The New Black Gold

by Nagmeister

Rating: teen
Tags: Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Science Fiction, Other, Random, Dark, Alternate Universe, Main 6
Length: 2664

Equestria is a cyberpunk dystopia.

At the turn of the millennium, when Nightmare Moon returned, most ponies would believe that our society was impossible... that it was a beautiful horror story, where money is more important than friends and harmony takes second place to profit.

They'd be right, in a sense. But in these twenty years, we have come so far, so close to a perfect Utopia; Equestria has never been better. From Sparkle Industries' augmentation monopoly to Sweet Apple Acres' dominance of food production, the civilized world is controlled by those who were once its savoirs.

Change... has never been so profitable.

Published 2015-06-25 18:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-06-25 18:20:01 UTC

Prologue: Broken Body, Built Anew

"The M.17 High-Performance Artificial Wing is the newest product of techno-industrial superpower Sparkle Industries. Today, we have Ms. Twilight Sparkle herself, former Element of Harmony and current executive of Sparkle Industries, here in the newsroom to answer our questions about the wing and maybe give us a bit of information on how it works. Ms. Sparkle?"

"Yes?" The purple mare was dressed in a deep red dress and wore a golden band around her neck. Her face was covered in many layers of makeup and artificial skin, hiding the marks from the stress of managing the world's largest industrial company.

"What made you design the M.17? Why release such a high-performance prosthetic when the M.02 works and has worked for the past seven years. We know the M.13 and M.14 were technically superior, but they never really took off. Why is that?"

"It's quite simple, really," Twilight said, smiling kindly at the brown newscaster. "The M.13 and M.14 were always just proof-of-concept designs. We never actually expected to make a profit off them. They were more to see the effects of having several different models in the community at the same time, and to evaluate their performance. With the data we gathered throughout the lifetime of the M.02, M.12, and M.13 programs, we were able to adjust the design and price points to provide a perfect upgrade from the M.02; lighter, more durable, faster, and only marginally more expensive; while the M.02 is currently priced at 650 bits, the M.17 will be available for 700 at the time of its release in a few weeks."

"That is certainly very informative, Ms. Sparkle," the newscaster said, throwing a short glance to his partner. "What do you think the life of the M.17 will be? Will it be as long-lasting as some of the M.02 models?"

"The M.02c, our most durable M.02 model, was designed to survive for ten years at the maximum," Twilight said with a neutral expression. "The base model of the M.17 is designed to remain fully operational for twice that, with better performance in all aspects. The M.17a and M.17b will last for twenty-five years, and the military-grade M.17c will be able to last for thirty as well as surviving up to seven point thirty-caliber bullet hits before taking any non-cosmetic damage.

"That is certainly good news; it's always nice to hear that even our soldier's augmentations are designed to help them survive in the field." the other newscaster, a young pale-blue mare, said with a smile on her face.

"What about the security issues? It's a common rumor that shortly after the release of the M.02 and M.05, there was a rise in crime as criminals realized they could more easily outrun the police with far less risk than before."

"I'm glad you asked," Twilight replied with a dark smile. "All it takes is for the police to tag a target - either with one of our patented police assistance tools or remotely using other methods - for them to be able to see it wherever it goes, in any Equestrian city. The M.17 is linked to the EqSec grid as well, which allows police to remotely track anypony using our newer-model augmentations and disable them remotely - removing all reason for worry about the safety of Equestrian citizens from augmented criminals."

"Interesting. For our final question, can you tell us what exactly you foresee the prosthetics market becoming?"

"Simple." Twilight said. "One hundred and thirty years ago, Equestria started using coal to power our machinery; it quickly became extremely valuable, hence it being called "black gold." Much the same happened with oil, and recently with magical power systems. However, this technology, I believe, will have a greater effect in society than all those combined. Oil and magic will have been replaced in their value; prosthetic augmentations will be The New Black Gold."

Fifteen Years Earlier

Nopony was prepared for the accident, least of all Rainbow Dash. To lose both her wings and her legs in one devastating crash was truly brutal; one of the top five fastest fliers in Equestria reduced to being carried around in a padded cart. So early in a promising career as a Wonderbolt, and, in mere seconds, reduced to nothing but a shell of her former self. No more able to fly, or even walk; no more able to feel the air under her wings; no more able to even prepare a meal. Her life was, for all intents and purposes, over."

