Out of My Element: Corruption

Chapter 1 Choosing the Game

My name is Steel Walker Smith and I have been stuck in this dimension of technicolor talking horses for over a year. With no one to talk to at the moment I've decided to start a journal. Partially to help me organize my thoughts and to practice my penmanship with magic. Since this is the first entry I guess a brief summary would be in order.

 A Year ago I participated in an experiment with my best friend Jack. We were trying to travel to another dimension and it worked. I arrived here in this world had a mental overload at the physical changes to my body and ended up in the hospital for a week. I discovered soon after that this universe and my home ran at odd angles to each other meaning I couldn't go home. Eventually Jack tried to come on a rescue mission and ended up stuck over a thousand years in the past of this pony world. Unlike my body that had shifted into an earth pony, Jack had become a unicorn and he used his knowledge of physics and our world to become extremely influential. Eventually taking on the pseudonym Star Swirl. He built a lab and hid it under his home that eventually became the Ponyville Library. I found it with the help of my friends that I have made here, and the messages that he left behind. We then discovered Jack had left a neural clone based AI to guard it.

It was about this time that we discovered that in crossing the dimensional void Jack and I had punched a hole on the protective membrane that surrounded the dimension of ponies. We also had traveled past a creature that lived in the dimensional void, it had touched our minds and had slowly followed us to the new world.

              As the creature approached the beings of this new world that were responsible for maintaining it's balance were affected. The Greco-Roman like goddesses of sun and moon maintained their sanity but the mortals that had been cursed with the implements to protect the world were not. This group a Super Sentai like group mixed with the Planeteers that were the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, of these six a few of them were friends of mine.

Like I was saying the Elements were being affected by this creatures approach and unfortunately I was not immune either. One of the Princesses, Celestia released another god like entity that pulled the corruption from our minds and in that window we planned a way to keep the thing out.

I was responsible for this mess and wanted to help clean it up so I began building a suit of power armor with Jack's help. I used that armor in a stalling action against the invading creature allowing the Elements to mend the hole in the dimensional barrier.

        A few months latter I tried to go home without damaging the dimensional membrane and failed at that. I ended up being thrown into the future where the planet was dying. I learned from the Princesses how this world came about and was sent back along with the only other living being on the planet, a Diamond Dog named Zune-Zune. When I returned I discovered that the armor suit had disappeared. Which was the first falling domino that lead to the dying world.

In the past year I have also discovered that this world is not as clean as everyone would hope. A militant organization called Dressage thats goal is to ensure pony supremacy has become a pain in my side. Logia a former operative is now my very close friend. She confuses and scares the hell out of me. She keeps her past to herself but she has begun to open up to me. However I haven't seen her in over four months and I don’t know why.

Anyway I’m getting ready to go after the suit of armor and whoever took it.

I sighed and leaned back as the circlet that I had been using to simulate magic beeped and it shifted the empty potestatum crystal to the next. After the inner band finished moving I got up and walked around the newly refurbished lab. Eventually I looked back at the journal and wondered, What the hell am I doing? I then glanced at the stand that use to hold the power armor and thought, and what the hell happened to the armor?

The serpentine body of the draconequus twisted through the sky leaving a sinuous shadow on the desert sand. Celestia had kept her word and had not come after him. Discord had felt the creature from outside enter their world. He had felt its power build, wain and eventually silenced and he had kept his word as well. There had been no attempt to seize power on his part. However the boredom of behaving was getting to him.

In front of him rising from the horizon grew a mesas and on one side of that massive stone was a cave, his current goal. As he approached the cave a smile inducing idea struck him, desert, dessert. He chuckled to himself as he snapped his fingers. The cave of stone became one of ice cream including at least thirty two flavors. He flew to the back of the cave and found a place to rest between a mound of rocky road and cookie dough. As he settled in he reached out to a light yellow ball of soft serve, dipped a finger in and tasted it. He made an odd face at the salsa flavored dessert then leaned back to puzzle away the evening.

