Chapters “So Exon, tell me about your time being with the pony kind…”
Exon inhaled deeply as he viewed the serene landscape before him, with small waves breaking against the shore in harmony. The sky was untouched by the rays of dawn, yet it was barely lit by the forever coming morning, these factors creating an immense, beautiful landscape. Exon was at peace in it’s greatest perfection, if there ever was such a thing.
The micron exhaled in the lukewarm air, his breath creating a momentary appearance in front of his shadowy figure. It was hard to see him in the early lighting of dawn, but you could still speculate every detail of him despite the lack of light. He looked over with a warm hint of a smile and began to speak.
“The ponies, you mean?”
“Yes… The ponies.”
Exon felt a tear forming in his eye. “The ponies…” He waited for a second to find the words. “They were inspirational, nice, and very welcoming creatures. The only thing that make them normal is that they are still a reflection of human emotion…”
“Of course… just as we were when we were existent.”
“You know we still are existent, from our perspective at least... But those ponies were some of the nicest friends any conscience could ever ask for. If it weren’t for them, I don't know what I would have done in that world.”
“Ultimately you saved them from… that copy of you.”
“He has a name and feelings just as we do.” Exon said calmly but was obviously feeling sorrow.
“Right… Fariscon. He would have slaughtered them all if it weren't for you, Exon. You also didn’t have to save them...”
Exon looked at the ground as he thought, then looked back up. “True… very true. But they're my closest friends, and it was the right thing to do. Plus, it mattered in the larger scheme of things, considering they're part of something much, much larger than we can imagine, as everything else is… Including us.”
“You made a wise and tender decision, not to mention brave decision. I’m proud of you…”
Exon made a single nod of appreciation and sat back in his chair, continuing to look outside at the beach with knowing eyes.
“I heard you became involved in a relationship with one of the ponies?”
Exon calmly looked over and slowly found his words. “Does it bother you?”
“Not at all. In fact I think I find it rather interesting. Rather… harmonious.”
“Thank you, I’m glad you take no offence.” Exon managed a smile with his beak.
“Love is a beautiful thing, and there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a great tool against hatred. But let’s not jump to binarys… I have a question for you, Exon”
“Of course.”
There was a long, almost unsteady pause in the air that lasted for about several seconds. “Exon, would you like to be taken home?”
Exon seemed baffled by the question at first, but slowly found himself looking at the floor. “I suppose so. It’s hard to say when you're detached from your emotions.”
“I understand. Would you also like to set things right after what you’ve done?” Exon looked up for a moment as he nodded.
“Let’s see what you can do… Oh, and one last question before I leave…”
Exon looked up slowly and calmly. “Go ahead…”
There was a pause and lack of speech hanging in the air.
“Do you believe… after all you’ve done and accomplished, and living here for a millennia… that there is a true truth to everything?”
Exon hesitated with a warm hint of a smile. He looked at the sky, which was now becoming brighter and warmer, but it wasn’t morning yet. He looked back and thought about his life, and how amazing it had been. How much power there was to this universe, but we are all to blind to see the truth in it. How many ‘souls’ gazed up at the cosmos and questioned if they had a purpose in life, only the answer was flat in front of them.
“Everything is made-up from our perception, regardless where, who, or what you are. But the closest thing we can come to truth is what’s really out in front of us. It’s as simple as that, but don't be too quick to assume what you believe and see is real. Although reality is just based on how you see the world, which is what isolates us all from one another. But if you look a little deeper, you’ll see that we share a funny thing called emotion, that tampers but shapes our view of things. What really matters is that…” Exon found it hard to speak, despite the flow he felt when he was answering the question. He swallowed and took a breath.
“Everything is infinite, In the sense that impossibility is in of itself impossible.” He finished.
“I cannot tell you how correct you are, Exon. You have triumphed where noone and nothing else has. What I mean by this is that you hold the sense of being truly omnipotent.”
“Thank you, but thats where you’re wrong. Everyone and everything is omnipotent just as they are for who they are. The knowledge I hold is something available to everyone and everything, but they don’t know how to move forward, as I have learn to forget.”
“You speak great wisdom, micron. But you must know that your ability to forget is what holds the other half of you back…”
Exon acknowledged that before he looked at the sky again. “Dawn is coming. I should depart so I can fix things sooner than later.”
“Indeed. You should reconnect with the world you know, the REAL world, Exon.”
“I understand what I must do.”
“Remember, I’ll be right next to you the entire way… you know where I’ll be…”
Exon nodded. “Right. Until again, if there ever was one.”
Exon walked away and headed outside, being able to see the stars cleanly in the sky, despite the sun rising from the horizon. Once he was by the shore, Exon stood still and let the short waves break against his legs. He breathed the clean air of this alternate plane of existence as he stood there.
“Here goes nothing.” He began to tense up and concentrate to his fullest ability. At first this did nothing, but the entire world began to press in towards him. Before he released his energy, he said, “I’m coming, Fluttershy!!!”
A fanfic by Xenon_Fesk42
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The
I N F I N U M C H R O N I C L E S
Exon found himself laying on wet, lush grass when he began to stir from his sleep. He hadn't really been sleeping, but waking from blacking out after his device exploded. It was what ultimately sent him here in the first place. "But where is -this-?" He thought as he began to regain himself from the grasping void of his sub conscience. Just as he began to balance himself on one arm, all of his senses were blinded by a wave of dizziness, and the world began to fall apart. He fell back to the luscious water-soaked grass in attempt to find the strength he once possessed. He was surrounded by a discomforting darkness that lacked silence, for the only thing his senses could muster to decipher was the beauty of the rain-fall. After ten minutes of time slipping by, Exon thought to himself, "Ok, let's try this one more time..."
He tried with all his physical power to push himself up onto his knees, hoping he wouldn't kill himself from exhaustion. But to his astonishment, the world around him didn't blank out on him again. The only negative effect he could feel were the aches in his back and around his nerves. As the pain began to subside, Exon began to look about this new place of his, his new home. Despite all the beauty it held, Exon sensed there was an immense untrainable resevuer of magic in this new, unknown plane of existence. Right there and then a thought crossed his mind like ink in water, "What if I'm not alone in this universe?" But what if he wasn't... The thought was impossible to put aside, as if he was being watched.
As Exon managed his way through the edge of the Everfree Forrest in search for help and aid, he could not help but ponder on the thought of his lack of company. The thought seemed ridiculous, but he was starting to become weary of his surroundings. Almost as if... There was something to fear.
"But that would be ludicrous," Exon said to himself, "We the Micron empire are a race of fearless creatures! Fear is just a silly manifestation of negative emotions." But he feared that that statement was incorrect. As he was starting to reach the edge of this vast and dark forest, he felt as if he WAS being watched. He started to break into a run, now realizing what was chasing him was VERY real. He was just meters from the edge of the Everfree forest, and dared not look behind him at his unknown foe. As Exon looked behind himself, the next 5 seconds of his life were in complete stasis, experiencing time slower than slow-mo. The beast chasing him was the impossible ghost of an undead mare, rotten flesh stripped to the bone, crimson-blood eyes staring right into his soul, was charging right at him.
But just as anything could become more impossible, the undead night-mare's face smashed inward as if it had hit a force field powerful enough to separate good and evil. But before Exon could become confused at what was happening, he tripped over an uneven layer of dirt and grass like a blind idiot. After he regained his senses from hitting the unforgiving ground, he shot up like an arrow to face the horror he had been running from. But no matter how hard he looked, the undead ghost mare had completely vanished, almost if the field of energy had killed it.
Exon started to relax from the hauntingly illogical turn of events, only to find himself glad that the danger was gone. But another thought crossed his mind, "where in god's speed am I?" The thought stripped all peace and tranquility away from him, realizing something else could happen next. "But a better thought would be, what's that distant noise?" It sounded like a bustling town starting to wake before the first rays of dawn, and it being within running distance. But Exon's curiosity, fear, and realization was going through the roof, he feared to turn around only to find the worst case scenario.
Exon slowly, dramatically turned around with his eyes shut tighter than the arteries in his body from tensing at the nightmare from the recesses of that dreaded forest. He opened his eyes upon a beautiful landscape filled with life and harmony, only yet to be warmed by the heat of the planet's sun, with a stirring town in the distance. It reminded Exon of the time he visited a desolate landscape far from his world previously called "Earth". God how beautiful the sunrise was on the tropical coast he laid on that day, dispute the planet being void of life. There were once legends that the planet hosted one of the largest ecosystems known in the cosmos, and that it was once all our home.
But before he could contemplate the vast beauty of this thought, Exon noticed that the sun was starting to rise, triggering endorphins into his thoughts. "Oh the beauty of it all..." He used to think about everything, only to find his thoughts were just the beginning to a larger perspective. It was at that moment that he needed to rendezvous with whatever intelligent creatures manifested this world, so he began to walk. On his way over to Ponyville, Exon wondered if there would be a positive outcome from this situation.
