Pandora's Box

Without a second thought, Anthony followed Noire as she walked away from the others. He didn't even realize she was trying to spite him, thinking that she just wanted to talk in private. When he heard her story, Anthony's eyes went wide in shock and his left eye started to twitch.
"That was...a lot more horrifying than I expected. I'm sorry I even asked."
What he meant to just be a casual chat took a dark turn very quickly. He now found himself overcome with pity for Noire. That kind of torture would be enough to break anyone, human or pony. He took a moment to compose himself and spoke up in a soft tone.

"Actually, I do have subordinates and I couldn't imagine leaving a single one of them behind. But I wasn't there, in that situation, having to make that call. Any commander worth their salt would never leave someone behind on purpose, but sometimes they have a tough decision to make and they choose to do what they think is right at the time...even if it leads to something terrible happening. That's the burden of leadership. Never knowing what that split-second decision will lead to until it's too late."

Following up this profound moment, Anthony opened his arms wide for reasons that only made sense to him.
"Come on...it's hug time."
Strangely enough, he was completely serious.
"You and me, right now, we're gonna hug this out."
Not waiting for an answer, he leaned in, wrapped his arms around Noire and started gently petting her mane.

 

Rage boiled up inside of her. The human had declared its intentions, but this was... insufferable. Humiliating! She struggled against Anthony's grapple. Her first moves were strong, the ones after were more of a weak struggle. Inside she still seethed with anger, but the pressure and the soft caressing movement felt tolerable. Especially if it's what this thing needed to feel able to walk away from her with its conscience intact.
It was despicable... needing to do this simply because she had gone through hell and survived. Then again, it was the touchy-feely kind. The continued petting began to bubble the sadness up inside of her. The thought flashed into her mind, Maybe I should try to feel something other than rage...

"That's enough." She said, stepping away from Anthony. She regarded him with a look of worry, wondering if he'd try again. He stayed put so it didn't seem likely. "Feeling better now Mr. Sensitive? Or do you want to play with my mane some more?"

 

"Well, since she asked-- wait, no, I don't think that was a real question."
He shook his head.
"Uh, no. That's alright."
He kept his distance, unsure if he was making the situation worse or not.
"I guess the cooldown hug didn't really help all that much. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I guess I was hoping for something at least."
Keeping these thoughts to himself, he stood to his feet.

"I'll tell you what, though. I've just come to a decision."
He thought back to something Noire said.
"You said those things...Changelings, right? Somehow, they took your love away. Well...as a hero of love and justice, I can't let this stand! So, I've decided that I'm gonna find a way to cure you. I don't know how, but I'll think of something."
He had a somewhat grim look on his face.
"I can't fix all of the terrible things they did to you...but I think I can at least give you a chance to feel something other than anger. At least I'm gonna try my best to make it happen."

 

"My stallion in shining armor." Noire said, putting a hoof to her face and pretending to swoon. "I don't just feel anger. I feel sadness, depression, and emptiness. I also feel what my nerves register to my brain as pleasant. Or painful." She had turned away, scorn heavy in her voice. "Love and justice... for the love of Celestia, can you be anymore contrived?"

 

Anthony sat there and patiently listened to Noire's sarcastic spiel. Then she turned her back to him. She should've known what was gonna happen when she did that. Anthony took the opening presented to him, snuck up behind her and hugged her from behind, petting her mane some more.
"Laugh if you must, but I WILL make you feel love again!"
He broke off the hug before she had a chance to retaliate. Or get angry. She probably would've just gotten angry.
"It's like Starcraft 2. They said that once a Terran was infested by the Zerg Swarm, they could never be turned back into a human. Did that stop Jim Raynor from trying? Not a chance! And he DID find a way to bring Kerrigan back to normal. If he could do it than so can we! I'm gonna be your Raynor and together, we'll find the Xel'Naga crystal of hope and dreams! Just you wait and see."
He had a proud and confident look in his eyes.
"Then, on that fateful day, we will ride out into glorious battle together. Children will sing songs of our valor for generations."

 

Anthony was fast enough to avoid the kick with her back hooves. Launching herself into the air, she hovered over his head.
"What the hell? Do you want to get hurt? Do you make a habit of grabbing people from behind?" Noire spluttered, seriously considering some sort of retribution offensive.
Then a different form of offense took her notice. "I haven't even started the campaign. You asshole!" She whipped him in the face with her tail then bareled under him, knocking him to the ground.

