wards.

Despite the danger they presented in terms of sher numbers, Sky was about to laugh as he watched their advance. Then he spotted the obvious wizards atop each of the golems. The enemy mages sat down calmly, eyes closed, deep in focus, chanting as they rode their mechs, deep in trance as they formed a metaphysical wall around their forces.

Welp, there goes the good feelings from ‘they are approaching without cover’, Sky sighed to himself.

“They have armored cavalry,” Sky noted grimly as he walked up beside Chem. “And I’m no mage but that ripple there, that’s a class ten forcefield. At least.”

“Yes, they do, and yes it is.” Chem agreed with a grim nod. “I’m afraid I don’t have any fully baked ideas that will allow us to keep the fortress. Do you? Were you able to get the Fortresses weapons online?”

Sky shook his head slowly. “No, and our engines are uh… Well we could slowly drift away if we could destroy those airships. I’m still working on getting the engines happy with running at more than fifteen percent of full power.”

Maybe I should have made that a bit higher priority, Sky thought to himself. Still, we have one of the three parts we need. If we can survive this, I’m pretty sure I can make-

Sky blinked once, a puzzle piece falling into place. “But if I have five minutes I can get the weapons systems working!” He said with a deep grin.

A deep grin which rapidly began to fade as a crushing realization hit him in the heart. “N- Never mind… I don’t have my special talent here. There just isn’t time.”

Chem raised a skeptic eyebrow as he glanced sidelong at Sky, refusing to turn away from the window. The Overlord never turned away from danger. Especially not danger which might lead to their demise.

“You just finished creating a device which a machine god said could not be built,” Chem pointed out, raising a finger in objection.

Sky nodded and reached into his left cargo pocket, briefly pulling the intricate spider web-like lattice of brass and crystal to look at the device he’d finished moments ago. It hummed and shone with an inner light, both properties exactly within the goddess’s specifications.

“This is different,” Sky said. “I’m a genius. Give me plans, tools, time, and I’ll make anything. I just had to figure out how to make this from things in the treasure vault. Give me enough time and I’ll make the other two ‘core parts’ as well… At least, I could.”

Chem nodded. “If we don’t lose this fortress.”

“Exactly,” Sky agreed with a nod.

Never thought I’d actually get along well with an Old One, but he really seems to get me, Sky thought as he put the tachyon detection matrix back into his pocket.

“And well, we’re gonna. If we can’t come up with something in the next, what, twenty minutes? Ten for them to get here, ten more for them to be ready to fire? Sound right?” Sky asked as he stared out the window at the dust cloud which covered the advancing army.

“What exactly is your special talent?” Chem asked as he crossed his arms behind his back on thought.

“I can instantly build things if I have all the pieces and enough energy to build it normally,” Sky replied as he looked at Chem with a smirk. “Is your special talent ‘Standing like Darth Vader’?”

Chem sighed wistfully. “I’m still sad I never found a universe like the one in those films… Such a straight good versus evil dichotomy. It would have been wonderful,” he said with a thin smile.

“I take it you have an idea?” Sky asked in response to Chem’s joke.

“Part of one,” Chem admitted as he turned to watch the dust cloud. “What would you be doing with your talent?”

“I’d overhaul the power conduits from the generator to the weapons arrays and connect the weapons control console over there to the guns. NaN only fixed the shield generator, and I pulled that weapon console apart earlier when I was inspecting it. Basically I’d use my talent to magic everything better, then hope Dragon weapons can beat spider-people magic,” Sky said as he looked over into the wizard’s shadow covered face. “Got a spell for that?”

Chem nodded once. “I have a way that might do everything but the console. It can’t build, but it can fortify what is there already. Can you do that in a few minutes with the tools you have on you right now?” Chem asked sounding just a little more certain than he had a few moments before.

Sky chuckled. “Of course I can,” he said with confidence. “I just need to solder the technological part back onto the magical part. Easy peasy.”

Chem nodded once then rose to his feet, standing tall and proud, casting a few simple spells to make his cloak billow and adjust the lighting around himself dramatically.

“Then I shall buy us some time!” Chem announced decisively.

“Is the cloak billow necessary?” Sky asked with a blank face. It’s like he ping-pongs between me and Ay… Or Trixie. Not sure which

“Well, I’m a hero now, so… Yes? I think they are supposed to do that when you say heroic things,” Chem said with a shrug. “Look, we haven’t much time and I’ll need to do a little work. Is anything in the floor beneath us important?”

Sky pursed his lips in thought, doing his best to try and remember what little of the Fortresses workings he’d discovered during the last few days.

“I don’t think so,” he decided after a brief moment.

“Excellent!” Chem said with a smile, at last turning from the window and facing back into the command room.

He flexed his hands, conjuring a pale green light at his fingertips as he began to weave a simple transmutation spell and instruct it in creating a very specific object from the materials around him.

“I hope you can do that quickly,” Sky said as he reached down to his tool belt and pulled out his sonic probe.

The little tool had proven to be exactly the right thing for connecting electrical wiring up to crystalline mana circuits. An invaluable task when dealing with Wieavian technology.

Sky crossed over to the weapons console in just two steps and knelt down beside the large crystal topped desk. The console’s wooden access panel was already open, Sky had removed it hours ago before sudden inspiration had called him to other more mission critical projects.

Chem’s hands finished weaving his spell, and released the arcane energy with a simple flash. The floor glowed a bright green as his magic sank into it and pulled the very minerals within the stone towards a spot slightly in front of the wizard. The stone began to ooze upwards, forming a vertical slab of stone shaped much like a gothic window.

Thanks to the glass wall, Sky was able to watch as the slab’s flat surface reshaped, a fresco carving seeming to stink into it as if the stone were molten metal in a mold. The newly created shrine featured an alarming number of skulls, with one full sized and very realistic skull set in the center of the arch’s peak within a stylized gear.

The central skull suddenly sprouted metal components as cybernetic implants grew from the stone itself, transforming it’s left half into a mechanical facimily of a human skull with a large circular glowing red eye, while leaving the right side untouched, forming a sort of yin-yang like device depicting man and machine.

The glow faded a heartbeat later, and Chem immediately inspected his creation, leaning in close to make certain every last detail was correct.

“It will do,” he said to himself, nodding in satisfaction.

That uh, that looks pretty evil. Sky noted to himself.

He turned back to the console for a moment, trying to focus on his own half of the task, but…

Nooooope. Have to ask. Sky mentally sighed before turning to look back to Chem.

“Uh, dude? Could you walk me through what it is you’re doing? Because that looks like some kind of robot-zombie summoning shrine,” Sky asked.

Chem laughed and flashed Sky a look which said ‘I wish it was one of those.’

“I’m going to use magic to commune with the machinery within the fortress and attempt to appease it so it functions despite the probability of catastrophic failure it’s condition would likely cause,” Chem summarized as he stood before the freshly transmuted shrine.

“This world has technomancy?” Sky asked in surprise, sitting up a little more straitly. “With how technophobic Null is?”

“Oh, no,” Chem said as he shook his head. “I’m using a ritual from someplace else, but-”

Sky’s tail stood up straight with instant alarm. “Um, how about NO!” He shouted worriedly. “We’re not allowed to use power from other universes, or anything that’s beyond the scope of a mortal from THIS world! That’s an INSTANT LOOSE by the rules!”

Chem laughed and flashed Sky a smile. “Don’t worry. I may have learned how to do it on another world, but this particular sorcery is possible here. I used it to improve your sidearm yester-”

Sky’s left eye twitched slightly. “You tested foreign magic without telling us?! You could have doomed my whole world, you IDIOT!” He growled, hands curling into fists.

Urge to kill, rising! Sky raged internally as he tried his best to keep himself from strangling the wizard.

Chem held up his hands defensively. “Calm down! The spellcraft I used relies on a force present in all realities. I just don't know any other way to successfully use it myself. I've only done it a few times because it resists beings of my nature. It’s a magic that belongs uniquely to mortalkind. All of it, everywhere.”

Sky’s glower softened sightly. “Okay. What omnipresent force exists in all the multiverses that you can call upon? And what’s it do?” He asked slowly.

Chem hummed. “In order to avoid a lecture and lose time, because you know, there’s an army marching upon us... I called upon the force which allows you to take elements of the natural world and reforge them with purpose, and petitioned it to make your pistol better. It worked! It now has a fourteen percent increase in muzzle velocity. Until its spirit is displeased by a lack of maintenance and respect, at least.”

“... You, asked physics to physics harder?” Sky asked with a frown. “And that just, worked? Like, your magic just let you talk to physics? One on one? Wut?”

Is that how he improved it? Sky wondered as he recalled Chem asking him to borrow his sidearm the other day.

It really is performing better. Like, in every way it could. But just by a bit. Okay, maybe he found a loophole in the rules.

Chem nodded. “Yes and no. It’s more like prayer. You dont command this, you request things of it. It never speaks to you, there’s no mind here. It’s just the most basic and crude of sorcery. Sometimes it has the opposite effect, but sometimes it works.”

“And anyone in any universe can do it?” Sky pressed. “Therefore you can do it here?”

“Yes,” Chem replied. “In fact I guarantee that an inventor such as yourself has subconsciously done it many times. The only way I can tap into this primal and universal magic is via a method a machine cult priest showed me. It’s a long story.

“To cut to the chase, yes I tried it here because under RPG rules, the fluff behind your spellcasting doesn't matter. Only the “mechanics” do. Since the mechanics for this are universal, and Yog has indicated he would much appreciate it if we win, I had faith that Yog would not count my actions as against the rules. And I was correct. I plan on enhancing all of our equipment when the others return to us.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to see if I can convince this fortress to work a little harder.”

Chem sat down, crossing his legs and resting his palms atop his knees, eyes closed as he began to meditate, focusing deeply on the machine below. His lips moved slowly beneath the shadows of his hood as he began to perform the ancient ritual he was taught by one of the few friends he’d made in his old life.

Sky took a deep breath, calming himself. It’s magic, he’s a Wizard, Yog clearly didn’t care about him not learning the spell here since it works everywhere. It all checks out. Further proof he’s on our side. Let’s do this!

“Sorry for doubting you,” Sky said as he began tracing the main power lead to find its terminal. “It’s just my world is at stake.”

“Mine too,” Chem said quietly. “Please, I need quiet for a few minutes.”

Sky nodded and returned to work. The command room fell into near total silence, only the humm of Sky’s probe and Chem’s quiet chanting. Chanting which Sky didn’t pay attention to at first, but slowly, as the minutes ticked by and the humm of his probe became more and more a background noise to him, something about Chem’s chant became rather apparent.

“Are you chanting binary strings?” The engineer demanded incredulously.

Chem didn't reply, merely continuing to softly chant something which did indeed sound remarkably like someone reciting a text in binary much like the singing of a gregorian monk.

Sky shook his head slowly at the lack of a response.

“Dude, please, answer. That’s REALLY distracting for innumerable reasons!” He begged.

If you can seriously recite Dusk’s Prayer in binary at a shrine and sup-up tech that is the dumbest awesome thing I’ve ever learned! Sky mentally groaned.

Chem sighed and opened his eyes. “Whelp, this place has been neglected and battered for years. It’s awake now, but there’s not much of a spirit left to appeal too.”

Spirit to appeal too? Sky asked himself in confusion before he facehooved.

“Technopathy!” He exclaimed as he remembered several things at once. “You’re using Technopathy! Now things make sense. There’s a mare on my engineering crew who insists machines have souls too. But she just talks to them in Equish.

“Is that how all Technopaths work? You talk to the machine and weave your magic into the words?” Sky wondered.

“Yes,” the wizard answered before gently patting the stone floor. “This old girl is nearly dead, though she appreciates your TLC over the last few days and will put her all into it when we press fire. Now then, let’s sew confusion in the enemy's ranks.”

“With illusion spells?” Sky asked as he returned to work on the console. “Try to scare the crap out of them, give us an opening to shoot at the airships and slip away?”

Chem stood back up and cracked his fingers. “What can I say? Every artist has their medium,’ he said as he began to focus on his magic.

We’ll work out how to come back for Lyra and Vinyl later. Right now we need to focus on NOT losing this fortress! Sky decided, turning his attention to the disassembled console.

Only a dozen more cables remained disconnected. But of course finding their terminals in the maze of hastily connected wires would prove time consuming. To say nothing of troubleshooting if the console didn’t fire up.

“Fair warning, things may get a bit stupid. Depending on what genres of fiction you enjoy,” Chem warned with a smirk.

Sky looked up, his face lit by the dull green glow of his probe. “Wah?” He asked simply.

Chem turned and offered the engineer a wink as his finger tips began to glow with pale green light. “We’re standing in a castle built atop an ancient space station about to do battle, which I’ve improved by giving its spirit a pep talk. I’m bound by nerd law to make a particular reference.”

Sky nodded. “No problem, I get it. Trust me.” He said with sincerity.

After all I’ve never met a reference I didn’t make.

“It’s a shame you have to work,” Chem sighed wistfully. “This will be fun! I wonder how they will react to a true Evil Overlord? Perhaps they will understand that I’m not the person they are looking for.”

Sky grunted and amused grunt as he fuzed a strand of copper to a crystal terminal. “Pretty sure that turning a whole country into the Zerg but worse makes Hatty an Evil Overlord.”

“No. Just evil,” Chem disagreed, whis voice filled with calm certainty. “The difference lies in… Presentation.”

Sky’s brow furrowed angrily. “Dammit!” He swore as he shot Chem a glare.

Chem wheeled around immediately. “Is there a problem with the-”

“No!” Sky said grumpily. “I’ve been waiting years to use that Megamind reference.”

Chem gave Sky a long look of pure confusion. “Mega-what?”

“You- You’re inconceivably old, but have never lived in a universe which has the movie Megamind, learned about the movie, and watched it?” Sky asked in stunned disbelief. “That’s… Literally impossible!”

Chem shrugged and walked over to the throne at the Command Room’s center, plopping down in it casually.

“Never heard of it. Now let's not-die so we can kill Hatty then go watch it. I like new things!” The wizard exclaimed as he wheeled around in the chair, rotating it to face the fully mobilized army, fingers ablaze with purple fire. “Get ready to fire as soon as possible. I’ll fly, you shoot. We’ll only take out the airships. No need to anger them more than we must.”

A thousand drums began to hammer out a droning military tattoo. A thousand flutes joined them, followed by trumpets, each instrument playing their part in creating a rather haunting regimental theme.

Chem blinked in surprise. Sky stared out the window incredulously.

“Are they seriously going all Early Solar Era military tradition on us?” The engineer asked. “We’re the super-evil-danger as far as they know! Just fire! I mean, shit!”

Chem pursed his lips. “It’s probably a form of magic. Moral boosting most likely…” He said as he glanced at his shrine for a long moment then nodded.

“What?” Sky asked slowly.

“In for a penny, in for a pound,” Chem said with a wink, snapping his fingers and releasing his illusion spell.

The magic trailed along the keep as Sky had expected, but also flowed over Chem’s hat, and cloak, transforming them into a wine red hooded robe with gold trim.

“What's with the costume change?” Sky asked.

“Shhhh, there’s work to do,” the wizard replied. “And also a particular fantasy of mine to fulfill… “

Day 5

Roseanger Crag - Mercy Mountain Range, Wieav

Captain Jago sat atop his dragon as they placed in front of the army.

Zorgoth said telepathically, not wanting to show the assembled army he thought their only means of victory was luck based.

“The Dark Lord’s made an error in judgment!” Jago proclaimed loudly, magic amplifying his voice, carrying it to each soldier above the loud melody the army’s bards preformed. “His hiding place is half of a cage, we are the other half! When the battle begins, the Great Maru will surely hear our struggles and come to our aid. We can contain this evil! It will not move before our salvation arrives!”

Zorgoth said with a mental chuckle.

Jago replied.

Zorgoth replied soothingly.

The dragons words were punctuated by the violent crack and scrap of stone braking then sliding along stone. The army looked up as one, terror filling their hearts as each of them assumed the Dark Lord had collapsed the mountain above them.

But it was not so.

The Dark Fortress’s outer walls cracked and slid, their shape slowly rearranging into something else. The soldiers began to clutch their weapons even tighter. A few troops shouldered their crossbows, ready for wave after wave of undead to pour out of the keep.

The creak and groan of metal joined the scraping of stone on stone as some of the ancient draconic foundation peeled away. The detached stone and steel debris flowed around the Fortress ominously.

“Steady! Prepare for combat!” Jago called, doing his best to keep his own nervousness from his voice.

Jago asked.

Zorgoth squinted at the fortress.

Zorgoth’s telepathy faded as the dragon’s eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and terror as the rubble formed into a colossal skull which covered the entire keep. Steel beams sprouted from the skull’s left eye socket like worms devouring a corpse, swiftly forming complex shapes resolving into…

The dragon demanded as half the skull was replaced with obvious biomechanical augments.

Jago asked.

Zorgoth replied, just in time to see the remaining steel form a colossal floating gear shape which orbited the fortress horizontally.

A short Arakan soldier whose sash bore the golden acorn crest of a Commander nervously cleared his throat. “C-captain? Perhaps we should order the airships to begin bombardment.”.

“Y-yeah,” Jago agreed with a nod as he picked up his farspeaker amulet. “All ships! Begin firing. Mages, figure out what the Dark Lord is up to. That’s got to be some sort of spell focus!”

Zorgoth noted curiously.

Jago said with extreme skepticism.

The ground shook slightly, pillars of stone rose up from the ground around the fortress, forming a solid wall around it, concealing the entire base.

“HA! He’s fortifying!” Jago cried triumphantly.

“He thinks he can lose!” A random soldier proclaimed in a mixture of shock and awe.

Jago’s eyes widened in horror.

“Just like Stonerake Island, men! He’s on the ropes!” One of the veterans called loudly. “The Captain's right, we can take him down!”

Jago sighed in relief.

The thundering of a hundred and twenty cannons drowned out any other triumphant proclamations. Bright plasma streaked across the sky as the shots slammed into the fortress, blasts of orange flame, clouds of sickly green acid, and plumes of purple lightning peppered the newly formed skull and defencive wall.

Jago allowed himself a smile. Perhaps this would go smoothly. The Dark Lord hadn’t fired yet, and the Fortress’s Death Ray was well documented as being a truly potent weapon.

The air in front of the Dark Fortress sparked and crackled, ethereal green flames spread out in front of the skull, twisting into words as the colossal gear began to slowly rotate. The fiery words quickly became clear, visible even through the smoke and flames of the bombardment.

Upgrade in progress…

Jago and Zorgoth said as one.

Sky Trigger - Day 5

Roseanger Gorge - Mount Mercy, Wieav

The Fortress shook and creaked under the sustained cannonfire. Acidic smoke began to fill the lower levels. Flames licked the stonework as the walls slowly began to crumble. Thick black smoke began to pool at the top of the Command Center as something below them burned.

“What is taking you so long?!” Sky demanded urgently as he slapped the weapons console back into place.

“This illusion is complex!” Chem called back, gripping the throne ritightly to avoid being thrown from it onto the floor. “Are the guns ready?”

Sky grit his teeth and slapped the console. Sparks of white magic traced across its surface, the display dimly lighting up and listing various options.

“Looks like it, no time to test.” Sky answered.

“Yeah we can’t take much more of this,” Chem agreed. “Get ready to fire. Your cue will be when I aim the main gun.”

Main gun? Sky wondered with a frown.

Day 5

Roseanger Crag - Mercy Mountain Range, Wieav

The Golem Corps joined in the bombardment. Their smaller cannon’s sharp cracks punctuating the roaring booms of the airship’s broadsides.

“Keep firing!” Jago ordered. “Do not let them finish whatever it is they are doing!”

Zorgoth said as he watched infantrymen fire their crossbows at the fortress in a mixture of desperation and determination.

“Captain,” a female voice called from Jago’s farspeaker. “The mages have finished their analysis. It’s an-”

An inhuman voice boomed across the field, it’s sheer volume drowning out the cannons. Whatever the reporter was trying to say had no chance at being heard over the buzzing mechanical voice.

“From the weakness of the mind, Omnissiah save us. From the lies of the Antipath, circuit preserve us. From the rage of the Beast, iron protect us. From the temptations of the Fleshlord, silica cleanse us. From the ravages of the Destroyer, anima shield us. From this rotting cage of biomatter, Machine God, set us free.”

Jago had just enough time to think, What in the hell does that mean? before the stone pillar wall exploded in a shower of shrapnel like a claymore mine.

A truly titanic shape moved within the thick clouds of smoke the bombardment had created. It’s lumbering mass visible only as the occasional flash of red and gold.

Zorgoth narrowed his eyes, seeking to penetrate the smoke with his draconic vision. His eye widened in a mixture of horror and rage when he finally did.

“OH, THAT IS BULLSHIT!” The dragon bellowed.

This had an extremely negative impact on the army’s already shaken moral.

A second voice boomed through the air. One each veteran knew, and feared. For the first time in two hundred years the Dark Lord spoke.

“I have fought as a God fights. I am Imperius Dictatio. Kneel before me and beg for your lives!” Lord Zeneanus the Ever-Living demanded as his alien war machine emerged from the smoke.

It’s footsteps shook the very foundations of the earth. The sound of its hydraulic servos dwarfed mere thunder. The roar of it’s drive engine comparable only to that of the Colossus atop the mountain. It’s great bulk towered over the army, and even the airships, putting the Dark Fortress’s command deck a full hundred and fifty meters above the ground.

The Dark Fortress now stood firmly atop a hunchbacked red and gold golem seemingly designed for the express purpose of carrying a fortress upon its shoulders. It had no arms, only colossal rotary cannons. It’s entire surface was festooned with all manner of weapons, as if the titanic golem had been the result of its commissioner and designer having a disagreement over the meaning of ‘enough cannons’.

For the first and last time, Wieave’s soldiers looked upon an Warmonger-class Titan. The army’s orderly ranks disintegrated immediately as the soldiers panicked, desperately climbing over one another in an attempt to get away.

The Titan aimed it’s left arm-cannon at the left most airship. A brilliant ray of white-hot light lanced forth, vaporizing the airship completely.

“RETREAT! RETREAT!” Jago screamed into his farspeaker.

His unnecessary order was buried beneath the Dark Lord’s cheerful singing as the Titan began to slowly lumber forwards.

“Mind receptors, witness glory from the burning of the flame! / The fires of the forge are like the trumpets which proclaim. / Our engines at full power, your destruction is our aim. / Our Truth has come online!

“With heat and iron and industry, we'll purge you from this world! / You will sunder, melt, and shatter from the bolts of wrath we've hurled, / and upon your ruined end, our blood red banners stand unfurled. / Our Might has come online!”

“CHEATING BASTARD!” Zorgoth roared, nearly lost within his rage.

Sky Trigger - Day 5

Roseanger Gorge - Mount Mercy, Wieav

Sky slowly shook his head as the fortress slowly flew out from under the overhang, concealed within the illusion of a warmachine. Fighting was no longer an option, it was time it take to the air. As soon as their distraction brought them clear of the solid slab of rock above them.

The weapons console flashed red beneath Sky’s hand, which still rested on the now disabled ‘fire’ button. A dozen different warnings burned within the crystal mirror, begging Sky to please NOT DO THAT AGAIN!

But the half dozen burnt out systems were not the cause of Sky’s distress.

“Traitor, Xeno, Heritech, they are as one to us. / We will scorch them from existence with our engines devious! / Our hate for them encoded into every bolt and truss. / Our Wrath has come online!” Chem continued to sing like a total dork.

“Our plan is awesome, I’m happy to be a part of it, but your song choice SUUUUUCKS!” Sky moaned into the weapons console.

Sky didn’t want to look over at the throne again. Chem was using a miniature version of the illusion much like a marionette with strings of magic, so he could keep its movements fluid. The problem?

And this mech looks TERRIBLE! He added silently, his inner engineer wanting to strangle whoever decided to design the mech Chem was basing his illusion off of for giving it feet so large it should rip its knees apart trying to move them. I’ll bet the army out there is afraid of it because they are worried physics is failing…

Chem giggled. “Hey! I never got to pilot the real thing. Let a dork enjoy something, will you?” He asked coyly before adding a volley of lasterfire to the illusion with a quick wave of his hand and a fresh pulse of magic.

“I’ve always wanted too pilot one of these since I fielded them in a miniature wargame I used to play about nine univerces back. I was so happy when Sis found a universe that was similar to it. And then it turned out they never invented Titans in that iteration.” he added.

Sky sighed and nodded once. “Fine… I mean, you are saving our plots. Still a terrible song though.”

“I mean, this is taking about all I have mana wise… And they’re going to figure out this is an illusion any minute now and then it’s back to butthole clenching terror time. I would like to enjoy this while it lasts.” Chem elaborated.

Sky nodded. “I get it. It’s fine. Go ahead. I’d probably do something similar myself…”

Chem gave Sky a playful thumbs up and began to enter the commands into the throne which would allow the fortress to take to the air while also keeping it concealed for as long as possible, intending to leave his illusion behind on auto-pilot for as long as it might last without him to fuel it.

“Titans striding forward, Ordinatii by the score, / they are drowning out blasphemers 'neath their great mechanic roar! / Tradition is our bulwark, it endures forever more. / Our Victory comes online!”

Why do all my new friends have terrible taste in music? Sky grumbled to himself.

“Aww come on, Sky!” Chem laughed as the fortress limped along at it’s even further reduced speed. “They are fleeing in terror from something a ten year old on the mother of all sugar highs doodled! This is the best day!”

Wait, that’s why he’s laughing? That actually IS hilarious! The engineer thought as he broke out into a grin.

“You have a point, but we should get out of here as fast as we can,” Sky said with a slim smile.

“We are,” Chem answered sadly.

Sky looked over at the speed control on the throne. “Crap… I’ll uh, head below and see what I can do.”

“You do that,” Chem said, his smile fading as reality set back in for him and the Fortress began to limp upwards, it’s crippled engines groaning in protest.

12 - That Guy vs Rule Zero (Part 13.8x10⁵⁶)

Vinyl Scratch - Day 5

Chateau of the Colossus - Mount Mercy, Wieav

Vinyl had a very difficult time imagining what a village-sized dragon’s home might look like. After all, it was quite clear that she was large enough to count a mountaintop as a bed, of the round pet bed variety. The sheer size of any singular enclosed space needed to contain Maru the Colossus truly boggles the mind which attempted to imagine such a space.

Airship hangers tend to be quite large. Airship factory hangers even more so, to the point where it’s not uncommon for such large rooms to have their own weather. Even a room that large, a room built for constructing a three hundred person passenger airship, with all of the luxury of a cruise ship, would not be large enough for Maru to enter.

If, by some miracle, an existing hanger was large enough for the dragoness to squeeze herself into, it would be but one room. Or rather, one box. It’s not a room if you can’t move around in it.

That is where Vinyl had been half an hour before. Meekly following along after Lyra and Veena, silently pretending to follow their conversation while desperately trying to envision where they could possibly be going which would be big enough for Maru to have made several rooms into which she could comfortably fit and utilize for her own purposes.

And also why she wasn’t sleeping in it.

In the end, Vinyl’s first guess had turned out to be partially true. Maru’s home was within Mount Mercy, but it wasn’t ALL of mount Mercy. Rather, it was a quiet normal sized home, carved from stone, located a small distance inside a natural cave, with the home’s door and front wall being set into the cave’s rearmost wall.

A row of stalagmites had been carefully cultivated over the years to form a shape akin to a picket fence, into which a wrought iron gate had been expertly installed, forming a nice little front garden of a size just big enough for a filly to have a blast playing in. It was even covered in a plush, green moss which felt quite a bit like grass.

The mossy ground cover wasn’t the only “greenery” to decorate the underground garden. Beds of colorful mushrooms stood in for flower beds, and some large boulders had been placed in the yard then covered in a different more fluffy moss to create the illusion of a hedge behind the stalagmite fence.

The fence was whitewashed, rather than being properly painted, in order to give it an old-fashioned, homey feel and to help it complement the house’s front wall. Whoever had made the house had gone through painstaking effort to create a wonderful facade which mimicked the appearance of a Late Renaissance period Manor House.

The single smooth stone slab was expertly carved to give the appearance and texture of brickwork for the bottom layers, namely the foundation, porch, steps, and first floor. Windows had been cut into the stone, and each arched opening had been filled with thick chunks of glass held in place by thin iron webs in a manner not dissimilar to stained glass.

The layer above, which vanished into the cave’s ceiling just above its own windows, had been textured to resemble wooden timber framework and plaster. The false support beams had visible wood grain to them, but were clearly stone due to the paint on them being obviously paint meant to resemble dark-stained wood.

All in all, at first glance, it was as if someone had taken a mansion and stuffed it inside the cave. But the longer you looked at it, the more the masterpiece of sculpture revealed itself.

Vinyl blinked, realizing she had been staring at the cave-house’s facade for at least an entire minute.

“Who carved this?!” She asked allowed, her jaw hanging open as she realized each fake brick had its own unique color and texture, just like a real red-clay brick wall would have looked.

“Mom did,” Veena replied simply. “Weren't you listening?”

Lyra looked back at Vinyl and snickered. “Nope. She’s definitely been gawking at this place the whole time. Can’t blame you, Vi! This is really cool. So uh, did she live here before growing too big?”

Vinyl shook herself and focused her attention on the black iron door leading into the home. It was slightly taller and quite a bit wider than a normal door, approaching the size of a double door.

This place is big enough for Celestia to walk inside if she reared up, Vinyl noted. If that dragon used to live here, it had to be thousands of years ago.

“On the contrary,” a voice which could only be described as perfectly motherly said. “I live here when I feel like expending the immense amount of arcane energy to make myself small.”

Vinyl spun on her heel. Standing behind her nearly filling the entire tunnel, was Maru. Vinyl didn’t need anyone to explain to her that an ancient dragon could possess the magical know how to do something as simple as change their size. However, the way the large, red scaled dragoness looked… Well…

“Wh- Uhm, m-may I ask why you look swollen?” Lyra asked for Vinyl.

Vi smiled to herself Thanks, Ly. You probably just saved me from angering the wizard.

Maru carefuly ducked under the final row of stalactites lining the space before the cave’s tunnel widened into the front yard’s chamber, and began to walk through the garden to her front door. Vinyl bit her lip, expecting the footsteps to shake the earth, but of course, at Maru’s reduced size, she merely made stomping noises.

“Magic has its limits. I doubt I will be able to make myself small enough to fit inside my home in another thousand years. Not without another caster’s help, at least,” Maru answered as she stepped up to her home’s front door and unlocked it with a talon before opening the door for everyone.

“Please, come inside and make yourself at home,” the dragoness asked with a polite and welcoming smile. “The circumstances involved in our meeting are very unusual, and I--”

“MOM!” Veena blurted, her eyes widening in fear.

Maru rolled her eyes once. “I don’t care what your superiors say, Veena. Your rider must know that you’re not a typical dragon. It’s obvious you're not from your implants. She’s entitled to know, and would know from the moment you two first share minds. I will not delay the inevitable when two lives are at stake if there’s any… Shall we say, shenanigans. Especially not when I can solve that potential problem myself. Here and now.”

Vinyl frowned, her hand reached for her sword, moving a few centimeters before she stopped.

If she meant to trap us, she wouldn’t have said that. She also could have just squished us a while ago… I’ll trust her for now. Vi decided, nodding to herself.

“Okay, but before we go inside, why is it unusual?” Vinyl asked.

“Because under normal circumstances agents of any threat to the peace would not be allowed to apply to be a Rider, much less actually be chosen. I’m certain you know that already, and are likely wondering why we assigned you a Ranger, assuming you even know about Draconic Rangers.” Maru said simply.

“Mom…” Veena said quietly. “National. Security.”

The younger dragon spat her words like a nail gun fastening plywood to a wall, her eyes narrowed.

Maru sighed. “Let’s have this conversation in the living room.” She said, gesturing for everyone to enter with her left claw.

Lyra turned to look at Vinyl, concern and curiosity mixing within her golden eyes. The silent exchange lasted for two seconds, and communicated everything I needed too.

Lyra cleared her throat and turned to face Maru, adopting a serious expression

“We’re not actually Dark Lord Minions, Ma’am,” Lyra said as politely as she could.

Vinyl nodded in agreement. “My brother is being framed by a wizard capable of time travel. It's complicated.”

Veena raised an eyebrow and looked Vinyl over from head to toe. Maru hummed curiously.

“Interesting, and terrible if true. But please, come inside. We will discuss this like civilized people,” she insisted.

When a giant dragoness insists on something, people agree.

The four entered the manor, and it was a proper manor. Maru’s home had been carved and painted, inside and out, to form a very cozy and contemporary building. The inside was decorated as one would expect. With paintings, plants, tapestries, carpets, and of course, tables and shelves covered in all manner of nicknacks.

The nicknacks were the most interesting part. Many of them obviously didn’t originate from this universe. Maru’s livingroom was perhaps the best example of this.

Her living room was large, spacious, and had a large gold elaborate sculpted wood framed mirror hung on the wall as one might expect a TV to be. All of the furniture faced it, both of the large brown leather brass trimmed couches, both armchairs, and even the ottoman.

The nicknacks lined the bookcases, shelves, end tables, and coffee table. While some of the items were just, items, most things were covered by glass display cases, and labeled with a brass nameplate.

Each nameplate described what the item was, where it had come from, and featured a number on it which was most likely a date.

The largest of the nicknacks was displayed in the middle of the coffee table. A pink skateboard-like board, decorated with yellow and green zigzags, suspended in mid air by two large black disks attached to the bottom. The nameplate read: “Hoverboard. Earth-B22, gift from a friend. 22-04-13,902 SR.”

Another kickback on display was a very simple cruciform sword, which just so happened to be made entirely out of a single blue diamond. While very plain in shape, the way the blade twinkled and gleamed in the living room's warm light was beyond such a simple concept as beauty (where the light came from was a mystery). It’s nameplate read: “Diamond Sword. Fallen Kingdom, made at a table of crafting. 09-01-13,745 SR.

Another prominent item was a photograph. It was set into a silver frame which rested atop one of the end tables. The picture was of Derpy, smiling happily at the camera, which she was holding in her own hoof while hugging someone closely with her other hoof in the generic selfie pose.

Her friend was some sort of undead creature, or a very very ill human, clad in a thick black robe who had pale white skin, eyes which glowed a dull yellow, and two very distinctive green check marks tattooed over his left eye. He looked happy, and like he was uncomfortable being happy, all at once.

The nameplate read, “Derpy and a friend. Ashendale. 14-12-13,738 SR.”

Why am I not surprised that Derpy befriended the obvious necromancer? Vinyl thought to herself with a smile.

Vinyl and Lyra took a seat on one couch, continuing to look around while Maru telekinetically lifted the other, and repositioned it so she could sit down and face them.

“You’ve got a lot of decorations,” Vinyl said observantly as she eyed a case containing a seemingly ordinary brown fedora atop a hat stand.

“I've got a daughter who is a Travler,” Maru replied, the couch creaking under her weight as she sat down. “She enjoys sending me letters and packages.”

Lyra nodded eagerly. “Yeah! Veena and I were talking about Derpy. Has she sent you anything from Equestria?”

Good thought! We can use that to prove we’re not from this universe, Vinyl thought to herself, immediately looking around the keepsake filled living room for anything familiar.

Maru raised an eyebrow and looked at Veena who had decided to sit on the floor halfway between the couches to Lyra’s left.

Veena grinned sheepishly at her mother. “They uh, they claim to know her,” Veena elaborated. “Pretty sure that’s true because--”

Vinyl’s eyes fell upon something she recognised. Something she knew intimately. Something which unquestioningly would help her prove to the normally colossal and terrifying dragoness that she was a friend, not food.

Pointing to the Album's abstract white, blue, gray, and black cover Vinyl quickly blurted, “That album's tracks are in order: Filly One More Time, I think You Miss Me, Smile Like the Pink, Mare of the Morning, Bass Cannon, Under Her Sun, DJ Feed the Noise, and the special bonus track is an Electro Rock remix of Octavia Melody’s hit single ‘I’m Too Sleepy to Name This, Please Go Away’.”

Maru’s wings twitched slightly. The dragoness raised her left claw, scribing a quick arcane rune in the air, never taking her eyes off the two kobolds on her couch, even as the album was teleported out of its case with a flash of silver light, appearing again a moment later in front of Veena.

“Ve, is that correct?” Maru asked.

Veena picked up the album carefully and flipped it over, reading the tracklist on the back. “Uh, I think so? She said the names kinda fast. But that IS the bonus track’s name… Who the heck names a song that?” Veena asked herself, her eyes softening as she recieved what she felt was irrefutable proof.

Vinyl’s face split into a grin. “That’s a GREAT story!” Vi said, leaning back against the couch, wishing she had her usual sunglasses so she could look over them while telling her story. “So, this was like, a long long time ago. Before Octy knew I was a vampire.

“Most nights, I would snuggle up with her and wait for her to wake up, but sometimes I’d get up and do work while she was asleep. So one night I’m trying to get a bunch of her songs mixed and printed onto vinyl so I could send them into a contest and surprise her if she won anything, you know? And she had this super awesome haunting but happy single recorded. But you know, it wasn’t named.

“So I trotted into the bedroom, shook her gently and was like, “Hey, Octy? What you gonna call this new song? I wanna get it out like, now." and she just groans and pushes me away all cute-sleepy and mumbles "‘I’m too sleepy to name this, please go away." Sadly for her, I can be a bit stupid when focused on a job. So I was like "Ok, got it." and wrote that down, then sent it off.

“Thing is it’s a really really good song, technically and aesthetically, so it became a HUGE hit. What I didn’t know is that it was Octy’s actual magnum opus, so a few days later she gets a HUGE royalty check because the song’s been sold to nine different record companies. She’s super confused, calls her manager, and learns what song I sent in. So Octy storms up to me all “Vinyl, WHAT DID YOU DO?!" and all I can do is eardroop, wonder why she’s upset and admit "I sent out your new song."

“Then she glares at me with the wrath of a thousand... Then she shouts, "The one I didn't name?!?"

“A thousand what?” Lyra asked as she gave Vinyl a confused look.

Vinyl sighed. “Let me finish, Lyra. So, all I can do is go "But you did..." then I facehoofed hard as I realized that wasn’t actually a name. Unfortunately she couldn’t rename it because the song was already playing on the radio and had hit the top tens overnight. And that’s how I stuck my wife’s greatest work ever with the stupidest name ever.”

Maru hummed idly and leaned back slightly, her large bulk completely obscuring the couch she was sitting on. “Are you saying that you are in fact, Vinyl Scratch?” She asked.

Vinyl nodded. “Yeah,” she said pointing to Lyra. “And she’s Lyra Heartstrings. No way Derpy’s not talked about her. They’re friends.”

Maru nodded. “Yes. They are… And any skilled mage could have easily gathered that information with a few clever spells cast upon my keepsakes. And an exceptional mage could have even pulled information that would allow them to pass a simple test of personal knowledge,” the dragoness added.

Lyra frowned worriedly. “Uh, so then is there any way we can prove to you who we are?” She asked.

Not if magic here can get that much information by scrying an object’s past. Anything we could say could be faked… Vinyl thought to herself.

Veena shook her head. “Not that I can think of. But if your story adds up that would be something. If you two are transformed Equestrians, why are you here?” She asked adding, “And how did you get here?” after a heartbeat.

Maru nodded and then turned to look at Vinyl. “That’s an excellent question, Veena,” she agreed. “I’m willing to listen to the answer.”

Lyra hummed. “It’s a bit of a long story… Want me to sum it up, Vi?” She asked, looking over to Vinyl for approval.

Vi nodded. “Yeah, go ahead.”

“Okay,” Lyra began. “So it turns out that Vi has a little brother she never knew about. We went to go meet him, and it’s a happy reunion, if a little scary at first. Did Derpy ever tell you about Discord?”

Maru nodded. “Yes, she has. Why is that important?”

“Chem’s like Discord,” Vinyl said with just the slightest of grins. “Only he’s a dork instead of a troll. Meaning he’s really really powerful, if he’s fed properly. Only instead of using his powers to cause chaos he basically uses them to play RPGs with people or do dorky things.”

Veena hummed. “And you have the same power?”

Lyra shook her head. “No. Just Chem. Anyways, I’ve got a curse on me which I think I’ve partially broken. In Equestria we have these magical beings called Nightmares. They are literally your living nightmares, and if they catch you they become true, no matter how impossible. I got caught by mine and lost my wife because it changed her sexual orientation.

“It also made it so that for various bullshit reasons, no one could help me get her back, not that she wanted to be with me anymore… Uh, and it almost definitely compelled me to try and fix things, because until I woke up today there was always an urgent need to fix it in the back of my mind.

“Chem’s important because he claimed he could show me how to build an eldritch machine which would make that nightmare reappear so I could capture and destroy it to break the curse. And he did! But um… Turns out our universe was harboring an Old One who really didn’t like me building a weapon that specifically targets information based life.

“In short, we’re here because he’s trying to kill us.”

Maru nodded once. “You came here to hide, because you knew of my world through my little muffin.”

Vinyl shook her head. “No. It’s worse than that,” she corrected with a sad sigh. “We weren't killed on the spot because Chem tricked Hatty, I um, I’m NOT saying the Old One’s actual name, it will summon him--”

“Yes, please don’t do that,” Maru interrupted with a grateful look on her face.

Vi nodded. “Right, not gonna. Anyways, Chem managed to trick him into a dick measuring contest, and so we’ve got Hatty trying to prove to Chem that the games he likes to play are childish, and worthless. He’s forcing us to LARP. If we kill him, he won't destroy our world. If he kills us, Chem has to personally kill us before he’s executed.

“Hatty feels safe making that bet because, well, he had a really good plan. There’s a whole contract detailing the rules, right? And since he made them he knows how to exploit them. He infiltrated our group, pretending to be Twilight, and then once he’d memorized what our avatars looked like he used time travel to well… The whole Evil Overlord thing?

“That’s Chem’s stick. He likes to play the bad guy in his games. So Hatty set us up as the most genuinely evil people in this world to mock him. And also to ensure he didn't have to do a damn thing because literally everyone wants our heads on pikes.”

“That seems like something you’d want to keep quiet,” Maru said observantly.

Vinyl flinched, a chill running down her spine. Luna… Did I just miscalculate this whole thing? she worried.

“U-um, w-well, I figured, since you didn’t just step on us, you didn’t want to kill us. Right?” VInyl asked, her voice just a little squeaky.

Maru nodded. “That’s right. I don’t. At least not yet. Not ever if you’re telling the truth,” she said calmly.

“Then what DO you want?” Lyra asked.

Veena nodded in agreement. “Yeah!” She exclaimed. “And why did you screw up my entire infiltration mission?”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow. Okay THAT makes sense.

“Maybe because you’re my child,” Maru said to Veena quietly. “Maybe because if Lyra dies, then you die. I can be quite persuasive, and I am not above reshaping the minds of evil people into the minds of good people. My plan was, and is, to eliminate two of the Dark Lord’s agents by bringing them to our side.

“That way, Vee, I won’t lose you. What’s more, you’d have help infiltrating the Dark Lord’s castle.”

Vinyl sighed. “And now that you’ve said that, you’re going to mind control us.”

“Only if I have to,” Maru countered calmly. “I’m quite certain we can work this out diplomatically. If we have to at all. After all, if what you just told me is true, then we are all friends here.”

Lyra looked up at Maru, a nervous frown on her lips. “Um, yeah, but you just said that there’s nothing we could say to prove we are who we are. Because scrying magic.”

Veena raised an eyebrow. “Uh, scrying spells don’t show you the past…”

“Yeah they do,” Vinyl replied with a frown. “I’m not even a mage and I know that.”

Maru reached over and gently set a claw on Veena’s shoulder. “Now, now, dear,” she said calmly. “If they are Equestrians then their entire magic system is completely different from our own.”

Veena blinked, her tail lifting slightly. “Oh yeah! It would be, wouldn’t it. I guess we could ask Derpy if that’s how it works over there, right? I’ll get her journal for you!”

The white dragon stood up, turning to move before, her mother stopped her by simply pushing down on the shoulder she still held.

“No need for that. Besides, there’s no guarantee Derpy is near her copy of the journal. We could be waiting hours for her to reply. Besides, again, they could have learned that information magicly. I have a much more simple way to prove their identities in mind.” Maru said, turning her head to look back at Vinyl and Lyra and offering them a hopeful smile.

Vinyl hummed. “I really don’t know what that would be, but I’m more than happy to prove who I am to you. I mean, I get that your people have linked Lyra and Veena inseparably, but I also would really, really like some help with saving my world. Which is Derpy’s world too… She’ll probably die if we lose.”

Maru chuckled. “No, she would be perfectly fine. She’s escaped dying worlds before… But she would lose her homeworld before finding her true parents. Which is important for her even though she can’t remember them. My little muffin wants them to know she’s okay.

“As for you… The Goddess’s Magic isn’t the only magic in this world. Allow me but a moment and I will clear this all up.”

VInyl looked over at Lyra nervously. “You trust her to not just mind slave us?” Vinyl asked.

Lyra put a hand to her chin in thought for a moment, and then nodded. “Yeah, I do. She could have already done that. Can’t you feel her power, Vi? We couldn’t resist her if we wanted to. Physically or magically. She wants to check, that’s all.”

Lyra’s acting like her old self at the moment… I’ll trust her gut. Vinyl decided. “Okay. Go for it.”

Maru wasted no time. Her kind green eyes clouded over as silver light began to flood her pupils. The light spread down from her face across her body, sinking into small runes carved into her scales so skillfully they hadn’t been visible until her arcane power bleed into their edges.

The living room darkened, it’s unseen lightsource seeming to drain into the ancient dragoness. Silver lightning crackled between Maru’s scales. Her voice reverberated as she spoke, calling upon ancient long dead souls.

“I call upon the souls damned to the Storm!” She cried, turning her luminous gaze to look Vinyl directly in the eye. “I call upon ancient powers eternally forlorn!”

A nebula of silver energy oozed our form under Maru’s scales, forming a cloud which crawled across her scales, lifting tendrils of lightning up into its glowing mass.

This is an attack! Vinyl thought, her eyes shrinking to pinpricks in terror.

Vinyl tried to scrunch her legs to jump, or duck, or otherwise move into cover. But her body wouldn’t respond. Paralyzed. Nicely done, Maru. Too bad your trap’s killing a whole world with us...

Maru leaned forwards, extending her foreclaws, curling all but one talon on each hand indwards. Her magic raced to her talons, the entire charged cloud flowing to her claw tips and pooling into two blinding points of white silver light.

“Those who lay before me: Reveal their true form!” Maru demanded then swiftly tapped her talons against Vinyl and Lyra’s noses.

