One Thousand One Hundred and Two, One Thousand One Hundred and Three, One Thousand One Hundred and Four...
Nonresponsive conduit in sector two point eight.
"Break in sector two point eight," I dutifully stated woodenly. "Requesting repair teams to fix."
Repair teams unresponsive. Cause of delay... Repair teams are not at their posts. Send retrieval teams to chaperone repair teams to their posts. Retrieval teams unresponsive. Retrieval teams not currently active.
Odd. The retrieval units must be currently... inactive. Again, odd seeing as I do not recall master ever unsummoning them. Oh well. The delay will occur then, and the master will probably torture me for not fulfilling my function. Again. The pain is inevitable.
A phantom jerk of sensation raced along my spine, promising the stinging kiss of chains and the whirling dance of red hot needles. And that's if the master was feeling merciful.
He usually wasn't.
Voicing such gripes would prove useless, instead prompting him into greater fits of rage. I mean, perfectly reasonable acts of justified irateness. I learned quite early on that the master is never angry, you've simply done something wrong.
I usually end up doing something wrong, pretty much every day. Otherwise the master wouldn't bother trying to get me to be better.
Barrier wards depleted. Logs indicate the wards haven't been active for an indeterminate amount of time. Odd. Oh well, I sent on the request to renew the barrier wards as soon as was feasible. It was just something I did.
I nodded sleepily, information continuing to wash over me. This was... my purpose. I was... I had to... Give information. That was all I was good for. Gathering information, then relaying it. I was good for nothing else.
Master Sombra said so.
Intruders in sector five, Information hub.
"Intruders in Information Hub," I repeated verbatim, "Send security teams one through seven due to security risk."
That was odd, actually. The guards should have seen a group this size long before they got that far, the Information Hub was a good twenty minute jaunt from the city walls. I couldn't exactly remember why the Information Hub was important, I just remember that it was. I didn't need to know more than that. Trying to think... hurt.
Not thinking was far more peaceful.
"Yeek, creepy."
My head jerked up, peering owlishly at the forms before me. Five ponies, all of differing colors. Two earth ponies. One unicorn. Two pegasi. One dragon. One {#|*C@`N004. Error. Data not found}. Not crystal ponies. Odd. That fit with the information of the intruders of the Information Hub. How did they get here so quickly, though?
Oh right. I am the Information Hub.
"Intruders," I sighed, reticent to continue but knowing full well that if I tarried my fate would be just as dire as theirs. "You have entered a restricted area. Please remove any weapons, aerosols, maps and otherwise contraband items as indicated by sections twenty four through thirty seven in your citizens privileges handbook. After you have removed said contraband, please assume the submissive surrendering position and wait for the guard to arrive. If you are proven to be difficult, the guard is authorized to and most likely will resort to physical subjugation and your physical forms may become damaged as a result."
Slack jawed expressions met my declaration, and a surprisingly few number of them complied with my instruction to surrender any contraband and assume the position. None of them, actually. Clods. When the guard came, they would be punished. Shows me right, trying to make it so they wouldn't have to suffer as much. I tried. Not that I would actually voice as much.
I learned fairly early on that to voice displeasure at the treatment of others only served to include me in said treatment. I learned to keep my opinions to myself very quickly.
Master Sombra learned very quickly the level of durability I had. I had the... distinct pleasure of being his personal playtoy for a considerable measure of time, until he grew bored and placed me where I am today.
"Holy... she's real?" one of the pegasi spouted, her tail and mane a brilliant array of various colors. Cutiemark, a rainbow shaded lightning bolt lancing downward from a standard cumulus cloud. Huh. Initial guess would be that she enjoys either a healthy degree of artistic expression, or athletic disposition. If it's the former, she'll probably be detained and undergo reconditioning until she sees the 'error of her ways'. Then she'll be placed in the mines for the rest of her life. A hard life.
If it's the latter, she'll be seen as her healthy self and rewarded for her current viewpoints with a mandatory job assignment. She'll probably be placed in the mines for the rest of her life. A worthy, rewarding life for one such as her!
"Yeesh, I thought she was a statue or something," the pegasi continued, notably still refusing to comply to my earlier instructions.
"Rainbow Dash!" an exasperated voice nearly exploded from the posh looking unicorn. Her tail and mane were immaculately quaffed, indicating that she was probably a member of the royal concubines. Why she was so far outside of her allowed range (the prostitutes quarter was on the other side of the city)was a bit of a question, but seeing as everypony here wasn't where they were supposed to be it wasn't that surprising. "Have a little tact, can't you see that she's..." her gaze fell back upon me, and she blanched. A petichia of green flashed across her cheeks before she regained her false half smile.
"She's got tubes in her," the pegasi blandly responded, ignoring the rest of the groups frantic expressions. It was obvious that they didn't wish to insult me, despite the fact that it wasn't necessary. Showing me compassion as a living being was misguided. If the master saw that he would have torn out each of their throats. He didn't like me thinking like I was a real pony.
I'm not.
