open LOTG - The Praetor Incursion

[FullMetalParagon 80]

[[OOC IS HERE - https://mlpforums.com/topic/157050-lotg-the-praetor-incursion-searchingplanning/]]

 

The wind howled as the truck trundled along, bouncing its two occupants as it rolled its way towards its destination. The driver coughed lightly, staring intently at the road, the darkness barely illuminated by the headlights. Looking to his side, he saw his partner sleeping soundly in the passenger seat, which brought a momentary smile to his face as his eye glowed blue once more.

 

"You do realize what will happen if any of them find out, right? Even Engineer ponies from the Ministry of Fabrication have a duty to uphold." The pony sighed, blinking his eye until the voice stopped talking. Lights blinked into existence from out of the darkness, all centering on the truck. Pressing the brake lightly, he let the truck roll to a stop, turning off the ignition as he slipped out, his hooves lightly impacting on the snow-dusted ground. Several soldiers wielding light rifles, the insignia of the Ministry of War proudly emblazoned upon their uniforms, galloped up to him. Saluting, they carefully removed his passenger, one of them carefully lifting the pony onto his back as they galloped inside, a massive steel door closing behind them as soldiers returned to their rounds.

 

Removing his hood, Hirsan shook his head, letting his dark green mane fall where it would, staring at the soldiers with a bit of a questioning look.

 

"So, any reports of activity along any of the borders?" The soldiers merely shook their heads no as their commanding officer entered.

 

"Hunter Colonel Hirsan Keln, as I live and breathe. Captain Apollo. We met at the War Games last year in Valley Forge." Hirsan chuckled, remembering how the Ministry of War had come out on top in the Games - of course, no shock there. The Ministry of War had won it for the last four years.

 

"Let's just skip the pleasantries, Captain. The scouting mission went well. Barrier generators are still running, though they are getting a rather good boost with heat dissipation due to this inclement weather." He rubbed his own body, shivering slightly. His partner, still bundled up in winter Fabricator gear, slumbered on the nearby couch. He shook his head, slowly walking over to the couch. Tapping the pony on the head, he sighed, raising an eyebrow.

 

"Ivy Winds. Hey, Ivy, up and at 'em. We're at the outpost in Beta Sector."

Edited October 14, 2016 by FullMetalParagon

[reader8363 1,281]

Ivy groaned as she opened her right eyes halfway. She got up and said, "Alright I'm up, and it's probably about time we got here." She rubbed her face and noticed that her eyepatch wasn't on. She bent down, grabbed it, and placed in over her left socket. She looked at the pony and said, "Shall we get going?"

[FullMetalParagon 80]

Hirsan helped her up off the couch, motioning to a small set of steel doors. The soldiers in the room opened them carefully, a train car just beyond.

 

"Hunter Colonel, while we wish you could have assisted us more, you and the Fabricator Captain were asked for by name by the Council. Step aboard, and you'll be there in a few hours." Hirsan looked back at Ivy Winds, noticing the rank emblazoned on her uniform.

 

"Almost forgot you were a Captain." With that, he stepped aboard, letting Ivy Winds take a seat as he took one opposite her. Frowning, he watched as the train began to speed up, blazing past structural supports like a blur.

 

"Ivy, what do you think of this? The Council summoning us? I mean, they don't summon us for just anything. It has to be something far-reaching for them to summon high-ranking members of any ministry."

[reader8363 1,281]

@@FullMetalParagon,

Ivy shrugged and said, "I don't really know, maybe need something built for war or something, or a machine is busted and it's a threat until it's fixed.  There are somethings that you can't tell with them." The chair leaned back as she stretched out her back.

[FullMetalParagon 80]

Hirsan leaned back, looking at the ceiling. He knew Ivy was right, but the curiosity, and apprehension, would not die inside. He knew something was up, after receiving a report from the Ministry of the Supernatural about some kind of attack, though it would not specify. He looked over at the wall of the train as the countryside blurred past, smiling when the familiar rumbling of the heaters turned on. The far north of the country was bleak, cold, and not a lot happened up there.

 

"Well, we have a couple of hours. Might as well catch up on some sleep, Ivy. It'll be a long day when we get there."

 

--------==|0|==--------

 

Hirsan woke up as the train entered the station for Valley Forge. Standing as it came to a stop, he tapped Ivy, waking her.

 

"We're here. And by the look of things, we have a Ministry of War escort. Be on guard. We don't know what they have for us."

