Daedalus' New World

Daedalus wasn't quite sure what to expect as the world returned moments before he impacted rough stone that splintered beneath his body. That Greater, 'Division,' had some ability to nullify his viral senses, perhaps even the virus itself. Daedalus wasn't the strongest Greater, hovering somewhere slightly below the middle, and was strong enough to outclass any Lesser, Augmented, or give those stronger than him a run for their money yet Division entirely outclassed him. The way he moved spoke of a deep seated familiarity with his body, hinting that the strange Evolved had far more experience fighting with his body than he anyone he knew of except maybe Mercer.

He's likely from the second outbreak. Daedalus thought to himself, rising to his feet with a low groan. His body felt weak and sluggish, slow to respond to his commands as the viral cells making up his flesh reorganized themselves and worked to rid his body of something that was afflicting him. Whatever it was, he couldn't identify it in the slightest and the only way for him to repair the tainted tissue was to completely destroy it, then replace it with fresh viral flesh. Maybe the first, but definitely the second. Mercer kept too close of an eye on all his third gen Evolved for one to have escaped without there being a world-wide manhunt to kill him. I need to tell Mercer.

Reaching out across his ever-present link to his master, Daedalus was struck by a momentary confusion. The hivemind was still present as always and it's influence still tugged at the edges of his mind with all standing commands yet Mercer's own mind was absent. He wasn't necessarily cut off from the hivemind but it was as if there was too much distance for him to speak to the source. Unlikely, but not impossible as Mercer theorized it only had a range of five thousand miles, more than enough for his goals. However, that would mean he wasn't in the United States anymore. Finally taking note of his surroundings, he was surprised to find himself in what appeared to be a ruined throne room. The building itself was ancient and badly damaged. Dust covered every surface and spiderwebs filled every crack and corner of the room. Two ancient thrones sat close to him. One was a crumbling piece of faded marble while the other was made of onyx, so badly damaged he barely recognized it as a throne.

Stepping forward, Daedalus froze as footsteps echoed from just beyond the broken entrance and he silently darted behind one of the thrones. Staying silent was easy for the Greater Evolved. With no lungs or heartbeat he didn't even passively make a sound as he listened closely with his supernatural hearing. The footsteps were strange, sounding off in their tempo and placement. He could hear twenty individual footfalls, yet seemingly coming from five locations. It reminded him of the quadrupedal gait of some of the monsters he was familiar with, yet sounding harder on the stone floor. His viral hearing also picked up the sounds of slow, steady wingbeats that were softer than any infected yet louder than any birds. Curiosity overcoming him, he stepped out from behind the throne and gazed upon a sight that would have shaken him to the core if he had mortal emotions.

They weren't human but neither were they infected. Six horses, or more likely ponies if the size meant anything, stood staring at him with wide eyes yet the similarities ended there. The colors varied between every color under the sun with facial features that seemed more human than equine but still remained alien to him. Wide, expressive eyes conveyed a multitude of emotions from excitement from the cyan one to fear from the yellow. They even appeared to have jewelry as five wore a necklace and one wore a tiara. Yet the most jarring difference was the additional limbs. The cyan and yellow ones had wings, one of which was the source of the wingbeats he had heard as it hovered a good five feet off the ground, while a white one had a horn in the center of its head. The last one he turned his attention to was a purple pony who had both wings and horns. Even as he examined it, it stepped forward nervously and then spoke with a distinctly feminine voice. "H-hello?"

It can speak? was Daedalus' first thought, gazing upon what he realized was a strange, seemingly genetically altered mare. Glancing at the others, they too seemed feminine and the spark of intelligence was clear in their eyes. Then his eyes flickered to her horn, which had just been encased in a strange purple aura. Incredulous at the horse manifesting what seemed to be some form of energy, he glanced at the white one only to notice that her horn was not doing the same. Whatever it was, it was controllable. Then, with the mental impact of a hammer against foam, one of Mercer's orders inserted into the hivemind overrode his own will.

And if you find anything interesting, consume it. His gaze hardened into resolve as he darted forward with all the speed he could muster in his weakened state, immediately giving a mental curse as his body moved slower than usual. His fist closed in toward the lead pony as weight, speed, and monstrous strength combined into a punch that could shatter steel. Whether by luck, his slowed movement, or her own instincts, the little mare reacted impressively quickly as she dropped to her side and gave a hard flap with one wing, launching her to the side as his fist soared through empty air. A moment later, the miasma around her horn flared before a powerful force pressed against the entire front of his body, shoving him backwards harder than even Division had. He flew through the air, too high to grab anything to stop himself and too stunned to react with tendrils, before he impacted the far wall with bone shattering force, embedding into the stonework. After taking a second to reorient himself, he pulled himself out of the wall and shook the loose stones off his shoulders as he gazed upon the purple pony, now flanked by the cyan and orange ones. "Interesting..."