When Exon reached the boarder of the town, he look for any sign of intelligent life in the post-sunrise light that now illuminated the landscape. How lovely the light looked on his fire-orange fur and skin, but he mustn't distract himself from his goal! What did these creatures even look like? Had they taken a far path down the evolutionary road, or are these creatures mundane and boring? And are they intelligent enough to not destroy themselves in the end, just like the mythical human race? "Well, there's only one way to find out..." Exon thought to himself. So he waited for the beings to stir, but kept a distance on a hillside.
He waited for them to wake, hoping these weren't nocturnal creatures therefore missing his chance. No, they were... Walking inside there houses. So they had legs, but it doesn't sound like a two-legged walk. But as he thought that, the creatures began to come out of their houses and structures. Exon's mouth (more of a beak) nearly dropped to the ground in astonishment and disbelief over what he was seeing.
"This planet is occupied by... PONIES??? Ponies are this world's intelligent life?" Murmured Exon in awe. If there was any moment in his life where he felt the most dumbfounded, it would be this moment.
"How on Trek is this possible... No, I'm hallucinating from atmospheric gases, this is ridiculous!"
But he just stared at them to find that they could easily communicate, walk, and act as if it was completely normal for ponies to do so. Exon's left eyeball twitched in bewilderment.
But the shock from this sight suddenly transformed into a roaring, struggling pain throughout his chest, emanating into his back. Exon collapsed to the ground and nearly screeched in pain. Something was terribly wrong with his body, but struggled to get to his knees before he could finish the thought. Under closer examination, the skin and flesh below his left rib-cage was peppered with metal shrapnel, caused by his device exploding in order to send him here. There wasn't the danger of blood loss, but he knew if he waited too long, he would endanger his life.
Fighting to stand up, Exon only managed to stand before falling back down again. "No no no, I can't end like this... The only way to save myself would be to..." Exon didn't have to finish his thought. He now NEEDED the help from these talking ponies, it depended on his life. Besides, he was in no shape or condition to fix his device and leave this place, he knew he needed medical attention now or never. But could the ponies save him, or would it be a blind and useless attempt to save himself?
With every single ounce of his might, Exon dragged himself into a standing position and "struggled" his way over to Ponyville. The thought crossed his mind that what could these creatures do to him, but hopefully not anything that could harm him.
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Twilight sparkle opened her eyes at the first rays of dawn seeping into her room from behind her window curtains. She shuffled out of bed and yawned, and then looked at how soundly spike was sleeping. She rubbed his head and said, "Morning sleepy-head." Her sweet voice caused spike to open his little dragon eyes, murmuring about trying to get some more sleep.
Twilight began to walk into the bathroom and brush her mane, when she remembered the air-shattering explosion that rocked her house in the middle of the night. "What could have it been?" She pondered, "It didn't sound like anything was destroyed, but I should go check it out anyways."
Spike groaned and said, "Morning, Twilight. What are you up to?"
Twilight responded, "I'm going to find out what caused that explosion last night. Somepony could have seriously been injured, and I need to report this to princess Celestia! Just in case it turns from bad to worse, you should probably stay home."
"Well, if you say so." Spike said. "By the way, can I have the rest of the breakfast leftovers? You know I can't resist Fluttershy's cooking!"
"Yes, you can have them..." Twilight rolled her eyes. "Just don't give yourself a stomachache, considering what happened last time you had leftovers." Spike blushed as Twilight shot him a look.
As twilight began to put on her saddle bag, spike tried to rush her out of the house. "Don't worry about anything here!" Spike shout as Twilight began to leave. "Everything is under control!"
"I sure hope so!" Twilight shouted, "And please don't touch any of that cake I saved from pinky's last party!" She left Spike with that thought, trotting into Ponyville to find her friends. Maybe they knew what happened early this morning. The thought was ridiculous, but twilight felt that something was terribly off about this morning.
Nopony knew what was astonishing creature was about to stumble into their peaceful village of Ponyville.
The
I N F I N U M C H R O N I C L E S
03: R e v e r b e r a t i o n
As the six ponies and single Micron began to exit out the gates of the royal palace, Exon couldn't help but notice how much he really stuck out from the ponies. Spotting him amongst the ponies was like spotting a distant moon amongst stars in the night sky, he was literally impossible to miss. As he was following his new pony friends, he also noticed for the first time that he was walking around completely naked. But luckily the ponies didn't really seem to matter, considering how often they wore actual clothes.
Exon was quickly snapped out of his thoughts when they began to enter the actual city of Canterlot. He then heard gasps coming from various ponies within his range. The pony-strangers weren't scared of him anymore, but they were now awestruck by his appearance. He wouldn't frighten their poor little souls anymore, but they were still hesitant for what his next move would be.
“Here we are!” announced Twilight with glee. “Let me get a reservation ready for everypony… and you too, Exon!” Twilight walked into the restaurant. Ah, now Exon could have momentary peace so he could eat his lunch, that being whatever ponies eat.
“Well, it’s about darn time we ponies got here!” Applejack said with hunger. She quickly remembered Exon was with them and added, “... and our friend here Exon! Mighty sorry ‘bout that buddy.”
Exon smiled and calmly said, “It’s completely fine, Applejack. If it makes you feel any better, I have to adjust to the whole scenario too. By the way, does anyone else in this land know of my arrival?”
“Well, of course!” Exclaimed Rainbowdash with excitement. “You're like the first alien to land in Equestria, by now everypony knows you're here!”
“OOO OOO OOO!” Shouted Pinky Pie with a hoof waving in the air in urgency.
“Not now Pinky, can’t your question wait until we at least sit down?” said Rainbow Dash with rolling eyes.
Applejack looked at Pinkie Pie and said, “We all are mighty hungry, Pinky. Maybe we can listen to it when we sit’ on down at our table.”
Right as Applejack said that, Twilight stuck her head out of the restaurant and announced, “Hey girls, our table is ready!”
Exon almost fell backwards as his friends began to enter. “Well that was impressively quick. Back on my home world, it could take months for a reservation to be put into a waiting system!” He followed the six ponies into the restaurant.
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The seven of them were seated and ready to order their lunch, except for one member of their party. Exon looked high and low all around the menu, but no trace of basic protein was in any dish. Then he was hit with the thought, “Wait a minute… these creatures are herbivores! Stupid memory, you damn knew that too. Oh what am I going to do? I haven’t had any food in a couple days or so. Well, hopefully their food will be nutritious enough for an omnivore like myself to eat...”
The pony waiter reached their table with some waters. “Good afternoon, how may I take your order?” he said with a hint of suave in his voice.
As the six ponies decided what they were having, Exon almost backed under the table. But it would have been a failed attempt, for his feathered wings would never fit under there. It was a stupid idea in the first place, considering Exon was approximately under 8 feet tall.
The waiter reached Exon, trying to act as normal as he could in front of him. He asked, “And… er, what could I get you, sir?”
Exon quickly scanned the entire menu into his brain. He thought for a few seconds and said, “I’ll have a… blueberry salad?” It sounded good, but had no Idea what it was.
The waiter scribbled Exon’s order down on his notepad. “Alright, one moment please! Your dishes will be right with you.”
“Now, Pinky… what was that Question of yours?” asked Applejack.
Pinky Pie looked at Applejack with a blank face and said, “...I can’t remember. Maybe some other time.” But right when the rest of the group was about to relax, Pinky’s face sprung in excitement and looked at Exon with large curious eyes.
“Oh, I remember what I was going to ask!” She announced. “Exon, Are you a HUMAN? Like a real real human?!”
At that moment, all ponies eyes within the entire area was trained on Exon with confused anticipation, even some ponies he had never seen before. It almost felt like there were too many expecting eyes tearing at him. Exon’s eyes looked at the whole scene before him, and again appeared horrified from the outside. Everypony suddenly looked concerned for him, almost began to regret pressuring him by accident. But Exon was almost not even paying attention to the crowd of ponies anymore.
Rainbow Dash began to wave a hoof in front of Exon’s face. She asked, “Exon… are you alright?” But Exon’s whole face turned blankly ignited, almost like he was undergoing immense thinking. If you looked closely, you could almost see his memories and thoughts blazing through his eyes.
“No… WAIT,” he began continuing to stare off into the distance. He quickly turned to Pinky Pie yelling, “Did you just say… Humans!!! You know about them too?! How in hell is this possible?!?!”
“Exon, calm down. What’s going on?” Asked Fluttershy in concern.
Exon shot up and yelled at everypony, “HOW DO YOU PONIES KNOW ABOUT HUMANS!?!?”
“They’re just an old myth, Exon. Geez, calm down, would ya?” Replied Rainbow Dash.
Exon stopped screaming at everyone and looked around the dining room. Everypony was looking at him with large eyes and a startled expression. Exon beamed a sheepish smile and said, “Oops… sorry about that everyone, er… I mean everypony.” he sat down with full-blown embarrassment, but every stranger then returned to eating and talking.
