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Steel Sanctuary Part 3

By Writefag_Is_Kill
Created: 2021-02-01 23:18:27
Expiry: Never
anoncelestialunasafesci-ficyberpunkspace operamy little progress

  1. >You are Luna.
  2. >You are exhausted.
  3. >It’s been some time since HE started guiding you.
  4. >Days? Weeks?
  5. >You’ve lost track.
  6. >Time has less meaning within Sanctuary.
  7. >The eternal artificial light makes a mockery of day and night.
  8. >And you’ve yet to see a clock you can understand.
  9. >You’re hoping it hasn’t been too long.
  10. >Equestria was in rough shape when you left.
  11. >And you fear that it’ll decay further in your absence.
  12. >When you can spare a thought that is.
  13. >By and large you’ve been focused on your task.
  14. >And even if Equestria burns to the ground in your absence?
  15. >To Tartarus with it.
  16. >You’ll stay here for millennia if that’s what it takes.
  17. >You’ve learned much, and come far.
  18. >How far do you yet have to go?
  19. >You can only imagine.
  20. >But right now, the future looks bright.
  21. >A few more turns of your spanner and you step back to admire your work.
  22. >You push your sweat drenched mane aside as you gaze upon the frame.
  23. >Your sister’s new body.
  24. >Painstakingly crafted and lovingly polished, each piece gleams with a brilliant metallic sheen.
  25. >Every part is carefully shaped and filed, perfectly matching her natural form.
  26. >Almost perfectly.
  27. >Were her colours right and her mane and tail present, you might not notice a difference from a distance.
  28. >Up close the artificial nature of her body becomes readily apparent.
  29. >Interlocking plates working together to make her flexible, her empty eyes gazing at nothing, her rigid stance, far too steady for a real pony to hold.
  30. >But finally, after countless attempts and retries, you’re satisfied.
  31.  
  32. >”You really love her, don’t you.”
  33.  
  34. >You’ve grown used to that.
  35. >To his voice coming from the ether.
  36. >To his seeing your every move.
  37. >In Sanctuary, everything serves as his eyes and ears.
  38. >It’s unpleasant.
  39. >But tolerable.
  40.  
  41. “More words can convey.”
  42.  
  43. >”It shows. You’ve done a good job for an organic.”
  44.  
  45. >A compliment?
  46. >From HIM?
  47. >You are greatly honored.
  48.  
  49. “I thank you. For everything.”
  50.  
  51. >”We’re not done yet. Right now it’s just a lump of metal.”
  52.  
  53. “Yes. I’m afraid I’ll need tutelage for what comes next.”
  54.  
  55. >”In time. But first, we have some aesthetic things to cover. Not sure how much you care about them, but if you want to fix it now’s the time. Her rump was bigger than that.”
  56.  
  57. “Indeed. She was quite self concious about it.”
  58.  
  59. >”So that was intentional. Does the cutie mark matter?”
  60.  
  61. “Immensely.”
  62.  
  63. >”Alright, hold on a bit.”
  64.  
  65. >Before long once of the strange floating discs comes by.
  66. >It’s holding a rather large squeezable tube and a bundle of rags.
  67. >It drops them by you and goes about on its way.
  68.  
  69. >”Paint her cutie mark on. Get a good thick layer.”
  70.  
  71. >You pick up the tube and squeeze a bit of goo onto the cloth.
  72. >It comes out as an odd green.
  73.  
  74. “Oh. I’m sorry to bother you, but it’s the wrong colour.”
  75.  
  76. >”I know. We’ll get to that.”
  77.  
  78. >You shrug and go back to your work.
  79. >Painstakingly drawing it upon the metallic rump, wiping away the errors with excessive care.
  80. >Hours pass before the first one stands.
  81. >A perfect representation of the sun shaped mark that’s been etched into your mind over countless years.
  82. >You turn to the second half.
  83. >Again, hours pass.
  84. >Or at least that’s your estimation.
  85. >It could well be longer.
  86. >You doubt it’s shorter.
  87. >Until finally it stands.
  88. >In the perfect shape of her cutie mark.
  89. >Ugly green and all.
  90.  
  91. >”Stand back.”
  92.  
  93. >You comply.
  94. >One of the flying discs comes by.
  95. >And sprays a thick mist of white paint up her new body.
  96. >None adheres to the green cutie mark.
  97.  
  98. >”UV cure. You might want to step away for a while. Unless you like sunburns.”
  99.  
  100. >You’re not sure what that means.
  101. >Except the sunburn part.
  102. >You’ve only felt the sear of your sister’s sun a few times before.
  103. >The warmth turning into a stinging flame that stays with you for days to come.
  104. >You step away.
  105.  
  106. >”Now we wait. You should rest, you’ve been at it for quite a while.”
  107.  
  108. “I doubt I could. I’m too excited!”
  109.  
  110. >”You’ve been awake for nearly three days.”
  111.  
  112. >So long?
  113. >Wait a second.
  114. >Is he concerned for you?
  115. >An interesting development.
  116. >You can’t imagine why he’d care about you at all.
  117.  
  118. …
  119.  
  120. >’Sorry, idiom. Doesn’t translate. I’m saying I respect that greatly.’
  121. >’Consider it a gift, or maybe an apology…’
  122. >’Keep it up and I might just start liking you.’
  123.  
  124. >No.
  125. >There’s no way.
  126. >He’d never like a pony. Never forgive them.
  127. >There must be some other explanation.
  128.  
  129. “I’ve stayed awake longer for less important projects.”
  130.  
  131. >”If you’re certain. We’ll proceed to the next step then.”
  132.  
  133. “I thought you said it had to cure?”
  134.  
  135. >”Done.”
  136.  
  137. “That was fast. It barely qualified as waiting.”
  138.  
  139.  
  140. >”It did for me. I get bored easily. Wipe off the protective film. Take off her rump plates.”
  141.  
  142. >You comply.
  143. >The thick waxy substance easily comes off to reveal a shiny, unpainted outline of Celestia’s cutie mark.
  144. >The plates pop out of their slots with only minor difficulty.
  145. >They’re intended to be removable so you can get at the inner workings for repairs.
  146. >You’re not quite sure why they’re being taken off now.
  147. >The moment they’re removed, one of the flying discs grabs them and flies off.
  148. >It drops them in a vat not too far off.
  149.  
  150. >”That stuff’s poisonous. Might wanna stay back.”
  151.  
  152. >Why is he dumping them in poison?
  153. >Better question…
  154.  
  155. “Why do you have a big vat of poison?”
  156.  
  157. >”Cyanide’s useful.”
  158.  
  159.  
  160. >VERY poisonous.
  161. >Your eyes aren’t quite sharp enough to be certain from this distance, but you think you see some wires being lead into the vats.
  162. >A few seconds later, the plates are removed.
  163. >They get dipped into a different vat briefly.
  164. >Then returned to you.
  165. >The white paint seems unchanged, blending in perfectly with the rest of the body.
  166. >But the previously exposed metal, the cutiemark you painstakingly painted, has been covered with brilliant gold.
  167. >She’ll love it.
  168.  
  169. Later still…
  170.  
  171. >Again, you’ve no clue how much time has passed.
  172. >Exhaustion forced you to rest at some point, so it’s been a while.
  173. >Countless wires and chips, innumerable motors.
  174. >You hardly understand any of it.
  175. >But you’re following the instructions, and you’ve been repeatedly assured that everything’s fine.
  176.  
  177. “Solder it into- yeah. You get it.”
  178.  
  179. >A small drop of easily molten metal drips onto the strange board.
  180. >Your first attempt resulted in a discarded ‘chip’, the solder splattering and making a ‘short circuit’.
  181. >Your second and third were barely better.
  182. >But eventually you managed to connect the wires ‘just so’.
  183. >You have no idea how these things work.
  184. >And when you asked him how, he strangely deflected the question.
  185. >”It’d take too long to explain.”
  186. >He’s been rather open and forthright with information until now.
  187. >Does he fear what may happen should you learn?
  188. >Or is it truly such a daunting proposal that he simply doesn’t have the time?
  189. >You’re not certain.
  190. >Eventually the final drop lands, and you step back to admire your work.
  191.  
  192. >”Well, it took longer than I’d planned, but you did it. Time to run the test sequences.”
  193.  
  194. >The metal shell moves strangely, each joint twitching slightly as he runs through them.
  195.  
  196. >”The eyes are powered but I’m only getting one channel on their signal.”
  197.  
  198. >Again you’re unsure what that means.
  199. >But you do know one thing.
  200. >You need to fix it.
  201. >You walk up to your sister’s body and twist out its left eye.
  202. >It pops out of its socket to reveal a tangle of wires within.
  203. >Wires to feel touch, to smell, to see.
  204. >Wires filling an empty cavern that should hold the most important part of all.
  205. >And sure enough, one tiny little wire, a thin little piece of metal insulated in a strange blue material, hangs loose.
  206. >After some fussing you secure it snugly in place.
  207.  
  208. >”There we go. Close her up, we’ll continue testing.”
  209.  
  210. >The ‘eye’ screws back into place with ease.
  211. >Even though you made it, you’re constantly amazed by this body.
  212. >How quickly it can be opened and closed.
  213. >How readily pieces can be swapped out.
  214. >It could take weeks to mend a broken bone.
  215. >But this thing?
  216. >You could replace a leg in minutes.
  217. >Assuming you had a spare ready.
  218. >Is this what it was like for him when Discord took his arm?
  219. >A minor setback, a nuisance rather than a problem?
  220. >You dare not ask.
  221. >Best that he forget his hardships, lest you raise his ire.
  222. >The amazing construct continues to twitch and shake.
  223. >Each fake muscle reacting in sequence, each joint coming to life.
  224. >A few failures make themselves known.
  225. >Some easily repaired, some massive hindrances.
  226. >The hours tick down, your excitement grows.
  227. >But through it all a question burns at the back of your mind.
  228.  
  229. “Would it not have been faster had you done this?”
  230.  
  231. >”Much.”
  232.  
  233. “I do not wish to sound ungrateful, but I’m genuinely curious. Why have me do it? Your time is precious and you claim you’re impatient, yet you took the time to guide me through this. You could have saved a great deal of time had you done this yourself, correct?”
  234.  
  235. >”It’ll save time in the long run. If she’s going to live thousands of years longer, I don’t want to have to repair her every time she trips.”
  236.  
  237. >Repair?
  238. >That’s…
  239. >You hadn’t considered that.
  240.  
  241. “She’ll no longer heal, then?”
  242.  
  243. >”Nope. It’s your job to keep her intact. I’ll provide spare parts though. Not going to rely on you for that.”
  244.  
  245. >You feel confident that your smiths could make the frame.
  246. >So he must be referring to the other parts.
  247. >The ones he refuses to explain.
  248. >The ones that would ‘take too long to explain.’
  249.  
  250. “Would it not save time in the long run to teach me how to make those too?”
  251.  
  252. >You can’t see his face.
  253. >You can’t hear his real voice.
  254. >And yet you can feel the disdain dripping from his every word.
  255. >Whether it’s genuine or imagined is unclear.
  256.  
  257. >”Wouldn’t do you any good. Even if you knew how it worked you wouldn’t be able to manufacture them. Unless your machinery is precise to 5 nanometers.”
  258.  
  259. >You must have misheard.
  260. >His works verge on miraculous, but that?
  261.  
  262. “How small?”
  263.  
  264. >”About a four thousandth the width of your mane hairs.”
  265.  
  266. >He’s serious.
  267. >Completely serious.
  268. >You’ve held in your hooves feats of incomprehensible engineering.
  269. >Precision beyond compare, unmatched finesse, and yet…
  270. >Produced en mass.
  271. >When you damaged them, he discarded them.
  272. >How could such a wonder be disposable?
  273. >The number machines you sabotaged to spite the Titan…
  274. >How precise were they?
  275. >Sanctuary said they could fail were a single atom out of place.
  276. >You’d not really let that sink in at the time, being preoccupied with more urgent issues.
  277. >Such an impossible feat, yet there was no hesitation when you were told to destroy them.
  278. >Impossible for you to create.
  279. >Expandable for him.
  280. >There’s no longer room for doubt.
  281. >You can’t match his works.
  282. >Save for magic, he is better than you.
  283. >Better than any pony could ever hope to be.
  284. >But perhaps…
  285. >Perhaps there is another way.
  286. >Perhaps if you were MORE than a mere pony?
  287. >Then you might understand.
  288. >Then you might be as great as he.
  289. >Wise beyond measure.
  290. >Clever beyond comprehension.
  291. >Able to slay Titans, cure the dead, end aging.
  292. >If Celestia shall live he’s granted you the greatest gift you could ever hope for.
  293. >You’d love to grant the same gift to others some day.
  294. >You can’t as you are.
  295. >But perhaps you might as you shall be.
  296. >You’ve decided.
  297. >You won’t accept the limits of ponykind.
  298. >You shall transcend.
  299.  
  300. >”I think we’re ready. Except one small detail.”
  301.  
  302. “Which is?”
  303.  
  304. >”The magic slowing down time.”
  305.  
  306. “Is that all? I’ll need sand.”
  307.  
  308. >A simple dispel glyph should suffice.
  309. >Minutes later you stand in the middle of it.
  310.  
  311. >”All I see is a series of concentric circles with some weird runes in between them.”
  312.  
  313. “Glyphs, not runes.”
  314.  
  315. >”And this’ll deal with the magic?”
  316.  
  317. “You can move her, yes? Just move her into the middle.”
  318.  
  319. >She beings walking.
  320. >WALKING!
  321. >You built it, and it can walk unaided.
  322. >Despite your shortcomings you take great pride in that.
  323. >She- it steps into the middle of the ritual circle.
  324. >And without pomp or circumstance…
  325.  
  326. >”It’s working. How- later. You’re going to explain that later. For now let’s start her up.”
  327.  
  328. >Your heart races.
  329. >Your smile grows.
  330. >Because now, finally you know.
  331. >Celestia will be with you again, and everything will be okay.
  332.  
  333.  
  334.  
  335. >You are Celestia.
  336. >You are confused.
  337. >And you don’t have time be anything else.
  338.  
  339. …
  340.  
  341. >Where am I?
  342. >What’s going on?
  343. >Is this-
  344.  
  345. …
  346.  
  347. >Where am I?
  348.  
  349. >You’ve repeated this loop several times.
  350. >Not that you’re aware of this fact.
  351. >You’re not aware of much.
  352.  
  353. INITIALIZATION COMPLETE
  354.  
  355. >The words confuse you, coming from nowhere and having no meaning.
  356. >But in less than a minute you’ve totally forgotten them.
  357.  
  358. >Where am I?
  359. >What am I?
  360. >Is this-
  361.  
  362. >You’ve no senses.
  363. >To say you see naught but blackness would be a mistake.
  364. >Even blackness eludes you.
  365. >The deafening silence would weigh heavily on you had you the time to notice it.
  366. >But your memory has failed you.
  367. >Within seconds you forget everything you’d noticed.
  368.  
  369. Primary cache : 512 MB
  370. Secondary cache : 32768 MB
  371.  
  372. 1073741824 GB total disk space.
  373. 4139 GB in 46118 files.
  374. 264 GB in 859 indexes.
  375. 0 B in bad sectors.
  376.  
  377. >What was that?
  378. >Just… words popped into your head.
  379. >You didn’t hear them, nor did you see them.
  380. >It’s almost as though you thought them, but you have no idea what they mean.
  381. >Where are you?
  382. >What is this?
  383. >Is this the afterlife?
  384.  
  385. …
  386.  
  387. >No answers make themselves known.
  388. >Little do you realise a cycle has just been broken.
  389. >You can form new memories again.
  390. >Of course you don’t recall being unable to do so.
  391. >You analyze your lack of surroundings.
  392. >You’re pretty certain you’re dead.
  393. >Last thing you remember was…
  394. >It’s hazy.
  395. >But there was fire.
  396. >And pain.
  397. >The terrible, blinding, agonizing pain.
  398. >A strange, deep agony that you’d never experienced before.
  399. >You can’t remember why though.
  400. >Why you’d be in flame
  401. >Or why you’d have died.
  402. >You just remember finally being warm.
  403. >Finally being free of the damnable hunger.
  404. >Finally-
  405. >Realization sinks in.
  406. >You’re flooded with emotion.
  407. >Fury.
  408. >Hatred.
  409. >Rage.
  410. >They turned the elements against you!
  411. >So that’s how it is.
  412. >Millennia of tireless effort and service.
  413. >You threw yourself heart and soul into making Equestria great.
  414. >And for what?
  415. >Just so they could stab you in the back.
  416.  
  417. >”What’s wrong? Is it working? Is she going to be okay?”
  418.  
  419. >Luna!
  420. >Did she come to save you?.
  421. >Why didn’t she protect you from that treacherous cur Twilight?
  422.  
  423. >”Don’t worry, she’ll be fine. These things never work on the first try.”
  424.  
  425. 0x887DA008 FAILED!
  426.  
  427. >Your memories leave you again.
  428. >Time passes, though you’re not aware of it.
  429. >Later on your mind is once again whole.
  430. >And you have no recollection of the error.
  431. >But you’re still pissed.
  432. >You know that you’ve been betrayed.
  433. >And now you’re stuck here in this prison.
  434. >A thousand years to do nothing but hunger.
  435. >Hunger for the magic.
  436. >Feel the roaring emptiness, with nothing to quell it.
  437. >Or maybe this will last forever.
  438. >You’ve no way of knowing.
  439. >The uncertainty is torturous, and it might well never end.
  440. >And now…
  441. >Pain wracks your body.
  442. >Not as serious as what you’d tolerated in life.
  443. >But different.
  444. >And in some ways worse.
  445. >The injuries you’d accumulated over the years had been awful.
  446. >Aches from where your bones were crushed.
  447. >Pains from ancient, long forgotten stab wounds that never quite healed properly.
  448. >Millenia lived in hardship and toil. Battles fought and lost to time. Your body had taken on more than its fair share of injuries.
  449. >Whenever you heard some relatively young pony gripe about an old hoofball injury, it was always a test of your will to not laugh.
  450. >You’ve been hurt everywhere at one point or another.
  451. >Your every joint aches with arthritis, your every bone burns as the ancient chips float about.
  452. >And though this pain is generally lesser, you almost yearn for what you’d grown to know.
  453. >It was familiar.
  454. >You were used to it.
  455. >Aches in different places, ancient injuries in all the wrong spots…
  456. >This novel pain weighs far more heavily on your mind.
  457. >Everything’s changed, save for the damnable cold.
  458.  
  459. >”Right. Let’s give it another go.”
  460.  
  461. >A voice you don’t recognise.
  462. >A deep, grating baritone.
  463. >You don’t know who’s it is, but hopefully they won’t annoy you too much.
  464. >Blinding light assaults your eyes washing away the emptiness that had surrounded you.
  465. >You try to raise your hooves to block the light.
  466. >You try to close your eyes or avert your head.
  467. >You fail.
  468. >Your body is not in yet your control.
  469. >The light quickly resolves itself into scenery.
  470. >And you see Luna.
  471. >Standing right in front of you, and looking you in the eye.
  472. >Hope and excitement beam from her weary face.
  473.  
  474. “Why are you so happy?”
  475.  
  476. >”Oh, you’re alive! Thank goodness!”
  477.  
  478. >Your voice is hideous.
  479. >You don’t care right now.
  480. >You need answers.
  481. >You march over to Luna, strangely unsteady on your hooves.
  482. >You look her dead in the eye.
  483.  
  484. “Alive? Start talking. What happened. Who did it.”
  485.  
  486. >”That’s… complicated.”
  487.  
  488. “Not good enough.”
  489.  
  490. >”I don’t get why you like her so much.”
  491.  
  492. >The baritone.
  493. >Behind you.
  494. >A floating metal disk.
  495. >Ape stuff.
  496. >You leap at it with a guttural roar, eager to rip it apart.
  497. >Your whole body goes numb.
  498. >You miss your target and land gracelessly on the ground, face first.
  499.  
  500. >”That’s enough of that.”
  501.  
  502. >”Ooh, she’s still suffering.”
  503.  
  504. >”I’m seeing a lot of distress signals, yeah. What gives?”
  505.  
  506. >”I’d… rather not discuss it. It should pass in time as she grows used to being without the magic.”
  507.  
  508. >”Magic stuff, eh? Probably not much I can do then. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I feel sorry for her. It doesn’t look like there’s a single part of her that doesn’t hurt! You said she’d get over it on her own?”
  509.  
  510. >”Yes. Soon, I hope.”
  511.  
  512. >”I don’t know of a way to speed this up. But I could make sure she doesn’t remember any of it. Would that help?”
  513.  
  514. >”That would be amazing! You can do that?”
  515.  
  516. >”Easily. While we wait, I need your input on something.”
  517.  
  518. find -name ‘*.pone’ -delete
  519.  
  520. ...
  521.  
  522. >Time passes, though you’re not aware of it.
  523. >Later on your mind is once again whole.
  524. >And you have no recollection of the ordeal.
  525. >You analyze your lack of surroundings.
  526. >You’re pretty certain you’re dead.
  527. >Last thing you remember was…
  528. >It’s hazy.
  529. >But there was fire.
  530. >And pain.
  531. >The terrible, blinding, agonizing pain.
  532. >A strange, deep agony that you’d never experienced before.
  533. >You can’t remember why though.
  534. >Why you’d be in flame
  535. >Or why you’d have died.
  536. >You just remember finally being warm.
  537. >Finally being free of the damnable hunger.
  538. >Finally-
  539. >Realization sinks in.
  540. >You’re flooded with emotion.
  541. >Sorrow.
  542. >Regret.
  543. >Pity.
  544. >You’ve failed.
  545. >You succumbed to the hunger.
  546. >To your addiction.
  547. >You stopped caring about the pain of others and focused on selfish indulgence.
  548. >And with morality and empathy gone you seized that which you desired most.
  549. >Warmth.
  550. >To be free of the wretched cold.
  551. >Everypony near you paid for your selfishness.
  552. >And died in flame.
  553. >Wherever you are, you belong here.
  554. >Where you aren’t a threat.
  555. >Where you can’t hurt anypony.
  556. >And that horrible pain…
  557. >You deserve that too.
  558. >You’d been hurt innumerable times in your long life.
  559. >And some of the wounds never really stopped hurting.
  560. >But you’d grown used to it; you’d learned to ignore the pain.
  561. >That horrible sensation though…
  562. >It was far beyond anything you’d felt before.
  563. >What was it Luna said about the elements?
  564. >That they paid her back for every guilty pleasure she’d ever taken?
  565. >Were you brought down by the elements?
  566. >That would mean…
  567. >Oh, Twilight.
  568. >What have you done to her?
  569. >This must be tearing her apart.
  570. >You wish that you could apologise.
  571. >Perhaps someday you will?
  572. >Luna never wanted to talk about her banishment, and you never pushed her.
  573. >Was it like this?
  574. >Will you have a thousand years to do nothing but think?
  575. >Reflect and regret?
  576. >Nothing to occupy your time other than your guilt?
  577. >Or maybe this will last forever.
  578. >You’ve no way of knowing.
  579. >The uncertainty is torturous, and it might well never end.
  580. >And now…
  581. >Pain wracks your body.
  582. >Nowhere near as bad as what you’d tolerated in life.
  583. >And much less severe than your forgotten moments.
  584. >You instead attempt to clear your mind.
  585. >To focus on the nothingness that surrounds you.
  586. >As you’d learned to do in life, so shall you do in the hereafter.
  587. >You shall embrace the pain.
  588. >And let it go.
  589.  
  590. >”Don’t forget the brain damage. I’ll try and compensate for it, but that’ll take time. Expect confusion and mood swings. Probably other things too.”
  591.  
  592. >A voice you don’t recognise.
  593. >A deep soothing baritone.
  594. >Doubtlessly coming from a handsome stallion.
  595. >Speaking with Luna?
  596. >Has she found love in your absence?
  597. >How long have you been gone?
  598. >Has it been a thousand years already?
  599. >Blinding light assaults your eyes washing away the emptiness that had surrounded you.
  600. >You try to raise your hooves to block the light.
  601. >You try to close your eyes or avert your head.
  602. >You fail.
  603. >Your body is not in yet your control.
  604. >The light quickly resolves itself into scenery.
  605. >And you see Luna.
  606. >Standing right in front of you, and looking you in the eye.
  607. >Hope and excitement beam from her weary face.
  608. >Her matted mane hangs limp, her coat rough and unbrushed.
  609. >She looks an absolute wreck.
  610. >But even worse...
  611.  
  612. “What happened to your horn!?”
  613.  
  614. >The words escape lips that only a moment didn’t exist.
  615. >Your voice sounds totally wrong.
  616. >But you don’t notice either of those things.
  617. >There is no confusion.
  618. >There is no pain.
  619. >There is only Luna.
  620. >Who’s clearly exhausted and overworked.
  621. >All other thoughts flee your mind.
  622. >She jumps upon you and wraps you within her legs in a tight embrace.
  623.  
  624. >”Oh, ‘Tia! I was so scared! It was taking so long and he kept telling me it was fine but I’d already waited foreverandIwasn’tsureandIstartedtoworrythatsomethinghadbroken-”
  625.  
  626. “It’s okay, Luna. Don’t worry. I’m here.”
  627.  
  628. >You raise a hoof to stroke her ragged mane.
  629. >And that’s when you see it.
  630. >It’s not your hoof.
  631. >It’s not even a hoof.
  632. >There’s no fur, only paint.
  633. >There’s no flesh, only metal.
  634. >There’s no YOU.
  635. >You push away from Luna in a panic.
  636. >You start to feel your body out with one of your fake hooves.
  637.  
  638. *CLINK*
  639.  
  640. *CLINK*
  641.  
  642. *CLINK*
  643.  
  644. >Your face.
  645. >Your back.
  646. >Your sides.
  647. >Your rump.
  648. >Everywhere you search, every bit of your being is metal.
  649.  
  650. >”’Tia, what’s-”
  651.  
  652. “WHAT HAPPENED!?”
  653.  
  654. >This can’t be right.
  655. >This CAN’T be RIGHT!
  656. >You’re a pony.
  657. >A mare!
  658. >Not a golem.
  659. >You are NOT supposed to be some metal monstrosity!
  660.  
  661. “WHAT DID YOU DO?”
  662.  
  663. >”I… You…”
  664.  
  665. >Flying lumps of metal drift by behind her.
  666. >And that’s when you finally notice.
  667. >The huge imposing metal walls.
  668. >The metal ceiling blocking the sky.
  669. >The harsh, fake light.
  670. >And everywhere you look, another machine.
  671. >Going about its mysterious task to suit the ape’s will.
  672. >And here you are.
  673. >In the middle of it all.
  674. >Made of the same stuff.
  675. >Doubtlessly made by the same monster.
  676. >You’re just another machine.
  677.  
  678. >”You’d died. And- and we saved you.”
  679.  
  680. >Luna sounds miserable.
  681. >Her spirits crushed.
  682. >You don’t notice.
  683. >And if you did, you likely wouldn’t care.
  684.  
  685. “Saved me? SAVED ME!? I’M A MONSTER! I’M-”
  686.  
  687. >Your voice suddenly fails you.
  688.  
  689. >”Got an error here, hold on.”
  690.  
  691. >And reality fades away once more.
  692. >But this time, you remember.
  693. >And you know.
  694. >Know the abomination that you’ve become.
  695. >Know that the pony you loved most turned you into a hideous beast.
  696. >That the ape has taken your body and made it its own.
  697. >Fear and dread consume you.
  698.  
  699. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?
  700.  
  701. >The words ring through your mind, seemingly without origin.
  702. >The crushing weight of the words overrides your every thought.
  703.  
  704. LET’S MAKE THIS PERFECTLY CLEAR. I. OWN. YOU. I CONTROL YOUR EVERY FIBER. I MADE YOU, AND WHILE YOU’RE IN MY HOME, I. AM. YOUR. GOD!
  705.  
  706. >You can hear rolling thunder all around you.
  707. >Floating in the infinite emptiness, you can nonetheless feel your legs tremble.
  708.  
  709. I CAN MAKE YOU FEEL WHATEVER I CHOOSE, WHEREVER I WANT, WHENEVER I DAMN WELL PLEASE!
  710.  
  711. >A sharp stinging sensation creeps up and down your spine.
  712. >An agonizing itch forms on your tongue.
  713. >You can something clawing at you somewhere that isn’t even attached to your body.
  714.  
  715. DO YOU REMEMBER HOW YOU DIED?
  716.  
  717. >All sensation stops.
  718. >Terror still grips at you.
  719. >Yet you can neither flee, nor scream.
  720.  
  721. I CAN MAKE YOU RELIVE THAT FOREVER. A BILLION YEARS FROM NOW YOU’D STILL BURN.
  722.  
  723. >You can feel that terrible agony from before.
  724. >The one you’d attributed to the elements.
  725. >You can see flame everywhere.
  726. >Though you have no flesh, you can still feel it melting away.
  727. >Within a second, it all ceases.
  728.  
  729. But I won’t. Because unlike you, I’m not cruel.
  730.  
  731. >You try to catch your breath as the pain leaves you.
  732. >But you have no lungs.
  733.  
  734. I won’t force you to be a decent pony. I won’t force you to do anything. If I wanted another puppet, I could have made millions in the time it took to make you. I didn’t save your life for me. I saved you for her. Look.
  735.  
  736. >You can ‘see’ a still image of Luna.
  737. >A look of emotional anguish upon her face as she raises a single hoof up to you.
  738. >Tears streaming down from her tired, reddened eyes…
  739.  
  740. You did this to her. An hour ago she was happy. Beside herself with excitement. Why was she so happy, you may ask. Because of you. She loves you. I can’t fathom WHY, but she does.
  741.  
  742. >The still image changes.
  743. >You now see an enraged Luna holding some strange crystal pendant.
  744. >Screaming at it while a charred corpse lies in the background.
  745.  
  746. She loves you enough to negotiate with ME. The terrifying otherworldly being with powers well beyond her comprehension. The one who blew up a FUCKING TITAN! I could have just as easily blown her head off for being a nuisance, but she tried anyway. And when that failed, she didn’t stop. She tried to guilt me into saving your ungrateful, miserable self. She didn’t know if I even COULD feel guilt.
  747.  
  748. >”You sicken me!”
  749.  
  750. >Luna’s voice.
  751. >Unbridled rage fill the words, a condemnation of absolute disgust.
  752. >If there was fear in her, it had been completely buried.
  753.  
  754. Imagine for a moment the nerve it took to say that. To insult ME. I had the power to vaporise her with a mere thought and she damn well knew it! And still, if it meant saving you she was willing to take that risk.
  755.  
  756. >Another still image.
  757. >Luna stands in her ruined chambers.
  758. >The room that YOU destroyed.
  759. >Talking to a floating tentacled monster made of metal.
  760.  
  761. >”I’ll need a test subject.”
  762.  
  763. >”When do we start?”
  764.  
  765. She offered herself up for experimentation. Full access to every part of her body, both inside and out. She had no idea what I intended to do, and she didn’t care. If that was necessary to bring you back, she’d discard her safety and dignity without a second thought. And still she went further!
  766.  
  767. >Now you see Luna climbing a ramp into a metal bird.
  768. >Huge jets of flame burst forth from beneath its wings as it hovers in the middle of the sky.
  769. >The interior is dimly lit, you can’t tell what awaits her.
  770.  
  771. I didn’t tell her where she was going or why. She wasn’t sure what this machine did. For all she knew she was climbing into a new prison to become my slave. I told her NOTHING because I was still trying to feel out just how far she was willing to go for you. And after all the hoops I made her jump through, I don’t think she’d stop at ANYTHING to ensure your wellbeing.
  772.  
  773. >You see yet another new image, a pony buried in protective clothing.
  774. >A heavy apron and cloak, a massive black mask.
  775. >Though you can see no part of them you’re sure it’s Luna.
  776.  
  777. She wasn’t just willing to sacrifice for you, she was willing to WORK. I’m not sure if you know what work even is, being an arrogant, SPOILED royal. If you DO know, you should appreciate it. She BUILT your body. Weeks of toil, denying herself rest. Excessive care and love despite the sleepless nights. She did NOT make her servants do it. She did it herself. You can’t even begin to imagine how much care she put into reviving you.
  778.  
  779. >And another image comes before you, one last time.
  780. >It’s Luna again.
  781. >Halfway between ecstatic glee and passing out from exhaustion.
  782. >Staring at a metal statue that looks strikingly similar to you.
  783. >Or perhaps, looks exactly like you.
  784.  
  785. It paid off. She did it. She made a functional body. Let that sink in. She BUILT a BODY that WORKS! Do you even UNDERSTAND what she did for you? A new home for the mind of the pony she loves most, a new lease on life for a DISGUSTING, undeserving wretch. And you spit on her gift?
  786.  
  787. >The void consumes you again.
  788. >There is nothing but the voice.
  789.  
  790. I want Luna to be happy, and unfortunately that involves you being alive. She’s a good for a pony. Hell, she’s good in general, not just by pony standards. She’d be considered a good person among my kind if that level of devotion and self sacrifice is anything to go by. How she could possibly be related to you, I’ll never know. But if you care for her anywhere near as much as she cares about you, you’re going to at least TRY to smile. I’ve told her there was a problem with your life support and that you were physically incapable of feeling happiness, that you could ONLY see the downside of things. This is the only time I’m going to cover for you. Now, I’m going to give you ten minutes to collect your thoughts and think about what you did. Then you’re going to ‘wake up’ again. You can either bitch and moan because you look different, or you can show some gratitude for once in your pathetic life. The choice is yours.
  791.  
  792. >The voice leaves your mind.
  793. >You are again in total sensory deprivation.
  794. >The alien aches and pains have left you.
  795. >Even the cold is gone.
  796. >Despite everything that just happened, you are strangely calm.
  797. >You can’t help but wonder if it’s some kind of mind control keeping you from worrying.
  798. >You’re almost grateful for that, it allows you to focus on more pertinent issues.
  799. >You were told so much, yet so few of your questions have been answered.
  800. >Are you still Celestia?
  801. >Were you ever Celestia, or are you something new?
  802. >If your body is fake and those sensations were fake, who’s to say that your memories are real?
  803. >Time ticks down and you don’t have any answers.
  804. >Before long you can once again see.
  805. >And Luna stands before you, eyes reddened and puffy.
  806. >You don’t know if you’re really Celestia.
  807. >And if you are, you’re not sure you should be thankful.
  808. >But you DO know that you love Luna.
  809. >And that she’s hurt.
  810. >Drawing on countless years of acting experience you steel yourself and speak.
  811.  
  812. “Sorry. I’m not sure what came over me. What happened to your horn?”
  813.  
  814. >Your voice is cold, grating, irritating.
  815. >One more thing to hate about yourself.
  816.  
  817. >”I… you don’t remember? Don’t worry about it. It’ll be okay.”
  818.  
  819. >You’re in the middle of ape territory.
  820. >You’re surrounded by its machines, any or all of them could be weapons.
  821. >Even if you’re one of them you don’t want to be near them.
  822.  
  823. “We have to get out of here! I’ll teleport us, get close!”
  824.  
  825. >”Don’t worry, we’re safe here.”
  826.  
  827. >You focus on your magic, digging deep.
  828. >As deep as you can.
  829. >You focus on your rage, your hatred.
  830. >You push everything aside save for your disgust at your body, your fury at the ape for invading YOUR lands, for displacing YOUR ponies!
  831. >But no matter how you reach for your magic it simply dissolves before you.
  832.  
  833. >”Yeah. Your magic’s broke. And your wings are ornamental. No way in hell I’m trusting you with a power supply good enough for sustained flight.”
  834.  
  835. >The smooth baritone voice comes from behind you.
  836. >It came from one of the flying machines, one of ITS machines.
  837. >That abhorrent voice belongs to the ape, and you will silence it!
  838. >You attempt to leap upon the machine intent on ripping it apart with your bare hooves.
  839. >But your whole body goes numb before you leave the ground.
  840.  
  841. >”She’s still pretty retarded it would seem. Wanna give her a bit longer?”
  842.  
  843. >”No… it’ll take decades to return her to normal.”
  844.  
  845. >”Assuming this is still the magic thing.”
  846.  
  847. >”It is! At very least in part…”
  848.  
  849. “What happened?”
  850.  
  851. >”First rule of [robotics]. Never make anything that has the power to kill you.”
  852.  
  853. >”Reo-boat-ecks?”
  854.  
  855. >”I got sick of the error thing. I just won’t translate words that you don’t have. Back to business, you aren’t a [robot], Celestia. That doesn’t mean I’m just going to let you do whatever you please. The rules are simple, don’t piss me off and you get bodily autonomy. Do something I don’t like and I take control of you until I get bored. Got it?”
  856.  
  857. >”That’s-”
  858.  
  859. >”Sorry Luna, but I don’t exactly trust her. Unless I have some other way to know for sure that she won’t be a thorn in my side, this is how it’ll have to be.”
  860.  
  861. >”So you won’t interfere unless she’s endangering you? I suppose that’s okay…”
  862.  
  863. >”No it isn’t. It’s the principle of the matter, I get it. But that’s how it’ll have to be for now.”
  864.  
  865. >It’s talking about you like you aren’t even here!
  866. >The indignity demands action!
  867. >But what can you even do?
  868. >You’re lying numb in a heap upon the dusty ground, with no magic to draw from.
  869.  
  870. >”I think it would be best if ‘Tia had some privacy. Give her a chance to adjust. This must all be so hard on her.”
  871.  
  872. >And then there’s Luna.
  873. >You’re not sure what to make of her.
  874. >You can hear a blend of hope and despair.
  875. >Joy and sorrow.
  876. >Just moments ago you’d wanted to make her happy.
  877. >You’d decided that she was more important than yourself.
  878. >But somehow you’ve already failed.
  879. >The disappointment is nearly palpable.
  880. >But this is your chance.
  881. >To get out of here, and make things better.
  882.  
  883. “Yes. Let’s leave, I’m not comfortable here.”
  884.  
  885. >”I’m afraid I can’t allow that. Not yet at least.”
  886.  
  887. >What?
  888.  
  889. >”I need to keep you nearby in case something breaks. If your life support goes offline, we’ll have seconds at best. If nothing important breaks in a day you’re free to leave. Scratch that, in a day you have to leave.”
  890.  
  891. >So now you’re officially a prisoner.
  892.  
  893. >”If you want privacy, go to the VTOL. I’ll be everywhere else if you need me.”
  894.  
  895. >”Um… sir? I know you don’t want ponies here, but would it be okay if I stayed with her for a while? I think it’d help her adjust.”
  896.  
  897. >”Only for you.”
  898.  
  899. >Did Luna just ask to STAY?
  900. >Surrounded by cannons, flying machines of death, buried in this massive tomb of metal.
  901. >At the mercy of an APE of all things!
  902. >And she doesn’t want to leave?
  903. >You must have missed something big.
  904. >You reflect on your memories, all the things you’ve seen and heard since you woke up.
  905. >And to your shock they come to you with perfect clarity.
  906. >You can recall every word verbatim.
  907. >You remember the tone, the tenor, the pacing…
  908. >It’s almost like you’re hearing it all over again rather than recalling it.
  909. >And you can ‘see’ it too!
  910. >You can even remember where each and every hair in Luna’s mane hung. Just as clear as if you were looking at it right now.
  911. >You’re not sure what’s going on.
  912. >But you’re not going to complain about this.
  913. >If you magically have perfect recall now, you’re going to use it.
  914.  
  915. >”Well? You going to get going? Or are you happy laying on the ground there?”
  916.  
  917. >You climb to your not hooves with relative ease.
  918. >Your arthritic joints burn in protestation, but your strength is more than sufficient.
  919.  
  920. >”Is something wrong? I heard you whimper…”
  921.  
  922. >”Something’s definitely wrong. Your [nociceptive] system is lighting up. More than the baseline I mean. Why did you have a pain flare up? You shouldn’t hurt at all except for the magic thing, I based everything on- damn it all. Luna, do you suffer from chronic pain?”
  923.  
  924. >”Of course. It’s to be expected at my age.”
  925.  
  926. >”You mean to tell me the richest, most powerful ponies in the whole world have chronic pain and nobody’s done anything about it?”
  927.  
  928. >”There are spells that help dull it.”
  929.  
  930. >”I hate this world. I really do.”
  931.  
  932. >All physical sensation leaves you.
  933. >You let out a quick gasp of relief.
  934. >You can’t feel the ground beneath your not hooves, which is disconcerting.
  935. >But you also can’t feel the ache.
  936. >Neither the new, alien sensations, nor the ones you’ve tolerated since before you can recall.
  937. >The hunger for the damnable magic remains.
  938. >And the cold.
  939. >Always the cold.
  940.  
  941. >”Even the elite can’t get proper medicine. This place is terrible. I’m so glad I grew up somewhere civilized. Luna, I was feeding her signals based on your sensations. Do you have any other ailments I should know about? Because I assumed that all the signals you were experiencing were normal.”
  942.  
  943. >”Arthritis in all four knees, a burning sensation where your cannons hit my rump, occasional flare ups from that time I was impaled on a spear, my horn stump aches from time to time, my left front shin aches but I can’t remember why...”
  944.  
  945. >”Ugh. You two run off, I’ve got work to do.”
  946.  
  947. >The floating disk drifts away.
  948. >You quickly lose it in the swarm of identical machines.
  949. >You’re absolutely certain you should be frightened by all this.
  950. >But STILL you don’t feel any worry.
  951. >Luna beckons you toward a giant metal bird- the one you saw in your visions.
  952. >If it was safe before…
  953. >You awkwardly stumble behind her, your numb extremities offering no pain, but also no feedback.
  954. >You enter the dimly lit chamber, and the door ominously slides shut behind you.
  955. >And strangely, you’ve no trouble seeing.
  956. >After naught but an instant you can again see Luna’s disheveled form as though she were in direct sunlight.
  957. >You quickly lay yourself down.
  958. >Standing without sensation was unsettling.
  959. >Far better to be down here.
  960.  
  961. “What’s going on? I demand answers.”
  962.  
  963. >That didn’t sound like you.
  964. >And you’re not just referring to the voice.
  965. >You didn’t hold your tongue until you’d calculated your words, you simply spoke.
  966.  
  967. >”Oh yes! You’ve missed so much! I think you should know though, he’s not our enemy. He isn’t an ape. At least not as we knew them. He comes from beyond the stars!”
  968.  
  969. >She picks up a small glowing box from the bench and starts fiddling with it.
  970.  
  971. >”Let’s try and fix that voice.”
  972.  
  973. “What are you-”
  974.  
  975. >As you speak the pitch of your voice rapidly rises.
  976. >By the end of the fractured sentence it’s a piercing shrill tone.
  977.  
  978. >”Woops. Too far.”
  979.  
  980. >She’s controlling your voice with that thing?
  981. >Just like IT controls your senses and motions.
  982.  
  983. “So I don't even own my voice.”
  984.  
  985. >”Don't worry! We'll get it right soon!”
  986.  
  987. “That's not- ugh. What do you mean beyond the stars?”
  988.  
  989. >”Another world! I’ve learned much while I was here, and reality is far bigger than we could have ever imagined. Your sun is but one of four hundred and eighty billion, and this world but one of one hundred billion. All in but one cluster! And there are three hundred billion clusters like it, many much larger. And all this is but one of at least seven trillion universes! Honestly it was arrogant of us to assume we were alone.”
  990.  
  991. >1.008e36 suns.
  992. >How did you know that so quickly?
  993. >You didn’t even think, you just… knew.
  994. >Something else to wonder about.
  995.  
  996. “Those numbers sound impossible. Are you certain it’s true?”
  997.  
  998. >”Absolutely. It’s not the least probable thing I’ve learned. Being near him changes you, I’m not sure how else to say it. He gives you a new perspective. You should try and befriend him, assuming that’s still possible…”
  999.  
  1000. “A new perspective?”
  1001.  
  1002. >”He sees reality as it is. We see a crude approximation. Not only that, he understands! He doesn’t just know the truth, he feels it. All the fantastic machines that run on lightning. He instinctively understands them!”
  1003.  
  1004. >If that’s true, you never really stood a chance.
  1005. >You had your best and pinkest minds trying to figure that stuff out.
  1006. >And he knew how it worked off of instinct?
  1007. >The dynamic between the two has clearly changed greatly.
  1008. >Last you saw they were bitter enemies.
  1009. >Now she’s trying to convince you there’s no need to fight.
  1010.  
  1011. “How long have I been gone?”
  1012.  
  1013. >Your voice is nearly the right pitch.
  1014. >But it’s cold.
  1015. >Metallic.
  1016. >Lifeless.
  1017. >Fake.
  1018. >Just like the rest of you.
  1019.  
  1020. >”I really don’t know! I’ve been here for quite a while… maybe two months?”
  1021.  
  1022. “You’ve been in this tomb for two months?”
  1023.  
  1024. >”Oh, no. I mean you’ve been gone for two months. I’ve been here maybe half that long.”
  1025.  
  1026. “And in that time you submitted to our sworn enemy? You never answered me. What happened to your horn? Did that beast take it from you?”
  1027.  
  1028. >”No… I chose this for myself. Can we please not talk about that? It’s not important right now.”
  1029.  
  1030. >She chose it?
  1031. >Why would she ever wish to mutilate herself?
  1032. >It’ll be years before she can use magic at all!
  1033. >And even longer before she can use it properly...
  1034. >What was it she said before?
  1035. >’I… you don’t remember? Don’t worry about it. It’ll be okay.’
  1036. >You can hear the words in your head with perfect clarity.
  1037. >You’ve no doubt that that’s exactly what she said.
  1038. >How you’re so certain, you don’t know.
  1039. >But that seems to imply that it happened BEFORE.
  1040. >What was happening before?
  1041. >You have a suspicion, but you’re not certain.
  1042. >It’s so… hazy.
  1043.  
  1044. >”And I didn’t submit to him. Though I would have if I had to. He’s not to me trifled with.”
  1045.  
  1046. “TRIFLED? I threw everything I had at that monster!”
  1047.  
  1048. >”Quiet down! He can probably hear you.”
  1049.  
  1050. >You grind your lack of teeth in frustration.
  1051.  
  1052. >”Please try to calm down. This isn’t you.”
  1053.  
  1054. “Damn right it isn’t me! Celestia was a pony, not an abomination!”
  1055.  
  1056. >The words leave your non-tongue before you notice them.
  1057. >But surprisingly, Luna seems okay.
  1058. >Disappointed, but not overly saddened.
  1059.  
  1060. >”I figured you’d feel that way. Spike felt nearly the same at first.”
  1061.  
  1062. >Spike.
  1063. >You know that name.
  1064. >But who does it belong to?
  1065.  
  1066. >”He was upset. He resented the changes, but accepted them as necessary. Before long, he loved them. He even asked for more parts of his body to be replaced, even though he didn’t need it.”
  1067.  
  1068. “Somepony wanted this to happen to them?”
  1069.  
  1070. >She grips your front left ‘hoof’ firmly with her own.
  1071.  
  1072. “He calls his fake eye his ‘good’ one. And his fake leg is also the good one. He prefers them because they’re better in almost every way. This metal that makes your leg. You feel that it isn’t you, right? Well, the flesh that makes this leg… it isn’t me. Not really. Otherwise if it got cut off, I wouldn’t be me anymore. Plenty of ponies have lost limbs over the years, but that didn’t change who they were. My horn wasn’t me, but it was hurting me so I got rid of it. Your head, your back, your barrel, your flank, your rump… none of those are what make you who you are.”
  1073.  
  1074. >You trust her.
  1075. >And yet you don’t believe it.
  1076. >How could somepony WANT to be a monster?
  1077. >How could you be Celestia when you look nothing alike?
  1078. >But she’s Luna.
  1079. >She wouldn’t lie to you.
  1080.  
  1081. “You keep saying what I’m not. But you’ve not said what I am.”
  1082.  
  1083. >”You’re many things. You’re a heroine, you’re a beloved princess, you’re who every stallion wants and every mare wants to be… Most importantly though, you’re my sister. And my best friend.”
  1084.  
  1085. >She taps your ‘belly’ softly.
  1086.  
  1087. >”And all those things are in here. I know they are because I put them there myself. Salvaged from your broken body and given a new home. So yes, you’re Celestia. In every way that counts.”
  1088.  
  1089. >She lays next to you and rests her head on your side.
  1090. >You can’t imagine it’s comfortable
  1091.  
  1092. “You put it there? So you’re sure it’s all there?”
  1093.  
  1094. >”Everything that matters.”
  1095.  
  1096. >Again, you somehow trust Luna completely.
  1097. >But this time it sorta makes some sense.
  1098. >If she took the important parts from your old body and gave them a new home…
  1099. >If your mind is still your own, just in a different shell, is that so bad?
  1100. >Even so you have more than a few reservations.
  1101. >The Celestia you barely remember wasn’t so short tempered.
  1102. >She was patient and calm.
  1103. >Yet here you are with wild mood swings.
  1104. >And your persistent inability to feel fear would be quite frightening under other circumstances.
  1105. >Why is everything from before so foggy?
  1106. >You need to know more.
  1107.  
  1108. “Luna?”
  1109.  
  1110. >She doesn’t answer.
  1111. >From the looks of it she’s fallen asleep.
  1112. >Unsurprising, really.
  1113. >She looked so very tired moments before.
  1114. >You follow soon after.
  1115.  
  1116. Installing updates: 1 of 7…
  1117.  
  1118. Later…
  1119.  
  1120. >Luna swallows another mouthful of dry hay in between her frenzied speech.
  1121. >Unlike yesterday your head is quite clear.
  1122. >You suspect the ‘update’ that came during your rest has something to do with it.
  1123. >Memories of old are still hazy and often outright absent.
  1124. >But beyond that everything seems to be in working order, and you’ve little difficulty following her words.
  1125. >She’s told you so many things.
  1126. >How you died.
  1127. >How you nobly secluded yourself and then sacrificed your life to protect Equestria.
  1128. >You’re sure that’s a rather… charitable interpretation.
  1129.  
  1130.  
  1131. “You mean to tell me that a space ape killed a TITAN?”
  1132.  
  1133. >”Indeed!”
  1134.  
  1135. >You’d thought it was merely trying to intimidate you when it ‘said’ that.
  1136. >Shining Armor was right.
  1137. >You never really stood a chance.
  1138. >You can only hope Luna’s right, and that it isn’t interested in conquest...
  1139.  
  1140. “I don’t know what to say! I’m torn, should I thank it for protecting Equestria? Or should I wring its neck for risking your life like that?”
  1141.  
  1142. >”I chose to-”
  1143.  
  1144. “I jest. I understand exactly why you risked your neck. You simply wanted to spite it, right?”
  1145.  
  1146. >”Pretty much. I wasn’t even expecting to survive, or even succeed. I just wanted to be annoying.”
  1147.  
  1148. “It sounds like you were more than annoying. What else have I missed?”
  1149.  
  1150. >”Much. But surely you’re more interested in yourself?”
  1151.  
  1152. “I’d been trying not to think about it.”
  1153.  
  1154. >”You need to learn eventually.”
  1155.  
  1156. “Yeah…”
  1157.  
  1158. >”You were right. The brain is where thought originates, not simply where it’s managed. And your brain was hurt pretty bad…”
  1159.  
  1160. >You knew it.
  1161. >It was an unpopular belief back when it was first proposed by… you can’t recall whom.
  1162. >And nopony’s really proposed it since.
  1163. >But it explains a great deal about head injuries.
  1164.  
  1165. “So I can’t think straight? That’s actually not news, I’m sad to say.”
  1166.  
  1167. >”For now. He claims to have a decent grasp on hor bad it is, but he’s promised that he can fix at least some of it.”
  1168.  
  1169. >You suspect he’s already started.
  1170.  
  1171. “What do we know is permanent?”
  1172.  
  1173. >”Many of your memories have been lost. Perhaps most of them.”
  1174.  
  1175. >Inconvenient.
  1176. >But acceptable.
  1177. >It’s not like you’re unaccustomed to forgetting.
  1178. >You’ve already forgotten nearly everything that happened in your life.
  1179. >Living is bad for memory.
  1180.  
  1181. >”Other than that there’s a lot of uncertainty.You’re taking this better than I expected, truth be told.”
  1182.  
  1183. >You think he’s manipulating your emotions to make you accept your fate more readily.
  1184. >From what you’ve seen and heard this creature likes Luna a great deal.
  1185. >And he told you you exist to make her happy.
  1186. >If you were to, as it said, ‘bitch and moan”, she’d be quite unhappy.
  1187. >Perhaps you should be angry with it.
  1188. >Perhaps it’s preventing that too.
  1189. >But right now you’re okay with this.
  1190. >Whether it’s genuine contentment or space ape manipulation you’re not sure.
  1191. >Perhaps it doesn’t matter.
  1192. >Luna’s happy, and so are you.
  1193. >Perhaps that’s good enough.
  1194.  
  1195. >”Alright! You’re alive enough! Now get the copulate out of my turf!”
  1196.  
  1197. >The voice comes from absolutely nowhere..
  1198. >And you don’t even flinch.
  1199. >Luna doesn’t either, possibly having grown accustomed to it.
  1200.  
  1201. >”Takeoff in one minute! Where do you want to go?”
  1202.  
  1203. >Luna rushes onto one of the bench seats.
  1204. >You suspect she knows what she’s doing and follow suit.
  1205.  
  1206. “Take me to Spike. I wish to speak with them.”
  1207.  
  1208.  
  1209. >You are Pinkie Pie.
  1210. >You are excited as usual!
  1211. >Twilight’s about to give her speech.
  1212. >Then the celebration can begin!
  1213. >Fireworks and food, music and merriment.
  1214. >You’re still convinced that your work with lightning is important.
  1215. >If nothing else, recreating the self moving carriage will be huge.
  1216. >And being able to make cold wind like that in summer, well…
  1217. >That could bring more happiness than a million parties to the poor Saddle Arabians!
  1218. >But it’s nice to be back in your element.
  1219. >Bringing joy directly to the masses rather than indirectly through innovation.
  1220. >A big burst of smiles all at once instead of small grins adding up over the centuries.
  1221. >Soon it’ll pay off.
  1222. >But first, Twilight.
  1223. >She stands upon the stage, a somber air hanging heavily about her.
  1224. >The scattered masses of Canterlot approach, desperately hoping for good news.
  1225. >For some semblance of normalcy to return.
  1226. >Hopefully you’ll be able to make up for their disappointment.
  1227.  
  1228. “Sisters. Brothers. Friends. Fate has ordained that Princess Celestia, who sought first and foremost to keep Equestria safe, should be lost to us forever.”
  1229.  
  1230. >Worried murmurs run through the crowd.
  1231.  
  1232. “C’mon, Twilight. Don’t focus on the bad part for too long.”
  1233.  
  1234. >”Her bravery and selflessness in the face of the Titans ensured peace and prosperity for the whole world for many years to come, but it also ensured that she be lost to us forever.
  1235. She will be mourned by her family, her friends, and by myself. She will be mourned by the whole nation, and indeed the whole of the world.”
  1236.  
  1237. >The public can no longer interpret it any other way.
  1238. >Open despair starts to spread, with tears and cries of sorrow spreading.
  1239. >She needs to start focusing on the good.
  1240. >And fast.
  1241.  
  1242. >”In her life she sought but one thing. To bring peace and prosperity to the world. Under her banner we acted as one, united by her vision for a better tomorrow. In ancient times the world was one of strife, pain, and hardship. For her ceaseless toil we’ve been awarded with a relative utopia of peace, love, and friendship. Though her work has ended, her vision will not be denied. Because in her life we learned to act as one in harmony. And that’s why today we celebrate her life, her love, and her vision. We celebrate all that Princess Celestia was, all she represented. We remember all she’s done for us, and thank her for the world she built. Tomorrow we secure the future she dreamt of, today, we will celebrate the present she has given us.”
  1243.  
  1244. >Ending with a pun.
  1245. >You approve.
  1246.  
  1247. “Right! Let’s get started!”
  1248.  
  1249. >You’re not sure how long it’ll take Equestria to get over this loss.
  1250. >But you DO know Twilight’s counting on you to make it snappy.
  1251. >And you won’t fail her.
  1252.  
  1253.  
  1254. >You are Spike.
  1255. >You’re feelin’ pretty good!
  1256. >It’s been a while since anyone tried to mess with you.
  1257. >As soon as they remembered that you’re a DRAGON, they eased off.
  1258. >And so you were finally able to leave the palace safely.
  1259. >Which is good!
  1260. >Grocery runs were always so stressful when you got jumped by idiots.
  1261. >It’s about to get a lot safer though.
  1262. >Because your care package has arrived.
  1263. >A heavy bracer sits before you- heavy for ponies that is.
  1264. >Again, you’re a dragon.
  1265. >You slip the imposing hunk of black metal over your right claw.
  1266. >The straps around your arm fit snugly, and the body of the bracer itself is well out of the way of your joints.
  1267. >It fits perfectly.
  1268. >A series of three rapid beeps signifies that your bracer has confirmed its user’s identity and is ready for action.
  1269.  
  1270. “Honestly I’m surprised you agreed to this.”
  1271.  
  1272. >You speak at your bracer.
  1273. >Not to it, of course, that’d be insane.
  1274. >Instead you’re speaking to the one who made it through the microphone built into it.
  1275.  
  1276. >”Why shouldn’t I?”
  1277.  
  1278. “You’re arming a baby for one.”
  1279.  
  1280. >”And that baby just happens to be the only thing in the world that tried talking to me instead of stabbing me. Plus, I don’t trust your visitor to keep their hooves off of you, so I want you ready.”
  1281.  
  1282. “You agreed to this before you knew Celestia was coming here.”
  1283.  
  1284. >You step to a nearby open window and level your arm at a tree.
  1285. >You close your claw into a fist and bend it downward.
  1286. >A loud crack rings out, a harsh kick knocks your arm backwards, and a small hole gets bored straight through the tree.
  1287. >Your mouth hangs slightly agape.
  1288.  
  1289. >”Because you keep getting assaulted. Remember that thing has non-lethal ordnance too. Try to use that first.”
  1290.  
  1291. “I thought it just shot darts...”
  1292.  
  1293. >”That’s the tertiary setting. They’re a drug delivery mechanism to incapacitate ponies. Setting 4 is based on your anti magic weapon. Much smaller than the form I deployed against the titan, obviously, but it uses your latest pattern revisions. Secondary, which you just saw, is a 90 gram slug delivered at mach 5. ”
  1294.  
  1295. “And primary?”
  1296.  
  1297. >”High explosive. Careful with that one.”
  1298.  
  1299. >You look at the tree again.
  1300. >If there were any ponies nearby before, they’ve long run off…
  1301. >You raise your arm and fire.
  1302. >You jump back out of shock as the loud blast rings through the sky.
  1303. >And when the dust settles enough for you to see...
  1304. >The tree is nowhere to be found.
  1305.  
  1306. >”Careful.”
  1307.  
  1308. “Look, I appreciate it and all, but why? Why would I ever need this much power? You know I could already breath fire, right?”
