Pandora's Box

"Oh yeah. I can feel it."
Anthony muttered under his breath in reply as he was slowly breaking out into a cold sweat, though he had no idea why. He didn't feel any immediate danger but he couldn't deny that something was...resonating with him. He couldn't see or hear it, in fact he couldn't sense it at all by any normal means, but he could clearly sense it. Though he wasn't even sure what he was sensing. Something was just...wrong. There was something in the room that shouldn't be here, some sort of presence or force that gave him a vague but undeniable sense of dread. He turned to Taldarin, trying his best to keep his nerves in check.
"Did you find anything yet? Anything at all that might tell us what happened here or...what might still be happening here?"

Taldarin, now moving for the first time in several minutes, turned to face Anthony and the group.
"Perhaps. However, you should know that what I have found paints a rather grim picture. I discovered a set of recorded messages in the mainframe that seems to be from one of the Equestrian researchers that aided in the construction of this temple. It reads as follows."
He paused for a moment and straightened up, looking even more stiff and less lifelike than usual.

"Entry 01:

We've finally finished construction on the temple. What a marvelous piece of engineering it is! I knew that Protoss technology was centuries or even millennia beyond our own, but seeing what sort of technological marvels-- or rather, miracles they can bring to fruition never ceases to astound me! To think that I had a hoof in creating such a wonder fills me with unimaginable satisfaction. Or rather, it did at first. Unfortunately, even though I knew all along that it was inevitable, it seems that the one event which I feared the most will soon come to pass. They are leaving. High Templar Taldarin explained that they must return to protect their homeworld from the Xel'Naga and in my mind, I understand completely. Nonetheless, I find that my heart is in turmoil. Truth be told, I would give nearly anything to extend their stay with us. To learn from them, to observe them, to share in their wisdom. Though our time together has been relatively short, I feel as though I've learned more in that short time than I would have in ten lifetimes otherwise. I can never truly express my sorrow at the news of their departure. I can only hope that they fulfill their promise to return one day.

- Gilded Sage, Equestrian-Protoss Liaison

Entry 02:

Why have they not returned yet? It seems that single, burning question runs through my mind each and every day now. How many moons has it been? I've lost track. Or perhaps it is simply too painful to remember. Lately, I have taken to studying the Protoss technology inside the temple more closely, to see if perhaps there is some way to contact their homeworld of Aiur. Sadly, most of the other researchers gave up far sooner than I have leaving only a small remnant of our original team. They moved on with their lives just like all of those other ponies did, forgetting all about the glorious encounter we had with the Protoss and continuing on with their normal routines as if nothing has changed. But everything has changed. We know that they are still out there somewhere. And we still believe that we will see them again.

- Gilded Sage, Equestrian Researcher

Entry 03:

Why didn't I see it before?! The Pylons! The Pylons will bring them back to me! I was once told that they were connected to some kind of psionic network so maybe, just maybe, they're still connected to the homeworld! I'll find a way. I have to! I'll find them again and they'll return in all their glory! They'll congratulate me for remaining faithful for oh-so-many moons. I can't wait to see them again! I WILL see them again! I would sacrifice everything just for one more glimpse of their glorious forms! After all this time, I WILL NOT BE DENIED!!

- Gilded Sage, one of the last true believers

Entry 04:

No matter how long I stare at them, the Pylons still do not reveal their secrets to me. But they will. They will bring them back to me. I'll just keep casting spell after spell after spell after spell after spell after spell after spell after spell after spell after spell until the Pylons bring them back to me. I will become one with the Pylons. I will become Pylon myself with a body of smooth, luxurious Khaydarin crystal. I will be Pylon. I AM Pylon.

- Gilded Sage/Pylon

End of recorded messages."

 

A long pause followed the admittedly rather creepy recordings.
Matthew, still Matthew, tried to crack a joke. "So, no prizes for who was President of the Protoss Fan Club." He looked around. "Not to be one to give anyone the heebie-jeebies, but... what he said about becoming Pylon. Does that mean he's STILL HERE?"

 

"Pylon," Violet said in answer. She raised a hoof and pointed it towards one of the walls. There wasn't really anything there.

"I'll name you Pylon," Noire growled, smacking the purple unicorn across the back of her head. The newly ascended Pegacorn growled audibly and began wandering throughout the large chamber.
"so some ancient coot went and lost his mind because the oh so mighty Protoss left us high and dry once they were done with us. Whoopty doo. I thought we came here looking for weapons. Not some alien robot and his diary."

 

OOT: SO I've taken it upon myself to build an ancient equestrian dialect. a bit of a mixture of german and french with english grammar.


In the darkest corner of the large room something stirred with the rustling of leaves.

