MLP Trinity

The record concluded, leaving behind a soft static tone.

Ink was the only one able to summon enough energy to get up and turn off the record player.

"What I wouldn't give to bottle this feeling, " Obsidian began," and keep it for one of my outbursts."

the ‘bottled emotion’ comment reminded me of one of my sister Cyber Wing's gadgets. She said something about music really helping her deal with stress, and that she was trying to utilize that in some kind of device.
"You know, Obsidian, my sister may have a solution to some of your anger issues, " I offered.

Obsidian seemed to like the idea. " Sounds great! Perhaps we can pay her a visit tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.

"Why wait ‘til tomorrow? What's wrong with visiting Cyber tonight?" I asked.

Ink responded as if I were joking. "Metal, it's awfully late to be visiting someone."

I glanced at the clock, "Woah, it’s already after seven? I didn't think your song was THAT long, Ink... " I commented.

Obsidian sarcastically chimed in," Yeah, but it doesn't help that you didn't show up at my place until two in the afternoon... just saying."

“What can I say, a stallion like me needs his beauty sleep.”

Ink cleared her throat to get Obsidian and I back on track. "Metal, it's not that we don't want to meet your sister; it's that we don't want to bother her."

I failed to understand what Ink was getting at. "How could we be bothering her? She usually doesn’t get up until around now."

Ink grunted and responded, "Metal, she's your sister, clearly you respect her sleep-" instantly, Ink's tone changed "did you really say that she was just now getting up?"

"Yeah, Seven PM, that's about when Cyber wakes up."

Obsidian couldn’t believe it. "Metal, I get that your family likes to sleep in, but seven at night?! That’s some serious laying about!"

"Just one of the quirks that make Cyber who she is!"

Obsidian started weighing the decision to see Cyber. Ink leaned in toward him and began whispering her opinion. I wasn't sure, but I thought her voice carried a slight hint of dread.

Obsidian seemed to disagree with Ink's suggestions, if body language was anything to go by. Obsidian looked toward me "I'd be honored to meet Cyber, if she's alright with it."

I looked over at Ink and asked her opinion on the matter. Her gaze ran laps between Obsidian, me, and the nearest door. She looked at Obsidian and mouthed 'you sure?' to which he nodded. She shut her eyes, and answered with a very uncertain, "Yeah, I guess I could meet her."

Our decision made, we took off toward my sister's home. I thought about flying there and decided to try taking off again, angling just a bit higher than this morning's attempt.

With a trot and a leap I actually managed to get up in the air! I began beating my metal wings in a slow hover, leading my friends along. Having a top down view, I saw Obsidian' cane tied to his torso by the sash, and Ink's wings, neatly folded. Just then it struck me; Ink was walking, not flying. Curiosity led me to offer some airspace. "Care to join me, Ink? Weather's great up here!"

The tone her response made it clear that, she was bothered by something. "No thanks, Metal."

Ink didn't quite seem herself. "What's the matter?" I asked, hoping to learn what had her so concerned.

"I've never been a fan of flying. It's a bit too much strain to be worth much of anything, in my opinion," Ink answered, clearly dodging the real question.

We followed the cobblestone roads of the town, counting off the streetlights, as the sun set over the horizon. I began recognizing shops and restaurants from previous visits to my sister's home, and all of the stories that went with them. I figured that one of these stories would make interesting entertainment for Ink and Obsidian as we walked the last stretch. I recalled this one time at Wasabi Ginger’s Istallion restaurant. My dad, Carbon Wing, just barely avoided faceplanting into this huge plate of trotellini when falling out of his chair. He got up off the floor, dusted himself off then threw his face into the dish anyway.

I finished my tale, but Ink's silence continued, causing even Obsidian to notice.

"Come on Ink, cheer up," Obsidian softly requested.

Ink motioned Obsidian toward her, and spoke to him in a hushed whisper. They went back and forth like this for what must've been only two minutes, but felt like hours to me.

Regardless, whatever they told each other made Ink put on a horribly fake smile. By then, we stood outside Cyber's home, with it's familiar light brown walls.

"Am I crazy, or do I smell ramen?" Obsidian questioned.

Good, Cyber already had breakfast.