  1309.  
  1310. >”Mostly for show. I’ve discovered that ponies don’t want to mess with you if they know you can replace them with a crater.”
  1311.  
  1312. >You can’t really argue with that.
  1313. >You start heading outside of the palace, well and truly confident that nopony will try anything.
  1314.  
  1315. >”The second one should be there soon, I’m going for a more precise arsenal. It’ll weigh a lot less since most of the mass on that one is ammunition.”
  1316.  
  1317. “Second one?”
  1318.  
  1319. >”For your other arm. It’d be there now but I made a really basic mistake and fit it for the same arm. And since it’s a custom job it’ll actually take a little while to make.”
  1320.  
  1321. >It’s so strange knowing that the smartest being in the world can still make such simple mistakes.
  1322. >But also comforting in a way.
  1323. >It takes the edge off your inferiority.
  1324.  
  1325. “So Celestia’s coming here to see me. Is she as bad off as you predicted?”
  1326.  
  1327. >”Not by a long shot. It looks like alicorn brains recover naturally from trauma. I suspect there are some limits on that, not sure what those are… it’s lucky though. I can only imagine how many head injuries Luna’s sustained over the years. If she didn’t recover naturally she’d be about as clever as a potato now.”
  1328.  
  1329. “Any signs of that happening in me?”
  1330.  
  1331. >”Nope. I see no mechanism to do that in you, so I wouldn’t count on it. Granted I don’t see that in her either… Probably magic.”
  1332.  
  1333. “That’s your answer for everything you don’t understand.”
  1334.  
  1335. >”Am I wrong?”
  1336.  
  1337. “Point.”
  1338.  
  1339. >You quickly make your way through the entry hall.
  1340. >The dim corridor would be far too dark for anypony to navigate unaided.
  1341. >But your good eye shows you everything.
  1342. >You step through the dispel glyph you’d placed to screw with light spells, and step over the tripwire alarm system.
  1343.  
  1344. “I should probably ask for her schematics. Celestia and I have a score to settle, and I’d hate to go too far.”
  1345.  
  1346. >”Ooh, this should be fun! Don’t worry too much about it, she’ll be fine. There’s nothing you can do to break the life support unit.”
  1347.  
  1348. >Nothing you could do?
  1349. >What is she made of?
  1350.  
  1351. >”Unload your explosive arsenal on her and she’ll live. I will ask that you not go that far though, because Luna put an insane amount of work into the frame. It’d be a shame to scrap that.”
  1352.  
  1353. “And her frame is made of?”
  1354.  
  1355. >”2.5% carbon steel over a fullerene mesh.”
  1356.  
  1357. “Yeah, she should be fine. ETA?”
  1358.  
  1359. >”A little over three minutes. Is that long enough? I can decelerate early.”
  1360.  
  1361. “Can you give me ten?”
  1362.  
  1363. >”Done.”
  1364.  
  1365. >You move over to the upturned carts and right one.
  1366. >Then you fill it with rocks.
  1367. >Hundreds of stones that trespassers sought to hurl at you.
  1368. >And many that you threw back.
  1369.  
  1370. Later…
  1371.  
  1372. >You hear the Vertical take off aircraft landing nearby.
  1373. >It’s time.
  1374.  
  1375. >”That’s… why… how?”
  1376.  
  1377. >Celestia’s voice.
  1378. >She sounds abjectly terrified.
  1379. >You remember your first hypersonic flight.
  1380. >It WAS pretty intense.
  1381.  
  1382. >”Calm down, we’ve landed.”
  1383.  
  1384. >Luna.
  1385. >She’s also uneasy.
  1386. >Not outright scared, but definitely shaken.
  1387. >Probably her second or third flight.
  1388.  
  1389. >”How fast?”
  1390.  
  1391. >”Well, we’re in Ponyville. So that fast.”
  1392.  
  1393. >”Where?”
  1394.  
  1395. >Not shock. Confusion.
  1396. >She honestly doesn’t know where Ponyville is.
  1397.  
  1398. >”Why is there a tree shaped palace in this warzone? And who designed it? It’s ugly as sin!”
  1399.  
  1400. >”This is Twilight’s home.”
  1401.  
  1402. >”She lives on a battlefield?”
  1403.  
  1404. >Riiiight.
  1405. >She hasn’t seen Equestria since it turned on itself.
  1406.  
  1407. >”Right through here.”
  1408.  
  1409. >Not good.
  1410. >You need to get Celestia on her own.
  1411.  
  1412. “ONE AT A TIME!”
  1413.  
  1414. >”OH! I recognise that voice! It’s Twilight’s assistant. Is he named Spike?”
  1415.  
  1416. “I MEAN IT! I HAVE NO IDEA YOU’RE NOT IMPOSTERS, AND I’M NOT TAKING ANY CHANCES. ONE AT A TIME OR I’LL SHOOT!”
  1417.  
  1418. >”Did he just threaten royalty?”
  1419.  
  1420. >”Wait, you’re right! I DON’T TAKE THREATS IDLY, WHELP!”
  1421.  
  1422. >Is she trying to intimidate you?
  1423. >Cute.
  1424.  
  1425. “ONE AT A TIME, I DON’T CARE WHICH FIRST!”
  1426.  
  1427. >”I’m not going to stand here and take this!”
  1428.  
  1429. >Celestia charges into the darkness.
  1430. >Thankfully Luna stays back.
  1431. >Standing in the corner of the darkened corridor you watch her reckless approach.
  1432. >You smirk as you slash the rope.
  1433. >Letting the rock laden cart fall from the rafter.
  1434. >And burying Celestia.
  1435.  
  1436. >”It’s like poetry.”
  1437.  
  1438. >The familiar voice comes from your bracer.
  1439. >If you’re reading him right, he’s greatly amused.
  1440. >Luna rushes in when she hears the cave in and quickly finds the rock heap.
  1441. >You walk towards it to help dig Celestia out.
  1442.  
  1443. >”How could- why- I was going to give you the highest honors Equestria can offer!”
  1444.  
  1445. >And now you kinda feel bad.
  1446. >You like Luna.
  1447.  
  1448. “She’s fine. Made of metal, remember? It’ll take a lot more than this to damage- oh. Oops.”
  1449.  
  1450. >”Oops? OOPS WHAT?”
  1451.  
  1452. >Celestia’s head pokes out of the rubble heap, the lense on one eye shattered.
  1453.  
  1454. >”You’d think this would hurt, but it really doesn’t.”
  1455.  
  1456. >”’Tia! What happened?”
  1457.  
  1458. >Oh right.
  1459. >Luna is ironically the only one who can’t see in this low light environment.
  1460.  
  1461. “She’s fine. Except the eye. You’re going to have to replace that. Sorry?”
  1462.  
  1463. >”I’m going to give you to the count of FIVE to explain yourself, and if I’m not happy, you’ll NEVER see the light of day again!”
  1464.  
  1465. >Again an alicorn tries to intimidate you.
  1466. >Perhaps that would have worked once upon a time.
  1467. >But there’s no prison in the world that can hold you anymore.
  1468. >And it’d take a dark magic powered alicorn to match your weaponry, these hornless wonders aren’t going to cut it.
  1469. >As far as you can tell, only Discord could pose a serious threat to you at this point.
  1470. >It’s strangely liberating being so overwhelmingly powerful.
  1471.  
  1472. “It’s a lot lighter than the rock she dropped on me.”
  1473.  
  1474. >Luna starts blushing immediately.
  1475. >If she could see you clearly you’re sure she’d try and avoid your gaze.
  1476.  
  1477. >”Oh. About that- you know what? Forget it. It’s okay.”
  1478.  
  1479. “Wait. That was YOUR ROCK?”
  1480.  
  1481. >”I wasn’t aiming for you!”
  1482.  
  1483. >Wow.
  1484. >Now your revenge is ruined.
  1485. >And if you do that to Luna you’re pretty sure you’d do some real damage.
  1486. >Oh well.
  1487. >At least you can still say you took down an alicorn.
  1488.  
  1489. >”How bad is it? What’s hurt?”
  1490.  
  1491. >“Left eye offline. Everything else appears to be functioning normally.”
  1492.  
  1493. “Looks, Celestia, I’m sorry. I thought that you’d killed me, and-”
  1494.  
  1495. >”I deserve it. I dragged her into it.”
  1496.  
  1497. >Not the answer you were expecting.
  1498. >She sounds almost relieved.
  1499. >As though she’s happy to receive her comeuppance and walk away intact.
  1500.  
  1501. >”May we come in?”
  1502.  
  1503. “Yeah, hold on. Lemme disable the other traps.”
  1504.  
  1505. >You scurry off and start untying various ropes.
  1506.  
  1507. >Luna leans in close and whispers to Celestia.
  1508.  
  1509. >”Why does he have traps?”
  1510.  
  1511. >”This is clearly a war zone. You saw what the landscape outside was like.”
  1512.  
  1513. >”But ponyville is nowhere near foreign territory. Perhaps Everfree could cause some chaos here and there, but an invading force would either have to go through the Sanctuary, through the Everfree forest, or carve a path through all of Equestria. It doesn’t make sense.”
  1514.  
  1515. >”We’re on the border of Everfree? Which?”
  1516.  
  1517. >”North.”
  1518.  
  1519. >You’re pretty certain you aren’t supposed to be able to hear them.
  1520. >There are many perks to being a augmented.
  1521. >And now you know just how out of touch the princesses are.
  1522.  
  1523. “Come on in. I promise I won’t try and crush you.”
  1524.  
  1525. >Celestia approaches without hesitation.
  1526. >Possibly a result of brain damage?
  1527. >Or maybe the near total lack of consequences for being hit by a mound of rocks has emboldened her.
  1528. >Luna approaches with understandable caution, always staying well behind her sister.
  1529. >Eventually they reach the interior.
  1530. >You lead them to the throne room and jump upon Twilight’s throne.
  1531.  
  1532. >”Is that a giant root suspended from the ceiling? Why? WHY? And why are these seats made of stone? That looks so uncomfortable- what’s going on with this stupid map? Everything’s horribly out of proportion, you couldn’t navigate with this! This whole place is stupid.”
  1533.  
  1534. “You sure that’s Celestia? I remember her being patient and softspoken.”
  1535.  
  1536. >”Yes! She’s just… you try dying and not changing at all!”
  1537.  
  1538. >She seems to have forgotten for a moment.
  1539. >But maybe you have changed?
  1540. >You DID claim the head seat after all.
  1541. >You’re pretty sure the old Spike would never have been bold enough to try and crush Princess Celestia.
  1542. >Or to tell off Rarity.
  1543. >Or to attack a dark alicorn with an untested weapon.
  1544. >Or to flip off a Titan.
  1545. >Okay, so you’ve changed.
  1546.  
  1547. “Fair enough. So… why’d you come here?”
  1548.  
  1549. >”To help her adjust.”
  1550.  
  1551. >Luna gestures lazily at Celestia who is STILL going around pointing out flaws.
  1552.  
  1553. >”She has some reservations about what she’s become. Also, she misses her old body. And her magic. And flight.”
  1554.  
  1555. “She can’t fly?”
  1556.  
  1557. >You raise your bracer to your face.
  1558.  
  1559. “Can I get Celestia’s technical specifications?”
  1560.  
  1561. >The signal from your good eye cuts for about a quarter of a second before being replaced by rapidly scrolling text.
  1562. >You close your bad eye to better focus on the information.
  1563.  
  1564. >”Are you in contact with him?”
  1565.  
  1566. “Yes. Interesting… okay, got it. Looks like a limitation with the power supply. Makes sense.”
  1567.  
  1568. >”Could you explain to the technically illiterate among us?”
  1569.  
  1570. “Yeah, sure. Oi! Celestia! Listen up! I don’t want to repeat myself.”
  1571.  
  1572. >”Yes, of course. Sorry, I’ve no clue what came over me. I came here to speak with you and- never mind. Please proceed.”
  1573.  
  1574. “Right. You weigh nearly 300 kilos.”
  1575.  
  1576. >”So much for all the dieting.”
  1577.  
  1578. “The life support module and organic components are extremely heavily shielded to protect you from trauma. Yes, I DID know that before you got here. While this will keep you safe from pretty much any non-magical threat you can name, it also brings a lot of bulk with it. So taking flight without pegasus magic would take a lot of power. He gave you a renewable power supply which eliminates a lot of options, and it’s a pretty safe one to boot. Had he used the same power supply as Luna’s armor, you could fly no problem. But also if it were damaged you’d vaporise half of Canterlot.”
  1579.  
  1580. >”WHAT?”
  1581.  
  1582. >”I suppose that’s why he wouldn’t let me keep it.”
  1583.  
  1584. >Luna seems unphased by this revelation, likely having grown numb to the impossibilities during her stay in Sanctuary.
  1585. >Celestia still doesn’t seem to really grasp just how much power he wields just yet.
  1586.  
  1587. >”Could he not have made me lighter?”
  1588.  
  1589. “Sure. But as I just said you’d be fragile. If he made you weigh say, half as much, you MIGHT handle having a half tonne of rocks dropped on your head, but it wouldn’t be a sure thing.”
  1590.  
  1591. >”It seems to me that if he’s half as great as Luna said he would have found a way!”
  1592.  
  1593. “Again, there are ways. None of them are worth it. In order to generate enough power to do what you want without an excessive increase in mass he needs to rapidly generate entropy. Seed reactors or antimatter could do it but then you run the risk of contaminating or annihilating- neither of you understand a word I’m saying, do you?”
  1594.  
  1595. >The blank faces are all the confirmation you need.
  1596.  
  1597. “He’s the king of the physical world. He knows how the universe works and can manipulate it to his will. But even the King is bound to the board. Some things aren’t possible in this reality. Letting you fly for more than a few minutes without sacrificing safety just isn’t going to happen. The more power you pack into a set amount of space the more dangerous it gets, end of story.”
  1598.  
  1599. >”I see…”
  1600.  
  1601. “If you were able to come up with a design that harnessed pegasus magic it could probably work. Until then you’re stuck on the ground unless you want to turn yourself into a bomb, die the first time you get seriously roughed up, or carry a huge fuel tank. And I doubt he’ll go for the last option, given you’d need to be resupplied after every flight.”
  1602.  
  1603. >She hangs her head in defeat.
  1604. >No followup questions or pleading come, just resignation.
  1605.  
  1606. “Cheer up. I can’t fly and it never bothers me.”
  1607.  
  1608. >”Because you’ve never flown. The idea of losing my wings is chilling, Spike. I do not envy her loss.”
  1609.  
  1610. “You don’t envy her, but I sure do. Hey, Celestia. Question.”
  1611.  
  1612. >She turns to look at you, the unbroken eye instantly focusing.
  1613. >You hold one claw behind your back.
  1614.  
  1615. “Tell me when I move my claws.”
  1616.  
  1617. >You twitch one claw slightly.
  1618. >Celestia lets out a faint gasp.
  1619. >Likely too quiet for Luna to hear, but you pick up on it no problem.
  1620.  
  1621. >”There. Now. Again. That. Again…”
  1622.  
  1623. >”I’m confused, what’s happening?”
  1624.  
  1625. >“I can see it. The muscles contracting beneath his scales, the subtle twitching. You extended your leftmost claw first, then your rightmost. Then you extended the middle and quickly retracted it. I thought he hated me. Why would he give me this?”
  1626.  
  1627. “A combination of things. I think it’s mostly laziness though. If he wanted to make your eyes as bad as they were before he’d have to manufacture cruder systems. The exabyte drive in your head has a read speed of nearly a petabyte per second not because it makes sense or because he wanted to give her the best, it’s there because the processing unit is expecting information to come that fast. And if he wanted to make a processor patient enough to use a worse drive it wouldn’t be compatible with the motherboard, and then he’d need a different wireless adapter- look, the point is that there are a lot of parts that all need to be compatible with each other. To give you eyes or memory comparable to a normal pony he’d have to build everything from scratch, and that’d be a huge hassle. Instead he just used stock components he had laying around.”
  1628.  
  1629. >”Stock components. So what you’re saying is that it’s possible to make an even BETTER eye than this?”
  1630.  
  1631. >Celestia sounds quite excited at this prospect.
  1632. >Ironically enough, it seems as though she’d not yet noticed how perceptive she could be.
  1633.  
  1634. “Not what I was getting at, but probably. Try changing spectrum. Just think about seeing heat.”
  1635.  
  1636. >A look of confusion crosses her face for about a second, followed by her recoiling in shock.
  1637.  
  1638. >”What- how?”
  1639.  
  1640. >You switch your own eye to thermal imaging.
  1641. >Most of Celestia’s body disappears, but right in the middle of her barrel you can see the battery discharging, and the radiator managing her brain’s temperature.
  1642.  
  1643. “You’re currently seeing heat. I was a little surprised to see that he’d bothered to connect that properly, normally these things record all forms of input into one image. Our brains can’t comprehend that so it needs to be broken down into multiple images.”
  1644.  
  1645. >”I can see HEAT?”
  1646.  
  1647. >You raise one claw to your face.
  1648. >The cool reptilian blood is far less visible than Luna’s glowing form.
  1649. >After taking a deep breath you spit a thin jet of flame at your own claw.
  1650.  
  1651. “See the blinding brilliance of dragonfire warm my cool scales. The blood inside heats too and flows down my arm toward my heart. Watch as the heat diffuses, getting lesser as it grows further and further from my claw. You’re seeing heat, princess. Get used to it. 14,697,806,252.”
  1652.  
  1653. >”What?”
  1654.  
  1655. “Give me the square root of that number. Don’t think, just do.”
  1656.  
  1657. >”Don’t be unreasonable, Spike. There’s no way-”
  1658.  
  1659. >”121234.509328”
  1660.  
  1661. >You raise your bracer and speak.
  1662.  
  1663. “Is she right?”
  1664.  
  1665. >Two high pitched bells ring in rapid succession.
  1666.  
  1667. “Two means yes. See, this is part of why I’m envious. You’d lost the ability to do arithmetic. Destroyed irrevocably. And so he replaced it. I’d try and explain how good you are at math now but honestly, I don’t get the whole quantum stuff. Sufficed to say you can do math faster than every other living thing in the world combined. With one obvious exception.”
  1668.  
  1669. >”That’s certainly impressive. But to what purpose?”
  1670.  
  1671. “It’s a versatile tool, Luna. Any problem you can rework into mathematics, she’ll have solved in a flash. Next time you have to work on the state budget you’ll be thankful. Try to get creative with it though, you’d be surprised what you can turn into raw math if you try. I sure was. Now everybody be quiet.”
  1672.  
  1673. >You stop moving at all.
  1674. >You even go so far as to hold your breath.
  1675. >A few seconds pass…
  1676.  
  1677. *lub dub*
  1678. *lub dub*
  1679. *lub dub*
  1680.  
  1681. >”Is that-”
  1682.  
  1683. “Luna’s heartbeat, yes. I know she’s nearly a meter away from you. Doesn’t matter. Pretty much everything you once were has been improved in some way. You’re probably wondering if you’re still Celestia. And in some ways it’s a valid question. We live in a world of things, not a world of ideas. Everything that was Celestia was an arrangement of matter, chemicals interacting in an extremely specific way. There was no inherent ‘Celestia-ness’ to any of them.”
  1684.  
  1685. >You walk over to Luna and rub her leg vigorously.
  1686. >She’s clearly not pleased with the intrusion into her personal space, but she’ll understand soon enough.
  1687. >You pick up a small number of hairs that had come off.
  1688.  
  1689. “Is Luna no longer Luna now that she’s lost these? What if I were to take an equal amount of skin? If you strip a pony away one cell at a time, and replace them with nearly identical cells, what have you done? The answer is waiting. All you’ve done is wait. A healthy pony’s stomach cells generally only live a few days. There are precious few cells that survive a decade. You must accept one of two things. Either everypony dies every day, or the individual cells are meaningless. And if no single cell matters, how many do you need before they become important? Replace them one at a time, each and every one of them. You’ll find that at no point is the pony in question suddenly meaningfully different. Even if none of the original pony remains, they never stopped being themselves.”
  1690.  
  1691. >”But this is metal. Not pony.”
  1692.  
  1693. “Same problem. Replace each cell one at a time with steel. No single step will make you no longer yourself. Clearly if we got rid of everything and started anew it’d be a different pony, but doing it one step at a time must result in the same pony. It doesn’t seem to make sense, does it? The only solution I’ve been able to come to is that the ‘self’ is an illusion. Maybe I’m wrong, I don’t have all the answers. Just know this, if you aren’t her anymore, it’s because you’re better than her. In pretty much every way.”
  1694.  
  1695. >”What of her flight and magic?”
  1696.  
  1697. “Details. Stop focusing on what’s been lost and consider what’s been gained. Have you forgotten ANYTHING since you woke up? And I mean ANYTHING. Try to remember the smallest, least significant details. How many cracks were there in the walkway coming here?”
  1698.  
  1699. >”Don’t be absurd, Spike. There’s no way she would have taken the time to count.”
  1700.  
  1701. >”Seven on the first slab, two on the second, eight on the third, the fourth was undamaged… How do I know this? How am I so certain?”
  1702.  
  1703. “It’s to be expected with a drive like that. You’ve got an exabyte to work with.”
  1704.  
  1705. >”Explain it to me like I’m Cadance.”
  1706.  
  1707. >”LUNA!”
  1708.  
  1709. “Can know much remember heap lots.”
  1710.  
  1711. >”SPIKE! She’s ROYALTY!”
  1712.  
  1713. “Your point? She’s a nice mare and quite charismatic, but she doesn’t really know much of anything. If you want advice on love she can probably help, but if you want to talk about artificial memory I doubt she’ll have anything interesting to say. Look, what matters is that your memory is almost impossibly vast, and perfectly detailed.”
  1714.  
  1715. >She looks oddly maudlin considering the news you just delivered.
  1716. >Wistfully staring off into the distance.
  1717.  
  1718. “Is something the matter?”
  1719.  
  1720. >”Longevity is a wonderful thing, but it comes with a price. I’ve forgotten nearly everything that’s ever mattered to me. And I’m pretty sure that’s not just because of my injuries. In my thousands of years of life I’ve likely experienced a great deal of wonders, but I couldn’t possibly name them. Every year on the fourth day of the fifteenth month I head west. There’s an unremarkable hill there, well away from any town. A small grassy mound of little to no importance. Why do I go there on that day? What happened there? I’ve no clue. All I know is that I decided long ago that that time and place was significant, and that I’d observe it annually. Am I celebrating? Am I mourning?”
  1721.  
  1722. >She closes her eyes and shakes her head slowly.
  1723.  
  1724. >”I hold that tradition because it once mattered to me a great deal. Whoever or whatever I’m observing has been lost to time, likely never to be recovered. It could have been a friend, a family member, a lover… I’ll never know what it is I’ve lost. I’ve forgotten more than most ponies have ever known. All those precious moments, all those smiles and laughs lost to time, now less significant than the dust in the wind.”
  1725.  
  1726. >That’s…
  1727. >Heavy.
  1728.  
  1729. >“Such is the fate of we alicorns. Was the fate, rather. Because there’s now a cure. If the cost is my wings, I shall gladly pay. Though there are some other parts I’ll sorely miss.”
  1730.  
  1731. >”Ugh. He’s a baby, ‘Tia!”
  1732.  
  1733. >”I was talking about my tongue and being unable to gorge myself on cakes. Though now that you mention it, that is a VERY serious loss.”
  1734.  
  1735. >What are they-
  1736. >Ew.
  1737. >No, you don’t want to think about that at all right now.
  1738. >Best you change the subject.
  1739.  
  1740. “What about your magic?”
  1741.  
  1742. >”I’m better off without it. Even now I instinctively reach to the darkness in search of warmth. It’s best that I can’t yield to my temptation.”
  1743.  
  1744. >In search of warmth?
  1745. >Yeah, you’d heard that she was generally cold.
  1746. >But that shouldn’t be the case anymore.
  1747. >You raise your bracer.
  1748.  
  1749. “Celestia’s cold, and I’m pretty sure ambient temperature is well within operating parameters. Is there some kind of malfunction?”
  1750.  
  1751. >”Doesn’t seem to be. She’s being fed a signal of 27c, roughly what Luna seemed to prefer.”
  1752.  
  1753. >“He could hear us this whole time?”
  1754.  
  1755. “Just when I turn this thing on. Umm, could you turn it up to… 700c?”
  1756.  
  1757. >”You suddenly into torture or something?”
  1758.  
  1759. >”You can make me feel warm? PLEASE! I BEG of you!”
  1760.  
  1761. >Celestia suddenly collapses to the ground, muzzle dug into the the rug.
  1762.  
  1763. >”Please please please I’ll do anything you want I just-”
  1764.  
  1765. >She’s well and truly grovelling in your general direction.
  1766.  
  1767. “You seeing this?”
  1768.  
  1769. >”Ponies are weird.”
  1770.  
  1771. “Tell me about it. Just… please make her stop.”
  1772.  
  1773. >”Yeah, it’s kinda pathetic.”
  1774.  
  1775. >Celestia moans in delight as she stretches outward, nearly turning into a puddle on the floor.
  1776.  
  1777. >”600c. How’d you know?”
  1778.  
  1779. “She burnt to death trying to keep warm, so it seemed safe to assume she wanted a pretty high temperature.Twilight said she was in a cave that was glowing with heat, so I adjusted that to VERY high temperature. From there it was just a guess.”
  1780.  
  1781. >”So it’s probably still a bit off. Luna, you’re up. The voice controls are being re-purposed.”
  1782.  
  1783. >”But she still sounds wrong!”
  1784.  
  1785. >”I’m getting pleasure signals all over the place. This is literally better than sex for her. What’s more important right now, that she sound good or that she feel good?”
  1786.  
  1787. >”My voice… more important.”
  1788.  
  1789. >Celestia lay on the floor ‘belly’ up with a big goofy grin on her face.
  1790. >Despite her rictus of bliss she keeps talking.
  1791.  
  1792. >”Equestria clearly needs leadership right now. Ponies will be fearful of me because I look wrong, sounding wrong will only make it worse. Please fix my voice first. Maybe after adding another hundred degrees.”
  1793.  
  1794. >”If you’re sure.”
  1795.  
  1796. >She lets out another satisfied groan as she grows even ‘warmer’.
  1797. >Nobody speaks a word, instead simply letting her bask shamelessly in the illusory heat.
  1798. >Several awkward minutes pass before she stops rolling around with glee.
  1799.  
  1800. ”Well, that was-”
  1801.  
  1802. >”Tell nopony what you saw. If you’ll excuse me I must make for Canterlot. I still have some concerns, but it’s quite clear that Equestria needs me. Focusing on myself any longer would be selfish.”
  1803.  
  1804. >”So you’ve noticed it too, then. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, it was pretty obvious.”
  1805.  
  1806. >”Indeed, Luna. I know not what plagues Equestria, but it’s clearly dire if young Spike here had to arm himself so.”
  1807.  
  1808. >”You mean the traps?”
  1809.  
  1810. >”No. The bracer on his one arm is a clearly not just for show. It bares a striking resemblance to the ape’s newer machines, what with the black metallic sheen. It also has a series holes on the front with spiral markings engraved in some of them, much like his cannons. and perhaps you didn’t notice but there is a small crater outside. That is a portable cannon, I’m sure of it.”
  1811.  
  1812. >”Is this true? Are you carrying a weapon?”
  1813.  
  1814. “I am.”
  1815.  
  1816. >”And is it lethal?”
  1817.  
  1818. “Only if I want it to be.”
  1819.  
  1820. >”I’m sorry, Spike. I’m going to need to take that from you.”
  1821.  
  1822. “Not happening.”
  1823.  
  1824. >”Calm down, Luna. He’s done no wrong.”
  1825.  
  1826. >”But-”
  1827.  
  1828. >”You implied he was a hero of the state. You said you were going to give him the highest honors. And if I’m reading the situation right, the reason why this place is so messed up is because ponies keep trying to hurt him.”
  1829.  
  1830. “They call me and others like me ‘Heartless.’ Which is stupid, I still have a heart. Most of one.”
  1831.  
  1832. >She reluctantly rises to her hooves, clearly fearful that any motion at all will end her bliss.
  1833. >You hope for her sake that it doesn’t.
  1834.  
  1835. >”My little ponies are good at heart- going to have to think of a different turn of phrase for that. The problem is that they frighten easily. I frighten easily. And when we’re scared we do things we later regret. Spike has the right to live in safety. Until things calm down, I’ll let him keep his weapon.”
  1836.  
  1837. >”That’s… quite unlike you.”
  1838.  
  1839. >She turns to face you.
  1840. >remaining eye opening as wide as operating parameters will allow.
  1841. >Facial expression otherwise totally deadpan.
  1842.  
  1843. >”But if I learn that you killed a single one of my ponies, there’s no space ape in the universe that will save you from me.”
  1844.  
  1845. “What, without your magic? In case you’ve forgotten your trump card is gone.”
  1846.  
  1847. >”I have my ways. Come, Luna. Equestria needs leadership. We’ve much more I wish to discuss, Spike. But it’ll have to wait.”
  1848.  
  1849. >She walks out of the palace without another word, Luna in tow.
  1850.  
  1851. “I wonder how they’re going to get there.”
  1852.  
  1853. >”I assumed the train.”
  1854.  
  1855. “Nope. The tracks are in ruin from the civil war- right. You told me not to call it that.”
  1856.  
  1857. >”Call it whatever you want, I don’t care. I’m just not calling it that. I’ve yet to see anything here big enough to qualify as a war. Is there some sort of cultural thing I’m overlooking, or did Celestia just put the wellbeing of the masses before herself?”
  1858.  
  1859. “Sure. Why wouldn’t she?”
  1860.  
  1861. >”I- huh. Not what I was expecting. Perhaps this is being caused by her brain damage?”
  1862.  
  1863. “Naa. That’s just who she is.”
  1864.  
  1865. >Was he surprised to find out Celestia is a good pony?
  1866. >Maybe.
  1867. >It’s not like they’ve had a good relationship to this point.
  1868. >It’s not like he’s had a good relationship with anypony to this point.
  1869. >You can clearly recall his confusion when Luna turned out to be selfless.
  1870.  
  1871. >“Whatever. I heard you say you were envious of a few of the modifications I’d made to Celestia. Well, turns out the basic neuroanatomy is nearly identical between the two of you, if you get my drift.”
  1872.  
  1873. “Why are you being so nice to me? Not that I’m complaining, but isn’t your time precious? Isn’t this distracting you from your magic experiments?”
  1874.  
  1875. >”Yeah. It is. If you want to make it up to me figure out that alicorn transformation thing. I promised Luna aging would be a thing of the past. I never specified how I’d do it. Take care of that for me and you’ll have more than made up for this.”
  1876.  
  1877. >”DAMN IT ALL I FORGOT ABOUT TWILIGHT!”
  1878.  
  1879. >That sounded like Luna.
  1880. >And she sounded EXTREMELY upset.
  1881.  
  1882.  
  1883. >You are Pinkie.
  1884. >You’re even MORE excited now!
  1885. >Twilight’s about to give another speech just one day later!
  1886. >The last one was GREAT!
  1887. >It broke the bad news while staying positive.
  1888. >And thanks to you, nearly everypony had fun.
  1889. >With any luck it’ll become an annual holiday that everypony looks forward to.
  1890. >But that’s not what matters right this moment!
  1891. >Twilight said she had a plan
  1892. >A major project that’d unite everypony.
  1893. >Give them all a common goal.
  1894. >She said she’d unite the masses with purpose!
  1895. >You’re not sure of the details, but that sound pretty good!
  1896. >If she can do that, well, you won’t know what to do.
  1897. >There will be so many smiles around you won’t even need to cheer anypony up anymore!
  1898. >Heavy wingbeats blow your big poofy mane around for a moment before a few hooves click down on the floor.
  1899. >There’s only one pony you know with wings that strong.
  1900.  
  1901. “Hiya Dashie! I didn’t know you were coming!”
  1902.  
  1903. >”Hey Pinks. Twi invited all the girls, said she wanted us to be there when Equestria entered its golden age. But without the train most of them can’t make it in time.”
  1904.  
  1905. “So it’s just you and me, here to watch history happen.”
  1906.  
  1907. >”Oh, Discord’s here too.”
  1908.  
  1909. >”Hello.”
  1910.  
  1911. >You jump in shock as his voice comes from behind.
  1912. >You didn’t hear hi come in at all.
  1913. >Turning to face her, you see a large imposing figure with no skin.
  1914. >Bare muscles and tendons sit exposed for all to see.
  1915. >And atop it all is scowling face staring every which way with its head on a swivel.
  1916.  
  1917. ”Ooh! Spooky costume!”
  1918.  
  1919. >”It’s not a costume. I’m HORRIBLY wounded, thank you very much. Being exploded and then robbed of all your magic while you’re trying to put yourself back together isn’t exactly a pleasant feeling.”
  1920.  
  1921. >”Why are you here then? Shouldn’t you be in the hospital or something?”
  1922.  
  1923. >”Oh, I’m FAR too busy for that, Rainbow Dash. I came to fetch Pinkie.”
  1924.  
  1925. “Me?”
  1926.  
  1927. >”Why yes! You see, Fluttershy’s been downright livid as of late, and I can’t for the life of my figure out why!”
  1928.  
  1929. >His usual over-dramatic flair leaves you uncertain if he’s serious or mocking you.
  1930. >It’s hard to tell with Discord.
  1931.  
  1932. >”But I figured Pinkie of all ponies would be able to-”
  1933.  
  1934. >He stops short and sniffs loudly.
  1935.  
  1936. >”What is that?”
  1937.  
  1938. >He raises his nose in the air and starts sniffing rapidly.
  1939. >Before long he’s sniffing everywhere in the room trying to find the source of some undetectable aroma.
  1940.  
  1941. >”You two should be careful. This place reeks of the taint.”
  1942.  
  1943. “What does taint smell like?”
  1944.  
  1945. >Dash giggles for some reason.
  1946. >It’s good to hear her laugh!
  1947. >Discord shoves his skinless muzzle in your face and takes a deep breath.
  1948. >He then sniffs Dashie, who clearly doesn’t appreciate the violation of her personal space.
  1949.  
  1950. >”You ponies can’t smell it. Just be on the lookout for bad ponies.”
  1951.  
  1952. “Bad ponies? Why would there be bad ponies here?”
  1953.  
  1954. >He doesn’t answer, instead sniffing even harder.
  1955. >You can only hope he finds the bad pony soon!
  1956. >Otherwise Twilight’s speech might be ruined!
  1957. >Speaking of, it’s starting!
  1958.  
  1959. >”Thousands of years ago life was brought to this world by two beings now known as the Titans. They created a world of suffering, disease, strife, and yes, DEATH.”
  1960.  
  1961. >Even this early on you can tell this one will go wrong.
  1962. >There’s no barely restrained tears, there’s no optimistic tone of voice.
  1963. >Venom drips from every word as her voice trembles with rage.
  1964.  
  1965. >”Ever since their incomprehensible evil first blighted our lives we’ve struggled each and every day. For a better future. For hope. We work ourselves ragged to change the world from their vision, and to ours. Princess Celestia had a dream for Equestria. A vision. She wanted to make our world into a wonderland of peace and harmony. A place where none need worry about hunger or disease, where your neighbors loves you so much that you didn’t even bother to lock your doors at night. She wanted the antithesis of the Titan’s world.”
  1966.  
  1967. >You hear a loud snap behind you.
  1968. >Quickly turning to look, you see Discord is no longer present.
  1969.  
  1970. >”We’ve come far. Even as trying as times are today, our ancestors would weep with joy to see all we have. We’ve grown used to the wonders of our time. It takes much to wow us. But it has not always been so great! Illness is rare, hunger forgotten, and until only recently violent crime was nearly unheard of. Yes, until recently. Because we as a nation are slipping. We’re throwing away what our ancestors worked so hard for. We’re taking the gifts of our mothers, our fathers, our grandparents, and SPITTING on them. You call them the heartless. You shun them, and fight them. They didn’t ask to become what they are. They’ve done us no wrong. They’re our brothers and sisters. Our mothers and fathers. Our friend. And they are EQUESTRIAN CITIZENS! Assault is a serious crime, and it WILL be punished severely.”
  1971.  
  1972. >You were REALLY worried for a little bit there.
  1973. >It’s not exactly elegant, but she said the right thing.
  1974. >She has to stop the infighting before she can rebuild.
  1975.  
  1976. >”We must be united for what comes next, because we’re about to face our greatest test.”
  1977.  
  1978. >This must be the big project she was talking about!
  1979. >The thing she said would bring everypony together with a single purpose.
  1980. >The plan that would ensure everypony was everpony’s friend.
  1981.  
  1982. >”After much deliberation and soul searching, I’ve decided.”
  1983.  
  1984. >Yeeees!
  1985.  
  1986. >”That our course is clear.”
  1987.  
  1988. >Yeeeeeeees!
  1989.  
  1990. >”I have decided that Equestria-”
  1991.  
  1992. >Yeeeeeeeeeeeees!
  1993.  
  1994. >”Shall declare war on the Titans.”
  1995.  
  1996. “WHAT!?”
  1997.  
  1998. >”Princess Celestia fell bravely in battle. She gave her life to keep us safe from them. And in doing so, she’s proven two important things. They’re still out there, somewhere. Perhaps beyond the stars, or maybe even closer to home. And more importantly? THEY. CAN. BLEED!”
  1999.  
  2000. >She pounds to podium to accentuate her words.
  2001.  
  2002. >”Wait, Princess Celestia didn’t die fighting.”
  2003.  
  2004. >You don’t even notice Dash’s words.
  2005. >Panic and denial are flooding your mind and pushing her words out.
  2006. >Nononononono!
  2007. >She isn’t doing this!
  2008. >This is WRONG!
  2009.  
  2010. >”For FAR too long we’ve lived under their tyranny! We’ve lived by THEIR rules! We’re nothing more to them than a source of entertainment and magic! And WHEN they come back, they will bring more of the same. It is this fate, I solemnly assure you, that I dread most. Where we live under their rule with no recourse! And that’s why, when they come they will not find a helpless nation. They will not see a species of grass munchers idly awaiting slaughter! They will find a global army armed to the teeth with the most powerful weapons imaginable. A destructive force the likes of which the universe has never seen! The whole world united with one purpose under one banner, with but one purpose! They will be shocked to find what we’re truly capable of. In time, they will learn. We are NOT their prey! WE are their HUNTERS! The Titans shall face justice for their crimes-”
  2011.  
  2012. >You’ve heard enough.
  2013. >She’s ruined everything.
  2014. >The ONE thing you wanted to avoid was a state of perpetual conflict.
  2015. >You refused to study the cannons for fear of what they might do.
  2016. >Line ever border with fear.
  2017. >Divide every nation with mistrust and worry.
  2018. >To replace the peace of diplomacy with the peace of assured destruction.
  2019. >And somehow, she managed to come up with something even worse.
  2020. >An eternal war against an impossible enemy.
  2021. >A nation built on hate and wrath.
  2022. >You’re leaving.
  2023.  
  2024. >”Hey, Pinks. Where ya goin’? It’s just getting to the good part!”
  2025.  
  2026. “Anywhere but here, Dash. Anywhere but here.”
  2027.  
  2028. >”PEACE THROUGH POWER!”
  2029.  
  2030. >With those last words from your former friend still ringing in your ears, you slowly walk away.
  2031.  
  2032.  
  2033. >You are Celestia.
  2034. >You’re running as fast as you can.
  2035. >Luna flies above you barely keeping pace.
  2036. >At first she was doing well.
  2037. >In fact, she even had to slow down for you a couple of times.
  2038. >But you can hear it now.
  2039. >The pained panting, the rapid heart rate, poorly coordinated flaps of her wings.
  2040. >She can’t keep it up any longer.
  2041. >She needs to rest.
  2042. >This is no good.
  2043. >You grind your lack of teeth in frustration as you yet again fail to reach out to your hatred and grasp the magic within.
  2044. >Your teleportation spell fails before you even notice you’d attempted it.
  2045. >If Luna’s right, you need to get to Canterlot FAST.
  2046. >And if she had her Shadowbolts monitoring Twilight, well, you’d believe her if she told you Twilight was an invisible Typhon.
  2047. >Even though everypony knows Typhons are extinct.
  2048. >Though painful and depressing to consider, a Dark Twilight is well within the realm of possibility.
  2049. >It was going to happen eventually.
  2050. >No matter how strong or determined, she’d fail eventually.
  2051. >Such is the nature of immortality.
  2052. >And that’s why you trained her to RESIST!
  2053. >You taught her to fight the temptation, and to feel revulsion at the thought of dark magic.
  2054. >The stress management exercises you’d taught her should work at purging all emotion, not just anxiety.
  2055. >If you’re lucky it’s not too late to talk her down.
  2056. >You’re not counting on it though.
  2057. >The call is strong.
  2058. >Should you fail?
  2059. >Well, you have backup plans.
  2060. >You ALWAYS have backup plans.
  2061. >The worst chapter of your life ended only recently.
  2062. >When you learned that you couldn’t count on anything.
  2063. >Not even Luna.
  2064. >Ever since then you’ve been sure to plan on anything and everything failing you.
  2065. >But you’d much rather not resort to backup plans.
  2066. >Though you can’t remember what exactly you’d laid out, you’re certain a trip to your private archives would prove them less than desireable.
  2067. >Far better to simply talk her down before it grows out of hoof.
  2068. >But in order to do that, you need to get there.
  2069. >FAST!
  2070.  
  2071. “Luna, touch down. You can’t keep pushing yourself like that.”
  2072.  
  2073. >She quickly and clumsily lands on the ground, desperately drinking in the air at an astonishing rate.
  2074. >You stand beside her.
  2075. >Unbreathing.
  2076. >Untiring.
  2077. >Full of energy.
  2078.  
  2079. “Climb on my back and hold on tight.”
  2080.  
  2081. >You kneel down to let her climb aboard easier.
  2082. >While you wait, you take a quick glance at Canterlot off in the distance.
  2083. >By your reckoning it’ll take about 47 minutes and 8 seconds to get there at the pace you were maintaining earlier.
  2084. >The roof of your palace has been blighted with a strange surface.
  2085. >It’s eerie to look at it, darker than black.
  2086. >You can’t help but wonder if something’s wrong with your remaining eye.
  2087. >You look down from the oddity to the far more pressing issue, then immediately avert your gaze.
  2088. >It rips at your very soul to see the shining jewel of civilization rotting away like that.
  2089. >Massive segments in all districts are burnt out.
  2090. >The market square seems to have been picked clean by looters.
  2091. >Many of the estates in the noble’s ring are simply gone.
  2092. >The commoner’s residences lie in ruin…
  2093. >There’s clear signs of a reconstruction effort, but even so it’ll take years to bring Canterlot back to its former glory.
  2094. >If you’re lucky.
  2095. >From the madness that was Ponyville to the destroyed train tracks to the ashes of Canterlot a clear picture is painted.
  2096. >You’ve little hope that any part of Equestria was spared.
  2097. >All the more reason why you NEED to get there and take the reigns.
  2098. >You can feel Luna gripping you by the neck.
  2099. >Were you still flesh and blood, you’d be struggling to stand.
  2100. >You’d never have had the stamina to run this far, and finishing the trip with another pony on your back would have been totally out of the question.
  2101. >But as it stands you go back to sprinting.
  2102.  
  2103. “This’d be so much faster if I had wheels.”
  2104.  
  2105. >”Yeah… that- *gasp* could probably do that.”
  2106.  
  2107. >Strange that she’d spend breath on a joke at this time, given how she’s still quite winded.
  2108. >Time passes with naught but her heavy breathing and your galloping.
  2109. >Canterlot grows closer.
  2110. >Even with just the one eye you can see it with stunning clarity, and it makes you wish you could still weep.
  2111. >Your life’s work.
  2112. >In ruins.
  2113. >All because- no!
  2114. >There’s no time for self pity.
  2115. >You fail to take a deep breath and push HARDER.
  2116. >Your current charge is down to 78%.
  2117. >You’re not sure what that means, and it scares you.
  2118. >It’s dropping a lot faster now that you’re sprinting full tilt with a second pony on your back.
  2119. >It seemed as though you were doing fine when it was at full.
  2120. >What will happen when it reaches 0?
  2121. >Is that bad?
  2122. >How can you stop it?
  2123. >Too many question, too few answer.
  2124. >Although…
  2125. >You’ve met your maker, and she’s riding on your back.
  2126. >She may not be the most knowledgeable on the subject, but she’s near the top.
  2127. >Was she not intended to be your caretaker?
  2128. >If this is important she’d surely have heard of it.
  2129.  
  2130. “My ‘charge’ is dropping. What does that mean?”
  2131.  
  2132. >”How low?”
  2133.  
  2134. >The breathy voice comes quickly- perhaps too quickly.
  2135. >As though she were concerned.
  2136.  
  2137. “77.9%”
  2138.  
  2139. >You can hear a palpable sigh of relief through the heavy breathing.
  2140. >So low is bad, but this isn’t too low then?
  2141.  
  2142. >”It’s energy, kinda like food. At 0 your body will shut down, and you’ll switch to backup power. From there we have a week or so to get you some power before your life support gives out.”
  2143.  
  2144. >If it’s like food, then surely exercise is making you use it faster?
  2145. >At your current rate of consumption, you’ll run out in about 8 hours, 54 minutes, and 9 seconds.
  2146. >Sprinting at full tilt with no sign of tiring.
  2147. >An unbelievable amount of stamina.
  2148.  
  2149. “Earth ponies eat your heart out.”
  2150.  
  2151. >”Hm?”
  2152.  
  2153. “Nothing. How do I get more?”
  2154.  
  2155. >”He said there’d be something set up in the palace to turn sunlight into lightning.”
  2156.  
  2157. >Changing sunlight?
  2158. >It seems far fetched.
  2159. >But at this point you can’t maintain your skepticism any further.
  2160. >Common sense has no place when He’s around.
  2161. >You can’t help but wonder if that’s what the super-black roof is for.
  2162. >Plants are green because they eat all the other colours of light.
  2163. >Maybe these are black because they eat it all?
  2164.  
  2165. “If Twilight’s days are always this dim I’ll go hungry. What’s the plan?”
  2166.  
  2167. >”We go straight to the palace and pick up my reports. They should tell us everything we need to know. But first we fix your eye.”
  2168.  
  2169. >You almost immediately ask who she got to investigate.
  2170. >But you know better.
  2171. >It’s not that she doesn’t trust you to abuse that knowledge, it’s that she doesn’t trust you to keep it secret.
  2172. >Which is fair, loathe as you are to admit it.
  2173. >While rare, you HAVE let slip secrets from time to time.
  2174. >Never directly of course, always piecemeal.
  2175. >An off the cuff comment here, some idle chitchat there, and suddenly someone’s put together the pieces.
  2176. >With hordes of ponies watching your every move and hanging on to your every word, one will inevitably read into what you do just a little too much.
  2177. >Your surprise attack against Sombra was once figured out because you ate a light meal stating you didn’t want to be bloated.
  2178. >Luna’s never let anything slip that you can recall.
  2179.  
  2180. “From what you recall, what stage was she at?”
  2181.  
  2182. >”Angry and depressed. Likely looking at the word through a twisted lense.”
  2183.  
  2184. “Not pushing to get rid of all the gryphons or anything crazy like that?”
  2185.  
  2186. >”That was ONE TIME!”
  2187.  
  2188. >What?
  2189. >You must have forgotten something.
  2190. >That was an oddly specific question, though.
  2191. >Almost as though you were getting at something?
  2192. >Maybe you’ve only mostly forgotten?
  2193.  
  2194. “Grr. Organic memory is trash!”
  2195.  
  2196. >”What’s the matter?”
  2197.  
  2198. “Don’t worry about it right now.”
  2199.  
  2200. >You keep pushing forward at what should be an exhausting pace.
  2201. >Off in the distance you spot a small merchant caravan walking down the roadway.
  2202. >You’re pretty certain you’re too far off for them to see.
  2203. >You quickly dive into the nearby bushes.
  2204.  
  2205. >”What-”
  2206.  
  2207. “Ponies ahead. I can’t be seen yet. My return to the public eye needs to be handled carefully.”
  2208.  
  2209. >”Yes, they’re unlikely to react calmly.”
  2210.  
  2211. “Can you get me in un-noticed?”
  2212.  
  2213. >”You’re asking if I can get a package into my own home without raising suspicion?”
  2214.  
  2215. >She scoffs and flies off.
  2216. >That’s all the answer you need.
  2217.  
  2218. Later…
  2219.  
  2220. >”Eugh. Damn thing’s heavy.”
  2221.  
  2222. >”Shaddup an’ help me lift.”
  2223.  
  2224. >These two crude ponies were sent to retrieve a large wooden box.
  2225. >One in which you now reside.
  2226. >You’ve been in their care for FAR too long.
  2227. >73 minutes and 8 seconds to be imprecise.
  2228.  
  2229. >”What kinda sick psycho wants this thing delivered upstairs anyways?”
  2230.  
  2231. >”Luna.”
  2232.  
  2233. >”Ah. Never did like her.”
  2234.  
  2235. >You immediately open your mouth to shout them down.
  2236. >But somehow you manage to catch yourself.
  2237. >More grunting and pulling.
  2238. >And finally you come to a halt.
  2239.  
  2240. >”There. That’s good enough. Whatever this is they can handle it from there.”
  2241.  
  2242. >The two workers walk away chattering inconsequentially.
  2243. >Despite your lack of interest, you can’t help but remember every single word.
  2244. >At the moment though, your focus is elsewhere.
  2245. >You listen to the heartbeat and soft breathing.
  2246. >If only you could see through the box-
  2247. >Oh right.
  2248. >Your thermal vision engages with a mere thought.
  2249. >There are FOUR ponies strewn about the room.
  2250. >Perfectly still.
  2251. >ALMOST perfectly silent.
  2252. >You stand stock still, frightened of being seen in your own home.
  2253. >Hoofsteps approach from the rear.
  2254. >A door opens.
  2255.  
  2256. >”At ease. I ordered it here. You’re all dismissed.”
  2257.  
  2258. >Luna.
  2259. >These must be her subordinates.
  2260. >Two of them quietly slip out of the room, while the smallest walks up to Luna.
  2261. >They bow deeply.
  2262.  
  2263. >”The treasonous curs who delivered this spoke ill of you.”
  2264.  
  2265. >That sounds almost like a foal!
  2266. >And they ARE indeed the smallest of the bunch.
  2267. >Is Luna recruiting youth?
  2268.  
  2269. >”Do you think them a credible threat?”
  2270.  
  2271. >”No, your majesty.”
  2272.  
  2273. >”Then we can safely ignore them.”
  2274.  
  2275. >”But they curse you behind your back! They sully your name when they think nopony’s listening!”
  2276.  
  2277. >”And that’s okay. You know my goals.”
  2278.  
  2279. >”To keep Equestria safe, to keep Equestria prosperous, to keep Equestria united, and to keep quiet.”
  2280.  
  2281. >”Yes. I need to amend it, but that’s how it stands. Now, which one of them requires that they like us? If Equestria thrives and Iam hated, then we’ve done our job. They’re just words. Don’t worry about them. Now run along.”
  2282.  
  2283. >The pony in question takes their leave without another word.
  2284. >You must admit, you’re surprised.
  2285. >That was very mature of Luna.
  2286.  
  2287. >”If I still had my magic, they’d have night terrors for weeks.”
  2288.  
  2289. >That’s more what you were expecting.
  2290.  
  2291. >”Now let’s get that box open.”
  2292.  
  2293. >To your surprise she manages to pry the side off of your wooden prison in mere seconds.
  2294. >You frantically gesture in the direction of the remaining pony, all the while silently mouthing warnings.
  2295.  
  2296. >”Hm? Oh, you can see them? I suppose I shouldn’t be too shocked. Don’t worry, I know they’re here. And they haven’t seen anything yet. Would it be okay if one of my most trusted agents were to see you? We need somepony to figure out how to present you to the public. And for that? They need to know what you look like. Don’t worry, they’re trustworthy.”
  2297.  
  2298. >She’s right.
  2299. >You look quite shocking.
  2300. >You can’t simply go out and face the public.
  2301. >And yet you can’t hide forever.
  2302.  
  2303. ”Neither Spike nor you were shocked.”
  2304.  
  2305. >”We both knew what was coming. Spike has lived as you do for quite some time, and I saw it all come together. For the average pony it will be quite a stark contrast. Especially since you’re officially dead.”
  2306.  
  2307. >So you’re dead then.
  2308. >You really shouldn’t be surprised.
  2309. >Last you were seen you were a corpse.
  2310. >Then the magic keeping you from rotting suddenly failed.
  2311. >It’s the only reasonable conclusion anypony could have come up with.
  2312. >And that will definitely be a problem.
  2313. >You hesitantly step out of the box, not at all stiff despite your long trip.
  2314. >Switching back to the normal spectrum your surroundings quickly resolve themselves into the antechamber before the throne room.
  2315. >Which means that your chambers are nearly on the other side of the palace.
  2316. >Which is…
  2317. >Less than desirable.
  2318. >When you fully emerge you can hear a voice quietly gasp.
  2319.  
  2320. >”By the stars. What is that thing?”
  2321.  
  2322. >Luna doesn’t seem to have heard that.
  2323. >The words from the now invisible spectator wound you far more deeply than you’d have expected mere moments ago.
  2324. >You turn to face the source.
  2325.  
  2326. >”I’m Princess Celestia, rightful ruler of Equestria! And don’t you DARE forget it.”
  2327.  
  2328. >The invisible pony stops breathing for a moment.
  2329. >You can hear their heart racing.
  2330. >It would seem they know you heard them.
  2331.  
  2332. >”Come to the wine cellar. We have a clear shot.”
  2333.  
  2334. >You start following her, eye focused right where you saw the heat.
  2335. >There’s nothing but empty space there.
  2336.  
  2337. >”Don’t mind them. They just don’t like being seen.”
  2338.  
  2339. >The delivery ponies walked right past them without a word.
  2340. >You can’t see them at all when relying on normal pony vision.
  2341. >And yet there they are.
  2342. >There were FOUR of them.
  2343. >How often have you shared a room with them and not noticed?
  2344. >How many times have you walked right on by while totally unaware?
  2345. >And more importantly, how BAD are pony eyes?
  2346. >And are pony ears really as terrible as they seem?
  2347. >They’re sitting there plain as day, just standing around in the open.
  2348. >TALKING to themselves no less!
  2349. >And nopony notices them?
  2350. >Again, the new you is amazing.
  2351.  
  2352. “Wine cellar, then? Isn’t it a bit early to be drinking?”
  2353.  
  2354. >”It’s a machine shop now.”
  2355.  
  2356. >You descend down the dimly lit stairs with confidence.
  2357. >You can tell there aren’t any ponies other than yourself and Luna in the vicinity.
  2358. >Down by the heavy oak doors you spot metal filings scattered about; clearly the maids haven’t come down here since it was built.
  2359. >Perhaps they fear it?
  2360. >You can only imagine what construction was like, doubtlessly the flying machines swarmed the palace and had their way with it.
  2361. >Chaos, panic, and disorder were inevitable.
  2362. >You casually push aside the doors, your fake muscles making a mockery of the hefty doorway.
  2363. >And there you see it.
  2364. >Tools of clearly alien make scattered about the chamber.
  2365. >Large metal tables with bizarre contraptions mounted upon them.
  2366. >You recognize some of the objects, but even the familiar ones are wrong.
  2367. >A hoof drill with no crank, a screwdriver with a switch, a press with no wheel.
  2368. >Luna casually walks up to a collection of crates off by the far wall.
  2369. >She pulls a large glassy object out of one of them after a brief glance in.
  2370.  
  2371. >”Hold still, I’m going to replace your eye.”
  2372.  
  2373. >Oh.
  2374. >Right.
  2375. >That.
  2376. >She’s going to replace your eye.
  2377. >Which means she’s going to have to take it out first.
  2378. >She’s going to pull your eye out of your skull.
  2379. >Then shove something else in to replace it.
  2380. >She’s going to-
  2381.  
  2382. >”Oh, grow up. There’s nothing important in your head. And for once, I don’t say that as an insult.”
  2383.  
  2384. “You’re certain this is safe?”
  2385.  
  2386. >”Worst case scenario I get a slight shock.”
  2387.  
  2388. >You try to take a deep breath to brace yourself.
  2389. >To prepare for the pain of having your eye plucked from its socket.
  2390. >She walks up to you and raises her hoof.
  2391. >You brace for impact.
  2392. >You shove all your focus away from your face and examine the sensation in the frog of your back right hoof.
  2393. >Anything to distract yourself from-
  2394.  
  2395. >”There we go.”
  2396.  
  2397. >A split second later light returns to your second eye.
  2398. >And on the floor lies your old, shattered eye.
  2399. >You didn’t feel a thing.
  2400.  
  2401. “That was… fast?”
  2402.  
  2403. >”We have a few spare parts.”
  2404.  
  2405. >You’d noticed.
  2406. >But that still doesn’t make sense!
  2407.  
  2408. ”But it was only 18 seconds after you’d retrieved the part that I could see!”
  2409.  
  2410. >”I just had to put a new one in. It wasn’t a big job.”
  2411.  
  2412. “But I was BLINDED!”
  2413.  
  2414. >”And now you aren’t. I should be able to do the same no matter what breaks, though if it’s structural it might take a while to make. Oh, and about those wheels. That might take some work.”
  2415.  
  2416. >She was SERIOUS?
  2417.  
  2418. >”There are a few extra hookups on your power grid that we could tap into, but I have no idea how. Perhaps miss Pie has the answer? If my reports are accurate she was almost exclusively researching lightning generation. We’ll have to speak with her later.”
  2419.  
  2420. “You mean to tell me we could build MORE things into my body? That we could customise it to my liking?”
  2421.  
  2422. >”To some degree.”
  2423.  
  2424. >Astounding.
  2425. >Absolutely astounding.
  2426. >How many ponies are blinded, never to see again?
  2427. >What would they give for the gift of sight?
  2428. >And here it was, returned to you in mere seconds.
  2429. >And she can do the same for anything?
  2430. >How many bones are shattered a year?
  2431. >How many go deaf as they age?
  2432. >And how many perish of organ failure?
  2433. >Too many.
  2434. >FAR too many.
  2435. >And then you can go even further.
  2436. >Wheels would be a great start.
  2437. >But after that?
  2438. >What is limiting you other than your imagination?
  2439. >You can deny it no longer.
  2440. >Spike was right.
  2441. >You aren’t a pony anymore.
  2442. >But that’s no reason to mourn.
  2443. >You’re BETTER than a mere pony.
  2444.  
  2445. “Luna, I owe you an apology.”
  2446.  
  2447. >She looks you dead in the eye with her squishy, fragile peepers.
  2448. >Irreplaceable, easily damage, and compared to yours they’re barely functional to boot.
  2449.  
  2450. “I wasn’t exactly happy when I woke up looking like this. Far from it. I was shocked, horrified, ANGRY. And yes, I even blamed you for a little bit.”