Awareness.
It flooded back, sudden and immediate and not entirely desired.
Unaccustomed to being aware, it looked around the darkness of its surroundings. Pleasure rushed through its body as it moved muscles that had been immobile for countless centuries. It could see in the dark, apparently. Everything immediately around it was bathed in a light green tinge. As it pulled itself from where it had been rooted, the sound of vines snapping thundered in its ears. Startled the being jumped at the unexpected sound and dove into the harsh light.
It's eyes adjusted quickly as it took in the Protoss architecture. Then its gaze came to rest on the three ponies, one pegacorn, and the Protoss Pondroid.
Khalani bes sujour nalocht!

"Weri bes-du?" It said to the group before it.

*************

Turning at the odd words, Noire took in the creature before them. It resembled a pony, but it seemed to be both mare and stallion at once. It's coat was black... no... it was just a very dark green. And it kind of looked like moss. But what really drew attention were its eyes. Red pupils, dark green irises and pale green sclera. They were... mesmerising.

"Who are you?"

"Quewla?"

 

Matthew reared back slightly. "Okay... that's genuinely creepy." He backed up a tad, making sure there was no more of them circling around them. "Can... er... can someone deal with that, I guess?"

 

OOT: That's pretty cool! I've never made up a language before. I wouldn't even know where to start.

While Matthew was taking a step back, Anthony took a step forward, a slight smirk on his face as he turned his head towards him.
"Aw, come on, Matt. I think it's kinda cute!"
He turned back to the pony-like creature in front of him and waved his hoof.
"Hey, there! Wait...that's right, you can't understand me."
With an awkward glance, he looked to Taldarin for a solution.
"But you can, right? Help me out a little here. Tell them I wanna say "Hello, nice to meet you" or whatever they say in Equestria."

If robots could sigh, Taldarin probably would have done so.
"You do realize that we have no time to spare, do you not? We should be well on our way to locating the second crystal by now."

Anthony, looking a little indignant, replied in a slightly annoyed tone.
"Sure, I get that, but we can at least say hello. Who knows, maybe they can help us out?"
He turned back to the unknown pony, bringing his hoof to his mouth as if to whisper a secret.
"Don't mind him. He's a robo-Protoss-pony."

"Mere moments ago, you looked horrified beyond belief after hearing those recordings. Now you are trying to make small talk with someone you know nothing about and cannot even properly communicate with. Out of all the creatures I've met, you are by far the most bizarre. It is almost...endearing, in a way."
Taldarin turned to the pony.
"Here is something you might be interested to learn. The Protoss-- excluding myself, as I am a cybernetic creation-- never communicate verbally, they "speak" entirely through telepathy rather than speaking out loud in their native language. If you could acquire this technique, you would be able to communicate with our new acquaintance as well. However, that would take even more time which we obviously cannot afford at the moment."
He then addressed the stranger directly, using its own language.
"(Who are you? How did you come to be in this temple?)"

 

The plant pony stared at Taldarin for a while in what could be shock, or just general confusion.
"Khalani in mon esprite!" it said and lowered itself into a bow. It started speaking again, then stopped. Closing its eyes and concentrating, "(My name is... is... It's been a very long time since I was last awake, Master. When your kind left us, I stayed in the temple and tried to keep things in order.)" The words floated into Taldarin's mind seeming to have been whispered from far away.
A sad expression appeared on her face.
"(The others began losing themselves, I don't know why. But I suspect it had something to do with the mind speak. I tried to leave with some others, but... well they sealed the temple doors... chanting Pylons. Pylon pylon pylon pylon PYLONS! They built them, as best they could, as many as they could. They projected into them and... It hurts! They're so loud, so loud. So I hit my head against the wall, until I fell asleep. There was no other way. I had to stop the pain.)"

The plant pony put her forehooves to her ears and began to shake.

"Warum sontsie hurlaeint!"
"(Why are they still screaming!)"

 

Taldarin turned to the group and explained calmly.
"If I were to guess, it seems as though they are a remnant of the Equestrian envoy that assisted in the construction of this temple. She also spoke of an incident concerning the pylons--"

"That's great and all, but can we do anything to help them?!"
Anthony interrupted, unable to simple wait idly any longer while the plant pony was clearly in pain. His frustration at being unable to help Noire, Violet or their new friend was really starting to get to him, no matter how much he tried to keep it to himself. Realizing that he was losing his grip on his emotions, he let a heavy sigh and calmed down.
"Sorry. It's just...I wish there was something we could do."
"As do I, young Terran. Unfortunately, my progress towards reactivating the main systems has been coming along very slowly. Difficult though it may be, I must ask you to be patient."
Anthony simply nodded to Taldarin; he knew that he was right. They were doing everything they could at the moment.


