The Infinum Chronicles

The

I N F I N U M  C H R O N I C L E S

05: C o n d e n s a t i o n

As Spike and Exon reached the outside of Ponyville, the sun was beginning to become a significant aspect of the morning sky. Exon raised an eyebrow at this and feared they wouldn’t have enough time to get back to Twilight’s library before she would stir.

“Ok Spike, we need to accelerate a little faster than I thought, because it looks like morning is coming quicker than I presumed possible.”

“Uh… Sure thing.” Spike said rolling his eyes.

But in less than a few moments, Exon began to move slower and slower. It also felt like Spike was suddenly carrying most of the load.

“Um… Exon. Are you all right?”

“What? Oh, no, I’m fine! See?” Exon began to lift most of the device up in the air, giving Spike a overly excited look.

“Ok… If you say so.” Spike was kind of creeped out at how Exon was acting. Suddenly Exon dropped the device and collapsed to the ground. Spike nearly screamed when the device hit the ground, fearing it would somehow detonate. A pulse of foreign energy shot from the device, knocking Spike over. When Spike got back up, he saw the wave sweep silently over Equestria.

Exon mumbled as Spike was standing over him. “What is wrong with you!? Snap out of it!”

Exon breathed and softly said, “ I’m weak, that’s what’s wrong with me. I can’t just keep on living off of salads and greens like all of you can… I need protein to sustain myself.”

Spike raised an eyebrow at Exon. “Um… In english please?”

Spike got the same look right back at him. “What do you mean ‘In english please?’ I am speaking in-”

“For christ’s sake Exon! Look, I know you come from a place VERY different from ponyville, but please try to put things so that I’ll understand what you're talking about…” Spike gave Exon a smile, signifying that he wasn’t actually mad at him.

Exon took a breath and said, “I’m basically about to pass out from mild starvation, although it’s becoming worse by the second…” Exon’s body relaxed on the lush spring grass and began to curl into a ball. “As I was saying, I can’t live off of herbs and vegetables for the rest of my life like most of you can… as a micron, I am also heavily dependent on protein.”

“Is that why you almost look like you could kill anything?” Asked Spike, who was looking at the menacing talons on Exon’s fingers.

“Sadly enough… that’s exactly what we were designed for…” Exon’s claws slowly retracted from the sound of his own voice. He looked up at his friend with a small burst of energy and said, “But I completely testify that I would never harm any of you…” Exon closed his eyes and tried to lick the moisture off of the grass.

Exon suddenly looked up at Spike almost as if he had been surprised. “Wait! Wait… Is there a freshwater stream around here?”

Spike just looked at him for a moment before saying, “Uh… actually, yes there is! It’s right over-” Before Spike could finish his sentence, Exon bolted up with surprising speed. He picked up Spike and the device before throwing them onto his back. Exon’s run developed into a full sprint as they were nearing Ponyville. But just as Exon couldn’t become any faster, he glanced at his wings and smiled. Spike held on as tightly to Exon’s back and the device as his friend began to take off the ground.

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Right as the two of them reached the heart of Ponyville, Exon saw the stream Spike had been talking about and began to dive right into it. Spike had just enough time to jump off before Exon would soak him and the device wet. As Spike barely landed on his feet with the RRS, Exon dove through the water with enough force to stun someone.

“Hey Exon! You ok?” Spike asked when he regained his balance. There was no visible movement or response from the water. “Exon?..” There was still no response from his friend. Just when Spike was about to assume Exon was dead, the micron burst from the water gasping for air. But there was something in his hand that was kind of bloody…

“Exon, first of all, I thought you were on the brink of starvation… and second, why are you holding a fish?” It suddenly became very, very obvious to Spike. “Oh man… Fluttershy would KILL you if she found out about this!”

“I know…” Exon’s chest rose and fell for a moment. “I’ll take whatever punishment is necessary… but I need something real to eat for now. By the way, you might want to turn around for this…”

Spike covered his eyes as Exon’s hands trembled from exhaustion and weakness, trying to rip the fish apart. After a while the noises of tearing chewy flesh stopped, Spike opened his eyes. There was a small pile of guts laid out neatly by the river and saw Exon playing with the skeleton.