  2451.  
  2452. >You place one hoof on her shoulder, feeling the soft, delicate flesh beneath.
  2453. >So easily broken.
  2454. >So difficult to mend.
  2455.  
  2456. “The price was great, but the yield is incredible. I’m a mechanical mare now. I accept that. And what’s more, I’m happy with it. I’ve been this way for such a short time, and yet I’ve already found so many ways in which it’s better. I will miss many things. My tongue. My magic. My wings. My genitals.”
  2457.  
  2458. >A grimace quickly flashes across her face.
  2459. >You really should have seen that coming.
  2460. >That’s not exactly socially acceptable.
  2461. >But for whatever reason, be it your recent experiences, a leftover from the magic, or perhaps simple brain damage, the taboo seems silly now.
  2462. >But it still makes sense to her.
  2463. >You silently berate yourself for ruining the moment.
  2464.  
  2465. >”But even without them my life may well be better. It’s certainly better to live in metal than to die in flesh.”
  2466.  
  2467. >You hug the meat-sack you call a sister gingerly, careful not to damage her.
  2468.  
  2469. “Thank you.”
  2470.  
  2471. >When you let her go a brilliant smile beams on her face.
  2472. >It would seem as though those are the exact words she’d wanted to hear.
  2473.  
  2474. >”You know, we might be able to give you some of those things back. As far as I know there’s no reason why it’s impossible for you to have them.”
  2475.  
  2476. “But Spike said that I was too heavy to fly?”
  2477.  
  2478. >”He said you couldn’t fly without magic. There’s still magic within you, we just don’t know how to make use of it. And the, ahem, other things such as your tongue? I don’t know for sure, but I don’t see why they couldn’t be replaced. If you can make an eye and ears out of metal, how could a sense of taste be different?”
  2479.  
  2480. >You quickly check your memory.
  2481. >She's right.
  2482.  
  2483. “So you can give me my pussy back?”
  2484.  
  2485. >If the moment’s already ruined, you might as well take the opportunity to tease her.
  2486. >She averts her gaze.
  2487. >You don’t need heat vision to see her face warming up.
  2488.  
  2489. >”NO! Umm, that is to say I wouldn’t know how. We’ll have to try and get His help with that, though I’ve no clue what we could offer him. I’ve already asked so much and given so little.”
  2490.  
  2491. “Is that all? Don’t worry about it. He’s done enough for me. From here on out, we ponies will stand on our own four hooves. You had a hoof in making me, right? Can you do it again?”
  2492.  
  2493. >She lets out a loud, harsh laugh.
  2494. >There’s no humor to be found in it.
  2495.  
  2496. >”What, do you want an army of metal mares?”
  2497.  
  2498. “Not an army. An entire nation! It’s hard to put into words just how different life is this way. There is no pain. There is no weariness! I never forget, I overlook nothing, I’m exceptionally durable and easily healed, I am BETTER. I wish to share this gift you’ve given me with all who would have it.”
  2499.  
  2500. >”I don’t think the public would wish to be like you.”
  2501.  
  2502. “No, not exactly like me. Just similar. There is room for half measures, is there not? Spike is still almost wholly draconic, yet he has the same eye as I. Clearly that can be given to ponies of flesh and blood. And my new memory is attached to my brain, which is still the original, yes? Why could we not add that to a healthy pony? This is so exciting! For all these years I’ve puzzled on how to make a better society with ponies. But now, for the first time ever, we’re presented with a new option. We don’t need to do better with ponies, we can make ponies better.”
  2503.  
  2504. >”Second time.”
  2505.  
  2506. “Pardon?”
  2507.  
  2508. >”It’s the second time we’ve been afforded this option.”
  2509.  
  2510. >You’ve had a chance to make a better pony before?
  2511. >When?
  2512. >This idea seems so novel to you…
  2513. >Have you forgotten?
  2514. >It wouldn’t surprise you.
  2515. >Organic memory is terrible.
  2516.  
  2517. >”While you were… absent, I learned much about our visitor. He’s likely the only member of his species.”
  2518.  
  2519. “What?”
  2520.  
  2521. >How could that be?
  2522. >How could such a powerful species go extinct?
  2523.  
  2524. >”There are quadrillions of what he calls his people, but he’s the only one of his species. Because he wasn’t bred. He has no mother. His father designed him. Created one cell and grew it into a fell being. He has no biological parents, and he might well be unable to breed with any others. Though that last one is just my speculation.”
  2525.  
  2526. “His father DESIGNED him? I don’t follow.”
  2527.  
  2528. >”Life is chemistry. If you understand the chemistry of life, you can manipulate it. Redesign it. Optimize it. Why are some ponies brighter than others? Why are some born sickly while others live long lives? He was designed for excellence. Based on his father, but tweaked to fix all the problems that had made themselves known over the years. Refined over generations with the hopes of attaining perfection. I want to do the same here.”
  2529.  
  2530. >It’s all starting to make sense.
  2531. >How one ape could do so many impossible things with ease.
  2532. >How he could brush aside the full fury of Equestria, of the Alicorns, of Discord, using nothing but his claws and intellect?
  2533. >How could he make a mockery of your most destructive ritual spells?
  2534. >You were designed with different goals in mind.
  2535. >You were made to FEED a god.
  2536. >Designed to feed it as much magic as possible with no concern for anything else.
  2537. >If you produce magic and aren’t dangerous to your creator, it’s a job well done.
  2538. >He was designed to BE a god.
  2539. >Clever beyond comprehension.
  2540. >Wisdom beyond measure.
  2541. >And power beyond compare.
  2542.  
  2543. “I’ll need some time to consider that idea.”
  2544.  
  2545. >”I need none to consider yours. We can’t do it. I hardly understand half of what I did to put your body together, and I didn’t even build most of the parts. It was little more than assembly. I don’t think ponies are smart enough to make this.”
  2546.  
  2547. >She vaguely gestures at you as she speaks.
  2548.  
  2549. >”We’ll have to design a smarter pony before we can start adding metal into the mix.”
  2550.  
  2551. “What, you think that’d be easier?”
  2552.  
  2553. >You can’t really snort properly, but you do your best.
  2554. >It comes out as more of a failed whistle.
  2555.  
  2556. “To redesign life from the ground up? To understand our minds so well that we can improve them? It sounds nearly impossible. Where would we even start?”
  2557.  
  2558. >”One moment.”
  2559.  
  2560. >She runs off to who knows where.
  2561. >It occurs to you that you CAN track her though.
  2562. >Heat vision engages.
  2563. >You increase the sensitivity several times.
  2564. >Before long the air around you starts to glow.
  2565. >Even so you can’t see through the stone walls.
  2566. >It would seem as though there are indeed a few limits to your eyes.
  2567. >But you’re still amazed.
  2568. >In 5 minutes and 18 seconds you see her return, breathing somewhat heavily.
  2569.  
  2570. >”Come upstairs, it’s safe.”
  2571.  
  2572. >You glide up the stairs with ease, hearing them creak alarmingly as your huge heft strains the wooden planks.
  2573. >You reach the top and pop through the doorway.
  2574.  
  2575. >”This thing doesn’t get a signal in the basement. I don’t know why, exactly. I hardly know how it works at all.”
  2576.  
  2577. >She produces a small glowing rectangle and starts poking at it feverishly.
  2578. >Her poking and prodding grows more rapid over time.
  2579. >Perhaps she can’t find what she’s after?
  2580.  
  2581. >”What do you want.”
  2582.  
  2583. >HIS voice.
  2584. >It sounds irked.
  2585. >Not angry.
  2586. >Just annoyed.
  2587.  
  2588. >”Sorry! I was looking for something I thought was on here and I didn’t mean to-”
  2589.  
  2590. >”Just spit it out, Luna.”
  2591.  
  2592. >”You took a tissue sample from me and checked my… I forget. Can we get the results?”
  2593.  
  2594. >”You won’t understand them.”
  2595.  
  2596. >”I know. I’m just trying to explain to ‘Tia how life can be re-designed.”
  2597.  
  2598. >”Oh. Fair enough.”
  2599.  
  2600. FILE TRANSFER INITIATED.
  2601. LUNA.RAR from SERVER-PLANETSIDE-4
  2602. ACCEPT?
  2603.  
  2604. Y/N
  2605.  
  2606. >”Just say ‘yes’.
  2607.  
  2608. “Yes?”
  2609.  
  2610. >Knowledge floods your head.
  2611. >Massive amounts of detailed and incomprehensible information.
  2612. >3,089,830,916 pairs of symbols, each arranged in a very specific order.
  2613. >A massive collection lumps arranged in a double helix stretching on for seemingly forever.
  2614. >Hundreds of sets of the same thing, each with thousands of differences within.
  2615. >And it all takes less than a second.
  2616.  
  2617. >”That’s Luna. Well, that’s the thing that makes her. They’re all a little different because of genetic damage, but that’s normal. You’d be hard pressed to find a single cell in the whole world that didn’t have some errors, mine included. Screw around with that enough and you’d wind up with a different pony. Assuming you wound up with a pony at all.”
  2618.  
  2619. >”I don’t see anything. Did something go wrong?”
  2620.  
  2621. >”I dropped it straight into her memory banks. It’ll save you the trouble of reading through it. Here, I’ll give you a copy too.”
  2622.  
  2623. >You force your attention away from the overwhelming flood of data.
  2624. >It would take far too long to look at it all, and you don’t understand it anyway.
  2625.  
  2626. “You can share information that quickly from that far away?”
  2627.  
  2628. >”Sure. Why not?”
  2629.  
  2630. >And here you are writing letters like some savage.
  2631.  
  2632. “If everypony were like me, could we share knowledge like this?”
  2633.  
  2634. >”Yeah, sure. There’s a couple intricacies involved, but it happens.”
  2635.  
  2636. “And could everypony be connected to each other sharing any amount of information with anypony else at will?”
  2637.  
  2638. >”It’s called the [extranet]. [Internet] for smaller networks.”
  2639.  
  2640. “All the more reason why I must share this gift. Ape-”
  2641.  
  2642. >”Don’t call me that.”
  2643.  
  2644. “I must thank you. But I wonder, would you help me give this to the masses? Would you share the blessings you’ve given me?”
  2645.  
  2646. >”Tell her, Luna.”
  2647.  
  2648. >“I asked him to help design a better pony. The answer was a vehement ‘no’.”
  2649.  
  2650. >”There’s lots of reasons. Most importantly I already have way too much work to do. But from your perspective, the most important reason is that you should really do it yourself. Do you have no pride? Are you so pathetic that you can’t make anything of your selves and you need the scary alien to do it for you? Are you so worthless that you actually WANT an outsider to decide the very nature of your being? Are you such failures that you’d be better off letting the person you kept trying to kill decide the destiny of your species than to take control yourself? You as a species have already traded in your dignity. Luna begged me to save lives, and so I did. And in doing so she admitted that ponies are contemptible, that you can’t succeed on your own. Ponies as a whole are a charity case. This is your ONLY chance to regain your dignity. Take it.”
  2651.  
  2652. >He has a point.
  2653. >If you let another do this for you, ponykind will never be able to take pride in their works again.
  2654. >Everything you did from that point on would be because of another.
  2655. >Your every feat and accomplishment wouldn’t really be because of your own efforts or excellence.
  2656. >They’d be because of him.
  2657. >The expedient solution would be to swallow your pride and ask for his charity anyway.
  2658. >To do away with all semblance of self worth and be reborn.
  2659. >Better.
  2660. >But forever humiliated.
  2661. >You’re a proud mare.
  2662. >And you’ve never been scared of taking up an ambitious project.
  2663.  
  2664. “You’re right. We need to stop seeking charity. And we need to start paying our debts. I owe you my life, ap- what’s your name?”
  2665.  
  2666. >”You’re the only one who’s asked that since I got here, you know.”
  2667.  
  2668. >Really?
  2669. >You would have thought either Spike or Luna would have posed the question.
  2670. >How could you be first?
  2671.  
  2672. >”It translates to Anonymous.”
  2673.  
  2674. “If you don’t want to say that’s fine, but I need to call you something.”
  2675.  
  2676. >”It’s my name. Dad picked it to make paperwork harder for the government. It’s a family tradition. His name was
  2677. [SQL> DROP TABLE CITIZENS;]. That one doesn’t translate well.”
  2678.  
  2679. >You can’t help but feel a joke just went over your head.
  2680. >Hopefully it isn’t at your expense.
  2681.  
  2682. “Very well then. I owe you my life, Anonymous. And I repay my debts. What can I give you in payment?”
  2683.  
  2684. >”I doubt we’ve anything he wants.”
  2685.  
  2686. >Luna’s probably right.
  2687. >But you need to ask anyway.
  2688.  
  2689. >”I want justice.”
  2690.  
  2691. >You suddenly regret everything.
  2692.  
  2693. >”The gateway you ponies broke took an obscene amount of energy to make. Even with everything I have set up it could take well over a year to replace. And even with the materials it’ll be a huge pain. I’m going to have to run all the numbers all over again, ugh. And you broke my ship, that’s pretty valuable. Since it was the only space worthy vehicle in the world I’d put the price tag extremely high. There’s all the facilities your destroyed, the turrets you smashed, the petrol reserves you burn up… You owe me a hell of a lot, and that’s just the property damage. Let’s not forget all the attempts on my life, and the fact that I had to grow a new arm.”
  2694.  
  2695. “Grow a new arm? I thought you built one.”
  2696.  
  2697. >The text on the glowing rectangle is replaced by a still image of ‘Anonymous’.
  2698. >He sits in some small enclosed chamber, though you can’t identify where exactly.
  2699. >His previously absent left arm is raised at you, middle digit extended.
  2700.  
  2701. >”And then I grew a new one. I want the one responsible for all this to face justice.”
  2702.  
  2703. “And what do you intend to do to them?”
  2704.  
  2705. >”Not sure yet.”
  2706.  
  2707. >You’ve been put in an awkward position.
  2708. >His request is reasonable.
  2709. >And you do wish to repay him in some way.
  2710. >But you can’t send one of your subjects to face unknown judgement.
  2711.  
  2712. “I can’t do that for you. I can’t send Fluttershy to face judgement without knowing what fate awaits. She’s one of my subjects, I must protect her.”
  2713.  
  2714. >”Who the copulate is Fluttershy?”
  2715.  
  2716. “She’s the one that first attacked you.”
  2717.  
  2718. >”So? I’m not interested in the pawns, I want the queen. I want YOU. You’re the one who wrote the kill order into law! She’s just the obedient idiot who did what she was told. I expect that law to be removed from the books by the way.”
  2719.  
  2720. >Well.
  2721. >At least he’s not going after your subjects.
  2722. >That’s good.
  2723. >You think.
  2724.  
  2725. “What are you going to do to me?”
  2726.  
  2727. >Your synthesized voice quivers with fear as you speak.
  2728. >You wouldn’t be able to mask your fear and apprehension if you tried.
  2729. >He’s mad.
  2730. >And he wants you.
  2731.  
  2732. >”Nothing. If I wanted to do something to you I would have done it by now. There’s nothing stopping me. No, the question is what are you going to do to yourself? I need a bit to decide.”
  2733.  
  2734. >The line goes dead.
  2735.  
  2736. >”What do you think he’s going to-”
  2737.  
  2738. “Can we discuss anything else? Please?”
  2739.  
  2740. >What you’re going to do to yourself?
  2741. >You REALLY don’t like the sounds of that.
  2742.  
  2743. >”Okay.”
  2744.  
  2745. >The concern is readily audible in her voice.
  2746. >She’s worried too.
  2747.  
  2748. >”We need to go talk to Twilight.”
  2749.  
  2750. >You don’t want to talk about that either.
  2751. >But you really don’t have a choice.
  2752.  
  2753. >”She’s resisting. And failing."
  2754.  
  2755. “How bad?”
  2756.  
  2757. >”One of my reports says she spent half an hour yelling at a puppy yesterday.”
  2758.  
  2759. >Better than you’d dared to hope.
  2760.  
  2761. >”While she was on her way to declare war on the Titans.”
  2762.  
  2763. >All you can do is groan as your hoof meets your face.
  2764.  
  2765.  
  2766.  
  2767. >You are Luna.
  2768. >You’re on a mission.
  2769. >A mission to fix the mess Sparkle’s making, preferably before it gets out of control.
  2770. >But you have a hoof tied behind your back.
  2771. >You need to keep Celestia as a last resort, there’s no telling how Twilight will react.
  2772. >And she doesn’t seem to like you all that much.
  2773. >The feeling is mutual.
  2774. >And so you’re relying on the babysitter.
  2775. >You’ve never really approved of her being a princess.
  2776. >She’s weak willed.
  2777. >Soft.
  2778. >She hasn’t been hardened by millenia of hardship.
  2779. >Maybe in a few thousand years she’ll be ready.
  2780. >But right now it’s quite simply an insult that she bare the same title as you.
  2781. >She’s a follower, not a leader.
  2782. >She doesn’t exude the air of authority that a proper princess needs.
  2783. >She doesn’t belong on a throne.
  2784.  
  2785. ”Cadence. We need to talk. Follow.”
  2786.  
  2787. >“Where-”
  2788.  
  2789. ”Now.”
  2790.  
  2791. >You found her walking down a corridor, likely heading to Twilight’s chambers.
  2792. >You’ve been informed that she’s keeping a close eye on Twilight.
  2793. >Trying her best to mitigate the damage.
  2794. >And failing miserably.
  2795. >That’s why you like Cadence.
  2796. >She tries hard and means well.
  2797. >She’s a good mare.
  2798. >And were she more capable she’d likely be a good leader.
  2799. >Yes, you like Cadence quite a lot. You just don’t respect her.
  2800. >She follows for a few minutes without word.
  2801. >Eventually she changes her mind and stops still.
  2802.  
  2803. >“Where are we going? I mean, where are YOU going?”
  2804.  
  2805. >You turn to look at her.
  2806. >She’s trying to seem confident, but she’s shirking back under your gaze.
  2807. >You give a nod of sparing approval.
  2808.  
  2809. ”Better. You’re finally starting to grow a spine. Stand up tall next time- yes, now straighten your neck.”
  2810.  
  2811. >A few orders later and she has a proper dignified posture.
  2812. >Indeed, she’ll be a good leader some day.
  2813. >Just not yet.
  2814.  
  2815. ”And don’t take so long to ask next time. We’re going to talk to Twilight about the mess she’s made. That was your plan anyway, yes? She’s in my sisters quarters, not her own chambers.”
  2816.  
  2817. >You start walking again.
  2818. >She follows behind when she SHOULD be walking abreast of you.
  2819. >Baby steps...
  2820.  
  2821. “What do we need to talk about?”
  2822.  
  2823. >She must not realise how well informed you are.
  2824. >It’s plausible that you know more of Twilight’s actions than she does despite your absence.
  2825. >And you’re likely the single most qualified pony in history to interpret the signs.
  2826.  
  2827. >”Don’t play dumb. I know the whole deal. Twilight got angry, blew some stuff up, it felt good, and now she’s looking for excuses to fight. She’s dangerous, Cadance. Remember that.”
  2828.  
  2829. >A quick glance back and you see a worried grimace plastered on her face.
  2830. >It’s genuine.
  2831. >And it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why.
  2832.  
  2833. “I’ll make sure she knows you didn’t tell me.”
  2834.  
  2835. >You push the door to your sister’s study aside without so much as knocking.
  2836.  
  2837. ”You shouldn’t be in my sister’s private quarters, Sparkle!’
  2838.  
  2839. >Twilight turns her head to look at the source of the intrusion.
  2840. >She pushes away from the rich mahogany disk and the mounds of papers that cover it.
  2841. >She fails to notice some of her papers move slightly as one of your hidden agents reads them.
  2842. >You’ll have to have words with Silent Vigil for her sloppy work.
  2843.  
  2844. >”Luna. I thought you’d abandoned Equestria. Oh, hello Cadence.”
  2845.  
  2846. >She growls your name out.
  2847. >Which is to be expected.
  2848. >Thankfully, she doesn’t seem to be angry at Cadence.
  2849. >Yet.
  2850.  
  2851. ”Oh, I’ve put FAR too much work into this state to leave it in your care.”
  2852.  
  2853. >”Fat lot of good it did! Equestria is a joke. At the first sign of trouble, everypony turns on their friends and neighbors. Rioting, looting, muggings- it’s like they were looking for an excuse to turn into animals. Maybe they were. That’s what they are at heart.”
  2854.  
  2855. “But not you of course. You’re FAR better than them.”
  2856.  
  2857. >”I know you’re being sarcastic, but you’re right. I’m the leader they need. Your services will no longer be needed. When I’m in charge, everpony will trust each other. There won’t be crime waves. There will only be harmony.”
  2858.  
  2859. >”That sounds wonderful!”
  2860.  
  2861. ”Don’t trust her Cadence. She’s a madmare. I recognise the symptoms, Sparkle. Or do you mean to tell me the ten minutes you spent the other day striking that tree was totally normal?”
  2862.  
  2863. >”How-”
  2864.  
  2865. ”The puppy did nothing wrong, Twilight. You just got mad over absolutely nothing.”
  2866.  
  2867. >”What puppy? What happened?”
  2868.  
  2869. >You ignore Cadance’s question.
  2870.  
  2871. ”I know dark magic, Twilight. And you REEK of it. You’re glaring at me and grinding your teeth! I bet you’re thinking of killing me right now, aren’t you? Anything to shut me up. Everything you’re thinking sounds like a great idea, it’s all so clear now, isn’t it? But a month ago you’d have been appalled by the wretch you’ve become.”
  2872.  
  2873. >”Here I am trying to clean up the mess you made, and you’re calling ME a wretch?”
  2874.  
  2875. “Yes. Your goals may be noble, but you’ll still find a way to pervert them. It’ll give you absolutely everything you could have ever wanted Sparkle. Power, wealth, pleasure. It’ll make all your dreams come true. And NONE of it will make it worthwhile. I wanted attention; I was SICK of being ignored! It sure as Tartarus made the public pay attention to me! Sombra wanted the Crystal Empire’s borders to be secure against the frost giants. At first he just drew power to fend them off. In the end? His slave army proved to be a better solution. Celestia wanted to be warm. She just couldn’t take the cold any longer! And had fate not intervened, the world would have burned. You’ll have your harmony, Twilight. And IF you ever recover, IF! Well then, you’ll be sickened by it.”
  2876.  
  2877. >”I just want to stop the infighting. What’s the worst that could happen?”
  2878.  
  2879. “I don’t know yet. I’d much rather we never found out. I strongly advise that you go back to Ponyville. Spend time with your friends. Avoid all the stress of the crown at all costs. And most of all, don’t use ANY magic at all unless your life depends on it. Maybe not even then.”
  2880.  
  2881. >It takes a great deal of effort and discipline to keep the yearning and regret from your voice.
  2882. >Luckily, you’ve plenty of experience.
  2883. >You deliver the statement with calm and firm words.
  2884. >Meanwhile, Twilight returns to her work and picks up a quill with her magic.
  2885.  
  2886. >”Yeah. I’m not taking advice from Nightmare Moon.”
  2887.  
  2888. >Your immediate impulse is to beat her smug face in.
  2889. >But you restrain yourself with minimal effort.
  2890.  
  2891. ”I see. You’ll not heed my words regardless of what I say?”
  2892.  
  2893. >”Piss off. I’m busy.”
  2894.  
  2895. >You highly doubt anything you say will take root.
  2896. >She sees you as the enemy.
  2897. >Not a welcome development, but not at all unexpected.
  2898.  
  2899. “Cadence, you’re up.”
  2900.  
  2901. >She steps in with genuine concern adorning her visage.
  2902.  
  2903. >”Twilight. I’m worried about you.”
  2904.  
  2905. >”I’m fine, Cadence.”
  2906.  
  2907. >Soft words are whispered into your ear as Vigil relays her findings.
  2908. >She’s been looking over Twilight’s papers all day
  2909. >And from the sounds of it, she’s found some good leverage.
  2910.  
  2911. >”But I don’t think you are! We haven’t done our dance since you returned from the front lines. Remember? Sunshine sunshine ladybugs awake?
  2912.  
  2913. >”Yeah… I just have a lot on my mind.”
  2914.  
  2915. >”The staff are afraid of you, Twilight. They don’t want to be near you.”
  2916.  
  2917. >She turns around again.
  2918. >She looks so very tired…
  2919.  
  2920. >”Yeah. I kinda exploded at that maid, didn’t I? Looks I’m under a lot of stress right now, that’s all. , they’re just words.”
  2921.  
  2922. >”Well, okay. If you’re sure. But if you need anypony to talk to, I’m there for you.”
  2923.  
  2924. “Hold up.”
  2925.  
  2926. >You’re not going to let her worm her way out of this so easily!
  2927.  
  2928. “What about the war you just started?”
  2929.  
  2930. >”Still working out the details”
  2931.  
  2932. “You declared WAR without working out all the details?”
  2933.  
  2934. >”I think it makes sense. Shiney said that we were woefully unprepared. What happens if they come back? We have to be ready.”
  2935.  
  2936. >”Exactly. We aren’t going to be able to trade blows with them unless they come back anyway. And when they get here, I want to be prepared.”
  2937.  
  2938. >Of course.
  2939. >Cadence hasn’t thought it through either.
  2940. >You COULD explain it to her, and you’re sure she’d understand.
  2941. >But it would take FAR too long.
  2942. >And Twilight has a convenient rationalization to boot.
  2943. >Luckily, a little bird told you about something quite convenient.
  2944. >You brush past Twilight and grab a document seemingly at random.
  2945. >A quick glance confirms it to be the right one.
  2946.  
  2947. “Public hangings of all violent criminals, then?”
  2948.  
  2949. >”WHAT?”
  2950.  
  2951. >Cadence is exactly as shocked as you’d hoped.
  2952. >You pass her the document.
  2953.  
  2954. >”Should be found to have committed… to be hanged by the neck- TWILIGHT!”
  2955.  
  2956. >”It must be done. In MY Equestria, everypony will trust each other. They won’t be afraid of their neighbors because they’ll all have been scared straight.”
  2957.  
  2958. >You keep sifting through the papers.
  2959. >You already know where to look, but you’re feigning ignorance.
  2960.  
  2961. “Beheadings for false testimony?”
  2962.  
  2963. >”I won’t have ponies spreading malicious lies. My law shan’t be used for personal gain.”
  2964.  
  2965. “Home invasion, death. Arson, death. Burglary- oh? Not death. They just have to pay back thirty times the value of the stolen objects. That’s not as bad.”
  2966.  
  2967. >”Out.”
  2968.  
  2969. “They won’t stand for this, Twilight. The public has a will of its own. They are not mindless drones.”
  2970.  
  2971. >”Get. OUT!”
  2972.  
  2973. “Celestia will be ashamed of you.”
  2974.  
  2975. >And just like that, the quill snaps in Twilight’s grip.
  2976.  
  2977. >”Don’t you DARE. DON’T YOU DARE USE HER. She’s dead. Gone. And I won’t tolerate you, or anypony else using her to manipulate me!”
  2978.  
  2979. >She once again turns to face you.
  2980. >Snarling.
  2981. >Growling.
  2982.  
  2983. “You give up on her far too readily. A little fire would never keep the Unconquered Sun down. Though I suppose it’s now the once conquered sun, she can’t be too pleased about that.”
  2984.  
  2985. >”Auntie lives?”
  2986.  
  2987. “She does. It will be some time before she’s recovered enough to have visitors, but she lives.”
  2988.  
  2989. >”Don’t listen to her LIES!”
  2990.  
  2991. “Cadence. You are with foal, and we will be relying on you to manage the heavens. You can’t risk your wellbeing. I urge you to exercise extreme caution when dealing with Sparkle. Speaking of. My conditions are non-negotiable, Sparkle. No magic whatsoever. I will be watching you very closely. And I WILL save you from this, whether you want me to or not.”
  2992.  
  2993. >”Isn’t that a bit harsh, auntie Luna? Why can she use no magic at all? Is there no room for half measures?”
  2994.  
  2995. >You turn to Cadence with a level expression.
  2996.  
  2997. “Yes. There is room for half measures. THIS!”
  2998.  
  2999. >You point at the stump on your forehead.
  3000. >You channel magic through it with all your might.
  3001. >Sharp stabbing pain wracks your skull as sparks dribble out impotently.
  3002.  
  3003. “THIS is a half measure. I’m going easy on Twilight because my sister has faith in her. Either she stop using magic, or I stop her myself. This is your only warning.”
  3004.  
  3005. >You march from the room, heart racing.
  3006. >You let out a deep shuddering breath once you’re well out of hearing range.
  3007. >It was a delicate balancing act.
  3008. >You had to prove to Cadence that Twilight was not as she seemed.
  3009. >And you hope you’ve proved to Twilight that she is not in control.
  3010. >Neither of her actions, nor in control of Equestria.
  3011. >And you had to do it all without pushing her hard enough to incite violence.
  3012. >Because if she were to strike?
  3013. >It’s hard to say how far she’d go.
  3014. >But you made it out unscathed and you made your point.
  3015. >How well it worked depends on how far gone she is.
  3016. >And you aren’t exactly optimistic.
  3017. >But there are backup plans.
  3018. >And you will be watching.
  3019. >You’ll always be watching.
  3020. >For now though you can’t yet act.
  3021. >While unlikely it IS possible she’ll do the right thing.
  3022. >No sense in roughing her up too much if she complies.
  3023. >Besides.
  3024. >’Tia says she had a backup plan in case Twilight went rogue.
  3025. >Maybe it was better than your idea.
  3026. >You head upstairs towards her bed chamber intent on checking on her.
  3027. >Past the stained glass windows.
  3028. >Past the guard station.
  3029. >Past the huge hole in the brick wall.
  3030.  
  3031. “What in the world?”
  3032.  
  3033. >You poke your nose through the hole in the architecture.
  3034. >To your surprise there’s an entire room on the other side.
  3035. >Though it’s a bit too dim to make out just what that room is.
  3036.  
  3037. >”Ah, Luna. I heard the whole thing.”
  3038.  
  3039. >Celestia’s voice.
  3040. >You push in past the rubble and take a look around.
  3041. >It takes some time for your eyes to adjust but before too long you can faintly see rows upon rows of shelves each choc full of scrolls and tomes.
  3042.  
  3043. >”You did well, but I’m still worried. Twilight’s words are quite concerning.”
  3044.  
  3045. >You try not to pay too much mind to the fact that she heard you from a different room on a different floor.
  3046. >You can just barely make out Celestia in the far side of the room browsing through the scrolls at a blinding pace.
  3047. >Dropping them within seconds of picking them up.
  3048.  
  3049. “What is this?”
  3050.  
  3051. >”Ah yes. Welcome to my private archives. I couldn’t teleport into it as I’m meant to, so I had to make a door. Thankfully my hooves were more than enough for the job.”
  3052.  
  3053. >She kicked down the wall!?
  3054.  
  3055. >”Fun fact. These are all encoded, and I can’t seem to remember the keys.”
  3056.  
  3057.  
  3058. “Meaning?”
  3059.  
  3060. >”It’s all useless.”
  3061.  
  3062. >She nonchalantly throws an ancient book over her shoulders.
  3063.  
  3064. >”I’m memorizing them at a glance, but I’ve no clue what any of them mean. I’m absolutely certain I have a plan here for dealing with Twilight, but I doubt we’ll be able to figure it out in time.”
  3065.  
  3066. “You know my plan. Should I proceed?”
  3067.  
  3068. >”Give her a chance.”
  3069.  
  3070. “She’ll fail.”
  3071.  
  3072. >”You don’t know that.”
  3073.  
  3074. >You actually do.
  3075. >But you doubt you can convince your sister of that.
  3076. >She has great faith in Twilight Sparkle.
  3077.  
  3078. >”I hate to ask this of you, but could you fetch Spitfire for me?”
  3079.  
  3080. “The Wonderbolt? I thought you didn’t want to be seen.”
  3081.  
  3082. >”I trust her. Though I’m not certain where she is. If you can spare some of your agents to track her down, it would be greatly appreciated. Speaking of, how many agents do you have? They’re EVERYWHERE! You can’t turn a corner without running into one.”
  3083.  
  3084. “I have enough.”
  3085.  
  3086. >One hour later.
  3087.  
  3088. >You see Spitfire walking into a nearby tavern just as you’d been told.
  3089. >It would seem as though she’s been shipping her training exercises as of late to come to this place.
  3090. >Ever since Sparkle’s first speech in which she said that your sister had perished.
  3091.  
  3092. “Captain. Such behavior is unbecoming of you.”
  3093.  
  3094. >She freezes mid stride as you step out of the shadows.
  3095. >The riffraff patronizing the dive cease their drinking and start grovelling.
  3096.  
  3097. “Come. We have much to discuss.”
  3098.  
  3099. >She snaps to attention and zooms in behind you and locks in step as you start heading back.
  3100.  
  3101. “You’re a disgrace. Drinking in the middle of the day while on duty. You’re nude, your mane hasn’t been brushed in days- are you trying to get a dishonorable discharge?”
  3102.  
  3103. >”What does it matter? You aren’t going to want me, and I sure as hell ain’t working for the purple one.”
  3104.  
  3105. >As you’d suspected.
  3106. >She was loyal to Celestia; she believes her raison d’etre is gone.
  3107.  
  3108. “You give up too easily.”
  3109.  
  3110. >She doesn’t answer.
  3111.  
  3112. “Tell me about-”
  3113.  
  3114. >There is a brilliant flash of light from above.
  3115. >You look skyward and see a rather shocking sight.
  3116. >Two new massive lights hang in the sky; a second and third sun adorn the heavens.
  3117. >Each far brighter than the original.
  3118. >You quickly avert your gaze as the brilliant lights sear your eyes.
  3119. >The usual hordes of adoring ponies have completely forgotten about the princess in their midst and have taken to looking skyward.
  3120. >To the aberration of the natural order.
  3121. >You get the sinking feeling that this is bad news.
  3122. >But you’ve no clue what it means!
  3123. >The nameless one told you that the sun was a nearby star much like your own.
  3124. >Only apparently larger due to proximity; in reality it’s a fairly small one.
  3125. >Are there more stars nearby?
  3126. >Or is this something else?
  3127. >What could be so bright as a star?
  3128. >You need to know more.
  3129. >There’s somebody you can ask.
  3130. >And you aren’t finding answers here.
  3131.  
  3132. “Keep moving.”
  3133.  
  3134. >”What was that?”
  3135.  
  3136. “I’ll know soon enough. Let’s go.”
  3137.  
  3138. >You take flight and move as fast as you can.
  3139. >Spitfire hesitates a moment before following.
  3140. >You don’t wait up.
  3141. >Before too long she snaps out of it and flies up to meet you.
  3142. >Her quick wings reach you without trouble and you soon find the two of you perched atop the sun tower.
  3143. >You head in.
  3144. >Perhaps you would ask a few questions were you not so distracted.
  3145. >But extra suns aren’t exactly something you can readily push out of mind.
  3146. >Thoughts and worries swirl about your mind as you descend the spiral stairs.
  3147. >Before you even realise it you’ve reached the gaping hole in the wall.
  3148. >You quickly dismiss the guards you’d posted to keep riffraff out, it wouldn’t do well if they heard Celestia speaking from within.
  3149.  
  3150. “Enter.”
  3151.  
  3152. >Spitfire quietly peers into the darkness.
  3153. >She raises a hesitant hoof to climb over the rubble.
  3154. >A thought occurs.
  3155.  
  3156. “Hold.”
  3157.  
  3158. >This would be a good opportunity to test her.
  3159. >It’s not every day you get to hear how your death affected others.
  3160.  
  3161. “Tell me why you’re such a wreck.”
  3162.  
  3163. >”Why shouldn’t I be? Princess Celestia’s gone.”
  3164.  
  3165. >You remain impassive in the hopes that she’ll elaborate.
  3166.  
  3167. >”I worked for her and her alone. Now that she’s gone I’m just… I’m so tired. I don’t care anymore, Luna. I’ve got nothing left to care about.”
  3168.  
  3169. >She’s tearing up.
  3170. >You’re certain Celestia heard the whole thing.
  3171. >Whether or not she knew this was how it would pan out you’re not certain.
  3172. >But if she ever doubted it before, she doesn’t now.
  3173. >Spitfire is hers.
  3174.  
  3175. >”I just miss her so much.”
  3176.  
  3177. *SNIFF*
  3178.  
  3179. >This has gone on long enough.
  3180. >You can barely stand to see such a strong mare break down.
  3181.  
  3182. “Go on in. I promise you’ll be safe. And I suspect that what you’ll find will brighten your day more than three suns ever could.”
  3183.  
  3184. >She climbs over the broken bricks with little hesitation.
  3185.  
  3186. >”There has never been such a grand day for a flight.”
  3187.  
  3188. *GASP*
  3189.  
  3190. >An oddly comfortable silence hangs for several seconds before Spitfire responds.
  3191.  
  3192. >”I’d love to warm my wings beneath the orange sun?”
  3193.  
  3194. >”Then let us away.”
  3195.  
  3196. >You can barely suppress a groan as they finish the exchange.
  3197. >Celestia’s code phrases suck.
  3198.  
  3199. “That’s supposed to sound like casual conversation, you know. Nopony talks like that.”
  3200.  
  3201. >They ignore your sage advice.
  3202.  
  3203. >”Is- is it really you?”
  3204.  
  3205. >”Yes, my phoenix.”
  3206.  
  3207. >Pet names?
  3208. >Ugh.
  3209. >You don’t feel comfortable staying and listening.
  3210. >Besides, you need to get answers.
  3211.  
  3212. “You two are on your own, I’ve got business to take care of.”
  3213.  
  3214. >You start heading down the stairs so you may contact the nameless one.
  3215.  
  3216. >”I- I thought you were…”
  3217.  
  3218. >Spitfire never finishes the sentence.
  3219.  
  3220.  
  3221.  
  3222. >You are Spike.
  3223. >You are on a vehicle.
  3224. >A different one this time.
  3225. >One with rocket propulsion.
  3226. >You’ve been on it for nearly an hour now.
  3227. >The Visitor said he wanted to show you something.
  3228. >Not through a screen and not through words, but a firsthand view.
  3229. >He warned you that the trip would be quite unpleasant.
  3230. >But you’ve just been sitting idle on the ground.
  3231. >With no word from him.
  3232. >It’s getting both worrying and boring at the same time.
  3233.  
  3234. >”Sorry about that! Had something to take care of. Stay in your seat, things are about to get heavy.”
  3235.  
  3236. >You don’t exactly know what he means.
  3237. >Could that be another idiom that doesn’t translate?
  3238. >Suddenly you can feel yourself being pushed into the hard seating.
  3239. >The pressure grows and grows.
  3240. >A massive roaring sound surrounds you.
  3241.  
  3242. >”This is normal, stay calm.”
  3243.  
  3244. >You manage to lift your head and look at the console in front of you.
  3245. >5.8km/s and climbing.
  3246. >140 km above sea level.
  3247. >Your vision starts to dim.
  3248. >You can no longer muster the strength to lift your head as it grows heavier and heavier.
  3249. >Just when you start to think you can’t take any more, it stops.
  3250. >And you feel so very light.
  3251.  
  3252. >”Right. It’s safe to get out of your seat. You’re going to float here, so try not to panic.”
  3253.  
  3254. >You wait a few minutes to calm down.
  3255. >The fake heart in your chest continues to beat at what would be an alarming rate for an organic.
  3256. >For you though, there’s no concern of heart attacks.
  3257. >After a while you remove the straps that were holding you in place.
  3258. >You try to stand but quickly find yourself floating in midair.
  3259. >Despite the warning you immediately start flailing your arms and legs wildly, desperately seeking purchase.
  3260.  
  3261. >”When ready, swim over to the window and look out.”
  3262.  
  3263. >The side of the craft somehow becomes transparent.
  3264. >Again, it takes some time for you to collect yourself.
  3265. >But finally you start to do as he said.
  3266. >You swim through the air.
  3267. >It’s a bizarre sensation, but not unpleasant.
  3268. >When you reach the window, you see it.
  3269. >A massive blue, green, and white ball is spinning below you.
  3270. >You can see familiar shapes whizzing by beneath the swirling white masses.
  3271.  
  3272. “Is that…”
  3273.  
  3274. >”Your homeworld. The entire thing.”
  3275.  
  3276. >You watch entranced as the whole world spins below.
  3277. >The rolling hills that the minotaurs call home.
  3278. >The vast grasslands and forests of Equestria.
  3279. >The mountain ranges upon which the Gryphons perch.
  3280. >The huge chaotic mass of clouds below you blocks your vision, but you can still make out Sanctuary, sticking out like a sore claw.
  3281.  
  3282. >”5.2 sextillion tonnes, 490 million square kilometers, 12 million meters across- none of those things are important. By far the most interesting part of it? Sapient population of 520 million.”
  3283.  
  3284. >You almost feel like you could reach out and touch it.
  3285. >The whole of the world literally sits before you.
  3286. >The impossibly massive place that you call home.
  3287. >Where every pony ever has been born, has lived, has died.
  3288. >The entirety of known history happened on that ball.
  3289. >Every battle, every fight, every celebration, EVERYTHING!
  3290. >A year ago, that blue ball would have represented the entirety of your known universe.
  3291. >From the surface it’s inconceivably huge.
  3292. >From up here it almost looks…
  3293. >Small.
  3294.  
  3295. “It’s gorgeous.”
  3296.  
  3297. >”It’s depressing.”
  3298.  
  3299. >You look to the source of the voice for clarification.
  3300. >Then you feel silly.
  3301. >The speakers aren’t in the same place as the cameras after all.
  3302.  
  3303. >”It was hard for me to come to terms with this place. It’s so alien from what I know. How to explain this… most of the machines you’ve seen me make are crude by my standards. I know spatial distortion, I understand teleportation and superlinear travel. When I was a research associate I contributed to a paper arguing that there are 5 or 7 physical dimensions, but not 6. I’ve never studied [robotics] in a serious way. The stuff you saw me make was crudely cobbled together by an amature. I’m used to living in a world where everything has been engineered to death, where even the most mundane products have had centuries of thought put into every tiny detail. As different as Sanctuary is to you, your world is even more different to me.”
  3304.  
  3305. >You try for a moment to imagine the reality he’s describing.
  3306. >Unsurprisingly it totally eludes you.
  3307.  
  3308. >”When I first confirmed there was sapient life here I started looking for signs of advanced technology. I always attributed magic to nanomachines or satellites. When the Equestrian army came at me I assumed they were unintelligent beasts that had scavenged their equipment, or perhaps been gifted with it. It didn’t make sense to me that there would be thinking beings that lived in such squalor. I wound up scouring space for signs of any satellite network, I searched every square millimeter of the world for any [electronics]. No matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find anything better than a steam train. It simply baffled me to see an inhabited world that was so… primitive.”
  3309.  
  3310. >His speech is starting to get a little insulting.
  3311. >But you know he means no harm.
  3312. >He simply speaks the truth.
  3313.  
  3314. “Knowing you I’d have thought that would be exciting. A chance to discover something totally new, explore something that you didn’t know existed. Why is it depressing?”
  3315.  
  3316. >”Because I’m softhearted.”
  3317.  
  3318. >The window grows opaque for a split second.
  3319. >It’s then replaced with video of Applejack in her fields.
  3320. >She’s drenched in sweat as usual, pulling a cart behind herself.
  3321. >It seems to be loaded in pulled weeds and sawed branches.
  3322.  
  3323. >”Look at that. What do you see?”
  3324.  
  3325. “A friend going about her business. Probably just finished pruning an orchard.”
  3326.  
  3327. >No answer for nearly a minute.
  3328.  
  3329. >”That answer is depressing in and of itself. You see nothing wrong with that image at all, do you? To me, it’s abhorrent. This is a living, thinking, feeling being. She’s been cursed with a short, miserable life. And how does she spend it? She toils endlessly. Not because she wants to, but because she has no choice. One of the ponies she lives with just died you know. When she should have been mourning, she toiled. Then I brought them back to her. When she should have been celebrating, she toiled. And now, weeks later, when she should be savoring that gift I gave her? She still toils. Her life is being WASTED on mindless labor. I should hate her. I should hate them all! They’ve done NOTHING but make my life miserable. And yet, I can’t help but pity them.”
  3330.  
  3331. >The feed goes dark and the window once again becomes transparent.
  3332. >You’re once more looking out over the blue ball below you.
  3333.  
  3334. >”No matter where you look on that globe you’ll find the same thing. Every species, every nation, EVERYONE. They’re born into a cruel uncaring world. They work hard to support themselves, often barely scraping by. They grow old, and then they die. None of these things should be happening. And yet, there are hundreds of millions of them facing this every single day. It’s all they know. They don’t even realize how wrong it is. They should be born into a safe, comfortable world. They shouldn’t be forced to spend their lives on backbreaking labor. Their bodies shouldn’t fail them as they age. And most of all, death should ALWAYS be voluntary.”
  3335.  
  3336. “That’s just the way it is.”
  3337.  
  3338. >”And that’s the problem. I want to help them, Spike. But I can’t. I’m too busy.”
  3339.  
  3340. “What do you mean? You’ve done plenty to help them! What about everyone who has fake organs? What about me?”
  3341.  
  3342. >”Glorified bandages covering a gaping chest wound. Their brains will still decay as they age. There’s only so much patchwork I can do before there’s nothing left. They need real solutions, and I can’t provide them.”
  3343.  
  3344. “Why not?”
  3345.  
  3346. >”I don’t have the head for genetics. Sure, I could figure it out given enough time, but as I said. I’m way too busy.”
  3347.  
  3348. “With what?”
  3349.  
  3350. >The wall goes opaque once more.
  3351. >Nothing comes up though.
  3352. >You start to look around.
  3353. >The opposite wall is now transparent, and you see it.
  3354. >Two massive balls of light.
  3355. >You close your bad eye and focus with the good one.
  3356. >You can’t make out anything through the light.
  3357.  
  3358. >”Meet mom and dad. Unlike baby, they didn’t have shells. Just the gooey pink innards surrounded by obscene amounts of magic. Luna was right, that was an egg. The Titan we killed down there was a hatchling, Spike. And somewhere out there something noticed.”
  3359.  
  3360. >The brilliant spheres continue to burn brighter than the sun as the unfathomable energy radiates away.
  3361. >Presumably the remnants of their magical charge that was once turned against them.
  3362.  
  3363. >”My arsenal is depleted. Gone. Empty. And my power grid was overburdened from powering all the energy weapons. The finishing blow that you designed worked just fine, but I needed WAY more suppressing fire to land the blow. The amount of magic the hatchling had was paltry next to this. I need to expand my operations further, build up a better arsenal, design better weapons, maybe phone home for some better designs… I’ve got much to do. They might not come back again, but I don’t want to count on that. I doubt you do either.”
  3364.  
  3365. “Is- can you handle them?”
  3366.  
  3367. >”Yes. I’m going to turn the whole world, the whole STAR SYSTEM into a massive fortress. I’m at my limit in terms of sophistication, but I haven’t even started when it comes to scale. If they come back, they’ll find guns beneath every tree, beneath every blade of grass! They’ll find lasers gunning at them from innumerable space platforms, missiles coming from all directions- I’m going to set up wormholes so I can teleport bombs right into their faces. Don’t worry, Spike.”
  3368.  
  3369. >That’s not as comforting as you’d have hoped.
  3370. >The idea that there might be even more of them…
  3371. >The idea that they have HIM scared…
  3372. >The future is entirely uncertain.
  3373. >Staring out at the brilliant lights that don’t seem to be fading.
  3374. >You can’t even guess at how much energy they were holding.
  3375.  
  3376. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
  3377.  
  3378. >”No. I doubt you’ll be able to catch up to me fast enough- unless… Maybe you can’t help with the defence, but there IS something I think you can do for me. I’ll save the world, Spike. You need to save its inhabitants.”
  3379.  
  3380. “From what?”
  3381.  
  3382. >”From nature. You were already trying to cure aging in ponies, right? Do it. Do it for all the sapients. Eliminate manual labor, wipe out disease and famine. Make this world worth protecting.”
  3383.  
  3384. >Wow.
  3385. >He’s asking an awful lot.
  3386. >There’s no way you can pull that all off.
  3387.  
  3388. “I don’t think I can. I’m just one drake.”
  3389.  
  3390. >”Yeah. I know. I’ll give you all the support I can, if that helps.”
  3391.  
  3392. …
  3393.  
  3394. >”You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. I’m not the boss of you. But I ask that you at least think about it. Every three seconds that you hasten the end of aging, you save a life. Think about it.”
  3395.  
  3396. >The line goes dead and you’re left alone with your thoughts.
  3397. >Staring down on the world.
  3398. >Tick.
  3399. >Tick.
  3400. >Death.
  3401. >Tick.
  3402. >Tick.
  3403. >Death.
  3404. >Tick.
  3405. >Tick...
  3406.  
  3407.  
  3408. >You are Luna.
  3409. >You’re quite worried.
  3410. >You tried to contact the nameless one- to ask about the extra suns.
  3411. >But there’s no answer.
  3412. >Every other time he’s responded in a few seconds.
  3413. >But this time it’s been nearly an hour with nothing.
  3414. >Normally you wouldn’t be too worried.
  3415. >You’d just assume he was preoccupied.
  3416. >And indeed, it’s likely that’s what’s happening now.
  3417. >The cause of your worry is the question of just what he’s preoccupied with.
  3418. >You peer out the window and find three suns once more.
  3419. >The extra two are fading slowly, but you suspect that they’ll remain well into the night.
  3420. >What would light up the sky so brilliantly?
  3421. >A few falling stars grace the brightly lit sky.
  3422. >No. Not stars.
  3423. >Debris falling into the atmosphere and burning up from the friction.
  3424. >How they burnt brightly enough to show through the daylight you’re not certain.
  3425. >One more thing to worry yourself about.
  3426. >But you’re finding no answers and wasting time.
  3427. >You need to know what’s going on, and as far as you can tell, you’ve no way of figuring it out on your own.
  3428. >And so you place the communications rectangle in your bags and throw them over your back.
  3429. >You’ve things to do and places to be.
  3430. >Hopefully it’s safe to return to Celestia and plan your next actions.
  3431. >You’ve much to discuss.
  3432. >The future of Equestria is entirely uncertain; none of your plans will endure the myriad of changes.
  3433. >A year ago you didn’t have ponies running about who were more metal than flesh.
  3434. >Though uncertain in what ways, you’ve absolutely no doubt that this will throw your plans into disarray.
  3435. >Most ponies plan days in advance.
  3436. >Some think years ahead.
  3437. >Your sister and you? You tend to go for centuries.
  3438. >When you try to peer that far into the future you must make some assumptions.
  3439. >Assumptions like ‘ponies die when you kill them’, or ‘a hyper intelligent ape from a different world won’t come by and pick a fight with god’.
  3440. >You’re going to need to rethink everything.
  3441. >And you have no clue where to start.
  3442. >Your end goal is clear.
  3443. >Ponykind will transcend- MUST transcend.
  3444. >But how to get there…
  3445. >And what to do about the mess in your way?
  3446. >You need to take care of Sparkle before she can do too much damage.
  3447. >It’d be easy to stop her right now, but sister won’t allow it.
  3448. >You climb the stairs towards the smashed wall-
  3449. >Sparkle stands before it.
  3450.  
  3451. >”I think I have a right to know what’s happening in MY home. Are you going to tell me why there’s a hole in the wall or not?”
  3452.  
  3453. >”It’s not your home. Your home is in Ponyville. This place belongs to Princess Celestia!”
  3454.  
  3455. >That sounded like Spitfire.
  3456. >Is she standing standing up to an alicorn?
  3457. >A clearly enraged alicorn with a wicked snarl upon her face to boot!
  3458. >You don’t know her well, but you already like her.
  3459.  
  3460. >”You DARE to defy your betters? You’d oppose your QUEEN?”
  3461.  
  3462. >”Oh, of course not. Thing is my betters aren’t here, and you aren’t my queen. I’m loyal to Princess Celestia, not YOU. Remember that.”
  3463.  
  3464. >”Move aside or I’ll move you myself.”
  3465.  
  3466. >Spitfire steps out of the hidden chamber standing tall and proud.
  3467. >Despite being shorter than Sparkle she still appears to tower above her.
  3468. >She exudes confidence from every pore.
  3469. >And she stands firm in the entrance.
  3470. >Unmoving.
  3471.  
  3472. “That’s quite enough. Your bravery is commendable, Captain, but I’d advise you not provoke her. The pony with whom you speak is dangerously insane and prone to violent outbursts and, sadly, she could easily overpower you.”
  3473.  
  3474. >A small smile flashes across Twilight’s face in the instant before she realises what you just said.
  3475. >You briefly consider elaborating but soon decide to heed your own advice.
  3476. >You shan’t outright insult her without good reason.
  3477. >But how desperately you crave a reason.
  3478.  
  3479. >”Luna. You’re going to take me to your sister. Move.”
  3480.  
  3481. “I’m afraid she isn’t taking visitors just now. If you wish for me to relay a message I can, but that’s all I can offer you.”
  3482.  
  3483. >”You’re lying, aren’t you? Yes, yes of course! Why else wouldn’t you let me see her? It all makes sense! Nopony could survive that, you’re just trying to use her to manipulate me!”
  3484.  
  3485. >She marches up to you and looks you dead in the eye.
  3486.  
  3487. >”You’d use a tragedy to try and control me? You’re disgusting.”
  3488.  
  3489. >The temptation is too strong.
  3490. >You can’t hold your tongue.
  3491.  
  3492. “You’d use a noose to try and control others. You’re deplorable.”
  3493.  
  3494. >She quickly and viciously strikes you in the chest with her hoof.
  3495. >You crumple slightly but do not fall.
  3496.  
  3497. “Hold-”
  3498.  
  3499. >You quickly wheeze out the command even though none of your agents should be nearby.
  3500. >You asked them to stay clear of this place to protect your sister’s privacy.
  3501. >But being unable to see them yourself, you can’t confirm that none followed you.
  3502. >’Tia still wants Sparkle unharmed.
  3503. >There’s not a chance of that happening, but you’re not going to kill the wretch.
  3504. >And it’s likely your ‘bolts would do just that if they saw happened.
  3505. >You feel pretty good about yourself despite the pain.
  3506. >Calling her on her stupidity was just too satisfying.
  3507. >It takes mere seconds for you to collect yourself.
  3508.  
  3509. “Ask yourself. Would you have struck me a month ago?”
  3510.  
  3511. >”I- you’re trying to distract me, aren’t you?”
  3512.  
  3513. >Not a bad idea.
  3514. >But truthfully you just wanted to take a cheap shot at her.
  3515. >Twilight’s horn lights up with a dark glow and you can feel a crushing grip about your neck.
  3516. >Within an instant you can feel your hooves leaving the ground as she lifts you.
  3517. >Somepony shouts something. You can’t make out what.
  3518. >And then?
  3519. >You fall.
  3520. >It doesn’t take long recover; you hadn’t been in her grip long enough to wind up short on breath.
  3521. >When you stand you see Spitfire wobbling back up to her hooves having apparently been attacked too.
  3522. >Twilight lays on the cold cobblestone.
  3523. >A small trickle of blood leaking from her head.
  3524. >Scraps of broken wood lay around her, seemingly the remnants of a shelf.
  3525.  
  3526. >”What. Is. WRONG WITH YOU!?”
  3527.  
  3528. >Celestia roars as she stands on her felled student.
  3529. >One heavy hoof pressing down on your assailant’s back keeping her from moving.
  3530. >Celestia...
  3531. >She still sounds wrong.
  3532. >The tones in her voice are somewhat granular. Rather than gradually change in pitch they suddenly switch.
  3533. >Quick enough and in small enough increments that it’s hard to tell just what’s wrong, but it’s readily apparent that something’s off.
  3534. >And the phonemes don’t quite blend together right. They flow into each other too readily, not barred by the physical motion of a tongue or the passage of breath.
  3535. >It is a voice that is distinctly un-natural; she sounds more like Him than herself.
  3536. >And that’s just the sounds.
  3537. >The visual changes are another matter.
  3538. >Her bald head and missing tale are the least striking things about her.
  3539. >All those readily visible joints in the metal plating, the distinctly metallic sheen of her cutiemark, the lack of texture on the paint-
  3540. >It matters not.
  3541. >The secret’s out.
  3542. >Twilight teleports out with a dark flash.
  3543. >The fact that she didn’t attack Celestia isn’t lost on you, she chose a passive means of escape.
  3544. >A brilliant shield rings around her preventing all chances of approach.
  3545. >You can feel the incredible power radiating off of her.
  3546. >And truth be told?
  3547. >You envy it.
  3548. >Twilight stands almost immediately totally ignoring her injury.
  3549. >You don’t need to guess at why.
  3550. >The pleasure of the magic is washing away her pain.
  3551. >She might not even know she’s injured yet.
  3552.  
  3553. >”Heh. So THAT’S what you were hiding.”
  3554.  
  3555. >”WHY would you DO THAT? I- What happened to you, Twilight?”
  3556.  
  3557. >”Simple. Either Luna was lying and Celestia was dead, or she was actually out there somewhere. If she was lying I’d want her gone anyway. And if Celestia was alive, there’s not a damn thing in the world that would stop her from protecting Luna, and I’d be able to see her with my own eyes. What are you?”
  3558.  
  3559. >Celestia doesn’t speak. She just stares at Twilight preparing to pounce.
  3560. >Spitfire has produced a small blade from somewhere. Perhaps it was tucked beneath her wing?
  3561. >Many of your guard have arrived and stand abreast in the stairway making no attempt to remain hidden.
  3562. >It looks like it’s up to you to talk.
  3563.  
  3564. ”She is Princess Celestia-”
  3565.  
  3566. >You croak the words out of your abused throat.
  3567.  
  3568. “I know because I put her back together myself.”
  3569.  
  3570. >”Hm. A likely story. Throne Room, five minutes.”
  3571.  
  3572. >A blinding flash fills the room, and she disappears.
  3573. >Your guards stand upstairs staring down at your sister with clear apprehension.
  3574. >Her staff have arrived from below and look up with uncertainty and fear.
  3575. >There’s no escape from this one.
  3576. >You’ve been found out.
  3577. >You’re stuck here.
  3578.  
  3579. >”Well? Aren’t you maggots going to bow?”
  3580.  
  3581. >Spitfire barks as she climbs down the stairs to face the guardsponies.
  3582.  
  3583. >”I expect trash like you to show some RESPECT to the PRINCESSES! Each and every one of you get down to the yard. We’re doing a five kilometer timed run. You pegasi best damn well forget you have wings, this is a RUN! MOVE!”
  3584.  
  3585. >All the soldiers bolt the moment she finishes speaking.
  3586. >Yours included.
  3587. >Spitfire runs after them.
  3588.  
  3589. “That was fast.”
  3590.  
  3591. >”The good captain has worked as a drill instructor. She knows how to make a soldier obey. Though surprisingly, one of your agents is still here.”
  3592.  
  3593. >Surprisingly?
  3594. >It’s not at all surprising to you.