 

Matthew kept one eye on Anthony who seemed to be befriending the angry pony, one eye on Violet to check she was ok, and then kept both eyes firmly on the King. He bowed, politely, as was his nature.
"I apologize for trespassing on your domain and causing a ruckus, your highness," he said cordially. "However, I must ask... did you have anything to do with the nefarious possessing of my comrade a few moments ago? I fear if the answer is yes, then we will be... at odds."
As anyone who knew Matthew would inform you, talking to him was always a risky proposition. One of his most remarkable traits was his simple yet powerful nature, almost like a dog. If you were his friend, he would fawn and serve and protect and care and throw himself in harm's way just so you could be safe. And if you were in any way involved as to the detriment of his friends, then he would waste no time, take no precautions and hold no method or tactic sacred in hunting you down and eradicating you thoroughly from time and space itself. This could be felt in his words when he spoke, so when the words "at odds" emerged, they emerged with the subtle undertone that should the answer not be satisfactory, the entire forest would be summarily disintegrated.

 

"Ahh, such a noble personality within this one." Aelix said respectfully. "I do say, that's a scary look that you're giving me."
He suddenly appeared beside Matt, putting an arm around his shoulders. "The thing is, do you blame the military when they gun down someone who isn't authorized into their base? All they're doing is protecting themselves from the unknown."
He took a few steps as though he was walking up a wall, then he strode a few paces in front of Matt standing upside down, as though gravity had reversed itself just for him.
"So I wake up this morning and feel a large magical intrusion into my territory. I go to check it out. Then I find a group of odd creatures, a pony, a dog, three humans. The three humans the oddest thing. Most of us are underground or living in space. So you must be from other domains dotting this wondrous dead planet. Which means your only reasoning for coming here together is to take more territory. So I'm that little soldier boy who guns down the unknown vehicle with the family running from the enemy forces death squads. Worried that it's a suicide attack, but after he learns beats himself up and drugs himself up until the nightmares go away with a nice little dive off of a tall building.
"All I did to your little furry friend is block her magic so she couldn't teleport an eldritch bomb into my kingdom. Threw you guys into a small panic that you summarily dealt with. Then you went and woke that damn guard dog up. But you dealt with that too, freed me up to expand a bit. And just so you know, all I did was tell the poor thing's conscience to take a nap. It's unhealthy to be all pent up all the time.
"Oh and speaking of being pent up," he conjured up a large plush in his own image and shook it in front of Matt. "C'mon boy, it squeaks."
The toy issued the stereotypical squeaking sound of a rubber duck as Aelix squeezed the head of his plush-alike. It had a dopey grin on its face.
"You know you want it."

 

Matthew's facial expression did not change throughout the entirety of Aelix's speech, and when he dangled the doll in front of his face it was as if he was made of stone.
"We're going to leave now. We're not going to return, unless we can help it. And I do most definitely assure you, if you ever decide to cross our paths again in a way I do not like, I will turn everything you hold dear to ashes. Do not play games with me, because I do not play. I bid you a fine day, your highness." All this was said in the calmest and most reasonable manner one could imagine.
He bowed, turned around, and walked back over to Violet. "How are you feeling now?"

 

Aelix shrugged and vanished in a puff of smoke. Further down the rabbit hole.

Violet looked up when Matt said her name. "I'm feeling fine. Whatever his distortion on my magic, it's gone now." She got to her feet, a little wobbly being unused to only having two legs. "So I guess we can go now." With that said she clapped her hands and rubbed them together. Closing her eyes she focused on the spell. The magic built up inside of her breast and moved up into her head but wouldn't release. Opening her eyes she looked aorund in confusion.
"The spell won't cast... but he said..." Violet looked doubtfully into the forest.
The lance came down right beside her, causing her to jump aside as the tip pierced the dirt and stuck up out of the ground.

"You need your horn you idiot." Noire growled acidly.

"You didn't need to try and impale me." Violet shot back. Noire gave no inclination that she heard or cared. Picking up the lance and holding it before her, she channeled the built up magical energy into the weapon and felt relief as the spell cast. Another doorway appeared, just as cartoony as the last. The door swung open of its own accord revealing a shimmering blackness.
"Are we ready?" Violet asked.

"Let's just hope you didn't screw up again like the incompetent you are." Noire said as she moved towards the doorway.

