Pony Fantasy VI - Prologue: The Strange Mare

1000 years ago, the War of Chaos left the world shattered, and magic was almost wiped out entirely.

Few in number and almost powerless, the unicorns faded into obscurity...

...as the earth ponies rebuilt the world with iron, gunpowder, and determination.

But unicorn magic doesn't happen without a reason, and for some ponies, greed is reason enough...

Is history doomed to repeat itself, or can the magic of "friendship" make a difference?

---

"Ugh, I'm sick of seeing snow. Snow, snow, snow."

"Come on, Snips. We only have a little ways to go."

The metal behemoths the pony soldiers piloted came to a rest at the tip of an outcropping. Snips scanned the horizon as his partner looked on. "Yeah, well, this mission can't end soon enough. I hate the cold, and the sooner we're done here, the better. How's the mare, Snails?"

Snails glanced behind them at the third member of their party following a short distance away. She was a pretty shade of lavender, and he had to admit she didn't look too bad. However, they were here on official Imperial business, and she was the key to their mission. She wore a tiara adorned with a gem shaped like a purple sparkle, and for some reason she did not talk. She could only stare vacantly forward. Snails was slightly creeped out by this, but he didn't dare question the orders they had received. Whatever the case, she had done whatever they commanded her to do unquestioningly since the mission began.

"She's right here, Snips. Same as always," Snails replied. He pursed his lips pensively. "Say...do you think our intel was right? I'm not sure I believe that an Esper has been frozen there for 1000 years. What if this turns out to be a bust?"

Snips narrowed his eyes. "I'm not sure, myself. What are we supposed to do if...when we find it? Would it wake up if we thaw it out?"

"Probably. Those things are supposed to be immortal," Snails responded with a shudder. "At any rate, we shouldn't expect any resistance we can't handle. That mare obliterated 50 of our soldiers in 3 minutes. Anything Neighshe or this Esper throws at us, we can handle."

The two soldiers stepped back from the edge and began to march towards the town proper. As they fell into formation, the mare wordlessly followed behind. Snails glanced back one more time before they marched to Neighshe as a group.

"...I really don't like this."

---

Upon arrival to the town, they had been traveling in silence for almost thirty minutes. The silence left both of the Imperial soldiers ill at ease, but surely things would heat up as they blew through the gates. Snips and Snails moved behind the mare as she pushed her machine past the gate. As disciplined and confident as they were, being Imperial soldiers, the fact remained that they were traveling with a mare who had destroyed an entire platoon with a mere thought. Neither one of them fancied the idea of becoming another notch on her Magitek armor.

Aside from the wind and the steam machinery that seemed to be ubiquitous in the small town, Neighshe was eerily quiet. Reports had filtered into the Empire of the town's strong Imperial resistance, and seeing the town so quiet did little to mollify the sinking feeling Snails had in his stomach. He craved action, any action. A target would give him something to focus on besides the deafening silence.

As they marched into the town square, a shout rang out. "Imperial scum! This will stop you!"

"It's an ambush! Defensive formation!" Snips barked as they were surrounded by town guards and their dogs. Snips and Snails readied their Magitek armors to engage, but the mare stepped to the fore, emitting a noxious spray from her armor. The guards doubled over, clutching their throats with their forelegs. The guards and dogs that were not hit reconsidered their plan of attack and quickly retreated.

Throughout all of this, the mare did not change her vacant expression. It was as if she were merely a machine herself, doing precisely what her masters commanded. Snails glanced at Snips uneasily. "I'm really glad she's on our side," Snips offered unhelpfully.

The three marched through the rest of the town without incident. It appeared that the town guard had completely abandoned its resistance after the abortive first attempt. As they entered the mine shaft at the rear of the town, a chill ran down Snails' spine as he contemplated the events. Something wasn't right. Neighshe wouldn't just let Imperial soldiers march through their town, Magitek or not. He tried to remember back to their briefing to see if there was anything he was missing. He could swear there was something else they had forgotten...