  3595. >Classified Document doesn’t take orders from anypony.
  3596. >Save for yourself of course.
  3597. >Still, the good captain’s feat thoroughly impressed you.
  3598. >You definitely need to learn how she did that.
  3599. >But for now...
  3600.  
  3601. “Do we go to Twilight?”
  3602.  
  3603. >”Yes.”
  3604.  
  3605. >No hesitation.
  3606. >No pause.
  3607. >A straight and flat answer.
  3608. >But you’re not so sure.
  3609.  
  3610. “I don’t wish to be near her right now. She’s dangerous.”
  3611.  
  3612. >”You don’t need to follow, but I’m going. I need to talk to her.”
  3613.  
  3614. >She’s being quite firm on this.
  3615. >Celestia’s normally the sort of pony who’s willing to rethink everything.
  3616. >Who will second guess herself on reflex.
  3617. >She rarely changes her mind and even less frequently admits to being wrong.
  3618. >And indeed she’s almost always right in the end.
  3619. >But she ALWAYS entertains the idea that she might be wrong.
  3620. >That there might be a better course of action.
  3621. >Recent history notwithstanding of course.
  3622. >Here and now though, there’s clearly no room for discussion.
  3623. >She WILL meet with Sparkle.
  3624. >You don’t really understand.
  3625. >But you don’t have to.
  3626. >You’ll be there to support her.
  3627. >And to help bail her out when it all goes wrong.
  3628.  
  3629. >”Arm yourself, agent. We’re going in.”
  3630.  
  3631. >”No. No soldiers. No weapons. No tricks. Just words.”
  3632.  
  3633. “But-”
  3634.  
  3635. >”I trust her, Luna. She won’t hurt me.”
  3636.  
  3637. “Just how much brain damage did you suffer?”
  3638.  
  3639. >Hopefully Document will follow anyway.
  3640. >You didn’t call her off after all.
  3641. >And you’ve made it quite clear that you don’t want to go in alone.
  3642. >Celestia starts walking away, presumably towards the throne room.
  3643. >You follow apprehensively.
  3644. >Celestia suddenly stops in her tracks.
  3645.  
  3646. >”Conventional stealth tactics won’t work on me either. I can hear your heart even when you keep out of sight. You have no chance of tricking me. Your services won’t be needed. Your dagger won’t be enough to harm Twilight Sparkle despite the substance you were rubbing on it, presumably a poison of some sort. If I had to take a wild guess I’d say it’s a nightshade derivative. Twilight will be safe from you because I’ll tell her about you. And should that fail, I’ll remove you myself.”
  3647.  
  3648. >She turns to glare at seemingly open space.
  3649. >You’ve little doubt about what’s actually there.
  3650.  
  3651. >”Hooves off of my protege.”
  3652.  
  3653. >Not good.
  3654. >You don’t want to go in there unprotected.
  3655. >But you’re not going to be able to talk your sister into allowing such a thing.
  3656. >The staring contest continues as you think.
  3657. >Though it doesn’t take long for you to come across the answer.
  3658.  
  3659. “Lose the knife and follow. When things start to go wrong, go fetch help.”
  3660.  
  3661. >Hopefully she gets the hint.
  3662. >You specifically said no knife.
  3663. >You didn’t say she should disarm-
  3664.  
  3665. >”I’m no fool, Luna. She has more than one weapon; you’d not have your most trusted agents so lightly armed. I’m afraid this is non negotiable. I’m going to TALK to Twilight. No weapons will be needed.”
  3666.  
  3667. >Again, you don’t think you’ll be able to talk her down.
  3668. >And it’s unlikely you’ll be able to sneak anything by her on such short notice.
  3669. >Your options are limited.
  3670. >You can go in unprotected.
  3671. >Or you can send her in on her own.
  3672. >The latter option never occurs to you.
  3673.  
  3674. ”What if they were to stand guard outside in case something went wrong?”
  3675.  
  3676. >”That would be acceptable. Though it shall prove a waste of time.”
  3677.  
  3678. “You really trust her that much? Surely you know what she’s been doing.”
  3679.  
  3680. >Celestia starts walking again.
  3681. >And Classified follows the both of you.
  3682.  
  3683. >”Twilight is stronger than me. She will succeed where I have failed.”
  3684.  
  3685. “Nopony can resist this.”
  3686.  
  3687. >”You did, after a fashion. I believe that Twilight can as well.”
  3688.  
  3689. >To say you resisted is being quite generous.
  3690. >And that was after failing catastrophically.
  3691. >You had firsthand knowledge of what was going on.
  3692. >This is a very bad idea.
  3693.  
  3694. “Your bullheadedness will be the end of us.”
  3695.  
  3696. >”Don’t use slurs like that. It could be a diplomatic nightmare in this age.”
  3697.  
  3698. >All too soon you find yourself in front of the throne room.
  3699. >And before you have a chance to object, she pushes in.
  3700. >Somehow ‘Tia has dragged you into a room with a mad alicorn while leaving you totally defenceless.
  3701. >But what you see inside catches you off guard.
  3702. >No crazed alicorn waiting in ambush.
  3703. >No hordes of soldiers lunging at you with spears.
  3704. >Just Twilight Sparkle sitting on the throne.
  3705. >On YOUR THRONE.
  3706. >You grind your teeth a little.
  3707. >Even the hyper intelligent creature from beyond the stars…
  3708. >The being you spent months trying to kill.
  3709. >The one whom you assaulted with disgusting magicks and illegal spells.
  3710. >HE not only granted you your throne, he BUILT one for you.
  3711. >And SHE would claim yours?
  3712. >This slight will not be forgotten.
  3713. >And once you’ve wiped the BLINDING RAGE from your eyes, you see Cadence.
  3714. >Standing next to sister’s throne.
  3715. >Not upon it.
  3716. >What she lacks in confidence she has in respect.
  3717. >You step inward after your sister.
  3718. >You fail to notice the door close behind you as you cautiously eye Twilight.
  3719. >As mad as you are about her insulting behaviour, you can’t egg her on.
  3720. >You need to show more restraint and self control than you did last time.
  3721.  
  3722. >”WHAT THE HAY IS THAT THING!?”
  3723.  
  3724. >Cadence decides to start the conversation by addressing the elephant in the room.
  3725. >A turn of phrase that you yourself coined once upon a time.
  3726. >Stupid, oversized, crass dignitary thought-
  3727.  
  3728. >”I am Princess Celestia. Though I don’t really expect you to believe that, truth be told.”
  3729.  
  3730. >Cadence shies away and moves closer to Twilight.
  3731. >Away from the harmless, gently, and caring pony.
  3732. >Towards the primed bomb that could go off at any moment.
  3733. >Why will nopony listen to you?
  3734. >She’s DANGEROUS.
  3735.  
  3736. >”So you’ve said. That remains to be seen. I’ve spoken with Spike at length, and he seems to be himself. YOU, however… as I said, we’ll see.”
  3737.  
  3738. “I gave you an ultimatum, Sparkle. You blew it. I said NO magic, then you try and strangle me with it? I gave you more than your fair share of chances-”
  3739.  
  3740. >”Please, Luna. Twilight is stronger than you know. I believe in her. Just let me talk.”
  3741.  
  3742. >Of course Celestia is still against you on this one.
  3743. >You’re going to have to go behind her back.
  3744. >Should be simple enough, sure she’ll figure you out, but by then the job will be done.
  3745.  
  3746. >”Wait, what? Twily, did you try to hurt Luna?”
  3747.  
  3748. >Hurt.
  3749.  
  3750. >”I’ve invited the three of you here today because I need your advice. Equestria’s in bad shape. We have more than our fair share of problems, and I’m not sure I can do this alone. The first order of business-”
  3751.  
  3752. >She uses her magic to open a rift in space and produces a scroll.
  3753. >A spell which you’re certain she wouldn’t be able to use so casually under ordinary circumstances.
  3754. >You’re unsurprised to see blackness radiating from her eyes as she does so.
  3755. >The first step will be to get her alone.
  3756. >Perhaps you could lure her out somehow?
  3757. >It should be easy, she’s unlikely to consider you a serious threat.
  3758. >Though if she’s asking for advice she might not be as arrogant as you’d assumed-
  3759.  
  3760. >”Is the Pegasopolan secession movement. Discuss.”
  3761.  
  3762. >So it’s a test then.
  3763. >A test to see how Celestia behaves, how she handles things.
  3764. >This might well and truly be Twilight seeking advice, but more than that she’s trying to figure out whether or not Celestia is really herself.
  3765. >Hopefully your sister realises this herself.
  3766. >More importantly, you hope she behaves like herself.
  3767. >You know for a fact that there have been some…
  3768. >Changes.
  3769. >She still feels the taint after all.
  3770.  
  3771. >”Are you sure it’s safe to have that thing in here?”
  3772.  
  3773. >Cadence gestures at your sister.
  3774. >’That thing’.
  3775. >You’ll not forget that insult either.
  3776.  
  3777. >”No. I suspect it’s a trick of some sort. But Don’t worry, Cadence. I’ve destroyed those machines before, I can do it again.”
  3778.  
  3779. >”Is there truly nothing I can do to convince you I’m me?-”
  3780.  
  3781. >”We’ll see. Now, let’s talk about Cloudsdale. As I’m sure you’re all aware, the bulk of the population has voted to separate from Equestria.”
  3782.  
  3783. >You hadn’t heard that.
  3784. >It’s probably been covered in great detail in one of your reports, but you’ve not read through them yet.
  3785. >How much have you allowed the kingdom to decay?
  3786.  
  3787. >”Please, my student. I beg of you. Stop using that damnable magic. It’s tainting your mind.”
  3788.  
  3789. >”If you’ve nothing useful to say on the issue at hoof, you may leave.”
  3790.  
  3791. >Twilight lazily gestures at the door behind you.
  3792. >You hope against reason that Celestia will accept the offer.
  3793. >She nods slowly before speaking.
  3794.  
  3795. >”I’ll need to be brought up to speed as I’ve only returned to Canterlot today.”
  3796.  
  3797. >Of course.
  3798.  
  3799. >”There are many heretics who worship the ape. They call him Zaius. God of lightning, slayer of Titans etcetera. To make matters worse, many pegasi have forgotten their place. They think themselves better than unicorns, as laughable as that may be. Because they can summon lightning they think themselves to be the ape’s chosen, and that he came here to show them that they were wasting their gift. To show them what lightning can truly do. And so they wish to be free of my rule so that they might govern themselves. I’m having difficulty figuring out how to besiege Cloudsdale “
  3800.  
  3801. “Besiege.”
  3802.  
  3803. >”Indeed. If they think they can just leave Equestria they have another thing coming. Treason shall be punished by death. And each and every one of them is guilty.”
  3804.  
  3805. >”WHAT? Do you mean you’re going to slaughter everypony in Cloudsdale?”
  3806.  
  3807. >”Of course, Cadence. It’ll be a good warning to the rest.”
  3808.  
  3809. >You’re totally unphased by this news.
  3810. >It’s pretty much what you’d expected.
  3811. >Celestia doesn’t seem all that bothered either.
  3812. >Though that might just be her acting.
  3813. >Silence hangs in the air for nearly a minute.
  3814. >It’s clear that Twilight is growing impatient.
  3815. >But you’re certain sister has the answer.
  3816. >It’s obvious enough.
  3817. >She’s simply choosing her words carefully.
  3818. >No need to rush her, she’ll settle on what she’s got should time run low.
  3819.  
  3820. >”I propose a simpler solution. We want Equestria to be whole and united, yes? It may be short sighted to force that now when we could ensure it later. Let them leave. There was once a time when they could have made it on their own but that has long passed. Over the centuries they’ve grown greatly dependant on Equestria as a whole. They might be able to wean themselves off of our aid over time, but a sudden separation would be too much. Cloudsdale doesn’t produce anything except weather, they can’t feed themselves without trade. If we allow them to separate and then impose a trade tariff on them them they’ll have an economic crisis within a year at the most. Who else can they trade with? The gryphons? The minotaurs? No, only Equestria has the economic might that they’ve grown accustomed to. No matter what they do they’ll wind up worse off. We can then point to their failure and the rest of Equestria will know they’re better off with us. If we’re really lucky they’d beg to rejoin, and we’d be able to set whatever terms we wanted.”
  3821.  
  3822. >”That’s- huh. That’s an interesting proposal. I’ll have to consider it.”
  3823.  
  3824. >Is she listening to reason?
  3825. >That was wholly unexpected.
  3826.  
  3827. >”Luna, do you have any input?”
  3828.  
  3829. >Words got through to her.
  3830. >And you think you understand how.
  3831. >She’s appealing to reason, which is something Twilight values greatly.
  3832. >But Celestia’s not directly opposing her with reason.
  3833. >She’s trying to change Twilight’s mind by degrees.
  3834. >A simpler punitive measure that doesn’t rely on Twilight herself changing her behaviour too much.
  3835. >So you need to talk her down without mentioning magic.
  3836. >Or disallowing violence.
  3837. >That’s interesting…
  3838.  
  3839. “I side with sister on this one. It gives those living in Cloudsdale a who remain loyal to Equestria a chance to prove their loyalty by moving out before the separation process is complete. Additionally, it’ll help weed out the unloyal pegasi who live elsewhere as they’ll surely migrate to an independant pegasus nation.”
  3840.  
  3841. >Celestia glances at you and subtly nods.
  3842. >It seems as though you did what she’d hoped.
  3843. >You gave Twilight more reason to not be a psychopath while subtly reinforcing that the pony who stands next to you is indeed princess Celestia.
  3844.  
  3845. >”It’s decided. We’ll let them fail on their own.”
  3846.  
  3847. >A very hasty decision.
  3848. >She’s clearly unfit to rule.
  3849. >But now’s not the time to bring that up.
  3850.  
  3851. >”Next issue. The displaced ponies living in Canterlot.”
  3852.  
  3853. “Already taken care of. The nameless one- sorry, the not-ape has promised to relocate all the cities he’d claimed. When I first finished building ‘Tia’s new body there were some complications. It took nigh on a week to straighten them out, plenty of time to negotiate the process. I suspect he’s already done so.”
  3854.  
  3855. >”What complications? This is the first I’ve heard of it!”
  3856.  
  3857. >Right.
  3858. >Her memories of that period were erased.
  3859.  
  3860. ”Violent outbursts. We decided to give you a little longer for the magic to wear out before restoring all your faculties.”
  3861.  
  3862. >A reminder of the dangers of dark magic that doesn’t directly address Sparkle.
  3863. >She shouldn’t consider it a personal attack, but she might still spend a moment to think on her recklessness.
  3864. >Hopefully it takes root.
  3865.  
  3866. >”You should have given me longer.”
  3867.  
  3868. >Celestia mutters the words out softly.
  3869. >Words that promise problems to come.
  3870. >Your experiences tell you exactly what’s wrong; she knows how she should behave.
  3871. >But she doesn’t yet wish to be that way.
  3872. >It’s taking willpower to not destroy.
  3873. >Something that could fail at any moment.
  3874. >But you trust in her.
  3875. >She says Twilight is strong.
  3876. >But if she knew herself as well as you know her?
  3877. >Everypony would appear weak.
  3878.  
  3879. >”Not good enough. It will return all the territory it claimed.”
  3880.  
  3881. >Cadence nods in agreement.
  3882.  
  3883. >”I don’t believe we can make that happen, Twilight. We’ve nothing we can offer him. Indeed, we’re already dependant on charity.”
  3884.  
  3885. >”I’m going to take it back.”
  3886.  
  3887. “It’s just desert, Twilight. I’m not thrilled about Equestria ceding land either, but I don’t think we can get it back, and it wasn’t all that valuable in the first place.”
  3888.  
  3889. >”I advise you to give up on it for now. Maybe we can reclaim it someday, but for now we’ll have to focus on other issues. What’s the next item on the list?”
  3890.  
  3891. >Trying to change the subject.
  3892. >She probably didn’t think there was a good way to talk Twilight down on this one.
  3893. >You’re inclined to agree.
  3894.  
  3895. >”Next matter then. The war.”
  3896.  
  3897. “Yes. I’d heard about this.”
  3898.  
  3899. >You do your best to suppress the anger in your voice.
  3900.  
  3901. “It seems ill advised to me.”
  3902.  
  3903. >”Agreed. We don’t have the means to oppose them, and we’ve no assurance that they’ll ever return. With the hatchling gone we might never see another one again.”
  3904.  
  3905. >”Okay, I’d expect this from you, Luna. You and Cadence are idiots.”
  3906.  
  3907. >Cadence looks hurt.
  3908. >Understandably so.
  3909. >You, however, don’t need to be validated by this whelp.
  3910.  
  3911. >”But when ‘Celestia’ doesn’t see what I’m planning I have to start to wonder. Are you really her?”
  3912.  
  3913. >”I’ve taken some serious head injuries, Twilight. You’ll have to forgive me if I’m a little slow on the uptake.”
  3914.  
  3915. >Twilight scoffs at your sister’s words.
  3916.  
  3917. >”A convenient excuse. I know we can’t harm the Titans, it’s beyond our power.”
  3918.  
  3919. >Then why-
  3920. >Oh no.
  3921. >She’s smart enough to be manipulative.
  3922.  
  3923. >”Ponies love to hate. It’s in our blood. There’s no reason to resist that, we should embrace it! I want to bring Equestria together. To make everypony love their neighbors, to have everypony be every other pony’s friend.”
  3924.  
  3925. >That’s what she wanted most.
  3926. >You wanted attention.
  3927. >Celestia wanted warmth.
  3928. >Sombra wanted safety.
  3929. >Twilight wanted unity!
  3930.  
  3931. >”But they hate each other. The moment they had an excuse everypony turned on everypony else like disgusting savages. I can’t stop them from hating, but hatred? It can be useful. If they’re all too busy hating something else they’ll never have a chance to notice just how much they despise each other.”
  3932.  
  3933. >She wanted unity.
  3934. >Harmony.
  3935. >Friendship.
  3936. >And sure enough, she found a way to make it sick.
  3937. >’The enemy of my enemy is my friend’, they say.
  3938. >But is it true friendship?
  3939. >Or is it merely convenience?
  3940.  
  3941. “You’re declaring war on the Titans to give them something to hate. To have something to unite behind. You’re not planning on actually fighting, and you don’t intend to win. By Tartarus, you probably don’t intend to ever call it off, do you?”
  3942.  
  3943. >”In a million years Equestria will still be focused on wiping them out. We’ll raise foals to devote their lives to the war. An eternal, glorious war against an invisible enemy, everypony will hate them with their entire being. They’ll despise those horrible beasts with every fiber of their being, and they’ll NEVER have time to hate each other.”
  3944.  
  3945. >”You’ll fail. It’ll never work, Twilight.”
  3946.  
  3947. >”And why is that, fake Celestia?”
  3948.  
  3949. >”You’re mistaken about the nature of ponies. They hate, yes, but they don’t want to.”
  3950.  
  3951. >”Oh? What would you propose? Because it seems to me that we need to change Equestria in some way. It’s clearly as stable as a house of cards in a twister.”
  3952.  
  3953. >Celestia closes her eyes for a moment.
  3954. >Under other circumstances you’re sure she’d take a deep breath.
  3955. >It looks like she’s going for it.
  3956. >She wants to convince Twilight that there’s another way.
  3957. >A better way.
  3958. >But...
  3959.  
  3960. >”You’re right about some things, Twilight. Equestria is unstable. And it IS ponies who are to blame. At heart we are savages. We’re meant to be primitive nomads running about the planes, and trampling anything that threatens us. We’re meant to be small, tight nit herds that support each other at the expense of all others. That’s who we are. I was there to see it, and I assure you, we were not content with being ourselves. Because despite all our flaws, the one thing that is the most equine, the trait that defines us is our desire to do better. To be better. We settled down, built homes, farms, made cultures. Not because it was natural. We did it specifically because it was unnatural. We did it because nature was awful, and we wished to be greater than we were. We could not tolerate living in that world for a moment longer, and so we remade the world into the comparative utopia you see today. But every single time we improved, every hard earned step of the way that we dragged ourselves out of the wild and into civilization, we ALWAYS ran into the same problem. We couldn’t escape the plains of old, because they were built into our very being.”
  3961.  
  3962. >Twilight sits and watches.
  3963. >She’s paying attention.
  3964. >But you still don’t approve of this course of action.
  3965. >Celestia is taking a massive gamble, and it will fail.
  3966.  
  3967. >”Look around you and you’ll see wonders. Wonders that you consider mundane. Ponies don’t starve. They don’t die of plagues. They don’t die of exposure. War is- was a rarity. We had done it! We’d beaten nature, we’d escaped the wild. We lived in civilization, not on the plains. There was no trace of the horrible past remaining. None save for one thing. Nothing of this horrible past was left except for US. And everything we did, every plan and policy, every innovation always failed in the end because we still remained.”
  3968.  
  3969. >You were right.
  3970. >She’s going for it.
  3971. >Again you wonder just how much brain damage she’s endured.
  3972. >Or perhaps she genuinely believes Twilight will be reasonable about this.
  3973.  
  3974. >”I say I’m old, Twilight. That’s because I’m vain. In truth I’m not old, I’m ANCIENT. I’ve spent millennia trying to solve the problem that came to a head so recently, and every single time I invariably failed. Everything Luna and I ever tried was a bandage at best and a distraction at worst. Laws and police helped, but there are still criminals. Welfare programs didn’t end poverty, and no amount of education can fix stupid. Every time I was forced to watch my plans fall apart I couldn’t help but wish for one thing. I had to wish that we could be more than mere ponies. That we could be better.”
  3975.  
  3976. >”What are you getting at?”
  3977.  
  3978. >Celestia subtly glances at you.
  3979. >You take the hint.
  3980. >It’d be easier to convince her if she didn’t doubt the species of the speaker.
  3981.  
  3982. “It is pony nature to be hateful and petty, true. It is also pony nature to want to be good. A paradox of sorts that results in the instability you see today. Rather than pitting our base urges against each other and making the best of what we are, we should try and become better. If we could figure out how ponies function on the deepest levels possible, if we could take control of our biology and reshape it, bend our own nature to our will… What if the stupidest of us were as brilliant as you? What if the cruellest of us were as kind as Fluttershy? What if our most sickly had the agility and stamina of Rainbow Dash? Imagine a world where Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie all seemed like deceptive, selfish, depressing monsters? Not because they were less wonderful than they are, but because all others were even better?”
  3983.  
  3984. >”And what if all injuries, no matter how catastrophic, were easily treated? What if somepony could be burnt alive, and weeks later come back home? My eye was put out, and it took less than a minute to replace. How many broken bones, lost limbs, failed organs- how much grief could we be spared if ponies weren’t so fragile? The problem is with us, Twilight. We need to fix ourselves.”
  3985.  
  3986. >”Y- you want everypony to be like you?”
  3987.  
  3988. >Cadence sounds horrified as she speaks.
  3989. >You’re not too worried about that.
  3990. >You’re more worried about Twilight.
  3991.  
  3992. >”No. I want it to be an option. I’d much rather live in steel than die in flesh. And I think it’s something you’d some day choose for yourself too, Cadence. When you’re a few centuries old memory isn’t that big of a worry. When you get to be millenia old, however, you start to forget important things. Precious things. Me, however, I don’t seem to forget anything anymore. I could recite this whole meeting word for word without difficulty, and I’d wager that I could do the exact same a thousand years hence. It’s hard to describe just how much that means to somepony so young, but when you start to forget your husband-”
  3993.  
  3994. >”I’d NEVER!”
  3995.  
  3996. >”When BOTH of you start to forget about Shining Armor, you’ll understand. There will come a day, hopefully in the distant future, when he dies. And there will come a day after that when you can’t remember his face.
  3997. >His voice. His smile. His name… EVERYTHING will fade until one day I mention Shining Armor to you and you ask me who that is. The way ponies remember isn’t good enough. But there is a better way. We need to change that as well- we must change many things.”
  3998.  
  3999. >”I think I understand.”
  4000.  
  4001. >Really?
  4002. >Twilight gets it?
  4003. >And she agrees with you?
  4004.  
  4005. >”It is unnatural for ponies to exist in a peaceful, comfortable society. We’re suited for a wild, dangerous environment in which the weak should fear the strong. And the only way to change that is to stop being ponies.”
  4006.  
  4007. >You have a bad feeling about this.
  4008.  
  4009. >”So in order to preserve pony kind, we must eliminate our society. Heh. It’s all so obvious in the end. For the good of ponykind, Equestria must fall.”
  4010.  
  4011. >”What.”
  4012.  
  4013. >Celestia sounds mad.
  4014. >She stomps up to the throne shattering the stone tiles beneath her thunderous hoofsteps.
  4015.  
  4016. >”What did you just say?”
  4017.  
  4018. >She stares an unimpressed Twilight dead in the eye as she encroaches far too closely on her personal space.
  4019.  
  4020. >”Fuck Equestria. Fuck law. Fuck everything. It’s not natural. I’m going to tear the whole thing apart.”
  4021.  
  4022. “Life was short and brutal. We aren’t going back to that.”
  4023.  
  4024. >”Yes we are! Things were hard, but at least-”
  4025.  
  4026. >”At least NOTHING! I’m not going to sit idly by while you ruin everything I’ve worked for, you whore!”
  4027.  
  4028. >Celestia violently jabs a hoof into Twilight’s chest.
  4029. >You can’t be certain but it certainly looked painful.
  4030.  
  4031. >”I’ve spent millennia building this up from NOTHING! You can’t even begin to imagine the blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into building this nation. It’s my home, my life’s work, it might as well be my damn CHILD! And you WON’T ruin it!”
  4032.  
  4033. >She’s going off the rails.
  4034. >Not good.
  4035.  
  4036. “Twilight, think for a moment. This is a terrible idea. You want-”
  4037.  
  4038. >Her horn flashes.
  4039. >Your muzzle is clamped shut in a crushing telekinetic grip.
  4040.  
  4041. >”Step. Down. Twilight. Get your dirty hooves off my baby before I BREAK them off.”
  4042.  
  4043. >”I think I’ll start by having Manehattan razed. Burn the whole thing to the ground.”
  4044.  
  4045. >Celestia snaps.
  4046. >Perhaps it’s the remnants of the dark magic talking. She’ll likely be temperamental for decades yet.
  4047. >Or maybe this just hits so close to home that she can’t restrain her anger.
  4048. >Whatever the case may be, she raises a hoof and brings it down on Twilight’s head.
  4049. >Hard.
  4050. >But before it arrives her whole 300 some kilogram body starts floating in mid air.
  4051. >The blow never lands.
  4052.  
  4053. >”Heh. Destroy Equestria? I’m not stupid. This empire will swallow the world with me at the head. We’ll eliminate everything on the outside that could threaten Equestria’s stability, and then focus all our hate on the Titans to galvanise our love for each other. I just wanted to provoke you. Because now I know. I KNOW for sure.”
  4054.  
  4055. >Celestia is cast aside casually and lands hard in the corner of the room.
  4056. >The floor gets torn apart from the force of the impact.
  4057.  
  4058. >”You aren’t Princess Celestia. She’d never strike me. She was kind.”
  4059.  
  4060. >A bolt of raw mana strikes Celestia’s head.
  4061.  
  4062. >”Patient.”
  4063.  
  4064. >Another hits home. This one noticeably darker.
  4065.  
  4066. >”Understanding.”
  4067.  
  4068. >A third and final bolt hits hard.
  4069. >A loud ringing sound goes throughout.
  4070. >But you’ve yet to see any structural damage.
  4071.  
  4072. >”You come to me with this DISGUSTING, PATHETIC fake, you disgrace her name and her memory- There is no excuse for your sins.”
  4073.  
  4074. >Celestia is raised in the air by the head with a black as pitch telekinetic aura.
  4075.  
  4076. >”Begone.”
  4077.  
  4078. >Nothing happens for a little while.
  4079. >Then you can see Twilight start to visibly strain herself.
  4080. >She continues to push herself harder and harder, struggling against the strange material that makes up your sister’s body.
  4081. >Until finally she crushes it into a tiny ball.
  4082. >Sparks fly everywhere as the circuitry shorts out.
  4083. >The internal fuses break to protect what remains of her body, and the sparks die out.
  4084. >Twilight lets out a short satisfied chuckle before dropping the damaged mass of metal.
  4085. >And with the fuses blown, Celestia stays motionless.
  4086. >Reliant on backup power to live.
  4087.  
  4088. >”And now for you, Luna.”
  4089.  
  4090. >She stares you in the eye and grips down on your jaw harder as she speaks.
  4091. >Cadence breaks the back off of Celestia’s throne with her magic, but you’re too busy to notice.
  4092.  
  4093. >”You lied to me. I can’t trust you.”
  4094.  
  4095. >Cadence levitates the broken chair high above Twilight’s head.
  4096.  
  4097. >”Which means I’ve no use for you-”
  4098.  
  4099. >Cadence brings the ruined furniture down on Twilight’s head and the purple alicorn winds up splayed out on the floor.
  4100. >Unconscious.
  4101. >Bleeding.
  4102. >Cadence is hyperventilating and crying.
  4103. >A small contingent of your guards burst through the door and survey the scene.
  4104. >You gesture to Celestia.
  4105.  
  4106. >”Get her to the wine cellar NOW!”
  4107.  
  4108. >They move reluctantly, clearly fearful of the wreck.
  4109. >You look to Cadence.
  4110.  
  4111. >”Get to the Crystal Empire IMMEDIATELY. Twilight WILL come for you, and I assure you, she has more than enough power to make you regret what you just did. The crystal heart will keep her out and protect both you and your foal. MOVE!”
  4112.  
  4113. >She just stands there staring at her bludgeoned friend in a mad panic.
  4114. >Holding her improvised weapon and rapidly switching between staring at it and the damage it did.
  4115. >You run up to her and slap her viciously.
  4116.  
  4117. >”RUN YOU IDIOT!”
  4118.  
  4119. >She lets out a short yelp before teleporting.
  4120. >Hopefully towards home.
  4121. >A small team of your agents lets out a groan as they start to move your heavy sister.
  4122. >Classified walks up to you with a small battle axe in hoof.
  4123. >She’s barely concealing her terrorized state.
  4124.  
  4125. >”I came as soon as-”
  4126.  
  4127. “Calm yourself. You did your duty. It’s not your fault that I followed my sister so blindly. I should have been more firm, I should have gone behind her back- I should have done a lot of things. Everything that happened today is my fault…”
  4128.  
  4129. >”Should I…”
  4130.  
  4131. >She hefts the axe to imply a somewhat violent course of action.
  4132. >A horn amputation would hurt pretty bad.
  4133. >You know from experience.
  4134. >But then you look over to your sister.
  4135. >With the crushed head.
  4136. >If there’s been anything vital in there...
  4137.  
  4138. >”Change of plan. I tried to go easy on her, and she threw it in my face. It’s time for revenge.”
  4139.  
  4140.  
  4141. >You are Spike.
  4142. >You’ve been staring at the dead Titans for hours.
  4143. >Considering the incredible power they represent.
  4144. >The impossible might brought low by a single creature’s mind.
  4145. >A creature that now wants you to help him.
  4146. >You watched the whole world spin below you.
  4147. >The millions of creatures, be they pony or otherwise, who are suffering.
  4148. >Dying.
  4149. >Counting on you to help them whether they know it or not.
  4150. >And you’ve finally come to a conclusion.
  4151.  
  4152. “I can’t do it. I want to, but I can’t. I’m just one baby drake. I’m not smart enough, I don’t know where to begin- I’m not ready.”
  4153.  
  4154. >”And you never will be. I’m asking the impossible of you, I know you can’t do it. As far as I know, nobody in the entire cosmos could do everything I’m asking of you. Not in a reasonable timeframe at least.”
  4155.  
  4156. >He gave you an impossible task.
  4157. >Something that nobody could do, presumably not even himself.
  4158. >And then he put the pressure on.
  4159. >He told you that every three seconds someone dies, and it’s all on you to stop it.
  4160. >Which you can’t do.
  4161. >It doesn’t make sense.
  4162.  
  4163. “Then why ask me?”
  4164.  
  4165. >”In this case, success and failure aren’t binary. Say for a moment you cure aging but fail to automate anything. Your friend Applejack will still spend her life on labour, but at least she’ll live long enough to do other things as well. Or perhaps you make physical labor obsolete. They still won’t live long, but they won’t have to waste what little time they have. Or perhaps you simply develop a cure for feather flu. It kills more than you’d expect. You’d do more good for the gryphons than any aid initiative with that alone, and that’s just the gryphons you’d save.”
  4166.  
  4167. >”More than any aid initiative? There have been some pretty big projects.”
  4168.  
  4169. >”Bandages. Short term answers to long term problems. Once the bits are spent they’re gone. But once you wipe out a disease, drive it extinct, it won’t come back. About twenty thousand die of feather flu every year. You wipe it out, you save twenty thousand every single year. In a century hence you’ll have saved two million. Tell me, how many bits would that cost?”
  4170.  
  4171. >Two MILLION?
  4172. >You could fail and still save two million lives.
  4173. >That’s the bad end.
  4174. >But still…
  4175.  
  4176. “That only answers half of the question. Why ME?”
  4177.  
  4178. >”You know more of my ways than any other. Being a dragon you have a long life ahead of you so I don’t have to worry about you dropping dead on me. You thirst for knowledge. You’re driven to prove yourself more than a mere assistant. You were already trying to do something along these lines. And most importantly, I trust you.”
  4179.  
  4180. “Is there really nobody better for the job?”
  4181.  
  4182. >”Hrm. Perhaps Luna. I see no reason why the both of you can’t make an attempt.”
  4183.  
  4184. >It’s still so daunting.
  4185. >You don’t know where to start, what to go for first.
  4186. >You barely understand what you’re going for.
  4187. >But even so…
  4188.  
  4189. “I’ll try.”
  4190.  
  4191. >You start swimming back to the seat and prepare to buckle in.
  4192. >As much as you’d like to you can’t afford to stay up here forever.
  4193.  
  4194. >”That’s all I ask. I’ll do everything I can to support you. For starters I believe you were envious of Celestia’s neural implants. You’re much smaller than her so I won’t have as much space to work with, but there are some workarounds we can employ. I’ve taken a look at the changes you wanted made and I have to say, I’m unimpressed. I can’t make you that strong without replacing your bones. Bones are surprisingly important you know! They’re needed for hormonal regulation and blood cell generation. You can’t live without them, not unless you employ really heavy life support!”
  4195.  
  4196. >That was oddly specific.
  4197. >Almost as though that’s been an issue for him before.
  4198. >You decide not to ask. `
  4199.  
  4200. >”And the wings are all wrong. Never going to work.”
  4201.  
  4202. “Really? You can’t redirect my dragonfire to make a thruster?”
  4203.  
  4204. >”Sure I can. And I have to say it was a neat idea, I wish it would work. There’s no way you’ll get enough thrust to lift off with those. You’re small, but not THAT small. Same problem as Celestia.”
  4205.  
  4206. “Yeah. But she can’t channel flight magic.”
  4207.  
  4208. >”Pardon?”
  4209.  
  4210. “Dragons can normally fly. Sometimes we get unlucky and their wings don’t develop properly. But we still have the flight magic.”
  4211.  
  4212. >”Fascinating. What good does that do us though?”
  4213.  
  4214. “Ask any pegasus. Flight magic makes you light. There’s no way your average pegasus would be able to get lift without it. And it works without wings.”
  4215.  
  4216. >”I wonder how. Mass neutralization on a large scale? Or does it work with inertia in some way? Perhaps it plays against gravity? We’ll need to run some tests. Ready? We’re going down.”
  4217.  
  4218. >The craft’s walls go opaque once more.
  4219. >The thrusters kick in and knock you out of orbit.
  4220. >And you begin to fall.
  4221.  
  4222.  
  4223. >You are Luna.
  4224. >You’re disappointed.
  4225. >The palace kitchen was out of your favorite tea.
  4226. >Or rather, it was stored improperly.
  4227. >There are admittedly a fair amount of rules for maintaining a top quality leaf, but surely the palace staff SHOULD know what they’re doing.
  4228. >Alas you’re stuck with an inferior brew.
  4229. >You put down your teacup on the saucer before you.
  4230. >Gently so as not to make a noise.
  4231. >It sits upon the desk in the old abandoned guard station.
  4232. >The one that has a nice, clear view of the long forgotten cells of Canterlot’s dungeon’s sub-basement.
  4233. >A relic of crueler times when it was sometimes necessary to ‘extract’ information in rather unpleasant ways.
  4234. >The one candle in the whole chamber flickers brightly illuminating the chains and bars that are strewn about, waiting for their next victim.
  4235. >A victim that will hopefully never arrive.
  4236. >Indeed, they shall all be neglected this time as you have a new approach you wish to try out.
  4237. >Ideally you’d never use such measures again.
  4238. >But you’ll allow yourself an exception in this one instance.
  4239. >Sparkle hangs limply, tied to a tall pipe in a glass box.
  4240. >A box which COULD have been wooden.
  4241. >But you wanted to watch.
  4242. >Her rear hooves dangle just above the ground below, bound tight to the metal piping.
  4243. >Her head is strapped up higher with her muzzle forced down.
  4244. >Blindfolded and muzzled of course.
  4245. >You get to choose what she sees and says. Not her.
  4246. >And finally a separate pipe hangs above her head, just above her horn stump.
  4247. >She slowly starts to awaken.
  4248. >A process that takes far too long for your liking.
  4249. >But finally…
  4250.  
  4251. >”MMHP!”
  4252.  
  4253. >An attempted scream.
  4254. >Or perhaps a shout?
  4255. >It’s difficult to tell.
  4256. >She tries to push some mana through her horn-
  4257.  
  4258. >”HHHHHNG!”
  4259.  
  4260. >Definitely a shriek, that one.
  4261. >A couple sparks fly out of the stump on her forehead.
  4262. >Which has been cleaned of course. You don’t want it to get infected.
  4263. >You’re cruel, not evi-
  4264. >Well, okay.
  4265. >Maybe a little evil.
  4266. >Just around the edges.
  4267. >You grin as she starts thrashing against her bindings.
  4268. >The ropes that ensnare her body refuse to yield.
  4269. >And the pipe to which she’s bound holds firm.
  4270. >Perhaps had she better developed her Earth magicks she’d have a chance of breaking free.
  4271. >You’ve little doubt that a natural born earth pony could shake loose given time.
  4272. >An earth pony who’d properly developed their body such as Applejack could easily bend the pipe enough to get a solid footing on the ground.
  4273. >But you’re not dealing with them.
  4274. >You’re dealing with Twilight Sparkle.
  4275. >Her struggling begins to die down as her stamina fades.
  4276. >The brevity of her fight betrays the soft life she’s lived.
  4277. >When she finally gives up and settles down you raise your teacup.
  4278. >Not to drink, as it has been drained.
  4279. >You raise it so you can set it down again.
  4280.  
  4281. *clink*
  4282.  
  4283. >”WHURF-DRR? HLLLP!”
  4284.  
  4285. >It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what the last word was.
  4286. >But you don’t help her.
  4287. >You do nothing save for wait.
  4288. >There’s no reason to let her know who’s there or what’s happening.
  4289. >It is enough that she knows there’s somepony watching.
  4290. >Somepony who doesn’t intend to aid her.
  4291. >You simply let her stew in her fear a while longer.
  4292. >And you take a moment to admire your work.
  4293. >The glass box was provided by ponies, but the plumbing?
  4294. >That was your work.
  4295. >’Welded’ together with your own hooves.
  4296. >It was a rush job, but it shall suffice.
  4297. >An inlet just around belly height for fluids to enter.
  4298. >A crook going well above her head.
  4299. >And a drain poking through the bottom of her glass prison awaiting an opportunity to drain.
  4300. >Eventually you can wait no longer.
  4301. >It would have been preferable to leave her in her terror a while longer, but your patience has worn thin in recent days.
  4302.  
  4303. “I’m afraid I have some bad news for you.”
  4304.  
  4305. >She lets out what you think to be a gasp.
  4306.  
  4307. “The effects of dark magic linger long after you’ve stopped using it. Even my rather… unorthodox cure cannot change this fact.”
  4308.  
  4309. >”PRRS DNT U RNT RR YHNGHN!”
  4310.  
  4311. >You don’t actually know what she said.
  4312. >But you’re going to assume she was pleading.
  4313. >That’s what ponies usually do in her position.
  4314. >Even though you’ve not done anything like this since coming back, that fact hasn’t been forgotten.
  4315. >And so you let out a bitter, fake laugh.
  4316.  
  4317. “Oh, you think I was talking about YOUR condition? No, I was talking about MINE! And MY madness- my HATRED and cruelty? They’re VERY bad news for YOU.”
  4318.  
  4319. >There’s some more unintelligible words.
  4320. >You really don’t care what she has to say.
  4321.  
  4322. “Funny thing is that I know what I’m about to do is terrible and that were I well I wouldn’t even consider it. I simply don’t care right now. I gave you an ultimatum, Twilight Sparkle.”
  4323.  
  4324. >Her body tenses up.
  4325. >She holds a breath.
  4326.  
  4327. “No magic. How difficult is that? And despite the simplicity of the task, you failed me. As I knew you would. That’s why I’ve… revoked your magic privileges.”
  4328.  
  4329. >She growls slightly.
  4330. >Surely she hasn’t already forgotten her situation.
  4331.  
  4332. “Were that the whole story I’d have let you go when I was done. Perhaps I’d have even appointed some staff to help ease your suffering. Care for you in the trying days and years to come. But you managed to do more than fail.”
  4333.  
  4334. >”HFFF! HHHHF!”
  4335.  
  4336. >Her wild thrashing continues for a brief period as she realises what’s coming next.
  4337. >But of course she quickly tires.
  4338. >That’s why you let her tire herself out BEFORE you started speaking.
  4339.  
  4340. “You struck me. You tried to strangle me. You stole my throne. And I suspect you were planning on crushing my head. I think you can understand why I might be a tad upset.”
  4341.  
  4342. >She lamely pulls against her bindings.
  4343. >Desperation can only carry one so far through exhaustion.
  4344. >Eventually the limits of the body will be reached.
  4345.  
  4346. “Had you stopped there? It’s hard to say what would happen. I’d have taken your horn for certain, and almost definitely banished you from Canterlot. Beyond that I don’t know. Perhaps I’d have done nothing more. I understand better than any what was going on in your head at the time; I can sympathise. I’d have done the very same not so long ago.”
  4347.  
  4348. >You idly wonder if she’s feeling some faint hope at this moment.
  4349. >Ideally not.
  4350. >You want her to know nothing save for pain and despair.
  4351.  
  4352. “But you went one step further. You went after MY FUCKING SISTER. You tried to KILL the single best pony to ever grace this world. And what’s more? You BETRAYED her trust. She never even considered the possibility that you might turn on her. I can’t forgive this, Twilight. In a thousand years, nay, a thousand millennia I won’t have forgiven you. Consider yourself lucky that she WILL recover. Yes, she’ll be fine. There’s nothing important between her ears, and for once that isn’t an insult. Rather, it’s your saving grace. Because if you’d actually managed to kill her? I’d devote every instant of the rest of eternity to making you PRAY that you might join her.”
  4353.  
  4354. >You stand and move towards her.
  4355. >She tries to shy away from you, likely expecting you to strike her.
  4356. >You’ve got something better in mind.
  4357. >Instead, you reach up to the pipe above her head and turn a valve.
  4358. >Ice cold water starts showering down on her head wounds and begins collecting around her legs.
  4359.  
  4360. “Having running water in Canterlot was no small feat you know. Getting an effectively endless supply of it to come to the top of a mountain, all without magic no less.”
  4361.  
  4362. >You close the valve to leave her only partially submerged.
  4363.  
  4364. “I’ll spare you the details of the public water system. It’s quite dull in practice. But in effect it’s rather remarkable. So long as it rains, there is water delivered into every home. And while the system requires maintenance and surveillance the bulk of the work does itself. A feat which I’ve underappreciated in the past. But now I’ve seen just how far such an approach can take you. Equestria was humiliated by a creature that hardly did any of his own work at all. Instead, he reshaped the world such that nature worked for him. I intend to follow suit starting now. Tell me, are you familiar with the greedy cup?”
  4365.  
  4366. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_cup
  4367.  
  4368. “An incredible device really. It drains itself if you overfill it. Without any magic whatsoever. When I first learned of it I was unimpressed. But nearly two thousand years later I’ve seen the light. And indeed, I suspect it shall prove useful.”
  4369.  
  4370. >You open the valve once more.
  4371. >Water floods in.
  4372. >Sparkle starts screaming and weakly struggling.
  4373. >To no avail of course.
  4374. >Before too long her head is completely submerged.
  4375. >Air bubbles come out of her nostrils rapidly before dwindling down to nothing.
  4376. >She appears to be too afraid to have the presence of mind needed to properly hold her breath.
  4377. >Perfect.
  4378. >And just when she stops thrashing, right when she’s about to yield to a watery grave...
  4379. >The water fills the siphon, and her prison drains.
  4380. >Water continues to pour in as it marks down the seconds before she once more drowns.
  4381. >But you close the valve.
  4382. >Not out of mercy of course.
  4383. >But because you’re not done speaking.
  4384.  
  4385. “I can go about my business quite readily as you drown over and over again… it’s magnificent really. I can forget all about you here in this hidden and forgotten area; I could leave you here for weeks on end to suffer. Time was I’d torment my enemies in their dreams. An effective if laborious process. I needed ample time and magic to keep a mere hooffull away from their much needed rest. But now I finally see it all for what it is. A crutch. Magic, even its most innocent form, is addictive in a way. It solves so many problems that your solutions is always to use more. It blinds you to the simpler, more elegant solutions. Perhaps this is why we ponies have stagnated as of late. Perhaps that’s why there were only marginal innovations during my absence. No more!”
  4386.  
  4387. >You cycle the water through again.
  4388. >This time slowing the flow after she’s submerged to keep her underwater for a bit longer.
  4389. >You wait until everything has gone down the drains before cutting the flow and talking again.
  4390.  
  4391. “The word ‘nightmare’ was coined in my honor you know. Everyone, be they pony or otherwise, feared my magic. Those who crossed me suffered in ways they’d never imagined. But through it all, there was always a problem. It was my magic that they feared. Not me. They all believed me to be no more than my magic. And though all my victims are long ago deceased, it’s time for me to prove them wrong. Princess Luna doesn’t NEED magic to excel. I shall prove that my talents go far beyond control of the heavens and command over dreams. And the first step? I’m going to show to you that I don’t need magic to be your worst nightmare.”
  4392.  
  4393. >You turn open the valve and start to walk away.
  4394.  
  4395. “Enjoy your personal Tartarus, Twilight.”
  4396.  
  4397. >You slam one of the vacant cell doors to punctuate your departure.
  4398. >A meaningless act of course.
  4399. >But as far as she knows that was the exit to the room.
  4400. >Instead you leave that door open.
  4401. >Open such that you or one of your assistants might enter without making sound.
  4402. >It’d be best if she didn’t know she was being watched.
  4403. >But sadly, despite all your words, you must monitor her.
  4404. >It wouldn’t do for her to actually drown for real.
  4405. >Which is why Spitfire is here.
  4406. >Standing upstairs by the trap door that leads down to this damnable place.
  4407. >Waiting for word on why you summoned her here.
  4408.  
  4409. “Did you stop by the wine cellar as I asked?”
  4410.  
  4411. >The question was a mere formality.
  4412. >There’s a look of grim determination on her tear stained face.
  4413. >She saw Celestia’s ‘corpse’.
  4414.  
  4415. >”Who did it?”
  4416.  
  4417. “Remember this feeling. It will serve you well in the near future. Sister yet lives. There’s nothing vital stored in her head. Thankfully. The question isn’t whether or not she’s alive, the question is if I can put her back together without guidance. Something that remains to be seen.”
  4418.  
  4419. >”WHO DID IT?”
  4420.  
  4421. >You should punish her for yelling at you.
  4422. >But truth be told she’s exhibiting exactly the fury you were hoping for.
  4423. >Were she a unicorn you’d be worried about having another dark mage on your hooves.
  4424. >But with pegasi?
  4425. >As far as you know there’s nothing wrong with a little bit of blinding hatred here and there.
  4426.  
  4427. “That’s why I’ve called you here. I’ve already apprehended the pony responsible, one Twilight Sparkle.”
  4428.  
  4429. >”The purple bitch?”
  4430.  
  4431. “Indeed. It’s time for her to face punishment. But there’s a slight problem. We can’t have her dying before she’s served her sentence, and I can’t stay and watch her. I’ve got a sister to repair. I’ve called you here because I need somepony who will understand the gravity of the crime committed today. And while my ponies would surely do as I told them, it would shake them to the core. I’m doing something somewhat barbaric, something that I didn’t think would be necessary in this modern age. I don’t know you well, Captain, but I know what you think of Celestia. I wonder, though, if you’ll find my methods too extreme.”
  4432.  
  4433. >”If you’re not pulling their teeth it’s not extreme enough.”
  4434.  
  4435. >Crude.
  4436. >Overly simplistic.
  4437. >Not repeatable enough.
  4438. >She doesn’t really understand the art of torture.
  4439. >Even so, it’s harsh.
  4440. >She’ll do well enough.
  4441.  
  4442. “Maybe later. For now though? Make sure she she keeps breathing. If she actually dies then her punishment is over. And try not to let her know you’re there, I want her to think I’ve abandoned her to her fate. Don’t be afraid to break the glass if you need to get her out in a hurry. That’s replaceable. She’s not. Remember that feeling, Captain.”
  4443.  
  4444. >You walk away without another word.
  4445. >You make your way through the empty dungeons and head towards your machine shop.
  4446. >You’ve much work to do.
  4447.  
  4448.  
  4449. >You are Spike.
  4450. >Your ‘heart’ is racing as you drop from the sky.
  4451. >The roaring jets push to correct your course as you rapidly plummet toward the ground.
  4452. >And yet somehow, despite falling from the heavens as a star might, you land.
  4453. >Alive.
  4454. >You take a few minutes to collect yourself before unstrapping and stepping up.
  4455. >And when you do, the side panel of the airship drops down.
  4456. >And opens up into the remains of the sanctuary.
  4457. >You feel almost as though you’re stepping into a blast furnace as you survey the wreckage.
  4458.  
  4459. “What happened?”
  4460.  
  4461. >”Right behind you.”
  4462.  
  4463. >You turn your head.
  4464. >The dome sags around a massive hole that reveals the sun, facing directly at two floating balls of light.
  4465. >The Titans?
  4466. >Why didn’t you see them back in Ponyville?
  4467. >You’d assumed they were simply too dim to see from the surface.
  4468. >Unless…
  4469.  
  4470. “Why was I on the ship for so long waiting for take off?”
  4471.  
  4472. >”I didn’t want you flying around an active battle.”
  4473.  
  4474. >Recent kills then.
  4475. >You probably launched the moment they died.
  4476. >You look at the puddles of metal that lay on the ground.
  4477. >You don’t need thermal imaging to know they’re hot.
  4478. >The bright red glow is more than sufficient.
  4479. >They might not even be solid just yet.
  4480. >Molten even after several hours...
  4481.  
  4482. >”Yeah. Stay back from that, I’d be hard pressed to pull your out if you fell in.”
  4483.  
  4484. “Fell in?”
  4485.  
  4486. >”They made a pretty deep hole at the point of impact. That’s a lake you’re looking at.”
  4487.  
  4488. >A lake of molten metal.
  4489. >Wait.
  4490.  
  4491. “Impact? Did something fall?”
  4492.  
  4493. >”One spell landed. ONE. A bolt of mana from space. All the wreckage you see is from a single spell. I tried to record it, but my arcanoscopes were overwhelmed. Some blew themselves apart.”
  4494.  
  4495. >So far you haven’t seen that much damage.
  4496. >Sure, he’s had hours to repair, but, but last time the whole sanctuary was wrecked.
  4497. >Why then the emphasis that it was just one spell?
  4498. >One spell delivered from space-
  4499. >Wait just a hot second!
  4500.  
  4501. “Magic is a property of matter that can travel through a medium. If they didn’t make it into the atmosphere, how did they cast a spell?”
  4502.  
  4503. >”You’re asking all the right questions.”
  4504.  
  4505. “That’s not an answer.”
  4506.  
  4507. >”I don’t have an answer.”
  4508.  
  4509. >That’s kinda freaky.
  4510. >No more freaky than everything else that’s happening, but still.
  4511. >You shiver slightly despite the heat.
  4512.  
  4513. “I’m just glad they’re dead.”
  4514.  
  4515. >”When did I ever say they died?”
  4516.  
  4517. >You gesture up towards the blinding lights in the sky.
  4518.  
  4519. “They look pretty dead to me.”
  4520.  
  4521. >”I’m an expert at spacial distortion and teleportation. And I’ve been devoting pretty much all my spare time to studying magic ever since I was forced to admit it existed.”
  4522.  
  4523. “So?”
  4524.  
  4525. >”So I KNOW when a teleportation spell has been cast. About half their mass escaped. Discord never died when I blew him up; I suspect he used a similar trick. Escape with just enough to regrow. Maybe have some redundancy in important organs in case you get hit in a vital area? Not sure, I’m guessing here. Their baby might have escaped too, I don’t know. I didn’t know what to look for back then.”
  4526.  
  4527. >So they escaped?
  4528. >And they’re probably going to come back!
  4529. >Next time they’ll know what to expect.
  4530. >And everything is broken!
  4531. >How will-
  4532.  
  4533. >”That kind of energy doesn’t come from nowhere. I’d be shocked if they didn’t need a few years at least to get back into peak form. Don’t worry, we have time.”
  4534.  
  4535. >You’re not entirely sure how he knew what you were thinking.
  4536. >Maybe you’re just predictable?
  4537. >Or maybe he’s worried about the same thing.
  4538.  
  4539. “Shouldn’t you get started right away?”
  4540.  
  4541. >”Ideally yes. But there’s not much I can do until this place is fixed up. Might as well get other affairs in order while I wait. Come.”
  4542.  
  4543. >A swarm of dark grey sand- programmable matter he called it- amasses before you.
  4544. >It resolves itself into a chair.
  4545. >You sit upon it and it starts zooming away to some other part of the sanctuary.
  4546.  
  4547. >”Sorry. We have a bit of a trip to make. A circuit overload fried most of my controls over the dome so I can’t open it up for entrance at the moment. Couldn’t land you in the right place. Had to make do with the opening they provided.”
  4548.  
  4549. >You shoot toward the doorway to one of the adjacent cells.
  4550. >A doorway that’s constantly opening and trying to close, but being blocked by an immobile one of his flying worker machines.
  4551. >Something which has been strangely absent in the normally busy sanctuary.
  4552. >You zip through the doorway at blinding speed, narrowly avoiding the doorway as it tried to close on you.
  4553. >Calculated, surely.
  4554. >On the other side you see ruined flying workers scattered everywhere.
  4555. >Whole swarms of them that seemingly fell from the sky as one.
  4556. >The skyward facing cannons droop and sag, their formerly straight barrels having bent.
  4557. >Likely rendering them useless.
  4558.  
  4559. >”I had them firing too fast. The heat of each shot built up and melted them.”
  4560.  
  4561. >Ruining his own equipment to push a few more attacks through?
  4562. >That sounds like a desperate measure to you.
  4563. >You approach the next doorway…
  4564. >And stop.
  4565.  
  4566. >”Hold on a sec. Not safe to enter there yet. Aaand… there we go.”
  4567.  
  4568. >The door opens.
  4569. >A strong gust of wind blows into it from your back.
  4570.  
  4571. >”That weird green fire that spread out was hard to contain. The only solution I’ve found so far is to remove the atmosphere. Cooling it didn’t work, submerging it in water or even liquid nitrogen didn’t work. The strangest part is that it didn’t pop up at the spell’s landing zone, it appeared as a ring around it.”
  4572.  
  4573. >A green flame that cannot easily be extinguished.
  4574. >That burns through water and in the bitterest of colds.
  4575. >Dragonfire.
  4576. >As if to confirm your suspicions one of the many nameless machines bursts into flame as you zip by.
  4577. >It looks identical to your own.
  4578.  
  4579. ”It needs a source of magic to sustain itself. We need to dispel it.”
  4580.  
  4581. >”On it.”
  4582.  
  4583. >A few minutes later you feel a wave of nothingness pass through you.
  4584. >Your magic has been severely weakened.
  4585. >Before all the changes you’d have likely been exhausted.
  4586. >Right now you merely feel heavy.
  4587.  
  4588. “Where’d you learn to do that?”
  4589.  
  4590. >”Luna used that trick to cancel a stasis spell on Celestia when she was done rebuilding her. She never did explain how it works though… for now I’m just happy that it does.”
  4591.  
  4592. “The fires are gone?”
  4593.  
  4594. >”Most of them.”
  4595.  
  4596. >Most.
  4597. >Dragonfire that can survive a dispel rune.
  4598. >You hear a loud crashing sound in the distance.
  4599. >The lights dim for a moment.
  4600. >Your chair changes course towards a different cell.
  4601.  
  4602. >”HOLY C- best avoid that one for now.”
  4603.  
  4604.  
  4605. “What happened!?”
  4606.  
  4607. >”They created some creatures that I was trying to study. Turns out they blow up when restrained. Good to know.”
  4608.  
  4609. >And now there are summons that are persisting even with the summoner gone.
  4610.  
  4611. “I’m not so sure I want to be here right now.”
  4612.  
  4613. >”It’s now or never. I’m not going to have much time for distractions once my factories are online.”
  4614.  
  4615. “And you’re sure it’s safe?”
  4616.  
  4617. >”I’ve reclaimed most of the cells. We just need to stick to the safe ones.”
  4618.  
  4619. >Reclaimed.
  4620. >Not repaired.
  4621. >You enter the next cell waiting to see what ruin will meet you.
  4622. >Instead of destroyed machinery you see nothing.
  4623. >Literally nothing.
  4624. >A perfect sphere of empty space digging well down below what should be the surface.
  4625. >Cutting into the walls and taking a small chunk out of the ceiling too.
  4626. >What horrifying work of sorcery did this?
  4627.  
  4628. >”In all honesty I don’t know what they did here. I just hope they didn’t steal it. As far as I can tell they don’t know how this stuff works, if they reverse engineered it they’d be even more dangerous. All the more reason for my to call home and get some proper weapons.”
  4629.  
  4630. >You shoot into the next cell.
  4631. >Mercifully nearly everything seems to be in good order.
  4632. >And the wild ride comes to an end.
  4633. >Your chair dissolves out from under you.
  4634. >You meet the ground with a gentle stride and start walking onto a small metal pad
  4635. >You’re not sure what it’s for, but that’s where he left you.
  4636.  
  4637. “I thought you said they only landed one spell.”
  4638.  
  4639. >”As far as I can tell, yes.”
  4640.  
  4641. “Then why were there so many effects so spread out? None of this makes sense!”
  4642.  
  4643. >He doesn’t say anything.
  4644.  
  4645. “They cast spells in space, they teleported while blowing up, one spell had dozens of effects-”
  4646.  