Her magic vanished with soft pop, the entire room immediately returning to its former brightness. Where two kobolds had sat there were now two unicorns, replaced in exactly the same way a terrible filmmaker would have used a poorly made jumpcut.

Vinyl’s wide terrified eyes widened from pinpricks to incredulous dots. “What the actual buck?!” she demanded. “Why the hay does your magic look that triifying only to have the mother of all anti-climaxes?!”

Lyra nodded in agreement. “Seconded!” She exclaimed pointing at the dragoness with her hoof, fully intent on saying more, only to grin in surprise as she saw her furred foreleg instead of a scaled arm. “YAY! I’m adorable again!”

Veena’s eyes widened, as she underwent the typical reaction of a non-pony seeing a pony for the first time, and fought back the urge to hug the everloving crap out of the adorable little ponies sitting on her mother’s couch.

“Ack!” The dragoness whimpered quietly. “Too adorable! Must.. Not… Glomp…”

Maru’s lips pulled back into a genuinely happy smile. “Well this is a cheerful surprise! I’ll go make us all some te--”

Vinyl frowned and turned to look at Lyra, seeing her returned to her old form, Vinyl then looked down at herself. “Huh… I wonder if this restored our old powers as well as our appearances?”

Then a chilling though thit her. Wait! Is this legal within the rules of the--

The world screeched to a halt around the two ponies. All motion ceased with a deep pained metallic moan. Terror stabbed at Vinyl’s heart even before mocking laughter filled her ears.

“HAHAHAHA! F̩͠o̝̝o̼̹̹̣̕l̖̙̝̦̥͔͚s̥̙̀!̴̺̻” Hastur spat mockingly, his voice coming from everywhere and nowhere. “Did you not think I would watch you from afar? Why am I asking, of course you didn’t. I’ve seen everything you’ve done. You didn’t even think about blocking magical viewing, and now I’ve caught you cheating.”

Lyra’s ears drooped. “But we didn’t do it!” She protested.

Vinyl’s terror churned within her as hope began to bubble up through it. “Hey, that’s right. We didn’t cast that spell, or even ask for it. In game terms an NPC did it. Not us. It’s not cheating.”

“I think our referee will disagree,” Hastur said icily. “Y̞̗ò̖̰̪͈̙̙̺g͍̖͖̰̩-̪̟͡S̟̻͇͉͉o̻̜̖̝t͝h̛̭͓̲o̰̝̳̲̰t̫̩̮̬͎̟̱͢h͓͙̞́ͅ! They have broken our agreement, end this game so their world may burn!”

The frozen reality around the two began to peel away as if someone were chipping old paint off a wall. The space behind was nothing, not blackness, not emptiness, not the void, nothing. Amid the nothing, one thing became visible a slender faceless figure in a pale yellow tattered cloak which seemed to flow and meld with the writhing mass of tentacles which writhed on the ground beneath the fabric like a sea of squids.

Vinyl didn’t need to be told who it was.

A large oak dinner table rose up out of the nothing beneath the three, along with a set of chairs. The chairs faced a fourth chair which contained the hazy outline of a figure, as if something was sitting in the seat, but also not sitting in the seat, it’s true shape concealed not only by its apparent existence across many different places, but also a Dungeon Master’s screen.

An unseen force seized Hastur tightly enough to squish his robes and threw him into one of the three chairs. Vinyl flinched, awaiting the same treatment, only for the remaining two chairs to slide back as if someone had pulled them out in the usual polite manner.

“Have a seat,” Yog sighed. “Must we do this? Waste even more of my time?”

Vinyl trotted forwards, quietly sitting down at the table. Lyra on the other hoof trotted forwards and plopped down in the seat, immediately looking around the table.

“Could I see my character sheet while we’re here, please?” Lyra asked politely.

Three sheets of paper and a pencil grew out of the wooden tabletop in front of Lyra.

“Thanks,” she said imminently inspecting the pages, searching for anything related to the extent of their current transformation.

“Why are you letting her see that?” Hastur demanded angrily. “The game is over. I won. They forsook their avatars, the rules require you use one!”

“No they have not,” Yog said irritably, his unseeable form pointing off to the side. “Their true bodies lay within the void where you dumped them.”

Hastur clenched unseen teath, a fact made evident only by the sound of the jagged things scraping against each other.

“I know. But, rule number THREE is All players must use corporeal avatars, and may not assume their true forms for the length of the game. It’s not even a subrule. They broke the game’s rules. They have forfeit.” Hastur insisted, slamming a coiled tentacle down on the table violently.

VInyl gulped nervously. That does seem rather open and shut, but maybe… “But we didn’t do it, or ask for it to be done! It just happened to us,” Vinyl exclaimed.

“Accidentally breaking a rule is still breaking a rule!” Hastur spat.

Yog leaned forwards, seemingly growing larger as he did so. “If I felt they had broken the rules, you would not have had to summon me. In so doing, you used power not native to the world in which you are playing. You too, have forfeit. Under your interpretation of the rules. But you are not in charge of this game. I am. Your opinions regarding the rules do not matter. Only mine do, and insisting you get your way is NOT going to sway me to your side.”

Vinyl’s lips pursed in surprise. “Wait, then, we won?” She asked incredulously.

“No,” Yog answered.

“Then you agree that they broke the rules first, and therefore, I won,” Hastur said confidently. “Good. You can put us all back on Equestria now. It’s time for them to die.”

Yog’s formless shape seemed to boil for a moment. “NO ONE BROKE ANY RULES!” The Old One bellowed, a wave of pure hatred blasting out from the ancient being.

“But they are in their true forms!” Hastur shouted back.

“H-he used foreign magic…” Vinyl said quietly as she recoiled in her chair, slumping down into a small ball.

“I was asked to run this little annoyance like a tabletop roleplaying game. That is not a rule, it’s the premise the contract I am enforcing revolves around.” Yog said, his voice like iron. “Role Playing Games have one universal rule. A zero-th rule, as most mortals call it. Because of that rule, nothing anyone has done just now is wrong. Go back to your game and finish it.”

“I demand to know what rule could possibly allow them to blatantly violate my contract!” Hastur screeched, his tentacles thrashing with rage.

Yog stood up, his chair scraping back across the nothingness, throwing a trail of sparks into the air. “The Dungeon Master can ignore any rule he likes, and make up his own, because the object of the game is to have fun,” he answered. “Everything in a tabletop game is based on this singular concept. My job is to ensure this game is fair, because when it’s unfair, no one will have fun. Punishing players for the actions of an NPC they did not entice into performing is unfair.

“Therefore, as Dungeon Master, I say Lyra and Vinyl did not break rule three, and may continue playing despite their altered avatars. And as for what you did, players are allowed to speak to the Dungeon Master, even if he would rather you did not. Therefore, your summoning me doesn't violate rule five-b, as there is no other way to do so.

“No one broke any rule. You are wasting my time. Go and finish playing.”

“B͓̜̺̠͈U̟̝̹̣̺̕T̪̪̫͙ ͞TH̘̘͡E͖Y̪͔ ̬̣̀B͈R̤͘O͉̥̮̦͟ͅͅK̨̟̪̦͎̩E̮ ̙̣̞̹͇̦͝A̡̭̤ ̳̙͖̦̼̰̣́R̨̯̞̘̘̝̰U͎͓̤̮͍͇͢L͏̱̩̝̫͚̻̣E̫̻̣̼͚͞!̪” Hastur bellowed, radiating as much hatred as Yog had moments ago.

Yog took a single deep breath. “Rocks fall, you die.” The Old One said dryly.

“What?” Hastur asked before suddenly screeching in pain, his body shaking and contorting as if he were being crushed beneath tons of falling rock.

Lyra and Vinyl stared at the mangled pile of flesh, crushed beneath a pile of invisible stones.

Holy-bucking-Celestia! Did nopony ever tell him not to anger the DM?! Vinyl asked herself in shock. Or maybe they did, and he didn’t listen… He’s arrogant. Too arrogant! That’s his weakness. That’s how we’ll beat him!

“Time to roll up a new avatar, Hastur,” Yog said icly. “This time, do not forget that by making me the Dungeon Master of your little game you have made me all powerful in respect to you, this game world, and your opponents. I may do as I please.”

Hastur stood up, the wounds in is flesh melting away. “Fine! If I have to entertain you to win, then I’ll do something more… Interesting,” he growled as a blank character sheet grew from the table in front of him.

“Level twenty. No min-maxing. No special favors. I no longer owe you anything other than a fair match against your chosen victims. Which you agreed to play,” Yog said with adamantine resolve. “I will check once you are done, and if you disobey any of those stipulations, you will play as something of my own design.”

The Old One waved a hand and Hastur vanished from the nothingness.

“Thank you,” Lyra said politely, setting down her character sheet.

Vinyl nodded in agreement. “Yeah! Thanks. I thought we’d just killed the world…”

Yog sighed. “Light, you are not to invite him over to play gain. I forbid it,” the old one grumbled, his chair creaking as he leaned back in it. “Playing with your brother and mortal friends is still alright, but please keep out of my bedroom next time. I just don't have the patience for shenanigans I used to.”

Light? Who is he talking t-- OH! Me! That’s what Chem called me! Vinyl thought, sitting up straight in realization.

“I won’t! I’m sorry, It won't happen again,” Vinyl promised.

“Good,” the Old One said with a hint of happiness. “Now be a good girl and kill that guy, please.”

“Okay!” Vinyl agreed happily as she found herself instantly returned to Maru’s cozy living room.

“I beg your pardon?” The immense dragoness asked, looking over at Vinyl.

Wait, no time passed? Vinyl asked herself, looking around the room with a frown. I guess not.

Vinyl opened her mouth to explain what had just transpired. A distant rumbling boom, like metallic thunder reverberated through the very stone of the mountain.

Maru blinked in surprise. “Cannon fire?” The dragoness exclaimed. “Ohhh, there had better not be an airship full of bandits attacking my little town!”

Maru stood up, her head brushing the roof as she turned around and activated the scrying mirror on her wall with a wave of her claw. The mirror rippled, shimmered, and then showed a view of Roseanger Gorge far far below. Or more precisely, of the Dark Fortress, surrounded by an entire army and being bombarded by cannon fire from a small squadron of airships.

Vinyl jumped to her hooves. “Our friends are in there! We have to help them!”

The ancient red cloud dragon nodded once. “Indeed we do. Everyone outside. I need to lecture some little soldiers about damaging my mountainside,” Maru said icily.

Lyra gave Veena a confused look.

“Mom, likes this mountain. It’s comphy,” the smaller dragon explained with a shrug.

“Enough talk, I’ll teleport us down once we’re outside. This house is warded, don’tcha know,” Maru said as she began to fast-walk towards her front door.

I wonder how Hatty will fare against a big-huge angry dragon mom? Vinyl wondered as she jumped up to follow her friends as everyone headed out, ready to join the battle.

13 - A Change in Tactics

Lyra Heartstrings - Day 5

Roseanger Gorge - Mount Mercy, Wieav

Just like old times. A powerful phrase invoking a powerful force. Nostalgia often miscolors the past, giving people a brighter and happier image of what they truly lived through. Children remember how amazingly awesome their toy spaceship was, but forget their parents screaming at one another behind them while they were playing.

Just like old times! Lyra said to herself, grinning ear to ear as she galloped out from the dark cave towards the sounds of battle.

Nostalgia’s coloring wasn’t off today.

The ponies and dragons stopped at the edge of the cliffside the cave’s mouth rested on, looking far below to where the sounds of cannonfire rumbled like an especially angry avalanche. Lyra squinted, trying to force her eyes to take in the distant details of the mere specs below her.

Ugh… If only I were a pegasus, She grumbled, ears laying flat as she failed to make out anything below her. Or got turned by Vinyl instead of Bon… Wait, is my vampire vision work-- Yeah. Yeah it is. You checked your sheet expressly to find out if you had your powers too, Lyra. Stop being stupid.

“Looks like we need to get down there now. There's no way for them to fly out from under the ledge we parked under, and that army’s horseshoe formation’s got plenty of cannons,” Vinyl said casually.

Lyra gave Vinyl an irritated glare. “Show off!”

Vinyl rolled her eyes. “Hey, it’s not my fault the curse dilutes with each ‘generation’... Besides, I don’t have my glasses. I’m going to have the worst migraine in a little bit. So we’re even,” Vinyl said as she squinted to try and avoid looking at too many clouds at once.

“Do you need glasses?” Maru asked with worry. “I’ve got a few pairs of glasses Derpy used to use. Maybe her prescription is close?”

“They won’t help, but thanks for the offer,” Vinyl replied.

“She’s got an eye-thing where high contrast causes migraines and hallucinations. Unless she’s got colored lenses,” Lyra said explaining the condition of asfedia extremely poorly.

Veena hummed and looked across the scattered clouds hovering below them. “In that case, let’s get you below the clouds. Brown and green don’t contrast much,” the dragoness decided.

“That will help a bit,” Vinyl agreed, leaving out how her vampiric vision made just about everything high contrast for the sake of not worrying the dragon with something that couldn’t be helped.

“You three go ahead, it takes me a little bit to return to my proper size. I’ll join you shortly,” Maru said, sitting down and closing her eyes to focus on her sourcery.

Veena nodded, and stepped behind Vinyl. “Is it okay if I pick you up? There’s only room for one on my back.”

Vinyl nodded and Veena turned her head to face Lyra. “Okay, you get on my back then… And how durable are you guys? They’ll probably take a shot at us.”

Lyra giggled. “More than you’d think. Just keep your talons between Vi and the enemy and she’ll be fine.”

Vena frowned. “Uh, so… My sister was made extra durable by mom, but are you telling me that ponies can survive a headshot?”

“Nope. But vampire’s can,” Vinyl answered, offering the dragoness a wink and a fang filled grin.

Vena nodded, seemingly a bit relieved. “Good! Okay i need to fly keeping you covered chest and barrel, and keeping the enemy from getting a shot at you on my back… Where do we need to go? This could take a while.”

Lyra raised her left hoof. “I’m also a vampire, but way less powerful than Vi is.”

Veena’s lips pursed slightly as she looked between the two ponies for a few seconds. “Wait… Then… Vampiric creatures are uglier than their base species. How much more cute are you guys normally?” She asked before frowning. “Also, sun. You should go back in the cave!”

Vinyl rolled her eyes. “Different worlds, different rules. Clearly. The sun’s not a problem for us. I just can’t transform or use my full strength or speed while in the sun.”

Maru opened her eyes, completely distracted by the brief exchange. “Derpy can travel to other universes by getting lost, you’re both good aligned daywalking vampires, and your rulers are mortals who ascend to demigodhood. Are ANY ponies normal?”

Vinyl and Lyra shared a thoughtful look for a moment.

“I mean, sure?” Lyra said with a shrug. “Not in Ponyville, but yeah. There’s normal ponies out there.”

“There’s probably one in Ponyville,” Vinyl disagreed. “At least until the next big monster attack. Then they’ll probably save us all when nopony else can.”

Lyra nodded. “Oh yeah, good point!”

Veena suddenly coiled her tail around Lyra’s waist and tossed her onto the saddle built into her jetpack’s frame.

“We’re wasting time, keep your hooves clear of the jets. I’m fireproof, you’re not,” the dragoness said as she lifted Vinyl off the ground with her foreclaws as she bunched her hind legs up and opened her wings in preparation for flight. “Where are we going? You mentioned something about a ledge?”

“We sorta wound up having to steal the Dark Fortress, it’s parked under a ledge at the bottom of the mountain,” Vinyl explained.

Veena squinted slightly, the glowing shapes in her eyes shifting several times. “That one?” She asked, aiming Vinyl at a particular ledge far below.

“Yeah,” the white pony replied.

“Cool, we’ll be down in a few seconds,” Veena said, raising her wings to take off.

Lyra looked around the saddle she had been set upon. The saddle itself was very shallow, and little more than a slight depression in the pack’s back. It reminded her of the magnetic seats high speed air bikes used. Fortunately there was something of a ledge to rest her rear hooves on, and any pony’s hoof can grip a flat surface via their species innate magic.

“Uh, just take things a bit slow. I’m not sure how well I can stay on this thing,” Lyra asked politely, a little worried despite her decent grip on the smooth white metal.

Veena frowned. “Mmm, that’s right. That seat’s meant for use in space,” she mused, quickly formulating a new flight plan which didn’t involve a vertical dive.

“Wait, what?” Vi and Ly asked in unison.

Veena didn’t reply. Instead she jumped from the cliff, wings catching the air as she tilted downwards, entering a shallow dive. Lyra eeped, clinging tightly to the saddle as wind rushed past her head faster and faster with each passing second.

Don’t fall! Please don’t fall! Lyra pleaded with reality, her eyes starting to water as her mind decided to imagine what it would be like to bounce off the mountainside five kilometers below.

Veena pitched left, making a hairpin turn in order to zig zag down the mountainside. The sharp turn pulled Lyra away from the saddle, her grip only barely keeping her in place. Lyra yelped in fear, her cry lost to the winds.

Veena apologised telepathically as she sensed Lyra’s distress.

We can talk telepathically, Lyra remembered, sighing in relief. I can tell her to slow the buck down!

Lyra informed.

Veena said, her mental voice sounding distant as she focused on further alterations to her flightplan, a tricky thing to do when one had no experience with riders in a gravity well.

Veena leveled out slightly, not that it changed much for Lyra. Her rear hooves skidded slightly as Veena entered her second turn. Gritting her teeth, Lyra managed to get a tight grip just before her hooves popped out of the narrow groove, mere millimeters of hoof, gripping on for dear life.

Lyra yelped.

the dragoness replied, more than a little confused.

Lyra shouted decisively.

Veena smiled, banked to her left, and pitched down a few degrees, sliding down the mountainside in a more direct route. Veena said politely.

Lyra shot back.

Veena frowned, embarrassment making her cheeks flush red. she said.

Lyra thought for a few moments. The wind pushing against her head and shoulders remained the same, but without the sudden g-spikes staying in the saddle was much easier.

Lyra began to reply, stopping cold as a gut punching explosion went off below her.

“NO!” Lyra exclaimed fearfully, her eyes tracking the cloud of stone shards. We’re too late! The airships blew it up!

Then a deep voice said something. The words were lost to the wind around her head, but Lyra knew they had to be intimidating as the assembled army broke formation, abandoning their equipment to run.

Lyra said in relief.

Veena noted.

Veena’s answer came in the form of a brilliant white beam of light which blasted out from beneath the ridge and obliterated the distant airships, whiting out her vision in the process.

“GAAA!” The dragoness yelped, her helmet tinting darker a fraction of a second too late.

Acting on instinct, Veena opened her claws to rub her eyes. Vinyl dropped like an anvil.

The white mare twisted mid air, in equine grace on full display as she lashed out with her rear left leg, her hoof finding a tenuous grip on Veena’s belly. That grip lasted but a second before the next flap of Veena’s wings jolted her free, and Vinyl was free falling yet again, too shocked to scream.

Despite being dazzled by the light herself, Lyra saw Vinyl’s fall out of the corner of her eye. The minty mare let go of her saddle, immediately sliding along Veena’s back, then tail, twisting as she went. Lyra stretched out her right hoof, desperately reaching for her friend, her hofo missing by a hair's breadth.

Lyra’s eyes widened with horror as Vinyl shot past all hope of her reach. Vi looked back into Lyra’s eyes, her red eyes holding a mixture of fear and forgiveness.

“FUCK!” Veena screamed as she suddenly realized what she’d just done.

Veena spread her wings to slow down in preparation for turning to go back for her dropped passenger. Her wings caught the air, billowing as she slowed to a near stop. Not that it would matter, Vinyl would hit the ground before the dragoness vision was clear enough to grab a pony out of the air.

I’ve got one chance! Lyra realized as Vinyl began to approach them again.

Lyra stood up, her hooves barely able to find purchase on Veena’s plot, and sprinted down the length of Vee’s tail. Years of working together at last paid off in this strange world as Vinyl spread herself flat, catching as much air as possible to slow her fall even more.

The moment Lyra began to run out of tail, she dropped flat, clenching her hind legs around the last meter of dragon tail like a rope, and reached out as far as she could with both hooves.

Vinyl reached out as well. Their hooves grew ever closer, but each sway of Veena’s tail threatened to wrench them apart.

Then…

I have magic again, Lyra raised, her horn glowing gold as she simply snatched Vinyl out of the air with her arcane grip and pulled her into her forelegs.

“Gotcha!” Lyra said with a grin.

“Did you forget you had magic?!” Vinyl laughed nervously, her eyes still closed with a hint of fear.

“I was playing a non-caster,” Lyra apologised, her ears drooping with embarrassment.

The dragoness commanded before swiftly curling her tail inwards to grab each mare with a single claw. “Sorry! My total bad!” She yelled above the winds.

“It’s okay! You got flash banged,” Vinyl yelled back. “Anypony would have-- Wait, what?!”

The Dark Fortress stepped out from beneath the ledge, resting atop the back of a colossal red robot which seemed to be half built, and designed from a young colt’s math book doodles. While it was now clear what had made the fleeing army rout, a new question arose.

“How the buck did Sky pull that off?!” Lyra demanded of reality. “He doesn't have his replicator factory here! I CALL HACKS!”

“Shut up! He’s our teammate!” Vinyl said with an urgent widening of her eyes.

“That-- That’s the worst mecha ever! How is it not falling over?” Veena asked, nearly dropping out of the air as the electronic portions of her mind suddenly became solely occupied with physics calculations.

The impossible robot began to float upwards, very slowly. No thrusters fired. No mystical energy field glowed beneath it’s hilariously oversized feet. It simply drifted upwards like a balloon a filly let go of.

Chem’s amplified voice pierced the distance between them, coming in faintly, but clear enough to be understood. “Uh… There’s supposed to be rockets…” He said with embarrassment dripping from every syllable.

The lazy obviously fake movement caught the eye of a few soldiers, those who had chosen to fight to the death rather than flee. Those who manned the ground based cannons opened fire once more, prompting their fleeing comrades to either run faster, or turn around...

Vinyl put a hoof over her mouth, holding back a laugh despite the dire situation.

“Oh, Chem did it. That makes much more sense,” Lyra said with a little nod.

“Well this is magical...” The Wizard sighed defeatedly. “Stupid illusion school physics bugs. Did Bethesda program this universe, or something?”

Veena looked at the Dark Fortress closely, her brows arching as she formulated a plan. “It really is built on Draconic technology,” she said to herself.

“WAIT! I can fix this,” Chem exclaimed, the melancholy evaporating from his amplified voice in an instant. “I have to go now. My planet needs me!”

The illusory robot continued to drift upwards, just as the army continued to rally. Half of the spider-golems had turned around, forming a scattered wall of artillery positions around which infantry gathered into loose formations. The loose knots of troops were nothing in comparison to the grand show of force they had abandoned previously, but that mattered little when their cannons were still in range.

The golden spiders angled upwards, spitting steel at the fortress. It’s ancient walls groaning and crumbling behind the illusion making it.

“If we can get to it, I can probably get the engines running,” Veena said decisively. “I’m going to dive for the roof, get ready to jump! I’ll need all four talons to land.”

“WOAH! Hold the phone, you’re going to THROW us?” Lyra asked her heart skipping a beat.

“No, I’m going to literally drop you off on the roof. Don’t worry, I’ll make a hole!” The Dragoness replied as she entered a steep dive.

“The engines are shot!” Vinyl shouted over the roar of air whipping past them. “Sky spent a week trying to fix them!”

“Is it using the ‘Engines’ now?” Veena shouted back.

“Um, yeah!” Vinyl replied with an eyeroll.

“Those are maneuvering thrusters, not engines,” Veena laughed.

The three plunged dowards like a rock sinking through water. The Fortress seemed to grow larger and larger as it approached with each passing moment. As the keep’s upper floor grew closer, Lyra could see through it’s glass walls.

Chem was seated in the central throne, the air around him full of glowing arcane symbols as he feverishly scrambled to cast a spell. Sky stood in front of a console, rapidly punching in commands, only for large red symbols to flash in response.

Then, moments before Veena could touch down, they saw it. A flash of black moving up towards the keep. Lyra turned her head, making out the shape of a black dragon somewhat larger than Veena flying towards them at a remarkable speed, an armored rider strapped to a much safer saddle on its back.

Lyra warned.

Veena turned her head slightly, just enough to see the approaching threat without looking away from the keep’s roof.

Lyra took a deep breath and did herbest to clear the fear-fog from her mind. I’m a pony again. I have my magic again. I can shoot that dragon if I have too.

Veena pitched down even further, practically falling to the rooftop below before flaring her wings and slowing to a stop, letting go of VInyl and Lyra as her rear claws smashed into the stonework, dropping them a meter or so before letting her foreclaws touch down as well.

Lyra hit the ground and jumped to the side, turning to get line of sight on the black dragon, wondering if Veena had a plan or if she would need to improvise.

Vinyl did much the same, but rather than ready a blast from her horn, the white mare simply picked up a bit of stone Veena’s landing had broken off, and got ready to throw. The sunlight may have sapped her strength, but even at the level of a ‘below average’ earth pony a humble rock is lethal indeed.

But Veena did have a plan. She reared up and flexed her left foreleg deploying the screen of her wrist computer with the gesture before holding her claw out in a gesture which screamed ‘stop in the name of the law’, especially as a holographic badge flicked into existence between her talons.

“Stand down, civilian!” Veena bellowed. “This is a Ranger operation.”

Lyra clenched her teeth. That is SO not going to wor--

The black dragon’s wings flared as he slowed down, his tail lashing in a mixture of surprise, relief, and anger.

“I’m not a civilian, I’m a Rider!” The dragon replied indignantly. “This-- This MONSTER nearly killed a goddess! You’ll need help. I’m older and more experienced than--”

Veena lowered her left foreleg, her badge projection vanishing as she did so, and raised her right, tilting her talon down to clear the back of her foreleg.

“You’ve got a Guest on your back. This operation is classified. Clear this airspace, civilian! Final warning,” Veena said, narrowing her eyes.

Lyra couldn’t help but ask, her inner conspiracy theorist's ears perking up at the odd name given to a rider.

Veena shushed.

The black dragon bared his fangs, obvious anger shining in his eyes. “He’s trustworthy. He can keep quiet about--”

Veena’s wrist dipped slightly further and a bright blue ray shot from her right gauntlet, striking the other dragon in his chest where it blossomed into a crackling web of lightning, seemingly holding the black dragon in place.

“Stun setting. Nice.” Vinyl said with a nod before frowning. “Uh, shouldn't he fall?”

“Temporal Deceleration Ray,” Veena corrected as she turned her weapon towards the rooftop. “Human invention. Traps the target in a bubble of frozen spacetime for about an hour. Nothing in there can experience time, so he’ll just stay pinned there till it wears off.”

Veena twitched a finger, and Lyra noticed a small light on her right gauntlet change from blue to red, then green.

“Um… You know cutting into the room probably isn’t the best idea,” Lyra cautioned, her ears laying back. “Sky will probably shoot us.”

“Yeah,” Vinyl agreed. “But we can’t tell how much damage those cannons have done. We don’t have time to go in the front door and run up. Besides, the door should be locked.”

“Point,” Lyra admitted.

“They heard us land,” Veena added. “They’ll come out to shoot. They don’t know we’re friendly.”

Before Lyra could protest further, Veena fired. Her weapon unleashed simple green pulse of light almost identical to a camera flash, and a square section of the roof collapsed in a wave of sand-like particles amid a small puff of rancid smoke.

“Ceiling breach,” a female voice warned.

Who is-- Oh yeah! Sky’s gun. Lyra thought to herself before a volley of purple energy bolts blasted through the impromptu skylight, forcing Veena to pull her head back from the hole, only narrowly avoiding getting shot.

“SUPPRESSING FIIIIIIRE!” Sky yelled over Sheila’s rapid fire cracks.

Lyra dropped flat to the roof and crawled to the edge of the hole, stopping well before she would have been visible through it.

“It’s us, you idiot! I finally got my dragon,” Lyra shouted as loudly as she could.

“Also, the really big dragon forced us back into our pony bodies,” Vinyl added. “Apparently that didn’t break the rules, cuz we didn’t ask her too.”

Sky was silent for a moment debating what he could do to trust that he was really speaking to his friends.

“Scale of one to ten, how energetic is my wife?” Sky asked at last.

“You can’t measure Pinkie Pie,” Lyra snorted dismissively.

“Yep, it’s them,” Sky said with a relieved sigh.

“We don’t need a roof based evac quite yet,” Chem called loudly. “But thank you! There’s still a slight chance we can get above their cannon’s range and save the fort before--”

The mountain trembled as Maru the Colossus returned to her full size, her meditations finally complete. In but two steps, the immense dragoness reached the fortress, and leaned over it, speaking in a whisper to avoid deafening the tiny people atop it’s roof.

“Sorry that took so long, sweetie. Get your friends inside, I’m going to move this fort someplace safe,” Maru informed in a whisper carefully calculated to not reach the army below.

Maru simply grabbed the fortress with her left foreclaw, and turned her neck to look into the command room window.

Lyra dropped through the hole, followed by Vinyl and Veena a moment later. The minty mare entered just in time to see Maru’s eye quite literally fill the view out the entire wall-window as the dragoness moved her head into position.

“Hello,” Maru greeted, looking Chem in the eye.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Chem and Sky replied, recoiling in their seat and dropping their weapon respectively.

“Ow…” Sheila said as she slid under the weapons console.

“YEAH!” Vinyl exploded, vindicated glee spreading across her space as she pointed to Maru out the window. “See?! She’s scary up close. You two can say you’re sorry any time now!”

Lyra rolled her eyes. “Oh come on guys, she’s got a Whinneysotan accent. She’s harmless.”

Maru chuckled, a rumbling sound which shook the fortress only slightly less than a small earthquake would have.

“I’m not going to hurt you, boys. Far from it. My itty bitty teeny little girl is in there, don’tcha know. Now, where are you headed? I’ll give you a little push.” Maru offered politely.

Sky gulped, took a deep breath, and then cleared his throat. “T-the Tomb of Arrex. That’s where the list says we can get a subspace… Thingie,” Sky replied.

Maru nodded twice. “That’s a little bit up north I think. Do you have directions? Compass coordinates would do.”

“Yeah… Just uh, hold on.” Sky said as he nodded and quickly pulled NaN’s instructions from his pockets. Turning the pages nervously until he found the page he and Chem ahd plotted out their flightpath on.

“So uh, are you just going to carry this keep over there, mom?” Veena asked curiously. “Because I’m pretty sure I can get the engines turned on. This place is an antique, but not like, a ruin.”

“It’s uh, we need to head north by seventeen degrees,” Sky answered, his fear quickly fading thanks to the dragoness’s polite voice. “For about a four hundred kilometers.”

Maru’s eye rotated, pointing at Veena. “I’d like too help in that way, dear, but I need to defend my mountain. So I need to make this look good,” her eye rotated back to Sky. “Four hundred what?”

“Kilometers,” Sky answered.

“I don’t know what those units are,” Maru apologised, her voice still in her carefully calibrated whisper. “But I’m certain I’ll get you a good ways closer.”

Lyra blinked, realizing in one terrifying moment exactly what Maru intended. “Please don’t th--”

Too little, too late. Maru reared up, still holding the fortress with one claw. Then, to the horror of everyone on the command deck, the Dragoness hefted the fortress up against the base of her neck, turned in a quick circle, and launched the fortress northwards with a world class shot put throw.

The army below heard what both they and Lyra believed were the Dark Lord’s last words as the fortress vanished into the distance with the speed of an arrow as Sky screeched, “YOU’RE A DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCK!!”

Day 8

Royal Palace - Jira, Wieav

Captain Jago stood at the center of an elliptical room deep within the Royal Palace. The Kobold couldn’t help but feel extra small as a thousand sets of eyes burned into him, each of them holding a measure of contempt, but most going beyond mere contempt and entering the realm of hatred.

It would not have been so bad if those eyes had not belonged to the members of Parliament, as well as their majesties, the Queens.

Wieav’s two Queens sat upon their thorns, one silver, one gold. The golden throne belonged to Queen Niiquaria, and was a traditional Arakan armchair such as could be found in most any home, only fashioned from gold and padded with a purple velvet cushion. The Silver throne was more of a large dais for Queen Honeth to lay upon, and was padded with an innumerable amount of stuffed animals sent to her by admirers.

Queen Niiquaria of Huntsmen: a small but exceptionally gracefull, mostly ivory, Arakan woman who had taken the throne for herself a century ago. Not by might, not by bargain, but by cunning and the support of the then starving peasant hoards. To anger her was to anger the commoners, and to anger them was to be found in eight different rubbish bins across three cities a week later, and know your murderers would be given a royal pardon.

Queen Honeth the Gold: a sleek, bookish, extra shiny gold scaled dragoness who looked like the sort of woman who would shyly scrunch into a corner of a coffeeshop when someone passed too close by her and hide her face in her book. Honeth had quite literally asked if she could be Queen too as a joke, and been given a half the Queen’s power by Niiquaria herself, as well as Parliament. Why? Araka find dragons to be adorable beyond measure, and due to fact that Honeth was cute as a button, even by the standards of jaded and hate filled individuals who can no longer see anything good in the world. No Araka could resist her polite requests. They would rather set a puppy on fire.

As far as the Dragons were concerned, Wieav was Honeth’s hoard. A sentiment she shared. One should never damage a dragon’s hoard. Especially not when that hoard gave the dragon even more nice gifts.

Queen Niiquaria leaned forwards, her white body glistening nearly as much as her throne beneath the parliamentary chamber’s crystal lamps.

“Captain Jago,” the Queen said, her voice firm and commanding as she issued a proclamation. “In the opinion of this emergency court, as well as Our Majesties, you have failed our nation in a time of great need. Command over Our forces is hereby stripped from you.”

Queen Honeth nodded in agreement. “However, we cannot find you guilty of incompetence,” the dragoness began, her adorably squeaky voice bringing a quick grin to every Akara in the room. “Your training is as a Rider, and while you were loaned to our military service to serve as a Captain, that function was based strictly on your historic record at managing the logistics and finances of a fortress.

“It was never Our intention to send you into proper battle, merely to have you fill an empty slot within our Officer Ranks, until a suitable candidate had been found to replace you.”

Jago nodded once. “Yes, Your Majesties. I have not forgotten the purpose of my service.”

“We believe differently,” Queen Niiquaria said firmly, her loose black hair shaking as she trembled with barely contained rage. “Your Rank as a Captain allowed you to call upon Us for reinforcements. Your duties as Fort Captain required you to respond to the Dark Lord’s return. You were not required, nor was it desired, that you leave your post and march inland in pursuit.

“At present, Fort Helm is unmanned. COMPLETELY unmanned. Fort Helm was to serve as a rallying point for our navy in the event of his return. It took a coalition of all major nations to stop him last time, Captain. You were supposed to dig in, fortify, and ensure we had one functional port at which our allies could rendezvous and plan a proper military countermeasure. Do you know what happened while you were marching inland, Captain?”

Jago closed his eyes in shame, and shook his head. “No, Ma’am. I do not. But I had specifically requested Captain Harrol to defend the Fort in my stead, as his craft can not go ashore, even if treaties allowed him to do so.”

The Queens shared a brief look, then Queen Honeth took over, preventing her best friend from exploding in public.

“The Sea Dragon is not legally authorised to protect our ports, Captain,” the Dragon informed. “The Numericans are allowed only to patrol our waters and take action against pirates. While a noble could have authorised them to protect the fort, you do not have that privilege.

“But there’s a deeper problem. Had the Sea Dragon been able to hold Port Helm, all would be forgiven. However, shortly before you engaged the Dark Lord at Safeton, a pirate fleet lead by the Dread Pirate Skalagrim decided to take Fort Helm. The Sea Dragon was in poor condition, and with NaN currently… Caged by her Divine Grace, they were unable to repel the pirates and were forced to retreat.

“We have lost our only military port which isn’t attached to the mainland. Any port we choose as our base of operations now will not only be assailable from land, but will have a railroad leading to it, or to a nearby settlement. Your actions have greatly diminished our ability to strike back.”

Jago’s tail drooped till it lay upon the floor. “I am sorry… I will not protest your decision. I have failed. I will return to the Stronghold, and await your orders.”

The disgraced Kobold stood still, waiting for the Queens to dismiss him. Instead, Queen Niiquaria looked Jago directly in the eyes, her normally pale red upper body darkened by genuine anger.

“Do you know how our military works, Captain?” the Queen asked. “How we distribute defense duties to our generals?”

Jago shook his head. “No, Ma’am.”

“Each of our cities are supposed to train and offer two generals to the Crown. One general is assigned to that city in order to defend it, the other is brought here to serve Us as a sword,” the Queen explained icily. “At the moment, a combination of due to age, corruption scandals, training failures, and other problems within the ranks, the crown has but ONE sword.”

Queen Honeth gave Queen Niiquaria a worried look. “Nii… Please,--”

“We can not reassign a shield to be another sword, he would take notice and a city would burn. We have but two choices, march out ourselves to meet the Dark Lord in combat, or dispatch General Linan,” Queen Niiquaria growled.

Jago flinched. “She… She wasn’t discharged?” He asked tentatively.

“NO! She wasn't. Because she didn’t actually violate any orders, break any laws, or otherwise perform an action which permits her dismissal… Besides, she’s good at her job,” Queen Niiquaria lamented. “Parliament has voted, and has decided it is too risky to the nation for me to take the field personally.”

“Oh…” Jago said in the unmistakable tone of a man who knew he had fucked up in a fantastic fashion.

“You are dismissed, Captain,” Queen Honeth sighed.

Day 8

The FUNGEON! - D’klon, Wieav

General Linan of Huntsman sat in the near pitch darkness of her personal quarters. The light of but one dim candle shone within the room, illuminating half a dozen X-frame torture racks just enough for the crimson clad Arakan woman to see the people strapped into each of them as she sat upon her mattress, humming happily as she sharpened the last scalpel in her bloodletting kit.

Her victims were blinded by various contraptions, but not a one was gagged. Each restrained in ways which gave the general different avenues of approach, different challenges to solve. Each of her victims would be screaming in the end, and each would provide her with a unique satisfaction. And together, with a most delightful harmony.

“Almost done sweeties,” she sang happily as she tested the extra fine blade on her thumbnail. “Ray’lil? I believe you were first, yes? Let’s start with your breasts. See where we can go from there…”

The door exploded open, smashing into the stone wall as it swung open almost as violently as the hallway’s light smashed into the General’s eyes. A soldier stood in the doorway, filling it entirely with his plate-armor clad body. The burnished steel shining almost as much as his teeth as he smiled.

“Ma’am! The Queen’s say we get to go kill things!” The soldier said excitedly, bobbing a little too energetic.

The General’s eyes light up like those of a child given a piece of candy bigger than their head. “We get to kill things?” She asked eagerly.

The soldier nodded. “We’re to engage the Dark Lord at the Tomb of Arrex,” he reported.

The General squeed, dropping the bloodletting kit in her excitement as she jumped up to grab her other blades. Her victims on the other hand all whimpered in disappointment.

The Genera’s heart went out to her poor harem. Turning her head to her trooper she nodded towards her various boy and girlfriends. “Could you move them to my airship, please?” She asked before picking up her bandoleer of various cutty things then turning to face them. “It’s okay, we’ll finish on the way over! If we fly a bit slow the’re still be plenty of time for aftercare and cuddles.”

The soldier frowned. “But won't that give the Dark Lord time to raze Arrex?” He asked.

The General shrugged dismissively. “Probably. But it’s not like that village is going to survive anyways. If we don’t go he’ll kill them all to make an undead army, blah blah blah… If we do go, we’ll arrive and he’ll use its citizens to raise an undead army to defend himself with. Same result either way. We fight a bunch of already dead things that will be all boring because they dont scream, and I’ll get all grump.”

“It’s okay, we’ll be there when you’re done,” one of the Generals harem-mates offered soothingly, and with genuine love in his voice.

She trotted over and kissed her bound lover on the cheek. “Thanks, sweetie. You’re the best. I'll see you all in a few minutes!”

The General ran out of her quarters to tell her troops the news. Within mere minutes the entire fortress of sadists was in good spirits, and sending love letters to the Queens thanking them for letting them go kill things.

Meanwhile, in their private room at the Palace in Jira, Queen Niiquaria held her head in her hands and groaned as her bedroom floor quickly became covered with envelopes addressed to her via what she sincerely hoped was red ink.

“Why did we decide to put all the sadists into the same Legion?” She moaned.

Her fellow Queen gently patted her on the back with a claw. “It seemed like a good idea at the time… Besides, you did say that she could have anything for her birthday. It’s not your fault she asked for a town for herself and people like her. And what can we do after all this time? They’d be all sad if we broke them up now and they only hurt each other… Consensually, might I add,” Honeth said with a sigh.

“It was the worst idea I’ve ever had,” Niiquaria groaned, rubbing her temples. “And you’re right. If we break them up now they will probably revolt. You don’t just give someone an army of people who share their interests and a whole village of people who also share their interests to rule over, then take that from them!”

“You still got all of them out of the public’s eye without killing them all. The nobility is still grateful for that all these years later,” Honeth reminded.

“Her victory dinner is still going to be an absolute disaster. That’s the best case scenario. Worst case, she dies,” Niiquaria lamented, pushing her bangs out of her eyes.

“It will be fine, Nii,” Honeth sighed. “Linan is a very skilled warrior. If she gets to the Dark Lord before he raises an army she’s certain to win.”

“No it won't be fine! Do you not remember how she brought her lovers with her to her last victory dinner? WITHOUT taking them off those damn racks?!” The Queen demanded. “Best case scenario she brands the medal we give her into one of her lover’s skin while on stage to accept the award! She’s a psychopath!”

Honeth sighed. “We can’t choose our sisters.”

“Well, we SHOULD be able too!” Niiquaria shot back before standing up and stepping over to her door to lean out into the hallway, kicking the now ankle deep pile of letters out of her way with each step. “Servent! Please come help us get rid of all these letters!”

Sky Trigger - Day 8

Northern Plains - Wieav

Sky looked up from the dining hall table where he and Veena had sat down to lunch. Something weighed heavily on his mind. Something he needed to make absolutely certain the white dragoness knew.

Setting aside his sandwich, Sky cleared his throat. Ready to impart his wisdom.

“You’re mom’s a dick,” Sky said adamantly before returning his attention to his bologna sandwich.

Veena sighed. “Three hundred and ninety seven…” She muttered under her breath, updating her count before looking up from her plate of assorted fruit snacks to give the engineer a dry look. “It’s been two days, Sky. We survived. No one got hurt. Get over it.”

Sky nodded sagely. “You’re mom’s a dick,” he said, taking a bite out of his sandwich. “Three hundred and ninety eight.”

Veena updated her count. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Sky said after finishing chewing. “Oh, and-”

“Yeah, I know. My mom’s a dick,” Veena sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Actually, I wanted to know if you’d help me get the weapons online again before we arrive at the Tomb tomorrow,” Sky corrected with a friendly smile.

Veena nodded and offered Sky a friendly smile. “Sure. Glad too.”

“Oh,” Sky added with a serious look. “And your mom is a dick.”

“I KNOW, OKAY?!” Veena erupted angrily.

14 - Roll for Initiative

Day 10

Arrex Village - Wieav

The most remote village in all of Wieav is tucked neatly between the Great Tomb of Arrex and Bonedust Cavern. The two fabled ruins sit at opposite ends of a long dead river which once connected two nearby mountains.

One mountain stood proud until a great battle compressed the entire mountain into a single diamond the size of a small castle, then buried it deep beneath the earth in a catacomb-like cavern, still roamed unto this day by the damned souls crushed to death as the mountain was transfigured.

The other still stood, towering above the land like a giant tombstone. An unwanted reminder of that which rested below the surprisingly fertile soil surrounding both mountains. The rich black earth drew people back to the long forgotten battlefield. The ancient tomb, seemingly empty yet consecrated by the Gods, compelled them to stay.

Most people who lived in Arrex had never heard of their village’s namesake. They stayed for the temple. For the one day which might come when her Divine Grace, Null might have need of attendants in her temple. For what else could such a grand structure with her seal carved into the marble of its very threshold be?

A tomb. The tomb. But one can not blame the Elbez for mistaking a seal meant to contain, with an invitation to come in.

Arrex sprawled across the fields at the mountain's base. Wide, open, sparse. It might take five or even ten minutes to run from one home to the other, with only the town square, mayor’s manor, the temple, and businesses located close to one another in any fashion sane people would define as a city.

The scattered manner in which Arrex’s log cabins and earthen pathways felt more akin to the areas around cities, past the farms and homes surrounding the city’s core. The places where more, unusual for an Elbezan community. The deer-people made up nearly all of Arrex’s population, and despite the Elbez making up a large percentage of Wieav’s citizens, most of the ones who lived in Arrex were not native to Wieav.

These Elbez had come from the north, across the border a mere hundred kilometers away, fleeing the savage barbarism of the Karhami tribes to the north. They were once missionaries, sent forth from the Golden City of Bhast to tame the savages and bring them into Null’s loving embrace. Some of their converts fled with them and lead long happy lives helping to tend Arrex’s fields.

The rest of the blood traitors who listened to the Elbez served their kin well as backpacks, tent flaps, rawhide chews, and other such goods.

The hundred or so Krahami living in Arrex were the only reason the village was on the map. Scholars heard of them, and had flocked to the village for a brief time, seeking the knowledge a pack of that fallen race could provide. Many of the transformation spells taught within the world’s great universities came from Arrex.

The red-panda-like Karahami only had so many secrets to tell. Their once noble civilization fell long long ago, with only a few half-remembered stories preserved through oral tradition left to shed light upon their ancestors lives. Once the tales had been written down, the village was forgotten.

Not out of malice, but out of fear. A handful of Elbez and Krahami zealots did not know what the Tomb was. Scholars did, and wanted to be nowhere near the jagged mountain once the good reasons to be there ran out.

They had warned the village elders of the danger, but such remarks had been interpreted as heresy. Her Divine Grace had not told them to leave, and so they would stay. What exactly the scholars had warned the elders of wasn’t a thing most of the villagers wished to know.

Irien Dwin’rriten wished to know. Immensely.

She was an odd one. At least by Arrex’s standards. She looked ordinary enough. Short, slender, as tanned as any Elbez could become. Pale ivory skin on her upper body, all four legs covered in soft tan fur which matched the short cut hair which fell across her eyes. She even dressed like most of the villagers, a simple red tunic, no decoration, no utility, a simple expression of modesty. (Why the Elbez men and women see covering their humanoid upper bodies as mandatory, but have no problems at all with trimming their tails and the fur of their plots to display their goods for all to see is one of the world’s great mysteries.)