“What… is WRONG with you!?!?!” Spike said, snapping Exon out of his mental-zone. He threw the bones aside and looked at Spike with a innocent look.

“What!?! We all need to eat, right? Besides, I have an entirely different biochemistry compared to all of you.”

Spike looked over at the remaining carcass and said, “But you know it’s wrong to just leave something there and pretend like it had no life in the first place…” Exon stared at the ground in defeat.

“True… I’ll clean that up before somepony projectile-vomits. I’m surprised I didn’t even think of it earlier… I’m sorry.”

Spike smiled despite the mild stench of fish on Exon’s breathe. “That’s ok Exon, we all make mistakes. I want you to know that I forgive you, even if that was a little gross.”

Exon laughed and said, “Yeah, sorry about that… but I feel much better now!”

Spike laughed grossed out. “I saw out of the corner of my eye how you ripped off that fish’s head with your beak! That was so sick!” Spike laughed even more, causing Exon to crack up with him.

Exon noticed the ponies were starting to begin their day, and realised how little time he had to get back to Twilight’s house. Exon ran over to the carcass and threw it in the river before anypony could notice. He picked up the RRS and locked eyes with Spike. “We need to get home before you know who wakes up!” Spike nodded and climbed onto his back.

Exon ran towards the library counting on his feet and wings to propel him and Spike as fast as possible. It would only be minutes before the ponies he had made friends with would wake up.

“I could really use some propulsion armor right now…” Exon mumbled.

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By the time Exon and Spike were half way across Ponyville, Exon was about to pass out. He also looked like he might barf. “I really shouldn’t run right after eating raw fish!”

Spike looked at the micron, and his face was beginning to turn a deadly shade of green. “Yeah, you’ll be just fine…”

Exon gave spike an upset “WTF” look, questioning what logic was behind Spike’s statement.

“What!? Just saying…”

When Exon looked back in front of him, he nearly crashed into Pinkie Pie. Her face went from happy to “oh crap” in less than a second. Exon had just enough time to jump clear over her head.

“Sorry Pinkie! Gotta get to Twilight’s house before she wakes up!” Exon yelled as he kept on running. Pinkie Pie’s face turned back to normal as if nothing happened.

“Okie-dokie artichokie!” She said with a large smile on her face. “I’ll see you two later!”

“Exon, there it is!” Spike shouted with excitement. The library was less than a block away and it would only be moments before Twilight woke up. Exon picked up speed as he partially swerved around ponies to reach that door. Spike looked at the ground and saw his friend’s feet were suddenly 3 feet off the ground.

“Exon, you're flying!”

“Oh what!? That’s not supposed to happen!” Exon lowered himself to the ground just as quickly as he flew up.

When the two of them reached the library, Exon was about to pass out. He reached for the door, only to faceplant onto it. Exon sinked down to the ground in defeat. “I give up…”

“Oh, COME ON!!!” Spike yelled it so loud Exon shot up with a bloody beak. “Oh, nevermind… you look pretty messed up, Exon.”

“I thing… I gnow thut… Spigk.”

“Holy… you are pretty banged up! let’s get inside now…”

Spike quietly opened the door and dragged the device inside. Exon quietly stumbled inside as he tried to follow Spike to their room. Exon grabbed his bed sheets and used them as a bandage around his beak. Just as all seemed calm, Spike herd Twilight wake up and stretch her wings from upstairs.

“Oh no! Twilight’s waking up!”

Exon looked at Spike in disbelief before running over to the device. Exon tried to hide it in and on various places around the room. At one point he even tried to hide it on the ceiling between the boards. He decided to kick it underneath the bed just as Twilight began to open the door to their room. Exon and Spike stood completely frozen, waiting for Twilight to make her move. Twilight just stared at Exon’s beak in horror and confusion.

“Sweet Celestia, what happened to you!?”

Exon removed the sheets and tried to speak. “Meh? Oh, I just feln to teh doors… I was…-”

“Sleepwalking!” Spike broke in with enthusiasm.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the two of them, trying to squeeze the truth out of them. “Oh really? I’ve never heard somepony sleepwalk into a door. If that’s the case, then why didn’t you stop him spike?”

“Oh… I was asleep, really! I heard Exon ram himself into the door and I bolted up to see what was going on!”

