=BiE 85= >Year 2204 in Equestria. >The Broken Leylands. >Mother fucking summer. >You hated summer. >You especially hated summer in the sea of sand and heat that was past the Appelosian desert. >You looked down at the valley below. >According to Anon, leylines are supposed to glow pink at almost all times. >Not this one, this one just looked like dirt and dust. >But then again, you were here to fix that. >The camp around you was a bustle of activity. >You watched as everything from P0ny to Zebra to Griffin was carrying out their tasks. >Made sense, everybody wanted this project to succeed. >Some Zebras were fumbling with one of the battery charges. >You holler at them in their native tongue as they scurry back to work. >"Since when did you speak Zebra?" Anon asked from the desk behind you. >"Since Celestia decided that I was apparently her number one choice for dicey diplomatic sessions." >You turn to look at him. >"It helps to know when somep0ny is calling you an ass." >Anon rolls his eyes as he pours over the paper in front of him. "I'm sure you heard it often enough." >You walk up to the desk and look at the blueprints on it. >"Less then you think, explain to me again why we're setting mana batteries to explode out here in the middle of nowhere?" >Anon does some math on the side of his paper. "Because, we're going to re-ignite this ley line for the good of the planet and send more power to Canterlot?" >"To power your pet project. Do you even have a name for that hunk of junk?" >"Annoying Brother?" >You scoff. >"Two hundred years of working on it and he can't even come up with a proper name." >"Hey, this is complex magic. I fuck this thing up and I send Equestria into an ice age. Not too much time to brainstorm names." >You roll your eyes and go back to overlooking the workers. >"Okay, I get the why. But how is a bunch of mana-bombs supposed to help?" >Anon steps away from the desk and points you over the horizon. >"It's simple really. This leyline got severed from the leyline about a thousand or so miles to the North thousands and thousands of years ago, probably because the magical flow just changed course." >Anon points to the charges. "What we're going to do, is set off these charges via radio signal in succession, that'll hopefully simulate a proper mana flow and link this one back up with the main line." >"And if it fails?" >Anon sighs. "Then I'll have wasted the last eighty years." >Not like you didn't have the time. >"And it'll explode." >Anon winces and half turns to you. "There...might be a -slight- chance of a backfire, but that's less than a thousandth of a percent." >"But it could still happen..." >He gives a nervous chuckle. "What's science without risk? >The radio back at Anon's desk beeps and calls the two of you back to it. >Anon picks it up and holds it to his head. "A-huh. Alright. Perfect! Get everyone back to minimum safe distance and we can get this going!" >Anon looks up at you with the smile of a kid on Christmas. >"Don't break my continent." -Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLOkc9MwFHs- >You walk back to the main control tent with Anon practically skipping ahead of you. >He ran into the control tent and began checking readouts and flipping on machines in the back. >"All stations checking in?" He asked. >An assistant spoke up. "Yes sir, everyp0ny is online." >"Capacitors set to handle any feedback?" >"Check, sir." >"And how's our bleed?" >"Within .01%." >"Good, good..." >This was all a bit mad science-y... >"Alright! Green across the board! Mister Steele, give me master control!" Anon said. >The stallion in question fiddled with his instruments. "Ready, sir." >Anon moves to a large red lever at the end of the tent. "Alright, everyp0ny! Moment of truth! Be ready to report any back-ups!" >Anon grips the lever with both hands and yanks it back as hard as he can. >A series of lights and beeps emit from a nearby machine. >Anon runs over to it. "Alright, we're about halfway across the sea. Stay frosty everyp0ny..." >You walk up to him. "Is sea bad?" >"Sea was where we had to fashion mana depth charges. They've been down there a while, and if they have any leaks, it's game over man." >Brilliant... >"Sir, we have hit land." >You watched as the lights on the machine traveled ever further inland. >After a minute of watching, Anon jumped up. "We should be close enough for a front row view now!" >With that he ran out of the tent. >Towards the encroaching explosion. >"Anon! Dammit, that's what I do!" >You chased Anon out to where his desk was set up. >You could see the cloud of dust off in the distance as the batteries detonated. >"Anon, this isn't safe." >"It's fine, I accounted for everything..." >Dammit, he wasn't listen- >Your thoughts are interrupted as the mana batteries at the start of the Ley Lands began to detonate and sent shockwaves through the ground. >The rest follow shortly thereafter, sending up clouds of dust that can probably be seen from home. >You can barely breath in this. >"Anon! *cough* Anon!" You choke out. >You wander through the dust until you find him exactly where he had been standing. >As the dirt clears, you see another sight. >The ground below you was glowing an ever steadying pink. >You can see Anon grinning from ear to ear. "Haha! It worked!" He shouted as he jumped in the air. >He grabbed you by the shoulders. "It worked!" >With that he was off back to the tent. "How're we looking?" >"We