Often, she dreamt. She dreamt of her past, and of what depressingly limited future she had. She would dream that she was flying, going faster and faster, blazing through the air faster than her wings could have ever taken her, then suddenly waking up in the middle of the night to her newfound lack. She'd dream about running through an endless field, playing some sort of game - she could never quite remember what it actually was - with her friends, when she'd trip and fall and wake up alone. Those nights, she cried.

Her friends, of course, were there to support her. But for such a young mare losing one of the things she valued most, there was little they could do to end her depression. Every day they tried in vain to make her see the lighter side of things; every day, the promised she'd be able to find her own way in life. Every day, they tried their best to somehow help her get out of the giant rut of depression she'd been stuck in.

And they failed. They always failed.

It truly was a pathetic sight; five mares gathered around a hospital bed, sometimes talking normally and sometimes desperately pleading to a figure laying in the middle. No matter what they promised, no matter what they said, they could not aid the poor mare; for all intents and purposes, the life she'd been preparing for and had always dreamed of would never be available to her. She was going to die forgotten, lost in the sands of time as just another unfortunate soul who wasn't quite lucky enough to make their dreams come true.

Her friends weren't quite as hopeless as her, however. Each of them knew that they could, somehow, try to bring Rainbow Dash back to the way she was before. Each of them knew that it would only take a lot of friendship - and maybe a bit of magic - to come up with a solution. And so they went to work.

The first thing they tried was the magical wing spell that Twilight had used on Rarity only a few short years prior. It worked, to an extent. At least Rainbow Dash was able to move, albeit she felt "more like a moth, or a fly, than a pony" whenever she'd fly with them. Not to mention they only lasted a few hours at best; in other words, if Rainbow wanted to spend a day buzzing around she'd have to constantly find Twilight and get a recharge.

The second attempt was at making legs, not wings; if Rainbow couldn't fly, she could at least walk. Of course, there weren't that many guides (read:none at all) on making pony legs, so in the end they ended up carving four large sticks to look somewhat like legs. It did not work out in the least. After about five minutes of constantly tripping and not even being able to take one step, Rainbow gave up. It wasn't as if they would be useful, anyway; even after just five minutes of trying to stand, cracks were already beginning to form in one of the legs.

The next thing they tried was dark magic. Needless to say, it didn't end well; Ponyville General Hospital had to be rebuilt.

After using everything in their somewhat limited repertoire of tools, most of Rainbow's friends were feeling quite rightfully demoralized. Nothing was working even halfway decently, they had no other ideas that seemed to be viable, and there was nothing else they could do to help.

Except there was. For weeks, Twilight Sparkle stayed awake into the wee hours of the morning, reading everything she could, creating theories, and finally finalizing designs for something Equestria had never seen before: the prosthetic leg set. Deciding she needed to give it a name, she dubbed it the M.01 Artificial Leg Unit; or, in simpler terms, the M.01 Leg.

It was a design that, while at first rather complicated-looking, was quite simple in practice. Small magical kinesis fields replaced muscles, while metal rods replaced the bones. A magical conduit provided both power for the fields and information from the rest of the body, allowing control of the leg the same way as a normal pony leg. Numerous other features, such as replaceable hooves and a sensory coating that provided much the same senses as skin, were also included in the design; the product of weeks of slaving away at a chalkboard in the dead of night, desperately looking for a solution.

When Twilight presented the idea to her friends, they were skeptical to say the least. But, with no other options, they decided to try it. Once the required materials had been procured - at no small cost - Twilight set to work building the four prototypes. Within a week, they were all ready for use; all that remained was mounting them on Rainbow.

Saying it was a painful process would be grossly underestimating it. The stubs of the legs would have to be cut into and the magical conduit hooked up to the main leg nerve, while the metal tube was quite literally welded to the bone. The pain sensors around the area would be seared away so that poor Rainbow would not be in agonizing pain constantly, although dull aches would still appear fairly often.

After an intensely excruciating, hours-long surgery, Rainbow was ready to test the legs. For the first time in over four months, she rolled out of bed and plopped down on four hooves. She gingerly raised a hoof, looking at the dull-grey material of its construction. A deep hum filled the room as she took her first step. Then the next. And the next. She slowly started circling around the room on her newfound legs, her eyes watering slightly, before turning to look at her friends. A large grin slowly broke out on her face as she rushed towards them, tears streaking down her face.