“Nthen, Spike here's helps me! Dam Beak…” Exon tried to smile, but it was just painful to watch him smile as it was for him.

Twilight began to smile and said, “Oh, you poor thing! Here, let me find some proper bandages for your beak!” Twilight walked out of the room as Spike and Exon’s mouths dropped in awe.

“Did we just pull that off?” Asked Spike.

“I think we just did!” Exon beamed a smile at his accomplice.

“Yeah… Wait, you can talk? Your beak’s not actually damaged?”

“Yes and no… this thing still hurts like a mother. But I can speak perfectly well!”

“I see… Your one interesting creature, Exon. But I like you… your cool!”

Exon gave Spike a warm smile as he stared off into the distance outside their window. “I appreciate that very much, Spike. It means a lot to me… It really does.”

Spike looked at Exon mesmerised. “Hey X, whatcha looking at?”

Exon kept staring out into the distance with peace spread across his face. “At the land. I just want to help these ponies… all of them, even you. You all seem so at peace and happiness, it’s so much better than my home world.”

Spike slightly frowned. “What was that like? If you don’t mind me asking…”

Exon inhaled and sighed. “There was no poverty, there was no hunger, there was no ravaging diseases… but there also was no true happiness. We are a militarized race after all, but we all seeked for something special in life. This world of yours seems to have it as far as I’m concerned.” Exon closed his eyes briefly. “I just wish the galaxy could see me right now, living with the most awesome race in the multiverse.

“How come? You have a piece of technology that can travel between separate multiverses!”

“Because you’ve learned how to love each other in perfect harmony. Microns are extremely intelligent but we think more than we feel. I’ve learned here that emotion lies in all of our hearts, no matter who we are or where we come from, we are all the same that way. We just isolate ourselves from each other from hatred. We can ALL learn to love and accept one another, we just need to cooperate until we can form a solution. Because I think we are all… OMNIPOTENT.”

Spike’s eyes widened in awe. “That’s very generous statement, but how are we all like gods?”

Just as Exon was about to open his beak, Twilight opened the door to their room with a baffled face.

“What in Equestria have you done to the front door!?!?”

Exon beamed a nervously sheepish smile. “Oh, that? Sorry about that… I uh…”

“You sleepwalked… Into the opposite side of the door? How in Celestia is that even possible!?”

“How did you even…” Spike couldn’t finish his sentence before Pinkie Pie jumped into the room, followed in by Fluttershy.

“Because I saw that huge crack on Twilight’s door, Spikey-wikey!”

Exon was so taken back with Pinkie’s statement that he nearly fell over. “How did you even-”

Pinkie Pie jumped in Exon’s face with enthusiasm. “With my Pinkie-senses, silly filly!”

Exon just stood there as if he were taking a dump. “But that’s… no, that was set up! you couldn’t have just…” Pinkie Pie just waved and smiled. Exon almost crossed his eyes and said, “Well, I’ll be mindfucked! I’ve never seen anything like that in my life! Excuse me for my choice of words, but that was amazing! Pinkie Pie is a fricking psychic!”

Twilight smiled and said, “Oh, that’s just Pinkie Pie for you! She’s always been like that!”

Exon regained his mental concentration. “True, but that was still trippy. You can’t deny that!”

“Trippy? What are you talking about, Exon?” Fluttershy asked with curiosity.

Exon froze realizing what he had just said. “Oh, um… nothing really. A reference to hallucinogenics and other shit that could seriously mess you up.”

Everypony just stared at Exon in disbelief. “What? I’m not a halucini-genic!” Pinkie Pie blurted out.

“Is that what ‘trippy’ means? Oh my, I…” Fluttershy said covering her mouth with her hooves around her tail.

“Sounds… pretty weird if you ask me!” Rainbow Dash remarked trying to hide her surprise from Exon.

“Did I curse again?” Exon asked in confusion. Everypony nodded and Exon frowned. “God damnit…”

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Everypony that Exon had made friends with were coming over to the library that afternoon to throw Exon an official “welcome” party. There were even some ponies there that he was just beginning to know, but were just as friendly. Not only did Exon had an amazing time, but he was introduced to some type of electronic music Vinyl Scratch called “Dubstep”. “Who the hell came up with that name?” Questioned Exon when he first heard about it. But when Vinyl encouraged him to listen to it, Exon was overwhelmed with bass and joy. When the party was over, Exon, Spike, and the main six decided to hang out in the room where Exon was staying…

“That party was amazing! And when I mean amazing, I mean spectacular!” Pinkie Pie said with a smile.