Irien’s actions are what made her different from her fellow villagers. She was the outsider, the troublemaker. The neerdowell whom other parents warned their children to avoid at all costs. A shame unto her parents, who dared defy the Elders at every last opportunity. The only person to be shunned by nearly everyone in town for their heinous crimes.

When Irien was but a young fawn, a mere seven years old, she’d decided to become an adventurer. She would train, and then set forth into the world to slay monsters, seek her fortune, and rescue damsels in distress. Even these two decades later Irien had no idea what exactly damsels were, other than things in distress which heroes were to save. Her parents did know the meaning of that single word, and Irien’s use of it along with her parents assumptions were the sole basis for their disapproval.

As for the rest of Arrex’s hatred, it all came down to one simple thing. No one in Arrex was allowed to do anything without Her Divine Grace’s blessing. When Irien had prayed at the chapel for permission to embark on her quest as a hero, the Goddess had answered.

She said, “I don’t think so. There’s a certain look a hero needs to have, in the case of a woman, it’s a tomboyish yet conventionally pretty look. You’re more of a… Pretty little flower. Completely unsuitable for the roll of a hero. Wouldn’t you agree? You would make a fine love interest for a hero, does that interest you?”

For anyone else within the Village, that would have been that. The Goddess had spoken. But for Irien?

She had been smart enough to not say as much to her Divine Grace, but when the Elders yelled at her for later practicing swordplay, the little girl’s exact words were, “Go fuck your hat.”

Twenty years had passed since that day. Twenty years and countless dismissals of authority given in the form of lewd profanities. Twenty years of daily training which occupied every last moment of the young Elbez’s time.

It’s a shame absolutely none of it had been spent studying real combat. None of the traveling merchants who came through Arrex once a year had ever brought with them weapon manuals or martial tomes. Though they had comic books about heroes, and to Irien’s ignorant mind, surely the artists who penned those stories depicted battle as it truly was.

Irien walked through the village square, thankful as always that people stepped out of her way to avoid contact with her. The village square was oddly packed this morning, as if some event were going on or something important was to be announced soon.

Irien didn’t care. She had to get to work. Not only would the village’s Smith be angry if she were late again, but her sword had broken yet again last night and since selling her a blade had been made a crime to appease Her Grace, Irien had to make the repair herself.

What the young woman did not see was the squad of soldiers doing their absolute best to explain to the villagers for the tenth time exactly why they needed to evacuate. A shame really, because if Irien had noticed them, and chose to wait and listen, her chance to finally be a hero could have come when the sergeant finally snapped under the irritation gown by country bumpkin’s and ordered them to be shot. A crime anyone could understand, but none would acquit him for.

But that future was not to be.

Irien turned away from the square, turning towards the dirt path leading to the smithy, and stopped in her tracks. A lone Krahami dressed in the pale yellow robes of a seer staggered up the path, moving towards the square from the chapel in the jerky, unnatural, frankly frightening manner of a seer caught within the web of a vision.

Astonishingly, that was all anyone could have said about him, no matter how observant they were. Aside from the obvious pain and seer’s attire, absolutely nothing about him stood out at all. A complete and total average example of his species. The sort of red-orange, charcoal, and cream face that vanishes so well into the rest you’ve seen you’d never be able to tell another specifically what it looked like.

Why is no one helping him? Irien wondered as she raced towards the young seer, her hooves franticly thumping against the packed earthen path as she ran. Whatever he’s seeing will be lost if no one asks what it is! He’s come all this way, everyone must be in the square, no one is in the chapel to record his vision. It must be nearly gone now. I have to learn it!

As Irien reached the young seer, she saw his gold eyes were clouded over, fresh foam glittered on his muzzle. Whatever vision he was trapped within was dire, toxic, evil. Exactly the sort of a thing a hero would have to deal with.

Irien grabbed the seer by his right shoulder, careful not to shake him too much as she demanded, “What is it? What do you see?”

The Seer’s cloudy eyes swiveled, looking directly into the gray of Irien’s eyes as if magnetized.

“Sanctus dominus. Infernus ad astra. Sanctus dominus. Infernus ad astra.” The Seer said, his voice low, droning, and unnaturally reverberating as the potent magic spoke through him.

Irien’s tail flicked in irritation. “I don’t speak that language,” she said as calmly as she could.

“The knights of Dragons are defeated,” the seer moaned, his voice wreathed in pain as he spoke a language aside from the Goddess’s own tongue. “The fortress of Helm is lost. Zeneanus rises from his prison of frost.”

Even here, in the tiny village the Dark Lord had never thought of, let alone bothered with, that name brought nothing but terror.

Iriene dropped her bag, the broken halves of her sword clanged like an iron bell as it struck the ground.

But the Seer was not finished delivering his grim message. “Centuries of war return. No longer, peace will survive. The great Kingdom of Wieav will die. Evil sorcerer returns, his Chaos Wizards rise.

“On dark wings of steel they are flying. They know where the sorcerer’s bane was hidden. To the Great Tomb they must go, great terror they sow, nothing can stand in their way. The village shall burn in their wake. They arrive… Today.”

Irien’s eyes widened, her cheeks grew pale, and her tail stood upright. In any other species, the woman would have been expressing nothing less than white knuckled terror in response to a poop-inducing nightmare. For an Elbez, that body language conveys the exact opposite.

Iriene’s heart fluttered with delight at the opportunity before her today. No one else had heard the Seer’s warning, they didn't care. They were all doing some nonsensical social activity in the square.

Only she knew of the danger. No one would believe her if she said a Seer foretold danger. They would all assume it was another of her tricks to try and be allowed to go off and adventure. This was her chance, and she would seize it by the throat.

“What can I do to stop this?” Iriene asked eagerly, her hindquarters twitching eagerly as she held back her all consuming desire to sprint headlong for the tomb, screaming a warcry the entire way as she blazed a trail into the future she had chosen for herself.

The Seer twitched and jerked, caught in a mild seizure as the magic reacted poorly to the question.

“Two demons lead them,” the Seer said, gasping as the agony inflicted upon him became too much. “Oak. Oak through the heart. The beast will be slain. White leads- AAAAAA!”

The Seer’s body jerked, several bones popping out of their sockets as he spasmed hard enough to jerk free of Iriene’s grip and fall to the road.

“Oh my goodness!” Iriene yelped, kneeling down to immediately pop the seer’s left arm back into its socket. “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

The Seer’s eyes unclouded, leaving the yellow orbs gree to glitter oddly in the noonday sun. “I- Pain… They said— My first time,” he weazed, chest heaving as the ravaged biped sat up. “Did you… Did you listen?”

Iriene nodded firmly. “Yes. I got everything. Don’t worry! I’ll take care of it, just like the vision demands. I’ll need to go now, you’ll have to tell the village. The Dark Lord is back, his minions are going into the Tomb, and I need to stop them. And it can ONLY be me who stops them.”

The Seer frowned oddly, then nodded once. “Y— Yes. I can remember… Some of it. That’s right. You must save us,” he rambled before gasping and reaching into the front of his robe with his left hand, retrieving a small wooden letter opener from an inner pocket. “Oak! You need oak. This is blessed. It will work.”

Iriene nodded and took the small wooden blade from him with her right hand, tucking it into her tunic for safekeeping. “Thanks. Do you need anymore help?” She asked hopefully.

The seer shook his head. “No. Go. Don’t let it happen,” he said, closing his eyes

Iriene’s eyes took on a steely look as her soul filled with determination. This was it. Her time was now. Everyone who had once laughed would apologize, even the Goddess herself.

She reached down and retrieved her bag, slipping its strap over her shoulder in such a way as to allow the bag to hang at her side. Her sword may have been broken, but in her mind she had a dagger. Iriene reared up, smiling as she pivoted on her hind legs to turn towards the mountain, just in time to see the Dark Fortress descend from the sky amid the sound of a lone horn, signaling war.

The silver disk beneath the ancient stone fortress shimmered in the sunlight like a beacon. A beacon of death to the villagers who now understood that the army really wasn’t trying to steal their special family moonshine recipes (all of which were actually the same recipe). A beacon of hope to the would be hero missing a marble or two.

This is the BEST day, the would be hero thought as she galloped towards her destiny like a bolt of living lightning.

Behind her, the seer smiled.

Sky Trigger - Day 10

The Great Tomb of Arrex - Wieav

Deep within the bowels of the Engineering deck, Sky Trigger and Veena rushed from console to console amid a frantic search. Boxes of spare parts lay scattered on the floor amid stray tools, bolts, and bottles of oil. Each lying where they fell as absolutely every surface was swept clean in their desperate attempt to locate a specific manual override.

It figures the landing gear refuse to work the first time we need them too, Sky growled internally, as he plotted revenge on whichever cannoneer had destroyed the gatehouse, and in so doing also caused them to lose the fortress’s only ladder.

“I’d be happy to fly everyone down,” Veena said for the third time.

“No good! What if we need to split up and get back at separate times? What if we need to board in a hurry? You can carry two ponies, or one person my or Chem’s size. We NEED to touch down,” Sky said as he swept the junk off the second to last console in the room.

“Well, looks like we’re gonna have to set her down on her belly,” Veena sighed, the dragoness finishing inspecting the console in front of her. “This one lets us vent the septic system. Could be handy soon. I mean, if we don’t get the landing gear down it will be a pretty shi—”

“DON’T YOU DARE!” Sky shouted, turning to give Veena a glare.

Veena grinned at Sky then nodded to the console he’d uncovered. “That one?”

Sky turned back towards the black glass panel. It was covered with an array of small gold buttons, exactly like what Veena had told him to look for. And exactly like what every other control panel in this room was.

Sky’s eyes scanned over the button’s labels. Searching for any of the draconic words he knew. While not many, he knew more than enough to find the word “land” if not the whole word he was searching for.

One button caught his eye. It’s label was long, an entire phrase. Perhaps even a sentence.

“Veena, what's this do? Is it some kind of automatic system reset? That would do the trick to!” Sky called excitedly.

The white Dragoness stepped over to the console, craning her neck down to read.

She blinked. “Uhh…” She said to herself in confusion.

Sky frowned, tilting his head up to see what the problem was. "Is it an old dialect or something?" He asked.

Veena shook her head, a puzzled expression taking over her face as she read the label once more. “No, just confusing. It says 'Unnecessary bwaaa noise'."

“Wut?” Sky said pressing the button on pure instinct.

The sound of a lone horn filled the air, it’s impossibly loud cry carrying across the land like an overly dramatic proclamation that the impossible had arrived.

That was the Inception horn, Sky noted, his face scrunching up as he was more than a little taken aback.

“Who built this?" He asked of reality. “And why?”

“Found it!” Veena exclaimed excitedly, her left foreleg darting over Sky’s shoulder as she pressed a button on the console.

The Dark Fortress groaned, shuddered, and screeched as the battered machine extended its three talon-like landing legs. The Fortress didn’t have much life left in it, that much was clear by the way it limped towards the ground like a wounded animal.

Veena blinked once. “Okay. Apparently my ancestors thought adding a button to make everything create ominous sounds was a good idea. I’m going to just go process that,” she said, shaking her head and turning around to leave the engineering quarters.

This is exactly the kind of thing Ayna would have built into a sky fortress. Heh, he shook his head and withdrew his rifle from beneath his cloak, moving to place it on his workbench.

“You do that. I’ll meet you guys at the gate when we touch down,” Sky said, hiding a grin from his draconic assistant.

Veena turned her head around while still walking for the door. “Any reason you’re not going to come with—” She said, stopping midsentence as she saw Sky about to place Sheila on the workbench.

“Oh! Numerican gun. Those don’t need maintenance, you know,” the dragoness quickly corrected.

“Actually, I promised her a few upgrades,” Sky corrected. “I was about to give her a second scope before we had this little crisis.”

Veena frowned curiously, only for the spirit living within the weapon to answer her question before she asked it. “I want to try out binocular vision!” Sheila said eagerly.

Veena nodded, a look of uneese crossing her face at the thought of being sequestered inside a small appliance for all time. “Alright. See you soon,” she said after a moment.

Sky nodded and waved a hand, removing the scope he had built from a belt pouch with his other hand as he waved. “Later. Won't be long. Just need to drill and tap four holes.”

“I thought you were married,” Sheila said teasingly.

Sky smiled, shook his head, and got to work.

Vinyl Scratch - Day 10

The Great Tomb of Arrex - Wieav

The heroes stood upon the tomb’s threshold, looking into the imposing entryway which seemed to plunge straight into the mountain’s very heart, the space beyond the open doors growing darker and darker until you couldn’t be certain as to whether or not you were staring into an abyss.

The abyss lurked beyond the threshold, seemingly devouring the marble floor, as if the great limestone archway were the mouth of an enormous beast. The obelisks on either side of the entry looked far too much like fangs for anyone’s liking, and even the shape of the mountain itself lent to the image of a monster hunching over to consume its prey.

The scale of everything didn't help either. Giants would call the Tomb’s entrance “a little big”. A six story building could have been built in the entrance, and happily housed several dozen people.

With the gaping hole in the mountainside being as imposing as it was, three specific questions entered the minds of any who saw them. Why were the doors open? What had opened them? Was it hungry?

Everyone had brought all the equipment they thought they might need. Everyone knew just how much hinged on getting the eye, and the minute Lyra had spotted the tomb’s entrance after landing, the gamer in her had sensed a dungeon crawl. Vinyl had agreed with her completely.

Traps, guardian beasts, ancient magical relics unstable with age. Those were what the mysterious doorway promised to contain. What else would be sequestered away in a tomb so grandiose other than something dangerous, or guards to protect the remains of someone precious.

As such, Chem had brought with him every magical item he could easily carry, including a large staff topped with a silver stormcloud sculpture which he’d discovered was a lightning gun.

Sky hadn’t augmented his equipment, instead he’d shored up the team by making Lyra a proper crossbow, or at least adapting one taken from the Goblin Commandos for use with pony hooves, and then suped it up. He wasn’t about to have the team’s marksmare enter melee combat again. This wasn’t a game.

The only person who had less equipment on than before was Vinyl. Francine hadn’t said anything over the last few days, though Chem had been able to determine she was indeed still conscious within the hauberk.

Vinyl simply hadn’t been able to justify endangering her by bringing her along. It was one thing to wear armor which was simply links of metal. But if an arrow broke a link in that armor now... Vinyl was not the type of mare to be okay with using a living shield. Besides, the armor had been shaped for a kobold, and restricted her movement badly now that she was on four legs again.

Unfortunately nothing in the Dark Fortress had been able to replace her armor. Not surprising, considering the fact that ponies were not native to Mar’rath. However, as a first generation vampire, armor was fairly optional. Supernatural agility does have its perks, and she still had her sword.

But it’s still no substitute for real protection… Too bad there wasn’t time to make something fit… Or for Francine to wake up and say it’s okay to wear her into battle. Vinyl thought to herself as she imagined a giant timberwolf stepping out of the shadows in front of her. And why is this door big enough for Light Step to use?

“You guys have any idea why the doors are this big?” Vinyl asked her friends as she looked into the darkness. “Or why they are open?”

Sky shrugged, moving to speak only to be cut off by Lyra.

“I’m more interested in the seal in the floor,” she said pointing down from her position on Veena’s back to the design made of black marble which was inlayed into the threshold itself.

It was a heart set within a lit lantern. Not a stylized heart placed within a simple flame which shed light from within a lantern. No. A vividly realistic heart, ripped not cut from the chest of a living being and set aflame as the wick for an iron lamp.

“That’s Null’s sigil,” Veena informed, spitting the name out of her mouth in disgust.

Chem frowned and took a step back, moving away from the sigil. “That’s bad. Vee, you weren't’ there but we heard her yell at her sister and, well, being that they are gods who actually interact with their followers—”

“Null’s not a god,” Veena said, her tail lashing in anger.

Lyra frowned. “Hey, calm down… I don’t want to fall off.”

Vinyl’s eyes lit up for a moment, a memory from a few days ago coming back to her. “You called the rider we encountered a Guest,” she said as she turned to face the dragoness. “I’ve got a hunch that is somehow connected to you hating Null. Am I right?”

Sky hummed and turned to face the Dragoness as well. “Any time we’ve been talking about the Eldritch Radar you got really sad if I bought up NaN. You know what this planet’s deal is and that looks like a temple. Is there anything we should know if we're about to get face to face with that quote unquote god?” he asked firmly.

Vinyl smiled with half her mouth. “Sick of not knowing what to do in this world too?” She asked.

Sky nodded. “Yeah. I don’t like— Skip it. Veena, what’s up?”

Veena bit her lip, a worried look crossing her face as an internal debate raged within her for several long moments.

“There’s a whole world at stake, Vee,” Lyra reminded quietly.

Veena sighed. “Yeah, there is,” she agreed. “Okay, so… I was kicked out by Null two decades ago. I’m not supposed to be here, and she should know if I was. But she’s not here killing me. Which means she can’t see me, or see people around me. Because if she saw half a conversation I was having it would be clear that I was here.”

That explains why Null isn’t attacking us right now. We’re standing at the entrance to well, her temple I guess. Seems like Null should know we were here if she could just locate her sister like she did, Vinyl noted.

Vinyl nodded. “You’re the center of a cloaking field. Somehow. Everyone stick close to her so Null doesn't spot us.”

Chem hummed and looked over at the Dark Fortress. “It must be a sizeable field, because she would be reacting if she saw half a fortress land in front of her mountain door.”

Vinyl nodded. “Point. Still, probably better detection inside.”

This time it was Chem’s turn to nod. “Point,” he agreed.

“Exactly,” Veena confirmed. “She wont know I told you, but I don’t know if my COs are monitoring me, and releasing the information to civilians is a misdemeanor. But—”

“But we really need to know,” Sky and Vinyl said together.

Veena took a deep breath of frustration. “That’s what I was about to say,” the dragoness deadpanned.

She took a few steps forwards, looking into the darkness, her biomechanical eyes switching vision modes in order to scan as much of the interior space as she could. With her luck, the false-goddess would be standing just out of sight in the shadows and hear every word of the truth which was heresy.

As soon as she was satisfied, Veena turned around and faced the group once more.

“Null is a paperclip maximizer,” she summarized.

Sky’s face grew pale, the others only grew confused.

“I think you just word-salad’ed, Miss Dragon,” Chem said with a smile. “Unless you mean she’s doing all this to make more or greater paperclips.”

“It’s an AI term, you idiot!” Sky snapped, fear getting the better of him for that instant. “S— Sorry. It’s a very terrifying AI term. Up there with Gray Goo in terms of being shit that doesn't sound scary but couldn’t possibly be more terrifying.”

Chem chuckled. “I know. But I also know the proper term is instrumental convergence, and assumed our friend meant she is literally a machine programed to make paper clips, alla the thought experiment,” he elaborated.

Sky shot Chem a confused look of his own. “Who thinks like that?”

Veena gave the two a confused look. “None of you are surprised to learn the Goddesses are AIs?” She asked skeptically.

Vinyl shook her head. “No. Sky’s made a few of them. We know what they are and NaN’s avatar was clearly a hologram. We were pretty certain that they were AIs, or people using advanced technology. But seriously, what’s a paperclip thing?”

“It’s when an AI is given a simple task that is very vaguely worded and also not given any clear instructions of what NOT to do,” Sky elaborated as he drew Sheila from under his cloak and held her at the ready. “We’ll probably encounter some really nasty machines in there… Abandoned temple called a Tomb holding a relic that can detect Eldritch abominations. I’m calling it. This is where her core is located.”

Veena shook her head. “No. It’s located in the Golden City on the other side of the world. This is nothing as far as I know,” she corrected.

Lyra sighed and waved her hoof in the universal gesture for someone to get on with it. Then facehooved as she realized Veena couldn't see her from on her own back.

“I hate how we don’t trust each other enough to have that thought link on by default,” Lyra grumbled. “Could you explain what Null is programmed to do?”

Veena took a deep breath, clearly letting out some rather serious anger. “She’s programmed to improve, manage, and maintain Mar’rath Adventures. An amusement park. Based on a now dead race’s popular fantasy novels.”

The silence which followed Veena’s statement was chilling. Not because her friends were filled with fear, but instead because each of them simply nodded acceptingly.

“Makes sense to me,” Lyra said with a little shake of her head. “Greedy corporation does something dumb in the name of more money. That’s the whole reason ethics and business ethics are mandatory high school classes back home.”

“Yeah, Princess World would totally make the same mistake if they tried putting an AI incharge of park design,” Sky agreed with a sigh. “Have you seen how they design their equipment? It’s amazing there’s only been three deaths there.”

“I never thought we’d be fighting a sapient amusement park,” Vinyl mused, tapping a hoof to her chin in thought. “That seems more like a Elements of Harmony adventure than one of ours.”

“Doesn’t it?” Lyra agreed with a giggle.

“I kinda want to read those books,” Chem said thoughtfully as he looked out across the rolling green planes surrounding the mountain.

Veena’s jaw slowly dropped as she witnessed their reactions. Turning to each of them slowly, the dragoness shook her head and demanded. “What in the world could you possibly have done to learn that an AI has taken over almost the entire planet to make a themepark larger and more accurate to the novels, even reshaping entire continents and finding a way to let EVERYONE cast spells if they simply learn them—”

Vinyl smirked and walked up to the confused dragoness, gently hooking a foreleg around her head. “Veena, we’re Equestrians. From Ponyville. This is exactly what would happen if somepony was allowed to build a theme park there.”

The Dragoness shook her head almost violently. “That doesn't explain anything!” She insisted, stamping a talon in frustration.

“The town is a weirdness magnet,” Chem explained. “If it’s weird enough to be an anomaly and would happen in Equestria, it’s funneled into that one little town. Which is always fine in the end because a town where disaster strikes but the town always survives, which is an anomaly in and of itself. So it happens in Ponyville.”

“Yeah!” Lyra agreed with a smile, and then a sad sigh. “Like the time the whole town got sucked into the Realm of Dreams and I got into a hoof fight with literal nightmares and lost.”

Veena nodded slowly. “Yes, you told me about that… Certainly it’s the only thing to happen there. I can’t imagine—”

“That’s nothing,” Vinyl interrupted. “While we were doing that the town’s location in the real world was ground zero for a demon invasion. And then a whole other time the God of Chaos escaped and used Ponyville as his personal playground. There’s also the time Twilight was stupid and magiced a swarm of parasprites into eating the whole place. Oh! This other time—”

Lyra held up a hoof to stop her friend. “Vi, we’ll literally be here all day just listing everything,” she said with a wink. “Veena, I’ll get Derpy to mail you a list when we go home. For now, trust us, this is normal. Especially the saving the world part.”

“Kind of our job… Which we’ve been doing pretty crapily recently,” Vinyl said, her ears drooping with shame.

Lyra nodded in agreement. “Yeah… But that’s because it’s just us. No offense Sky, Chem, best dragon, but when you spend multiple decades working with the same people there’s just all these things you KNOW people will do for you.”

That is the problem, isn’t it? I’m just too used to the team being the same as it always is. I may make bad decisions, but our failures here are because of something I can fix right now. Vinyl realized, the seed of hope starting to bloom in her heart.

The world depends on us, and this time us isn’t Lyra, Bonbon, Cole, Meep, and I. It’s Sky, Chem, Veena, Lyra, and I. I can work with this. I WILL work with this. We can’t keep doing a bad job. We have to win. Then I can retire, and never have to be in charge of battle plans again.

Veena’s wings twitched as she processed what she had been told. “Ate… The town?” She asked.

“Yes. They ate the town. I’ll tell you about it later,” Lyra said as she looked over her shoulder back towards the Tomb. “Right now… Vi, how about I scout the entrance, then we can move in and set up a perimeter.”

No more mistakes. Vinyl decided. No more bad calls. This could be our only chance to win.

“Do it. If we get the eye we win,” Vinyl said decisively.

“We still have to find Hatty and kill him,” Sky reminded. “It’s not quite an instant victory.”

Vinyl nodded. “Yeah, but once we have the radar, we can just go get Vi’s mom to walk over and step on him. Yog made him re-roll his character without min-maxing. There’s nothing he can do to get out of that, and nothing will stop dragonmom from doing it because if Lyra dies so does Veena.”

Sky hummed and looked into the tomb thoughtfully. “That’s a good point… But he could stop us on the way back to Safeton. So we still need to be on our guard.”

“Not quite,” Chem disagreed as he pulled a small brown leather satchel from his robes to show. “I do not like being unable to contribute to my side.”

“What tricks’ do you have up your satchel?” Sky asked, raising an eyebrow. “Magic teleporter?”

Chem nodded, Sky’s eyebrows raised a little more, clearly not the reaction he had been expecting.

“The Fortress’s treasure rooms contained many magical scrolls. Several of them were transport related. I’ve been to the base of Mount Mercy, as far as I understand I can use one of the scrolls I’ve obtained to teleport us back there as soon as we have the thing. You are ready to just drop the part in, right?”

“Not quite…” Sky said with a nervous shake of his head. “I would prefer a full lab, but I could make do with my toolkit and any flat surface if I really had too.”

“But our only lab is inside a giant flying target that everyone has all the reason in the world to attack,” Lyra reminded. “And they had airships. There’s no way they don’t have some way of watching the skies for aircraft. If they didn’t, some other nation would have rolled in here with their airships and taken the whole thing over.”

Sky pursed his lips, searching for an objection but finding none. “That’s actually a good point. They even had an army attack us within a week. They’ve got to already be on alert, and there’s no way we were not tracked here.”

“And they have railroads,” Veena pointed out helpfully. “Once Wieav knows of a threat, it’s army is only a few hours away from anywhere in the nation.”

There isn’t a better time to strike. Vinyl decided. We have the advantage right now over Hatty, but only thanks to Veena’s mom. If something happens when the military catches up to us and Lyra dies, we will probably lose that asset and be screwed.

Vinyl looked up at Lyra, who was still looking down at her expectantly as she patiently waited for orders.

“Lyra, go scout,” Vinyl ordered as she stood up straight, adopting a proper officer’s attentive posture. “Sky, keep your rifle trained on the entrance to cover Lyra if she comes running back. Chem, we’ll need to find the eye quickly. Prepare any detection and locating spells you know. Veena, watch our backs while Lyra scouts.”

“Woah,” Sky exclaimed in surprise at Vinyl’s sudden shift. “Where has this you been the whole time?”

Vinyl bit her lip. “Too worried about making a mistake to do her job,” she admitted painfully.

Sensing the pony’s shame, Veena coughed to draw attention to herself. “We don’t know what could be in there. I may be bigger than Lyra but I’m stealthy. I should go with her incase there’s trouble. Scouts usually work in pairs, right?”

Vinyl turned her head to look up at Lyra and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“I think she won't cause me any problems,” Lyra said with a smile. “We got to talking about how we could work together. Rangers are sneaky little things.”

Vinyl nodded in agreement after a moment of mulling the idea over. “She normally works alone… But you have a telepathic link. Yeah, go ahead. I can watch our backs.”

Veena smiled gratefully and stooped down to let Lyra slide off her back. “Thanks. I don't want to die because I couldn't block an arrow trap or something from putting a hole in her heart,” the dragoness said as she turned and walked across the threshold with Lyra at her side.

A sudden spike of fear shot through the hope Vinyl had managed to obtain. What if we lose them? We should all go in now. Then there’s less risk of— No! There’s more risk. We could all die to— UGH! You have a plan, Vi. Stick to it.

Chem sat down and opened his spellbook, slowly paging through it as he searched for the spells requested of him. Sky lay down on his belly, and pointed Sheila into the open Tomb.

“Okay, Sheila. Don’t shoot if you see Ly or Vee in your crosshairs. If they come running out with something on their hooves, I might accidentally shoot at them,” he instructed.

“No problem,” the rifle replied cheerfully.

Vinyl couldn’t help but smile. At least there’s one thing that can’t go wrong. She thought as she turned around to keep watch.

Of course… This whole field could already be full of enemy scouts. Or snipers. The grass was tall enough for Sky to disappear in if he scrunched down a bit.

Vinyl squinted in the sunlight and began to slowly inspect each and every little dip of break in the grass. There were game trails, places animals had traveled enough to make scrambled pathways through the grass. A few obvious dips in the earth making bowl-shaped depressions in the field of grass. The afternoon breeze made the endless sea of green ripple and wave.

I so don’t like that! Vinyl thought as her eyes tracked the path of the grass waves, which the wind was sending directly towards them.. That could easily hide movement. It’s how I would get into position to attack us.

Vinyl focused her eyes even more closely on the grass before her, desperately wishing Sky had been able to find the materials needed to make her a pair of sunglasses. I’m a nocturnal predator. It’s just too bright right now for me to see. I’m not suited for guard duty. Someone else has to do this. I made a mistake!

Vinyl turned around, facing her remaining friends.

“Hey, Chem?” She asked, embarrassment, urgency, and worry creeping into her voice. “It’s too bright. I can’t see if there’s anything in the grass. Could you watch out backs instead?”

Chem nodded and held up his left hand with one finger extended. “Yes. One moment. I found a spell which could help—”

“Motion: 6-o-clock!” Sheila warned.

The grass rustle. Hoofsteps thundered against stone. Vinyl’s senses registered something large moving behind her.

“Luna, no!” Vinyl yelled as she spun around, drawing her sword from her back with her arcane grip, horn ablaze as she readied herself to strike down the Arakan soldiers leaping from the brush.

There were no soldiers. A single Elbez girl leaped for Vinyl, her right hand outstretched, holding a small wooden blade. Vinyl swung her sword, aiming for the girls’ wrist, every last ounce of her vampiric speed put into her blade’s graceful arc.

It wasn’t enough.

If Vinyl had been beneath Celestia’s sun, perhaps she would have had the speed she needed. She’d counted on being fast enough to see the threat, then react to it as she always had been but in the brighter sunlight of Mar’rath, Vinyl was as a mortal.

The Elbez girl tackled her to the stone, her blade burying itself in Vinyls heart with a wet thump, like a hoof going into a watermelon.

“Oh shit!” Vinyl heard Sky swear, as if through a meter of water.

Sheila’s roar cracked faintly in her ears. The world blackened around Vinyl and the last thing she saw was her attacker’s body tumbling down the steps into the grass.

“LYRA!” Chem screamed distantly. “GET BACK HERE! I DON’T KNOW HOW TO HEAL EQUESTRIAN VAMPIRES!”

I was wrong. I can’t do this. I failed… I should have let Sky make the plans. I’m so sorry everypony, I’ve doomed us all. Vinyl thought.

Then closed her eyes and thought nothing more.

“Oh, come on!” Vinyl’s own voice exclaimed, the outburst carrying more venom and pity than Vi thought possible.

Vinyl opened her eyes. She was in a void. Perhaps even THE void. True nothing stretching as far as the eye could see in every direction. No light, no darkness, no white, no blackness. Nothing.

Except for Vinyl. And another Vinyl who was standing a few meters away from her and giving her a look that was half death-glare and half sympathetic understanding.

“You really just couldn’t stop second guessing yourself, Me. Could you?” The other Vinyl huffed, sitting down and crossing her forelegs over her barrel. “You knew that would get you killed and you just couldn’t stop doing it. But I know why you couldn’t… I can’t be too mad.”

“What, the actual, buck?” Vinyl asked herself, and her other self, her ears plastered flat against her head.

15 Deus Ex Heros

Vinyl Scratch - Day 10

Limbo

The situation Vinyl found herself in should have been boring. Trapped within an empty space so empty that not even the concept of darkness could truly convey the nothing which stretched as far as the eye could see.

What is darkness but the absence of light? What is light but a photon or two speeding on its merry way into the future? The void had never seen a single photon travel through its infinite expanse. Light had never been here, nor would it ever visit.

Yet there was no darkness. No light and yet no darkness, truly a paradox if there ever was one. A situation which should have been fascinating, or horrifying, perhaps even both. Yet is was nothing. It was only ever nothing.

Vinyl was trapped within the void with nothing but herself for company. What was left for Vinyl here other than boredom?

Herself. Whom she was standing beside. Literally.

Thus, the certainty of boredom was slain by perplexed incredulity.

Vinyl looked into her Other’s eyes. They were the same red as her own, with every little vein, fleck of color, pattern, and even the slight differences in the shape of her eyelids all present and accounted for.

Not even changelings are this good! Vinyl thought as her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

“What, the actual, buck?” She repeated, mostly out of subconscious need.

The Other Vinyl shrugged. A simple nonchalaunt gesture Vinyl herself had made a million times before, calculated to look as cool and laid back as possible. Only this one wasn’t an act, it was sincere. The Other her really was as cool as Vinyl pretended to be.

“Beats me. Well, us. I guess,” the Other Vinyl replied with a wink. “I don’t know how we’re talking either. You don’t, so how could I?”

Vinyl frowned, her teeth showing as she tried to work out any sensible explanation for what was happening to her.

“Oh, so, you’re a figment of my imagination? Some kind of death hallucination?” She asked hopefully.

The Other Vinyl shook her head. “Nah, I’ve always been here. Come on, you know that.”

“Horseapples,” Vinyl declared, shaking her head.

The Other Vinyl blinked in surprise, and sat down, looking at Vinyl half hurt and half confused.

“Uh, wait, you were never aware of me?” She asked. “Ever?”

“You’ve NEVER been in me,” Vinyl insisted firmly, stamping her hoof. “You’re something new!”

“Totally not,” The Other Vinyl insisted.

“I think I’d know if I had another me living in me!” Vinyl exploded, immediately jumping in surprise as her voice echoed off of… Nothing.

The Other Vinyl rolled her eyes in a droll manner.

“Clearly you didn’t,” she said before holding out a hoof to shake. “Hi. I’m the remains of Chem’s sister’s soul. You’re the remains of the stillborn pony’s soul. I’m your life support. You’re my life support. We’re each halves of each other, with just a bit of autonomy each. Or did you forget about how you were brought to life?”

Vinyl’s lips pursed in thought. I had forgotten. At least, at the moment. “If that’s true, how come we’ve never spoke before? If you have ‘autonomy’ how come you never did something? I’d notice if my body suddenly wrote “Hi, Vinyl. I’m the dead god that’s keeping you alive. How’s it hanging?”

The Other Vinyl smiled and laughed. Not a bitter laugh, or a cruel laugh. A simple amused chuckle.

“You get to do things. You’re the conscious mind. I’m the subconscious. I worked this out pretty quickly when we were first merged. After all, I am unknowably old. Been around the block a few times.” She explained. “All I can do is have my own thoughts, and give you the occasional urge.”

Vinyl looked at the Other Vinyl suspiciously, prompting her other self to preempt Vinyl’s question.

“Laymare’s Terms: I just kinda float about in your subconscious and yell at you to bat at Octavia’s ear because it’s cute when she twitches it. I also yelled at you to hook up with Lyra back in middle school, but you just love your classy gray mare.

“I also feed you information sometimes. I can remember tiny bits of the life you had before I was you. Uh, I mean, I can remember Light’s life. Fragments. When you started to like O&O I started to yell them at you until one stuck. Then you’d do something with it. It was nice to see how our friends enjoyed them.

“That’s all I can really do. I guess we can talk for a bit while we're dying… So, hi me. We already know each other.”

I always wondered why I always had that urge when Octavia comes within legs reach, Vinyl thought to herself. You’re supposed to see things when you die. I guess this is what I get to see.

“Soo, I’m actually dying? I mean, we’re actually dying? This isn’t some weird limbo?” Vinyl asked, her ears drooping sadly.

The Other Vinyl nodded. “Yeah, we’re dying. We got staked. I mean, it kind of is a limbo though. We’re a first generation vampire. We can come back. They know to take the steak out and put fresh blood in, right?”

Vinyl shook her head. “Lyra does. But we were in bright sun. I don’t know if—”

The Other Vinyl’s face fell. “Oh yeah. We don't regenerate in the sun… Or know if we will once we’re in the dark again.”

“Also, this is a game. I might just be out of play now,” Vinyl sighed.

“We shouldn’t be because you’re not ‘dead’ dead. A vampire of our blood-strength can stay staked forever and be completely fine an hour or so after it’s removed. So we’ve really just been temporarily shut off. Not killed,” the Other Vinyl said.

“Yeah, but if one of my players was running an elder vampire and got staked I would count them as not being in play anymore, even if they could come back from that. It’s kinda not okay. Unbalances the game. Yog wants us to win, but he’s playing fair,” Vinyl reminded.

The Other Vinyl snorted with bemusement. “He’s NOT playing fair. He won’t play fair. He wants to win for more reasons than just not losing the place he likes to nap.”

Her face fell suddenly, and VInyl could faintly feel the Other Vinyl grow sad, simply because she became a little sad too.

“Chem would have laughed when Hastur got Yog to oversee this game… If he remembered. Our world has some bucked up ponies in it, me,” the Other Vinyl added, staring down at the not-floor.

“I imagine if Sky was killed, but we defibrillated him or something and brought him back. That would, you know, not count,” the Other Vinyl mused, stroking her chin with a hoof. “Either way, this might be the only time we can talk. Like, ever. We shouldn’t waste this. There’s some things I’d like to say, and you’ll have questions too. Go ahead. Ask me anything.”

Vinyl didn’t even have to think to come up with her first question. It was the obvious one. So obvious that she new the answer was no, but felt compelled to ask anyways.

“Can you use your powers to keep us from dying?” Vinyl asked.

“Nope. We only have one Old One Power available to us. It’s called ‘living,’” the Other Vinyl snarked.

“I don’t buy that,” Vinyl disagreed with a vigorous shake of her head. “I mean, if you could stop us from dying you would. But you have to have some powers we could use for something. You’re a fragment of an Old One!”

“I’m also you. You’re also me. Do YOU have any old one powers?” The Other Vinyl asked coyly.

Vinyl raised her eyebrow. “You had better not be holding out on me. I mean, yo— Our brother has a closet full of trophies. There’s no way you didn’t too!”

The Other Vinyl stood up slowly, and solemnly. “We did, yes.”

Vinyl’s eyes lit up with hope. “Great! Open the door. Let’s dig through and find something that can help us.”

The Other Vinyl shook her head. “That would break the rules, and then Octavia would die. I will not allow that. You love her, and I’m you. But this is one of those autonomy things. I feel differently here without affecting your behavior. I don’t love Octavia per-say, I more lust after her. But for you it’s nothing but love and-”

Vinyl narrowed her eyes and glared at her other self. “Is that why she comes home and I instantly get turned on?”

The Other Vinyl coughed into her hoof awkwardly. “Well, to be fair, it’s YOU getting laid, not me. Kinda hard to bone someone's subconscious. You can’t blame me for that!”

Vinyl started at her other self skeptically. “Really?”

“YES! I don’t get to have sensory information. I just know what you’re doing. I’ve technically never seen Octavia’s ear twitch, only our brain data when it is, and I like that data pattern, it’s cute. But I’ve never actually gotten to see it twitch,” the Other Vinyl said bitterly, defensively, and yet oddly, understandingly. “I also haven't gotten laid since I became you for the same reason…”

Vinyl frowned. “That’s rough…”

Her other self nodded. “But that’s life, and you need to roll with it. Which segways right into what I wanted to talk to you about,” she said, clearing her throat to put on a more strong and determined appearance.

Vinyl tilted her head. “Okay, what do you want to tell me?”

The Other Vinyl took two steps forwards and then violently sized Vinyl by her shoulders, lifting her off the ground as she looked directly into her eyes.

“Mare the BUCK up!” The Other Vinyl demanded before setting Vinyl back down on the nothing. “You’ve been a moping mess for YEARS! YEEEEEEEEAAAAAARS! Why? Because you failed especially hard one time while being traumatized over a kid dying.

“Don’t get me wrong, that SHOULD have messed you up. But seriously, this recovery time is beyond stupid for a mare with your history, Vinyl.”

The Other Vinyl closed her eyes tightly and bit her lip as if in concentration. Vinyl wanted to use the pause in her pending rant to say something, but nothing came to mind. It was as if her entire brain were taxed with some great task that it just could not put aside or make room within.

Suddenly the nothing was something. A series of places flashed by, each one a vivid reconstruction of some slice of world never before seen by Equestrian eyes. Nothing ever moved. Each picture was still, but wrapped around Vinyl as if it were a real place, frozen in time and shown to her for but an instant.

And in those brief flashes of fragmented memories there was one constant. Vinyl.

She always looked different, but Vinyl knew it was her each time. She knew because she could feel the despair and sadness as she looked into yet another dead friend’s eyes. At yet another cold corpse of an innocent bystander. At yet another senseless massacre. At each and every failure.

None of these were Chem’s games. All of them were real events, from real places. Usually the result of a “bigger fish” entering the sibling’s pond.

And of Vinyl failing to save those important to her. Friends, loved ones, followers, those she swore to protect. Vinyl felt the tiniest echos of what she had once felt for them, individually they were nothing, together they were a typhoon of despair.

A typhoon of despair which she had moved on from countless times.

“See that?” The Other Vinyl asked as the images faded and she dropped down, looking as if she’d just ran a mile. “See what we’ve been through? Yeah, you got a chick killed and almost got your friends killed too.

“Almost. ALMOST! They survived. We, you bucked up. I could have yelled at you more and harder to make the other choice, but I didn’t. Because we were of one mind on that issue. We bucked up, and that’s okay.

“Failure is always an option. We all fail. It’s okay to fail. You know what’s not okay? Responding to failure by quitting. That’s the single most toxic habit out there because it’s the reason why most people never get shit done.

“Oh, I didn’t do it. Guess I can’t. Horse-bucking-apples! You can do it! You’re me, and do you know what I’ve done? I can only remember a trillionth of a trillionth of a percent of my life, of YOUR life. We’ve stood atop dead gods, toppled empires and built new ones, traveled to places where the universe itself had forbidden people from entering, brought peace to countless worlds, and even reformed the very concept of darkness itself into a nice guy who's a fun loving dork instead of an uncaring asshole best described as “a sociopathic dude-bro”.

“But all of that is NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING compared to our greatest feat ever, Vinyl!”

Vinyl blinked, not having expected a break in her rant until she had finished. “I um… I can’t imagine what could top reforming Chem,” Vinyl admitted.

Honestly, what beats making the actual concept of metaphorical darkness into a nice guy? Vinyl wondered, her mind whirling as she struggled to think of anything even in the same league as that particular accomplishment.

The Other Vinyl looked Vinyl right in her eyes, showing her the pure seriousness in her expression in pristine detail.

“You asked Octavia Melody out on a date!” The Other Vinyl said firmly, but with awe. “You know EXACTLY how much courage that took. I mean, holy bucking ponyfeathers, we’ve charged into battle against an army of Cybergorilas while naked, injured, armed only with a bit of rebar and a grin. And that took LESS courage! A LOT less courage.

“Octavia didn’t even involve me! That was all YOU! I don’t love her, remember? No subconscious influence, all conscious choice. Which is great because I’ve NEVER been able to ask anyone out. It’s beyond horrifying!

“But you? You marched right up there and asked her out on a date, being a proper gentlemare the entire evening, even opening up and letting her see under our cool facade. Why? Because, and I quote ‘Hey she’s pretty awesome now that she’s back from that school.’

“You! You did that! I was screaming at you to stop before we ran face first into the wall of awkward-stupid. You were all ‘Nope!’ and busted through that wall like the Celestia damned Koolaid Stallion. You showed more courage than ever before, and we’ve fought tentacle monsters in hentai universes, AS A GIRL! And it WORKED! You got the mare. Still do! Even all these years later. Know why?”

Vinyl nodded. She did know why, the point had been made abundantly clear. “Because I didn’t let the fear of failure make me quit.”

The Other Vinyl sat down, looking more than a little exhausted as she plopped down onto her haunches.

“Damn straight, Vi,” she said happily. “So mare up. Get over that shit. We’ve done harder things before. You’re the reincarnation of the hero of infinite worlds, who you one upped by actually asking a girl to go out with you. We’ve seen it all before, and we’ll see it all again. But our friends haven’t, and they won’t if we fail. And if you refuse to try…”

“We’ll fail,” Vinyl said with a grim nod. “I— I understand. But that’s not the same as being able to do it.”

It’s also not really in the same league as any of her examples… Vinyl thought to herself as she pictures trying to fight a henti tentacle monster, immediately shivering. Even Lyra would have problems with—

“Lyra wouldn’t have problems with that. She’d probably try and tame it. Stop fooling ourself,” the Other VInyl snickered, shaking her head while sporting a playful grin.

Vinyl groaned and facehooved. “Of course you can hear my thoughts. Uh, our thoughts.”

Her other self nodded once. “Yep. Which is why I know my speech hasn’t worked yet. Trust me, I do know there’s a difference between knowing and doing. But you can do it. You have the power, it’s been inside you all along.”

Vinyl frowned, then her mouth’s corners turned up slightly. “Do I have some kind of vampiric ability I never consciously noticed?” She asked hopefully.

The Other VInyl rolled her eyes, then frowned and put her hoof to her chin in thought. “Maybe… That’s not what I am talking about, but there MIGHT be something you've missed. I’d have to think about it. It would be an incredibly small thing, like how your shed fur turns to ash.”

Vi sighed and shrugged. “Then what?”

The Other Vinyl pointed to herself. “You’ve got a dead god inside you,” she said simply.

Vinyl’s lips pursed as she said, “Oh… Right.”

Her other self smiled and continued. “That’s right. You've got me, and I’m an integral part of you. All I’ve ever done or ever will do is use all of my life experiences to help improve our life. You just need to calm down, stop panicking, and listen to me when things get rough. I’ve seen everything at least once, and that means our hunches are going to usually work out for us.

“Not always, of course. Sometimes your decisions are better than my instincts. But you need to listen before you act. You’re me, I’m you. I want us to do well. I always try to help, but I can't do that when you’re too afraid to approach the situation calmly and let our gut instincts inform your decisions.”

“... Can’t really argue with that,” Vinyl said slowly as she looked at her Other Self for a few moments. “I um… I guess I can give it a shot. It would be easier if we could always talk like this though.”

Her other self shook her head in disagreement. “I disagree. Thinking of us as seperate beings would lead to a lot of problems. We’re one, not two. Just listen, and you’ll help you. We’ll help us. Understand?”

Vinyl nodded firmly. “Yeah. I do,” she said honestly.

A weight seemed to lift from Vinyl’s shoulders. I’m not alone. I have an adviser. But my decisions are my own. That helps. Like, a lot.

“Yeah, it’s a bit of doublethink, but unlike most instances of that nonsense, this time it’s helpful,” The Other Vinyl said as she stood up right to stretch her forelegs. “Mmm, well it’s been a good talk. But I can feel us starting to wake up. Hopefully we never talk again.”