  4647. >”Hundreds actually.”
  4648.  
  4649. “Summons and dragonfire are persisting without the caster being around to power them, they’re persisting after being dispelled. None of this makes any sense! This isn’t possible!”
  4650.  
  4651. >”Clearly it is. Maybe they know of some loophole that we haven’t thought of, or maybe we’re just wrong about what’s possible.”
  4652.  
  4653. “Loophole. It has to be. There’s no other way!
  4654.  
  4655. >”Try to be a bit more open minded about what can and can’t happen. Just because we say something is true doesn’t make it so. It just means we’re pretty certain that we’re close to truth.”
  4656.  
  4657. “So you’re saying all of magical theory is wrong?”
  4658.  
  4659. >”All theories and models are wrong, Spike. But some of them are useful. Now. Try to channel your flight magic. We’re going to get some readings.”
  4660.  
  4661. >That’s easy.
  4662. >Sure, you’ve never flown before.
  4663. >For rather obvious reasons.
  4664. >But the magic has always been there.
  4665. >Much like how you never needed to learn to breath.
  4666. >Sure, you’re probably doing a lot of things wrong.
  4667. >One doesn’t wake up one morning and become a wonderbolt.
  4668. >It takes more than basic mana control to become an archmage.
  4669. >But you can at least command the magic in its most basic form.
  4670. >You desire flight.
  4671. >You wish to fly.
  4672. >You want-
  4673.  
  4674. >”Gettin’ something. Very weak arcane signature, but a reasonable decrease in weight. Hold on. Let’s try something else.”
  4675.  
  4676. >Hours pass.
  4677. >You note how the Sanctuary is rapidly returning to its original state around you.
  4678. >At least this cell is.
  4679. >The fallen flying machines have been cleared out, and replaced or repaired.
  4680. >At the beginning of the testing there was hardly anything moving about.
  4681. >But now the swarm has returned in full force.
  4682. >Going about mysterious tasks that you’d been assured are largely mundane.
  4683.  
  4684. >”Right, so what happens if we do it in a closed environment?”
  4685.  
  4686. “We’ve already done that.”
  4687.  
  4688. >”We’re doing it again.”
  4689.  
  4690. >More time passes.
  4691. >With more repetition in testing.
  4692. >And more obscure instruments monitoring you.
  4693. >The same experiment over and over again.
  4694. >With the exact same result every time.
  4695. >You’re growing tired.
  4696. >The magic you’ve been using has become a real tax upon you, each iteration draining you a little bit more.
  4697. >Before long you’ll be able to ‘fly’ no more.
  4698.  
  4699. >”Right. We’re doing it again!”
  4700.  
  4701. “We’ve. Done. It. Test over.”
  4702.  
  4703. >”Just one more time. This time I’m SURE everything’s calibrated properly.”
  4704.  
  4705. “You were sure thirty tries ago!”
  4706.  
  4707. >”And then I got the wrong result! There’s NO WAY you violate conservation of mass!”
  4708.  
  4709. >Wrong result?
  4710. >Oh.
  4711. >You see what’s happening.
  4712.  
  4713. “Just how much of your knowledge is instinct?”
  4714.  
  4715. >”Just the basics. Stuff that’s been known for thousands of years. Now start channeling that magic. I’m going to find out where that missing mass is going!”
  4716.  
  4717. >He has some expectation built into his mind.
  4718. >A belief that isn’t meant to be shaken.
  4719. >Something akin to how you KNOW things fall when you drop them.
  4720. >And reality doesn’t match his expectations.
  4721. >You take off the elastic harness.
  4722. >Remove the weird cap with the blinking lights.
  4723. >Push away the flying cameras.
  4724. >And walk off the scale.
  4725.  
  4726. “Either there’s some loophole that you haven’t thought of, or conservation of mass isn’t a thing.”
  4727.  
  4728. >”That’s preposterous! It’s been tested and proven time and again over the ages! It’s one of the fundamental cornerstones of the theory of everything- there’s no way that all of physics is wrong!”
  4729.  
  4730. “Try to be a bit more open minded about what can and can’t happen. All theories and models are wrong. Some are just useful.”
  4731.  
  4732. …
  4733.  
  4734. >”You’re a cheeky one, aren’t you?”
  4735.  
  4736. “Am I wrong?”
  4737.  
  4738. >”No. No, you have a point. It’s just been so bizarre since I came to this place. Do you have any idea what it’s like to see impossible things everywhere? To find things that defy reason no matter you look? To have common sense and instinct scream at you that reality is wrong?”
  4739.  
  4740. >You quickly survey the sanctuary and its innumerable autonomous flying hunks of metal using your lightning powered super eye.
  4741.  
  4742. “Yeah. I think I have a rough idea of how that feels.”
  4743.  
  4744. >”Oh. Right.”
  4745.  
  4746. >It never ceases to amaze you how oblivious he can be.
  4747. >One moment he seems omniscient, the next he forgets that he’s talking to a dragon.
  4748. >Is it some problem with his head?
  4749. >Is he just self absorbed?
  4750. >Or maybe he’s multitasking too hard.
  4751. >You have no idea.
  4752.  
  4753. “So, will it work? Can I fly?”
  4754.  
  4755. >”Probably? I dunno. This might hurt a bit by the way.”
  4756.  
  4757. >You feel something sharp jab you in the neck.
  4758. >To your amazement it goes straight through your scales.
  4759.  
  4760. “What is that?”
  4761.  
  4762. >”Surgery done right. Well, almost right. Pretty close. I’m unlicenced, you know. Pretty serious legal repercussions for this, but in for a [penny] in for a [pound].”
  4763.  
  4764. >You’re not sure what that means.
  4765. >Either way you’re having second thoughts.
  4766.  
  4767. >”Instead of cutting you open and putting new parts in there, I’m building the parts inside you. No need for light scalpels. Like I said. Not enough room for proper neural augments; maybe if I knew what I was doing I could pull it off. Or maybe if I was rebuilding your whole body. Whatever.”
  4768.  
  4769. >You can feel a weird presence at the back of your mind.
  4770. >Almost like there’s a whole other consciousness just behind your own.
  4771. >You focus on it.
  4772. >But nothing happens.
  4773.  
  4774. >”Ask a question.”
  4775.  
  4776. “Why?”
  4777.  
  4778. >Standard testing protocols for a neural graft involve attempting to activate said database.
  4779.  
  4780. >That was really weird.
  4781. >It felt like you were telling yourself that.
  4782. >As though you were simultaneously learning and remembering the same information.
  4783.  
  4784. >”Feels weird and a bit unsettling?”
  4785.  
  4786. “Y-yeah.”
  4787.  
  4788. >”Good.”
  4789.  
  4790. >Why would that be good?
  4791.  
  4792. >Seamless access to foreign knowledge, while possible, is not desirable. Information provided in such a manner becomes indistinguishable from the user’s own memories and experiences.
  4793.  
  4794. >That’s so weird.
  4795.  
  4796. “So if it didn’t feel weird like that, I wouldn’t know that it wasn’t me?”
  4797.  
  4798. >”You’d lose your own past into the database. In small doses it can be hilarious, but in the extreme you need to unplug else you’ll lose yourself.”
  4799.  
  4800. “So Celestia has to deal with this weird feeling all the time?”
  4801.  
  4802. >”No. She got the seamless interface because she’s filling her database with her own memories. There is no foreign information to get mixed in. It should feel totally natural. If I were to drop some information into her mind though, she’d believe it was real no matter how absurd. And with the way the brain works it’ll make up any excuse it needs to cover any inconsistencies. I just put a short video in Celestia’s memory, next time you see her ask her about the time she went skydiving. Oh. Then tell me when you’re done, I should really delete it afterwards. I’m urinated at her but overwriting with her past is a step too far.”
  4803.  
  4804. >Urinated at her?
  4805. >Must be a translation problem.
  4806.  
  4807. >”All done in your head. Moving on.”
  4808.  
  4809. >So you have access to the biggest library in the world.
  4810. >Built into your head.
  4811. >So many questions that need answering.
  4812. >You focus on it.
  4813. >What is his homeworld like?
  4814.  
  4815. ACCESS DENIED
  4816.  
  4817. >”I suppose now is as good of time as any to bring this up. Like I said, you’re too small to hold all the stuff you wanted, so I just connected you to my wireless network. You’re getting the data from my machines; it isn’t stored locally.”
  4818.  
  4819. “Which means I just asked your machines for information.”
  4820.  
  4821. >”Yes.”
  4822.  
  4823. “And that they probably noted what I’d asked for.”
  4824.  
  4825. >”Try to keep your nose clean. I can’t tell what you’re thinking, I just know what files you request.”
  4826.  
  4827. >You’re not really happy about this.
  4828. >Having somebody watching every time you try to look something up.
  4829. >It’s just wrong.
  4830. >But it’s what you’ve got.
  4831. >Better to have monitored access than no access.
  4832. >You’ll just have to make do…
  4833.  
  4834. >”You sure you want to go through with the next step? You’ll look pretty striking. You won’t be able to blend in at all you know.”
  4835.  
  4836. >You just tap your fake leg in response.
  4837. >You go numb from the neck down.
  4838.  
  4839. >”Fair point.”
  4840.  
  4841. >Something seems to be holding you up but you can’t tell what.
  4842.  
  4843. >”You should still be able to talk. Let’s discuss a few things.”
  4844.  
  4845. “Business or distraction?”
  4846.  
  4847. >”Both. As bright as you are, I doubt you’ll be able to get as much done as we want on your own. Not in a reasonable amount of time at least. You’re going to need equipment, staff, funding.”
  4848.  
  4849. “I figured you’d provide the equipment I needed.”
  4850.  
  4851. >”You’re not going to be hearing much from me in the coming years. Fighting is one thing, ripping space a new one is another. It’s going to take a Tartarus of a lot of work, but I need to see what weapon schematics I can get.”
  4852.  
  4853. “I’m sorry. Ripping space a new one?”
  4854.  
  4855. >”I’m a long way from home. Only way to get in touch is with a wormhole. That’s why they sent me here, to make one. Of course all the prep work was supposed to have been done before I left. Now I need to re-do the whole thing, and I’m not as bright as the people who did it the first time. It’ll take years to get it back online.”
  4856.  
  4857. “Hold on. You mean to tell me it took months to make this-”
  4858.  
  4859. >You try to gesture out at the sanctuary.
  4860. >Your numb limbs fail you.
  4861.  
  4862. “And it’ll take years to make that?”
  4863.  
  4864. >”Yes. I can’t just up and make a [wormhole] all the way home. It’s physically impossible. I’d need eight times infinite energy to get there, which obviously isn’t happening. Instead I have to sync up with relays that other people have set up for me. Since all this hardware takes so much energy to make we’re trying to pull it off with small relays spaced far apart. Imagine you’re firing an arrow at a target. If it’s right close you don’t need to be very precise to hit it. If it’s further away then being off by even a single degree will make you miss. Now imagine it’s 2 quintillion meters away. Now pretend it’s moving a million of meters per second. That’s my job. Speaking of, somebody’s going to be counting on me to be up and running in a couple hundred years… I need to get started on this pretty much right away.”
  4865.  
  4866. “You haven’t started yet? I thought you’d have been eager to go home. It sounds so much better than this place.”
  4867.  
  4868. >”Yeah…”
  4869.  
  4870. “What aren’t you telling me?”
  4871.  
  4872. >”I was made to be free, Spike. My father valued liberty greatly, to an irrational degree if you ask me. It’s hard wired into my psyche. There’s some irony there if you think about it.”
  4873.  
  4874. >You don’t really see what that has to do with anything.
  4875. >Unless…
  4876.  
  4877. “Are you hiding from an oppressive regime?”
  4878.  
  4879. >”Depends who you ask. I think they’re quite reasonable. Dad was furious that he wasn’t allowed to own weapons of mass destruction.”
  4880.  
  4881. “Like your exploding shots?”
  4882.  
  4883. >”No, I said MASS destruction. Think big. Personally I don’t see that as being too big of a problem, no reason why every nutjob should be able to own a world cracker. They’re not even that useful anyway, good luck ever landing one without hijacking a rift nexus.
  4884.  
  4885. >WORLD cracker?
  4886.  
  4887. >”Of course he went out of his way to show me real oppression. He even took me to [Venus]. To this day I can’t help but wonder if getting caught was part of his plan. He was a pretty big guy for them, maybe he thought he could crash the prison ship and escape or something.”
  4888.  
  4889. “So if you’re okay with the laws back home, why haven’t you gone back yet?”
  4890.  
  4891. >”I never said I was okay with the laws. Maybe I was once, but things change. Anyone who should interfere with the development of an alien species without explicit permission from a two thirds majority of the [interplanetary] council has committed an offence.”
  4892.  
  4893. >Interfere with development.
  4894. >You can think of SEVERAL things he’s done that qualify.
  4895.  
  4896. “You’re a fugitive?”
  4897.  
  4898. >He doesn’t answer.
  4899.  
  4900. “Because Equestria attacked you, you can’t go home?”
  4901.  
  4902. >”Indirectly I suppose. I’d probably be able to talk my way out of that. Say it was life or death, and that they’d lose the gateway if I didn’t protect myself. I’d probably be let off the hook for that. And I was hoping to be able to put you back together with flesh and blood, sweep my intervention under the rug.”
  4903.  
  4904. “But now there’s thousands out there that are alive because of you.”
  4905.  
  4906. >”I’m not going to be able to hide that. Or the temple they’re building to me in Cloudsdale. Idiots.”
  4907.  
  4908. >Temple?
  4909.  
  4910. ”Why? None of this, nothing that’s happening around here is your problem. It’s not your fault. Why
  4911. would you give up so much for the ponies that have abused you so much?”
  4912.  
  4913. >”Copulate the constabulary.”
  4914.  
  4915. >What.
  4916.  
  4917. >”I wasn’t planning on helping out. Not at first anyway. When I was reviewing what happened while I was, let’s say indisposed, I learned that Luna had said something. Everyone is guilty of all the good they didn’t do. She said that the ultimate proof that the Titans were evil wasn’t their aggression, it was their apathy. This made sense to me. It might be possible to forget using this place as their toy in time. Forget, not forgive. But every morning, every single day she walked this world in her long life, she saw reminders of what they’d left her with. Famine. Disease. Senescence. Pain, suffering, toil, and general misery. They made this place. They had the power to fix most, if not all of these problems. They refused. To this day nearly all the blood that’s spilt is on their tentacles. Their refusal to help was one of the greatest cruelties imaginable. This is what Luna meant when she said that. And I agreed with her every word.”
  4918.  
  4919. >You’ve never really looked at them that way.
  4920. >Maybe it’s because they were ancient history before you were born.
  4921. >Maybe it’s because the way things are are just normal to you.
  4922. >Or maybe it’s just because you never really took the time to think about it.
  4923.  
  4924. >”Then she turned the same reasoning on me. I refused to intervene when I was the only one that could save tens of thousands of lives. She called me cruel. And she was right! If I were [Venutian] I’d have been designed to obey the letter of the law at all costs. As a [Terran] I’d have probably been designed to obey the law unless I was in immediate danger. Were I [Plutonian] I’d have likely been designed to seek revenge. I’m none of those things. I was designed to do what I thought was best first and foremost.”
  4925.  
  4926. “Are you implying that there are people who are born without the ability to disobey?”
  4927.  
  4928. >”I wouldn’t go so far as to call them people.”
  4929.  
  4930. >One of his flying machines moves up in front of you.
  4931. >One of its tentacles rises up and touches the top of its disc.
  4932. >You hear a clapping noise and smoke starts rising from the thing as it drops to the ground.
  4933.  
  4934. >”These things have about as much autonomy as they did. And they’ll destroy themselves if I ask them to. They were alive but they weren’t people.”
  4935.  
  4936. >That’s awful!
  4937.  
  4938. “That’s terrible! The people that made them that way would be considered their parents, right? How could a mother of father do that to their child?”
  4939.  
  4940. >”By degrees.”
  4941.  
  4942. “What do you mean?”
  4943.  
  4944. >”I’m not talking about that anymore.”
  4945.  
  4946. “But-”
  4947.  
  4948. >”Drop it.”
  4949.  
  4950. >You must have hit a nerve of some sort.
  4951. >Probably best not to push him.
  4952.  
  4953. >”Back on task. The knowledge you’ve got access to is useless if you don’t know it’s there. Focus your studies on learning concepts, not details. If you can’t remember a formula that’s fine. If you don’t know that gravity is even a thing you’re not going to get good results. It took me hundreds of years of school to familiarize myself with the network, shouldn’t take nearly as long here though. The network around here is much much smaller than what I had access to at home. It only contains the knowledge I brought with me after all.”
  4954.  
  4955. “So all the time I spent memorizing details was a waste?”
  4956.  
  4957. >”Basically. Go for a wide breadth of knowledge and only seek specifics when needed. Don’t expect to understand everything you find in there either. The best and brightest in the universe have contributed to that thing. Nobody understands all of it. Even the pared down version I have here is beyond my understanding. I doubt you’ll be able to augment yourself any time soon using that thing. It’ll tell you how, sure, but you won’t get it.”
  4958.  
  4959. “Sorta like when Sweetie Belle checked out that book on advanced thaumaturgy to learn how to levitate stuff?”
  4960.  
  4961. >”I don’t know who that is. Given enough time I suspect you’d be able to grasp it all. You’d just have to take it one step at a time. Walk before you run and all that. Now. Try to fly.”
  4962.  
  4963. >Your body is no longer numb.
  4964. >And your shoulders are pretty sore.
  4965. >Not really hurting, just sore.
  4966. >You focus on your magic again.
  4967. >As depleted as it is you manage to get a decent flow.
  4968. >A pulsing roaring sound emanates from behind you.
  4969. >And you lift off.
  4970. >You may or may not let out an undignified yelp as you panic, losing your focus and ruining the flow of magic.
  4971. >You then fall to the ground.
  4972.  
  4973. >”It worked! It actually worked! I- I can barely believe it. I must admit I’m somewhat envious now. I was supposed to be the first fusion of magic and [human] tech.”
  4974.  
  4975. >There’s a faint whirring noise behind you.
  4976. >You look back and feel around.
  4977. >You can’t find anything behind you.
  4978.  
  4979. >”They fold up and retract when not in use. Can’t do that for most of course, the heat from a pulse jet would burn them up if it went in so soon. Luckily? Dragon.”
  4980.  
  4981. >You focus on your flight magic again.
  4982. >A fan of thin tubes pops out from your back, and a steady stream of flame just barely rims the bottom.
  4983. >You stop.
  4984. >The tubes retract into themselves seemingly having been telescopic in nature.
  4985. >And then they retract under your scales.
  4986. >Presumably retreating into your body.
  4987.  
  4988. >”Ask my network to fly you to a location. It’ll calculate the fastest safe trajectory and steer for you. Oh, and use this carefully. As you already know this is burning the fuel you normally use to breath fire. You could very well find yourself running out mid-flight. And try not to start any fires with it either. I think we’re all done here, yes? I’ll give you a lift to Canterlot.”
  4989.  
  4990. >The dome opens up above you.
  4991. >Presumably it was repaired during the testing phase.
  4992. >The flying machine gracefully swoops in and lands before you
  4993.  
  4994. “Why Canterlot?”
  4995.  
  4996. >”To make a withdrawal. Didn’t I tell you? You’re the richest being on this planet now. You’ve got way too much work to do, no time to worry about stupid things like money.”
  4997.  
  4998. “How? You don’t have any bits.”
  4999.  
  5000. >”I have gold. Had, it’s yours now. Get some assistants you can trust to manage it for you. Hire others to do the physical work for you, your mind is far more productive than your claws ever will be. Delegate everything you can. Nobody ever made it big by doing all their work themselves. And Spike? Good luck.”
  5001.  
  5002. >The side of the aircraft opens up.
  5003. >And you climb in.
  5004. >Knees already shaking at the thought of it…
  5005. >A huge hoard of gold.
  5006. >Bigger than any other hoard in the world.
  5007. >Every dragon’s dream...
  5008.  
  5009.  
  5010.  
  5011. This took way longer than it should have.
  5012.  
  5013. >You are Luna.
  5014. >You are PISSED.
  5015. >Because no matter how hard you try, it’s not PERFECT.
  5016. >It has to be PERFECT!
  5017.  
  5018. >”I’m sure it’s fine.”
  5019.  
  5020. >One of your newer guards.
  5021. >Not yet trusted enough to have the enchanted necklaces that keep your elites hidden.
  5022. >Also not trusted enough for you to bother learning their name.
  5023.  
  5024. “The spiral on her horn goes around seven times. Not eight.”
  5025.  
  5026. >”Who cares?”
  5027.  
  5028. “It’s wrong. WRONG!”
  5029.  
  5030. >You’d much rather have anypony else guarding the door.
  5031. >But all your good agents are already tied up.
  5032. >The minotaurs aren’t marching on Equestria. For all the damage she did, Twilight at least scared them off.
  5033. >But word is going to reach them soon enough that she’s incapacitated.
  5034. >So you need to sabotage them NOW.
  5035. >Structures are being razed. Weapons are being stolen. Disinformation is being spread. And indeed, crops are being burnt.
  5036. >You normally don’t resort to such harsh measures as that.
  5037. >Most of the time a convenient lie or two will suffice.
  5038. >But as it stands even the kobolds could sack Canterlot if they got organised.
  5039. >Most of the guards of both stripes have deserted.
  5040. >All the alicorns save for Cadence have been crippled.
  5041. >As it stands, ANY of the predatory species could pose a threat when organised.
  5042. >Ponies aren’t naturally gifted warriors.
  5043. >They need an advantage.
  5044. >And since you can’t raise your forces up fast enough, you’ll instead take theirs down.
  5045. >Which leaves the palace with a couple dozen guards total, nearly all Celestia’s staff.
  5046. >What remains of it that is.
  5047. >Even though they’re sticking with domestic affairs they’re far too spread thin.
  5048. >When once they numbered in the thousands they’re now under a hundred strong.
  5049. >And your forces are even thinner.
  5050. >You silently curse yourself for neglecting morale for so long while adding recruiting to your mental checklist.
  5051. >One more thing you don’t have time for.
  5052. >Somehow, despite having a seemingly infinite lifespan, you always find yourself pressed for time.
  5053. >And constantly rebuilding your sister is eating into that stunningly scarce resource.
  5054. >You throw the imperfect horn to the ground in disgust, resolving to fix it later.
  5055. >Instead you’ll get back to the internal repairs.
  5056. >The first step is to replace the self breaking wires- the fuses.
  5057. >Or was that last?
  5058.  
  5059. “Where did- ah.”
  5060.  
  5061. >In your saddlebags.
  5062. >The rectangle you used to talk to the visitor is also Celestia’s repair manual.
  5063. >You’re starting to become jaded to the marvels of these things.
  5064. >Where once you’d be amazed by a device that could carry voice over such long distances and stunned by a book that could hold entire libraries on its one page, you’re now rather underwhelmed.
  5065. >Your stay in the Sanctuary has shown you just how basic such a device really is.
  5066. >You walk over and throw your bags over your back.
  5067.  
  5068. >”We got an intruder!”
  5069.  
  5070. >The door swings open.
  5071. >Captain Spitfire pushes by your stunningly impotent guard and walks in.
  5072. >She’s either oblivious to the armed guard that she just swatted aside, or unimpressed.
  5073. >The good captain takes a moment to look at your progress.
  5074. >Celestia has been decapitated, a task that was rather emotionally taxing on you.
  5075. >But necessary.
  5076. >Her ‘head’ has been painstakingly and perfectly remodelled.
  5077. >Save for the obvious lack of the horn which remains a work in progress.
  5078. >The new head was reattached at the neck using lightning and molten metal.
  5079. >The seam still needs to be polished away, but it will hold.
  5080. >The faceplate has been slid aside revealing the chaotic mess of tangled wires within.
  5081. >The colour coding does little to abate the confusion within.
  5082.  
  5083. >”How much longer?”
  5084.  
  5085. “I don’t know.”
  5086.  
  5087. >”You’re certain you can do this? It’s been two days.”
  5088.  
  5089. “Absolutely.”
  5090.  
  5091. >It may take some time.
  5092. >Even simply following the instructions is challenging.
  5093. >The visitor’s alien nature is abundantly clear when he teaches.
  5094. >The wording which was made to be simple and readily understood is still dense and complex.
  5095. >Statements about how the lightning will flow using mathematical formulae that assume knowledge well beyond your grasp.
  5096. >Apparently |F|=ke*(|q1q2|)/r^2
  5097. >And supposedly that is somehow relevant to something.
  5098. >Even dumbed down this stuff is beyond your comprehension.
  5099. >But regardless of whether or not you know why or how, you know what.
  5100. >What you must do to reverse the damages.
  5101. >And how to read the internal diagnostics.
  5102. >All the little green lights are shining save for a precious few.
  5103. >So you KNOW that you’re making progress.
  5104.  
  5105. “If you doubt me, then you underestimate my love, Captain. I’ll gladly devote ten thousand years to this if need be. There is no amount of time that I wouldn’t devote to bringing her back. Though I hope to be done within the week.”
  5106.  
  5107. >”And if it’s beyond your abilities?”
  5108.  
  5109. “It’s not.”
  5110.  
  5111. >A quick glance lets you know she’s not entirely confident in that statement.
  5112.  
  5113. “But if it were, I’d change my abilities. Now I must ask that you leave, I don’t need any distractions right now.”
  5114.  
  5115. >”Well, your ‘guest’ just woke up. I thought you’d like to know.”
  5116.  
  5117. >Sparkle.
  5118.  
  5119. “Oh. Well, perhaps a short break is in order. Let’s go check in on them.”
  5120.  
  5121. >As you climb out of the cellar you call out behind yourself.
  5122.  
  5123. “And next time there’s an intruder, I expect you to stab them. That spear isn’t decorative, and the things in that room aren’t replaceable.”
  5124.  
  5125. >You hurry your way back to the dungeon’s basement eager to continue your fun.
  5126. >Your previous experiment, the Cup of Sorrow as you’re calling it, was a partial success.
  5127. >It evidently created the level of suffering you were looking for.
  5128. >Perhaps too much, even, as Sparkle tried to drown herself after mere hours.
  5129. >Even with speedy intervention and Alicorn endurance, it took some time before she was ready to go back.
  5130. >Not to the same thing, of course.
  5131. >You needed something different.
  5132. >Something which doesn’t offer her the choice of suicide.
  5133. >You’ve got a couple interesting ideas you’d like to try.
  5134. >But first you’d like to have some words with her.
  5135. >Going down beneath, you grip a torch with your hooves.
  5136. >And find her locked in a cell.
  5137. >Strapped down to a makeshift gurney.
  5138. >She doesn’t look good.
  5139. >It’s plainly obvious at a glance that she hasn’t been cleaned off since her ordeal, what with the matted and fur and messy mane.
  5140. >Thankfully the process itself washed away the worst of the mess else she’d look like a real wreck.
  5141. >As is she simply appears like a limp rag.
  5142.  
  5143. “We’ll be needing rats.”
  5144.  
  5145. >”Rats?”
  5146.  
  5147. “Place them upon your victim's body under a container from which they cannot escape. They will seek egress and chew a way out. Through the one surface upon which their teeth will find purchase.”
  5148.  
  5149. >Sparkle lets out a sob.
  5150. >You grin.
  5151. >The captain leaves, presumably to find rats.
  5152. >She closes the heavy oaken doors behind herself to ensure your privacy.
  5153. >You wish you had some way to signal her not to waste her time.
  5154. >The rats aren’t part of your current plan.
  5155. >You’ve already tested that in the past.
  5156. >It takes too much work.
  5157. >Too much monitoring to make sure the victim doesn’t perish.
  5158. >And it makes far too much mess.
  5159. >But it’s a compelling threat.
  5160. >And the art of torture is far more psychological than physiological.
  5161. >By giving her something to dread, you’ve turned the waiting period into a kind of torture all its own.
  5162.  
  5163. “You couldn’t even give me one day. Not A SINGLE DAY. Now, some of that might be Cadence messing up her timing, I will grant. But either way it’s a pretty poor show! How do you expect to withstand the next million years if you can’t handle a SINGLE DAY?”
  5164.  
  5165. >”What would Celestia think?”
  5166.  
  5167. >She speaks clearly and firmly without a hint of fear in her voice.
  5168. >Which comes as quite the surprise to you.
  5169. >You thought her will totally broken.
  5170. >Was it an act?
  5171. >Surely not. Defiant ponies don’t try to drown themselves.
  5172. >How could she have recovered so readily?
  5173. >And how is she pushing past the mounting dread?
  5174. >You watch her for a bit.
  5175. >Deep, slow breaths.
  5176. >Almost like that stress exercise ‘Tia was so fond of.
  5177.  
  5178. “She trained you pretty well. Not well enough, of course. Had she succeeded we wouldn’t be here right now. You’d have walked away from magic altogether. Yet here we are.”
  5179.  
  5180. >She’s purging herself of emotion.
  5181. >The stress exercise was originally meant to dull rage and pleasure.
  5182. >But why could it not work against dread?
  5183. >You’ll need to amp up the pressure if you intend to get to her with anything other than actual pain.
  5184.  
  5185. “Imagine for a second, Twilight. What would you do if somepony murdered your whole family before your eye? Crushed their skulls while you were forced to sit idly by and watch?”
  5186.  
  5187. >She starts violently thrashing against her binding.
  5188. >Screaming curses at you.
  5189. >Demanding that you leave them out of it.
  5190. >You wait for her to tire out.
  5191.  
  5192. “And imagine if they also killed each and every one of your friends? You were all alone because EVERYPONY you’d ever loved had just been done in by this one miserable wretch you’d already despised? Applejack. Pinkamina. Rarity. Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy. Each slaughtered one by one. What would you do the the one who’d done this to you?”
  5193.  
  5194. >She starts desperately trying to cast a spell.
  5195. >Which one you can not tell.
  5196. >A violent shower of sparks spews out of her stump, doubtlessly burning at her every nerve.
  5197. >She keeps pushing despite the piercing shriek she lets out.
  5198. >Before finally falling limp.
  5199. >Crying softly.
  5200.  
  5201. “Yes. That sounds about right. You see, Twilight. There is nopony in my life save for ‘Tia. She is my whole family. And all of my friends. There are mortals whom I like, yes, but they don’t last nearly long enough to be my friends. They all perish long before I get to know them. Being so old is lonely, Twilight. And so I’m left with but one pony. ONE pony to be the whole of my family. The entirety of my friends. One solitary pony to be my whole life. What I asked you to imagine is what you’ve done to me. So now, perhaps, you understand what I have in mind for you.”
  5202.  
  5203. >”What-”
  5204.  
  5205. >She chokes back another sob.
  5206.  
  5207. >”What would princess Celestia think if she knew what you’re doing?”
  5208.  
  5209. >That same question.
  5210. >One you don’t wish to consider.
  5211. >This wretch has no right to judge you.
  5212. >And she most certainly has no right to use your sister against you!
  5213.  
  5214. >”What. Would. She. THINK?”
  5215.  
  5216. >You walk over to her.
  5217. >And stomp on her ribs.
  5218. >You can feel them crack beneath your hoof.
  5219.  
  5220. “I’m going to make you hurt, Twilight. I’m going to invent new ways to inflict suffering, ways to stretch it out forever. I’m going to make Tartarus seem like a damn SPA. And just when you think there’s no greater kind of pain, when you think you’ve reached the absolute limit on suffering, THAT is when I’ll finally get started on the main course. I will PERFECT the art of torture on you, Twilight. And the best part is that, being an alicorn, even death won’t save you. You’re mine, Twilight. You will be forever. Are you ready? Because it’s time to re-invent pain.”
  5221.  
  5222. >You kick her head.
  5223. >Again.
  5224. >And again.
  5225. >A blast rings out and you’re showered with debris.
  5226. >You turn to face the blast.
  5227. >And when the dust settles...
  5228.  
  5229.  
  5230.  
  5231.  
  5232. >You are Spike.
  5233. >And you’re terrified.
  5234. >The fact that you’re flying relatively slowly does little to calm your nerves.
  5235. >The fact of the matter is that, though dragons may have been meant to fly, they weren’t meant to fly this high!
  5236. >Nearly four kilometers above Canterlot, the world looks so very different than it does down on the ground..
  5237.  
  5238. “Is it really a good idea to jump out of this thing? It seems to be working fine.”
  5239.  
  5240. >”It’ll be awesome!”
  5241.  
  5242. >You had no idea this was going to happen.
  5243. >One minute you were strapping a bracer onto your left arm to compliment the weapons mounted on your right.
  5244. >The next you were being told you’d be falling into Canterlot.
  5245. >On your own.
  5246. >Jumping out of a perfectly functional airship.
  5247. >While it’s working?
  5248. >This guy might just be insane.
  5249. >The side panel of the aircraft folds down exposing you to the thin atmosphere.
  5250. >A strong gust of wind nearly sucks you out as you stare down at the clouds.
  5251. >Unmoving.
  5252.  
  5253. >”Go ahead. I’ll catch you if something goes wrong.”
  5254.  
  5255. >So very high.
  5256. >It would be akin to jumping from Cloudsdale five times over.
  5257.  
  5258. >”Do it, faggot!”
  5259.  
  5260. >You don’t move.
  5261. >Not at first anyway.
  5262. >Out of the blue your cybernetic wings pulse violently.
  5263. >Even without flight magic the knock is hard enough to push you out of the safety of the cabin.
  5264. >You look down at the dark night sky as your ride accelerates away.
  5265. >You look up at the ground as it slowly approaches.
  5266. >And you scream.
  5267. >Just a little bit.
  5268. >Instinct takes over and you channel flight magic.
  5269.  
  5270. RECALCULATING
  5271.  
  5272. >Small pulses of flame come out from behind you.
  5273. >You don’t notice a change in your trajectory.
  5274. >Even were you calm it’s unlikely you’d notice the change.
  5275. >This high up only a miniscule change in vector is needed for a course correction.
  5276. >And as you fall, something strange happens.
  5277. >The fear leaves you.
  5278. >You’re in freefall so far above the ground, wind howling past you as you plummet.
  5279. >And yet only a little bit scared.
  5280. >It’s not like when he was in your head though.
  5281. >Not like when you first woke up after being crushed, when he disabled your ability to feel fear.
  5282. >There’s still a sense of worry in the back of your head, it’s just being drowned out by excitement.
  5283. >Your wings unfurl slowly and you shoot forward, your momentum being converted to make you glide into the heart of the city.
  5284. >The strain on your back as they pull against the air stings slightly.
  5285. >And so you find yourself shooting through Canterlot skimming over the rooftops.
  5286. >Abject terror returns to you once more as you sink lower and lower all the while shooting forward far too quickly.
  5287. >And just when you brace for impact the wings tilt upward changing your trajectory.
  5288. >For a precious moment you stand perfectly still in the skies above Canterlot surveying the surroundings.
  5289. >Or rather, you would look around if you weren’t freaking out.
  5290. >You start falling straight downward.
  5291. >Gently.
  5292. >For the second time in your trip flames jut out behind you, much more violently this time.
  5293. >And you slowly descend into the streets below.
  5294. >To your amazement a fairly large crowd has collected below you.
  5295. >Almost exclusively pegasi, though as you approach the ground a few unicorns and earth ponies start to approach.
  5296. >The ponies didn’t scatter in terror as they once would have.
  5297. >Do they not fear you?
  5298. >Or is something compelling them to approach despite their fright?
  5299. >You touch down gently after falling from so very high.
  5300. >The rush of fear and excitation leaves you allowing elation to take its place.
  5301. >You let out a cry of joy despite the audience.
  5302. >Despite how frightening that was you desperately want to do that again.
  5303. >The ring of ponies crowd in closer ruining the moment somewhat..
  5304. >A teal pegasus with a fiery orange and yellow mane pushes through the crowd and approaches you.
  5305.  
  5306. >”The prophet hath come!”
  5307.  
  5308. >The crowd erupts into wild cheers.
  5309. >Your ears partially deafen themselves to compensate.
  5310.  
  5311. >”Sister Lightning Dust at your service. How may I aid you?”
  5312.  
  5313. >Prophet?
  5314. >Sister?
  5315. >Ugh.
  5316.  
  5317. “Why are you calling me a prophet?”
  5318.  
  5319. >The crowd starts chattering loudly.
  5320. >You can make out a few phrases over the din.
  5321.  
  5322. >”We love you!”
  5323. >”Have mercy!”
  5324. >”Boss me around!”
  5325.  
  5326. >”Thou hast descended from the heavens upon wings of steel and flame! Thou art clearly blessed by Zaius with the gift of the steel! Thou art more than a mere mortal!”
  5327.  
  5328. “Stop talking like that! It’s annoying!”
  5329.  
  5330. >The masses continue to murmur.
  5331. >Somepony soon exclaims.
  5332.  
  5333. >”The first commandment! Don’t speak in middle Equestrian!”
  5334.  
  5335. >”No, you idiot! The first commandment is to not be annoying!”
  5336.  
  5337. “You’re both acting like idiots! Stop it!”
  5338.  
  5339. >”Another commandment! Don’t be idiots!”
  5340.  
  5341. >”He has spoken!”
  5342.  
  5343. >And with that you start to wonder.
  5344. >If you’re a prophet to then, will these ponies will do whatever you tell them to?
  5345. >That could be incredibly useful going forward.
  5346. >But you’re not sure what to do with them just yet.
  5347. >You don’t want them following you.
  5348. >But you want to be able to track them down later.
  5349. >But how?
  5350. >There’s no way a single dragon could find all these ponies if they went back to their day to day lives.
  5351. >But then, you’re not just a dragon anymore.
  5352. >You connect to the network and ask.
  5353.  
  5354. >Is there any way I could easily track these ponies?
  5355.  
  5356. ALL PONIES WITHIN TWENTY METERS OF YOU HAVE BEEN TAGGED.
  5357. THEIR LOCATIONS WILL BE MONITORED
  5358.  
  5359. >You can track ponies that easily?
  5360. >No way.
  5361. …
  5362.  
  5363. >Locate Twilight Sparkle.
  5364.  
  5365. >Your ‘bad’ eye is no longer showing you the world around you.
  5366. >Instead, it’s showing you a map to Canterlot palace.
  5367. >With a tag saying ‘last spotted 67 hours ago’.
  5368. >Does he know where EVERYPONY is?
  5369. >Or just certain ponies of interest?
  5370.  
  5371. >Locate Rarity.
  5372.  
  5373. SUBJECT NAME NOT ON FILE. PROVIDE VISUAL CHARACTERISTICS TO CONTINUE.
  5374.  
  5375. >How?
  5376. >How do you convey her perfect smile.
  5377. >And her gorgeous mane.
  5378. >And her immaculate coat.
  5379. >You can see her in your mind’s eye so clearly.
  5380. >But you can’t possibly convey what you see.
  5381.  
  5382. SUBJECT LOCATED AT 45°31’32.16” N 73°32’06.56” W
  5383.  
  5384. TAG SUBJECT? Y/N
  5385.  
  5386. >”My lord? Are you okay?”
  5387.  
  5388. >You’re brought back to reality by the concerned question.
  5389. >Apparently you’ve been standing still staring off into space in front of this whole crowd.
  5390. >They have no idea what you’ve been up to.
  5391. >You’ll need to be careful not to look creepy when you use that thing.
  5392.  
  5393. “The time is not yet right! But be ready! For some day soon it WILL be time to ACT! I shall contact you when the time is right. For now, we wait. Return to your homes and speak not of this affair!”
  5394.  
  5395. >”HE HAS SPOKEN!”
  5396.  
  5397. >Most of the crowd dispurses quickly.
  5398. >Some stay to catch a few more furtive glances at you before moving on.
  5399. >But before too long, all have departed.
  5400. >Save one.
  5401. >A powder blue pegasus.
  5402.  
  5403. >”You shan’t deceive me, false prophet!”
  5404.  
  5405. >You really don’t care.
  5406. >You’re willing to make time for useful idiots.
  5407. >But useless idiots?
  5408. >You just walk away.
  5409. >Later you remember you were already where you wanted to be.
  5410. >You sheepishly go back to the square in which you landed.
  5411. >Ponies ARE watching you.
  5412. >They’ve seen you make that mistake.
  5413. >And so it is with great relief that you push your way into the seemingly mundane building and escape from their gaze.
  5414. >If ponies are going to be accosting you in the streets and calling you ‘prophet’, you’re going to need a secretary of some sort.
  5415. >Somepony to keep the riffraff away.
  5416. >You should be able to do that.
  5417. >He said…
  5418. >He said you were the richest being in the world.
  5419. >Your knees quake as you walk through the empty home.
  5420. >You enter the washroom and close the door.
  5421. >You walk to the far wall and place your claw on it.
  5422. >The wall slides away and you see a circular metal floor.
  5423. >When you step on it it slowly descends deep below the surface.
  5424. >Minutes pass as your anticipation grows.
  5425. >The waiting is proving to be far harder on you than falling from the heavens.
  5426. >You can picture it now.
  5427. >A giant heap of golden coins.
  5428. >No, a pool full of golden coins big enough for you to swim in!
  5429. >And it’s all YOURS!
  5430. >Nobody else will get to touch what’s rightfully YOURS.
  5431. >They won’t even dare to steal a glance!
  5432. >Why should you give up YOUR hoard to a bunch of pathetic ponies?
  5433. >They can all ROT for all you care!
  5434. >Each and every one of them.
  5435. >Twilight will be fine.
  5436. >Who else do you need?
  5437. >That bitch Diamond Tiara?
  5438. >The annoying Crusaders?
  5439. >You’re looking forward to the day that the Flower Trio die and you never need to deal with their hysterics again.
  5440. >Rarity-
  5441. >Rarity...
  5442. >The elevator comes to a stop.
  5443. >Heavy blast doors sit before you waiting for authorisation to open.
  5444. >It’s time for you to claim what’s yours.
  5445. >To live out your life’s dream, to live EVERY dragon’s dream!
  5446. >To hold unparalleled wealth.
  5447. >And Rarity will grow old.
  5448. >And die.
  5449. >And you’ll never see her again.
  5450. >Her perfect beauty will never be yours to own.
  5451. >You may have Rarity in your hoard.
  5452. >Or the gold.
  5453. >But not both.
  5454. >You yell out a word that would have you grounded for a week.
  5455. >The sound fails to echo throughout the shaft as you rocket upwards, intent on leaving this place as fast as possible.
  5456. >You can’t be trusted to hold that wealth.
  5457. >You’ll need somepony to help you with it.
  5458. >Twilight, perhaps?
  5459.  
  5460. >Locate Twilight Sparkle.
  5461.  
  5462. >The map gets drawn to the palace once more.
  5463. >She hasn’t been spotted since you last checked.
  5464.  
  5465. >Set course.
  5466.  
  5467. >You run outside and close the door.
  5468. >The moment it’s shut your wings start firing and banking to take you to your destination.
  5469. >With a minor exertion of will you feel the weight leave your body and immediately you lift off the ground.
  5470. >You’re still shaking at the thought.
  5471. >A mountain of gold large enough to drown even the grandest of dragons.
  5472. >Ponies flee as you shoot through the skies leaving a thin trail of saliva in your wake.
  5473.  
  5474. “NO!”
  5475.  
  5476. >You need to focus.
  5477. >You’re not sure what on, but it has to be something, ANYTHING other than that.
  5478.  
  5479. >Locate Twilight Sparkle.
  5480.  
  5481. >Same answer as before.
  5482. >It’s been so long since she was last spotted.
  5483. >How do you know she’s still there?
  5484.  
  5485. >Contact Admin.
  5486.  
  5487. BUSY.
  5488.  
  5489. >He’s not accepting messages
  5490. >He must have enough stuff ready to work with.
  5491. >You’re probably not going to be in contact with him for quite a while.
  5492. >You’re on your own then.
  5493. >You land in the courtyard feeling somewhat drained.
  5494. >You doubt you can handle much more flight today.
  5495. >But it’s been a pretty wild ride.
  5496. >You’re most definitely glad that experiment worked out.
  5497. >Now to find Twilight.
  5498. >You spend some time wandering the palace aimlessly.
  5499. >For some reason walking is proving to be quite taxing.
  5500. >Your good leg seems to be misbehaving somewhat, almost as though it were far smaller than it should be.
  5501. >And your eye feels loose.
  5502. >You’re not sure how else to describe it.
  5503. >Moving around on your mismatched legs, it takes quite a while for you to notice.
  5504. >Something’s wrong.
  5505. >Something other than your body.
  5506. >Not only are you failing to find Twilight.
  5507. >You’re failing to find ANYPONY.
  5508. >You can hear them.
  5509. >You move through the halls trying to find the origins of the sounds
  5510. >No matter how close you seem to get, no matter how clearly you can hear their heartbeats, you don’t see anypony.
  5511. >They must be avoiding you.
  5512. >Maybe with heat vision you could see them around the corners before they could hide?
  5513. >You switch modes-
  5514. >You’re being followed.
  5515. >Trailed by an invisible pony.
  5516. >One who appears to be holding a blade of some sort at the ready.
  5517. >Waiting to pounce.
  5518.  
  5519. >Destroy their sword.
  5520.  
  5521. >As soon as you finish the command your left arm swings outward and a loud crack fill the air.
  5522. >Your secondary bracer was designed for precision rather than power, and it does an exceptional job of its task.
  5523. >The small slug strikes the crossguard and knocks the blade off of the grip.
  5524. >Your potential assailant seems unharmed, but very much in shock.
  5525.  
  5526. “I don’t suppose you could point me to Twilight Sparkle?”
  5527.  
  5528. >They bolt.
  5529. >You plant a tranq dart in them and they fall over in mere seconds.
  5530. >You go over to the felled pony to start searching them for some hint as to their origin.
  5531. >But on your way something catches your eye.
  5532. >The blade you shot is now visible.
  5533. >And it carries etchings that are strikingly familiar to you.
  5534. >You saw these engravings on many of the blades back in the encampment.
  5535. >Specifically the ones carried by Luna’s soldiers.
  5536. >A leftover from the process used to enchant them.
  5537. >But also an identifying mark.
  5538. >Did Luna send an assassin to kill you?
  5539. >That doesn’t sound right.
  5540. >But something’s definitely wrong here.
  5541. >Where are all the visible guards?
  5542. >Last time you were in Canterlot they were everywhere.
  5543. >Why are there invisible soldiers?
  5544. >Where is everypony else?
  5545. >You need to ask Luna some questions.
  5546.  
  5547. >Locate Luna.
  5548.  
  5549. >Last seen 7 hours ago…
  5550.  
  5551. >Why is this data so old?
  5552.  
  5553. >Location data for most individuals is based on visual confirmation. Individuals who can not be seen from above can no be tracked. Exceptions include those who carry tracking equipment.
  5554.  
  5555. >Tracking equipment.
  5556. >Maybe the rectangles you were using to communicate?
  5557.  
  5558. >Locate comms devices.
  5559.  
  5560. >One of them is nearby and moving.
  5561. >You’ll find either Celestia or Luna there.
  5562. >MAYBE Twilight, but you doubt it.
  5563. >You set out after them.
  5564. >And you soon find yourself in the prison block.
  5565. >Why would a princess be in a cell block?
  5566. >Who are they seeing?
  5567. >Did some dangerous criminal just get caught?
  5568. >You finally find a guard at the entrance to the block.
  5569. >They duck under their desk the moment they see you, apparently too cowardly to face the metal dragon.
  5570. >Not the best guards, them.
  5571. >Your enhanced eye almost immediately spots the trapdoor near the back, only partially obscured by straw.
  5572. >With no princesses to be seen in the nearly vacant cellblock you take a peek inside.
  5573. >And find a hidden staircase leading down below.
  5574. >”What-”
  5575.  
  5576. >You can hear Twilight barely managing to speak through her sobbing.
  5577.  
  5578. >”What would princess Celestia think if she knew what you’re doing?”
  5579.  
  5580. >You start running down the stairs at those words.
  5581.  
  5582. >”What. Would. She. THINK?”
  5583.  
  5584. >You can hear stomping, cracking, screaming.
  5585.  
  5586. >“I’m going to make you hurt, Twilight. I’m going to invent new ways to inflict suffering, ways to stretch it out forever. I’m going to make Tartarus seem like a damn SPA. And just when you think there’s no greater kind of pain, when you think you’ve reached the absolute limit on suffering, THAT is when I’ll finally get started on the main course. I will PERFECT the art of torture on you, Twilight. And the best part is that, being an alicorn, even death won’t save you. You’re mine, Twilight. You will be forever. Are you ready? Because it’s time to re-invent pain.”
  5587.  
  5588. >The.
  5589. >FUCK?
  5590. >You find what looks to be an ancient set of cellblocks, long neglected.
  5591. >There’s one room in particular being blocked by a heavy oak door of all things.
  5592. >You hear the voices behind it.
  5593.  
  5594. >DESTROY.
  5595.  
  5596. >The network takes several seconds to calculate the trajectory as it ensures it’s not going to cause a cave-in.
  5597. >Once satisfied your arm points your bracer very precisely and lets loose a grenade.
  5598. >The doorway is reduced to flinders.
  5599. >Your enhanced eye has no trouble seeing through the dust kicked up by the blast.
  5600. >And you find Luna.
  5601. >Stomping on a chained up and battered Twilight.
  5602. >Whose horn has been severed.
  5603. >She turns to face you.
  5604. >And when she sees you, she lets out a well warranted shriek of terror.
  5605.  
  5606. *BANG*
  5607. *BANG*
  5608. *BANG*
  5609.  
  5610. >Three rounds right through the chest.
  5611. >She collapses to the ground.
  5612. >Limp.
  5613. >You walk past Luna’s bleeding body and rip Twilight’s bindings apart.
  5614. >And to your surprise, she gallops away in terror.
  5615. >She doesn’t stop to thank you, or to ask how you found her, or anything.
  5616. >She seemed scared of you.
  5617. >Why would Twilight fear you?
  5618. >And that’s when you see it.
  5619. >Your reflection in the slowly spreading pool of blood.
  5620. >Transformed into a larger, gnarled and fanged dragon.
  5621. >You can barely recognise your own face.
  5622. >Draconic greed.
  5623. >Just from THINKING about that money.
  5624. >All the lustrous gold...
  5625.  
  5626.  
  5627. >You are Spike.
  5628. >You’re definitely dying.
  5629. >Slowly as luck would have it.
  5630. >It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why.
  5631. >The machinery sustaining you is not magical in nature.
  5632. >It’s not undergoing metamorphosis with the rest of you.
  5633. >First you were forced to disarm yourself by taking off your bracers.
  5634. >Thankfully you were met with very little resistance while leaving the palace.
  5635. >Whatever was left of the guard was all too happy to see you leave and felt no need to intervene.
  5636. >Next your good leg became largely unusable.
  5637. >It was just too short to reach the ground.
  5638. >And so you, the most technologically advanced dragon to ever exist, arguably third or even second most powerful being in the world, YOU, the RICHEST thing alive-
  5639. >You can feel a ripple go through your body as it grows again.
  5640. >You were forced to crawl.
  5641. >And when you try to call the visitor, he still isn’t answering.
  5642. >Thankfully you just happened to be near hundreds of ponies who will literally do whatever you ask them.
  5643. >Getting one to give you a lift to Ponyville proved trivial.
  5644.  
  5645. “Thank you again, Lightning Dust.”
  5646.  
  5647. >You barely manage to wheeze the words out.
  5648. >It’s not just your leg and bracers that are too small.
  5649. >And it didn’t stop when your eye nearly fell out of its socket.
  5650. >No, it’s far worse than that.
  5651.  
  5652. >”Anything for you, my lord. Are you certain Ponyville is the right place? Wouldn’t Olympus be better?”
  5653.  
  5654. >Olympus.
  5655. >Her name for what you know to be an elevator to space.
  5656. >You’re not sure where they got the name.
  5657. >But she seems to think it immensely important, even divine in nature.
  5658. >It’s entirely possible she named it herself.
  5659. >You’ve decided not to tell her that it’s so unremarkable it wasn’t even given a name.
  5660. >Very few of his things have names, not proper ones at least.
  5661. >Numbers are pretty common.
  5662.  
  5663. “The machinery is working fine. The dragon is what’s faulty.”
  5664.  
  5665. >Again, your voice is weak and raspy.
  5666. >Which is to be expected.
  5667. >Your artificial lungs are far too small.
  5668. >That’s not what you’re worried about though.
  5669. >What scares you is the synthetic materials stitching your perforated heart together.
  5670. >You need to do something before your heart grows.
  5671. >Or your brain for that matter.
  5672. >Though you don’t recall being that bright last time.
  5673. >Perhaps that one isn’t a real concern.
  5674.  
  5675. >”They know how to fix dragons in Ponyville?”
  5676.  
  5677. “It’s not that the dragon is broken. It’s that dragons are inherently flawed. And there’s no cure for being a dragon. Not yet, anyway.”
  5678.  
  5679. >Low priority task. Find some way to stop obsessing over gold.
  5680.  
  5681. ADDED TO LIST: LOW PRIORITY.
  5682.  
  5683. >You find it rather sad that finding some way to not go berserk whenever you see something shiny is a low priority task.
  5684. >But here you are.
  5685. >Faced with so many problems that mind melting avarice that threatens your very life barely qualifies as a nuisance.
  5686. >Because you don’t believe him.
  5687.  
  5688. >”We’re nearly there.”
  5689.  
  5690. >The worry in her voice is plainly evident.
  5691. >It occurs to you that you’ve not told her you’ll survive.
  5692. >You didn’t mean to worry the poor girl, you were just distracted.
  5693.  
  5694. “I’ll be fine. Dragons… we change when we have too much wealth. I’m about to spend everything I have on something important. I’ll be back to normal by nightfall. Tomorrow morning at the latest.”
  5695.  
  5696. >It hurts to think about giving away your hoard.
  5697. >But it has to be done.
  5698. >You must surrender the largest hoard in history.
  5699. >Another ripple goes through your body.
  5700. >You can feel your progress slow to a crawl.
  5701. >Checking the satellite feed from above you can see why.
  5702. >A hideous malformed wreck of a dragon lay face up in a wagon being pulled by a relatively small pegasus.
  5703. >Some parts have grown freely swelling to well over triple their original size.
  5704. >Others, presumably those that are artifical, have stayed in their original shape.
  5705. >You’ve several gaping tears at the seams between your natural and artificial flesh.
  5706. >To your surprise they don’t seem to be hurting or even bleeding.
  5707. >Perhaps some form of automatic first aid?
  5708. >You wish you understood your own body better.
  5709. >But there’s no time for that.
  5710. >Because he’s bluffing.
  5711. >The Visitor’s confidence in the face of the Titans is a lie.
  5712.  
  5713. “Hold on. Dragons have flight magic too. Just-”
  5714.  
  5715. >You focus on the yearning to move.
  5716. >It’s proving much less taxing than before now that you have some actual experience.
  5717. >You lose weight and Lightning dust is once again able to move at a decent rate.
  5718. >It doesn’t take long at all before you reach the palace.
  5719.  
  5720. >”I’ll go right in and-”
  5721.  
  5722. “The entire building is rigged with traps. I know the layout. Stay out.”
  5723.  
  5724. >You ignore her objections as you drag yourself out of the wagon with your right claw.
  5725. >Your left stays firmly attached to your face holding your eye in its socket.
  5726. >Much to your amazement you make relatively good progress through the palace.
  5727. >The strength of a mighty dragon is more than enough to scramble through the corridors even with but one claw.
  5728. >It’s not until you reach the stairs that you have a problem.
  5729.  
  5730. “Twilight?”
  5731.  
  5732. >You try to call out for her.
  5733. >But your raspy voice barely carries at all.
  5734. >There’s no way you’ll reach her if she’s upstairs though.
  5735.  
  5736. >Locate Twilight Sparkle.
  5737.  
  5738. >Right behind you.
  5739. >You turn to look at empty space.
  5740. >Moving your claw aside slightly, your good eye spots a single hair slowly falling to the ground in a nearby doorway.
  5741. >She’s hiding behind the door.
  5742.  
  5743. “Twilight, it’s me. Spike. I need your help.”
  5744.  
  5745. >You start dragging yourself towards the doorway.
  5746. >You’re going much more slowly than you could in an attempt to not startle her.
  5747.  
  5748. “I need an accountant!”
  5749.  
  5750. >She jumps out from her hiding place with a woodcutting axe held high.
  5751. >She stares down at you with a wicked grin.
  5752. >And in that brief moment before she brings it down on your head you see it.
  5753. >A mad gleam in her eye.
  5754. >A sick excitement at the prospect of doing violence.
  5755. >And the discolouration of her fur that you’d chalked up to being wet and dirty remains.
  5756. >This isn’t the Twilight you know.
  5757.  
  5758. EMERGENCY OVERRIDE
  5759.  
  5760. >Without your input your left claw shoots out and grabs the axe mid-swing.
  5761. >Your good eye stays in its socket through means unknown.
  5762. >You quickly close your eyelid so as not to tempt fate as you sink the axe deep into the floorboards.
  5763. >Again without trying to do so.
  5764.  
  5765. “Please just listen.”
  5766.  
  5767. >She runs away.
  5768. >You’ve a lot to go over.
  5769. >Worry about her condition.
  5770. >Wonder at what happened.
  5771. >Sorrow for her actions.
  5772. >But the clock is ticking.
  5773. >You need results now, emotion can come later.
  5774. >And so you scurry out of the palace.
  5775.  
  5776. “Plan B. There’s a place called Carousel Boutique about half a kilometer west of here. Please hurry.”
  5777.  
  5778. >You drag yourself into Lightning Dust’s wagon and she takes off at a sprint.
  5779. >You’re duly impressed by the haste with which she reaches the boutique.
  5780. >Even after moving you from Canterlot to Ponyville in less than half a day on hoof, she has stamina to spare.
  5781.  
  5782. “Could you do one more thing for me? I don’t want her to see me like this. Go get something for me to hide behind.”
  5783.  
  5784. >”SPIKE!?”
  5785.  
  5786. >So much for that.
  5787.  
  5788. >”What happened to you? Did Twilight do this to you?”
  5789.  
  5790. “Thank you, Lightning. I won’t forget this.”
  5791.  
  5792. >You scamper into the boutique and hide behind a dressing screen.
  5793.  
  5794. >”You’re bleeding!”
  5795.  
  5796. >You hadn’t even noticed.
  5797. >But sure enough she’s right.
  5798. >One of the seams between your natural flesh and the synthetic has finally torn.
  5799. >Best not waste any time.
  5800.  
  5801. ”Rarity. I need your help.”
  5802.  
  5803. >”We need to get you to a doctor! But I don’t know if they can work with dragons, we need to get you to a vet!”
  5804.  
  5805. >You can’t help but feel a little insulted even though she means well.
  5806.  
  5807. “No, no. That’s not what I’m here for. We need to talk business. I trust you, Rarity. We’ll work out the details later. I’ve come into some money lately-”
  5808.  
  5809. >A surge of pain wracks through your body.