Outside in the desert sand a small metal doughnut skittered along Discords path on four simple mechanical legs. Discord had been too preoccupied with his flight to notice that he was being followed. The robot's seamless metallic body refracted the image of sand hiding it's approach when it reached the mouth of the dessert cave. The little robot sat outside the cave waiting for orders. It took till nightfall for those orders to come, and when they did it moved with the same swiftness as before.

It crawled up onto the ceiling. Once in place the hollow center of the mechanical doughnut began to glow. On the cave floor appeared the image of a blue bodied unicorn with a red mane. The robot and the image moved in unison through the melting dairy product to the back of the cave. Once the unicorn walked into view of Discord he stopped and smiled.

 The draconequus's reaction was one rare for him, true surprise. He blinked twice before stating,"You're supposed to be dead."

"I am from some perspectives," replied the unicorn. "I do have to thank you for helping protect this universe from the void daemon and for helping Steel maintain his sanity."

Discord snorted, "I don't need your thanks Star Swirl. I have no need for the thanks of an undead terrorist."

"If I'm a terrorist, you sir are a tyrant," replied Star Swirl placing as much malice as possible on the final word.

Discords face screwed up in irritation as he snarled, "Freedom fighter!"

"Warlord," Star Swirl shouted back.

Discord snapped his fingers and a boulder of strawberry sherbert fell from the ceiling onto the unicorn. He smiled once the nuisance had be taken care of. It was a rather odd thing to happen a long dead irritation from the past just walk into his cave but after a few moments of thought that train derailed. He looked around at the dessert around him and began taste testing the ice creams around him.

"Nice try," said Star Swirl as the image of the unicorn walked out of the sherbert hat had landed on it. "The only problem is I'm not here. I'm not fool enough to meet you in person."

Discord was caught with one finger in his mouth and he muttered at the unicorn, "So why did you come here?"

"Simple I have a plan and would like your help. After seeing how weak this world has become under the leadership of Celestia and Luna I feel something needs to change. The Republic across the ocean to the south east should have fallen after it's first aggressive move. The old tribal lands to the south have not been absorbed and the remains of the tribes still wage war. This is not the world I wished to found and I need your help to fix it."

"Why would I help you though, seeing as I have immunity as long as I don't cause any big problems. Why would I risk another incarceration in stone to aid you?" Discord asked finger still in his mouth.

"Yes I know about that," Star Swirl replied calmly. "All I need from you is a distraction and from what I have been told you have a way to do that without ever getting involved. My understanding is you drained some neurosis inducing chaos from Steel and his friends. Now imagine if you will placing those neurosis into individuals that already suffer from them. Specific individuals that could cause problems for say The Elements of Harmony. Maybe split them up." As he spoke Star Swirls smile spread to an almost predatory grin.

Discord pulled the finger from his mouth, a trail of drool following as he rubbed his chin with that hand. He nodded his head and said, "I can see that working. I don't break my oath and I'm sowing the seeds of chaos." He shifted his eyes to a harsh stare and said, "I assume you have some suggestions on who would to affect."

Star Swirl smiled and said, "Nope. I just wanted to broach the topic with you. If you ever wish to speak with me again use the robot to contact me."

Discord started to ask, "what robot?" However halfway through his question Star Swirl disappeared and the metallic doughnut fell from the ceiling. Discord picked up the device and looked into it. He only saw the refracted reflection of his own eyes and claws.

Far to the frozen north inside one of the ancient diamond dog burrows was a mechanical pony sheathed in a holographic image. Inside the robotic body road a black box roughly half the size of a loaf of bread. Inside that box was a collection of electrons that made up an artificial intelligence, a copy of one of Equestria's founders. That AI now thought of himself as a reborn Star Swirl the bearded. He watched the draconequus through the wireless data feed in silence his holographic smile growing to it's peak before he shut the screen off.

“Master,” asked a twisting electronic voice.

“Yes,” replied Star Swirl.

“Was it wise initiating contact so early?” a second similar voice continued.