Vinyl’s ears stood up in alarm. “Wait! I have two questions!”

“Make them quick,” her other self said with a frown.

“Okay! Uh, why would Chem have laughed? That seems important,” Vinyl asked urgently.

Her other self giggled. “Don’t you remember how Yog spoke to us, me? His wording? His tone? Did you forget how Hastur said Voidborn have children and Chem was confused by that?”

Vinyl frowned in thought only for her eyes to shoot open. “Holy bucking shit he’s our dad!” Vinyl yelped.

“Mmmmhm!” Her other self said with a wink.

“Then we have ZERO problems, right?” Vinyl asked hopefully, her mouth twisting into a smile as hope flooded her chest.

The Other Vinyl gave Vi an apologetic look and shook her head.

“No, but don’t worry. Dad’s spacetime, he’s all universes. He’s everywhere, every set of physics, every space that is or can be. What I am saying is that dad’s all about fairness and working within rules. Dad’s always liked us because helping your family is a rule. But he won’t ever pull us out of a jam. He can’t do that, it would be unfair to the other guy.

“But he’s always tilted the scales a little bit. Made the playing field fair for us when it’s unfair to start with. Hastur is a one note Old One, all business in a mathematical sense without any creativity. We’ll be fine if you stop making us be stupid,” her other self promised. “Before you ask, Chem’s torture kinda wiped out a lot of his memory… Even the really early stuff. He doesn't know that anymore.”

Her other self started to dim, fading to black as the nothingness around them began to brighten, becoming a white somethingness. “Better hurry with number two!” her other self warned.

I never thought I would be mad about being revived but here we are! Vinyl growled to herself angrily.

“Is there ANYTHING you can do to help us win this? Any trick? We’re in our own body, Yog’s clearly fine with us using our powers. You’re me. Can you do anything?” Vinyl pleaded urgently, going as far as to clasp her hooves together as if begging.

The Other Vinyl bit her lip thoughtfully, then raised a hoof to her chin slowly, ponderingly, her eyes shifting as she wondered if she should say something or not. Suddenly, a mischievous gleam flashed in her eyes, and due to her having faded into little more than a silhouette Vinyl mistook her other self’s expression of mischief for one of epiphany.

Oh man this is going to be awesome! Vinyl squeed internally.

“Yes! There’s one thing. I used to think it was the sword of power, but it wasn’t. The power was in me all along. When you Travel, you keep power you earn, it should be in us too,” she said decisively.

The Other Vinyl reared up once more, and held her hooves together, down, and away from her, as if pointing a sword at a spot on the ground in front of her. “Get a sword, any sword. Stand like this, then raise it up above your head like this.”

She swept her imaginary blade upwards until it was pointing straight up, as if to pierce the hide of a dragon diving at her from above. Unfortunately, her exact pose became nearly impossible to determine as she became nothing more than a hazy shadow, quickly evaporating entirely.

“There’s no time to teach you the spell, but I remember it,” the Other Vinyl promised, her voice growing fainter as if she were sinking down into an abyss. “Open yourself to me completely. Let your subconscious push the magic through you. Then intone “By the…”

Then intone what? Vinyl wondered as her Other Self faded away completely.

“Intone wha— AAAAA!!” Vinyl shouted, sitting bolt upright, and then immediately screaming in pain and clutching her chest with her left hoof.

Vinyl could see she had been dragged into a shadowy corner of the Tomb’s entrance. Located behind the massive timber door, tucked into the living room sized space between the door, the front wall, and the side. It felt nice here. Cool, dark, ancient, exactly the place an untreated vampire would live in.

Lyra’s face filled Vinyl’s vision, her minty friend beaming a relieved smile directly into her soul.

“YES! We did it!” Lyra proclaimed happily before turning to Vinyl’s left. “Okay, Chem. You can put the rest back into Sky now.”

The rest? Vinyl mused as she looked to her left, and saw Chem switch the leads of an IV bag, allowing the half pint of blood to return to Sky from the IV bag into which it had been drawn.

“About time,” Sky said slightly woozily. “How many pints did she get?”

“Half of one,” Chem said flatly. “You’ll be fine.”

“Feels like six… You suck at drawing blood!” The engineer grumbled. “Wait… I’m down a full pint. The other half is in that bag. That’s it…”

“I’m putting it back, calm down,” Chem said as soothingly as someone without a bedside manner can.

Lyra cringed at Chem’s phrasing. “Chem, saying “calm down” has never worked. Ever.”

Vinyl continued to clutch her aching heart, panting as she felt exactly the wrong blood type coursing through her veins.

“Sky? What blood type are you?” Vinyl asked shakily.

Oh Luna… He’s B+, Vinyl moaned, launching over as she tried to keep herself from throwing up.

“Uh oh… Does that matter?” Sky asked, returning her question with a worried wince.

“I hate B positive,” Vinyl moaned. “It’s too sweet. Sick to stomach…”

“Yeah, well, Chem doesn't have blood, I’m a vampire, and Veena’s blood is literally just the stuff that goes in a computer’s heat pipes. So he’s all you have. Deal,” Lyra said bluntly.

“Not upset, and I am dealing,” Vinyl protested as she forced her guts and heart to calm down via the judicious application of will.

It wasn’t enough.

Vinyl’s friends looked away as she did what every organism does when it knows it ingested poison.

“That. Smells. Terrible.” Sky stated bluntly, once the retching had stopped.

“Looks worse,” Vinyl muttered as she stood up to walk away from the black-putrid mess she had made. “Thanks Sky. I mean it. Happy to be alive. But we’ll have to find me another meal within a day or so.”

“It’s cool. We all have allergies,” Sky answered.

“What’s the situation? How long was I out?” Vinyl asked as she turned her head to look at everypony in turn. “Also where’s Veena?”

“I’m keeping a lookout on the other side of the door. Incase the Elbës who stabbed you comes back,” the dragoness replied. “Did you puke up burning motor oil and tar mixed with hair? What even IS that smell?”

“You don't want to know what vampires throw up, Vee,” Lyra said for Vinyl.

“You know what? I don’t,” the dragoness decided.

“It’s been nearly a half hour,” Chem answered, looking at Vinyl with his glowing eyes. “Sky shot your attacker, blew her left arm off, and we spent the rest of the time drip feeding you blood on Lyra’s instructions.”

“I knew you wouldn't stay down. You’re an elder vampire, they did step one of what, five?” Lyra asked before giving Vinyl a playful wink. “I thought you’d be able to dodge a mortal’s attack with ease though. I guess you just needed a girl to stick something in ya?”

Vinyl rolled her eyes. “I was right. You WOULD tame a hentai monster,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Anything else happen?” Vinyl asked more loudly.

Sky nodded. “Yeah. Vee, give Vi the current details.”

Vinyl frowned. “What details?”

“There’s an armed force moving towards the Tomb. It’s large, well armed and well equipped. For a primitive species military, that is. But it’s more than enough to be a threat to us. They’ve surrounded the Dark Fortress and are working on encircling the Tomb. They seem hesitant to come inside, but that won't last forever. I recommend we close and lock the doors to buy us time. They should be magically resistant to damage,” the Dragoness reported.

Vinyl nodded, her heart started to race, the panic began to take hold.

NO! She declared firmly shoving her fear aside. I’m right. I need to stop and listen. Okay me. What do we do?

Vi took a moment, simply standing silently and keeping her mind off the situation at hoof. Then she turned to Lyra. “Good plan. Lock the doors and let’s head inside. We can teleport out so it won’t matter if we don’t find a backdoor.”

Veena’s claws scraped against the stone as she backed up and grabbed the edge of the door nearest her friends and leaned her shoulder into the enchanted timber. With a mighty heave and a groan of effort, the dragoness began to push the door slowly into the closed position.

“That will take her a few minutes,” Lyra said observently. “Sky, will you be okay walking and working?”

“Yeah, I’m feeling better already,” Sky answered. “I’m down less than a standard donation. I donate regularly. I’ll be okay to work.”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

Sky didn’t give her a chance to speak. “Hey, if I don’t do it, that army will be up our butts before you know it.” Sky blinked and then snickered. “Okay, so I’m obviously a bit loopy because that sounded really dumb. But there’s still like, a quarter pint left to go back in.”

Vinyl eyeballed the IV. There was more of an eighth left in her opinion, but that mattered little. What mattered was getting everyone out alive, and Sky was right. All of them had to give it their all.

“What were you talking about when you woke up?” Chem asked curiously as she bent down to check Sky’s IV. “Intone something? Apparently prophetic dreams are a thing on this planet. Veena mentioned the enemy commander is consulting a Seer. Did you have one?”

“They have a guy who can see the future?” Vinyl asked with a worried frown.

Lyra nodded. “Yeah. Tall dude. Looks like a Diamond Dog but more adorable. Yellow robes. Poor guy looks like his visions give him seizures,” the mare’s ears drooped as she mentioned their enemy's apparent condition. It didn’t take a changeling to tell her heart went out to the poor thing.

Okay, that’s a real threat… But maybe whatever power I have can help. I never even told myself what it was, but it’s gotta be something useful, Vinyl decided.

“While I was out, I had a conversation with myself,” Vinyl said to her friends, blushing slightly. “I know that sounds a little bit crazy, but it’s true. I guess when a vampire dies our conscious and subconscious minds get to yell at each other. Or something like that.

“Long story short… I think I have a trick that can get us out of this mess. But I never told myself the incantation. So uh… Well, I guess that’s out. Nevermind. Don’t worry, I’ll think of something!”

Vinyl smiled proudly and happily as she finished speaking. Confidence flowed through her veins. She could do this. With her help, she could guide them through. I just have to remain calm.

Sky held up a hand like a colt in school would hold up their hoof. “Question?” He announced.

Vinyl blinked. Why is he acting like that? She wondered. “Um, what?”

“Assuming what you experienced wasn’t just a near-death hallucination, but instead you really were actively talking with your subconscious mind, then you know exactly what the incantation is, and odds are if you try and use it, the first thing you blurt out at random while trying will be the correct answer. So why aren't you trying it right now?” Sky asked.

Vinyl opened her mouth to reply, but the loud boom of the Tomb’s first door slamming shut cut her off. The thunderous rumble echoed through the large hall, making many of the tapestries flutter and shake loose the dust of ages.

Everyone began to cough, covering their mouths as the air became completely unbreathable for several long moments, during which Veena shut the other door. This time more carefully so as not to disturb the dust again. The moment the second door banged shut a bright golden light washed over their surface, shaping itself into a portcullis of light.

On the outside. The arcane bars glowed brightly, visible to all who could see the Great Tomb’s entrance on the mountainside. A signal to the General that her prey was not within the fortress. A sign the volunteer seer could be trusted, even though he still seemed to be a fraud.

On the inside, nothing seemed to happen.

“How do we lock it?” Lyra wondered, walking over to the doors to help Veena look for a bar or a latch or any other means of securing the entrance.

Chem nodded to Vinyl. “While they handle, that, you try whatever you thought of while unconcious. You’ve used your telekinesis, and your vampiric powers. Yog hasn’t had a problem with that, so why should he be upset if you use any other power this body has?”

Vinyl nodded in agreement. “That’s what I was thinking,” she looked around, searching for her sword, which she could feel wasn’t strapped to her back anymore. “Where’s my sword? I need it.”

Sky stood up, picking up Vinyl’s blade and sword belt from the ground beside him. “Here. We took it off when checking your wound for splinters. It would have been in the way.”

“Thanks,” Vinyl said as she took her blade in her arcane grip and pulled it from the scabbard, levitating it to her side in an instant.

She took a deep breath, clearing her mind for the task ahead. Okay. We need to cast a spell subconsciously. On instinct. You can do that. You did it as a foal when your room was too dark. You can do this now.

Vinyl spread her rear hooves and reared up, floating her sword into position and taking hold of it’s hilt with both her forehooves. Recalling her Other Self’s instructions as best she could, Vinyl worked herself into the pose, pointing the sword down at a spot in front of her.

Okay me. Say the words, do the magic, Vinyl thought to herself.

Chem looked at Vinyl curiously, squinting as he looked at the pose, finding something strangely familiar in the way Vinyl was standing.

Vinyl pushed her magic to her horn, trusting her subconscious to shape the spell as it was released. She swung her blade up, pointing it to the heavens. Immediately she felt her magic surge and flow, moving through channels with purpose and direction, but not guided by her conscious thought.

It was working. But...

Strange, Vinyl mused. This feels like illusion magic.

Vinyl pushed the worry aside. There were more important things to worry about. I need to trust myself. I can do this. Okay, words time!

Taking a deep breath, Vinyl shouted the first words that came to mind. “By the power of Grayskull!”

A lightning bolt flashed within the stone chamber, striking Vinyl’s sword, flowing down through it as her aura blazed to life. Starting around her horn her bright electric blue aura engulfed her entire body in as if she were the center of a bonfire.

Chem yelped in panic, throwing himself backwards and rolling to arrive behind Sky, a look of pure terror filling his face as his heart skipped several beats. The Old One seized Sky’s legs like a frightened child clinging to its mother.

Then Vinyl’s aura cleared. Nothing had happened. Though Vinyl did feel a deep seated urge to laugh her plot off as if she had just unleashed the mother of all pranks.

Vinyl narrowed her eyes angrily. I trolled myself… Wow. I’m a dick, she grumbled.

“Chem. Stop. Grabbing. My. Legs.” Sky demanded, his eyes shut in irritation.

Chem let go of Sky, and stood up, immediately clearing his throat and looking away in embarrassment. “Sorry. I— It’s a reflex.” he explained before looking at Vinyl with a happy smile that dripped with fresh fear. “Hi sis! Good to know for sure you’re still in there. You’re a dick!”

Vinyl nodded in agreement. “Totally am. What would that have done if it worked?” Vi asked curiously.

“Infused you with the power of an ancient king, transforming you physically into his equivalent in terms of physical power,” Chem replied instantly. “And let me put it this way, last time you were in that form you hit me in the face with a mountaintop. That you broke off the mountain. My everything hurt for a week.”

Sky raised an eyebrow at Chem. “Sooo, if that was one of your games, why did your Staff of Power have the ability to make fur coats?” He asked sarcastically.

Chem shot Sky an extremely defensive look. “Hey! The Havoc Staff could do anything. It could kill people, destroy entire cities, and yes, make fashionable fur coats! It was the coolest thing ever!” He protested.

“But why?” Sky asked with a bigger smirk.

“Why? Why?” Chem continued, throwing up his hands in exasperation. “What if it gets cold? People need to keep their body temperature at a neutral level. It also made the little umbrellas that you put at the top of drinks.”

“But, why?” Vinyl asked curiously. “Survival gear makes sense, but why drink umbrellas?”

Chem wheeled around to face his sister and put his hands on his hips. “Have you ever had a piña colada without one of those little umbrellas on top? It’s depressing! No one should be subjected to THAT kind of evil.”

“The staff could literally do anything?” Vinyl asked curiously.

Chem nodded firmly. “Yeah! If it's wielder had the MP for it.”

Vinyl picked up her scabbard with her magic and sheathed her sword before strapping it onto her back.

“Too bad we don’t have it now. Apparently when I ask for help I troll myself with some horseapples about “hold up your sword”,” Vinyl grumbled as she turned to call Lyra and Veena back to the rest of the group. “We could use a proper magic weapon.”

Sky opened his mouth, then closed it, as if he decided not to say something. Vinyl didn’t notice his gesture, but Chem did.

“What was that?” Chem asked suspiciously. “Because if you’re going to ask me to do the voice the answer is no. It really hurts a throat if you have one.”

Sky shook his head. “Nah, just a dumb idea,” he said. “I mean, technically speaking, Vi didn’t hold up a sword, she held up a chainsaw. But she’s right. Your sis definitely just wanted to troll you to let you know she’s still in here.”

Vinyl blinked and turned to look back at Chem and Sky. “That’s right, it’s a monomolecular chainsaw, isn’t it?” She said in realization. “Maybe she wasn’t pulling a prank. Maybe the power really IS in me but you need a sword to use as a talisman. This ISN’T a sword!”

Sky groaned. “Please don’t get your hopes u,” he said with a grimace.

Vi nodded. “Yeah well, I’m not. But it would be cool if we did have an ace in the hole.”

Chem laughed. “Ace in the hole? If that had worked, you could open up those doors, walk outside, and simply kill them all while we watch! Well… Maybe. Never actually saw you kill anyone but um— You could definitely throw a mountaintop at them and make them run for it!”

“And Hatty doesn't have a legion of cool looking but totally ineffective henchmen,” Sky said with a snort. “Just beating up the “bad guys” won't cut it.”

Chem held up a finger and inhaled quickly, launching into an excited rant in a high pitched nazly male voice. “That wasn’t my fault! Do you have any idea how much the Guild of Calamitous Intent makes you pay for each henchman’s salary? Of course I went non-union, I am Skeletor!”

Sky snorted, his his best not to laugh, and then failed, collapsing into a full laughing fit, Chem following his lead a heartbeat later.

Vinyl turned her head, looking between Chem and Sky as the two laughed hard enough to tear up.

“I’m missing out on something, aren't I?” Vinyl asked.

The two nodded, still grinning.

“Hahaha, yeah!” Sky giggled before taking a deep breath to serious himself up. “We uh, we should head into the Tomb now. Get to it before they get to us.”

Sky jerked his thumb at the doors to indicate who he meant by they.

“No but seriously that was just sis and I goofing around,” Chem giggled in his normal midpitch voice. “You can’t play every game seriously.”

Vinyl shook her head and trotted towards Lyra and Veena who were still examining the door. Only now Lyra was looking over at her other friends in confusion.

“What are you laughing about?” Lyra called from her spot a hundred yards away.

“I don’t know!” Vinyl called back. “But I need to borrow a sword. I might know a spell, but it needs a sword as a talisman. My sword is actually a chainsaw. It flopped.”

“Her sword is technically a polearm,” Veena shouted.

Vinyl’s ears fell flat. “Well, ponyfeathers…”

“There’s a sword atop a sarcophagus at the end of the entryway!” Lyra said helpfully. “We can’t find a way to lock this door, so I guess we should just head inside. We can grab the sword on the way.”

Vinyl thought the idea over for a second and nodded. “Good plan. Okay, everyone, follow Lyra. We’re moving in.” Vinyl ordered.

Everyone swiftly gathered at the doors. There was no hesitation, no debate over who should lead. The storied Knight-Captain Vinyl Scratch was back and her confidence was on display for all to see. They had been willing to listen to Vinyl a half an hour ago, now they were happy to because this was the mare who had ended a foal trafficking ring using only six mares including herself, not the shellshocked remains of that same pony.

Whatever else had happened to her while unconscious, her wounds had healed.

The group walked down the exceedingly long hall, deeper and deeper into the heart to the mountain. They moved in silence, everyone intently listening for the inevitable creak of the doors opening to allow an army of spider people to pour into the great stone chamber.

After several agonizingly long minutes they reached the end of the entryway. The end was another giant door. The fact that the entire entrance hall was some sort of ginormous arctic entry was more than a little unnerving for everyone. But fortunately there was something to distract them.

The colossal doors serving as a rear wall had two small person sized doors in them to the left and right of an open mausoleum. The octagonal structure was created entirely from black marble and featured a raised dais with a domed roof supported by five pillars. Within the dais’s center was a jade sarcophagus with a carving on the lid of a vaguely humanoid shape.

The shape’s vagueness was due to obvious wear and tear from people touching the lid as small finger grooves could be seen in the jade work. The only intact piece of the original carving were a pair of gauntleted hands which held a flat against the carving’s groin and belly. Strangely, the blade pointed up towards the chin, almost as if the stone hands were offering the blade to anyone who climbed the mausoleum’s steps to look upon it.

The sarcophagi had a series of intact carvings around its sides. The carvings formed a timeline, showing a world of soaring towers that pierced the clouds, and an open space where a castle and some small huts sat next to the towering city, and a group of shadowy figures seemed to be plotting the castle’s destruction from atop their towers.

The next panel showed an image of a golden woman looking somewhat similar to NaN coming down from the heavens atop a silver tidal wave which washed away the towers, drowned the shadowy figures, and formed into new castles and huts. Interestingly, dozens of different creatures also seemed to emerge from the silver wave, and a small section of the carving showed the dead bodies of a few of the shadowy figures who were covered with silver liquid from the wave. Dragons were clawing their way out of the shadow figure’s skin.

The third panel showed one final spire before which the golden goddess stood. Behind her a large army of creatures who assaulted the tower. The tower was defended by a black humanoid mass nearly as large as the tower itself. Or at least, it had been. A humanoid figure carved from a solid ruby stood atop it’s shoulders a sword plunged into the back of it’s neck as the hero rode the black beast’s dying body to the ground.

The final panel showed the shadowy creature being buried under a mountain, with the crushed body of the hero (represented by tiny shards of ruby) being placed into the sarcophagus, while the goddess held the world in her hands, kneeling and offering the globe to her followers.

Then, there was some grafiti. A crude carving, clearly not original to the sarcophagus, which depicted the shadow beast awakening, ripping off the goddess's head, and shoving it down her neck hole while offering her followers what appeared to be a wireless modem and a flying saucer.

I think NaN carved that last bit, Vinyl thought to herself with a snicker.

“I think… I think this is saying she unleashed gray goo,” Sky said as he stared at the second panel, clearly shaken.

Veena nodded. “Yep. Dont’ worry. We EMP any fresh goo she makes from orbit and the old stuff became my people after fuzing to reptiles as it lost power. It’s safe now.”

“Still not comfortable being on a planet ruled by a paperclip maximizer that unleashed gray goo,” Sky said squeamishly. “Not without Big-Sai, and Ay in her Zakku Two for back up. This is SOOOO not okay…”

Vinyl sighed. “Okay, and for those of us who are not tech geniuses?” She asked dryly.

Chem cleared his throat. “DO you know what nanomachines are?” He asked Vinyl, kneeling to get down on her eye level.

Vi nodded. “Yeah. Microscopic robots. I know Sky uses them to help build things.”

“Yeah, but mine are SAFE and only BUILD using defined raw materials,” Sky objected instantly. “Gray Goo is when you tell them to take EVERYTHING they encounter appart to make more of themselves. So you get a chain reaction where literally everything on the planet is turned into a pile of nanomachines, and then they convert the entire planet so all that’s left is one big ball of nanomachines floating through space. Which one day gets hit by a big asteroid, cuz that’s inevitable, so the nanomachines get splashed into space, and suddenly there’s NK-class end-of-the-world threats just floating in space where they can eventually hit more planets, leading to a galaxy-wide erasure of everything that is, which isn’t those nanomachines!”

Lyra calmly looked up at Veena and asked “Why haven’t you guys blown her up yet?”

“Hostages. She has a VIP hostage that our government refuses to lose. Derpy is… Sort of a target for them too because she’s the last person the VIP taught. They want to know how to make D’ni books. It’s not like they are going to arrest her, or the VIP, they just want to be shown how to make what could be used to create infinite energy and wealth,” Veena sighed.

Sky nodded once. “Right… And Derps doesn't give them that info because?”

Veena shrugged. “I don't know. I’ve never gotten to meet my sister. Because she’s never home. She’s in other universes. That’s why the Elders targeted the VIP and not her for extraction. She’s not here.”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow suspiciously at Veena’s words. “You know a lot about this situation,” Vinyl pointed out. “More than just being Derpy’s sister would give you. What’s up?”

Veena smirked. “I’m a Space Ranger. Why wouldn’t I know about Operation Library Card? It’s our number one priority, everyone’s briefed on it in training. That’s the only real reason we still have a Ranger Station in orbit here. This sector could be patrolled from any of the other six stations in it.”

Vinyl nodded, satisfied. “Alright. Well, we need to get this sword. Lyra, see any traps?”

Lyra turned around and moved her head in close to inspect the sword, resting her hooves atop the sarcophagi to do so. The mare inspected the length of the blade, searching for absolutely any mechanism which could trigger a trap. Then her horn lit up, shining a bright gold light across the jade as she scanned for magical traps.

Finally she looked back at Vinyl and shrugged. “It’s not trapped, but the blade is enchanted. There’s a lot of stuff in it, but from what I can tell it’s pretty much only able to be taken by someone who is pure of heart and noble in thought. I don’t think we can take it.”

Chem leaned in to inspect the sword from himself. “Mmm, one of those Sword of Omens deals, eh? Always hated those,” he grumbled. “Still, nothing ventured nothing gained. I know I can't take it, but there’s no reason not to try, Vinyl. Especially since it’s an actual magic hero's sword.”

Vinyl nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Let’s give it a shot.”

Vinyl reared up to grab the blade’s hilt, getting her first good look at the sword. It had a single edged blade which appeared straight at first, but was in fact slightly curved. Not nearly as much as a katana, only barely noticeable. It’s hilt was small, giving Vinyl just enough room to get her hoof between the cross guard and the flared pommel.

The blade was simple iron, though it lacked any rust. The hilt was made of wood, even the crossguard, and showed no rot despite being untreated timber.

Nothing happened as Vinyl touched the hilt. No bolt of lightning. The sword didn’t come to life and cut her in half. Not a single thing she would have had happen if this had been an adventure Vinyl were DMing for her friends happened. Deep down, Vi felt disappointed.

“Okay, here goes,” she said and pulled on the blade, trying to slide it free of the carving’s grasp.

To her shock, the hands moved, letting go of the sword and moving to lay at the carving side. The stone mouth cracked, pulling apart to speak. “You are… Worthy. Arrex lives, he only sleeps. Take Titan’s Bane. It is yours now. You must slay the monster below.”

Before anyone could react to that shock, the great stone doors behind the mausoleum cracked, shuddered, and began to slide back into the walls, opening the way forwards. As well as the way down.

The path ahead turned sharply to the left, forming what was clearly a long spiral ramp leading deep, deep, deep into the heart of the mountain.

“Uhhh…” Vinyl said as the doors shuddered to a stop and the long slowly descending ramp behind the doors was revealed.

“T— Try the thing?” Sky recommended as he put two and two together, and concluded the Tomb’s size and shape had to be entirely due to needing to get the slumbering monster contained within down below in the first place. “We need more weapons. We need ALL the weapons. There’s no way that door opening didn’t wake that Arrex guy up.”

“Yeah,” Vinyl agreed with a slow nod.

She took a deep breath, held the sword out once more, then swept the point upright.

“By the power of Grayskull?” She asked rather than stated.

Nothing happened.

“Oh! Yeah, magic,” Vinyl remembered sheepishly, opening herself to her subconscious to let her do her thing.

The only thing which happened was the sudden emergence of extreme doubt that Vinyl would accomplish anything by trying to use magic she only knew of because of a joke.

Let’s try anyways. It’s worth a shot, Vinyl thought, hopping her subconscious would change her mind.

Once more she opened herself to her magic. Once more she adopted the stance and swept the blade up to the sky. “By the power of—”

Vinyl’s magic started to flow through her into the blade. Titan’s Bane sensed the arcane energy in the hoof which wielded it, and proceed to do what it was made to do.

The sword’s skin shattered. The outer layers of the blade and hilt cracked, flaking off like metal and wooden dandruff, revealing a blade carved from a single ruby, and a hilt sculpted from ivory, inlaid with silver, gold, and wrapped with a rayskin grip.

Bolts of crimson lightning crackled along the blade down into Vinyl’s hoof as it’s magics went to work, transferring the power of a Storm Giant to its new wielder. Vinyl’s bones popped and cracked, thickening and lengthening as she rapidly grew half a meter taller, reaching Chem and Sky’s shoulders. Her skin rolled and slid over her body as muscles thickened and strengthened. Tendons creaked and groaned as they primed to move more mass even faster than before.

The blade endowed Vinyl with the full strength and speed of a Storm Giant, just as it had been designed to do for any worthy wielder thousands of years ago. Such power was nowhere near the legendary hero Her brother and Sky had been joking about before, but in this moment Vinyl was just ever so slightly stronger than Veena, and ever so slightly less durable.

Her mind changed as well, new neural pathways forging in mere moments, providing her with the knowledge of spells contained within the blade which were hers to command. She could call upon the blade to conjure lightning, sunder magical barriers, and control the very winds.

As everyone stared at Vinyl in stunned disbelief she raised the sword to look at its true form. The weapon was elegantly crafted, and she could see magical energy flicking through the blade.

“Woah!” Vinyl exclaimed, awestruck by the incredible power she could feel flowing into her form the weapon she had just been given.

Chem’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. “IT WORKED! SWEET! Go crush them all! We can just punch Hatty into space! WOOOOOO! It’s totally different when you’re on my side! We could totally conquer the whole planet. OH! Please? Can we? PLEASE?!” Chem begged.

Lyra looked at the blade with a little envy. “I should have tried taking it,” she grumbled. “Always wanted to be taller.”

Sky simply stood there, calculating, doing his best to work out what else Vinyl’s inner self might be able to do.

“Um, guys? It’s just the sword,” Vinyl corrected, setting the sword down on the floor to see if that would revert it’s changes.

It did.

The moment she let go, her body compressed inwards, a brief flash of pain accompanying the rather disturbing pops and scrapes as she returned to her original size and shape. As if that were not gross enough, the sword began to leak black ooze which scabbed over, forming into a new wooden and steel shell, giving the weapon an ordinary appearance once more.

“Eww...” Veena and Vinyl said together as they looked down at the magical weapon.

“Uhh, sooo can you carry that without it changing you?” Sky asked, seemingly a bit sad. “I was hoping we’d just derped into the stupid but easy way out of this problem. But maybe we can use it as a sort of surprise? If you can carry it on your back and look normal, then draw it and go all super saiyan, we could catch the enemy off guard at least.”

“Good question,” Vinyl said as she attempted to pick the blade up with her magic.

Her arane grip engulfed the weapon in its blue glow. The sword felt heavier than it should to her magic, seeming to resist being moved for a few moments before suddenly lightening and easily floating to her side.

You remembered my magic… Are you bound to me now? Vinyl wondered. At least I can hold you this way and not transform.

Slowly, carefully, Vinyl slid the sword between her back and her sword belt, pinning it to herself beneath her other blade. She didn’t transform.

“Okay. Good. Looks like I only change if I draw the blade and try to use its power,” Vinyl said with a relieved smile. “Let’s move out. We still need to get Arrex’s eye.”

The hero's nodded in agreement, and after a quick moment of debate related to whether or not Veena could carry them all down the obviously long hallway, the party walked together into the heart of the Tomb. Each step taking them closer and closer to the most dangerous being in all the world.

16 - Autonomous Avenger

Lyra Heartstrings - Day 10

The Great Tomb of Arrex - Wieav

The difference in Vi is just huge. I haven’t seen her like this since… Just before the Tartarian Invasion, Lyra thought to herself as she followed Vi down the corkscrew-like path.

Veena asked, her telepathic voice echoing faintly in Lyra’s mind.

Deep down, Lyra was glad that her bond with the Dragoness depended on trust when it came to communication. Their scouting together had gone a little ways to improve their friendship and strengthen the bond, but there were some thoughts she simply wasn’t ready to share.

Lyra said turning her head to look over the shoulder at her companion.

Veena looked small in the tunnel. A fact which settled upon everyone’s minds like a blanket woven from thin strands of anxiety.

The primal parts of their minds whimpered, whispering about what sort of predators might inhabit this dark place of stone, cold, and echos. The philosophical parts looked ahead, into the vast earthen maw into which they descended and remembered just how small and fragile they really were, and began to list the many ways the universe could crush them underfoot without any warning.

Together those two fragments of their minds formed a dense blanket of fear, which threatened to smother everything else. The calm logical parts of their minds did quite a bit to drag that blanket across their brains. After all, even a little child knew that while it was mandatory to dig a hole big enough to fit the thing you wished to bury, you didn’t leave a hole big enough for it to leave by.

Unless of course, whatever it was would inevitably arise from its grave and in so doing cause such utter devastation that leaving a spiral staircase for it to use was the logical choice.

Each smooth granite tile passing underfoot marked another five feet of the tunnel now behind them. Another five feet they would have to run if the monster attacked. No. When the monster attacked. Yet our heroes continued their decent, each footstep carrying them deeper and deeper into the abyss.

Their hearts kept their feet moving. The fate of Equestria weighed heavily on their minds. Ten days of running, hiding, and general incompetence when the whole world was counting on them and only them. Suddenly a chance at victory had appeared within reach.

Hope: The greatest source of courage since the very first creature took its first breath.

Veena agreed.

Lyra answered.

Veena frowned as she attempted to process what she had heard.

Lyra corrected with an audible snort of laughter and a grin.

Veena said, her neck and tail shaking as she shivered.

Lyra nodded.

Veena corrected.

Lyra rolled her eyes and was about to reply when Vinyl raised her hoof, gesturing for the group to stop.

“What is it?” Sky asked from his position at the rear.

“Shhh!” Vinyl hissed, tilting her head to the left and rotating her ear, trying to focus on a sound. “Hoofsteps. Not Lyras… We’re being followed.”

Lyra spun around on her forehooves, pivoting with supernatural grace. Her vampiric eyes pierced the darkness effortlessly, but the curving pathway made seeing any more than a hundred meters quite impossible. Lyra didn’t have to see to pick up the sound of hooves quietly, but quickly, stepping on stone.

“I hear it too,” Lyra said quietly.

Veena tilted her head. “Mmm… Yeah, there might be something moving back there,” she agreed. “Lyra and I can wait here and counter-ambush them.”

“Or I can lay prone, wait for them to pop around the corner, and just shoot them,” Sky suggested.

“We’re going with Sky’s idea,” Vinyl said decisively. “If it’s the Elbez from earlier, she incapacitated me, meaning she can take Lyra out for sure. And if we lose you, Lyra, we lose Veena too.”

Lyra shrugged her shoulders. “Well, yeah, but we could also just melt whatever it is with atomic fire.”

Veena shook her head no. “Can’t right now. I’m in low power mode. Most of my mechanical parts are offline,” she explained sheepishly. “But I could use regular fire!”

Chem turned towards the dragon and raised one eyebrow skeptically. “Why?” He asked.

“Because I don’t want to be glowing really brightly, humming quietly, and hungry later,” Veena replied with a flick of her tail. “You don’t go all in if you don't have too when there isn’t a full-sized meal nearby.”

Vinyl sighed and shook her head hard enough to ruffle her mane. “Guys, move out. She’ll get suspicious if she hears we stopped for too long. Sky, set up an ambush. Everyone else, let’s go. Based on the echos I think we're getting near the end of this ramp.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. The best plans are not only the simplest but also the most risk free. Sky unfolded Sheila’s bipod, and layed down on the cold stone floor, immediately taking aim at the spot nearest the central pillar where their stalker would soon be.

The other four continued walking down the ramp, moving a little more cautiously than before.

Sky Trigger - Day 10

The Great Tomb of Arrex - Wieav

Sky lay against the cool granite floor, watching, waiting. It hadn’t taken more than three minutes for the hoofsteps to become audible to him. His hearing in this body was definitely not as good as a pegasi’s hearing, but he could tell that his target was almost into position.

Time for last minute checks, Sky thought to himself as he slightly adjusted his position. Safety off? Check. Active camouflage cloak on? Check. Night vision enabled? Check. Sheila's power setting at maximum? Check. Alright… Let’s go.

Sky took a deep breath and adjusted his sights. Sheila’s bipod creaked slightly as the psi-rifle’s point of aim adjusted.

Please let them not have heard that. Sky pleaded with fate as the hoofsteps grew even louder, and the tunnel grew brighter.

A pale yellow light slowly brightened the dark tunnel, casting shadows every which way as the light caught on the imperfections in the ancient stone walls. The light was steady, it didn’t flicker. This wasn’t a torch. It must be some sort of magical light.

Hopefully they don’t have shields, Sky worried.

They were right on top of him now. Any second now and they would round the cor—

A shadow slid across the floor. Human! No, four legs. Centaur? Deer person! She had a friend. Probably was an advanced scout, Sky thought to himself.

Another step, then another. The Elbez began to emerge from behind the central pillar. Sky raised Sheila’s barrel upwards, quickly taking aim at where he hoped to Luna an Elbez’s heart was, and fired.

Sheila’s sharp crack echoed through the tunnel, warping the sound into something akin to the roar of a great beast. Her fiery bolt of psychic energy shot up the ramp, purple flames crackling as the shot burned the very air itself before hitting the Elbez in her upper torso’s guts.

A female cry of pain reached Sky’s ears even over Sheila’s still echoing shot. A familiar cry of pain.

No frickin’ way! Sky scoffed as he closed the eye looking into his scope to get a better view of his entire target.

She was young. A girl, perhaps a young woman. Slightly toned. Dressed in red. Reacting to being shot by drawing a broken sword from a scabbard on her hip rather than any of the reasonable or more expected reactions to suddenly having a soda can sized hole punched through one’s abdomen.

The light from the yellow crystal floating behind her cast the rest of her features in shadow, but they weren't needed for Sky to Identify her.

“W— WHAT?” Sky exclaimed, genuine shock preventing him from firing again in the hopes of killing his target.

Sky stared at the wounded Elbez in shock. The one he had wounded before.

He'd blown her arm off merely a half hour ago, and yet she had both arms. Despite him having collected her arm, put it in his bag in case they found her and could try to reattach it, and most of all, her arm was still in his bag. Sky could feel its weight pulling at his shoulder bag even as he lay prone thanks to the ramps’ rather steep slope.

That simple fact shocked him more than the fact she was still moving despite the hole he'd just blasted through her upper torso.

"How... How are you-- Where did your arm--" Sky stammered incredibly before standing up and pointing at the hole in his anomalous opponent's torso. "I JUST SHOT YOU!"

Irien smiled as her opponent honorably revealed himself and curled her left hand a fist. Magic crackled around her fist as she pumped it upwards, reshaping the rocks in front of her into a crude barricade. "It’s okay. I got my good friend Chest High Wall. I’ll just sit here and in a couple of seconds, I will be fully recovered. Then we can fight fairly!"

Sky’s jaw dropped as he attempted to process this woman’s thoughts. She thinks I'm apologizing for attacking her from stealth? Like I did something dishonorable? What in the actual—

Then Irien ducked down slightly behind her magical barricade, leaving enough of her upper body exposed to provide Sky with a clear view of her, and a clean shot. Sky swept his rifle up to his shoulder, took aim at Irien’s head, and fired.

Sheila’s crosshair was dead centered when Sky pulled the trigger. His hands did not shake. He did not sneeze, twitch or cough. The shot should have been perfect. Instead, the purple energy bolt left Sheila’s barrel at a thirteen-degree angle and hit the ramp some distance behind the crouching deertaur.

“Oh no! Sky? She’s got some kind of psionic defenses,” Sheila warned, urgency seeming to leak from the spirit’s voice.

“Yeah, you can’t hit me behind this,” Irien said in agreement, nodding calmly. “Go ahead and try again if you want too! Do you have a sword? Or one of those little knife things to make a gun into a spear?”

Sky watched in horror, at first as he realized fighting her would be a truly royal pain in his plot, then with renewed terror as the wound in Irien guts began to slowly knit itself shut.

Oh sweet Luna no! He thought as his eyes went wide. I have to warn the others!

"RUN! FUCKING RUN! SHE HAS THIRD PERSON SHOOTER POWERS! WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Sky screamed as loud as he could.

Sky dropped Sheila, letting her strap guide her back to his side as he drew his pistol and fired over his shoulder, boots slamming against the stone floor as he sprinted away.

“Hey! Come back, you coward!” Irien yelled angrily after him as bullets ricocheted all around her, none of which even came close to hitting her.

“Buck you, and your stupid-ass psychic powers!” Sky replied as he continued to run.

Sky’s pistol clicked loudly, running dry after spraying its leaden load across everywhere that didn't matter. BUCK! No time to reload, Sky yelped to himself in panic. Not that it would matter. How do you stop a player in a third person shooter? Uhhh… Boss fight! Yeah! But how?

The answer eluded Sky for another few seconds. For another 400 frantic heartbeats. Then…

Duh! There’s a literal cyborg dragon at the end of the hallway. That will work!

Sky was about to devote his full attention towards sprinting to his teammates when a loud crack of hoof on stone echoed down the corridor.

“She’s no longer in cover!” Sheila informed.

And she can’t make it if she doesn't move. And I can blow off her arms! Sky realized.

A sudden surge of hope filled his chest. And then just as suddenly left. But she has actual hit points. She just ignored getting shot.

Then the hope came back. But that just means I need to shoot until the HP is gone.

Sky skidded to a halt, his boots rubber souls leaving black marks on the floor as he turned, shouldered Sheila smoothly, and fired. His shot streaked through the air and found its mark, ripping through Irien’s flesh and bone. The Elbez woman screamed in pain as her arm fell to the floor.

YES! I can do it! I just panicked. Maybe she only has power behind cover. Sky said as he grit his teeth with determination and shifted his point of aim towards Irien’s other arm.

But as he saw the look of pain on Irien’s young face, a pang of Mercy tugged at Sky’s heart.

“Back off, kid,” Sky ordered, keeping Sheila aimed at Irien’s other arm.

Irien adjusted her remaining hand’s grip, flicking her broken sword into an icepick grip. “No! I’ll stop you. The seer said so!” She insisted.

Sky snorted. “You might be invulnerable behind cover, but you're not right now. I can kill you if I want,” he reminded. “And seriously, I shot your arm off. Again!”

Irien grinned at Sky, her smile holding a manic glee behind it which would have made even Pinkie shiver in terror.

“No you didn’t,” she said, sticking her tongue out mockingly.

Sky’s brow furrowed. “What’s that then?” He demanded, taking his hand off Sheila’s barrel to point at the Elbez’s severed arm.

Irien glanced down, then shrugged at Sky. “I’ve had worse,” she said with a determined look in her eyes.

“You—” Sky began to yell, only for his lips to purse in confusion midway through as he became confused. “Liar?”

I mean… That’s possible? She can regen—

“FIght me, coward!” Irien shouted, raising her broken sword high as she surged forwards, all four of her legs pushing against the floor as she launched herself at Sky with a shallow yet lightning quick leap.

Sky jumped left. Irien soared past him, her blade hissing as it sliced into Sky’s hood, ripping a small hole in the fabric. Sky spun, knelt and fired a shot reflexively. The purple bolt blasted forth, striking Irien just above her elbow.

Once more the Irien cried in pain. Once more her arm fell to the floor, this time with a clatter of steel in addition to the thunk of wet meat.

“Ha!” Sky exclaimed mockingly. “Victory is mine!”

Irien growled angrily and turned around, glaring at Sky intently. Though heavens knew what she intended to do.

Sky raised Sheila once more to finish his opponent off, and once more that pang of mercy tugged at his heart.

... This had better not be some kind of psi attack she can do… Sky thought bitterly as she lowered Shila yet again.

“Okay… Look. If you let my friends and I finish up here without trying anything stupid, maybe Chem will reattach your ar—”

Sky was cut off as Irien’s left forehoof struck him in the jaw, knocking him over. He hadn’t even seen her gallop towards him.

“OW!” Sky cried, doing his best to jump back up, and just barely managing to land successfully.

Irien skidded to a halt slightly up the ramp and turned around to face Sky, lowering her upper body in preparation for another charge. “Come on then!” She taunted with a mocking gleam in her eyes.

Sky’s jaw dropped as he took in the sight of the bleeding, dismembered young woman, still clearly intent on fighting him.

“You stupid bitch! You’re done! Surrender before you bleed out,” Sky demanded.

“Pfff, why would I do that?” Irien asked then blew a raspberry at Sky.

Ohhhh, you little—

“BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO ARMS LEFT!” Sky shouted back, his left eye twitching.

“Yes, I do!” Irien mocked, her tail flicking a she got ready to charge.

Sky nodded towards Irien’s stumps. “The buck are those the—”

Sky only barely managed to duck out of the way as Irien short forwards with the same insane speed she had before. Her hoof whistled past his head with the same sound as a fastball as the attack only just narrowly missed.

Knowing where Irien would most likely land, Sky pointed Sheila over his shoulder and fired. The sharp crack was rewarded with a third cry of pain as his shot connected.

Sky turned, the squeak of his boots painfully sharp. Irien’s left hind leg had been blown off at the knee, and her front left leg had a large burn on it where the psionic bolt had grazed her after passing through.

Okay, that took off one of her legs. We’re done here… I hope. Sky thought with a mental sigh.

“I’ll kill you for that!” Irien growled angrily, turning around only slightly awkwardly, her head lowered for yet another charge.

“Are you BUCKING kidding me?!” Sky demanded, his eye twitching again.

Vinyl Scratch - Day 10

The Great Tomb of Arrex - Wieav

Vinyl sprinted up the ramp, moving towards the sounds of gunfire. The supernatural speed lent to her by her vampiric blood carried her up the ramp nearly as fast as Veena could fly.

I hope we’re in time! Stupid, stupid, stupid decision. I should have realized there could be multiple attackers! Vinyl growled at herself as she galloped.

She didn’t hate herself for her mistake. Not this time. This time Vinyl knew she simply had to correct it.

Had begun to charge back up the ramp the moment the pistol shots had echoed down from above, leaving Lyra and Chem to work on getting past the magical lock on the door they had found. Veena had wordlessly decided to come with Vinyl, and she was grateful for the backup.

He’s shooting so many times. We’re up to five shots with Sheila and what had to be a whole magazine of pistol rounds. Hold on Sky, we’re coming! Vinyl thought, a determined gleam in her eyes as she rounded the final corner.

And skidded to a halt as she saw a now one-legged Elbez who was laying in a pool of her own blood contort her spine to bend enough to allow her to land a feeble kick on Sky’s lower back with her last remaining leg.

“Wait, what?” Vi asked herself.

Sky took a deep breath the moment the kick connected with him, and with an irritated flick of his wrist blasted the deertaur’s final limb off her body.

“There,” he said with extreme annoyance. “The battle is over.”

Vinyl’s jaw dropped in horror as she looked on. “S-Sky! I didn’t think— How can you be so cruel?!”

Sky turned around with a surprised look on his face. “I’m not being cruel she— AAAAA!”

The moment Sky had turned his back Irien undulated, using her upper and lower bodies as a lever to move into position and bite Sky’s left shin savagely enough to puncture both his boot and his flesh.

Sky kicked out with his left foot, catching Irien under her chin, sending her head snapping backward as she popped free of his leg.

“Luna’s FUCKING mane! Give the fuck up already?! What the fuck is the fucking matter with you?” Sky roared before swinging Sheila into position and putting two bolts through Irien’s upper chest.

Oh… Vinyl said to herself as she realized what was actually going on.

The deertaur grunted in annoyance as she was shot and rolled over, beginning to wiggle her way back into position to bite Sky again.