"And if you could do something to help them now, would you?"
Anthony blinked and his eyes darted around the room. When he realized that the mysterious voice didn't come from an audible source, he hung his head in resignation and groaned.
"Great. Now I'm hearing voices in my head, too."
What he didn't realize was that this voice was entirely different from everything else that was happening around him. And only he could hear this particular voice.
"You neglected to answer my question. Would you help them?"
"Of course I would, what kind of question is that?!"
Anthony lost his composure and spoke out loud, not particularly caring how it looked to everyone else.
"I can assist you. If you will allow it."
Anthony raised an eyebrow.
"So...you want me to trust some random voice that started talking to me from out of nowhere? I might be a little naive but give me some credit, I wasn't born yesterday."
"Then you are content to watch your friends suffer further?"
Anthony was visibly shaken by the question and sat there in stunned silence. He took a few moments to think it over and then nodded firmly.
"Okay, fine. What do I need to do?"
"Allow me to work through you. Much like you have with your current companions, we simply need to combine our efforts and work in unison."
"Alright...that doesn't sound too bad. Go for it."

Anthony closed his eyes and remained perfectly still. When he opened them again, there was no physical change to his body but the expression on his face was strikingly different. The pony who just a few seconds ago looked so noble and full of life now wore a dull, empty look on his face. Without saying a word, he got up and sauntered over to the main control panel of the temple. Even his gait lacked the usual vigor that was all too normal for Anthony. He didn't say a word to anyone until he was directly questioned by Taldarin.
"What are you doing? You cannot possibly hope to operate that machine."
Anthony replied in a calm, collected and rather dull tone.
"Normally that would be correct, but the situation has changed."
He continued working even as he spoke without missing a beat. Taldarin knew immediately that something had happened to him and he had a fair guess as to what.
"Who are you? What have you done to the Terran's mind?"
"That is not important right now."
"I would have to disagree."
"Your objection has been noted and summarily disregarded, Purifier."

That statement all but confirmed Taldarin's suspicions. Robotic units that possessed a highly advanced artificial intelligence based on the personality of a living Templar-- such as the "Taldarin" the stood before them-- were collectively known as Purifiers. Anthony, of course, would have no way of knowing this.
"I will ask again before resorting to force. What are you doing on that terminal?"
"We are attempting to reconcile this rather complicated mess that this ragtag group has landed itself in."
Anthony continued working away at the terminal, muttering to himself as he went along.
"Warp field stabilized...modify the phase variance..."
The large crystal that served as the core of the temple began to glow with a pale blue light. As it did, Anthony briefly turned to the others.
"That should help tame the...rather bothersome psionic interference that you all are experiencing. However, we still need to deal with the root of the problem."
After some more time with the terminal, a loud hissing sound came from all around them. The stasis chambers that lined the room began to open, revealing the remainder of the Sentinels contained within. One after the others, these Sentinels came to life as their power was restored and they slowly stepped outside of their cells.
"We have given them orders to perform reconnaissance on the temple, to find the corrupted pylon replicas."
He stepped away from the terminal and started to make his way down one of the hallways.
"We know where at least one of them is. We will also find the second crystal down this hall, since you all seem to be searching for them."
Before following behind him, Taldarin spoke up.
"You refer to yourself as "we." I take it to mean you are still the Terran as well?"
"Naturally. Otherwise, our link would have surely been broken by now. Do you trust us?"
"We shall see..."
Taldarin then turned to the others.
"Let us continue on."

 

The plant pony stopped shaking as the screaming in her skull receded and then vanished entirely.

Violet let out a shuddering sigh that vaguely sounded like the word, "Pylon." As she recovered herself from the telepathic assault she looked to the now possessed, once again, Anthony.
"Thank you," she said quietly. "We should hurry then, to the next location."

Noire gave herself a small shake, as though dislodging cobwebs from her body. Her gaze was fixed on the plant creature, and her expression was one of puzzled consideration. She turned and followed as the group continued on into the temple.

With nothing better to do, the plant pony followed behind the strangers at a respectful distance.

 

As the group made their way down another long hallway, they came to a sudden halt as Anthony stumbled, nearly falling down.
"Hmm. Our power wanes; we will not be able to hold the connection for much longer."
Specifically, he was referring to the entity that had connected itself to Anthony's mind. Whatever method it used to communicate with him was putting a great strain on its power. Knowing that he was running out of time, Anthony picked up the pace.