For the first time since her accident, Rainbow was able to walk.

Eight months later, Rainbow was back to a normal pony lifestyle. Life as an Earth pony was hard for a pony with pegasus instincts, but she managed fairly decently. She lived off of disability checks and whatever odd jobs a metal-legged pony could be useful for, such as breaking down walls and testing the sturdiness of houses. She was actually fairly content - living in her personal hell for four months made it quite easy to appreciate the other things in life.

But she was still a pegasus in her heart. Not a day went by when she didn't look up and sigh at the pegasi flying above the town on her way to whatever store or job he had to visit. She didn't need wings, she'd tell herself; she had good friends, she had a decent life, and she even had a pretty decent house near the center of town. But still, she wanted to fly again.

Her friends noticed this, too. Unlike last time, however, they knew they could do something about it. It had only really become apparent after about half a year, but Rainbow Dash was not as happy as she looked - and they all knew why. So, they all spent a good portion of their days doing various things, whether it be testing new fabrics, studying birds' and ponies' wing shapes, or simply watching metal prices. And, by the end of the eight month after Rainbow's first gift, they were ready to present their friend with a second.

The M.02 Artificial Flight System, or just the M.02 Wing, was simple in philosophy to the M.01 leg; it used the same basic systems, with the only major structural changes being in the shape of the muscles and bones. The primary difference between the two was in the surface; while the M.01 was just ruggedized steel with a grip-enhancing pattern on the bottom, the M.02 used a lightweight aluminum alloy and placed in independently-moving layers - essentially, metal feathers. The installation process was much the same as for the legs, unfortunately, which required Rainbow stay another week in the hospital; but afterwards, her life was completely different.

Rainbow Dash was whole again. She could fly; she could walk; her new metal wings let her fly nearly as fast as she had a full year ago, just before the accident. And she was happy.

Many ponies took notice of the "metal mare of Ponyville". And many, in Ponyville and beyond, realized how sorely-needed such a thing was for the general public. So, hearing the cries of the populace, Twilight Sparkle made the decision to open a small manufacturing plant on the outskirts of Ponyville to start producing the M.01 and M.02. Sparkle Industries, it was called; a building not bigger than three houses front-to-back with only three employees; herself and two highly-skilled mechanics. Within three months of the M.02's first creation, both it and the M.01 were released to the public, selling for five hundred bits bits each - they cost four hundred fifty to make.

The first thing Twilight noticed was that she was quickly becoming very rich. The second was that she didn't have enough manufacturing capacity to meet the ever-growing demand. So, Sparkle Industries opened a second plant; this time, near Manehatten. It was far larger, with a staff of eighty ponies; it was enough to take care of about half of the ever-growing market. Within a year, Sparkle Industries had become one of the ten most valuable Equestrian corporations, employing six thousand ponies and making five million bits a quarter - nearly ten times the revenue of the company below it on the ranking.

Five million bits a quarter is quite a large amount. To put it into perspective, buying an average Ponyville house costs about five thousand bits. A factory like the one in Manehatten might top out at about fifty thousand. Five hundred thousand will buy you the four tallest buildings in the city, as well as another similarly-sized one. Five million bits a quarter is about half the national revenue of the Equestrian government.

Then, Sparkle Industries released another product that soon found very high demand: the M.03 AIR (Artificial Illumination Reader), commonly known as the "bionic eye." Capable of providing 3x 20/20 vision and of producing a heads-up-display that interfaced directly with the brain - the first of its kind - the AIR was Sparkle Industries' most-purchased product for nearly three years.

Other companies jumped on the technological revolution, as well. Some, like Canterlot-based corporation Avian Aerospace, went into designing flying vehicles; others, like Illumination Architecture, focused on creating new buildings to fit with the new age. From handheld computing devices to jet-powered flying ships to rockets placing satellites into orbit, within the next decade Equestria saw massive technological and cultural growth. Twilight Sparkle and her friends, meanwhile, rose to fame and fortune in the sunset of a dying era and the dawn of a seemingly-bright future.

Author's Note

I turned off my internal filter when writing this since I wasn't able to make anything that sounded good in my mind, so rate the story (fairly) and comment with how much I ruined it and how I should fix it!

As always, enjoy and don't forget to drop a favorite or a track!

(Prologue not indicative of later quality)