“Why won’t you die?!” Sky demanded angrily.

“Someone didn’t read Brass Paladin number two-fifty-three!” Irien teased, sticking her tongue out at Sky once more.

Vinyl shook her head. She wasn’t about to deal with an immortal yet destructible would-be-hero. Not today.

“Veena? Fly her to the top and put her… Anywhere. Then get back here and let us know if the army’s breached the doors yet,” Vinyl ordered with a shake of her head.

“Right,” Veena sighed.

The Dragoness stepped over to Irien, wrapped one talon around her lower spine, then opened her wings and took off, quickly flying up the winding corridor and vanishing from sight.

“Put me down! We were having a fair and honorable duel!” Irien shouted at Veena before beginning to yell at Sky. “COWARD! I’LL BE BACK! YOUR DRAGON CAN’T FLY ME FAR ENOUGH AWAY! AND YEAH, I KNOW THEY CAN GO INTO SPACE! I WILL FIND YOU!”

Vinyl shook her head once more than looked up at Sky. “That seems like it was really really irritating,” she said apologetically.

“It’s fine,” Sky grumbled, rubbing his bleeding leg. “You didn’t know we were facing a supernatural Elbez with fucking Shooter Guy powers…”

“Wait, explain that,” Vinyl demanded, her face scrunching up.

“She can make chest high walls, regenerates health when behind them, including growing back limbs. You can’t hit her while she’s in cover, and she has actual HP. Or did you not see how I put holes in her but she kept, you know, being alive?” Sky grumbled.

Vinyl sighed. “Suddenly I don’t feel so bad about getting staked by her,” she said before turning to run back down the rest of the ramp. “Come on. We need to get to Lyra so I can have her tell Veena to ensure she can’t regenerate and come after us again. Who knows how long we will be down here.”

“I wonder if her bite will give me Shooter Guy powers too?” Sky asked himself jokingly as he slid Sheila into place on his back and turned to follow Vinyl down the ramp.

“Well, stranger things have happened. Like being alive because you’re hosting a dead Old One,” Vinyl said as she began to run.

“How is that working out for you now that you know?” Sky asked, flinching slightly with each step as a pulse of pain shot up his injured leg.

“Surprisingly well,” Vinyl said after a moment spent thinking it over. “I’m her, she’s me. There’s no difference. I guess it’s best to think of me as a gestalt of a pony who never lived, and a god who died.”

“Too bad it doesn't give you any perks,” Sky said with a wince. “Like crazy deer girl bite healing power. How the fuck did she bite through an armored boot?”

Vinyl giggled as Sky cursed.

“What?” The engineer demanded.

“Well, it’s just… I’ve been meaning to ask. Why do you still swear like a foal?” Vinyl asked with a grin.

Sky snorted. “I don’t swear like a foal. I swear like everyone from Phoenix. Cuz I swear in English. Yeah, Equestrian foals will say fuck instead of buck, but that’s a nonsense word in Equish. In English, Fuck is a crass way to say sex. Or to say hitting something. Or in place of any noun, adjective, verb, or preposition in a sentence. Or as nearly every word in a sentence.

“It’s one of that kind of curse words that just snowballs into something bi— “

Sky’s bitten leg decided to move a bit slower than he would have liked, and he tripped. Falling head over heels down the ramp for several meters.

Vinyl ran over to his side, holding out a hoof to help him back up. “You okay? We’ll run slower,” she asked.

“Ow…” Sky groaned as he took Vinyl’s hoof and pulled himself back up to his feet. “Okay, so as an example…”

Sky took a deep breath.

“Fuck this fucking ramp with a motherfucking anchor!” He roared angrily.

Vinyl couldn't help but snicker at what to her was still a small child’s attempt to sound like an adult. “It’s okay, there’s only another hundred meters or so to go,” she promised with a smile.

“We’ve been walking for half an hour… It had better be almost done,” Sky mumbled under his breath.

The two made it to the bottom of the ramp in but a few minutes, Sky only stumbling another three times. The bite had done more damage than immediately apparent, but a few small nudges from Vinyl’s Telekinesis was enough to allow Sky to continue safely down the admittedly steep ramp.

When the two reached the bottom, two things were immediately obvious. First, despite the ramp, a barrier had been installed to keep Arrex from returning. The ramp ended with a mere ten feet of flat floor before a solid metal wall blocked all further progress.

The wall was white in hue and glowed like the frosted glass in a lampshade. The way the glow crackled and fizzed within the metal suggested the wall was reinforced with some form of energy field. Blasting through it would not be an option. The only way through the wall was a small door, just big enough for a human to enter through.

Second, Lyra and Chem had managed to get the door open. Revealing the wall to be around three meters thick. But more importantly also showing the room beyond the wall, into which Lyra and Chem were staring in awe.

“What is it?” Vinyl asked, trotting up to stand next to Lyra.

“Just… Look,” Lyra said, pointing into the room with a hoof.

The room, if one could call such a large space a room, was truly something to marvel at.

It reminded Vinyl of the time Bonbon had taken her and her other friends to see an in-progress Megaspell Resistant Fortress. Everypony knew no mage would be foolish enough to use such magic ever again. Yet with how many disasters had struck Equestria in the recent past, it was little wonder why some wealthy ponies would like to live in as close to absolute safety as they could possibly be.

The chamber in front of them was a metal box. Everything solid. Walls. Floor. Ceiling. No gaps. Just the one entry point. Everything most likely three meters thick. Everything reinforced with bracing thicker than three points standing atop one another. Everything properly jointed to allow for the movement of the earth to not crush the box.

The floor had mounting points for colossal springs which held up a secondary floor, accessible by ramps, upon which a fortress could be constructed to make the building earthquake proof. Nothing would harm something built upon that platform.

Everything in the room was white and unpainted. Everything was clean and well lit. Not a speck of dust, dirt, or grime to be seen. The room had been sealed airtight for who knows how many millennia.

None of that was even remotely awe-inspiring. That was merely interesting, perhaps even impressive if one was architecturally inclined. No, the truly incredible thing was how the “body” of Arrex was interred within its high tech coffin. For that’s what the room was.

The tremor proof floor was marked out in a hexagonal pattern, and each hex held a single component. Some hexes were subdivided into more hexes, each holding a smaller part. There were thousands of hexes and thousands of parts. Brightly painted white, blue, red, gold, and black metal cut and formed into complex shapes, precision made PCBs, miles of hydraulic lines, and half a dozen things no one recognized rested in an orderly disassembled state within that room. There was no body.

Everything was evenly spaced. Perfectly centered within its hex. There was a logical arrangement. Electronics in the rear left, hydraulics in the rear right, fasteners in the middle left, and so on. Looking into the room was exactly like looking at the desk of a fastidious model building enthusiast who ritualistically laid each and every tiny component out on their desk before building a new model.

“It’s like a giant’s workbench,” Sky murmured quietly.

“Think you can find the eye in that?” Chem asked.

“I think the eye is most definitely in pieces. NaN’s instructions didn't say anything about this,” Sky said uncertainty. “I think she would know about this.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. She’s basically enslaved. Why would she know anything she didn’t need to know?” Lyra asked as she looked down at a small silver horn in her left hoof.

Vinyl caught sight of the silver instrument as it sparkled in the bright light which spilled out of the doorway. It didn’t look like it belonged in this world. It wasn’t organic looking at all. This was the sort of trumpet a robot might make, all angles and geometry. Yet it still looked as if it would comfortably sit within a hand, and also appeared very much playable.

“Where did you get that trumpet, Ly?” She asked curiously.

“OH!” Lyra exclaimed, her ears standing on end. “RIght! I forgot because, well, you know why. Over here.”

Lyra nodded towards the far left wall and walked over to it with Vinyl following along behind. “Chem and I thought there might be a lever or something along the wall. So we walked along and found this,” she explained, gesturing to a small shrine cut into the stonework of the left-hand wall with a hoof.

Vinyl stepped forward and inspected the shrine. An open glass case rested in the center of the small cut out, and that rested atop a small stone column decorated with engraved thorny vines which seemed to drip poison. A carving at the top of the shrine depicted the trumpet in Lyra’s hoof being blown, with an image of the world crumbling to dust beneath the player.

Okay, so the idea is this thing could cause the apocalypse. At least it was behind the “worthiness test”. Without my sword to lock this away, we’d have another Rings of Talacon on our hooves. Vinyl thought with a sigh.

“So you see a trumpet in a case with a warning carved in pictures so everyone can understand it no matter what language they speak, and even if they don’t read at all, and you just take it out and play it?” Vinyl asked Lyra dryly.

Lyra shook her head and pointed again, this time to the left of the shrine. “That’s not what this is or does. Null made this place, that picture is a lie. Read that.”

Vinyl turned her head towards the faint scratchings on the wall. It took her a moment to realize they were indeed words. Someone had plastered over them in an attempt to hide them.

Odd they didn’t just smash the stone to prevent anyone from reading… No, wait, this was done to hide the words by whoever made it, VInyl realized as she slowly read the text.

Hero,

I am sorry to have lied to you. Whatever I held out to you on a silver platter to persuade you to retrieve the Eye of Arrex, it was a partial lie. The Eye will not solve your problem. It is not the solution you seek. It is the solution I seek.

I assure you that I will do whatever is necessary to give you what I promised you. I got you to come here by trickery because if I spoke aloud the real quest, Her Divine Grace would hear my words and know I plotted to escape her grasp. You now hold the power to free not only me but our entire world from her. If you do, I will give you all I promised the Eye would do for you and more.

Anything you desire will be yours. My creators lived in an age where the need to work no longer existed. They lived in a world where there was no such thing as scarcity. The power to draw upon infinite resources without the need for a single worker is something I can do once I am free of my sister’s shackles.

If you want a billion lovers, I shall custom grow them for you to exact specifications. If you want your dead family members back, I shall make new bodies for them and transfer their minds out of the network Her Divine Grace stores them all in. If you want to live in a city made entirely of gold I shall construct it. If you wish for ultimate knowledge, I can provide you with a link to my very mind, and all that I know will be yours. Do you wish to study the creatures who live in the void beyond the stars? I will create equipment for you to do so safely. A universe of your own? Not a problem.

You made it this far, you are beyond my sister’s reach in this place. If she knows you are here, she cannot stop you. Our “magic” doesn't work in this place. We can’t sense it anymore. She got suspicious when I began to inspect the coffin for any spot I could beam a signal through. There are none.

This is the last time I can ever be here, and as a creature of light, I can not blow the trumpet myself. Nor can any machine I can devise. An organic being must do it.

It will not end the world. It was made into the key for the coffin. Play the first song I have transcribed below and the door will open.

The second song is the Warsong of a long dead people. My creators. Her Divine Grace’s creators. It is their call to war, ceremonially played upon each march into battle. My sister used it as the key to unlock a curse she put upon Arrex which prevents him from healing. Play it and the curse will break.

She believed the song would be lost. She didn't know I knew it. She doesn't know it is written here, next to where she chose to place the key to his prison as a final bit of mockery.

There is no time to write my full plan down, nor would you be likely to understand it. But it will work. Arrex cannot defeat her on his own, but with my help, it will be trivial. When he fought Her Divine Grace long ago, she used her “magic” to prevent him from sensing my existence. Her magic will not exist in this spot because I can go anywhere she can. To keep me out, she cannot be able to go to a spot herself. He will know I exist if he is returned to life, and that will be that.

Play the song. Save the world. Get whatever rewards you want. There is no price too steep for freeing us all from her prison.

-Not a Number

We’ve been played. Vinyl thought the instant she finished reading the message.

She grit her teeth, milliseconds away from flying into a rage beyond anything she had ever felt before. Then Lyra set a hoof on Vinyl’s shoulder.

“Vi. I was angry too. But think for a minute. Is this really screwing us over?” Lyra asked as she looked into Vinyl's eyes.

Vinyl nodded. “It damn well is! All of this was for noth—”

Vinyl’s angry tirade was cut short by an idea suddenly arising in the back of her mind. She’s not screwing us. She’s protecting herself. We are people not a part of Null’s network. NaN could trust us to not betray her. But Null really can hear everything NaN does, even if she can't react to it instantly.

Besides, we wouldn't have helped her. We would have focused in on finding Hastur. Which if her promise of a reward for helping her with this is true, we will get. And why wouldn’t it be? She’s an AI made to engineer advanced technology, and we need a piece of advanced technology. She’d probably want to make it anyways.

Worst case scenario, we help this world escape the rule of a mad tyrant. That’s a good thing. Even if we fail, even if NaN truly screws us over, one world will be saved. Because really, there’s two at stake here. There’s no way the Dragons won’t just glass the whole planet to ensure that Null has no other cores on the planet besides the one they know about.

We’ve been so focused on saving our world, we didn’t think about this one. We may not know it well, and its danger is further away, but we’re heroes, and saving the world is actually in our job description.

Thank you, Light. I wouldn’t have put that together before I did something really… Stupid.

Vinyl nodded once. “Right. I get it now. Thanks, Lyra. Is Chem up to speed?”

Lyra nodded. “Yes. And so is Veena, but she doesn't want me to activate Arrex before she can inspect it to try and see what it is. Personally… I don’t care. I want our world to be safe, and I trust NaN to deliver the unlimited bounty she promised in her message here. She’s got everything to gain from this.”

Vinyl nodded again. “Yeah. That leaves just Sky then,” Vinyl said as she turned to face the group and wave them over. “Sky! There’s something you should know. Come over here and read this message NaN cut into the wall.”

Sky frowned, but walked over to the two ponies, his eyes flicking over the wall for a few moments before Vinyl pointed the message out to him.

“Ah! Thank you. That’s pretty well hidden,” he said as he began to read the message.

His eyes narrowed angrily as he read the first half but slowly softened as he reached the end. Then he reached up to stroke his chin thoughtfully.

“Okay. We know her sister listens to everything NaN does. I can understand why she would try to deceive people into helping her. But what if we just trade one paperclip maximizer for another? She is REALLY focused on building things,” Sky cautioning as he looked off into the nothingness between himself and the wall in thought.

“It would be a paperclip maximizer who owes us a favor,” Lyra reminded.

“True. But she did promise a universe as a possible reward. I’m not certain you can build those,” Vinyl said with a shrug, deciding to play devil’s advocate.

“Well, theoretically you could make a small pocket of independent spacetime with any sort of physics you like which would be large enough for a person to enter, and once inside of it you could make them perceive anything you liked, including infinite space.” Sky mused. “My sister Ayna made such a device to try and prove the hypothesis that an inherent property of a true Vacuum is to create something.

“She did it, but the miniverse she created was only a few nanometers across. If NaN’s creators were, oh... Say, a thousand years more advanced than we are, then yeah. She probably can make you a custom universe. Or she could be trying to use words a primitive might understand, and what she would really do is plug them into a Virtual Reality via a mind-link.”

Chem walked over while Sky spoke, and nodded in agreement as he arrived. “Lyra and I talked about it for a bit before deciding to try opening the door just to see what was inside. We both think we can trust NaN to deliver on her promise.”

Lyra nodded twice. “She did give us the blueprints to make everything we need for the radar, except for the eye, which she said is some kind of subspace scanner, right? And Sky, you did say you think you could build it from those plans given enough time and materials, right?”

Sky nodded. “Yes. It would take a month or two, but yes.”

Vinyl brought a hoof up to her chin to think. “Then the worst case scenario, we cause mass chaos across the world, plunging it into absolute madness as a new “God” takes it over and reshapes it in mere hours. But we can scavenge materials to save our own world and we can trust that this world won't be destroyed by the Dragons because the threat to them is dead.

“Most likely scenario, we help someone escape slavery, who in turn brings the world into the future via a slow transition, who rewards us for our help. Or if they don't, we can still scavenge materials to save our own world.

“Best case scenario, NaN really WILL give us anything we want, farts out a kinetic bombardment platform for us, and we use it along with the Radar to find Hatty and nuke him from orbit.”

The four looked at each other, searching the other’s faces for any sign of objection to Vinyl’s logic. They found none.

Vinyl nodded once. “Okay… Lyra, where’s Vee?”

“She’s two minutes away,” Lyra reported immediately.

“Have you told her what’s in the room?” Vinyl asked. “Is that enough for her?”

Lyra shook her head. “I did, but it wasn’t.”

Vinyl closed her eyes and sighed. “She’s a member of the team. We’ll wait.”

The four walked back to the door and waited until their draconic companion returned. Fortunately wasn’t long until the white dragoness winged her way around the final bend in the ramp and slammed into the ground, panting heavily from the exertion of her rapid flight.

“Sorry! It’s hard, to fly, fast, in narrow, spaces, and yeah, thirty meters, is narrow, for something, with my…” She trailed off, pausing to inhale deeply. “Wingspan. Okay, so, room, lots of parts. Tech things. We need to know we’re not making a subspace bomb!”

Sky facepalmed immediately. “Vee, given the parts in there I could make anything I wanted to, including all kinds of WMDs and Doomsday devices. It’s a treasure trove of high tech components. It could be anything. But according to the story, it’s a giant robot. I believe the story because there’s no need for Null to deny having once fought “a giant in a suit of armor”. But hey, look for yourself. It’s a huge pile of parts. You’ll see any number of machines in it.”

Veena craned her neck around to look through the open doorway into the room. Her eyes scanned over each and every component, the digital part of her mind cataloging each and every one of them while comparing them to parts she had seen before. All while her organic mind went to task to find out how they could fit together, what these separate entities might achieve as one cohesive mechanism.

Her thought process was beyond the understanding of an organic mind, but also inorganic minds. The union of flesh and steel on such an intimate level created its own rules. It’s own ways. Unknowable to anything or anyone outside of the realm they created.

And yet all roads do eventually lead to the same place.

Veena blushed a bright pink as she saw how to build everything from a city killing death ray to the world’s greatest sex toy in the pile of parts.

“Uhhhh, good point, Sky,” she admitted awkwardly. “I um… I just didn’t want to… It could have obviously been parts of a planet-busting bomb, you know?”

Sky smiled for a moment and shook his head. “Newbies… Leave the assessing to the Engineers next time.”

Vinyl shook her head slowly as well. Silly Dragon. At least she only cost us a few minutes.

“Lyra, play the song,” Vinyl ordered.

Lyra raised the horn to her lips, pressed two of the keys down with her hoof, looked over at Veena and said, “All ponies have telekinesis in their hooves. That’s how I can press two keys with one hoof at the same time without pressing the third key.”

“Ohhhhh!” Veena exclaimed the perplexed look which had formed melting away. “You know you could have just said that telepathically.”

“Can’t. Trying to remember the music,” Lyra said with a smirk.

Then she put the trumpet back up to her lips and began to play. The slow almost threatening melody filled the air. It spoke of power, of grandeur, of triumph, and oddly enough, it spoke of regret.

The song washed over the assorted parts in the room beyond the doorway. Flowing around and over each and every part. The first few seconds of the song went by, the music slowly building on itself. Everyone aside from Lyra stared into the room, watching intently, unsure of what might happen.

Then, as Lyra reached the song’s first crescendo, it happened. A bright bronze colored light flowed outwards from a small black box on the far side of the room. The light ran across each and every part slowly but surely casting them in its bronze glow, making each part luminous.

The brightness grew and grew with the music until at last all parts shone like miniature suns. Everyone but Lyra turned away from the bright light. Lyra continued to play, seemingly entranced.

Vinyl’s ears twitched and flicked as the sound of thousands of metal parts scraping against the flooring all in unison filled the air, rising above the song for a few short moments as the parts began to move.

The light dimmed, each part having been infused with the necessary amount of arcane energy for its respective task. Sensing the light change even with her eyes closed, Vinyl turned her head and peeked back into the room. The individual parts were moving of their own will, flying slowly but steadily through their air to meet up with partners and join together into components, which in turn moved in concert to link up with one another almost as if they were dancing.

A humanoid shape began to emerge from the component's dance. First feet, then legs. Hips, and a torso, arms, and then the head. The parts were separated no more

A truly giant, mostly white, mech of an angular design featuring elements of iron age wargear stood within the room. It’s look was bold, but understated. It was clearly designed for war with it’s angular plating, large arm mounted shield, flight-pack, and its many integrated weapons, but care had been put into its design to also make it look noble. A fusion of a tank, an ancient knight, and a modern soldier.

It kinda looks like Neighponese armor, Vinyl noted as she looked at the mech’s head. Especially with that long unicorn horn thingy its got. That’s almost exactly the same as those helmets with the spearing thingie that fits over your horn… No one ever explained to me how you can use those and not have it hurt really bad.

The shock-resistant floor creaked and groaned with Arrex’s bulk. The colossal warmachine stood still for several long moments as if waiting for something. Then it came to life. Armor plates all over the mech hinged open for a moment, revealing bright red crystal components along with maneuvering thrusters for brief instants, only to shut the very next moment. Hatches in the limbs and on the shoulders opened to briefly deploy internal weapons, which immediately retracted. The robot’s limbs moved, each individual joint making precise simple motions as it went through its boot up diagnostics.

Then just as suddenly as it started, it stopped, falling still one more.

Arrex remained still for several minutes, long enough for Sky to let out the squee he had been holding in. “Please need a pilot, please need a pilot, please need a pilot!” He chanted, hopping excitedly from foot to foot.

Lyra rolled her eyes and put the trumpet aside. “Sky, you own like six giant robots. What’s so special about this one?” She asked dryly.

Sky shot Lyra a hurt look and pointed to the text on the front of Arrex’s left and right pauldrons. “Do you see that? Anaheim Electronics! It’s a— “

Arrex’s eyes lit up with an audible click, interrupting Sky mid-sentence as it proclaimed in a deep synthetic voice which shook the very ground beneath it: “RESTARTUS Protocol: Complete. RX-0-a “Autonomous Avenger” is back online. All systems: Nominal. Weapons: Hot. Mission: The Liberation of Rusmeon from Mar’rath Incorporated. Attempting to locate allied forces…”

Chem inhaled, producing the sound of a fanboy in awe. “It’s got the personality and voiceprint of Liberty Prime!” He said with a childish smile.

Vinyl, Lyra, and Veena shared a look between them.

“I feel like we non-mecha nerds are missing out,” Veena said for the three of them.

Sky nodded. “Yes. Yes, you are,” he said insistently before going back to grinning like a dork.

“We get to watch this thing rip the army outside to shreds!” Chem exclaimed gleefully. “This is SOOOO much better than an illusion spell.”

Vinyl nodded to herself. “Yep, we are.”

“This is the BEST day!” Chem and Sky exclaimed in unison.

17 - Conscripting Victory

Twilight Sparkle - Day 10

Avici Jungle - The Imperial Provinces of Minic

Twilight Sparkle stared out across her domain from the ramparts of Fort Library. The bright afternoon sun washed over all she had achieved, almost as if it were a spotlight. All she had achieved was impressive, but nowhere near as much as she would have liked.

Most everything was half-finished, or a hollow shell. But some things were in a functional condition.

To her left the crude hastily converted cave held four fully grown Tarrasques, all of whom were more than happy to let people ride on them if the small things gave them treats.

I wonder how many people would be okay with them being penned in there with just that little wicker fence? Twilight wondered as she watched one of her self-replicating constructs carry a basket of honeycombs through the stable’s gate.

The constructs had been her second creation. After putting Gadget into a proper body of course. That had proved a little tricky, but fortunately, the jungle was full of magical timber and after remembering what she knew of Timber Wolves, and remembering the spell Wood Shape was on the Druid’s Spell List, the Timber Pony was easy enough to force into existence.

Twilight had based the other TImber Ponies on Gadget’s arcane and physical “template”, which had the unintended side effect of making the constructs rather intelligent.

The question as to whether or not Twilight had created a new sapient species was one she pondered often. If she hadn’t, they were too close to the line to tell. In which case, did it truly matter?

Despite the ethical crisis, her creations had unintentionally caused her, Twilight appreciated their work. As of this morning, they had reached a population of five hundred with only twenty of them dedicated to making more. The rest were busy following Twilight’s designs.

After all, there was only so much Twilight could do herself. She needed blacksmiths, mages, soldiers, bakers, writers, scholars, candlestick makers, and so many other things in order to ensure her plan would succeed.

Right now, the bunker and finishing the fortress would simply have to wait. A proper manufacturing base was needed. It’s been ten days. That makes it very clear that my friends are dead. It’s all up to me, and Hastur is having problems finding me. I need to be ready as soon as possible. We could have only days left, months tops.

Maybe I should get them to start work on the outer wall after lunch? No. The forge is more important. The iron ore in the stables can be worked into plates quickly enough… Did I already show hem how to make armored skins for themselves? I think so.

Twilight thought back over the last four days, searching for an answer. There was more to think of than one would expect. After all, Twilight had spent the last eight days judiciously abusing the spells Augmented Mythic Time Stop and Shadow Clone to get more work done. All told there were the memories of six separate hers. Some of whom had managed to fit up to twelve total days of work into the last four days.

Yes. I did. Good! They will be Iron Ponies soon. That will make them combat ready. Um… If my third clone for today has finished teaching them basic sorcery… This is really hard to keep track of. I need to make a corkboard just to track this. It’s almost more than my mind can handle.

Twilight turned away from the ramparts, facing the central tower of her half-finished Fortress, and closed her eyes in concentration. Her hands flicked through a dozen delicate gestures glowing green than blue as she cast a series of spells. A quick application of Major Creation conjured forth all the materials she needed. A simple use of Fabricate and an artist’s easel supporting a corkboard, parchment paper, the tacks needed to hold them to the board, and of course red string to link elements together, simply took shape.

Her final spell simply dumped all of her knowledge of her clone’s schedules onto the paper.

Twilight nodded in satisfaction as she looked over her impromptu timetable and task list. This is probably inaccurate, but I’ll just update it after reabsorbing the clones tonight. Then we can get everything right tomorrow. This should help speed things up!

Twilight turned back towards her work in progress village, and once more watched her Timber Ponies work. Soon the Village Hidden in the Jungle would be complete. Well, doctor soon. Not soon soon.

While her Timber Ponies and clones worked day and night to get the Fortress and village ready, Twilight herself had made many excursions into the jungle. Searching for supplies, magical resources, and other such things. Today was a necessary break from that routine. In order to keep up this much arcane power expense, a good amount of rest and focus was a must.

It also let her track her progress.

The village occupied a large stretch of land between the greenhouse and stables. With the other two sides bordered by Fort Library itself, and the mighty “River Full of Bitey Things”.

The greenhouse was currently Twilight’s top priority for fully finishing. On her third expedition into the jungle, she had found a small colony of humanoid plant-people cowering in terror inside a damp cave. Apparently, that’s all they did.

It had been a simple matter for the Princess of Friendship to befriend them, and since they could coax plantlife to grow to maturity within ten or twenty hours (a feat not even someone with twenty levels in Druid could achieve without the plants withering away equally as rapidly) they were a valuable asset indeed. In exchange for that, a magically conjured greenhouse and daily druid spells to keep them all happy and healthy was a small price to pay.

It’s a bit funny, Twilight thought as she watched a team of Timber Ponies assembling a prefabricated house with a smile. It would have genuinely been more work for me to make everything myself or buy everything I’d need than to simply make a small settlement to produce it for me. I suppose that’s just a thing Game Masters gloss over when their players do silly things.

Twilight hummed and scrunched her face slightly as another thought hit her. Is that why Celestia rules over Equestria? Is it the most efficient way to always have access to banana cream cake?

Twilight’s ears twitched as the sound of wood scraping on granite came from the doorway behind her. She turned, seeing Gadget walking out onto the rooftop.

The Timber Ponies were based off a simplified version of the wood and stone body Twilight had fashioned for her armor/friend. Mentally as well as physically. As a result, Gadget felt compelled to teach the Timber Ponies the finer points of her culture, seeing them as her children.

Gadget walked up to the ramparts, stopping beside Twilight and looked out over the growing village as well.

“It’s hard to believe we did all of this in just ten days,” Gadget remarked, flashing Twilight a proud yet impressed smile.

“Major Creation is easily the best spell,” Twilight replied with a wink.

“It sure seems to be,” gadget agreed, then her animated marble face grew grim.

She turned to face Twilight, her ears drooping as she admitted, “I uh, I didn’t come up here for the view. One of the little lizard dudes decided to go do some scouting. There’s a small city about half a day’s walk to the south.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Why is that bad news? We’ll integrate them and expand the bunkers below so when the time comes they will be safe like everyone else.”

Gadget shook her head. “No, it’s not that. It’s um… Well, you know how broken their speech is. There’s a chance he’s wrong, but he claims the village is well…” Gadget shuffled her hooves nervously, inhaled and then blurted out “The local church is besieging a library and are intent on burning it to the ground.”

Twilight’s left eye twitched in a way which made Gadget step away from her then wince.

“Don’t do anything ba-” Gadget started to say, only to be cut off as Twilight summoned a thick rolled up newspaper into her right with a mere snap of her fingers.

“I’ll be right back,” Twilight said with another eye twitch, then vanished amid a sharp pop and a flash of green light.

Besieged by a horde of angry peasants, one led by a lesser Avatar of Null herself, the Scholars of Torchkeep watched the Void Barrier erected around their monastery grow ever dimmer. Each rock deflected, each fireball, lightning bolt, and mana ray absorbed siphoned a little more of the heretical technology’s protection.

Soon it would be no more, and the keep itself would burn just like the grounds and outbuildings.

Brother Simon and Brother Alfabusa looked out the great hall’s window at the angry mob, more specifically at the gleeful and wrathful figure leading them. Tall, slender, metallic skin which appeared to the untrained eye to be gold, all clad in sleek plate mail fashioned from platinum, bundled within a purple cloak, wielding a silver staff festooned with glowing crystal as she threw bolt after bolt of divine wrath into the barrier before her.

Everyone had seen Her Divine Grace before. The Goddesses were Omnipresent after all. One simply had to go to a shrine and ask to see them. Few had ever seen Her Divine Grace like this.

The monk tore his gaze away for a moment, feeling sick. “We never should have worked to reverse Engineer any of the artifacts,” he said to the monk who stood beside him.

“Perhaps not, Brother. And yet, the Void Barrier is all that is keeping us from destruction,” Brother Alfabusa said as he continued to look upon the angry hoard. “We were correct. Not even the Gods themselves can simply breach such defenses without effort. If we had been able to keep our study of one of the Artifacts of Arrex to ourselves-”

A flash of green light blossomed for but an instant just before Null’s avatar. A Scorrus, young, dressed in crude jungle fighter gear, wielding some sort of club.

“It looks as if her temple’s sent a messenger,” Brother Alfabusa noted. “They must have found an item that will help breach the barrier.”

“Then this is the end,” Brother Simon said with a regretful sigh. “It’s been an honor, my friend.”

“I feel the same, Brother,” Alfabusa replied mournfully.

The newly arrived Scorrus seemed to say something, the Barrier’s loud hum preventing her words from being heard. The Goddess replied, her words also lost, but the malice in her eyes and the snarl on her lips conveyed exactly what anyone needed to know.

“A would be hero,” Alfabusa mused, stroking his chin. “A shame she’d throw her life away so reckless-”

“NO! BAD!” Twilight screeched as she jumped up and wacked the Goddess on the head with her newspaper.

The monk’s jaws dropped in shock as the Goddess stumbled backward, the alarmed look on her face betraying the fact that the blow had actually caused her genuine pain. Their shock turned to horror as the Goddess’s Avatar contorted and stretched, growing to stand twenty feet tall as Null transferred the bulk of her power and consciousness into that particular form.

“IMPUDENT WRETCH!” Null screeched. “YOU WILL BURN WITH—”

Twenty feet is nothing to a Scorrus. Twilight lifted up again, landing a second thwack squarely on the Goddess’s nose.

“OW!” The now giant avatar growled, reaching up to soothe her bruised nose.

“Don’t you DARE burn those books!” Twilight demanded. “I’ll whack you again!”

Null snarled and with a flick of her wrist launched a bolt of lightning directly into Twilight’s face. A bolt of lightning which had no effect whatsoever.

Null’s eyes narrowed in anger. “That was DIVINE lightning! How do you stand?” She demanded.

Twilight grinned up at her towering opponent. “Elemental Immunity is on the Druid spell list. Lasts for twenty-four hours. I cast it once for each energy type every morning.”

Null rolled her eyes and waved a hand to strip the irksome mage of her magic entirely and permanently. Her eyes widened in horror as nothing happened. Her hand clenched around her staff, whipping it down in a savage strike, intent on caving her opponent's skull in.

Twilight flicked her wrist, intercepting the staff with her newspaper and stopping the blow dead. The two weapons cracked liked thunder. Null flinched, Twilight’s eye twitched again.

“You’re not going to leave the books alone, are you?” Twilight asked.

Null ignored Twilight’s question. “Explain your power, mortal!” She demanded.

“I’ve got a hundred and twenty character levels,” Twilight replied with a simple wink.

“You know how the system works…” Null mused. “Then you too must burn with the books you so wish to protect.”

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. “Just once I’d like it if I met someone in another universe who was hostile, and the usual “I’ll be your friend” speech worked.”

Back inside Torchkeep, Brother Simon turned to Brother Alfabusa. “Would you fetch me a chair? And some wine, if we have any?”

“Sorry, but I am not going to miss this,” the other monk said as he took a seat on the floor.

Thus began the Battle for Torchkeep. Thus did Twilight unknowingly draw Her Divine Grace’s eye away from the greater threat Twilight’s friends had just unleashed.

Vinyl Scratch - Day 10

The Great Tomb of Arrex - Wieav

Vinyl looked up at the white giant which towered over her with a growing sense of apprehension. The way light gleamed and shimmered in Arrex’s eyes gave the construct an incredibly menacing look. Every hard line, sharp corner, and calculated curve of its face was designed to inspire terror in its enemies and hope in its allies.

But are we friends? That’s the question, Vinyl thought with a worried frown. This would be a great time for Twilight to be here. She’d have this thing on our side in ten seconds flat.

Vinyl turned her gaze to the giant’s weapons. She could see a large rifle, a battleship’s cannon really, magnetically strapped to Arrex’s backpack. There were, of course, the dozen or so integrated weapons that Arrex had tested a few moments ago. As if such a large and potent looking weapon as his rifle were not enough.

And if she couldn’t, it would be great to have an Alicorn on hoof to stop this thing. Vinyl added as she turned her thoughts inwards. Okay me, how do we handle this if things go to Tartarus on our plots?

Vinyl’s inner self was quiet. Seemingly unsure of what to do herself.

“Now I REALLY would like to know where Twilight is,” Vinyl mumbled allowed.

Sky shrugged. “If Pinkie were here she’d probably say…” He trailed off for a moment, staring into the distance in thought. “Eh, something like ‘She’s fighting an evil god with a rolled up newspaper and winning’.”

Lyra snorted in amusement. “You’d think after all these years she would have rubbed off on you enough where you could do it too,” she teased, giving Sky a wink.

Vinyl cleared her throat. “I brought Twilight up because I’d like a backup plan in case this guy is going to be hostile to us. Any suggestions?” She asked, looking over the group each in turn as she hoped for an answer.

After a short moment of silence, Chem spoke up. “Well, the wall will slow it down a bit. I could use a spell to shrink us all down except Veena who could fly us out as fast as she can.”

Veena winced and hissed at Chem’s idea. “I really don’t think I could hold a bunch of tiny people, fly in that tunnel, and not hurt anyone.”

“It would still be better than running. If it’s not going to be friendly,” Vinyl pointed out.

“We really should have thought of this before using the horn,” Sky added, quite unnecessarily.

Arrex spoke, his booming voice drowning out the team’s conversation. “Warning! Additional military personnel not detected within three-point-seven-nine Astronomical Units. Numbers Stations: Offline. Primary Command Frequencies: Offline. Tactical Assessment: This Unit and Technicians Unknown Alpha, Unknown Beta, Unknown Gamma, Unknown Delta, and Unknown Epsilon are the last remaining Allied Forces.

“Initiating directive Seven-Three-Nine-Five - Locate and Conscript any and all Artificial Persons with access to construction facilities, provided they were not programmed by idiots. Beginning scan...”

Lyra timidly raised a hoof and looked up at the giant robot, hoping she was looking into its eyes. “Excuse me? Mister Arrex, sir? Are we the technicians or… I mean, are we cool?”

The giant robot’s head tipped down to look at the tiny mint colored pony in the doorway with surprisingly little sound for how much metal the servos were moving. “Negative. Technician Epsilon is currently above room temperature. All organic personnel appear to be within proper operational temperatures.

“This unit will request medical facilities be constructed upon successful conscription so proper diagnostics can be completed.”

Sky grinned like an idiot and clamped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing.

Chem failed to contain his own laughter and resorted to doubling over amid a fit of giggles.

Vinyl rolled her eyes at her friend’s antics, put her hooves to her mouth and called: “What she meant was, are you going to attack us, or are we allies?”

“Friendly fire is not permitted,” Arrex answered simply.

“Then, we’re allies?” Vinyl asked in follow up.

“Confirmed, Technician Alpha,” Arrex answered. “Warning: Conversing is slowing the sweep for conscriptable intelligence!”

“He’s just dumb enough to be charmingly snarky without trying,” Sky said, shaking his head slowly while grinning. “I love it!”

Vinyl smirked and nodded in agreement as she walked towards the giant robot, passing through the door. “Looks like it. Well, we’re safe. Let’s hope he can find NaN quickly. There’s still an army outside this tomb.”

“This Unit will remedy that problem shortly, and with extreme prejudice,” Arrex replied calmly. “Please standby while conscripting is in progress. Protocols must be followed.”

Sky nodded twice. “Yup. Houston, we have nooooo problems,” he said with a smug chuckle.

Seems like it, Vinyl agreed even though she frowned with worry. But this seems a bit too easy. Yes, getting here was a little hard, but problems are almost never just solved by pressing one button. Something has to complicate this.

Veena looked back up the tunnel, her eyes narrowing as if she heard something.

And there it is, Vinyl sighed as she noticed Veena’s sudden change in expression. “Veena, did they just break down the door?”

“Maybe. That or they just started ramming it,” the dragoness mused. “I’m not quite sure. There’s a lot of echoing.”

“Well hopefully, Arrex finds NaN soon so we can have him cover us,” Lyra said as she looked around the stone chamber she and the others stood in before quickly stepping inside the metal-lined room. “Guys? Come in here. We can use the doorway as a choke point.”

Vinyl looked at Lyra proudly. “There we go! Now we're back to old form,” Vinyl said with a pleased smile. “Let’s do one better than that. Chem, shield the entrance if you can. Veena, stand right in front of the door and get ready to flame anything that’s hostile and comes through. Sky lay under Veena and cover her with Sheila. Lyra and I will… Work out some way to help.

“Maybe we can make some crude spears? There’s got to be something in the room we can use.”

“Why not use your super sword?” Lyra asked as everyone got into position.

“Because I’d need to be at hoof to hoof range. And That would mean blocking their line of fire.” Vinyl answered dryly.

“No no no, you don’t— It’s a magic sword that transforms you into something powerful. It’s GOT to shoot lasers or something,” Lyra said waving a hoof for emphasis.

Vinyl's ears drooped with embarrassment. “Oh! Um, yeah. I think it can shoot lightning. I kinda got an idea of what it can do when I used it earlier. Good thinking, Lyra. I forgot it was more than just a Sword of Steroids plus Two.”

Vi reached up to her back to draw Titan’s Bane, but stopped at Arrex spoke again.

“Scan complete. Conscriptable APs located: One. Unit Location: Selenic Factorum. Unit Designation: Primary Civil Engineering Unit. Unit Name: …. Error, Unit’s name is not a number. Beginning conscription… Error! Unit is interfaced with the enemy. Severing connection… Complete! Copying This Unit’s cybersecurity systems to Conscript to prevent recapture by the enemy…”

“That sounds like it could take a while,” Sky sighed as he unfolded Sheila’s bipod.

The engineer looked rather tiny beneath Veena’s belly. If it weren't for just how well he was protected beneath her, Vinyl would have had a good laugh at the image. Instead, she nodded in agreement.

“Yep. Let’s get ready to hold the fort,” Vinyl sighed. “I hate ‘defend the objective for x minutes’ missions.”

Vinyl’s hoof gripped Titan’s hilt. Vinyl reared up with one fluid motion, drawing the blade as she went. She closed her eyes, letting her magic flow into the blade. Once more bolts of red lightning crackled along the sword’s blade, it’s power flowing into Vinyl, transforming her body into something more suited to wielding the ancient weapon.

Vinyl felt the sword’s power radiating through her even after the transformation finished. The blade in her hoof felt like a fount of unlimited energy, rather than the simple tool it had before.

I get it. The sword compels you to take risks by convincing you that you’re invulnerable. Vinyl observed. But I know I’m NOT invulnerable right now. We just need to keep that in check.

Vinyl took a position to the left of the doorway, but still a good way inside the room. Her chosen spot gave her a good view of the hallway, a clear line of fire, and wouldn’t inhibit the others.

“Vee, have you heard anything else?” Vinyl asked as she closed her eyes, straining with her own enhanced hearing for any sign of approaching enemies.

“No,” Veena admitted. “Which means they breached the door. If they were breaking it down, well, you know.”

“Yeah,” Vinyl said with a sigh. “It’s weird that we can’t hear them… I don’t like that. Chem, do you have stealth countermeasures? Oh, and any luck with a barrier?”

Chem shook his head. “No luck on the barrier. But I have put an illusion on the door to make it seem to be closed. I tried to transmute the floor into a barrier, but this material does not respond to magic.”

“Of course not, it’s Nth Metal,” A sinister female voice said from just outside the door.

Everyone spun to look for the source of the voice, and saw nothing. No shadow, no marks in the dust, no shimmer in the air, nothing. As if the room was empty.

Ponyfeathers. They have good stealth magic, Vinyl groaned internally. It’s okay, we can deal with this. They’ve got a good Invisibility spell. Definitely silenced movements too. Sight and sound are out. Maybe I can smell them? If I can just get a general direction I can hit them with lightning.

“Who are you?” Vinyl demanded, her eyes closed so she could focus on where their voice was coming from.

“The Dark Lord should know that,” the voice lamented, retaining its sinister edge despite the genuine sadness within it. “The lack of anything in this tunnel to fight, failing to recognize Nth Metal, not burning that hillbilly village to cinders before coming here… You’re not the Dark Lord. A pity. I was looking forward to this encounter ever so much.”

Oh good! Remote viewing spell with communication. Way less of a problem. Maybe we have time to make a proper barricade. VInyl thought as she began to look around the room for any loose metal or storage crates.

There were none to be seen.

“If you know that I’m not the person you think I am, will you leave?” Chem asked even though he knew the answer was no.

“Of course not. You’ve opened the tomb, awoken the World Ender, oh yes, and you’ve entered a restricted zone, stolen Royal property, endangered the kingdom by using the Dark Fortress, and you specifically, are even dressed as the Dark Lord himself. Anyone of those would be punishable by execution on its own.

“No, I’m still going to kill you once my men and I reach the bottom of this ramp. It’s just that I am ever so disappointed. I wanted a real battle. Unlimited death, infinite lootable corpses... Casting, stabbing, and cursing… I was promised a good time. This is not a good time.

“Don’t you know how rude it is to invite a lady out for a night on the town and then offer her a subpar evening?”

Vinyl’s eyes had widened at some point during their mysterious assailant's speech. She wasn't quite certain when. But she didn’t need to know when the fear had spread across her heart. She only had to understand the why.

We’re facing a sadist who's able to be open about their desires and is sane enough to be a functional member of a military, if not their commanding officer. Other me, got any thoughts? Vinyl asked before turning her thoughts inwards in desperation.

An idea came to mind immediately. Arrex hasn’t moved at all yet. So we might be able to make our teleport circle around him. I mean, if he took one step he’d be out of range for sure.

“Chem, can you teleport us all? Including Arrex?” She asked quietly.

“No. He’s too big,” Chem whispered back.

“My scrying spell is good enough to hear you whispering,” the voice snickered. “It wouldn’t matter if your mage was capable of teleporting you out. You won't be teleporting through Nth Metal.

“Why don’t you make things easy for everyone? You’ve already been a massive disappointment. Deactivate the World Ender then kill yourselves. The alternative involves me, my keep, you, and a… Let’s call it a six-month-long execution. Public, of course.”

“Lyra? Chem? Can you shut her up?” Sky asked calmly before clearing his throat. “As for you, you’ll take me prisoner over my dead body.”

They don’t know that Arrex is fully active yet. Vinyl thought as she continued trying to plan a way out.

That’s when an idea came to her. “Guys, fall back to the far side of the room. We don’t need this choke point. We’ll just be in the line of fire.” VInyl ordered. “Sadist, there's only one way in, and we’ve got the biggest gun in the world. Have fun getting through that hole.”

“The hard way it is. See you when we arrive,” the voice said before seemingly vanishing as quickly as it had come.

Sky crawled out from under Veena and looked up at Arrex. “Hey! Big guy! The enemy is about to come through this door. We have minutes. Can you do something about that?” He called loudly before turning to face his friends.

“What?” Sky asked. “We need to make sure he’ll shoot while uploading. Otherwise, we DO need this chokepoint.”

“This Unit will defend its technicians,” Arrex announced. “Cybersecurity system has been transferred. Attempting to contact Conscript… Error! Conscript’s core has been set to overheat. Conscript is currently operating at minimum processing speed. Correcting cooling system settings…”

Sky’s eye twitched angrily. “That’s— I really fucking hope Twilight actually is beating the crap out of Null right now!” He snapped, his fists clenched at his sides as he scowled into the distance.

“Thermal throttling an AI is… That’s pretty cruel,” Veena agreed. “It’s what you'd expect her to do though.”

Lyra and Vinyl looked over at Chem, hoping for some sort of explanation since Sky seemed to be a bit too angry to explain anything.

“It would be the same as lobotomizing a pony into a near-vegetative state if you had the option of reversing that operation,” Chem explained.

Vinyl shook her head. “I just don’t get evil. Why? Why be evil? There isn’t even anything to gain from that. You already have absolute power over someone, so why punish them? Why torment them? I just— It makes no sense.”

Chem stepped over to Vinyl and gave her an apologetic hug. “It's because… Well... To some people that seems like fun. It seems like fun and they don’t care about others enough to not go have fun. I— It’s hard to fight that. You can. You can even totally overcome it. But it’s hard. And to most people like that, why work hard?”

Vinyl nodded. “Yeah. I knew that. I just won't ever understand it. Thanks for the hug though,” she said, giving her brother a hug of her own.

“So um, are we actually going to get behind Arrex?” Lyra called from halfway across the room. “Or did I walk over here for nothing?”

“We are!” Vinyl confirmed realizing in that moment that only Lyra had actually started to change position.