“It was inevitable and our movements are going to become noticed soon anyway. Though now we will be able to move without notice for a little while longer, thanks to his cover,” replied Star Swirl. He turned towards the source of the two voices, robots similar to himself stood side-by-side. The first Alpha was an exact copy of himself but with a less advanced AI due to hardware limitations. The fact that he didn’t want an AI that could challenge himself also factored into why Alphas personality matrix was so slow. The second, Beta was a lighter robot and as such was faster but much less robust and his personality reflected that. They both lacked some of the personality traits of each other and of himself but they were simplistic variations.

“So you are almost done with our brothers?” asked Beta.

“I build you without gender so that choice is up to you,” muttered Star Swirl. He then spoke with a renewed vigor, “Anyway yes Delta, Gamma, and Epsilon are almost complete. Their power systems are all that is left to complete.”

The two robots turned their heads to look at one another despite the fact that it was unnecessary, the two had near three hundred degrees of vision. “Master we have decided on our hologram appearance.”

Star Swirl lifted an eyebrow and spoke with a little smile, “Oh, let me see then.”

Beta changed first, his appearance was of a white pegasus with a sky blue mane. His mark was a silhouette of drifting feather and his eyes matched his mane. Alpha changed next into a white bodied unicorn with a burnt orange mane and matching eyes. His mark was three dark dots in a line like an ellipse.

When Star Swirl spoke his voice was full of pride. “Very nice boys, I’m proud to say that now you can consider yourselves my children. You have taken the first steps to become your own and I’m sorry to say but I won't be able to finish your brothers for some time. However now that you are forming who you are I have a task for you.”

The two brothers smiled and glanced at each other. “Yes father,” they both responded Beta a little faster than the other.

Star Swirls eyes narrowed as his smile grew and flattened. It was a look of smug confidence with a dash of kindness. “Once you are ready I need you to travel around, listen and be aware. I am looking for a group known as Dressage. If you find them join them and let me know what you find. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes father,” they replied exactly as before.

“Now get ready and go ahead when you are set, just look after one another,” he said in a soft voice. Star Swirl then walked slowly out of his sanctum and out onto the construction floor. He was surrounded by the buzz of constant activity. This Diamond Dog pack was well organized and intelligent, but most importantly willing to trade labor for gemstones to gift their master dragon. From what he had been told the dragon this pack served was known as Chumana one of the eldest of her race and was currently sleeping. The biggest point that the pack insisted on was when she woke up she would be hungry. However that shouldn't be for several more decades and for the past six months they had been helping him.

He stopped his stroll and looked at the construction floor. Specifically what was being constructed, the Condor was an airship of his own design and it was nearing completion. The four massive Magnus effect engines had been built. Giant ten foot tall rotating cylinders one on each corner giving the airship lift. The skeletal ribs of the ship showed the graceful lines of the exterior despite all eight levels of the interior being visible.

In the back of the unfinished ship he could see the nuclear reactor system, the ships secondary power system. He frowned at this, all the ships major systems were based on magic and without a massive supply the condor could fly but would be useless. From his position on the floor he could see the top dome, the ship's command and control would be located there and just below that would be the magic based power system. However there was no fuel for that system. All potestatum gems due to their rarity went to the dragon, even without that not enough had been found to power the ship anyway. On the plus side he had a way to power that system he just needed to acquire some magic users.

Power wasn't the only problem. He needed more allies, or at least an army and scientists of his own. He had feelers in the Gryphon Kingdom and while the current Chancellor was dedicated to peace his second was much more friendly to the idea of war. His children, the robots were great tools but would never have the numbers needed to be an army. He then looked around at the diamond dogs they were great temporary allies but they had a greater commitment to Chumana than he could ever hope to gain. His holographic frown fell even more when his glance around revealed the pack alpha approaching him.

She had a very wolf like face hidden behind the scars of leadership. Once she was in range of Star Swirl she began to speak, "The creatures with the unnatural smells are back."

Usually she came to him only to complain and demand more gemstones but this was a welcome surprise. His smile returned in fact it spread unnaturally wide to a deformed level, “Thank you, I will go out and see them."