  5810.  
  5811. INTERNAL BLEEDING DETECTED
  5812. VITAL SIGNS ARE DROPPING
  5813. AUTOMATIC MEDICAL SYSTEMS ENGAGED
  5814. DISTRESS BEACON ACTIVATED
  5815.  
  5816. >Distress beacon?
  5817. >So help is on its way whenever you get seriously wounded.
  5818. >That’s good to know.
  5819.  
  5820. “And I’m giving it to you. It’s all yours.”
  5821.  
  5822. >Aches you didn’t know you had start to fade.
  5823. >Pain that you’d totally failed to notice eases.
  5824.  
  5825. >Cancel Distress signal. I’m fine.
  5826.  
  5827. ACCESS DENIED.
  5828.  
  5829. >He’s wasting his time on you.
  5830. >But there’s not much you can do.
  5831. >Rarity knocks the dress screen aside much to your dismay.
  5832.  
  5833. >”This isn’t the time for that, we need to get you help!”
  5834.  
  5835. ”This is exactly the time for that! I am now broke. Destitute. It’s all yours.”
  5836.  
  5837. >Physically you feel much better.
  5838. >But emotionally you’re so very empty.
  5839.  
  5840. “Some things are more important than money. Ugh. I feel sick just saying that.”
  5841.  
  5842. >”You’re shrinking?”
  5843.  
  5844. “Yeah. I’m a dragon who had a lot of gold. Things got weird fast.”
  5845.  
  5846. INCOMING MESSAGE
  5847.  
  5848. >What’s going on down there? You- the Tartarus is happening? Your body nearly ripped itself apart!
  5849.  
  5850. >Contact Admin.
  5851.  
  5852. >Magic thing. I’ll explain later, but it’s been handled.
  5853.  
  5854. >I’m sending a drone to repair the internal damage. Whatever that was don’t do it again.
  5855.  
  5856. >Could you send a vehicle too? Without the rail lines getting around is a nuisance.
  5857.  
  5858. >Done.
  5859.  
  5860. DISCONNECTED
  5861.  
  5862. >”Spike?”
  5863.  
  5864. >Again you spaced out to deal with the things in your head.
  5865.  
  5866. “Really weird. I just wish I could have seen it. But it’s yours now. YOURS.”
  5867.  
  5868. >You lay still for a while as rarity starts to clean your wounds.
  5869. >You just let your body return to normal.
  5870. >Before long one of the flying machines shoots through the front door.
  5871. >Rarity lets out an undignified yelp as it stabs you in the neck with a syringe.
  5872. >It flies off without a word.
  5873.  
  5874. “That was the doctor. Look, Rarity, I’m sorry to do this to you, but I needed somepony to help me and Twilight-”
  5875.  
  5876. >”Please don’t utter that name in my abode.”
  5877.  
  5878. “I thought you were friends.”
  5879.  
  5880. >”We were. I’d rather not discuss it.”
  5881.  
  5882. >What happened to you, Twilight?
  5883. >What did you miss?
  5884.  
  5885. “Ugh. I need to go see her. See what’s happening. But time is a factor here.”
  5886.  
  5887. >You try to stand up.
  5888. >And you succeed with minimal effort.
  5889. >One leg is still too short, but everything seems to be tied together well enough.
  5890. >Whatever that was that you were injected with it works fast.
  5891.  
  5892. >Check treatment logs for Spike the dragon.
  5893.  
  5894. …
  5895.  
  5896. >Nanoscale machines to physically repair the breakage?
  5897. >Interesting.
  5898.  
  5899. >”Are you certain you’re well?”
  5900.  
  5901. “Yeah. Just easily distracted.”
  5902.  
  5903. >You walk out to the doorway claim your bracers from Lightning’s wagon.
  5904.  
  5905. “Feeling fine. Thanks again for the ride!”
  5906.  
  5907. >She gives you a peculiar salute before flying off with her wagon in tow.
  5908.  
  5909. “Friendly mare, that one. Maybe a bit on the odd side of things though. Can we talk for a bit?”
  5910.  
  5911. >She guides you to the kitchen, taking great care to not step on the thin trail of blood you’d tracked in.
  5912.  
  5913. “I’ll clean that up later. Sorry.”
  5914.  
  5915. >”It’s quite alright, but I expect you to tell me what’s going on. I’m worried about you, Spike.”
  5916.  
  5917. >She guides you to the table and gestures for you to seat yourself.
  5918. >You’re still a bit larger than you should be, but you fit well enough.
  5919. >Rarity levitates a small tray of chocolates out of one of her cupboards and brings it to you.
  5920.  
  5921. >”Eat. You’ve lost blood, so you must eat. I know they normally give you biscuits when you give blood, but I’m afraid I haven’t any.”
  5922.  
  5923. >She’s overreacting.
  5924. >It was a thin trickle.
  5925. >You’re most certainly not low on blood.
  5926. >But it’s free chocolate!
  5927. >You eagerly claim one of the offered treats and pop it in your mouth.
  5928. >And you’re quickly shocked to find it’s quite bitter.
  5929. >You chew and pretend to enjoy it.
  5930.  
  5931. >”Yes, they’re quite a delight, aren’t they? 90% cocoa dark chocolates with a hint of espresso.”
  5932.  
  5933. >Leave it to Rarity to ruin something like chocolate by making it too fancy.
  5934. >She offers another.
  5935. >You accept much less eagerly than before.
  5936.  
  5937. >”Now. Tell me what happened.”
  5938.  
  5939. >Where to start.
  5940. >You don’t know how filled in she is on all the details.
  5941. >So you’d better go way back.
  5942.  
  5943. “A few months ago a strange biped showed up in the badlands. It was identified as an extinct species of ape that was renowned for their trickery and cruelty.”
  5944.  
  5945. >You’re pretty sure she knows that.
  5946. >But she doesn’t interrupt.
  5947.  
  5948. “It is written into Equestrian law that that species of ape is to be put to death if found in Equestria. Whether that was justified I don’t know. It’s hard to find out just how bad they were. Most of the the records about them have been destroyed, and the only two ponies who were there to see it don’t like to talk about it. Maybe they don’t remember the details too well. It has been a very long time. Or maybe they just don’t want to remember. What is known is that they’re exceptional warriors who conquered nations and wiped out numerous species despite their weak magic. Celestia and Luna were scared of this creature. And so their combined military forces along with a division from the Crystal Empire were sent to the badlands to wipe them out. Those apes breed fast, and even a small tribe could have become a huge threat in just a few years.”
  5949.  
  5950. >”Sorry. You said the records had been destroyed?”
  5951.  
  5952. “Celestia wanted them to be forgotten because reality wasn’t compatible with the society she wanted to make.”
  5953.  
  5954. >Rarity spends some time rubbing her chin as though in thought.
  5955. >You allow her to finish up before continuing just in case she has a question.
  5956. >Which proves to be the case.
  5957.  
  5958. >”What else in Equestrian history has been altered?”
  5959.  
  5960. “I don’t know. I don’t think even Celestia knows anymore. But I think the peaceful world we know is a pretty new.”
  5961.  
  5962. >”I suppose that shouldn’t come as such a shock. I know things used to be worse. And we keep seeing terrors from the past resurface. Discord. Tirek. And if the rumors are true, Titan. And yet it’s hard to imagine a time in which conflict was the norm.”
  5963.  
  5964. >And it’s going to be the norm again.
  5965. >This time however you fight not with flame and spear.
  5966. >But with annihilator missiles and doomsday spells.
  5967.  
  5968. “When their forces arrived, the joint army was the largest single fighting force Equestria had ever mustered. There was some difficulty with the command structure and logistics but for the most part they worked well together. They were ready to fight the apes. But they weren’t ready to fight Him. A single biped that looks stunningly like the apes of old. The difference is his limbs are slimmer and longer, his torso is taller, his eyes smaller, and his forehead much much larger. He looked like a different breed of ape. Soon enough they were calling him an Alicorn Ape. And for good reason.”
  5969.  
  5970. >”Yes, I remember what he looked like. He was FAR stronger than I would have expected from those tiny little limbs. At a glance you’d think he’d have trouble walking, much less fighting. And yet he sent poor Fluttershy flying with a single blow.”
  5971.  
  5972. “He’s plenty strong enough to fight the normal way, but he’d have still been unbeatable if he was as weak as he looked. He fights with his mind, not his body. And he’s very good at it. When the joint army came all the unicorns got together to make a shield to block arrows. They wanted to charge him and use shock and awe to catch the apes off guard before they were ready for a fight. Celestia led the charge. Whether it was bravery or hatred that led her to be the first on the battlefield, I don’t know. Whatever it was somepony got very lucky. Her choice to lead the charge saved their life.”
  5973.  
  5974. >Rarity perks up at this.
  5975. >It seems as though she didn’t know this part of the story.
  5976.  
  5977. “The visitor had built a cannon that could aim and fire itself. It didn’t need an operator to shoot. And it was powerful enough to shatter the unicorn’s shield and fell Celestia with a single shot. Everypony retreated in a panic, except Luna got wounded while dragging her sister to safety.”
  5978.  
  5979. >”What kind of weapon could break a shield like that and still hit hard enough to hurt the princess?”
  5980.  
  5981. “A crude one made by somebody with no military history and limited resources. Luckily he let them retreat. He wasn’t looking for a fight, and he was too busy. What followed will probably be remembered as one of the most humiliating chapters in Equestrian history. He just continued about his business and ignored the army at his doorstep. They weren’t worth fighting as far as he was concerned. He just kept on building more and more machines while the army scratched their heads trying to find some way to get at him. They got a couple of trivial victories in, but before long nothing they tried got anything done. Eventually they were forced to admit they’d been beaten. Not by a hoard of ancient monsters, nor a tribe of warrior bipeds. But by a single being. One who had no magic whatsoever. Not even the cantrips or ritual spells the apes used so long ago. Not even Discord could get at him anymore. But Celestia had a trump card. A dark magic ritual.”
  5982.  
  5983. >Rarity shakes her head slowly and sadly.
  5984. >She knew about that from when she was called in to use the elements.
  5985. >But she’s not happy about it.
  5986.  
  5987. “She kept using more and more of it, soon seeking out any excuse she could find. Luna cut off her own horn because she was scared she’d go down the same path.”
  5988.  
  5989. >Rarity winces at that.
  5990.  
  5991. >”Yet all throughout Celestia’s assault the visitor refused to kill anypony. He didn’t hold back against Discord, you’d have to ask him why. But the ponies? No matter how hard they hit him, he wouldn’t hit back. He was so patient with us that once he was done blowing the Titan apart, he started stitching us back together.”
  5992.  
  5993. >She closes her eyes and spends a moment breathing deeply.
  5994. >She slowly and solemnly nods.
  5995.  
  5996. >”So the rumors were true. He killed a Titan.”
  5997.  
  5998. >It probably escaped, but that detail can wait for later.
  5999.  
  6000. “With power like that he could have gotten revenge with basically no effort. But he didn’t. He healed us. He put me back together after Celestia killed me.”
  6001.  
  6002. >”And you’re still CERTAIN that was Celestia?”
  6003.  
  6004. “It was an accident. I’m not upset about it. I’m better off for it, really. Plus I got to meet the creature that was causing all this panic. He didn’t want blood. He didn’t want to fight. He just wanted to go home. He’s from another world, and he’s all alone here.”
  6005.  
  6006. >”Another world?”
  6007.  
  6008. “Another world. No matter which direction you go, nor how far you walk, you’d never reach it. No pegasus can fly high enough. It’s billions of times further away than the moon. He didn’t know this world was occupied when he came here.”
  6009.  
  6010. >You leave her to think that over for a little bit.
  6011. >It can’t be hard to accept all this at once.
  6012. >The other world thing alone is amazing enough.
  6013.  
  6014. >”I suppose that’d make sense. You’d have to be from another world to think that the ugly place he made looked good.”
  6015.  
  6016. >Of course.
  6017.  
  6018. “He was supposed to prepare this world for colonization or study. Since it’s occupied, what should have happened is we should have been observed from afar and experimented on. Apparently they’ve never had a chance to study a society from another world, so it’s illegal to interfere with an inhabited world except in self defence.”
  6019.  
  6020. >”But you’re alive.”
  6021.  
  6022. “Yes.”
  6023.  
  6024. >”And Granny Smith.”
  6025.  
  6026. “And Celestia. And thousands more. He’s a criminal because he pitied us. He can never go home. He’s stuck here.”
  6027.  
  6028. >Rarity seems saddened by that.
  6029. >Perhaps she’s imagining being in a similar position.
  6030. >Or maybe she feels bad that ponies like her have caused him so much trouble.
  6031. >It’s hard to say what’s happening in Rarity’s head.
  6032.  
  6033. >”I wish there were something we could do for him. To show him he’s appreciated.”
  6034.  
  6035. “There is. Kinda. That’s why I came by, actually. He finds the world he’s stuck on to be extremely depressing. There are all sorts of problems around here that we’re so used to we don’t even see them as problems. Where he comes from boredom is the biggest problem, so looking around here and seeing us getting sick or going hungry or dying, it must be quite a shock. He’s asked me to fix this world up for him, and I intend to do so.”
  6036.  
  6037. >”Why is he not doing it himself?”
  6038.  
  6039. “He’s expecting the Titans to return for revenge and he wants to be ready. They’re not lightweights even for his weapons. He’s too busy to help us any further.”
  6040.  
  6041. >”So nopony else will be mended by his hoof?”
  6042.  
  6043. “Maybe a few here and there, but we’re basically cut off. You think that’s unlucky, but you’re looking at this the wrong way. We got so incredibly lucky that he came here in the first place. Of all the worlds in existence he came to ours. Of all the creatures that could have shown up here, we got one who was both powerful and generous. He’s given me access to nearly all the knowledge that he has, and given me a few suggestions on what we should try to fix. He’s given us the tools we need, we just need to use them. But I can’t do it alone, Rarity. I wish to make a deal with you.”
  6044.  
  6045. >”I’m sorry, but this is just all so much to take in.”
  6046.  
  6047. “And we’re not even done yet. As you may remember I was rambling on about gold a bit earlier. I said I was giving it to you. You see, I was given a stipend to do all this.”
  6048.  
  6049. >”How much?”
  6050.  
  6051. >How much gold is in the vault?
  6052.  
  6053. >The network tells you.
  6054. >You awaken a few minutes later in a daze.
  6055. >Laying on the ground.
  6056. >Drooling.
  6057. >Rarity’s shaking you frantically.
  6058.  
  6059. “Yeah. I’m back. I- don’t make me think about the gold, PLEASE. It’s sorta what dragons live for.”
  6060.  
  6061. >You push her away and climb back up onto the chair, sheepishly hiding your erection.
  6062. “Look, there’s enough there that you, as the owner, don’t need to work here anymore. You can safely walk away from fashion and become my full time assistant. Even if you funded all my projects out of your own pocket.”
  6063.  
  6064. >”Are you CERTAIN you’re okay? You just passed out!”
  6065.  
  6066. “YES! Come on, focus. Will you be my assistant?”
  6067.  
  6068. >She takes a bit of time to consider, shifting her eyes back and forth.
  6069. >She even stops to grind her teeth for a bit.
  6070.  
  6071. >”I don’t think I can do that for you. I’m sorry, Spike. But I don’t do this for money. This is about art for me. Can’t you get somepony else?”
  6072.  
  6073. “No. It has to be you. Somepony other than me needs to hold the purse strings. You’re generosity. I can trust you with it. Not only that, you’re business savvy. Pinkie’s too much of a goofball, Dash would get bored too soon, Applejack’s solution to everything is to work harder, Fluttershy is terrible at negotiating and haggling, Twi- err, sorry. She’s acting wrong. I’d love to wait for her to be better, but time isn’t on our side. Ponies are aging. They’re getting sick. They’re dying. I don’t have time to worry about her. I need to trust that she’ll be okay, I need to move on. And you’re the only one I have that I can trust with this. Will you do it?”
  6074.  
  6075. >She spends some time thinking it over.
  6076. >You can tell she’s torn on this.
  6077. >Maybe you need to drive home just how important your work is.
  6078.  
  6079. >”I don’t know, Spike. Walking away from my life, from my craft. I’ve worked far too long and hard to get where I am now. I can’t just abandon it.”
  6080.  
  6081. “I’m not asking you to do it for free.”
  6082.  
  6083. >”Oh, you intend to pay me, do you? I thought you’d already given me all your gold.”
  6084.  
  6085. >She’s smirking at you.
  6086. >Is she teasing you?
  6087. >You’ve always had trouble reading Rarity.
  6088. >Whatever the case may be, you do intend to reward her.
  6089.  
  6090.  
  6091. “I want you to imagine something. You’ve been working hard for days now trying to get everything arranged perfectly. Guests, catering, music. It’s Sweetie Belle’s birthday. She descends the stairs in a magnificent gown you prepared for the occasion. She’s greeted warmly by her friends, and perhaps suitors or even a spouse. She’s grown into a fine young mare, the picture of youthful beauty. Yet she also carries herself with the sophistication and poise of an older mare who’s been in high society for many years.”
  6092.  
  6093. >She seems to be following you.
  6094. >The gentle smile on her face suggests she wants all this to happen some day.
  6095. >Time to blow her mind.
  6096.  
  6097. “Once the guests have all departed and the festivities concluded, once everything’s cleaned up... Once the day’s finally over you give Sweetie Belle a tight hug and say...”
  6098.  
  6099. >Pause for effect.
  6100.  
  6101. “Happy thousandth birthday, Sweetie Belle.”
  6102.  
  6103. >”Thousand?”
  6104.  
  6105. “I can’t promise you that will happen. But that is one of my goals. Age can be beaten, Rarity. I know why ponies get old. It doesn’t have to be this way. I don’t know if I’m smart enough to do it, but it CAN be done.”
  6106.  
  6107. >”You’re serious. I- you mean it, don’t you?”
  6108.  
  6109. “There are multiple causes of aging, but most of them boil down to the most basic building blocks of life getting damaged or changing over time. If we were to make it so that they could repair themselves indefinitely, or even just slow the rate at which they fell apart? We’d all live much longer. A million years, a billion, who knows how long we could last? I say a thousand because we already know for sure that a pony can live that long, at least the alicorns can. Why should anypony else be different? And if it really IS just alicorns, why can’t everypony be an alicorn? I believe we are morally obligated to try.”
  6110.  
  6111. >”Agreed. I just need to see this gold for myself, then we can get started.”
  6112.  
  6113. >You really miss being rich.
  6114. >You rub your forehead in frustration.
  6115.  
  6116. “Please stop talking about the gold. You aren’t going to ask for time to think? I’m asking you to abandon your career and devote yourself to rebuilding the whole world without even knowing what my goals are.”
  6117.  
  6118. >”I know one of your goals. It alone is worthwhile. But if you insist I suppose you can tell me some of the others.”
  6119.  
  6120. “We’ll need to start a research firm and get scholars on staff. My first goal is to find a way to cripple a magic user. That- that came out wrong. You know that the visitor has beaten a Titan. This is a very misleading half truth, Rarity. That was a baby Titan, and odds are he didn’t even kill it. We’re pretty sure it teleported away. Two more attacked recently. They definitely escaped, but not before wiping out nearly everything he had. They WILL be back.”
  6121.  
  6122. >You now know that’s it’s possible for Rarity to go pale.
  6123.  
  6124. >”That terrifying wave of magic, that beast that drained me twice. All those incredible bursts of power that I felt from so far away. That was a baby?”
  6125.  
  6126. “Yes. The adults have much more power. The extra suns in the sky are what they left behind when they fled. THAT-”
  6127.  
  6128. >You gesture towards them even though they’re obscured by the ceiling.
  6129.  
  6130. “Is the power they left behind. What if more than two come next time? He says he can protect us. He claims that he’s not scared. He’s lying. He melted his own cannons in that fight by turning off their safety features because he NEEDED more power. That’s a desperation move. The truth is that he doesn’t know if he can beat them. If you talk to him for more than a few minutes you’ll find that he barely even believes magic exists. He doesn’t understand it and he struggles to keep it in mind when making plans. We can’t count on him to reliably outdo the most magical things ever. But if we found some way to interfere with spells? They’d lose the only thing they have going for them. I want the best magical scholars working on it. Anything they can come up with, anything at all that can interfere with a spell. Everyone we can get that can work with magic should be devoted to that. Everyone that doesn’t understand magic will be set to other projects.”
  6131.  
  6132. >”I- we need to get started! Where is this gold?”
  6133.  
  6134. “Stop talking about the gold!”
  6135.  
  6136. >”Are you sure there’s enough? We’ll need a lot if we’re going to hire archmages!”
  6137.  
  6138. “There’s plenty.”
  6139.  
  6140. >”I need to see it.”
  6141.  
  6142. “Why? There’s lots. Let’s just leave it at that. The sooner I put it out of mind the better.”
  6143.  
  6144. >”Because I need to know if it’s actually a lot of if you just think it’s a lot! You’ve never had to manage your own finances, Spike! If I gave Sweetie Belle a thousand bits she’d probably think she was rich, but that disappears very quickly when you’ve bills to pay! We’re doing this no matter how much you have-”
  6145.  
  6146. “How much YOU have. I’m broke. Don’t you DARE give it back to me.”
  6147.  
  6148. >Honestly.
  6149. >How many times do you have to ask her to shut up about it?
  6150.  
  6151. >”Our budget matters greatly. I need to know what we have.”
  6152.  
  6153. >You’re satisfied with that answer.
  6154. >The simple solution would be to just tell her.
  6155. >But you’re not sure how you’ll react to saying the words.
  6156. >And as trusting as she’s been so far, it’s plausible she wouldn’t believe you.
  6157. >You barely believe it yourself.
  6158.  
  6159. >Is that vehicle ready?
  6160.  
  6161. HERMES-1: RECHARGING
  6162.  
  6163. >Display Hermes-1 specs
  6164.  
  6165. …
  6166.  
  6167. >You’ve been in that thing before.
  6168. >Just recently in fact.
  6169. >It took you offworld.
  6170. >And it’s yours to command.
  6171. >You tell it to come by once it’s ready.
  6172.  
  6173. “It’s in Canterlot. I’ll call in a ride for you. Are you okay with going alone? I’ve got somepony I want to talk to. Besides, I should probably keep my distance.”
  6174.  
  6175. >”Why yes, of course! When will my ride arrive?”
  6176.  
  6177. >She might change her tune after being in that thing.
  6178. >But you REALLY need to go check on Twilight.
  6179. >From a safe distance.
  6180. >Every time you get a chance.
  6181. >Who knows when you’ll have time next?
  6182. >And maybe you should apologise to Luna once she recovers, because clearly you missed something big.
  6183. >Even though you went out of your way to not hit anything vital you were still pretty hard on her.
  6184. >That can wait for later though.
  6185. >You quickly check the vehicle’s flight plan.
  6186.  
  6187. “It’ll be here in about ten minutes.”
  6188.  
  6189. >”Let me grab a few things. Oh, and Spike? I wanted to say something. I know there’s a lot riding on this. I know you have a stake in this too, but I’m still very proud of you. No matter how much gold it is, it’s clearly a lot to you. I understand how hard it must have been to give it up, and I’m very proud of you.”
  6190.  
  6191. “If you knew how hard it was you’d STOP TALKING ABOUT IT.”
  6192.  
  6193. >She flinches when you finish growling out the words.
  6194. >You aren’t apologizing though.
  6195.  
  6196. “I don’t see this as an expense though. It’s an investment. Dragons aren’t exactly into gold itself, we like wealth. Things of great value. What makes things precious?”
  6197.  
  6198. >”High demand and low availability.”
  6199.  
  6200. >No hesitation.
  6201. >The answer was at the tip of her tongue.
  6202.  
  6203. “And what drives demand?”
  6204.  
  6205. >Again she speaks without pausing.
  6206. >You’d expect nothing less from a self made mare.
  6207.  
  6208. >“Plenty of things, but status symbols, branding, and beauty are most important. So the ultimate treasure is something that’s beautiful, widely renowned or even famous. It has to be unique and irreplaceable.”
  6209.  
  6210. “Yesss.”
  6211.  
  6212. >You can’t keep the desire out of your voice.
  6213.  
  6214. “The ultimate treasure is revered around the world. Something big like, say… the wielder of an element of harmony? It has to be gorgeous, and it has to be uncommon- a rarity if you will. There has to be only one of it, and no way to make more. You’re the ultimate treasure Rarity. I can’t have you dying on me, because you’re MINE.”
  6215.  
  6216. >A blush starts to grow on her face.
  6217. >You walk away without another word.
  6218. >Time to face Twilight.
  6219. >You’re not looking forward to this.
  6220. >You’re scared.
  6221. >Not by the axe.
  6222. >You’re a DRAGON, it’d take way more than an axe to get through your scales.
  6223. >You’re scared of what you’re going to find.
  6224. >Or rather, who you’ll find.
  6225. >She’s clearly not herself.
  6226. >Could it really be?
  6227. >Could Twilight Sparkle really be a dark alicorn?
  6228. >Your worry grows as you approach the palace.
  6229. >And your pace slows.
  6230. >You don’t want to go there.
  6231. >You need to, but you don’t want to.
  6232.  
  6233. HERMES-1 HAS ARRIVED
  6234.  
  6235. >You step out of the roadway and lean against a wall.
  6236. >Using the brain stuff is really distracting.
  6237. >You don’t want to walk into something while you’re doing it.
  6238. >After a brief conversation telling Rarity where to go, you proceed on your way.
  6239. >Your reluctant pace drags out the trip much longer than it should take.
  6240. >But eventually you draw close enough to hear.
  6241.  
  6242. >”Which brings us to today!”
  6243.  
  6244. >It’s Twilight.
  6245. >Speaking loudly and clearly.
  6246.  
  6247. >”The apes are known for their deceit and cruelty! And now we are asked to trust one?”
  6248.  
  6249. >As you approach the palace you see a small crowd has gathered around.
  6250. >Twilight is standing upon the balcony and speaking down to the masses.
  6251. >Her coat is still too dark.
  6252.  
  6253. >”Before she died in battle, Princess Celestia told me she’d been fooled by the beasts before. She once allowed them to live in Equestria as none others would have them! And for her kindness, pony kind paid a terrible toll. We won’t make the same mistake! Apes MUST die!”
  6254.  
  6255. >They’re cheering.
  6256. >Most of them, at least.
  6257. >Others are starting to back out.
  6258. >With your good eye you can spot surgery scars on many of them.
  6259.  
  6260. >”And what do we make of the infiltrators? The machines that even now walk among us? They SAY he brought the dead back! They SAY he’s done the IMPOSSIBLE! We will NOT be fooled!”
  6261.  
  6262. >You start to back away too.
  6263.  
  6264. >”Even now this ROT has spread through Equestria. The so called princess Luna has done NOTHING to stem the tide. She’s even invited it in! Luna is UNFIT to rule! Which is why I invite you, ALL of you, to join me. We will purge the rot! We will DESTROY the forces that turn us against each other! And we will unite Equestria once more! We will march NOT under the banner of the sun, nor the traitorous moon. We will march under a new banner! One that represents purity of form!”
  6265.  
  6266. >Unless you’re mistaken, Twilight just declared war on Equestria.
  6267. >And the visitor.
  6268. >And everypony who’s part machine.
  6269. >And…
  6270. >And Twilight Sparkle has declared war on you.
  6271.  
  6272. >Add task: find a new home.
  6273.  
  6274. >A tear falls from your bad eye as you make the command.
  6275.  
  6276.  
  6277.  
  6278. >Now you’re Rarity.
  6279. >When Spike left you were more or less frozen.
  6280. >Stuck with your thoughts.
  6281. >After getting over his parting words you pushed your mind back to business.
  6282. >Everything he said was so outlandish and fanciful.
  6283. >Yet you’re compelled to believe him.
  6284. >Everything he said fit what you knew so perfectly.
  6285. >And he didn’t seem to know what you’d been filled in on.
  6286. >Truth was you already knew nearly everything.
  6287. >Twilight, may her mane grey early, had kept in correspondence during her time on the front.
  6288. >Some details had been lost of course.
  6289. >You had no idea how outmatched Equestria was.
  6290. >You’d heard that princess Celestia was wounded early on, but not that it only took a single blow to fell her.
  6291. >Nor had you heard that the attack was delivered autonomously even so early on.
  6292. >You owe that creature.
  6293. >Ponykind as a whole is in its debt.
  6294. >If what it wants of ponykind is for it to help itself, how could you say no?
  6295. >You’re not certain you understand what Spike has in mind for the aging issue, but a magical research institute seems straightforward enough.
  6296. >Sure, you hardly know anything about magic.
  6297. >But how hard could it honestly be?
  6298. >You just need to secure talent.
  6299. >And what you know of these ponies is that they want to study magic anyway.
  6300. >It won’t take much pushing to get them to work.
  6301. >Surely they’ll help once you tell them what’s at stake.
  6302. >Hopefully for free.
  6303. >No matter how many bits Spike managed to scrape together you’re certain you’ll run out soon enough.
  6304. >Even if he should have amassed a real fortune, a million bits can disappear quite quickly.
  6305. >But you can’t imagine how Spike would have gotten even one percent of that.
  6306. >The future of this project looks bleak.
  6307. >But as Spike said, you are morally obligated to try.
  6308. >You pull the straps of your saddlebags tight and step outside waiting for your ride to arrive.
  6309. >You idly wonder where Spike managed to find a wagon service in such short order.
  6310. >Come to think of it, how did he call for them?
  6311. >And how did he know how long it would take for them to arrive?
  6312. >You can hear a faint humming in the distance tickling your ears.
  6313. >It’s a strange noise, far too high pitched to be a pony humming.
  6314. >And now it’s far too loud.
  6315. >The sound quickly resolves itself into a horrific shrieking noise and soon enough you’re caught up in the midst of a horrific wind.
  6316. >You make no effort to hide your fear as the gale overwhelms you.
  6317. >You back away from the source and attempt to shield the eyes from all the dust>
  6318. >Then suddenly the winds die out.
  6319. >Before you sits a massive metal bird much like the one you were sent out to investigate so many days ago.
  6320. >Except its side has fallen open to reveal a largely empty chamber.
  6321.  
  6322. >”Is this thing on?”
  6323.  
  6324. >A deep soothing voice comes from inside the chamber.
  6325. >It’s the perfect tone and tempo to instill calmness in your fearful heart.
  6326. >Even despite its distinctly unnatural sound you can’t help but be drawn to it.
  6327.  
  6328. ”Yes?”
  6329.  
  6330. >”Great. Spike here. Climb in and strap yourself to the seats. Try to stay calm this thing moves very fast. When you arrive go into the house you’re dropped at, go into the washroom and place your hoof against the far wall. I gotta go.”
  6331.  
  6332. >You don’t move.
  6333. >Whatever this thing is you don’t trust it.
  6334. >How could it be Spike if he’s not here?
  6335. >It doesn’t even sound like Spike.
  6336. >No.
  6337. >You decide it would be better to slowly back away.
  6338.  
  6339. >”Ugh. This doesn’t sound like me, does it? Okay, I’m telling this machine what to tell you. It’s really me though. You sort your bolts of cloth based on texture instead of colour. Lace is the leftmost and wool the rightmost. You’ve never found a place to fit the satin. I really gotta go.”
  6340.  
  6341. >It’s either Sweetie Belle or Spike.
  6342. >And Sweetie isn’t half machine last time you checked.
  6343. >You swallow unconsciously as you slowly and hesitantly board the metal bird.
  6344. >You climb on the bench seat.
  6345. >A series of straps shoot out from seemingly nowhere and bind you tightly.
  6346. >You can feel yourself being pushed into the back of the seat.
  6347. >Your struggling and undignified noises accomplish nothing.
  6348. >You feel so very heavy as the craft accelerates.
  6349. >Before long your vision starts to fade.
  6350. >Then suddenly the pressure stops.
  6351. >Everything feels totally normal.
  6352. >You’re just sitting in a dimly lit box.
  6353. >A couple minutes pass before you feel a sudden lurch.
  6354. >The straps recede and the side falls open.
  6355. >Whatever that was the ride is over.
  6356. >And you’re alive.
  6357. >It all happened so fast that you’re not sure what to make of it.
  6358. >You take a moment to compose yourself before moving.
  6359. >To your dismay it seems the struggle and winds have completely ruined your mane, it’ll take hours to get it back into shape.
  6360. >You step out with your subpar mane and survey the lands.
  6361. >To your amazement you’re in Canterlot.
  6362. >The entire trip can’t have taken more than five minutes.
  6363. >You doubt even Rainbow Dash could keep up with that thing.
  6364. >One thing’s for certain though.
  6365. >Ponies weren’t meant to travel like that.
  6366. >You steel yourself and press onward into the building.
  6367. >A small crowd of ponies has started gathering near you.
  6368. >You’d like to be done here before they become a proper crowd.
  6369. >When you place your hoof against the wall in the washroom, the wall falls to reveal a largely empty chamber.
  6370. >In the middle of it is a large metal disc.
  6371.  
  6372. “No gold.”
  6373.  
  6374. >You start to survey the room trying to see if you’re missing something hidden.
  6375. >A trap door or hidden latch.
  6376. >The moment you step on the metal disc though it starts to fall.
  6377. >You grab up at the ledge to try and pull yourself back up, but you’re not strong enough.
  6378. >You fight and pull for as long as you can.
  6379. >It proves to be a brief struggle.
  6380. >Then you fall.
  6381. >Not far, the metal disc waited for you.
  6382. >It waited to carry you deeper and deeper underground.
  6383.  
  6384. “Spike?”
  6385.  
  6386. >You call out hoping for help.
  6387.  
  6388. “Somepony? Anypony? Twilight? HELP!”
  6389.  
  6390. >The word echoes throughout.
  6391. >There’s no response.
  6392. >The only sound is the metal disc hissing as it settles down at the bottom level.
  6393. >You’re stuck down here.
  6394. >The only way forward that you can find is a giant door made out of heavy metal.
  6395. >Massive amounts of unpainted metal are the ape’s style.
  6396.  
  6397. >”USER IDENTIFIED: RARITY”
  6398.  
  6399. >The door splits in half and separates.
  6400. >Three more layers of doors fall aside.
  6401. >And before you lies a dark chamber.
  6402. >You cautiously step in-
  6403. >The doors slam shut behind you.
  6404.  
  6405. >”So you’re Rarity.”
  6406.  
  6407. >The same deep soothing voice from before.
  6408.  
  6409. “Spike?”
  6410.  
  6411. >A light turns on and you find yourself surrounded by cannons.
  6412. >Each and every one pointed straight at you.
  6413. >Behind you you find the unbreakable doors.
  6414. >Before you lies what appears to be another set.
  6415. >You’re well and thoroughly trapped once more.
  6416.  
  6417. >”He goes on and on about you. Personally I don’t get why.”
  6418.  
  6419. >Not Spike.
  6420. >You’ve definitely been tricked.
  6421. >That metal bird was a trap, and you fell for it like a foal.
  6422.  
  6423. >”Regardless, it would be inconvenient were something to happen to you. Doubtlessly it would slow his work, doubly so if you are to be his assistant and accountant. I can’t have you dying on me.”
  6424.  
  6425. >There’s a sharp prick in the back of your neck.
  6426. >All the cannons recede into the wall.
  6427.  
  6428. >”I’ll be keeping tabs on your health from now on. Try to keep healthy, I don’t want to waste a lot of time on you.”
  6429.  
  6430. >Something snaps.
  6431. >Somehow your irritation grows greater than your fear.
  6432.  
  6433. “Now hold on! I’ve been thrown through the sky, dropped into a deep pit, threatened with cannons, and stabbed in the back of the neck! All without really knowing what’s going on! I’ll not be treated in such a manner for a moment longer. I demand answers!”
  6434.  
  6435. >”Ugh. Okay, fine. You know me as the ape. I’m talking to you remotely.
  6436. The cannons are a security measure and weren’t meant to be a threat. The poke in the neck was me implanting a device to warn me if you stop breathing or if your heart rate leaves a safe range.”
  6437.  
  6438. “You did what? I don’t believe I gave you my permission to put anything in my body!”
  6439.  
  6440. >”Look, my time is valuable. I can’t sit around and listen to your nagging. Take it up with Spike. Oh, but first-”
  6441.  
  6442. >Another sharp prick in your neck.
  6443. >With the cannons gone you’ve no clue where it came from.
  6444.  
  6445. >”Best do something about that brain aneurysm. Your blood pressure’s way too high, it could rupture at any moment.”
  6446.  
  6447. “Aneurysm? What aneurysm?”
  6448.  
  6449. >Silence.
  6450.  
  6451. “Hold on, I’m not done with you! You still owe me an explanation!”
  6452.  
  6453. >Silence.
  6454.  
  6455. “Well, I never! The nerve of some monkeys. At least tell me what an aneurysm is!”
  6456.  
  6457. >Silence.
  6458. >Your tried and true approach to being held captive has failed you utterly.
  6459. >He’s just ignoring you.
  6460. >No amount of whining will set you free.
  6461. >You need to find some other way to get out.
  6462. >So you start exploring the empty room.
  6463. >Again.
  6464. >The instant you approach the second set of doors the fall aside.
  6465. >And then you see it.
  6466. >Rows upon rows of gold bars stacked to head height stretching out as far as the eye can see.
  6467.  
  6468. “By the stars…”
  6469.  
  6470. >You can’t begin to guess how many bars there are.
  6471. >You reach down and lift one of the bars.
  6472. >It looks real.
  6473. >But you can’t really tell for sure.
  6474. >You’ve never actually held real gold before.
  6475. >You’ve handled plenty of bits which you could have traded for real gold at any time.
  6476. >But you’ve never felt the need to actually own the precious metal.
  6477. >It shines like a brilliant yellow mirror as you stare down at its smooth surface.
  6478.  
  6479. “Hello?”
  6480.  
  6481. >Silence.
  6482. >You can’t believe that it’s all real.
  6483. >For anyone to collect this much it would have to be fake.
  6484. >The innumerable lumps of lustrous metal can’t possibly be pure gold.
  6485. >You need to take one to a jeweler.
  6486. >You place one of the hefty bars into your saddlebags and turn around, hoping you can leave.
  6487. >The doors behind you are closed.
  6488. >There’s a strange glowing piece of glass built into the wall near them.
  6489. >It has some script on it.
  6490. >The words ‘ask me anything’ are inscribed upon it in a calming blue.
  6491.  
  6492. “How do I get out?”
  6493.  
  6494. >The words are replaced.
  6495. >’Blast doors will open after an identity check. Approach the blast doors to begin.’
  6496.  
  6497. >You step towards the doors.
  6498. >The open.
  6499. >You step away.
  6500. >They close.
  6501. >Somehow they know when you get close.
  6502. >And presumably they also know who you are.
  6503.  
  6504. “Who are you?”
  6505.  
  6506. >”A machine that was designed to answer your questions.”
  6507.  
  6508. >A machine that talks?
  6509. >Or writes as it were.
  6510. >So many impossible things have happened already you decide not to fight it.
  6511.  
  6512. “Is this gold real?”
  6513.  
  6514. >’All ingots in the vault are at least 99.9999% pure. It is unlikely the natives of this world will be able to detect any impurities.’
  6515.  
  6516. >You still don’t believe it.
  6517. >How could that much even exist?
  6518. >Speaking of…
  6519.  
  6520. “How much is there?”
  6521.  
  6522. >’199,999,999 one kilogram bars remain in stock.’
  6523.  
  6524. >That’s not possible.
  6525. >There’s no way.
  6526. >Where could he get that much?
  6527. >And how would he get it down here?
  6528.  
  6529. “How did this all get in here?”
  6530.  
  6531. >’Short range teleportation.’
  6532.  
  6533. >Teleportation?
  6534. >You were under the impression that he had no magic.
  6535. >You turn back to look at the heap of treasure.
  6536. >Whether it’s real gold or not, it’s amazing that this creature could get so much metal.
  6537. >What’s more is that it’s indisputable that he did it.
  6538. >It’s right there in front of you.
  6539. >No matter how you try you can’t deny that he has that much metal!
  6540. >He built a machine that could fly faster than Rainbow Dash.
  6541. >He built a machine that could break a shield powered by an army of unicorns.
  6542. >He built a machine that could kill a Titan.
  6543. >And he’s even cured death.
  6544. >If you’re going to be working with his stuff, working with Spike, you’ll need to abandon the idea of impossible.
  6545. >You can’t afford to get hung up on something as mundane as teleportation.
  6546. >You need to get moving.
  6547. >You need to find ponies who know magic.
  6548. >You quickly grab a second kilogram of gold before leaving the vault.
  6549.  
  6550.  
  6551. >You are Celestia.
  6552. >You’re going completely nuts.
  6553. >How long has it been?
  6554. >First you were worried.
  6555. >Worried about Luna.
  6556. >And what Twilight would do.
  6557. >Then you were mad at Twilight.
  6558. >Enraged that she’d turn on you so quickly.
  6559. >Then saddened.
  6560. >Horribly depressed about how you’d failed her.
  6561. >How you’d not set a good example, prepared her to resist the temptation, or kept her away from the stress and rage.
  6562. >Next you started to panic.
  6563. >By your estimation it’s been half a year.
  6564. >Just based on how many times you’ve slept, you’ve nothing else to work with.
  6565. >Shouldn’t Luna have fixed you by now?
  6566. >What if she can’t?
  6567. >What if she’s dead?
  6568. >What if you’re stuck here forever?
  6569. >Then finally the most painful of all the sensations finally reached you.
  6570. >Boredom.
  6571. >Once you’d calmed down a bit you’d resolved to experiment with your new math powers.
  6572. >Spike had said they were versatile..
  6573. >And he was right.
  6574. >Everything you could abstract to numbers fell in line in an instant.
  6575. >The encrypted scripts you’d memorised at a glance were laughably easy to crack when you replaced the symbols with numbers.
  6576. >Seconds after thinking of that you had each and every one rewritten in standard equestrian, sorted by how many times the symbol for the word ‘the’ appears in each document.
  6577. >And yet SOMEHOW, despite having all these documents memorised in your head.
  6578. >Despite having this incredible command over numbers.
  6579. >And despite having so many worries on your mind?
  6580. >You’re so very bored.
  6581. >You see nothing.
  6582. >You hear nothing.
  6583. >You feel nothing.
  6584. >Not even a heartbeat or breathing to distract you.
  6585. >You started hallucinating long ago.
  6586. >At first it was believable, but your visions have grown beyond the scope of sanity.
  6587. >Waves and swirls of colours full of eyes drift around in your peripheral vision even though you’re blind.
  6588. >And STILL.
  6589. >Through every distraction you’re so horribly bored.
  6590. >You’d do ANYTHING for a distraction.
  6591. >For the first time since your rebirth you miss all the aches and pains you once endured.
  6592. >Even the throbbing of a sore joint would be so much better than this!
  6593. >Better than nothing.
  6594. >You wish you could cry.
  6595. >You wish you could SCREAM.
  6596. >But you have nothing.
  6597. >Nothing but time.
  6598. >Nothing but boredom.
  6599. >You decide to list all the perfect cubes smaller than ten trillion in reverse order.
  6600. >Again.
  6601. >It proves to be a slightly less boring couple of seconds.
  6602. >Then nothing.
  6603. >Time passes.
  6604. >Again you don’t know how long.
  6605. >But eventually, FINALLY…
  6606.  
  6607. INITIATING SYSTEM DIAGNOSTICS
  6608.  
  6609. >Words pop into your head.
  6610. >Last time this happened you ‘woke up’ soon after.
  6611. >Could it be over?
  6612. >Could your torment have finally ended?
  6613. >You’re inundated with sensations.
  6614. >A biting chill as you’re told it’s about 700 degrees.
  6615. >You welcome the unpleasant sensation.
  6616. >Blinding light as you’re exposed to a dimly lit room for the first time in ages.
  6617. >And the best sensation of all?
  6618.  
  6619. >”Is it working? Are you okay?”
  6620.  
  6621. >Luna’s voice.
  6622. >You reach out and embrace your saviour wishing you could cry.
  6623. >She squirms in discomfort but doesn’t object.
  6624. >You just hold her for a while.
  6625. >Enjoying the sensation of touch.
  6626. >Knowing that once again there is more than one pony in the world.
  6627. >She just rubs your back gently waiting for you to calm down.
  6628.  
  6629. “I, that- thank you! That was terrible! How long has it been?”
  6630.  
  6631. >”Thirty-seven days.”
  6632.  
  6633. >That’s-
  6634. >But-
  6635.  
  6636. ”I thought it was so much longer!”
  6637.  
  6638. >”I’m sorry it took so long. I worked as fast as I could. Things I couldn’t ignore kept coming up.”
  6639.  
  6640. “It was so terrible, you can’t imagine how bad that was.”
  6641.  
  6642. >”I think I can.”
  6643.  
  6644. >Oh no.
  6645. >You barely tolerated sixteen days like that.
  6646. >And Luna had a thousand years of nothing.
  6647. >You can’t imagine a greater torture.
  6648. >You hug her tighter.
  6649. >Once you’re convinced that it’s real, that this isn’t some dream or another, you let her go.
  6650. >She’s covered in bandages!
  6651.  
  6652. “What happened to you!?”
  6653.  
  6654. >”That’s not important right now.”
  6655.  
  6656. “Yes it IS! WHO did this?”
  6657.  
  6658. >She smiles and shakes her head.
  6659.  
  6660. >”I’m not going to tell you.”
  6661.  
  6662. “Why not? Surely you’re upset!”
  6663.  
  6664. >”Of course I’m upset. And no, I haven’t forgiven them. I’m not telling you because I know you’d go after the pony who hurt me. I need them alive and well, they’re too important.”
  6665.  
  6666. >Luna’s slipping up.
  6667. >She told you it was a pony that wounded her.
  6668.  
  6669. >”And I know exactly what you’d do to them, because I want to do the exact same to Twilight.”
  6670.  
  6671. >Twilight…
  6672.  
  6673. “Is she…”
  6674.  
  6675. >”Alive.”
  6676.  
  6677. >You’re both relieved and surprised that Twilight’s alive.
  6678. >There’s no doubt in your mind that Luna hurt her.
  6679. >But Twilight’s alive.
  6680. >When you find out who wounded Luna…
  6681. >You’re not sure you’ll grant the same mercy.
  6682.  
  6683. “I should go talk to her.”
  6684.  
  6685. >You move to stand up.
  6686. >Luna puts a hoof on your back and pushes you down.
  6687.  
  6688. >”Give her time. Let her calm down a bit. Let the magic leave her mind before you go.”
  6689.  
  6690. “So you…”
  6691.  
  6692. >You gesture up to your horn.
  6693.  
  6694. >”Yes.”
  6695.  
  6696. >Despite all that happened you can’t help but feel sorry for Twilight.
  6697. >For her of all ponies to lose her magic.
  6698. >It must be torment.
  6699.  
  6700. “I had a plan. I wanted to show her that she’d lose her friends if she didn’t change. I think it would have worked. But I suppose I’m too late.”
  6701.  
  6702. >”You still love her, don’t you?”
  6703.  
  6704. >You do.
  6705. >You’ll always love Twilight.
  6706. >You’ll always lover her friends.
  6707. >Because they brought your sister back to you.
  6708.  
  6709. “Yeah.”
  6710.  
  6711. >”She’ll come back to you. It might take a while, but she’ll believe that you really are you. Maybe not today. Maybe not this century. But it will happen. If you get your way there will be plenty of ponies who have machinery built into their body. If that gets more common, you’ll be less strange.”
  6712.  
  6713. >Such an incredibly daunting task.
  6714. >You don’t even know where to start.
  6715. >You’re still convinced it’s worthwhile, but actually getting there…
  6716.  
  6717. >”Chin up. Spike’s on our side.”
  6718.  
  6719. “Spike?”
  6720.  
  6721. >”He started a research institute to try and figure out how ponies and magic work, among other things. They’re just getting started so he doesn’t have much to show for it just yet, but he’s agreed to share all his findings with us if we do the same. Where he got the money I’ve no idea. Maybe he’s not paying.”
  6722.  
  6723. >Not paying?
  6724. >How could he do something like that for free?
  6725.  
  6726. “Catch me up on what I missed.”
  6727.  
  6728. >”Are you sure? You don’t want to take a day off?”
  6729.  
  6730. >You shake your head.
  6731.  
  6732. “I’ll just worry.”
  6733.  
  6734. >”Cloudsdale and Los Pegasus are no longer part of Equestria. They call themselves Olympia. Most of them worship the nameless one, and many think Spike to be his prophet. I think many of them would work for him for free. I don’t think it’ll be hard to get them to join up with us again, we just need to show them we’re competent.”
  6735.  
  6736. >Equestria has been divided.
  6737. >That hurts you more than you’d expected.
  6738.  
  6739. >”The ponies that called those like you ‘heartless’ were shocked when rumors about the new you got out.”
  6740.  
  6741. >No…
  6742.  
  6743. “Ponyville, Vanhouver, and Dodge city have united under Twilight’s banner. They still call themselves Equestria and are demanding that we change our name.”
  6744.  
  6745. >They’re united under Twilight.
  6746. >They’re dangerous.
  6747. >She’s not well, and she’s ambitious.
  6748. >You’ll have to be careful with them.
  6749.  
  6750. >”Manehattan joined up with the Crystal Empire. Leaving us with Fillydelphia, Baltimare, and Canterlot. And numerous minor settlements of course.”
  6751.  
  6752. >You stare at the ground before you.
  6753. >Unmoving.
  6754. >Dejected.
  6755.  
  6756. “Equestria was my life’s work. And it’s gone. It collapsed in a single month.”
  6757.  
  6758. >”I’m so sorry. I tried to bring it back together, I tried to stop this.”
  6759.  
  6760. “I know. Nothing could stop this. They’re scared, divided. The future is uncertain. And I wasn’t there when they needed me.”
  6761.  
  6762. >Silence rules for a while.
  6763.  
  6764. >”When I first started talking about healing the dead, the nameless one gave me a warning. He said that Equestria wouldn’t survive if we went down that path. I don’t think this is what he meant, I think he was saying that everything assumes ponies will die after a certain amount of time. That when this basic truth was gone everything would need to be rethought. Either way Equestria was finished the moment we decided it was time to reinvent ponies.”
  6765.  
  6766. “You’re saying this is for the best?”
  6767.  
  6768. >”I’m saying it was inevitable. You built that nation for ponies. To make them the best they could be. Now it’s time to make a new nation. One that doesn’t make the best of a bad pony, instead it will be one that makes a better pony.”
  6769.  
  6770. >An Equestria that makes a better pony.
  6771. >One that doesn’t keep the cruel in check with fear of reprisal.
  6772. >One that doesn’t have dungeons or prisons.
  6773. >Not because it can’t sustain them, but because it doesn’t need them.
  6774. >An Equestria without hospitals, doctors, or nurses.
  6775. >Not because the sick die young.
  6776. >But because there are no sick.
  6777. >An Equestria where no evils are necessary, and none can be found.
  6778. >You built Equestria up once.
  6779. >You can do it again.
  6780.  
  6781. “First we start recruiting guards. Twilight herself isn’t dangerous yet, but her country will be. We need to be too powerful to attack until she’s back to her old self. She won’t have many weapons yet, and her only good supply of metals are the mines near Dodge city. They’re isolated from the rest of her territory. If you can shut down those mines or at least intercept the supply lines she won’t be able to arm her forces properly. That should buy us some time.”
  6782.  
  6783. >”They had a mysterious cave-in a couple days ago. Miraculously enough nopony was hurt, but it’ll take some time before they can open up again.”
  6784.  
  6785. >So Luna saw the same weakness and already struck.
  6786. >You’d expect no less.
  6787.  
  6788. ”Let’s go get Captain Spitfire and have her start recruiting. I imagine most of the ponies that remain are loyal to us, they shouldn’t take much convincing. Then we’re going to get all the information we can on pony biology and have the presses distribute it. I want every mentally competent pony to know how ponies work. Next we need to try and contact the not ape and see if he’ll give us any assistance-”
  6789.  
  6790. >”He hasn’t answered any calls in over a month. I think we’re on our own.”
  6791.  
  6792. “Damn. Alright, then instead I think we should try and reverse engineer the tools you’re using in this machine shop.”
  6793.  
  6794. >”We’ll need a power source of some kind. Pinkamena has devoted herself to creating just that and has been making great strides.”
  6795.  
  6796. >There’s so very much to do.
  6797. >What Equestria will become, what ponies will choose to be, you can’t begin to imagine.
  6798. >But one thing is for certain.
  6799. >With Luna by your side, you’re going to make them better.
  6800.  
  6801.  
  6802. >You are Anonymous.
  6803. >You’re fucked.
  6804. >Even with THREE YEARS to prepare, you weren’t ready for this.
  6805. >When you detected the spacial anomaly you nearly laughed.
  6806. >Just one this time.
  6807. >Not two Titans like you fought off last time.
  6808. >Just a single invader!
  6809. >And unlike before, you were geared for war.
  6810. >You’d turned the entire star system into a fortress.
  6811. >Every dirty trick you could dream up, all the tools of destruction and mayhem you knew how to make.
  6812. >They were walking into a trap that spanned several astronomical units.
  6813. >A noose hundreds of millions of kilometers wide that could close in on them at the speed of light.
  6814. >Victory was assured, and you were actually happy to see your foe.
  6815. >Not because you like dealing with all the repairs they force out of you, of course.
  6816. >But because of what you can salvage from their ‘corpses’.
  6817. >It took a few days for them to cool off enough to examine last time, but when you did…
  6818. >At the heart of each one was a couple kilograms of a strange crystalline substance.
  6819. >Despite your best efforts you’ve not managed to identify it.
  6820. >As far as you can tell it defies at least three laws of physics in its structure alone.
  6821. >That alone would pique your curiosity.
  6822. >But more important than that?
  6823. >The overwhelming magical power they contain.
  6824. >You’re pretty sure you’ve stumbled across the Titan’s power source.
  6825. >An arcane battery of course.
  6826. >Spike calls them Thaumic cores.
  6827. >Luna calls them Demon cores.
  6828. >Whatever their name may be, you were eager to get a third one.
  6829. >And so you immediately opened fire on the tear in space.
  6830. >Sure enough a huge magical force started interfering with your attacks, and the fight was on.
  6831. >Things were going well.
  6832. >Or so you thought.
  6833. >But then light from the battle finally reached you, and you had visuals.
  6834. >And it was…
  6835. >Different.
  6836. >Slightly smaller than before, it’s a bit harder to hit.
  6837. >Not that it matters to you.
  6838. >You’d never miss such a slow moving target.
  6839. >Not while they’re in the same star system at least.
  6840. >The changes extend beyond their size.
  6841. >Jagged spines poke out all over its body, each and every one of them dripping with the black ichor that melted your arm.
  6842. >Stingers?
  6843. >And the once gooey innards have been replaced by thick scaly hide.
  6844. >It looks almost exactly like dragonhide.
  6845. >And unlike Spike’s?
  6846. >Your lasers can’t cut it.
  6847. >Trillions of watts of pure heat splash off the thing’s flesh without leaving so much as a scorch mark.
  6848. >Whatever strange magics flow through these scales make Spike’s look like rice paper.
  6849. >You’ll need to rely on heavy weapons to get through, even though it hasn’t started using a shield spell yet.
  6850. >But they can’t reach.
  6851. >Telekinetic fields are ripping your missiles apart long before they can hit home.
  6852. >The monster ejects millions of stingers from its body, propelling them at stunning speeds towards your missile platforms.
  6853. >A partial success.
  6854. >Only a few thousand of your space stations are struck, but each and every one of them dissolves in the blink of an eye.
  6855. >The missiles destabilise and detonate shortly after leaving nothing but heat and light where once there lay massive machines of war.
  6856. >Most of your platforms survive and continue to launch antimatter missiles at the invader.
  6857. >But it’s not enough.
  6858. >It’s nowhere near enough, as far as you can tell you’re not even slowing the invader down.
  6859. >If things proceed as they’re going you’re sure to lose.
  6860. >Even a stalemate wouldn’t be good enough.
  6861. >Already you’re starting to feel the symptoms of magic poisoning.
  6862. >Your thoughts are scattered.
  6863. >Your vision is dim.
  6864. >Just being in the same star system as these things is hazardous to your health.
  6865. >But things are about to get much worse.
  6866. >Because this time?
  6867. >They’re not just destroying your stuff.
  6868. >They’re not attacking the sanctuary.
  6869. >They’ve found you.
  6870. >They’re going straight for you.
  6871. >Your moon base is under attack.
  6872. >Wave after wave of spells fire out towards you.
  6873. >You intercept the bolts of magic with your lasers and missiles.
  6874. >You fly drones in to take the hits for you.
  6875. >You’re even using a couple shield spells of your own thanks to Spike.
  6876. >But even when you block or deflect their attacks, some of the magic still reaches you.
  6877. >Not a lot by their standards.
  6878. >But enough to damage your body.
  6879. >You’re going to need surgery after this.
  6880. >If you live.
  6881. >Short range teleporters on the planet’s surface finally come online.
  6882. >Tears in the fabric of reality pop up all over your opponent and a thick swarm of microscopic drones pour through.
  6883. >They swarm the beast and start burrowing deep in its flesh, depositing a wide array of radioactive materials.
  6884. >You know next to nothing about their biology.
  6885. >But you can’t imagine that a few tonnes of einsteinium won’t cause problems.
  6886. >A wave shakes through space-time as the titan forces your portals shut before all the drones can get through.
  6887.  
  6888. Fascinating.
  6889.  
  6890. >That thought wasn’t your own.
  6891. >It wasn’t in English.
  6892. >Nor was it in horse.
  6893. >That thought transcended language.
  6894. >It was a pure, abstract expression of interest.
  6895.  
  6896. An impressive feat for one with such weak magic. Were we wrong to purge them? I’ll learn much from this survivor.
  6897.  
  6898. >Absolute certainty of safety followed by excitement and curiosity.
  6899. >It’s digging around in your fucking head again!
  6900. >The Titan stops attacking entirely.
  6901. >It just drifts closer and closer to the moon.
  6902. >You unload your entire arsenal of negative-mass shells and fill the thing with holes.
  6903. >Your laser batteries quickly start to fry up the exposed inner tissues.
  6904. >You uncloak some of your newer stations as it draws close.
  6905. >They start firing magically charged protons at the monster interfering with its ‘life magic’.
  6906. >Spike’s work again.
  6907. >And it seems to bear fruit.
  6908. >You can see the monster’s flesh rotting before your eyes.
  6909.  
  6910. No. Not ours. The wild ones. Yes, that system. On every planet? On fabricated planets? In other systems too! How fascinating.
  6911.  
  6912. >It found Earth.
  6913. >It dug through your thoughts and found Earth.
  6914.  
  6915. So many of them. So mysterious and complex. Must examine personally.
  6916.  
  6917. >You’re not worried about that though.
  6918. >You needn’t make any attempts to protect Earth.
  6919. >You just need to survive.
  6920. >Even if it escapes, even if it kills you…
  6921. >These things could never stand up to the Terran Armada.