Exon looked at his six new pony friends, who couldn't help but stare at him in curiosity. Exon knew he couldn't hide what the ponies were onto now. He sighed and decided it was completely safe to tell these ponies what knowledge he held dearest to him.
“Okay you ponies,” Exon began. “I think it’s time to tell you where I came from and how I got here.” All of the main six leaned in to listen as Exon said this.
“Does this also have to do with humans?” asked twilight with an inquisitive look on her face.
Exon smiled. “Very much so, but you’ll see.” As the waiter passed out their food, Exon began with how this whole journey first began...
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The loudspeaker sounded:
-Six pecarems before boarding unallied ship, prepare for immediate conflict!-
“I hate my life…” Murmured Epsilon all too loud, just so everyone could hear it. He wasn't fragile, but not the best combatant of his species.
“Quit crying, you unintelligent moping infant.” Barked Xylophon, our high ranked military official who would accompany us to the battlefield.
“And I suppose there’s absolutely no reason behind your statement, so feel free to explain your reasoning.” Epsilon responded in aggravation.
Xylophon looked at him with a ‘You're kidding me’ look on his face and replied, “If you actually considered to think about it, complaining about this whole scenario won’t help us.”
Epsilon began to defend himself, “Thanks for the update, captain-”
“Could you two possibly shut the Fuck up?!” Yelled Manafance, our team’s weapon’s expert and party’s scout. He stood up with a twitching eye and said, “ I’m trying to listen to these eon-old radio waves emanating from the milky way... hoping to decode them... and you two tea-ticklers are fighting in the middle of a stellar battlefield?!” He quickly sat back down with a grim expression on his face.
“You all are so childish, it’s almost funny.” Exon broke in as he looked out the window into space. Complete silence began to fill the entire cabin, like the everlasting void just outside their ship.
Xylophon stood up and glared at him with stressed eyes.“And what point are you trying to make, Exon? For all we know, you're the most light-headed member of this ship, always ‘spacing out!’”
Exon nearly screamed with frustration, “We are all fighting at each other for no goddamn reason! We need to calm down, we’ve all had an extremely stressful 9 giga-rotations (Approx. 2.65 Earth months) involved in this pointless war, so why are we blaming ourselves and eachother?”
Everyone in the cabin looked down from despondent embarrassment. The first to acknowledge Exon’s remark was Xylophon, who then stood up with a smirk on his face that was surprisingly warming.
Xylophon stated with a proud voice, “You know what, Exon is right. We shouldn't be fighting over simple lost hours of sleep between ourselves. I think we ALL know who must pay for every problem we and our allies have had for the past 20 years...”
Epsilon became beyond upset murmuring, “The reprehensible clumsy neolithic-minded hateful-*”
“...Grenex ‘empire’...” growled Manafance. “...Those despicable bastards have been killing anything that moves, breathes, and talks for as long as galactic history can remember.”
“But the problem as we all know too well is that they won’t stop.” added Exon with a loss of hope. This “Mission” was going to be a failure, no matter how hard they tried to detonate their enemy’s fleet of ships. Remembering of which, Exon suddenly remembered what cargo they had with them.
“But, there is one entirely new means of weaponry that NO other empire has in the universe.” Exon began excitedly. His comrades began to remember their hope and power as well.
Never tested, the Micron Empire had invented a Reality Rift Simplifier. The device would create two interdimensional portals across all of time and space, but only in the exact same physical and dimensionally-relative spot. Stage 2 of the device would realign the portals into a utter and completely devastating singularity. It was not only a universal revolution, but it was simply elegant, despite the whole thing’s dimensions being 3x4x1 feet. Plus, this technology was surprisingly portable, it being equipped with back-straps. Basically, this device was pure genius ahead of it’s time.
“Wait, there lies only one obvious problem in our way…” Manafance said in a depressed tone.
“And what would that be?” Demanded Xylophon in a desperate voice.
Manafance sighed, and gathered the mental strength and said, “We have to activate it in the middle of our enemy's entire fleet. Yah, I suppose this is… um, EASY?”
“Oh…” Exon blinked in depression. “...That’s right…”
The annoying intercom voice went off for the last time, blaring:
-1 gigarem to deployment, activate your stations as soon as possible!-
“That’s our cue, gentlemen!” Xylophon said as he looked up at the lighted banner on the top of the cabin. Everyone got up from their seats, preparing for the war of a lifetime.
Exon was the last to say something to his group. He spoke up and said, “Guys, If we don’t make it…” They turned to him with sad, defeated eyes. “...See you in the next life, if there is one.” They all nodded and departed to their stations. That was the last time Exon would see any of these allies, ever again.
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The second memory Exon relived was one of his most beautiful memories. It took place right after the accident with the device.
The tide of the sea was breaking along the warm shore, as the cold pre-morning threatened to strip the warmth away from the earth. Exon woke up only to see a blank, cyanish-blue sky above him. He felt the tide of the frigid, purifying water stroke against his lower body. He looked up from his comfortable view of the sky, looking “above” to see green-seafoam colored trees. He knew EXACTLY where he was, the supposed “birth-place” of life as the galaxy knows it.
He wanted to get up and move around, but the combination of the cold water and the warm beach was surprisingly inviting to Exon. After a rather short hour and a half, Exon managed with all his strength to get up. The planet’s gravity was… heavier than normal, or what he was used to back on Trek. As he tried to move past the comfort of the shore, Exon only found an even more beautiful sight grasping at him.
Before him was what used to be a tropical mediterranean, now it’s life filled with green luscious trees on the verge of death. Most likely, it would only be another 100 years or so before these last traces of life died out forever.
The thought that he had died occurred in Exon’s mind, but all of this was way too real to be an afterlife. But how could he know that he wasn't dead? He still experienced the world in his seven senses, those being sight, sound, touch, smell, taste, mental-connection, and relativity.
“But could I really be… dead?” Exon thought to himself, but there was one last concrete piece of evidence left to prove he wasn't dead. Exon turned around only to find a key piece of equipment that could bring him back.
“The Reality Rift Simplifier! I might be saved after all!!!” He shouted with hope as he ran towards the half-buried piece of technology.
“Or you couldn’t be saved…” Said a voice from behind him. Exon stopped dead in his tracks and turned back around. He saw a male human figure, facing the south as the light of dawn began to illuminate his brown hair from the short tree-tops. Exon was in disbelief, he couldn't move or talk. An actual human laid before him, in front of his very own two eyes.
“... As I was saying, you could be stranded here, but you also couldn't be lost forever. Maybe the machine works? Do you have anywhere to go, omnipotent Micron?” He said as he remained in his position.
“Calling it a ‘machine’ is hardly necessary.” was all that Exon could say facing a human with his human back to him.
He responded, “Machine, technology, device… merely the same thing. Just as I am the same as you are. We both walk these worlds undoubtedly, but remain without cause. It’s a strange world, isn't Exon?” He inhaled a deep breath and continued to view the landscape before the two.
“But why are you here? No offence, but you should be dead. No, LONG gone!” Shouted Exon in disbelief.
“True, I should be dead. But from what perspective? Is there even such thing as life and death, or are we trying to make sense of everything as we continue to wander our way along these planes of reality.
Exon could only breathe and blink at the human. He wondered, “Could this be a soul?” No, he was all too solid of a form to be a soul.
“Well, you see I do have to go somewhere. Yes, back to my galaxy, where I’m fighting a war against true evil.” Exon began to turn around, only to hear the human again, keeping him in his place.
The being said, “It keeps me sound that there is no good and evil, simply manifestations of our fragile observation. Your war is one of the extremest misunderstandings, but not on your people’s fault.”
“Well I’m glad you agree,-*”
“No, I disagree that this is a logical, meaningful fight, as all skirmishes are.” said the human as he turned around to face Exon, facing away from the sunlight of dawn. He wasn't a child, but he looked probably 19 or so in earth years. But his presence felt like it was completely timeless.
Exon was going to scream in confusion when the human spoke up again. He said, “Don’t worry, child of the stars, you will understand everything in it’s true form, but in time.” He began to walk towards Exon, who then felt defencive at his approach.
“Stay back, I ask you! Don’t drag me to my passing!” Exon yelled softly, but the human just brushed past him, proving that he was physically real.
“Here, your device’s battery is low. Allow me to fix that for you…” He said, wiping two fingers along the smooth surface of the device. It almost immediately rebooted, despite being half buried in the warm sand and partially covered with water.
His final statement was, “For your own safety, I’ll act as your new AI capacitor for the ride. Have hope and live well, Exon Phosilophate. And when you reach Equestria, tell everypony I said ‘Nice to meet you too.’”
Exon looked back at the rising sun for a moment. “But wait, I…” Exon managed, only to find there was noone there when he spun back around. He was now beyond baffled, realising how quickly everything had happened.
