The Heroes of Equestria

Jon woke up to feel the sand below him. Opening his eyes, he stared at a cloudless sky. The sun was out, brightening the land. He sat up to see his friends still sleeping. Applejack was starting to wake up too. Emberbeam was still doing her guard duty.

“Good morning, Jon.” She said. “Good morning, Applejack. How did you rest?”

“Surprisingly, I rested pretty well.” Jon answered.

“I did too.” Applejack said.

Soon, Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight and Rainbow Dash awoke, feeling well rested. Jon’s stomach growled.

“I sure wish we had something to eat.” Jon said, craving water as much as food.

“We should continue moving forward.” Emberbeam advised. “I saw another dome about two to three hours ahead.”

“How do you know?” Asked Rarity.

“This body can see several miles away.”

“Well,” Jon said, standing up and brushing off the sand. “Show us the way.”

Emberbeam started walking in the direction they were originally going and Jon looked over at Rainbow Dash, who was still having some trouble walking without groaning in pain.

“Here, I’ll help you.” Jon said, lifting her up into his arms. “Why does it hurt to walk anyways?” He asked. “It’s not like you twisted your hoof.”

“Pegasi’s have major nerves in their wings.” Twilight answered. Jon looked at her. “If something bad happened to their wings, they wouldn’t be able to move for quite a while without feeling a horrible pain.”

“Oh…” He said quietly, turning his head toward the pegasi he held. “Sorry…”

“It wasn’t you that did this.” She had revenge grow in her eyes. “I’m gonna kill your imposter.”

A few hours passed of walking and a large, steel dome appeared in the horizon, just like Emberbeam said. “What is this place?”

“I know about as much as you, Jon.” Emberbeam said, continuing to approach it.

They stepped in front of a large vault door just like the last one Jon and Rainbow Dash saw. A light scanned the group and vanished. This time, the door did not open but instead, a loud voice over a speaker appeared. “NAME YOUR CONSTRUCT!” The voice was deep and male.

“Construct?” Jon asked.

“WHO IS THE MACHINE THAT STANDS BESIDE YOU? NAME YOUR CONSTRUCT!”

“Well, we don’t exactly have a name for her except for ‘Emberbeam.’ May we come in?”

“WHAT MODEL IS YOUR CONSTRUCT?” The voice asked, ignoring Jon’s recent question.

“I am the sixth generation model. Highest IQ settings and life span.” Emberbeam announced.

“WHAT ARE THOSE SIX CREATURES STANDING BESIDE YOU?”

“They’re with me.” Jon said, stepping toward the vault door a little.

“STAY WHERE YOU ARE! WE ARE OPENING THE VAULT DOOR!”

Several seconds of silence passed, until Twilight couldn’t stop herself from asking, “Can we really trust whoever is inside?”

“We have no choice.” Jon replied, focusing on the large door that sat in front of the group.

Minutes passed and the vault door opened, making the loud screeching in the process. The door moved to the side to reveal a bunch of men aiming some sort of rifle at the group. Jon raised his hands high in the air and the ponies just looked at him as if he was crazy. Inside the dome was another screen, like the one that was at Ironwire, except this one had a sun on the screen. Everything else was sky blue.

“Look, we want no trouble!” He yelled.

“What are those things they are holding?” Fluttershy asked.

“Those would be high tech security force weapons. Otherwise known as guns.”

Twilight raised her hooves high in the air. “I surrender!”

“I strongly recommend not killing or hurting them.” The AI said.

“Yeah and why is that?” One of the men said.

“Because doing so would be the worst possible decision you could ever do.”

The man walked over to Enderbeam, aiming the rifle at Jon in the process. “Oh yeah?” He questioned, face to face with the machine. He pulled the trigger and a laser shot out, hitting Jon’s leg. He fell down and screamed in pain, hugging his leg tightly. Rainbow Dash fell on the ground, curling up from the pain in the location where her wing once was.

Enderbeam’s eye’s went black and the large rod ignited in flame, touching the guy and having his body feed the fire. He dropped the gun, starting to run back to the inside of the dome and screaming horribly.

“Open fire!” Yelled one of the guards. The ponies jumped out of the way as soon as lasers started flying in their general direction. The man engulfed in flames fell on the ground and stopped screaming.

The lasers impacted Emberbeam, appearing to have no effect. Emberbeam raised her gun arm and a giant pillar of flames shot out, killing the group of soldiers instantly. Twilight stood up and stared at the large pillar of fire melting the people that were alive just a few seconds ago. Her jaw dropped in awe and looked at Emberbeam. The pillar of fire vanished and she continued to look at the burnt bodies, which were still feeding the flames that covered them.

Applejack got up and quickly approached Jon and Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow.” She said in a calm voice. “Ya alright?”

“Yeah… I’m fine. Best check on Jon.” She answered. She sounded like she was still in pain.