The creatures had been following him, he hadn't remained here over the past seven months since his escape and they had always arrived a few weeks behind. Steel had called them uglies and they had arrived when the monster from the void was wounded, growing out of it's blood. The few attacks that had been attributed to these creatures were brutal but for some unknown reason they were attracted to him.

He strode out into the night snow and ice looking into the nearby forest. He could see shadows dancing between the trees. He walked in that direction towards the forest allowing the hologram to dissipate. Now his true body was visible, metallic plates shifted with each step, large wings folded to his side. The hologram projector mounted on his back, on the right shoulder was a long square metal tube and on the left nine round tubes slowly rotated in a circle. On his head was a crown of twelve potestatum gems that glowed softly with the energy they stored.

He spoke using his bodies amplification ability to make his voice loud, "Creatures for I have no better word to describe you, why do you follow me?" He received no answer so he continued, "I mean you no harm but I will defend my self." He continued to walk as he spoke heading into the forest.

He stopped about ten feet into the woods and scanned the surrounding area. The creatures were treating him as if he was a normal being. Their hiding spots normally effective against anyone with natural vision however against thermal based sensors they were nowhere near adequate. He repeated his warning as he started to walk again.

One of the creatures pounced out of a tree at him, he could not see it's face only the red glow of it's heat signature. The cannon on his right shoulder swung around to face the attacker and loosed a slug. The round pierced the creature's chest and the shock wave of it's super sonic travel reduced everything from the creatures waste up to a fine mist. A second attack came from the left it starting almost simultaneously with the one that had just been dealt with. It was a coordinated attack, one that would have worked on anyone but himself.The multi-barreled rotary gun on his left shoulder began spraying a pink swath of energy bolts as it rotated towards the creature. The strikes had no apparent effect on the creature as it moved forward.

"So magical energy has no effect on you," he mused as he stepped back dodging the creature at the last moment. When it turned around to renew it's attack it found itself quickly bound by stone cuffs on the hands and feet. As it fell to the ground Star Swirl yelled into the forest, "Where is your leader, one has to be out there. You are far too organized not to have one."

He waited and watched the creatures scurry through the woods, and he hoped that these creatures were intelligent enough to understand his demands. He sat in silence after reloading the rail gun on the right shoulder. Time passed and he found himself twiddling the thumbs on the chest mounted arms. He growled and considered turning the hologram back on so he could display his irritation when finally one of the creatures stepped forward.

With the limited light of the moon breaking through the forest canopy he could just make out the creature with his base visual sensors. It was tall taller that even the Princesses at it's head and it's wings while resting reached a good two feet above that. Even worse was the fact that the thing carried itself hunched over as if it had never stood to full height. It's body was mostly humanoid and covered in long shaggy black fur, except for the head, the right arm and its saurian like tail. The arm was scaled and ended in a dragon claw each talon like a sickle. The fur on the head was shorter and and the face was very canine. Its eyes were harsh and predatory as was the teeth it had bared. This was a wolf to the point that it made the alpha diamond dog look like a newborn pup. Everything about it screamed predator from its smooth gate to the way it held itself like a compressed spring waiting to release.

All of the creatures had the deadly looking stance and gait. Appearance wise they were widely varied only having two things in common, wings and a bipedal stance. There were creatures that had avian or reptilian facial features though goat like features were spread about and quite common. There were also human like facial features on a few of them but all were without a doubt predatory.

Despite the threat the creature posed Star Swirl did not back down. He did however return the hologram, he had found it easier to communicate with a face rather than a featureless helmet. He looked at the creature and asked, "Are you the leader."

"I lead," it struggled to speak words its mouth was never designed to speak. "I speak for pack."

"Why have you been following me," he asked the beast.

It struggled with words for some time before settling with, "drawn, pack is drawn to you."

Star Swirl was silent for several seconds as he mulled over several options eventually he settled on one, "How would your pack like to work for me?"