have steady magic flow in all checkpoints, sir." >Anon looked back to you beaming. >You sigh. >"Yes, yes, you fixed the planet. Can we go home now?" >The two of you sat on the main deck of the Delphinus. >You were busy pouring sand and dust out of your clothes while Anon sat next to you in silent wonder at the events of the day. >This silence was irritating. >"If you ever get this much sand in me again..." >Anon sighs. "Can't hear ya. Too wrapped up in the moment." >Heh. It was quite the feat... >You looked out across the plains and mountains of the Mild West. >The sun bobbed in the sky for a moment before it went that final distance across the horizon. >Over all your years, you had begun to notice the tells when Celestia lowered the sun. >One step closer... >"Well, now that my day is more or less over. I guess I have to think of something fun to do." >Anon perks up at that. "Hey I heard something you may like." >"Oh?" You ask turning to him. >"Mhmm. There's this new museum in lower city, see?" >You nod. >"Well, they opened an exhibit about us." He says as he slides his head. >You try to wrap your head around that. >"Just us?" >"Yep." >"The two of us?" >"A-huh." >What the- >"Did they just steal stuff from the apartment?" You ask. >Anon laughs. "I dunno, wanna find out?" >Shit kid. >Of course you wanted to find out. >The two of your made your way to the museum as soon as you landed. >A quick elevator ride down to the part of the city in the valley below put you right in front of the museum. >Turns out that subjects of museum exhibits get in free. >Walking into the hall they had you located in was like walking back in time. >"By the Emperor..." >They had them all in a case the size of the royal dining table. >Ever last one of your little models, each expertly posed inside and all trying to kill each other. >Lotus had said there wouldn't be enough room for them once you had moved to Canterlot. >So it was with a heavy heart that you locked your little voyeur gallery away in a trunk and kept them at the apartment. >Seeing them here again was like a dream come true. >Most of them were you standerd: Yellow and angry. But you could see a few of the alternate schemes you had come up with. >The royal blues. >The blood reds. >You even saw a few with grey and yellow in there. >"Projected account of ancient Earth warfare." You heard Anon say next to you. >What? >"They think this is what they thought war was like on Earth?" >Anon shakes his head. "Seems that way." >That... >That was fucking awesome. >The two of you continued to inspect the gallery. >They had collected a few of your super old movies and thrown them onto a T.V. >That still didn't excuse them picking The Room, however. >Even two thousand years later, Tommy Wiseau is annoying. >"Like a fucking time capsule..." Anon said. >"Got that right..." >You glanced over at him. >"Better then a night with the moon Princess?" >Anon stumbled and blushed. "Uh...you know about her, huh?" >Oh please. >He had known you knew that he was seeing someone, apparently he doesn't know how obvious the two could be together. >"It's been over a thousand years since you two started this little whatever of yours dude." >Anon rubbed the back of his head. >"I know you kept it a secret, but come on. I'm me. I knew before you went off to play explorer." >You walk to the next exhibit to give him a break. >He had probably been trying real hard to keep that a secret. >Hell, it's not his fault you knew him fo- >... >No. >No no. >No no no. >Not you. >Not again. >Not here. >Not now. >Anon walked up to your frozen ass in the middle of the floor. "Dude, what is it?" >What is it? >Just the return of your most hated foe. >THAT. >MOTHERFUCKING. >DIDGERIDOO. >IT'S HAUNTED. IT HAS TO BE HAUNTED. >ONLY IN DEATH WILL WE KNOW PEACE. >You grab the nearest museum worker. >"HOW MUCH FOR THAT." >"U-uh...well, sir. I uh..." He stammers as he tries to get his bearings. >"Uh...letmegoaskthecurator!" >Anon puts a hand on your shoulder. "Dude, what are you doing?" >SOMETHING THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE LONG AGO. >The two of you stand in the park after midnight. >Burning wood fills your ears and noses. >The silence of the park is split by the last pathetic whine of The Accursed One as the flame consumes in. >You dump a bucket of water from the lake on the blaze, condemning It to ash. >"It is done." >Anon just watches you as he had done since you bought the damn thing. >Most people don't spend a years' salary on something they intend to burn. >"Well, that was...dramatic. Are you feeling better?" >You breathe in the air, laced with a trace of the smell of burning wood. >"Yes..." >Anon looks down at the pit of ash. "Makes you yearn, ya know?" >"Hmm?" >"All of this. The museum, your...little friend here." Fuck you. >"Makes you yearn for the old days, you know? Back when it was just you me and Rainbow, trying to do some stupid thing in the middle of P0nyville." >You looked up at the city you had been protecting for the past two millennia. >"Things definitely took an unanticipated swerve..." >Anon nods with you. "Wanna re-live some of it?" >You look down and meet his eyes. >"...Movie night?" >Anon grows a wide smile. "I've got Star Wars." >"I got beer." >Anon chuckles and heads for the park entrance. "Come on, we need to hurry if we're getting through all three." >You laugh as you run to catch up with him. >Same shit, different night.