Login

The Conversion Bureau: Setting Things Right

by kildeez

Chapter 17: Chapter XVII: Escape

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

“Unprofessional!” Anton screamed, kicking one of the Lay-Z-Boys hard enough to tip it over on its side. “Unprofessional, discourteous, old Limey drunk!”

“Oh, you are so lucky Lisa isn’t here to hear you say that,” Andre grumbled, trying to keep his focus on the CNN special report on the Ambassador Bridge attack.

“{That’s a good point, actually, where is she?}” Franz asked in his native German, knowing the Frenchman could speak it. Andre turned in his seat while Anton continued to rant and rave behind them.

“{‘UN-mandated break time,’ she and the Yank are up on the deck,}” he replied, raising his fingers and making quotation marks in the air to show just what he thought about that particular protocol. “{Which is really just a wonderful way to get a couple of us out of the killzone, so the Limeys can say they have two survivors if…how they say…’the shit hits the fan.’ Felipe should be checking the seals on the elevator to make sure that she can only kill us if that does happen, and Akshat and Liu are getting the purple one ready for her visit.}”

“Ah,” the German replied before returning his attention to the magazine in his lap.

“It’s simply unbelievable!” Anton continued behind them. “The man commanding a fleet responsible for containing one of greatest threats humanity has ever known, and he’s drunk off his ass! Un-fucking-believable!”

“{He’s got a point there,}” Andre said, turning to his German counterpart. “{This bitch is really dangerous. Should we be crossing things off our bucket lists?}”

“{Depends, was one of your things being on an Aircraft Carrier? I think we can cross that one off right here, right now.}”

The Frenchman grinned at his counterpart, the two still doing their best to drown out the Russian’s rant. Of course, they shared Anton’s anger, but what could be done? They had orders, and they had a reason to follow them. As far as the pair was concerned, it was best to just put their feet up and enjoy what little time they had before the purple one showed up and they all had to go on full-alert. Still, Andre couldn’t help but notice the wistfulness in the German’s eyes.

“{And what’s wrong now?}” He mused.

“{We should tell him,}” the German replied. “{There should be no more secrets between us all, not now.}”

“{Oh, come now, is it really that big a deal?}” Andre asked, his eyes never even leaving the television screen. “{You only want to tell him because the contracts specifically told us not to tell.}”

“{Well, c’mon! Don’t you want to!? Don’t you want everyone to know what we can do!?}” Franz asked, his voice rising, but still not loud enough for Anton to hear over his own yelling. The German slumped in his chair and stared down at his own hands. “{Everywhere else, veterans get to walk with pride. Everywhere else, they get parades thrown for them and they buy hats telling everyone about the wars they fought in and they get to brag about being able to hit a target from fifty yards and break spines with their bare hands. But here?}”

He shook his head. “{Here, we have to hide it, as if it’s something to be ashamed of.}”

“{It’s nothing to be ashamed of, and you damned well know it,}” Andre said, his eyes narrowing but still locked on the television. “{What about after, hmm? What if nothing happens today and word reaches our home countries that we broke our silence about our veteran’s status? We will be fired, and you know what that means.}”

Franz nodded, his head only able to move slightly with the back of his neck pressed into the chair. His arms hung limply off the armrests, dangling off the sides of the chair. Then, he felt his French counterpart’s hand slide into his own. He looked over, seeing that the other man’s eyes were still locked on the television, but that a small, contented smile curved the corners of his lips upwards. A similar smile crossed Franz’s face, and he squeezed the hand in his. Oh, if only that was the only secret they had to keep…

The door slid open behind them. Anton’s ranting fell silent. Franz gave the hand a final squeeze and sat up, standing with his partner as Akshat and Liu walked in, two soldiers directly behind them in full camo, carrying rifles. L85A2’s with ACOG scopes, just at a glance. One could tell from the bullpup configuration. One could also see how ineffective the standard Multi-Terrain Design camo was at keeping the soldiers hidden on a state-of-the-art aircraft carrier, but no one said anything. Between the pair, the purple Alicorn trotted in with her head held high, her wings pinned to her sides with a powerful metal band. She looked so regal it was almost easy for anybody in the room to confuse the bulky ring around her horn for a crown.