For a moment, Daedalus entertained the idea of retreating but ultimately decided against it. There were only six of them and while the purple one had some measure of power that pushed him away, the mares were unlikely to be viral and were physically weaker than him. The shove, while hard enough to send him flying, hadn't done any real damage to him. He figured it was clearly more of a defensive maneuver, not something that could really be used to attack. He decided to remain, fighting the strange animals until he either got the upper hand and could consume one of them or until they posed enough of a threat to force him to withdraw. It would be better to learn their limits here with only six of them present then later when he's facing twenty at once.

All this was decided in the split second he had before the cyan one darted toward him at a speed that caught him off guard. Though he was able to track her with his eyes, he didn't react fast enough to avoid the hard kick to his jaw that was on par with a Lesser Evolved. He quickly spun on his heels to grab her tail or hind legs only for his hand to pass through the rainbow aftertrail she left, and he estimated that she was flying at a hundred miles an hour at least. Before he could give chase to the cyan pony, the viral cells in his legs began to die en masse as they worked to purge some kind of influence over them. Glancing down, he had only a second to notice the teal miasma surrounding his legs from the knees down before a pair of orange hooves adorned in iron horseshoes impacted his chest with an echoing crack. He stumbled as the pressure disappeared, his chest indented where he felt as if he had been shot by a shotgun point blank. A cry of pain filled his ears as he looked at the orange mare who had struck him, one of her shoes now cracked in half and on the floor. Before he could reach out to grasp her something stuck into the back of his knees hard enough to buckle him, sending him tumbling down to crack the ground on impact. A moment before the dust from the floor obscured his vision, he could see the same pegasus from earlier veer off as she changed her mind about an attack.

Heaving his body forward, he leaped out of the whole and faced the purple pony again. The miasma around her horn flared before a beam of light impacted his viral tissue, dissolving where it struck for a solid inch into his flesh. His eyes widened as he tried to heal, only finding that the virus surrounding the wound was too busy purging the strange energy to repair the missing flesh. While he would still be able to heal, the Blacklight virus seemed to prioritize removing the energy from his system before it would react to his commands. A moment after he realized that, two more beams burned craters into his other shoulder and left knee. As the crackling ring of the miasma faded away, he heard wingbeats behind him and realized the pegasus was coming in for another kick. Crouching down as if to leap at the purple one, he heard the wingbeats pick up as she darted toward him. Allowing a small smirk to come to his face, the purple one barely had time to gasp as he spun around and struck the pegasus in the jaw, returning her earlier kick back to her twofold. The force of the strike shoved her off course, sending her careening into the ground with a pained cry as a crack heralded her wing breaking when she landed on it. Before he could capitalize on the advantage and consume the injured pony, something impacted his head just hard enough to stagger him. He turned to see the pink one had struck him with a hammer that he caught on the next swing, snapping it in half just as a flash and crack of air echoed from where he had downed the cyan one. Spinning around, he caught sight of the yellow pegasus supporting the now-standing cyan one near the front of the room but wasn't able to advance as two more beams of miasma struck his body, this time in the chest and stomach.

Turning to face the purple mare, he glared at her as the virus began to react to his agitation. Some of his wounds healed over as the energy was purged and viral tendrils began to writhe beneath the surface of his false flesh, reacting to his agitation and preparing to lash out with lethally sharp blades and spikes. These ponies worked too well together. He may have been weakened but even just six of them were able to cover each other well enough that he wasn't able to really get his hands on one. If he had to fight any more of these ponies he would have to use guerilla tactics, utilizing his shapeshifting nature to appear from nowhere, slaughter a dozen, then fade into the wildlife again. The writhing of his body reached a crescendo, ready to unleash what Mercer lovingly referred to as a 'devastator' to annihilate the six mares and get his hands on their knowledge and power.