“No, he couldn't have been a soul,” Exon thought out loud. “But he most likely would have been… pure consciousness. No wonder he said he could act as a new AI for the device.”
Exon then looked at the device, finding it once more inviting. He walked over and began to excavate it from the soaked sand. But under closer inspection, Exon saw that it was fully activated and the multiversal coordinates were already inputted into the device. Basically, it was ready to ignite the posimatter beam and re-enter somewhere else, but where? Exon looked at it for a few moments before strapping it onto his back.
“Only one way to find out, right human?” As he looked at his new “companion,” there was no obvious response. “Alrighty then, here goes something.” He activated the device, and began to hum and slightly reverberate with time and space. Next Exon felt a sideways shift of gravity in every direction.
“This is it, we're off to… wait, where?” Exon yelled before all of reality and his senses blanked out from a blinding white explosion. He was gone, transferred to a separate multiverse that was never meant to be touched by his universe’s presence. Exon will be now known as a being of another reality, for the rest of his life.
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By the time Exon finished his story, his pony friends had almost no idea what to make. For the first time in an hour, there was silence amongst everypony. Exon had been talking so long, the train ride to ponyville was almost over. It was almost awkward, but Exon rebroke it for the last time by saying, “Sorry I’ve been talking so long… er, I guess.”
The ponies still stared at him mesmerized by his story, just nodding at him.
“Oh god,” Exon thought. “I hope I didn’t kill them with my talking…” But just when he was about to assume they were braindead, everypony burst out in excitement and wonder. He heard all of them shouting various things, but he only caught random sentences from each of them.
“You did all of that amazing stuff? That’s super duper crazy! ”
“Earth must've been exquisitely divine place of a landscape, how beautiful!”
“That’s so awesome! You saw an actual human with your own eyes!”
“That there sounds like the best journey ever, seeing a human and everything!”
“It all sounds so wonderful! Does that human still live in your machine?”
“What an amazing coincidence that you know about humans! Could they really still exist?”
It was an amazing site to see, ponies from another reality being so open and heartwarming towards a real stranger. Even if his biological makeup was still far apart from his pony friends, Exon really did feel at home in this new, strange land filled with Ponies.
But Exon knew he didn’t belong here, in this new world. His very presence in this reality was putting every reality in jeopardy, no matter what he tried to do. There had been a disruption in the fabrication of every reality’s pool of energy, now all these multiverses energies were merging into each other, creating a leak that could (and WILL) destroy every reality as it is. The fight for existence was on, and time is at the essence.
What Exon didn't know was that there was no fixing this multiversal de-plosion of everything. Exon touching this reality should've been like oil touching water, but… the two merged like the same substance. This loss of multiversal friction was the REAL reason everything was coming to an end.
Forward and backwards in time, there was and will be no stopping this event. In about 18 days, everything you and every other conscience have known would be ending, for good. But there had to be some way for everybody to stop this… but how was the real question.
The
I N F I N U M C H R O N I C L E S
04: E m e r g i n g D a w n
Twilight Sparkle trotted to her house, ready to collapse from a long day showing Exon around the town of Ponyville and introducing him to all of the town members. Twilight looked up at Exon only to find that he was wide awake!
Twilight took a breath and said, "How is that even possible!"
"How is what possible? That I'm here in the first place?" Responded Exon with raised eyebrow.
The two stopped outside Twilight's house. "No! Well, that... But why you don't even show the slightest hint of being exhausted! We've been walking around town nearly all day, and you're not even tired?" Twilight said with a hint of concern.
Exon blinked and looked at her for a few moments with a blank, confused look. "My people are a sleepless race, we only sleep when we are completely deprived of energy, which usually takes three planetary rotations. If I were still back on my home world, it would be about 7:00 pm!"
Twilight just sighed and rolled her eyes before opening the door to her tree-house. As Exon followed Twilight, Spike the dragon ran down the stairs to greet his pony friend and Equestria's new stranger.
"Twilight! Is he here?! What does he look like?" Spike shouted with glee as he reached the bottom of the stairs. When He looked up at Exon from across the room, Spike became silent and awe struck. The two males studied each other for a moment, deciding what to make of their appearances. Twilight broke the silence with a nice tone, afraid that tension could build between the two at any second.
"Spike, this is Exon Phosilophate, our new guest to Ponyville. Exon, this is my assistant and friend, Spike."
"He's... So cool," Spike began. "He has wings and everything! He also looks kind-of like a dragon!" Spike's face lightened with a growing smile.
"It's an honor to meet you too, Spike! I never thought that such a creature like you would exist, but this is amazing! I'm in a world that has talking ponies, talking baby dragons, and magic. I can only imagine what could come next!" Exon said with profound excitement.
"Well, it's best to find out tomorrow. I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted." Twilight said with a gaping yawn.
"That's true, we better get some sleep before it gets any later." Exon admitted.
"Aww... But Twilight, Exon just got here! Can't we stay up a little longer, please?" Spike begged while he grasped Twilight's leg.
"Spike, we have to get up early if we want to attend the town hall celebration tomorrow. Come on, Exon and all of us will have plenty of time to socialize in the morning..." Twilight said while trying to gently shake him off.
"But Twilight, I NEED to learn more about Exon! He could even be part dragon!" Spike insisted with a hint of whining in his voice.
“Sorry Spike, but we all need to get some rest.” Twilight said with rolling eyes.
Spike’s mood lightened and said, “Exon and I could have a sleepover, If it’s ok with you. Can we?”
“Well, I don’t see any harm in it, but only if you promise not to stay up all night.” Twilight said with a warm smile.
Spike jumped up and yelled with glee, "Yes! Gotta sleepover with Exon!"
“What’s… a sleepover? No offence, but it sounds ominous.” Exon spoke up.
“None taken. It’s where…” Twilight struggled to find the words, but she was too deprived of energy to think about it. “...Well, you'll see, it’s fun!”
==================================================
As Exon settled for bed, Spike was brushing his teeth and humming a song Exon wasn’t too familiar with. Then again, Exon wasn’t too familiar with anything in this world.
Exon un-cuddled himself from the guest-blankets and stuck his head out at spike. “If you don’t mind me asking, what are you humming?”
Spike looked over at Exon with his mouth full of bubbling toothpaste. “Oh… nevermind, I guess.” Exon squeezed back into his new blankets, but without slumber or fatigue from a long day. His eyes felt very tired, but the rest of his body was fine. Exon was almost hyped for the most part, but this was normal for his age and race, not like he was still maturing or anything.
A couple moments later, Spike came over and shaked Exon’s arm. “How come you're not tired like everyone else?”
Exon peeked from out of the covers and grinned. “I get that a lot… Even I’m considered a ‘night-owl’ by my species.”
“Your point? No offence.”
Exon took in a breath. “None taken, I don’t exactly know why this happens, but we can randomly tap into the deeper thoughts of our mind. From that our brain releases a rare type of caffeine, which is why I am so mentally hypergetic right now.”
Spike just stood there for a moment while the darkness loomed over them.
“Wow. So, you’re basically amped up just because you're thinking a lot?” Spike questioned with a raised eyebrow.
“Exactly.” Exon smiled.
“Then, what are you thinking about? If your face wasn’t so hard to read, I’d almost say you were worried.” Spike said as he sat down next to Exon.
Exon was surprised how observant other people were, whether they came from his reality or another. Exon stopped for a moment, seeing that Spike was beginning to frown. “Should I tell him the dangers we’re all going to face in a manner of days?” Exon thought to himself. The two of them just breathed for a while as the deafening darkness continued to eat away at their sight.
“Exon? You alright buddy?” Spike said with compassion. Exon felt like he was beginning to scare the dragon with his silence.
Exon inhaled a deep breathe. “I’ll risk it.” He thought to himself.
“Spike, I need to tell you something, something extremely important that I will tell the other ponies in time.”
Spike looked up. “What’s that?”
Exon felt a sudden urging force of hope, causing him to hatch an idea. With what he was thinking, maybe he could stop the impossible from destroying everything.
Exon smiled. “I’ll tell you everything, but I have an idea how to fix what I’m about to tell you!”
Spike stood up. “What’s your idea?”
Exon began to stand as well and said, “I’ll tell you the whole story, but one thing first…”
Spike’s face became confused. “Cool, but what’s that?”
“Spike, I know your Twilight’s assistant, but I may need some help with what we’re about to do.”
Spike smiled. “Uhh… Ok, no problem. What is my mission?”
Exon began to head out the door. “Our mission, and it won't be easy…”
Spike sighed and muttered, “Oh boy… what did I sign myself up for this time?”
Exon silently opened the front door and turned to Spike. “Oh, you’ll find out soon enough. But I can promise you It will be like nothing you’ve ever seen… I don’t think.” Exon stood up straight and stared into the distance with a strange look, almost as if he was going cross-eyed but he wasn’t.