She was bought to a stop just outside the huge metal door, staring straight ahead. Akshat and Liu remained at her side as Anton went to the control panel. A few hits of some buttons, and the locks holding the metal barrier shut began to slide out of place.

“Just so you know,” Akshat said, keeping his voice loud enough for everyone to hear as he turned to the little princess. “If you so much as sneeze suspiciously, the men behind us have been instructed to shoot to kill.”

The purple pony said nothing, continuing to stare straight ahead. To illustrate his point, Akshat nodded to one of the soldiers, who promptly chambered a round with a telltale “K-chunk.” If anyone asked him, the Sikh wouldn’t have been ashamed to admit that it warmed his heart to see the fearful flinch in the little Alicorn’s back. It was comforting to know how universally threatening that sound could be.

A tiny smile alight on his lips, Akshat returned his gaze straight ahead, leaning in to work the massive wheel to disengage the last of the locking mechanisms. The door hissed open, and Akshat resumed his place next to the others. He and Liu nodded to each other, and then stepped forward into the cell. The Princess followed after, and finally the guards.

Anton was quick to seal the door once again, breathing an audible sigh of relief when the pneumatic locks whined back into place. “Done,” he whispered, his attention immediately going to the window. He watched as the group approached the holding cell in the center of the room, and his breath caught in his throat. Beside him, he could hear the same from Andre and Franz as they took spots right next to him.

He heard something rattling, only to look down and see his hands trembling against the window pane. Stilling himself, he sighed. Twenty years ago, he wouldn’t even have needed to focus to steady his body. Getting up there, old-timer, he mused, his eyes locked on the backs of the small group as they came to a stop. And it looks like today is gonna add to that.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Admiral Peters still had the glass of Cognac in his hand. Like the others, he watched the small drama unfold in the cell through the monitor on his desk. Unlike the others, however, his screen showed a few statistics of interest, like heart rates, respiration, security status, but all of that was superfluous as far as he was concerned. No, what he was focused in on was the little label in the corner that read “CELL STATUS: LOCKED.”

He refilled his glass and took another sip. The alcohol was finally burning its way through his brain now, finally taking that stabbing pain of conscience away, easing the feel of the bile rising up from the back of his throat. This was his bed now. He would just have to lie in it.

The screen flickered. A heartbeat later, the little label changed to “CELL STATUS: UNLOCKED.”

“Forgive me,” the old man whispered. “Please.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the door squeaked open and her beloved student stepped through, it took nearly all of Celestia’s strength just to stay on her hooves and not sob with relief. The mere fact that she was able to keep the tears out of her eyes and merely smile and nod when the little purple Alicorn stepped in was a true testament to her willpower. Twilight, on the other hoof, was a younger Princess and a different story. While she managed to keep putting one hoof in front of the other, her legs trembled with the near-overwhelming desire to rush across the room and bash her skull against the glass until she could wrap her forelegs around her princess once more. She did, however, start crying almost immediately, her neutral expression melting away like an ice cream sundae beneath the Saddle Arabian sun at high noon, replaced with a quivering lip and tears that cascaded down her face.

“My beloved student,” Celestia said, her voice wavering.

Twilight let out a choked-off sob. It was obvious that some part of her had never thought she’d hear those words again. “P-Princess…”

“H-how are you?” Celestia asked with a shaky smile, instantly cursing herself for the stammer. “I trust you’ve been t-treated well?”

“The humans, they…gave me some reading material,” Twilight said, taking a step towards the holding cell.

“Oi!” One of the soldiers behind her shouted, his rifle rising to his shoulder.

The dark-skinned man stepped into her path. “That’s far enough,” he hissed.

Twilight looked up at him, her massive eyes pleading. “Please…”

Suddenly, the soldiers’ radios crackled. “Sir? I…yes, sir,” one of the soldiers said, then he lowered his rifle and turned to Akshat. “Let her through.”

“What!?” Both diplomats screamed.

“I’m sorry, but why the hell would we do that!? Especially after last time!?” Akshat bellowed.

“Orders from the top, sir,” the soldier to Twilight’s right shrugged. “Let her through.”