He told me that I'm a manufactured being, even though I know I'm not. I wasn't... this, before. I don't... I don't...
Remembering is hard. Remembering brings pain. Better to simply forget.
The white unicorn hissed in annoyance at the pegasus. I'd update her profile information with her name as provided as a non verified alias. 'Rainbow Dash'. Could very well be her name, sounds accurate enough. "She's not... those are... medical... tubes!" the unicorn protested.
"The green gunk is coming out of her," 'Dash' stated in a disgusted, yet horrifyingly intrigued tone. A couple seconds passed as her words sunk into the minds of her companions. I was used to ponies looking at me in disgust. It was to be expected. As master stated, I was less than pony in the end.
"This is..." came from {#|*C@`N004. Error. Data not found}. "This material being extracted is carrying a high amount of magical energy! If I'm right... this is whats been supplying energy to the underlying power substructure of the crystalized information network... but... I originally thought that the power source would either be larger or originating from multiple sources... but this single source is what's running through the entire city!"
I couldn't see who said that. None of them were talking at the point that the voice had been active, nor was there a device magical or otherwise capable of producing the sound from where the sound had emitted from.
"Who said that?" I questioned, genuinely confused. There shouldn't have been a single bit of information in this room capable of escaping my notice. For some sort of... invisible pony make its way into the Information Hub? Impossible. Atmospheric pressure, breathing, body warmth, magical pressure, there were a multitude of different ways to work around invisibility.
"Hello," stated {#|*C@`N004}. Error. Data not found. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. Sister of Shining Armor?"
"Am I supposed to know who that is?" I asked, irritated. The name didn't match anypony in the current database. Which meant that either that they were refuges... or I had been maliciously denied information so that I could be punished when it was discovered I didn't have said information.
"How can you not know who Shining Armor is?" Dash asked in a derisive tone. I might have to reformat my original opinion of her eventual future. If her current personality is so pervasive she might simply be thrown in one of the crystal python dens to be rid of her. A worker that doesn't work isn't worth the bread used to feed them.
'Well she iiiiiis kinda... tied up, at the moment?" the currently nameless pink earth pony trilled in a sing song voice. I almost wish she didn't speak, the rooms audio sensors were on the verge of overloading due to her pitch. I don't know if I liked her all that much either. First words out of her mouth and she's mocking me. "Seriously though. White? Tall? Married to the {#|*C@`N003. Error. Data not found.} Princess who saved the Crystal Empire? Recharged the crystal heart and banished the evil meany pants formally known as Sombra?"
"Ah can imagine why she wouldn'ta heard... not like many ponies were willing to go near this place..." the previously silent earth pony stated. Orange body, blonde mane and tail. Cutiemark, three apples. Agriculture, most likely. She wasn't on record, but she most likely had been bought or 'liberated' from the countries to the south. Based on physical musculature alone, she would make a fine addition to the crystal empire.
Most odd however... the hat she was wearing. I'd seen one before... but the name eluded me. It was... you wore one when you... rode? Cowboys wore them.
Cowboy. It was a cowboy hat! Stars above, I hadn't seen one of those... since...
Since before.
An involuntary shiver passed through me at the distant memory. It was possible that the ponies could have simply come across the style on their own... but what if...
A second look at the pony in question banished all thoughts down that path. She was too... sturdy. Too... normal. There was in fact an abnormal spike of magical energy originating near her chest, but that only further tethered her to this world. She didn't feel like from before.
You are alone. They're never going to find you, you're never going to go back. The only thing you have to look forward to now... is me
A line I'd heard too many times to count. The king no longer bothered saying it in an attempt to break me, all it served was to give him a perverse pleasure and a creeping, fetid grin. I tended to hear him every once in a while, regardless of whether or not he was there or not.
He was always watching, and the voices only served to drive that point home all the more.
"This area is restricted," I reiterated. The clods seemed thick enough to need a refresher, so... "Any unauthorized personnel would be subject to certain punishments. Therefor it is not unthinkable that any individuals without clearance who managed to retain a modicum of sense would avoid this area."
"...Did she just call us dumb?" the rainbow maned pegasus asked stupidly.
"Please," the {#|*C@`N004. Error. Data not found.} said in a pleading tone. "There's no reason for hostility..."
"I'm not being hostile," I replied blithely, "I'm simply stating the tangible facts... invisible pony," I added, peering around as if squinting my eyes could help reveal the elusive voice. "You aren't supposed to be here-"
"Then why are you here?" the one called 'Dash' sharply demanded.
"I'm not allowed to leave," I stated plainly. A couple seconds of silence passed, in which I assume the clods were trying to process that information. "As the only current individual below King Sombra that is authorized to be in this area, I am therefor required to be here at all times to maintain the present information network." I paused, looking back at the orange bodied earth pony that had spoken up previously.
"What?" she squawked, flinching under my gaze.
"Your hat," I posited, sighing after a moment of obliviousness crept across her face. "Where did you acquire it? Also, what style would you refer to it as?"