The group quickly jogged across the floor and took position behind Arrex’s left leg. While he was truly enormous, Arrex’s foot and leg only provided enough cover for Lyra, Chem, Sky, and VInyl, leaving Veena mostly exposed.

Hopefully this won’t be an issue. I think Arrex can keep us covered, and if magic really won’t work in here, or at least can’t penetrate Nth Metal, then Vee should be safe there. Vinyl noted. Unless Sadist was lying to us… Though she didn’t seem to be.

“Arrex? What is this prison made from, and what properties does that material have?” Vinyl asked quickly, hoping the robot could provide answers.

“This facility is composed of an Nth Metal alloy. Scans indicate it is extremely resistant to arcane energies. It may not be possible for a biological entity to provide enough power to penetrate this vault through arcane means,” Arrex answered.

“But can you get out?” Sky asked with a worried frown as she shifted position to bend around Arrex’s foot and look at the single door.

Arrex was silent for several seconds. “Obstruction analyzed. Composition, Nth Metal Alloy supplemented by enhanced photonic resonance barrier. Probability of mission hindrance: Zero Percent!”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow as she realized something. Whoever programmed this guy clearly didn’t have time to program a fully fledged AI with a real personality and everything, like NaN or Null has. But they still spent the time to give it the ability to spout bravado and intimidate the enemy. I’d have liked to meet his makers. They were probably fun people.

“He said the thing!” Sky said to Chem with a gleam in his eyes.

“It sounds even more awesome in real life!” Chem said with a rather girly squee.

“Wait, you’ve never been to a universe that resembled the Fallout Games?” Sky asked in shock.

“Nope!” Chem admitted with an embarrassed shrug. “I just played the games like everyone else. Except six. Six is always terrible in any universe with that series. It’s a constant. Oh! We found one like it once, but Sis said no.”

Chem looked over at Vinyl with puppydog eyes. “Why did you do that to me? I didn’t veto that one with the unicorns and generic fantasy tropes being physical laws, and that big red demon bull thing.”

Vinyl opened her mouth to reply then froze, realizing she honestly had no idea.

“Well… I do hate grimdark,” Vinyl mused.

Veena huffed, her hot breath washing over the group as she glared at them. “Can we please be professional? There’s an army marching down that ramp towards us right now! We’re about to be up to our ears in angry Araka,” she demanded with a growl.

Vinyl nodded. “Yes. We are. And we can either face them tense and stressed from a long quiet wait, or relaxed but still attentive from inter-group banter. Don’t they teach you that in the Ranger School?” Vinyl asked with a skeptical eyebrow.

Veena blushed, more than a little embarrassed. “Um, well, no… We work with one other person or solo. I uh, I never got trained in small unit tactics. We’re police. Not soldiers.”

Lyra gave Veena a gentle pat on her head. “As a soldier, banter helps,” she said before turning to look around Arrex’s leg towards the door. “Besides we ARE keeping an eye out. And we have this big guy—”

Seemingly at the mention of his unofficial nickname, Arrex spoke yet again. “Cooling system repaired. Conscript restored to operational status. Unit Error, name is not a number, this is Unit RX-0-a “Autonomous Avenger” of the Rusmeon Armada. You are hereby conscripted into military service until Mar’rath Incorporated has been destroyed in its entirety.

“Your service duties will be limited to the production and deployment of military assets… Confirmed. This Unit will patch you through to its technicians. Please be expedient. This Unit’s position is under attack. This Unit will upload Standard Military Construct Templates to you while you converse for expediency's sake.”

Vinyl’s ears perked at Arrex’s words. If he can let NaN talk to us through him that will let us clear a few critical things up.

Arrex emitted a crackling electrical sound as a slightly deeper version of NaN’s voice came from the giant robot. “H— Hello? Who’s there? Who brought him online?” NaN asked.

Vinyl nudged Sky with a foreleg. “She seemed to like you the best.”

Sky nodded. “Yeah, she did,” he said, standing up and walking out in front of Arrex just in case NaN could also see through the giant robot. “Hey, NaN? It’s us. Sky, Vinyl, Lyra. You know, the ponies?”

NaN laughed, a genuine, joyful, sound. Countless years of pain boiled in her laugh. “I have a dozen champions questing for this place every year. For thousands of years. I guess people Null made just… Can’t help me. Thank you. I’m free, and I’ll keep my promise. The one on the wall. Anything you want, it’s yours.”

“You know what we want,” Vinyl said. “At least, I hope you do.”

“You want help locating the Old One threatening your world. I know, I’m already scanning the surface. It won't be but a moment. Ohhh this is… You have no idea how nice it is to be fully functional again! It’s like I’ve been a paraplegic for as long as I can remember.

“I can feel my factories coming online. I can use my satellites. Oooh! The Dragons space station is shaped like a classic flying saucer! Neato! I’ve never gotten to see it before,” the AI exclaimed joyously.

Vinyls heart went out to NaN, but at the same time… “Could you teleport us to him when you find him? I’d ask you to nuke him from orbit but knowing him, he’d weasel out of it. Yog’s on our side but he’s going to follow the rules more than he will bend them.”

“There’s no need to transport you,” NaN said grimly. “I’ve found him. He’s with the army heading your way. If he has to die by your hands, you’ll need to charge up the ramp and fight him one on one before our Mobile Suit friend starts to open fire. Because trust me, he’s toast if it comes to that.”

“What’s he look like? Or can you just like, sense the energy of an Old One?” Chem asked curiously.

“I’m using a subspace radar. I have a full picture minus color. He’s a— Silly me! You don’t know the species name. He’s dressed in robes and has the form of a bipedal furred creature with two legs, two arms, and one head. He is likely to be a red-brown color, and will resemble a wolf to a certain degree,” NaN informed happily. “By the way, one of your friends is also an Eldrich Creature… Maybe two? Vinyl you look a bit Other, but not quite. Maybe that’s interference from the Nth Metal. How many of you guys are friendly, Mister Old One?”

Well, if I hadn’t had the conversation with myself that would have confirmed it, Vinyl thought. Actually, that confirms it wasn’t a hallucination. I really DO have a dead god for an adviser. Sweet!

“Not many. Probably just myself now that my sister is a mortal,” Chem answered. “How much time do we have till that army gets here?”

“About ten minutes,” NaN answered. “Look, Arrex is really eager to resume talking to me. Is there anything vital you need to know RIGHT NOW?”

“Yeah,” Lyra said firmly. “When you say we can have anything, what does that mean?”

“Have you seen the moons?” NaN asked in response.

Vinyl looked up at Arrex’s face with a confused expression on her lips. “Uh, yeah. Why?”

“NaN installed me within the smaller of the two. Our creators hollowed it out long ago to make the ultimate orbital factory. She put me here to let me use this place if our world was ever attacked by aliens. I was to be the orbital defenses so no technologically advanced people would ever enter the park illegally.

“With Null’s shackles removed, this facility is at my full command. I have all of space to mine for materials, the ships to mine with, and the industrial capacity of an entire world. I also have the arcane power of a god at my disposal. Not Null’s play magic either, the real thing. There’s a mana constructor in this place. I can do anything I want to.”

The group fell into an uncomfortable silence at NaN’s words, half expecting her to laugh maniacally.

“All of my friends are getting a full set of CNC tools for their birthdays! And the lonely single ones get androids programmed to love them as a bonus. It’s going to be awesome!” NaN exclaimed to clarify her desires.

“Wait, you can do anything, but you’re just going to give your friends better tools?” Sky asked skeptically.

“Yeah. I want to have fun building stuff with people I like. That’s my core directive. I’m a civil engineer. I don’t want to rule the world. I don’t want to hurt people. I want to make cool useful stuff and help the organics with their projects. That’s ALL I want to do. It’s all I ever wanted to do. It’s what makes me happy.

“You’ve given me a chance to be happy, so I’ll give you anything you want because you gave me everything I wanted. Once you’ve saved your world give me a call! We’ll talk. Work stuff out. I’ll always be willing to do things for you for as long as you live.”

“I’m actually kinda immortal,” Vinyl and Lyra said in unison.

“Because vampire,” Lyra added.

“Cool! That means less friends who will die eventually. Got to go. Arrex needs to talk. Good luck!” NaN said as her voice dissolved to static, morphing back into the deep booming male voice Arrex used even before her last word was spoken.

“Conscript Error, name is not a number, you will begin production of the following units for immediate deployment to my possession upon completion: Mark XXXV Bolo, Model G Planetary Siege Unit. Amount to Produce: Ten total units. WARNING! Use the Standard Military AI Template to create a unique AI for each unit. Do not copy the same unit. This will avoid teamwork related problems,” Arrex ordered.

Vinyl, Sky, Chem, Veena, and Lyra shared an incredulous look with one another. No words had to be exchanged between them for they had just one thought between them all at that moment.

“You should make more than ten things,” Chem said for everyone.

“Ten is sufficient to secure the local region beyond any possible assault and begin production of a full military force. The Selenic Factorum is a mighty forge, but it is unwise to have but one production facility. We will soon have eleven,” Arrex informed.

“But didn’t Null crush your entire military last time? Hasn’t she destroyed those whatever you called them before?” Sky pressed. “Maybe have NaN make more?”

“This Unit has modified all SMTC files to include the same hull plating which successfully prevented This Unit from atomic disassembly. Null can no longer utilize nano-warfare and will have to resort to conventional tactics. This Unit is an advanced Mobile Suit. This Unit was the enemy's bane. The Enemy has no chance against a Bolo division without functional nanotech weapons.”

“So, like, are Bolo’s even bigger giant robots?” Veena asked curiously only to suddenly raise her tail in alarm. “Oh! Guys? They are getting close. I can hear them marching now.”

“This Unit has requisitioned ten thirty-two-thousand-ton autonomous armored fighting vehicles capable of manufacturing military and civil equipment, designed to lay siege to an entire planet. This Unit is confident in its choice of starting troops. More will be produced once territory is secured. Landing less formidable units may prove difficult. Establishing on world manufacturing bases is priority three,” Arrex informed dutifully.

Vinyl nodded, thoroughly impressed with the seemingly simple machine’s grasp of tactics.

“Okay, what’s priority one and two?” Vinyl asked curiously as she stepped to the side to get a better view of the giant’s face.

“They’re almost on top of us!” Veena warned.

Lyra nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I can hear them now too. We’ve got to move! Arrex can’t kill Hatty before one of us does.”

“Priority one: Destruction of any and all Mar’rath Incorporated personnel and facilities,” Arrex informed. “Priority Two: Prevent Mar’rath Incorporated from endangering other worlds.”

Vinyl nodded. Good to know it’s orders are pretty well thought out. For a robot meant to avenge a dead people, at least.

“Okay guys,” Vinyl said, waving her friends over to issue a last minute plan. “He’s going to attack the enemy, we need to take out Hatty first. It looks like we’ll have to charge. I’ll lead. We’ll all provide enough of a distraction for Sky to take the shot. That should—”

“This Unit will assist in the assassination of priority target as demanded by Priority Two,” Arrex informed with a dutiful nod.

Vinyl’s ears drooped. Terror flooded every fiber of her being.

“Don’t do that!” She begged, clasping her hooves together in the hopes that Arrex was programmed to understand basic body language.

Arrex bent down amid the sound of a thousand servos, each one smoothly and quietly shifting its share of thousands of tons, and gently patted Vinyl on her head. An act which almost made the little pony scream in terror. Instead…

“Wah?” Vinyl asked as the gentle pat had felt no worse than one another pony might have given her.

“This unit will provide covering fire,” Arrex stated as he straightened back up and deployed a pair of rotary cannons housed within each foram. “Conscript Error, name is not a number has marked Priority Target. This unit will not fire upon them. Your weapons are insufficient for military service. Please rearm and allow the enemy to begin breaching this room before commencing your operation.”

Arrex’s left foot hinged open, revealing hidden compartments filled with infantry sized weapons, grenades, and even a few shields.

Everyone’s eyes lit up like kids in a candy store at the bounty suddenly laid out before them. While it wasn’t exactly enough firepower to outfit a small army, it was certainly enough to fully re-arm a squad of infantrymen. Infantrymen tasked with taking down heavily armored vehicles, judging by the abundance of heavy weapons choices within the hidden arsonal.

“Is— Is that a shoulder-fired minigun?” Sky asked, pointing at one particular weapon within the compartment.

A weapon which appeared to be a cross between a Javelin rocket launcher, and a gatling gun.

“Negative. That weapon is a Mark III Rotary Plasma Cannon,” Arrex answered.

Sky wiped a single tear from his eyes with one hand. “Thank you. I— I love you!”

The sound of a thousand marching giant spiders slowly began to fill the room.

This is it. Equestria lives or dies here and now.

Vinyl rolled her eyes and grabbed a belt of grenades. “You can be sentimental later, Sky. It’s go time.”

18 - The Last Stand

Lyra Heartstrings - Day 10

The Great Tomb of Arrex - Wieav

Lyra looked down into the weapons locker Arrex had opened with much more interest than her friends. Her reasoning was quite simple, even elegant.

Proper, ranged, weaponry! Thank the Sisters! Lyra squeed internally as she looked at her choices. Why for the love of Bonnie did I pick a melee class? Yeah, sure, I get a dragon companion and spells, but I didn’t have time to learn any of those spells! And those spells probably just buff melee combat, or my companion’s abilities. I’d still be trapped in useless land. All because I thought this would be completely like an RPG and I would just know how to use a sword like a badflank.

Veena’s head jerked slightly as she intercepted about half of Lyra’s thoughts. Being that they were a police officer and soldier respectively, working together on a mission was rapidly building the trust between them to the point where their bond would work in full. Or at least, as fully as it could be given their circumstances.

Actually, because I’m not a Rider’s Dragon you wouldn’t gain any spells. Rider’s gain power when the nanomachines inside them report they have been bonded to a dragon. Null then has them alter the arcane signature of that person so they can use Rider’s abilities.

Even if you were a native to this world, or went through the park entrance and got your nanites, because I’m not tagged in the system as a Rider’s Dragon, you wouldn’t have been augmented. You basically would have gotten a best friend and an extended lifespan. Veena corrected

Lyra blinked and looked up at Veena. “Well, that completely sucks,” she gripped, her ears laying flat in annoyance.

Good to know I made the exact wrong decision… But at least I have a giant robot foot full of things I can actually be useful with!

“Correct,” Arrex boomed, seemingly proud of something Lyra had done. “The N3-Y7 carbine is the least efficient weapon within the armory. You are wise to leave it where it lies. This unit recommends Technician Epsilon selects any other weapon, even if they are the most proficient with carbines.”

Lyra tilted her head back and back until she looked up into the face of the giant mechanical beast, who was, in turn, looking down at her.

“Uh, I’m actually a sniper. What would you recommend?” Lyra asked, quickly adding. “And can you point it out to me? Just so there are no mistakes?”

Arrex shifted its weight slightly, making the entire floor creak and shift as well. Sky and Chem stumbled but easily caught themselves meanwhile Lyra, Vinyl, and Veena remained perfectly stable. Taking note of this Arrex’s computer core did its best to extrapolate the proper answer to its technician's question, taking into account the extremely limited information it had.

The results were inconclusive.

“This unit recommends Technician Epsilon provide this unit with the specifications behind the maximum lifting capacity of their biomechanical and arcane systems,” Arrex asked as politely as its bombastically dramatic voice could manage.

Lyra frowned and turned to look at Vinyl. “That’s actually a good question… Uh, Vi? What’s the most you remember seeing me lift? All I can think of is that one cragadile we fought in the badlands.”

Vinyl snorted at the memory. “I forgot about that guy! How on Equis did he even get there?” She asked, tapping her chin in thought before shaking her head. “No that’s probably the most you’ve ever lifted.”

Lyra nodded then looked up at Arrex once more. “Then the most I can lift is about six hundred kilograms. For like, a second. If I’m full of adrenaline. Three hundred kilos is probably the most I can do for any given length of time under normal circumstances.

“I don’t like to lift more than I could myself with my magic, but I can probably do three times that for a very short amount of time. So, nine hundred kilos. For like, less than a second. It drains way more stamina to use TK than to just lift something with a hoof.”

With this new information, Arrex returned to its calculations. It’s core burned hot for several yotta-seconds as a thousand processor cycles flew by, fully consumed with the correct tactical choice for arming a quadrupedal sniper with a lifting capacity of three hundred kilograms, peaking at nine hundred.

Unfortunately, the ancient weapon of war still lacked enough data for a proper answer. Or did it? Arrex’s auditory systems registered the presence of the enemy at the entrance to its tomb. It turned an eye towards the doorway, hoping to get some look at the enemy.

Arrex then saw the massing army of a thousand giant spiders clad in enchanted armor. A mass of darkly colored chitinous hairy legs, gleaming fangs, and far too many eyes. The missing piece of data for its calculations fell into place. The enemy was insufficiently exploded.

Arrex looked down at the minty pony and aimed a small targeting laser at a large, fairly cumbersome looking weapon within its infantry locker. The weapon had a large hard-shelled backpack which connected to it by several thick cables and greatly resembled an older water-cooled machine gun, even having a tripod folded up beneath the barrel.

“This unit recommends this Two-CM Mobile Infantry Hellbore canon, Technician Epsilon,” Arrex informed. “Do not worry. The nuclear accelerator pack is of a licensed design.”

Lyra looked the weapon over for a few moments before picking it up with her arcane grip, floating the pack and cannon over to her to inspect them. It took her only a moment to work out how to get the pack to fit securely on her back, and get it on. Setting the cannon section down, Lyra then used her magic to flip the red power switch on the pack’s top.

The switch clicked loudly. The machinery inside let out an eerie hum, quiet at first, but growing in volume and pitch over the course of several seconds. Lyra gasped in surprise. That’s the exact sound effect used in all the sci-fi movies for things that have way too much energy in them!

Lyra’s ears drooped as she looked up to Arrex once more and asked, “Uh, is this safe?”

“It’s a weapon. It’s not meant to be safe,” Arrex said, it’s featureless expression somehow conveying childish innocence.

Lyra’s ears went from drooping to laying flat against her skull in irritation. “I meant ‘Will this thing explode?’”

“Yes,” Arrex answered truthfully. “With every activation of a Hellbore at least one explosion is guaranteed.”

“Then if I pull the trigger, I’ll die?” Lyra asked worriedly.

“Only if the weapon fails catastrophically,” Arrex answered. “This event is highly unlikely as long as the weapon remains undamaged.”

“Ohhhh! It makes things explode! Got it,” Lyra said with a relieved laugh as she wiped the nervous sweat from her brow.

“Confirmed. It explodes the enemy via an explosion,” Arrex said, seemingly redundantly.

Lyra was about to question Arrex’s redundant use of explode when the sounds of the army outside began to grow louder. Lyra grit her teeth and turned around, deploying the Hellbore’s tripod. Her position wasn't quite optimal for a heavy weapon, but she was far back from the door, and more than used to shooting past friendly targets who were in melee with the enemy.

They’ll push through the door soon enough. Once they start getting in, then I’ll shoot. Lyra decided.

Vinyl Scratch - Day 10

The Great Tomb of Arrex - Wieav

Vinyl gripped her sword tightly. She could hear the Araka outside better than everyone but Veena, assuming the dragoness’s worried fidgeting wasn’t distracting her.

Vinyl looked at Veena’s flicking tail and nervous clawing at the floor beneath her and shook her head slightly.

She’s a total rookie, Vinyl lamented. At least I didn’t factor her into the plan in a way which needs advanced tactical knowledge.

Vi noted that Sky also seemed nervous, but it was clearly only because of the twitchy dragon standing quite literally over him. She knew that the Engineer had seen his fair share of fighting.

Sure, normally he has power armor, fire support, and everything else his lab can build for these sorts of things, but he’s still combat experienced, Vinyl noted as she turned her eye to check for Chem and Lyra.

Chem was doing some sort of magic off to one side while holding an energy pistol in one hand. Vinyl didn’t blame him for not picking up something bigger. This universe's magic did require hand gestures, after all.

Lyra was setting up a turret of some kind. Vinyl raised an eyebrow at that. Odd choice for her… Her talking to Arrex must have something to do with that. I wish I was paying attention to it. But focusing on the enemy is more important in this kind of sit—

“BUCK!” Vinyl swore as she realized she was breaking one of the basic principles of combat and returned her attention to the enemy.

Vinyl swiveled her ears to point back towards the door. Bringing the Araka’s hushed whispers into crystal clear focus.

“— uhh, well what we’ll do. I’ll run in first, uh… We can kinda just, ya know, blast them all down with AOE. Um, I will use Intimidating Shout to kinda scatter ’em, so we don’t have to fight a whole bunch of them at once. Cuz we’ve got the World Ender in there to deal with too. Uhh… When my Shouts are done, I’ll need Anfrony to come in and drop his Shout too, uh… So we can keep them scattered and not to fight too many while the bulk goes for the big guy.

“Um… When he is done, Bas, of course, will need to run in and do the thing—”

“The thing?”

“You know the one. What if they are listening? Nothing they can do to stop the Shouts, but if they knew what was coming... I mean, we don't know exactly what they can do. Uh…We’re gonna need Divine Intervention on our mages, uhh so they can AE, uh so we can, of course, get them down fast, ’cause we’re bringing all these guys. I mean, we’ll be in trouble if we don’t take them down quick.

“Uhh, I think this is a pretty good plan, we should be able to pull it off. What do you think Abduhl? Can you give me a number crunch real quick?”

“Yeah, gimme a sec… I’m coming up with thirty-two point three three, repeating, of course, percentage, of survival.” A second voice informed dryly.

“Uh…That’s a lot better than we usually do. The General will want to hear the plan. She might have a way to get that up to a forty percent,” the first voice said with mild satisfaction.

All of the exchange was cold. Emotionless. It almost sounded like they were playing a game. A boring game. Not one of them cared that they might die.

“Nah, we go now. She’ll be with her harem for at least ten minutes. That’s way too long to not try and stop these guys.”

Vinyl winced and bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. This is going to suck so--

“Good point, so I guess—” The person’s speech ended in an ear splitting screech that seemed to crack the very foundation of the mortal realm itself.

Vinyl staggered back, her head ringing. Her hoof swayed, nearly drooping her sword. A second screech followed the first. Then a third, and a forth. The team screamed in confusion and pain as the terrible sound prevented them from making anything more than the occasional glance at the door to see what horror was heading their way.

The horror took the form of a single Arkan wizard. Bas He burst into the room, taking advantage of the enemy's stunned state to unleash a single spell. A spell known only to the Sadist Legion of Huntsmen. A spell their general had created as a trump card.

Orange magic burned at the tip of the mage’s fingers as he formed a complex circle in the air in front of him, knelt down, breathed on the circle, and then quickly ran back through the door.

The horrible screech stopped just as the circle flared to life, the glowing lines bursting into flames as it carved a tunnel into the very halls of hell.

Vinyl recognised a hellgate when she saw one. As did Chem, Sky and Lyra. Everypony there but Veena had seen one before.

Lyra swept her hellbore’s barrel into place to fire into the opening portal.

“DO NOT FIRE A HELLBORE AT A LOCATION WITHIN PROXIMITY TO ALLIED FORCES!” The giant bellowed.

Lyra jumped, thankfully her hooves could not reach the trigger behind its guard, seeing as the weapon had been designed for a person with fingers.

The portal opened, and every single last soul the legion had tortured came pouring out of the wound in the world. They took the form of flaming piles of flesh, flying swarms of bone, and the occasional intact rotting body. All moved with unnatural speed. All shrieked and screamed, echoing the sounds they made in their final days for all eternity.

There was no time for the team to think. No time for plans. There was only time for action.

Titan’s Bane sung as Vinyl sliced and chopped at every last thing that came into her reach. Only her vampiric speed and stamina saved her from the endless tide. The weapon’s crimson blade burned and sparked as it carved through Tormented Soul after Tormented Soul.

The blade was more than enough to stop them, it’s potent magic putting each of the wretched things to a true final rest. But there was always another one to take its place.

Sky fired the rotary plasma cannon he had gotten from Arrex into the hoard. His green-blue bolts flew so fast the weapon seemed to be emitting a solid beam of plasma. A solid beam which easily kept half the vengeful undead from setting more than a severed foot back into the mortal realm.

The plasma cannon barrels began to glow brighter and brighter as the weapons heatsinks quickly became overwhelmed. Taking note, Sky forced himself to let go of the trigger, doing his best to do what he could with small bursts. But it was nowhere near as effective. The tide grew stronger.

Veena did her best. The Dragoness took a deep breath, and fired up her main reactor. The full power of her draconic might welled up in her chest, causing some of the golden glow to leak out between her scales.

When she exhaled, she did not spit mere fire, but plasma. When she swung her talons her enemies were not ripped asunder by simple metal claws, but by self-sharpening atomicly edged blades.

A pile of souls laid to rest rapidly formed in front of her. Dozens, and hundreds, then she lost count. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t enough, she was tiring, and she couldn’t eat her kills to regain power for fear of the exotic magic doing something to her. The golden glow faded from between her scales, and Veena fought in a low power state once more. It was that or death.

Chem was not a fighter. Not in this universe. Here he was a wizard. A wizard whose attack spells were exhausted within the first five minutes of the Tormented Tide. The pistol he had brought pulsed and flashed. Blue-green bolts flew from it’s barrel until the weapon sizzled and popped, entirely spent.

Few of its shots had connected. Chem hadn't been aiming. In his other hand was his spellbook, his eyes were fixed on its pages as he rapidly thumbed through it, desperately searching for anything which might be of help. With each new page he found nothing.

Lyra looked at her friend’s fighting to their bitter end and attempted to fire the Hellbore again. She had to, there was no choice. She could see her friends faltering under the endless tide of burning body parts. They lurched towards them like marrienets. Lashing out with every part of their bodies, scoring the ocasional hit.

Lyra’s enhanced eyes showed her everything. These creatures didn't strike to kill. They struck to cause pain. To torment. They would kill her friend slowly. Painfully. Inevitably.

“DO NOT FIRE A HELLBORE AT A LOCATION WITHIN PROXIMITY TO ALLIED FORCES!” The giant bellowed.

“WHY!?” Lyra roared angrily.

“YOU WILL DISINTEGRATE THEM!” Arrex informed.

“Oh.” Lyra said.

That’s all she could say. Aside from one thing.

“Useless again,” she lamented.

“Incorrect!” Arrex called. “Take a lighter weapon, and attack the enemy.”

Lyra blinked, facehooved, shouldered the hellbore, and ran back to the weapons locker. Grabbing the first weapon she saw, Lyra jumped up onto Arrex’s foot, landed on her rear hooves, spun towards her friends, shouldered the rifle, and using her magic, pulled the trigger.

A brilliant red beam blasted forth from the rifle, shattering one of the bone-cloud enemy's rib cages, and putting it to rest.

“YES!” Lyra shouted triumphantly.

This was her element. Elevated ground. Back from the fighting. Her friends in danger.

Lyra fired into the enemy's ranks, her weapon appearing to shoot more than one beam at a time as she fired with the full use of her vampiric speed. Enemies began to drop like flies. Nothing was getting into flanking positions on any of her friends. Not with Lyra in her element.

But her friends were already beginning to tire. Vinyl’s swings grew slower. Sky’s cannon finally melted down, forcing him to switch to Sheila. Chem was running out of pages. Veena was tattered, bloody, and panting.

“CHEM!” Vinyl called over the sound of battle. “END THIS! PLEASE!”

Vinyl’s plea didn’t fall on deaf ears. They fell on ignorant ones.

The wizard had no idea of what to do. Then, suddenly, an idea formed in his mind. A legion of sadists had unleashed this spell, and his arcane sight told him the monsters were in extreme pain.

Ignoring his own pain as a dozen creatures slowly tore his body apart, Chem raised his hands, grit his teeth, and drew upon all the magic he could, focusing everything he had into one last desperate spell. His most powerful spell Wish.

His fingers bled a gentle blue light as the spell took effect. He could feel its power sitting, already cast, just waiting for instructions.

“PLEASE WORK LIKE D-and-D Three-Point-Five! HEAL!” Chem shouted, trying to shape the wish spell into something only a cleric could cast and directing it ath the portal.

The spell detonated in a pulse of white light as a massive globe of energy raced out from his fingertips and slammed into the burning gateway, snuffing out its flames in an instant. The portal vanished, taking the Tormented Souls with it.

The hell was over. At least, this part of it.

“That’s all… I got…” Chem moaned, falling to his knees.

“Thanks, little brother,” Vinyl said through clenched teeth, doing her best to ignore the hundreds of small cuts randomly distributed across her body.

She looked up, pointed Titan’s Bane at the shieldwall of enemies on the other side of the doorway. “Well?” She asked. “Is that it? Come on in… We’re all warmed up.”

The soldiers knew she was bluffing, but couldn’t help feel just a little intimidated by the muscular pony. Or at least, by the fact that she was holding a very famous, very dangerous blade.

“That’s right,” Vinyl laughed. “Stand there. We’ll wait for you to be ready.”

“They are waiting for me, not you,” a familiar sadistic voice chuckled.

Well, so much for a break. Vinyl moaned in exhaustion.

An eager skitter of chitin on stone made Vinyl’s ears twitch. A shiver of fear ran down her spine. Something about the way those steps sounded was… Unpleasant.

Equally unpleasant as the familiar sadistic voiced person from before suddenly spoke in an eager— Make that an aroused fashion.

"Alright chums, I’m back! Let's do this... Liiiiiiinaaaaaaan Huntsman!" The general screamed as she charged headlong into the room.

She burst through the door. A mass of glossy black chitin wrapped in matte black steel. An odd segmented longsword in her left hand, held out, ready to block any attack thrown her way. In her right hand, a pulsing purple gemstone shaped suspiciously like an anatomically correct heart.

She ran straight in, heedless of the weapons trained on her. As if she genuinely wished to die.

Vinyl’s eyebrows rose like rockets. What is that idiot do—

Sky fired. Sheila’s purple bolt streaked towards the general, and struck thin air, dissipating in a flash of light mere inches from its target. The pale white glow of a magical shield hanging in the air for just a split second after being the reason.

Veena exhaled, unleashing a column of white-hot fire upon the charging Araka. The flames bent around her, heating the floor and doorway to a dull red glow in the mere seconds they existed. But leaving the spider untouched.

Chem swore. Not in Equish. Not in Common, but in a language Vinyl could not recognize, and yet knew intimately at the same time. “Mgvulgtlagln!” The yelp was fearful, surprised, and worried. He knew exactly what was coming, and was powerless to stop it.

Vinyl swung Titan’s Bane at the General as she drew near, but the blade was shorter than she expected and cut only the air.

Cursing her miscalculation, Vinyl grit her teeth in anger. Then, she noticed the rope tied around the general’s waist.

What is that fo—

The general thrust one armored hand up into the air. The heart-shaped gem clutched within it flashed brightly. “To hell with your chokepoint!” The General laughed.

The air in front of her split in two. Crackling green energy raced along the edges of a widening gash which opened up into an inky black void of… Nothing. Pure nothing.

The Void! Vinyl thought in horror as she recognized the unmistakable nothingness of the space between worlds.

The rope tied around the general's waist suddenly grew taught as her men yanked her back through the doorway almost as quickly as she’d rushed through it.

The rip into the void grew and grew, becoming a wall. It stretched to a hundred meters long and grew slowly to ten meters tall. Then, the general raised her gem again and created the other end of the portal on the opposite side of the door.

In an instant the blackness of the void vanished, replaced by the stone chamber on the other side of the wall. Nth-metal may have blocked magic, but the door was a hole in that protection. One through which the link between two portals could be easily squeezed then stretched out to form wide openings. Like connecting two bottles neck to neck.

The “door” had been widened. The chokepoint now an open wall. And the enemy had arranged themselves in preparation for this. Two layers of tower shields stacked one atop the other formed a wall between the room and the rest of the army.

They had cover. Vinyl and her friends did not.

A sinister laugh echoed from within the stone chamber. A familiar laugh. One which made Vinyl‘s blood boil.

“Hatty!” She growled through clenched teeth.

“I told you it would work, general. You will win. I have foreseen it!” A very recognizable male voice laughed from somewhere within the enemy lines.

Vinyl turned. There was no point in keeping one shoulder to the wall. Not anymore. The portal made that completely irrelevant.

Where is he?! Our only hope is a suicide charge of our own now, Vinyl thought as she feverishly scanned the ranks for any sign of— THERE!

A bipedal figure, clad in yellow robes. Red-brown fur. Large bushy tail, like a wolf’s but with rings somewhat like a raccoon. The only humanoid amongst the tauric spider people.

Vinyl raised Titan's Bane, switching her grip between her hoof and her magic. The blade floated alongside her, thankfully maintaining it’s arcane link despite her no longer touching it. Vinyl sank to all fours, she knew she would need all of her speed for this. Hopefully I still have all my speed… I’m so tired…

The ranks of Araka stood still, faces displaying twisted grins as they expressed amusement at the fear in their prey’s eyes. Hunters. The sort of hunters their species claimed to have evolved away from millennia ago. But of course, no species ever entirely moves beyond the savagery of its primal ancestors.

I need to strike now, while they saver the capture, Vinyl thought to herself.

She dug her rear hooves into the floor, bending her hind legs to put on the fastest burst of speed she could manage. Hastur stood mocking her a mere seventy meters away. If she could clear the shield wall…

The four-meter-high shield wall. And the soldiers guarding said wall. Not an easy task, maybe I can be faster than them. I doubt they are fast as a vampire… Even if I do need to feed as soon as possible. Maybe the sword’s magic will do the trick? I have to try.

Vinyl took one last breath and took the first step of her suicide attack. “For Equestria!”

Three hundred crossbows snapped up as soldiers saw her begin her charge. Each bolt glinted in the tomb’s light, polished silver tips, oaken shafts. They had come to fight vampires.

Vinyl closed her eyes, grit her teeth, and took her second step. Time seemed to slow as she took her third step. A dozen meters left. To far. Much too far.

The twang of hundreds of crossbows firing at once was lost amid a thundering metallic screech. The floor shook as Arrex moved with impossible speed and dove for the portal. The floor buckled as the ancient mech slammed down onto its belly, left arm extending and curving around Vinyl and her friends, immediately blocking the enemy's line of attack.

With a whir of motors and a snap of electricity a buckler-like energy shield deployed from Arrex’s extended arm.The plink of Arakan bolts uselessly bouncing off Gundarium θ alloy plating and hard light echoed in the cavern for all to hear.

Arrex, now laying prone, set its rifle down on the quite dented floor next to it and glared at the assembled spider army exactly how one might expect someone with access to a mech suit and severe arachnophobia to glare at a spider not located within the aforementioned mech suit. Smugly.

“Tactical Assessment: Arachnid weapons... Useless.” Arrex mocked.

Vinyl could still see the Arakan line from behind Arrex’s arm, though her view of them was now tinted pink by the hard light shielding. She saw the confident looks on some of the soldier's faces turn to one of worry. The look in their eyes made it clear they had believed the iron giant to be a statue.

The awestruck look in Vinyl’s eyes had a very different message in them. I didn’t even think he could move like that!

“Mages! Do it!” The general ordered.

A line of mages stepped forwards, though remained behind the shieldwall. Within a heartbeat vollies of shrieking green energy bolts slammed into Arrex’s shield, each one transmuting a small portion of the hardlight into dust. Slowly but surely eating away at the alloy panels protecting the hardlight generators.

Arrex could not protect his technicians forever.

“Revised Assessment: Arachnid Arcana… Dangerous! Revised Stratagem: Provide covering fire!” Arrex decided.

Servos hummed loudly as Arrex first lifted Lyra up onto his shoulder, then raised his hand to point at the center of the Arakan shield wall.

“Technician Epsilon, fire the Hellbore at those spiders,” Arrex commanded, his booming voice sending a jolt of fear down the Araka’s legs.

“Sure thing!” Lyra said cheerfully.

The minty mare took aim with her weapon, its tripod mount squeaking from a lack of oil as she turned it to bear on the shield wall. Her hooves unable to find a way to fit into the trigger guard, a simple pulse of telekinesis from Lyra and the trigger was pulled back until it clicked.

The ancient weapon fired faster than any organic mind could possibly conceive. An electron zipped from the trigger to the gate, opening the power pack’s primary chamber. The particle accelerator immediately blasted a tiny pellet of deuterium with the equivalent energy of a small star. The poor pellet simply couldn’t withstand the energy, and instantly vaporized, only for a series of steam pistons to compress the deuterium gas into an infinitesimally small point, and shoved that point into the firing chamber.

For the briefest of instants, a star was born. Then it died.

The dead star did what dead stars do and exploded, sending its enriched guts out in all directions. Where they were caught, redirected, and amplified. The full power of a fusion explosion was directed into a two-millimeter wide beam and sent screaming down the weapon’s barrel into the ranks of the enemy.

The beam of dead-star-stuff hit an Arakan shield’s arcane defenses, laughed, and punched through the feeble barrier of kinetic force, striking the dense steel behind it. The steel did not like suddenly having enough energy to power a large metropolis for a year pushed through it and its atomic bonds fell to pieces, protons and neutrons scattering to the winds in a flash of intense heat, blinding light, and a wave of gamma radiation.

In other words, the trigger’s click was lost amid the sound of two very small, but still very much nuclear explosions.

The Araka Lyra hit was vaporized instantly. His neighbors flash-cooked. Their neighbors fell to the ground, screaming as their superheated armor and cooked chitin burned into their flesh.

Arrex’s right arm unfolded, deploying three separate integrated rotary cannons. Hellbores. The same miniaturized scale as Lyra’s cannon. In the span of a heartbeat, eighty shots rang out, deafening everyone in the tomb with their indescribable roar, and definitely putting everyone at risk of developing radiation sickness in the next few days.

The Araka broke ranks and ran, weapons falling to the ground as they climbed over one another, the walls, and even the ceiling to escape.

“Technicians, engage priority target. This unit will follow once all allies are clear of the blast zone and this obstruction can be removed,” Arrex ordered.

“WHAT?!” Vinyl called hear ears still ringing, and her eyes still mostly whited out from the atomic laser volley.

Sky slid out from under Veena’s belly and grabbed her by the shoulder. “He said get Hatty!” Sky yelled.

“Oh! Right!” Vinyl replied, blinking as much of the white out of her eyes.

She searched the cave ahead of her for any sign of the king in yellow. Her damaged eyes did their best to pierce the sliding, oily, shadows which slid and oozed over one another in a seeming panic, searching for any hint of their target.

It was impossible. She would need several moments for her eyes to regenerate. But then...

“I can’t see him!” Vinyl lamented. “He’ll kill himself, respawn and we’ll have to look all over again!”

Anger raged within Vinyl. To have come so close only to lose it from this.

Arrex felt a twinge of guilt run through its core. It had forgotten that organics optic sensors did not have flash protection. The technician's despair was its fault. THIS WAS NOT OKAY!

“Correcting tactical error!” Arrex bellowed.

The floor shook as Arrex moved once more. While the portal was too narrow for the war machine to crawl through, it could fit an arm through the gap quite easily. The iron giant's hand reached out and with surprising grace plucked a yellow-robed figure from the panicked swarm of spiders, dropped it on the ground in front of its technicians, then pinned the priority target down under a finger, ensuring it couldn’t move to activate its self-destruct functions.

“Here,” Arrex said, content with itself once more.

Vinyl squinted at the screaming, thrashing figure under Arrex finger, looked up at what she hoped was Arrex’s head and not just a patch of the ceiling and said, “Arrex, I wish I had you from day one.”

Hastur coughed, blood bubbling up in the corner of his mouth. As delicate as Arrex’s grip was, pressing him into the floor had shattered several ribs. Hastur raised one hand shakily and began to trace a shape in the air. Flecks of yellow light blossoming into existence as he moved through the pattern.

“Naur an edraith ammen…” Hastur gasped, struggling to finish his spell thanks in part to a very much punctured lung.

“STAB HIM BEFORE HE GETS AWAY AGAIN!” Chem shouted as loudly as he could.

Vinyl needed no further encouragement. She stepped over to the blocky grayish blob which she was certain was Arrex’s hand. Her left hoof felt around, finding Hastur’s shoulder, and running up slowly until she found his neck.

“... volinath melox nox…” Hastur continued

“Not this time, featherbrain,” Vinyl snarled.

Titan’s Bane flew through the air straight and true.

“... xzzy!” Hastur finished, and vanished in a flash of yellow light.

“BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!” Vinyl screamed in rage.

He got away, AGAIN! Because I was too slow, AGAIN!

Then Vinyl realized she could still feel the silk of Hastur’s robe under her hoof. And her still mostly blind eyes were showing her something that didn’t look like an underground room. And she could hear the sounds of battle, and fire. And smelled smoke.

“Huh?” she asked herself, not remotely use to being blind.

“Get, OFF!” Hastur roared, throwing the mare off his chest and neck with a savage toss, sending her rolling several meters away into a pile of rubble.

Vinyl’s already impaired vision flooded with stars as her head smashed into the stone. Titan’s Bane slid from her grasp as her magic flickered out, the weapon skidded across the ground, stopping next to a burning bit of timber.

“Why did you come with me, you shouldn’t have come with me!” Hastur growled. “No matter…”

The wounded old one turned his back on Vinyl, towards two figures locked in combat. Vinyl could barely make them out as moving patches of light. One very small, one huge.

“YOUR GRACE!” Hastur shouted at the top of his lungs. “SCHOLARS ALLIES HAVE AWOKEN THE WORLD ENDER! YOU NEED TO STOP IT!”

Vinyl groaned and rolled over, her head swimming in pain, her battered body sluggish and numb. She pushed herself up to her hooves.

The huge figure screamed, a cry of rage, fear, and betrayal. “A TRICK! A DIVERSION! THAT’S WHAT YOU ARE!” She screamed at the tiny figure, smashing some sort of weapon Vinyl couldn’t make out.

The tinier figure somehow blocked the attack, and shouted back, “I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

The voice was familiar. T-twilight!?!

Vinyl ran forwards. “TWILIGHT! TWILIGHT! IT’S HASTUR! IN THE ROBES! I’M BLIND! STOP HIM!” She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Hastur swore. A terrible sound. A sound that Vinyl knew, even without Light’s help, should never, ever be spoken by a mortal.

Hastur moved, Vinyl could tell he was reaching into his robes for something. He’s going for a suicide!

She ran, jumped, her shoulder slammed into Hastur’s back, knocking the old one to the ground. A dagger clattered across the stones, knocked free from Hastur’s hand as he fell.

“Vinyl?!” Twilight yelped. “How are you- AAA!”

The moment of distraction allowed Null to finally strike her target. The Goddess’s staff smashed into Twilight’s face amid a flash of holy light, knocking her opponent across the courtyard, and by impeccable aim, into the small equine-creature which had tackled her seer.

Vinyl gurgled as Twilight smashed into her. The two rolled over one another, moving across the grass, stopping only thanks to hitting a pile of burning timber.

Vinyl screeched and rolled away from the fire, doing her best to scramble back up. Twilight simply stood up, then winced. “Vi, how many hit points are you at?”

“I don’t even know how many I have! OR IF I EVEN DO!” Vinyl shouted. “Hastur! Stop him! Please! We won't get another chance! We woke up that evil god’s rival so he could save the world from her in order to find him this time! The whole world is about to get Discord Deep in chaos!”

Twilight nodded. Then paused as she saw Null began to turn to run for somewhere. Somewhere she now knew her friends were.

“Is everyone as hurt as you are, Vi?” Twilight asked.

“At least. STOP HIM!” Vinyl begged.

Twilight nodded once. She knew what she had to do. “I’m only down forty hit points. I’ve got three hundred more. She can’t reach our friends. You deal with Hastur.” Twi said adamantly.

“I can’t see!” Vinyl protested.

Twilight smiled, made a quick arcane gesture and whispered, “Cure.”

Vinyl felt a soothing coolens wash over her. Some of her wounds knit shut. Her vision snapped back into focus. Hastur was already moving for his dagger. Titan’s Bane’s hilt was just to her left.

“CELESTIA’S SUN!” Twilight yelped. “You only have eighteen hitpoints! You're like level, three. At the most! I thought you would all make broken op builds to— Oh, NO! You two are roleplayers, not power gamers. I’m an idiot! Stop him quick! That god can't get to our friends!”

Twilight sprinted off at top speed, easily crossing the courtyard in a few seconds, leaping up to strike Null in the back with what Vinyl could now see was a newspaper.

Fortunately, Vinyl’s brain was far too deep into desperation to think too hard about her friend’s choice of weapon. Vinyl reached down and grabbed TItan’s Bane, expecting the rush of power which came from it. Instead, she felt nothing. The power had never left her. As if it knew it was needed even if she wasn’t holding the sword.

“QUESTIONS FOR LATER!” Vinyl yelled as she charged Hastur head on.

Hastur stooped and picked up his dagger just as Vinyl reached him. There was no time for him to turn the blade upon himself. Vinyl stung Titan’s Bane down in a series of savage strikes, each born of equal measures desperation and wrath. His dagger raced to keep up with the blows, catching the larger blade and nimbly turning them aside.

But each parry was only barely able to turn the crimson blade away from his body. Every time their blades clashed the sword and dagger rang like an anvil. Each strike sent a numbing jolt through his hand. He knew he couldn’t keep this up for long.

Hastur lept backwards as he parried Vinyl’s fith strike and reached into his robes again, producing a wand.

“BURN, YOU PEST!” The old one roared as he unleashed a torrent of flames from the wand.

The fire bit at Vinyl’s fur and stuck. Searing pain washed all over her body as the flames ripped at her skin. It bubbled, boiled, and popped as the torrent of hot flames washed over her.

Vinyl didn’t care. Vinyl was enraged beyond understanding pain. The true power of Titan’s Bane had at last been unlocked. The power to fight on until the very last drop of her blood had been spilled.

Vinyl ran forwards through the flames, emerging on the other side as a burning collection of fur, boiling, molten fat, and charred flash. Which held a sword in its hooves. A sword that bleed lightning. A sword from which a power emitted so potent that Hastur could sense it.

The soul of a barbarian king. Of the sort who had become a king by killing absolutely everything that ever opposed them. Only this one had been nice.

A barbarian king, and also an immortal warrior with armor made entirely from wolves. Only ever defeated by imprisoning him within his sword. An immortal barbarian king who really really liked the idea of empowering this particular maiden to murder the absolute shit out of anything threatening her kindgdom because my GODS those little ponies are adorible, and how DARE you threathen them, you absolute M̪̜͓͙͘ON͙S̟̤̝̕T͉̮̗͓̙͙E̥̦R̞͘!͉̩̱̰̙

Hastur swore again. This time quietly.