The pair stared at him in wide-eyed shock, then Liu’s gaze darkened. “I see,” he said placidly. “The Admiral wants another show, does he?”

The men in camo said nothing, even as Akshat’s lips twisted into a disgusted grimace. His fists clenched at his sides, his nails digging into his palm until little, crescent-moon shapes were embedded in the palm. “Fine, and may he die a thousand deaths for it,” the Sikh said, stepping to the side, his arms sweeping dramatically, his tone dripping with venom. “This way, your highness.

Twilight took a few, tentative steps forward, her unsure gaze resting on him, as if she half-expected him to lunge at her with his fingers outstretched the moment she drew too close. He glared back, but did nothing as she slowly passed. Once she had passed under his raised arm, still angled out behind him, and it became clear that wasn’t going to leap at her like a feral dog, her lip quivered and she took off for Celestia’s containment chamber at a dead gallop. “Princess!” She cried, tears utterly soaking her facial fur as she pressed her hooves against the hardened glass.

This time, Celestia did let out a choked gasp, immediately pressing the side of her head to the glass, as if she were nuzzling the hoof. She closed her eyes, pretending the cold, hard surface of her containment was the keratin of her beloved student’s hoof. Celestia could have stayed like that with that dream for an eternity, but she only allowed herself a few minutes before her eyes opened and she turned to lock eyes with the smaller princess. “Twilight, do you remember that one time last year in the library?” She whispered. “We were studying the spell that allowed Shining and Cadance to repel the changelings? Remember what our magic did?”

Twilight looked at her mentor, and then understanding dawned on her, her eyes widening. “We have to be quick,” she whispered, her voice still quivering.

“Of course,” then, before anybody could react, both mares touched their horns to the glass, the tips as close as the transparent surface would allow.

“Hey, what’re they doing!?” Liu asked.

By the time the words left his mouth, a spark had leapt between the two, fresh waves of magic passing down each mare’s coat, only stopping at the suppressors wrapped around their horns.

“Focus, Twilight,” Celestia whispered. “Meld your magic with mine, like we did in the library. Picture that library, picture that moment…” The lavender mare nodded, her eyes closing as the memory filled her. The reams of musty books, the smell of decaying paper, the small headache the day of studying had earned her. Her eyebrows hunched in frustration as more sparks leapt down the horns, Twilight’s turning a golden yellow while Celestia’s gained a deep magenta.

“Okay, what the fuck are they doing!? Hey!” Liu took a step forward. “Hey!”

“Focus…” Celestia grumbled.

“It’s…so strong…it’s like a brick wall…” Twilight whispered, the pressure in her forehead building.

“Right, that’s it then!” One of the soldiers screamed, stepping forward with his rifle’s butt pressed to his shoulder, his finger sliding around the guard and touching the trigger itself. “You’ve got three seconds before I blast that thing right off your head!”

“Princess…” Twilight whimpered fearfully, her eyes still closed.

“Pay them no mind, Twilight, just focus…”

“Three!” The soldier screamed, not even bothering with one and two. A shot rang out, and Twilight shrieked, but she kept her eyes closed, her emotions now calmed by the presence of Celestia’s magic, like an old childhood blanket. The flow of magic between the two horns continued to build, the tiny sparks growing into powerful, arcing lightning bolts.

“The…hell?” Liu gasped, stepping past the soldier after a couple moments. A few yards from the purple unicorn, he spied a tiny, black dot hovering in the air by her head. Taking another step towards her and squinting, his jaw dropped when he realized he was looking at a 5.56 round hovering in mid-air, spinning sideways around its point like a top. “Oh, shit.”

“Pull the plug!” The other soldier screamed as his comrade let off a few more rounds, all to no effect. He screamed as he smacked his palm against the metal door over and over again. “Lemme outta here!”

“Keep that door shut! If anything happens, we have to keep it contained!” Akshat bellowed as the man in camo pounded on the hatchway.

“Almost…almost…” Celestia whispered.

“Princess! I feel…I think it’s…” Twilight gasped, and suddenly, the wall disintegrated. There was a blinding flash and a sudden release of the pressure in her head. The humans’ hands all rose to shield their eyes, both Akshat and Liu falling to a seated position on the floor. Once the stars left their eyes, they opened them, blinking against the light. Then, both sets of eyes widened.