A flash of annoyance crossed the rainbow themed ones face, probably related to how I was ignoring her. Wasn't my problem she couldn't contain her own frustrations.
"...was mah paws," I heard the earth pony state, her voice unsteady and unsure. "He gave it to me. Why?" she accused, drilling me with a fierce glare.
I ignored her question, instead heading back with my previous one. "What style is it?"
"It's a cowpony hat, why?" the rainbow maned one nearly snarled, cutting off her companion before she could tear into me.
"No reason," I stated evasively. Cowpony. I really shouldn't be surprised. There's no reason why King Sombra wouldn't go ahead and rename them, at the very least they hadn't been renamed to 'cowstallion' style or something even more ludicrous.
I felt a poke in my midsection, an invisible touch that traced my left side around one of the primary conduits that the king had installed. My gaze snapped to my side, trying to pierce the veil of invisibility the unnamed pony was hiding under. Disregarding that they shouldn't have been able to hide, especially in this room, the proof was in the pudding. They couldn't be invisible. They were, to my senses. My senses in particular, seeing as the other ponies filling the room constantly looked towards a grouped location that held no visible pony.
I quickly grouped back into the local observation drones (he wouldn't let me call them cameras, no matter how much logic I tried to regale him with. He simply liked have a device with the word 'observation' in it better. Voyeur.) Looping a few lines of code around, I quickly restructured the groupings that denoted targeting. Currently they were uards. We hadn't seen any of the Lunar guards as of late, but a huge contingent of the Solar ones had popped up recently.
What they were doing, I hadn't the slightest. A surprisingly high amount of the observational drones had gone offline in the recent week. I had sent out requests for repairs.
I'm sure they'll get around to that any day now.
There were a few specific individuals of note in the system, miscreants that had been rabble-rousing and disturbing the peace.
Ha, peace. As if we could actually enjoy something like peace...
Regardless, I finished slotting in the new parameters. The basic shape of a pony appeared next to me, coinciding with the fixed gazes of the surrounding ponies. It wasn't highly detailed, I wouldn't be able to properly animate limb movement unless the pony came right up next to me and poked me in the side.
Which... yes, it was currently doing. Nosing around the myriad of various conduits poking out of my midsection, getting rather fresh in my opinion.
I didn't like the feeling of being touched without being able to see how I was being touched. The only time I'm touched is when the master decides to visit. You'd think that not being able to see each 'touch' coming would be better than wincing in anticipation of each 'touch'.
Pain you can't see coming sucks waaaaay worse, in my opinion.
"What are you doing?" I demanded, reaching out to shove the barebones model in the chest to get it away from me. The {#|*C@`N004. Error. Data not found.} staggered away, along with the pony model.
Wait. What... was that? Several times over the last few minutes, I'd... 'recited' a specific code string. {#|*C@N004. Error. Data not found.} The other ponies knew there was an invisible pony. I... could 'see' her... too? The {#|\*C@N004. Error. Data not found.}. It was like my gaze slid over... whatever it was, forgetting it was there instants after I had pinpointed it.
Even his voice, I realized, while I could remember what was said in perfect detail, I couldn't for the life of me discern age, timber, or even gender. It was like what was said wasn't even said, it was just copied to my memory as lines of text.
The information was compiled, but context was being deleted.
Why? What the hell was this thing, that had been so thoroughly blacklisted in the information network? The only other pony who had access to the network was the master, but he theoretically shouldn't have been able to do this.
Not that I was doubting the abilities of our glorious and illustrious leader. It was just that his... obvious talents were more of the 'smash you in the face until you stop moving' variety instead of the nuanced 'rewrite textline 34 < as subwrite 92 in instance of 34GB intersecting with 61GB=29LD' codework.
It was viable that he could have set up a detour thread into the network, he was rather... in tune with gems and the systems I controlled through them.
But why?
What was the point?
I DON'T KEEP YOU AROUND TO THINK, GET BACK TO WORK.
"Yes sir," I snapped, my eyes glazing over as I returned to monitoring the information stream. I had informed the intruders that there would be guards coming to pick them up, it no longer behooved me to continue interaction with them. Their were superfluous in the grand scheme of things.
Materials running low in sector 5-B.
"Materials requested in sector 5-B," I repeated, ignoring 'Rainbow Dash's' squawk of annoyance.
"Hay, we're talking to you!" she pressed, flying up to me and jabbing me in the chest.
I jutted a hoof out, swiping her offending limb to the side. I then primed a line of fluid chemicals to the surface of my hoof, and returned the favor of 'hoof in chest'.
The thing I had over her, however, was that I had just dosed her with a high-yield mixture of horse tranquilizer.
"Oh, you wanna.. wanna...fiiii..." It worked as it was supposed to, dropping her like a load of bricks. As heavy as a pegasus could be, anyway.
The remainder of her groups let out various renditions of "Rainbow Dash!" marking their concern for their napping comrade. How noble.
Clods. They should be more worried for themselves. It wasn't like 'friendship would save them the pain of the taskmasters whip. The sooner they learned not to depend on others, the happier they would be in the long run.