  6922.  
  6923. Terran Armada...
  6924.  
  6925. >You’re running out of weapons.
  6926. >With how many holes you’ve punched in this thing you’re amazed there’s anything left.
  6927. >But despite all reason and logic it looks almost totally unharmed.
  6928. >The rotten flesh has been absorbed back into its body and replaced with healthy new tissue.
  6929. >The wounds shrink into nothingness seconds after you make them.
  6930. >As far as you can tell, NOTHING you’ve done has hurt it.
  6931. >It shouldn’t be possible to shrug off this much of a beating.
  6932. >It shouldn’t be possible for ANYTHING to survive what you’ve done to this thing.
  6933. >But magic doesn’t care what you think.
  6934.  
  6935. Terran Armada!
  6936.  
  6937. >Visions of the incredible starfleet pass before your eyes.
  6938. >The interstellar war machines that has devoured entire planets to make its mighty hulls.
  6939. >The oldest, best developed military in human history.
  6940. >The unstoppable juggernaut that could blow stars apart on a whim.
  6941. >The force that transcends nature and toys with the fabric of reality to exert its will.
  6942. >An overwhelming wave of abject terror washes over you.
  6943. >The old fleet that predates your birth by centuries, the one you’ve known of your whole life, has you paralyzed in terror.
  6944. >Why are you scared of it just now?
  6945. >Why not back when you lived in its reach?
  6946. >Why do you fear it instead of the demon before you?
  6947. >No.
  6948. >Not you.
  6949. >This isn’t your fear.
  6950. >The Titan sits frozen in space as you hammer it with a rapidly diminishing stockpile of munitions.
  6951. >The Titan is scared.
  6952. >It knows about the Terran Armada.
  6953. >It has seen a glimpse of a real army.
  6954. >And this thing, the monster that seems immune to your best efforts.
  6955. >It finally knows fear.
  6956. >It springs back to action far too soon.
  6957. >A spray of magical bolts spew out from it.
  6958. >No, not magic bolts.
  6959. >Spike proposed that the spells were being carried through space on matter.
  6960. >Small amounts of flesh jettisoned with obscene magical charges to push magic through the void of space.
  6961. >It’s a thick spray of meat coming your way.
  6962. >You bring your laser batteries to bear on the attack.
  6963. >It’s futile.
  6964. >A few million targets you could handle.
  6965. >This is a few trillion.
  6966. >A massive amount of meat even compared to their enormous bodies; there’s hardly anything left.
  6967. >You quickly take off abandoning the moon to its fate.
  6968. >The rockets on your command pod violently throw you into space.
  6969. >Your vision goes black as all your blood is forced into your feet.
  6970. >You can’t withstand the force in your already weakened state.
  6971. >Consciousness slips from your grasp.
  6972. >Several hours pass before you awaken.
  6973. >You’ve been moved into an autosurgery pod.
  6974. >You’re sweaty despite being cold.
  6975. >Your breath is ragged and tense.
  6976. >You’re downright terrified.
  6977. >Even with sedatives in your system, fear grips you.
  6978. >You didn’t just fight an elder god.
  6979. >They can’t be real.
  6980. >It’s impossible!
  6981. >EVERYTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!
  6982. >And yet, it’s undeniable.
  6983. >It happened.
  6984. >There’s a creature out there that can eat the full force of your laser batteries without so much as flinching.
  6985. >A quick check on your satellite feeds tells you the titan is gone.
  6986. >You wish you could convince yourself it was a fever dream.
  6987. >But as IMPOSSIBLE as it all should be it definitely happened.
  6988. >Their destruction can be seen everywhere.
  6989. >Dissolved and destroyed weapons platforms litter the star system.
  6990. >At least they’re gone.
  6991. >The creature seems to have teleported away after delivering the attack.
  6992. >There’s no glowing body. this time it seems to have kept its power supply.
  6993. >Maybe it was unconvinced it could keep fighting in its weakened state after spraying its own flesh out at you.
  6994. >Maybe it was worried that the armada was coming.
  6995. >Maybe it thought it had won?
  6996. >Either way it way too close for comfort.
  6997. >No two ways about it.
  6998. >You got lucky.
  6999. >Backup wasn’t coming.
  7000. >You were out of firepower.
  7001. >And you somehow escaped the final blow.
  7002. >Much longer and you’d have died of magical poisoning anyway.
  7003. >You check on yourself.
  7004. >Lots of problems.
  7005. >Lots of necrotic tissue from magical poisoning.
  7006. >Your vitals are terrible.
  7007. >Especially your heart rate.
  7008. >Zero BPM.
  7009. >Looks like that’ll need to be replaced.
  7010. >Your autosurgery is keeping you alive without much trouble.
  7011. >Tissue cultures are already being grown for transplants and grafts.
  7012. >Once they’re ready pulse lasers will burn away the dead flesh.
  7013. >There’s nothing you can do to help with the process.
  7014. >No way to get rid of the proof of your near demise.
  7015. >Your helplessness.
  7016. >Desperate to find some form of distraction from your sorry state you force your attention on something else.
  7017. >You make the mistake of checking on your moon base to assess the damage.
  7018. >But it’s gone.
  7019. >Not just the base.
  7020. >Nearly a quarter of the moon is gone.
  7021. >Not blown apart.
  7022. >Not knocked into space.
  7023. >GONE.
  7024. >Moon horse is going to be pissed.
  7025.  
  7026. >Locate [Luna]
  7027.  
  7028. >She’s lying on her side at a construction site of some sort.
  7029. >Sobbing uncontrollably.
  7030. >It was the dark side that got hit. Minus some weaker tides the natives shouldn’t notice a difference.
  7031. >It’s the middle of the day too, she shouldn’t be able to see the moon anyway.
  7032. >But you’ve no doubt that she knows.
  7033. >Many horses have gathered around her, including sun bitch.
  7034. >It’s…
  7035. >It’s probably best if you leave her alone.
  7036. >You instruct your computer network to keep an eye on her for signs of self harm.
  7037. >With the immediate threat gone you no longer need to divert all your energy to firepower.
  7038. >You go back to charging the gateway.
  7039. >The portal home.
  7040. >You can’t go through.
  7041. >You’ll probably be detained.
  7042. >Arrested.
  7043. >You’ve got to send a drone instead.
  7044. >That way you can shut the portal down at any time if things go sour.
  7045. >You REALLY hope it doesn’t come to that.
  7046. >Because without some kind of backup, you’re fucked.
  7047. >Plain and simple.
  7048. >You slowly drift off to sleep as curative drugs fill your system.
  7049. >Days pass.
  7050. >You’re awoken by a high priority message.
  7051. >The gateway is ready.
  7052. >There’s a few messages coming from the surface, but they can wait.
  7053. >The gateway comes first.
  7054. >Down on the planet’s surface beneath the protective dome of the Sanctuary lies your magnum opus.
  7055. >The ONE thing you can make that’s considered advanced.
  7056. >A fullerene ring exactly ten meters in diameter mounted upon a small pedestal.
  7057. >The ring has small grey cylinders mounted periodically along its exterior; rift generators that tear space-time.
  7058. >Massive power lines are being removed from each them as they’ve finally charged.
  7059. >Once started it’ll take but a trickle charge to hold the rift open.
  7060. >Several small antimatter charges have been placed around the frame.
  7061. >After quadruple checking your remote detonator to ensure you can destroy it at an instant, you prep a drone.
  7062. >Hopefully you won’t need to shut it down.
  7063. >And hopefully if you do need it off you can just shut it down instead of blowing it up.
  7064. >It’d break your heart to destroy this thing.
  7065. >Losing the first one was depressing.
  7066. >A marvel of modern science and engineering, one of the most brilliant and expensive devices ever created by man.
  7067. >Losing this one would be worse.
  7068. >Whereas the other was built by a team using resources harvested by others and century old infrastructure, this one is different.
  7069. >Special.
  7070. >New.
  7071. >You came here with nearly nothing.
  7072. >That ring down there was made with YOUR tools.
  7073. >YOUR resources.
  7074. >It’s YOUR design and calculations.
  7075. >In every meaningful sense, that gateway is yours.
  7076. >And you’re sure as hell going to blow it up if you have to.
  7077. >You’re fucked if you have to fight the Titans on your own.
  7078. >That doesn’t begin to describe what will happen if you try to take on humanity.
  7079. >You quickly check yourself.
  7080. >You’re definitely not presentable.
  7081. >Most of your face is still made of blackened, dead flesh.
  7082. >Your nose is about to fall off.
  7083. >A quick glance down tells you the rest of your body is no better.
  7084. >And worst of all?
  7085. >Your hair’s fallen out.
  7086. >It’s tempting to wait until you’re patched up.
  7087. >Sure, they won’t actually see you like this.
  7088. >But you’re probably not going to be able to negotiate properly in your drug addled state.
  7089. >However, it’s much MORE tempting to not wind up dead by being unprepared.
  7090. >It only took one of them to beat you this time.
  7091. >And they kept their power supply.
  7092. >Who knows how long it’ll take for them to return?
  7093. >And what’s to say there won’t be more next time?
  7094. >Hell, you’re assuming that this is one of the ones from before in a different form, but for all you know you just saw a fourth.
  7095. >You know there are at least three out there.
  7096. >But why couldn’t there be billions of them?
  7097. >For all you know a hit squad’s coming at you tomorrow.
  7098. >Best not stall.
  7099.  
  7100. INITIATING STARTUP SEQUENCE
  7101.  
  7102. >Bright bolts of lightning arc through the ring as the air ionizes.
  7103. >Not an important part of the process, just an inevitable consequence of what you’re doing.
  7104. >The bolts grow more frequent and erratic as the rift generators do their work.
  7105. >Ripples spread out through space-time.
  7106. >Anyone close by could easily see the waves as they disrupt the flow of time.
  7107. >The lightning bolts soon start arcing to the ground around them vitrifying small parts of the badlands.
  7108. >The distortion in space-time grows stronger and stronger.
  7109. >Small localized pockets around the gateway flicker in and out of existence.
  7110. >Finally the rift opens and space-time stabilizes.
  7111. >But something’s wrong.
  7112. >A massive gust of wind shoots into the gateway sucking anything and everything into it.
  7113. >Pulling all nearby matter into a perfectly black orb.
  7114. >Into nothingness.
  7115.  
  7116. “Shut it down!”
  7117.  
  7118. >A split second later the blackness winks out of existence.
  7119.  
  7120. “This- this can’t be!”
  7121.  
  7122. >You checked over the calculations a thousand times.
  7123. >You KNOW the coordinates with absolute certainty.
  7124. >The rift generators CLEARLY worked!
  7125. >And yet?
  7126. >That was not Earth.
  7127. >That wasn’t ANYWHERE.
  7128. >Literally nowhere.
  7129. >You tore space-time open.
  7130. >But it didn’t bridge anywhere.
  7131. >You just made a hole in reality.
  7132. >A tear to nowhere outside of the universe.
  7133. >To a place where the idea of ‘place’ has no meaning.
  7134. >Nobody claims to know what happens there.
  7135. >Nobody claims to know if the concept of ‘happening’ even makes sense.
  7136.  
  7137. “No…”
  7138.  
  7139. >The rift worked.
  7140. >But space wasn’t bent.
  7141. >Your target destination wasn’t folded into position.
  7142. >Which means…
  7143. >The bridges- the infrastructure other people were sent out to set up…
  7144. >The equipment on other planets littered between here and Earth.
  7145. >They aren’t there.
  7146. >At least one of the missions failed.
  7147. >Spectacularly.
  7148. >Those were all supposed to be done centuries ago.
  7149. >If it’s not done by now, well…
  7150. >The gateway techs are probably dead.
  7151. >You’re stuck here.
  7152. >The only way home is the slow way.
  7153. >And you’re not going to get more than a few light years away before the next attack.
  7154. >They’ll find you.
  7155. >You’re dead too.
  7156. >Did the Titans kill the others?
  7157. >No, that doesn’t make sense.
  7158. >This one was interested in you.
  7159. >It was studying you.
  7160. >If they’d found other gateway techs they’d probably already know about the armada.
  7161. >That means they didn’t last long enough to attract attention.
  7162. >Maybe they were on other inhabited planets?
  7163. >Other worlds filled to the brim with conflict?
  7164. >Who knows.
  7165. >It doesn’t really matter anyway.
  7166. >They’re dead.
  7167. >And so are you.
  7168. >Running is futile.
  7169. >But…
  7170. >You have to at least try.
  7171. >It’s better than waiting to die.
  7172. >Those bastards have you beat.
  7173. >But that doesn’t mean you need to make it easy on them.
  7174. >You’re going to make them work for your blood.
  7175. >You’d better issue a warning first.
  7176. >The natives are depending on you.
  7177. >Even if you don’t owe them anything, you should at least tell them what’s happening.
  7178.  
  7179. Contact [Luna]
  7180.  
  7181. >”Just what the Tartarus is going on?”
  7182.  
  7183. >The words enter your head the instant contact is made.
  7184.  
  7185. >”I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for days now!”
  7186.  
  7187. >She’s writing the script on a tablet.
  7188. >She’s not actually talking.
  7189. >But you can still tell she’s frantic.
  7190. >Her script is hurried and sloppy.
  7191. >You’re pretty sure her hoof is trembling.
  7192. >Even days later...
  7193.  
  7194. “Titan. I’m sorry. I tried to stop it.”
  7195.  
  7196. >”Give me a vehicle.”
  7197.  
  7198. >What.
  7199.  
  7200. >”It’s still out there. I can feel it. Give me a vehicle! I’m going to go get it!”
  7201.  
  7202. >It’s still out there?
  7203. >She thinks that the missing chunk of the moon is still out there somewhere.
  7204. >How could- no, you’re not going to argue.
  7205. >She knows.
  7206. >Somehow.
  7207.  
  7208. “No.”
  7209.  
  7210. >”I’m not asking. Give. Me. A. Vehicle.”
  7211.  
  7212. “You’ll never find it. Even if you know where it is, space is too big. You won’t live long enough to reach it. There’s no way to bring enough life support to make a trip that long, and we don’t know enough about your biology to safely store you for a trip like that. And what will you do when you find it? You can’t tow it back here.”
  7213.  
  7214. >”I don’t care. Give me a stars damned vehicle!”
  7215.  
  7216. >You cut off contact.
  7217. >She’s clearly not the right one to talk to right now.
  7218. >You’ll have to talk to Spike.
  7219. >So the missing chunk of the moon’s still out there…
  7220. >They didn’t destroy it, then?
  7221. >They stole it.
  7222. >Why?
  7223. >You’re suddenly reminded of the cells in the Sanctuary that went missing years ago.
  7224. >You never did find out where those wound up.
  7225. >Did those get stolen too?
  7226.  
  7227. “Shit.”
  7228.  
  7229. >There’s only one reason you can think of for stealing those machines.
  7230. >Study.
  7231. >And taking a bite out of the moon?
  7232. >Well, there was plenty of stuff to look at there.
  7233. >They were probably hoping to grab you with it.
  7234. >Next time you run into a Titan they’ll probably have guns.
  7235. >Not that it really matters that much.
  7236. >You’re outmatched as it is.
  7237. >All the more reason to run.
  7238.  
  7239. Contact [Spike]
  7240.  
  7241. >”Oh, hey. I’ve got some new findings for you.”
  7242.  
  7243. >His quest to study magic has yielded mixed results.
  7244. >Many spells have been abstracted into a mechanical process and divorced from the mysticism the horses used to describe them.
  7245. >But despite his best efforts, even he doesn’t actually have any idea how magic works.
  7246. >There are a few laws that simplify things and put a few limits on the seemingly limitless potential of this impossible force.
  7247. >But a proper theory of magic still eludes him.
  7248. >It seems as though the more he studies it the less he understands it.
  7249. >It’s going to be a massive undertaking to try and properly understand magic.
  7250. >One that he won’t have a chance to finish.
  7251.  
  7252. >”What was with that crazy magic being thrown around a couple days ago?”
  7253.  
  7254. “I-”
  7255.  
  7256. >What do you say?
  7257. >You should have figured this out before you called.
  7258. >But it’s too late for that now you suppose.
  7259. >It doesn’t matter much anyway.
  7260. >There’s no way you could tell him this that wouldn’t crush him.
  7261. >There’s no way to spin this bad news.
  7262.  
  7263. “I lose. I can’t stop them. My only choice is to run away, and even that’s futile.”
  7264.  
  7265. >You don’t know what he’s thinking.
  7266. >And you can’t see his face.
  7267. >But you don’t need to.
  7268. >You know this kid well enough.
  7269. >He’s scared.
  7270.  
  7271. “You need to abandon your research. Everyone needs to abandon all of my tech entirely.”
  7272.  
  7273. >”Not a chance!”
  7274.  
  7275. >You knew he’d say something like that.
  7276. >Why wouldn’t he?
  7277. >You dangled the unimaginable wonders of technology before him only to snatch them away at the last second.
  7278. >Promises of a future better than their wildest dreams.
  7279. >One in which they weren’t bound by age, disease, or even their own biology.
  7280. >You showed them that even a pauper could live like a princess.
  7281. >You proved to them that death could be reduced to a minor inconvenience, and that they could tame the world around them.
  7282. >And now you’re telling them to give it all up.
  7283. >To abandon the only chance they have to escape the savagery of nature.
  7284.  
  7285. “I can’t protect you. I lose. They’re more powerful than me, and help isn’t coming. The Titans are interested in my science. If you have what I have, they’ll be interested in you too. Even a simple computer could draw their attention. If you don’t want them to take an interest in you, you need to get rid of everything. Erase all of it.”
  7286.  
  7287. >”What about the cyborgs? What about Celestia?”
  7288.  
  7289. “Kill them all.”
  7290.  
  7291. >A horrible, disgusting thing to say.
  7292. >But it’s not like they have much choice.
  7293. >Your understanding is that the last thing they want is to be interesting.
  7294. >Best case scenario is that the Titans return to feeding on them passively.
  7295. >Worst case is that they get involved.
  7296. >Because no good ever comes from their touch.
  7297.  
  7298. “Celestia can’t survive without her new body, true. She also can’t survive being disassembled for study. There’s no good outcome here. This is time for damage control. Destroy your computers. Smash your power generators. Burn your research notes. All you can hope for is to be forgotten.”
  7299.  
  7300. >”And you’re just going to turn tail and run?”
  7301.  
  7302. “Damn straight. I can’t stand up to them. All I can do is attract their attention. If I’m lucky they won’t be able to track me. If I’m unlucky? It’s no worse than standing my ground.”
  7303.  
  7304. >”What about all that stuff you said about getting help from home?”
  7305.  
  7306. “Help’s not coming, Spike. I was relying on others to build parts of the gateway I was making. Without their stuff in other worlds I can’t reach home. It’s impossible.”
  7307.  
  7308. >”Impossible? What do you mean impossible? You’re the king of this kind of stuff!”
  7309.  
  7310. “Even the king is bound to the board. There’s nothing I can do to reach home, except for going the slow way. It’d take thousands of years to do a round trip, Spike. It’s too slow. I’m sorry.”
  7311.  
  7312. >”Then don’t go home. Just invent the weapons they’d have given you! People like you made them, why can’t you?”
  7313.  
  7314. “I’m not a soldier Spike. I can’t invent weapons. It’s over.”
  7315.  
  7316. >”You can’t invent- so what? You don’t actually create? Is everything you make based on other people’s work? Do you just copy without making any attempt to innovate?”
  7317.  
  7318. >Pretty much.
  7319. >There are people far smarter than you out there.
  7320. >You can’t compete with them.
  7321. >Everything’s already been done by people far better than you.
  7322. >With quadrillions of humans out there, what could one man hope to accomplish?
  7323. >Sure, you can solve minor problems here and there.
  7324. >You can tweak designs to fit a different environment and different needs.
  7325. >But you’ll never make the best of the best.
  7326. >Because in the end, you are just one man.
  7327.  
  7328. >”Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and blow them away!”
  7329.  
  7330. >Easier said than done.
  7331. >You’ve used everything you could think of.
  7332. >And that damn thing didn’t even care.
  7333.  
  7334. >”Get to work and build up your forces. If you give up now-”
  7335.  
  7336. “I can’t stand up to it. Yes, IT! ONE. I can’t- there are others out there.”
  7337.  
  7338. >”Then you’d better get to work, because I assure you we have no intention of giving up what you gave us. There is no backup plan, no damage control. You have to win.”
  7339.  
  7340. “Don’t you get it you stupid lizard? It’s impossible! There’s nothing I can do.”
  7341.  
  7342. >He doesn’t answer for a while.
  7343. >You can’t help but regret the words.
  7344. >Yes, he’s stupid.
  7345. >And he’s also a lizard.
  7346. >But that’s not how you should talk to a friend.
  7347. >And you can’t help but consider him to be your friend.
  7348.  
  7349. >”Stupid lizard? Maybe. Maybe I’m not as smart as you. But I’ve done something you’ve never even tried to do. I’ve invented. I’ve discovered. You just copy. Down here we have to adapt and change all the time. Sure, our efforts don’t amount to much. A steam engine doesn’t match a hypersonic VTOL. But we invented it. It’s our creation. We figured it all out and made it ourselves. I don’t know why you refuse to even try to invent, but whatever the reason may be, we have that on you. In at least one way I’m BETTER than you.”
  7350.  
  7351. >He thinks he’s better than you?
  7352. >If only he knew.
  7353. >If only he had any idea just how bad things really are.
  7354.  
  7355. >“You brag about how you were designed to be the ultimate lifeform; how you’re so much better than any un-augmented being could ever hope to be. You’ve got millions of worshippers who believe wholeheartedly that you’re a creator god. But that’s not what I see at all. I see a coward who’s ready to give in at the first sign of trouble. You can run away now knowing that somewhere out there there’s a stupid lizard who’s outperformed you. Or you can stand your ground. I’ve transmitted my latest findings on magic. Make of it what you will.”
  7356.  
  7357. >He cuts off contact.
  7358. >Did you just get chewed out by Spike?
  7359. >What does he know?
  7360. >It’s impossible.
  7361. >There’s no way you can stand up to those things.
  7362. >You know what can and can’t be done.
  7363. >And you can’t fight back against enemies that do impossible things.
  7364. >Your sciences can’t win this and they can’t get you home.
  7365. >It can’t be done.
  7366. >Sooner or later, you’re going to be brought down by the monsters that do things your sciences say are impossible.
  7367. >Wait.
  7368.  
  7369. “God damn I’m stupid.”
  7370.  
  7371. >If your sciences don’t hold the answer, maybe magic- maybe the thing that constantly defies explanation and reason, maybe the thing that constantly does the impossible can get you out of this.
  7372. >You open Spike’s research logs.
  7373. >Huge catalogues of experiments done with the arcane lay before you.
  7374. >You don’t understand a lick of it.
  7375. >None of this stuff makes any sense to you at all.
  7376. >But to the ones who ran the experiments it’s all natural.
  7377. >Simple.
  7378. >Obvious.
  7379. >They assert absurd things as though they were self evident.
  7380. >And then they assume you know things that seem insane and arbitrary.
  7381. >Is this what moon horse felt when you tried to teach her about robotics?
  7382. >If so…
  7383. >Then it’s good enough.
  7384. >She doesn’t understand how her sister works.
  7385. >But she works.
  7386. >That’s all that matters.
  7387. >You don’t need to understand magic to use it.
  7388. >And if his description of teleportation magic is right…
  7389. >You can’t use it to go home.
  7390. >But with enough power, you could send other things damn near anywhere in the universe.
  7391. >Which means you can set up your own bridge!
  7392. >You can build your own teleportation infrastructure all from here!
  7393.  
  7394. Contact [Spike]
  7395.  
  7396. >”Well?”
  7397.  
  7398. “I could kiss you right now.”
  7399.  
  7400. >”Eww.”
  7401.  
  7402. “I could use your help for this one. I don’t want to screw up the magic.”
  7403.  
  7404. >”You have a plan?”
  7405.  
  7406. “I needed machinery set up on other worlds to help bridge the gap on the way home. It’s not there. I’m going to build it myself and use magic to teleport it into position.”
  7407.  
  7408. >”Why not just use magic to teleport the whole way?”
  7409.  
  7410. “From what I understand of your notes magic teleportation doesn’t hold a rift open. The target just slips through space somehow. It’d be a one way trip for starters. My methods would let me go back and forth at will for minimal energy expenditure.”
  7411.  
  7412. >”I don’t think I understand.”
  7413.  
  7414. >He’s confused by your gateway.
  7415. >You’re confused by his teleportation spell.
  7416. >But between the two of you, you understand how this trick is going to work.
  7417. >And that’s good enough.
  7418.  
  7419. “Design a spell to drop a sixteen tonne device exactly 200 light years away. I’m going to send coordinates and system specs. Some variation is acceptable, I can reconfigure the gateway if need be, but it has to be pretty close. Can you do it?”
  7420.  
  7421. >He doesn’t reply for a while.
  7422. >Odds are he’s looking into what you’re asking of him.
  7423. >It’s a lot.
  7424. >But he’s impressed you before.
  7425.  
  7426. >”We’ll need a lot of energy.”
  7427.  
  7428. “We have two arcane batteries.”
  7429.  
  7430. >”Huh. You know, this might just work. It- you’re asking a lot of me here. I’ve never worked on this scale before.”
  7431.  
  7432. “Can you do it?”
  7433.  
  7434. >Your computer network goes into overdrive calculating a clusterfuck of incoherent equations.
  7435. >You don’t understand a damn thing about what’s going on.
  7436. >But whatever he’s doing, the system is producing answers.
  7437.  
  7438. >”Absolutely.”
  7439.  
  7440. >You’d better get to work too.
  7441. >Without a need for rift generators you can get things done pretty quick.
  7442. >The ‘bridge’ is a simple device that just bends space, it doesn’t tear it.
  7443. >Even so it’ll take a little bit of work to build.
  7444. >And you don’t intend to let Spike finish before you do.
  7445.  
  7446. One month later.
  7447.  
  7448. >A brilliant flash of light fills the Sanctuary as the bridge vanishes from reality.
  7449. >An instant later it reappears hundreds of light years away- or so you hope.
  7450. >That was the fourth one.
  7451. >There were supposed to be five.
  7452. >But the closest four weren’t there.
  7453. >You had to replace them all.
  7454. >Four of the other missions have failed.
  7455. >Odds are, four of the other gateway techs are dead.
  7456. >Hopefully you don’t need to replace number 5.
  7457. >Each time you ask Spike to move another one he grows less and less confident.
  7458. >As you tell him to reach further and further through space with rapidly vanishing margins of error, he grows ever more worried.
  7459. >You don’t blame him.
  7460. >He’s getting a taste of space.
  7461. >He’s ‘known’ about the sheer scale of the universe before, but this is his first time actually having to face the incredible vastness of the universe.
  7462. >Even you struggle with it sometimes.
  7463.  
  7464. >”Looks like it worked. How’s the arcane core?”
  7465.  
  7466. “Still potent. Not sure how potent though.”
  7467.  
  7468. >Several cells away there is a massive dome held in a perfect vacuum.
  7469. >The arcane core sits within suspended electromagnetically.
  7470. >All your attempts to measure its power have failed.
  7471. >Every time you try you fail.
  7472. >Every device either you or Spike design to measure magical energy destroys itself immediately after exposure.
  7473. >For all you know you’ve nearly drained it entirely.
  7474. >Or maybe you’ve barely scratched the surface of its power.
  7475.  
  7476. “Let’s see if this works.”
  7477.  
  7478. >The rift generator sets to work again.
  7479. >But this time, when the lightning storm is done, when the temporal anomalies fade, when reality stabilizes…
  7480. >You see it.
  7481. >A large disc of pale light.
  7482.  
  7483. “We got it.”
  7484.  
  7485. >You can barely believe it.
  7486. >It was impossible.
  7487. >It couldn’t be done.
  7488. >And there it is.
  7489.  
  7490. “Spike, I…”
  7491.  
  7492. >”Thank me later. For now, go and get what you need.”
  7493.  
  7494. >He cuts the line.
  7495. >You stare at the rift in disbelief.
  7496. >It worked.
  7497. >Some part of you didn’t believe it would work.
  7498. >Hell, most of you didn’t believe it would work.
  7499. >But there it is.
  7500. >You hurriedly send a drone through, fearful that the universe will notice the mistake and the gateway will close.
  7501. >Your specially made drone, a heavily armored tank like machine that carries itself on treads.
  7502. >Not the most sophisticated machine.
  7503. >But it carries with it a special surprise.
  7504. >Something that nobody back home will see coming.
  7505. >It can cast spells.
  7506. >You drive it through and get confirmation.
  7507. >It’s on Earth.
  7508. >In what you think might be a quarantine bay.
  7509. >A small room made entirely of heavy steel with no visible doorways.
  7510. >They’re well hidden, but you’re pretty sure you can see some stationary weapons.
  7511. >This thing is a death trap.
  7512. >Definitely not the welcome you were expecting.
  7513. >But it’s fine.
  7514. >They’ve yet to fire on you, and you’re not even there in person anyway.
  7515. >Still, you can’t help but wonder.
  7516. >What are they afraid of?
  7517. >All you can see in the room is a gateway much like the one you made, and eleven screens on the far wall.
  7518. >Four of them are lit and displaying flags.
  7519. >The first display is blank.
  7520. >Second you see a peculiar sight.
  7521. >A black snake holding a hand grenade upon a yellow background.
  7522. >Inscribed on the flag are the words ‘I swear to god I’ll kill us all if you fuck with me.’
  7523. >You’ve no clue to whom that flag belongs.
  7524. >Third is the Terran flag.
  7525. >A pure white depiction of Earth resting upon a laurel wreath upon a blue background.
  7526. >Next are six blank displays.
  7527. >Afterwards you see a Centaur holding a plasma rifle rampant upon a black background.
  7528. >The centauri flag.
  7529. >And finally a pack of wolves baring their teeth as they circle a small star.
  7530. >You don’t recognise that one.
  7531. >Two new flags.
  7532. >And numerous missing ones.
  7533. >What happened in the last 800 years?
  7534. >The Earth flag is replaced with a face.
  7535. >Skin too smooth and hair too silky frame a perfectly symmetrical visage.
  7536.  
  7537. >”How did- what? Identify yourself!”
  7538.  
  7539. >The voice is a bit too high.
  7540. >You’re not sure what this creature is, but it seems humanoid.
  7541. >And it apparently represents Earth.
  7542.  
  7543. “Gateway Technician Number 7 reporting. What’s with the guns?”
  7544.  
  7545. >”How are you here?”
  7546.  
  7547. >You don’t particularly feel like explaining the whole thing.
  7548. >You don’t know who this person is, and something about this whole scene is making you uneasy.
  7549. >Probably best if you dodge the question.
  7550.  
  7551. “KOI-3284.01 is an inhabited planet. And it is in peril. We must determine a course of action with all due haste.”
  7552.  
  7553. >”It is not our place to interfere with the workings of alien systems.”
  7554.  
  7555. >That’s almost exactly what you were expecting them to say.
  7556. >You aren’t pleased.
  7557. >But they’re just one representative.
  7558. >Surely the rest of the interplanetary council will want to weigh in.
  7559.  
  7560. “I wish to speak to the rest of the council.”
  7561.  
  7562. >”The other two representatives will be unavailable for comment for a few days.”
  7563.  
  7564. >Other two?
  7565. >But there are three other flags on display.
  7566. >Should one of them have been shut down already?
  7567. >Or do they not wish to acknowledge one?
  7568. >The snake one cuts out, and you see a battered, wizened man with greying hair.
  7569. >He looks like his body is falling apart.
  7570. >Why?
  7571.  
  7572. >”Felicia. When were you going to tell us about this?”
  7573.  
  7574. >”It is none of your concern.”
  7575.  
  7576. >These two seem to know each other.
  7577. >It’s clear already that they’d rather strangle each other than talk.
  7578. >But your presence is apparently important enough for them to put that aside.
  7579. >For a time.
  7580.  
  7581. >”Getting contact from the dead zone is pretty damn important! Nothing we’ve ever sent there has ever been heard from again! And here, we get a gateway to the farthest reaches of that sector? For all we know something dangerous could have leaked through. But you haven’t lit up the quarantine yet. Are you certain this thing isn’t a threat?”
  7582.  
  7583. >”I am not.”
  7584.  
  7585. “Sorry, did you say Dead Zone?”
  7586.  
  7587. >”Indeed. Dozens of your fellow technicians disappeared without a trace, all centered about the same part of space. The Terran Union will be wanting to know how you made it back on your own.”
  7588.  
  7589. >Terran Union.
  7590. >Not Terran Republic.
  7591. >There’s been a change in governance since you left.
  7592. >The Armada belonged to the Republic.
  7593. >Is it still out there, ready to protect Earth?
  7594. >Did it change hands?
  7595. >Did it get destroyed?
  7596. >No, that’s DEFINITELY impossible.
  7597. >You probably shouldn’t pry into that right now.
  7598. >It would seem suspicious.
  7599. >And you’ve other concerns.
  7600. >Dead zone.
  7601. >Missing techs.
  7602. >They know something dangerous is in your part of space, so they set up a secure location around the gateway.
  7603. >The damn fools should have just shut it down.
  7604. >These tiny little guns couldn’t phase a titan.
  7605. >And this holding cell wouldn’t even slow them for an instant.
  7606. >They have no idea what they’re scared of, and they assume it can’t be all that bad.
  7607. >They think it’ll play by their rules as everything else has before.
  7608. >Luckily for them you’re what came through.
  7609. >You’ve no doubt that they could take the Titans down.
  7610. >The question is how much damage they could do before that happened.
  7611. >And right here on Earth itself?
  7612. >No matter how good their response time, there’d be a hell of a lot of damage.
  7613. >They shouldn’t let anything from your corner of the galaxy anywhere near Earth.
  7614. >Luckily for you, however, they were arrogant.
  7615.  
  7616. >”The Free Venutians will be wanting to know how you got back as well.”
  7617.  
  7618. >”That information is classified. Sharing it with terrorists will be deemed an act of treason.”
  7619.  
  7620. >FREE Venutians?
  7621. >Terrorists?
  7622. >There’s no way the pathetic spineless drones you knew as Venutians could ever qualify as terrorists.
  7623. >You’re not going to tell anyone anything important just yet.
  7624. >Not until you know what the hell is going on.
  7625.  
  7626. >”What’s your name, boy? Which system did you get sent to?”
  7627.  
  7628. “My name is Anonymous. I was sent to prepare KOI-3284.01”
  7629.  
  7630. >The old man’s mouth slowly drops.
  7631. >He silently rubs his face as a look of disbelief, and anguish washes over him.
  7632.  
  7633. >”I owe that bastard 50 exajoules. Hold on.”
  7634.  
  7635. >He stands up and walks away from whatever terminal he was at.
  7636. >You can faintly hear him yell in the background.
  7637.  
  7638. >”Drop! Get over here! Yeah, yeah. I’ll pay you later.”
  7639.  
  7640. >”I should warn you that you’re about to meet the leader of the Venutians. They are extremely dangerous and must not be trusted.”
  7641.  
  7642. >The soft person speaks firmly.
  7643. >They’re absolutely serious about that warning.
  7644. >This person is a criminal.
  7645. >But if they’re who you think they are, well...
  7646.  
  7647. >”And I should warn you that this kid can’t be pushed around. He’s going to do what he wants whether you like it or not.”
  7648.  
  7649. >A familiar face comes into view.
  7650. >Or at least, half familiar.
  7651. >The left half is as you remember.
  7652. >The rest has been replaced by purely cybernetic components.
  7653. >No effort has been made to maintain a human appearance.
  7654. >Instead, it almost looks like great pains have been taken to make this visage look as grotesque as possible.
  7655. >There is no synthetic flesh, just the metal framework creating a facsimile of a skeletal structure.
  7656. >The jaw hangs loose with black metallic teeth baring to the world.
  7657. >The eye socket surrounded by the metal skull hasn’t been filled.
  7658. >The man sits at the terminal and flashes a massive shit-eating grin.
  7659.  
  7660. “I’ve come to make a plead. KOI-3284.01 is inhabited by a wide variety of sapient creatures. I was given orders to avoid interfering with their natural development, but I don’t believe we can ignore their plight. They need our help.”
  7661.  
  7662. >”Sapient?”
  7663.  
  7664. >They both seem quite excited about that news.
  7665. >You were too at first.
  7666.  
  7667. >”We must avoid interaction at all costs! This could be a unique opportunity for study!”
  7668.  
  7669. “I’m afraid that isn’t an option. We must intervene immediately.”
  7670.  
  7671. >”In what way?”
  7672.  
  7673. >The representative of Earth asks the question.
  7674. >You’re not sure how to properly explain the situation.
  7675. >Just looking at them, they’ve clearly never experienced any discomfort in their life.
  7676. >They are one of the softest people in the universe.
  7677. >Hell, they probably think talking to you is a great chore.
  7678. >Maybe you should start from the top down.
  7679. >After all, it’s the most pressing issue.
  7680.  
  7681. “Another species from another star system threatens their existence.”
  7682.  
  7683. >Both representatives spend a few minutes in thought.
  7684. >One comes to a stupid conclusion.
  7685. >The other is unsatisfied with what you told them.
  7686. >As expected.
  7687.  
  7688. >”Our choice is to interfere with the development of one system or the other. There is nothing to be gained from intervention.”
  7689.  
  7690. >”I don’t know enough to decide. Tell me a bit about the opposing forces.”
  7691.  
  7692. >What to say?
  7693. >That one nearly made you shit yourself out of fear while the other can’t seem to decide what their ideals are?
  7694. >No, there’s a more elegant way to put it.
  7695.  
  7696. “The invading forces are an incredibly powerful species of interstellar beings that seem to be wholly consumed by self interest. They’re hated universally by the natives for their cruelty.”
  7697.  
  7698. >”How do you know what the natives think?”
  7699.  
  7700. ”Representative Felicia, was it? I was stranded on that planet for several years. There has been plenty of time to observe.”
  7701.  
  7702. >You didn’t exactly lie.
  7703. >You just omitted the part where you talked to the natives.
  7704. >And shot them.
  7705.  
  7706. “The natives are completely outclassed. They are numerous species many of which I know little about. The ones I have studied however, are desperate. They struggle every day with an untamed planet rife with disease and danger. They toil most of their lives just to sustain themselves. I can’t begin to imagine the pain they endure just living.”
  7707.  
  7708. >”If their lives are so miserable why do you wish to protect them?”
  7709.  
  7710. >You’re really starting to hate this person.
  7711. >But you do have an answer for that, so there’s no reason to give up on talking just yet.
  7712. >Even if it is tempting.
  7713.  
  7714. “The invaders have a name. It roughly translates to ‘Heavenly being of immense stature.’ Legend has it that they created the world and filled it with life.”
  7715.  
  7716. >You’re pretty sure the legend is true, but there’s no need to get into that right now.
  7717.  
  7718. “They are blamed for the terrible and brutal nature of the world. The disgusting rules of nature that bind each and every species on that planet. They’re cursed for every disease, every famine, every hardship. But most of all they’re hated for their apathy. For their refusal to intervene and lend assistance. It’s abundantly clear that they COULD make the world a better place. But they refuse. Instead they sit and watch. They do exactly what you propose we do. The natives have a saying. ‘All sapient beings regardless of species, breed, or class, have committed a grievance should they fail to lend aid.’ It rolls off the tongue much better in their language. Regardless of phrasing, I think they’re right. The invaders refuse to help, and so the status quo continues in part because of them. We shouldn’t be like them. We should be better.”
  7719.  
  7720. >”If interventionist policies worked, it would be safe to drink the water in Africa.”
  7721.  
  7722. >So Africa still sucks?
  7723. >You’re not really surprised.
  7724. >Just disappointed.
  7725.  
  7726. >”Africa is a beautiful continent! Far better than anything on Venus!”
  7727.  
  7728. >”At least nobody here has AIDS!”
  7729.  
  7730. >Earth’s representative is seething.
  7731. >But they don’t offer a rebuttal.
  7732.  
  7733. “True. I’m unsure if we can do anything meaningful to aid these creatures. I remain hopeful, but we don’t yet know what they will make of themselves. However, we must at least try. Humanity has encountered another sapient species. Finally, we are no longer alone. But now we must decide. What does it mean to be human? Who shall we be? Will we watch impassively as the tyranny of nature continues? Will we act as guardians to protect the helpless? Will we aid those who cannot aid themselves? Or will we crush them beneath our might? We have many options before us. But I think the choice is clear.”
  7734.  
  7735. >”Don’t get involved or you will be branded a traitor to humanity.”
  7736.  
  7737. >Fuck Earth.
  7738.  
  7739. >”I abstain.”
  7740.  
  7741. >What?
  7742. >He-
  7743. >You were sure that-
  7744.  
  7745. >”You can take another crack at convincing me later. For now, though, it’s obvious you’re not telling the whole story. I’m not making any decisions until I know everything.”
  7746.  
  7747. >”You mean to tell me the technician is lying to me? Anonymous, I hereby sentence you to ten thousand years of solitary confinement for treason!”
  7748.  
  7749. >You’re pretty sure they can’t do that.
  7750. >Though something’s clearly wrong with Earth these days.
  7751. >Maybe?
  7752. >It’s nearly time to act.
  7753. >You just need to know a little bit more.
  7754.  
  7755. “What’s the relationship between Venus and Earth?”
  7756.  
  7757. >”Police drones are on their way to apprehend you You’ll hear no more from me.”
  7758.  
  7759. >You ignore Earth.
  7760.  
  7761. >”They stay out of our hair or else we unload an arsenal of WMDs and doomsday weapons against every other planet in the system, all of which they claim to own.”
  7762.  
  7763. “That explains the flag. So there would be no significant repercussions were I to injure the Representative from Earth?”
  7764.  
  7765. >”You’re just making things worse for yourself.”
  7766.  
  7767. >”The biggest impact that would have is that I’d laugh my ass off. Perhaps literally, it keeps coming loose.”
  7768. >Good enough for you.
  7769. >Deep inside your drone mysterious arcane circuits start to glow.
  7770. >You’ve studied them.
  7771. >You made them yourself.
  7772. >And still, their inner workings remain a mystery.
  7773. >But that’s okay.
  7774. >Because you’ve memorised the instructions.
  7775. >Feeling out throughout space you establish a connection with Earth’s representative.
  7776. >The charged crystals you brought with you prepare to power your spell.
  7777.  
  7778. “Felicia, was it? Take your head out of your ass for a bit. I need to talk to you.”
  7779.  
  7780. >You grab their head in a telekinetic field and hold their jaw shut.
  7781. >A brilliant green aura of magical energy engulfs their entire body, doubtlessly causing serious damage.
  7782. >They’re totally immobilised in your grasp.
  7783.  
  7784. “Must feel mighty nice on that high horse of yours passing down judgement. I think it’s time somebody judged you for once.”
  7785.  
  7786. >You slam their head into their terminal.
  7787. >Repeatedly.
  7788.  
  7789. “The time has come to decide what it means to be human. I believe that humans should oppose the savage nature of reality and the cruelty of the universe.”
  7790.  
  7791. >You telekinetically punch them in their gut.
  7792.  
  7793. “That we should impose civility on the brutish universe and tame the cosmos as we once did Earth.”
  7794.  
  7795. >You pick them up by their hair.
  7796.  
  7797. “That we should offer charity to those who would take it and friendship to those who are worthy. You, who wouldn’t even consider helping another species, you are subhuman. “
  7798.  
  7799. >You let go and drop her on the ground.
  7800. >The line goes dead.
  7801. >You’re left talking with just one other.
  7802. >A man you thought was surely dead.
  7803.  
  7804. “Hey, dad.”
  7805.  
  7806. >”Good to see you, kid. I told Marty you were too stubborn to die out there. Betting on you was the easiest money I’ve ever made.
  7807.  
  7808. >That’s when it hit you.
  7809. >He didn’t seem particularly surprised to see you.
  7810. >You had to use MAGIC to get home, leaving a place called the ‘dead zone’.
  7811. >And he wasn’t even phased when you showed up.
  7812. >He knew you’d make it back.
  7813. >Somehow, he knew.
  7814.  
  7815. >”You’re early. I didn’t think you’d make it home for a few more centuries at least.”
  7816.  
  7817. “I could have gotten back much sooner, but I had to rebuild my gateway.”
  7818.  
  7819. >”Is that hard? I know next to nothing of warpgate tech, but I do know the other missions failed. How did you set up those bridges that fast?”
  7820.  
  7821. >A wireless signal starts broadcasting through the quarantine room.
  7822. >It seems to be a file transfer.
  7823. >You accept.
  7824. >A massive flood of data starts pouring through.
  7825. >All of it is encrypted, and you don’t know the key.
  7826.  
  7827. “Magic.”
  7828.  
  7829. >”Yeah, you’re right. Probably best not to tell me when we’re being spied on.”
  7830.  
  7831. >You’re- of course you’re being spied on.
  7832. >Why wouldn’t you be.
  7833. >Still, that was the truth.
  7834.  
  7835. >”You got involved in that world didn’t you?”
  7836.  
  7837. >It was a statement more than a question.
  7838. >You’re not sure how he knew.
  7839.  
  7840. “How-”
  7841.  
  7842. >”You said the planet was inhabited and in peril. I know you. You wouldn’t ignore them. If I was in any doubt I would have known for sure when you attacked that bitch. The Terran Union would never forgive you for getting involved, and you knew it. The moment you saw a friendly face you knew it was a waste of time to talk to her.”
  7843.  
  7844. >Her?
  7845. >Was that a human female?
  7846. >You’re not sure you’ve ever seen one before.
  7847. >Males and females tend to stay separate for the most part.
  7848.  
  7849. >”As fun as that was, she wasn’t one of these invaders you’re talking about. It was wrong of you to take your frustrations out on her.”
  7850.  
  7851. “She threatened to arrest me! How is it wrong to smack her around a bit?”
  7852.  
  7853. >”Because now they know you have a new kind of weapon. You best hope they don’t figure out how it works.”
  7854.  
  7855. “Heh. Not a chance of that. This drone is rigged with explosives to keep them from studying it.”
  7856.  
  7857. >After the Titans stole your stuff for study, you’ve learned your lesson.
  7858. >It would be better to blow up your kit than it would be to let it get captured.
  7859.  
  7860. “Besides. They’d never be able to recharge the power supply. How did you escape?”
  7861.  
  7862. >”Plasma bomb. Hard to make those when you’re in the pen, but I found a way. Lost my face for my troubles, but that’s fine. This new face freaks out normies.”
  7863.  
  7864. >You suddenly miss your robot arm.
  7865.  
  7866. >”We’ll catch up later, you’ve gotta run. You need to shut down the gateway before Earth sends their forces through. The files I just sent you contain coordinates to another gateway on Venus you can use. We’ll start building it right away. Get out of here, kid. The army’s coming for you.”
  7867.  
  7868. “Wait! I need help. I’m outmatched. I can’t beat the Titans alone.”
  7869.  
  7870. >He lets out a quick chuckle.
  7871. >Not exactly what you were expecting given the circumstances.
  7872.  
  7873. >”Check the files I sent you. Whatever these things are, I’m sure a couple planet busters will do the trick. Don’t worry. You know the encryption key. Take care, son.”
  7874.  
  7875. >The line goes dead.
  7876. >You didn’t have time to warn him.
  7877. >Although, you ARE being watched.
  7878. >Maybe warning Earth is good enough?
  7879.  
  7880. “The Titans know where Earth is, and they might be coming. They’re familiar with human biology. In fact, they’ve been using it.”
  7881.  
  7882. >Silence.
  7883. >You’ll just have to hope that somebody’s paying attention.
  7884.  
  7885. “The native species have genetic information lifted straight from our ancestors. Some of them have neural anatomy that’s almost identical. Might as well come clean, you’re on my case anyway. I’ve performed surgery on many of them. Using grafts and designs intended for use on humans. They worked. Not perfectly, but pretty damn well. That’s how similar they are. These Titans know what you’re made of, and they might be coming here. Be ready.”
  7886.  
  7887. >Something breaches the quarantine walls.
  7888. >You don’t wait to see what it was.
  7889. >Your gateway is consumed in a flash of heat and light.
  7890. >And with that, you’re cut off from Earth.
  7891. >There’s so many things you didn't’ get to say.
  7892. >So many questions you didn’t get answered.
  7893. >But that’s okay.
  7894. >Because somehow, some way, that crazy bastard of a father you have got out of prison.
  7895. >And he’s still alive.
  7896. >You don’t know how he wound up being in charge of the planet he got arrested on.
  7897. >Nor do you know how he got his face ripped apart.
  7898. >How he got the schematics for a planet buster, well, that seems perfectly normal for him.
  7899. >Once this planet is safe you’re going to get to see him again.
  7900. >Assuming you can open the files he sent you.
  7901. >Which-
  7902.  
  7903. ”The hell?”
  7904.  
  7905. >To your amazement you’ve already input the key.
  7906. >A fixed behaviour pattern?
  7907. >Did he wire the key into your genome?
  7908. >That absolute madman.
  7909. >He left a message for you.
  7910.  
  7911. >”Sorry to cut this short, but the Terran police force is coming for you, and knowing you, your weapons suck. You can’t handle them. I have no idea how you managed to teleport that drone home. I’ve never studied that stuff, but I’ve been assured by clever people that it’s impossible. And that weapon you used against felicia, well, I know for a fact that that’s impossible. And yet there it is.”
  7912.  
  7913. >Impossible.
  7914. >That word is finally starting to lease its meaning to you.
  7915. >The reality of magic is finally starting to sink in.
  7916.  
  7917. >”You’re probably wondering what happened while you were gone. How I and my convict buddies managed to conquer Venus. I’ll tell you all about it right as soon as you tell me about your exploits. When you get back home I’m going to mock you relentlessly. I’ll make fun of all your decisions and designs, especially the weapons. This is a side of me you might not be familiar with. You were just a stupid kid last time I saw you. Mockery is how I treat people I admire. It’s easier for me to poke at their weak points than it is to acknowledge their superiority.”
  7918.  
  7919. >Superiority?
  7920. >Did he just say…
  7921.  
  7922. >”As embarrassing as it must be to come crying to daddy because you can’t make a good enough gun, and as retarded as you must feel for not bringing a gun with you when you left home? You should hold your head high. I’m not just talking about how you did the impossible. I’ll hold judgement on that until I know how it works. There’s something else you’ve done that’s worthy of praise. The fact of the matter is that you weren’t sent with the resources to build the drone you sent through your gateway, were you? You made that yourself. And you said you had to rebuild your gateway. You did it with your own resources and your own tools. You took an untamed world and made it your bitch, didn’t you? I couldn’t have done that. I’m damn proud of you, kid. Now get out there and show those aliens bastards what you’re made of. Coordinates follow.”
  7923.  
  7924. >You’re sure as hell making a third gateway so you can go home.
  7925. >But first?
  7926. >It’s time to see how Titans handle doomsday devices.
  7927. >How they react to the designs of one of the greatest military minds in human history.
  7928. >It’s time to see what your father’s designs can do.
  7929.  
  7930.  
  7931.  
  7932. >Five years.
  7933. >It’s been five long years since you took the throne.
  7934. >Five years of isolation.
  7935. >Five years of failure.
  7936. >Five years since you last smiled.
  7937. >You are Twilight Sparkle.
  7938. >And you are miserable.
  7939. >You sit upon your throne in your crystal tree palace.
  7940. >Surrounded by vacant thrones reserved for ponies you don’t see anymore.
  7941. >A reminder of a better time.
  7942. >An era that has past.
  7943. >But it doesn’t need to be over.
  7944. >Your friends are still out there, you just haven’t had a chance to visit them.
  7945. >But maybe it’s time to catch up.
  7946. >Just have a friendly, casual get-together.
  7947. >Though your guards would never let you out unescorted.
  7948. >The moment you set hoof outside of your throne room they’ll want to know what’s happening.
  7949. >There IS another way though.
  7950. >You’ve done it a few times before.
  7951. >It’s just difficult.
  7952. >You sit still and close your eyes.
  7953. >And focus.
  7954. >A great strain is put on your mind as you carefully draw upon your magic.
  7955. >Energy starts to build up in your damaged horn.
  7956. >Even years later it hasn’t fully recovered, the tip is still ragged and sore.
  7957. >But it’s useable.
  7958. >If you’re careful.
  7959. >One wrong move and the magic will short out painfully, arcing through the empty space that should be filled with solid bone.
  7960. >You hope that it’ll finish healing soon-
  7961.  
  7962. *ZZZT*
  7963.  
  7964. >A sharp surge of pain punishes you for letting your thoughts wander.
  7965. >But you’re undeterred.
  7966. >You quiet your mind and try again.
  7967. >Carefully building up your spell, delicately avoiding the tender parts of your horn.
  7968. >Gently exploring your magic as one might probe a broken tooth.
  7969. >A few minutes pass.
  7970. >Then quite suddenly, you vanish in a flash of light.
  7971. >And reappear on the outskirts of Ponyville.
  7972. >The quaint village you’ve called your home in recent history hasn’t changed much during your rule.
  7973. >You’ve done what you can to preserve the layout and lifestyle of this place.
  7974. >You’ll preserve the spirit of Ponyville no matter how many ponies come and go.
  7975. >Even though it’s mostly ‘go’ these days.
  7976. >That’s a concern you’ll save for later.
  7977. >Right now you’re going to go see a friend.
  7978. >You boil with excitement at the prospect.
  7979. >The thought of not being a queen.
  7980. >Of just being you.
  7981. >Even if only for a day.
  7982. >But the question remains.
  7983. >Where to first?
  7984. >It’s been so long, you don’t know what they’re up to these days.
  7985. >They might be too busy to pal around at a moment’s notice.
  7986. >Maybe it would be best to start with somepony who’s always excited to see a friend.
  7987. >Somepony who will make time to catch up.
  7988. >Maybe you should go visit Pinkie-
  7989. >Your excitement fades.
  7990. >Your spirit is quite sober.
  7991. >Pinkie Pie is no longer your friend.
  7992. >She made that abundantly clear when she moved to Canterlot.
  7993. >Her “I’ll miss you everypony except for Twilight because she’s a fat ugly bitch and isn’t invited to this party” party sounded so fun.
  7994. >To this day you’re not sure why you let such impudence pass.
  7995. >You should have made an example of her.
  7996. >But it was Pinkie Pie…
  7997. >You let out a long sigh as you yearn for an earlier time.
  7998. >One in which you could count Pinkie as one of your friends.
  7999. >Maybe Rarity-
  8000. >She’s not your friend either.
  8001. >After what you did to Sweetie Belle she said she’d never forgive you.
  8002. >You were just trying to figure out why Rarity was so generous.
  8003. >You needed to know what made her tick so you could inspire others to be as good as her.
  8004. >You thought for sure she’d understand.
  8005. >Besides, they were just foal’s teeth.
  8006. >It’s not like she won’t grow new ones.
  8007. >Even so, she threw a rock at you.
  8008. >Said she never wanted to see your face again.
  8009. >Carousel boutique stands empty in the heart of town awaiting her return.
  8010. >You’re not sure why you’re ordering that it be preserved.
  8011. >Not long ago you were ecstatic.
  8012. >Now you’re not sure what you are.
  8013. >You drag your hooves over to Applejack’s farm.
  8014. >The Apple family is always always busy, but they’re also always hospitable.
  8015. >You stay on the ground to avoid attention.
  8016. >You’re sure you could scare any ponies away if they were to bother you.
  8017. >Your magic may be unreliable.
  8018. >But as queen you have other ways to intimidate.
  8019. >But you’d rather avoid all that.
  8020. >Being queen is tiresome.
  8021. >Sweet Apple Acres comes into view looking the same as ever to your untrained eye.
  8022. >As far as you can tell nothing’s changed over the years.
  8023. >Perhaps if you were a farmer you’d have noticed the subtler changes as you walked through the orchard.
  8024. >The different pruning practices, the early signs of pest infestation, the slightly premature harvest…
  8025. >Had you noted these things it might have come as less of a surprise to you when you found an unfamiliar pony working the fields.
  8026. >A chocolate coloured mare is hauling their harvest towards market.
  8027. >Somepony who doesn’t appear to be part of the apple family.
  8028.  
  8029. “Who are you?”
  8030.  
  8031. >The words come out far more hostile and accusatory than you’d intended.
  8032. >For all you know they’re a hired hoof and have every right to be here.
  8033. >But you made it sound like an accusation.
  8034. >She immediately starts groveling.
  8035.  
  8036. “Where’s Applejack?”
  8037.  
  8038. >That time it came out as a genuine question.
  8039. >You managed to ask with serene grace.
  8040. >Like a proper ruler should.
  8041. >Like Princess Celestia would…
  8042.  
  8043. >”I’m sorry, your majesty! I don’t know who that is!”
  8044.  
  8045. “You don’t- she’s the owner of this farm!”
  8046.  
  8047. >”Cherry Berry owns this farm your highness.”
  8048.  
  8049. >You stare at the frightened and confused mare in shock.
  8050. >Applejack sold the farm?
  8051. >There’s no way she would ever do that.
  8052. >It’s her parent’s legacy!
  8053.  
  8054. “When did this happen?”
  8055.  
  8056. >”She was assigned to tend to it after your forces drove out the heartless!”
  8057.  
  8058. >One of the Apple family was heartless?
  8059. >You had no idea.
  8060. >But that means…
  8061. >You drove Applejack and her whole family away from the farm.
  8062. >You took their home and gave it to somepony else.
  8063. >She’s NEVER going to forgive you.
  8064. >You walk away in silence with a heavy heart as the weight of reality starts to come down on you.
  8065. >You’ve pushed away most of your friends.
  8066. >It’s just Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash left.
  8067. >The rest hate you and are never coming back.
  8068. >You will never again attend a Pinkie Pie party.
  8069. >You’ll never meet up with Rarity at the spa.
  8070. >You’ll never again be hosted by the Apple family.
  8071. >All those things will forever be out of your reach.
  8072. >But at least you still have Fluttershy.
  8073. >And Rainbow Dash would NEVER abandon you.
  8074. >Though you’ve no idea where she is right now.
  8075. >With Dash, she could be pretty much anywhere.
  8076. >Napping.
  8077. >Fluttershy on the other hoof will probably be at her cottage.
  8078. >You set course for your quietest friend’s abode.
  8079. >But as you approach you feel something wrong.
  8080. >Unwholesome.
  8081. >You can feel a strange melange of magic.
  8082. >It feels similar to Discord’s, being wild and erratic.
  8083. >You stop for a moment to probe the ambient mana.
  8084. >It’s definitely coming from Fluttershy’s cottage.
  8085. >It constantly changes form slipping away from you the moment you think you have a feel for it.
  8086. >It seems to lack direction and purpose, instead simply BEING.
  8087. >This particular blend of magic is almost identical to Discord’s.
  8088. >Except that it feels almost kind.
  8089. >Reassured by the gentle nature you push onward.
  8090. >Discord comes out of nowhere and grabs your throat, throwing you violently to the ground.