I drifted down to a successful landing and with some balancing on unsteady hooves, walked up to Cyber's door. I knocked to the tune of "shave and a manecut" and with the doorbell, finished "two bits, " like I always do for my sister.

Just behind the door I could hear Cyber shout in her familiar, cheery tone, "Hi Metal! I'll be right there. Give me just a moment! I need a little time to get ready!"

I forgot how much I missed those redundant phrases of hers.

The door shot open upwards, startling both Obsidian and Ink, causing them to jump back. In the doorway stood my favorite Palomino-toned, messy-maned, genius of a kid sister. "What's up Metal? How's it going?" she shouted.

"I've been doing great! Really loving the goggles!" I answered happily.

"That's awesome! I've been working on some-" Cyber glanced behind me, and cut herself off. "-Aah! Metal, why are there other ponies here!? Wha-what are they doing here?" she shouted, jumping back behind the door frame.

Seeing the look in her eyes, I immediately tried to calm her down, "Cyber, it's okay. They're my new friends!"

She briefly looked to one side, as if checking behind her, then leaned in close and quietly asked, "You're not replacing me are you?"

"Of course not! How could I ever even think about replacing you? You know you're the best sister a colt could ask for! Now cut the theatrics and come meet my friends!"

She agreed, and carefully stepped up to Ink, who had just gotten up. Cyber introduced herself with unparalleled politeness. Ink, however was wearing a clearly fake smile, and sounded almost sickly when returning the introduction.

Cyber then elegantly trotted over to Obsidian and gave him the same polite greeting as Ink. Obsidian complimented her manners, then proceeded with his own introduction.

"So what brings the three of you over, I'd love to know!" Cyber asked as she let everypony inside.

I thought I should answer first, "The last time I was over you told me about a project you were working on. The one about stress relief through music?"

"Oh! Yeah, I finished that recently. I was going to tell you about that, but I kinda got in my own way. Sorry about that!" Cyber informed me.

Funny, but I actually didn't miss her habit of using overly profuse apologies.

Cyber continued, "So yeah, sorry to hear that something's been stressing you out. Rest assured that my system will put the proverbial fire out before it's even started!"

Obsidian suddenly spoke up, "That sounds perfect!"

Cyber's surprised expression caused Obsidian to sheepishly step back in embarrassment.

I broke the awkward silence, "Anyway, I'm not going to use the device myself, It's actually for Obsidian-"

"WHAT?!" Ink shrieked just as I was finishing.

Cyber's expression now looked even more surprised than before.

Ink cleared her throat, and tried to pretend that she hadn’t said anything. Cyber leaned in towards me, "Your friends aren't always like this, are they?" she whispered.

"No. No, they really aren't," I replied. A hushed silence fell over the room as everyone tried to understand what had just happened.

Obsidian cleared his throat then spoke up. "Sorry if I startled you earlier. As Metal said, I was the one who was hoping to try out your music system."

Cyber cast her gaze to one side, and then to Ink before softly answering, "I don't have a problem with it, but I don't think your friend Ink is too keen on the idea..."

Obsidian turned to Ink, and asked her opinion." But, think of what it did to... " Ink replied uncomfortably.

She hadn’t quite finished with her thoughts when Obsidian spoke up, "Alright then! Please Ms.Wing, would you be so kind as to show me this system of yours?"

Happy to oblige, Cyber answered by leading the three of us inside. She began with a tour or, more accurately, a string of apologies with transitions in between. To be honest, my sister isn't the tidiest pony I know.

We eventually made it to the back of the house, which was sealed shut by what looked to be a second front door. "Hang on for just a sec, I'll get the door open, it'll just take me a second," Cyber ensured as she struggled with the complex digital lock.

Looking over to Ink, I noticed that she was clearly expending a lot of effort to maintain her composure. I quietly asked her if everything was alright, but she offered no response. Figuring she hadn't heard me, I tried asking again. Still nothing. I began shuffling through my thoughts to find a reason for Ink’s odd behavior.

"Got it!" my sister interjected, finally besting the very security program she designed. "After you, Mr. Mage," Cyber sang, holding the door open for the group.

With slow, deliberate steps, everyone entered Cyber's home-office/design lab. What awaited inside was a perfectly maintained and polished chrome-themed room with a spider web of wires linking every device. As I looked around the room, I noticed that most of the devices had housings I designed.