[reader8363 1,281]

@@FullMetalParagon, 

Ivy opened her right eye,  got up, stretched as she yawned, and said as she got off the train, "Okay, Let's go." Her ears quickly flicked back and forth, but the movement was unnoticeable, listening for any problems as she waited for Hirsan to get out of the train

[FullMetalParagon 80]

Hirsan stepped out, making sure he was two steps in front of Ivy as he exited the train. Ponies bustled around operating heavy machinery, forklifts lifting large containers off of the cargo cars. The Ministry escorts saluted Hirsan and Ivy, stepping aside.

 

"We've been ordered to escort you to the Council chambers immediately. Sorry about this, Hunter Colonel, Fabricator Captain. You'll be allowed to report to your respective Ministries when the Council finishes their meeting with you. Shaper keep you." The War escorts followed behind, another soldier coming towards them to bring up the front. Hirsan sidled up next to Ivy, his voice low as he spoke.

 

"While I never trust the Ministry of War as a point of principle, the fact that five soldiers are escorting us means that they expect trouble from somepony else. It's a little comforting knowing they don't consider us a threat."

[reader8363 1,281]

@@FullMetalParagon,

Ivy nodded barely and said in a low voice, "I agree that's a little comforting, but the question now is who are they expecting to cause trouble for us or the ministry of war." She looked at the hallway as she passed it, keeping her ears open out of an old habit. 

[FullMetalParagon 80]

The escort stopped in front of two massive mechanical doors, the iron slabs sliding upwards into the rock ceiling as Hirsan and Ivy entered, the escorting soldiers stepping away to the side.

 

Statues lined the sides of the path they trotted in, various members of the Council of Nine staring down at them from their stoic stone visages. Guards in ceremonial plate armor, adorned with the gems that were the cornerstone of their technological advances, stepped forward, standing to the sides as Hirsan and Ivy stopped in front of the council. All nine members stood, their heads covered by the hoods they all agreed to wear, only the one wearing a purple cloak and hood recognizable to Hirsan. The one wearing the orange hood and cloak, he thought, may have been familiar at one point to the Fabricator beside him, but he dismissed the thought, looking up at the council members, and the current leader of the Ministry of the Supernatural. They cleared their throats before speaking, their heads bowing in reverence to the massive statue of the Shaper that dominated the room.

 

"Hunter Colonel Hirsan, Fabricator Captain Ivy Winds, we have summoned you here because of an occurrence at that one's home Ministry," they motioned at Hirsan, who stared away in irritation, "which culminated in the escape of a captured Ethereal. Normally, we would dispatch a normal team of Ministry agents, but the class of threat this single Ethereal possesses is immense, and your uncanny abilities should service you well, as it has the powers of even the Trickster himself." Another council member stepped forward, nodding at Ivy Winds.

 

"Your innate understanding of machines will be a boon to you where we need to send you both." A map flickered onto the wall in front of Hirsan and Ivy, showing the position of Great Canyon in relation to where they would be sent- Hirsan gasped as he saw the name of the country.

 

"You can't be serious! Why would you send us to there of all places?! No Canyonite has stepped foot in that land since the inception of Great Canyon!" He stepped back, his ears flat against his head.

 

"Hunter Colonel, you are going to Equestria, and you as well Fabricator Captain. Hirsan's hunting ability will be of immense use when you discover the pony it possesses currently." Hirsan growled, looking up at the council.

 

"How did it get out, anyways?!"

 

"It possessed your cousin as he was performing routine maintenance. We couldn't do anything, Hirsan." Hirsan pawed the ground, looking at Ivy, who still seemed rather calm.

 

"Get us our equipment, and send us. I'll take command once we're-"

 

"You are a team, Hirsan. You both hold equivalent ranks in your respective Ministries. Her job is to look out for you, and your job is to keep her safe. Get going." Hirsan growled as he left the council room, sitting himself on a bench outside. The Canyon was a country of science, of progress, and he was being sent to what was considered the most backward country on the planet! He looked away before anyone could see his eye begin to glow again.

 

"Hirsan, you can't keep hiding this behind bravado and bluffing. Your fear of this country is unfounded."

 

"Witcher, you can't come out right now. You know what would happen if they found out."

[reader8363 1,281]

@@FullMetalParagon,

Ivy muttered as she got up, "Should've done better to keep it locked up." She nodded and said, "I should get what I think we will need for the trip to Equestria." She headed out of the room and down the hall to get her stuff together before the trip from the canyon.

Edited October 20, 2016 by reader8363

[FullMetalParagon 80]

Hirsan looked down the hall as he watched Ivy walk away, thinking on what the council had said.

 

There had been an accident in the Ministry of the Supernatural's Spirit Research Facility, which culminated in half the facility being destroyed, but he had not been aware that it had been an orchestrated escape of an Ethereal, one of the extra-planar residents of the world. From all the information they had said, it seemed like it was an Avatar of the Trickster himself.