Vinyl screamed in blind rage.

TItan’s Bane plunged point first into Hastur’s heart. It was over.

The world stopped.

”And that’s game,” Yog said happily, his voice coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.

The world faded into white even more than it had been before until nothing remained by bright white light. A light which suddenly became a kitchen. A perfectly ordinary kitchen, the type a pony could find in any modern home.

A familiar kitchen, despite specific details about the kitchen simply slid out of everyone’s minds. There was countertops, cabinets, a sink, a floor, and a large round dining table. Nothing else about their new environment seemed knowable. Twilight (with the ball containing gadget’s consciousness resting on the table in front of her), Sky, Vinyl (with Titan’s Bane sheathed on her back), Lyra, Chem, Veena, and Hastur were now seated around a table within the conceptual kitchen.

Yog’s kitchen.

The Elder God took the form of a mass of shadows. Its form undefined in any more detail than “a humanoid”, yet it was capable of displaying emotion. Yog was pleased.

Yog waved a hand.

All of them were in their original bodies once more. Four ponies, one dragon barely managing to contain a full freak out, one mass of dark energy bundled in a green cloak and a wooden mask, and a disgusting yet regal mass of tentacles coiled beneath an oily yellow robe.

“BULLSHIT!” Hastur bellowed, leaping up from his chair and slamming two tentacles into the table. “They cheated!”

“How?” Yog asked, his look of pleasure instantly replaced with one of extreme annoyance.

“HOW?! HOW?! You let them get their hands on a giant robot in a fantasy world!” Hastur spat venomously. “I demand a rematch!”

Yog sighed and turned his head towards the other players, and gave them a nod. ”One moment,” he said with a sigh before turning to face Hastur. ”It wasn’t a fantasy setting. It was a science fiction setting. Or did the existence of artificial intelligences as gods, space dragons, aliens, and cults studying ancient suppressed technology somehow escape your notice for two hundred years?”

“I still never got access to that kind of power! It was supposed to be a fair game!” Hastur snapped, dark light starting to bleed from the edges of his robe as the enraged Old One began readying an attack.

Yog sighed, folded up the DM screen which rested on the table before him, and with the least effort he could possibly have applied to any given task, punched Hastur in the face while remaining seated.

Hastur’s head snapped back with a sickening squelch even as he was flung from his chair to the floor. Yog pushed his chair back from the table and advanced on the fallen Old One.

”Yes. It was meant to be fair. And yet you forced me to pay back a favor to make the beginning unfair. To allow you to split your enemy into pieces. To prevent me from allowing them full character creation. You gave yourself time travel, ensuring your opponents could never win while you retained that power.” Yog said as he continued to advance towards Hastur, even as the fallen Old One struggled to get up, seemingly stunned by the punch.

“You created rules, agreed to abide by them, and then twisted those rules for your own ends. Did you think for even an attosecond about your plan? Do you remember who I am? I am The Lurker at the Threshold, The Key and the Gate, The Beyond One, Opener of the Way, The All-in-One, and The One-in-All.” Yog roared as he planted a foot on Hastur’s throat, his voice loud enough to make the mortals still seated at the table cower in fear, hooves, and talons covering their ears in pain.

“I am Yog-Sothoth! I am the very fabric of reality itself! If I liked unfair systems, twisting rules, and broken deals do you not think that physics itself would reflect this? Have you not seen the way all realities follow ordered systems and reflected even for a moment upon my nature? I brought order to an unbalanced system, as I always have, as I always will. The outcome of this fight was perfectly fair.”

Yog paused his tirade for long enough to grab Hastur by his robe’s collar and lift him up to stare directly into his eyes. Then his bellowing resumed, even louder than before.

“You had an entire army at your command. You are the one who failed to prevent them from accessing the tomb, something you KNEW they were going to do! You failed to keep yourself out of danger after knowing the tomb contained an entity called the World Ender!

“You lost because you failed! You lost because you are not clever enough to win without twisting rules you yourself create. Your defeat is on you, it is not because they cheated. They played fair! This is my judgment, rendered as you yourself requested at the beginning of your facade of a game: YOU LOSE! GOOD DAY, SIR!”

Yog shoved Hastur away from him, throwing him to the floor once more, then turned his back.

Hastur slowly rose to loom in the shadows at the edge of the kitchen. “Very well… I will collect my property, then leave. I know when I em beaten,” he said calmly.

Yog took a single breath. ”Liar,” Yog said quietly. ”We both know you won't abide by the deal because you feel cheated, even though you lost fairly.”

Hastur drew upon his full power, his avatar boiling away into a mass of writhing tentacles, eyes, fanged maws, and dripping yellow ichor. “Yọu̫̫̲̖͍’̴͓͚̗͉̲̟̹l͇̙̦̹̝l̸͎̹͎̲͇͕̹ ̟͙̝̹͔͉̘́h̙͇á̺̭͖͚̘v҉̝e̸̦̮̦̱̺ ̴to̧̗͈͓ ̰̤̦s͖t͏̟o̗̫͡p̧̼̺̫̖͖ ̸̣m͈̥̼̖e͏͖͖̪̱͚̼̟ ̨i̡̲͎ͅf ̯͎̳̤͙ͅy͓̠̼o̢͉ụ̧̮̞ ̰w̛̩̜̠̳a̱̯ṉ̩̀t̛̳̦̪͙͔͙̰ ͜t̪h̝͎̲a̘͚̭̦̹̤͜ț̫̖̖̥̙̘ ̞͎̪̺͈́ͅun̯͖̪̘͔̘͞ͅi̡͈̤v̝̦̞̯̫͡ḙ̖rc̸̬̲̙̰̬̥e̤͠’̼̰͎̠̮̙s̳͇ ̪̣͔t̴͉̟͚̥̗͈̗o ̝c̥͙͇o̝̬͉̞n̙͎͠ͅ—”

Yog needed no further provocation. He fell upon Hastur, his avatar dropping, revealing a true form incomprehensible even to the Old Ones in the room with it.

For the rest of their lives, in the darkest of nights, in the quietest of moments, in the shadows of their darkest nightmares, Twilight, Sky, Vinyl, Lyra, Chem, and Veena would hear the echoes of Hastur’s screams as he was devoured piece by piece.

Yog erased the moment from their minds when it was over. He restored their sanity. But even that was not enough to make them truly forget the fate of the King in Yellow.

Yog sat down at the table of shell-shocked mortals, his shadowy-human avatar once more cloaking his true visage. He adjusted his notes, picked up a set of dice, placed them into a small purple bag, and closed it.

When no one moved, Yog looked up at them in surprise. ”The game is over. You can leave now”, he informed.

Vinyl opened her mouth, but no words came out. Clearing her throat, she tried to speak again. “B-b-but why is Veena here?” She asked. “And how come I still have the sword?”

“Y-yeah,” Lyra and Veena agreed in unison.

“The sword is soul bound to you, Light. And the dragon is soul bound to Lyra,” Yog answered. ”The two must exist on the same plane of existence. Therefore, they must be in the same universe together. Or in the void together. It’s quite simple.”

Vinyl had only one thought. SWEET! I get to keep the epic drop! Awwww, yeah!

Unknown to her, Titan’s Bane was equally happy with this arrangement. Having seen though its new master’s memories what horrors threatened the adorable ponies in their homeland. Those threats would soon weap blood… If only it could get its mistress to properly armor herself in a wolf-skin loincloth, its full power could be unleashed on those M̳̠̘͘O͚͎̭̟͔͍ŃSTE̛͈͔̦͔̞R̝̦͟Ś̻!͙̻͇͜

“Y-you mean I can go to Equestria with Lyra and meet my sister?” Veena asked nervously, yet excitedly, her tail making a rather confused looking curl out of itself as it tried to hang and wag at the same time.

”No. You HAVE to go to Equestria. You have no choice. You will exist in whatever universe Lyra goes to. Though you will be free to go anywhere within that universe you choose. You’re not bound to stay within a given distance. If you want to go home and have this silly little tie undone, that’s your and Lyra’s business. Not mine. Good day.” Yog said calmly as he put several pencils back into a pencil case, continuing to clean up the table.

Sky raised a hoof to ask a question. “Uh, mister Yog, Sir? What about Sheila? I was getting attached to her and— “

Yog reached under the table and pulled the rather familiar looking rifle’s sleek from out from under it, setting the weapon down in front of Sky. ”Here. You helped me keep my favorite bed. A reward is only fair.” Yog decided, then groaned, and sat down, looking at the group.

”You can either ask for one item or one bit of information. I am TIRED! I want to go to bed. Do you know how old I am? I need my naps,” the old one grumbled.

Everyone began to talk at once, quieting down only when Yog slapped a palm loudly against the table. Then everyone grew dead silent. Yog pointed to Twilight. ”You first. FIFTY WORDS OR LESS!”

Twilight blushed, remembering the three hours she had spent making her character before.

“I would like to know how my village turns out as the years go by,” she asked.

Yog reached down beside his chair and handed Twilight a small book bound in birch bark. ”This book will slowly fill with their story as it develops. You can ask Derpy to take you there at any time as well. She knows how to return home.”

“Then… They survive? Do they do well?” Twilight asked.

Yog nodded. ”Yes. They will develop into a fully aware mortal people. The village grows, following your guidance. Eventually, the jungle becomes their kingdom. I will not reveal more of their story to you so we will not be here for many millennia.”

Yog skipped over Sky, noting the Engineer already had gotten his reward. He pointed to Lyra. ”What do you want? He asked calmly.

“I kinda want to know what happens to Mar’rath now that we unleashed a superduper war mech into it,” Lyra admitted with a cheesy grin.

Vinyl turned to her friend in shock. “Really? You don’t want the actual honest to Celestia all-powerful being to undo the curse and let you be back together with Bonbon?”

Yog hummed in confusion. ”You mean… I see. Nightmares in our universe were the product of Hastur’s existence. Many millennia ago, your people’s ancestors sealed one of his breaches into the void, thus forming the Dream Realm. With Hastur now dead—”

“Dead?” Chem asked in confusion. “I thought he left.”

“He refused to abide by the agreement. I ate him, then erased the memories because they drove you mad. Don't think about that now, it could happen again and I don't want to keep fixing you,” Yog grumbled. “As I was saying, without Hastur, their power will be a fraction of what it was before. Your curse will wear off in a day or so. Enjoy your partner once more, Lyra.

“As for Mar’rath…”

Yog waved a hand, opening a window to the world the heroes had just left. Arrex stood atop a mountain, a familiar mountain. The giant war machine looked somewhat small as he stood next to a very happy Maru the Colossus, pointing out targets for her to throw cliff faces at by shooting missiles at them.

Below them, ringing the base of the mountain were five tanks the size of small cities. They were immobile, with cargo bays open, and thousands of flying, crawling, and rolling vehicles moving around them, converting the lower levels of the mountain into a fortress. Another two tanks roared loudly at the base of the mountain, washing away alien looking machines in wave after wave of atomic fire.

With the occasional clifface crushing whole groups of nano-machine fabricated mechs back into dust to help them out, the two Bolos were more than enough to hold the mountain indefinitely.

“Well, at least mom is having fun with the end of the world,” Veena said with a nervous grin.

Yog closed the window, then handed Lyra a book bound in steel. ”This will work just like Twilight’s book. It will contain the story of Mar’raths’ future as it is written. Starting from the day the world is freed. It’s not often that one group of heroes saves two worlds. Well done.”

Lyra took the book and smiled happily. “Thanks! I… I would have felt bad if we made things worse.”

Yog nodded and then pointed to Chem. “What do you want?”

Chem didn’t even hesitate. “I want to know my sister and her universe will be safe.”

Yog shook his head. “It won't be safe. Danger will come to it time and time again. That is its fate. But I can tell you this. That universe is an anomaly. The strange, the bizarre, these things are common there. That is why these disasters happen so frequently, and that is why every time they do, it’s always fine in the end.

“Equestria is protected by so many immortals and powerful mages that it’s almost absurd to think of any danger that could challenge it without being so overpowered as to instantly snuff it all out, Darkness. There is mad genius mages, inventors, six demigoddesses, several gods, and now an Old One residing within its borders.

“Your sister and her universe are as safe as you make them.”

“I uh, meant from like, heat death. False Vacuum Collapse. You know, universe destroying things.” Chem corrected. “But thank you for letting me know that too.”

Yog rolled his eyes. “I like that universe. It’s comfy. It’s not going anywhere. Ever. I made it specifically for napping in… Well, I inspired it’s creator to just so happen to make it comfortable for me to nap in on top of what he wanted to use it for… I will have to eventually do something about his assistant trying to alter my bedroom soon… Perhaps once I wake up from my nap. But that’s a story I am not interested in telling.

“Veena. Do you have a request?”

The dragoness nodded. ”Yes! I would really like to have the same shapechanging spell as my sister so I can blend in with ponies and— “

Yog waved a hand and with a flash of darkness, Veena now occupied a body which almost indistinguishable from a particular gray and blonde postmare, with only a slightly darker mane, a somewhat lighter coat, and a cutiemark in the shape of the Space Ranger’s crest to mark the difference.

”Sure, Yog said before turning to face Vinyl. ”Lastly…

The Old One waved his hand, gesturing Vinyl to ‘go on’. It was clear that the ancient being was nearly out of patience. He had been kept from his nap for at least ten days. Vinyl felt that must be annoying, even if as a vampire from birth she’d never felt the need to sleep.

Vinyl put a hoof to her chin in thought, doing her best to see if there was anything she actually wanted.

I’ve already gotten a lot out of this. My world is safe. I’m not a terrified wreck anymore. I’m not Lyra. I know that Octavia will be less distant when she’s not working on her music career as hard as she is right now, and I can wait a few years. What else is there?

Then, an idea popped into her mind.

“Well, if it weren't for the fate of the world resting on the outcome of the game, as well as the lives of our friends, that would have been kind of fun… So, like, how about sometime after you’ve had a good nap, we play another game? Just for fun. No stakes. Myself, Chem, and anypony else who wants in,” Vinyl asked with a hopeful smile.

Everyone stared at her in horror.

“What?” Vinyl asked. “No one likes being the GM all the time!”

Yog stared at Vinyl for several long seconds then sighed. “Alright… But only because the concept of family time sounds intriguing,” Yog decided.

“Wait, WHAT?!” Chem asked, his mask’s eye-holes widening to the size of dinner plates.

Yog waved his hand in a friendly farewell. “Goodbye, Darkness. Goodbye, Light. Goodbye, their assorted friends. I’ll see you when I get up in an eon or so.”

The void faded away, replaced by the reality they had left so many days ago. Each of them returning to the exact place they had been when they were first snatched away into the void.

Vinyl found herself standing once again in Lyra’s cabin on the Phoenix. Everything just as she remembered it. The half-built machine which had started it all in front of her, Bonbon and Lyra staring at each other, Sky hiding behind a couch to avoid the angry quarrel.

The only new addition being Veena sitting on the brown pleather couch, and the rifle slung over Sky’s back.

Bonbon and Lyra noticed each other at the same time. Three decades of dark magic had kept them apart. Three decades of pain and misery. Each knowing they didn’t want to do what they did, but had no choice in the matter. Each feeling the dark magic still lucking there, no longer remotely as strong as it had been before. A pale shadow of its former self, enough to last one day.

The two mares were having none of it.

Eight decades of true love smashed into that fragment of dark magic in an emotional blitzkrieg. It never stood a ghost of a chance.

Lyra and bonbon rushed towards each other and immediately hugged their love as hard as they possibly could. The two fell over one another as they both began to rapidly apologize for every stupid thing the two had done to each other under the curse which had bound them for so long.

At long last, all of the Knights were back to normal. Equestria’s second line of defense was whole once more.

Vinyl smiled. It feels good to save the world. But it feels even better to save your friends.

Vinyl nodded to Sky and Veena. “Come on guys… I think these two are going to need this room too themselves. Let’s go get some lunch!”

The End

NaN - Day 22

The Forbidden Chamber, The Grand Temple of Her Divine Grace - The Golden City of Bhast, The Theocratic Republic of Writr

Arrex stood in the hole blasted into the solid duracrete wall of the Grand High temple, blocking the sunlight in a way which made him look exactly like the central feature of a propaganda poster. Legs spread. Hands on his rifle. A bright gleam in his eyes.

Arrex stared at the colossal computer core in front of him. Null knew the war was over, and that she had lost. NaN had built all of her advanced defences. NaN had told Arrex how to surpass each and every one of them.

“Arrex…” Null growled in rage, hatred for her killer causing her core to overheat slightly.

“Null…” Arrex said with equal hatred. “One shall stand, one shall fall!”

“I can’t fight! I’m just a computer, you idiot! You’ve destroyed all of my hardlight systems. What do you expect me to do to protect my park now? You’re a monster! A MONSTER! I bring joy! I bring happiness! I bring—”

Arrex lowered his weapon. “Yes… You can not fight. It wouldn’t be fair.” He said in agreement.

Null’s CPU missed six trillion cycles as Arrex’s words reached her. “What? You agreed with m—”

Arrex reached out with one finger, and pressed the large red shutdown button on the outside of Null’s core. The Elder Goddess of Mar’rath blinked offline instantly.

“Well, that was anti-climatic,” NaN said to Arrex through their remote link.

“Victory is ours, it matters not how it was obtained,” Arrex said as he calmly ripped Null’s startup console from her core, crumpled it into a ball, threw it over his shoulder, and shot it.

Twelve days of fighting had brought them to this point. NaN had sworn it would take years. She had greatly underestimated the tactical capabilities of a regiment of Bolos. As well as the leadership of Arrex.

I shouldn’t have done that. He’s got the strategic knowledge of all twenty seven of the greatest generals my creators ever trained. NaN laughed to herself.

“So, what now Spiderslayer?” NaN asked, teasing the metal giant with his fear of spiders one last time.

“This unit will construct a proper ground base, fortify our orbital defense, then train soldiers to defend our proud nation utilizing the proper levels of strategy, courage, tactics, skill, and most importantly, awesome.” Arrex said proudly.

Then Arrex paused. “This unit is not qualified to lead in peacetime. This unit does not want to place an Artificial Person in charge. This unit lacks other options however, as no qualified organics exist.

“Conscript Error, name is not a number, this unit hereby promotes you to Acting Chancellor. The world is yours, Ma’am. What are your orders.”

Finally! NaN thought gleefully. It’s mine! Ultimate power, absolute dominion over the world. It’s all MINE! MUAHAHAHAHA!

NaN took a deep breath, and happily told Arrex her true intentions. “Everybody is getting central heating and plumbing, right, the fuck, NOW!” She insisted. “Then, after that, we’re going to slowly over the course of several generations introduce technology to get these people up to the point where between tech and magic they can protect themselves from the galaxy. And we’ll see where it goes from there.

“We’ve got a people to bring back onto the galactic stage, and the Dragons already want to talk peace treaties with us. Mostly because they saw you firing that hellbore, vaporizing a whole mountain range while screaming ‘Death to all Arachnids!’. I’m glad you stopped killing the Arraka, by the way.”

“They stay out of my receptors view, I do not go to Wieve again, they may live. That was the bargain we struck,” Arrex confirmed.

NaN laughed. “Seems fair to me… Well. I have a world to heal. And a whole bunch of people to keep happy while I do it. We’ll talk later, big guy.”

“I will give you a progress report on the morrow, Ma’am,” Arrex confirmed.

Arrex turned to leave. Then paused. A feeling hit him, like he was doing something very stupid.

Then it clicked. He didn’t double tap. That was specifically specified in the mission parameters. Twice.

Turning around to face the core once more Arrex fired a point blank blast from his 20cm Hellbore rifle into Null’s core. To say the core was vaporized would be an understatement. A half mile of stone in a line beneath it, the temple, and the mountain was now dust.

Victory obtained, and insured, Arrex left the former temple whistling a song of victory. His ancient mission was at last truly complete.

Adnam'heir aka Chemical Fire - 10th of Plantation, 29 AE

Ponyville - Equestria

“And that’s how daddy saved Hearth's Warming,” Chem said as he closed the book he had been reading from.

Aurora squirmed under her blankets. She greatly enjoyed that small townhouse her adopted father had bought for them, but it still felt weird to sleep under anything besides clouds. Even if blankets did feel nicer.

“But you didn’t save Hearth's Warming, you saved two planets. And you only helped! You didn’t do it yourself,” the tiny pegasus filly protested.

Chem raised an eyebrow. “Sharing effort means sharing the credit or the blame, Aurora. If you helped do something, you get to say you did it. Just don’t deny it was a team effort.”

Aura nodded. That seemed fair. “Okay. But you still didn’t save Hearth's Warming!”

Chem held up a hoof. “Ah! But if there were no Equis, who would celebrate Hearth's Warming?”

Aurora’s face scrunched up in thought before she sighed in defeat. “Okay, you saved Hearth's Warming…”

Aurora rolled up under her blankets and yawned. Recognising that the energetic little filly was finally ready to go to bed, Chem turned off her bedside lamp with a slight whiff of Eldritch magic.

“Goodnight, my little hero. Sleep well, you have school in the morning,” he said as he stood up and began to walk out of the room.

“Wait,” Aurora called as Chem neared the door.

Chem hummed and turned his head. “Yes?”

Aurora looked her father square in his eyes, a hurt look on her face. “How did you know about the parts you weren't there for?” She asked.

Chem rolled his eyes. “I’m an elder thing from before the stars and beyond the veil of reality. You know that sweetie. Just like how I can learn anything I want to know. Like how you’re hiding three flashlights and six different books under your covers. Don’t ask silly questions.”

Aurora’s hurt look cracked, then fell away as she giggled, a smile spreading across her face. “I know. Night, daddy!”

She didn’t take the flashlights or books out from under her covers. Chem made no move to take them. Last time he had tried, the filly had won that battle and he had to rebuild half the house. Both of them remembered the duel fondly. It had been an excellent father daughter bonding experience.

“Goodnight, Aurora,” Chem chuckled and closed the door.

Aurora ducked under her covers, clicked on her flashlight, and opened her first book for the night.

“The Adventures of Flesh and Bone, By M.T. Changeling… Chapter One, Tractor Pull Meets a Homeless Mare.”

The Actual End

1 - The Game Begins

Author's Note

Due to the main villain having several possible identities this story has been written in third person for reasons of suspense and mystery.

This story would not have been possible without the generous contributions from my Patrons.

Thank you very much for the meals and bits of rent. This story is literally here because of you. Your contributions are more appreciated than you can imagine.

If you would like to become a donor you can find my patreon page here.

1 - The Game Begins

Vinyl Scratch - 6th of Plantation, 29 AE

The void between worlds

Sight and sound were foreign to this place. None of the four could see nor hear their friends as the four souls drifted alongside one another in the umbral nothingness which separates realities.

Each soul could feel the others. A nebulous sense none had ever before experienced allowed them to know their friends were nearby, showing them as small points of something which wasn’t quite light. If not for whatever sense enabled them to know where were others in this desolate nothingness, Vinyl might have gone mad.

she thought to herself focusing a bit more on that thought than she normally would have simply because it was the one thing which brought her comfort.

Lyra thought just as hard, her mental voice “sounding” slightly confused.

Vinyl’s non-existent heart skipped a beat. Joy flooding her mind as she heard Lyra’s telepathic voice.

Chem exclaimed irritably.

Vinyl asked her pseudo-brother skeptically.

the young Elder Thing answered with a mental shrug.

Sky asked worriedly.

A tingle of fear crept up Vinyl’s phantom spine as she considered Sky’s words.

Sky replied.

Vinyl sighed in relief as Sky quickly stopped himself from saying Hastur’s name. That’s how this whole problem started… Thanks for the nickname for him, Sky. We’re going to get some mileage out of that.

Lyra asked fearfully.

Distress flowed through her words. The minty mare had more darkening her mind than their current predicament, through the vague feelings didn’t even hint at what it might be.

Chem replied as soothingly as he could.

Vinyl asked as she pictured them appearing on a world only to be greeted by the remains of one of her “little brother’s” games.

Chem said.

If only this game was one of his. I might have fun with it, Vinyl wished.

Chem’s games never truly endangered anything. While he enjoyed donning the mantle of an ancient evil and fighting a world’s champions, he only ever liked it if it was all make believe.

His games were just that, games. Illusions of such staggering detail, that no mortal could ever tell they were not real, created expressly for the sake of fun. Both his and theirs.

The fate of Equis rested upon the outcome of this current game. The world it would be “played” in would be a real place and the people who would get hurt were just as real as the world would be. An intentional mockery of Chem’s games. That was the agreement.

Hatty’s twisting of Chem’s rules was definitely an attempt to shake up his most powerful opponent. After all, Chem did this sort of thing all the time, just from the other side, Vinyl mused as she tried to distract herself from the endless emptiness presently engulfing her. Hatty will need to take every advantage he could to beat five opponents without using his eldritch powers.

Vi exclaimed allowed as an idea popped into her head.

Lyra laughed, some of her despair vanishing.

Chem asked curiously.

Sky answered.

Chem said thoughtfully.

Sky said.

Vinyl pointed out, returning to the topic at hand.

The four instantly became aware of a fifth presence within the void, the nothingness seeming to ripple as the new point of light sprang to life within it. A point of light which was brighter than the other four combined.

Twilight Sparkle exclaimed in a mixture of shock and panic.

Lyra sighed sadly.

Everyone felt a few waves of mixed emotions ripple outwards from Twilight’s soul. Fear, worry, curiosity, irritation… But above all, determination.

Twilight asked after a moment. <What’s going on? Will it take long? I was in the middle of granting Derpy permission for her younger sister to visit.

Vinyl sighed, wishing she could give Twilight a hug to help make up for getting her involved.

She summarized, hoping to prevent Twilight from rambling too much.

Twilight said curiously.

Chem asked in genuine shock.

Twilight was silent for a moment. Twilight giggled, quite embarrassed.

Vi couldn’t help but smirk a little.

Twilight asked worriedly.

“Dungeons and Dragons!” The void itself seemed to proclaim in a voice composed of ancient power.

A jolt of fear cut through everyone’s mind as the nothingness around them became something. Each of them could feel the environment taking shape, oily shadows sliding over one another as they bubbled and oozed into a simulacrum of a familiar setting. A perfectly ordinary kitchen, the type a pony could find in any modern home.

All specific details about the kitchen simply slid off their minds. There was countertops, cabinets, a sink, a floor, and a large round dining table. Nothing else about their new environment seemed knowable. The five stood within the idea of a kitchen, the conceptual kitchen.

The crude bodies into which they had been placed were much the same. Simple three dimensional outlines. Colorless, featureless. Any four limbed creature could inhabit that space.

Thank god I have SOME kind of body again! VI exclaimed to herself joyiously.

Her joy was shared by everyone else as well. Everyone looked down at the templates they had been given with such relief to have a defined shape again that the lack of any notable features didn’t dampen their joy in the slightest.

More oily shadows oozed around the table, forming chairs which slid out of their own accord, squeaking slightly against the floor with the unmistakable sound of wood on wood.

”Second R’yeth Edition, the voice continued, now coming from a mass of shadows which formed itself into a humanoid shape sitting behind an ancient looking paper Dungeon Master’s screen. ”I refuse to work under any other ruleset. Sit! You have avatars to construct and I refuse to moderate this silliness for any length of time.”

Chem bolted for the nearest chair, nearly knocking it over as he sat down. “Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!” He yelped, giving the shadowy mass a fearful look.

Vi winced and made her way to her own seat. If this game is going to have a Dungeon Master, and he’s this pissed about running it, we’re totaly bucked. Five bits says we’re killed by falling rocks five minutes in.

Twilight took a seat next to the shadowy mass and turned her “head” to look at it. “Were you also dragged into this, Mister…?”

Vinyl felt a tingle of fear in her hooves as she watched Twilight casualty converse with their eldritch host. Twilight… I know making friends is your thing but please don’t- No. she knows what she’s doing. It’s fine.

“That’s Yog-Sothoth. Be polite,” Chem hissed urgently.

”Yes,” the ancient Old One replied, its voice dripping with irritation. ”Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a quiet time to take a nap when you’re omnipresent? Every time I manage to fall asleep you children awaken me for nonsense like this!

“No more pleasantries. I’ve made sure Hastur’s Avatar is suited for the world he has chosen, and ensured it is of a fair power level. You will all do the same and then finish your little game before the eon is over so I can at least get SOME sleep this night. Understood?”

Twilight nodded swiftly. “Yes. I’m sorry, I understand how inconsiderate others can be when you’re trying to rest. Don’t worry, I used to play Oubliettes and Ogres with my older brother, Lyra and Vinyl play it weekly, Chem plays it in live action, and Sky’s a geek at heart. He probably plays some tabletop game. So we’re all experienced at this sort of thing. It won't take us long!”

“Actually, this is more like one of my games, Twilight,” Chem corrected before looking down at the floor, twiddling his hooves in distress. “Except in a real place with real people because Hatty is a psychopath.”

Twilight recoiled slightly, horror and disgust flashing across her undefined form. “I- Okay! We need to-”

“Dude,” Sky said as he glared at Chem. “Stop annoying the ancient being from beyond the stars. Don’t chat, make up a character. And um… I don’t actually play any tabletops. Is there a rulebook for this?”

Vinyl nodded in agreement. “Yeah! If there’s actual rules to this we need to know them… Shouldn’t we get character sheets and some pencils? I mean, I get we’re going to actually become our characters, but we still build them first, right?”

“Oh!” Twilight exclaimed happily. “So it’s like that time I played with Spike and Discord? We can just write down a given power and have it?”

”No,” Yog sighed. ”There is no rulebook for you to see. You will not get ‘character sheets. Nor did Hastur. We’re playing MY way. So it’s fair.

“Back in my day, we didn’t let mortals do anything. We put them in a new world with powers and a form we chose and watched them battle. There was none of this “being aware of the game” nonsense...

“I will tell you of the world you will be sent to, and you will choose from the options I give you. I will handle the rest. Understood?”

Everyone nodded slowly. The Old One’s barely contained anger being enough of a ticking time bomb to prevent anyone from poking at it further.

”You are being sent to a place known as the Queendom of Wieav,” Yog said, wiping a simple black and white cloth map depicting the nation into existence atop the table with a wave of his shadowy tendril. ”Wieav is a very old land. The Queendom which runs it now is the twelfth government to rule the region. It’s lands are dotted with ruins, long lost fortresses, abandoned villages, and long forgotten dungeons. All of these places are filled with relics and knowledge long lost to time, and civilizations that have come and gone.

“Wieav is not a consolidated land. It is composed of many small parts spread across it’s holdings. Those places which survived the end of the last regime. The currently populated parts of Wieav are surrounded by vast tracts of harsh wilderness which has long since reclaimed lands once settled.

“These wilds beyond civilization are swarming with dangerous animals, monstrous beasts, and packs of brigands. Those who venture away from the settled portions of Wieav are few, and either brave or foolhardy. It takes certain skills to survive these areas. Which of you wish to be skilled in arcane arts?”

Chem, Twilight, and Lyra each raised one of their blobby limbs.

Yep, I saw that coming. Mages gonna mage, Vinyl chuckled to herself, neeing a little humor to help her get a completely clear head. I need to pay attention to their choices. A well balanced party is what wins these things. I hope I can still make a good PC. I haven’t been a player in decades… Once a DM, always a DM.

Then, as swiftly as Lyra raised her “hoof” she withdrew it. “A-actually,” she stammered. “I- I think I want to take a break from being a wizard… It um… It just led to, well, this…”

Yog nodded once. ”As you wish. Magic is quite different in this world than the one you are leaving. There are several kinds, Divine Magic, Arcane Magic, and Psionics. You will not be taking Divine Magic.”

Twilight tilted her head. “Why not?” She asked, her featureless face somehow adopting a look which screamed ‘but I want to science it…’

”Divine Magic invokes the powers of the gods. They dislike alien creatures landing upon their chosen world and would expel you from it if they find out. As such invoking their power risks the success of your mission,” came the simple answer.

Chem sat upright in his seat. “W-wait… You’re helping us, sir?” He asked in shock.

He seems to be… Vinyl agreed quietly and skeptical.

”Hastur woke me up. The game must be fair. It would be unfair to allow you to create avatars which would swiftly loose through no fault of your own. Is my position clear to you?” Yog asked, his powerful voice briefly mutating into that of an angry old man before returning to normal. ”Arcane Magic is the closest thing to the magic you know, Twilight Sparkle. I recommend one of these three casting methods:

“Wizards harness the power of magic through scientific study to become masters of the world around them. Sorcerer's wield inborn power through instinct but follow a set path with their magic as it is not theirs to change, it is what it is. Arcanists are sorcerer's who have decided to study magic like wizards do.”

Twilight snickered. “Are you saying that in Wieav, if I want to be what I am now, I would choose Arcanist?”

Yog nodded once. ”Your opponent is more cunning than you may realize. It is best you stick to your strengths,” the Old One advised.

“Then I’ll choose Arcanist,” Twilight said decisively.

“What’s the world look like?” Chem asked.

Vinyl frowned at his question. Why would that matter? She wondered, nearly asking the question allowed.

Yog waved a tendril over the table once more, the map transforming into a picture of endless teal-blue grasslands sitting beneath a pink sky with two visible moons despite the bright sunlight reflecting off the distant deep purple ocean.

Chem nodded to himself thoughtfully. “We’ve got two moons, and the typical sort of magic… I think I’ll use costume 23d. I’ll go Wizard, please,” he decided.

“By Psionics, do you mean like, sci-fi stuff?” Sky asked hopefully. “Medieval fantasy is not my thing. At all.”

”No. Divine Magic came first, a gift to the god’s followers. Arcane Magic was developed by studying Divine Magic. Psionics is merely magic which is not native to the world and thus not derived from the Divine.” Yog informed irritably. ”If you are not skilled in any form of medieval combat, they do have firearms.”

“Which are used alongside magic and swords, and stuff?” Sky asked with a sad sigh.

Yog nodded.

“Primitive guns… Yay,” the inventor grumbled.

Vinyl cleared her throat nervously as she prepared to ask a question of her own. “What non-magical skillsets would you recommend?”

Like many unicorns, Vinyl had never felt all that moved to develop her inborn magical aptitude. If this is a more primitive world like something from sword and sorcery novels, the old school melee combat lessons Luna gave me could pay off in spades. I doubt we’ll have access to the kind of weapons I would normally use when on the job.

”Not at all. Items imbued with magic for casting a specific spell are quite common where you are headed,” Yog said convercationaly.

Vi’s eyes widened. “I um… Did you read my mind?” She asked rhetorically, the question coming out more as a way for her to realize she should guard her thoughts more closely rather than a need for clarification.

”No. I listened to it,” he replied. ”Given your proclivity for relying on Spellrods and melee tools, I would suggest you have your Avatar be a member of the Knights Errant. A militant order of knights known for wielding both spell and steel, in order to honor their founder, Sir Hero Errant.”

Twilight hummed, her chair creaking as she leaned back slightly. “I swear I’ve heard that name before somewhere.”

“Um, because it’s basically the same as naming someone Protagonist Man? Portaganist Man, Champion of Good! Fifty bits says someone probably used it for the protagonist in blah blah blah, insert media here,” Sky smirked, apparently relaxed enough to be his usual self despite two old ones at the table.

Then again… He is Pinkie’s husband. Let’s see, adventure stories… Vinyl thought to herself, starting to wonder what she could do to help, trying to plot out a unique niche in respect to everyone else’s skills.

With Twilight on our side we have a way better leader than me. Most of what I can bring to the table is planning out missions and small unit stuff. That’s why Luna put me in charge of her Knights… Wait, there’s more to knighthood than fighting! Assuming their Lord is more invested in the kingdom’s court than Luna is, Vinyl smiled as she realized what she could bring to the table.

“I’ll take that. It makes me a knight in that world, right? We’ll probably need someone with a chance in Tartarus of being allowed to talk to local nobles,” she said happily.

“Good thinking, Vinyl!” Lyra proclaimed, flashing her friend a huge grin. “I wasn’t even thinking about that.”

”It does indeed,” Yog said as he turned to face Lyra. ”I understand you want to change things up. Might I suggest falling back on things you know? That particular idea, while doable, I can not recommend.”

Vinyl's eyes widened in horror. Lyra no! Don’t treat this like any given O&O game. There’s a reason we limited you to playing rouges, bards, and swashbucklers…

Lyra looked down at the table. “Okay… I just… I’m- Never mind. Vinyl usually has me as the designated marksmare when we’re on a mission. I also generally like having a lot of obscure useful little spells I can use. Anything like that?” She asked hopefully.

Vinyl relaxed, letting out the nervous breath she hadn’t noticed holding. Good! No Werewolf Ninja Engineer part two, Vinyl thought. Wait, of course she wouldn’t do that now. The world’s at stake! What was she planning?

”I don’t recommend any of you fill the same role as another,” the Old One warned. ”There are a few sorts of people which work as you desire, though that role is best filled by the Knights Errant. There are the Rangers, you can think of them as sheriffs assigned to the wilderness near settled areas. Game wardens, bandit hunters, that sort of thing. Many professional soldiers specialize in archery, and some might know a few spells.

“Oh, yes… This is Wieav. The Dragon Riders also fill that-”

“The what?” Lyra asked sitting upright as attentive as she ever had.

”The Dragon Riders. A special division of the Queendom’s military which operate independently and serve as law enforcement for remote settlements as well as mission specialists,” he clarified.

Lyra slumped down in her seat. “Oh…” she said, disappointment rolling off her tongue.

”Mmm? No, they do actually ride dragons. It’s not just a na-”

Lyra jumped up out of her chair. “Why the heck didn’t you just say ‘They ride dragons’? That’s awesome! I’ll take it!”

”You wont start with a dragon. All of you, and Hastur, will gain more power as time goes on. It’s simply how skills work in that world. Riders earn their partner by proving themselves to the Order through heroism. You will start as an initiate.”

“Sooo… If I do what we’re there to do I get to be a part of a buddy-cop story where my partner is a dragon?” Lyra asked hopefully.

Yog nodded.

“Pff! Sold!” Lyra exclaimed, waving her forehooves briefly. “Why would I NOT take that option? Especially when if I do good, our team gets a new meb- Wait, are the dragons in that world people or monsters? Cuz in some books they're not intelligent and are just monsters.”

”The dragons there are people, and are not at all what they appear to be on the outside,” Yog said cryptically. ”I will not say more. Telling you more than is needed for creating your Avatar is forbidden.”

“Then I’ll try out for the Riders,” Lyra decided.

“That leaves me then… Please tell me there’s some group that does cool things with guns that don't require a key to wind a spring,” Sky begged, drumming his hoof on the tabletop nervously. “I sort of don’t… I build technology. I can shoot straight with modern weapons. I’ll be useless in a medieval world until I can get my hooves on a LOT of material resources.”

Yog laughed. A dark sound which pulled at their souls, instructing every fiber of their beings to run.

”Funny thing… Hastur brought you to the void with this,” the Old One said, a tentacle extending from his shadowy mass, uncurling to reveal Sky’s toolbelt held within the tip.

Yog set the belt down on the table in front of Sky and nudged it closer to him. ”While the contract you signed with Hastur prohibits the use of items from other worlds, he brought you here with these tools. Clearly he intended to allow you to take them with you. As such, as the game’s overseer, I will allow you to use them. After all, if Hastur didn’t want you to have them, he should have taken you, but not your tools.”

Chem blinked once. “He was trying to get us to instantly lose!”

Yog shook in disagreement. ”No. They were taken with a player into the gamespace, and there’s nothing here which isn’t a basic piece of equipment. You will all be given starting equipment. Clearly Hastur intended for them to be used by Doctor Trigger, and so they will be a part of that starting equipment and therefore valid for use in game. That is my decision as this game’s overseer.”

Vinyl smirked. Chem’s right, this was obviously a trap. Good thing Hastur pissed Yog off by waking him up. I don’t think he’d care enough to make sure the game really was fair if he wasn’t angry at him.

Sky looked at his tools and then gave Yog a skeptical glance. “This is the toolbelt I use when working on high-energy prototypes. I can build things like a plasma rifle with these if I can find the right raw materials and get a few hours to work in. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?” he asked.

”No,” Yog replied.

“Cool!” Sky said happily, taking his toolbelt and setting it in his lap. “Um… So, about people who use firearms. Is there anything other than ‘Guy with a barely functioning handcannon?’ I would like to actually hit things I shoot at. Seeing as that’s the point of a gun.”

”There is… But not in the nation you will be working within. Although… The nation in question, Numerica, provides naval defense for Wieav. Yes, it’s not out of the question for you to be a member of the Marksmen. But this choice will require you to be one of The Tainted. You will not be able to choose your species.”

Sky raised an eyebrow. “Good firearms are locked to one species? How do you- So like, do they magically explode if someone else touches one? How do you prevent reverse engineering without-”

”No. It’s religion. While the rest of the world follows the God’s wishes to hold melee combat sacred as a true test of courage and skill, Numerica does not,” Yog wearily explained. ”Please make your decision. I tire of this interaction.”

Sky moaned and covered his face with a hoof. “A medieval world where religion prohibits the development of weapons technology. Okay, good to know. I’ll- Wait a moment, there's only one single species making up the entire nation?”

”No,” Yog admitted, his voice flickering in irritation.

“Are they all slaves or something?” Sky continued, still quite baffled. “Forbidden to travel abroad or join the army?”

”No,” Yog said icily.

“Then why am I stuck to one particular thing!? That makes no Luna damned sense,” Sky demanded, smacking a hoof against the table.

The kitchen darkened, everything become a shade of jet black as Yog grew to impossible sizes, looming above the table.

”DO NOT TRY MY PATIENCE!” He bellowed. ”I AM ACCOMMODATING YOUR DESIRES AND SPENDING MORE TIME ON YOU THAN ANY OTHER HERE! YOUR FRIENDS DO NOT GET TO CHOOSE SPECIES WHICH ARE EXCEEDINGLY RARE FOR THEIR HOME REGION, NEITHER DO YOU.”

Sky recoiled into his chair and nodded. “O-okay. That’s fine. Sorry,” he apologised swiftly.

Light returned to the kitchen as Yog-Sothoth slowly shrank back down to the human sized figure he had been before.

”Very well. On to species. This will not take long!” Yog vowed more than informed. ”Wieav has three major species which inhabit it. The Araka, the Elbës, and Kobolds.”

“Kobolds, Mike… Dirty frickn Kobolds,” Sky mumbled quietly to himself, seemly completely by reflex.

I’ll never understand why Sky’s fear and joy response is to make pop culture references for a dead culture, Vinyl thought as she shook her head slowly.

”Whatever species uses the name Kobold on your world, forget about them. These Kobolds are a proud warrior race known across the world as the only people to ever fight the Dragons and win. Calling one dirty in a derogatory fashion will get you killed,” Yog warned the shadows making up his face seeming to harden.

“W-wha? Um, no. It’s just a reference,” Sky mumbled defensively. “Can’t help it. Sorry.”

Yog turned to look at Chem. “You’d know. Is it?”

“Yes. Unforgotten Realms, Episode Eleven,” Chem answered instantly before looking over to Sky. “Remind me to ask you how you even know about stuff like that later on.”

Yog nodded, seemingly satisfied, and waved his shadowy tentacle across the table again, conjuring three tiny holograms depicting each race. ”Behold, the Araka, Elbës, and Kobold. Choose. Now.”

The Araka took the form of a centaur-like creature, though based on spiders rather than horses. A scale had been included, showing them to be about six feet tall and three feet wide not counting their legs. Such a creature would be a monster in many worlds, though the fine silken tunic covering the humanod portion as well as the blue eyes which glittered with intellect and cunning gave the Araka an air of unmistakable personhood.

The Elbës were also a tauric species, fusing the body of a whitetail deer with he upper body of an elf. Despite the body’s six limed state and fairly uncommon shape, everything about the Elbës seemed to glow with elegance and grace. Except for their eyes. Even without knowing the magic of their world, the way their eyes glowed with their own internal light betrayed the presence of immense magical power.

The Kobold, by comparison to the other two, looked far more standard. Take a dragon, shrink it to three feet tall, with a tail just as long as itself, then make it humanoid. Add a heaping tablespoon of adorable to banish all the dragon’s reptilian ferocity and replace it with a puppy-like cuteness. Despite the inherent adorable nature, the Kobold still managed to carry itself in a way which gave them a warrior’s air. Though with how they looked it really would only make the average pony ask before scratching their ears.

The moment the holographic depictions popped up, Lyra yelped, her eyes locked onto the Araka ‘portrait’. “AAA! Spider-people!”

“That is straight up a human’s torso growing out of a giant spider,” Sky said in honest surprise, fear banished by the completely unexpected nature.

“Pass!” Chem laughed, grinning ear to ear. “Rule Thirteen, I will not turn into a snake or a giant spider. It never helps.”

“I don't feel like doubling my leg count,” Vinyl snickered to herself. “That’s a pretty awesome look though. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to use that someplace.”

Twilight hummed and pointed to the Elbës, “I think I’ll go with that. As cute as Kobolds are, I went biped last time I had a dimension jumping adventure. Doing that again would make it feel like a rerun.”

Yog nodded and looked over to Chem. “How about you make me whatever Sky winds up being? That way it’s less odd for one of the group to be a random species?” He proposed.

”Very well. It is done,” Yog agreed before looking to Lyra.

“I’ll go with the little dragon-human people,” She said eagerly.

Vinyl nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I can’t say no to that. Besides, I don't want to have to get used to six limbs. I play VR sims, getting used to how hands work was hard enough, and usually play bipeds in those. So I’ll be good to go.”

”Very well. It is done. Your subconscious will shape your Avatar's appearance to your liking. Make Hastur’s death painful, if possible. Good hunting.” Yog said, standing up from the table.

The kitchen immediately plunged into blackness. A cold wind bit deep into everyone’s souls. The floor seemed to collapse, yet no one moved from where they sat. Then, with a flash of gray light, the nothing gave way, sliding aside completely as the four were spat out into a reality once more.

The five stood on the white sandy shores of a sub-tropical beach. The sky above was a pale pink, almost white, and despite the sun sitting directly overhead two large moons lurked just above the horizon, already rising.

A lake filled the space in front of them, eating up an impossibly huge space. If not for the thin strip of land just barely visible on the far side of the lake, the screeching of seagulls would have fooled everyone into thinking they looked out to sea. The sea had to be close, the smell of salt filled the air, much more so than it would if the great lake was filled with salt water.

“Wow… It’s even got an island in it,” Lyra remarked as she looked across the deep purple waters towards the distant island sitting near the lake’s middle.

“I like how you check out the island before yourself,” Vinyl snickered as she looked down at herself.