“I’d say that was AWESOME!” Exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she held her hooves to her cheeks.

“I just want to thank you all for throwing it for me!” Exon said as everypony smiled at him. “Not that you actually threw it, because that would be impossible…”

Twilight cocked her head before understanding what Exon was talking about. “Oh, Exon… you're so literal sometimes.” Twilight giggled as she lied down on Exon’s bed. Exon went to sit down on the bed with her, but felt their combine weight break a board underneath them. A low hum came to life as Exon got up off the bed, checking to see what had happened. Spike rushed to his side as the thing began to turn on.

“Um… what in tarnation is THAT?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.

Exon cleared his throat and said, “Please, allow me to explain… Me and Spike carried a piece of my equipment here last night, to see if it was still alright.”

Twilight almost looked hurt. “I that what you two were hiding from me? A big, black, rectangular box?”

“Um… yes!” Said Spike with confidence. The ominous hum coming from the device inclined in pitch as Spike and Exon exchanged looks.

“Don’t worry everypony! It’s probably nothing serious…” Exon said as he looked underneath the bed. He almost screamed when he saw it. The whole device was fully powering up and arcing orange electricity from beneath the cozy bed.

“What?” Asked Rainbow Dash with a raised eyebrow.

“HOLY SHIT EVERYONE RUN!!!” Exon screamed as he managed to bolt up from beneath the bed.

Before anyone could move, the device suddenly ignited and pulsated a blinding feild of energy that arched and enwrapped everything it touched. As the ponies screamed in surprise, the device leaked blinding streams of energy that cracked through the room. Just as this energy seemed it was about to consume the entire universe, it collapsed with such force that it created some type of a sonic boom.

As Exon came to his senses, he saw the device had turned itself on, but not the component that you would think. The main screen beamed on and ran some code that looked far from micronic typing. As it finished its calibrations and restarting, the screen glowed black and everything was calm.

Pinkie Pie looked up and said, “What happened? The black box just totally flipped out!”

“You could say that.” Said Exon with curiosity unfolding inside him. What comes next?

An old, familiar voice emanated from the device along with blue words that appeared just as fast as the voice spoke.

“[Hello everypony. Exon.]”

Exon’s face lit up. “Hey! It’s you, my little human! Where have you been this whole time?”

“[Funny. Attached to this device to keep you company. How else could I have gotten here by your side?]”

Rainbowdash nearly fainted. “WHOA! It’s the human you've been talking about! This is so cool!”

“[I’m technically not a human anymore, but I still hold the essence of one if you find that enjoyable.]”

“Very!” Spike was filled with glee. “I’m talking to a real human, my day couldn’t have gotten any cooler!”

Before Exon could ask his companion how he activated himself, Twilight spoke up. “This is amazing! We are talking to a real human! I have to tell the princess as soon as possible!” Twilight said with her spirits high.

“[Let’s not rejoice yet, because I’m afraid I have very bad news for you, Exon…]”

Some Complex readings came up on the main screen of the device. One image that was visible on the screen was another micron, but there was a red flashing outline around him. Exon stared at the readings for a moment or two before shaking his head. “No… that’s the definition of impossible!!! He’s long gone, half way between Trak and the nearest galaxy!”

“Exon, what’s wrong? What does the device say?” Spike asked in concern.

Exon held up a hand to signal he needed a second to calm down. He looked up with worry and said, “I am responsible for something horrific and absolutely disturbing… and I am SO sorry I have brought this on you all.”

Everyone in the room looked at their friend in awe, but Exon was in complete shock. “Exon, what are you talking about?” Twilight asked the micron.

“According to these readings, Something followed me in here...” Everyone in the room went silent, staring at Exon in disbelief.

“Go ahead, Exon. I think we can handle it.” Rainbowdash said with curiosity. Exon took a deep breath and looked at all his pony friends.

