Odyssey to Canterlot: Vital Components

Vital stalked the halls of Canterlot Castle, trying to find the stairs he needed to take to the labs below. “This would be so much simpler if Twilight gave me a map or something!” Vital slammed his fist into the wall, almost immediately regretting it as he heard metal scrape against the stone. “Looks like your pendant can’t fix that, can it?” Vital looked at the cracks in the stone, sighing as he realized that this was his turn off as he pulled a purple book from a nearby bookcase, the wall sliding sideways.

Vital started the descent, the steps quickly exhausting him. Vital persevered though, tired of being weak. I’ve spent the last two weeks recovering from this accident, which should have been enough time to get my strength back. Unless that royal bitch has been drugging me or something. Wouldn’t surprise me. She probably loves having a personal slave to order around.

Vital reached the bottom of the staircase, happy that the torchlight would stop now. Twilight only accepted magical lights within her labs in order to make sure the light stayed consistent. Vital scowled as he tried the door handle.

“Identification please.” Vital sighed at the voice. Always monotone, and always asking something that was completely unnecessary. There was no one else in the Castle, so who else would be trying to get in? However, Vital still groped at his chest, his hand wrapping around a star pendant on it. He held it in front of the door, always feeling like an idiot since he couldn’t see what he was holding.

“Open up already.” A purple glow came off of the door, and the same glow resonated from the invisible object in his hand. The door opened, revealing the lab within. Vital clenched his teeth as he saw Twilight standing over her machines, probably triple checking them for faults. Not that she can ever find all of them, Vital thought as he rubbed his right arm.

“Hello Twilight. What are we working on today?” Vital donned a white labcoat of his own, glancing at the figure in the room. He had once admired the purple woman, even had the same fantasies as most guys his age about her. That was before the- “Augh.” Twilight finally glanced over, and he felt his mind ease into comfort by her magic. Vital shot her a murderous glance as he hissed, “I don’t need your help.”

Twilight scowled, putting her hands on her hips. “Then perhaps you should stop thinking about it. I’ve told you several times by now that your Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is very sensitive. I still believe it’s from your almost photographic memory, which I still worry about. You aren’t grasping the concepts I’ve been telling you about as you should.” The last line was said with a gentle care in the tone, something Vital chose to ignore.

“I’m soooo sorry that I can’t be a perfect slave for you Twilight.”

“The term is assistant.” Twilight watched as the boy bared his teeth, watching her. She prepared herself for the normal scolding. Even though Twilight had rationalized it in her head, she knew in her heart what she was doing to him was wrong. However, Vital merely shook his head, deciding on a different topic.

“I’ve never been here before. What are we working on, and where is the coffee maker?” Vital sighed as he thought about how often that was all he did now.

“I’ve kept this place a bit of a secret because I’m working on a new form of magic here. It is a type of magic that may be able to be used by everyone, as it resides within everything within the world. However, for the most part the magic is unrefined, and cannot be used except by us unicorns, and even then in a very weakened state.”

“But what does that have to do with what I’m doing here?” Vital rolled his eyes as Twilight blushed at her mistake.

“I’m letting you in on my secrets, seeing as I do not know when I will be able to let you go. So you get the chance to see the creation of soul magic. I hope to use it to enchant metal so as to make it almost indestructible, and the magic will be able to make possible mechs I’ve only seen in my dreams.” Twilight was staring at the consoles with a look of triumph.

Vital laid the sarcasm on thick as he said, “Oh yeah, more powerful mechs and more violent malfunctions. Sounds fantastic.” Twilight’s arms lowered, her eyes darting away from Vital. For a moment he felt a jab of pain, his own conscious letting him know he had gone too far. “I’m sorry Twilight, I didn’t mean that.”

Twilight shook her head while replying softly, “No, you are correct. I only hope my calculations are correct. It... it’s time to speak to the subject.” Twilight tapped on a microphone, and a screen turned on, showing a pink women jumping up and down with a bunch of wires dangling off of different parts of her.

Twilight almost screamed, “Pinkie stop! Those machines are very sensitive, and this is dangerous enough as it is.” The woman shrugged and sat down on a bench, pulling her legs in to wrap herself like a ball. “Pinkie, I’m sorry if it’s a little cold. I’m worried about the amount of heat that will be generated, so it’s for your own safety.” Pinkie’s voice came out a little muffled from the speakers.