Exon spoke slightly faster. “Wait, could there have been any extreme technologic advancement these ponies went through or is it just me? Could they have invented steam power? Well they have coal-powered trains so they could have already invented silicon chips and malay-ware. No, malay-ware came 100 years or so after our industrial revolution, so could they have a educational field for quantum-mechanics? Wait, they haven't even-*”
“EXON! Your head is going to explode if you don’t stop!” Spike yelled as he hit Exon on his back.
Exon jumped and turned around like he had just seen a ghost. “Oh… sorry about that. I tend to get like that sometimes.”
“You just kept going on about technology and quantum-stuff, I almost think your people should make some kind of medication for that!” Spike rolled his eyes. “Besides, one of us are about to wake up Princess Twilight before we can even sneak out of here.”
“Right…” Exon began to walk out of the door before turning back around to Spike.
The guest had a priceless look on his face. “WAIT. Did you just… say… ‘Princess’ Twilight?”
“Yah, what’s wrong with that?” Spike asked defensively.
“Nothing! Explains the combination of wings and a horn… but I mean… there are princesses who rule this system? No offence, but that is just ridiculous!” Exon almost laughed in Spike’s face.
“Don’t be a dip-cord, Exon…” Spike said with his arms folded.
Exon suddenly felt ashamed. “Oh… my mistake. Anyways, If we’re going to ever leave here, I might as well get on with my story.”
Spike lightened up and said, “Yah, how exactly DID you get here?”
Exon developed a warm smile. “Well, it all started with this black, rectangular device…”
Spike followed the Micron out into the night as he lit the way. Exon began his story right where everything went ‘wrong’.
==================================================
The entire Micron Fleet was getting their ass kicked. They should have never deployed for battle, never the less signed up for a cosmic war with the Grenex Empire. Nearly everyone was injured, hundreds upon hundreds were dead, and only a fifth of their ships were operational.
Exon thought all this as he smashed in his enemy’s head with his sophisticated bionic suit. It wasn't a pretty site to look at, but there wasn't a quicker way. He heard his radio activate as he took in the scene, and the news wasn’t good.
“EXON, get your bionic ass over to wing seven right now! The troops need you there, pronto!” Xylophon barked with distress.
“Right on it, I’ll be there in 2 minutes top.”
As Exon deactivated the radio, he looked at the slender metal suit of his. One could mistake it for being the equivalent to tin-foil armor, but the metal was far beyond strong. You could lift something close to the weight of a freight-train with this armor. Basically, it was beyond the lazy term “bionic”.
Exon continued to look at the suit as he ran towards the bay area. As he ran, his eyes fell onto his blood-stained metal arm. It reminded him what he “accomplished” twenty seconds ago.
“Uhh… what does this even consist of?!” He said to himself. He was interrupted when his radio beamed on again.
“EXON!” Xylophon yelled into his headset.
“WHAT? You realize it’s completely unnecessary to speak that loudly, right?!”
“Sorry... If you're still running to the Bay, I have a new mission for you…”
Exon blinked as he rushed down the corridors. He stopped and gathered up enough breath to talk.
“I’m listening…”
………...............
When Exon reached the room holding the RRS, he was awestruck at how big the room was. sure enough, the device laid right in the center, suspended in air by beams powered by dark-magnetism.
“Well, this is neat-o…” Exon murmured with bafflement. He activated his radio and said, “Well, what now, doc?”
“Please don’t call me that at a time like this, Exon…” You could almost feel him roll his eyes through the space-crackle. “Anyways… we detected not a slight, but a significant disturbance coming from the electrode-networking covering the support columns holding the device in place. You need to find who the hell is in there, because who knows what could happen if that equipment is tampered with!”
Exon broke in. “Obviously something bad… very bad…”
“Well… no shit something bad could happen. The whole universe could be blown apart for god’s sake!!!”
“Oops, wrong number, you grump. I get what could happen! Look, if I find someone, should I bring him back alive?”
“Alive if all possible, even if the culprit is one of our own. But if there is no other option, we advise you use deadly force. But be damn careful around the RRS, you hear me?”
Exon grinned. “Loud and clear, sargent. Over and out…”
Exon powered down his radio as he looked around the reddened room. There were some crates about, so that was one obstacle. Another was the fact that he could be dealing with practically anything. Grenex, one of his own, droids, or even worse, an Grenex-branded genetic experiment that had been trained to kill anything that lives.
Exon slowly activated his arm-cannon, the noise of it’s activation bouncing off the walls. Well, if anything is still here, he just gave away his position. Broke rule one, ALWAYS be careful, no matter where or when.
“Might as well check that off the list…” Exon thought to himself. His arm-cannon illuminated the ground around him, but at least he would be ready for anything.
“Show yourself, you sickening scum! If you didn’t notice, I don't have very good patience, so just come out and surrender!!!” Exon screamed the last word with irritation. Just as Exon was about to give up, a dark, clicking voice came from right behind him.
“They say patience is a virtue, Micron.” Exon knew exactly who he was dealing with.
“You!!!-”
Exon swung around and activated his “gun”, releasing an enormous amount of blinding energy. As the shock-wave of the cannon pounded against his chest, Exon flew backwards. After he quickly regained his strength, the Micron realised his foe was still alive, not to mention barely scorched.
“But that’s IMPOSSIBLE. You should be a stir-fried crisp right now!” Exon said out loud.
The Grenex captain clicked it’s teeth and beamed a creepy smile. “Silly Micron, notice the armor vapor-fields around me.”
“Oh… dammit!” Exon yelled as he tried to run away from the slimy devil.
The captain screeched as it charged toward Exon, but the Micron didn’t give up the fight. He turned around and fired multiple rounds of ammunition, but the captain just batted the plasmatic streams away like they were snowballs.
Just when the captain was a few meters away, Exon detached his cannon’s ammunition and threw it at his foe’s horrid face. Exon had less than seconds to back away before the transparent canister shattered. As the captain’s face made contact with the canister, plasma and energetic vapor exploded everywhere.
The ugly creature screamed with agony and fell to the ground, plasma sissling all over the floor. Exon was tired of this race harassing and killing off other beings across the cosmos. In fact he was so sick of it, he would take all of his rage out on this freak of nature.
Exon picked him up and began to crush through the Captain's armor with his bionic fingers. It was hard to tell who was screaming more, Exon or the Grenex Captain. Exon turned around and faced the dark-electromagnetic beam in the center of the room. He wanted to prove his point and his hatred to the Grenex race. With every single ounce of strength in him, Exon threw the Grenex at the beam.
A moment before the leader would hit the beam, he suddenly remembered the consequences he would face in less than a second. The limp commander hit the upper beam with such force, the super-metal dented with fierce noise. The grenex leader fell down with a low thud, signifying he was dead. Even though the entire enemy fleet would be after him, that wasn't the worst of his problems. As the device was powering up and sucking in massive amounts of energy.
“Oh SHIT. What have I DONE?!” Was all that Exon could manage.
Before he could contemplate the gravity of events, an old friend of his entered through the main doors. Markis's voice sounded like it was on the edge of sanity.
“EXON! What the hell are you doing!?! you're going to kill everyone in the galaxy if you don’t stop this!!!”
“I’M SORRY! I couldn't help it!” Exon yelled in desperation.
“Now you say that!!! Look, because your now dead "friend" over there raised the alarm five minutes ago, everyone has pretty much left the ship, but the enemy fleet now wants you dead more than anything! I hope you realise they will stop at NOTHING to kill you...”
Exon lowered his head. “I think I've discovered that fact already, thanks for your input.”
Markis stared at him with urgency. “Stop that. Now let’s just get out of here!!! NOW!!!"
Exon faced the device, seeing it as his race’s only hope for survival. If he didn’t fix this, the Micron race and the entire galaxy would be doomed. Exon stepped toward the device and knew what he had to do.
“It’s ok, Markis. We have them exactly where we want them…”
Markis’s eyes began to water. “Exon, don’t you even DARE!!! I'm warning you… Our government and military had absolutely NO idea what that thing will do. We can only begin to imagine it’s power and devastation. I’m telling you to DROP IT.”
But Exon barely heard what he was saying. The device… it was so, powerful. No, it knew something, if not omnipotent.
“PLEASE EXON!!! I’m begging you to no end, that device will be the end of everything. Everything we hate and hold dear…”
Exon finally spoke with his back to him. “It doesn’t have to be that way…”
Markis paused for a moment. “What the hell do you MEAN it doesn’t have to be that way!?! Activating this will be the equivalent of hitting the -delete- command on everything! Don’t you see? If you run that, everything we know and could have ever known will un-fabricate into NOTHING! We can only BEGIN to imagine the consequences!!!”
Exon turned to him, with tearing eyes. “We can also begin to imagine the impossible become possible! Besides, if you think deeper about your statement, it proves this event has already happened!”