Only, he was caught completely off guard when the jewelry he had noticed before suddenly lit up with the same miasma the two with horns used, each gem carrying a different color. As the energy thickened around the gems, Daedalus felt a pressure begin conveying on him from all sides and slowing him down, hampering his ability to move. He took a step toward the ponies and the feeling multiplied ten fold and it was clear he would get nowhere near them. He turned to run only to freeze as the six ponies were pulled into the air seemingly by the jewelry, a white aura of light haloing around each of them. The viral cells that made up his body became jumbled, losing cohesion as his form began to shudder. His eyes, now sensitive to the light, snapped closed as he felt as if he had been flashbanged, the purest white light he had ever seen searing his false eyes. He was frozen in place, the strange phenomenon shocking him just as much as the way it could force him to feel pain without any nerves. A moment later the white light turned into a multitude of colors, burning through his eyelids in a flash of red, orange, yellow, pink, and more. Some instinct trickled through the hivemind, screaming at him to leap to the side, to run away, to burrow into the ground, just do not stay there. He tried to comply, his sluggish legs launching him to the side. For a second, nothing happened and he thought he had dodged whatever attack this was. That hope was ruined a moment later, some force impacting his left side hard enough that it should have thrown him two hundred feet back yet he was frozen in place. No pain followed the attack and, for a second, Daedalus felt a spark of triumph as he realized he must be immune since he wasn't alive.

Then something invaded his hivemind. He wasn't sure what it was, it had no conscious mind like anything he had ever felt through the hivemind, no thoughts he could follow or trace. All he felt was a sense of urgency that was rapidly changing into calm as it filled his connection to the virus, seemingly overriding it. Every command he had received from Mercer was erased, every inactive connection to another infected was destroyed. Yet it didn't stop there. The presence went deeper into the metaphysical link to the infection itself. Every trace of the hivemind was erased, the very essence of the viral connection removed from his system. Just when he thought it was done, it acted again. The hivemind was rebuilt, and for a terrifying moment he thought that it would take control. Yet no connection came, nothing liking him to the source. A shot of understanding went through him as he was placed as the source of the hivemind, no longer under its control but instead controlling it himself. Finally, a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction as well as a tinge of hope came through the link to this alien mind before it began to withdraw, the prismatic light fading just after. When he opened his eyes, the six ponies were panting hard from exertion. He noticed the miasma around the jewelry was gone, the gems almost appearing faded with a small spark of light inside. His gaze flickered up, meeting the eyes of some of them. Worry, fear, but most of all confidence and trust. These ponies were confident something had happened to him and he had a sense that they knew the gems would purge him of the corruption.

His eyes flickered between the six, taking in more detail than he had before. The orange one with the iron horseshoes had a blonde mane and tail covered in a stetson she just put back on her head. A trio of apples seemed painted on her flanks and her golden necklace bore an orange apple, and her green eyes full of nervous resolve met his. The cyan pegasus stared at him with a confident smirk on her muzzle, her magenta eyes almost daring him to try something despite her injured state. She had a prismatic mane and tail with a rainbow colored lightning bolt beneath a cloud on her flanks. Her golden necklace, identical to all but the purple one's, had a red lightning bolt in place of the apple. The yellow pegasus with pink hair had a trio of butterflies on her flank and a pink butterfly on her necklace, and she tried to avoid his gaze as her teal eyes flickered between the others and the floor. The overly pink pony with nearly matching hair and fur had a trio of balloons on her flank and a cyan balloon on her necklace. As his gaze met hers, she smiled widely as he saw nothing but trust in her light blue eyes that were only a shade lighter than his. The white one, which was undoubtedly a unicorn, had a deep purple mane and tail with a trio of diamonds on her flanks and a pink matching diamond on her necklace. Her azure eyes stared at him sternly, a flicker of her light blue miasma around her horn.

Finally, his gaze turned toward the one who had spoken to him earlier, the purple one with wings and a horn. Her mane and tail were a darker purple with a lighter pinkish stripe through them both. A pink star nearly matching the stripe was on her flank surrounded by five smaller, white stars. Finally, her necklace was replaced by a tiara with a star in the center, matching her mark. Her purple eyes stared at him in a sort of wary confidence. His gaze strayed back to the cyan pegasus whose wing he had broken, and saw out the corner of his eye as the purple pony- pegacorn?- tensed, her horn alighting in that strange energy again. While the desire to consume the ponies for their genetic coding and powers was still present as an Evolved, it was no longer a driving factor. While that did disturb him slightly, it also wasn't entirely unexpected. Even as a free virus, his own nature drove him to assimilate the powers and knowledge of the threats around him. Only now, he could make the conscious decision to not murder the innocent for powers he may not even gain anyway.