Celestia was standing just outside her cell without a suppressor, a collar, or anything else required to keep her contained. She blinked in surprise at the humans.

“Oh…shitfuck…” Liu gasped.

The olive-skinned man leapt to his feet, throwing himself at the Princess without a single word, his body sailing through the air with all the sound of an assassin’s blade. Celestia rapidly side-stepped and slammed a hoof into the man’s back, right in between the shoulder blades, sending him sprawling over the ground and giving her an opening. She turned, a glint of silver appearing in the corner of her eye. She raised a shield just in time, catching a throwing dagger in her magic’s shimmering, sunset-yellow glow.

The darker-skinned man screamed a curse in some other language, his hand still primed out from where it had released the dagger. In the blink of an eye, it darted back to his belt, returning with another blade. Meanwhile the man who had attempted to use his weapon against her beloved student now unloaded, the weapon spitting fire until it sounded like hailstones against a metal roof on her shield.

Cringing, the Princess dashed across the room, a sideways buck dispatching the man with the daggers before she flying tackled the man with the long, black weapon, smashing a hoof across his face. She had a moment to breathe a sigh of relief, only now feeling the sting across her shoulder. A long, thin trail of blood oozed down her leg, though she could tell from a quick glance that it was just a shallow cut, probably from the black weapon. So those things can penetrate a shield if they lob enough of those little metal slugs, she mused. Good to know.

A few more of the shots echoed from her side. She turned, seeing the other man in camo with a smaller weapon in his hands, smoke drifting off the little hole in its end. “Oh please,” he whimpered, firing again, the report reverberating throughout the metal room. “Please, please, please…”

Darn, practically forgot about him, she scolded herself as she strode over to the man and gently scooped the weapon out of his hands with her magic, simultaneously sending her magic to hold the metal door shut. You’re getting old, Tia, that never would have happened a few centuries ago.

“P-please…” the man gasped as she promptly tossed his weapon to a corner and plucked him off the ground in her magical hold. She grimaced. For some reason, her magic was having difficulty saturating the door, as if something were draining it much more quickly than it should have been. Still, she maintained both her hold on it and the human with little effort. “I…please!”

Before she could reply, her ear twitched at the sound of footsteps pattering against the floor, silent to most anybody else, but not to ears sharpened by centuries of practice. She ducked, and a fist sailed right through the space where her head had been. She replied with a rear buck, and felt her hooves connect with something soft, followed by a sudden cry of pain.

She turned, facing the olive-skinned man with the short, black hair, doubled-over in pain on the floor. She nodded to him, giving a slight bow with one forehoof behind the other. “You have fought well, young warrior,” she said. “Though you have tasted defeat on this day, know that you and your allies fought with honor and with great ability.”

A whimper off to her side gave her pause. Well, most of your allies, anyway, she almost added. Stifling a giggle, she reared up on the human clenched firmly in her magic, pinning him to a wall. The man trembled. “I-I have a wife…a-and two daughters…” he whimpered.

Family-structured society…not so different after all… she mused. She gazed down at the human. Gone was the strange, brutal, black-clad creature that had terrorized her world, and in its place was…something only too familiar. Something far too like one of her little ponies when she had swooped to the rescue after some terrible disaster, or after her guards had pulled them out of some perilous situation. She had to force down the waves of compassion threatening her heart, now was neither the time nor the place for them.

This idea was reinforced when the man’s arm reached behind him, pulling at something on his belt. Celestia immediately clamped a hoof down on the arm, forcing his hand back while the other hoof reached around in a sort of hug, plucking the object right from the man’s hand. She gazed down at it, frowning as it lay flat against her hoof. To her, it appeared to be nothing but a small, flat brick, but to him, it was obviously something more. She gave it a light shake, and the screen lit up, flashing a set of numbers and the current time before lighting up with a set of dots.

She held it up to his face. “What is this?” She barked.

“Don’t tell her,” the olive-skinned man on the floor screamed, pressing himself onto all fours with one arm still around his stomach. “Don’t tell her shit!”