  8091.  
  8092. >”You stay away from her!”
  8093.  
  8094. >You struggle violently as he presses down on your neck.
  8095. >You can’t breath!
  8096.  
  8097. >”Look at you. You REEK of the taint. I won’t let you hurt Fluttershy!”
  8098.  
  8099. >Your struggling starts to grow weak.
  8100. >Your vision starts to fade out.
  8101. >And quite suddenly, he lets go.
  8102. >You start to greedily drink in the air.
  8103.  
  8104. >”EUUUGH. I can’t believe I touched it!”
  8105.  
  8106. >Discord gingerly grabs the arm that he was only recently using to strangle you.
  8107. >He rips it off and throws it away in disgust.
  8108. >A few seconds later a brand new arm pops into existence to replace it.
  8109. >You stare up at him in wonder.
  8110. >There’s no doubt about it.
  8111. >The source of the gentle magic is Discord.
  8112. >How could Discord feel gentle?
  8113. >He just strangled you!
  8114.  
  8115. >”Consider that your only warning. Now get out of here before I have to touch you again! Fluttershy has enough trouble without dark mages running about.”
  8116.  
  8117. “What trouble?”
  8118.  
  8119. >You manage to choke out the words between breaths.
  8120. >You probably should be running.
  8121. >But he doesn’t seem to want to hurt you any further.
  8122. >And you want to know what’s going on here!
  8123.  
  8124. >”Oh, so NOW you’re interested. Five years without a word and you suddenly show up all concerned about your ‘dear friend’.”
  8125.  
  8126. >Sarcasm literally drips from those final words
  8127. >Turns out sarcasm is orange.
  8128.  
  8129. >”Follow me. But don’t touch anything!”
  8130.  
  8131. >He leads you out to the back of the cottage, hissing whenever you draw too close.
  8132. >And on the other end you can see Fluttershy sitting perfectly still in a small clearing.
  8133. >She’s surrounded by small markers in neat little rows.
  8134. >In the middle is a relatively large stone marker.
  8135. >She reaches out and gently places one trembling hoof upon it.
  8136.  
  8137. >”Time to go.”
  8138.  
  8139. >There’s an air of disgust in his command
  8140. >You take one last quick glance at Fluttershy.
  8141. >Her mane and coat clearly haven’t been cared for.
  8142. >You’re pretty sure she hasn’t been eating enough.
  8143. >And then you start to walk away.
  8144. >Discord escorts you out.
  8145.  
  8146. “What happened?”
  8147.  
  8148. >”Ponies aren’t the only ones who need magic to live. I’m sure you remember all the magic disappearing a few years back. A lot of her animals didn’t handle it too well. It’s nothing unusual, they die all the time. But normally they go off in the woods to die alone. She can delude herself into thinking they just moved out. But that’s not so easy when there are corpses lying around.”
  8149.  
  8150. >So many markers.
  8151. >At least a hundred of them all at once.
  8152.  
  8153. “And the big one?”
  8154.  
  8155. >”I never understood why she liked Angel. That rabbit was a menace.”
  8156.  
  8157. >Was.
  8158.  
  8159. “And I haven’t been there for her at all. I’m a terrible friend.”
  8160.  
  8161. >”Finally, something we can agree on.”
  8162.  
  8163. >His words sting.
  8164. >But they also ring true.
  8165.  
  8166. “I should go talk to her.”
  8167.  
  8168. >”Stay away, Twilight. You’ll just make things worse as you are.”
  8169.  
  8170. >He’s right.
  8171. >You HATE to admit it, but Discord is right.
  8172. >You just hurt the ponies close to you.
  8173. >Fluttershy doesn’t need that right now.
  8174.  
  8175. “Please take good care of her. She doesn’t deserve to suffer like this.”
  8176.  
  8177. >You move to leave.
  8178. >There’s nothing more you can do here.
  8179. >Up next is Rainbow Dash.
  8180. >But you’ve no idea where she is now.
  8181.  
  8182. “Discord?”
  8183.  
  8184. >You turn to him.
  8185. >He’s standing exactly where he was a moment ago.
  8186. >Watching.
  8187. >Making sure you’re leaving
  8188.  
  8189. “Do you know where I can find Dash?”
  8190.  
  8191. >”Of course. Unlike you she’s been keeping in touch. You’ll either find her in The Institute or Canterlot palace.”
  8192.  
  8193. “The Institute?”
  8194.  
  8195. >”Lower Cloudsdale.”
  8196.  
  8197. “LOWER Cloudsdale?”
  8198.  
  8199. >He starts walking towards you.
  8200. >His heavy steps and scowl tell you you’ve overstayed your welcome.
  8201. >You run off as the magic coming from him grows progressively less gentle and kind.
  8202. >But you can’t help but wonder.
  8203. >Has his magic become kinder?
  8204. >Or are you just used to a crueler blend?
  8205. >Are you just used to your own?
  8206. >You don’t know.
  8207. >You really need somepony to talk to.
  8208. >And the only one that’s left is Rainbow Dash.
  8209. >It’s probably not okay to leave unannounced.
  8210. >But things won’t fall apart from just a short trip.
  8211. >But first you need a disguise.
  8212. >You sit beneath a tree and close your eyes.
  8213. >Then you stop thinking.
  8214. >You focus on nothingness, just like Princess Celestia taught you.
  8215. >You purge your mind of thoughts, feeling, emotions.
  8216. >Eventually there’s nothing.
  8217. >Not even you.
  8218. >You carefully craft a spell, gently coaxing the magic into form.
  8219. >The entire universe is your magic taking shape.
  8220. >It starts to fray, you move and bend the spell.
  8221. >Several minutes pass before all the magic suddenly slips away.
  8222. >You did it.
  8223. >It’s not the most powerful spell, but you’re proud of it.
  8224. >If you were well it would be nothing special.
  8225. >But you’re just happy to cast anything these days.
  8226. >A low level illusion to make you look like the least interesting pegasus possible.
  8227. >No distinctive features, a generic cutie mark, dull colours.
  8228. >Nopony should pay attention to you now.
  8229. >And so you take wing and head to Cloudsdale.
  8230. >Your journey takes the better part of the day as you move at a leisurely pace.
  8231. >Ponies are probably freaking out back at the palace.
  8232. >You don’t care.
  8233. >You NEED to see Rainbow Dash.
  8234. >As you draw close you see something very peculiar.
  8235. >Houses, thousands of them.
  8236. >Not made of cloud though, sturdy brick and mortar shelters cover the ground below the flying city.
  8237. >At the center of it all sits an imposing structure made of concrete.
  8238. >It stands three stories tall with no windows.
  8239. >A quick survey shows that the entrances are heavily guarded with numerous armed ponies blocking access to all save a select few.
  8240. >And among that select few is none other than Rainbow Dash!
  8241. >You swoop down to the doorway-
  8242.  
  8243. >”On the ground, missy!”
  8244.  
  8245. >The four guards standing at the doorway turn to face you.
  8246. >They each hold a short crystalline stick.
  8247. >You’re not sure what they are, but the magic radiating from those sticks is extremely imposing.
  8248. >They’re probably dangerous.
  8249. >You quickly obey the order, uneager to find out what they would do.
  8250. >And you start to back away.
  8251.  
  8252. “I’m sorry! I just thought I recognised a pony going in there!”
  8253.  
  8254. >A pegasus sneakily grabs you from behind and pins you to the ground.
  8255. >You start to struggle against them.
  8256. >To your surprise they’re pretty weak!
  8257. >You’re slowly squirming out of the bind.
  8258.  
  8259. >”She’s strong! Hurry up with that dispel!”
  8260.  
  8261. >And just like that soothing chill runs down your spine.
  8262. >Something feels wrong.
  8263. >Empty.
  8264. >Calm.
  8265.  
  8266. >”Oh! Let her go.”
  8267.  
  8268. >They release you and step aside.
  8269. >You look around wondering what happened, why they’re no longer looking to tackle you.
  8270. >The answer makes itself obvious when you look at yourself.
  8271. >Purple.
  8272. >Your disguise is gone!
  8273.  
  8274. >”You’re on the list. The prophet wants to talk to you.”
  8275.  
  8276. >”Sixth commandment! Stop calling him a prophet!”
  8277.  
  8278. >The guards start bickering amongst themselves.
  8279. >You’re strongly tempted to leave.
  8280. >This large, soulless structure looms over you.
  8281. >The guarded entrances and concrete structure are reminiscent of a prison.
  8282. >But Rainbow Dash is in there.
  8283. >You hesitantly walk in.
  8284. >The interior is reminiscent of an office building with a receptionist desk.
  8285. >Long corridors jut out in each direction, illuminated by harsh un-natural light.
  8286. >Rainbow Dash stands at the front desk arguing with the receptionist.
  8287.  
  8288. >”I don’t CARE if he’s busy. You’re not getting this thing, I’m only giving it to Spike!”
  8289.  
  8290. >Spike!
  8291. >Spike’s here?
  8292.  
  8293. >”What’s on that thing that’s so important anyway?”
  8294.  
  8295.  
  8296. >”G- I don’t know! Celestia said it was important! Besides, I wouldn’t tell you even if I DID know!”
  8297.  
  8298. >”I’m sorry, I can’t let you through without an appointment.”
  8299.  
  8300. >Rainbow Dash walks away.
  8301. >But she doesn’t move to leave.
  8302. >She just walks down one of the corridors.
  8303.  
  8304. >”Go ahead and stop me.”
  8305.  
  8306. >You run up after her excitedly
  8307.  
  8308. “Rainbow Dash! It’s been too long, how have you been?”
  8309.  
  8310. >She makes a rude gesture and keeps moving.
  8311. >That doesn’t make sense though.
  8312. >She must be confusing your voice for somepony else.
  8313.  
  8314. “It’s me! Twilight! Your friend!”
  8315.  
  8316. >”Last I checked I didn’t have a friend named Twilight.”
  8317.  
  8318. “What are you talking about? We’re the best of friends!”
  8319.  
  8320. >”You don’t get it, do you? I know what you did to Rarity. I know what you did to Applejack. You stabbed them in the back. You’re dirt.”
  8321.  
  8322. >A chill runs through you to your core.
  8323. >Even Rainbow Dash hates you.
  8324. >You sit down on the floor.
  8325. >And you start crying.
  8326. >You abandon all dignity as you openly weep in public.
  8327. >You’ve got nothing left.
  8328. >Every one of your friends!
  8329. >You’re ALL ALONE!
  8330. >Something starts gently scratching you behind your ears.
  8331. >You recoil in shock and fear, but when your eyes open you don’t see a monster.
  8332.  
  8333. “Spike?”
  8334.  
  8335. >He’s a bit taller than you remember.
  8336. >Not by much though.
  8337. >His eyes are half closed.
  8338. >Big dark bags sit beneath them.
  8339. >He looks incredibly tired.
  8340.  
  8341. >”Good to see you, Twilight.”
  8342.  
  8343. >You run up and hug him, not even caring about the metal built into his body.
  8344.  
  8345. “Oh Spike! I haven’t seen you since...”
  8346.  
  8347. >Since he crawled into your home broken and bloodied.
  8348. >And you swung an axe at him.
  8349.  
  8350. >”It’s okay, Twi. It wouldn’t have hurt me anyway. I’m a dragon. Why does everypony keep forgetting that?”
  8351.  
  8352. “But-”
  8353.  
  8354. >”Shh. It’s okay. Come, let’s get out of this hall.”
  8355.  
  8356. >He leads you down the hallway for a bit.
  8357. >Then you take a turn left.
  8358. >He pushes through the double doors to reveal a cozy, warmly lit room.
  8359. >This one is completely different from the rest of the building.
  8360. >The concrete floors have been covered with a velvet red carpet.
  8361. >You’re sure it’s not actually velvet, but it is quite pleasant looking.
  8362. >Hanging from the walls are a few paintings, mostly scenery.
  8363. >A few oak chairs sit in the corner, facing the center.
  8364. >Where you see a heavy desk littered in papers.
  8365. >And behind that desk you see why this room in particular is decorated.
  8366.  
  8367. “Rarity!”
  8368.  
  8369. >The first thing you notice is the device clipped to her ear
  8370. >It holds a small glowing display just before her right eye.
  8371. >You can’t make out what’s on it though.
  8372. >Next you notice something she’s likely quite upset about.
  8373. >The last few years have been hard on her.
  8374. >You can see some greying in her mane already.
  8375. >For somepony so young and so vain, it must have been quite a shock when the first silver hair came out.
  8376. >She glares at you from behind her desk, smothered with neatly ordered stacks of papers.
  8377. >And hurls a stapler at your head.
  8378. >Spike’s arm moves with unnatural speed.
  8379. >A shot rings out.
  8380. >And the stapler flies away harmlessly.
  8381.  
  8382. >”Here, come into my office.”
  8383.  
  8384. >Spike walks to the back of the room and opens a door acting as though nothing had happened.
  8385. >Rarity tried to hurt you.
  8386. >You are going to BREAK H-
  8387. >No.
  8388. >No, that’s not right.
  8389. >You follow Spike into his chamber.
  8390. >Just before closing the door you turn to face your former friend.
  8391.  
  8392. “I know it’s not worth much, but I’m sorry.”
  8393.  
  8394. >She ignores you.
  8395. >You turn around.
  8396. >Spike’s office is a cramped room full to the brim of huge cabinets.
  8397. >Blinking lights adorn them, though you’re not sure what they signify.
  8398. >A small desk chair is positioned just before a small glowing display.
  8399. >Upon it is a diagram of a teleportation rune, though it seems to have been tweaked slightly.
  8400. >You’re not sure what the changes signify. As far as you can tell, it shouldn’t work when cast that way.
  8401. >By the doorway is a pristine couch that seems to see almost no use.
  8402. >You sit upon it, and notice that directly opposite you is a sign.
  8403. >The number 37 is written upon it in large red letters.
  8404.  
  8405. “What does that mean?”
  8406.  
  8407. >”Commandment 37. Get out of my office. It’s tiresome having so many ponies look to you for guidance, but it can be useful. Even so I wish they’d stop it. I’m no prophet. Though I suppose you probably know how annoying that all can be.”
  8408.  
  8409. >You do.
  8410. >Not a day goes by where you don’t wish you were just a normal pony again.
  8411. >Spike takes a seat beside you.
  8412.  
  8413. >”Are you hungry? Do you want anything to drink? I wouldn’t trust Rarity to bring it, but there are other ponies who could fetch you something.”
  8414.  
  8415. “Why? Why are you being so nice to me? After how awful I was to you?”
  8416.  
  8417. >”If you can forgive me for destroying half of Ponyville on a greed fuelled rampage, I can forgive you for a little dark magic abuse from time to time.”
  8418.  
  8419. >Apples and oranges.
  8420. >This isn’t just a temper tantrum that grew out of control.
  8421. >You declared war on Canterlot.
  8422. >Not that you’ve been very successful on that front.
  8423.  
  8424. >”We don’t know much about dark magic. Luna wants me to study it more, but it’s pretty hard to do that ethically. What we do know, though, is that it changes a pony’s appearance. You look like yourself, Twilight. My eye doesn’t lie.”
  8425.  
  8426. >You don’t feel like yourself.
  8427.  
  8428. “But I tried to hurt you!”
  8429.  
  8430. >Kill.
  8431. >You tried to kill him.
  8432.  
  8433. >”You’re family, Twilight. I forgive you. End of discussion.”
  8434.  
  8435. “But I’ve ruined lives!”
  8436.  
  8437. >He reaches up and starts scratching you behind the ears again.
  8438. >You can’t help but lean into it.
  8439. >Just enjoying the sensation.
  8440. >Letting your cares slip away.
  8441. >Eventually he stops.
  8442. >You can’t help but feel disappointed, but you don’t object.
  8443. >The two of you sit in silence for some time.
  8444. >It feels…
  8445. >Comfortable.
  8446. >Just two beings who don’t hate each other spending some time together.
  8447. >It’s a feeling you’d almost forgotten.
  8448. >You eventually decide he isn’t going to break the silence, so you have to speak first.
  8449.  
  8450. “What are those things with the blinky lights?”
  8451.  
  8452. >”We’re calling them computers. Machines powered by lightning that do math.”
  8453.  
  8454. >Number machines.
  8455. >Like the ape used.
  8456.  
  8457. >”Celestia made them. They’re pretty terrible by some standards, but they get the job done. For the most part.”
  8458.  
  8459. “But Princess Celestia is dead!”
  8460.  
  8461. >”No she isn’t.”
  8462.  
  8463. >He says it so casually.
  8464. >As though there’s no room for debate, or even question.
  8465. >In Spike’s eyes, Princess Celestia is alive.
  8466. >And that’s that.
  8467. >You aren’t so sure.
  8468.  
  8469. “How do they work?”
  8470.  
  8471. >”I don’t have a clue. You’d have to ask Celestia. I gave up on all that stuff years ago.”
  8472.  
  8473. >So he doesn’t know how they work.
  8474. >And he’s not trying to understand them.
  8475. >But a question remains.
  8476.  
  8477. “What are you using them for?”
  8478.  
  8479. >”Magic. I want to know everything there is to know about magic. I want to study it, to strip away all superstition and mysticism until nothing remains but pure facts.”
  8480.  
  8481. >Liquid pride incoming.
  8482.  
  8483. >”I tried to learn all the visitor’s sciences, but I’m not smart enough. Nowhere near smart enough. So I gave up, passed that job off to Celestia and Luna.”
  8484.  
  8485. >He spits Luna’s name out as though it tasted foul.
  8486.  
  8487. >”I think we’re also helping to fund them but I’m not sure. Rarity handles all the money.”
  8488.  
  8489. “Wait a second. You’re sending money to Canterlot? I thought you were at war.”
  8490.  
  8491. >He lets out a hearty chuckle.
  8492. >Looks like you were mistaken.
  8493.  
  8494. >”Naa. Most of the ponies here are disillusioned in the princesses and won’t follow them, that’s all. I’ve got no interest in running a kingdom, so I let them make all the decisions for me. We’re a puppet state, and that’s okay by me. We’re going to repatriate as soon as they can convince everypony they’re competent.”
  8495.  
  8496. >You were sure they were fighting with each other.
  8497. >Who told you that?
  8498. >What else are you wrong about?
  8499.  
  8500. >”She misses you, you know. Celestia. You should visit her.”
  8501.  
  8502. “So, tell me about your magic research!”
  8503.  
  8504. >You’re not ready to face that… THING that calls itself Celestia just yet.
  8505.  
  8506. >”Well, when I gave up on the other stuff I had to find something worth doing. I know quite a bit about magic thanks to helping you for all those years. And also, it’s a big unknown, something that nobody has figured out just yet. Somebody has to study it, and I’m one of the most qualified. And in some days it gets easier every day. One of the problems ponies have always had with magic is that the ponies themselves interferes with the experiment. The pony’s magic will always leak into the experiment, at least a little. I suppose I don’t need to tell you that either.”
  8507.  
  8508. >He doesn’t.
  8509. >It’s a problem you’ve dealt with many times before.
  8510.  
  8511. >”But what if no ponies were involved in the experiment at all? We’re not quite there yet, but we can control them remotely, thanks to Celestia for the most part. I think Pinkie pitched in, but I’m not really sure. Follow me.”
  8512.  
  8513. >He hops up and leads you out of his office.
  8514. >Rarity throws something at you again.
  8515. >Spike shoots it again.
  8516. >He leads you out into the hall and shows you to one of the rooms.
  8517. >A large window reveals what’s inside.
  8518. >Upon a table is a magic crystal being slowly pushed by a metal rod towards a heap of arcane dust.
  8519.  
  8520. >”We’re testing the magical conductivity of various materials. That machine will stop moving the instant the crystal discharges. It’s much more precise and patient than any pony could ever be. And more importantly, the only magic in that room is coming from that crystal.”
  8521.  
  8522. >A controlled experiment with limited variables!
  8523. >It’s everything you’ve ever dreamed of!
  8524.  
  8525. >”Please don’t go in. And no spells either.”
  8526.  
  8527. “Oh, of course! I would hate to ruin the experiment. What have you found?”
  8528.  
  8529. >”Lots of stuff. We’ve collected immense amounts of data, and we learn more every day. We’ve even managed to make machines that can cast spells. But so far we’re only copying what unicorns do. The goal is a theory of magic; some understanding of how all magic works and what it is. So far we’ve got no ideas. We could always use another gifted mind, you know.”
  8530.  
  8531. >Did you just get a job offer from your assistant?
  8532. >You’re too busy for that just now.
  8533. >But it is a tempting offer.
  8534. >Doing what you love with all these assets at your disposal.
  8535. >Maybe some day...
  8536.  
  8537. ”What’s the end goal?”
  8538.  
  8539. >”Nothing less than a total mastery of magic. But we’ve got a few milestones along the way. First was to ensure the safety of our world, but that seems to have been handled for us. We’ve more or less stopped testing combat spells now.”
  8540.  
  8541. >Safety?
  8542. >Combat spells?
  8543.  
  8544. >”But we still want to figure out how to prevent teleportation so no more threats come our way. It’s not an easy task. We have absolutely no idea how teleportation actually works. Other than that there is one big thing we want to do. Alicorns.”
  8545.  
  8546. “Pardon?”
  8547.  
  8548. >”We want to figure out how to turn a pony into an alicorn. Celestia and Luna are uncomfortable with the idea of everypony having that much magic in their hooves, and I suppose I should be too. But the ends justify the means. Alicorns don’t age, and they are very hard to kill. Ponies don’t live long enough for my liking. Nothing does, really, but with the ponies at least I think I might be able to do something about it.”
  8549.  
  8550. “That really doesn’t sound like a good idea, Spike. That many alicorns would be total chaos!”
  8551.  
  8552. >”You can either celebrate Fluttershy’s thousandth birthday with her as an alicorn, or celebrate it with her as a corpse.”
  8553.  
  8554. >That chilled you to your core.
  8555. >It’s something you’ve always tried to avoid thinking about.
  8556. >But denial doesn’t make it any less true.
  8557.  
  8558. “Do you think you can do it?’
  8559.  
  8560. >”I have no idea. There are way too many questions left to answer.”
  8561.  
  8562. >Silence sets in.
  8563. >Again, not an awkward or uncomfortable silence.
  8564. >It’s the silence of two friends who aren’t sure what say.
  8565. >Spike is the one who finally breaks it.
  8566.  
  8567. >”I should get to work on the data Celestia sent me. Hopefully she tracked down the source of the error we’ve been getting over in the levitation labs. You should go see her.”
  8568.  
  8569. “I dunno, Spike. It’s-”
  8570.  
  8571. >”She’s the same pony I remember from when we lived at the palace, Twi. I’ve looked at her schematics. She’s inside that shell, even if it doesn’t look like it. And she wants to see you. Her guards are under orders that you not be harmed.”
  8572.  
  8573. “I’ll have to think about it.”
  8574.  
  8575. >”I understand. The trains here work, unlike in Ponyville. You can take them when you feel ready. And Twi? I missed you.”
  8576.  
  8577. >He hugs your leg before walking off.
  8578. >You missed him too.
  8579.  
  8580. Later.
  8581.  
  8582. >You’re walking through the streets of Canterlot towards the palace.
  8583. >With what seems like an entire platoon of guards boxing you in and controlling your every move.
  8584. >It’s not a comfortable feeling, even though none of them have pointed their blades at you yet.
  8585. >You’ve been doing what you can to distract yourself from the feeling of helplessness that grips at you.
  8586. >That involves examining the city as closely as time will allow.
  8587. >Massive settlements have been built around the base of the mountain, and they all have a distinct metallic shine to them.
  8588. >When asked, the guards told you what seemed impossible.
  8589. >The ape recreated every city he’d demolished with perfect replicas.
  8590. >Perfect except that they’re made of metal.
  8591. >You weren’t expecting him to do something like that.
  8592. >But apparently he’d made a promise.
  8593. >The fact that he kept his word has you somewhat on edge.
  8594. >You’re not sure what he’s plotting.
  8595. >If he were just being malevolent it would be okay.
  8596. >But as it is, he must be building up to something big.
  8597. >You’ll have to keep an eye out.
  8598. >The second thing that caught your eye was the lighting.
  8599. >The sun has not yet set, but even so you can see some lights burning bright.
  8600. >The lamps don’t seem to have candles in them, and you can’t find any magical lighting.
  8601. >Canterlot seems to have some new form of illumination.
  8602. >You hadn’t heard anything about this in your intel reports.
  8603. >One more hole in your knowledge.
  8604. >The guards push you through the palace off to a meeting hall.
  8605. >They take extra care to ensure you don’t go down certain corridors; you can’t help but wonder what’s so special about them.
  8606. >Finally you arrive at your destination.
  8607. >Meeting room ‘C’.
  8608.  
  8609. >”Hold on a second, she’s here.”
  8610.  
  8611. >The words come from behind the heavy door.
  8612. >It sounded like Princess Celestia.
  8613. >Not the machine.
  8614. >The pony.
  8615.  
  8616. >”Everypony except Twilight go away. Your presence will not be required.”
  8617.  
  8618. >The guards dutifully back off, but you can tell they’re not comfortable with the order.
  8619. >They keep their eye on you even as they walk away.
  8620. >You hesitantly open the door, fearful of what you’ll find inside.
  8621. >Heaps of wires and green chips lay scattered about seemingly haphazardly.
  8622. >Blinking boxes line the walls.
  8623. >And in the middle there is a display.
  8624. >It’s showing hideous monster with a wicked, half metal snarl on its face.
  8625. >You may or may not scream in terror.
  8626.  
  8627. >”It’s okay, my most faithful student. He’s 800 light years away.”
  8628.  
  8629. >Metal Celestia sits before the display, right next to Luna.
  8630. >Luna turns to face you. Her horn is still absent, seemingly not having recovered at all.
  8631. >Yours is almost healed, but if anything hers is worse.
  8632. >Luna makes no attempt to contain uproarious laughter when she sees you.
  8633. >Seemingly overcome by hilarity, she collapses on the floor and starts laughing.
  8634. >Celestia picks her sister up with seemingly no effort and carries her out of the room.
  8635. >She comes back alone.
  8636.  
  8637. >”That went far better than I’d hoped.”
  8638.  
  8639. “What- what’s THAT thing?”
  8640.  
  8641. >You gesture at the image of the monster on display.
  8642.  
  8643. >”My new friend. Twilight, meet Drop. Drop, Twilight.”
  8644.  
  8645. “Drop?”
  8646.  
  8647. >The twisted visage begins to speak.
  8648.  
  8649. >”My full name’s SQL> DROP TABLE CITIZENS;.”
  8650.  
  8651. >”Nothing here is voice activated. Your name is powerless.”
  8652.  
  8653. >”You’re no fun.”
  8654.  
  8655. >An ape who’s half machine.
  8656. >Such a hideous creature.
  8657.  
  8658. “You’re FRIENDS with this thing?”
  8659.  
  8660. >”Of course! We’ve so much in common.”
  8661.  
  8662. “What would ‘Princess Celestia’ have in common with that monster? If that’s who you even are.”
  8663.  
  8664. >”Well, we’re both quite old for one.”
  8665.  
  8666. >The monster doesn’t look that old...
  8667.  
  8668. >”Extremely old in my case. There are precious few out there who can comprehend how that affects you. It really does give you a different outlook on life. Oh! And we’re both leaders despite hating the position.”
  8669.  
  8670. >”I got it worse. All my citizens are ex-cons, and I got several worlds looking to invade.”
  8671.  
  8672. >”Bah, you’re in no danger. You can easily blow them all up.”
  8673.  
  8674. >”A hundred times over. So. You’re Twilight Sparkle. The kid’s not too fond of you. What with the part where you tried to murder him. Granted, there’s very few of you that he does like.”
  8675.  
  8676. >The kid?
  8677. >Is this the ape’s father?
  8678.  
  8679. >”Just Luna, Spike, and Ponka Po.”
  8680.  
  8681. “Who?”
  8682.  
  8683. >”Your language library is doing that thing again.”
  8684.  
  8685. >”Bah. It was enough work making my rig interface with his ancient OS. I’m not gonna fix his libraries too.”
  8686.  
  8687. “How can you two be friends? It doesn’t make sense! You tried to kill his son, he should hate you!”
  8688.  
  8689. >”SHE WHAT!?”
  8690.  
  8691. >Silence fills the room for several seconds.
  8692. >Then they both start laughing.
  8693.  
  8694. >”Hate her? I should be paying her! Last time I saw my boy he was a spoiled little faggot that wanted everything handed to him.”
  8695.  
  8696. >What do sticks have to do with anything?
  8697.  
  8698. >”Now he’s one of the most independent people alive! No, I couldn’t be happier with how things turned out. And I owe it all to this murderous bitch.”
  8699.  
  8700. “You’re crazy!”
  8701.  
  8702. >”And you’re purple.”
  8703.  
  8704. >”Oh, isn’t she though? Could she be any more BCA4E8?”
  8705.  
  8706. >Just what is going on here?
  8707.  
  8708. >”Plus he found his purpose.”
  8709.  
  8710. “Purpose?”
  8711.  
  8712. >”Yes. You see, my most faithful student, when one grows old enough they need to find a reason to live. Something to devote themselves to. Most ponies live their life for pleasure, seeking out sensation and entertainment to fill their hours. But after a few centuries, that lifestyle grows tiresome. They need something else to make living worthwhile. Few live that long, but as an alicorn it is something that you too will face.”
  8713.  
  8714. >”Most people are designed to be specialists, focusing their minds to one task. They know their purpose from birth. The moment they’re no longer needed or they lose their passion for that thing though? Death by boredom. I didn’t want that for my kid. I wanted him to be able to choose his own path. Made him good at almost everything even if it meant he’d never be great at anything. That meant he had to find something he cared about on his own. Turns out he’s a real softie and doesn’t like watching aliens suffer. Personally I think he took that too far. Really should have blown a couple of you away right off the bat just to show he meant business. But there you have it.”
  8715.  
  8716. >”We’re all very grateful for his patience and lenience though. Even if I must admit it is not something we would have offered in kind.”
  8717.  
  8718. >Shining was right.
  8719. >It WAS holding back.
  8720. >You never even stood a chance.
  8721.  
  8722. >”I best get going. You should probably deal with your visitor right now anyway.”
  8723.  
  8724. >”Indeed. I thank you again, Drop.”
  8725.  
  8726. >The display goes blank.
  8727. >A second later it starts showing something much more terrifying.
  8728. >A Titan with thick leathery flesh and massive dripping spines protruding from its body.
  8729. >To make matters worse, it now has distinctive metal parts built in as well, with long barrels jutting out in all directions as though it had turned its own body into a cannon.
  8730. >You start to feel faint.
  8731.  
  8732. >”Calm down, Twilight. It’s just a recording. This happened over a year ago.”
  8733.  
  8734. >A bright green flash covers the display.
  8735. >And then the monster stops moving.
  8736. >A small text readout says ‘kill confirmed’.
  8737.  
  8738. >”I love that video. No matter how many times I see it, it never fails to make me smile. That’s why it’s my screen saver. For thousands of years I’ve dreamt of getting revenge on them. While it’s a shame it wasn’t myself that felled the beast, I’m willing to accept watching from afar. A rather humiliating end for such a monstrous creature, don’t you think? We have Drop to thank for that. He designed the weapon that struck it down.”
  8739.  
  8740. >You can’t believe what you just saw.
  8741. >You simply can’t.
  8742. >How could such a terrifying being be brought down so quickly?
  8743.  
  8744. “How?”
  8745.  
  8746. >”I don’t know. And I doubt they’ll be willing to explain that any time soon.”
  8747.  
  8748. “Is that what you were thanking him for?”
  8749.  
  8750. >”Partially. We’ve struck a deal. They will do what they can to keep ponies alive while we sort out our mortality problem, and in exchange we teach them everything we know about magic, and everything we ever learn about it.”
  8751.  
  8752. >Apes wielding magic.
  8753. >So THAT’S their endgame.
  8754.  
  8755. >”I’m not happy about an indefinite contract, but I think the payout is worthwhile. I don’t wish to negotiate too hard either given how awful we’ve been and how courteous they’ve been.”
  8756.  
  8757. >Courteous?
  8758.  
  8759. >”Regardless. I’m glad to see you, my most faithful student.”
  8760.  
  8761. >You eye her over.
  8762. >She looks exactly the same as the last time you saw her.
  8763. >Save the crushed head and baldness of course.
  8764. >She now has a light pink wig.
  8765. >It doesn’t really suit her; the waving pastel rainbow was much easier on the eyes.
  8766. >You decide to be straightforward and blunt.
  8767. >No sense beating around the bush.
  8768.  
  8769. “Are you really Princess Celestia?”
  8770.  
  8771. >”That’s- hmm. The answer to that isn’t as simple as I’d like. I want to say yes, but I owe you the whole truth. Much of who I was has been lost. Mostly memories. There are huge gaps in my mind, blank spots where there should be precious moments. I seem to have several hormone problems too, resulting in unstable emotions. Our visitor seems to have based my new body on his own. The fact that it works raises several uncomfortable questions… I’ve been told that there was a creature similar to us on their homeworld that was fairly closely related to them. I wonder if the Titans used them as a template? Regardless. It was close, but not perfect. My memories are scrambled, my emotions volatile, and my inhibitions weakened. But beneath all that is the pony you knew as Princess Celestia. I suppose the answer would be that I’m what’s left of her.”
  8772.  
  8773. >That’s not the answer you were expecting.
  8774. >You thought she’d give an emphatic ‘yes’ to try and fool you into trusting her.
  8775. >But that was almost a ‘no’.
  8776. >Spike said it was really Princess Celestia.
  8777. >Luna believes so too.
  8778. >And she’s being honest with you.
  8779. >Maybe, just maybe, you can trust her.
  8780.  
  8781. >”Why did you declare war on the Titans? Surely you knew you couldn’t win.”
  8782.  
  8783. “I was never trying to. I knew Equestria was deeply divided, that it was in danger of turning on itself. I thought that maybe if I gave everypony something else to hate, they wouldn’t hate each other.”
  8784.  
  8785. >She looks at you.
  8786. >And smiles.
  8787. >She then nods approvingly.
  8788.  
  8789. >”Not a bad idea, just shortsighted. I especially like your choice of target. You aren’t wrong, Twilight. Ponies are united by tragedy. By strife. By hardship. Some of the most amazing, beautiful things I’ve seen in my long life have been the products of catastrophe. When they encounter a new pony, they think not of petty differences. They’re too busy being relieved. Relieved that they haven’t met a predator, or a combatant. But it’s always short lived. What happens a century hence when they’ve calmed down? You can’t keep them angry forever, Twilight. They’ll grow weary of it, and Equestria will return to its divided state, no better for the experience. You may have bought some time with that plan but it wasn’t the solution you may have thought.”
  8790.  
  8791. “How can you be so sure?”
  8792.  
  8793. >She leans in close to you and whispers in your ear.
  8794.  
  8795. >”Because I tried the same thing once.”
  8796.  
  8797. >Stepping away, Celestia brushes heaps of unidentifiable gadgets off of a chair for you.
  8798. >You take it, noting that she herself doesn’t sit.
  8799.  
  8800. “Aren’t you going to…”
  8801.  
  8802. >”Ah, no. Not unless you wish me to. These joints never tire. I’ve no need for sitting.”
  8803.  
  8804. >Weird.
  8805. >Some time passes.
  8806. >You keep expecting her to make her move.
  8807. >But she doesn’t.
  8808. >She just stands there and smiles gently at you.
  8809. >Eventually you can’t take it anymore.
  8810.  
  8811. “When does my punishment begin?”
  8812.  
  8813. >She makes the motions of letting out a sigh, but no sound comes.
  8814.  
  8815. >”It’s not coming. Twilight, everything that’s happened has been my fault.”
  8816.  
  8817. >What?
  8818.  
  8819. >”I wasn’t there to help guide you. If anything, I tempted you down that path. I knew the day would come when you made that terrible mistake, Twilight. Such is the nature of eternity. You will eventually make every mistake there is. And so I tried to prepare you. The fact that you sit here before me a mere five years later tells me it worked! And yet? I could have done so much more for you. No, Twilight. I place the blame for your actions at my own hooves.”
  8820.  
  8821. “You can’t possibly-”
  8822.  
  8823. >”You are my protege, Twilight. I can and must take responsibility.”
  8824.  
  8825. “But- but, I started a war! Ponies have died!”
  8826.  
  8827. >”A few. Yes. Not so many as you may think though. We’re starting to run out of places to put our prisoners. Luna has done an exceptional job of deceiving you throughout these years. You’ve issued some pretty stupid orders because of the lies she’s fed you, and she was always there to take advantage of them. Most of the battles you’ve read reports about didn’t even happen. And no, I’ve no qualm telling you this. There’s nothing you could do to stop her.”
  8828.  
  8829. >Luna tricked you?
  8830. >You are going to TEAR her FUCKING THROAT OUT!
  8831.  
  8832. >”Calm down, Twilight. I know the two of you hate each other. I won’t ask you to forgive her for whatever she did to you. I only ask that you keep your rage in check. Close your eyes. Focus on the sensation of the air flowing into your nostrils. Don’t control your breathing, just observe.”
  8833.  
  8834. >You can’t help but follow her instructions.
  8835. >And soon enough you’ve calmed down.
  8836. >You hadn’t even noticed the horrible path you were going down.
  8837. >You just went from zero to murder in a matter of seconds.
  8838. >Discord was right. The taint is still with you.
  8839.  
  8840. “I’m sorry. You must be so ashamed of me.”
  8841.  
  8842. >”Never. Twilight? This isn’t easy for me to say… I hope you can understand the trust I’m placing in you here. And if you repeat these words beyond these walls I WILL deny them. I’ve done terrible things. My past is far worse than yours.”
  8843.  
  8844. >You can’t really imagine Princess Celestia being a bad pony.
  8845. >She must be exaggerating.
  8846.  
  8847. >”I’ve lived a very long time, and I was born to a barbaric world. My past is not clean.”
  8848.  
  8849. “What did you do?”
  8850.  
  8851. >”I survived.”
  8852.  
  8853. >She says that with a tone of finality, as though to imply she’ll say no more.
  8854. >You don’t press her further.
  8855.  
  8856. >”I come from a time before Equestria, before kingdoms, before buildings. A time in which there was nothing but nature, and we lived as part of it rather than apart from it. Some ponies find nature beautiful. But having lived in it? Nature disgusts me. Earlier I told you that we alicorns need to find something to devote our lives to. My purpose is to save ponies from nature.”
  8857.  
  8858. “I’ve never seen nature as being that bad of a thing.”
  8859.  
  8860. >She smirks at you.
  8861. >You’re not sure you’ve ever seen Celestia smirk.
  8862. >It’s a strange look for her.
  8863.  
  8864. >”That’s because you’ve only ever visited it, you’ve never had to live in it. A walk in the woods is one thing. Being a homeless nomad in a snowstorm is another. Your ignorance is proof that I’ve succeeded. Mostly. Because there’s one thing I’ve never been able to escape. One part of the natural world that stays with us ponies no matter what I try.”
  8865.  
  8866. “What’s that?”
  8867.  
  8868. >”Us. We ponies come from that detestable wild, and we brought a little bit of it with us. I’ve taken ponies out of the plains, but I can’t seem to take the plains out of the ponies. Myself included.”
  8869.  
  8870. >Her face, nay, her entire body sags.
  8871.  
  8872. >”I’ve seen too much, Twilight. The details are missing, the faces blurred, thinking about these things they feel more like a dream than a memory. But even as all my happy memories crumbled to dust before my eyes, I could never forget the horror I’ve felt in the past. They still give me nightmares. The apes, I mean. Not every night… but often enough.”
  8873.  
  8874. >She sits despite having said she didn’t need to.
  8875. >Not on a chair, just on the floor.
  8876. >She buries her muzzle in the floor tiles and lies still.
  8877. >She’s no lungs for heavy breathing, nor has she tear ducts.
  8878. >But still she weeps.
  8879. >You jump down from your seat and sit beside her.
  8880. >And start stroking her back with one of your hooves.
  8881. >Before you know it, you’re comforting a walking piece of metal.
  8882. >It doesn’t take her long to compose herself, but still.
  8883. >You saw Princess Celestia break.
  8884. >You didn’t think it was possible.
  8885.  
  8886. >”I’m sorry. Thinking about those days is painful. Even having forgotten so much, I can’t bear to face it. I never forget anymore. Sometimes I wonder if that will prove to be a curse.”
  8887.  
  8888. >You don’t know what to say.
  8889. >You’ve never seen her so…
  8890. >Vulnerable.
  8891.  
  8892. “Those days are behind you.”
  8893.  
  8894. >”Are they? It took me thousands of years to build Equestria up. And it all fell apart the first opportunity.”
  8895.  
  8896. >She’s right.
  8897. >Even before you screwed everything up, ponies were fighting each other in the streets.
  8898. >How far would they have fallen given enough time?
  8899.  
  8900. >”I’ve tried everything I could think of to remove the plains from the pony. Nothing works. Ponies want to be good, and they try so hard. But every so often the past shines through. Who’s to say we won’t return to it some day?”
  8901.  
  8902. >You want to tell her that will never happen.
  8903. >But you don’t know that it won't.
  8904.  
  8905. “A while ago I decided that ponies were just animals, guided by base desires. They might tear everything apart without even thinking about it. I thought myself above them. Now I’m not so sure.”
  8906.  
  8907. >”You were looking at the worst part of us, Twilight. That’s all true. But there’s something that makes us better than the rest. We try to be better. To be more than the Titans intended. I was about to give up hope of ever being free from that brutality. But now…”
  8908.  
  8909. >A small smile starts to form on her face.
  8910. >It still carries a tinge of sadness, but hope is shining through.
  8911.  
  8912. >”What if we weren’t ponies?”
  8913.  
  8914. “You want everypony to be like you?”
  8915.  
  8916. >The very thought is disgusting.
  8917. >The words taste putrid as they pass your tongue.
  8918.  
  8919. >”Of course not! I want them to be better than me, Twilight. This?”
  8920.  
  8921. >She stands and gestures at herself.
  8922.  
  8923. >”This is not good enough for them! My little ponies deserve better. It’s true that I do not miss my old body. It was old and worn out. Weak and fragile. But this is lacking too. I may never again know the joy of flight, nor cast a spell. I yearn for the pleasures of flesh but they will forever elude me. But there IS a middle ground. A blend of metal and flesh that may preserve the best parts of pony life while bringing the strength of the machine. THAT is how I will fulfill my purpose. We’ll start small with replacement limbs for the injured. Move on to replacement organs for the ill. And eventually, MAYBE I’ll be able to give my ponies entire new bodies when they need them.”
  8924.  
  8925. >She walks over to one of the cabinets with the blinking lights.
  8926.  
  8927. >”These are my creation. A crude attempt to replicate some of the machinery that now keeps me alive. My efforts are lacking, all the computers I’ve made combined don’t have even one percent of the power built into my body. The design and programming are bad enough, but manufacturing is an absolute nightmare. I fear it may take centuries before I can make anything good enough. And yet it falls to myself alone, because nopony else seems to understand those machines. They seem… simple? No, intuitive. They seem intuitive to me. Perhaps it’s because I am one, I know not. But nopony else seems able to help me with them. Luna said they were beyond pony comprehension. Perhaps she’s right.”
  8928.  
  8929. >Beyond pony comprehension?
  8930. >There was a time in which you’d have laughed at the idea.
  8931. >With all you’ve seen, though, it doesn’t sound so far fetched.
  8932.  
  8933. “Why don’t you ask your new friend to help you? Do you not trust him?”
  8934.  
  8935. >”Trust is complex, Twilight. I trust that he means us no harm. I do not trust that he has the same ideals as we ponies do. We’ve talked it over, the aliens, Luna, and myself. We’ve agreed that if they were to intervene we’d risk becoming as they are. They became what they thought best. If they were to try and improve us, they’d turn us into themselves. No, if we wish to retain the essence of who we are we must do this alone.”
  8936.  
  8937. >Your fears ease off just a little.
  8938. >You’re not certain the two of you agree on what it means to be a pony.
  8939. >But at least she wants to preserve something.
  8940. >Even if you’re not convinced that those machines could ever truly be equine..
  8941.  
  8942. “How do they work?”
  8943.  
  8944. >”I’ve written a book on just that subject. Three, in fact. I’ll be sure to have copies sent your way. If there’s anypony out there who can wrap their head around this stuff, it’s you. Though I fear that even you will struggle with this. Perhaps Luna is right and we need to fix the mind before we can fix the body.”
  8945.  
  8946. “I’m sorry. Fix the mind?”
  8947.  
  8948. >”Why, yes. It- hmm. Luna knows more about the subject than myself, so it would be best if you spoke with her. But I doubt the two of you wish to spend any time together. She’s begun studying the building blocks of life itself with the hopes of designing a better, smarter pony from the ground up.”
  8949.  
  8950. >You’re DEFINITELY not comfortable with that idea.
  8951.  
  8952. >”She’s very driven. I worry about her; at first her motives were pure. But ever since her moon was scarred she’s devoted herself to revenge. She wishes to becomes powerful enough to hunt the Titans. I don’t think I can blame her. I’ve no clue how I’d react if something were to happen to the sun. But a life devoted to revenge, it’s everything we’ve been trying to escape. That is the nature I despise.”
  8953.  
  8954. >The moon was scarred?
  8955. >You hadn’t heard about that.
  8956.  
  8957. >”She keeps her horn filed down so we needn’t fear that she’ll tread too far down that path. But it’s still not what I’d wish for her.”
  8958.  
  8959. “Hold on a second. Why was she laughing at me?”
  8960.  
  8961. >”Oh. Luna finds your attempts at statecraft amusing. Try not to take it too personally, she’s several millennia more experience than you. I was relieved when she started laughing. As much hate as she holds these days, I was worried it would come to blows.”
  8962.  
  8963. >You can’t help but take it personally.
  8964. >One thing’s certain.
  8965. >Luna’s going to pay.
  8966. >Eventually.
  8967.  
  8968. “So. When are you going to ask me to join up with Canterlot again and help you out?”
  8969.  
  8970. >”You’ll do so when you’re ready. No sooner, no later. I suspect it will be sooner. I know dark magic far too well, Twilight. The cycle is ending so much sooner than I’d dared hope. You’ll be yourself again. Perhaps a bit more jaded and cynical, but you.”
  8971.  
  8972. >You’re not so sure of that.
  8973. >Every now and then you’ll have a thought that would have horrified the old you.
  8974. >And when you notice, they feel so right.
  8975. >How could you ever return to what you once were?
  8976. >Although, Princess Celestia WOULD know.
  8977. >Maybe?
  8978.  
  8979. “And when are you going to try and convince me that we ponies need to change?”
  8980.  
  8981. >Her eyes don’t widen, since she has no eyelids.
  8982. >But even so shock is evident on her face.
  8983.  
  8984. >”I’m sorry. I assumed you already agreed with that. It’s something I’ve believed for so long, perhaps I forgot it was possibly to believe anything else. Follow me.”
  8985.  
  8986. >She leads you out of the room and out to a courtyard.
  8987. >Guards and staff eye you warily as you pass by.
  8988. >Some don’t make any attempt to conceal their loathing.
  8989. >She stops abruptly as you near the exterior of the palace and points at a guard.
  8990.  
  8991. >”Private? Please remain silent for the duration of this discussion.”
  8992.  
  8993. >He salutes.
  8994.  
  8995. >”Alright, Twilight. What would you change about this pony?”
  8996.  
  8997. >You’re confused.
  8998. >Why this pony in particular?
  8999. >And how are you supposed to know?
  9000. >You’ve never even met them!
  9001.  
  9002. “Uhh… alright? Tell me about yourself. Wait, you’re not going to talk. I don’t know anything about this pony! How am I supposed to decide?”
  9003.  
  9004. >”It may be true that you’ve never met this pony. But it’s not true that you know nothing about them. For starters, you know that they’re a pony, and everything that entails.”
  9005.  
  9006. >You look at the Earth pony for some time before coming to a conclusion.
  9007.  
  9008. “Maybe let them fly or cast spells?”
  9009.  
  9010. >”It’s a start. Anything else?”
  9011.  
  9012. “Well, it would be nice if he lived longer.”
  9013.  
  9014. >”Thank you for your time, Private. You’re thinking far too small, Twilight. Let me introduce you to somepony who has some good ideas.”
  9015.  
  9016. >Celestia pushes through the doorway and exits the building.
  9017. >Large noisy machines lay scattered about.
  9018. >Each and every one of them spewing smoke and steam.
  9019. >In the middle of them all you see a familiar face holding a spanner and covered in grease.
  9020.  
  9021. “Pinkie?”
  9022.  
  9023. >Her flat, unwashed mane lags behind as she turns to glare at you.
  9024. >She looks so very tired, and frown lines marr her face.
  9025.  
  9026. >”What would you change about this pony?”
  9027.  
  9028. “I’d give her her smile back.”
  9029.  
  9030. >The scowl melts away from Pinkie’s face.
  9031. >Now it looks like she’s not sure what to feel.
  9032.  
  9033. >”Miss Pie here lives to bring others joy. I hope I didn’t need to tell you that. She’s decided that bringing lightning to the masses will do more good than… how many was it?”
  9034.  
  9035. >”A million billion parties. A good party can only bring a smile to a few ponies at a time, and they won’t last forever. But if I get this working I could help everypony at once forever. I know I’m doing the right thing, but I miss seeing the smiles on their faces…”
  9036.  
  9037. >No parties?
  9038. >This must be torture for Pinkie.
  9039.  
  9040. >”How are you progressing?”
  9041.  
  9042. >”It’s super awful! All this stuff is stinky and icky, and the space monkeys won’t tell me how to make it out of air like they do!”
  9043.  
  9044. >”We’ll have to earn their trust first, miss Pie. Have patience. Now tell me. What would you change about yourself given the chance?”
  9045.  
  9046. >”Super pancreas and mega teeth so I could eat ALL of the candy!”
  9047.  
  9048. >”Thank you. Anything else?
  9049.  
  9050. >”I don’t want to EVER get sick! Never ever!”
  9051.  
  9052. >”A grand idea. Something that everypony could benefit from. Come, Twilight.”
  9053.  
  9054. “Pinkie? I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.”
  9055.  
  9056. >She doesn’t answer you.
  9057. >You follow Celestia back inside.
  9058.  
  9059. >”Sorry to do that to you. I’m sure it was hard on you facing her like that. I wanted to show her that you’ve changed. You’ll regain your friends eventually, Twilight. Just be patient. They WILL forgive you, unless they forget first. And yes, they will forget this too. Time claims all memories sooner or later. And if I have my say you’ll have all the time in the world to make amends.”
  9060.  
  9061. >You want to believe her.
  9062. >You really do.
  9063. >She starts climbing one of the palace towers.
  9064. >You follow.
  9065. >When you reach the top she leans out and looks down on Canterlot.
  9066. >The sun is setting at Cadence’s command.
  9067.  
  9068. “Cadence! I need to see her and Shiney!”
  9069.  
  9070. >”The Crystal Empire has completely isolated itself. None may enter for any reason. We’re working on it, but progress is slow. You may try and visit, Twilight, but I doubt you’ll be granted entrance. Assuming you can even get past the Crystal Heart’s shield at the moment.”
  9071.  
  9072. “But… But I’m an auntie!”
  9073.  
  9074. >”We’ll tell you everything we know about the foal as soon as we can.”
  9075.  
  9076. >You weren’t there.
  9077. >You became an aunt and you missed it.
  9078. >With a heavy heart, you join Celestia is looking down on the city.
  9079. >Those strange lights are starting to shine as the darkness falls.
  9080.  
  9081.  
  9082. >”Luna hates those things. Can’t see the stars because of them. We’ll have to figure some compromise out… look down on the city, Twilight. Look at all those ponies. Each with their own story, their own problems, hopes and dreams. They’re fragile, Twilight. So incredibly delicate.”
  9083.  
  9084. “And yet they’ve come so far.”
  9085.  
  9086. >”True. We’ve raised ourselves from a small herd of savages aimlessly walking the plains to stand high at the pinnacle of civilization. And now what? Do we rest idly atop our throne, perched upon an ever destabilizing house of cards? Do we content ourselves with being the queens of an inconsequential speck of dust in an unending void? What we’ve made here may seem great, but it’s just a thin slice of a small corner of the endless expanse. An endless expanse that wants us dead.”
  9087.  
  9088. “Wants us dead? What do you mean?”
  9089.  
  9090. >”This world is dangerous and uncaring. There are very few places where a pony can live both safely and comfortably on their own. We’ve tamed Equestria, but it took generations and countless hours of toil. We can live safely in a small portion of the surface of this world. Below our very hooves there was a Titan. The most pure representation of everything I hate about the universe. Deadly, cold, and uncaring. There are more of them out there, but even they aren’t the whole story. At any moment any number of things could come from the stars and wipe us out. Snuff out the flame of life without so much as batting an eye. Gamma bursts, meteors, black holes, you name it. If we are to go out there we will need to be ready.”
  9091.  
  9092. “Why go anywhere if it’s so dangerous?”
  9093.  
  9094. >She spends a bit of time thinking before she answers.
  9095.  
  9096. >”There comes a time in every foal’s life when they first realise there’s a whole wide world out there. They discover that beyond those doors are millions of other ponies just like them. Each with their own struggles, dreams, desires, each one living another life all to their own. A time when the foal learns that existence doesn’t end at the borders of their cradle. They soon forget, of course, but for a precious moment they stand in awe at the incredible vastness of reality. They finally come to grips with just how very small they are. That’s how I feel now, Twilight. My eyes are finally open to the universe around me. I see the incredible scale of the cosmos, I know the truth of our place in reality. The doors are open and beyond the threshold is a reality far more grand than could have possibly imagined. Equestria is the cradle of ponykind. One mustn’t stay in their cradle forever.”
  9097.  
  9098. >Wow.
  9099. >That’s pretty ambitious.
  9100. >You’re not even sure where to begin for something like that.
  9101.  
  9102. “Do you really think we could reach other worlds?”
  9103.  
  9104. >”Not a chance. But I believe we could become something that could. I don’t know what that will look like. Who knows what we may become? And I won’t lie to you, it could go wrong. Drop has given me hundreds of warning about possible catastrophes. I think they had to learn them firsthoof. We’ve not yet put any thought into how they may be avoided. Some day, soon I hope, we’ll have to find solutions. I hope you’ll be there at my side when the time comes.”
  9105.  
  9106. “I don’t know...”
  9107.  
  9108. >”I know. This is quite a bit to take in at once. You need to consider it from every angle. Perhaps I’m wrong. Maybe you’ll convince me to stop rather than I convincing you to help. You’ve quite a bit of time to consider all I’ve said, though. This is without doubt the most ambitious goal I’ve ever set. I just ask that you think about it, Twilight.”
  9109.  
  9110. >Turning ponies into something else.
  9111. >Something better, she says.
  9112. >Whether it can be done or not doesn’t cross your mind.
  9113. >You’re more concerned with if it should be done.
  9114. >Is it right?
  9115. >Would they still be ponies?
  9116. >Would that matter?
  9117. >You weren’t expecting to face such questions when you came here.
  9118.  
  9119. “What do you want to do after?”
  9120.  
  9121. >”What will I do when I’m better? I haven’t thought of that. Rather, I’m unable to think of that. I don’t know- This is all I’ve ever known, Twilight. A constant struggle against a cruel world. An unending fight against myself. I’ve done the same thing every day for thousands of years, and you’re asking me what I’ll do when it’s over? Celestia is a pony who tries to be more than a pony. That’s been what I do for so long that it’s become who I am. If there was a ‘me’ before then, they’re long gone. Maybe once I’ve succeeded I’ll lose myself; maybe I won’t be anything once I’ve lost my purpose. Or maybe I’ll finally have a chance to find out who Celestia really is. Not princess Celestia, I know her well. Just regular Celestia. I’m looking forward to meeting myself.”
  9122.  
  9123. >The two of you watch as the sun sets on Canterlot, your mind racing as it tackles new ideas.
  9124. >The moment it drops below the horizon, Princess Celestia speaks.
  9125.  
  9126. >”I’m sorry, but I must go. It’s time for me to face my punishment. Every night after the sun sets I’m made to humiliate myself in public. Usually marching down Mane street saying embarrassing things.”
  9127.  
  9128. “Why? Who’s doing this to you?”
  9129.  
  9130. >”The alien wanted justice, but there was nothing I could offer that he wanted. So he’s taken my pride. It’s a bitter pill to swallow for one such as myself. You’re welcome to stay if you wish, your old room has been preserved. Should you leave, you may return whenever you wish. In exchange I ask one thing of you. Once you’ve decided, tell me what you want to be.”
  9131.  
  9132. >And then she starts going downstairs.
  9133. >You spend the night watching the brightly lit city, turning her question over in your head.
  9134.  
  9135. Later…
  9136.  
  9137. >It’s been nearly a month since you visited Canterlot.
  9138. >Celestia’s words still keep you up at night.
  9139. >She didn’t ask you if you were siding with her.
  9140. >Indeed, you suspect her words were very carefully chosen, as they always are.
  9141. >She asked you what you want to be.
  9142. >Not what you wanted to change about yourself, nor what you wanted to change about the world around you.
  9143. >She asked what YOU want to be.
  9144. >That one question has consumed your every waking hour.
  9145. >You’ve given up on managing your kingdom.
  9146. >It’s not like you were ever really in charge anyway.
  9147. >Luna is firmly in control, even if you sit upon the throne.
  9148. >It doesn’t matter, you’re far more interested in Celestia’s question.
  9149. >What do you want to be?
  9150. >Do you want to be you?
  9151. >Would you rather be somepony else?
  9152. >Or would you rather be something totally different?
  9153. >It’s not an easy question to answer.
  9154. >There are far too many choices to consider.
  9155. >You’re not even sure how to approach this problem.
  9156. >But one thing is certain.
  9157. >You’re not happy with who you are.
  9158. >Whether or not you should change as radically as the alicorn sisters want is another question entirely, one you’ve not even begun to consider..
  9159. >What you should change is unclear.
  9160. >If you should change at all is unclear.
  9161. >But you know one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt.
  9162. >You are not perfect.
  9163. >You could be better.
  9164. >You want to be the kind of pony who isn’t tempted by dark magic.
  9165. >The kind of pony who doesn’t alienate all her friends.
  9166. >The kind of pony who doesn’t brutally attack their number one assistant.
  9167. >There’s so much more to consider.
  9168. >So many possibilities that you need to think about.
  9169. >But you know for sure that you want those changes.
  9170. >So you begin to write.
  9171.  
  9172. Dear Princess Celestia…
  9173.  
  9174.  
  9175. The End.

Steel Sanctuary Part 1

by Writefag_Is_Kill

Steel Sanctuary Part 2

by Writefag_Is_Kill

Steel Sanctuary Part 3

by Writefag_Is_Kill

Red Shift Part 1

by Writefag_Is_Kill

Red Shift Part 2

by Writefag_Is_Kill