At the end of the shaft, there was a wooden grate blocking further passage. "Stand back, I can take care of this," Snips said with a cocksure grin. As Snails and the mare stood off to the side, Snips backed up against the wall and charged forward. The impact shattered the flimsy grate, and the way was cleared. Grinning, Snips beckoned for them to follow. At least he's enjoying himself, Snails griped to himself.

Before they could walk through the opening, however, a guard appeared in front of them. "We'll never give you the Esper, Imperial dogs! Whelk, crush these scum!"

A giant snail-like creature barreled through the opening, blocking passage. "Looks like we're in for a fight!" Snips yelled gleefully.

Snails nodded as they readied their armors. He decided to take initiative and aimed a Bolt Beam at the snail-thing's head. Not only did the creature not even wince, the electricity merely arced to its shell, coursing around the edges brightly.

Snips observed this, then his expression lit up. "Wait! Remember our briefing?!"

I was trying to, jerk, Snails thought to himself. Memory wasn't his strong suit, however, so he decided to humor his partner. "What about it?"

Snips eyed the snail creature in front of them. "Do you remember something about a creature that eats lightning-"

A light bulb went off in Snails' head. Of course! "-stores the energy in its shell, and craps thunder?"

Snips snickered a bit. "Right! So whatever you do, don't use electrical attacks or hit its shell!"

The mare in their entourage, as blank-faced as ever, did not even register a response. Instead, she pressed a button on her armor and fired a missile at the creature's head. The explosion clearly wounded it, as it shrieked and withdrew into its shell. Snips stared slack-jawed at the mare. "Th-that was a Tek Missile! None of our best soldiers could get the missile to hit the target properly, much less not get hit in the crossfire! How the hell can she use it?!"

Snails shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't think now's the time to question it. That snail seems to be up to something!"

The electricity that had been arcing across the shell from Snails' Bolt Beam coalesced into the shell's tip. The soldiers braced themselves for whatever attack was coming. Sure enough, a strong electrical pulse surged through them, searing their coat. Luckily for them, their armors were grounded and suffered only minor damage, but Snips looked like he was going to black out.

It was then, for the first time, that the mare closed her eyes. Her horn glowed, and she appeared to be concentrating on something. Suddenly, Snips and Snails felt their pain eased and their wounds healing. Neither soldier said a word, but the implication remained: this mare was doing naturally what they could only accomplish with Magitek armor.

Their shock was short-lived, however, as the Whelk extruded its head once more. Snips signaled Snails, and they stood on opposite sides of the monster's head. As they combined the power of their Fire Beam and Ice Beam, the creature roared in pain one last time, then collapsed and stopped moving.

Not wasting any time, the three marched into the heart of the mines. Embedded in the ground, a giant, birdlike creature frozen in a block of ice met their gaze. Snails shivered. "This must be the Esper. I guess now we leave it to this girl."

As the mare approached the creature, it began to glow and pulse. She stood directly in front of the creature, and Snips and Snails could feel some great power beginning to fill the room. The creature emitted a powerful light, blinding and ethereal in nature. Snails felt panic seize his body. "Wh-where's that light coming from?!" Suddenly, he let out a bloodcurdling scream...and vanished.

Snips yelped. "H-hey! Snails! Where'd you go?! What's happening?!" Gone was the cocky demeanor he had entered the mines with, replaced only with abject fear. He wasn't prepared for this.

As Snips walked over to where Snails had stood, he disappeared as well, leaving only the mare to contend with the Esper. As she stared wordlessly at it, her body began to glow the same hue as that which surrounded the Esper. Suddenly, an eldritch force erupted from the creature, obliterating the girl's Magitek armor and causing her to be thrown against the mine wall. Her vision fading, the mare collapsed onto the ground, unconscious. The Esper, perhaps satisfied with its work, returned the cave to the darkness that preceded it.

The last thing the mare heard before she passed out was a voice demanding the bodies of the Imperial soldiers.