My Little Realities: C20 - Is There Hope

My Little Realities: C20 - Is There Hope

>you stare at an endless blanket of Roots
>you even see Root Tanks
>the ground is rumbling ever so slightly from their steps
>hear that sound?
>it’s the sound of DEFCON MINUS 128^109880
“EVERYP0NY TAKE FUCKING COVER RIGHT NOW”
>seems like your voice has recovered just enough for that
>Rainbow Dash swoops in, proud of herself
“You owe me one Anon, be glad I didn’t get a stomach ache from that breakf…
>her voice dies out
>collective “we’re neck deep in shit and the shit tide is rolling in” swallow
>panic erupts
>Princess Luna flies in, landing next to you
“REMAIN CALM, LOYAL SUBJECTS.  EVACUATE NOW.  REMAIN CALM.” she booms in an unnatural thundering voice that kills the chaos
“Well met, Anon.  We need to slow them down and give P0nyville a chance to evacuate.  The Celestial Guard and the Lunar Squadrons will be here shortly”
“Your Highness!  I will accompany you of course, but I am not well equipped or prepared” you reply
>she leans in, her face inches away
“Do you think it will matter, Anon?  I hoped to see you again, but not in such circumstances…  We just need to hold them off until the bulk of Equestria’s fighting force can be sent”
>hold all that off?
>you give a weary glance at your dinky little pistol
“I will return you to safety when the time comes” she says, eyes dropping to the ground
“This isn’t the rematch I imagined, but you better escape with me if it comes to that” you reply
>you hop on her back
>you look back and notice a veritable CLOUD of pegasi
>you see a city-sized dust being raised by Celestia’s ground forces
>they will all be here shortly, but even their impressive numbers won’t be enough
>both Twilight and Fluttershy are out of the picture for now
>the Elements failed…
>as you soar towards the oncoming mass, you notice they stop advancing before reaching the limits of P0nyville
>they stopped?
“Princess Luna, we should set down over there” you point
>she glides down
>as you descend, you see them all, immobile
>none of them are moving
>what kind of tactic is this?
>Luna lands and you hop off her back
>your left eye darts around, zooming, examining every last one of them
“What are they all doing?  Do Roots usually wait for their foes in open combat?” asks Luna, off put by the strange behavior
“They should be attacking; I don’t know what’s going on”
>the Princess and you inch forwards
>minutes pass, this is severely fucked up
>the Roots, normally overly limbed, insect-like creatures are all covered in plant growth and flowers
>you know better than to think them less intimidating, regardless of how many daisies are growing out of their heads
>you get closer and closer
>trusty_rock_time.app
>you whip a pebble at the closest Root
>it bounces off the Root’s head
>you see some colors flow across the Root’s antennae
>it still doesn’t move
“Princess, I’m going to go check it out, please prepare yourself…”
>your balls are shrinking in your underwear
>you’re spitting distance away
>some of them turn their heads to look at your with their front-facing eyes
>you see many of them display colors and flashes of light with their antennas
>one steps out, right in front of you
>antennas flashing black and white
>the others imitate his antenna color pattern – the colors spread out through the whole Root fleet almost instantaneously
>you could punch it right now
>reaching you, you poke it
>you’re almost hyperventilating, you recoil backwards, fear overtaking you
>it could return you to Luna in a handful of messy chunks right now, well before she could even have the chance to smite one into paste with her magic
>long seconds pass
>it is not moving, apart from an antenna twitch
>you poke it again
>you remain composed on the outside
>while every cell in your body is screaming
>YOU
>ARE
>GOING
>TO
>DIE
>your hand shakes as you poke it yet again
>are they broken?
>do they not seem to want to rape you
>you look back at Luna, shrugging
“Princess Luna, I can’t explain it but they do not seem to be here for a battle”
>you turn back at the Root you’ve been poking
>it very slowly raises a massive, wicked scythe-like claw
>it holds the claw, pointy bit away from you
>you reach out and gently grab the joint right above the blade
>it retracts the claw
>wait, did you just shake hands
>you’re rather confused
>you start walking slowly back towards the Princess
>hearing steps behind you, you halt and turn around
>the Root freezes as you stop
>you take another step
>it takes another step
>is dat nigga following you
>you keep walking towards Luna
>it keeps following you
>Luna’s mane is flowing more than usual
>oh shit, she’s really cocked and loaded
“Princess Luna…  I think…  I don’t think it wants to hurt us”
>her expression doesn’t soften
>she DID see those things turn her p0nies into spare ribs and t-bone steaks
“Princess Luna…  Just look at it” you say
>she seems conflicted
“Anon, you better be correct in your reasoning” she growls
“Do we have much of a choice?”