Applejack turned towards Jon with hesitation, who was still hugging his leg tightly and crying from the pain. He moved his hands away to reveal a blood covered hole in the side of his leg. The laser went right through and escaped out the other side. “It’s bad, isn’t it?” He said in a whimper.

Applejack looked at him with a sorry expression. She turned around and looked at Emberbeam. “Can’t ya do anythin’?” She asked.

“My life span will shorten to the point where I have no effect on living organisms. I cannot do anything unless I harness a type of energy that is currently extremely rare.”

“What is it?” Twilight asked in a loud tone.

“The energy comes from a type of crystal that glows a variety of colors, like I do. It is used as ammunition.”

“Well, can’t you just take the ammu… whatever it is in those weapons to absorb the energy?” Rainbow Dash asked, attempting to stand up.

“It is not possible for me to do so. The ammo in the guns known as LR42s cannot stand extreme hot temperatures.”

“LR42? What does that mean?” Twilight asked in confusion. “They name their guns?”

“LR stands for Laser Rifle. The 42 stands for how many generations this gun module has gone through.” Emberbeam looked in Twilight’s direction. “I’ll need you to carry Jon into the dome. We must stay here for an estimate of four days. By then, I’m sure I’ll run across this energy and heal him.”

Twilight nodded and lifted him up with her magic. He was starting to pass out and soon enough closed his eyes. Applejack lifted Rainbow Dash onto her back and walked in the dome, as did everypony else. Emberbeam glanced to her left to see the control panel of the vault door and stared at it, then at her arms. She turned toward Rarity. “Rarity, if you can do me a favor, it’ll most certainly protect you and your friends.”

“What is it you want me to do?” She asked, approaching Emberbeam and the control panel.

“I need you to press the buttons I command you to press on this panel. Don’t press any other.”

“Why of course.” Rarity said, examining the control panel once she was face to panel with it.

Minutes passed of Rarity following Emberbeam’s orders and the vault door slid shut. The metallic screech of the door appeared for a few seconds, having the sound echo throughout the dome.

“Good job.” Emberbeam said, walking toward the group, which was going down a trail of an apple orchard. Rarity followed.

Applejack looked at each apple tree she passed with a smile on her face. “Why are you smiling, Applejack?” Emberbeam asked.

“Well, back where I come from, I have my own apple farm.” She replied, still grinning.

Eventually, they all made their way to a large house, fairly similar to Applejack’s house back in Ponyville. Emberbeam stopped right outside the front door and looked at Twilight. “I need you to go inside and look for a crystal shard that glows several colors.”

“Sure thing.” Twilight said, setting Jon calmly down on the dirt. She opened the door a crack and peeked through to see regular household items.

There was a couch against the wall, below a window, a weird electric box across from the couch, a staircase to the far left, and a separate room directly in front of her. She opened the door even more. The hinges squeaked quite loudly, causing her to feel uncomfortable. The only sounds she could hear were her hooves on the hard, wooden floor, (which had an occasional creak) and her breath.

She entered the room across from her warily, getting her magic ready for an attack. Her horn glowed a bright purple, making a slight humming sound. As she stepped into the unexamined room, she found it was just a kitchen, and nothing more. There was no blood, or any life forms as well as bodies. A dining table sat in the middle of the kitchen room, with fancy chairs surrounding it. Resting upon it was a single shard of crystal, just like Emberbeam explained it looked like. It glowed the same exact color the AI did when it wasn’t in a body. She sighed in relief, discharged her magic, and picked it up with her mouth.

Stepping outside, she gently set the crystal down on the ground in front of Emberbeam. “Here you go.” She said with a weak smile on her face.

“Thank you, Twilight.” Emberbeam replied.

She left the body of the machine, reappearing as the same light as the glowing crystal. Her light touched the crystal and she was growing brighter than usual. She seemed to be absorbing the crystal’s power and using it to restore her energy and capabilities.

Everypony was blinded and took a minute for them to regain their sight. The AI was heavenly bright. It was like the time Twilight first appeared to her friends as an alicorn.

“Sweet Celestia!” Twilight yelled in excitement. “How did you do that!?”

“There are many words for what I just did.” The AI replied. “Some call it magic, some call it energy, some call it science, others call it a miracle.” She paused. “I will have to enter Jon’s body again and repair his leg.” The light started moving closer to his chest.

“Wait.” Twilight said. “Why don’t you heal Rainbow Dash?” She asked, glancing over at the cyan colored pegasi. Applejack was setting her down carefully.

“I can only heal those who have limbs still attached to their body. I’m afraid Rainbow Dash’s wing will not be able to be repaired or recovered. I can only do so much. My power is limited.”

Twilight didn’t have anything else to say and the AI phased through his chest. His eyes opened to reveal the light. He continued to lay there but looked down at his leg to see the wound was sealing up, somehow creating extra skin to cover up the hole. Within several seconds, the wound was fully healed, as well as the scarred tissue damage.