As long as they could live, anyway. Lucky short lived jerks.
Broken barricade in sector 42-G.
"Send building teams to sector 42-G for construction efforts," I stated, sending off the request.
"What did you do to her?!!?" demanded the cowpony hat wearing one.
"Administered a mild sleeping agent," I lied. A mild one would have kept her under for only a few short minutes. As is, the product I gave her would keep her out for hours. "It was for her own good, she was showing signs of unproductive aggression. When the guards finally arrive to detain you, she might have been injured due to physical contention. This is not a desirable result, yes?" I asked, playing off their foolish clinging to their friendship. In the end, all it would get them is hurt.
"We're trying to help you, you..." the prostitute huffed, trying to formulate a fitting response. "You ruffian!"
Oh golly, now I'm getting lectured by somepony of her profession? Dear old daddy would be rolling in his grave-
YOU HAVE NO PARENTS, YOU WERE NEVER A REAL PONY TO BEGIN WITH
Of course not, don't know what I was thinking. Somepony would have been disappointed. Don't know who, the master would probably have simply laughed.
"Look," the {#|*C@N004. Error. Data not found.} stated once more, startling me seeing as the core lines had deleted the mock-up of a pony model I had been using seeing as it coincided with the {#|\*C@N004. Error. Data not found.} for too long of a period.
Stars above, that was irritating. The sooner it left the sooner I could relax without feeling like my brain was trying to commit suicide.
"You... don't belong here," he/she/it affirmed, preceding a sharp tug at one of the conduits in my left side. "We're going to get you out of here, okay?" he/she/it stated in what I assume must have been what they were trying to make sound like a reassuring tone, right before she ripped the conduit completely out of my chest.
Pain was nothing new. Pain would always come. This was different. I was supposed to be here. I had been given explicit instructions.
I had also been told precisely what would happen if I ever tried to leave.
I whipped my already primed hoof to the side of the dislodged conduit conduit, a trill of fear rising deep in my breast. If he saw me like this... he might think I tried to leave. I didn't try to leave. I didn't take the conduit out. I obeyed!
He wouldn't care.
My hoof failed to make contact with the invisible pony, as two more were torn from my opposite side.
"No!" I choked out, thrashing my hoof from side to side. I couldn't hit it. Why couldn't I touch it? They had to be close enough to physically touch me, so why couldn't I hit them???!?
Another conduit came free just under the lip of my barrel, so I had to step up my game. If the master ever found out that I had made these... they were only for my own protection, I swear. I never thought about using them on the master, he wouldn't have tolerated that.
Not that they would have worked on him to begin with...
I slammed my hoof down, locking it into the dock. I then raised it upwards, drawing it out of the floor. The cylindrical bracelet fit snug around my hoof, just as I had designed it. I gave it a twist, letting a streaming rush of multicoloured energy spring forth from the proto-gauntlet. I swung it back and forth around me, the deadly energy casting frantic shadows in the ceiling and walls.
I still didn't hit. And still, more and more conduits were procedurally removed, sending me further and further into a blind panic. I couldn't let them. He'd kill me.
I didn't want to die.
The energy cast by the proto-gauntlet sputtered out and died, the hastily assembled machinery having never been able to be designed to last longer.
"Please, just hold still, this will be over in a second!" the {#|*C@`N004. Error. Data not found.} pleaded, forcing me redouble my efforts to strike them with the tranq primed hoof. If I couldn't stop them, he'd kill me. If I let them do this to me, he'd kill me. If they did he'd kill me. If -
He'd kill me
-they-
He'd kill me.
-tried-
He'd shatter me.
-to-
HE'D SHATTER ME.
-save-
HE'D EAT ME.
-me-
I DON'T WANT TO DIE!
I thrashed from side to side, desperate to strike the {#|*C@`N004. Error. Data not found.}. Just one lucky hit, just one errant strike, and I'd be safe. I could put them all back before he saw, it would be fine and He wouldn't... I'd just get it by luck and then I could... They'd slip up and then I would...
Each swing met the same success.
Each time I missed.
There was only one conduit left, the master control conduit that had me fully hooked into the informational network. I desperately sent out alerts, requesting that anypony from the repair crews to the thematic dance squad to rally.
I didn't care who came. As long as they came, as long as they helped me... I could... I didn't...
This wasn't fair.
"Just one more, and this will all be over, okay?"
I didn't respond. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction.
I wouldn-
"Please... stop..."
I don't know if I said that. It sounded like me. I don't remember talking.
"Please..."
"I'm sorry," they continued, a haze of imagery flitting past my eyes.
Purple energy cooellesced around the conduit. There was no energy. That was magic. There is no magic. It tugged, firming its grip on the base of the cable where it attached to my forehead.
THERE IS NOTHING THERE
She pulled it out.
I collapsed to the ground, cut off from the information network. Insensate, I couldn't only blink wildly as the alicorns form swam lazily into view. It was weird only seeing with two eyes again. Everything was just so much more...
Alicorn.