Exon began to cry as he turned back to the device, now fully powered up. He was just a few feet away from the slab. All the thing needed was a ignition… a pilot.
“EXON, SNAP OUT OF IT!!! It’s too dangerous for any life form to handle! JUST FUCKING LEAVE IT!!! THERE’S NO TELLING WHAT -*”
Picoseconds before Exon held his finger/claw to the illuminated screen, the entire universe went silent, and a omnipotent white roar erupted from the device. Exon’s scenes went blank white as the energy became calmer and fiercer. How is this possible? There was almost an invisible friction or dimension that separated the two powerful streams of energy. As the tension between the mind and reality became thinner, Exon lost all perception of time and space.
As a final force of energy collapsed on itself, Exon felt the most peace in his mind, despite the enormous polarity between the physical and the metaphysical tugging at his brain. From that point on, his mind’s eye would be forever touched by this event.
==================================================
As Exon wrapped up the end of the story he had told his pony-friends, he had the exact same effect on Spike. The two remained silent for a while as a familiar meadow began to come into view. Now that Exon had told him his whole story, Spike seemed farther out of reach than the ponies did when Exon told it to them.
Spike finally spoke up. “Wow…… that’s unbelievable. I can’t believe that actually happened to you…… that’s just… crazy.”
Exon wore a reassuring look on his face. “Don't worry about it too much, and I’m terribly sorry to weigh this all down on you all.”
Spike looked up and smiled. “It’s ok Exon, we all need someone to lean on when were going through stuff. Now instead of overthinking it, let’s just focus on the… what was it called again?”
Exon looked at him with compassion. “it’s a Reality Rift Simplifier.”
“Yeah, that thing.” Spike giggled until both of them broke out into a laugh. It seemed like the perfect night to have a good time, as the stars hung in the sky.
As they entered the meadow, laying right in the middle of it was a foot-deep crater. As the two began to rush toward it, they found that it still contained heated soil. Despite how dark it was outside, both of them could tell what laid in the center of the crevice.
Spike nearly jumped with excitement. “The Simplifier! There it is!”
Exon stood proudly. “Indeed it is, Spike! Now comes the assisting part of the mission, if you will so kindly help me.”
Exon bent down and felt the surface of the device, trying to find something. Spike wondered if Exon was accidently going to touch it the wrong way, killing them both. With no success, Exon stood back up and groaned.
“Since the straps appear to be missing, I suppose we will have to carry it… all the way back to the hub.”
“Totally… Wait, hub?”
Exon turned towards Spike. “Oh, oops. I mean, back to the house.”
Spike looked back down at the device. Exon was right, you could almost feel it’s power emanating from a higher dimension. Almost like… he couldn’t place it.
Exon cracked his back and did a quick stretch. “Ok, let’s do this.”
“I'm on it.” Spike said as he ran to the other end of the black slab.
“Ok, on seven…” Exon began only to have Spike in a state of confusion.
“SEVEN? What?”
“Well, that's what we..." Exon paused as he struggled to find the words. "Bah, nevermind...on three…” he rolled his eyes and readied himself to pick up the slab of technology.
“One…”
Spike winced, scared to slip and drop it. How heavy was it?
“...Two…”
“Here comes the pain” Spike thought.
“...Three!”
As they lifted together, Spike noticed it was heavy, but not as severe as what he expected. He thought about what could happen if he dropped it, and decided it would be best to keep a tight grip on the thing.
Morning was only a couple hours away, so if they wanted to get back in time, they had to leave now. Besides, Even Exon knows it’s not safe to stick around in the everfree forest.
“Here, I’ll walk backwards, you walk forwards…” Exon said as he positioned himself.
“Ok, you da boss.” Spike said with enthusiasm.
As the two of them walked back to Ponyville with their cargo, Exon knew exactly how he could stop the unstoppable from happening. He could stop whatever laid ahead of them without causing a paradox. All he needed to do was fix the device, considering it was in pretty crappy condition. Although there were only a couple of irreplaceable scratches on the outside of the device, the inside of the device needed major attention.
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.
==================================================
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.
==================================================
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…”
==================================================
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.”
Chapter 6: The calm before the storm
The
I N F I N U M C H R O N I C L E S
06: T h e c a l m b e f o r e t h e s t o r m
Everypony looked at Exon for an answer, trying to hold on to their hope. Exon looked confident, but he was obviously stressed from the situation.
“Princess Celestia raises the sun each day, right?”
“Yes,” began Twilight. “That’s her job.”
“And do any of you posses any Zerstrontium? As in a large quantity?” The ponies were confused by Exon’s request. “It… It looks like a shiny metal, virtually indestructible…”
“The closest thing we have to what you're trying to describe is buried far beneath us...” Twilight spoke up.
Exon was taken back by Twilight’s statement. “Were these ponies really THAT unadvanced of a civilization? Oh well…” He thought to himself.
“Yes, that is exactly what I’m talking about!” Exon said in mid thought. “Oh, and one more thing…”
The ponies and Spike leaned in a little closer. “From what I've heard, you can turn someone into stone with the elements of harmony?” The ponies nodded enthusiastically. “Then I think we can stop him! Unless… do you have a calm lake or ocean nearby?”
“It’s all the way on th’ other side of Equestria, but we do…” said Applejack.
Exon paused a moment. “I need some paper and a writing utility…” Spike ran to Twilight’s room and came back with a sheet of paper and a quill. Exon politely took it and sat down at the closest table. The ponies watched what he was doing from over his back as he started calculating reflective angles, probability, and some math that the ponies had never seen before. He also sketched Fariscon with great detail and perfection, calculating how vectors of different forces acted on his body. When he was done, he stood up and took a breath.
“I have a plan… and… It just might work.”
“Not to be grim or anything, but what happens if it fails?” Spike asked with a look of worry.
Exon was silent after Spike spoke. He sat on the thought for a while until he said, “Well, then the rest of you will be dead…”
“The… rest of us? What do you mean Exon?” Twilight asked with a sad look on her face. Exon looked as he couldn't breathe or speak. He stared at the ground with his fists clenched in a defensive way.
“My plan involves…” Exon looked up at the ponies, who were bewildered at what he was getting at.
“Exon, what is it? You can tell us…” Applejack said with a comfort in her eyes, yet had a sensitivity in them.
Exon unclenched his claws and sat down on his bed in front of the ponies. “The only way to save you inspirational creatures would be to sacrifice myself. He wants ME, not you… If I could convince him that-”
“Whoa there, sugarcube! There’s no need to kill yourself for us!”
“Yes there is! I have a perfect reason to risk my life for all of you!” Exon protested with tears developing in the back of his eyes.
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “And what would THAT be?”
Exon was about to speak, but struggled to breathe or find the words to speak. Exon said, “I need to set something right… Not only this is my fault, but existence as we know it is collapsing because of me. All of this is MY fault, and I need to set it straight.”
Applejack held Exon’s hand with her hoof. She looked up into Exon’s eyes and said, “But that doesn’t mean you have to die, sugarcube. Exon, so you may’ve made a mistake or two, but that ain't no reason to die for it, no matter’ how big that mistake was.”
Exon nodded and shed a tear. “I’m sorry… I just didn't want to bring all of this upon you sweet beings… my friends…” Exon looked down and frowned in defeat.
“Darling… it’s ok, none of us think you deserve death as a punishment!” Rarity said in attempt to cheer the Micron up.
“You're always home with us, Exon.” Fluttershy said as she held Exon’s claws with her hoof. It was sweet, but would become unbearable for Exon within a couple of seconds.
Surprised, Exon quickly stood up, almost as if it was… forced . “I’m sorry! I…” He sighed as the ponies began to frown. “...I just need a moment alone…” Exon walked over to the door and began to walk outside.
“But Exon, it’s getting late!” Twilight yelled from inside the house.
“It’s fine, I know where the house is. I’m not stupid...” Exon said as he closed the door to the treehouse.
Twilight sighed and looked at her friends. “I have a feeling that Exon is dealing with a little more than we know…”
==================================================
As Exon walked, his mind swam and couldn't seem to settle on one thought. When he looked up from time to time, he would see a random pony wave at him with a smile, but frowned when they looked closer at his face. Exon eventually found a dark spot beneath a tree he could rest at near the center of Ponyville.
Exon sat down underneath the tree placed upon a small but gradual hill. He looked at the stream’s reflection and through how the future couldn’t become any worse. The reflection reminded him about the weak, but ferocious mental bond that he had with Fariscon. “The poor shell, he’s just a reflection of me, and always will be. I wonder if he actually still feels… the pain, after all these eons. But it was him who ultimately turned himself into the monster he’s become. He’s probably bloodthirsty after all these years in ice…”
Exon was puzzled for a moment. “Wait… honestly, how in the HELL of things did he get out of there? And how in the hell is he not dead? How did he even FOLLOW me?!” Exon suddenly came upon a particularly disturbing thought. It almost dragged his senses and perception away from him. “How… am I…. speaking the same language as these ponies?..”