 

Anthony stepped between Noire and Violet, looking somewhat indignant as he reprimanded the former.
"Come on now, there's no need for name calling. We're gonna be traveling together for a while so you need to learn how to get along with Violet. You're just gonna have to be the bigger person-- or I guess pony in this case-- and let things go for now."
From the way he was acting, he wasn't unlike an older brother scolding his younger sibling. He raised up his pointer finger, thinking about something Noire said before walking off.
"And for your information, that thing I told you about SC2 is hardly even a spoiler at this point. They even had it in the trailer, for crying out loud. Now, take a deep breath and try to cool off."
Feeling the need to demonstrate, he breathed in deeply and exhaled in a long sigh.
"Just like that."

 

Matthew stepped past them, moving towards the doorway. "Chitchat can wait." He sounded unnaturally tense, as though he was suppressing a great deal of emotion. "Let's get clear of here first. That means no more insults." He didn't ask for confirmation from Noire of his orders, instead striding into the portal and disappearing from sight.

 

After Matt had vanished, Noire threw a rock in the general direction of Anthony's head. She stuck her tongue out as she flew into the darkness. It felt as if she was being torn apart, line by line. Broken down into code and transferred through a syringe. Then it was over. Emerging onto the other side, Noire took a look around.
"Oh, so this is where she sent us." Noire said with an annoyed sound in her voice.
The high vaulted stone ceilings were crumbling after two thousand years. The castle of the two sisters hadn't weathered well in the Everfree Forest. Especially not after the pegasus revolution and the changeling war. The weather had literally gone to hell. The unicorns did their best, but there was only so much magic in a pony. Super storms tore towns off the map, and most of the population had moved into cave networks bored out by earth pony sweat and blood. The pegasi lived above the mess they had caused, sending down raiding parties to gather what they couldn't produce for themselves.
"I hope you're ready for a long walk."

Meanwhile Violet sat still, waiting for the other two to go through the portal.

 

Anthony sighed when the rock that Noire threw bounced harmlessly off of his forehead. It didn't do any physically harm, but he couldn't help feeling like she put a great deal of spite into that rock. It was like an emotional boulder slamming into him.
"This isn't going to be easy, is it?"
He followed behind the others and stepped into the portal.

When he made it to the other side, he took a look around. The scenery was...less than pleasant to him, understandably. Fortunately for him, he'd seen worse. He took a good look around and nodded.
"It's like Char, but with a whole lot less Zerg trying to kill my forces. So yeah, not nearly as bad."
He looked over to Violet.
"Just making sure, is this the right place?"

 

Aelix casually strolled out of the forest, hands in the pockets of his coat. "Well that one's certainly scary." He said to Violet.
"Indeed. That's what makes him special to us." Violet replied as she used the lance for balance. "Why did you have to turn me into a human? And a naked one at that."
"Chaos!" Aelix said as dramatically as possible. A cloud of confetti exploded up behind him as he shrugged epicly. "What does it matter anyway?"
"You Draconequus are hopeless sometimes."
"It isn't my fault you can't think more fluidly. Open up a bit. I know your Great Aunt's friend was particularly random. My father talks about her a lot."
"I don't have much time for laughter." Aelix shrugged. Violet stepped up to the precipice. "Take care of that one for me."
With that said, she stepped through the portal.

--------------------------------------
Aelix turned to the prone form of Zoey lying on the grass. The little dog Tegan was pawing and nudging her in a vain attempt to wake her up. Taking his natural form, Gaelix made his way slowly over to the pair.
"It's all for naught, little one." He said to the dog. The small creature turned and began barking at him. "Now there's no need to be rude." He said in mock offense at Tegan's vulgar language. "Just because my kind doesn't exist in your dimension doesn't give you leave to be an ass."
Tegan cocked his head.
"Yes I can understand you. It was a gift from my mother. A kinder soul than I. Though I'm much nicer than my father ever was."
He knelt next to the unconscious woman and spent a moment or two observing her. It was unfortunate, but those born with power aren't the top of the food chain. "There will always be predators." Gaelix Fluttercord recited.
He touched a clawed hand to Zoey's head and her body dissolved at his touch, breaking down into lines of code that blew away on the wind. Tegan bit his arm but drew no blood.
"We had no use for you, I'm afraid. You had no power of your own." He knocked the little dog off of his arm and it too, fell apart into arcane code.