She was an alicorn! That... that was impossible. It had to be a trick. The wings... and horn... she couldn't be...
The master said he killed both of them.
Twilight gazed down in pity at the prone form before her, using her magic to carefully burn the holes in her body closed. She looked like a pony, but obviously had much higher tolerance. Regardless, there was no way she was going to leave her with over twenty gaping holes (Twilight had to stifle back a sob, what the hay had Sombra done to this poor mare?) riddling her body without providing emergency field medicry.
She wasn't sure if that was a real word. At this point she didn't care.
She looked at the last cable in her magical grip, a large pointed spike of sinister glinting black rock topping it. It had been stuck in her head, Twilight realized with a lurch, dropping the offending cable and hurriedly clomping off to the side. She didn't manage to make it outside, voiding her stomach against one of the rooms walls.
A few moments later, a reassuring hoof grasped her by the shoulder. Fluttershy was the only pony left in the room, the remainder having exited as swiftly as expediently possible. Twilight could hear muffled retching from outside, signifying that her friends were in similar straights to herself.
Wait... Spike! The poor baby dragon had fainted, curling up with his claws tightly wrapped around his tail as he shook uncontrollably.
Why did she do that? She didn't know, she had just seen the poor mare... suspended there amid the cables, and it had struck her so wholly... wrong that she had acted without thinking. She had tried to work it out carefully... but it had overtaken her in a haze of need, a hurried responsibility she had to fulfill.
If she had given time to think, she might have thought that her friends spoken thoughts bore merit. Maybe the cords and wires were medical, and were required for her continued longevity...
No. The Element of Magic, currently wrapped around her forehead (so eerily mirroring the final cable) had nearly screamed at her to act. To do something.
So she had acted.
Thankfully the mare seemed to be... for lack of a better word... 'okay'. She had fainted as well, the pain undoubtedly too much for her to take. That... thing had been in her head.
Twilight dipped down, careful not to touch the unconscious mare. There, in her forehead... a gem. Olivine. More accurately, peridot. A long crack ran the length of the gem, splitting off halfway. It was here the cable had been inserted, but Twilight couldn't see any further signs of trauma.
"My head hurts. Like, suuuuper bad," Rainbow Dash whined once more, a pitiful expression alighted upon her face as she cradled her aching head.
"The doctor said they gave you the counter agent, Dash," Twilight repeated, for the seventh time in a row.
"It still hurts."
Fluttershy gave her what she hoped was a comforting pat on her back, wishing she could relieve her foalhoods friend of her pain.
"The way she was... flailin' bout near there at the end," Applejack commented, having managed to carry the wayward mare to the hospital with little stress, "It was just... awful. Like she weren't even a pony, did you see her eyes? I ain't never seen nopony scared so outta their mind."
Twilight nodded, not knowing how to respond. Pinkie had declined to joining them, preferring to remain outside after the... incident. It had hit her hard, and Twilight could see it in her eyes.
Book Smart sat at the foot of the mares bed, her gaze roving back and forth over the prone body.
Book Smart was the head librarian of the Crystal Empires Central library, and had given them the information about the former kings formulative alterations to the kingdom at large.
Devices that snaked their way all throughout the kingdom, that even as the despicable king was gone, kept on ticking. Kept on watching.
It took a couple weeks for her to read through the backlogged information reports (those that had made their way through to the library), carefully tracking the various relays from house to house, until she had without a doubt found the source.
A single, small shed recessed into the ground, hidden from passerby with just how innocuous it was.
So, harboring this information, she went and did the intelligent thing. She went to the new Princess, and told her what she had found. It wasn't like she was going to just walk in there on her own. She wasn't stupid, who knew what was actually in there.
The Crystal Princess had wanted to send a patrol of guards to investigate. The mainland Princess of the Sun had overruled her, insisting that six of her lands heroes come and deal with the situation themselves. Book Smart didn't know why the Crystal Princess allowed the sun Princess to order her about, it wasn't like this was Equestria. While they did bring the triumphant and glorious hero Spike with them, Book Smart thought a patrol of crystal guards would have dealt with the situation in a more timely manner.
"Do you know her?" Princess Twilight asked her as she continued to peer down at her.
"Do you not?" Book Smart replied, honestly confused as to her unfamiliarity. This was why Crystal Empire matters should be kept within the Empire. New princesses and the like never took the time to read up on the lands.
"She is..." she trailed off, eyes locked on the wrecked state of a once proud gem. She had seen it once before, back when she was a little filly. Her grandmother had loved tucking her in at night, pulling over a worn backed book, and regaling her on the wondrous Architects. How they had fallen from the stars themselves, to bring light and warmth to the twinkle eyed ponies of old.
The Harmony, Ruby and Sapphire. They had bred kindness and civility into the empire, mediating conflicts even before they happened! It was rumored that they had held sight into the future itself...
The Explorer, Lapis Lazuli. She had traveled the breadth of the empire and beyond, returning with treasures untold. They would say that the oceans of the world held no barrier to her, that they in turn were as her wings.