>Luna looks like she could unleash her powers at any second
>she slowly calms down, but she still glares at the Root behind you
>the main Equestrian forces arrive
>you still can’t believe how goddamn fast the p0nies can get shit done
>assembling a working force with your new weapons, mobilizing thousands of p0nies
>Celestia is in the zone, like holy shit
>both forces are facing one another
“At ease, troops” states Luna
>the small army doesn’t exactly relax, as they are staring at ten times their numbers in painfully deadly Roots
>Luna, the Root and you walk back towards P0nyville
>it is an awkward walk home
>P0nyville is empty
>hours pass, the Root army is still completely docile
>Princess Celestia meets with you, looking at the Root up close
>she also looks like she’s about to give you a fitted suit composed of an exotic material called “Entrailles de Racine”
>both Princesses maintain their composure and ask you if you can find out what it wants
>you think so
>you have already communicated with a Root before (poor Fluffy), with the help of Twilight’s spell
>so it has the capacity for language
>you just need to figure out a way to communicate with it
>you probably need Twilight’s translation spell and your laptop that has been working on translating Equestrian to English
>you might just be able to work up some way to communication, if only for another one of the “spell it out” way of communication you used on Fluffy
>with the help of Celestia’s scribe unicorns and a few hours of fiddling with your laptop, you figure out that you can strap a small camera from your probe onto the Root
>the old unicorns have a hard time working next to a silent plant death machine, but they manage
>the camera will see the antenna colors that are formatted in “Equestrian” due to the translator spell, and the computer will translate it
>you begin taking apart one of the cameras in your probe, thinking about how you need to review the data it took from its survey
>you plug the probe’s memory into your left eye and start watching some of the camera footage it took while working on adapting the camera to the Root
>it doesn’t seem to give a single fuck when you climb up it and start strapping a doodad to its head
>everything is connected, you should be good to go in a bit
>the unicorns hurriedly leave right after casting the translation spell on the Root
>strange
>unlike Fluffy, this one has no reaction to the magic
>something catches your left eye as it is showing you the video from the probe
>the probe seems to have come across…  Changelings?
>you see in fast forward, the probe’s slow journey in the woods
>it getting attacked by Changelings
>that’s how it got banged up
>the Changelings pretty much giving up
>the probe moving around, showing…
>a hidden changeling base
>mother of Odin’s bearded fucking raven
>how many Changelings are there
>WHAT THE FUCK ARE P0NIES DOING ALL DAY
>THEY SHOULD BE FUCKING, THAT’S WHAT
>honestly the p0nies easily being outnumbered by their enemies
>goddamn first world Equestria and not having a high birth rate
>maybe it’s their oestrus cycle?
>you’re getting off topic in your already off topic train of though
>back to the Root
>you run into quite a few problems with the translator program
>it wasn’t made for a visual language like this
>you work for hours
>the Root patiently stands next to you
>you aren’t completely relaxed, what with all the “still having a fear of instant, bloody death” hanging around
>you start talking to it, stuff like “can you understand me” and “say the word “yes” and “no””
>it complies, its antennas making various patterns of color and light
>the computer has a hard time making heads or tails
>you keep going at it, giving it a bank of word equivalents
>slowly, you start seeing more than gibberish
>you did well leaving the computer running so it could learn Equestrian by itself, seeing as you can’t exactly magic language into a computer
>or something
>fucking magic, they never explain shit
>the little laptop chugs away, running every trick it has to figure out this completely new form of language
>let’s give it a voice
>Microsoft_Sam.wav
“GrEEtiNgS”
>holy shit, its working?
“Hello, I’m Anon.  What’s your name?”
“hOnORed tO MaKE yOUR AcQuainTaNCE, aNON”
>fuck Microsoft Sam, you are almost bursting into laughter
>AEIOU, JOHN MADDEN JOHN MADDEN
>you control yourself and set it to a recent generic voice
“I am named 1/5(23^0.293E)” it finishes
>goddamn Root names
“So you can understand and talk correctly now?”
“Yes.  Your translation device appear to be accurate with the aid of the Dark Light of Language”
>dark light of language?
>Fluffy did call magic “dark light”
>it must mean the translation spell
>with that spell, the root should understand the voice coming out of the computer, so it knows if the translation is proper or not
>not bad, p0nes
“May we call you One-Fifth?” you ask
>it probably likes that more than you calling it Mittens or something
“Yes”
“So why have you all come here?  Last I saw your kind, you were attempting to exterminate us” you ask
“We are here to thank you all, to offer our apologies and accept any punishment you deem necessary” replies One-Fifth
>you’re a little WAT
“We are here to thank you for curing us of an insane addiction that turned us into blind, emotionless and terrible monsters” it finishes
>cocaine is a hell of a drug, hunh
“Addiction…  The Source of the Dark Light?” you say
“Yes.  The Source of the Dark Light has been a burning, all-consuming need for us for eons.  We have evolved across millions of years, always craving it.  We would have taken it and corrupted it for our endless pleasure.  We were not even aware of this addiction…  The other kind, the small ones that stand on four legs…  They used the Source and by their hooves, we were cleansed instead” it says
>Fiery tits, that’s what they were after?
>the fucking Elements of Harmony?