“Have you ever heard of artificial intelligence? Something half machine, half living?” The ponies and Spike shook their heads. “Well, back on Trak, we the Micron race were on the cutting edge of artificial intelligence and robotics. Our computers were starting to become smarter and smarter… It worried us to no end that if they became too powerful, they could possibly bring us to our knees. But here’s the catch… We needed something to help us from becoming obliterated by the Grenex empire. They were spotted parsecs from our home planet, and we had to do something to stop them…

“So 20 of our top scientists came together and decided it was time to create an artificial Micron, capable of outsmarting and killing any biological life form. It took years to master and even longer to build... But finally, we had it. The galaxy’s first artificial life form that was stronger, smarter, and faster than anything we’ve ever seen. It’s tendons were made of steel alloy and it’s skeleton was made from a new type of metal that was nearly indestructible. Also, he had genetically engineered flesh that could heal itself on command.

“We decided to officially name it Fariscon. His only weakness was plasma, the hottest shit in the universe, being that nothing could withstand it’s heat and power. I have to admire the princess for raising it everyday, that’s amazing she can pick up that amount of mass with her magic...

“Anyways, when the Grenex empire descended on us, we barely ready. But when we went into battle, Fariscon was activated and released onto the scene, just to test his abilities. I’ll tell you one thing, the aftermath was beyond what you could define as devastating. There were dead grenex bodies everywhere, killed with such hatred and inhumanness. That thing seemed to have such infinite hate and power that if he wasn’t so extremely violent, he could’ve been viewed as a god. I know he was programed to do that, but there was something cold about his stare. When that bastard would look at you, you could have not been anymore isolated and scared. If you ever want REAL fear, lock yourself into a room with him and try to look him in the eye.”

Applejack spoke up and said, “What does this have to do with you, Exon?”

The micron inhaled a deep breathe and almost struggled to find the words. “Fariscon was completely modeled off of me. I was the only one that qualified for a physical copy, only they forgot to add mental stability to his operating system. The worst part is that only I could have a chance at stopping him, being that he thought almost exactly as I did.”

“Wait… what? You brain isn't attached to your how you're born.” Twilight protested.

“I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but genes are physical they make up about 40-50% of how you think…Therefore it would take the original copy to destroy or outsmart him. The problem is that he is an AI, so his brain thinks about 40 times faster than mine. Plus, I failed the first time I tried to stop him, and he almost killed me too.”

Exon showed a spot of healed skin above his heart, but was definitely scared a long time ago. Everyone gasped as they looked at his wound.

“Now do you see why I needed so much help when I first got here? The shards from the device just added to the devastation caused by Fariscon.”

“What happened? If you don’t mind me asking.” Rainbowdash said with concern.

“I’ll tell you, but only if you don’t have too weak of a stomach.” Exon said with a grim face. The ponies and baby dragon nodded, preparing themselves for the worst. “Right as I was about to be completely defeated, Fariscon drove his raw fist through my whole chest… and I was wearing bionic armor! My entire lower body paralyzed, considering that his punch well reached my spinal cord.” Everypony gasped and Spike nearly gagged on his own tongue.

Exon smiled. “Luckily I gave him a bionic shock that fried every metal fiber in his body, otherwise I would’ve been screwed!”

Twilight regained her ability to breath and asked, “What made Fariscon turn on you? Was he just that angry?”

Exon became serious again and said, “Partially, he mostly turned on us because he heard about his deactivation. Deactivation for a computer is the equivalent of death for them, so I could well imagine that would’ve set him off.”

Twilight suddenly realised what they had on their hooves and nearly collapsed. “But… you're saying that HE could be somewhere in EQUESTRIA!?!?!?” Exon nearly shit himself when Twilight said that. He looked at all his pony friends in shock and worry.

“I would say it could be a couple of days before he could get here…” Exon was so down he almost looked suicidal.

Fluttershy looked like she was about to cry. “Please tell me you know how to stop him… I can’t bear to see…” Fluttershy began to break out tears and sobs.

The micron couldn't bear to see his friends cry in fear, it was too hard to see somepony as sweet as Fluttershy cower. But then something snapped in Exon that was vibrant but powerful, his will began to activate full blown. “I know exactly how to stop him! He is going to pay for what he’s done, and he is going to be very dead when we encounter him…” Exon smiled with victory when he said this.

“How come?” Asked Rainbowdash with worry.

“Because… I know his weakness, and think we possess it.”