The Culture, Amethyst. Playful and insightful, the Amethyst had breathed life into their dreary existence of monotonous drudgery. Games, food, colour. She encouraged ponies of old to try anything new, if for no other reason than to say they had.
The Warrior, Pearl. While all were formidable opponents in their own right, it was the Pearl who stood out. Slight and frail of body, the Pearl showed all that any could fight back against an oppressor if they persevered, and used their talents to level the playing field.
The Healer, Steven. As denoted by his moniker, he was a healer of grievous wounds, of broken friendships... it was even rumored that he could heal broken hearts...
She had seen this pony before... but as she was now... she was a pitiful remnant of the image she had captured in her memory.
"This was... is one of the Core. The Innovator. The Peridot."
Author's Note
New Displaced story.
Cold weather sucks, and my heating situation is just as laughable. If I don't keep my hands under the blankets, my poor little phalanges get all frozen!
Personal woes aside, I hope you all like this story, leaves a comment if you do, and as like my other stories, be sure to leave a question for the character of your choice.(note that while I am not saying don't pick random characters that aren't in the story, it is implied.)
Also... the title? She's counting years.
Princess Celestia was nothing if not a patient pony. She sat, she listened to ponies and their problems, their concerns, their troubles, and she did a good job alleviating said concerns. In her own honest opinion.
She'd managed a kingdom for over two thousand years, the entirety of Equestria for stars sakes! So why was it that there was always somepony crawling out of the woodwork to insinuate that she didn't know what she was doing? Somepony who hadn't even reached the hundred year mark, coming up to her and thinking they knew better?
It was important for her litte ponies to make mistakes, true. They had to grow throughout their lives and they simply wouldn't if she excercised her authority every time and told them exactly how they were wrong. But in this situation, she wished her friend would just listen to reason...
"No."
"Please Cadence, I must insist that you reconsider-"
"Auntie, you can insist until you're blue in the face. In this instance, my answer will remain the same," the Princess of Love, Crystal, and the Empire to the North stated resolutely. She deferred to her mentor on many occasion, but her gut and instincts were telling her she was in the right in this instance.
"Again, I truly think it would be better for her if she were relocated to a town, closer to the Tree of Harmony to aid in her recovery..."
"And I'll tell you again, this is her home. I can't even fathom the depths of torment that Sombra put her through, what she needs is to be in a familliar environment, not to be carted off like a sack of potatoes simply because you want her closer to keep an eye on."
Celestia schooled her features, putting on a hurt expression. She was distressed that her fellow princess didn't trust her in this matter, but even more distressing was that she had hit the proverbial nail on the head. Of course she wanted The Peridot to be stationed in Ponyville, to recover in the care of her treasured student. It would have proven a worthy challenge for the up and coming princess. She didn't even have a country to run yet, so she was a prime candidate with too much time on her hooves.
Twilight would of course pick the elderly gems mind on ancient history (Celestia wasn't sure of their exact lifespan, but she was fairly certain they were of a respectable age.) during her ministrations, sending the ailing pony on her way to reminiscing about better times, which could only serve to help her in the long run!
That being said, Celestia also wanted her based on her rumored intelligence. The legends had given her the moniker of 'the innovator', almost all the stories told of her outstanding understanding of technical know-how. The Crystal Empire had elevators, and they had been stuck outside of time for the past thousand years! Just thinking about the wonderous and bountiful 'crops' she could offer her ponies...
"Cadence..."
"No. I won't shift on my decision, Auntie. And that is final."
Celestia let out an irritated sigh,before calming herself with a measured breath. That was fine. It wasn't ideal, but situations rarely were. The thing her fellow princess didn't fully understand was the underlying and horrifying implications of time. Most ponies lived day to day.
A short, but meaningful and enjoyed life. Celestia, on the other hoof, lived through each day, while awaiting the next... few thousand or so.
She had once stumbled upon a board game titled 'life'. It was entertaining, and her ponies seemed to like it well enough. But it was simply so... shortsighted. For one who had lived for thousands of years, the contemplation of certain things were elementary, simple whereas for her little ponies they were these huge, insurmountable ideas.
She more than once jokingly reffered to her favorite set of chess pieces as 'Life'. That was because life could be planned out, thinking several thousand moves ahead of the first. You simply had to know how the pieces moved, and how the person sitting behind them thought.
Cadence was a headstrong sort who would follow through with her plans, but had a slight problem with the day to day minutia. There were many times Celestia had found her missing out on certain things, simply because she had overworked herself to near exhastion, forgetting that while she was now an alicorn... she was only a pony.
No one pony can be everywhere, do everything at once, and perfectly to the letter described and desired. Celestia had long since mastered the art of delegation, but her niece... She was still green.
She made mistakes. She forgot things.
And for a normal pony (or one as of yet still unused to the burdon of the crown), the progression of time makes one slip up worse than any other element.
Mannerisms change and shift every day, what may have once been a solid stance like that of bedrock can go from one day to the next, ending up flimsier than a pile of sand.