Exon looked around for no particular reason and tried to speak Micronic out loud. “Holy shit! How does it sound the same?! How is that even remotely possible?!?!”
“Exon?” Asked a small, sweet voice from behind him.
“AAGH!!!” Exon whipped around.
“aaah!!!” Fluttershy screamed in surprise.
The two of them panted from shock. “Holy hell, you gave me quite a scare!” Exon playfully pointed a finger at the mare.
“I j-jjust came to see if you w-were ok. But if… if it’s n-not too much trouble to ask, wh.. who were you talking to?”
Exon’s cheeks blushed in embarrassment. “Oh! No one… in particular, er.. myself...” Exon sat back down by the stream and continued to watch the water flow by. Fluttershy held back a giggle as she sat down next to the bird-mammal hybrid. Fluttershy looked at how the moon’s light lightly reflected across his orange and black-striped fur, noticing that there were faint but large hexagonal patterns across the orange parts of his fur. When Exon looked at her, Fluttershy quickly snapped out of her stare almost embarrassed.
Exon laughed kindly and said, “It’s ok… no one's going to judge you here…” The two waited for a while and looked at the scenery before them, the stars, the stream, everything. The light breeze made things colder, so Fluttershy eventually warmed up to Exon and snuggled a little closer to his warm, inviting side.
Exon spoke up after a while. “Fluttershy, it’s sweet that you wanted to check on me… You're the best...”
Fluttershy smiled a little. “Oh my, thank you. You're very nice too, Exon.”
Exon raised a quick eyebrow. “Really? I don’t think I’m that nice, at least as nice as you are in comparison-”
Fluttershy held a hoof to Exon’s beak and said, “You can sometimes have your moments, but you're really nice when somepony gets to know you.”
Exon smiled. “Wow. I never thought you would think I was nice… That means a lot to me, Fluttershy. It really does.”
Fluttershy smiled. “Well I’m glad it does. You should never doubt yourself, Exon. You're an excellent friend and… person to everypony.”
“I think the same about you too, Fluttershy.” Exon tried not to blush as he looked up at the stars. He replaced his emotions with a smile. “Who knew that there would be you guys in my life. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I regret nothing being here with… you.” Exon’s focus and voice tailed off as he began to feel tired.
Fluttershy looked away and tried to hide her blushing. Exon saw this out of the slit of his eyes and shot awake. “Oh! I meant all of you! I didn’t mean to come off-”
Fluttershy giggled and said, “I know what you meant, Exon. No need to say you're sorry…”
Exon felt bad for some reason, as if it was rude to trick Fluttershy like that. Because she was the only one who seemed to care about him… at least differently than the others. “But… I DO care for you, Fluttershy. You're the only pony, or for that matter the only anybody who has ever cared this much for me in my entire life! Not even my parents cared this much for me, nor my friends!”
Fluttershy clamped a hoof over her mouth in shock. “You ponies, and especially you are the closest thing I have to friends and family! And I wont let go of you or let you drop from my life just because Fariscon is coming here to destroy me!” Exon closed his eyes and frowned towards the ground.
“Of course we care for you, Exon... I care for you. I’m just scared of you're clone like the rest of us, but you shouldn’t have to die for our friendship.”
A single tear streamed along Exon’s face and dripped off of his beak. He sighed a sob and looked up at the sky. “Fluttershy… Can I, tell you something… maybe?”
The yellow mare smiled. “Well, of course, Exon. You can tell me anything… that is, only if you want to.”
Exon couldn’t believe he was feeling this, especially towards one of his pony friends. Why was he feeling so emotional right now? This was not like his species… “Just say it… ” Exon through to himself, trying to force the air to stay in his lungs. “She’s going to think you’re SO weird… Why do I even feel this!?!? ”
“Exon, are… are you ok?”
“Just say it! ” He looked at her from the corner of his eye.
“What’s wrong?” Fluttershy rested a hoof on his left hand.
He made up his mind. “I’m sorry… but, I’m starting to really take notice of you, Fluttershy. You're always so kind to others… and to me.”
Fluttershy looked down and blushed. Was Exon really coming on to her? “Oh my, I’m… so flattered!” She saw that Exon was facing away from her and slumping. “I mean... I just never through my admirer would’ve come from another world!”
“Yeah, thanks…” Exon said in attempt to mocking himself, personally.
Fluttershy seized the opportunity and gently turned Exon’s head around with her hoof. Exon opened his eyes as Fluttershy wiped a single tear away from his orange face. “No, what I mean is that that’s very sweet of you to say.” Exon smiled, but returned back to his normal posture, as if nothing had ever happened.
After a while, Exon asked Fluttershy, “Can I hug you? If it’s alright that is…”
Fluttershy felt compelled to hug her lover, but she was hesitant with her new feelings for Exon. After thinking about it, she gave in. “You can hug me. I don’t mind…”
With that, Exon gently scooped her up and held her close to his chest. Fluttershy was uncomfortable at first, but soon realised how inviting Exon’s warm, radiant body was becoming compared to the chilled breeze that flowed through the equestrian night… just like his personality. She looked up to Exon, who was gazing at the stars with such curiosity. It almost looked like he was memorizing the entire cosmos above them.
Just as she began to drift off, Exon stood up with Fluttershy held tight in his arms. “Come on, it’s getting pretty late.. We should get to bed.”
“Wait… ” Fluttershy peeped from the Micron’s chest. He looked down at the yellow mare, her exposed body bathing in the moonlight. “...Just, a little longer… Please Exon?”
He stared at her for a couple more seconds. “...Sure. We can do that.”
It was hard to tell, but Exon through he saw a little smile from on the pony’s face from beneath his small layer of fur. Exon sat back down by the stream, but suddenly noticed the fish-carcass from earlier as soon as he sat down. He only hoped that Fluttershy wouldn't see it… Oh , how that would ruin everything…
But it looked like Fluttershy was happy where she was… and Exon was happy where he was. “Nothing could be any better… ” Exon through to himself. “Well, maybe one thing… ” He looked down at the little pony.
“My little pony… ” He whispered under his breath as Fluttershy snuggled further into his fur in her sleep. Somehow the phrase seemed familiar to him, but that didn't matter right now. All that mattered now was his life here and how his friendships could transform here, along with himself. Sure, he still had issues from his past, but he could be reformed here.
But before he could do that, he still had one last problem from his dark past to fix...
Chapter 2: Painful contact
The
I N F I N U M C H R O N I C L E S
02: P a i n f u l c o n t a c t
Twilight Sparkle trotted through Ponyville in search of her friends, who Maybe knew about what happened last night. She watched ponies here and there starting to begin their day just as she was, only twilight was on a mission. Her mission was simple, she needed to find what caused that explosion yesterday, no matter what.
"The sound of the explosion didn't sound like anything I've heard in my life," Twilight thought. "I wonder what it could have been..." The senecio clung to her mind like a tumor filled with unnatural curiosity. As she pondered on this, she saw Pinky Pie and Rarity sitting at a table by Sugarcube Corner. Twilight ran over to her friends as fast as she could.
"Oh hi-a there twilight! We're so happy to see you again!" Pinky shouted in glee.
"Why hello darling, how wonderful it is to see you! Come, sit down with us!" Rarity encouraged.
"Boy how happy I am to finally reach you guys," twilight panted as she sat down. "I've been trying to find you guys!"
"Whatever is the matter, my dear?" Rarity asked. "You seem a little desperate and exhausted at the moment."
"That's what I've been ask you guys about!" Said Twilight.
"OOO OOO OOO!!!" Pinky raised her hoof in urgency.
Rarity raised an eyebrow at Pinky Pie saying, "What now Pinky? Whatever are you yelping about?"
Pinky suddenly became serious. "Twilight, are you worrying about that giant BOOM last night?"
Twilight was completely baffled, trying to find the words to say what she needed to say. "Yes!" She stammered, "Pinky how did you know?"
Pinky stood on the table proudly and said, "Just helping a friend with my Pinky-senses!"
Rarity could hardly believe what was happening. "Is that what this is all about Twilight?"
But before Twilight could say a simple 'Yes', Rainbow Dash flew into the ground next to them like a wild Pegisi. Everyone seated was in awe how confused and frantic Rainbow Dash looked. But Rainbow appeared... Almost terrified by something. Rarity was the first to speak amongst the four.
"Darling, what has gotten into you?! Are you hurt?"
"You should be asking what just got into Ponyville!" Rainbow Dash panted in shock. "It's crazy! The thing was HUGE!!! But at the same time it looked so... Awesome! You should all RUN!!!" Rainbow screamed in confusion. But before Dashie could fly away, Twilight used her magic grasp on her tail to stop her. Rainbow nearly fell to the ground, trying to find a way to escape the grasp Twilight had on her.