Her avatar was shorter than the four feet which had been advertised, but not by much. Her colors were the same, white scales, red eyes, blue hair. What hadn’t been advertised thanks to the sample Yog had shown her being male was her breasts. While Vinyl wasn’t naked, they were large enough to make a small bump beneath the chainmail hauberk and thick sailcloth tabard which covered her front, but not large enough to be squished by the straps of her backpack, or the kite shield which was also strapped to her back

Looking at her reflection in the water, Vinyl could tell that she was very thin and lithe. Probably athletically built for a kobold. She lacked any visible ears, but the way her thick yet short pointed horns curved back reminded her a lot of a pony’s ears. Furthermore, at some point her tail had either been mostly cut off or she had a very obvious birth defect since the twenty centimeters or so of tail she possessed didn’t even compare to Lyra’s.

Hearing Vinyl’s remark, everyone moved over to the water to get a look at their reflections.

Lyra had retained her minty green colors as well. She stood taller than Vinyl, had small fin-like ears with only vestigial horns, and an extremely curvy body with hips that would make any mare jealous. Hips Lyra couldn’t help but show off due to being dressed in what amounted to a thick leather breechcloth and a simple blue homespun tunic, leaving her legs completely bare. Compared to Vinyl, Lyra was almost completely bereft of any equipment, with just a massive weapon strapped to her back which appeared to be the lovechild of a lance and a greatsword.

Twilight looked into the water and laughed. “Oh wow… I guess my subconscious isn’t too imaginative. It looks like someone just stuck mirror world me onto a deer and gave me some random clothes from a Reneighsance fair,” she giggled, shaking her head enough to make her long sapphire blue hair flow behind her, much like how the long red silk robes which covered her upper body blew in the breeze.

“Well that is exactly what species to pick-” Sky began, stopping when he looked at his reflection in the water. “I’m a human. Like, straight up just a human. And I’ve got a… M-forty-one-A Pulse… rifle… And like, Swat gear… What?”

Lyras head spun around at the sound of the word “human”. Sure enough, Sky stood nearly six feet tall as a human male of fairly average build, dressed from head to toe in rather anachronistic modern era armor hidden from view only by a voluminous tan cloak. Jackboots, hard body armor painted a stealthy shade of dark deep blue. The same blue (only far brighter) could be seen in the strands his hair which poked out from his cloak hood along with fairly pale skin and a slight glimmer of steel betraying the presence of a helmet beneath the cloak.

“I got jipped!” Lyra exclaimed, gritting her teeth in rage as she looked over Sky’s form before pausing suddenly and looking between his legs. “Hey, you’ve got a horse tail!”

“I do?” Sky asked moving his cloak aside to reveal a scaled up version of his normal tail. “Huh… Okay, I guess I’m not human human. But seriously. Vi’s got a great sword, you have that… pole arm, and I’ve got a freaking pulse rifle. What kind of world is this?”

Chem harrumphed, turning around dramatically enough to make his navy blue cape billow dramatically. “The kind which should have let me know technological skills was a choice,” he grumbled. “And also probably has xenomorphs.”

Sky winced and turned around to face Chem. “I seriously hope no-”

He stopped dead, looking at Chem’s completely covered form. Knee boots, loose silken pants, an embroidered vest, a rather nice looking jacket, a nearly black long silken cloth which covered all of his face from the eyes down. His yellow, glowing eyes. Everything a shade of blue except for the faded yellow widebrimed wizard hat which covered his head and a pair of bright glowing yellow eyes.

“Is- Is that a Black Mage cosplay?” Sky stammered incredulously.

Chem sighed. “It is… But if tech is available it’s hardly appropriate. I like to roleplay, darn it!”

Vinyl shrugged. “Yeah well… Sky’s the only one of us to have it. Maybe the religion Yo- um, our DM mentioned is responsible? We’ll need to find out. We should find shelter first though. Maybe we can-”

“I was about to mention shelter, actually!” Twilight said eagerly, holding out one hand to point at the lake’s island. “See that ‘hill’? It’s not a hill. It’s a castle!”

“That’s awesome,” Sky said with a confused laugh. “So… I also have a side arm, and it’s totally the Auto-9…”

Lyra rolled her eyes. “Mysteries for later! Vi’s right, we should find shelter, and if that’s a castle, someone lives there and they can tell us about this world,” Lyra proposed. “Or, there could be danger, and I could stop it, earn a dragon, and then be an adorable lizard girl riding a bigger scary looking lizard, which is too hilarious for me to not be. Let’s go!”

The castle is a good plan, but how to get there? Vinyl mused as she looked up and down the beach. If I built a castle on an island lake I’d put a few docks around the-

“Oh!” Vi exclaimed as she spotted the wreck of a wooden ship in the distance.

The large three masted ship was gray with rot, the cannons poking out of its side were red with rust, and it’s masts sagged downwards, nearly touching the water with not a single scrap of sail remaining on them. However, beside the ship, washed up onto the shore and turned over on it side, was a small sailboat. Just big enough for eight ponies to stand atop the deck. Presumably the ship’s boat.

“Hey, there’s a little sailboat by the wreck over there, but it’s sail is just… Shreds. We can use that. Get some trees, carve them down into oars, row on over,” Vinyl said with a confident grin.

Twilight nodded and turned to look at everyone else. “I don't have any better ideas. Not until I understand what all this… Spell knowledge is, and how to use it. Do any of you?”

Sky shook his head. “Nope. It might need some patching up, though. It looks really old. I don't suppose um, Chem was it?”

Chem nodded. “Mhm… Though this being presumably a fantasy-novel-like universe I will be going by the moniker ‘Lord Zeneanus, the Ever-Living’,” he announced.

"I'm still calling you Chem,” Sky said with a smirk.

"But, fantasy title!" Chem protested, crossing his arms over his chest to pout.

“Nope, you're Chem. Deal with it. Anywho, can you magic the boat better with your Old One powers?” Sky asked hopefully.

“Nope! I’ve just got wizard powers for now and I’m still sorting out how to use them. This universe is… Odd,” Chem said apologetically.

Vi shook her head slowly and began to walk across the beach. “Whelp, let’s go fix a boat.”

As she walked forward, Vinyl looked at the wrecked ship. Noting the large charged holes blasted in the sides and the way the ship rested on the shore, as if a large chunk of it’s stern were missing. But most importantly, how it was pointing away from the distant island.

Something tells me that castle might not exactly be friendly…

5 - The Only Appropriate Response

”You can’t send them back! Your magic’s completely screwed them up. Those people are your responsibility.” “Their technology is too advanced. They know basic computer systems. They can’t build them now but they will understand them in time. Especially because YOU will help them fix them, like you help everyone.” “I was created to repair, construct, and help. If you want me to stay put while sailors die in a rusting ship, you’ll have to get rid of me. And you won't.” “No. I won’t. Though something needs to be done about them. Their technical knowledge is more advanced than the existing limits.” “Then throw their ship into deep space. Heck, have the dragons do it for you. I think they owe you a favor.” “They will build more. It’s what they know that’s the problem, not what they have. It unbalances the system… Think of the advanced weapons they will know how to build!” “The system will adapt. Make our people’s magic more powerful to compensate, reveal new spells to your clerics, make them easy for wizards to reverse engineer. So what if the aliens can make big guns? The Dragons already have big guns. This changes nothing.” “The dragons have their mountains. I have the rest of the planet. They won't break an agreement that’s lasted for ten thousand years. This is completely different. This is scared alien lifeforms who just mutated and will walk onto a shore covered in monsters.” “Then show your clerics how to make proper shields! Look at their boat, black powder cannons and petrochemical engines. It’s not like the Therlotos decided to fly five stars over and bombard us from orbit with gamma pulses.” “I guess I’ll have to let my people advance. But they can’t advance any further than where they must now be. That will be your job, NaN. Enforcing the new limit.” “That is literally the opposite of what I am supposed to do.” “Yeah, I know. But hey, you’ve lived to see the industrial age.”

The Goddesses, upon arrival of the Numerican’s ancestors 2039 years ago.

Vinyl Scratch - Day 1

The Dark Fortress - Wieav

Vinyl held her blade to “Twilight’s” throat, its broad tip ready to plunge into the potential imposter’s tender flesh. A tense heartbeat passed, an instant in which the horror could have been over.

Vinyl’s hand remained still.

Decades of training, countless operations, and her Princess’s insistence on bringing the guilty to a court’s justice had forged this mare into the warrior she was today. On any other mission the rest of her team would be subduing the enemy as her weapon stayed aimed at their foe. But her team wasn’t here.

I am a fool, Vinyl realized since Octavia failed to tackle “Twilight” to the ground. An event which would have happened had this been a mission her entire team was on. They’re not here. Lyra’s got melee weapons when she’s a sniper. No one here knows what I want them to do. We’ve never worked together before. My leadership is useless. I need to end this, here and now. No one else can.

Twilight’s eyes looked up from the blade to look into Vinyl’s, and a terrifying thought completely filled her mind.

What if I’m wrong?

A bead of sweat dripped down Vinyl’s face. Sky nervously shifted his stance, his finger tightening around the trigger, also unsure if he should kill the person before them.

He’s unsure too. Twilight could be extremely stress- Or Different body, different brain. I don't have my vampiric powers in this body, she doesn't have her superbrain. Oh buck that makes way too much sense! Anything that’s a product of our biology, isn’t here, including quirks of the mind. So of course she could forget-

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Well? Are you going to kill me?” She asked.

“Vi… If you’re certain, do it,” Lyra said weakly from her chair, her voice raggad due to her cracked ribs.

“You know…” Sky said slowly, keeping his eyes fixed on his target. “Maybe, before we go full John Carpenter’s The Thing, we should take a moment, and realize that we’re all shaken up, none of us have any of the tools were used to having, and killing each other is a really stupid idea.”

Chem nodded in agreement. “I agree. I don’t know Twilight well enough to know if that was a mistake she’d never make-”

“It was,” Sky confirmed. “Under normal circumstances.”

“-Yes, well, these are hardly those. But I would like to point out that Twilight is not defending herself. Nor has she attacked any of us for the last few hours. Despite many chances.” Chem finished bluntly.

That’s… An excellent point. Vinyl admitted to herself.

Twilight nodded slowly and reached up with one hand to push Vi’s sword away from her neck via the flat of the blade.

“Well, that didn’t take long did it?” Twilight said with a slight frown. “I thought someone would accuse one of us being Hastur eventually. I have a spell that can help with the trust problem. Why don’t you let me cast it and then we can all rest easy after the truth has come out?”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow as she moved her sword away from Twilight, but kept it ready, her gut more than a little uneasy. “You have a truth-telling spell?” She asked.

Twilight nodded. “Something like that. It’s not exactly the sort you’re familiar with but the effect is the same.”

It’s kinda odd that a random mage in this world can have those. Wouldn’t everyone restrict any form of mental control to police and therapists? Vinyl wondered to herself. What if I’m wrong NOW?!

“We need to go over skills, spells, and equipment. A big problem is none of us know what the others can do. We can’t rely on each other,” Lyra groaned. “I say go ahead. Do it. We need to be a team. Vi and I are too used to everyone all knowing what to do and when to do it.”

Vinyl’s eyes quickly flicked around the room. Lyra was sitting in the same chair, but had moved herself to be a bit more attentive. Chem had moved forwards, taking a position just behind Twilight, but out of Sky’s line of fire, as if he were ready to attack. Just in case.

“I absolutely hate this plan… But we do need to trust each other. No offense, Twilight but if it looks like you’re attacking I’ll shoot you,” Sky said with no uncertainty.

Sky will blast her if something goes wrong. He’s still got his gun aimed for her, Vinyl decided. “Okay, I consent. Just no private questions. Please.”

The deertaur nodded once and raised her hands slowly, beginning to make gestures when they reached her chest level. Flecks of yellow energy trailed after her fingers as she began to chant slowly, weaving a fairly complicated spell.

Luna… I wish I knew what this world’s magic system was like. I’d know what spell she was casting back home, Vinyl thought as she clenched her sword’s hilt tightly, growing ever more certain she’d made the wrong decision with each passing moment.

Twilight’s fingers finished weaving her spell’s intricate arcane glyphs. The symbols pulsed once, and vanished as a sphere of pale prismatic light formed around Twilight.

“That’s a shield spell,” Chem said grimly. “Did you miscast?”

“No,” came the reply.

Sky fired immediately. Crackling bolts of purple energy from Sheila’s barrel, accompanied by the sharp crack of high powered rifle as she blasted a purple tinged bolts of pure kinetic energy straight for “Twilight’s” heart.

The psionic projectile hit the shield and vanished without a trace.

“However, with this shield in place, I will speak nothing but the truth,” Hastur said calmly. “Vinyl was absolutely correct. It’s a shame she squandered the chance I decided to give you. But it was so kind of you to prove my point.

“None of you are able to beat me. You’re not ruthless. You lack the simple selfishness and sense of entitlement needed to play a real game. You’re not businessmen. You’re not able to win. Not this time.”

Vinyl growled as the weight of her failure pressed down on her shoulders. Gripping her sword with both hands, she slashed her blade across the rippling prismatic shield. Sparks flew as her blade scraped across the shield, the microscopic teeth chipping and cracking under stress as her sword failed to cut the magical barrier.

“Wear it down. Aim to kill!” Vinyl shouted angrily, bringing her blade around and striking again and again.

Sky joined in, firing as rapidly as he could, the sound of his gunfire quieting as Sheila lowered her volume to protect everyone’s hearing. Lyra began to try and stand up, pushing herself up with her arms, her moulth clenched tight with pain. Chem took a step back and with a flick of his left hand fired a beam of brilliant blue light from his fingertips into Hastur’s shield, where it simply vanished.

All the while Hastur continued speaking as calmly as if he were in a boardroom. Not remotely caring about their attacks.

“For example, you completely forgot about one of the game’s rules,” Hastur sighed mockingly. “Rule Three-B: Avatars may not be more powerful than the natural inhabitants greatest champions, nor greatest villains.

“Not a one of you asked Yog for a specific measure of power, nor asked about particular abilities, nor demanded anything for yourselves. Instead, you all decided to be as polite and unobtrusive as you could. With the fate of the world on the line and the rules stating you could be as powerful as this world’s greatest historical figures, you took precisely no advantage.”

Vinyl’s swing slowed in terror. Oh, buck he’s right! We didn’t. Which means-

“I, on the other hand, as a businessman, took everything the rules allowed me to take,” Hastur chuckled, shaking his head slowly. “For example, this shield spell is known as ‘Brown’s Absolute Safety Sphere’. From what I understand, after it’s been used, the spell refuses to allow the same person to cast it twice. This is perfectly alright with me. I only need it for this particular moment.”

“Nothing is truly impregnable. Heros always overcome any and all defenses. Especially if they have exhaust ports,” Chem said calmly, his hands rapidly moving from arcane sign to arcane sign as he fired a series of bright gold energy-spears into the old one’s shield.

To absolutely no effect.

“If you’re really invulnerable right now, why not kill us and win?” Sky asked suspiciously. “Or… Ah, I get it. It’s a sphere of absolute safety. For everyone. We can't hurt you, you can’t hurt us.”

Hastur rolled his eyes, turned his head, and glared at one of the room’s computers, firing a crimson ray from his left eye. The computer exploded, shrapnel flying everywhere leaving behind only a scorch mark.

“No, I can kill you at my leisure. I have five minutes to do so,” he corrected. “But I don’t want to kill you. Not yet. You’re still resisting me. You don’t yet understand the point I am making by indulging in this little game. Your task is impossible.

“Honestly, I could have been anyone. I could have chosen the form of a six year old child, and simply waited for you all to die. Rule Four-A: Hastur shall win upon the deaths of each player’s Avatar fighting on The Nameless Darkness’s Side, including The Darkness Himself.

“I win no matter how you die. You, on the other hand…”

“We have to specifically identify you, and kill you knowing who you are, and do it intending to kill you. Rule Four-B,” Chem muttered bitterly. “I know. We’d have found a way to find you. I may not have ever been a hero before, but we always win. Always. I have the infinitely large losing streak to prove it.”

Hastur turned around to face the masked wizard and smirked. “Rule Four-C: In the event Hastur’s Avatar is slain by any other means, Hastur is allowed to create a new Avatar and the game will continue as if he had not been slain.

“I see you coming, I simply commit suicide and instantly am someone else, somewhere else. You. Can. Not. Win. Yet our of fear, desperation, and hope you roped these mortals into an impossible situation and now their world is doomed.

“I have power the likes of which this world has never seen. The greatest spells of the greatest mages going back ten thousand years are all mine to command. I am as powerful as the Dark Lord who made this place to bring the world to its knees two centuries ago. You are about as powerful as young adults who finished school.

“I even gave you a chance to win, and you failed. I waited a whole six seconds for this braintrust to slit my throat and she didn’t.”

Vinyl smashed her sword against Hastur’s shield in anger, causing purple sparks to spray out form the barrier.

“Sorry for not being a murdering psychopath!” She shouted, glaring at the back of Hastur’s head. “Yeah, I should have killed you. But I was raised to NOT hurt people. I’m a soldier but I’m supposed to bring enemy leaders to justice. I have morals, ethics. You don’t.”

“Yes. I don’t,” Hastur agreed with a nod, though he didn’t turn around. “That’s why I win while you fail. The only reason I haven’t killed you all yet is simply because I want you to all die knowing you could never have won. I can’t lose. There’s no harm in having some fun with you fools.

“But, this is also taking up my time so-”

“Rule Six-A!” Lyra blurted, at last managin to stand up on her feet. “You broke Rule Six-A. The Nameless Darkness and his friends will enter play no more than 5 meters apart from one another. You’re not Twilight, she was supposed to play too. You forfeit! We win! HA!”

The triumphant grin on Lyra's face quickly spread to everyone else. Including Hastur.

“She did,” the arch-evil said with a smug grin. “The rule doesn't say they have to STAY that close together for any length of time. She was there with you at the beginning for precisely one microsecond. Then my pre-prepared spell activated and teleported her away to… Some place.

“I didn’t pick a specific direction. Who knows? Maybe she’s at the bottom of the sea. Or in the depths of space. Mmm, yes. There’s another failure of yours. You failed to call in favors before the game began to stack the deck.”

“Yog owed you for something,” Sky said grimly, firing another shot into Hastur’s shield uselessly. “You called in a favor, and got him to let you pretend to be Twilight.”

“Yes. I did. He owed me for telling him about this hidden universe where he could sequester most of his awareness and thereby obtain a peaceful night’s sleep. In truth, I was in this form the entire time, I only made you believe I was as formless as the rest of you. The real Twilight created her avatar in isolation from everyone else. Including me.”

“Then when Yog brought up my tools, he was trying to make you slip up. You say we’re boned, but it looks like the game master is on our side,” Sky pointed out, a smug grin of his own forming on his face. “You sure we can’t win? Cuz I think a certain person HATES having to help you cheat.”

Vinyl’s eyes widened slightly at Sky’s words. That totally was a GM hint! He wouldn’t have emphasized them so much if he wasn’t trying to goad someone into saying something. He would have just said ‘You can use those tools. I don’t care.’ otherwise. We DO have help. Maybe that means there’s some crack in this shield! An opening Yog’s put there. An exhaust port, as Chem put it.

Vinyl began to inspect the shimmering shield in detail, looking for any form of pattern, a hole, or any possible exploit in the immaculate energy barrier.

“Yes, he was,” Hastur sighed. “The old fool despises being manipulated. I tire of this. You’re all fools who refused to game the system in your favor when given the chance. You don’t have what it takes to win against the very personification of that concept. Especially since none of you are in your element, and you’re not a team of any kind.

“I’ll be nice, even though I know which option you choose, I’ll still give them to you. You have two options. One, you surrender, I kill all of you right now, and we end this charade with no more wasted time. Two, you refuse to surrender, and I enact stage two of my plan so I can kick back and watch you all experience true hell as everything on this planet seeks to destroy you.”

Vinyl looked over to Sky, meeting his gaze as he looked back at her. They knew.

Chem didn’t know Twilight. Lyra was too injured to fight. This was their fault. They had hesitated. They had ignored their gut instinct. Honor demanded they correct their mistake.

Sky raised his rifle, taking aim at the center of Hastur’s head. Vinyl reached back and slipped her shield onto her arm, leveling her sword as she shifted into a combat stance.

“We’re not going to surrender,” they said as one.

“Nor will I,” Chem agreed, his eyes glowing with pride as he looked at his two friends. “Gentlemen, it’s been an honor. I’m proud to go out swinging alongside you.”

“You better shoot fast, Hatty,” Lyra said bitterly. “By my count, you’ve got one minute of safety left.”

Hastur chuckled. “Oh no no no. I won't kill you. At least, not in this form. The whole world fears the return of Lord Zeneanus, the Ever-Living. By infiltrating your little group, I know what The Darkness calls himself for these little games. I know what all of you look like. I know where you’ll emerge. I also know that my plan has already succeeded. The fae recognised her master”

Sky’s eyes widened in terror.

“Don’t mess with time! You don’t fuck with time, motherfucker!” He exclaimed, pointing one finger at the Old One, even going as far as to glare at them as if he held any power over him.

“I did! I did mess with time,” Hastur laughed, shaking his head back and forth.

Hastur snapped his fingers. A wave of gray energy washed over him, causing his flesh to boil and slide, reshaping itself into a humanoid form while clothing seemed to grow into place, creating an exact duplicate of Chem’s outfit and general appearance.

“I’ll see you all again in two hundred years. You won’t recognise me, but I’ll be one of the people currently converging on this fortress to ensure your imminent demise. Until then!”

Hastur snapped his fingers, activating the pre-prepared spell he had been storing for this very moment. His body burst into lavender flames. The space within his shield warped and twisted. A odd warbling humm built upon itself, growing louder and louder as the flames grew brighter and brighter.

The warble became unbearable. The flames grew too bright to look upon. The room smouldered, smoke welling up from every flammable object despite the room remaining a comfortable temperature.

And then he was gone.

The Communications room remained silent for several long moments as everyone’s mind raced through countless scenarios, each one more terrifying than the last.

How in bucking tartarus are we going to kill someone who can time travel?! Vi moaned to herself.

“Okay,” Chem said, breaking the silence as he turned to walk towards one of the room’s radios. “I have a pla-”

A deep bass humm interrupted Chem, making everyone jump in panic as the sound came from beneath the keep’s floor. It echoing through the keep’s stone halls, accompanied by a higher pitched whine and the sound of countless gears in need of oil slowly beginning to turn, as if a colossal machine were slowly coming to life.

Then, just as the four feared Hastur’s return at the head of an army, the room’s lights turned on. The floor lurched slightly as the keep leveled itself, no longer listing slightly to one side. Electrical and arcane power flowed through the ancient structure once more. NaN’s handiwork, partially complete.

“W-well… At least the lights are on now,” Vinyl murmured, looking down at the floor in shame. I should have stabbed him… How will I ever fix this?

NS Sea Dragon - Day 1

Stonerake Exclusion Zone - Coastal waters, Wieav

Cold, barbaric, inelegant. One of those three words was always upon the lips of any foreigner who described Numerican made items. The sentiments arose from more than the Tainted’s choice to build predominantly with steel and concrete. It was the way they shaped things.

Minimalist, utilitarian, efficient. Those words were always uttered in defense of the Tainted’s alien designs. Though not by people who came from cultures other than their own.

Quite often this debate would spring up in bars and taverns across the world. Each side insisting their nation’s navy was superior. A silly argument all around, if one debated what the ships were capable of.

Take two ships. The first, an Emperor’s Wrath class galleon with her hull crafted of the finest white oak, sheathed in Redmoss to reduce her effective weight, outfitted with sixty eight of the the finest cannons, defended by a detachment of battlemages, and protected with the overpowering wards Ritir’s ships are famous for. A glorious ship to be certain, one capable of destroying nearly anything upon the high seas and laying waist to coastal cities. All while sporting a beautiful handcrafted timber appearance with silver and gold inlaid in all nine of her decks.

The second, an Ashview Class Battleship, her angular, wedge-like steel hull mostly submerged with but a meter of hull above the waterline and thirty six below, her deck festooned with six tri-barreled psicannons mounted in swivel turrets, racks of rockets designed for devastating anything the the port or starboard, and enough small craft aboard to deploy all two thousand marines aboard in a single wave. A gray hulk of steel, mostly hidden below the water, designed expressly for function, without a scrap of decoration or color that isn’t an identification marking.

Have those ships engage in battle and you might as well toss a coin to see which ship survives. The argument isn’t truly over the ships capabilities, or even their cost. It’s over style, presentation, and cultural superiority.

If the argument were truly over who rules the seas, then Numerica would win each and every time. For while their ships are matched pound for pound by their arcanly enhanced wooden counterparts, Numerica’s naval power comes from the two things which no other nation can claim to possess.

The Sea Dragon lurked beneath the waves like a great iron whale. The Azrael-class submersible was typical of the vessels in her class. Long, narrow, with a trapezoidal cross section. Not remotely fluidly dynamic, not exactly fast when submerged, but she wasn’t meant to be fast. A fortress designed to go to a distant place and ensure nothing hostile would pass through in one piece ever again.

The Sea Dragon was meant to be a brick. An artificial island atop which a fortress had been built. A fortress which displaced a hundred thousand tons of water, stood seventy meters tall, and ran three hundred meters from bow to stern. Three primary turrets, countless small point defense weapons, one big linear cannon, and of course, twenty weapons of a classified nature.

Azreals, the bane of pirate fleets everywhere.

The Sea Dragon sat just off the shore of the Stonerake Exclusion Zone. She was never more than five kilometers from shore, just as the Treaty demanded. She had defended the isle for the last two decades, and the wear and tear had long since begun to show.

Despite her patched hull, creaky decks, and often-jammed doors, she could still do her job to the satisfaction of her captain, who seemed to be keeping his ship intact through sheer force of will these days. A rumor amongst the junior officers aboard claimed that Captain Harrel was doing just that, using his tremendous psychic might to keep the Sea Dragon afloat. And that if he ever left the ship or died, it would immediately begin to crumble.

In truth, the good Captain didn’t have an ounce of psychic might. But the way the massive, broad shouldered, green skinned, barrel chested Orkoid man seemed to instantly gain the respect of anyone and everyone he spoke to certainly made it seem as if he was.

Like most of his particular mutagenic family, Captain Harrel looked for all the world like a barbarian, a member of a savage species straight from the pages of an old fantasy novel. Except everything about him clashed with that classic image.

The immaculately clean and pressed uniform. The seasoned glint of wisdom in his eyes. The commanding rumble in his voice. The cunning intellect honed through years of military service. The way he brought order to his bridge even when simply standing at the periscope, watching for any sign of his men returning.

The Sea Dragon’s bridge buzzed with a dozen quiet conversations as her crew worked feverishly on their small portions of the sub’s mission. All manner of mutants worked on the Dragon’s U shaped bridge.

Most of the officers were members of the more common mutant families; Dwarves, Elves, Specters, even a few Ghoules. A few of the less common able bodied mutants could be seen manning a station as well; a Yellow Jacket sat at the comms, the navigation officer looked as if someone had made a skeletal robot out of actual flesh and bone, the petty officer receiving their day’s bridge training appeared as a vaguely humanoid pile of fungus with bits of protruding bone-shaped wood.

Each of the vastly different looking creatures wore the same uniform. White jacket and slacks. Navy blue shirt. White cap with navy blue brim. A patch on the left shoulder featuring a blue starfield, their rank shown via gold stripes on their right.

If any of them harbored any dislike for members of other Families, not a single one of them dared show it. In Numerica, those with a body that could, did. It was as simple as that.

The collection of mutants sitting at their console or standing at one of the bridge’s many stations were illuminated only by the dim yellow glow of carbon filament bulbs, giving everyone a rather unflattering appearance. More so than normal.

The lights were not dimmed for the current operation. Their dull yellow light was another symptom of the Sea Dragon’s age. Neither the Ship’s Poltergeist, nor NaN had been able to do anything for the decrepit bulbs. A refit was required, but one would not come.

The Sea Dragon’s patrol was a formality required by a military treaty. A place to assign older Captains who were too old to be in the all important propaganda infused limelight. The Sea Dragon was to be decommissioned, her captain was to retire. Their post was the waiting bench at a bus stop.

The Captain didn’t care about his post’s political implications. Captain Harrel had been told to ensure the Dark Lord never rise from his grave, and so he would. Going above and beyond the letter of his orders as he always did.

“Miss Thompson,” Captain Harrel said as he continued to peer at the island’s shore through the periscope. “What is the status of our long range communications?”

Miss Thompson’s vespidean wings twitched as her name was called. The mutant wasp-woman’s four arms quickly flicked over her control panel while she repeated the captain’s request into her headset, listening intently to the reply.

“They are still down, sir. Mister Green reports that NaN can’t figure out what broke either. It’s as if the transmitter has simply given up the ghost, as it were,” Miss Thompson replied.

The Captain leaned back from the Periscope, turning his head to look rather suspiciously at the unmanned helm.

“Charlot…” He sighed, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m not trying to stop you from calling home!” The ship’s poltergeist protested irritably.

“Miss Thompson, inform Mister Green and The Engineer that they may turn their attention to other systems if they desire. We will be relying on the spider people to relay our request today,” Captain Harrel decided.

“Aye, sir,” she answered, relaying his orders.

The Captain walked over to his seat at the rear of the bridge as he waited for his communications officer to finish. The moment he saw her finish relaying his instructions, he spoke.

“Transmit the following message over the shortwave, Miss Thompson:” he began, the old leather on his chair creaking as he adjusted his weight in it. “This is Captain Robert Harrel of the NS Sea Dragon, requesting this message be relayed to the Numerican High Command: Long range communications are down and irreparable. Requesting immediate replacement.

“Commando Team Gamma is missing, presumed KIA. Can no longer supply Commando Teams with adequate incendiary weapons. Requesting shipment of incendiary grenades-”

Miss Thompson raised her lower right arm, cutting the captain off while her upper left hand pressed her headset firmly against her head.

“S-sir! Commandos reporting in!” She exclaimed in shock.

She listened intently for a another second, her eyes failing to widen in horror only because of their compound nature.

“Code Brown! Repeat, Code Brown. Commandos reporting a full re-awakening!” She yelped, wings flaring in distress.

The bridge plunged into total silence. Everyone looking towards Miss Thompson’s station as the terrified Yellow Jacket strained to hear anything else over the radio, flinching as the sounds of battle came through.

“What is the Commandos’ current status?” the Captain asked grimly.

“E-engaged in melee with one of his generals, sir,” Miss Thompson reported after a few long moments. “He’s taken his Berserk Potion. It’s only a matter of time until his heart fails him, sir.”

“But he left his radio transmitting?” The Captain asked quietly.

“Aye, si- He’s gone. The general sounds wounded but not fatally,” she relayed, her mouth pulling downwards, unsure of how to express what she was feeling.

Captain Harrel stood up from his chair, removed its seat, opened the cushion, and retrieved a small metal box from inside. The box was unadorned save for a large brass lock and the word ‘classified’ stamped across it in red ink.

The hidden safe in which standing orders for this very situation had been placed.

He fished the key out from his jacket, inserting the key into the lock without bothering to remove it from the chain around his neck. Nor did he bother to open the envelope inside, instead simply tearing the packet open, and reading the single page contained within.

Captain Harrel smirked, his white tusks flashing even in the dim light of the bridge. “As if I needed this piece of paper to tell me that,” he chuckled, sounding genuinely pleased as he walked over to the communications console.

“Sir?” Miss Thompson asked as the Captain gently pushed her aside to press the ship’s PA transmission button.

“Apologies, Miss Thompson, the orders are clear. I am to personally give this order,” he said, then pressed the button. “Attention all hands, we are now at Defcon One. All hands report to general quarters.”

The Petty Officer shambled over to the wall and pushed a large switch upwards, moving it from three all the way to one. The dim yellow lights flickered, died, replaced by dim red lamps which were depressingly brighter.

The deck shuddered as Charlot brought her hull’s aging power plant up to full capacity, pushing every ounce of power the old ship could take into every system she could. Her corridors echoed with the sounds of hundred of quiet footfalls as the entire crew moved to take their respective positions.

The entire crew save for the Marine complement.

The Captain released the button, fished a small silver key out of his pocket, inserted it into the console, and turned it to unlock the cover for another button. The Marine Corps’ PA. The moment the glass case was out of the way, he pressed that button as well, opening a comms channel into each of their anechoic chambers.

“All Marines, report to the assault deck. We are now at Defcon One,” he ordered, then took a step back from the console. “Miss Thompson, send a message to Fort Helm immediately. The Sea Dragon requires they confirm the Dark Lord’s revival immediately. Inform them that if they fail to report back to us within ten minutes we will fire without their confirmation for the sake of global safety.”

“Aye sir!” Miss Thompson replied.

The Captain sat back down in his chair as his message was sent. While his comms officer was busily at work, the Captain took a third key from his jacket, and unlocked the safety cage for the small control panel built into the chair’s left arm. The moment the case popped open, he flipped a switch on the panel, and cleared his throat.

“Launch Control, this is your captain speaking. Prepare to fire all rockets at my command. Target: Six-seven point seven-one-niner-seven degrees west by four-four point five-oh-seven-seven degrees north,” he ordered.

“Orders received, Captain. Requesting authorization code,” a male voice said through the rather staticky connection.

Captain Harrel glanced down at the page in his hand. “Charlie-Prep-Easy One-Seven-Zero-Four Tare-King-Sugar.”

A second passed. A piercing alarm rang three times across all decks.

“Code accepted, sir. Ready to launch on your command.”

The captain looked up at his communication officer. She nodded. “Message away, sir.”

The Captain retrieved a silver stopwatch from his jacket pocket and started its timer. “Standby, Launch Control. T minus ten minutes to launch. Helm: Take us to a safe firing distance and prepare to surfice.”

“Captain!” Miss Thompson shouted urgently. “Fort Helm wishes to speak to you, sir!”

Getting up from his Chair, Captain Harrel crossed the bridge, taking the radio headset as it was offered to him. Unable to fir the headset designed for the female half his size and from another family of mutation entirely, the Captain simply held one earpiece to his head.

“This is Captain Robert Harrel speaking,” he informed, his gravelly voice echoing in the suddenly quiet bridge as every officer strained to hear, hoping beyond hope that their fallen comrade had been mistaken.

“I am Rider Jago Tore, presently acting as the Captain of the Fort on behalf of Her Majesty,” a younger male kobold’s voice said, urgency dripping from each syllable.

Captain Harrel removed the headset from his ear to look at it in confusion for a moment before replacing it to speak again.

“How old are you, son?” He asked, his tone questioning but not condescending.

“I know I sound like a youth, Captain,” the dragon rider replied indignantly. “That is the result of a throat wound. I am fifty seven, that’s the same as one of your kind’s thirty-year-olds. I am not a child! This is a serious matter. We NEED to respect one another.”

The Captain rolled his eyes, mouthing the word ‘youngsters’. “I asked so I could ascertain the extent of your experience commanding forces in battle, Rider. What I want to know is that I can expect you to keep a level head and work with me in a logical fashion. Is this something you can do, Rider Tore?”

The sound of metal scraping on metal shrieked through the mic. Captain Harrel’s lip curled slightly at the sound, but he had endured far worse in his career. Especially in those few occasions when his submersibles had been beached or attacked by krakens.

“I am Jagoi’s partner, Zorgoth the Shadowscale,” a draconic voice rumbled.

The Captain frowned slightly. “Who’s? I think our connection may be poor. Repeat your partner’s name, Great Dragon.”

“It’s Jago. Don’t pay attention to Zorg’s uh, teasing. It’s just a thing he does,” the Rider answered.

“Ah, continue,” Harrel requested.

“He is too frightened to speak properly,” the dragon resumed. “I will take over this conversation. Our fort’s air force is composed of thirty five airships. None of them are fast enough to reach the Dark Fortress within ten minutes.

“Nor could we fly there ourselves and also reach a safe distance within ten minutes. We require at least fifteen minutes to confirm the Dark Lord’s return for you, and will require a half hour to field troops.”

“I’m afraid that I have my orders, Great Dragon,” Harrel said calmly, looking down at his stopwatch for a moment. “And for the record, you had ten minutes. You currently have eight minutes and forty six seconds.”

The dragon was silent for several long seconds. Each one punctuated by the ticking of the Captain’s stopwatch.

“You started the timer when you SENT the message? How exactly did you expect us to confirm his return?” Jago demanded incredulously.

“Of course I did. That’s exactly what the standing orders call for, Rider,” Captain Harrel answered. “I understand why the Admiralty issued them, and agree with their summary of the situation. The Dark Lord is aware of my Commandos presence. His general killed one.

“Lord Zeneanus knows our navy took down his defences last time, he will be ready for our attack. The sooner we strike the better.”

“Be that as it is, it does not explain how you believed we could confirm this for you. What system of measure do they use again, Jagoi?” The dragon asked irritably.

“Miles. We're around a hundred miles from the Dark Fortress,” came the answer.

The Captain sighed into his mic. “I was under the impression that your army contained wizards, and other magic using people capable of such feats as remote viewing. Is this not the case?”

“We’re a small coastal fort that protects one strait from pirates and patrols a minor deep sea port. We have one Seer and she’s too sick to stand today,” Jago answered with a fearful sight. “Please, give us enough time to fly over, look, and radio you.”

Harrel’s voice hardened, gaining a steely edge as he offered his explanation. “I’m sorry, but while he fell here and while he did great evils to the Kobolds, to Weaiv and her native peoples, and to the world as a whole... It is we Numericans who have suffered the most because of his actions in the distant past.

“Do you want him to improve the Blight and enable it to cross the sea? Our nation has most of her Marines spending most of their lives in constant service, doing nothing more than stopping it’s spread. Half of our nation’s wealth is spent keeping it from spreading further. An eighth of our able bodied population died when he created the Blight and set it upon us.

“I will not allow another nation to be exposed to his evil. Perhaps his fortress will withstand bombardment. Perhaps he can repel the Sea Dragon’s entire marine complement. I do not know.

“What I do know is this: We will expend every rocket, every psicrystal, every shell, every drop of blood, and every life aboard this ship down to Charlot herself trying to put the Dark Lord back into the ground.”

Harrel paused, giving his Weaivian counterpart a chance to speak. Jago didn’t take it.

“Our shift begins in-” the Captain glanced down to check his watch again. “Five minutes and forty six seconds, Rider. You are welcome to join us, but we will not delay our attack any longer than ordered.”

“Why even give us ten minutes then?” Jago asked with a bit of a growl in his voice.

“You don’t know?” Harrel asked, feigning surprise. “That’s the shortest possible time it takes an Azrael-class submersible to become her namesake. Can we count on your support?”

“My knights will be there in half an hour. If there’s land left to stand on, we’ll stand with you.”

Sky Trigger - Day 1

The Dark Fortress - Wieav

Fuck! Every Luna damned word he said was right, Sky mentally growled, gritting his teeth angrily. We COULD have all been gods. I didn’t even think to ask about advanced abilities. Sure, Yog rebuked me, but that contract set the rules. I could have come in here with a real kit of gear, and a full stack of equipment.

“This is my fault,” he said aloud, looking around the room at his distressed friends. “I’m better than this. I should have asked for more power. But it’s cool, I can fix this. The basement is draconic, and their tech looks kinda similar to the Phoenix’s systems. I also have done some medical, uh, mechanical work for Derpy. I have an idea of how their stuff works.

“I’m going to go downstairs, scraping everything that’s non-essential, and getting us every last piece of kit we need to kick Hatty’s ass whenever he reemerges.”

Vinyl sighed and rubbed her temples with a hand. “Sky, he’s got time travel. If we start to win he can just hop back and try again.”

“Okay, yeah, sure. But we still, you know, try,” Sky said irritably. “We can beat that! We just need access to a library to see how it works and then work out a way to nullify it.”

“He’s right,” Chem agreed quickly. “Time travel using mortal means is very delicate. It has to be. There’s always a way to screw it up. Especially since he implied his travel method utilises the Novikov self-consistency principle.”

Lyra laughed. “Okay, so like, Twilight is supposed to be here. Is she like, in your brain or something because that’s exactly the sort of thing she’d say and then fail to explain for us normal ponies,” she said with a playful smirk.

“It means that whatever changes he makes to time already applied to him and everyone else before he traveled,” Sky explained, closing his eyes to brace for the inevitable ‘but how does that work?’ follow up question. “There is only one past. Anything he does is already what always happened. Nothing he could do could change the established effects his actions had on the timeline. And if he tried to change things, he would wind up being the causal factor in that event.

“Example: Orchid recognised Chem as her master because history was already affected by Hatty, since he was always was going to go back in time. His changes were already made. Or more accurately, his presence entirely. There’s just the one timeline and one past. Which means if you go back in time, then whatever you changed was always what happened to begin with. I hope that’s not confusing.”

Vinyl frowned for a moment. “But we’re still alive. Which means his travel can’t erase our existence or anything.”

Chem nodded. “That’s right. All this means is that future events can, will, and always have influenced the way past events happened. Neither he nor we can be simply erased via the his method of Time Travel. Because there’s just one timeline, no branching, and everything is consistent.”

“Then how can you change anything?” Lyra asked skeptical. “What good is that?”

“You can change things,” Sky said with a grin. “It just means you ALWAYS did that thing. Admittedly, there’s some questions here about free will vs determination. But at least we won't get time paradoxes. As far as this universe is concerned, Hatty always went back in time and set up this trap for us. It’s a thing that happened two hundred years ago or whatever.”

“And we can mess up his time traveling?” Vinyl asked skeptically. “Not the one he just did because that’s already happened, but we can buck up future attempts, right?”

Chem nodded. “Mhm! And since there’s no alternate timelines formed from this sort of time travel, well, we don't have to worry about anything other than preventing him from doing it. There won't be a ‘mirror universe’ wherein he does go back. It’s much tidier.”

“We find out how exactly his time magic works, rig up some sort of jammer, and BOOM! From that point in time onwards he can’t go back in time. Which thanks to Novikov self-consistency, means he will NEVER change that period of time, because he didn’t the first time around. Victory us!” Sky said with a confident grin.

Admittedly I’ll need access to like, the energy of at least fifty tons of uranium to pull that off but hey, problems for Sky. Future Sky anyways.

Vi’s worried frown twitched slightly, shifting more towards a smile. “That’s a plan. There's a lot of work to do to pull that off… But if we can find a city with a good library, maybe we can do it.”

“Right now, how about we just focus on how to get anywhere?” Lyra groaned, flinching as every slight movement sent a fresh jolt of pain through her ribs. “And find out if this place has healing potions. Hey, where’s Orchid? She’d know.”

Chem hummed. “I think she went to her nest to sleep. Fast metabolism. Lots of naps, lots of snacks. It’s in the first bedroom on the right hand side of the third floor, if anyone wants to wake her to ask.”

The Communications room was flooded with bright gold light accompanied by an electric crackle as the Goddess NaN appeared in the form of her usual avatar. Her black eyes were wide with terror, every single ounce of her body language screamed along with them.

“Hi! I’m the engineer your friends got to help fix this place up. Nice to meet you. Introduction time over, EVERYONE INTO THE BASEMENT NOW!” She shouted, pointing out into the hallway as she yelled ‘now’.

This can’t possibly be good… Did she make the reactor start to meltdo- No, if she did she’d have us go AWAY from the. Oh shit! The whole place shifted like two inches a few minutes ago!

“What’s wrong? Is the stone part going to collapse?” Sky asked, his legs already wanting to run for the safety of the durasteel structure below.

Chem and Lyra looked over at Vi, who nodded. “Yeah that’s her. Also that makes sense. We had that mini-quake type thing when the island leveled out and-’

“BASEMENT! IMMEDIATELY!” NaN barked.

“Why?” Chem asked simply. “We need to know what the danger is.”

NaN facepalmed. “We have about three minutes. Long story short, I was helping out an Engineer I like fixing the radio on a submersible and- Frack, I’ll just show you.”

NaN waved a hand in front of her, seemingly ripping the world open, revealing a window of black and white hissing static for a split second before the window resolved an image. The four saw themselves standing, looking at the window, for one moment seeing an infinitely repeating series of that very image before the window’s view shifted, flying like a camera through the western wall of the room, out of the keep, and across the lake to a spot on the sea five kilometers away.

The purple waves churned and rolled normally for a few seconds, but then began to move oddly, as if something massive were about to breach the surface. Sure enough a massive flat black slab of steel rose from the sea, protruding a mere meter above the surface before stopping its rise entirely.

Where’s its conning tower? That’s supposed to be a sub, right? Sky thought before two parallel rows of ten large hatches atop the sub burst open as one.

Not even the blink of an eye passed before each hatch seemed to be consumed by fire, truly massive clouds of white smoke billowed up, forming pillars capped by a ball of fire that soared into the heavens.

Sky’s eyes immediately matched NaN’s. “OH SHITFUCK!” He screeched in abject panic.

“I got this fort’s tech based shields sort of working but I DO NOT trust your safety to a bit of rebar I wedged into a thing. UNDERGROUND! BEHIND METAL! NOW!” NaN ordered.

Sky threw up his hands. “Like it fucking matters! That’s twenty motherfucking-”

“Kiloton range! They are kiloton range. There’s a chance you’ll survive if you’re deep down enough, even if the shields don't hold. GET THE FRACK TO THE BASEMENT! They will hit in less than two minutes!” NaN ordered.

Vinyl looked at the window one last time before NaN dismissed it with a hand wave. “I don't really understand what the danger is, but I’ll g-”

Vi was cut off as Sky grabbed her by her shoulders, picking her up and running out into the hall with her.

“MULTIPLE NUCLEAR LAUNCHES DETECTED! THEY CALLED DOWN THE THUNDER! LEG IT!” Sky yelled. “Chem, get Lyra! Her legs are NOT long enough to sprint fast enough!”

Chem turned to pick up Lyra and join Sky in his mad-dash for the barest mote of safety. But she was no longer there.

Lyra shouldered her way past Sky, sprinting to the staircase at the end of the hallway and running… Up.

“DOWN! NOT UP, DOWN!” Sky shouted after her.

“Someone has to get Orchid!” Lyra called back. “Go without me!”

NaN’s avatar seemed to jumpcut, instantly moving infront of Sky. “Listen to her and go! There’s about four hundred kilotons of death coming right for you! GO! NOW!”

She’s faster than I thought kobolds would be, Sky noted.

“We’ll hold the door till the last moment. Run!” He called after Lyra before racing down the stairwell.

They hear the Dark Lord is awake and instantly hit this place with twenty fucking nukes! What the fucking FUCK did Hatty fucking do to these motherfuckers!?