 

Hirsan stood up, trotting towards the lockers where his equipment was stored.

 

--------==|0|==--------

 

As he entered, he watched Ivy finish putting on her gear, as he began pulling out his tools and equipment, from a medkit, to his faithful Raptor repeater, a double-barreled pistol he had customized over the years he had owned it. Setting that to the side, he brought out his body armor, sliding it on as he pulled out a long cloak that contained a note.

 

"'Hope this helps on your assignment, Hirsan. Love, Kross.' Love you too, pal." Sliding the Raptor into a side holster, he tossed on the cloak, letting it settle around him like a coat would a minotaur. Looking over at Ivy, he frowned, looking back at the entrance.

 

"We'd better get going. The last train for Borderline Station leaves soon, and that'll take us as close as we can get to Equestria. From all reports, they have trains too, but most of them are, hrm, pulled by ponies. An unbelievably archaic society." Hirsan looked back at his locker, closing it with a click as the lock engaged. Turning, he stood by the door, clipping his badge onto his armor. Raising an eyebrow, he looked at Ivy, his face a neutral mask of anticipation.

[reader8363 1,281]

@@FullMetalParagon,

 Ivy grabbed the last things she needed, then she noticed a small contraption that was partially built at the bottom of her locker. She stuffed it into her bag, slammed the locker shut, and said as she turned to Hirsan and head towards the door, "I'm ready, let's get going."

[FullMetalParagon 80]

Hirsan silently pointed the way to the train, Ivy clopping along behind as they enter their transportation once more. Before the doors close, a member of the Ministry of Intelligence popped his head in.

 

"Just thought I'd warn ya both. MI agents enlisted some... local help, in case you lot need it. Can't remember their names off the top of me head, but hey, just ask ponies if they 'know where the greatest forge is.' If they tell you it's 'in the valley,' then you've got your, hrm, Equestrian guides. Can't say I envy you two. Equestria, such a backward country!" He galloped off, chuckling. Looking over at Ivy, he sighed.

 

"That was Kross. Old friend of mine. We served two years together when we were younger. Saved my neck a few times, and I repaid the favor." Hirsan held himself down as the train began to move, sighing as he leaned against the window.

 

"Get some sleep, Ivy. It's going to be a long trip."

[reader8363 1,281]

@@FullMetalParagon,

Ivy nodded and said as she pulled the contraption out , "I'm fine, I'll get some rest later." She took a few tools out to make sure that she didn't lose one that she might need in the future and started disassembling it, then reassembling it further than it was originally.

[FullMetalParagon 80]

Hirsan watched Ivy tinkering around, staring at the ceiling as he began to drift into a dreamless sleep.

 

--------====|0|====--------

 

"Last stop, terminus station, Borderline Station. Please make sure all of your belongings are with you as you leave." Hirsan woke up with a snort, staring around. Ivy was still tinkering across from him, barely looking up as the train began to slow down.

 

"Looks like we're here, Ivy. Remember, we have to ask a couple of ponies where 'the greatest forge is.' Should be simple enough- Whoa." When he stepped out of the train, it was like he entered a different world. Colors flowed around him as he stared at the buildings. It was as if he had stepped into one of the old discs he used to watch as a child.

[reader8363 1,281]

@@FullMetalParagon, 

Ivy looked up to see that they were there, then she grabbed her contraption and tools, and headed out to see what Equestria looks like. When she got out of the train, she looked around and said, "Not much to look at. So we just ask some random ponies or do we have to meet someone." 

[rolle 320]

BlindEye carefully carved at the piece of wood he had levitating in front of him. Only a single cut could ruin it, make it volatile, unreliable or even dangerous. The weak black glow from his eyes flared together with the sun. They intertwined as if they were from a singular source, the sphere which surrounded the wood piece slowly and carefully fluctuated ever so slightly, each time it did he waited but a moment before resuming the cutting. The rune and the surrounding detail becoming more and more clear, more and more apparent, with each second passing. The last cut, the one to end it all was at hand. The train was rolling in, as he made it. That one final cut to the master piece he had. As he finished he slowly moved the sphere closer to him, then it vanished. Leaving the wood to fall into his hooves. He stared in wonder at it, a piece of wood. Flat on the front, shaped like a triangle from the top and bottom. Two eagle-like figurines on the sides, floral pattern on the top and bottom. Most importantly a single word in the middle, namely. Tranquility, just this one word. Even if lonely, seems to never be. Even while powerful, it seems weak. Perfection, yet imperfect. Happy, yet sad. Dead, yet alive. He held the piece of wood dearly between his hooves. Feeling the gentle breeze flow. The tranquil feeling of success.