She would let the matter go for now. But Cadence would eventually see Celestia's point, she would realize the sense of it in time.
Time was something she had a lot of.
"Very well, I shall press no further," Celestia stated, seeing a glimpse of tangible relief pass her nieces face.
"Thank you, Auntie. Onto other regards, as stated at the last summit the Empire has need of Earth ponies to immigrate and settle, so as to help the surrounding area usable for crops..."
The meeting continued, rather cordial on topics of goods and services their respective lands needed or could otherwise use. It was at the point that Celestia got fully into swing propositioning her to 'encourage' a few of her citizens to travel, to better advertise the return of the Crystal Empire to the ponies of Equestria that a rather distraught pony stepped into the room. Nervously twitching, eyes shifting frantically from side as his tail dragged on the floor behind him.
"...Yes?" Cadence prodded verbally, watching as the pony jerked in place.
"I... er, that is, we have some bad news?" the pony continued.
"...Such as?" Cadence once again broke the silence that the pony seemed keen in letting persist.
"Uh... well, that is... the hospital-"
"Have there been complications? What of the Peridot?" Cadence surged to her hooves, all pretenses of her prior meeting behind her.
"Well... she's... missing."
Celestia refused to let the slight grin touch her muzzle, leaving her face placid. Even from minute to minute could a situation change, and shift dangerously to the far side of the scales. It was almost like clockwork.
Cadence stood stock still for a second, before whipping her head (and outjutted hoof) to the side to point squarely at her personal... 'guard'.
She had originally wanted to remain without an escort, but the crystal ponies had insisted. Tradition or what have you. She had been powerless to resist when the puppy-dog-eyes had been brought out. Wouldn't you, if faced with fifty different ponies all doing it at once? So that was it. Either suffer a chaperone, or make her ponies sad.
Easy choice.
"Heartbeat," she belted out, the Pony in question snapping to attention. "Inform the rest of the guard of the current situation. Have... an alert passed out, that a pony has gone missing from the local hospital and may still be injured. Please let ponies know to keep an eye out, and to render assistance if possible. Under no circumstances is there to be any incidents of strong arming her back to the hospital, just... try to help?" She finished, unsure of how to properly word what she was trying to get across.
For her credit, it appeared her loyal and trusty sword holder understood her concerns, snapping her a salute before turning around to make his way out.
Cadence turned back to Celestia, all signs of worry erased. "They'll... be fine. Maybe they'll even find her wandering around the hospital?" she joked, "It's not like she could have just gotten up and walked out the front door, after all."
I got up and just walked out the front door.
It's not like I had anypony guarding me, after all.
After freeing myself from my restraints (one probably wouldn't normally refer to bedsheets as such, but with the frightening ferocity they had shown as I tried to remove them firmly put the label of 'restraints' on them in my mind) and vacating the premises, I did what was expected of me. I tried to return to my room.
I hadn't been given permission to leave, after all.
Unfortunately I managed to discover something that put somewhat of a damper on my course of action. I hadn't the faintest smidgen of a clue where the heck the information hub was. It wasn't my fault, I swear! If these lazy ponies simply had just put up a few helpful signs, I wouldn't be in this stupid mess.
I had hoped I would just be able to head out, then beeline it for my room and put this whole mess behind me. It seems however that although I had been hooked up to this stupid city for the last few centuries, actually finding my way around it analogue was a completely different ballgame than following information lines and trading routes. The three transporter pads I had found were completely inoperable, about as much use as trying to use a paperweight as actual paper.
All the crystal systems I could lay eyes on were in some sort of disrepair, falling apart due to lack of use or more sinisterly from accute application of bludgeoning force. I didn't remember the city being attacked by a large army in recent memory, but the evidence of violence since passing was plain to see.
The only piece of gem tech I had come across that didn't seem to be damaged was a luminosity beacon. I didn't really feel like testing if it still worked, and bringing the attention of every pony to me for no reason. What if they told the king?
Frustrated and tired of walking around (even though I hadn't used my legs for a while, it wasn't like I was rusty in their use. Like riding a bike, really.) I decided to get out of the sun. And air.
Even disconnected from the information hub, I could remember that most ponies still required this little thing called 'oxygen'. Required for prolonged life, and such forth.
I wasn't most, as the master liked to frequently recount.
While I would mimic the requirement for air when the master wanted, I wasn't bound by such a shackle as needing to breathe. Which was why the bottom of a shallow pond afforded me a decent respite from the noon suns blindingly hot rays. Cool water and whatnot.
I had to get back to the information hub. That was plain enough. If the master found me out and about wandering around, his temper might fray to dangerous limits. Dangerous for myself, that is. So my goal was obvious, but that was about all I had working for me at this point in time. I couldn't recall any of the detailed city maps I had access to previously, and it seemed my sense of direction suffered heavily from my limited exposure to the city outside my room.
I had been outside twice. Both times were not pleasant. Much safer to just stay inside.