“We come also with a warning” it continues
>oh what now
“Not all of us were cleansed, many are beyond saving.  Many have self-terminated on the account of their crimes against you and the kind that stands on four legs.  It is our belief that the Source could be used to stop them once and for all, if used directly at the remaining uncured Roots” it finishes
>so the Roots near P0nyville are good guys, but there are still a lot of bad Root things
>okay…
“Two of the six bearers of the Elements are currently injured and unable to use their powers…  How many of you are there?  And how many are beyond saving?” you ask
“We number in the tens of thousands.  The ones beyond our help are twice as numerous as we are.  We are very sorry.  We could not stop the self-termination of many of our kind.” it states
>you slump back into your chair
>fucking great
“Will you fight with us?” you ask
“Yes.”
>you go break the news to the Princesses and the four remaining Element Bearers
>Twilight should wake up soon, but she needs undisturbed rest right now
>Applejack looked like she was ready to buck the daylights out of One-Fifth
>Rarity was whiter than usual
>it may be that she is understandably frightened right now, or that she’s spent a whole day washing and bleaching her coat
>maybe both
>Pinkie Pie is trying to get One-Fifth to play some kind of game while One-Fifth is explaining that if allowed, his kind will prepare however they can to aid in fighting the doomed Roots
>the Roots just need to set up in the Everfree forest
>that’s pretty cool with everyone, it’s not like the mini-horses go to Everfree a lot
>you hope Zeroca doesn’t freak out too much
>you kinda wish you could see her face when tens of thousands of Roots set up in her back yard
>you sit back as Celestia and her sister talk
>this does not bode well, in any case
>fifty thousand of the crazed, druggie Roots against your twenty or so thousand, plus whatever the p0nies could muster
>your mind floats back to your plan
>it will raise your chances of surviving and hopefully save the p0nies
>it is also a pretty big dick move and you don’t think the p0nies would approve
>however it will be difficult to accomplish, especially alone
>you think about proposing it to the pones
>it would be a fair bit easier to execute this plan with their help
>wat do
>you all head to your respective homes, One-Fifth following you like a puppy
>you end up back at the library
>Spike left a note
>very useful, Spike
>you can’t read that shit
>Spike isn’t here, so the note probably says that he’s going to be out for a while
>he may be visiting Twilight
>you will do that in the morning, if the doctors are okay with it
>you ask One-Fifth if he needs anything
>he seems to be cool, saying water is fine
>at least he isn’t high maintenance, you’re NOT picking up after plant poop
>you wonder if it’s a he or a she
>you’re not even sure if they really have a gender
>you spend the evening talking to it and working on your plan
>you wonder what the morals of the Roots are
>if a lot of them committed sudoku after being cleansed for having attacked Equestria, it’s probably better if you don’t say much
>the next day, in P0nyville’s practically empty streets and houses, the tens of thousands of Roots gently and slowly walk through the streets, moving towards the Everfree forest
>they are like water, flowing for hours around the various houses and shops
>you walk through, looking at them all
>they never bump into anything or push you as they move
>One-Fifth explains that they will fortify, multiply and grow in the Everfree forest so that they may be more effective in combat
>the Mountain Tanks move around P0nyville
>it will take them all day to reach the forest and they are making the ground shake
>the card castle in AJ’s barn is definitely destroyed
>you meet up with your R&D team
>you tell them how to make EFPs, and that you need as many as possible on top of the rest of the other weapons
>Celestia has allotted a large portion of Equestria’s taxes and workforce to making the flash-bombs, the punt guns, and the flame units, all the while undertaking the EFP manufacture and the bolstering of their regular forces
>Celestia does seem to run the place with her priorities set right
>Luna probably had a hand in this
>crazy alicorns
>all that’s left is your plan
>luckily, the Princesses along with everyp0ny have trusted you almost to a fault in this matter
>that does worry you slightly
>they really put their faith in you
>no pressure, right?
>even the Elites followed your orders without a single question
>well they did ask questions, but they still followed your orders without delay
>you cannot fail them
>escaping via VPT bubble?
>yeah.  Fuck that gay plan
>you are going to stick to your guns and your p0nies, right until your last breath
>you’ll use that to curse those junkie Roots, of course
>or old age, if by some chance you live
>or the laws of thermodynamics, if you end up living even better
>yeah, Desty Nova knows what’s up
>the time you wait for battle is almost worse than the war itself
>there’s a frantic look in the eyes you see
>even Pinkie is feeling it
>P0niville became a ghost town, brimming with guns, cannons, EFP traps, flame units, bomb stockpiles and thousands of guards
>scouts confirmed that the addict Roots were on their way
>they would be here in a day, two at most
>Twilight was recovering, but she was weak and could not concentrate on anything
>Fluttershy was stable, the doctors assured you of her complete recovery
>they had dug out pieces of shrapnel
>and your resolve was set in cold granite when you saw pink paint on one of the metal chunks
>you had almost killed Fluttershy with the makeshift EFP
>your stomach turned and you walked out of the hospital
>there was nothing that was going to stop you from completing your plan now
>you took your suit, your weapons and you put your recharged VPT bubble device in your probe
>you had the probe follow you and you took a special package from the R&D team
>you met with the Princesses, AJ, RD, Pinkie and Rarity
>you laid out the battle plan
>you spent hours detailing where you wanted them to send the p0ny and Root forces
>hopefully, they would trust you once more
>you told them as you were leaving, probe in tow
“Do not follow me.  I will be back in 24 hours.”