Soul's Requiem

Ember sat at his desk, his gaze unflinching from, Twilight's. He had suggested they continue their 'chat' in the safety of his office. Luna was baffled that earth pony had been the small hatchling she had known all those years ago. For Celestia it all made sense. His mannerisms, the way he looked at them, particularly twilight and his knowledge of them.

"So why do you take this form?" Celestia asked, breaking Ember and Twilight from their staring contest.

"This form is easier to manage," Ember said not taking his eyes off Twilight," My kind are extinct due to the lack of magic. They died off years ago."

"Then how pray tell are you alive?" Luna asked, genuinely curious.

"The amount of magic that it took to hatch him was enough to power his body for a very long time," Twilight said, her tone holding the hardness of a lecture," That is why his growth was stunted. Add the the fact that he had absorbed magic direct from the Elements of Harmony when the girls and I used them it makes sense he wouldn't need to absorb magic around him which in turn what dragons thrived on."

"Yes," Ember said with a nod," You are correct."

"Then why didn't you until just now decide to pull us from our slumber?" Celestia asked, stepping forward. She stopped beside Twilight.

"Because it was only until recently that I was able to find you three. I woke up from my slumber a little under three hundred years ago. When I tried to find you three all traces that you existed was gone. Not only that but I had found that I was literally the last of my kind." Ember sat back in his chair and sighed." I was aghast at how much the world had changed. Over time I adapted and did what I knew you would have done found a way to help Equestria. And some eighty years ago I found a way by forming this company."

" And in this time you have made artificial alicorns," Luna said with a strained tone.

"To bring back what you three represented," Ember slumped in his chair," When you three were ruling Equestria rarely saw a dark day. You were symbols of hope, order. equestrian was constantly dogged by war and I wanted to bring that symbol back," He looked over at Gene Splice who stood beside his desk," Then I found her and she made it all possible. When we had created the first of the alicorns, Bastion. I was elated. I thought this would be the start of Equestria's rebirth. Our aliconrs were the market stone for a new era when they showed themselves on the battlefield." Ember's face darkened. "Until six years ago we lost pone due to a madness that thing in the sub-basement caused. Then it came tumbling down. The Equestrian Counsel screamed for our remaining alicorns to be euthanized saying,' Those abominations will be the end of us.' So we came to a compromise." He went silent.

"What compromise?" Twilight asked.

Gene was the one who answered. "A kill switch," she spat, her tone venomous," Those barcodes on their necks are actually a series of dormant Nano probes. When the command is given the probes will rip their brains apart cell by cell. Only myself and Ember Gem have the codes."

"So you may kill them when you wish?" Luna said with a dark sneer.

"It was either that or killing them outright and I refuse to do that."

"Why because they are a valuable tool?" Luna said. She took a step forward but was stopped by a hoof. Luna expected it to be Celestia who stopped her but it was Twilight who held her back.

"He has tried to do what is right," Twilight said her voice soft," And those other alicorns are living souls just as we are. Who are we to say they do not deserve to live even if we don't agree with how they came into this world." Her eyes stung with tears. Emotions raged in her mind, trying to determine between shock, joy and finally relief," Its good to see you again Spike."

Ember or Spike smiled at her with relief alive in his eyes," Same here Twi. I want us to catch up but for now we need to postpone that. I need your help with locating what I believe will help us in a big way."

Celestia couldn't help but smile at her one-time student. It was times like this that she was amazed at how Twilight had grown. She was ready to help against this threat as well if she was needed of course.

"And what is this thing you wish to find?" Luna snorted.

"Something known as an Anima Matrix," Spike said," It is often mentioned in a journal I acquired some years ago. It was what made the Draconian Empire so powerful."

"The Draconian Empire fell even before our time," Celestia said," I doubt that this artifact you wish to find is even still around."

"In that journal it states that the explorer Straight Path was able to find where these artifacts were kept. As well he found a prophesy stating the End of our world. Those were the only parts of the journal I could translate and that was only because he wrote it in Draconian ."

"What is the rest of the journal wrote in?" Twilight asked, intrigued.

"Minect. I already have two ponies hard at work translating it but I believe they could use some help. Besides during that time you should be able to learn more about this time form them."

Twilights ears perked at that. It was one of the many languages she had come to learn and if it is a familiar dialect she should be able to translate it. As well finding out what had transpired the last thousand years was greatly appealing to her. A familiar spark glinted in her amethyst eyes," When can I start?"

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Infinity stared at the screen in front him with a focused intensity. He had successfully hacked into the Javelin database but was have ing trouble finding the information he was hard pressed to find. Behind him his room door slid open.

"How is it going?"

Infinity turned to see Temperance take a seat beside him. He shrugged," Meh got in no problem but locating what we're looking for is another story. Hold up...hah! Here it is."He brought up a file that was labeled highly classified. He chuckled," Ooh they really don't want anyone looking at this. Just gotta get through the fire wall aaaaand got it." Infinity skimmed the file," No doubt about it same mana readings."

Temperance's face darkened slightly," Then I best inform Mother of your discovery."

Infinity put a hoof on her shoulder as she turned to leave," It'll be ok Sis. It won't go down like last time."

She smiled gently and nuzzled his cheek," Thank you Brother. I pray that you are right."

"Hey have I ever steered you wrong before," Infinity grinned. Temperance rolled her eyes playfully before leaving. When the door closed behind her Infinity closed down the hack he had going and sat back. On a whim he pulled up Genesis Tech's database and went straight tot the Level one clearance file. He skimmed through boring things like DNA samples of the new alicorns, data on the K2F Gene, and a detailed report on their psychological reviews. Before long he found what he was looking for and clicked on it. His screen filled with the specs for an apparatus that acted to bring out a pony's soul into the physical world. At best it had been a fairy tale but sfter three years the idea almost became reality. At the top of the screen the files name was in bold letters.

Soul Requiem Project.

This was a project that Ember Gem alone has been working on for the better part of five years. The only thing was that he was unable to get it to work. There had been many tests that had come close but nothing conclusive. Infinity wasn't really supposed to know about it. Ironsight, Temperance, and Gene Splice were the only ones that were allowed to know about Ember Gem's secret project but when your a hacking genius things like clearance tend to not bother you. Infinity wondered what the new alicorns had to play in all this. If he had to be honest they annoyed him, particularly the dark blue one. His ears still ruing from her nearly blasting them with her overly loud voice. He pulled up the security footage of Luna rampaging down the halls," Gotta admit though she's entertaining to watch."