Back in the human dimension, Zoey's body lay strapped on a table reminiscent of an asylum or a morgue. Her body had been wired up to a small machine that displayed her vitals. A small helmet had been placed over her head linked to another monitor and a large jar that was half way full. The room was peaceful, the hum and beep of machinery the only sound other than the intake of breath.
Suddenly her body began to seize and the vital monitor lost an accurate measure. She flailed unconsciously against the thick leather straps that held her in place. They didn't give at all. Then she fell still once again, breathing normally. The monitor took a few moments before it was giving accurate readings. On the screen with the jar that was now two thirds full two words appeared. "SIPHON COMPLETE."
Tegan awoke on the floor. He had a few moments of confusion but then went and sat at the side of his master as she slept in a coma.

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

"Yes, this is the correct place." Violet said in answer to Anthony's question.
"Except for all the walking we need to do to get to Canterlot. But I guess you prefer the scenic route." Noire said.
"We can stop and rest at my Great Aunt Twilight's castle. It isn't very far, then our destination is only a short train ride away."
"Brilliant. I can't wait to see if we survive the journey or not."
"I'd watch your tongue, now that we're home. I am the niece of a Princess." Violet warned calmly.

 

Anthony chuckled a little.
"Heh...Twilight Princess. My favorite Zelda game."
After muttering something random to himself, he turned to Violet with a curious expression.
"Holy crap, you're related to royalty? That's pretty cool."
He gave Noire a quick rub on the head, a wide grin plastered on his face.
"You hear that, Noire? If you don't start playing nice with Violet, you might piss off a princess. I don't know much about pony politics, but I'm pretty sure that's still a bad thing."

 

Matthew seemed highly strung, his taunting from Aelix still fresh in his mind.
His anger was something he had difficulty controlling even before he acquired powers, and now he was capable of unmitigated destruction if he lost focus and cut loose. He'd always, even back on Earth before the event, been notably tense and always careful to manage himself, but in this particular scenario he was practically straining not to give into the darkness inside him.
"Enough." The word seemed to cut through the air with the force of a guillotine blade, embedding itself in the conversation and gutting it dead. Matthew moved forwards -well, moved isn't the right word. He stalked forward, as though he was expecting hordes of ravenous monsters and vicious enemies to leap out and satiate the godawful sensation that could only be described as hunger inside him.
"Noire, I understand that you are angry," he said in a voice that was physically trembling with the effort of remaining calm. "However, being a disruptive influence will solve nothing in regard to our predicament at the moment. What WILL help is silence and walking, just for a little while. If you cannot manage that, then please understand that for the sake of my peace of mind and the general safety of everything within several miles, I will have no issue rendering you unconscious and carrying you if need be. Thank you for understanding." He looked at Violet with a perfectly calm and level face. "In what direction are we walking?" he asked politely.

 

Noire made some grumbling sounds, but didn't pursue the matter. After all, what did it matter in the end?

"First we need to get out of the Everfree forest and into Ponyville. The creatures have gotten... more monstrous and aggressive in recent years." Violet said. She ran through the more common fauna in her head, dragons, hydras, timber wolves, and other crazy creatures.
"Pegasus and Changeling raiding parties. Ponies that got fed up with their lives as our society slowly fell apart. It's not nice here like it was a few generations ago."
"Yes, we have many obstacles in our path. But if we don't begin we won't finish." Lifting her lance, she channeled the magic through the weapon and clothed herself in adventurers garb. Then she led the group out of the crumbling ruin and into the dark forest.

 

Matthew walked with confidence - not the confidence of the heroic adventurer, but the confidence of the biggest and baddest animal in the forest because it knew that it was the top of the food chain.
The forest was dark, and quiet, and there were a few movements every now and again as little critters scurried across their path. These small animals served to lighten Matthew's mood considerably to the stage where he was relatively content he wasn't going to point everything he had in one direction and fire at whatever next annoyed him.
“How long do we go before you two need a rest?” he asked, not wanting to unnecessarily exhaust either of them.

 

Anthony looked around at the forest, apparently surprised at what he saw.
"Well, this isn't exactly what I was expecting. Then again...I'm not sure what I was expecting."
He rubbed his chin, thinking out loud to nobody in particular.
"I guess more...rainbows and unicorns and pots of gold, stuff like that. More birds chirping and little ponies prancing around and everyone singing about love and friendship and whatever. You know, more fun hippie stuff. This place is actually kinda...dark. More Fangorn Forest than sunshine and rainbows."
He looked over to Noire.
"Did it always used to be like this?"