Cocking an eyebrow, Celestia scooped this other man up in her magic, and bought him back down again, slamming him into the ground. Of course, in reality, she cushioned his fall and pressed him to the floor with her magic, ensuring his lips were sealed and his face turned away to give the impression of unconsciousness, but the effect on the human in her grasp was exactly as desired.

“I’ll tell you everything, please!” The human sobbed. A sharp pain twisted in Celestia’s heart, watching as the human’s boots skidded futilely against the metal floor. It broke her heart to inspire that sort of fear, but then, this was what she was trying to solve. She couldn’t possibly cure anyone of any fear if she didn’t even know the cause.

“The dots!” She ordered. “Tell me about the dots!”

With shaking fingers, the human reached up, tapping one. Celestia reared up on him warningly, the threat clear in her eyes, even if it was just a bluff. Fingers still shaking, the human traced a quick pattern in the dots, Celestia watching in amazement as a tiny light danced around his fingers. This is magic of a new sort… she thought.

“Th-there…it’s just a password screen,” the man whimpered. “Once you’re past it, you’re in.”

Nodding, Celestia waited for the dots to reappear again, then imitated the man’s motions, quickly zipping through the dots. It took her only moments to get a few tries in, and then, the tiny device was hers. “I thank you for your cooperation,” she said, snorting in a way she hoped sounded derisive. She turned to her faithful student, still standing by the transparent cell.

“Princess…that was…impressive,” Twilight said, totally awestruck.

“A Princess must know how to defend herself, Twilight, especially without her magic,” the Solar Princess replied, then leaned in close to whisper. “I didn’t know what effect magical attacks might have on them. I knew from their attack that they could probably withstand physical assaults, but for all we know, even the most basic magical blasts could be fatal to them.”

“That would explain their apparent fear of magic, and their wish to drain all magic from us before their attack on Equestria,” Twilight pointed out.

“A well thought-out conclusion as always, my faithful student,” Celestia allowed Twilight a quick nuzzle as she slammed a bolt of magic into the band around her horn, cracking it.

Twilight smiled and promptly split the ring with a quick flare of magic, then freed her wings and gave them a good stretch, quivering gratefully as the joints popped. “So, what do we do now?” She asked.

“Now,” Celestia smiled, turning to the metal hatchway. “Now we fly.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Admiral Peterson sighed, a knot twisting in his stomach. The little cell beneath his feet was still on his television screen. He wanted nothing more than to look away, to pretend it wasn’t happening: to hit the power button, kick his feet up, and sip his cognac, with maybe a nap later on. Once again, he denied himself. This was too important to look away from. Besides, he owed it to the men beneath him to watch.

At least I saved two, he thought, watching the little ponies creep across the floor, heading towards the hatchway, the bodies of their victims scattered around the useless containment chamber. That has to count for something, right? I can’t be all that bad.

He remembered a little tidbit from his history class that even Hitler had been nice to his dogs, and he wondered if Der Fuhrer had thought about them in the moments before squeezing the trigger, offering them up, saying something along the same lines the Admiral just had as he looked down upon the destruction of his Empire. The Admiral poured himself another glass of cognac.

The knot twisted again as Celestia approached the door, creeping up to it. He switched views to the control room right outside. There, the men watching were arguing with one another about some thing or another. The beaner and the froggy stood on one side while the kraut and the commie stood on the other. Just minutes ago, they had been doing everything in their power to pry that door open and somehow save the people inside. The Russkie had been ramming it bodily with his shoulder, while that little Latino had worked the controls furiously and the Frenchman and the German attacked the hinges with a prybar. Now, it seemed as though they couldn’t agree on whether or not to even try, or if the risk was just too great.

Inside the cell, Princess Celestia stuck a hoof against the door, and it creaked open. The argument outside stopped. The ponies stood in the doorway, their mouths formed into surprised little “O’s.” The humans looked back at the ponies, their jaws dropping to their chests. The Russian’s fist was still raised against the Frenchman’s face. Their respective allies in their argument still clung to their shoulders, trying to keep them back.

Peterson’s eyes closed involuntarily, a few trickles crawling down his cheeks. With a quick snort, he opened his eyes again and locked them on the screen. “I owe them this much,” he whispered. “I owe them to watch.”

