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Backgrounds of Fate: Ivory Keys

By Slowanon
Created: 2020-12-21 13:25:09
Expiry: Never

  1. This is a side green to Manos: Hands of Fate by Human Superiority.
  2. The first part was found here: http://pastebin.com/QBMRbrPv
  3. Since Pastebin nuked it I'll also link the earliest thread I could find in five minutes looking in the archive: https://desuarchive.org/mlp/thread/24621019/
  4.  
  5. For the Manos threads. HEIL MANOS!
  6.  
  7. >You are Sergeant Ivory Keys of the Vanhoover Port Authority Police Department.
  8. >You looked out over the city from a clock tower as you strained your horn to maintain the shield over the port.
  9. >Under the moonlight you could still see the broken windows, the craters, and rubble.
  10. >You could see the orange glow of fires still burning.
  11. >Vanhoover was in ruins.
  12. >It happened much faster than you could have ever fathomed.
  13. >It started with thunder.
  14. >First from the distance then in the very city you swore to protect as larges portions of buildings and even streets just exploded.
  15. >Then they came.
  16. >Forces of Manos...
  17. >Forces of this... Reich moved into the city like great waves crashing into a cliff side made of sandstone.
  18. >They tore great swathes in what meager defense the Guard had set up.
  19. >Resistance was laughable at best.
  20. >There were just too many of them.
  21. >The Chief had ordered all officers to headquarters to coordinate with the Guard to protect the city but by then it was too late.
  22. >They'd penetrated too far into the city to really form a defensive line which only pushed you back further.
  23. >So many were lost to the chaos while the ponies in charge scramble to gain a cohesive hold on anything.
  24. >And by the time the port was secured the Reich owned everywhere else in Vanhoover.
  25. >From a tactical standpoint it was genius.
  26. >Using a train to sneak an army and pushing as hard and fast as possible to gain as much ground as you could?
  27. >Brilliant.
  28. >To witness it and be on the receiving end of it?
  29. >Terrifying.
  30. >You've not known terror like this at any point in your life.
  31. >And now that the assault is over and you are safely behind the shield, all you feel is an overwhelming sense of dread.
  32. >You can see there forces outside of the shield from your vantage point.
  33. >Simply waiting.
  34. >Much further away, you could see flashes of a distant battle.
  35. >Those were ponies cut off from your group during the attack.
  36. >They were desperately trying to fight their way to your position.
  37. >But it was no use and you knew this truth in your heart.
  38. >With the flashes you witnessed came that same sound of thunder.
  39. >Fighting against might of that kind was hopeless.
  40. >"Sarge?" a feminine voice asked behind you.
  41. >You turned to face Sea Shower bathed in the pale white light of your horn.
  42. >The police recruit's uniform was torn in a few places and was stained with soot and dust.
  43. >You didn't even hear the little mare come up and that made you mentally slap yourself.
  44. >If she were the enemy, you'd be dead.
  45. "Yes?' you grunted in response.
  46. >"I'm here to relieve you," she said with fatigue evident in her voice.
  47. >You looked her over and frowned.
  48. "Are you sure you can handle it?"
  49. >There was a brief silence before she answered.
  50. >"Not really, but I can't let the others do it by themselves and I can't let you sit here and suffer magical burnout because I didn't try. You've been up here for twice as long as you should have anyways and I'd hate to see you hurt, sarge."
  51. >You heaved another troubled sigh.
  52. >This mare didn't belong here.
  53. >You stood up and stretched out.
  54. >Sea was right however.
  55. >If you kept this up you'd end up with burnout and be completely useless.
  56. "Alright then," you say slowly. "If you feel like you can't hold it yell for somepony."
  57. >"I know the drill. G'night, Sarge."
  58. "Good night, Sea Shower."
  59. >With that you released your magic as she activated hers and started on your way.
  60. >You descended the stairs, the clock tower bathed in sea blue ow instead your pale white.
  61. >Even with six other unicorns maintaining the shield you weren't too sure if she'd be able to manage.
  62. >You had trouble with it yourself despite you magical prowess.
  63. >Reaching the bottom of the stairs, you step out with broken glass crinkling beneath your hooves.
  64. >There various ponies are inside this building around a fire keeping warm from the cool sea air.
  65. >You step out through not a door but a hole in the wall to the port area under the dome of the shield.
  66. >It's much more packed than it was when it was first erected since the Reich turned over civilians by the hundreds.
  67. >You begin walking to the warehouse that was being used as sleeping quarters by making your way past the makeshift barricades of shelves, desks, debris and other assorted junk.
  68. >You kept at it but stopped and backed up.
  69. >You would have missed it if you hadn't have been looking around but you needed to get closer to be sure.
  70. >The building was much closer to the edge of the shield than you would have liked but it didn't matter because in an abandoned building through a hole blasted in the brick you spotted an upright piano just sitting there.
  71. >You climb in and take a seat in front of the lovely instrument and tap a few keys with you weakened magic.
  72. >It still works.
  73. >You breath out contentedly as you begin to play with practiced ease.
  74. >As you go on, a Guard in gold plated armor pokes his head in.
  75. >Your eyes meet for a moment before he enters and sets his helmet on a table and just listens, losing himself to the distraction.
  76. >This is followed by a few more ponies.
  77. >Guards regular ponies alike come to listen to you.
  78. >And for once since the beginning of this mess, you crack a smile.
  79.  
  80. >You are a Black hand outside of the shield set up by the royalists at the port standing on a barricade.
  81. >You look through binoculars at crowd gathering near the edge but the music you hear says all you need to know.
  82. >You wave a hoof telling everypony to stand down.
  83. >It's not a threat.
  84. >Just music.
  85. >Wonderful, innocent music.
  86. >You look to your left and spot a piano propped against a tree next to the shield.
  87. >That was oddly convenient.
  88. >You hopped down from the barricade and made your way to the instrument.
  89. >You tapped the keys with your magic.
  90. >A bit stickier than you would have liked but it works.
  91. >You wonder what to play for a bit but one look at the moon tells you all you need to know.
  92. >You begin to play.
  93. >The music on the other side of the shield stops and a police officer walks out of the crowd, looking to you with surprise.
  94. >Your eyes meet and you know he was the one playing.
  95. >You don't stop but you give him an nod to which he returns after a moment.
  96. >He goes back through the crowd and you hear his piano again but this time he joins you in playing the Sonata.
  97. >Its not exactly made for a duet but you appreciate the gesture.
  98. >And so you play the night away on those dusty, ivory keys with the sound of thunder in the distance.

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