"Rainbow Dash! Snap out of it!" Twilight yelled. Rainbow looked back at the three, with Pinky Pie staring and Rarity in complete bewilderment. "Rainbow... Please, just tell us what you saw!"
Rainbow dash looked out behind them in awe and fear. All she did was point, ever though she didn't have to move a muscle. There was the sound of something crashing and ponies screaming. The other main three slowly turned their heads around, almost immediately regretting to do so.
In a street behind them was an elegant, beautiful, yet fearsome creature almost literally dragging himself thought the dirt. There was a small, yet noticeable trail of blood lingering behind the creature. Now the three ponies saw what the hell RD was talking about, undoubtably. There shouldn't have been anything to fear, but everypony felt danger, like fear that was diluting the quality of the air around them.
But this life-form was obviously in and extreme about of pain. Everypony just about stopped screaming, now seeing there was no true threat, yet watched to see what it would do next. He was almost a orange cross between a bird and a mammal, but still lacked mundane, normal features. Twilight noticed all of the blood leaking from below the thing's lower-left rib, but she needed to be closer in order to see what caused it to bleed.
There was an unbearable amount of tension in the air, nopony moving an inch from the spots which they stood. Except for the creature panting and nearly coughing up traces of blood, the town was completely silent. An occasional screech of pain erupted from the beast's throat, shattering the silence.
He came within feet of Twilight Sparkle, almost scaring her dead. Pinky Pie was petrified with fear, Rainbow was beyond frightened, and Rarity was nearly on the verge of fainting, but her shock keeping her animated.
At that moment, the creature tried with all his might to stretch upward towards the sky, gasping in one last single breath of equestrian air. His bird-of-prey eyes were filled with a brilliant shade of yellowish-green, perfectly reflecting the blue of the sky. But the moment failed to last when he completely collapsed to the ground, losing the golden color in his eyes.
Everypony understood what was happening, this unknown passive being was dying, and quick. The Micron took one last look into Twilight Sparkle's tearing eyes, as his were becoming grayer and grayer. Then as things couldn't have become anymore unpredictable, he spoke.
Before loosening onto the ground, balancing weakly on one arm, he said what seemed his final sentence:
"Help... me." He intook one final breath.
"My heart... is dying... See for yourselfs."
With that he completely fell to the ground, nearly every ounce of color drained from his orange fur and eyes, signaling near-death. Everypony was either shocked, crying, or watching. Twilight had figured out what caused the explosion, mentally waving the thought away from her mind. Whatever this being was, unknown or not, he needed help. He was on the edge of death, and was about to be gone forever.
Twilight dared to touch him, of course nothing happening, and rolled him over onto his back. She was mortified when she saw it, as ponies began to gather around her seeing the damage inflicted on the creature. The flesh right below his left rib was peppered with metal shrapnel, way too close to his heart, which pumped with painful effort. He wasn't dying from blood loss, but he was dying from the metal entering his bloodstream.
Twilight looked at her friends in desperation, and they looked back nodding that they understood what came next. Twilight and her friends were going to have to find somepony that could preform surgery. But hopefully one that could preform on extraterrestrials from a different multiverse.
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Between short boosts of strength, Exon would faintly open his eyes only to find extremely blurry images and massive amounts of pain right before blacking out again. This happened around the clock for many hours on end, but he couldn't control it. He had absolutely no sense of time whatsoever, he just would see blurry people in doctor's masks working on him. At least he thought they were of his race...
He noticed that he was in a dark room with operation lamps placed over the scene before him. "Oh, so their working on me. That's nice of them..." He could only think this before blacking out again.
Once he regathered all his strength over the course of many hours, he opened his senses once more to the world. He opened his eyes, ignoring all blurriness, seeing ponies operating on his wound. For a moment, they glanced at him, only to find that he was waking.
"Twilight, cast more of your sleeping spell on him, he's coming around." Said the first doctor pony.
"We can't have him waking up right now, not at this moment..." Said the second doctor Pegasus. Exon was beginning to feel like he was falling.
"Come on, buddy, fall back asleep..." Said a rainbow colored Pegasus. "You need this, and you know you do."
Before blacking out for the last time, Exon murmured, "I know I do, it just... Hurts..."
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It was morning. A peaceful morning that radiated pure enriched warmth from the blazing sun millions of miles away. Yes, it seemed like the perfect morning that nothing could ruin, but everything has it complications. The moment where the morning seemed the calmest, Exon woke with every bit of his might and shot up from his neatly made bed.
He wasn't terrified, but it very easily looked like it from the outside. Exon was running around the foreign room in the palace of Canterlot, looking for and exit where his escape would not be noticed. But he had to stop running, his wound was starting to hurt. That was right... He was recovering from a near-death experience. He looked down at his bandage, feeling how surprisingly soft it was to the touch.
"But I mustn't be distracted," Exon said to himself, "I need to find a way out of this reality before I make things any worse!"
"Don't worry, Exon, your not a bother to any of us." Said a soft, soothing regal voice.
Exon spun around to face the source of the voice, frightened that he had be heard. Behind him was Princess Celestia herself, greeting him with a warm smile.
Exon was speechless at first, but gathered the strength to say something. He originally meant to say, "how did you sneak up on me without me knowing about it?" But it came out as, "How did you do that?"
She smiled, nodding to the open door, which six familiar ponies stuck their heads into the room. Exon felt like an idiot, his supreme senses being defeated by a simple, opening door. He wondered what his facial expression appeared like to those looking at him, but he probably looked like he was lost. Funny because he WAS lost, hopeless in this strange land full of magic and talking colorful ponies.
He just needed to go home, back to the reality he came from, so he could fix what he had done. The war of an eon was upon his race and their mighty allies, and he screwed it all up, big time. If his race's mighty weaponry couldn't fight the devilish bastards off, then he could be the last of his race at any given time. He wanted to cry, but crying is for beings too attached to their emotions.
"Exon, are you all right? Your not looking so good..." Asked Princess Celestia in a concerned voice. Six ponies then rushed into the room in worry for their new guest.
"No... I'm perfectly fine, Princess. I just... felt dizzy! Nothing too severe." Exon swore to them. "Sorry if I am a burden to you all, but where... am I? As you can imagine, I'm utterly confused of my surroundings..." He looked around the room at various objects and places.
A pony named Applejack spoke then, "Well here Exon, we all were mighty darn worried 'bout you. Why, if it weren't for you stumbl'n into our town Ponyville, Princess Celestia said that you wouldn't have survived very much longer!"
Twilight Sparkle said, "Applejack's right, you were seriously injured, and you obviously needed medical help."
Pinky Pie butted in saying, "Yah, you even said it yourself when you were dying! Speaking of that, you gave us a real scare, mister! We all thought you were dead or something."
Rarity joined in, "The pony doctors did the best they could do to help you, but you were fading almost faster than they could work on you! Like the rest of us, I'm just so glad your not dead!"
Then it was Rainbow Dash's turn, "You nearly scared the colors out of my mane! But at the same time, you looked so cool and still do! The effort it took you to bring yourself here is something I've NEVER seen in anypony, EVER!!!"
Finally, a rather sweet yet shy pony spoke up to Exon, apparently named Fluttershy. She lightly said, "I'm so so happy you made it here alive, we would never want to loose a friend in need like you."
"Fr... Fer... You consider me an ally... I mean, a friend?" Exon managed. He had never felt such hospitality in his 34-year life. Then, all the ponies in the room smiled at him, including the Princess.
"Of course we do!!!" The main six shouted all at once. As they all came up to hug Exon, the Princess laughed a warm welcoming laugh. Despite all the moral things he and his entire race had been educated with, he gave in gladly. For the first time in about 9 years, Exon began to cry gleaming tears of happiness. He had never felt like this in his life. No stress, no past memories of hatred for another species, and no negativity for anything. But everypony saw he was crying a little, and backed away with sad eyes.
Fluttershy said, "We're sorry, we didn't mean to-"
"No," Exon began smiling. "Never be sorry for making not only my day, but making my life, and saving it. All of you, I can never thank you enough." They all smiled right back at him with tears of joy. This could have possibly been the best day of his entire natural life.
Pinky Pie spoke up in glee, "You could re-pay us by coming to a party! There's always fun at a party!!!"
"Well girls," the Princess began with a warm, encouraging look. "I think we all learned something about friendship today." Nopony and no-Micron disagreed with that perfect statement. They all began to leave the room, laughing and smiling. They soon stopped and turned to Exon, signaling him to follow.
For once, Exon might have actually felt home in this world. No war, no frighteningly superior technology, and never enough happiness. It all seemed perfect to him, and began to follow the group.
"You know," Exon began to say. "I love it here so much, I might not even consider leaving, ever. You all are really true friends, really." With that everyone laughed and exited the room for some lunch. But despite all the joy he felt, there was one thought why Exon really should return. If he didn't come back to his reality in time, he could be the last of his race, ever. Even though the clock was ticking, Exon wished he could have the best of both worlds...