All at once, the Princess’s horn glowed. The Admiral fought back a tidal wave of nervous vomit, swallowing to keep it down. Celestia reared up on her hind hooves…and promptly levitated the little, purple Alicorn onto her back and took off, the wind off her wings knocking the humans off their feet.

The Admiral watched the screen, now distinctly lacking in pony princesses. The urge to vomit was forgotten. The nervous little bundle in his stomach was forgotten. In a heartbeat, he became stone-cold sober. “What?” He asked, still watching the screen. “What was…what!?”

That was not supposed to go that way. The Celestia he knew from the newspapers and reports wouldn’t have hesitated to engulf the entire room in flame, watching as the men before her writhed in agony, their skin charring and blackening. If she didn’t have access to her damned potion that was, in which case everybody in that room could look forward to spending the rest of their lives staring at walls with their big, wide, pony eyes, sitting on their pony butts, thinking absolutely nothing in their empty pony heads. But this Celestia…she just ran! Grabbed her little buddy and flew off like a bitch! This was…not how things were supposed to go…

Thinking fast, the Admiral’s hand darted to the console, his finger hammering a little glowing button labeled “View Switch.” Scrolling rapidly through the screens, he sneered at what he couldn’t see. A flash of white there, a dash of ethereal, rainbow-colored mane there, but nothing significant, not even a scorch mark that used to be a guard’s face or even a dented door! That would be something, but as it was, he could barely find any trace of her passing at all…as if…she was purposefully doing her best not to hurt anything…

For the first time, a new thought regarding his prisoner crossed his mind. Could it be?

Finally, he caught them. The pair were now standing in front of the lift, now just a featureless metal wall. He laid back in his seat, letting his breath out in a long sigh. “Sorry girls,” he whispered. “End of the line.”

It was obvious; they must have known it too. There were enough Tachyon Inhibitors built into the walls of that level to fight the Collision Wars all over again. Escape never was an option, even if they somehow managed to break their bonds and escape their cells, because this final line of defense could not be penetrated. Period. Of this he was certain.

So why did his stomach clench into an icy knot all over again when he saw the pair kneel and touch their horns together?

The Admiral watched the screen, completely transfixed. No need to force his eyes open now, he couldn’t even blink if he wanted to. As seconds ticked by and that same glow began to build on their horns, he watched shadows approaching from the bottom edge of the screen: the diplomats running from their little cell. He could hear the frantic beats of their feet now, drawing closer and closer to the ponies, desperately trying to reach them and try something, anything, to prevent them escaping.

And then a flash of light. The camera phased out for a moment, completely overwhelmed. When the view came back, the Admiral was staring at an empty, metal wall, the warped reflections of four men just barely visible in the gritty footage.

He darted halfway out of his seat, arms locking up against the rests. “Where…” he started.

Then the alarms started sounding. There was shouting after that, and red lights, of course. Sailors running around, panicking, and though he didn’t have the alarms all memorized just yet (he was halfway through the technical guide: page 31, he thought) he knew that one all too well. The Tachyon Inhibitors could no longer detect any sources of magic within their range, which meant either their little prisoners had just committed suicide by vaporization, or…or they simply weren’t contained within the Inhibitors’ boundaries anymore.

“You’ve done it now, Peterson,” he whispered, his arms giving beneath him as he collapsed into the seat. “You and your cowardice.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia often spent her days signing papers, listening to nobles complain about the downtrodden wretch who had the audacity to be lying by the path they took for their morning walks, and praying for some excitement. Well, before the return of her sister, that was. Since then, it seemed as though some elder god with a sick sense of humor was paying up for all those prayers as quickly as possible. A thousand years of peace, harmony, and boredom, and then in the last five years, Discord breaks out, Tirek returns, and the changelings pop up again. Not to mention all the smaller things that occupied her student’s time in Ponyville.

And now she was in an alien world, split from her magic and hunted as if she’d been single-hoofedly hunting down its inhabitant’s children. Which, based on what little she knew, might not have been far from the truth. Suddenly, those stacks of papers and whiny nobles weren’t looking so bad after all. I swear to you, whoever you are, she prayed silently. I will stop complaining about how boring those nobles are, I will happily sign all those papers with a smile on my lips, I will even go on that diet I’ve been telling myself I’ll go on for the last six-hundred years and swear off cake forever, just please: let us get out of this alive.