"Pack work for no one," the leader growled back. "Destroy you, pack is free."

The plants of the forest came alive before the creature had finished talking. Under Star Swirls control they bound the creatures to the ground or to the trunks of trees. With an evil smile and a calm voice he said, "I will give you one chance to try but should you fail, I will destroy you and your pack." He looked into the eyes of the leader now forced into a kneeling position and said, "So chose your time carefully."

He turned around and walked back towards the diamond dog burrow. Halfway he released the binding spell allowing the creatures to escape. Several began to charge but as they neared the leader he held up a clinched fist causing them all to stop. He watched the pony calmly walking away from them for several long moments before walking forward alone easily catching Star Swirl due to his long stride.

It once again spoke in a broken and jarring fashion, "Pack follows leader, I follow you for now." It's words ended with a snarl.

Star Swirl nodded and said, "Very well. Then make camp in the woods and rest for now. You may prey on anything you find in the woods."

The creature growled something unintelligible but unmistakably hostile.

"Are you challenging me already?" Barked Star Swirl, as he rounded eyes wide on the creature. When it looked at him he could see the challenge in its eyes. After a tense moment its eyes calmed and it shook its head. "Fine then follow my command otherwise," snapped Star Swirl.

The giant with a wolf face eyed the thing before it, weighing the unknown power of the robotic pony. It then turned around and slunk back towards the rest of its pack.

Star Swirl almost skipped back into the burrow, he had his army and while not exactly loyal the trade off of magic immunity made up for it. As he entered the burrow an internal alarm sounded signaling that another of his drones had found their mark.

 Today was a lucky day this drone had been sent south to the Changeling Jungle. That meant that Chrysalis or whoever now ruled the insectoid ponies had now been found, that left only Nightmare and Dressage as possible allies. He enveloped himself in laughter and a swirling pink energy vortex transporting himself to his sanctum. Once there he established a link with the drone and when his holographic cover fully made presentable he began to transmit.

Deep in the jungle to the south between the nation of Equestria and the Tribal nations was a small metal doughnut. It hung from the ceiling of a damp and dreary cave system. It was just outside the main hall when it began to project the holographic image of Star Swirl onto the floor. The image and the robot walked as one into the chamber and neither were immediately noticed. When the hologram was discovered the entire hall went silent.

"Who dares enter my hive?" demanded the changeling queen her position in the chamber amplifying her voice. She was stretched out almost provocatively on an odd collection of fungal growths that made a peculiar throne. Beside her was a huge towering plant of some sort, steam or smoke rising from a hole in the top and a vine midway down that coiled about and ended in her hoof. She would place that vine in her mouth and inhale. Then a moment latter would exhale smoke in perfect rings.

Star Swirl walked on in silence, heading towards her throne. He had already picked the location to start his discussion. It was far enough away from the queen not to be a threat but close enough to be having a conversation of this sort.

She eyed him carefully, glanced up at the ceiling and made a soft clicking noise. Three smaller changelings flew up to the robot walking on the ceiling. The three grabbed it and the projection ended. The robot was brought forward for their queen to examine. She tapped the device with a chitinous hoof before speaking, "False image, whatever you are speak. You have gained my interest don't gain my ire."

The robot hummed and again projected the image of Star Swirl already in an apologetic bow, "Forgive me majesty I acted impetuously and rashly. I should have announced my arrival but I feared you would not grant me audience."

The queen allowed a skeptical gaze at the image, "You still have not answered my first question, who are you."

"I am known by many names. In this instance I think the best would be Star Swirl reborn. I have come to request your aid in freeing Equestria, the country I helped found, from it's two ineffectual monarchs."

"It has been tried before," countered the queen taking a long drag off of the hookah plant. "I will not commit my hive to a fruitless alliance with an entity that should be dead."

"I cannot prove my existence to you now it is impossible with my current situation," replied Star Swirl with a bow. He then looked up at the queen while still bowed and said, "There are two differences between the previous attempts and now my queen." His smile grew as he spoke, "One is me the other is my plan."