The light escaped Jon and went back into the machine, activating it afterward. “He should b-b-b-b-be fine n-n-now. H-huh… T-that’s very o-o-odd.”

“What’s goin’ on with ya?” Applejack asked, looking at Emberbeam.

“I-I-I do not k-know. T-there must b-be a glitch in m-m-m-my mainframe.”

Jon opened his eyes and looked around to see Emberbeam, and his new friends were surrounding him. Twilight looked at him and lent out a hoof. He grabbed it and she pulled him up. “How are you feeling?” She asked, looking up at him. He was surprised as to how a pony half his size could lift him up.

“I’m fine. What happened?” He asked, looking around.

“Long story.” She replied quickly.

“I-it’s g-g-g-good to see y-you are res-s-stored to good h-health.” Emberbeam said.

Jon looked at her quickly for several seconds. “What’s going on with you?” He asked.

“I’m a-afraid when I healed you a second t-time, which was j-just now, your body w-was too m-m-m-much to handle. I’m p-positive it’s just a-a-a-a glitch in my m-mainframe.”

Jon felt as if she was lying. Which made absolutely no sense, considering AI’s aren’t built to lie. She has been telling the truth with everything ever since he first met her, or at least he thinks she has been. He felt as if this ‘glitch’ was… killing her.

“I’m s-sure the glitch is t-t-temporary.” She said. “A-all of y-y-y-you should g-get some rest. We s-s-s-should stay here for a f-f-few days until the g-g-glitch passes-s-s-s-s-s-s.”

“Maybe you should rest too.” Said Fluttershy.

“A-A-A-A-AI’s don’t rest.” Emberbeam reminded the group. “A-as long as I k-k-keep myself from doing a-any body swaps, t-t-t-then I should be alr-r-right.”

“Alright.” Jon said calmly. “But just take it easy.” He looked at Twilight. “Is the house clear?”

“If it wasn’t clear, then I wouldn’t be standing in front of you right now.” She replied, giggling a little.

Jon looked over at the door and stepped inside. He walked up the staircase and stared down a long hallway. There were two doors on each side and a small window at the end. Everypony was walking up the stairs behind him. He groped the door handle that was on his right, turning it and pushing against it. A decently made bedroom was revealed. A twin sized bed was in the left corner of the room and a dresser was on the right. Twilight looked into the room and then at him. He looked back at her and their eyes met for a few seconds.

“Hey do you mind if I reserve this room for a few minutes. I really feel the need to change into different clothes.” He said with a bright smile.

“Sure.” She said, taking a few steps back and walking down the hall.

He stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him. He approached the dresser, slid the top drawer open, and examined the contents inside. There were plain white shirts everywhere. He closed it and opened the next one below it. The next drawer contained jeans. They all looked exactly the same. The bottom drawer held boxers… and what Emberbeam called an “LR42.” He picked it up and examined it closely. It was a cold, yet had a smooth metal surface. It was very clean; not a single scratch ruined the frame.

He continued scanning it with his eyes as he moved toward the bed and gently set it on the mattress. He went back to the drawer and changed his clothes into the fresh pair of boxers, jeans, and plain white shirt. He tossed the clothes Rarity made onto the floor. The fresh pair felt amazing. The fabric was really soothing on the skin.

He grabbed the LR42 and opened the door. The five mares (Rainbow Dash must’ve been resting downstairs) were looking through the other three rooms. Jon walked downstairs to see Rainbow Dash was collapsed onto the couch, snoring loudly. Jon chuckled to himself and examined the electric box (T.V.). He pressed the power button and the screen flashed, showing some sort of distress call. There was an extremely loud electrical hum blasting from the T.V. and Rainbow Dash shot up, nearly falling onto the floor.

“GAH!” She yelled. “What is that noise!?”

“Oops.” Jon said, turning down the volume and grinning. “Sorry about that.”

“What in Celestia was that dreadful noise!?” Rarity yelled from upstairs.

“It was nothing!” Jon yelled back. He turned off the T.V. and went back upstairs, hugging his LR42 tightly in his arms.

He went into his new room to see Twilight was sitting on the bed. She looked at Jon and noticed the gun he was carrying. ”Where did you get that?” She asked hesitantly. She seemed to be scared of it since she saw what those weapons were capable of.

“Actually Twilight, I found this in the bottom dresser of this room.” He replied with a smile. He examined the gun a second time to see there was no form of glowing crystal inside. “The ammo must’ve been taken out.” He implied. Approaching the dresser, he gently set the LR42 on top of it, going to the bed afterward.

As he laid down, he let out a big sigh and closed his eyes. “What do you think is happening to Emberbeam?” He asked the purple coated pony, who laid down beside him and started snuggling up close.

“It could just be a glitch like she said.” Twilight responded.

“It could just be a glitch…” He muttered to himself. Those words repeated in his head until he fell asleep five minutes later.