The first words out of Obsidian and Ink were one and the same, yet the tones seemed vastly different. "Whoa, did you do all of this?"

Cyber slid over to her favorite work table, and began activating all of the electronics from a control console. "Yup, everything here was made between Metal, Calc, and of course, yours truly!" she beamed.

Ink and Obsidian’s stunned expressions suddenly became confused. "Calc?" Ink asked, a harsh edge to her voice "Like, Calculus?"

Cyber clearly didn't see this question coming, and turned to me, as if asking for help. She never was very good with questions she wasn't ready for.

"Perhaps I should explain,” I began. "Cyber here isn't talking about the mathematical practice of Calculus. In fact, she's talking about our mother, Calc. Right, Cyber?"

Relieved to have the pressure taken off her back, Cyber continued. "Right! Mom inspired me to take up electronics back when I was just a filly. Haven't mixed up any wires since!"

I’ll never forget that day. A flash of blue/white light, a loud buzz, and the smell of smoke proved that something went very, very wrong. I never knew a mane like Cyber's could stand on end like that!

Cyber continued "Now this right here is my favorite invention!" She picked up what looked like a headband, which everyone stared at curiously. Of course, I already knew exactly what it was.

"A Neuro-transmitter!" Cyber bellowed, holding her device skyward. "Just slip it on, hook it up to a compatible device, and Boom! You're in complete control! Here, watch!"

My sister fit the headband just below the base of her khaki colored ears, and pulled the end of a cable leading from the back. She plugged the end into a port at the base of what looked like a skeletal Pegasus wing.

"Sit back and watch and learn and prepare to be amazed!" Cyber gloated as she switched on the headband. Cyber always had a tendency to show more of her quirks when she was excited.

With the click of the switch, the skeletal wing model snapped into a folded configuration. Cyber closed her eyes and said that she was imagining herself flying. Suddenly the model sprang to life, creating a series of graceful wing beats.

Obsidian was speechless, imparting compliment after compliment to my sister and her work. Ink even almost showed a bit of intrigue.

Cyber opened her eyes again, enjoying the looks of everyone around her. She thanked Obsidian for all of his compliments as she disconnected the headband from the model. She then picked up a tiny device in one hoof. "This is what I've been working on for the longest time. It's been taking forever to get right," Cyber announced with her voice cracking part way through.

"This is the ‘stress-relief-through-music-thingy’ device I've been working on! Not sure if you noticed, but I am still working on a name," Cyber revealed sheepishly.

Obsidian immediately inundated Cyber with questions on how the device worked. As they talked, I noticed out of the corner of my eye something odd about Ink. Every time Cyber made one of her redundant slips, Ink seemed to wince.

I was just putting things together when...

"NO!" An ear splitting shriek erupted from Ink.

Stunned silence followed. Cyber looked to be helping Obsidian put the headband on before Ink's interjection.

"Don't you DARE put that accursed piece of technology on Obsidian! I know what it’s done to you and your brother, and I REFUSE to let you corrupt the only friend I have, you FREAK!" Ink bellowed.

Cyber was now laying on the floor, tears welling up in her eyes. Reflexively I jumped between Ink and Cyber, trying to keep them apart. I had to work very hard to control my anger with Ink from taking over.

But I snapped.

I felt my mouth open, expecting a scream to erupt, but instead I heard from a long way off, a haunting voice vaguely comparable to my own. "You have the right to your opinion, that's fine." I felt my legs slowly carry me forward to the Pegasus who stood before me.

"You can attack me, I don't care." She seemed cruel, and unfeeling, despite the helpless expression on her startled face. "Despite what you may believe, both of our conditions are genetic. Cyber's machines have done nothing but help us." She looked almost paralyzed. Finally I heard myself scream. "How DARE you call my sister a FREAK!"

In a blur of motion Ink fled the room at top speed, bursting through every door that stood in her way.

"M-Metal?" A soft, hurt voice asked from behind me. Cyber's.

"She had no right to call you that, sis," I reassured my clearly broken up sister.

"It-it's not what Ink Scribe said M-Metal. It-it's y-you... " She said.

I turned around, and saw Cyber shivering behind Obsidian Mage. She winced as I turned toward her.

I just realized what I had done.

I just hope Ink can forgive me...