“Okie dokie Twi.” Twilight smiled, watching her friend, her energy comforting the nervous unicorn. Vital grabbed Twilight’s shoulder, turning her to him.

“Did I just hear that right? Did you say Pinkie? As in the party extraordinaire of Equestria, the women who cares about everyone regardless of what they’ve done, and not to mention; your best friend? And now we’re experimenting on her?” Vital was holding Twilight by the shoulders, glaring at her. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Twilight’s horn glowed, removing Vital’s hands and pushing him back. “Pinkie is part of what inspired the idea. She has a natural magic to her that has already culminated in an ability, her Pinkie Sense. Hopefully it will make the process easier and safer.”

Vital could have said more, but the slumped shoulders and downcast eyes were enough to hold him back. His job had once been to relieve people of stress and pain, not add it. “When do we begin?”

Twilight nodded and said into the microphone, “Pinkie, I’ll be starting the energy transfer now.” Pinkie gave a thumbs up, but then started tapping her fingers on the steel table she was sitting on.

“Twi, this bot, it’s supposed to protect you and keep you company for thousands of years right?” Vital looked at Twi accusingly, but Twilight didn’t notice as she went back down to the microphone.

“Yes Pinkie, that is correct.”

“And that it will be able to be with you for longer then I will, right?” Pinkie stood up, starting to walk to the area where the wires on her ended.

“Pinkie, I wouldn’t go near the core. Sit back down.” Panic was starting to creep into Twilight’s voice as Pinkie walked, the pink girl’s hair slowly going down. Vital looked back at the screens and held his head as the algorithms confused him. However, he knew enough to know that the process was stable.

“One last question Twi.”

“What is it Pinkie?”

“The more of me in this core the stronger it will be, right?”

“I don’t see why that matters when I’m- Pinkie!” Vital stepped back from the consoles as he heard the screech of metal. He looked down at the experimental room where Pinkie was holding a pink glowing object. Pinkie grit her teeth being brought to her knees from the pain. The wires connected to her started to fray as multiple shades of pink light began to leak from them. They swirled and danced like shadows around a bonfire, the shades separating and manifesting themselves in human forms. They each touched Pinkie, before walking into the core that was within Pinkie’s now black hands.

“Shut it off!”Twilight’s scream snapped Vital out of the scene as he hit the safety switches. A pink energy wave hit the machines as he reached them, and none of the safeties activated. “Pinkie, stop it!” Twilight was crying, screaming into the microphone pleas to get Pinkie to stop whatever she was doing. Vital started looking around the room, his mind searching for a way to end the misery and chaos around him.

Vital saw it. He didn’t know why his eyes had focused on it, but he saw what could work. He ran over to the external regulator, jamming his right arm into the machine. His hands worked fast, moving wires, shifting circuitry, and then ripping out a gear. The short blew every machine in the room, and a surge of pink energy blasted Vital away. He was thrown into a table, one spot on his ribs lighting up with a stabbing pain.

The worst pain was his right arm though, which had been ripped away from him when he got blasted away. Vital’s vision was blurring as he heard the hum of machines restarting. “Pinkie! Pinkie, please respond! Please, do something! Give me a smile, give me anything! Please Pinkie, please.”

The last one roused Vital to action as he stood up and stumbled over to the princess on the floor. She was crying in the fetal position, muttering to herself. Once Vital slumped down next to her, Twilight’s hands shot out and grabbed his lab coat. “Please don’t leave. I know I’ve done such horrible things to you, but don’t make me be alone. Please, please.”

Twilight was sobbing into his lab coat, shuddering with each breath she tried to take. Vital could get his revenge. He could get up, grab a medkit to heal his side, and leave. She deserved it. However, Vital knew the truth, and knew what he would do. So Vital put an arm around Twilight, relieved that he could only feel a little blood coming out of his side. He looked at what was left of his right arm, the wires sparking and the metal bent and ripped apart.

Vital sighed as he said, “Don’t worry princess, I’m not going anywhere.”