After some time, they came to a rather bizarre construction that seemed to hold a large crystal within.
"There. That is one of the false pylons."
Indeed, it looked vaguely similar to a Protoss pylon, though it was much less advanced in design. It looked rather basic, focusing solely on function rather than form, but even then the magic that sustained it looked like as though could barely hold the structure together. For the first time since he started cooperating with the mysterious voice, Anthony let an emotion show on his face: sheer disgust.
"Such arrogance. Attempting to replicate technology of that caliber was nothing short of foolhardy. Give us a moment."
Anthony's horn glowed brightly and a ball of energy slowly formed at the tip. Soon after, he lowered his head towards the pylon and unleashed a sphere of psionic energy towards the pylon which exploded violently upon impact, completely shattering and nearly obliterating the pylon and sending small chunks of debris flying down the hall.
"I suppose that was a bit excessive. This body has more power than I realized."
He then turned to the others, looking a little unsteady as he did.
"The link will soon be broken. Once we--rather, I have regained enough power, we will form another link. Until then, Anthony must act on his own. Oh...one last word of advice. Find the other false pylons quickly. Our solution at the terminal was merely a temporary one."
With that, Anthony closed his eyes and when he opened them, he came back to his usual self.

"Well...that sure was something. Let's keep moving. Whoever that was, they knew that it was important for me to get those Khaydarin crystals, too."
He tilted his head for a moment, thinking back.
"That thing I did, that "psionic blast" or whatever...I didn't even know I could do that. Huh. I hope I can do that again. Seemed like a pretty handy trick.
He shrugged and turned down the hall.
"So, are we ready to get moving? I'd like to tell you guys what happened just now but honestly, I'm not really sure, myself."

 

Matthew's mind had now adapted to the multitude of disruptions within, and his heart kind of wept for Anthony to go through the same thing.
Fortunately, it seemed nicer.
He followed Anthony, looking around, seeing if aything else was going to come after them.

 

As they made their way to the end of the hall, they came to a familiar sight. A door that housed another Khaydarin crystal stood in front of them. Anthony approached it and let out a sigh.
"Let me guess. There's another trial here, isn't there?"
"Indeed. And if you were going to ask, the answer is yes, the same applies for the rest of the crystals."
"Hoo boy, I'm in for a fun day, aren't I?"
He hung his head low and groaned. After that, he stared up at the crystal, now giving it his full attention. When he did, his eyes glazed over just as they had before and he had another vision.

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

Anthony found himself waking up in a large, dark room. Just as he wondered to himself where the nearest light source was, the room became dimly lit and he could make out the figures of Noire, Matt and the Prophet. They stared at him coldly, blankly, without any kind of expression on their almost lifeless faces.
"Huh...? Wait, what?!"
He jumped up and glared at the Prophet.
"What are you doing here?!"
"Calm yourself, Anthony. I am not your true enemy."
"If you're trying to play some kind of mind games, you really suck at it."

"It's true."

Anthony was struck silent as he turned to Matt with a shocked expression.
"Matt...did those voices tell you something crazy? Because I'm pretty sure that guy's our enemy!"
"Are you sure? Think about it for a minute."
At this point, Noire chimed in.
"He's got a point, you know. The Prophet wasn't the one who lured you here and trapped you in the virtual world to suck out all your powers."
She laughed and gave him a cruel smile.
"You remember who that was, right?"

Suddenly, more lights came on and in the distance, Anthony could see Violet lying on the ground unconscious. Noire motioned to her.
"There she is. Your true enemy is lying right there, completely defenseless, just waiting for you to end her life."
Anthony turned to Noire and gave her a fierce glare.
"You can't be serious! I'm not gonna kill Violet, come on!"
"But don't you want your powers back?"
As he spoke, Matt presented Anthony with a long, curved dagger. In a fit of rage, Anthony knocked it out of his hoof and glared at him.
"What's gotten into you, Matt?! This is VIOLET we're talking about and you wanna murder her in cold blood?!"
"I want my powers back. Just like you."
Just then, Anthony noticed that the unconscious Violet was now right next to him. When he turned his head again, the dagger was in Matt's hoof once again.
"She took our powers, Anthony. Killing her is the only way to get them back."
Though he still had a look of utter disgust on his face, Anthony used his power to take the dagger. It was now floating directly over Violet.
"Is this really the way it has to be, Matt?"
Matt replied with a nod and a grim expression, to which Anthony sighed deeply.
"Too bad..."
The dagger twirled in the air.

"...I kinda liked having those powers. I guess we'll just have to manage somehow."
He threw the dagger at the Prophet, impaling him in the head. Anthony looked at the fallen pony with a deeply satisfied grin.
"Headshot, baby! How'd you like them apples, Kelpy?"

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

Anthony blinked a few times as he came back to consciousness, the crystal's bright glow that held him now fading away. Anthony rubbed his eyes and looked as the crystal slowly floated down to him. Just like before, the crystal merged with Anthony and faded away. Anthony turned to the others and nodded with a faint smile.
"Well, that's two down."
He jumped a little when he saw Violet.
"Ahem...so, uh, where to now?"
Just then, the door in front of them opened, revealing a hallway that began to light up now that the way was clear. It led to another door which caught Anthony's curiosity.
"Huh. So, should we check that out now or leave it for later?"