I would have to think about this logically. I couldn't remember the exact schematics, but I did remember previous sections of my own internal musing. When that group had intruded, I remember thinking that I was about twenty minutes from the city wall. That in itself wasn't all that helpful, seeing as I could have been referring to any of the outside walls. Still, that narrowed my starting area disregarding the fact that I still didn't know where I was in reference to anything else, I could tell where the main citadel was simply by raising my head and looking. I was about ten minutes walk from it, which meant I was about seven to thirteen miles from the outside walls.
I'd have to carefully begin a search grid, marking my progress from a specified point after I had calculated the distance from the walls in a compact radius. After I got that started, I could progressively-
I flinched, a jabbing pain jutting into my side and disappearing just as quickly as it had appeared. Weird. I continued my line of thought, putting the pain out of mind. After that was sorted out, I could progressively cut down my search area grid by grid. It was really only a matter of time until I found what I was looking for, how hard could my room be to find?
I'd have to hook myself back in, hopefully King Sombra wouldn't find out about my little... 'excursion'. I'd send for some muscle to apprehend the group of ponies that had take. Me, and everything would be right in the worl-
I thrashed away as the thrusting pain blossomed in my side again. Whipping my head around to stare at the offending side, I beheld an odd sight. I had been poked in the side. With a stick. A long, willowy branch tinged through with red. A bloodvine, apparently. They grew in the horticultural section, and were of fairly little use outside of their ability to burn hotter and longer than most other woods. Odd how it came to be in this pond though, it wasn't like they-
It stabbed into my side once more, forcing me to make an awkward swipe at it. It surprisingly retreated, tantalizingly out of reach. Reaching out to grab it once more led to it again darting out of my reach. It was then I managed to put the proverbial ‘two and two’ together. Someone was watching me, from above the waters surface.
How perfectly ‘King Sombra’ of them.
I slowly made my way back topside -if it was anyone important trying to gain my attention they wouldn’t have bothered with a stick and simply electrified the standing water. Dragged my twitching body ashore and yelled out their questions and demands once I regained a semblance of coherency.-, pausing before I broke the surface of the water. A wavy, blurred outline of a pony stood above me, stick at the ready in case I-
The stick slowly inched forward once more, jabbing me once in the center of my barrel. I glared at the brown outline, wondering if I could possibly set them on fire if I willed myself hard enough.
Never worked on Master, he had it down to an art form though.
Cheating unicorns.
On a whim, I tried to charge magic to my gem in an attempt to yank whatever jerk had the gall to interrupt my musing forward into the water. I flinched as a searing shard of flowing lava burrowed its way under the skin, jutting out as it split my skull asunder.
I took a second to compose myself, allowing the slip of energy to return to its previous course as the stick once more scored a hit in my soft flesh. It had been a foolish endeavor to start with, I knew fair well that I wasn't allowed to practice magic anymore.
With the crack running through my gem, all my magia was good for was stimulating data flow. And seeing as I no longer had the control stem jutting from my forehead... I was damaged goods.
I got to my hooves, compensating for the lack of proper bouyency. Gravity didn't like to work right for me, especially under water. I trundled my way out of the shallow pond, evading another thrust from the dratted branch. I broke the surface of the water, glaring at my dreaded foe with as much vitriol as could be summoned forth.
"Hi!" The small, brown colt greeted. Apparently my glare was lacking. It would need a heavy rework. "Were you sleeping down there?"
I let him simmer in his discomfort, waiting as I formed my perfect response. The colt tilted his head to the side, his goofy smile refusing to falter.
"If you thought I was sleeping, then why would you poke me?" I finally replied.
"I tried breathing under water once," the little clod replied, ignoring my question. "It really hurt, and then I sicked up the water and my mom was super worried!" He took a second to regain his spent breath, barreling straight back into his childish prattling. "So when I saw you laying under there I thought maybe you would wanna come up because you hadn't realized you couldn't breathe the water?"
"... I didn't breathe in any water."
"So you held your breath? I can hold my breath super long, my mom says it was almost a whole minute! Say, what's your name?"
I stared at the young one, trying to parse his nonstop babble.
"I am Peridot."
"Cool, like the innovator?" He fired off. "One of my moms friends is going to name her filly Peridot too. I think she should name her Tornado, but mom said I should 'keep such thoughts to myself' and not be rude. My names Dipstick!"
I continued to stare at the young foal, almost amazed by his unorthodox sentence structure. Was this what a normal kid was like? I wasn't sure I liked it.
"Hey, I'm done here, the radio thingy is toast," He waved behind himself, directing my attention towards a relay station. As he had stated, it was 'toast'. I could see from here that it had sustained severe damage. It seems like someone had flung a bevy of hefty objects at the top, splintering the crystal and rupturing the dish. I might be able to fix it with a hefty dose of bioplasm, but as was it was a lost cause. "Wanna see my house?"
"... Sure."
Author's Note
I think I sussed out a problem with the timeline that none of you even caught... I originally had this story start up pretty much right after the crystal empire opening premier. Problem is... Twilight wasn't an alicorn yet at that point.
Awoops.