He shoved that thought away as he gave a tired sigh, sluggishly rising to his feet from where he had fallen to his knees. His gaze drifted to the cyan one again, a frown coming to his face as he regretted harming her. He had been the one to attack first, after all, and she only tried to defend what he assumed was her friend. He spoke with a voice that betrayed an underlying exhaustion that was more mental than physical, the experience having been more draining than he realized. "I can heal your wing, pegasus. I know you don't have reason to trust me but I was under the influence of another, and whatever you did with those necklaces removed that. Allow me to apologize by fixing the injury I caused."

When he spoke, the cyan mare tensed up as if she expected him to attack. Relaxing slightly when he only spoke, she gave him a distrusting look at his offer. She glanced toward the purple pegacorn with a curious look then turned back to him. "I don't know... I don't exactly have a reason to trust you."

"Rainbow, wait." The yellow one called out to the cyan one, now identified as Rainbow. She spoke quietly, and it would have been impossible to hear her from where he was standing had his hearing not been as enhanced as it was. "M-maybe the Elements worked and redeemed him? M-mister, do you feel any different?"

Looking to the yellow one, he gave a quiet hum as Rainbow interrupted him. "Well, Discord got turned to stone and Nightmare Moon turned into an entirely different pony when she got redeemed. It looks exactly the same as before, maybe it's faking!"

"I don't think so, Rainbow. The Elements either purify whoever they hit, banish them, or redeem them. They've never not worked on a villain before. I think he's telling the truth. You said you were under the influence of another? Where, and who, is he?" The purple one interrupted, her eyes meeting his as she sought to figure out if he was lying or not.

"A human like me, a bit younger and truly evil. His name is Alex Mercer. Fortunately, I don't think he's anywhere near here. I don't know where I am and where I'm from, people like you don't exist." Daedalus answered, then gestured toward the Rainbow again as he addressed her. "May I heal you to make amends for injuring you?"

"Ponies don't exist where you're from?" The white one asked incredulously as Rainbow huffed, giving a slow nod.

"No, not like you six. Pegasi and unicorns are just myth where I'm from, and ponies aren't nearly as colorful or vibrant as you. Mostly shades of white, brown, or black and only as smart as a wild animal." Daedalus explained as he approaching Rainbow, kneeling down next to the pony that only came up to his stomach. He reached out and gently touched her wing, feeling as her muscles tensed beneath her fur as he was careful not to hurt her further. Viral tendrils extended from his palm and into Rainbow, out of sight of the other ponies, and began to rapidly stitch together bone and flesh. Eventually, he pulled his hand away as her wing was fully restored and leaving him confused how such a small thing allowed her to fly. Then he mentally cursed himself for not taking a genetic sample when he was touching her now but the moment was lost. When she sighed in relief, he apologized. "I'm sorry for hurting you, Rainbow."

"How'd you know my name?" She asked with a hard tone, giving him a suspicious look.

"The yellow one said your name." The Evolved said, gesturing toward the yellow pegasus. Rainbow thought for a moment, then gave another slow nod in acceptance.

"W-well, how about we share introductions?" The purple one said with a nervous smile, stepping closer to him. She seemed a little nervous standing so close to something that had just attacked her violently, something he completely understood. "My name is Twilight Sparkle and I'm an Alicorn. That's Rainbow Dash, a pegasus as you knew. The yellow pegasus is Fluttershy, the white unicorn is Rarity, the orange earth pony is Applejack, and the pink one is Pinkie Pie."

"My name is Daedalus, and I'm a human. Where am I?" He asked, stepping back from Rainbow as she relaxed slightly, understanding he wasn't going to hurt her.

"Equestria!" Twilight said with a more relaxed smile. "In fact, I'd really appreciate if you would come with me. Since you're, uh, not really from here, the Princesses will want to talk to you and find out how you got here, and how to get you home."

Equestria wasn't a nation anywhere on Earth, so if it wasn't obvious before that I was in another world, it's obvious now. Daedalus thought to himself with a slight frown. Truth be told, the only reason he wasn't more surprised was that it was tempered by the happiness that he was no longer enslaved to a man who wanted to destroy the world. Even if he was in another world with other races, he was his own man now. Plus, not needing to worry about food, water, shelter, or even sickness or injury did a lot to help keep him calm. Seeing Twilight's ears fold back from his frown, he put a slight smile on his face and gave her a nod. "That sounds good, Miss Sparkle."

"Just Twilight is fine! Thank you, we'll head to Ponyville and take the train to Canterlot so you can meet them!" Clearly relieved that he had agreed to come along, she relaxed slightly knowing she'd have Celestia's help soon.