“Princess!” Twilight screeched. Right in her ear, too. Celestia grimaced. She and Twilight would need to have a chat about remaining calm in high-stress situations, but that would be later. Right now, there was an army between them and freedom.

Reacting immediately, Celestia turned and bucked another of the humans running after them, a knife in his hand. Her student’s shield fell for a second to allow the blow through before rising just in time to block another hail of bullets from behind. “I saw him Twilight, no need to shout,” Celestia said calmly as she galloped down the hallway.

Even as they moved, the wheels in Celestia’s head spun wildly. The humans’ reaction to their escape had been incredibly fast. They had descended upon the pair almost immediately after they’d torn through the doors at the top of the shaft, wielding more of those long, black weapons and the smaller versions, as well as cups, chairs, and in at least one case, a red canister with markings upon it indicating that it could be used to extinguish small fires. Only quick reflexes and enough shielding to hold off the changeling army had kept the pair alive.

Now, having swooped right over the heads of every human she could see, Celestia could see a hatch coming up. A door opened along her path, and acting on reflex, she slammed a hoof into it as she passed, knocking the human on the other side off his feet.

“Princess!” Twilight gasped, though notably with less high-pitched conviction than before. Celestia couldn’t help but smile at that. Even in such a dire situation, her beloved student took her words to heart.

“Brace yourself, Twilight,” she hissed, before charging the metal hatchway at the other end of the hall, her horn charging with another force spell. Nothing flashy, more like a simple push with a very, very large amount of force behind it. Her magic slammed into the door, tearing it off its hinges and sending it sailing into the clear air behind it. Celestia blinked in surprise and made a quick note to show more restraint. It appeared as though the further she got from her prison, the more her power grew. She would need to show restraint from this point forward.

Curling her wings inward, Celestia darted through the hatchway and out into the sun, her coat glistening as she gleefully absorbed the light pouring onto her from above. Except…it wasn’t her sun. The rejuvenating effects of its rays were different. Not worse or better, just different. So she had been right after all: the anomaly in Hayseed’s field had led to a completely different world. She doubted if the star she had raised and lowered for her little ponies for so long was even in the same galaxy as she was anymore.

Unfurling her wings to their fullest length, Celestia leapt into the air, more of those little bullets whizzing off her shield. Her student gave a sudden cry of pain, and the grip on her neck tightened, and rather suddenly Celestia had to resist the urge to turn back around, hunt down the human that had dared to harm her student and turn them into a scorch mark on the ground. Of course, she instead swooped into the sky, soaring higher and higher, keeping an eye on the ground beneath her for any strange motion. She spotted more humans flooding on deck, some of them still using those weapons against her, though at this distance they were even less effective against the shield. Some of the humans started scurrying into strange vehicles with stubby little wings parked along the edge of…the edge of what now?

Her eyes widened. A ship. Maker above, they had been holding her on a ship! As she flapped in place, her eyes drank in the sheer, absurd size of the thing. It was a city. It was an entire skyscraper from her Canterlot, turned sideways and made to float! Equestria and its Maker! For what purpose could something that big possibly be needed!?

She blinked, shoving those thoughts back down. There was a time and a place for such idle wonderings, this was neither. “Twilight?” She asked quickly.

“I-it’s okay Princess! Just a scratch!”

Celestia craned her neck to see her student. Twilight smiled back at her with an expression that was part brave grin, part pained grimace: one eye closed and her teeth clenched as one of her hooves clenched at her flank, a trail of blood oozing around it from the center of her cutie mark. Thank you, Celestia prayed to whoever might have been listening. Who knows what I would have done if she’d been hurt worse, thank you.

“Come, we must find shelter,” Celestia said, swooping through the sky towards some unseen, new destination. Before her, miles of pale, featureless blue stretched out endlessly, and once again she had to fight the urge to stand back in awe at the realization that the massive, impossibly complex structure she had been held on was a bucking ship.

Next Chapter: Chapter XVIII: Five Years Ago Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 18 Minutes
Return to Story Description

Login

Facebook
Login with
Facebook:
FiMFetch